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Principle Designer: Peter Mork
Magical Balance & Profession Material: Craig O'Erien, Brian Olson, C. Charlton
Material from KMSR: Coleman Charlton, John Curtis
Editors: C. Charltan. Brian Olson Proofing/Editing: Jennifer Matuska Cover Illustration: Angus McBride Interior Illustration:
Storn Cook, Michael Dubisch,
and various Dover Publications.
< I < , > % " *
- , Donald Dennis, J. Hawkins, b <>
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I - - - ? > .I+:*. -1 J. Ney-Grimm, Craig O'Brien, s
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. ,w\ ?aw % *A 5 ~ 7 , Brian Olson, Sherry Robinson; ( 1 ? I . ' 3 p:
i + % ;; i.&F2k-2& s, % - 8 1 Sales, Customer .Service, 6 Operations StaR <I > <, %><- '<
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Steve Hardy, Heike Kubasch, ' : <v>+L+?+,:+ ',. ; 1 H. Huggns.
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l i* * a Special Contributions - 3 ; '
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Ploytesten: Ryan Brase, Dan Bye, + . A . d
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- 5 t*.. , - Micah Johnston. Doug Matuska, Jennifer
.!"P " RI- - I Matuska, Brian McClear, Anders Oftelie,
A - ~;sapk;;- A: . . Joel Ray, Andrew Warren, Paul Wilson. , y: * - " , " +;<" >
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Thanks: To my wife, Jennifer, for her -> 1 - 1 < _ _ A x <:2 x 9 %%<:a- A '. v -.> :- v I support and love (not to mention hours
I - - *st; , > C - + A % - % - . of hard work). To Amy Johnson, for her I Y A * d- "
I .
I A < *<" <I* . " ?+
I +. A) 2--*< ' 3 , --A,, expertise with dance. To every non-garner - 1- a"
" > " - that didn't mock this addiction (especially I Benji Zatz and Beth Truesdale).
I Dedication: This book is dedicated to Kregon, who reminded me that anything worth doing, is worth doing with style! Keep the faith, brother.
I
Copynghr 1495, 2000 O hy Imn Crown Enterptises Inc . . . All rights rererved. . . . No reproduction without authors' permission. Produced and d~stributed by IRON C R O W ENTERPRISES, Inc.. P.O. Box 1605. CharlottesviIle, VA 22902. Stock #5808 K s t US. Edition. ISBN 1-55806.560-1
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Table of Contents
SKILL COMPANION
1.0 Introduction .............................. 4
2.0 Skill Resolution ...................... 5 2.1 Specialized
.......... Static Maneuver Tables 5
.......... 2.2 Uncoordinated Efforts 5 ............... 2.3 Coordinated Efforts 6
................... 2.4 Aided Maneuvers 7 ......... 2.5 Subsequent Maneuvers 7
............... 2.6 Maneuver Duration 8 ........... 2.7 Variable Stat Bonuses 8
................. 2.8 Extended Example 8
3.0 Skill Development ................. 9 Specialization .................................... 9 Generalization ................................... 9
...................................... 4.0 Healing 10 ............................... General Effects 10
............................................ Bleeding 10 ................................... Bone Injuries 10
................................................ Burns 1 1 Cartilage & Ligament Injuries
.................. (Sprains & Strains) 11 ................................... Head Injuries 11
............... Muscle/Tendon Injuries 11 ................................. Nerve Injuries 11 ................................. Organ Injuries 1 1
................................................ Shock 12 ...................... Skin/Tissue Injuries 12
............................................ Diseases 12 .............................................. Poisons 12
5.0 Skill Categories ..................... 13 ......................... 5.1 Artistic Skills 13 ........................ 5.2 Athletic Skills 14
................... 5.3 Awareness Skills 15 ........................ 5.4 Combat Skills 15
........ 5.5 Communication Skills 16 ...................................... 5.6 Crafts 16
..................... 5.7 Influence Skills 16 .............................. 5.8 Lore Skills 17
....................... 5.9 Outdoor Skills 17 ........................ 5.10 Power Skills 18
.... 5.1 1 Science/Analytic Skills 18 ............ 5.12 Self Control Skills 18
............... 5.13 Subterfuge Skills 19 .... 5.14 Technical/Trade Skills 19
........................ 5.15 Urban Skills 19
.......................................... 6.0 Skills 20 ........................................ Acrobatics 20
............................................... Acting 2 1 ................................ Administration 22 ............................. Adrenal Balance 23
.................. Adrenal Concentration 24 ............................. Adrenal Defense 24
......................... Adrenal Deflecting 24 Adrenal Landing ............................. 25 Adrenal Leaping ............................. 25
........................ Adrenal Quickdraw 26 Adrenal Speed ................................. 26
..................... Adrenal Stabilization 27 Adrenal Strength ............................ 27
........................ Adrenal Toughness 28
.............................. Advanced Math 28 ....................................... Advertising 30
............................................ Alchemy 30 ........................................... Alertness 3 1 ............................................ Ambush 32
............................... Animal Healing 32 Animal Handling ............................ 33 Animal Mastery .............................. 33 Animal Training ............................. 34 Anthropology ................................... 34
.......................................... Appraisal 35 ..................................... Architecture 36
Armor ............................................... 36 Artifact Lore .................................... 37
....................................... Astronomy 37 Athletic Games (Brawn) ............... 38 Athletic Games (Endurance) ....... 38 Athletic Games (Gymnastic) ........ 39
...................................... Attunement 39 Basic Math ...................................... 40
............................................. Begging 40 ................................... Biochemistry 41
........................................... Blocking 41 ......................................... Boat Pilot 4 1
........................ Body Development 42 .............................................. Boxing 42
Brawling ........................................ 43 .............................................. Bribery 43
Camouflage ...................................... 44 ..................................... Cartography 44
Caving ........................................ 45 Channeling ....................................... 46
....................................... Circle Lore 46 ........................... Cleansing Trance 47
........................................... Climbing 48 ........................................ Contacting 48
Contortions ...................................... 49 ...................... Control Lycanthropy 49
............................................ Cooking 50 ................................. Counterfeiting 50
.................................... Culture Lore 5 1 ............................................ Dancing 52
.................................. Death Trance 52 ........................ Demon/Devil Lore 52
................................... Detect Traps 53 ...................................... Diagnostics 53
Diplomacy ........................................ 54 ................................ Directed Spells 54 .............................. Direction Sense 55
Disarm Foe (Armed) ..................... 55 Disarm Foe (Unarmed) ................ 56
............................ Disarming Traps 56 ............................................ Disguise 5 7
.......................... Distance Running 57 ........................................ Divination 58
............................................... Diving 58 ........................................... Dowsing 59
Drafting ............................................ 59 ................................... Dragon Lore 60
Driving ............................................. 60 .......................................... Drowsing 61
.............................................. Duping 62 ..................................... Engineering 62
.............................. Evaluate Armor 63 ................................ Evaluate Metal 63 ................................ Evaluate Stone 64
........................... Evaluate Weapon 64 ...................................... Faerie Lore 64 ...................................... Fauna Lore 65
........................................... First Aid 66 .......................................... Fletching 66 ........................................ Flora Lore 66
................................ FlyindGliding 67 ........................................... Foraging 68
............................................. Forgery 68 ............................................... Frenzy 69
.......................................... Gambling 69 ....................................... Gimmickry 70
............................... Healing Trance 70 Heraldry ........................................... Herb Lore ......................................... Herding ............................................. Hiding ...............................................
................................... Hiding Items History ..............................................
..................................... Horticulture ............................................ Hunting
Hypnosis ........................................... .................................... Interrogation
Jousting ............................................. Juggling .............................................
............................................ Jumping ......................................... Languages
Leadership ........................................ ................................... Leather-crafts ................................. Lie Perception
..................................... Lip Reading ................................. Locate Hidden
......................................... Lock Lore ......................... Magical Languages 81
................................ Magical Ritual 81 ........................................... Mapping 82
.................................... Mechanition 82 ....................................... Meditation 82 ....................................... Metal Lore 83 ...................................... Metal-crafts 83
........................................ Midwifery 84 .................... Military Organization 84
............................................. Mimery 84 Mimicry ............................................ 85
......................................... Mingling 85 .............................................. Mining 85
...................................... Mnemonics 86 ........................... Mounted Combat 86
................................................ Music 86 ........................................ Navigation 87 ...................................... Observation 87
.................... Operating Equipment 88 ..................................... Orienteering 88
............................................ Painting 89 ....................................... Philosophy 90
Picking Locks .................................. 90 Picking Pockets ............................... 91
...................................... Planar Lore 91 .............................. Play Instrument 92
...................... Poetic Improvisation 92 ................................................ Poetry 92
...................................... Poison Lore 93 .......................... Poison Perception 94
.................................... Pole-vaulting 94 ........................... Power Perception 94
........... Power Point Development 95
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Power-striking ................................. 95 Power-throwing ............................... 95 Prepare Herbs ................................. 96 Prepare Poisons .............................. 96 Propaganda ...................................... 96
....................................... Psychology 97 Public Speaking .............................. 97 Quickdraw ....................................... 98 Rappelling ........................................ 98 Read Runes ..................................... 98 Reading Tracks ............................... 99 Reality Awareness .......................... 99 Region Lore .................................. 100 Religion ........................................ 100 Research ........................................ 101 Reverse Stroke ............................. 101 Riding ........................................ 101 Rope Mastery ............................... 102 Rowing ........................................ 102 Sailing ........................................ 103 Scaling ............................................ 104 Scribing .......................................... 104 Scrounging .................................... 104 Sculpting ..................................... 105 Second Aid ................................... 105 Seduction ...................................... 106 Sense Ambush ............................. 106 Sense Awareness ......................... 106 Service ............................................ 107 Setting Traps ................................ 108 SewindWeaving .......................... 108 Siege Engineering ........................ 108 Signaling ........................................ 109 Silent Attack ................................. 109 Singing ............................................ 1 10 Situational Awareness ................ 110 Skating ............................................ 11 1 Skiing .............................................. 1 11 Skinning ........................................ 112 Sleep Trance ................................ 112 Spatial Location Awareness ...... 112 Spell Lore ...................................... 1 13 Spell Mastery ............................... 113 Spells ............................................... 1 14 Sprinting ........................................ 1 14 Stalking .......................................... 114 Star-gazing .................................... 1 15 Stilt-walking .................................. 115 Stone Lore .................................... 116 Stonecrafts ................................... 116 Streetwise ...................................... 117 Striking Degree 1 ........................ 11 7 Striking Degree 2 ........................ 11 7 Striking Degree 3 ........................ 118 Striking Degree 4 ........................ 118 Stunned Maneuvering ................ 118 Stun Removal .............................. 1 18 Subdual .......................................... 118 Surfing ............................................ 1 19 Surgery .......................................... 1 19 Surveillance .................................. 1 19 Survival .......................................... 120 Swashbuckling ............................. 12 1 Sweeps Degree 1 ......................... 12 1 Sweeps Degree 2 ......................... 12 1 Sweeps Degree 3 ......................... 122
Sweeps Degree 4 ......................... 122 Swimming ..................................... 122 Symbol Lore ................................. 122 Tackling ........................................ 123 Tactical Games ............................ 123 Tactics ............................................ 124 Tale Telling .................................. 124 Tightrope-walking ....................... 125 Time Sense ................................... 125 Tracking ......................................... 125 Trading ........................................... 126 Trading Lore ............................... 126 Transcend Armor ........................ 126 Trap Building .............................. 127 Trapping ........................................ 127 Trickery ........................................ 128 Tumbling ...................................... 128 Tumbling Evasion ....................... 129 Two-weapon Combat ................. 129 Undead Lore ................................ 129 Using Prepared Herbs ................ 130 UsindRemoving Poison ............ 130 Ventriloquism ............................... 130 Warding Lore ............................... 130 Weapon .......................................... 13 1 Weather Watching ...................... 13 1 Weight-lifting ................................ 13 1 Wood-crafts ................................... 132 Wrestling ....................................... 132 Xeno-Lores .................................... 132
7.0 Static Maneuver Tables . 133 SM-7.1 Artistic Active
Static Maneuver Table ...... 133 SM-7.2 Artistic Passive
Static Maneuver Table ...... 133 SM-7.3 Athletic Brawn
Static Maneuver Table ...... 134 SM-7.4 Athletic Endurance
Static Maneuver Table ...... 134 SM-7.5 Athletic Gymnastic
Static Maneuver Table ...... 135 SM-7.6 Awareness Perceptions
Static Maneuver Table ...... 135 SM-7.7 Awareness Searching
Static Maneuver Table ...... 136 SM-7.8 Awareness Senses
Static Maneuver Table ...... 136 SM-7.9 Combat Maneuvers
Static Maneuver Table ...... 137 SM-7.10 Communication
Static Maneuver Table ...... 137 SM-7.11 Crafts
Static Maneuver Table ...... 138 SM-7.12 Influence
Static Maneuver Table ...... 138 SM-7.13 Lore
Static Maneuver Table ...... 139 SM-7.14 Outdoor Animal
Static Maneuver Table ...... 139 SM-7.15 Outdoor
Environmental Static Maneuver Table ...... 140
SM-7.16 Power Awareness Static Maneuver Table ...... 140
SM-7.17 Power Manipulation Static Maneuver Table ...... 141
SM-7.18 Science/Analytic Static Maneuver Table ...... 141
SM.7.19 Self Control T&I~ of ...... Static Maneuver Table 142 Contents
SM-7.20 Special Attacks Static Maneuver Table ...... 142
SM-7.2 1 Special Defenses Static Maneuver Table ...... 143
SM-7.22 Subterfuge Attack Static Maneuver Table ...... 143
SM-7.23 Subterfuge Mechanics Static Maneuver Table ...... 144
SM-7.24 Subterfuge Stealth Static Maneuver Table ...... 144
SM-7.25 Technical/Trade General Static Maneuver Table ...... 145
SM-7.26 Technical/Trade Professional/Vocational Static Maneuver Table ...... 145
SM-7.27 Urban Static Maneuver Table ...... 146
SM- "A Blank" Static Maneuver Table ...... 146
8.0 Training Packages ............ 147 8.1 Athlete (V) ............................. 148 8.2 Cavalier (V) ........................... 148 8.3 Chamberlain (L) ................... 149 8.4 Escort (V) .............................. 149 8.5 Farmer (L) ............................. 150 8.6 Gladiator (L) ......................... 150 8.7 Gossip (V) .............................. 151 8.8 Guide (V) ............................... 151 8.9 Guild Member (V) ............... 152 8.10 Henchman (V) .................... 152 8.1 1 Innkeeper (V) ..................... 153 8.12 Librarian (V) ....................... 153 8.13 Mother (V) .......................... 154 8.14 Noble (L) ............................. 154 8.15 Panhandler (V) ................... 155 8.16 Pirate (L) ............................. 155 8.17 Scribe (V) ............................ 156 8.18 Veterinarian (V) ................. 156
9.0 Professions ........................... 147 9.1 Barbarian ............................... 157 9.2 Outrider ................................. 158 9.3 Sage ......................................... 159 9.4 Swashbuckler ........................ 160
10.0 Optional Magical SKILL
Balance Rules ........................ 16 1 ~ O ~ P M ~ O N
10.1 Expanded Risk Factors .... 161 10.2 Resistance as Skills ............ 165 10.3 Spell Visibility .................... 166
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INTRODUCTION Thank you for ~urchasing the Skill Companion This NOTATION CONVENnONS
book is designed to be used by Gamemasters (GMs) and This book uses the standard notation found in RMFRP players to more precisely define the capabilities of the and Character Law. Whenever a stat is referenced (e.g., characters in their fantasy settings. Strength). it refers to the stat bonus, unless otherwise
This book contains detailed rules and tables for all of the skills originally listed in Role- master Fantasy Role Playing (RMFRP) and Character Law. In addition, there are new options for skill development, skill resolution, and healing. Each skill category and indi- vidual slull is dissected in de- tail. Numerous examples are ~rov ided , especially for all noncombat skills.
The Skill Companion also contains material that focuses on characters who do not use spells. It provides 4 new pro- fessions, 18 new training pack- ages, and optional GM mate-
rial for balancing magic use. This book does not examine combat skills or spells in
any detail. These skills have been adequately dealt with in Arms Law and Spell Law. Additional details can be found in Martial Arts Companion, Arcane Companion, Channeling Companion, Essence Companion, and the Men- talism Companion.
OTHER ROLEMASTER BOOKS When using this book with RMFRI? Character Law,
Arms Law, and Spell Law, any information presented herein takes precedence. This book corrects a handful of mi- nor misprints or oversights from RMFRP and Character Law. There is very little material that relates to Spell Law or Arms Law.
Any information contained within any other Com- panion takes precedence over the rules in this book. This reference material was designed (as much as pos- sible) as a stand alone product. As a result, there are some discrepancies between this Companion and oth- ers. In such cases, the rules provided by the other Com- panions offer a more detailed analysis of a particular skill. For example, Essence Companion deals with Magi- cal Rituals more intensively than is possible in this book.
Other source books (especially Castles B Ruins, Game-
,-.,~~&,,,, master Law, and Creatures & Monsters) are of great ben- efit, but not required to use this book. The information contained herein should not conf!ict with any informa- tion in those books. If discrepancies do arise in later source books, consider the specific source book to have the most applicable rules.
- ,. indicated. In addition, for readability purposes, the stan- dard masculine pronouns have been used when refer- ring to persons of uncertain gender. In such cases, these pronouns are intended to convey the meanings: he/she, her/his, etc.
LEVELS OF PLAY Every GM prefers his own style of play. This book
attempts to accommodate this as much as possible. The GM should, however, decide on the power level of his campaign.
The goal of a mundane campaign is realism. T h e actions performed by the players are not heroic, but plausible. The character's immediate goals are small and manageable.
Most fantasy campaigns are heroic in nature. The characters are capable of performing feats not possible by mere mortals. The character's goals are grand; magic is a common occurance.
The focus of an epic campaign is immense. The play- ers play characters whose actions move and shake the universe. The differences between good and evil are clear; the good guys usually win.
The penalties associated with performing maneuvers of various difficulties are presented below.
DIF~CULW LEVELS The difficulty level of a maneuver determines the
penalty assigned to the maneuver roll. Throughout this book difficulty levels are also used for many other pur- poses. As a result, each difficulty has been assigned a numeric value, ranging from 1 to 9.
The first modifier applies to Static Maneuvers; the latter, to Moving Maneuvers. The Moving Maneuver modifiers are smaller since the difficulty of the maneu- ver is accounted for by the column on which the maneu- ver is resolved.
Difficulty Value Mundane Heroic Epic
Routine 1 +30 (0) +30 (0) +50 (+20) Easy 2 +20 (0) +20 (0) +25 (+5) Light 3 +10(0) +10(0) +10(0)
Medium 4 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) Hard 5 -10 (0) -10 (0) -10 (0) Very Hard 6 -25 (-5) -20 (0) -20 (0)
Extremely Hard 7 -50 (-20) -30 (0) -25 (+5) Sheer Folly 8 -75(-25) -50(0) -35(+15) Absurd 9 -100 (-30) -70 (0) -50 (+20) ,
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2.0 SKILL RESOLUTION
Resolution In many cases, a single skill or person is insufficient ## 32 - This indicates a multiplier to the amount of
to complete a task. In these cases, the following guide- time the task would ordinarily take to accomplish. The lines can be used by the Gamemaster (GM) to facilitate GM should determine how long a "standard" successful sequential or simultaneous skill resolution. maneuver would take, and may, at his discretion, apply
this multiplier to that time to determine the speed with
2.1 which a character accomplished a task.
SPECIALIZED ## II* - This gives a modifier to a subsequent related action on the part of a character. Note that this modi-
STATIC MANEUVER TABLES RMFRP provides one generalized static maneuver table
(T-4.3, p. 45). The-Skill Companion provides a number of optional static maneuver tables, each keyed to a spe- cific skill category. These specialized static maneuver tables are collected in Section 7.0 (p. 133-146).
Each of these specialized static maneuver tables has two additional parameters for each result: a "time multi- plier" and a special modifier for subsequent related ma- neuvers. The General Static Maneuver Table T-4.3 pro- vided on the next page is identical to Static Maneuver Table T-4.3 in RMFRP except for the inclusion of these two new parameters.
General modifiers common to all skills within the category may be found near the bottom of each static maneuver table, while modifiers specific to each skill may be found with the definition of that skill. On many static maneuver tables there is room for the GM to write down his own general modifiers.
Occasions will arise where a specialized static maneu- ver table for a skill category may not produce appropri- ate results for a particular application of a skill. In this circumstance, the GM should modify the results to his liking, or use the General Static Maneuver Table T-7.1 (or T-4.3).
Kru TO THE STATIC MANEUVER TABLES If the initial unmodified roll is 66 or 100, the special
optional entries for those values may be used instead of the modified result. The GM should examine these re- sults carefully to appraise their suitability to his game; they have been highlighted to facilitate their exclusion if necessary.
Note that any modifier specified in the text of a re- sult is not cumulative (i.e., an individual can only have one such modifier in effect at a given time for a particu- lar skill).
Each result has a code associated with it:
## % - This indicates the extent to which a maneuver was successful. If partial or extra success is inappropri- ate, the GM should simply take 100% or higher as suc- cess and anything lower as failure.
fier may only be applied to an activity that is both im- mediate and integrally related to the maneuver that yielded this result. For example, a mage makes a static maneuver using his Research skill to study the teachings of a famous mathemetician, and receives a Subsequent Action modifier of +30. He then makes an Advanced Math static maneuver to utilize those teachings to solve a complex problem. He may add the +30 modifier to his Advanced Math static maneuver roll. This modifier is cumulative with any modifier specified in the text of the result.
Note: The GM may determine that this modifier is innapropriate to a particular subsequent action, where- upon it should be ignored.
UNCOORDINATED EFFORTS An uncoordinated effort occurs whenever a group of
people are working together towards a common goal, but there is no clear master craftsman or organizer. Examples of such a situation might include a group (or pair) of people rowing a boat, or a group of spell casters all working towards the same ritual.
In this situation, the average bonus for the applicable skill should be determined. A single maneuver roll is made, and the average skill bonus is applied as a modi- fier.
Group Bonus for a Coordinated Maneuver =
Average of the skill bonuses of the group
Whereas the average bonus might be significantly smaller than that of the best participant, by pooling one's efforts, tasks can be accomplished in a fraction of the time it would normally take to complete the task. The following formula indicates how many times faster the task will be accomplished than normal.
(Max + 1 - N) x (N) + (Max)
Max indicates the maximum number of people that - - could work together (normallv twice the number that SKU
could comfortably woik together). N indicates the num- COMPAN'ON
ber of people currently working together. Note that if Max is very large, then the product is roughly equal to
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Example: In a given kitchen, only 4 people can work togeth space constraints. 3 cooks
are working on preparing din- 7 ner. Dinner could be made by
one person in 60 minutes. These cooks can complete the task (4+1-3) x 3 + 4 = 1.5
times faster than normal, or in 40 minutes. I f they
could find additional space so
6 cooks that up to could pos-
sibly work to- gether, then the
r dinner would be finished in 30 min- u tes.
COORDINATED EFFORTS When there is a distinct leader or master craftsman
coordinating the efforts of a group, the effective skill bonus of the group might be much higher (or lower) than in the uncoordinated circumstance. The group's skill bonus is based on the smallest skill bonus in the group. The leader then adds one to this value for every skill rank he has in the skill, minus one for each person he is coordinating, plus the number of ranks he has in Leadership. The bonus from Leadership cannot exceed the number of people being coordinated.
Group Bonus for a Coordinated Maneuver =
smallest skill bonus in the group (may be modiJied) + leader's skill rank - number of group members (other than the leader) + leader's skill ranks in Leadership (limited)
The leader can also assist the less skilled members of his staff. The leader can divide his skill rank bonus among any members of his staff as he sees fit. This will tempo- rarily increase their skill, possibly elevating the group's overall bonus.
Example: Glim is attempting to sow the seeds of rebellion. He and a group of friends are attempt- ing to perform a coordinated propaganda drive. Glim has 15 ranks of Propaganda and 5 ranks of Leadership. His friends' skill bonuses (in Propa- ganda) are +30, +45, +50 and +75. Glim divides his +40 skill rank bonus among his first three friends, increasing their bonuses to +55, +55, +55 and +75, respectively. The smallest skill bonus is now +55, to which Glim adds 15 - 4 + 4 = 15. The group's overall Propaganda skill bonus for a
S K U coordinated group maneuver is +70. I f we assume
COMPANION that Glim 's Propaganda bonus is +loo, the group's average skill bonus (for an uncoordinated group maneuver) would only be +60 = [(100+30+ 45+50+75)+5].
even the most basic principles of this maneuver. You are at -20 modification to your next two actions while you recover from your stunning failure.
-25 - 04 Absolute Failure: -20% 3.0% -lot* Your remarkable failure marks you for ridicule. Hope your
... parents weren't watching
0% 2 . 0 ~ +ole
91 - 110 Near Success: 80% 1.25X +lo(*
176 up Absolute Success: 120% 0.75X +301* Zounds! Your masterful performance has stretched the
Standard Modification Any applicable skill bonus ......... varies Any applicable
........................ item bonuses varies Less than normal %
.......... activity used -1 per 1% less
Difficulty ModifiUtion ................... ................. Routine .. +30
Easy ............................................ +20 ............................................ Light +10
Medium ........................................ +O Hard ............ -10 Very Hard -20 ... Extremely Hard ................................ -30 Sheer Folly -50 ......................................... Absurd -70 ............................................
% of Hits Taken Modification 0% to 25% ...................... ... ......... 0 25% to 50% ................... .. .......... .10 51% to 75% -20 ................................. 76% to -30
Othu Wounds Penalty Hits/Rnd
Being Taken .......... -5 per hit/rnd Stunned ......... -50 + 3x S D stat bonus
% of ExPI Expended Penalty 0% to 25% ...................................... 0
......................................... 25% to 50% -5 ....................................... 51% to 75% -15
76% to 90% .................................... -30 ........................ .......... 91% to 99% .. -60
.............................................. loot% -100
Combat Sihlation Modification Engaged in melee .............. not allowed
.................. In a melee environment -20 Under missile fire .......................... -10
L'ihting, if Required t Mod. NO Shadows .................................... +10
................................ Light Shadows +5 ............................. Medium Shadows +O
Heavy Shadows .............................. -10 Dark ............................................... -25 Pitch Black ...................................... -40
Darknus. if Advantageour t Mod. NO Shadows .................................. -30 Light Shadows ................................. -20
............................. Medium Shadows +O Heavy Shadows ............................. ... +10 Dark ................... ... ..................... +30 Pitch Black ................... .................... +40
t -These lighting cond~tions are for normal humn eyerlght. Creatures that can we in the dark should ignore the dark and pitch black modifications and halve the shadow modrfiutions.
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The amount of time required to complete a coordinated maneuver is equivalent to that of an uncoordinated ef- fort (see Section 2.2). Note that the leader does not count as a par- ticipant if his staff is larger than the number of ranks he has in Lead- ership.
Example: Continuing the above example, since a nearly unlim- ited number of people could blanket the city with pamphlets, the task can be accomplished in onefiyth of the time normally required.
AIDED MANEUVERS An aided maneuver is the converse of the coordinated
maneuver. In this case a single person is attempting a maneuver, but he is being assisted by a number of people. For example, a general will often have a staff of tacti- cians in order to increase his Tactics bonus. The amount of time required to complete the maneuver is not re- duced by the aid, but the character performing the ma- neuver has his skill bonus temporarily increased.
The character's skill bonus is increased by the total number of ranks of the skill possessed by his aides. This number is reduced by the number of aides, squared. It is ~ossible to have one's skill bonus reduced by listenins to too many assistants.
Modification for an Aided Maneuver =
character's normal skill bonus + aides' total skill ranks - (# aides x # aides)
Sklll Example: Talen is planning a mid. He asks three of his Resolutton friends for assistance. They have 3, 7 and 10 ranks of Tactics, respectively. Elen's Tactics bonus is increased by 20 - 9 = 11. If he asked three more friends for help, each of whom had 3 ranks of tactics, his skill bonus would be modijied by -7 = (3+7+10+3+3+3) - (6x6). It's good to keep the advisoly board small.
SUBSEQUENT MANEUVERS A subsequent maneuver occurs whenever a given
maneuver must be completed before a second maneuver can be attempted. For example, a piece of music must be composed before it can be performed.
The GM should first determine the order in which the skills involved should be resolved. If the maneuvers are truly sequential, the order is obvious. If one or more of the maneuvers are occurring simultaneously, the GM must decide which skill is most significant. That skill is resolved last.
Example: A figure-skater is competing in icedancing. The GM decides that a Dance maneuver is the true goal of the maneuver, but that a Skating maneuver must also be completed.
To determine the success of the complete maneuver, the character attempts the first maneuver. If successful, the subsequent maneuver bonus (the final number on every Static Maneuver Table) is applied to the next - maneuver.
The GM must also determine if the preliminary ma- neuvers are required to complete the overall maneuver. In the prior example, a failed Skating maneuver would indicate that the Dancing maneuver also failed. How- ever, some skills are used simply to gain the subsequent maneuver bonus (e.g., Adrenal Balance, Meditation, Advanced Math). For example, it is not necessary for a character to successfully complete an Advanced Math maneuver before attempting an Architecture maneuver, but it may be necessary before attempting an Engineer- ing maneuver.
If the character performing the preliminary maneu- ver is not the one performing the subsequent maneuver, any bonus resulting from the first maneuver should be halved. It is possible for a number of people to pass the subsequent maneuver bonus from one to another, pro- vided each maneuver is successful.
When there are multiple skills being strung together, the overall maneuver is successful if every required ma- neuver results in Near Success or better. Characters can normally not re-roll Near and Partial Successes when attempting a sequential maneuver.
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2.6 MANEUVER DURATION
The amount of time needed to complete a maneuver depends on the maneuver being made and its difficulty.
Resolution In general, the GM determines how long it will take to complete a given maneuver; this duration is modified by results from the various Static Maneuver Tables.
If the GM is interested in a more dynamic approach, the Moving Maneuver Table can be used. The GM de- termines how many points must be obtained, and how often the character gets to roll. For example, picking a lock might require 600 points, but the character gets to roll every round. Constructing a house might require 300 points; the character rolls each month.
The average amount of time is roughly equal to the number of points needed times the amount of time be- tween rolls. The above examples would take 6 rounds and 3 months to complete, on average.
The character makes a maneuver roll, modified by his skill and all other modifiers, not including difficulty. The result should be indexed on the Moving Maneuver Table. If the result is a numeric result, the character gains that many points. Any other good result gives the character 150 points. Any bad results provide the char- acter with no points. In some situations, the GM may even reduce the number of points gained if the maneu- ver roll is particularly bad.
Any subsequent maneuver bonuses or aided maneu- ver bonuses apply to each roll, not just the first.
Once the skill is completed, the character should make a final maneuver roll and reference the result on the Static Maneuver Table. If the result is less than a com- plete Success, the procedure may begin anew. Subse- quent and aided maneuver bonuses would then be lost.
VARIABLE STAT BONUSES Normally, all skills within a category use the same
stat bonuses. If a GM wishes a finer granularity in indi- vidualizing skills, he can assign two stat bonuses to the category and then a third to each individual skill. The two stats assigned to a category are the same as the first two stats given for the category in RMFRP and ChL).
Each skill description (Section 6.0) gives three stats under "Optional Srats Used." When using this optional rule, each skill category bonus uses the first two stat bonuses given. Then, each skill gets a special bonus that is equal to the stat bonus for the third stat given.
The net result is that 3 stat bonuses affect each skill bonus (just as they do if this optional rule is not used).
Example: The Awareness Searching category has eight skills listed in it. The stats that give the stat bonuses for the category are "In/Re/SD." If this optional rule is being used, the skill category bonus would be figured as normal, except that only the In and Re stat bonuses would be added in. As each skill is developed, it would receive a special bonus equal to the stat bonus for the individual skill. Detect Traps and Locate Hidden would get a special bonus equal to the In stat bonus. Lie Perception would get a special bonus equal to the
E m stat bonus. Poison Perception would get a bonus equal to the Me stat bonus. Observation, Reading Tracks, Surveillance, and Tracking would get a special bonus equal to the S D stat bonus.
EXTENDED EXAMPLE A minor lord desires to have a manor built. He hires an architect,
Bob, who in turn hires 3 drafers and a team of carpenters. Bob begins by attempting an optional Advanced Math maneuvel:
Since he is not a mathematical genius (his bonus is only +30), he asks two of his academy buddies, Joe and Bill, for help. T h q each have 5 skill ranks in Advanced Math, and so they provide an aided maneuver bonus of ( 5 + 5 - ( 2 x 2) = 6). Bob rolls an aided Advanced Math maneuver and rolls an 89 . His total is ( 8 9 + 30 + 6 = 125) which is a Success.
Since his maneuver was successful, Bob can apply twice the subse- quent maneuver bonus (+20 x 2 = +40) to his Architecture maneu- ver (see Advanced Math, p. 28). He must then complete a required Architecture maneuver. The G M considers the situation and deter- mines that this will be a Medium maneuver. If this maneuver is not successful, the project will be a disaster, although this may not be evident until much later! His Architecture skill bonus is +30, and he rolls a 16, so his final result is (16 + 30 + 4 0 = 86) a Partial Success.
Since the Architecture maneuver was successful, half of the subse- quent maneuver bonus (+5 + 2 =' 2.5 = 3) is passed along to his three drafters. Not wanting to micro-manage, Bob does not attempt to coordinate their efforts. The drafters make a Medium Drafting ma- neuver, using their average Drafting bonus of +15. Since their workspace could comfortably house four people, the G M decides that the maximum number of drafters that could work together is eight. Thus, the draftngproject is completed ((8 + 1 - 3) x 3 + 8 = 2.25) times as fast as normal.
The lead drafter rolls a 90 for his maneuver, giving a combined result of (90 + 15 + 3 = 108). One half of the subsequent maneu- ver bonus (+I0 + 2 = 5 ) is passed along to the carpenters. The master carpenter (skill rank bonus of+30, category bonus of+20) is coordinating his staff of 5 carpenters (with skill rank bonuses of +5, +lo, +15, +20 and +20), so he must decide how to allocate his skill rank bonus among his staff: He decides to allocate 1 5 points to the least skilled worker, 1 0 points to the next most skilled and 5 points to the next most skilled. Once he has allocated his rank bonus, all bonuses are equal, so the smallest bonus is +20.
The GMdecides that the manor will take an average of six months to complete. He requires that the carpenters roll each month until they accumulate 6 0 0 points. These rolls are modified by the master carpenter? number of ranks in Leadership (3) and Carpentry (6) minus the number of workers (5), plus half of the drafters' subse- quent maneuver bonus (5). Thus, each monthly roll is modified by (+20 + 3 + 6 - 5 + 5 = 2 9 ) and cross-referenced on the Moving Maneuver Table until 6 0 0 points are achieved.
After accumulating 600 points, the carpenters make a final Car- pentry static maneuver roll. The master carpenter (Carpentry skill bonus of +50) rolls a 4 5 and gets a result of ( 4 5 + 50 = 95) a Near Success. This indicates that the structure is 8 0 % complete. The carpenters must now accumulate another ( 6 0 0 * 2 0 % = 120) points before the building is finished. The carpenters do not gain the benefit of the drafters' subsequent maneuver bonus on remaining maneuver rolls, but the Near Success does provide them with a +10 bonus instead.
Once these 1 2 0 points are accumulated, the manor will be com- plete if the final Carpentry maneuver result is a Success. As the project nears completion, it becomes clear to Bob whether or not he succeeded his initial Architecture maneuver.
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3.0 SKILL DEVELOPMENT Skill
These optional rules cover the specialization and gen- eralization of the development of certain skills.
SPEClALIZATION This option allows a character to focus his skill
proficiencies more finely. Many skills (e.g., History, Re- ligion, etc.) allow a character either to develop a broad understanding of an entire field or to develop a more precise understanding of a sub-field. Other skills pro- vide a character with a similarly diverse set of abilities. See the skill descriptions in Section 6.0 for recommended specializations for each skill (some skills have none).
Specialization allows a character to select a sub-field of a skill in which he is an expert. If a maneuver roll falls within the character's specialty, he temporarily doubles the number of skill ranks he has in that skill. If the character cannot develop skill in the category (e.g., Spells, Awareness Perceptions, etc.), the character tem- porarily increases the number of ranks in the skill by 50%.
To gain a specialization, a character must sacrifice a skill rank to the specialization when purchasing skills. This does not increase the number of ranks that can be bought in a given skill, however. For example, a Ranger wants to develop a specialization in Rigid Leather. Upon attaining level 2, he purchases three ranks of Rigid Leather. Two of these ranks are devoted to increasing -
his skill in Rigid Leather, the other towards specializing in AT 10. He could not purchase three ranks and sacri- fice a fourth to gain a specialization because he can only develop three ranks of Rigid Leather per level.
Development It is not possible to specialize in a skill category. Sug-
gested specializations are provided for each skill in Sec- tion 6.0.
The GM should carefully consider any proposed spe- cialization to ensure that its parameters are sufficiently narrow. If a specialization is constructed such that a small number of specializations would cover every pos- sible circumstance, the specialization is too broad.
It is strongly recommended that a character only have one specialization per combat skill (e.g., weapon skills, combat maneuvers, etc.) to prevent abuse of this option. A character may have multiple specializations in other skills.
Example: Anton, the Paladin, is not interested in learn- ing general Religion. Instead, he specializes in the reli- gion to which he belongs. He has 12 ranks in religion. These 12 ranks can be applied towards any religion, but if he needs information pertaining to his own religion, he has 24 ranks. Note that he has actually purchased 13 ranks, but had to sacrifce one in order to gain the specialization.
Note that once a character has a specialization, he keeps that specialization until it is replaced by another specialization. Any ranks devoted to specializations are lost; a character cannot recover the rank by losing the specialization.
GENERALIZATION This option is the converse of specialization. Many
skills require that a character develop the skill for each sub-category of the skill (e.g., Weapons, Riding, Metal- crafts, etc.). This option allows a character to learn all possible versions of the skill simultaneously.
If the skill is an Occupational or Everyman skill, it becomes a regular skill. If the skill is a regular skill, it becomes a Restricted skill. Restricted skills cannot be generalized. Once a skill is generalized, it can be used regardless of the sub-category. For example, a generali- zation in Riding would allow a character to ride horses, elephants and warcats equally well.
A skill cannot be both generalized and specialized. The GM may also decide that some generalizations do not apply to every subcategory, but rather a closely re- lated group of sub-categories (e.g., a generalization in swords, rather than in one-handed edged weapons).
Example: Genn, the Animist, purchases Animal Heal- ing as a generalization. Normally, Animal Healing would a normal skillfor her. Since she has generalized, Animal Healing becomes a Restricted skill. She purchases a total offour ranks in Animal Healing (resulting in the acqui- sition of two ranks), but this skill can now be applied to any animal.
SKILL COMPANION
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