Specialized Abilities

Once a character has raw attributes, he or she must learn ways to use them. A zero-level character experiments constantly, perhaps trying to weave spells one day and cross swords the next. This flexibility makes learning new abilities the most exciting, but also the most dangerous, part of a zero-level character’s life. Whenever a zero-level character wishes, he or she may study-or simply attempt-a specialty normally used by some character class. Characters might try to learn abilities of up to 12th level in difficulty, but they will almost never succeed at anything more than that which a first-level character could do.

Abilities are defined as the many different tasks of an adventurer. Warriors fight at a given ability level; clerics turn undead with a given ability level; mages cast spells with a given ability level; and thieves pick locks with a given ability level. All of the things that player characters try to do are at an ability level. A zero-level character has two options when trying to perform tasks that are class-related. He can try to do the task by blind luck or can take some time and study the tasks he wants to attempt.

To learn a class ability, the character must be taught by an NPC who possesses that ability. Any thief can teach pocket picking and wall climbing to the character. The zero-level character can be taught by more than one NPC at a time if he wants to pick up several different abilities. When he tries to use these abilities, the zero-level character must roll on the Learning Table on page 119 to see how successful he is. In other words characters don’t perform at the level of their teacher or at the first level of experience. Remember that these zero-level characters are filled with youthful zest and the confidence of those who haven’t had time to realize the full danger of what they are attempting. For example, a first level cleric carefully presents his holy symbol and carefully pronounces the words that can turn undead; a zero-level character wanting to do the same thing might just rush up and thrust his holy symbol in the face of the vampire and scream, “BOO!” at it. The first level cleric couldn’t turn the vampire, but the zero-level cleric might turn the vampire as a 12th level cleric just because the vampire was so surprised!

In learning a class ability the zero-level character picks up one Instruction Point per week of study. He must study at least one hour a day with the instructor. If he doesn’t study every day he won’t earn the point for that week. The player must keep track of the number of points his character has earned and what they apply to. Zero-level characters also use up one aptitude point per every six instruction points they pick up.

It is possible and often advisable to gain more points in an area of study than is needed for the character class. It only takes two instruction points to learn a fighter ability, for example, but more points in the fighter section help the zero-level character when he tries the many abilities of that character class.

Luck

When resorting to luck to attempt a task, the zero-level character just hasn’t had time to study what he is trying to do, but says to himself, “this can’t be too hard, other people do it.” He tries to get the job done by bulling his way through the task. The Learning Table is used to note the effects.

In “trusting to luck,” a character can attempt a specific task only once per day. A character experimenting with thief skills can try his luck once when picking a pocket, again when climbing a wall, and again when trying to hide in shadows, but he can’t try to pick more than one pocket, using luck, in a 24 hour period.

On successful luck attempts, zero-level characters gain instruction points because they are learning by deduction and intuition. The DM determines how many points PCs get.