Skills and Knowledges
What are they?
Aside from attributes, your character has a few other defining features.
Skills represent the things the character is proficient in and good at doing. They encompass the knowledge, training and experience necessary for the skill to not be just you mimicking seeing someone doing it once or twice before, but (at minimum) at a professional level.
Knowledge represents the collection of facts, lore and other information on a particular subject at more than just an average level. Unlike skills, having knowledge on a particular subject does not necessarily mean you can do said task any better (knowing the difference between a longsword and a falchion does not make you better at swinging one, you nerd).
When you make an Ability roll, some situations may permit you to use a skill or knowledge to give you a bonus. When that happens, increase your modifier by +2. If you have several skills or knowledges that are applicable, only apply the bonus once.
At times, you may be required to have a certain skill or knowledge to even attempt the roll in the first place.
Some skills and knowledges are also marked as “specific”. These skills/knowledges function as a blanket term for very similar topics that would otherwise require separate entries (which would immensely bloat this whole ordeal). When you pick up a skill or knowledge of that type, you must pick a specialization that is relevant to it (each entry has a list of possible specializations in its description, but you may pick up an unlisted specialization as long as it is relevant). The skill or knowledge then only applies in situations according to the specialization.
The maximum number of skills and knowledges is determined by a formula listed in the table on the Game stats page. You do not have to pick up the maximum number of skills and/or knowledges you are able to. You may pick up each skill or knowledge only once, with the exception of those that are marked as “specific”. Those may be picked up several times, but each must be with a different specialization.
List of skills
Alchemy
This skill covers the creation and effects or potions, poisons, and other alchemical substances. You also know where to find or buy the various materials required, and what are the proper ways to store the resulting potions.
Animal Handling
This skill encompasses everything that is needed for working with non-sentient animals. Training, taming, riding and taking care of them are all part of this skill. It also includes knowledge on how to best use the animal at work.
Appraise
This skill allows you to accurately guess the state, value and potentially even purpose of a given item, device or thing.
Artisan (specific)
Specializations: painting, sculpting, woodcarving, pottery, weaving, calligraphy, etc.
This skill covers several different forms of artistic expression. The result of an artisan skill is almost always something physical. You know how to create works of art in that given form, what are the popular styles within this form, who is renowned in the field, and where to get quality materials, as well as find inspiration. This skill is similar to the performance skill.
Climbing
This skill represents your ability to climb various scaleable surfaces, both horizontally and vertically. You are capable of scaling a wall both with and without equipment, and know how to do so quickly and safely.
Control Item
You know how to activate, use and deactivate various items efficiently and safely. This also includes big mechanical constructions. The most common use of this skill is to disarm a trap you have found.
Deception
You are really good at tricking people via manipulation or fooling during a social encounter. You are capable of convincingly hiding the truth, be it verbally or through your actions. This deception can encompass everything from misleading others to telling outright lies.
Disguise
You can mask your identity, both with the use of physical alterations such as masks, fake hair, or paint and by controlling your mannerisms, such as a different voice, postures and quirks. This skill may also be used to impersonate someone, provided that you have time to study their behaviors.
Escape Artist
You can escape bindings, be them rope, manacles, or someone’s grip. You can accurately guess the weak points in the bind and you know how to exploit those weak points. This also works the other way around – the bindings you make are harder to escape.
Fly
You don’t actually know how to fly (not without some help at least), but you know how to handle yourself in three-dimensional space, especially during freefall. You know how to stabilize yourself, slow or hasten your descent, know how to properly land and not hurt yourself too much, and generally have an easier time performing complex actions while flying. This skill is also applicable in zero-g situations.
Gymnastics
You can balance and control your body well, allowing you to easily perform acrobatic stunts, including but not limited to dives, rolls, somersaults, and flips. Thanks to the training required to perform these stunts, you also have an easier time staying on your feet.
Insight
You are good at reading the intentions of another creature, such as when trying to determine a lie, gauging how much they can trust a person or predicting someone’s next move. Doing so involves gleaning clues from body language, speech habits, and changes in mannerisms. Beware that intentions have been known to shift over time.
Instruction
You know how to teach someone something, explaining it to them in a comprehensive and orderly manner. You are confident in the way you deliver your teachings and may even attempt explaining complex skills to total beginners with a chance of success.
Intimidation
You know the best ways to scare someone into doing what you want. By using threats, physical violence, and generally most hostile actions, you create the impression that you are more menacing than the opposition (regardless if you truly are or not). This is often used in interrogations, less so in negotiations. This skill is similar to the persuasion skill in what is the result, but this method uses negative influence.
Leadership
You know how to properly direct and motivate others. By using your position of authority in a situation, you nudge others to do something. This skill is especially helpful in situations where the will of a teammate is breaking or someone is being asked to do something uncomfortable. However, your great leadership skills won’t make up nor replace poor teamwork.
Medicine
You know how the human body works, and how to get it back into a working state when something breaks. You are capable of providing both first aid on the battlefield, extended care to a sick patient and most things in between. You can identify symptoms of most common illnesses, and probably some rare ones too. You also can tell the cause of death of most people.
Navigation
You can orient yourself in terrain and go along a planned or unplanned path. You know how to properly use a map and landmarks to both plan a route and then follow it, and you’re capable of creating simple maps yourself.
Negotiation
You are good at making deals that are profitable for you. With your charisma, tactics, and knowledge of a few psychological tricks, you can secure yourself a better position when making deals of any kind.
Organizing
You know how to organize a large body of people, be it a fragmen-wide business, military outpost, or just the governing of a town. You know how to deal with the logistical hell and keep the operations running.
Palming
You have practiced the subtle art of manipulating small objects. You can snag, hide and pass them to someone else, as well as plant them on someone with little problem. You also have learned how to hide objects on your body.
Perception
You’re good at noticing stuff, especially of the unusual kind. Be it by hearing, seeing or just that feeling in your gut, you can find the presence. Your general awareness is great, and you’re not as easily surprised by unexpected encounters.
Performance (specific)
Specializations: singing, dancing, acting, playing an instrument, etc.
You know how to put on a show. You can entertain an audience with your skill, captivating their attention to you (and whomever you may possibly be performing with). This skill is similar to the artisan skill, but the result of this skill isn’t necessarily as permanent.
Persuasion
You know how to properly persuade people to do something nice. Thanks to your social grace, good manners or just good nature, you inspire everyone to act nicely as well. This skill is most often used when fostering friendships, making proper requests, or just calming down an intense situation. This skill is similar to the intimidation skill in what is the result, but this method uses positive influences.
Profession (specific)
Specialization: any job possible
You know how to practice a specific job. This knowledge is generally enough to make a decent living off this profession alone. The most common professions are baker, barman, brewer, butcher, clerk, engineer, farmer, fisherman, gardener, herbalist, innkeeper, librarian, midwife, miller, miner, merchant, sailor, scribe, shepherd, stable master, soldier, tanner, trapper, and woodcutter.
Running
You know how to run properly. You know how to manage your fatigue over time and can split up your strength to keep running for far longer periods of time, or use it all in one sprinty burst.
Search
You know how to efficiently search for information and clues, be that in a tome in a library, or at a scene among the items left there and make deductions from those clues, including but not limited to the cause and/or effect from these clues. Common uses include deducing the location of a hidden item, the cause of death of a creature, or finding the firing mechanism of a siege weapon.
Stealth
You know how to move silently and discreetly into places where you shouldn’t be, using shadows, simple disguises, or just plain looking like you belong there. You know tricks on how to bring the attention elsewhere while you move, and if it comes to the worst, you have an escape route planned out.
Survival
You have the skills to survive in nature with little to no equipment. This includes knowing how to start a fire with no tool, the construction of simple shelter and traps to hunt, how to identify edible plants and mushrooms, how to find water, and similar skills.
Swimming
You know how to swim and dive. You can both tread water and swim in the water, in multiple styles of swimming. You can identify currents while in water and avoid or use them to your advantage. You know what are the ways to descend and ascend when diving and what are your limits when diving. You also know how to assist or rescue people that don’t know how to swim.
Tracking
You have the skills to identify the passage of a specific creature or creatures in general through terrain and follow them. This skill also allows you to identify unmarked trails and common game paths in various environments, as well as estimate where crowds of people may form in large towns.
List of knowledges
Arcana
This knowledge covers the theoretical aspects of magic. Knowing the limitations of commonly seen spells, magical theory and traditions employed while casting, arcane symbols and other magical constructs would fall in this knowledge.
Architecture
You know how buildings are made. You know of the different styles employed across the imperium, their unique quirks, the materials and techniques used in creating them, and what function a building may serve from its design.
Artificing
This knowledge covers the creation and use of magical items. You know what materials are needed for their creation, what conditions must be met in order for them to be created, and what are the ways of removing the magical enchantments, if any.
Botany
You know about all manners of fauna. What is their growth cycle, are they dangerous or useful in any way or what specific part of land they may be indeginous to are just a few examples. This knowledge is most often used to identify a given plant.
Cooking
You know how to cook. This is the ability to prepare a good meal from raw ingredients (not just heat water and open boxes). Besides some general knowledge, you also know a hefty amount of individual recipes, enough to create a three-course meal by yourself (if you have the skill).
Creatures (specific)
Specializations: animal, monster, draconic, demon, extraplanar etc.
You know the specifics of a certain species of animals, animals in this sense containing creatures that may be magical and/or monstrous in nature. This knowledge comes from actual experience with the animals, not just reading about it in books. You know their habits, what sort of environment they prefer to live in, if they are passive or aggressive in nature, when and how they mate, and if they are useful in any way.
Criminal
You have knowledge regarding the workings of the underworld. Criminal organizations of all kinds fall into this category. You are or were affiliated with one of them (might have created one of your own) and you have picked up the ropes that enabled you to survive. You know the working of your organization and what they can offer you, as well as what they ask back.This also includes knowing the current “state” of the underworld, including but not limited to a big organization being exposed, ongoing gang wars, and rare exotic “goods” availability.
Destruction
You know the ways to destroy items and buildings, both in the safest manner and in the most collateral damage-inducing manner. This knowledge may also be used to identify weak points that need to be reinforced.
Economics
You have knowledge on the workings and state of trade in the country. You know where the money can be found, if given enough skill, and how the money will flow. You can also predict the effect of a particular change on the local economy – the introduction of new materials or techniques, the destruction of a resource deposit or a merchant house, and similar situations.
Entertainment
You know the popular way of entertainment. Games, shows, plays and other group activities that can destress a person fall under this category. This includes knowing where the best plays are performed, when is the right time to party, and how to play popular games of chance.
Etiquette
You know how to ease yourself through social situations without attracting attention to yourself, as well as the proper code and traditions to move among nobility. The knowledge is used as a sort of social version of sneaking. In essence, it’s a more advanced version of knowing good manners. You can also use this knowledge to attempt to identify someone “pretending” to be of high status, or generally to just call them out for not being adapted to the situation.
Fragmens (specific)
Specializations: any of the 8 fragmens
You have specific knowledge on one of the fragmens. You are aware of its geography, majority demographics and cultural differences from the imperium average, as well as any other unique aspects of the area. This can range from notable locations to popular figures to favorite food and most things in between.
Heretical
You have knowledge on heretical matters, such as the gods that are worshipped, heretical lore regarding history and magic, the locations of heretic safe houses and customs among heretics. This knowledge can and will get you punished, unless you are using it to hunt heretics down (in a “know your enemy” manner).
History
You know the history of this world, starting with stories from dawn of creation and ending with the most recent. You don’t know every single event that has ever transpired, but anything that has affected the entire imperium or at least multiple fragments is within your knowledge.
Inquisitorial
You have knowledge on the inner workings of the inquisition. You know the procedures and tactics employed, the rules they are governed by, and the extends of their power. This knowledge may help you in allying the inquisition or not getting purged.
Linguistics
You have the knowledge on multiple languages, and know how languages form and evolve. This also includes information on how word-based ciphers work and can help you analyze and solve one.
Law
You have knowledge on how the imperial law works. This includes what is considered legal and illegal, what the punishments may be for a certain action, and similar questions. Beware that the law is rarely clear-cut, especially in a country so ingrained with religion.
Occultism
You know things one may consider mystical. These are magical things that have yet to be explained by scientific theory, or things that will always fall out of the defined. This mostly encompasses knowledge of various planar entities and the workings of the soul.
Planar Geography
You know how the different main planes work, their relationship to each other, and how to get to, traverse and study unknown planes in safety. You may also know something about lesser planes, and what is needed in creating and maintaining a demiplane.
Religion
You have the knowledge on the Pravian faith beyond the core values that everyone knows. You know the specific rituals, how to properly perform them, the various holidays and when they are celebrated and, most importantly, what is holy and what sacrilegious.
Science (specific)
Specializations: mathematics, physics, chemistry, geology, biology, engineering, psychology, sociology, etc.
You have knowledge on a specific field of science. The type of information is mainly theoretical in nature, the kind you’d learn in real life school, more than the kind you’d learn by experience alone. It’s also the bare minimum to conduct any research of your own in the field.
Be aware that this knowledge may often overlap with a different knowledge or skill such as Alchemy, Arcana, Botany, Creatures or Society.
Society
This knowledge is concerned with anything regarding people and behavior. This is mainly the difference in social status, preferred past-times, views on the world, and generally how their lives are lived.
Weapons (specific)
Specializations: melee, long ranged, magical, etc.
You know the specifics about a certain category of weapons.This concerns their strengths and weaknesses, how they can be used, who makes quality weapons like that and if it is popular among a certain category of people.
Unarmed Combat
You have knowledge about a few martial arts and how exactly those employ the body as a weapon. These can range from simple punches and kicks to tackles and takedowns.