FANGS: Skill Pool

File:FANGS-Basic Fangs Logo (small original).gifWelcome to FANGS, the Fantasy Adventure Networked Gaming System. The goal of this roleplaying system is to offer rules that allow for fun, dramatic play without losing too much realism, simple and yet elegant rules, and balanced for different styles of players who wish to game together.

Skill Pool

Any Character Points left after allocation of Characteristics, Advantages and Disadvantages fall into your characters Skill Pool. Your character can draw from the Skill Pool to increase ability in his basic skills or even create new skills.

Basic Skills

Every character knows a number of basic skills, at no cost to your character's skill pool. These skills were learned as play during childhood and polished during adolescence. The basic skills are: Climb, Fist, First Aid, Hide, Jump, Kick, Knife, Local Lore, Perception, Persuasion, Run, Throw, Sneak, Swimming and Wrestle.

Each character has different ability in each skill, depending on his initial Characteristics. Each Characteristic can add, or subtract from the characters starting ability. Any fractions are rounded up to the nearest whole number.

Skill	Starting Value	Average
Climb	= ( AGx2 STx2 - SZ ) / 5	6
Fist	= ( ST AG SZ ) / 5	6
First Aid	= ( INx2 ) / 5	4
Hide	= ( AGx4 - SZx2 - PW ) / 5	2
Jump	= ( AGx2 STx2 - SZ ) / 5	6
Kick	= ( ST AG ) / 5	4
Knife	= ( ST AG ) / 5	4
Local Lore	= IN	10
Perception	= ( IN PW CO ) / 5	6
Persuasion	= ( IN PW AP ) / 5	6
Run	= ( AGx2 STx2 - SZ ) / 5	6
Throw	= ( ST AGx2 ) / 5	6
Sneak	= ( AGx4 - SZx2 - PW ) / 5	2
Swim	= ( ST AG ) / 5	4
Wrestle	= ( ST AG SZ ) / 5	6

Cultural Skills

Depending on the culture the Character comes from, or the game setting, the GM may give a character a number of additional basic skills at no cost to the skill pool.

For instance, in a medieval/fantasy setting, characters might start with:

Skill	Starting Value	Average
Craft (Type)	= ( IN AG ) / 5	4
Ride Horse	= ( AG PW ) / 5	4
1H Melee Weapon	= ( ST AG SZ ) / 5	6
Shield Parry	= ( ST AG ) / 5	4
Short Bow	= ( AG ) / 5	2
Survival, Woods	= ( IN PW ) / 5	4

In a contemporary setting characters might have instead:

Skill	Starting Value	Average
Drive Car	= ( IN AG PW ) / 5	6
Literacy	= ( INx3 ) / 5	6
Mechanic	= ( IN AG ) / 5	4
Pistol	= ( AGx2 ) / 5	4
Streetwise	= ( IN PW ) / 5	4

In a space setting characters might start with:

Skill	Starting Value	Average
Literacy	= ( INx3 ) / 5	6
Computer Ops	= ( INx2 ) / 5	4
Free Fall	= ( AG CO ) / 5	4
Stunner	= ( AGx2 ) / 5	4
Pilot Aircar	= ( IN AG PW ) / 5	6

The cultural skill set that a character receives is entirely up to the GM, but typically is 24 points of skills for an average (10) character, divided among a professional skill (such as Craft, Mechanic, or Computer Ops,) a weapon skill (1H Melee Weapon/Shield Parry/Bow, Pistol, Stunner,) an environment oriented skill (Survival, Streetwise, Free Fall,) a transportation skill (Ride Horse, Drive Car, Pilot Car) and, if appropriate, Literacy.

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