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Skills

There are ten categories of skills in the Talislanta game, each related to a particular aspect of the character’s background and training. These are: Common, Language, Combat, Performing, Scholar, Thieving, Trade, Wilderness, Magical, and Special Abilities. Specific skills are covered in detail in the Skills Chapter.

Skill Ratings

Skills are abilities acquired through training and practice, such as combat and magic. There are two terms used to describe Skills: Level and Rating. Skill Level indicates the character’s degree of training, with “0” representing a basic level of proficiency. A Skill’s Level can be improved with training and experience (see Improving Skills, in this section).

Skill Rating is the combination of a character’s training (Level) and natural ability (a related Attribute). Each Skill has an Attribute that acts as its modifier; for example, the modifier for the Thieving skill, Sleight of Hand, is Dexterity. To determine the thief’s overall Skill Rating, add the level of the Skill plus its Attribute modifier. Whenever a Skill is used for an Action Table die roll, always use its Skill Rating.

Skill Rolls

  1. Stating Intent Before rolling on the Action Table to use a Skill, the player needs to state his character’s intent. Tell the Gamemaster which Skill you’re using, and what it is you’re trying to accomplish. Don’t forget: Skill Rating (Skill level + Attribute modifier) is always used for any type of Skill roll.

  2. Determining Bonuses and Penalties After the player indicates which Skill is being used and describes the character’s intent, the Gamemaster determines if any bonus or penalty will be applied. This is done before the player rolls on the Action Table.

Apply the character’s Skill Rating as the modifier for the attempted action. Then determine the Degree of Difficulty. If the character’s action is being opposed by another individual or creature, decide which of the opponent’s abilities will be used as the Degree of Difficulty. If it is a Skill, the opponent’s Skill Rating is used for this purpose. If it is an Attribute, the opponent’s Attribute Rating is doubled and used as the Degree of Difficulty.

If the action is unopposed, then the Degree of Difficulty is based on how simple or difficult it will be for the character to achieve his or her stated intent. For example, if a character is trying to pick a lock, the complexity and condition of the lock determines the Degree of Difficulty.

Comparing Skill Rating and Degree of Difficulty, the GM arrives at a single figure. This is the modifier that will be applied to the player’s Action Table Skill roll.

  1. The Skill Roll To determine whether the Skill is used successfully or not the player rolls a d20 on the Action Table, applying the GM’s modifier to the die result.

  2. Judging the Result The GM interprets the result, taking into account the modified die roll total, the player’s stated intent, and any other relevant factors.

Overview: Procedure for Skill Rolls

Anytime a character uses a Skill to determine the result of an attempted action, use the following procedure:

  1. Player states Intent (which Skill is to be used, and what is the character trying to accomplish?).
  2. GM determines bonuses or penalties (based on the character’s Skill Rating and the Degree of Difficulty or opposing factors).
  3. Player rolls to attempt the action.
  4. GM judges result.

Using Skills That Your Character Doesn’t Have

When a character attempts to use a skill that he or she does not know, there are two different ways the GM can handle the situation.

  1. Let the character use a similar, related skill in place of the required skill. The GM will assess an additional Degree of Difficulty penalty based on how related she thinks the two skills are. This is called the Substitution Penalty.

Scratch the Ferran Thief has been cornered by two ruffians who think he stole their purses. The Ferran has no weapon but has picked up a stout stick from the ground and wants to defend himself with it. Scratch does not have the Weapon (hafted) skill, but he does have Weapon (small blades) at +5. The GM decides that this is close enough and lets Scratch’s player use the Small Blades skill with only a -2 penalty.

  1. Let the character attempt the action as if they had the skill at level zero. The GM may assess additional penalties if she feels that the skill requires a great deal of training or experience to even attempt.

Crush the Thrall wants to sneak aboard an Imrian slave ship while it is docked in Tarun. Crush does not have the Stealth skill. The GM lets Crush’s player roll on the Action Table as if Crush had a Stealth skill of zero. Crush’s player rolls with a +2 modifier (Stealth 0 + Dexterity rating of +2 = +2). Note that Crush’s player does not double his Dexterity rating since this is strictly a skill roll, not an attribute roll. The GM rules that since sneaking around is a simple task only a -3 substitution penalty is necessary.

Later on, Crush encounters a locked chest that he wants to open. Crush does not have the Locks skill but he wants to try to pick it anyway. Once again, the GM lets Crush’s player roll on the Action Table as if he had a Locks skill of zero. However, the GM rules that lockpicking is a very precise and sophisticated skill that requires training (not just nimble fingers) so Crush takes an additional penalty of -10.

Note that some skills like Magic, Alchemy, and Special Abilities cannot be attempted at all unless the character has trained in the Skill.

Improving Skills

As players earn Experience Points (XP) for adventures, they can use accumulated XP to improve their character’s Skills. The cost in XP to improve a Skill is equal to twice the new Skill level (not the total Skill Rating, which is the combination of Skill plus Attribute modifier).

For example, the Cymrilian magician, Etarre, has the Skill, Arcane Lore, at a Level of +5. To improve her Skill Level to +6, Etarre must spend 12 XP — twice the new Skill Level of +6.

Skills can only be improved one Level at a time. Though PCs can improve more than one Skill at a time, the same Skill can only be improved once per week of game time.

Preferred Skills & Acquiring New Skills

Experience Points accumulated though adventuring can also be used to acquire new skills. Additional Skills can be acquired at a cost of one XP per each week of time required to learn the new talent, for those skills on the character’s preferred list, and at a cost of two XP per week of time required to learn the new skill for all those skills not on the character’s Preferred list.

A character’s preferred skills are all those skills acquired from Race and those available to the character from the Paths they have chosen. Even if a character did not take a rank in a particular skill at character creation, so long as the skill is found on the Preferred Skill list of one of the character’s Paths, it is a preferred skill for that character.

If a skill is not from a Path and therefore not on his Preferred list, he or she may need to hire a qualified person to teach the new talent. For example, if a magician wanted to acquire the Skill, Tracking, he might have to hire a tracker or hunter to teach him this talent (see Hirelings, in the Gamemaster’s Guide to Talislanta for details on hiring a qualified instructor).

Once the necessary XP and time have been expended, the player can add the new Skill to the PC’s Preferred Skills list. All new Skills have a beginning Level of +1. To improve the skill level, the cost in XP is equal to twice the new level of the skill, as explained in Improving Skills.

Note to Players and Gamemasters

The heart and soul of the Talislanta game system is the interaction between the players and the Gamemaster. It is the GM’s job to help simulate in the game those things which make real life so unpredictable: a stroke of good fortune, a freak accident, the strange occurrences that defy all odds or lay waste to the most carefully made plans.

Players can help the Gamemaster by offering specific information on their character’s Intent before rolling on the Action Table. It is also important for players to allow their GM to embellish Action Table results without interfering in the course of the game. Gamemasters will earn the trust of their players by being fair and objective, and by maintaining a degree of moderation in their renderings. Imaginative and inventive narration is fine, as long as it’s not overdone.

Time in the Game

In the Talislanta game, time is measured in discrete units, called rounds. A round is roughly six seconds long, enough time for a character to trade blows with an opponent, cast a spell, or do anything else that can be accomplished in six seconds or less.

Except in combat and similarly critical situations, it is usually not necessary for the Gamemaster to keep such strict track of time. For example, a day’s ride can be covered by the GM in a single sentence, if nothing special is planned for that day. The Gamemaster should feel free to take a flexible approach about time in the game and use detailed round-by-round descriptions of the action only as needed. Similarly, the Action Table can be used to cover a few seconds of action, or an entire day of warfare.

Experience Points

In role playing games such as Talislanta, characters earn Experience Points (XP for short) for their accomplishments. These points can be used to increase the level of a character’s Skills. Experience points are awarded by the Gamemaster, as follows: