Skills are highly important – they allow your character to act innocent under scrutiny, leap and scurry across rooftops and through hidden back alleys, know when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em, ride a chocobo and a multitude of other things. Whether you intend for your character to spend his time managing the finances of a troupe of Moogle Entertainers, or piloting an airship with the other kind of troops hot on your proverbial heels, your skills will be what make the difference between success and failure.
The maximum number of points you may have in any skill is equal to your Finesse stat, plus one. A character with 6 Finesse, for example, could therefore have skills at a +7 bonus but not higher.
A character starts with a specific number of skill points and earns more of them based on their job and level. They can usually enter these points anywhere they see fit. Some abilities will also modify skills, either granting an extra bonus points that can go over the normal cap, improving how Destiny interacts with them, or more.
Social skills such as Acting or Negotiation will never have a direct impact on player characters unless they choose for it to – a player’s control over their character’s beliefs and attitude is absolute.
The maximum number of points you may have in any skill is equal to your Finesse stat, plus one. A character with 6 Finesse, for example, could therefore have skills at a +7 bonus but not higher.
A character starts with a specific number of skill points and earns more of them based on their job and level. They can usually enter these points anywhere they see fit. Some abilities will also modify skills, either granting an extra bonus points that can go over the normal cap, improving how Destiny interacts with them, or more.
Social skills such as Acting or Negotiation will never have a direct impact on player characters unless they choose for it to – a player’s control over their character’s beliefs and attitude is absolute.
List of Common Skills
Don’t assume that the following list includes every possible skill out there. Rather, this is just a sampling of standard adventuring aptitudes that have served many leading heroes well over the years. If you decide you want a skill that doesn’t appear on this list, add it to your character sheet with GM permission.
Athletics
The ability to climb, tumble, jump, balance, and take falls. A character with this skill has refined their coordination, balance and flexibility to the point of being able to execute complex acrobatic maneuvers as if they were second nature. On a successful skill check you can perform a difficult feat of agility, such as leaping through a two‐foot square window without hurting yourself, scaling a vertical surface, or sliding down a thin cable just in time to crash a wedding.
Acting
A character with this skill has the ability to lie, fake emotions and devise new personalities. With a successful skill check the character may attempt to use Acting to deceive, improvise, keep one hell of a poker face, or just rattle off a steady stream of bald‐face lies.
Acting also covers the ability for a character to assume a new appearance through a disguise, ranging from a simple change of clothing to a full‐blown transformation.
Awareness
Characters with this skill possess a certain sixth sense when it comes to spotting potential dangers or noticing when something isn’t quite right – whether in the form of a con‐man attempting to swindle the party with counterfeit Elixirs, or a dozen slavering beasts waiting in ambush around the corner. Awareness is one of those skills that sees a lot of use, so it’s generally wise to invest at least a few points into it.
Escape
Everyone gets caught sometimes ‐‐ for this reason, the ability to slip out of a tight bind can prove to be a valuable asset. A character with this skill can worm his way out of rope, manacles, or grapples, get out from the inside of a locked safe, crawl from the wreckage of a crash landing, have the good fortune to leap through a second‐story window and land safely on a passing carriage, or take advantage of a brief distraction to vanish mysteriously into thin air.
Although a failure simply means a character is forced to remain where they are, a Complication can just as easily result in injury, tangled bonds, or suspicious captors checking in to see what all the banging around is about…
This skill also allows characters to flee from combat if faced with overwhelming odds, and it’s recommended that fledgling adventurers expend a few points to raise up this skill.
Gathering
Gathering skills are useful for finding the best materials possible outside of combat to solve a current task. High gathering checks can produce a wide variety of items that can be used for making menial items or repairs through Synthesis checks or System checks, gathering food, or the like. If the character is foraging for an entire group out in the wild instead of just trying to sustain themselves, the difficulty is generally increased.
In addition once per chapter a character may use a Gathering skill check to search for and gain Components for crafting usable consumables or equipment through Synthesis. The types of Components found and items that are made depend on the type of gathering being done and the current area the party finds itself in. They should also be a type of component of a Tier useful for the character’s current level.
Gathering (Mining): Metal, stone, elemental deposits, and precious gems, etc.
Gathering (Fishing)-Fish, drinking water, sea water, etc.
Gathering (Botany)-Wood, herbs, and other plants, etc.
Failing gathering checks usually leads to nothing useful being found while Complications can have drastic consequences such as getting lost, wandering into a monster’s lair, finding bad or dangerous materials, or the like.
Healing
A character with this skill knows enough about the body and its workings to diagnose and treat most kinds of sickness and injury. Failure in either could have drastic consequences for the patient. It also doubles as a helpful tool in allowing an injured party to get a better night’s rest in adverse conditions, or popping joints back into place in the thick of battle. Complications that arise during Healing checks are rarely pleasant things.
Inquiry
Whether it’s the location of an ancient tomb, an obscure local legend, or just the address of the nearest inn, characters with the Inquiry skill are adept of digging up the information they need as quickly and painlessly as possible. The amount of time taken for an inquiring search can vary between a few minutes and several long days or more, depending on the breadth of resources available to the character. A failure simply means the character has not been able to locate the information; a Complication may indicate the character has stumbled into serious trouble during the course of searching. Wherever there’s a good mystery, there are undoubtedly people who want it to stay that way.
Language
A character can understand and communicate in various different languages; at lower levels, fluently enough to converse with others, at higher levels with the proficiency of a skilled orator and writer. All characters can generally speak their own racial language as well as the standard language spoken the world over (if such a thing exists), but whenever the PCs encounter a language they’ve never heard before, Language is rolled to determine which of the PCs – if any – are fluent in it! Once a character encounters a new language and rolls this skill, success or failure permanently determines if they’ll have the language in their repertoire for future game sessions.
The following is a short list of languages that may appear in your world, as well as an approximate difficulty for the associated Language check.
Ancient (Heroic): The spoken or written tongues of the world’s precursor races, sometimes known as Lufenian or Lefenish. Ancient languages see very little usage in the world’s day‐to‐day affairs, particularly in their spoken
forms; these are usually the domain of scholars and adventurers canny enough to realize that sooner or later everything comes down to mysteriously‐inscribed slabs and relics.
Bhasa Mithra (Challenging): The Mithran/Viera language is constructed around a relatively limited set of words, placing heavy emphasis on prefixes and context instead. The flowery, flowing language is learned by instinct, not social saturation. This causes the dialect to be hard to learn and follow as it does not have roots in any other language.
Common Tongue (Moderate): The standard Human – or ‘Hume’ – tongue, lingua franca on most continents. Most, if not all, adventurers will be fluent in this language to one degree or another.
Elvaan (Impressive): Complex and florid, Elvaan has its roots in antiquity. Like all other aspects of Elvaan culture, it is a source of racial pride and jealously guarded against dilution from outside sources.
Galkan (Challenging)): Few Galka are capable of speaking their blunt, unsentimental native language, let alone writing it; adventurers are most likely to encounter it in ancient, Galkan‐built structures and on racial artifacts.
Mogri (Impressive): The language used by the Moogle race. Though most non‐Moogles may wonder how much communication can be achieved solely using the word ‘Kupo’, Mogri is surprisingly subtle; though untrained listeners will only hear that one word, those fluent in the language know it's all about slight variations. Few non‐Moogles are fluent in this speech.
Monster Talk (Heroic): Used to communicate with beasts and intelligent creatures that cannot utilize CommonTongue, this language is typically non‐verbal in nature. Though scholars would balk at calling the resulting collection of grunts, growls and posturing a ‘language’, there is considerable study involved in mastering it.
Lajargon (Moderate): Used by the enigmatic little folk, this language sees great use in the scholarly world due to the vast amounts of lost magical artifacts and rune‐embedded treasure that is unearthed.
Planar (Supreme): This is used by the strange creatures that traverse the wholly‐magical planes, such as The Void or the dreams of the Gods themselves. How any mortal would know how to speak this remains a mystery.
Binary (Heroic): Binary is a language of zeros and ones, usually written, but can be spoken with a crude vocal processor that emits boops and bleeps. Androids may have attempted to pass the language on to others, but it ultimately remains nigh‐impossible to follow in conversation to all but the most practiced listeners.
Lore
Skills which cover a character's understanding of a particular concept or area, abstract or not – facts, figures, and essential information relating to a subject the character has studied in at least some detail. Better skill checks mean the GM can provide more quality, quantity, and detail in terms of information granted, but you cannot make multiple Lore checks regarding the same bit of information; you either know or you don’t. A GM might make Lore checks privately, and a Complication represents the information you receive is incorrect as opposed to simply a 'I don't know.' Learning that this particular species of Dragon is not dangerous to people with a failed Lore roll may be an awkward situation for your party to find itself in....
Lore (General): Detailed knowledge of the world the characters live in; geography of a particular area, major landmarks and guilds, current events and local customs.
Lore (History): General knowledge of key events in history, including dates, personalities, and other minutiae. Also includes popular mythology, ranging from ancient sagas to contemporary 'urban legends'.
Lore (Monsters): What is a Malboro's preferred food source? Just how fast does a Cactuar actually run? A character with Monster Lore is a treasure trove of facts and trivia on the planet's inhuman inhabitants.
Lore (Magic): A primer on all forms and colors of magic, of both ancient and current varieties. Also includes knowledge regarding Espers, such the histories, strengths, weaknesses and personalities of the Esper society, as well as routes and passages taken on a summoner's pilgrimage and the like. This does not cover the exact properties of magical items, which is instead handled by the Mercantile skill below.
Mercantile
A character with the Mercantile skill knows her way around buying cheap and selling high, making a profit wherever people are to be found, and obtaining anything the group might need. They can pawn long-forgotten family heirlooms back to the family in question, or discover the potential magical properties of a jewel-encrusted sword. They might travel the world filling their pockets with coins, or this might simply be residue know-how from growing up in the streets.
A successful skill check can be used to locate a particular piece of equipment, find merchants or shops in a town or city, haggle a price with a reluctant dealer, or contact a shady, black-market vendor. A character with Mercantile will have a good eye for details, and can easily appraise items of mundane value to determine their true worth and authenticity. Finally, this skill allows players to determine the exact magical properties of a given item, at a difficulty determined by the GM on a case-by-case basis.
Nature
A character with this skill is able to find shelters and avoid natural hazards that could easily take the life of a less-experienced traveler, plus have an instinctual rapport with the natural creatures of the world. A character with this skill could ride a Chocobo or perhaps even a Dragon, use landmarks to find their way in hostile territory, follow the tracks of an enemy or conceal their own, convince the marquis’ vicious pets that you’re a friend and there’s no need for the snarling and biting, or even direct the temper of those very same pets on their beloved owner.
A character with this skill trying to win over an animal in combat is rarely ever less than a Slow action.
Negotiation
The fine art of getting your way. A character with this skill can use their powers of persuasion to do anything from bartering for an item to convincing that troublesome Captain of the Guard that, no, they really aren’t an Imperial sympathizer, thank you all the same. This skill covers everything from seduction to intimidation to begging for your life...and, like Awareness and Escape, is generally a good skill to have at your disposal.
Perform
A character with this skill can express herself in a multitude of ways – song, dance, playing almost every instrument ever created, giving rousing speeches, or just having a reverence-worthy stage presence. Generally, this skill is utilized by Entertainers – miming, dancing and singing are a big part of their repertoire – but music as a form of entertainment is common in most worlds, and many inns and pubs often include a piano where wandering musically-minded adventurers can tickle the ivories and make a few gil. A character with this skill can tune a violin, know the proper time to stage dive, and be able to transition fluidly from a waltz from a gavotte without stepping on the archduke’s toes in the process.
Scavenge
With this handy skill, a character can use bits and pieces of defeated enemies to acquire Components for crafting, aiding in the construction of everything from weapons to food. Scavenge can only be used on Notorious Monsters or Bosses that the party has defeated, and may only be attempted once per character regardless if the roll was a success or failure. Note that this isn’t always as straightforward as just grabbing bones and fangs and scales; a blacksmith could stumble across a rare vein of ore in the lair of an undead dragon, and a botanist could find use for the moss growing on the back of a centuries-old Adamantoise.
The Components acquired by Scavenge are generally of a Tier appropriate to the party’s average level. The difficulty of this skill should rarely stray into the high extremes, and should reflect the player’s description of what bits and pieces the player is trying to acquire – for example, turning an octopus monster into dinner is easier than trying to turn it into a crossbow.
A Complication on a Scavenge skill check might mean the party discovers something they think possesses value, but might in fact be a still-lingering evil presence or be near-impossible to transport. Taking the item might even earn the PCs some further enemies, such as angry environmentalists calling the heroes ‘poachers,’ or perhaps even a band of rough-and-tumble thugs who angered the group wound up with the treasure they’ve been after.
Stealth
This Skill gives the character a basic understanding of subterfuge, allowing him to secrete himself in darkened corners to escape detection and sneak around without arousing too much suspicion. It also allows for sleight-of-hand tricks and the like, such as discreetly keeping a small object on one’s person. If you attack an opponent who doesn’t know that you’re there, you’re almost always entitled to a pre-emptive combat round.
Swimming
A character with this skill has the training to float, swim and dive, as well as hold their breath underwater for far longer than most people. Skill checks are required if a character is attempting to reach a particular location underwater, to stay afloat in rough current or for long periods of time, as well as for actions undertaken while underwater. (See p.173 for rules regarding holding one’s breath and drowning.)
Synthesis
A character with this skill can create items of varying size and complexity from scratch using a wide range of materials and methods, as well as repairing damaged equipment.
A successful Synthesis check will successfully create a piece of equipment (or 1d6 consumables) for 50% of the normal market price. A failure means that no item is created but the gil is used up in the attempt.
Furthermore, characters can sell newly-crafted items for 100% of the normal price when in major cities, allowing enterprising individuals to actually make a living and a profit with their trade. This is subject to GM discretion, and players should be aware that the prices fluctuate in some areas due to factors such as distrust of the character, prohibited goods, competition, and more.
Such crafting is specific to a type of manufacture, the most prominent of which are as follows;
Synthesize (Alchemy): Consumable - Explosives, Consumable - Restoratives
Synthesize (Armorcrafting): Heavy Armor, Shields
Synthesize (Cooking): Consumable - Buffs, Consumable - Restoratives
Synthesize (Tinkering): Guns (Ranged), Machines
Synthesize (Blacksmithing): Blades, Bludgeoning, Concealed, Throwing (Ranged)
Synthesize (Carpentry): Bow (Ranged), Staves, Shields, Reach
Synthesize (Goldsmithing): Accessory, Relics
Synthesize (Leatherworking): Brawl, Medium Armor
Synthesize (Weaving): Light Armor, Tents
There is no single type of synthesis for arcane weapons, instead it depends on what the item in question is. Some examples include using vials (alchemy), orbs (tinkering), wands (carpentry), rods (carpentry), scrolls (weaving), or spellbooks (leatherworking).
Systems
A multipurpose skill which allows a character to work with complex mechanisms, including electrical wiring, robots, constructs, and computers. It covers everything from hacking into a secure mainframe to knowing which piece of steel to pull in order to separate moving train cars. A successful skill check can be used to either set up, interrupt, or tamper with a system. It is possible for a Complication to destroy particularly complicated systems beyond the point of salvage, or to trigger unintended results such as a small armanda of security drones being activated when the main computer core shuts down.
Thievery
A character with this skill can perform an entire repertoire of illegal activities with speed and style. They can open locks on doors, treasure chests and anything else others consider worth securing, given a few simple tools, a little elbow grease and a successful skill check. They may rummage through pockets undetected and snatch small valuables, forge important documents, cheat at dice games, and disarm – or set – traps of varying complexity and lethality.
Vehicles
This Skill enables a character to helm most vehicles with a reasonable degree of reliability, though in adverse conditions, things might be a little bit more difficult. This skill governs everything from motorcycles to Magitek Armor to Airships. Special maneuvers naturally require an advanced level of ability to pull off without wrecking the vehicle in question in the process. It can also be utilized to repair damaged vehicles to which the Systems skill doesn’t apply.
Athletics
The ability to climb, tumble, jump, balance, and take falls. A character with this skill has refined their coordination, balance and flexibility to the point of being able to execute complex acrobatic maneuvers as if they were second nature. On a successful skill check you can perform a difficult feat of agility, such as leaping through a two‐foot square window without hurting yourself, scaling a vertical surface, or sliding down a thin cable just in time to crash a wedding.
Acting
A character with this skill has the ability to lie, fake emotions and devise new personalities. With a successful skill check the character may attempt to use Acting to deceive, improvise, keep one hell of a poker face, or just rattle off a steady stream of bald‐face lies.
Acting also covers the ability for a character to assume a new appearance through a disguise, ranging from a simple change of clothing to a full‐blown transformation.
Awareness
Characters with this skill possess a certain sixth sense when it comes to spotting potential dangers or noticing when something isn’t quite right – whether in the form of a con‐man attempting to swindle the party with counterfeit Elixirs, or a dozen slavering beasts waiting in ambush around the corner. Awareness is one of those skills that sees a lot of use, so it’s generally wise to invest at least a few points into it.
Escape
Everyone gets caught sometimes ‐‐ for this reason, the ability to slip out of a tight bind can prove to be a valuable asset. A character with this skill can worm his way out of rope, manacles, or grapples, get out from the inside of a locked safe, crawl from the wreckage of a crash landing, have the good fortune to leap through a second‐story window and land safely on a passing carriage, or take advantage of a brief distraction to vanish mysteriously into thin air.
Although a failure simply means a character is forced to remain where they are, a Complication can just as easily result in injury, tangled bonds, or suspicious captors checking in to see what all the banging around is about…
This skill also allows characters to flee from combat if faced with overwhelming odds, and it’s recommended that fledgling adventurers expend a few points to raise up this skill.
Gathering
Gathering skills are useful for finding the best materials possible outside of combat to solve a current task. High gathering checks can produce a wide variety of items that can be used for making menial items or repairs through Synthesis checks or System checks, gathering food, or the like. If the character is foraging for an entire group out in the wild instead of just trying to sustain themselves, the difficulty is generally increased.
In addition once per chapter a character may use a Gathering skill check to search for and gain Components for crafting usable consumables or equipment through Synthesis. The types of Components found and items that are made depend on the type of gathering being done and the current area the party finds itself in. They should also be a type of component of a Tier useful for the character’s current level.
Gathering (Mining): Metal, stone, elemental deposits, and precious gems, etc.
Gathering (Fishing)-Fish, drinking water, sea water, etc.
Gathering (Botany)-Wood, herbs, and other plants, etc.
Failing gathering checks usually leads to nothing useful being found while Complications can have drastic consequences such as getting lost, wandering into a monster’s lair, finding bad or dangerous materials, or the like.
Healing
A character with this skill knows enough about the body and its workings to diagnose and treat most kinds of sickness and injury. Failure in either could have drastic consequences for the patient. It also doubles as a helpful tool in allowing an injured party to get a better night’s rest in adverse conditions, or popping joints back into place in the thick of battle. Complications that arise during Healing checks are rarely pleasant things.
Inquiry
Whether it’s the location of an ancient tomb, an obscure local legend, or just the address of the nearest inn, characters with the Inquiry skill are adept of digging up the information they need as quickly and painlessly as possible. The amount of time taken for an inquiring search can vary between a few minutes and several long days or more, depending on the breadth of resources available to the character. A failure simply means the character has not been able to locate the information; a Complication may indicate the character has stumbled into serious trouble during the course of searching. Wherever there’s a good mystery, there are undoubtedly people who want it to stay that way.
Language
A character can understand and communicate in various different languages; at lower levels, fluently enough to converse with others, at higher levels with the proficiency of a skilled orator and writer. All characters can generally speak their own racial language as well as the standard language spoken the world over (if such a thing exists), but whenever the PCs encounter a language they’ve never heard before, Language is rolled to determine which of the PCs – if any – are fluent in it! Once a character encounters a new language and rolls this skill, success or failure permanently determines if they’ll have the language in their repertoire for future game sessions.
The following is a short list of languages that may appear in your world, as well as an approximate difficulty for the associated Language check.
Ancient (Heroic): The spoken or written tongues of the world’s precursor races, sometimes known as Lufenian or Lefenish. Ancient languages see very little usage in the world’s day‐to‐day affairs, particularly in their spoken
forms; these are usually the domain of scholars and adventurers canny enough to realize that sooner or later everything comes down to mysteriously‐inscribed slabs and relics.
Bhasa Mithra (Challenging): The Mithran/Viera language is constructed around a relatively limited set of words, placing heavy emphasis on prefixes and context instead. The flowery, flowing language is learned by instinct, not social saturation. This causes the dialect to be hard to learn and follow as it does not have roots in any other language.
Common Tongue (Moderate): The standard Human – or ‘Hume’ – tongue, lingua franca on most continents. Most, if not all, adventurers will be fluent in this language to one degree or another.
Elvaan (Impressive): Complex and florid, Elvaan has its roots in antiquity. Like all other aspects of Elvaan culture, it is a source of racial pride and jealously guarded against dilution from outside sources.
Galkan (Challenging)): Few Galka are capable of speaking their blunt, unsentimental native language, let alone writing it; adventurers are most likely to encounter it in ancient, Galkan‐built structures and on racial artifacts.
Mogri (Impressive): The language used by the Moogle race. Though most non‐Moogles may wonder how much communication can be achieved solely using the word ‘Kupo’, Mogri is surprisingly subtle; though untrained listeners will only hear that one word, those fluent in the language know it's all about slight variations. Few non‐Moogles are fluent in this speech.
Monster Talk (Heroic): Used to communicate with beasts and intelligent creatures that cannot utilize CommonTongue, this language is typically non‐verbal in nature. Though scholars would balk at calling the resulting collection of grunts, growls and posturing a ‘language’, there is considerable study involved in mastering it.
Lajargon (Moderate): Used by the enigmatic little folk, this language sees great use in the scholarly world due to the vast amounts of lost magical artifacts and rune‐embedded treasure that is unearthed.
Planar (Supreme): This is used by the strange creatures that traverse the wholly‐magical planes, such as The Void or the dreams of the Gods themselves. How any mortal would know how to speak this remains a mystery.
Binary (Heroic): Binary is a language of zeros and ones, usually written, but can be spoken with a crude vocal processor that emits boops and bleeps. Androids may have attempted to pass the language on to others, but it ultimately remains nigh‐impossible to follow in conversation to all but the most practiced listeners.
Lore
Skills which cover a character's understanding of a particular concept or area, abstract or not – facts, figures, and essential information relating to a subject the character has studied in at least some detail. Better skill checks mean the GM can provide more quality, quantity, and detail in terms of information granted, but you cannot make multiple Lore checks regarding the same bit of information; you either know or you don’t. A GM might make Lore checks privately, and a Complication represents the information you receive is incorrect as opposed to simply a 'I don't know.' Learning that this particular species of Dragon is not dangerous to people with a failed Lore roll may be an awkward situation for your party to find itself in....
Lore (General): Detailed knowledge of the world the characters live in; geography of a particular area, major landmarks and guilds, current events and local customs.
Lore (History): General knowledge of key events in history, including dates, personalities, and other minutiae. Also includes popular mythology, ranging from ancient sagas to contemporary 'urban legends'.
Lore (Monsters): What is a Malboro's preferred food source? Just how fast does a Cactuar actually run? A character with Monster Lore is a treasure trove of facts and trivia on the planet's inhuman inhabitants.
Lore (Magic): A primer on all forms and colors of magic, of both ancient and current varieties. Also includes knowledge regarding Espers, such the histories, strengths, weaknesses and personalities of the Esper society, as well as routes and passages taken on a summoner's pilgrimage and the like. This does not cover the exact properties of magical items, which is instead handled by the Mercantile skill below.
Mercantile
A character with the Mercantile skill knows her way around buying cheap and selling high, making a profit wherever people are to be found, and obtaining anything the group might need. They can pawn long-forgotten family heirlooms back to the family in question, or discover the potential magical properties of a jewel-encrusted sword. They might travel the world filling their pockets with coins, or this might simply be residue know-how from growing up in the streets.
A successful skill check can be used to locate a particular piece of equipment, find merchants or shops in a town or city, haggle a price with a reluctant dealer, or contact a shady, black-market vendor. A character with Mercantile will have a good eye for details, and can easily appraise items of mundane value to determine their true worth and authenticity. Finally, this skill allows players to determine the exact magical properties of a given item, at a difficulty determined by the GM on a case-by-case basis.
Nature
A character with this skill is able to find shelters and avoid natural hazards that could easily take the life of a less-experienced traveler, plus have an instinctual rapport with the natural creatures of the world. A character with this skill could ride a Chocobo or perhaps even a Dragon, use landmarks to find their way in hostile territory, follow the tracks of an enemy or conceal their own, convince the marquis’ vicious pets that you’re a friend and there’s no need for the snarling and biting, or even direct the temper of those very same pets on their beloved owner.
A character with this skill trying to win over an animal in combat is rarely ever less than a Slow action.
Negotiation
The fine art of getting your way. A character with this skill can use their powers of persuasion to do anything from bartering for an item to convincing that troublesome Captain of the Guard that, no, they really aren’t an Imperial sympathizer, thank you all the same. This skill covers everything from seduction to intimidation to begging for your life...and, like Awareness and Escape, is generally a good skill to have at your disposal.
Perform
A character with this skill can express herself in a multitude of ways – song, dance, playing almost every instrument ever created, giving rousing speeches, or just having a reverence-worthy stage presence. Generally, this skill is utilized by Entertainers – miming, dancing and singing are a big part of their repertoire – but music as a form of entertainment is common in most worlds, and many inns and pubs often include a piano where wandering musically-minded adventurers can tickle the ivories and make a few gil. A character with this skill can tune a violin, know the proper time to stage dive, and be able to transition fluidly from a waltz from a gavotte without stepping on the archduke’s toes in the process.
Scavenge
With this handy skill, a character can use bits and pieces of defeated enemies to acquire Components for crafting, aiding in the construction of everything from weapons to food. Scavenge can only be used on Notorious Monsters or Bosses that the party has defeated, and may only be attempted once per character regardless if the roll was a success or failure. Note that this isn’t always as straightforward as just grabbing bones and fangs and scales; a blacksmith could stumble across a rare vein of ore in the lair of an undead dragon, and a botanist could find use for the moss growing on the back of a centuries-old Adamantoise.
The Components acquired by Scavenge are generally of a Tier appropriate to the party’s average level. The difficulty of this skill should rarely stray into the high extremes, and should reflect the player’s description of what bits and pieces the player is trying to acquire – for example, turning an octopus monster into dinner is easier than trying to turn it into a crossbow.
A Complication on a Scavenge skill check might mean the party discovers something they think possesses value, but might in fact be a still-lingering evil presence or be near-impossible to transport. Taking the item might even earn the PCs some further enemies, such as angry environmentalists calling the heroes ‘poachers,’ or perhaps even a band of rough-and-tumble thugs who angered the group wound up with the treasure they’ve been after.
Stealth
This Skill gives the character a basic understanding of subterfuge, allowing him to secrete himself in darkened corners to escape detection and sneak around without arousing too much suspicion. It also allows for sleight-of-hand tricks and the like, such as discreetly keeping a small object on one’s person. If you attack an opponent who doesn’t know that you’re there, you’re almost always entitled to a pre-emptive combat round.
Swimming
A character with this skill has the training to float, swim and dive, as well as hold their breath underwater for far longer than most people. Skill checks are required if a character is attempting to reach a particular location underwater, to stay afloat in rough current or for long periods of time, as well as for actions undertaken while underwater. (See p.173 for rules regarding holding one’s breath and drowning.)
Synthesis
A character with this skill can create items of varying size and complexity from scratch using a wide range of materials and methods, as well as repairing damaged equipment.
A successful Synthesis check will successfully create a piece of equipment (or 1d6 consumables) for 50% of the normal market price. A failure means that no item is created but the gil is used up in the attempt.
Furthermore, characters can sell newly-crafted items for 100% of the normal price when in major cities, allowing enterprising individuals to actually make a living and a profit with their trade. This is subject to GM discretion, and players should be aware that the prices fluctuate in some areas due to factors such as distrust of the character, prohibited goods, competition, and more.
Such crafting is specific to a type of manufacture, the most prominent of which are as follows;
Synthesize (Alchemy): Consumable - Explosives, Consumable - Restoratives
Synthesize (Armorcrafting): Heavy Armor, Shields
Synthesize (Cooking): Consumable - Buffs, Consumable - Restoratives
Synthesize (Tinkering): Guns (Ranged), Machines
Synthesize (Blacksmithing): Blades, Bludgeoning, Concealed, Throwing (Ranged)
Synthesize (Carpentry): Bow (Ranged), Staves, Shields, Reach
Synthesize (Goldsmithing): Accessory, Relics
Synthesize (Leatherworking): Brawl, Medium Armor
Synthesize (Weaving): Light Armor, Tents
There is no single type of synthesis for arcane weapons, instead it depends on what the item in question is. Some examples include using vials (alchemy), orbs (tinkering), wands (carpentry), rods (carpentry), scrolls (weaving), or spellbooks (leatherworking).
Systems
A multipurpose skill which allows a character to work with complex mechanisms, including electrical wiring, robots, constructs, and computers. It covers everything from hacking into a secure mainframe to knowing which piece of steel to pull in order to separate moving train cars. A successful skill check can be used to either set up, interrupt, or tamper with a system. It is possible for a Complication to destroy particularly complicated systems beyond the point of salvage, or to trigger unintended results such as a small armanda of security drones being activated when the main computer core shuts down.
Thievery
A character with this skill can perform an entire repertoire of illegal activities with speed and style. They can open locks on doors, treasure chests and anything else others consider worth securing, given a few simple tools, a little elbow grease and a successful skill check. They may rummage through pockets undetected and snatch small valuables, forge important documents, cheat at dice games, and disarm – or set – traps of varying complexity and lethality.
Vehicles
This Skill enables a character to helm most vehicles with a reasonable degree of reliability, though in adverse conditions, things might be a little bit more difficult. This skill governs everything from motorcycles to Magitek Armor to Airships. Special maneuvers naturally require an advanced level of ability to pull off without wrecking the vehicle in question in the process. It can also be utilized to repair damaged vehicles to which the Systems skill doesn’t apply.