Enhearten
Player-heroes can use the ENHEARTEN Skill to instil positive
feelings in others, urging them to act on the matter at hand.
They achieve this mainly through example, charisma, and
personal conviction, rather than through the effective use
of words (which falls under PERSUADE). This Skill can be
used on individuals, but is particularly effective in influencing
crowds. Player-heroes with high ENHEARTEN ratings can be
forceful orators, passionate agitators, and well-loved leaders.
A successful ENHEARTEN roll awakens a chosen feeling in
the subject, as long as it is not in opposition to their current
mood. A superior success is enough to influence wholly disinterested individuals, or turn rivals into supporters.
…he returned to the walls, and passed round all their circuit,
enheartening the men…
Travel
In the Third Age, the cities, villages, and towns of Middle Earth are often separated by many leagues of wild or deserted
areas. Roads that used to lead safely to distant realms now end
in broken trails that go nowhere. Whichever way the Company chooses to go, it will be a long and weary way before
they get there.
A successful roll of TRAVEL may let a Player-hero estimate the length of a journey, read a map, and even evaluate
whether a group of strangers on the road can be approached
safely or if they should be left alone instead. A good TRAVEL
Skill is an invaluable asset for the Guide of the Company
when on a journey.
The country was much rougher and more barren than in the green
vale of the Great River in Wilderland on the other side of the range,
and their going would be slow…
Insight
INSIGHT represents the ability to see beyond appearances
and to recognise the hidden thoughts and beliefs of people.
INSIGHT does not reveal if someone is lying, but the information it yields can be used to draw useful conclusions about
people’s motives. Heroes with a high INSIGHT score are often
recognised as being sensible and discerning individuals, and
many may seek their counsel.
A successful INSIGHT roll provides the Player-heroes with
a reliable, but partial, portrait of the person they are observing. A superior success allows them to correctly guess additional details about an individual’s state of mind. INSIGHT
tests may be rolled in opposition to an adversary trying to
sway or convince a Player-hero of something.
“There are locked doors and closed windows in your mind, and dark
rooms behind them,” said Faramir. “But in this I judge that you
speak the truth.”
Healing
The knowledge of how to relieve pain and apply remedies to
restore health to the suffering is an ancient one, and treatments differ from culture to culture. However, a traditions agree on the treatment of serious injuries, which
must be tended immediately to keep from worsening.
The HEALING Skill includes bone setting and the use of
herbs or salves, but the outcome relies on the ability of the
healer to understand what ails the sufferer and determine
what should be done to help them.
As a matter of fact, Gandalf, who had often been in the mountains,
had once rendered a service to the eagles and healed their lord from
an arrow-wound.
Courtesy
The Free Peoples recognise common norms of decency and
ancient conventions of behaviour. Observing these traditions
demonstrates respect and is a way of quickly establishing a
friendly footing even with complete strangers.
Succeeding in a COURTESY roll might mean the Player heroes know what to say at the right moment to make a good
impression with their host, or are mindful of their manners
when receiving guests.
“You have nice manners for a thief and a liar,” said the Dragon.
Battle
A rating in this Skill shows a firm grasp of the rules of battle
and the capability to maneuver appropriately when involved
in a violent confrontation. The BATTLE Skill can be used to
gain an advantage when fighting against a group of foes, or
leading a company of troops in open battle and maintaining
order in the midst of chaos (individual fighting talents are
covered by Combat Proficiencies on page 65).
“Fools!” laughed Bard, “to come thus beneath the Mountain’s arm!
They do not understand war above ground, whatever they may know
of battle in the mines.”
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