Editing FANGS: Skill Pool (section)

==Basic Skill Descriptions==

These descriptions depend on the description of how Skills work that follows. Readers should familiarize themselves with the basic rules for Skill Use before studying these descriptions. 

For many of these Skills, there is no need to roll them under normal circumstances. Climbing an easy slope does not need a roll, jumping over a small ditch does not need a roll. Some Skills, like Knife and First Aid, always need a roll. 

'''Climb''' -- This is the Skill of finding handholds and footholds in a vertical surface and ascending or descending it. Normal progress is 1 pace per combat turn. Equipment such as pitons and ropes and boot spikes can increase the Skill number. One can never Take 20 with this Skill. There is always the chance of falling. A character engaged in combat while Climbing cannot move and fight. His fighting abilities (attack, parry, defend) can be no higher than his Climb Skill. The GM may rule that various weapons are impossible to use while climbing the particular surface. 

'''Fist''' -- This is the Skill of fighting with bare hands in combat. This Skill is used for both attack and defense. See the Combat rules for the effects of bare handed fighting. Damage done with this attack is equal to the character's Damage Modifier. 

'''First Aid''' -- While this name is relatively modern, the skill dates back to the first primitive hunters who thought that they might be able to relieve the suffering of a tribe member. 

This deals with stabilizing traumatic wounds. The Skill takes at least one full combat round to accomplish, and the GM may rule that the severity of the wound calls for more time. The Skill user must have equipment handy, though this can be improvised, such as tearing up a tunic for bandages/tourniquets. Except under extreme circumstances, this skill does not replace Health Points, it just stops the victim from losing more. 

'''Hide''' -- This is the skill of not being seen, and it includes concealment, camouflage, and smoke and mirrors. It is generally a Resistance roll to a Perception roll, though things could go the other way depending on the circumstances. 

This Skill is used when the Hiding person/object is not moving. Avoiding notice while moving is Sneak. See below. 

'''Jump''' -- Anyone can make a horizontal running jump over a gap equal to the characters STR+5 - SIZ. A character can also jump half that distance flat-rooted, or vertically with a running jump. No roll is necessary unless the Jumper is surprised by the necessity to make the jump. Any wider gap calls for a roll. The Skill is reduced by 1 for every pace in excess of the above amount. 

Example Gru has a STR of 15+5-SIZ of 11 = Jump distance of 9. He has to jump over a 12 pace wide cleft in the glacier. Coincidentally, his Jump Skill is 9, so he needs to roll a 14 or more to make the roll. (12-9 = 3, 9 - 3 = 6 + 14 = 20). 

Jump can also be used to subtract from the damage from falling. If falling, every point the character's Jump roll is made by is subtracted from the damage done. 

Example: Gru missed the Jump roll above and is now falling down a 10 pace deep cleft. His player makes another Jump roll and this time rolls the 14 he needed earlier. Added to his normal roll of 9 equals 23. The GM rolls 1d6 for the damage from the 10 pace fall and gets four, which is what Gru gets to subtract (23-19 = 4). So Gru says &quot;Oof,&quot; picks himself up, dusts himself off, and looks for someplace to use his Climb Skill to get out of the cleft. 

Jump can often be used when something like acrobatic maneuvers are necessary. 

'''Kick''' -- This is attacking with the foot. Since a kick generally has more power behind it than a fist, the damage done is the usual Damage Modifier plus 2. However, a Kicker cannot move at all while using this maneuver and can only Parry or Dodge, not both. The Fist Skill above is used for Parrying unless the character actually has a shield or weapon to parry with. 

'''Knife''' -- This is the skill of using the knife in combat (or to do a really good job of carving roasts). The same Skill is used for Attack and Parry. 

'''Local Lore''' -- This is general knowledge of the local area and local bases of knowledge. It starts the same as an Idea Roll, but can be improved like any Skill. There are also two other forms of Lore Skill. 

'''Foreign Lore''' -- This is general knowledge of surrounding lands and peoples, often gained through traveler's tales and suspect news sources. The formula is (IN + PW)/5, modelling the luck one must have to be listening to the right sources for foreign news. In more advanced societies, Local Lore and Foreign Lore are the same, the boundaries just change. In a modern society, Local Lore is knowledge about the Unites States (for an American) in general, Foreign Lore is about the customs and laws and geography of lands across the sea. In a space-going society, the Foreign Lore deals with things beyond &quot;Known Space&quot;, including races not normally interacted with, etc. 

'''Special Lore''' -- This is specific knowledge of one type of learning, such as physical science or magic theory or rocket engineering. This has to be chosen as a New Cultural Skill, see rules further along. Basic ability, once the Skill is bought, is IN/3. 

'''Perception''' -- This is the Skill of finding what you are looking for, seeing what others do not want you to see, and noticing things that normally would not be noticed. It depends on Intelligence (IN) to realize that the item should be looked at, Power (PW) for being lucky enough to notice it, and Constitution (CO) for having the healthy eyesight, hearing, taste, smell, or whatever needed to notice the situation. 

Generally this Skill is used with Skills like Hide and Sneak Resisting the Skill. In such cases, the Perception user has to exceed the successful Hide or Sneak rolls by 1 to spot them. Of course, a successful Perception user sees unscuccessful Hide and Sneak users. 

If the user is trying to simply see something concealed, or notice something that might or might not be seen (such as a rider on the horizon). a simple Perception roll is all that is necessary unless the GM adds modifiers for clever concealment or atmospheric conditions. 

Many times the GM should make the Perception roll, concealing the result, so the Player doesn't know whether his character saw anything or not. See GMing Advice. 

'''Persuasion''' -- This Skill encompasses Conversation, Oratory, Bargaining, Fast Talk, Seduction, and Interrogation. It is the Skill of getting what you want out of someone by talking to them. It can also involve other methods of &quot;persuasion,&quot; like torture, threats, and physical intimidation. 

In general, Player Characters can use this skill against NPCs but NPCs cannot use it against players. Exceptions include using the Skill to determine how long the PC can last before he spills his guts while being tortured, or bargaining for goods with a merchant. It can also be used as a benchmark when an NPC is trying to flimflam the player characters and the players know what is happening, even if their characters don't. 

'''Run''' -- This Skill, like Swimming, Driving, Piloting and Riding, and even Climbing, is not necessary to roll under normal circumstances. This is used when the character is trying to both Run and do something else, or when determination of comparative skill in running is necessary. 

If the Runner is attacked, he cannot normally fight or dodge or parry unless he stops running. See the Combat rules for more details. 

If a race needs to be decided, or a pursuit resolved, all the participants roll their Run Skill. Those who simply succeed maintain the same relative distance with the others that they had before. Those who fail drop a pace behind. Those who Fumble fall 5 paces behind. Those who Special gain a pace. Those who Critical, gain 5 paces. See the Combat chapter for explanation of these terms. 

Run can also be used to determine whether a character can increase his movement. For every 2 points one makes a Run roll by, the character can run an additional pace. Round the roll up, so that a roll that just makes a 20 still gets 1 extra pace of distance. This can only be used for a full move, a retreat, or a charge move. See the Combat chapter for explanations of these terms.

'''Throw''' -- This is the Skill of throwing things with one or two hands that are easy to throw. It is the Starting Skill for using thrown weapons, but those must be increased on an individual basis. See Increasing Skills. 

Example: Gru has a Throw of 8. If he wants to be able to improve his skill with throwing dagger, he must increase that Skill. His Skill with Throw Rock remains at 8. 

'''Sneak''' -- This is the Skill of moving unseen and silent. It is generally a Resistance roll to Perception, but this situation can be reversed, as when infiltrating a stronghold. The Sneaker's Sneak is the Skill facing the Resistance of the Guard's Perception. 

'''Swim''' -- Like Run and the other movement skills, this doesn't need to be rolled for unless the user is in extreme circumstances or, in this case, wants to make some progress. Anyone can float and tread water; making progress (usually 1 pace per combat round) calls for a roll. Like Climbing, a roll must be made to make any progress. Fumbles can result in drowning. Swimming is also used for fighting in water if the Swimming roll is less than the combat skills of the fighter, getting out of armor (each point of armor reduces the Swimming roll by 1), and pursuing someone in the water. 

'''Wrestle''' -- This is grappling with someone to immobilize them and perhaps choke them or break a bone. The Skill is used to both Attack and Parry other Wrestlers. This is described in more detail under Hand-to-Hand combat in the Combat Section.