Skills and Training

While characteristics create the foundation of your character’s abilities, skills and specialized training really make your player character (PC) stand out from the crowd. Skills represent your character’s training and experience in performing specific tasks and actions. Although characters can attempt almost anything even without the proper training or skill, they are far more likely to succeed if they have at least a rank or two in the relevant skill.

Skills, the second factor influencing a dice pool, represent specific training, hands-on experience, and focused knowledge in a certain area. Each skill is linked to a specific characteristic, which is the default ability a character uses when performing a task with that skill. For example, the Athletics skill is linked to Brawn, Deception relies on Cunning, and Knowledge uses Intellect. Proper skill training can compensate for a character’s low characteristic rating. However, the most proficient characters have both the proper training and a strong linked characteristic.