Nuclear Beasts

Skill List II

Acrobatics: jumping, climbing, tumbling and other tests of balance and dexterity.
Ancient Lore: knowledge of the past. A strange mix of history, legends, rumors and stories. Can be used to read if you have the Literacy Edge.
Ancient Tech: using, identifying and fixing technological devices (even modern ones, because they're a lot simpler than the ancient sort).
Awareness: noticing things with your various senses.
Burrowing: ability to dig stable underground tunnels rapidly; also how comfortable you are moving around underground.
Craft: skill at weaving, sewing and generally constructing tools and goods.
Endurance: ability to outlast foes, especially when running.
Engineering: skill at making and analyzing large structures like houses, walls, bridges, dams and such.
Explosives: understanding how to make, use and place explosive charges for maximum effect.
Fellowship: making friends and getting along with new cultures.
Herbalism: knowledge about various plants, fungi and other growths and their effects on Beasts.
Leadership: giving effective orders and getting folks to follow them.
Medicine: skill at first aid, surgery, diagnosing problems and treating wounds and injuries.
Melee: skill at melee combat, but doesn't include grappling.
Persuasion: convincing others to see things your way.
Psychology: skill at picking up on subtle mannerisms and other hints about what someone is really thinking. Often rolled to see if someone is lying.
Shooting: skill at ranged combat, including throwing things.
Stealth: moving silently and finding good hiding spots. Essential for ambushes.
Swimming: aptitude for the water. Botches in the water often lead to drowning, so beware of deep water if you lack this skill.
Thievery: skill at sleight of hand, picking pockets, picking locks, and otherwise engaging in tasks that require a subtle and dextrous hand.
Tracking: following trails by scent and physical traces.
Wilderness: general skill at surviving in the wilderness.
Wrestling: skill at grappling combat where you seize ahold of a foe and throw, pin or crush them.

Discarded skills:
Modern Lore/Known World: perhaps this should just be the equivalent of a "Common Knowledge" check... a Brains & Perception roll or something.

I'm also unsure about how to handle Charm skills. I'm not sure I want enough of them to make a full set of 6+. I've got Fellowship and Persuade now. I could easily see adding stuff like Haggling, Seduction, Leadership, Performance, Intimidation or Oratory. Perhaps just Performance and Leadership? Also Intimidation?

Specialties & Trivial skills: the former are half the cost of a regular skill and still take 2 checks to increase. The latter are so easy that they take only a single check to bump up. I like the "checks" system for increasing skills and such, but making Specialities half of the cost of a regular skill without adding more paperwork seems troublesome. Perhaps regular skills should cost 3 to increase, specialties 2 and trivial skills only 1? If an Edge costs 4x as much as a regular skill, it would take 12 checks to go up... seems like a bit much.

The alternative is to allow for "half-checks" or let you check multiple skills with a single XP. That seems problematic, too. Hm.

You receive 3-5 checks per session. Each one has to go on a different skill or trait. A regular skill takes 2 checks before it goes up... hmph. The problem is that I want to allow for cheaper skills that don't advance any faster. Hm.

Posted by Kiz at June 9, 2004 11:50 AM