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- Sound Analysis (Mental 1 or Physical 1, Observation) — This skill allows a character
to gauge the size of underground areas by generating noise and
analyzing the echoes that return. Using this skill, he can calculate
distances up to one mile and determine sound direction.
- To use Sound Analysis, the character must work in absolute silence.
The sound created must have a sharp, staccato quality. A howl
or wail is ineffective, but a clicking sound or loud “hey” works
well.
- The character must make a skill check. If the check is successful,
he has correctly analyzed the size of the area in question to
within plus or minus 25 percent of its height, width and length.
If the check fails, the echo has become garbled in its reverberations;
no further attempts by the character to analyze that area will
succeed, though others with the skill may try.
- A successful skill check made by a margin of 25% or more means
the character has learned not only the size of the analyzed area,
but other details as well — the number of branching side passages,
whether there is a straight or wandering corridor and whether
water exists.
- The disadvantage of this ability is that while it is useful for
learning about a completely unknown area, it announces the character
to all creatures in hearing range. They will certainly be prepared
and may go looking for the intruders.
- Racial modifiers: This is a Mental 1, Physical 1 skill for any character who is
not a dwarf, Drow elf, gnome, goblin, hobgoblin, kobold, orc or
other native of the Everdark.
- Spacemanship (Mental 1, Physical 1, Intelligence/Knowledge +1, Dexterity/Balance
+1) — Only a character who has experience in Wildspace can take
this skill.
- The character with this skill is familiar with spelljamming ships.
He is qualified to work as a crewman, although he cannot actually
navigate. Crews of trained spacemen are necessary to operate any
spelljamming ship.
- Characters with the Spacemanship skill have a base climbing percentage
of 65% when climbing rigging aboard ship. This percentage does
not apply to other sorts of climbing (walls, mountains, etc.);
in such areas a spaceman is assumed to be untrained and should
be treated as such.
- The basic modifiers in climbing combat are as follows:
- A climbing character loses all Armor Class bonuses for Dexterity
and shield;
- A climbing character suffers a -2 penalty on attack, damage and
saving throw rolls;
- A character attacking from above gains a +1 bonus on his attack
roll;
- A character attacking from below suffers a -2 penalty on his attack
roll.
- Other modifiers that often come into play are as follows:
- An off-balance defender is attacked with a bonus of +2;
- A rear attack (e.g., against a character trying to climb up a
rope) gains a +2 bonus.
- Losing and regaining balance: Any character engaged in combat on ropes runs the risk of losing
his balance. A character who is struck by a weapon or attempts
to climb in the course of combat, must make a climbing check or
lose his balance.
- Lost balance means that the next round the character must either
fall voluntarily or attempt to regain his balance. In either case,
the character can perform no other action. A successful climbing
check means that the character has regained his balance. A failure
means the character has fallen (and, of course, may suffer falling
damage). Don’t forget, all attacks against an off-balance character
are at +2.
- In addition, trained spacemen gain the following benefits:
- General knowledge of all parts of their ship;
- Recognition of the insignias and ranks of various crew members
and officers;
- Knowledge of basic information about air consumption, gravity
plane orientation and phlogiston safety;
- Knowledge of how to perform basic shipboard tasks.
- Style Analysis (Mental 1 or Physical 1, Observation -1) — This specialized skill
gives the character knowledge about (not skill in) armed and unarmed
combat. After watching someone fight for at least one round, a
character with this skill can make a Style Analysis check to learn
some facts about his subject’s fighting style.
- The margin of success as detailed on Table 5.6.01 determines the
quality and quantity of information gained about the subject's
fighting style. Naturally, there are limits to what the character
can learn even at the best level of success. For example, he cannot
learn the true identity of a teacher who is not commonly known,
though he might be able to identify a style as being the same
as another character’s, thus inferring a common teacher.
- Racial modifiers: Balishe humans gain a +5% bonus when using this skill.
Table 5.6.01: Style Analysis Results
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Skill check succeeded by
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Information gained
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01-09%
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The general style used (e.g., karate, kenjutsu, fencing, etc.).
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10-19%
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How good the practitioner is (e.g., a basic student, an expert,
a grand master of the style, etc.).
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20-29%
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Which school of the style is being used (e.g., Odo family sumo
wrestling).
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30-39%
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Superficial or transitory weaknesses that the practitioner is
currently exhibiting (such as favoring an uninjured leg); the
character with Style Analysis receives a +2 bonus to hit when
fighting the practitioner (unless the practitioner switches styles).
The +2 bonus wears off after one day.
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40-49%
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Who the practitioner’s teacher probably was (e.g., Odo Kusuke).
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50%+
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General weaknesses in the practitioner’s learning (such as a tendency
to favor left-side attacks over right-side ones); the character
with Style Analysis receives a +2 bonus on all attack rolls (to
hit, damage, and initiative) when fighting the practitioner. The
+2 bonus wears off after one year or when the subject gains a
level.
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