Note: Each skill may be associated with one of the four statistics, and the success of using the skill will be affected by the stat associated with it as well as the level of skill.

ANIMAL TRAINING (Intelligence):

This skill involves training categories of animals, such as felines, canines, raptors, songbirds, serpents, amphibians, or reptiles. You must specify your category when you select this skill. Note: Training involves a significant investiture of time.

Novice: The character can approach an infant creature and calm it down. He knows the more obvious things that will anger an adult and how to avoid them.

Proficient: The character can approach a domesticated adult and calm it unless it has been specifically trained or commanded for aggressive tendencies. Infants trust him and he can train adults and infants that accept him how to follow him, recognize him, and find him. Young can be trained simple commands such as stay, heel, and fetch.

Advanced: Hostile adults can be calmed and ones that accept him can be trained to stay, heel and fetch. Young can be trained to attack, defend, or track on command.

Expert: Adults can be trained to attack, defend, or track on command. Young can be trained to perform actions according to situations, such as fetch help when the master is incapacitated or attack one person who approaches but let another specific person through. The trainer is so adept with his chosen type of creature that even wild ones or ones trained to be agressive can be calmed.

ARTIST (Intelligence):

This skill is used for creative expression except for the use of musical instruments (Music) or performance, song and dance (Performance.) It involves using mediums such as clay, charcoal and paint to create a permanent image. You must specify your character's artistic medium in your application.

Novice: Unlike his unskilled brethren, the character has evolved past stick figures and can produce an acceptable still life. His moving or living figures are generally recognizable.

Proficient: His still life is praised by some strangers and his moving or living figures look like they're doing what they're supposed to be doing.

Advanced: His still life is praised by his peers and he can begin earning commissions on still lifes, portraits and other such drawings. His living figures bear a close resemblance to that which he is reproducing.

Expert: The character has such skill that people must look twice to be certain that it is a painting they are looking at and not the real thing. He can easily find a wealthy patron to pay him for his art and he has furthered art with some new technique or abstract style that has earned him great renown. His works can be readily recognized.

BREWING (Intelligence):

The character can brew common ingredients into various alcoholic drinks of differing potencies.

Novice: The character can ferment fruit and other soft ingredients into cheap wines.

Proficient: The character has learned to ferment beer and his wine is now of a better quality.

Advanced: The character can ferment grains and roots into hard liquors, and his experiments with strange tastes and ingredients turn out good for the most part. His alcohol has gained a reputation in the local area.

Expert: The character can brew the most potent of ales, wines, and liquors and alternatively can create brews so light and clear one might not be able to tell they were alcoholic, fit for the dantiest of ladies. His skill is reknown and fetches a high price; even exotics such as Dwarven Ale and Elven Wine are simple for him.

COOKING (Intelligence):

The character can combine various known ingredients into edible dishes that are appealing to the senses. Note that in order to detect poisons in food, one must also have the Herbalism skill.

Novice: The character can make simple dishes using common ingredients.

Proficient: The character can make more complex dishes using rarer ingredients and is more familiar with cuisines other than the one he started with. He is likely to be employed by a modest tavern or inn.

Advanced: The character can follow any recipe and is familiar with strange and exotic ingredients. He can tell by taste what most common ingredients in a dish are. His own creations are usually successful, and he can likely find employment at upscale establishments or for minor nobles or wealthy merchants.

Expert: The character can create culinary masterpieces, the likes of which have never been seen before. He is familiar with a wide range of cooking techniques and ingredients, and can tell by taste what ingredients are in a dish, or if a dish is lacking an ingredient it ought to have. He is in high demand and can easily find employment with wealthy nobles or even royal palaces.

CRAFTSMANSHIP (Dexterity /or Strength):

The character is skilled in a craft--the making of items that have a use beyond artistic expression. The character must specify a craft: among others, one can choose metalsmithing, jewelry-making, weaving, carpentry and woodworking, leatherworking and tanning, tailoring, or bootmaking.

Novice: The character can create simple items that often break or wear with repeated use using simple materials.

Proficient: The character can create more detailed items that have a standard lifespan and can experiment with harder materials.

Advanced: The character can create items of beauty with rare or exotic materials. The item will probably last a generation of wear, or longer depending on the materials. He no longer needs to mass-produce items.

Expert: The character creates items that are nearly flawless. He can afford to spend months on a single piece because of the money he will receive from the commission. His items may last generations or even centuries with proper care.

DISGUISE (Intelligence):

This skill is the use of makeup, putty and acting for the purposes of disguising oneself. At earlier skill levels, it allows the PC to make himself look different in order to avoid detection; at later levels, it allows the PC to actually impersonate others, though the chance of detection will be riskier.

Novice: The PC is able to change his appearance with crude, swift disguises that enable him to avoid recognition or detection. Someone who is familiar with him will still be able to recognize him but he can fool most strangers.

Proficient: The PC begins to gain skill in makeup and putty so that he will look significantly different. Only the most perceptive of those who are familiar with him will recognize him.

Advanced: The PC has gained such skill that he is able to effectively pretend to be shorter, taller, of a different build, or even of a different gender. The more different his disguise from his personal appearance, the likelier it is to be discovered.

Expert: The PC has perfected the art of disguise and can actually move the muscles in his face such that he looks extremely different even without the use of putty or makeup. The PC can attempt to impersonate a specific individual of the same gender but without extensive knowledge of the person he is impersonating and significant skill in Performance [[acting]] he runs significant risk of being discovered, especially if he runs into someone who is familiar with the person he is impersonating.

HERBALISM (Intelligence):

This is the skill for creating medicinal remedies, anaesthesia, and various kinds of teas, salves, and poultices for the purposes of healing--or hurting--someone. An herbalist knows both the helpful, benign qualities of the plants he uses and the deadly ones. NOTE: Medicine is required in order to fix physical wounds and damage.

Novice: The character knows the properties of many common plants and can safely prepare the ones that have a mild effect, such as preventing or causing vomiting.

Proficient: The character knows the properties of many uncommon plants and can safely prepare potions, salves, etc that have a stronger but unsubtle effect, such as ones that cure headaches, or poisons that can knock one unconscious or kill.

Advanced: The character knows the properties of most plants. He has learned the specific side effects of many of his medicines and can use this knowledge to his advantage.

Expert: The character knows the medicinal properties of all but the rarest and most obscure of plants. His knowledge of side effects and such enable him to administer concoctions of the most subtle effect, mixing medicines for different effects, or imitating natural causes so well that poison or potion are not suspected.

HUNTING, TRAPPING, FISHING (Intelligence):

The PC is able to find any manner of living food, enough to keep herself from starving at earlier levels and later becoming able to trap the trickiest, rarest or deadliest creatures.

Novice: The PC can keep herself from going hungry.

Proficient: The PC can find enough food for herself and a party up to ten.

Advanced: The PC is able to provide enough meat for a small village if need be, though it will take time depending on availability.

Expert: The PC's skills are such that the canniest, most cunning of creatures are often unable to escape her. Her knowledge extends to rare creatures and what weaknesses she may exploit to successfully capture or kill them.

MEDICINE (Intelligence):

This skill enables you to heal, perform surgery and set bones. Earlier levels of skill enable field medicine and first aid; more advanced skill allows increasingly risky operations and doctoring. Note: Herbalism is required for the creation of medicines and anaesthesia. If your character does not know Herbalism he will be required to purchase his medicines with a greater risk of misdosing his patient.

Novice: The PC can apply tourniquets, bandages and poultices to stop bleeding.

Proficient: The PC can sew together wounds and set bones.

Advanced: The PC can perform minor amputations and can generally diagnose internal injuries.

Expert: The character can now perform minute or invasive surgery provided the required tools are at hand. His experience is such that he can usually diagnose most illnesses at a glance, unless it is rare or magical.

MUSIC (Intelligence):

This is the skill that enables someone to play a musical instrument. The character must specify a type: woodwind, percussion, string, friction, or horn. She picks an instrument of that type (flute, drum, lute, fiddle, or trumpet) and that is the initial instrument she learns. Note: Scholar at Proficient level is required to read and write music. Reading and writing music is not required for playing, composing or learning music, however.

Novice: The character knows a few common tunes and is able to entertain people starved for entertainment such as in a small village or a poor inn.

Proficient: The character knows many common tunes and is able to earn a decent living busking on the street.

Advanced: The character knows a great number of tunes, has begun composing her own, and has begun experimenting on different instruments similar to her own. The skill on these other instruments varies from Novice to Proficient.

Expert: The character is capable of composing vast sonatas and concerts and knows a vast number of songs. Her skill touches many kinds of instruments and those other instruments can range up to advanced in skill.

PERFORMANCE (Intelligence /or Dexterity):

Unlike Artist, which creates physical pieces of art, and Music, which uses musical instrument to produce sound, Performance uses social skills, body movements and acting to entertain. You must choose a specification such as storytelling, singing, acting, dance, acrobatics or even puppets.

Novice: The character is able to entertain small children and generally enjoys themselves at small, informal house parties. He can make a living performing on the street, though a poor one.

Proficient: The character is often made welcome in small inns and taverns for his performances. He can make enough money to stay fed most of the time and have a place to live.

Advanced: The character's performances are very good, and all but the snootiest of places would be glad to hear him perform. He can make a comfortable living.

Expert: The character can name his price for a performance. He likely has a patron and can, if he wants to, live in significant luxury.

PICK LOCKS (Dexterity):

The character is adept at using picklocks, nails, or makeshift tools to spring various kinds of locks or locks that have been trapped. Note that lockpicks are illegal in most Kingdoms but are almost necessary for the exercise of this skill.

Novice: The character, using a set of lockpicks, can open standard padlocks or door locks.

Proficient: The character can use lockpicks to open well-made but standardized locks and doors and can use splinters and nails to open standard ones, and can detect the presence of a trapped lock.

Advanced: The character can use lockpicks to open complex locks, splinters or nails to open lesser locks and doors, and can spring and avoid a trap he has detected.

Expert: The character can practically open standard locks with only his fingernails. He can open any kind of lock that requires a key and can puzzle his way through combination and puzzle locks. He can recognize a trap in a lock and can either spring it, open the lock without springing it, or reset it after opening the lock, depending on the nature of the lock and of the trap.

RIDING (Health/Endurance):

The PC is skilled in the riding and caring of a horse or similar animal such as a pony or camel. Note: Characters can learn to ride exotics such as elephants, trained giant cats, or whatever else comes to mind in the course of game play; they may not begin play with this skill.

Novice: The PC can stay in the saddle and direct her animal using reins or leash so long as the animal is feeling cooperative.

Proficient: The PC can knows how to care for her animal's tack (equipment) and can comfortably maintain a canter or trot. Her directions will elicit faster or more cooperative responses from her mount.

Advanced: The PC can direct her animal using shifts of her body or nudges from her feet, and can ride all day long if she wished. She may begin to do other things in the saddle such as read, scout, or track. Skills that require confrontation such as fighting or extreme concentration such as casting spells can be used but are half as effective.

Expert: The PC is so skilled at riding that there is nothing she can do on her feet that she can't also do in her saddle, including sleep, fight, cast spells or dance.

SLEIGHT-OF-HAND (Dexterity):

The character is adept at such skills that require extreme hand-eye coordination and which can be used to trick and fool the eye. Note: forgery requires a combination of Sleight-of-Hand and whatever skill may be needed to create the item one is forging, such as Scholar, Artist, or Craftsmanship.

Novice: The character can pick pockets by bumping into their mark or helping them to their feet. The mark can feel the physical contact but unless they are particularly alert or perceptive likely will not feel the missing weight of their purse.

Proficient: The character can pick pockets by merely brushing against their mark and begins to be able to perform simple 'magic' tricks. He may attempt to forge a document but cannot yet forge a seal, and someone familiar with the handwriting he is attempting to forge can notice something is wrong.

Advanced: The character is able to perform more complex magic tricks and is generally 'very lucky' at dice and cards. He can forge a document so that even those familiar with the writing will usually fail to notice the difference, and he can copy simple seals and signet rings.

Expert: The character can take a ring right off a woman's hand without her noticing it, and dice and cards turn out to be exactly what he wants them to be. He could forge a document so successfully that the original author himself would swear he'd written it, and can copy complex seals and signet rings.

STEALTH: (Dexterity/Intelligence)

This skill enables the character to move about without being trailed or tracked, and can evade pursuit within a city or in the wilderness. Note that the character must specify urban or wilderness stealth.

Novice: The character knows to avoid muddy ground and snow when moving through the wilderness. In the city, he can disappear into a crowd easily enough.

Proficient: The character avoids soft ground and high grass or other brush that keeps his trail easily. In the city, he can spot pursuit before it spots him, allowing him to take turns or exit buildings even if they have caught him unawares.

Advanced: The character knows such tricks as wading upstream, stepping on rocks in soft ground and avoiding stiff branches that help him evade pursuit. In the city, the character knows secret hiding places and perhaps has contacts that will help aid him through his stealthy activities.

Expert: The character effectively disappears; dogs cannot find his scent and pursuers cannot spot a broken branch or caught thread anywhere. In the city, the character can guess the paths and routines of the guard to avoid them, lose pursuit in alleyways or through buildings, and knows of many paths that twist and turn to confuse pursuit.

SURVIVAL (Health):

The skill of survival includes knowledge of particular types of terrain, geography, plants and creatures, all that pertains to staying alive in a certain area. When a character chooses this skill, he must choose a specification such as underground, forest, plains, tundra, mountains, desert, swamp or jungle. By spending another point in Survival, the character can choose a second specification.

Novice: The character knows the more common dangers and foods. He can scrounge enough to stay alive and can usually find water. He can tell direction if there are clear moons or he can see the sun.

Proficient: The character knows some of the rarer dangers and creatures and how to avoid them. He is able to find shelter if need be that will protect him from exposure. He can tell direction even if there are no moons or sun.

Advanced: The character can predict the weather in the area and can find good shelter for him and his party. If he is paying attention or is Perceptive he may be able to tell if someone or something is following or hunting him. He remembers most of the terrain in the area and can usually find his way.

Expert: The character knows the terrain like the back of his hand and can point out the ranges of all the dangerous creatures in the area and how to avoid them if possible. There isn't a danger he doesn't know about and he can survive just about any weather condition and help others do the same.

SWIMMING (Health):

For the purposes of this skill, any character who finds him or herself in water over their head is capable of keeping afloat, but that person generally needs rescuing even in the calmest of ponds. Swimming then expands on that natural skill.

Novice: The character can paddle his way across calm water to his destination.

Proficient: The character can stay afloat in choppy water, and can stroke across calm water faster than the novice.

Advanced: The character can stay afloat in very choppy water, can cross a body of water if it is choppy, and nearly flies across calm water. He can help a non-swimmer stay afloat and reach a destination in choppy water.

Expert: The character can stay afloat in a gale, can swim underwater for very prolonged periods of time, and can keep others afloat under the most trying conditions.

TRACKING (Intelligence):

The character is skilled at tracking his opponent. This skill encompasses both urban and wilderness tracking, including looking for footprints and trailing someone through a city. The success of this skill relies on the intelligence of both the tracker and his quarry and the prevailing conditions such as weather or the ground. Note: this skill can be countered by the use of Stealth.

Novice: The character can follow through muddy ground and snow, and can make use of crowds to avoid notice in a city.

Proficient: The character can read tracks in soft ground, sand and through brush, and can estimate numbers, weight, and length of time. He is able to make successful inquiries of guards and innkeepers and guess at his quarry's next destination.

Advanced: The character can read tracks in vegetation, hard ground, or even while snow is covering the tracks. He can figure out exact numbers, size, and guess the age of the trail to within half a day. He can track an opponent through virtually any city, can almost always find a person in town who has actually seen or heard his quarry, and can predict what area of the city his quarry might visit next.

Expert: The character can track yesterday's wind over an ocean, or so it seems. He can read the smallest signs, guess the age of a trail to within a half hour, and when tracking through a city, can often predict the exact inn his quarry will be staying at.