Skills.

For now, this is simply a list of all the skills and a sentence about what they do. Eventually, this will contain descriptions of every skill. Remember that any skill with 0 ranks gets a -4, and uses a -1d8 as it's skill rank die. BTW, if I place a question mark somewhere, it means I'm still thinking about.

Tool Training
Some skill applications require the use of tools or weapons. If the character isn't trained with the appropriate tools, he or she can still attempt to use the skill, but the character gain Disadvantage on his or her check. When a character gains ranks in these skills, they grant you training with one of tools that are appropriate for the skill; note that weapons are considered tools for this purpose.

Please note that the Maneuvering and Riding skills are unique. For the purposes of granting Disadvantage when used untrained, specific Maneuvers are considered tools for the Maneuvering skill, and specific animal mounts are considered tools for the Riding skill.

Specializations
Some skills focus on specific topics and fields. These are called Specializations. Each time you gain a rank in these Skills, you gain an additional Specialization. A Specialization doubles the number of Skill Rank Die rolled. It is possible to gain a Specialization from one skill and use it on others; you could gain Poetry as a Specialization of Writing, but use it with Academics, or vice versa.

Specialization and Tool Training
When a skill has Specializations and Tool Training, each rank in the skill grants a tool training OR a Specialization, but not both.

Skill Checks
When a character uses a skill, he makes a "skill check." Most of the time, the process of determining success or failure is straight-forward (see below); other times, additional rules are required. This post covers the rules for all types of skill checks.



STANDARD SKILL CHECKS Most of the time, when a character simply tries to accomplish a set task, he makes a "standard skill check" against a difficulty number set by the GM. This number is referred to as a Difficulty Class (DC), and it generally falls between 10 and 60. The player rolls 1D20 and adds his character’s attribute die, skill rank die, skill bonus die, equipment die, and general modifier die to obtain a skill check result. Before rolling, he can spend an Action Point to gain Advantage on the check. If the result equals or exceeds the task’s DC, the character succeeds; otherwise, he fails.

RESULTS CAP
At any time, a character’s level determines the maximum result he may achieve with any check, otherwise known as his "result cap,". This is hard limit can only be increased with feats, perks, rolling a critical success, and by spending an Action Point.

ADVANTAGE & DISADVANTAGE
When you have Advantage or Disadvantage while rolling check, you roll a second d20 when you make the roll. Use the higher of the two rolls if you have advantage, and use the lower roll if you have disadvantage. If multiple situations affect a roll and each one grants advantage or imposes disadvantage on it, you may end up rolling more than one additional d20. Advantages and Disadvantages cancel each other out.

When you have advantage or disadvantage and something in the game lets you reroll the d20, you can reroll only one of the dice. You choose which one.

THREAT RANGE & SUCCESSES
Every skill possesses a threat range. The threat range of all skills begins at 20, though this number may decrease due to the Skillful Threat perk. When a character succeeds with a skill check and rolls a natural number within his threat range he scores a Critical Success. When this occurs, his result cap is lifted for this check, and he counts the roll as achieving two non-numerical degrees of success (you don't treat the roll as 10 points higher). A critical success is not an automatic success; a character’s skill result must still equal or exceed the DC in order to succeed.

ERROR RANGE AND CRITICAL FAILURES
Every skill possesses an error range. The error range of all skills begins at 1, though it may increase due to other factors, typically Disadvantages. An error range may not decrease below 0. When a character rolls the dice within their error range, they gain an Action point. When a character fails a skill check and rolls a natural number within his error range, he suffers a critical failure. When this occurs, if the results are a failure, it counts as two failures for the Maximum number of times a skill check can be attempted, and if it is still a success, it loses two degrees of success, which may still cause it to result in a failure. That said, while likely, a critical failure is not an automatic failure; if the character’s skill result still equals or exceed the DC needed in order to succeed, and they don't have degrees of failure, the roll is still counted as a success.

CONTESTED SKILL CHECKS
Sometimes a character's efforts are directly opposed by another's. This can occur when both of them are trying to do the same thing and only one can succeed, such as attempting to snatch up a disc that has fallen on the floor. This situation also applies when one of them is trying to prevent the other one from accomplishing a goal--for example, when someone tries to force open a door that another is holding closed. In situations like these, the outcome is determined by a special form of ability check, called a Contested skill check, or just a contest for short.

Both participants in a contest make skill checks appropriate to their efforts, but instead of comparing the total to a DC, they compare the totals of their two checks. The participant with the higher check total wins the contest. If the contest results in a tie, the situation remains the same as it was before the contest.

PASSIVE SKILL CHECKS
When not in an action packed or stressful scene, a character's Passive Skill check is typically all that is needed to succeed. To calculate a character's Passive Skill Check, simply use the character's static modifiers and act as though they rolled a 10 on the D20. Unless otherwise stated, you can never use a character's Passive Skill check when out of combat.
Note: This game does not use the ruling that one's Passive Skill check is the minimum roll for that skill check.

COMPLEX SKILL CHECKS
With most skill checks, a single die roll immediately determines whether or not a character succeeds. If a character wants to jump across a chasm or recall a specific piece of information, his success or failure is apparent after a single check.

However, for complicated and time-consuming tasks (such as sabotaging a very complex device or researching an obscure bit of knowledge), or at times when the game master wants to build tension and suspense, a complex skill check is called for. In such a case, a specific number of successful skill checks must be achieved to complete the task. The complexity of the task is reflected in the DC of the required check, the number of successful rolls required to complete the task. Each successful complex skill check grants the character an accumulative +1 General bonus

MAXIMUM SKILL FAILURES
A character has a maximum number of failed rolls that can occur before they can no longer attempt to make the skill check again; it represents the circumstances as being beyond the character's current capabilities. This only applies to checks in which the circumstances haven't changed; this typically only applies to complex skill checks. Each time a character rolls a failure, all subsequent checks made for those circumstances are made at an accumulative -1 general penalty, representing the tide turning against them.

DEGREES
Checks often have degrees of success or failure: Just rolling a success or failure counts as one degree. Every five full points a check result is over or under the difficulty class adds a degree of success or failure.
Critical Successes: A Critical Success adds 2 additional degrees of success to a roll.
DamageWhile in combat, every degree of success on an attack roll after the first one adds additional damage die to the damage roll; even if the attack deals multiple damage die, this only adds one die per degree of success achieved.
Complex Skill checksEvery 2 degrees of success after the first one counts as another complex skill check success.

AID ANOTHER
Sometimes characters work together and help each other out. In this case, one character is selected as the leader of the effort and makes the check normally, while each helper makes the same type of check against DC 10. The helpers’ individual degrees of success and failures are added together to achieve the final outcome of the assistance.

Success grants the leader a +2 general bonus. Three or more total degrees of success grant a +5 general bonus. One degree of failure provides no modifier, but two or more impose a –2 circumstance penalty!

The GM sets the limit on how many characters can help as part of a team check. Regardless of the number of helpers, the leader’s bonus cannot be more than +5 (for three or more total degrees of success) nor the penalty greater than –2 (for two or more total degrees of failure).

Also keep in mind that the helpers failures will count towards the number of times they can fail a check before they can't make it again.

Academics
Ability Score: Intelligence;
Can be used with 0 ranks?: Only up to 20 ranks

You are intimately familiar with a wide range of subjects, such as history, literature, art, philosophy, or other subjects typically studied in the humanities.

Depending on the character’s ranks in Academics, there are certain facts he will know off the top of his head. What the character does not know, he can find out through research. If the character has access to a computer with internet access, research time is reduced by one-half. If the character has access to a library, he has advantage on the check.



The Academics skill cant be used in a variety of ways, such as:

Identifying historical landmarks or artifacts
Recognizing literary references or cultural allusions
Analyzing philosophical arguments or artistic movements
Recognizing patterns or connections between seemingly unrelated subjects