Clickbait /OFF
I only want to transcribe here something from another blog, for it is too useful to be lost to the flow of the internets: "The skills you didn't know you had", where the author distills all the different "x in 6" rolls scattered through the OSE book into a "skill list". I am actually using this list as inspiration for MY OWN LIST (to be posted next time), but the source material is so interesting itself that I felt it deserved recognition.
Open doors: 2 in 6, modified by strength
Listening at Doors: 1 in 6 chance of detecting subtle sounds beyond a door, increased for demihumans.
Searching: If a character is searching in the right location, there is a
base 1-in-6 chance of finding a secret door or room trap, increased for
some demihumans.
Avoiding Traps: Every time a character makes an
action that could trigger a trap, there is a 2-in-6 chance of the trap
being sprung. Lets rephrase this as a 4-in-6 chance to avoid a trap.
Foraging for herbs, fruits, nuts, etc: can be performed alongside
normal movement. The party has a 1-in-6 chance per day of finding enough
food for 1d6 human-sized beings.
Hunting: must be engaged in as
the sole activity for a day—no travelling or resting is possible. When
hunting, there is a 1-in-6 chance of encountering animals which may be
suitable for eating (if they can be caught!). This is in addition to the
normal chance of random encounters. A party with a ranger succeeds at
foraging with a 2-in-6 chance and finds prey when hunting with a 5-in-6
chance.
Boarding: If the occupants of one vehicle wish to
forcefully board the other vehicle, there is a 2-in-6 chance of being
able to successfully manoeuvre the vehicle into a boarding position. The
two vehicles may then be clamped together with grappling hooks.
Surprise Checks: That's a 2-in-6 stealth check right there.
Tinder box: Used to light fires, including torches. Using a tinder box
takes one round. There is a 2-in-6 chance of success per round.
Dwarven Detect Construction Tricks: As expert miners, dwarves have a
2-in-6 chance of being able to detect new construction, sliding walls,
or sloping passages when searching.
Detect Room Traps: Due to
their expertise with construction, dwarves have a 2-in-6 chance of
detecting non-magical room traps when searching.
Halfling's
Hiding: In dungeons, a halfling can hide in shadows or behind other
forms of cover. The chance of success is 2-in-6. Hiding requires the
halfling to be motionless. This enables an additional layer of stealth
on top of the base one. If they are still, and behind cover or in
shadow, they have an extra chance to be unnoticed to the rest of the
party.
Lore: From 2nd level, a bard has a 2-in-6 chance of
knowing lore pertaining to monsters, magic items, or heroes of folk-tale
or legend. This ability may be used to identify the nature and powers
of magic items.
Path-Finding: At the start of each day of travel, the referee should roll to determine
if the group loses direction. The probability depends on the terrain
being traversed:
Clear, grasslands: 1-in-6.
Barren lands, hills, mountains, woods: 2-in-6.
Desert, jungle, swamp: 3-in-6.
Lets
restate this one as a navigate skill with a chance depending on the
type of terrain. 5-in-6, 4-in-6, or 3-in-6 depending on the difficulty
of the terrain. Listed later is the fact it's 4-in-6 to navigate while
waterborne. Paths and rivers eliminate this chance. While waterborne
however, it requires a specific navigator to help sail, so this is
clearly not a skill that all adventurers have. A party with a druid has
only a 1-in-6 chance of getting lost in woodlands, so druids score
themselves a 5-in-6 in the skill we now have a name for, pathfinding.
Duergar's Stealth: Underground, duergars have a 3-in-6 chance of moving silently.
Svirfneblin's Blend into Stone: Svirfneblins have the uncanny ability
to go unnoticed when in an environment of natural or carved stone so
long as they remain silent and motionless. The chance of success is
4-in-6 in gloomy conditions or 2-in-6 in well-lit conditions.
Stone Murmurs: Svirfneblins can understand the imper-ceptible grumblings
of stone. If a svirf-neblin stands quietly for one turn with their ear
pressed against a stone surface, they have a 2-in-6 chance of divining
one of the following pieces of information (player’s choice):
The presence of secret doors in the stone, within 10'.
The presence of gems or precious met-als, up to 30' beyond the surface.
The presence of living creatures, up to 30' beyond the surface.
The presence of bodies of water or open spaces, up to 60' beyond the surface.
* * *
At the end, the author classifies them broadly:
Individual skills are rolled for every person attempting an activity.
Force isused for forcing open doors through strength.
Listen is used to hear monsters through doors (breaking their stealth).
Search isused to find hidden passages and traps.
Luck is used to not trigger traps by through chance by stepping over a pressure plate instead of on it.
Enhanced Stealth is used when the party fails its stealth check, but you are a class that has better odds of hiding.
Use a tinderbox is used to use a tinderbox.
Group
skills are performed by the entire group, usually with a single person
leading the activity who can provide their experience as a bonus to
everyone.
Forage is used to find food while travelling overland.
Hunt is used to find food dedicating time to the task.
Pathfind is used to navigate without a road or river.
Board is used to position vehicles for boarding.
Stealth is used to be unnoticed by foes.
* * *
In order for it to be a comprehensive list, we should add the Thief Skills to it; and, why not? convert them approximately to X in 6 format for cohesion.
Find/Remove Traps: starting at 1 in 6, increases by 1 every 3 thief levels
Hide in Shadows: as above
Move Silently: as above
Pick Locks: as above
Pick Pockets: as above
Climb Sheer Surfaces: 5 in 6 chance
Read Languages: 5 in 6 chance, available at level 4
Scroll use: 1 in 6 chance, available at level 10
From Asterix & Cleopatra. Searching for an image to illustrate the post, I realized that this is the mental image I have for D&D thieves
That's handy! I came close to something like this a few years ago, preparing pre-gens for a group of students to try D&D. I didn't label them as skills, but I had all of the dungeoneering "skills" on each sheet.
ReplyDeleteRight on! You left out on/off weapons skills, though!
ReplyDeletehttps://lichvanwinkle.blogspot.com/2020/07/the-original-d-skill-rules.html
thanks guys. All things handy for gaming, I want to keep them in the blog, for quick consultation
ReplyDelete