Skills

Every character has access to a list of "skills" to put points in, that express how good your character is at miscellaneous practices like cooking, estimating the monetary value of objects, handling animals and the like. Whenever the game asks you to "skill check" for an action, that means you can roll a d20 dice and add your "skill points" to the dice score, and if you roll greater than the DC (Difficulty Check), you succeed.

Points: When you create your character, you gain (2 + INT modifier) * 4 skill points to distribute, and every level you gain 2 + (INT modifier) more.

Skill Caps: The attribute in brackets is the skill's "source" attribute; a skill can never exceed it's source attribute. Furthermore, you may choose to add its modifier to your DC roll. For example, a Bluff skill check with 5 points allocated in it on a 16 CHA character means you can add a total of +8 to your d20 roll.

Skills with * cannot be trained from 0 mid-game without a teacher NPC or a manual.

STR: Athletics
CON: Concentration
DEX: Open Lock, Perform (Music), Sleight of Hand, Use Rope
AGI: Acrobacy, Escape, Hide, Move Silently, Perform (Dance), Ride
INT: Appraise, Craft, Disable Device, Knowledge, Nurse, Speak Lang., Use Magic Device
WIS: Judge, Listen, Search
CHA: Bluff, Diplomacy, Handle Animal, Intimidate, Perform (Act, Oratory)


Athletics [STR]

Allows a character to climb and swim and cross rough terrain. If terrain crossed is considered "difficult terrain", all must roll DC 15 every round or move at half speed. The DC to swim in calm water is 10, and 15 for rough waters. The difficulty of climbing surfaces depends on the steepness and the availability of handholds:

Roll DC 10 to use picks/claws, or walk ledges big enough to stand on (eg. ship rigging)

Roll DC 15 for pulling oneself up unsupported unknotted rope

Roll DC 20 for climbing a rough, jagged wall with few hand holds

Roll DC 25 for brick walls and ceilings with no footholds. Smooth surfaces can not be climbed without specialized tools or magical assistance.

Acrobacy [AGI]

Governs jumping, reduces fall damage and allows balancing across tight surfaces.

The DC for a jump is equal to double its distance in feet. With a running start, the DC for a jump is equal to its distance. A creature can fall AGI + Acrobacy*2 feet without taking damage, with every point above that being inflicted as blunt damage.

Appraise [INT]

Roll DC 10 to find out the base gold value of any standard shop item.

Roll DC 15 for items exotic to the player's racial culture, and 20 for magical items.

Bluff [CHA]

The liar rolls to Bluff and the target rolls to Judge simultaneously, with the winner being the highest roll. Bluffing isn't limited to dialogue; Bluffing can also be invoked as a bonus action to fake an attack mid-combat. Successfully feinting allows the attacker to bypass the target's ability to dodge or parry.

Concentration [CON]

Allows you to continue performing actions that require maintaining focus (casting a spell, aiming, picking locks, etc.) despite distractions. When struck, the DC to maintain concentration is 10 + damage suffered. The DC ranges from 5 for rain to 10 for vigorous motion, (walking mount, creaking ship) 15 for violent motion (galloping horse, stormy seas) and 20 for extraordinary circumstances. (earthquake, tornado)

Craft [INT]

This entry is a shorthand for 11 different subskills: Alchemy, Carpentry, Cooking, Smithing, Leatherworking, Jewelcrafting, Masonry, Painting, Pottery, Traps and Weaving.

Roll DC 10 to make a complex medieval object. (bows, plate, bear traps)

Roll DC 10 + the weapon die or armor value of a piece of gear to make or repair it.

Roll DC 20 + spell tier to create a magical item. See the Spellsword class' etch ability.

Food created isn't a roll. Skill 10 can make a poor meal that sates hunger but doesn't restore nutritional value. Skill 15 can make a good meal that provides nutritional value for any race, provided they have access to ingredients. Skill 20 allows a cook to mimic the effects of the spell divine feast with 200 gp of ingredients.

The cost of creating an item is a third of its vendor value, and takes one hour per 5 DC.

When in a settlement, a character can practice their craft; they roll for the skill and earn the resulting value in gold over one week.

Diplomacy [CHA]

A character can use social etiquette combined with an understanding of humanoid psychology to negotiate certain outcomes or ask for information. Provided the character speaks the target's language, they roll for Diplomacy against the target's WIS value, with disadvantage if the demand would go against the target's moral values, orders or personal interests, and a -2 penalty if they are not fluent (rank 2 Speak Language) and if the roll is successful the target's demeanor will change.

Disable Device* [INT]

Roll DC 10 to jam locks or sabotaging wheels and other simple contraptions.

Disarming or resetting traps ranges from 15 to 25 DC depending on their complexity.

Escape [AGI]

Roll DC 10 to escape a rope coil.

Roll DC 20 to escape a net or a magical snare.

Roll DC 30 to slip out of metal manacles or to wriggle through an uneven tight space.

Handle Animal* [CHA]

Roll DC 10 to lead an animal somewhere.

Roll DC 15 to ride an animal or to make it perform physically arduous labor.

Roll DC 20 to train an animal for combat or combat riding.

Roll DC 15 + a wild animal's level to tame it.

Hide [AGI]

This skill is rolled against the Search roll of anyone who might be looking for them. The character attempting to hide must have some sort of cover (bushes, rocks, stalls, pillars, shadows, etc.) and move at half speed. Moving at full speed confers a -5 penalty, and running or attacking a -20 penalty.

Size also affects the Hide skill, with different modifiers to characters the size of a gnome (+15) dwarf (+8) elf (+4) troll/minotaur (-4) dragonkin/ogre/centaur (-8) or giant (-15)

Intimidate [CHA]

This skill is rolled against a target's WIS score, plus their level. If successful, the victim will immediately submit to Diplomacy-type demands as long as the intimidating character is still present, and for up to half an hour afterwards.The skill check is modified by the same size category bonus or penalty as the Hide skill.

In combat, this skill can be used as a bonus action to demoralize opponents, forcing them to roll with disadvantage on both accuracy and damage for one round against you.

Judge [WIS]

This skill is used to counter Bluff, Intimidate and any other Charisma tricks by rolling against it at the time of the act occurring, as well as to discern the subtleties of a creature being coerced (DC 15) or under the effect of a charm (DC 20) or mind control (DC 25) spell.

If you succeed the roll by a difference of 5 or less, you get a hunch that they are lying. Any more than that and you can circumstantially deduce their true intent.

Succeeding one Judge roll against a Bluff or Intimidate attempt during combat renders you immune to that creature's future attempts for the rest of the combat encounter.

Knowledge [INT]

Like the Craft skill, Knowledge extends to various different specializations that are each considered an individual skill. The skill allows you to recall the lore of anything concerned with its area of study, or use specific items with Knowledge requirements to operate. Specializations are: Architecture, Geography, History, Machinery, Magic, Nature and Religion.

Roll DC 10 for basic common knowledge. (or to forage for food, if using Nature)

Roll DC 15 for specific trivia. (or to predict weather for 24 hours, if using Nature)

Roll DC 20 for a scholarly lore dump on the chosen subject.

Roll DC 25 to uncover secrets and weaknesses.

Magic Knowledge allows you to roll DC 15 + spell tier to recognize a spell being cast.

Listen [WIS]

Roll DC 5 to hear armor clanking from a creature deliberately trying to walk slowly.

Roll DC 10 to hear an unarmored creature deliberately trying to walk slowly.

Roll DC 15 to hear a rogue/ranger moving silently, whispers or speech* through walls.

Roll DC 20 to hear silent animals like cats stalking, or wing flaps in the air.

*If you beat the DC 10 or more, you can make out what is being said.

Move Silently [AGI]

Refer to the Hide skill. Move silently works the same, except it's checked against Listen.

Furthermore, characters suffer a -2 penalty when walking across a wet surface or rubble, and a -5 penalty when walking across foliage or snow.

Nurse [INT]

Roll DC 10 to use cloth or other first aid tools to stop bleeding and remove physical movement-impairing objects such as thorns or glass shards.

Roll DC 15 to revive a dying character, or to nurse another creature overnight, allowing it to heal twice as much health and heal from non-magical disease.

Roll DC 20 if herbs or medicine are available to treat a disease or counteract poison

Open Lock* [DEX]

A lock is any object that conceals a number of hidden springs which require a uniquely shaped key to move simultaneously. The DC for locks range in difficulty from 20 for simple metal mechanisms to 30 for complex mechanical inlays and 40 for magical contraptions, in increments of 5.

The act requires some sort of narrow solid object to be inserted in place of a key.

Perform [CHA/DEX/AGI]

Like Craft and Knowledge, Perform also extends to many different specializations. Act, Dance, Oratory and Sing rely on Charisma. Play Keyboard, Play Percussion, Play Strings and Play Wind rely on Dexterity. Dance relies on Agility.

A character can roll to perform in a settlement or among a group of strangers in exchange for money, with the results varying in consequence.

<5: The performer is booed.

5-9: Tantamount to begging, the performance is rewarded in coppers.

10-14: An enjoyable performance rewarded in silvers.

15-20: An epic performance rewarded in gold that attracts the attention of nobles.

>25: The performance draws the attention of distant and international patrons.

>30: The performance draws the attention of divine and extraplanar creatures.

NB: While the skill is mostly used for its social benefits, the Bard class is characterized by using these skill checks in place of conventional wizardry to invoke magical effects.

Ride [AGI]

Self-explanatory. Riding a creature ill-made for the task (such as bipedal creatures) or one without a saddle causes a -5 penalty.

While ordinary riding doesn't require any skill checks, special acts such as leaping and turning maneuvers (DC 10) controlling the mount in combat (10 if war-trained, 20 otherwise) and quickly jumping on or off a saddle as a bonus action (DC 20) do.

Search [WIS]

Used to find things in a mess of objects (DC 10+) secret doors (DC 20) detect traps (DC 21+, Dwarf and/or Rogue only) detect illusions (DC 25 + spell rank) and spot creatures in hiding or footprints.

Sleight of Hand* [DEX]

Roll DC 10 to conceal a light object from sight, or DC 20 to pickpocket it from another human being, immediately after which the victim must roll a higher Search value than your score to notice it regardless of whether you succeeded. If the object is palm-sized or smaller, your roll gains a +4 bonus.

Sleight of Hand is performed with no penalty outside combat, otherwise it can be used as a bonus action with a -20 penalty.

Speak Language* [INT]

This skill, much like Craft, Knowledge and Perform, tracks multiple specializations.

By default every sapient character starts the game fluent in their mother tongue (2 points). Due to the cosmopolitan nature of Dunia, all playable races are also conversationally fluent in Common whether naturally or as a lingua franca. (2 points, or 1 point and another free to distribute elsewhere)

1 point: There is no roll to communicate basic information; either you know the language or you don't.

2 points: The starting point for racial mother tongue. This level confers fluency, and allows one to verbally Bluff, use Diplomacy and use the Oratory component of the Perform skill in said language.

5 points: Technical mastery, representing a character who dedicated time to study flowery vocabulary and complex grammatical structure. This allows one to fully understand and produce impressive texts worthy of artists and scholarly elite.

Popular spoken languages:

• Common Karran (a trade tongue born in Southport, not spoken by most races but at least understood on a 1 point level in most civilized places)
• Hylonian, Korak and Ryonian human languages
• Dwarven, Elven (with its Fey, High and Low dialects) and Draconic ancient languages
• Esran (spoken by most Central Karran cultures) and Orcish (cultures of the distant south cape such as Orcs, Gorrans and Ogres)
• Uk'gothian (once the language of the entire southern Karra, now reduced to the jungles)

Dead or rare languages:

• Isyllian (ancient proto-human)
• Sylvan (secret pre-Elven schism language of woodland spirits, cognate with Fey Elven)
• Humlak (language of the giants, cognate with Dwarven)
• Celestial (constructed by upper planar creatures to communicate with creatures that cannot sense divine telepulsing)
• Abyssal (language of demons and the lower planes),
• Simian (language of the Apekin and main trade tongue of the Thousand Isles)
• Elemental (which splits into distinct Air, Water, Earth and Fire dialects)

Use Magic Device [INT]

The ability for a character to channel their will to force a scroll, wand or some other magical item otherwise prohibited from them to function. The character can invoke this skill to force the magical item to bypass a racial requirement, a class requirement or more.

Roll DC 20 to use a magical wand, or to bypass a class requirement

Roll DC 25 to bypass a passphrase or movement or a racial requirement.

Roll DC 30 to bypass an alignment requirement.

Furthermore, if an item requires an attribute value to use higher than you have, you may roll Use Magical Device and add every point over 15 from the result to your attribute for the purpose of using the item.

Failing a Use Magic Device roll by 10 or more causes it to backfire, having a 50% chance of doing 2d6 damage to the user.

Use Rope [DEX]

Many consider tying knots and coiling rope to be an art form in of itself.

Roll DC 10 to tie a knot or secure a grappling hook.

Roll DC 15 to tie a special knot that either slides slowly or comes loose easily, or to splice two ropes into one strong coil.