Covers academic and scholarly topics of interest, particularly the humanities, natural sciences, and mathematics. It also covers scribery and aspects of language (though it does not teach languages).

GM Note: Academia covers a wide variety of topics and can eclipse other ones if you are not careful. Academia specifically covers topics that do not fit better into other skills, which are normally more concerned with theory over practice. Academia gives people very technical, verging on pedantic or semantic, information that may lack a practical application. For example: someone with Academia could tell you how, in theory, to build the best kind of shelter in a desert. Someone with Fieldcraft could actually build one.

You can recall general historical events.

You can recall and apply basic scientific principles and axioms. The typical DC is between Easy (10) and Heroic (30). It’s Easy (10) when you’re trying to recall fundamental physical laws while a Heroic (30) check might be something like recalling the formula to describe interactions between different states of exotic matter.

You can earn a living as a tutor, advisor, researcher, or teacher.

You can solve math or logic problems with this skill. The typical DC is between Easy (10) and Heroic (30). An Easy (10) solves a basic algebraic equation while a Heroic (30) check might involve complex proofs.

You can examine ancient objects and discern their general historical place, importance, and context. For example, you might examine pottery shards to identify which culture and time period some ruins are from. This skill can be used to identify the use and function of ancient objects.

Create Forgery (Int) To create a written forgery (typically of a legal document) you’d use this skill. The result of your forgery is opposed by all who attempt to ascertain if it is real or fake.

(Example: If you got a 20 on your Academia check to create a forgery someone could attempt to detect it as being fake with Investigation. The DC they’d have to beat would be 20.)

You can attempt to ascertain if a document presented as genuine has been falsified. It is opposed by the check made to make the item.

An Average (15) check allows you to quickly jot down a map as you travel. This might be the route through the woods, the path you took through a maze, the general layout of a dungeon you’re exploring, or a sea-chart cataloging your voyage. Certain areas are harder to map, since they lack distinguishing marks or are hard to make out, and thus the DC increases by 5. Any map you make only reflects the area as you traveled through it, and thus cannot reflect any changes that occurred after you left.

An Easy (10) check allows you to accurately record about a minute of speech to text. For every minute after the first increase the DC by 2. Failure means the transcription has errors and omissions. Recording spoken information must be done as the target is speaking or shortly after. To accurately record text to text the DC is still Easy (10). If it is not in a language you speak it jumps to Average (15).

This skill can be used to properly educate and advise others. While anyone can offer advice, this lets you do so as a profession. You might make a check each week to represent how sound your academic advice to a ruler is regarding social and legislative problems or to impart a certain skill, knowledge, or craft to a group of students.

This can be used to translate text from a language you do not know. This requires a DC Dire (25) check for common and cultural languages. If the language is a rare one it is Heroic (30). If it is a dead language (no speakers/writers for a century) it is Legendary (40) or higher. It takes several hours to attempt such a translation and doesn’t guarantee a perfect accurate translation. It gives you “the jist” of it- a general understanding of the text’s concepts but not its specifics (proper names and proper nouns are often unable to be translated at all). Translating something does not teach you the language but may be a good starting point for learning a new language.

This skill represents your trained and practiced ability to balance, jump, dodge, wriggle, and perform acts of flexibility.

Balance (Dex) This is used when attempting to balance on something, avoid falling from a precarious place, or to remain standing on a surface (such as a wet sloped rooftop). Use the Universal DCs to determine how difficult something is. Failing this check causes you to fall, either falling off whatever you were balancing on (if it is too small to support you) or falling prone in your square.

When competing in a sport you make an opposed skill check against your opponent or to indicate how well you did. For sports that rely on endurance, sheer physicality, or power you would use Athletics. For sports that rely on grace, precision, and focus use Acrobatics.

You can wriggle free of restraints with an Acrobatics check. The typical DC for most handcuffs is Average (15) while something of a higher grade is Challenging (20). Something like a full-body restraint might be as high as Heroic (30).

You can control your aerial movement in adverse conditions. The DC to control your flight is generally given by the effect. If you have the ability to fly no special check is required for normal movement. A check is only required under adverse conditions, akin to how you don’t need to make a check to walk or run but would need to make a check to balance on a thin ledge.

When attempting to jump, you use Acrobatics. A character can jump 5 feet (from 1 square to another) without a check.

• Horizontal Jumps: Roll an Acrobatics check. The result is how many feet you jump. Round down to the nearest 5 foot increment.
• Vertical Jump: Roll an Acrobatics check. Cut the result in half. That’s how far up the top of your head reaches above your normal height (allowing you to reach that far up).

When you jump horizontally you move a few feet off the ground, typically avoiding any ground-based traps. You cannot “fail” a jump check but you can only move less than your result. You must have a stable place to make a jump check from (i.e the ground, not mid-air or while swimming, etc)

If there is an object in your way like a fence or boulder you can vault over it without breaking your stride (treating it like it’s not there). Failing this check means you stop your movement the square before the object. An Average (15) check can get you over most things but more difficult things require a Challenging (20) check. If it’s more than 20, it’s probably too much of an impasse for this skill use and probably requires you to go around it or climb over it.

If you fall more than 20 feet, when you hit the ground you take 1 point of force damage for every foot you fell. You can attempt an Acrobatics check to reduce the amount of damage you take by the result of your check. (Example: If you’d take 25 damage from falling and got a 15 on your Acrobatics check you’d take 10 damage instead of 25.)

You can tumble through an enemy’s square, allowing you to move past them, with a Dire (25) DC Acrobatics check. The square they occupy counts as 2 squares of movement. You can also tumble to avoid provoking an attack of opportunity once per turn. The DC is also Dire (25).

This represents your skill at training, interacting with, riding, and communicating with animals. Common Skill Uses

You can learn the properties and weaknesses of animals with this skill.

You can earn a living rearing animals/working in such a profession.

You may improve the attitude of animals by soothing them with this skill.

You can emotionally convey a simple message to an animal. This is a general emotion; typically something that can be summed up in 1-3 simple words (“Peace”, “Helping You”, “Sleep”, “It’s Safe”, etc.).

You can make an Average (15) DC check to correctly judge the attitude of the creature.

You are able to control the movements of another animal in adverse conditions.

You may take a wild animal and attempt to tame it - making it safe to live among humanoids. This means they will generally “stay put”, won’t be spooked by common humanoid sounds or practices, and will not attack them. It also moves their default attitude to neutral with all humanoids. This takes 1 week and a Dire (25) skill check.

You are able to use this skill to train a tame animal to do tricks or impart a conditioned response. You could, for example, train a dog to guard a particular building and bark at intruders (Average (15) DC). At a higher DC you could train a monkey to press a button on command (Dire (25) DC 25). You can only train an animal to do something they are mentally able to accomplish. An animal can only be trained with one trick or general set of skills. Retraining them often confuses them and increases the DC by +10.

You are able to spur your mount to perform special actions without throwing you off.

The aquatic skill covers a number of seafaring techniques as well as knowledge of the ocean and its denizens.

You can learn the properties and weaknesses of ocean-going creatures with this skill.

You can recall info about aquatic creatures, underwater cultures, as well the history of such creatures and cultures. You can also use this skill to recall information on ocean currents, ports, coastlines, navigational hazards, fishing spots, sea-bird migration, and other things related to the sea and sailing.

If you are Exceptional in Aquatic you can ignore any penalties imposed by fighting underwater.

You can fish for food with the proper tools. An Easy (10) check will get you enough fish to feed a person in an hour or two. A Challenging (20) check might get enough to feed a party, and it might take a Heroic (30) check to hook a legendary fish!

You can predict local weather with fair accuracy. An Average (15) check will reveal the weather for the next day, and you can increase the DC by +5 to extend this forecast by an additional day (up to 4 days out). Your forecast does not take into account supernatural weather or magical changes.

You can use this skill to swim. Swimming in a lake probably doesn’t require a skill check but swimming in the ocean might be an Easy (10) or Average (15) check depending on how calm it is. Swimming in difficult conditions like a storm, in giant swells, or in rapids might be anywhere from Challenging (20) to Heroic (30). If you are swimming for an extended period of time you may need to make Swim (Con) checks.

This represents your knowledge of arcane magic, the cosmos ,and esoterica related to strange phenomena.

You can learn the properties and weaknesses of creatures inherently tied to magic (dragons, elementals, fey, oozes, etc) with this skill. You can also identify the properties of magic items. Unlike other skills that identify, Arcane Lore specifically doesn’t tell you how much an item is worth.

Any time you are attempting to recall information on magic itself, it is an Arcane Lore check. This also covers things adjacent to magic like “how can a ghost fly” and supernatural phenomena and other mystic things. It could be an Arcane Lore check to figure out that ectoplasm is what ghosts bleed, to read fortune telling cards, or to predict the alignment of the stars.

You can use this skill to recall information about the various planes of existence, how they all work, and on planar travel.

As a free action, you can attempt a Challenging (20) check to identify a spell being cast. The DC is reduced to Easy (10) if you know the spell. If you do not know the spell you may not be given the spell’s formal name but the GM may tell you what its effect is. A successful check also reveals any metamagics applied to the spell.

If you are Exceptional in Arcane Lore you automatically gain Detect (magic) with a range of 10 feet.

You can blindly activate a magic item with this skill. Once the method of use is known, if it is not automatic, you don’t need to make a check.

Figuring out how to use a particular item may require a check though. Figuring it out takes an hour or so per check. If there is no trick and it can be figured out relatively easily, it is an Average (15) check but if the item is particularly complex it may require a higher DC. One with a hidden switch or unconventional method of activation may require a Challenging (20) check. One with a truly bizarre or highly situational use may require a Dire (25) check. Artifacts typically have very specific activation requirements and are typically Heroic (30).

The athletics skill represents your strength and endurance in physical activities. It overlaps the most with Acrobatics but the key difference is that Acrobatics is about your grace and precision and Athletics is about your sheer physicality.

You can earn a living doing physical, manual, labor or performing in sports or other competitions of physical might or endurance.

You can use this skill to swim. Swimming in a lake probably doesn’t require a skill check but swimming in the ocean might be an Easy (10) or Average (15) check depending on how calm it is. Swimming in difficult conditions like a storm, in giant swells, or in rapids might be anywhere from Challenging (20) to Heroic (30). If you are swimming for an extended period of time you may need to make Swim (Con) checks.

You can use this skill to climb. Climbing something like a ladder under normal conditions doesn’t require a skill check but climbing up a siege ladder while under fire would (Average (15) DC). Scaling a cliff face would probably be an Average (15) to Dire (25) check depending on the material and availability of handholds. Scaling a wall or fortification would likewise pose an Average (15) to Dire (25) check. Truly legendary feats like scaling a sheer surface might be a Heroic (30) check.

While climbing, each square requires 2 squares of movement.

Occasionally feats may require a Climb (Con) check. These checks are more like endurance outdoorsmanship: climbing a mountain with little to no rest could be a Climb (Con) check.

If you want to run for a long period of time you can make a Athletics (Con) check. This covers things like forced marches, marathons, or other tests of endurance linked to movement.

When competing in a sport you make an opposed skill check against your opponent or to indicate how well you did. For sports that rely on endurance, sheer physicality, or power you would use Athletics. For sports that rely on grace, precision, and focus use Acrobatics.

If something requires sheer physical might to lift or drag you can use an Athletics (Str) check to do so instead of a more generalized Strength check. This is only good for short bursts like lifting a dumbbell, holding up a descending stone wall so your teammate can slip through, or holding two ropes together to stop a gale from bursting your riggings.

This is your ability to lie, deceive, fool, or otherwise misrepresent yourself. This is more social and mental in nature than the Stealth skill, which represents one's physical ability to do so. (Bluff is lying, Stealth is hiding.)

You can earn a living using your talent for bending the truth by doing things like performing cons, taking advantage of people’s ignorance, or writing political speeches. Earning a living with this skill is often illegal or at least unsavory. Anything more than petty crime should be roleplayed.

You can bend the truth or invent an outright fabrication. After talking to a creature you can make a Bluff check. A creature can attempt a Will save or a sense motive check via the Investigation skill to spot a lie. If you succeed, the creature accepts your statement as factual, or at least palatable, for 1 minute or until shown evidence to the contrary. Failure means the creature doesn’t accept your statement.

The GM may rule that certain lies are harder to swallow and have an increased DC, and that certain lies are flat out impossible to believe.

You can hide a second meaning in your words, be they spoken or written. Conveying a spoken hidden message requires 1 at least minute of conversation, while crafting a written hidden message takes about 3 minutes.

Creatures attempting to understand an advanced or complex hidden message must have been provided a cipher or meaning key to understand the message. Creatures without a key will recognize the presence of a hidden message but will be unable to decipher it without an Investigation or Politique check at the same DC.

You can copy the mannerisms and speech patterns of someone you know. You must have interacted with or observed the person in question. When you declare the impersonation, make a Bluff check; anyone trying to determine the authenticity of your persona must make an opposed Investigation check (though the GM may allow other skills, such as Perception or Politique).

While this lets you act like someone, making a physical disguise is covered by the Stealth skill.

This skill is related to your ability to survive and thrive in the great outdoors. A character without ranks in Fieldcraft probably finds camping unpalatable and can’t so much as set up a pup-tent let alone fish for their food or start a fire.

You can recall geographic information. You can picture maps in your mind, estimate distances, recall specific dangers in those areas, provide insight into the flow of rivers, and figure out what sort of flora or fauna can be found in certain areas.

You can identify animals and plants.

You can identify the effects of a poison or detect a poison in something (such as food or drink).

You can use this skill to track creatures with physical evidence (footprints, broken twigs, etc). This wouldn’t allow you to track creatures with non-physical means (context clues, inferences, hunches, reviewing documents, and interviewing others)- this specifically applies to tracking based on physical, natural, information and is particularly relevant when tracking animals. If either this or Investigation would apply, use the one you are better at.

You can attempt an Easy (10) Fieldcraft check as 1 action to discern what direction you are facing. You automatically succeed on this if you are Exceptional in Fieldcraft and are constantly aware of your directional orientation.

You can set up a well run camp and manage it. Setting up a camp for an entire party is an Easy (10) check that normally doesn’t require any special roll if you’re at least Skilled in Fieldcraft. Not setting up a proper camp means you and your party are exposed to the elements and may not fully recover.

Setting up a temporary shelter that can protect you from inclement weather is an Average (15) check and building a permanent shelter from the wilderness is a Challenging (20) check. It may take hours or days to make such shelters.

You can find food, if there is food to be found, in the wilds. Finding food takes 30 minutes to an hour. If you pass an Easy (10) check you get enough food to feed 1 person for 1 day and for every 3 you beat it by, you get enough food for 1 additional person. This might involve scavenging for berries, fishing, hunting small game, locating edible plants, etc. A successful check also involves preparing food so that it’s edible. It may not taste good if you are preparing a meal with Fieldcraft, but at least you won’t die.

You can use natural signs to predict the weather. An Easy (10) check gets you the weather for the next 24 hours, an Average (15) check gets you the next few days, and a Challenging (20) gives you the weather for the next week. This information is correct unless something changes it (magic, a god, some previous unknowable but dramatic complication, etc). Your information is only for the general region around you (anything within a few day’s walk).

You can attempt an Average (15) check to obscure your tracks in the wild. Doing so increases the DC of checks made to track you and your party by +5.

This skill is primarily concerned with your ability to impose your will on someone forcefully. It is rarely kind or considerate, though it can be employed politically or used judiciously.

You can influence a creature’s attitude with overt or subtle threats of harm, violence, or personal misfortune. This also covers blackmail and extortion. If you use Intimidate to improve someone’s attitude the effects do not last long, generally only so long as you are threatening them. Once that ends their attitude towards you worsens. Unlike normal attempts to influence a creature, Intimidate can be used in combat.

You can establish order and issue commands. As an action, make an Intimidate check (typically a Dire (25) DC, but the GM may adjust). If you succeed, all allied creatures within 30 feet that can hear you have any fear effects suppressed until the end of their next turn so long as they are generally following the orders you bark at them. (Example: “Get off your butts and fight!” would suppress the fear effect so long as they fight.)

You can force your will upon other creatures, ordering them to do as you say. Using an Influence action (which takes 2 actions) you can make an Intimidate check opposed by a Will save from the target. If you succeed, the creature treats your order as a reasonable request and attempts to carry it out so long as they aren’t hostile. However, the creature’s attitude towards you worsens by one step (this has no bearing on whether or not they do the task). This is a mind-affecting, language-dependent effect.

You can break the spirit of your foes, rendering them unwilling to fight you. As an action, select a signal target and make an Intimidate check opposed by a Will save from the target. If you succeed, the creature becomes scared of you for 1 round. This is a mind-affecting effect. A creature who successfully resists your demoralization cannot be demoralized again by you for 24 hours.

If you are least Exceptional in Intimidate, creatures you successfully scare must spend 1 action each turn moving away from you. This effect lasts as long as the creature remains scared by you.

You can goad a creature who is suffering from a bout of rage or fear (or similar emotion) into fixating on you. As an action, make an Intimidate check against such a creature. If they fail an opposed Will save they are compelled to take a hostile action towards you on their next turn. This also works on creatures who have -1 or less Intelligence, regardless of their emotional state. A creature who makes their save is immune to your goading for 24 hours.

Your skill at Investigation represents your reasoning, witt, ability to read people, ability to solve puzzles, and your ability to discern hidden information. If you’re skilled in Investigation you don’t miss anything and are hard to fool.

You can track a person of interest through context clues, inferences, hunches, reviewing documents, and interviewing others. You can’t use this to track by physical evidence alone (that is Fieldcraft). You could use this to track down a hideout via financial records and gossip but not a fleeing suspect. If either this or Fieldcraft would apply, use the one you are better at.

You can attempt to ascertain if something presented as genuine is indeed fake. This may be a painting, a legal document, or any other mundane item. It is opposed by the check made to make the item.

This allows you to search for something in particular. See “Searching” in the adventuring section of this book.

If you’ve lost the plot and aren’t really sure what to do next you can use this skill to get a hint from your GM as to where to go. A hunch is a hail mary- you take some time (typically about 1-15 minutes) to go over everything you know and see if you can make sense of anything. A result of 15 will typically get you on the right track while a result of 20 will give you a more concrete plan of action. You need to focus on a specific challenge or situation when trying to get a hunch.

You can gauge if someone has ulterior motives based on information and evidence. This can be used to oppose a check made to lie, instead of a Will save.

It can also be used to figure out someone’s general motives for a statement. A merchant may offer to sell you weapons on the cheap without telling you a lie but you can make a check to sense their motive and ascertain that they probably stole the weapons or got them illegally. This is a Average (15) check, though a creature can attempt an opposed Bluff check. Success means you get the general motivation of a creature for an action. Failure means you don’t detect anything conclusive, but you are still allowed to have whatever suspicions you already have.

You can attempt a Challenging (20) check to see if someone is under a mind-affecting effect or not. This gives no special insight into what it is, just that they are under the influence of something else.

This skill represents your knowledge of and skill in the medical profession. You might be a rural healer with knowledge of herbs and salves or a properly trained physician but the result is often the same- you can mend the body, cure illnesses, and purge toxins. Depending on how you approach medicine you can use either Intelligence or Wisdom.

You can earn a living as a healer, herbalist, apothecary, doctor, caretaker, or other medical professional.

You can recall information on diseases, medical practices, famous doctors, various kinds of toxins, medical tools and apparatus, and information about the biology of common humanoid creatures.

You can identify the effects of a poison or detect a poison in something (such as food or drink).

By taking 5 minutes to examine a creature, you can determine if they are suffering from a poison or disease. Make a Medicine (Challenging (20) DC, rarer afflictions have a higher DC). If you succeed you are able to identify any natural afflictions the creature is suffering from.

By taking 5 minutes and expending 1 dose of medicine you can heal someone for an amount of HP equal to the result of your Medicine check.

By taking 5 minutes to examine a corpse, you can attempt to determine the cause of death. Make a Medicine check (DC 15 + 2 per day). The GM may adjust the DC for common or rare sources.

You can take a full round action and administer 1 dose of medicine to a dead creature who died within the last minute. The DC is Heroic (30). If you are successful they are restored to 0 HP.

You can attend to a dying creature. As a full round action, you dedicate all your attention to them and make an Easy (10) Medicine check. If you are successful, you can roll 1 Hero Dice to add to their Fortitude saves against death.

By taking 5 minutes and expending 1 dose of medicine you can attempt to cure someone’s disease or poison. The DC of the skill check is equal to the DC of the save of the disease or poison. If successful, the effects of the poison or disease ends.

This skill covers your ability to trade, apprise goods, barter, manage a business, and knowledge of commerce.

You can earn a living as a merchant or trader.

You can identify any item. If successful, you get the item’s value but not its function. You can also use this skill to identify things like services.

You can recall information on business matters, famous merchants/traders, trade routes, trade restrictions and laws, where items are produced, and trivia about common trade goods, etc.

A savvy merchant doesn’t pay marked up prices on black market goods (rather than 3-5x the normal price). Buying black market goods carries its only problems however.

You can use this skill in instances where your knowledge of military protocol, tactics, and the weapons of war is relevant.

You can determine the common weaknesses and abilities of humanoid creatures, and recognize military standards, heraldry, and signs of military rank.

You can identify the use and worthiness of found weapons and armor. This gives no indication of their monetary value, instead focusing on their ability to work in combat. It specifically gives the weapon’s profile as well as weapon qualities it possesses.

You are able to recall information related to notable historic battles, wars, and sieges. Additionally, you can recall information about famous/infamous soldiers, famed generals, military tyrants, the rules of warfare, tactics, and notable weapons.

This represents your overall awareness of your surroundings, and your ability to spot things hidden or out of place.

You are able to spot the tell-tale signs that give away hidden creatures, objects (including traps), and passageways. This is typically a Challenging (20) DC, though creatures actively trying to hide instead make an opposed Stealth check to remain hidden. A GM may increase or decrease the DC as needed or desired. This check is against one specific hidden thing (not a “general check”).

Success on a roll doesn’t reveal the exact location of hidden creatures or objects, but instead confirms their presence and gives the rough direction they are relative to you.

A GM may limit a Perception check to a particular sense, such as a visual, auditory, or smell-based check. Creatures with the appropriate Keen Sense ability increase their proficiency by 1 step for the check, and creatures lacking the appropriate sense can’t make the check.

If you are attacked while unaware, as a reaction you may attempt a Challenging (20) Perception check. If you succeed, you aren't unaware until the start of your next turn.

This allows you to search for something in particular. See “Searching” in the adventuring section of this book.

Your ability to perform artistic displays is governed by this skill. This covers all forms of physical artistry: music, dance, song, comedy, theater, poetry, etc.

Perform is a singular skill. A player should specify what their main method of performance is but it does cover a large array of related skills and some leeway should be given. For example a musician might also be able to sing and dance, a thespian could probably recite poetry pretty well, the dancer might have a favorite instrument they play, etc. The higher their proficiency with this skill, the more leeway you should give them: an Exceptional musician can probably sing, dance, and can probably hold their own on the stage.

You can earn a living as a performer.

You can recall information on artistic subjects such as famous artists, the date a specific painting was made, famous lines from plays, the art of past civilizations, which play is popular, etc.

As part of a rest (or by doing ~30 min performance) you can increase the amount of Hero Dice recovered by resting creatures by 1. To achieve this you must make a Challenging (20) Perform check.

This skill covers crafts or vocational skills you have. When you select this skill, select 1 profession that this skill will apply to. An example would be Profession (Blacksmith). Your use of this skill expressly applies to that profession. What ability modifier it used is determined by your vocation:

• Charisma: This is typically used for things that require social comprehension, artistry, or charm. Professions like public speakers, painters, sculptors, politicians, and courtesans would use Charisma.
• Intelligence: An Intelligence-based profession requires intellectual or academic intelligence. Common Intelligence-based professions include bankers, clerks, scientists, librarians, midwives, and architects.
• Wisdom: If a profession requires Wisdom it probably requires cunning, insight, and/or empathy. This covers stablehands, cooks, managers, law enforcement, writers, shepherds, etc.
• If a profession doesn’t fit neatly under another mental ability modifier, use Wisdom. If it falls under multiple, use whichever mental ability modifier you’d like (with your GM’s approval).
• Common Skill Uses

You can earn a living in your profession.

You can recall information about your specific job: people, hierarchies, specifics, laws, best practices, etc.

You can identify items produced by your profession.

One’s Politique skill describes how adept they are in social situations, in political matters, and how well-versed they are in things like law and nobility.

You can influence a creature’s attitude with flattery, honeyed words, and general banter.

You can recognize persons of importance, the crest of noble families, and other items of political or noble importance. This also represents your understanding of political theory and humanoid customs.

You can call up information about a region’s laws, cultural values, taboos, and societal norms. Other Skill Uses

You can attempt to cause a creature to like something more. This could be making a specific political candidate look more appealing, convincing them to shop at one shop rather than another, or enticing them to spend money at a specific inn. This is done like you are trying to improve their attitude towards you: a creature can be hostile, neutral, or helpful towards an idea.

You can spend 10 minutes trying to convince someone to change their opinion on something. A Polique check, opposed by their Will save, will improve their attitude towards whatever you are trying to change their opinion on. A creature’s attitude can only be moved 1 step in this fashion per week.

If you spend a few hours you can gather information from the general public. This might involve you gossiping with some of the courtiers, bragging down at the tavern, or just listening to the gossip in the market square for an hour while talking to the vendors.

This particular skill use should not be used in lieu of roleplaying if you are talking with a specific individual, but instead is meant to be used when you are “casting a wide net” and sourcing your information from the general public. The information you seek must be known to the people you are speaking with.

Results

• An Easy (10) check gets you what the common thoughts and fears of the general populace are (“What would appear in the headlines of a newspaper in this area?”).
• An Average (15) check gets you gossip on specific people, groups, or situations you are interested in (“What would a gossip magazine have on this?”).
• A Challenging (20) check will get you specific and useful knowledge of whatever you are looking into (“What would an interview with someone familiar to the situation yield?”).
• A Dire (25) or higher result could get you compromising or otherwise private information on what you are looking into (“What would a governmental report on the matter reveal?”).

This skill is used to represent your understanding of the divine. It covers things like rituals, deities, divine servants, morality, and the cosmos.

You can earn a living as a priest or religious figure.

You can learn the properties and weaknesses of creatures inherently tied to the divine, such as outsiders, with this skill.

You are able to recall information about gods, outsiders, relics, and matters related to organized religions. The more heretical or secret the knowledge, the higher the DC.

This skill also covers matters of morality and philosophy. This does not grant you absolute knowledge of good and evil but might give you insight into how various divine powers or earthly philosophies might view a situation.

You can use this skill to recall information about the various planes of existence, how they all work, and on planar travel.

As a free action, you can attempt a Challenging (20) Religion check to identify a spell being cast. The DC becomes Easy (10) if you know the spell. If you do not know the spell you may not be given the spell’s formal name but the GM may tell you what its effect is.

You can communicate with a divine power you serve. This takes 10 minutes to prepare and generally only allows you to ask a handful of questions. Communing is a Challenging (20) Religion check that may only be attempted once per day.

The answers you get are up to the GM and may be vague and mysterious (as divine entities often are). The answer may not come directly from a divine power you serve but from one that serves them. This is particularly the case with clerics who follow the divine tempest; they will likely receive a response from an outsider who serves them directly. Those who follow one of the New Gods (like a warlock) may in fact receive direct communication from their patron (though not always). Information received is based on the information known to the being you speak to.

The stealth skill covers all manner of physical concealment, misdirection, and obfuscation.

Interfere, Steal.

You can earn a living by pickpocketing and performing minor burglary. Earning a living with this skill is often illegal or at least unsavory. Anything more than petty crime should be roleplayed.

This skill allows you to hide from others. You can attempt the Hide action while moving up to half your speed. You gain the “hidden” condition so long as there is sufficient cover to provide it.

You may use Stealth while attempting the Steal combat maneuver. This skill use also governs your ability to generally steal from creatures outside of combat. Typically you are only able to grab items in a place where they can be easily accessed (you can snag something out of a pocket but not buried deep in a bag). It is typically opposed by a Perception or Investigation check.

A Stealth check allows you to make an object no larger than your palm that is held in your hand “disappear”. Such an object is deftly moved to another place on your body (often up a sleeve, in your pocket, etc). This covers a lot of sleight of hand and basic legerdemain skills. This is typically opposed by a Perception or Investigation check.

This allows you to make a convincing physical disguise. This might allow you to put together an outfit that makes you look like a particular noble, a costume that looks like a monster, making a horse look like a zebra, or even a cart look like a dragon. Disguising something requires some resources (a fake nose, glue, paint, etc).

When you attempt to disguise something, make a Stealth check. This is the DC of the check someone would have to beat, typically with an Investigation or Perception check, to see through your disguise. For context an Average (15) result is a passable disguise that will fool your average person while a Dire (25) result is seamless. A GM may rule that certain dramatic changes (like adding feet to your height or making a bucket look like a living creature) have a minimum DC you must make.

While this provides a physical disguise you’ll probably need to use another skill like Bluff, Politique, or even Perform (actor) to impersonate your target if they have unique mannerisms and knowledge.

You can attempt an Average (15) Stealth check to obscure your tracks in the wild. Doing so increases the DC of checks made to track you and your party by 10.

This skill covers your knowledge of modern technology, its uses, the principles of engineering, and your ability to repair complex objects like machines. Note: The name of this skill is commonly abbreviated to “Tech. Lore”.

You can use this skill to recognize the presence of traps.

You can learn the properties and weaknesses of constructs and other mechanical creations with this skill.

You can identify items with a Tech. Lore requirement. You do so automatically if the required level of proficiency is equal to your own. (Example: You’d automatically recognize a heavy crossbow if you were Skilled in Technology Lore as a heavy crossbow requires you to be Skilled in Tech. Lore.)

You can use this skill to gain special insight into a trap that you have detected. A successful check will tell you the general properties and effect of the trap. The DC to identify a trap is the same as it is to spot it. You do not need to identify a trap to attempt to disable it. Identifying a trap takes about 5 minutes of careful and upfront scrutiny. This also gives you their value.

You can identify rare metals, exotic woods, and other unusual crafting and building materials, along with their applied properties.

You can recall information on engineering and scientific principles as well as famous scientists and engineers. This also gives you insight into architectural matters such as buildings, architecture, forts, etc.

This is the skill you use to disable a trap or a lock that you have already spotted. The DC of the check is described on the trap. This takes 1 minute.