Skills
While your character’s ability scores represent their raw talent and potential, skills represent their acquired capabilities when performing tasks or feats of combat. Each skill is keyed to one (or more) of your character’s ability scores and, typically, used for an array of related actions.
The Skill Dice Pool
Skills have their own dice pool of ten sided dice (d10s), which are set based on four key factors:
The character’s relevant ability score
The character’s proficiency in a skill
Circumstances that add or remove dice
Items or passive effects that add or remove dice
For each point your character has in the attribute relevant to the skill, you add 1d10 to the dice pool. This is considered raw talent and your base pool. For example, an AGI-based skill with an AGI of 2 begins with 2d10 in their pool.
Add an additional 1d10 to the dice pool for each tier of proficiency you possess in that skill (Novice, Adept, Expert, Master, Legendary). If you are untrained in a skill, you instead remove one die. If the die that would be removed is the final die (or dice) in your pool, you instead take a -1 penalty per removed die instead. Continuing with the AGI skill example, if you are an Adept in that skill, you add another 2d10. Your dice pool total is 4d10.
The DM may give the character bonus or penalty dice. The most common types of bonuses are:
Circumstance Bonuses / Penalties: These are best assigned when the altering factor is external, but involving the situation you are in when making the check. Conditional factors like inclement weather would impose a penalty to Athletics when climbing. Circumstance dice are cumulative and “stack” with all other bonuses, including other circumstance bonuses, unless they arise from essentially the same source.
Status Bonuses / Penalties: These are best assigned when the altering factor is coming from within; a condition that is affecting you, such as a magical burst of strength or a crippling disease impeding your attack.
Item Bonuses are granted by some item that you are wearing or using, either mundane or magical. For example, armor gives you an item bonus to AC, while an expanded alchemist’s toolkit grants you an item bonus to Crafting checks when making alchemical items.
Other bonus types are discussed under the Combat section and can adjust the dice pool. Certain items, abilities, or spell effects may also change the number of dice in the pool.
Thus, the final formula for your skill dice pool is: Attribute Rank + Proficiency Tier + Bonuses and Penalties
The maximum number of dice in your pool (without special augments) is limited to 10, preventing bloated rolls. Any additional dice in your pool beyond 10 are instead converted to a +1 bonus to a single die result; you can decide which die to apply the bonus to after the dice have been rolled. Certain effects will exceed this number, but are always called out in the description.
Skill Dice Pool Formula:
Attribute Rank + Proficiency Tier + Bonuses and Penalties
Skill Checks & DCs
When your character uses a skill, success is not guaranteed. In order to determine success, whenever you attempt to use a skill, you must make a skill check by rolling the dice in your skill dice pool.
Determining Success
The baseline for each successful check are dice that show an 8 or above, however abilities and other factors may raise or lower this target number.
When your dice pool is rolled you want to achieve a number of successful results (dice showing 8+) equal to or greater than the difficulty class (or DC) of the task you are attempting to accomplish. This DC is set by the DM, however generally abides by the following rules:
An easy or common task should only require one success. This would be a DC 1 challenge. Most checks before level 5 will be a DC 1 challenge before modifiers (with some exceptions).
An impossible task, or one that would require incredible skill and influence, could be up to ten successes (DC 10). This is the highest DC in a normal game.
As the nature of the challenge increases, so too should the DC. Each additional DC is exponentially more difficult to achieve, so be wary when increasing DCs early game.
While circumstance dice are external dice governed by the situation, more permanent factors (or simply reducing the number of circumstance penalties) are more appropriate to raising a DC. Trying to fire a bow during heavy wind conditions might be a penalty die (or a higher DC), but firing a bow in windy conditions through a 3 inch hole hundreds of feet away should definitely be a higher DC.
If the number of successes matches or exceeds the DC, the skill is a success. A skill can be successful, critically successful, a failure, or a critical failure. This ensures a dynamic range of results.
In many cases, high proficiency in a skill can waive needing to make a skill check altogether. This represents a character being so competent with a task there is no possibility of failure. A DM may arbitrate that certain circumstances still require a skill check despite proficiency override.
An Expert (Proficiency Tier 3) automatically succeeds at DC 1 checks.
A Master (Proficiency Tier 4) automatically succeeds at any DC 2 check, and the DM may rule also critically succeeds at any DC 1 check.
A character with Legendary proficiency automatically succeeds at any DC 3 check, and the DM may rule also critically succeeds at any DC 2 (or lower) check.
This skill system at its core assumes a DM has a pre-set expectation of how challenging a skill check should be. This sets games up to be more fluid and cinematic than an in-the-weeds system with DCs given for every conceivable action.
10 is Zen, 1 is No Fun (Critical and Fumble Rolls)
Rolling a 10 on any die constitutes two successes, making a pool of ten dice having a baseline (but rare) of 20 possible successes. Conversely, rolling a 1 on a die removes a success. There are many abilities throughout the game that remove skill fumbles. Note that rolling a 10 or 1 does not guarantee the check itself will be a critical or fumble - that is determined by the DC.
10 Again
Some feats or abilities grant you the extremely rad feature called “10 Again”. Anytime you get a 10 on a die roll you earn a double success and you get to roll that die again. If the re-roll results in a success, you earn an extra success in the effort. If the result is another 10, you get to keep rerolling and you add another success to your character’s action for every 10 that you get. If multiple dice in your pool turn up 10’s, you re-roll all of those dice and keep accumulating extra successes and keep making any extra rolls. The results can lead to critical successes, in which your character performs stunning or near-miraculous feats.
Example: Your dice pool consists of seven dice. You get 2, 4, 4, 7, 8, 9 and 10. That’s four successes (thanks to the 10), but one die got a 10, which you get to re-roll. Say you get a 5. That’s not a success, so your total successes for the roll remains at four. If you got an 8 or 9, however, you would have gotten an additional success, for a total of five. Now, if you had rolled another 1o, not only would your total successes for the action have risen to five you would have rolled that die yet again. If it got another success, your total would have increased again. If it resulted in yet another 10, your successes would have increased by one and you would have kept re-rolling.
Using Rerolls
You may have Advantage, Hero Points, or Golden Rerolls or other methods of changing fortune at your disposal. If you wish to use an ability that rerolls 1d20 on a skill check, you instead add 3 dice to your pool. These dice can exceed the normal limit of 10 dice in a pool.
Gaining Skills
So now that you know how the skills work, the question might become: “Great, how do I get skilled?” Lucky for you, there are a variety of ways to increase your skill modifiers and proficiencies.
Finding a Trainer
The flexible classless system assumes you are not getting normal skill ranks (like PF1e) or Proficiency bumps (like PF2e), and with the exception of Core Levels and certain feats, there are no automatic skill increases. Instead, training is an expected and integral advancement of increasing skill. This system relies on Roleplaying and player engagement with NPCs. In wilderness campaigns or rurally set campaigns, the DM should provide alternative opportunities for players to train their skills.
So what types of areas have trainers and how accessible are they? The answer is, and should be, almost everywhere and very accessible. In general, any city with roads should have at least one skilled NPC to be able to train a character into at least one Novice proficiency. The larger the city, the more skilled trainers should be available. Even the most remote of villages should have trackers capable (albeit, possibly unwilling) of teaching survival or herbalists who can teach medicine.
| Population | Settlement Size | Maximum Training | Specialists |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 - 80 | Thorp | Novice | 2 - 4, low proficiency |
| 81 - 400 | Hamlet | Adept | 10 - 20, low proficiency |
| 401 - 900 | Village | Adept | 20 - 50, a handful at moderate proficiency |
| 901 - 2,000 | Small Town | Expert | 50 - 100, several with moderate proficiency |
| 2,001 - 5,000 | Large Town | Expert | 100 - 250, many with mod prof., a handful with high prof. |
| 5,001 - 12,000 | Small City | Master | 250 - 600, many with moderate and high proficiency |
| 12,001 - 25,000 | Large City | Master | More than a thousand, with most ranges of proficiency* |
| 25,000 + | Metropolis | Legendary | Any number of trainers, with at least one grandmaster |
* Finding a trainer capable of teaching a Legendary skill should be more rare or unique.
The cost to train a skill is largely dependent on the type of campaign, but as a general rule the DM should abide by these baselines. Note that almost all NPCs will accept trades or quests to mitigate the cost, and many will adjust their prices on how much they like, are impressed by, or are intimidated by the PC.
| Training Tier | Min Trainer Needed | Cost (Avg) | Time Requirement* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Novice | Adept | 50 gp | 2 - 5 Days |
| Adept | Expert | 250 gp | 7 - 15 Days |
| Expert | Master | 1,000 gp | 1 - 4 Weeks (Tenday) |
| Master | Legend | 10,000 gp | 1 - 4 Months |
| Legendary | Grandmaster | Unique | Varies |
* Measured in daily downtime activities.
Training DCs
Note to self to add training DCs = tier of training.
Core Levels
Every five levels gained leads to the acquisition of a core level - a new tier of access to feats and abilities. Core levels also show their associated proficiencies. You may select one of those proficiencies and boost it upon selecting that core level. Note that your maximum proficiency is still dictated by your level in this regard (unlike training), thus you can only be a novice up until 10th, adept until 20th, and so on.
Items, Souls, and Spells
A lot of loot and resources will offer enhancements to skill checks. There are three types of bonuses:
Skill Bonus (or Penalty): When an item or effect grants a skill bonus, it is usually listed as a modifier (ie., +2). This bonus is added to one of the dice in your pool. Skill bonuses of the same type must be stacked together, but you may have multiple skill bonuses from different types that can be allocated to different dice within your pool. Starting out, you may wish to simply add all modifiers to your lowest die result to keep math simple.
Skill Sweeping Bonus (or Penalty): A skill sweep is a bonus that applies to all dice in the pool, rather than a single die. This effect is much rarer, normally reserved for path abilities or high tier items.
Dice Bonus (or Penalty): While most dice are represented by raw talent and ability, there are some effects (especially granted from soulbinding) that can add or remove dice from your pool. Remember, any dice in excess of 10 in your pool still convert to modifiers.
Non-Combat Skill List
| Name | Ability | Description | Common Uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academics | LOG | Represents a character’s degree of education and general knowledge. | Knowledge & Lore, Research |
| Acrobatics | AGI | Measures your ability to perform tasks requiring coordination and grace. | Aerobatics, Aquabatics, Balance, Tumble |
| Animal Handling | INS | Guages your ability to deal with beasts. | Animal Ken, Riding, Train Animal, Veterinary |
| Athletics | STR | Allows you to perform deeds of physical prowess. | Brawl, Climb, Foot Chase, Force Entry, Jump, Throw |
| Aura Control | PRE / SPR | Reflects ability to manipulate your aura. | Aura Concealment, Aura Supression, Manuevers |
| Business | LOG | Represents your ability to manage organizational affairs. | Accounting, Appraise, Leadership, Politics, Society |
| Carousing | INS | How else do you represent your ability to throw a party? | Gambling, Gaming, Gather Information, Resist Alcohol |
| Combat Maneuvers | STR | Displays your skill aty special combat techniques. | Disarm, Grapple, Shove, Sunder, Trip |
| Counterfeit | LOG | Represents ability to imitate, usually in a criminal capacity. | Cryptography, Disguise, Forgery, Mimicry |
| Deception | INS | Measures ability to deceive or mislead. | Create a diversion, Feint, Impersonate, Lie |
| Diplomacy | INS / PRE | Ability to influence others through negotiation and flattery. | Gather Info, Make an Impression, Request |
| Discipline | SPR | Pending | Pending |
| Escape | AGI | Allows you to slip bonds and escape from grapples. | Use or Escape Bindings, Squeeze |
| Intimidation | PRE | Dictates how you can bend others to your will using threats. | Coerce, Demoralize, Interrogation |
| Intuition | INS | Governs your instincts when it comes to shady people or situations. | Sense Motive, Trust Your Gut |
| Investigation | INS / LOG | Represents your ability to look for clues or treasure in an area. | Find Traps, Search |
| Linguistics | LOG | Your skill at working with language, in both its spoken and written forms. | Detect Forgery, Learn a Language |
| Magecraft | LOG | Summarizes the art of casting and identifying spells and magic items. | Ritual Rites, Spellcraft, Summoning |
| Medicine | LOG | Reflects your ability to patch up wounds and know about ailments. | First Aid, Treat Condition |
| Meditation | SPR | Represents your ability to seek respite in the calm. | Chi Control, Mind Block, Open Pathways |
| Perception | INS / PRE | Measures your ability to be aware of your environment. | Lip Reading, Passive Observation, Scouting |
| Performance | PRE | Skill at a form of performance; impressing a crowd or making a living. | Perform |
| Soulcraft | SPR | Summarizes the art of chakra binding and identifying soul essence. | Chakra Binding, Soul Tethering |
| Stealth | AGI | Represents your skill at avoiding detection. | Conceal an Object, Hide, Sneak |
| Survival | INS | How you live in the wilderness. | Cover Tracks, Salvage Monster Parts, Sense Direction, Track |
| Thievery | AGI | Represents skill favored by thieves and miscreants. | Disable Device, Pick a Lock, Sleight of Hand |