SKILLS

The first thing most characters will want to buy with their Option Points are Skills. Skills are things the character knows or can do; they represent his or her level of knowledge and accomplishment. In Fuzion, there are nine basic Skill Categories:

Fighting Skills: The ability to fight in hand-to-hand combat, or with a melee weapon.

Ranged Weapon Skills: Skills using a weapon at range such as a sling or bow.

Awareness Skills: Your awareness of your environment, noticing clues, etc.

Control Skills: The use of skills involving physical tasks, feats of strength, endurance, and other physical attributes.

Body Skills: The use of skills involving controlling vehicles such as ships or riding horses (or other animals!)

Social Skills: Your abilities to blend in, avoid social blunders, and to show style and grace. Also your ability to convince others through social adeptness.

Technique Skills: Trained vocational and craftsman skills.

Performance Skills: Training in story telling, musicianship, singing or other similar crafts.

Education Skills: Knowledge and training based on education, particularly by Druid colleges or clerical monasteries.

Buying General Skills
Skills are normally rated from one to ten, and are used in game play by adding the level of the Skill to the level of the most applicable Characteristic the skill is related to. Skills are like Characteristics; they have a range of effectiveness that is related to how much they cost. Skills are purchased at the cost of one Option Point for every level of skill during Character creation.

Buying a skill generally gets you the ability to do pretty much everything described by that skill. However, some campaigns may require that you specify how a skill will be used. In these cases, you may need to take additional “specializations” of that skill to be able to use it in other ways (for example Local Guide [Customs] or Local Guide [Geography]).

The list of possible skills one could encounter in a Fuzion game is as wide as the possible campaigns. What’s compiled below are typical skills applicable to a Dawn of Legends setting. Skills marked in BOLD represent Skill Groups—general skills that are comprised of several Specialist Skills. Many of the following skills are described fully in the Shards of the Stone:Core™ book and other Fuzion books. Those marked with an ‘*’ are described at the end of the section.

Skill Ratings
Less than 1 (Challenged): You don't know this skill at all..

1-2 (Everyday): You're a beggner whose got the basics down.

3-4 (Competent): You're trained well enough to be considered a professional.

5-6 (Heroic): You have now mastered the skill.

7-8 (Incredible): You are now good enough to be considered among the best in the world.

9-10 (Legendary): You are good enough to be considered a grand master, perhaps one of the best ever known in history.

More than 10+ (Mythic): Your skill has gone beyond the bounds of reality and into the realm of the fantastic...

Everyman Skills
The good news is, every character also gets a free starting group of skills to begin with, so that he won’t be totally helpless in his new environment: Everyman Skills. Everyman Skills are things generally known by everyone in all specific cultures or time periods. For Dawn of Legends use: Perception, Concentration, Persuasion, Athletics, Teaching, Local Expert, Hand-to-Hand, Native Tongue (at 4 points) and Melee Evade. These are given free to all characters by the GM, and have automatic starting level of 2; about what the average person would know. Each can be improved by adding Skill levels on an individual basis. An individual GM may wish to add or remove skills the from Everyman category to suit his particular Dawn of Legends game. The Everyman Skill category give you the flexibility to tailor the level of your culture as desired. Everyman skills are marked in the list below with a ‘†’.

The Action Value limit in a Heroic level Dawn of Legends game is 11. That means no Skill Level + Characteristic may exceed a total of 11 at the beginning of the game. However, humans are given a slight advantage. They may exceed this value, and Rule of X limits, by one point.

FIGHTING SKILLS
AXES (REF)

CLUBS (REF)

GREAT AXES (REF)

GREAT CLUBS (REF)

GREAT HAMMERS (REF)

HAMMERS (REF)

HAND TO HAND† (REF)

HAND TO HAND EVADE (DEX)

LANCES (REF)

MELEE EVADE† (DEX)

RANGED EVADE (DEX)

SPEARS (REF)

STAVES (REF)

SWORDS (REF)

SMALL BLADES (REF)

WHIPS (REF)

RANGED WEAPONS SKILLS
ARCHERY (TEC)

CROSSBOWS (TEC)

SLINGS (TEC)

THROWING (REF)

AWARENESS SKILLS
CONCEALMENT (INT)

CONCENTRATION† (WIL)

HUNTING (INT)*

OGHAM SIGN (INT)*

PERCEPTION† (INT)

SHADOWING (INT)*

TRACKING (INT)*

CONTROL SKILLS
ANIMAL HANDLER (PRE)

CONTORTIONIST (DEX)

RIDING (REF)*

WAGON DRIVING (TEC)

SEAMANSHIP (TEC)*

BODY SKILLS
ACROBATICS (DEX)

ATHLETICS† (DEX)

CLIMBING (STR)*

CONTORTIONIST (DEX)

STEALTH (DEX)

SOCIAL SKILLS
BRIBERY (PRE)*

CONSPIRACY (INT)*

CONVERSATION (PRE)*

DISPLOMACY (WIL)*

INTERROGATION (PRE)

LEADERSHIP (PRE)

PERSUASION† (PRE)

POETRY (INT)*

POLITICS (INT)*

SEDUCTION (PRE)*

STREETWISE (PRE)

TRADING (PRE)*

WARDROBE/STYLE (PRE)*

TECHNIQUE SKILLS
ARMORER (INT/TEC)*

ARTIST (TEC)

BIND WOUNDS (TEC)

BLACKSMITH (INT/TEC)*

GAMING (TEC)*

LOCK PICKING (TEC)

FLETCHER (TEC)*

WEAPON SMITH (INT/TEC)
The character knows how to build, maintain, and repair weapons of various types. Use INT for design, but TECH for construction.

PERFORMANCE SKILLS
ACTING (PRE)

DANCE (DEX)

DISGUISE (TEC)

MIMICRY (PRE)

MUSICIAN (TEC)*

ORATORY (PRE)*

SINGING (PRE)

SLEIGHT OF HAND (REF)

VENTRILOQUISM (INT)

EDUCATION SKILLS
CRYPTOGRAPHY (INT)

EXPERTISE (INT)*

HISTORY (INT)

LANGUAGES†*

LOCAL GUIDE† (INT)

NAVIGATION (INT)

PROFESSION (INT)

SPYING (INT)*

SURVIVAL (INT)*

TACTICS(INT)

TEACHING† (PRE)

DESCRIPTIONS

ARMORER (INT/TEC)
The character knows how to build, maintain, and repair various types of armor. Use INT for design, but TECH for construction.

BLACKSMITH (INT/TEC)
The character knows how to build, maintain, and repair various types of tools and other metal implements. Use INT for design, but TECH for construction.

BRIBERY (PER)
A character with this kill knows when to bribe someone, how to approach him, and how much to offer.

CLIMBING (STR)
Ability to climb unusually difficult walls, trees, and buildings, as long as there are handholds. Climbing rate is 2 m/y per round (top).

CONSPIRACY (INT)
Knowledge of how to influence individuals and organizations secretly, and how to plan and orchestrate such plans. This skill is a must for would-be usurpers.

CONVERSATION (PRE)
This ability allows you to extract information from people with careful conversation. The use of this skill takes time, and if the roll is missed, the subject realizes he is being pumped for information.

DIPLOMACY (WILL)
This skill grants knowledge of the protocol, subtleties, and conventions of diplomatic meetings. A character with this skill is good at getting what she wants while meeting a minimum of demands.

EXPERTISE (INT)
Specify any one field of knowledge: history, genealogies, bardic Lore, druidic Lore, astrology, religion (druidic, Celtic church, catholic church), etc. This skill may be taken more than one time to cover a large number of areas of expertise.

FLETCHER (TEC)
This skill allows a character to create bolt or arrows.

GAMING (TEC)
Any noble or warrior is worth his salt in a good board game such as gwyddbwyl or a field game such as hurley.

HUNTING (INT)
The knowledge and ability to hunt animals, gut them, skin them, tan hide, etc.

LANGUAGES
You must specify one particular language group. Specify also, the particular language as well. All others in the language group are at 1/2 skill. For instance, if your character knows the Celtic: British language, then Gaelic and Pict groups are at 1/2 skill. A character might also speak Germanic: English and speak Saxon and Jute as 1/2 skill. (INT)

MUSICIAN (TEC)
The ability to play a particular musical instrument and perform with it in front of an audience.

OGHAM SIGN (TEC)
This is actually a specialized form of sign language developed by the druids to allow them to speak vocally one way, but to sign their true intention to others. It is done by subtle finger tappings and gestures that may not be obvious to the uninitiated.

ORATORY (PRE)
The ability to speak to an audience and to deliver a convincing presentation.

POETRY (INT)
The ability to compose verse according to established rules. Useful in the creation of epic stories and memorizing useful knowledge.

POLITICS (INT)
This skill is useful in understanding and predicting the responses of various kingdoms and people to any event, law or decision. Note that this skill is slightly different than what was described in Shards of the Stone: Core.

RIDING (REF)
This simple skill allows a character to ride a horse or horse-like animal with reasonable grace and skill during normal travel. The better the skill, the more likely a rider might outmaneuver and outdistance pursuit. When performing an attack while mounted, the character should use his weapon skill or Riding, whichever skill is lower.

SEAMANSHIP (TEC)
This skill allows a character to properly pilot and handle a boat or ship.

SEDUCTION (PRE)
The ability to gain others’ trust by offering companionship or favors. Seduction is not necessarily sexual.

SHADOWING (INT)
The ability to subtly follow someone. Also the ability to spot someone following you!

SPYING (INT)
The Character can gather and assess information on enemy groups.

STYLE (PRE)
This is a grasp of fashion, wardrobe and personal grooming. A character with this skill knows how to show off clothes and look his best. This skill is critical to many warriors, as looking good in battle is far more important than wearing lots of ugly, clanky armor.

SURVIVAL (INT)
This skill enables the character to live off the land, find food and water, identify dangerous plants and animals, and so on.

TRACKING (INT)
The ability to follow a trail by observing tracks, marks, broken twigs and so forth.

TRADING (PRE)
The ability to strike a good bargain with a merchant or customer. A critical skill for those seamen trading with Mediterranean merchants.

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