Skills

If characteristics and attributes define what a character is like, skills define what they can do. All characters have a diverse set of skills drawn from their vocation and cultural backgrounds.
Skills are divided into two categories: Standard and Professional. Every character has the same set of Standard Skills. Professional Skills differ between individual characters and reflect experise developed within a career and, to a certain extend, their culture. Despite these distinctions, Standard and Professional Skills work in the same way.

How Skills Work

A skill has a base value based on two characteristics; or one characteristic multiplied by two. There is no upper limit to a skill's value; it can exceed 100 and, in the course of play, characters can expect to see their skills reach such heights.
Whenever a character is called upon to resolve some form of test, challenge, or professional ability 1d100 is rolled and compared with the skills value:

• Equal to, or less than, the skill indicates a success
• Greater than the skill's value indicates a failure

There are certain special cases concerning success and failure that should be noted.

• Any roll of 01-05 is always a success
• Any roll of 96-00 is always a failure, irrespective of how high the skill's value

Criticals and Fumbles

Criticals and Fumbles represent spectacular successes and catastrophic failures; those cases where a character has either excelled in their attempt or failed miserably and utterly.

• A Critical success is euqal to one-tenth of the skill's value (and this includes skills that recieve a modifier — so modified skills may have a greater or lesser chance of a Critical outcome). Round fractions up when calculating a Critical success's range. For example if a skill is modified to twixe its normal value — from 40% to 80% say, then its critical range would be a roll of 08 or less.
• A Fumble is a a roll of 99 or 00. Skills with a value of more than 100% fumble only on a roll of 00.

The precise nature of a Critical or Fumble result is left to the GM to determine. The consequences could be wonderous or dire depending on the curcumstances. However, some exmaples of Critical and Fumble outcomes for each skill are given in the skill descriptions below.

Modifying Skills

There are some occasions where a skill roll is required but the chances of success need to be adjusted to reflect particular conditions. Fleeing bandits, for instance, might require an Athletics roll. But what if the character is fleeing through darkness or through treacherous undergrowth? In such a case the GM can insist on modifying the skill of teh character to reflect the circumstances.
The following series of grades are used determine how a skill is modified:

Reattempting Skills

In some situations a character will fail a skill attempt but be left in a situation where they could potentially try again. Example cases might be picking a lock or attempting to climb a sheer wall. Instead of simply denying any further attempts, kindly GM's may permit a follup, last-ditch attempt. However the character will suffer some trepidation or lack of confidence which increases the difficulty of the skill roll by one grade.
If this second effort also ends in failure, the character is assumed to have given it their 'best shot', and cannot make any further attempts for the foreseeable future.

Augmenting Skills

It is possible for one skill to aid another. This is called Augmenting. Imagine a character being chased by nomad raiders through countryside the character knows well, and the nomads do not. They could, in this case, augment their Drive with their Locale skill, knowledge of the local terrain giving them an advantage.
The GM will decide if augmentation is appropriate and possible. Any skill being used to augment another must be appropriate to the circumstances. In the above example Locale is appropriate because they know the area. If they were in an unfamiliar territory it would not be permissable.

• The primary skill can only be augmenbted with a single other skill.
• An augmenting skill increases the value of the primary skill by twice its critical range (i.e. 20% of the skill). So in the above case using Locale 33%, the characters Drive would be increased by 7%. However the chances for Critical and Fumble for the skill test are the same as if the primary skill was unaugmented.
• Characters can augment other character's skills to assist them. All of the above rules apply, so a character being aided cannot augment themselves in addition. Likewise a character can only contribute one of their skills to assist another at a time.

Capping Skills

To 'cap' a skill with another means that for a particular roll the primary skill is restricted to the value of a secondary skill, provided the latter is lower. This is normally done in situations where a character's full knowledge or ability is limited by unusual circumstances. For example, If a character is trying to haggle for good in a language they are unfamiliar with they with Commerce 54% and Language (Ashkyawasi) 32%, the Commerce check could be capped, effectively having Commerce 32% in the situation.
Capping is a useful alternative to applying a difficulty modifier, especially in circumstances where the character is limited by their own capability.

Contested Rolls

Contested Rolls are used whenever a skill is actively resisted by an opponent. This can be anything from a character influecing a reticent guard, to a weaver casting a spell against a monster. There are two types of contest: Opposed Rolls and Differential Rolls.

Opposed Rolls

Skills are often pitted against one another — Stealth versus Perception when a thief attempts to cut a nobleman's purse, say; or Deceit versus Insight when the same thief tries to deny the attempt when they are caught — are good examples of times where skills are matched against each other. THese are known as Opposed Rolls and are used where a challenge will have a binaryresult. either a win or loss, pass or fail.
An Opposed Roll is determined thus: both participants roll their respective skills. The winner is the one who gains the better level of success. If the particiapnts score the same level of success (a standard success each or a critical each), then the winner is the one who has the highest dice roll still within the success range of the skill. For example, a thief attempts to cut the purse of a nobleman. This calls for a Sleight roll by the thief which the GM says will be opposed by the nobleman's Perception. The dice are rolled: the thief score 45 on their Slight skill of 70% and the nobleman score 63 on their Perception of 66%. Both have succeeded in their rolls but, because the nobleman has rolled higher than the theif and is still within their skill range, they are judged the winner. THe thief has successfully cut the purse but the nobleman has clearly seen them do it.
In a bid to save their skill the thiefs attempts to lie their way out of trouble. 'The cord snapped good sir!' the theif protests. 'I merely caught your purse as it dropped, and was about to return it to you.' This calls for a Deceit roll for the thief, opposed by the nobleman's Insight roll. The thief has Deceit 78% and rolls 07, a critical success. The nobleman has Insight 64% and rolls 62. Here the thief clearly has the better level of success: a critical against the nobleman's standard success. The thief manages to sweet-talk their way out of a sticky situation and walks away thankful, but ruing their bad lack at nearly being caught.
If both participants fail in an Opposed Roll then either:

• Describe the situation, leaving both sides hanging in dramatic tension, then re-roll the contest to establish a winner
• The GM should produce some explanation or circumstances that suit the nature of the failure

In the above example, both of them failing in the initial rolls would mean that the thief failed to cut the purse and the nobleman failed to notice them trying. In the case of the thief trying to lie their way out of trouble, if both fail in their rolls, then the GM informs the players that both of them are suddenly distracted by the sounds of a skirmish across the market place as a brawl breaks out between rival merchants. THe thief can make a swift exit and the noblement has their attention absorbed by the merchants' squabble.
Opposed rolls are frequently used in certain battle situations to overcome the effects of wounds or oppose a combat special effect. They are also used to resist poisons and disease, or shrug off the effects of baleful magic.

Differential Rules

Differential rolls are similair to Opposed Rolls except that instead of a simple win or lose result, the difference in levels of success are calculated. Primarily used for the resolution of combat, Differential Rolls can also be used in other situations where the GM wihses to increase the detailed results of a contest.
A Differential Roll is determined in the following manner: Both participants roll against their respective skills and suffer the results of their roll as if tested in isolation. There is no outright 'winner' per se, but whoever gained the higehr level of success gains an advantage equal to the difference in the success levels between them (assuming one participant gainst at least a standard success or better). If both particiapnts score the same level of success, then there is no additional effect.

Contested Skills Over 100%

If the highest skilled participant in an Opposed or Differential Roll has a skill in excess of 100%, that participant subtracts their skill value from the skill of everyone in the contest, including themselves. This reduces the skill value of the opponents but leaves them retaining the advantage. The identification of who has the highest skill must be calculated after any other modifiers for circumstance have been applied.