Skills

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<metadesc>Grim and gritty D&D campaign with tones of dark fantasy. Uses alternative D&D 3.G rules for free-form character creation.</metadesc>

Skills in Post-myth work exactly like in Pathfinder, but with a bit more versatility.


Getting the most out of skills

Skills have multiple uses, and many support each other in one way or another. Some skills' uses can be expanded and taken to new heights by acquiring certain Powers.

Some skills give bonuses to others: these are called synergies. For every 5 ranks you achieve in such a skill, you get a +2 bonus to certain other skills. Ex: if you have 10 ranks in Handle Animal, you will get +4 bonus to Ride.

Training in some skills can provide an edge in combat, by allowing certain maneouvers and strategies. Those exemplified below are just a baseline: players are encouraged to find other creative uses for their skills (for instance, using Acrobatics in combat to allow for sommersaulting airborne attacks, or Sense Motive to perceive a target's occupation and abilities from physical cues). Depending on how powerful the ability is, it may be required for the character to expend skill points on a Power to learn how to apply the skill in such a way. The D&D 3.5 ‘Tome of Battle: Book of Nine Swords' (for maneouvers) and 'Complete Scoundrel' (for skill tricks) are good sources to look for inspiration.


Acrobatics (Dex)

  • Resist Trip: roll Acrobatics on your combat maneuver roll instead of CMD to resist Trip and Overrun attacks. If you succeed, you don’t get an Attack of Opportunity against your opponent, however.


Bluff (Cha)

Use this skill to deceive others, to look inconspicuous or to trick your opponent in combat.

  • Feinting: as move action, make a Bluff check against DC target’s opposed Sense Motive check + his Melee Attack. If successful, target loses his Dex to AC against you, until the end of your next turn.
  • Create diversion & hide: as move action, make a Bluff check against target’s opposed Sense Motive. If successful, it allows you to hide from that target while being observed, using the Stealth skill (as long as there is a place of cover within reach), until its next turn.
  • Tail someone: used in conjunction with Stealth, you can try to follow a target without alerting him to the fact. If he spots you, you can use a Bluff check against his Sense Motive check to try and look innocuous.


Climb (Str)

Use this skill to climb surfaces (or scamper onto large opponents).

  • Piggy-backing: only works for targets 2 or more size categories larger than you. As a standard action, make a touch attack against the target, which provokes an attack of opportunity. If you manage to grab your target, you can scramble onto it by making a Climb check DC20 (with penalties or bonuses depending how easy it is to grab, ex: scales vs slimy skin). While you are riding your target, he loses its Dex to AC against you. You maintain your Dex to AC against your target, but suffer a -2 penalty against any other opponents. It can, however, try to throw you off with a successful Grapple check: you can oppose this check with either a Climb or Grapple check. If the target manages to toss you off by winning an opposed check, you land prone on an adjacent square. If he wins by more than 5, he grabs you and both of you are now grappling normally.


Craft (Int) alchemy

You can use Craft(alchemy) to create several useful items, essentially building up ammunition to use in missions. You can also use it to synthesize drugs and some poisons.

You can craft as much as 20gp x your total modifier on Craft(alchemy) per period of downtime. See Pathfinder's equipment webpage or the links above for drugs and poisons, for details on each item’s price.

Acid

Alchemical Grease

Alchemical Solvent

Alchemist’s Kindness

Beffudler (a pungent liquid that applies a -2 penalty on Int, Wis and Cha-based rolls for 1min, Fort DC15 negates, 25gp)

Fireworks (all kinds) : these are powerful projectile weapons

Gas, Gnomish Sleep

Grenade, fuse : this is a potent explosive

Ink (all kinds)

Liquid Ice

Marker dye

Oil, Alchemist’s Fire

Oil, Keros

Ooze grease

Powder, Flash : these are good for escaping purposes

Powder, Itching

Powder, Sneezing

Powder, Enfeebling (acrid powder that renders targets fatigued for 1min when inhaled, Fort DC15 negates, 30gp)

Silversheen

Smelling Salts

Smoke pellet : these are good for escaping purposes

Smokestick

Sunrod

Tanglefoot Bag : these are very good for immobilizing an oppponent

Thunderstone

Tindertwig

Vermin repellent

Water Purification Sponge


Diplomacy (Cha)

You can use this skill to sway other’s opinions, and to motivate your allies in combat.

  • Haggle: you can use Diplomacy to convince someone to sell products at lower cost. To do so, you must improve that individual’s attitude to helpful.
  • Rally: you can rally your allies during battle, improving their confidence via a particularly moving speech or warcry, by making a Diplomacy check DC20 + average CR of the encounter, as a move action. If successful, they gain a +1 morale bonus on attacks and checks, with an additional +4 bonus against fear effects, along with a free saving throw against any fear effect they may already be suffering from. This bonus lasts until the end of the encounter, or until the character responsible for the rally is incapacitated in some way (not necessarily unconscious, but in a clearly helpless situation).


Heal

  • Forensics: a Heal check on a corpse may indicate several details of how, when and with what it was killed, depending on how high the result is. For every day that passes, the DC may increase, depending on the nature of death.


Intimidate

  • Demoralize opponents: when you successfully demoralize an opponent, if it was already suffering from a fear effect (shaken, frightened, etc), his fear increases to the next state (from shaken to frightened to panicked).


Linguistics

  • Learning new languages: speaking several languages is very important because each race, within itself, speaks several languages and dialects.


Knowledge(engineering)

  • Improvise materials: whenever you are short of any tools kit or raw materials, as long as you can make use of items found in a household or an armory, you can scrap up enough materials to make use of skills that otherwise would need them. This allows you to substitute for the need of a trapsmith kit, alchemical supplies or any kind of tool that could be used to grant a bonus to a skill. You must succeed on a DC18 skill check to be able to use this ability, and can only benefit from it once in any given situation.
  • You can use Knowledge(engineering) to build mechanical traps or construct siege engines.

Some traps require prior assembly before they can be brought to the field, others can be built on the spot in a very short time (5-10min). For the latter, the materials you will need are listed. Often you’ll need a trapsmith kit (includes wires, nails springs and other small gizmos).

If you have them at hand, you may add poisons or alchemical substances to the trap, as long as they are feasible. You can also invent your own traps from materials you have at hand.

Depending on your total modifier on the skill, you are able to build traps of different complexity. For every point your total modifier is higher than the required to build a certain trap, you can increase its Perception and Disable Device checks by 1 point as well.


The following lists available mechanical traps by total modifier necessary on Knowledge(engineering), and the materials you ned to set it up:

5Alarm (rope or string, 1 bell per 10ft of string or rope) Perception or Disable DC20. triggers bells, Ref DC15 to avoid.

5Tripwire (rope) Perception DC16. Ref DC15 to avoid falling prone.

5Arrow Trap (a crossbow & crossbow bolts, trapsmith kit)

5 - Poisoned Dart Trap (blowgun, darts, trapsmith kit)

5 - Swinging Axe Trap (a work axe or battleaxe, trapsmith kit) can be substituted for any kind of sharp weapon

5Tresspasser’s Boot (wood, saw, several pointed objects the size of darts)

7Dispenser (any breakable pellet, powder, poison or liquid substance in a container; trapsmith kit) Perception or Disable DC25. Ref save to avoid, but use DC of substance for the effect.

7Scorcher (Keros oil, flint and steel, trapsmith kit) Perception or Disable DC25. 2d6 fire damage in 5ft radius, Ref DC15 for half damage.

7Net trap (a net, rope) Perception DC25. Ref DC20 to avoid becoming entangled.

7Spear Trap (a spear, trapsmith kit)

7Javelin Trap (a javelin, trapsmith kit)

7Rock Deadfall (several rocks of at least Small size, trapsmith kit)

7Rigged Rope bridge (no material needed, you just know how to weaken one and conceal the tampering).

7Bear Trap (must be built during downtime)

9 – Door Spikes (a door, pointed objects at least 1ft in length, trapsmith kit)

9 – Deadfall (several rocks of at least Small size, trapsmith kit)

13Scorcher, Great (3 flasks of Keros oil, flint and steel, trapsmith kit) Perception or Disable DC25. 5d6 fire damage in 10ft radius, Ref DC17 for half damage.


To use Knowledge(engineering) to construct siege engines you can use on adventures, you can build any siege engine during downtime with a cost up to 40gp x your total modifier on Knowledge(engineering).

For it to be useful, however, you need some way to carry it. Most engines will have to be carried to the field disassembled and put together on solid ground, but light ballistas can be fitted to a big wagon and carried around fully assembled. Large engines take 1h and 4 people to assemble, with larger ones requiring longer and more people.

Siege engines can be useful if combat is expected and planned for, and works best against large enemies. Any sort of alchemical payload can also be loaded for firing.


Profession(herbalist)

Profession(herbalist) gives synergy bonus to Heal.

You also know how to harvest and prepare many substances that create useful effects, some even bordering on the supernatural. You can prepare as much as 20gp x your total modifier on Profession(herbalist) worth of substances per period of downtime.

If you are in the field, you can locate a given herb, plant or fungus with a successful Profession(herbalist) check DC = 15 + (10 per every 10gp in the item's price). This takes generally 1h in a wooded area, but may take longer depending on the natural environment.

See Pathfinder's equipment list for details on each item’s price.


Antiplague

Antitoxin

Bloodblock : stops bleedings

Bodybalm

Healy Myrr

Herb/plant, Allnight : removes the effects of fatigue

Herb/plant, Bachelor Snuff

Herb/plant, Clear ear

Herb/plant, Flayleaf : smoking it renders you immune to pain for a short period

Herb/plant, Night tea

Herb/plant, Pesh : addictive stimulant (use Adventurer's Armory version)

Herb/plant, Barbarian chew

Herb/plant, tobacco

Herb/plant, Woundweal

Incense, Healing

Incense, Restful

Musk, Kaava : marks creatures with a strong smell

Soothe syrup

Terrap sap, distilled

Troll Styptic : powerful healing and antibleeding brew


Stealth

  • Sniping: Remember that, while the penalty is steep (-20 to hide after shooting), the opponent gets a -1 to his Perception check for every 10ft of distance: so if you shoot from 100ft away, the penalty to Stealth is effectively only -10, and if he was distracted, only -5.
  • Tail someone: used in conjunction with Bluff, you can try to follow a target without alerting him to the fact. You must move between places of cover, and make a Stealth check every 10min or so to avoid being spotted. If you are indeed spotted, you can try to look innocuous with a Bluff check. You can also use this skill to disappear into a crowd.


Survival

You can use Survival to build simple traps with materials at hand in the wilds. The materials you will need are listed. Often you’ll need rope or string. If you possess them, you may add poisons or alchemical substances to the trap, as long as they are feasible. You can also invent your own traps from materials you have at hand.

Depending on your total modifier on the skill, you are able to build traps of different complexity. For every point your total modifier is higher than the required to build a certain trap, you can increase its Perception and Disable Device checks by 1 point as well.


5Alarm (rope or string, 1 bell per 10ft of string or rope) Perception or Disable DC20. triggers bells, Ref DC15 to avoid.

5Tripwire (rope) Perception DC18. Ref DC15 to avoid falling prone.

5Pit Trap (a shovel to dig, branches or debris of some kind to hide the pit)

5Noose (rope, branches or other propping material to hold the rope)

5Spiked Snare (rope, branches, thick branches you’ll neeed to sharpen, tall tree or structure) snares a target upside down into the air into a set of spikes

7Spiked pit trap (a shovel to dig, branches or debris of some kind to hide the pit, thick branches you’ll neeed to sharpen)

7Net trap (a net, rope) Perception DC25. Ref DC20 to avoid becoming entangled.

9Deadfall (several rocks of at least Small size, trapsmith kit)

11Catapult Snare (rope, branches, thick branches you’ll neeed to sharpen, tall but flexible tree)


--Nuno (talk) 02:29, 6 August 2012 (BST)