Characters can individuate themselves by learning various Knacks -- special talents for combat manoeuvres, magic, skills or other abilities.
Characters can individuate themselves by learning Knacks -- special talents for combat manoeuvres, magic, skills or other abilities.
Most people can pick up a couple of Knacks easily but further Knacks become progressively less intuitive.
\section{Combat Knacks}
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@@ -209,7 +209,7 @@ Armour blocks the \gls{mp} regeneration, as usual.
\label{specialist}
\index{Specialisation}
Specialists are those who work a particular job all day, and gain exceptional abilities within a single narrow task, and plenty of competence in their general profession.
Specialists are those who work a particular job all day, and gain exceptional proficiency with that single narrow task, and plenty of competence in their general profession.
When using their specialization, characters can add a +2 Bonus.
They also gain +1 to related rolls.
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@@ -236,7 +236,7 @@ These specializations cannot grant Bonuses to martial Skills, such as Brawl, or
Even if a particular skill inspired a specialization, it still applies to any skill.
Someone with a specialization in aurochs can use that bonus for tracking them (with Wyldcrafting), using their hide to make armour (assuming they can make armour), and healing them (if they have the Medicine Skill).
A good deal of professionals have this specialization -- in fact you can almost assume that any blacksmith has Crafts, but knows metallurgy better than anything else, and that any serious academic will have some `special interest' in a very narrow field.
A good deal of professionals have this specialization -- in fact you can almost assume that any blacksmith has Crafts, but knows metallurgy better than anything else, and that any serious academic will have some `special interest' in a narrow field.
Bonuses from multiple specializations never stack with each other.
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ Magic can do any number of things, but like anything else, it has standards.
These standards are, of course, `spells'.
Spells of the `low spheres', directly affect their elements (Earth, Fire, Water, Air, or Fate).
They produce very powerful effects, but must affect people indirectly.
They produce powerful effects, but must affect people indirectly.
A fire spell might make fire explode in someone's face, but if that someone does not stand near a fire, then the Fire Sphere will not affect them, because most people are not made out of fire.
The `high spheres' (Death, Light, Life, Force, and Mind) each need two low spheres combined to cast their spells; level 2 Light magic requires Fire 2 and Air 2, and so on.
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@@ -73,10 +73,10 @@ A good witch leaves no part of her prey unused.
{Fire, Air}% Spheres
{\roll{Wits}{Vigilance}}% Resist with
{As the caster whispers, a single patch of darkness, the length of a step, forms anywhere within range}% Description
{It can completely obscure a candle's light, and diminish a torch's light to the strength of a candle.
{It can obscure a candle's light, and diminish a torch's light to the strength of a candle.
The patch of shadow joins to a target.
If cast on a person, the shadow remains attached to them, inflicting a -\arabic{spellPlusOne} penalty to noticing things (and becomes very irritating, very quickly).
If cast on a person, the shadow remains attached to them, inflicting a -\arabic{spellPlusOne} penalty to noticing things (and becomes quickly irritating).
The shadow fades once sunlight touches it for \pgls{interval}.}
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@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ A good witch leaves no part of her prey unused.
{Earth, Water}% Spheres
{current lost \glspl{hp} + 7}% Resist with
{The caster gathers tiny gifts for the target, and they begin to regenerate Damage faster, recuperating an extra \arabic{spellPlusOne}\glspl{hp} each week}% Description
{During this time, the target's appetite grows substantially, and they need an extra \arabic{spellCost} meals every day to keep the spell going.}
{During this time, the target's appetite grows substantially, demanding an extra \arabic{spellCost} meals every day to keep the spell going.}
\subsection{Mind}
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@@ -279,7 +279,7 @@ A good witch leaves no part of her prey unused.
{Fire, Air}% Spheres
{\roll{Wits}{Vigilance}}% Resist with
{One target shadow forms a detailed silhouette, and may even stand up and away from the ground}% Description
{During the daylight, it simply appears very strange; but at night these shadow puppets can easily fool someone into thinking a monster, or even a particular person lies waiting, in the distance.
{During the daylight, it simply looks weird; but at night these shadow puppets can easily fool someone into thinking a monster, or even a particular person lies waiting, in the distance.
The shadows disappear once bright light hits them.}
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@@ -301,7 +301,7 @@ A good witch leaves no part of her prey unused.
The spell has all of the caster's Skills which do not depend on any social intuition%
\footnote{The spell gains none of the caster's magic Spheres},
with a -1 penalty.
However, if given a Charisma Bonus, with the Social Spell spell (\vpageref{Social Spell}), the spell will have full access to the caster's Skills (again, with a -1 penalty to each of them).
However, if given a Charisma Bonus, with the Social Spell (\vpageref{Social Spell}), the spell will have full access to the caster's Skills (again, with a -1 penalty to each of them).
The spell grants no Charisma Bonus, and the resulting mind has no interest in anyone, or anything, except as instruments for \emph{the plan}.
It operates methodically, and sometimes behaves in strange, and alien ways, given its single-pointed value system.%
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@@ -454,7 +454,7 @@ A good witch leaves no part of her prey unused.
{Whistling to a distant animal, the caster instils an instinct to enact a single plan.
The animal gains Intelligence +\arabic{spellPlusOne}, used only to complete the plan}% Description
{
The spell is most often used to have birds deliver very small messages, written on small slivers of paper, but could also be used for any number of missions.
The spell is most often used to have birds deliver short messages, written on small slivers of paper, but could also be used for any number of missions.
The target animal gains all of the caster's Skills which do not rely on understanding social graces (so it cannot use any magical Spheres).
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ A tie indicates nothing special -- but of course opening the letter won't be qui
Opening such a letter and resealing it properly requires an \roll{Intelligence}{Academics} roll, at \tn[14], plus the margin of whoever sealed the letter originally.
This usually takes a very long time, and is best suited to \gls{downtime}.
This usually takes a long time, and is best suited to \gls{downtime}.
\subsection{Survival}
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@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ Those who know their environment have a knack for crawling efficiently, feeling
\makeRule{build_shelter}{Building a shelter}{Intelligence}{Wyldcrafting}{11}
Each point on the Margin allows an additional person to sleep inside the shelter.
A tie indicates that the shelter holds for a few hours, then collapses.
A tie indicates that the shelter holds for \pgls{interval}, then collapses.
\makeRule{cure_poison}{Curing a poison}{Wits}{Medicine}{10, each margin cures 1 \glsfmttext{ep}}
Each Margin cures 1 \glspl{ep} caused by poison by the end of the \gls{interval}.
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@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ Taking a torch down one, or even staying down too long, and sucking up all the o
Once hypoxia begins, people will feel light headed, confused, and dizzy.
If any \gls{pc} succeeds in the roll, they understand that hypoxia has settled in, and can put out their torches in order to stop the penalty increasing too quickly, and will probably try to move elsewhere.
If the \glspl{pc} fail the roll, the \gls{gm} should increase the \gls{tn} for all rolls, without explaining why the \gls{tn} for various actions is so high, and continue increasing the \gls{tn} until the party find themselves weak, and confused, or manage to get out the other side.
If the \glspl{pc} fail the roll, the \gls{gm} should increase the \gls{tn} for all rolls, without explaining why the \gls{tn} for most actions have risen, and continue increasing the \gls{tn} until the party find themselves weak, and confused, or manage to get out the other side.
Once out, all penalties vanish, except for a single \gls{ep}.
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@@ -173,15 +173,15 @@ The Failure Margin should indicate just how bad the henchman is, so the \gls{gm}
A tie generally indicates noticing a serious problem with purchased services\ldots just after the purchase completes.
\index{Bards}
Given the stakes, people mostly try to hire others based on previous experience.
Others hope for a nearby bard of some kind -- not just any old minstrel, but someone who has a solid grasp on the reputation of everyone around, from many sources, and keeps up to date with all local markets of any size.
Given the stakes, people try to hire others based on previous experience.
Others hope for a nearby bard of some kind -- not just any old minstrel, but someone who has a solid grasp on the reputation of everyone around, from multiple sources, and keeps up to date with all local markets of any size.
The successes and failures of everyone in a marketplace -- from the over-ripe tomatoes they sold, to the sword-smith who makes exceptionally reliable blades -- often become the contents of songs; so anyone listening to a nearby bard can gain a Bonus to their ability to discern reliable services from useless ones.
No Skill could cover this ability.
The bard simply has to hang around markets, gossiping with all the right people for a few months.
The bard simply has to exchange gossip at the markets for some months.
\makeRule{pick_pocket}{Picking a pocket}{Dexterity}{Larceny}{12}
Stealing in larger, more populated areas, affords many more opportunities, while small \glspl{village}, where everyone is aware of everyone in their personal space, and rarely carry larger sums of money, raises the \gls{tn} significantly.
Stealing in larger, more populated areas, affords more opportunities, while small \glspl{village}, where everyone is aware of everyone in their personal space, and rarely carry larger sums of money, raises the \gls{tn} significantly.
\index{Pickpocketing}
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@@ -421,7 +421,7 @@ A crappy roll to open a door suggests the massive door has wedged properly shut.
A fantastic roll to talk to the local lord might indicate he has family in that character's home \gls{village}.
Explaining dice results can come easier than making up a situation whole-cloth.
The world of the game runs on completely deterministic mechanics -- nothing occurs because of `luck'.
\Gls{fenestra} runs on deterministic mechanics -- nothing occurs because of `luck'.
Traits represent reliable elements of the world (such as a character's Strength), while the dice represent unknown elements, such as the wind or the movements of animals.
If you interpret the dice rolls as just how well a character has performed that day, a lot of the system will stop making sense; when one \gls{pc} `just fails' to convince \pgls{warden} to fund their mission, another might step in to `try their luck' (with the dice).
