Chapter: Skills
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47 rules
| Name ▼ | Page | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Skills | While your character’s ability scores represent their raw talent and potential, skills represent their training and experience at performing certain tasks. | |
| Acrobatics (Dex) | Acrobatics measures your ability to perform tasks requiring coordination and grace. When you use the Escape basic action (page 470), you can use your Acrobatics modifier instead of your unarmed attack modifier. | |
| Arcana (Int) | Arcana measures how much you know about arcane magic and creatures. Even if you’re untrained, you can Recall Knowledge. | |
| Athletics (Str) | Athletics allows you to perform deeds of physical prowess. When you use the Escape basic action, you can use your Athletics modifier instead of your unarmed attack modifier. | |
| Crafting (Int) | You can use this skill to create, understand, and repair items. | |
| Deception (Cha) | You can trick and mislead others using disguises, lies, and other forms of subterfuge. | |
| Diplomacy (Cha) | You influence others through negotiation and flattery. | |
| Intimidation (Cha) | You bend others to your will using threats. | |
| Lore (Int) | You have specialized information on a narrow topic. | |
| Medicine (Wis) | You can patch up wounds and help people recover from diseases and poisons. Even if you’re untrained in Medicine, you can use it to Recall Knowledge. | |
| Nature (Wis) | You know a great deal about the natural world, and you command and train animals and magical beasts. Even if you’re untrained in Nature, you can use it to Recall Knowledge. | |
| Occultism (Int) | You know a great deal about ancient philosophies, esoteric lore, obscure mysticism, and supernatural creatures. Even if you’re untrained in Occultism, you can use it to Recall Knowledge. | |
| Performance (Cha) | You are skilled at a form of performance, using your talents to impress a crowd or make a living. | |
| Religion (Wis) | The secrets of deities, dogma, faith, and the realms of divine creatures both sublime and sinister are open to you. You also understand how magic works, though your training imparts a religious slant to that knowledge. | |
| Society (Int) | You understand the people and systems that make civilization run, and you know the historical events that make societies what they are today. | |
| Stealth (Dex) | You are skilled at avoiding detection, allowing you to slip past foes, hide, or conceal an item. | |
| Survival (Wis) | You are adept at living in the wilderness, foraging for food and building shelter, and with training you discover the secrets of tracking and hiding your trail. | |
| Thievery (Dex) | You are trained in a particular set of skills favored by thieves and miscreants. | |
| Skills | 233 | While your character’s ability scores represent their raw talent and potential, skills represent their training and experience at performing certain tasks. |
| Key Ability | 233 | Each skill is tied to a key ability. You add your modifier for this ability to checks and DCs when using that skill. |
| Skill Actions | 233 | The actions you can perform with a given skill are sorted into those you can use untrained and those that require you to be trained in the skill, as shown on Table 4–1: Skills, Key Abilities, and Actions (page 235). |
| Skill Checks and Skill DCs | 234 | When you’re actively using a skill, often by performing one of its actions, you might attempt a skill check: rolling a d20 and adding your skill modifier. |
| General Skill Actions | 234 | General skill actions are skill actions that can be used with multiple different skills. |
| Decipher Writing (Trained) | 234 | When you encounter particularly archaic or esoteric texts, the GM might require you to Decipher the Writing before you can understand it. You must be trained in the relevant skill to Decipher Writing. |
| Earn Income (Trained) | 236 | You can use a skill—typically Crafting, Lore, or Performance—to earn money during downtime. You must be trained in the skill to do so. |
| Identify Magic (Trained) | 238 | Using the skill related to the appropriate tradition, as explained in Magical Traditions and Skills on page 238, you can attempt to identify a magical item, location, or ongoing effect. |
| Learn a Spell (Trained) | 238 | If you’re a spellcaster, you can use the skill corresponding to your magical tradition to learn a new spell of that tradition. |
| Recall Knowledge (Untrained) | 238 | To remember useful information on a topic, you can attempt to Recall Knowledge. |
| Subsist (Untrained) | 240 | If you need to provide food and shelter, you can use the Subsist downtime activity. This typically uses Society if you’re in a settlement or Survival if you’re in the wild. |
| Skill Descriptions | 240 | The following entries describe the skills in the game. The heading for each entry provides the skill’s name, with that skill’s key ability in parentheses. |
| Acrobatics (Dex) | 240 | Acrobatics measures your ability to perform tasks requiring coordination and grace. When you use the Escape basic action (page 470), you can use your Acrobatics modifier instead of your unarmed attack modifier. |
| Arcana (Int) | 241 | Arcana measures how much you know about arcane magic and creatures. Even if you’re untrained, you can Recall Knowledge (page 238). |
| Athletics (Str) | 241 | Athletics allows you to perform deeds of physical prowess. When you use the Escape basic action (page 470), you can use your Athletics modifier instead of your unarmed attack modifier. |
| Crafting (Int) | 243 | You can use this skill to create, understand, and repair items. Even if you’re untrained, you can Recall Knowledge (page 238). |
| Deception (Cha) | 245 | You can trick and mislead others using disguises, lies, and other forms of subterfuge. |
| Diplomacy (Cha) | 246 | You influence others through negotiation and flattery. |
| Intimidation (Cha) | 247 | You bend others to your will using threats. |
| Lore (Int) | 247 | You have specialized information on a narrow topic. Lore features many subcategories. You might have Military Lore, Sailing Lore, Vampire Lore, or any similar subcategory of the skill. |
| Medicine (Wis) | 248 | You can patch up wounds and help people recover from diseases and poisons. Even if you’re untrained in Medicine, you can use it to Recall Knowledge (page 238). |
| Nature (Wis) | 249 | You know a great deal about the natural world, and you command and train animals and magical beasts. Even if you’re untrained in Nature, you can use it to Recall Knowledge (page 238). |
| Occultism (Int) | 249 | You know a great deal about ancient philosophies, esoteric lore, obscure mysticism, and supernatural creatures. Even if you’re untrained in Occultism, you can use it to Recall Knowledge (page 238). |
| Performance (Cha) | 250 | You are skilled at a form of performance, using your talents to impress a crowd or make a living. |
| Religion (Wis) | 250 | The secrets of deities, dogma, faith, and the realms of divine creatures both sublime and sinister are open to you. You also understand how magic works, though your training imparts a religious slant to that knowledge. |
| Society (Int) | 250 | You understand the people and systems that make civilization run, and you know the historical events that make societies what they are today. |
| Stealth (Dex) | 251 | You are skilled at avoiding detection, allowing you to slip past foes, hide, or conceal an item. |
| Survival (Wis) | 252 | You are adept at living in the wilderness, foraging for food and building shelter, and with training you discover the secrets of tracking and hiding your trail. |
| Thievery (Dex) | 253 | You are trained in a particular set of skills favored by thieves and miscreants. |