Characters

Yags is a generic game system designed to model most types of genres and settings. The character design process is aims to provide you, the player, with many options when building your character, unlimited by class restrictions or poor die rolls. It also provides the Game Master with options for the level of the campaign, from fairly mundane people thrown into abnormal situations, to heroic larger than life characters who shape the world around them.

What is provided here can only define the mechanics around the character. As with any roleplaying game, it is up to you to provide the story and personality behind the character. Yags is faily crunchy, so allows you to build your character on a solid framework that matches your expectations.

Yags aims for something close to realism, whilst still allowing for heroic characters. Even the greatest hero can be taken out by a single bullet or thrust of a sword, but they win against the enemy hordes through clever tactics, high skill and possibly some luck.

If you haven't already done so, it is suggested that you read the Core Rules, which provide a basic description of how the system works. The following however provides a summary of the Core Rules.

The Rules in Brief

Yags uses a single d20 for all die rolls. When making a skill check, you determine which attribute and skill to use, and roll attribute x skill + 1d20. Most professionals will have an attribute of 3 and a skill of 4, so will be rolling 12 + 1d20.

A very easy task has a target difficulty of 10, a moderate task 20, a difficult task 30. You must roll the target difficulty or higher in order to succeed.

Attributes

There are 8 primary attributes to define, and all begin with a score of 3 (which is average for an adult human). Anything outside of the range of 2-5 is considered to be very exceptional for a human, and attributes above 8 are unheard of amongst humans.

Strength

How strong you are, including your ability to lift and hurt things. If you have a high strength then you will tend to be larger as well.

Health

A measure of your physical fitness and stamina. Health is used in checks to remain alive after being seriously wounded.

Agility

Your agility represents your quickness, athletic prowess and balance. It is used for brawling, wrestling, sneaking, reaction tests and acrobatics.

Dexterity

Dexterity is your hand-eye coordination, sleight-of-hand and skill with melee weapons. Pistols also use dexterity, and rifles may use dexterity or perception.

Perception

How alert you are, and the general quality of your senses. If perceptive, you are good at hiding and noticing things. Rifles and larger weapons use perception.

Intelligence

A measure of your wit, cunning, memory and intuition. Knowledges are based on intelligence, as are logic and reasoning skills.

Empathy

Empathy is your ability to understand others. It is used to make friends, convince people emotionally, or to tell if someone is lying to you. Empathy doesn't affect your intentions to be nice or nasty, but does affect how well you notice other people's feelings.

Will

Your Will is a measure of mental fortitude, being used to resist psi, instincts and emotions. A high Will makes you a good liar, a low Will means you are gullible and likely to give in to fear, lust and greed.

Skills

Skills are abilities which are gained through study, experience and training. There are 8 basic skills (talents) which all being at a score of 2, all other skills are assumed to start at zero unless stated otherwise for your background.

A skill of 4 is considered to be a trained professional, 6 is an expert, 8 is elite and 10+ is a true master of the profession. Skills above 15 are pretty much unheard of.

Speciality Techniques

Techniques are specialities bought within a particular skill. They enable you to perform actions that would be impossible or hard without it, or grant a bonus in certain situations (sometimes to related skills).

Setting and Style

Yags does not try to cover all possible settings in one set of rules. What is provided here is a wide range of skills and background options, but only enough to cover the 'real world'. There are no options for magic, since how magic is learnt and used can differ from setting to setting. Likewise, there are no skills to cover piloting space craft or operating energy shields or matter transmitters, since again how these work differs between science fiction settings. Individual world books will contain the unique information necessary to build characters for these settings.

Finally, it is up to the Game Master to decide on the level of the campaign - Mundane, Exceptional or Heroic, and any other limits in place on the choice of characters and backgrounds.

Character Building

Building a character for Yags is a relatively straightforward process. There are many choices available however, and as always it helps to have a good idea of your character concept before you start. The setting of the campaign will tend to limit this, and your GM may have some suggestions as to what type of characters will find a useful role to play.

Yags is point based, and the number of points you get to spend depend on the level of the game that the GM will be running. You get three point pools to spend from - Attributes, Experience and Adavantages. Your first task is to prioritise these according to the type of character you wish to play. You must choose one pool as your Primary, one as your Secondary and the last as your Tertiary pool. The Primary pool gets the most points to spend, and the Tertiary the least.

The pools are not necessarily equal, but which are the most useful will depend on the type of campaign and the type of character that you wish to build.

The Pools

Attributes

Your attributes define the raw potential of your character. A character with good attributes tends to be able to pick up new things reasonably quickly. They can be fit, healthy, intelligent and charismatic. Attributes are difficult or impossible to raise after character generation (depending on the campaign style), so can be more useful long term than experience or advantages.

Hollywood action heroes will tend to have high attributes. A character with high attributes and low skills represents the gifted amateur who learns to quickly supercede their mentors.

When you prioritise attributes, you define both how many extra points you get to spend, and the maximum level any single attribute can be. This is shown as +points/maximum in the tables below.

Experience

Experience represents skills and knowledge, generally gained through training and real world experience. A character with a lot of experience is probably older than those who lack it.

Academics, scientists and businessmen will tend to have a high experience. These are often the support characters in fiction - less heroic, but providing useful skills in specialised areas.

When you prioritise experience, you define both how many points you get to spend on skills and techniques, and the maximum level of any single skill. As for attributes, this is shown as points/maximum.

Advantages

Heroes often have some out of the ordinary feature which separates them from normal people. Advantages represent these features. By purchasing advantages, you can make your character special in a certain way, either through extremely good looks, large size, speed or luck.

Advantages also allow you to purchase certain background options, such as wealth or high status. An otherwise normal character can be extremely useful to a group by being able to provide large sums of money to fund their adventures.

When you prioritise advantages, you define how many points of advantages you may buy. You may always buy one further point of advantage by taking a point of disadvantage. For every full 3 points of advantages you are given, you may take an extra disadvantage to gain a further point.

The Priorities

Before you can begin character generation, the GM will have set the level of the campaign. This determines how many points you get to spend on the three areas.

Mundane

Mundane campaigns are about normal people in abnormal situations (or even normal people in normal situations). In this type of campaign, characters are somewhat above average, but not significantly so.

This level of campaign is suitable for modern horror, or stories about young, inexperienced knights at the start of their careers. There is no reason that characters in such campaigns can't grow to become heroic, but the story is often about their progression rather than what they do once they become heroes.

The majority of people in the world will be of the Mundane level - indeed, most will have a Tertiary level in each of the three categories. Skilled professionals will tend to have Primary experience however.

Category	Primary	Secondary	Tertiary
Attributes	+5/5	+2/4	0/4
Experience	50/6	30/5	20/4
Advantages	3	1	0

For a truly mundane game, characters may be limited to taking two Secondary and one Tertiary selections, or even a single Secondary and two Tertiary.

Mundane campaigns are best for horror, low fantasy or gritty science fiction. Characters will be young with their life (hopefully) ahead of them.

Exceptional

Exceptional campaigns begin with the characters well above average. You are highly skilled, and above average in your attributes however you prioritise your pools.

Category	Primary	Secondary	Tertiary
Attributes	+8/6	+5/5	+2/4
Experience	100/7	75/6	50/5
Advantages	4	2	1

Exceptional characters will tend to be average in their weak areas, rather than actually weak. Having said this, they are not far above the norm in attributes, and may be the equivalent of highly skilled professionals (knights, special forces, experienced smugglers etc) who could pass themselves off as heroic with good planning and luck.

Heroic

In a heroic campaign you have skills and abilities well above the majority of people.

Category	Primary	Secondary	Tertiary
Attributes	+12/8	+6/6	+3/5
Experience	200/10	150/8	100/6
Advantages	6	3	1

Heroic characters are very, very good.

Attributes

For player characters, attributes are generally rated on a scale of 1 to 10, with human PCs falling within the range of 2-8. Anything outside of the range 2-5 however is significantly unusual for an adult human, and a typical adult will have all their attributes at 3.

The number of points that may be spent on buying up an attribute depends on the priority you chose for attributes - 12 points for primary, 6 for secondary and only 3 for tertiary. This choice also limits the maximum you may buy an attribute up to.

Score	Cost and description
10	Super alien. The limit of what most aliens can achieve, and far ahead of any human.
9	Super human. Beyond want humans can achieve, and only found in a select few alien species.
8	Amazing (+15 points). At the limit of human ability, which only a few people in human history have attained.
7	Outstanding (+10 points). The best olympic athletes and the most renowned of academics will have this level of attribute.
6	Superb (+6 points). Far above human average, attained not by chance but through dedicated training.
5	Exceptional (+3 points). Obviously exceptional. Attributes higher than this are normally only attained through training and dedication.
4	Good (+1 point). Significantly above average for an adult. About 5% of the population has this level or above.
3	Average (0 points). Typical average for an adult. About 90% of the population.
2	Poor (-2 points). Significantly below average, the bottom 5%.
1	Terrible. Obviously impaired compared to a typical human. An attribute of this level is almost worthless.

Levels outside of the range 2-8 cannot be purchased, but are reserved for alien species. Some aliens get a bonus or penalty to a given attribute, and this bonus applies after you have purchased the attribute. You may not purchase an attribute to a level that would cause it to be shifted outside of the 1-10 range once species modifiers have been applied.

Advantages

Advantages allow you to personalise your character by choosing traits which make the character stand out above the rest of their society. Most people will have no advantages.

Advantages

Ambidexterity (+1):

You suffer no penalty for performing actions with your off hand.

Animal empathy (+1):

You have a natural ability to get on well with animals. All animals react well to you, and have their reaction shifted to one better category.

Charisma (+3):

You are good at getting on with people, and gain a +1 bonus to Empathy when trying to befriend or persuade a person.

Eidetic memory (+3):

You are very good at remembering things. The target difficulty for trying to remember something you have seen or heard is halved.

Famous (+1, +3, +5):

You are famous, and there is a good chance that people will recognise you - either by face, or at least by name. At level +1, you are known to a select group of people, either over a small area (such as a country) or to those with certain interests (such as Johnny Ball or Charles Stross).

At level +3, you are mildly famous across the world.

At level +5, you are really famous.

Fit (+1):
Cannot take: Unfit.

You have one more fatigue level than you would normally have from your Health.

Good looking (+1):
Cannot take: Ugly.

You are exceptionally beautiful, and gain a +1 bonus to your Empathy when trying to charm or persuade somebody who may be sexually attracted to you. Being beautiful also makes you easier to recognise.

Graceful (+1):
Cannot take: Clumsy.

You are graceful in your movements. Whenever you are trying to impress people with athletic feats, then upon a success you gain an extra level of success that goes towards making you look good. This covers dancing, gymnastics or even sword play. This has no effect on the practical outcome.

Heavily built (+1):
Prerequisites: Strength 4.
Cannot take: Small.

You are heavily built, being tougher and broader than normal. You get one extra level of stun, plus a +1 bonus to Strength for purposes of resisting knockdown, or being tripped.

Iron constitution (+1):

You have a particularly hardy consitition, and gain +2 to your Health to resist all forms of poison, disease and other forms of illness.

Keen hearing (+1):
Cannot take: Poor hearing.

You have exceptional hearing, and gain a +2 bonus to your Perception when making hearing checks. When fighting in total darkness in close combat, your Perception has a minimum of 1.

Keen vision (+1):
Cannot take: Poor vision, Missing eye.

You have exceptional vision, and gain a +2 bonus to your Perception when making vision checks. It does not grant a bonus for ranged attacks.

Large (+1):
Prerequisites: Strength 4.
Cannot take: Small.

You are very large, being both tall and heavily built. You have a bonus of +1 to your Size (raising it to 6 for humans), which provides you with an extra level of wounds and stuns. You also have extra reach, and any reach 0 melee attacks are instead considered reach 1. You may not have a Strength below 4.

Literate (+1):

You may read and write any language you begin with. You may take a scribe skill in a language equal to your speak for that language for free. Languages gained during play are not affected. At the GM's option, this may not apply to some languages (especially those which have no known written form).

In a campaign where literacy is common, this advantage is had by everyone for free, unless illiterate is taken.

Musical talent (+1):
Cannot take: Can't sing.

You have a natural talent with music, and gain a +2 bonus to Empathy or Intelligence when playing a musical instrument, or composing for one.

Need little sleep (+1):
Cannot take: Heavy sleeper.

You don't need as much sleep as other people. You recover fatigue twice as quickly when sleeping, and only need 4 hours sleep to count as having a full night's rest.

Night vision (+1):

You have particularly good night vision. Except in total darkness, any penalties to your Perception are halved (round down) when either making vision checks, or when your Perception is used to cap other attributes.

Reflexes (+1):

You have a +1 bonus to Agility for purposes of initiative. See the combat rules for a description of how initiative works.

Reserves of strength (+1):
Cannot take: Poor attribute (Strength).

You may tap into reserves of strength at any time, allowing to to perform feats not normally possible. At any time, you may have +1 or +2 to your Strength for a single roll, though you gain one point of fatigue per point of bonus for doing so.

Rich (+1, +3, +5, +7):

You are rich. Possibly stinking rich depending on the level to which you take this advantage. At level +1, you are comfortably well off, with a total worth of a few million pounds. You can probably afford to not work, as long as you don't live too extravagently.

At a level of +3, you have tens of millions of pounds and can join the ranks of the idle rich if you so rich. Alternatively you can fund startups, give to charity or just spend it all on fast cars and pretty women.

At a level of +5 you have a worth in the hundreds of millions. You probably have some big expensive yachts, a private jet and several garages full of cars.

At a level of +7, you are a billionaire, and join the ranks of the richest people in the world. You probably own a small island somewhere, with a secret base, private army and a fleet of fast jets.

Sexy (+3):

As well as being good looking, the way in which you walk, talk and dress comes across as very sexy to anyone who would be sexually attracted to you. Others will tend to flirt with you given a chance, and you may gain +2 to Empathy in such situations.

Voice (+3):

You have a clear and pleasant voice, and gain a +1 bonus to Empathy when singing, orating or otherwise entertaining with the sound of your voice. This does not stack with Beautiful.

Disadvantages

Absent minded (-1):

You have a poor memory, and probably a reputation for being forgetful. The problem mostly manifests when trying to remember everyday mundane things, such as locking the front door, packing food or putting your clothes on in the morning. At inconvenient moments, the GM will secretly make an Intelligence check for you to see if you remembered doing something important.

If the player ever forgets something, then excuses of "but my character would have remembered" can be safely ignored by the GM.

Addiction (varies):

The addict craves some drug which they need to stave off withdrawal symptoms. The cost of the addiction is measured by three factors - whether the substance is socially accepted (tobacco and alcohol normally are), whether it is expensive and/or difficult to get hold of (heroin), and whether it has any side effects which affect the character in game (alcohol and heroin would, though tobacco wouldn't, since the latter's side effects are too long term to have any effect in most games).

Side effects include anything which can be detrimental to you during the general course of play. Drinking yourself into a stupor most evenings may have less effect on the game than being mildly drunk all the time.

Addiction	Cost
Your addiction is socially acceptable, reasonably cheap and has few short term side effects. Smoking is an example (you may get negative reactions in some places, but it's not illegal).	-1
Your addiction is either not socially acceptable, has bad side effects or is hard or expensive to get hold of. Alcoholism is an example.	-3
Your addiction suffers from two problems, or one very, very badly. Heroin is not sociably acceptable and is expensive, but most side effects are long term.	-5

Albino (-1):
Cannot take: Exotic appearance.

You are an albino. Your skin and hair are white and your eyes are pink. You risk suffering sub burn in moderate sunlight, and may find that others react badly to you due to your unusual appearance.

Animal enmity (-1):

You do not get on well with animals. The Reaction of animals to you is always one level worse than it would be otherwise.

Bad back (-3):

You have a bad back, which at moments of physical exertion may fail you. If you ever roll a '1' when making an athletics check, or when wrestling or performing similar feats, then you put your back out. Your Agility and Dexterity is immediately reduced to one for the rest of the day.

Bad habit (-1):

You have a bad habit which bothers most other people. It may be a manner of speaking, or something you do (such as picking your nose, or standing really close to people). If people have a bad reaction to you, then it is one step worse. People who have a neutral or better reaction can overlook it.

Bad hangovers (-1):

You suffer from very bad hangovers the morning after a night of drinking. All penalties and effects of a hangover are doubled.

Big mouth (-1):

You have a habit of spurting out the wrong thing at the worst possible time. If the player makes any snide comments, asides or other such utterences whilst a social situation is being roleplayed, then their character said it out loud.

Cannot lie (-3):

You are a very bad liar. You do not necessarily have any moral objections to lying, but any attempts to do so result in your skill check being halved.

Clumsy (-1):
Cannot take: Graceful.

You are clumsy and awkward, every movement you make looks like a disaster waiting to happen. Any attempt you make to look graceful or skilled is likely to fail, and the success of all such actions is reduced by one level.

Combat paralysis (-1):

You are fearful and indecisive, and react poorly in combat. You are unable to act in the first round of combat. If you have surprise, then you do not get any benefit from the surprise. A fumbled initiative means that you are indecisive for two rounds.

Crippled (-5):

You are crippled in one of your attributes. Choose one unmodified attribute and reduce it's value to 1. It may never be improved. You may only take this disadvantage for a single attribute. You should explain why this attribute is so low as part of your background.

Exotic looks (-1):
Cannot take: Albino, Noticeable mark.

Your appearance is out of the ordinary. This does not mean that you are ugly or handsome (indeed, this advantage is compatible with other appearance affecting advantages), just that you are different and stand out in a crowd. You can be easy to recognise, and easy to blame because you look strange.

If you are exotically beautiful, then in some cases it may actually attract people to you, especially if there is plenty of more mundanely beautiful people to compete with. This will be quite rare however.

Fragile (-3):

You are susceptible to being wounded, and more likely to die from a serious injury. You suffer a -5 penalty to any rolls to remain alive or conscious after suffering a physical injury.

Gullible (-1):

You are particularly gullible and cannot tell if someone is lying, tending to take things at face value. You may well understand the concept of lying, and might be very good at it yourself, but can't spot when others are doing it.

Normally the you will automatically fail any attempts to detect lying. In really obvious situations, you may have a roll but the final result is halved.

Ham fisted (-1):

You are clumsy, suffering a penalty when trying to use fine motor skills. You suffer a -1 to Dexterity which performing such tasks as sleight of hand or lock picking.

Heavy sleeper (-1):

You sleep heavily, and find it difficult to awaken. When dozing, all perception checks are quartered (as if in deep sleep), and when actually sleeping your Perception is considered zero.

Illiterate (-1):
Cannot take: Literate.

You do not know how to read or right, and do not start with reading or writing skills in any language. This disadvantage can only be taken in a setting where literacy is the norm.

Innumerate (-1):

You have never learnt to count, and have great difficulty with numbers above ten (since you run out of fingers at this point). Arithmetic is very difficult, and estimating numbers of things is incredibly difficult for groups larger than three.

Light drinker (-1):
Cannot take: Heavy drinker.

You are easily intoxicated, and suffer a -1 penalty to Health when resisting the effects of alchohol and similar drugs.

Loud (-1):

You have a very loud voice, and have difficulty speaking quietly. If you have a need to keep your voice down, you need to make a Will check at a difficulty of at least 20 in order to do so. If you, the player, speaks loudly in a situation, then your character does as well.

No direction sense (-1):

You have no sense of direction. You automatically fail all but the simplest of navigation attempts. For very simple checks, your roll is halved.

Non-combatant (-3):

Either because you are a pacifist, or just because you are a coward, you have a distinct dislike of combat. Whenever you are in a real combat situation, you suffer a -1 to Agility, Dexterity and Perception, and your initiative roll is halved. You do not suffer this penalty in sporting events, so you can fence or perform target practise without penalty.

Obese (-1):

You are greatly overweight. Your Strength and Health is one less for purposes of encumberance and fatigue levels. You also suffer a -1 to your attribute when performing any form of athletics.

Poor hearing (-1):
Cannot take: Keen hearing.

You are hard of hearing. All range penalties for hearing based checks are doubled. You suffer a -1 to Perception for purposes of blind fighting.

Poor vision (-1):
Cannot take: Keen vision.

You have poor eyesight. All vision penalties due to range are doubled. Penalties for ranged attacks are unaffected, but you may need to make a check to see if you can actually see the target.

Sexually tantalising (-1):
Prerequisites: Good looking.

Everybody you meet who could be sexually attracted to you will be. This may mean they react well to you, but in lawless situations it could be dangerous. Even when they are treating you nicely, people will view you as a sex object rather than as a person with meaningful opinions.

People who aren't sexually attracted to you will view you with jealousy, and probably react badly, especially if they think you are fooling around with their partner.

Slow (-1):

You suffer a -1 penalty to agility for purposes of initiative. Your basic move score is also reduced by 2 points.

Small (-1):
Cannot take: Large, Strength 4+, Large, Heavily built.

You are smaller than average, being both shorter and thinner. You have a Size of 4, and therefore have one less body level than normal. Reach of short and medium weapons is reduced by one level.

Smelly (-1):

You have a very bad case of body odour. You suffer a -1 penalty to Empathy in social situations when people get close to you.

Ugly (-1):
Cannot take: Beautiful, Sexually tantalising.

You are unattractive. Results of initial reaction checks from people are at one worse level. Seduction attempts etc are halved.

Unfashionable (-1):

You have absolutely no sense of fashion. Anyone who cares about such things will react to you at one level worse than they would otherwise. Bad reactions will tend to be disdain, rather than hatred. You may not purchase any skills or techniques directly related to fashion.

Unfit (-1):

You have one less fatigue level than you would normally have from your Health.

Weak (-1):

You are weak, and incapable of doing much damage. Your Strength is considered to be one point lower for purposes of damage.

Wimp (-3):
Cannot take: High pain threshold.

You are affected by pain more so than others. Penalties due to wounds and stuns are increased by one level (so you are at -5 for minor wounds, -10 for light wounds etc). Fatal wounds/stuns are unchanged. Penalties from fatigue are unaffected.

Skills

Skills are those abilities which a character develops throughout their life, and tend to change a lot more regularly than attributes do.

How good a character is at a skill is rated as a value from zero upwards. A skill of four is acceptable for someone wanting to make a living with the skill. Higher skills are possible, though skills above six will be rare amongst the common population

Initial character development is divided into three broad categories - general skills, professional skills and adulthood. These should be worked through in the order given below.

Types of Skills

Standard skills

Most skills are considered to be standard skills. Such skills can be learnt relatively easily, including being self taught. They can also be used by a character who has a skill of zero, though such an attempt fumbles on a natural one or two.

Talents

Talents are skills which are known by everyone from childhood onwards. They are treated just as standard skills, with the exception that all characters start with a skill level of two in all talents.

There are only eight talents, and are listed by default on the character sheet. Talents are sometimes marked with an asterix (*).

Knowledges

A knowledge is a special type of skill which cannot be attempted unless the character has a skill level of at least one. They can rarely be self taught, requiring a teacher or study aid (such as a book) to learn from.

Languages

Language skills are treated on a scale from one to four, and are not normally 'rolled' like other skills. Instead, the level of skill gives a guide to how much of a conversation a character can understand.

Level one

The character can recognise the language and knows a few words, but cannot put sentences together.

Level two

The character can understand and form basic sentences. The character can probably get by in the market or in an inn.

Level three

The character has a good grasp of the language and can hold a decent conversation. They will obviously still be a foreigner however, and many unusual words will be beyond their understanding.

Level four

The character is fluent in the language. If they are a foreigner, then they may still have an accent, but they will not have any problems communicating.

Level five and above

If the character is a non-native speaker, then they can speak without an accent. This level and beyond gives detailed knowledge of different dialects and really obscure words, but is not of use in everyday conversation.

Skill Rules

Defaults

Some skills have a default - this will generally be one of the talents. If desired, the default can be used instead, but the result (after the die roll) is halved, plus the chance of fumbling is doubled.

A default skill may also restrict the type of tasks which are possible. For example, Trade defaults to Guile, but the latter can only be used to barter, and isn't much use if the character needs to know the real value of goods.

Pre-requisites

A few skills have pre-requisites. Before this skill can be purchased at level one, all pre-requisites must be met. A skill like Physics might have a pre-requisite of Mathematics-2 and Science-2 for example, which means both skills must be known at level 2 before buying physics.

Further, the main skill may never be more than double the level of any of the pre-requisites. A physicist would have to raise their Mathematics and Science to at least 3, before raising Physics to 6.

A character cannot put points into a skill if the next level of skill is not allowed.

Limited Skills

Under some genres, a skill may be limited by another skill. This concept is mostly limited to knowledge or science skills. When a skill is limited by another skill, the first skill may never be more than half the score of the second.

For example, during the Enlightenment, when Science was being discovered, the Science skill is limited by Natural Philosophy. If a character has a Natural Philosophy of 7, then their Science cannot be higher than 3 (since raising it any higher would make it greater than 3.5). Once the character's Natural Philosophy has been raised to 8, then they can begin to raise their Science to 4.

A character cannot put points into a skill if the next level of skill is not allowed.

Skill Techniques

A Technique is a specialisation of a skill, and may provide bonuses or allow some particular special action to be attempted. A skill may have several techniques associated with it, and some techniques can be used with more than one skill. In the latter case, the technique only needs to be purchased once - it can then be used with any skill which uses it, as long as the skill is of sufficient level.

A technique has a cost associated with it, which is the number of experience points which need to be spent to buy it. A level 6 technique costs 6 points to buy. The cost of the technique is also the minimum skill level that must be achieved before the technique can be purchased. If you do not have the required skill at a sufficient level, then the technique can't be bought.

Finally, a technique may have a prerequisite. These are the techniques which must be known before this technique can be learnt.

Some techniques will be based on a skill group rather than a skill. In this case the technique can be purchased when any skill in that group reaches the technique's level, but it can only be used with those skills of sufficient level.

Skills

The following list of skills is not exhaustive, but covers the most common set of skills found in a low tech campaign setting. The following example shows what a skill entry looks like.

The heading gives the name of the skill, followed by whether it is a knowledge, talent or language in parenthesis.

The second line displays all the skill groups that the skill belongs to. These are sometimes used for purposes of bonuses which apply to a category of skills.

Next is given the skill default and pre-requisites (if any). The score given for the pre-requisite is the minimum score that is needed in the required skill before this skill can be bought.

For skills which have techniques associated with them, then these will be listed as well.

The main body of text describes the skill - what it does and how it can be used. Some skills can be used in different ways for different tasks, and if these sub tasks are sufficiently different or important, then they will be listed under a sub heading (for our Medicine example, Diagnosis is listed as a sub-task).

Finally, example skill difficulties may be given. These are suggested target numbers for achieving given tasks.

Skills by Groups

The following lists all the skills according to various groups. Skills which belong to more than one group are listed multiple times. When designing a character that you want to be good at some type of thing, these grouping can give an idea about which skills to buy.

Academic

Anthropology(K) - The study of Homonids.
Archaeology(K) - How to dig up ruins.
Area lore(K) - Knowledge about a given region.
Astronomy(K) - The study of the stars and planets.
Biology(K) (Science) - The science of biology.
Botany(K) (Biology)
Chemistry(K) (Science) - The science of chemistry.
Criminology(K) - The study of crime.
Cryptography(K) - Designing and using cyphers.
Ecology(K) (Botany, Zoology)
Economics(K) - Knowledge of financial matters.
First aid - Healing injuries and other ailments.
History(K) - Knowledge of the past.
Law(K) - Knowledge of the law.
Mathematics(K) - Geometry, aglebra etc.
Medicine(K) - Diagnosis and healing.
Paleontology(K) - The science of ancient life.
Physics(K) (Science) - The science of physics.
Politics(K) - Knowledge of politics.
Religion(K) - Knowledge about gods and cults.
Research (Any Academic skill) - Being able to find information.
Science(K) - Basic science, logic and reasoning.
Surgery (Medicine) - Performing complex surgery.
Teach - The ability to teach people.
Theology(K) (Religion) - Theoretical knowledge about religion.
Vetinary(K) (First aid) - Healing for animals.
Zoology(K) (Biology)

Artistic

Artist - Painting and drawing.
Calligraphy - Writing beautifully.
Dance (Athletics) - Dancing with skill and grace.
Musician - Playing musical instruments.
Perform (Charm) - Oratory, singing and poetry.

Business

Accountancy (Administration) - Managing finances.
Administration - Being able to manage people and paper.
Current affairs(K) - Current affairs.
Economics(K) - Knowledge of financial matters.
Law(K) - Knowledge of the law.
Marketing - Managing advertising campaigns and PR.
Politics(K) - Knowledge of politics.
Trade (Guile) - Bartering and other merchant skills.

Combat

Bow - Using all sorts of bows, except crossbows.
Brawl(*) - Punching, kicking, wrestling and dodging.
Chain weapon (Melee weapon) - Using chains, nunchuk or similar weapons.
Crossbow - Using crossbows.
Heavy weapons (Rifle) - Using heavy machine guns.
Melee - Using a melee weapon in combat.
Melee weapon (Brawl) - Using a sword, club or spear.
Pistol (Rifle) - Firing pistols, revolvers and SMGs.
Rifle (Pistol) - Firing rifles.
Tactics - Knowledge of combat tactics.
Throw(*) - Using thrown weapons, and catching things.

Craft

Architecture(K) - How to design buildings.
Cooking - Preparing meals.
Handicraft - Skill at various village crafts.
Scrounging - Finding and fixing scrap.

Criminal

Burglary - Breaking and entering.
Demolitions - Blowing things up efficiently.
Forgery - Forging credentials.
Gambling (Guile) - Skill at playing card and dice games.
Intimidation (Guile) - Scare someone into doing what you want.
Sleight(*) - Sleight of hand.
Stealth(*) - Hiding and moving quietly.
Streetwise (Guile) - Dealing with the criminal underworld.
Surveillance systems (Security systems) - Spying on people with electronic devices.
Torture - Making people talk.

Investigation

Criminology(K) - The study of crime.
Forensics(K) - Finding clues at a crime scene.
Intimidation (Guile) - Scare someone into doing what you want.
Streetwise (Guile) - Dealing with the criminal underworld.
Torture - Making people talk.

Military

Combat engineering - Building things quickly.
Communication systems - Using radios and similar communications gear.
Demolitions - Blowing things up efficiently.
Gunnery - Firing large vehicle mounted guns.
Intelligence analysis - Analysing intelligence data.
Parachuting (Athletics) - Safely using parachutes.
Sensor systems - Using radar, sonar and other sensor systems.
Signal intelligence - Using sensor and communications equipment.
Strategy - Military strategy and logistics.
Surveillance systems (Security systems) - Spying on people with electronic devices.
Survival - Living in the wilderness.
Tactics - Knowledge of combat tactics.
Torture - Making people talk.

Occult

Alchemy(K) - Knowledge of chemicals and magic.
Astrology(K) - Knowledge of the heavens.
Herb lore(K) - Knowledge of herbs and poisons.
Occult lore(K) - Knowledge of stories and legends.

Outdoor

Falconry - Training, caring and hunting with birds.
Farming - Growing and harvesting of crops.
Hunting - Training, caring and hunting with dogs.
Mining - Working in and locating mines.
Ostling - Training of horses.
Skiing (Athletics) - Using skies.
Survival - Living in the wilderness.

Rural

Animal husbandry(K) (First aid) - Healing for animals.
Boating - Handling small watercraft.
Farming - Growing and harvesting of crops.
Ride - Riding horses.

Social

Charm(*) - Being nice to people.
Current affairs(K) - Current affairs.
Etiquette(K) (Charm) - How to behave in polite company.
Gambling (Guile) - Skill at playing card and dice games.
Game - Skill at a board game.
Guile(*) - Using and recognising deceit.
Intimidation (Guile) - Scare someone into doing what you want.
Lip reading - Understanding speech by reading lips.
Perform (Charm) - Oratory, singing and poetry.
Politics (Guile) - Intrigue and the knowledge of politics.
Sport - Skill at a particular sport.
Teach - The ability to teach people.
Trade (Guile) - Bartering and other merchant skills.

Talents

Athletics(*) - Jumping, climbing and running.
Awareness(*) - General ability to notice things.
Brawl(*) - Punching, kicking, wrestling and dodging.
Charm(*) - Being nice to people.
Guile(*) - Using and recognising deceit.
Sleight(*) - Sleight of hand.
Stealth(*) - Hiding and moving quietly.
Throw(*) - Using thrown weapons, and catching things.

Technical

Communication systems - Using radios and similar communications gear.
Computer operation (Intelligence, Electronic operation) - The skill of using a computer.
Electrician (Electronics) - Fixing electrical things.
Electronics - Building electronic devices.
Engineering - The science of building things.
Machinest (Mechanics) - Building tools
Mechanics (Engineering) - Fixing machines.
Security systems - Using and evading security.
Sensor systems - Using radar, sonar and other sensor systems.
Signal intelligence - Using sensor and communications equipment.
Surveillance systems (Security systems) - Spying on people with electronic devices.

Vehicle

Boating - Handling small watercraft.
Drive - Driving simple ground vehicles.
Gliding - Piloting an unpowered aircraft.
Heavy weapons (Rifle) - Using heavy machine guns.
Helicopter - Piloting a helicopter.
Pilot - Piloting a powered aircraft.

Skill Descriptions