Skills Overview

In The One Ring, almost every action heroes can attempt is resolved using a Skill: whether a Player-hero is traversing the land trying to get back home (TRAVEL), running away from a threat (ATHLETICS), or listening intently to an orator’s speech to weigh their words (INSIGHT).
In game terms, Skills and their ratings represent what Player-heroes are able to do and how good they are at doing it.
When using a Skill, players roll one Feat die and a number of Success Dice equal to the acting Player-hero’s Skill rank — rolling only one Feat die if a Player-hero is unskilled (rank 0). To succeed, the roll result must match or beat the Attribute TN corresponding to the used Skill.
FAVOURED SKILLS
A number of Skills can be marked as Favoured on a character sheet, checking the box to the left of their name. Favoured Skills highlight those abilities that come most naturally to a Player-hero.
All rolls made using a Favoured Skill are Favoured rolls — the acting player rolls two Feat dice, keeping the best result.
Each Skill belongs to one of three categories, based on which Attribute TN it’s rolled against. For ease of reference, the Skills are organised on a character sheet in three columns placed right under the Attribute box they depend on.
STRENGTH SKILLS Strength Skills
All Skills in this category rely largely on the Player-hero’s physical aptitude. An adventurer with a high STRENGTH score is more likely to be imposing (AWE), to have a clear singing voice (SONG), to be fit and agile (ATHLETICS), to have good sight and hearing (AWARENESS, HUNTING), and to possess skilful hands (CRAFT).
STRENGTH Skill rolls are resolved using a Player-hero’s STRENGTH Target Number.
HEART SKILLS Heart Skills
The Skills under this category depend on the Player-hero’s force of spirit more than anything else. An adventurer with a high HEART score may be a charismatic leader (ENHEARTEN, BATTLE), an energetic guide (TRAVEL), a gracious gentleman (COURTESY), be able to read the hearts of others (INSIGHT), or to understand their hurt and how to heal them (HEALING).
HEART Skill rolls are resolved using a Player-hero’s HEART Target Number.
WITS SKILLS Wits Skills
A Player-hero’s mental aptitude affects those Skills that rely on quick thinking and creativity. A hero with a high WITS value will quickly learn witty oratory (PERSUADE), the arts of a burglar (STEALTH), show attentiveness (SCAN, EXPLORE), and will be clever and studious (RIDDLE, LORE).
WITS Skill rolls are resolved using a Player-hero’s WITS Target Number.