Earthdawn Revisited - Skills

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There are 25 skills: Many of these have been changed or adapted from the core version of Savage Worlds.

Academics (Smarts)
Academics reflects knowledge of the liberal arts, social sciences, literature, history, archaeology, and similar fields. If an adept wants to remember the date of the first founding of Parlainth or cite a line from the Books of Harrow, this is the skill to have.

Animal Handling (Spirit)
It is said that before people descended into the Caers, animals held an innate fear and respect for name-givers. Only striking them when sick, injured or when backed into a corner. However in the centuries that name-giver civilizations spent beneath the Earth, many species were twisted or confused by the Horrors and they no longer respect or fear name-givers. So Animal Handling is an important skill for re-domesticating animals. Whilst riding horses are usually already trained, wild animals and magical beasts require careful handling to avoid startling them to violence and need prolonged training before they can be ridden or used for domestic purposes. Animals are treated like NPCs and usually roll on the Reaction Table to determine their starting disposition, but at a -2. Animals that have a Neutral or uncooperative attitude will usually flee. Animal Handling can modify this by 1 level with a success and 2 levels with a raise. Training an animal requires a week or more and magical beasts tend to have a penalty to this roll.

Athletics (Agility)
Athletics combines an individual’s coordination with learned skills such as climbing, jumping, balancing, wrestling, skiing, swimming, throwing, or catching. Characters who rely on physical power more than coordination can take the Brute Edge (page 38) to link this skill to Strength instead of Agility.

Battle (Smarts)
Battle is an individual’s command of strategy and tactics. It can be used for general military knowledge and is critical when commanding troops in Mass Battles (see page 131).

Common Knowledge (Smarts)
Characters roll Common Knowledge to know people, places, and things of Barsaive and the world beyond, including etiquette, geography, culture, popular stories, contacts, and customs.

Communication (Smarts)
Most people in Barsaive speak the Dwarven trade tongue of Throalic, Though numerous other languages also exist, people who speak the same language don’t need rolls to be understood normally. However Communicating through a language barrier or under certain circumstances however requires more skill.


 * Unable to use language - Either due to a language barrier or being deafened or unable to speak you sometimes need to express yourself. This allows you to pantomime, gesture, and otherwise express yourself wordlessly. A success communicates a general idea whilst a raise allows you to express the exact sentiment.
 * Writing - Sometimes you need to communicate a lot of information without misunderstanding, For example carrier pigeons are not uncommon but the paper used must be very small and so there is limited amount of space to write on. Or a letter must be written that infers information without outright stating it.
 * Etiquette - In unfamiliar communities speaking without causing offence is an art-form of its own. This helps avoid cultural taboos and sensitive topics or allow you to discuss normally delicate subjects without causing problems by speaking around a subject through metaphors and examples.

Evasion (Agility)
Adventurers are invariably in peril from falling rocks to angry beasts and enemy blades. This is the skill of getting out of the way of all of those. This skill dictates your parry score.

Healing (Smarts)
Healing has multiple uses, from treating Wounds to diagnosing diseases and analyzing certain kinds of forensic evidence. See page 96 for rules on mending and treating Wounds, and page 128 for treatment of disease or poison.

Forensics: Whilst not a formally taught subject, a skilled healer can also analyze evidence that relates to anatomical trauma, including cause and time of death, angle of attack, and similar matters. Success provides basic information and a raise increases the details uncovered.

Investigation (Smarts)
Whilst the Notice skill covers passive perception. Investigation is used for searching for clues in a methodical fashion conducting. It can be used for many things from conducting interviews and canvasing a neighbourhood to searching a room for hidden compartments and checking business ledgers for missing funds.

Manipulation (Spirit)
Used to push people's buttons, covers gambling, taunting, misdirection and trickery.

In combat this can be used to either intimidate an enemy in to give up the fight and flee or taunt them with attacks a person’s pride through ridicule, cruel jests, or one-upmanship. to focus all their efforts on you.

Manipulation is an opposed roll resisted by the opponent’s Smarts. In combat, this is a Test (see page 108 - This is a way to hinder your foes through verbal attacks. If the attacker wins the opposed roll, they can choose to make their foe Distracted or Vulnerable (see page 100). If they wins with a raise, the target is also Shaken or there may be other subjective effects as the GM allows.

Out of combat, a success means the defender

backs down, slinks away, or starts a fight. A raise might leave the victim cowed or mindlessly enraged for the remainder of the scene, or make her storm out of the area fuming or even in tears, or attack her tormentor recklessly (perhaps with a Wild Attack on the first round of combat). A Critical Failure means the target is immune to this character’s Manipulations for the remainder of the encounter.

Networking: Manipulation can also be used as a “macro” skill to simulate several hours of working the streets. See Networking on page 133 to see how to crack some heads for favors or information or lure a foe out with challenges.

Melee (Agility)
Melee covers all hand-to-hand (melee) attacks, whether it’s with fists, axes, swords, or martial arts. See Chapter Three for the combat rules and the various maneuvers a warrior might attempt.

Notice (Smarts)
Notice is a hero’s general awareness and alertness. It’s used to sense sights, sounds, tastes, and smells, spot clues, detect ambushes, spot hidden weapons on a foe, or tell if a rival is lying, frightened, happy, etc.

Success conveys basic information—the character hears movement in the forest, smells distant smoke, or senses someone isn’t being completely truthful. A raise grants more detail, such as the direction of a sound or odor or what topic a person is avoiding or lying about.

Occult (Smarts)
Occult reflects knowledge and experience with the magical and supernatural elements of the world. It can be used to decipher strange pictograms, recall information about horrors and magical beasts, remember cures for monstrous maladies like possession, or perform certain types of rituals. This can also be used to find clues in repositories of knowledge such as libraries or archives (This can be used as a research skill for magical-related matters).

Performance (Spirit)
A good entertainer can lift the spirits, rally a crowd to action, or simply earn a few coins from the locals. Specifics depend on the situation, setting, and how well the character is known in the area.

Performance covers basic singing, acting, or similar tasks that require an audience to appreciate, although Secondary skills are needed to do anything that requires practice. You can’t play an instrument you’ve never tried before and expect to sound good. So you would get a -2 in such situations.

Raising Funds: The amount of money a character can raise by performing is extremely subjective, but as a general rule a successful performance raise about 10 silver in a village or as much as 30 silver coins in a city (potentially double that with a raise). The GM can multiply this amount by the performer’s Rank if she feels it’s appropriate. These numbers work for typical performers who might be known in a small establishment or area. Larger performances can greatly boost the performer’s fee, but also require more time, energy, and setup.

Deception: Performance can be used instead of Persuasion or Manipulation (see the Deception Sidebar)

Persuasion (Spirit)
Persuasion is the ability to convince others to do what you want through reason, cajoling, deception, rewards, or other friendly means. Persuasion isn’t mind control. A success will persuade somebody to make minor concessions, whilst a raise will grant more serious boons. When used to Support allies (page 106)

it’s an unopposed roll. If the target is resistant, it’s an opposed roll vs. the target’s Spirit. The GM should modify the roll as she sees fit based on roleplaying, any pertinent Edges or Hindrances that affect the conversation, and the circumstances.

Reaction Level: How much a person is willing to cooperate depends largely on their attitude toward whoever’s talking to them. The Game Master can decide how nonplayer characters feel based on the setting, or roll on

the Reaction Table (see sidebar) if she has no preconceived notions. This initial reaction can be changed with a Socialise roll first which can make persuasion attempts easier.

Piloting (Agility)
Characters with this skill can handle most any boat or ship whether in the air or in the water as modern airships are built to resemble their nautical counterparts. They also know how to handle common tasks associated with their vessel such as tying knots, rigging sails, or following currents. Rules for Chases and vehicular combat can be found in Chapter Four.

A being with the innate ability to fly (that has wings, for example) uses Athletics instead.

Repair (Smarts)
Repair is the ability to repair and maintain equipment when you don’t otherwise have an appropriate Craft skill. How long a Repair roll takes is up to the GM and the complexity of the task. Fixing a Wound on a row-boat might take an hour. Fixing a Wound on a ship might take four hours if the character wants it painted, polished, etc. Success means the item is functional. A raise on the Repair roll halves the time required.

Tools: Characters suffer a minor penalty (−1 to −2) to their roll if they don’t have access to basic tools, or a major penalty (−3 to −4) if the device requires specialized equipment.

Riding (Agility)
Riding allows a hero to mount, control, and ride any beast that is suitable for riding. This includes horses, camels, gryphons, and the like. See the rules for Mounted Combat on page 103. Animals that you wish to ride must be either trained or befriended using Animal Handling first and riding without a saddle or similar can impose penalties. Some beasts can’t be ridden without supernatural abilities to tame them.

Shooting (Agility)
Shooting covers all attempts to hit a target with a ranged weapon such as a bow, crossbow or sling as well as some spells (thrown weapons use Athletics, page 29). See Chapter Three for details on ranged combat

Socialise (Spirit)*
Used when trying to improve somebody’s opinion of you or navigating local customs. This also serves as the basis for Hobby secondary skills. Success improves the target’s attitude one level and a raise improves it two. Further increases aren’t generally possible in the same encounter—it takes individuals a little time to adjust their biases. Failure means the target won’t change his mind this scene or until the situation changes in some important way. A Critical Failure also reduces the target’s attitude two levels. Only one roll should generally be allowed per interaction unless new information is revealed, a substantial reward is offered, etc.

Networking: Characters can also use Persuasion as a “macro skill,” simulating a few hours or an evening’s time hobnobbing and socializing to gain favors or information. See Networking on page 133

Spellcasting (Smarts or Spirit)
Elementalists, Illusionists, Nethermancers and Wizards use Spellcasting to cast spells. See the Arcane Background (Magic) Edge on page 148

Stealth (Agility)
Stealth is the ability to hide and move quietly. A simple success on a Stealth roll means the character avoids detection if enemies aren’t particularly alert. If the character fails the roll, the enemy realizes something is amiss and begins actively searching for whatever roused them.

Once foes are alerted and active, Stealth is opposed by Notice (a group roll if there are many foes, see page 89).

The GM should apply any circumstantial penalties to Notice rolls for darkness, cover, noise, distractions, and any difference in the target’s Scale (just like when attacking, see Scale on page 106). Sneaking through dry leaves might subtract 2 from the Stealth roll, for example, while spotting someone in the dark uses the Illumination penalty listed on page 102 (−4). Don’t apply the same modifier to both rolls, however. If Stealth is at −2 for the leaves, don’t give Notice a +2 for them as well.

Sneak Attack: Sneaking up close enough to make a melee attack always requires an opposed Stealth roll versus the target’s Notice, whether the guard is actively looking for trouble or not. If successful, the victim is Vulnerable (page 100) to the attacker, but only until the attacker’s turn ends. With a raise, the attacker has The Drop (page 100) instead.

Movement: In combat, characters roll Stealth each turn as a free action at the end of their move or any action the GM thinks might draw attention.

Out of combat, the distance moved depends entirely on the situation. The GM might want a roll every minute if the group is sneaking around the perimeter of a defensive position, or every few miles if they’re trying to quietly walk the path through a dark forest without alerting the creatures that live there.

Streetwise (Smarts)
Being able to navigate, gather information, find contacts and goods in urban environments. This also allows you to trawl a settlement for rumours, find a black market contact or find out about notable people without being conspicuous.

Survival (Smarts)
Survival allows a character to find food, water, or shelter in hostile environments. It can also be used to navigate wilderness environments, figure out which plants are good to eat and which aren’t, and so on. A successful Survival roll provides enough food and water for one person for one day; or five people with a raise. More detailed information on Hunger and Thirst can be found under Hazards on page 125.

Tracking: Survival can also be used to detect and follow tracks. Each roll generally covers following the tracks for one mile, but the GM should adjust this as needed for specific circumstances.

The Game Master should assign a bonus or penalty based on the target, environment, and time. Tracking a large group that recently passed through a snow-covered area might grant a bonus of +4, while following a single person over rocks and streams after more than a day incurs a −4 penalty.

Thievery (Agility)
Lockpicking, safecracking, picking pockets, sleight of hand, setting and disabling traps and similar acts of misdirection, sabotage, subterfuge, and manipulation are called Thievery.

If used to pick a lock, crack a safe, disable a trap, or perform a simple unopposed action, success opens or disables the device, and a raise does it in less time, without tripping alarms, or whatever else the GM feels is appropriate.

Sleight of hand, hiding or planting an item, or picking a pocket require a simple success. If foes are actively watching the character, Thievery is opposed by Notice.

The Game Master should assign penalties for particularly difficult circumstances. Picking a heavy padlock might have a −4 penalty, while hiding a small gem in bulky winter clothing might grant a +1 bonus. Failure typically means the character is spotted or it takes too much time (after which the character can try again). A Critical Failure typically sets off the trap, alerts the victim, or jams the device so that it must be opened or interacted with in a different way.

Limited: Using Thievery on a magical device, such as a magical lock, is limited by the thief’s Occult skill. Use the lowest of the two skills. Return to home page / Return to Character Creation Page