Acrobatics
Skill in Acrobatics allows a character to perform two actions. First, Acrobatics allows a character to use a move action to position themselves behind an oppo-nent. This equates to the character flipping and jump-ing all around until they get behind an enemy. After a successful Acrobatics check the character is consid-ered to have an opponent flat-footed. This allows the character to Backstab them or take any other action or bonus that is dependent on their opponent not being aware of them. The other thing Acrobatics can do is decrease falling damage. A character can roll an Acro-batics check to reduce the distance they’ve fallen (for damage purposes) by 20’. The check for both activities is an Agility check with a DC of 20. A character can do other expected feats with an Acrobatics check at the Judge’s discretion.
Animal Husbandry
Animal Husbandry is the ability to calm, train and take care of animals. A character with the Animal Hus-bandry skill can improve the disposition of any animal that can see and hear the character. The attitude of the animal can be improved one step along an axis of vi-olently hostile to unfavorable to neutral to favorable to friendly. To perform the skill check a character must roll her Action Dice, apply her Personality modifier and add her Animal Husbandry skill bonus. The DC for the skill check is 10 + the animal’s hit dice with a +5 bonus to the DC for creatures that are Violently Hostile. A 0 HD house cat would be a DC of 10. And a violently hostile 3 HD black bear would be a DC of 18.
Animal Companions
A character with Animal Husbandry skill can use an upgrade to acquire an animal companion. The animal companion’s hit dice can be no higher than half the character’s Animal Husbandry bo-nus rounded down. A character with a +5 bobo-nus in Animal Husbandry could not have an animal companion with more than 2 hit dice. An animal companion is fiercely loyal. If reduced to 0 hit points, the character may increase her Ruin by +1 to allow the animal companion to recover at the
hit points rounded down. If no Ruin is taken to re-cover an animal companion, the companion is lost for the rest of the adventure. After the adventure is over, the character and animal companion will either be reunited or the character will befriend a new animal companion. An upgrade spent on an animal companion is considered one of the three maximum upgrades a character could spend on the Animal Husbandry skill.
Backstab
Backstab is the same as described on p. 34 of DCC RPG.
Cast From Scroll
Casting from a Scroll is the same as described on p. 36 of DCC RPG. On the “Starting Skill Bonus and Max-imum Bonus by Alignment” table on page 110, the entries for Casting from a Scroll list die types, not bo-nuses. This is because the entries list the die the charac-ter would use to perform the casting spellcheck. Each upgrade would then increase the casting die by +1 die shift, up to the maximum listed on the table.
Climb Sheer Surfaces
Climb Sheer Surfaces is the same as described on p. 35 of the DCC RPG.
Cryptography
Cryptography is the ability to create and decode encod-ed text and scripts. The character can use Cryptogra-phy to write messages that only the intended recipient can understand or whose meaning only the character can determine. Any attempts to decipher the message requires a Cryptography skill check with a DC of 10 + the character’s bonus in Cryptography. In addition, the character can decipher meaning from texts writ-ten in code. To gain a very basic understanding of an encoded text, the character must roll an Intelligence check against a DC of 10, adding in her skill bonus in Cryptography. To get more detailed information from the text, the character must roll against a DC of 15. To understand the text fully, the character must roll a DC of 20 or higher -- at the Judge’s discretion. A character without Cryptography cannot decipher an encoded text, even if the character has a bonus in the “Read Languages” skill.
Disable Trap
Disabling a Trap is the same as described on p. 36 of DCC RPG.
Disguise Self
Disguise Self is the same as described on p. 36 of DCC RPG.
Escape Bonds
The Escape Bonds skill allows a character to contort herself in ways that allow her to expertly escape bonds, shackles and even squeeze through iron bars. To es-cape from being tied or chained up, the character must make a skill check, adding in her Agility modifier and Escape Bonds bonus, against a DC set by the Judge.
Being tied up inexpertly requires a DC 5 check. Escap-ing from an expert ropesman’s knots requires a DC 10 check, as does escaping from shackles. Escaping from chains while suspended from the ceiling or bound by the feet and neck requires a DC 15 check. Escaping from masterwork bonds or shackles also requires a DC 15 check. Escaping from multiple chains, shack-les, ropes, and such requires a DC 20 check. And es-caping from multiple chains, ropes, and bonds before drowning requires a DC 25 check. A character without a bonus in Escape Bonds who is attempting to perform these actions has a +10 added to the DC of the skill check.
Find Trap
Find Trap is the same as described on p. 36 of DCC RPG.
Forge Document
Forge Document is the same as described on p. 36 of DCC RPG.
Handle Poison
Handle Poison is the same as described on p. 36 of DCC RPG.
Heal Others
With a full week of treatment, the character can al-leviate another person’s affliction, given access to the proper tools and facilities. The treatment requires the character to spend 10 x the skill check’s DC in guilders and roll an Intelligence skill check, adding his Heal Others skill bonus to the check. The DC for the check
? A common ailment like an infection or the common cold is DC 5.
? A severe infection or dreadful illness like the flu is a DC 10.
? A heretofore incurable condition like syphillis or scarlet fever is a DC 15.
? A disease that is still feared in modern times, like cancer, polio, tuberculosis or smallpox, is a DC 20.
? A supernatural disease like Mummy Rot or Vampire Sickness is a DC 25.
Rolling 5 or more above the DC means the disease is permanently cured. Succeeding on the DC but not beating it by 5 or more means the symptoms are alle-viated for the next week but whether or not the disease is cured is at the Judge’s discretion.
A character who cannot spend the money required on supplies to treat the disease cannot roll the Heal Oth-ers skill check. A character cannot treat himself for a disease.
Any fumble result while treating the disease means ei-ther the character has contracted the illness or the pa-tient has gotten worse, at the Judge’s discretion.
First Aid
At the start of an adventure, a character with the Heal Others skill may designate an amount of money no greater than 10g x the character’s level to be invested in “emergency medical supplies”.
Using these supplies, the character can medically assist others during an adventure.
To provide medical assistance, the character must roll an Intelligence skill check modified by his Heal Others skill bonus with 10 + the patient’s current hit points as the DC. Medical assistance takes 10 minutes of time and uses up 10g in medi-cal supplies whether it is successful or not.
If the Heal Others skill check is successful, the as-sisted character recovers 1d4 hit points. A char-acter can never heal hit points in excess of his maximum hit point value. If the skill check is un-successful, nothing happens. If the character rolls a 1, then the assisted character loses 1d4 hit points.
A character may not use Heal Others to perform First Aid on himself. No more than one character can help another character with the Heal Others skill at a time. And a character performing Heal Others on another character cannot, himself, be the target of a Heal Others attempt. Don’t allow any Heal Other daisy chains for Florence Night-ingale.
Example: Jordge is a 3rd Level Polymath and has a Heal Others skill bonus at +5. He wisely sets aside 30g in med-ical supplies for the adventure. Later, he is called upon to assist the Halfbreed who has only 8 hit points remaining.
Jordge spends 10g in medical supplies and rolls a Heal Others check. He rolls a 13 on his action die (a d20). In addition to his +1 Intelligence bonus and his +5 Heal Others bonus, Jordge easily succeeds against the DC of 18.
This is good enough to increase the Halfbreed’s current hit points by +1d4.
Hide in Shadows See p. 35 of DCC RPG.
Monster Lore
Monster Lore measures how much a character knows about a creature. When selected, a character specifies what type of monster the lore applies to: vampires, mummies, werewolves, hydras, etc. The character is then able to apply his Monster Lore bonus to all sav-ing throws, Fear checks and attack rolls against that monster. Further upgrades do not increase the Mon-ster Lore bonus. Instead, the character selects another monster to which the Monster Lore bonus applies.
Pick Pocket
A character with the Socialize skill can change the at-titude and demeanor of any human with whom the character can speak and who can understand what the character is saying. The attitude of the target can only be improved one step in an encounter or scene along an axis of violently hostile to unfavorable to neutral to favorable to friendly. The DC for this ability is 10 + the target’s level or hit dicewith +5 added to the DC of someone who is violently hostile. So a 0-level com-moner would be a DC of 10 and a violently hostile 5 HD sorcerer would be a DC of 20. To perform the check a character must roll his action dice, apply his Personality modifier and add his Socialize skill bonus.
How the character accomplishes this socialization is entirely up to the player. The character may specialize in seduction, oratory, funny jokes, chicanery or just be really likable.
Trusted Companions
A character with the Socialize skill can use an up-grade to acquire a trusted companion. This com-panion could be a relative, sidekick, manservant or any other person who accompanies the character in a subservient role on adventures. The compan-ion is always considered a 0-level human with av-erage scores in all abilities and no Luck score. The companion has a number of d4 hit dice equal to half the character’s Socialize bonus rounded down.
A character with a +5 bonus in Socialize, therefore, could have a linkboy with 2 hit diceand 2d4 hit points. A companion is fiercely loyal. If reduced to 0 hit points, the character may increase his Ruin by +1 to allow the companion to recover at the end of the encounter with one-half his maximum hit points rounded down. If no Ruin is taken to recover a companion, then the companion is lost for the rest of the adventure. After the adventure is over, the character and companion are either reunited—the companion revives from the coma, the companion fell off the precipice into a waterfall
—or the character finds a new companion to be-friend. An upgrade spent on a trusted companion is considered one of the three maximum upgrades a character could spend on the Socialize skill.
Starting Out With a Pet or Companion
At the Judge’s discretion, a character without the Social-ize or Animal Husbandry skill can forego the requirement to first take the skill in order to have an Animal or trusted companion. In this case, a character is considered to have spent one Upgrade on the appropriate skill, even though the character has no bonus or access to the skill itself. In the instance that a character takes an animal or trusted companion with his first upgrade, the companion has 2 + the character’s Personality modifier hit points -- but no fewer than 1 hit point. The companion is considered to be either a 0 hit dicecreature or 0-level character.
Tracking
A character with the Tracking skill can track creatures, animals and targets across natural terrain in wilderness environments. The character rolls an Intelligence skill check against a DC determined by the Judge, adding her Tracking skill bonus to the roll. If the character beats the DC by 5 or more, the character can deter-mine how many targets she is tracking, whether they are injured and whether they are carrying anything heavier than 75 pounds. Additionally, the character may add her Tracking bonus to any DC to track the party’s movements through wilderness terrain.
Socialize
A character with the Socialize skill can change the at-titude and demeanor of any human with whom the character can speak and who can understand what the character is saying. The attitude of the target can only be improved one step in an encounter or scene along an axis of violently hostile to unfavorable to neutral to favorable to friendly. The DC for this ability is 10 + the target’s level or hit dicewith +5 added to the DC of someone who is violently hostile. So a 0-level com-moner would be a DC of 10 and a violently hostile 5 HD sorcerer would be a DC of 20. To perform the check a character must roll his action dice, apply his Personality modifier and add his Socialize skill bonus.
How the character accomplishes this socialization is entirely up to the player. The character may specialize in seduction, oratory, funny jokes, chicanery or just be really likable.
Trusted Companions
A character with the Socialize skill can use an up-grade to acquire a trusted companion. This com-panion could be a relative, sidekick, manservant or any other person who accompanies the character in a subservient role on adventures. The compan-ion is always considered a 0-level human with av-erage scores in all abilities and no Luck score. The companion has a number of d4 hit dice equal to half the character’s Socialize bonus rounded down.
A character with a +5 bonus in Socialize, therefore, could have a linkboy with 2 hit diceand 2d4 hit points. A companion is fiercely loyal. If reduced to 0 hit points, the character may increase his Ruin by +1 to allow the companion to recover at the end of the encounter with one-half his maximum hit points rounded down. If no Ruin is taken to recover a companion, then the companion is lost for the rest of the adventure. After the adventure is over, the character and companion are either reunited—the companion revives from the coma, the companion fell off the precipice into a waterfall
—or the character finds a new companion to be-friend. An upgrade spent on a trusted companion is considered one of the three maximum upgrades a character could spend on the Socialize skill.
Starting Out With a Pet or Companion
At the Judge’s discretion, a character without the Social-ize or Animal Husbandry skill can forego the requirement to first take the skill in order to have an Animal or trusted companion. In this case, a character is considered to have spent one Upgrade on the appropriate skill, even though the character has no bonus or access to the skill itself.
In the instance that a character takes an animal or trusted companion with his first upgrade, the companion has 2 + the character’s Personality modifier hit points -- but no fewer than 1 hit point. The companion is considered to be either a 0 hit dicecreature or 0-level character.