RuneQuest Skills

Here is a comprehensive list of skills that I've gathered together from various sources, made myself or tweaked to suit my house rules. Many of these skills have been taken directly from a list by Tal Meta (at least, I think it was Tal), as well as Cults of Light and Death. If you feel that you deserve credit for a skill listed here, just mail me and I'll add you.

AGILITY SKILLS

Affected by ENC penalty

BREAKFALL (00)

Affected by ENC penalty

Any successful Breakfall roll allows a character to specify the hit locations to sustain any excess damage. A successful Breakfall roll additionally allows a character to regain a standing or kneeling position from a fall without having to waste an extra action to stand or kneel.

BOAT (05)
The boating skill applies to small water-borne craft, either oar or paddle-driven. In an unhurried situation, the player must successfully roll beneath his skill when he starts. He cannot move the boat until this roll succeeds. If conditions are placid, the GM may allow multiples to this skill.

In bad weather or hostile environments (whirlpools, rapids, shoals, etc.) the GM can postulate percentiles of difficulty, and have the player roll his skill with a penalty. If the roll succeeds, the boat stays on course. If unsuccessful, the boat either veers off course or doesn't move, depending on the situation. If the roll is a fumble, the boat overturns (requiring swim rolls for everyone in the boat).

CLIMB (40)
At adulthood, anyone can climb well enough to scale a slope with handholds, a tree with low branches, etc.. Not having the stamina tomake the climb is a matter for fatigue. As a rule of thumb, an adventurer who makes his climb roll can ascend or descend 1 meter of a 75-degree or less slope or a thickly branched tree per 5 strike ranks. If the player misses his climb roll, his adventurer stays in one place, unable to find the necessary hand or footholds. On a fumble, the character falls.

A player can speed his climb by subtracting 10% from his skill for every extra meter per 5 strike ranks. This may increase his fumble chance as well. A humanoid character can increase his climbing speed by 1m/5SR's of normal climbing for every 10 points or fraction thereof of SIZ over 20.

A climb roll needs to be made for every 10m of ascent on such tough ascents. In the general mountaineering sense, of travelling through the rolling hills and mountains of the world, Climb rolls are necessary to navigate the treacherous terrain. Each mountain will require a certain number of rolls per day, two for simple mountains, and five for more complicated climbs. The exact nature of the failure results in a fall with damage up to the GM. In this case no additional Climb roll is allowed to hang on. A character with 90+ skill in Climb is considered a Master, and makes half the amount of rolls per day.

Tying Characters Together
Characters can tie themselves to one another. This adds 10% to their climb skill. If a falling character is roped to another, the maximum distance of the fall is the length of the rope between them; however, the second individual must also receive a successful Climb roll or be pulled along.

DANCE [VARIES] (05)
This skill represents the character's skill in a particular style of dancing. Possible subskills might be Waltz, Tango, etc.. Alternatively, certain dances might be at a lowered skill percentage to perform well.

DODGE (05)

Affected by ENC penalty

DRIVE [VEHICLE] (10)
With this skill a character can control a wheeled vehicle drawn by one or more beasts of burden. Like ride, this skill represents the users ability to do more than simply let the horses pull the vehicle along; it involves sharp or difficult turns, jumps, bumps, and combat from the vehicle. Driving with only one hand reduces Drive by 20%.

Unlike ride, however, the combat abilities of the rider's are limited to the driver's skill, not their own. Common Drive skills are Chariot, 4-wheeeled cart, and coach.

JUMP (25)

Affected by ENC penalty

NAWANUKEJUTSU/ESCAPE (05)
Allows a character to escape from bonds. Each round in which the character may work uninterrupted and he succeeds in an Escape roll allows the character to pit his STR+DEX versus the STR of the binding. Failure leaves the character still bound. The process is easily visible to a guard who can interrupt it and negate the escape attempt. The GM should modify this skill according to the difficulty of the bonds. For instance, rope tied by a child might be easy, with +30 to use, whereas a set of iron manacles may be -20.

Generally, this skill is only available to Vormaini Ninja. Due to childhood training, a ninja may use this skill to squeeze through openings which would normally be too small for a person of his SIZ. It takes a full MR to pass through an opening. A simple success allows passage through a space 1 SIZ too small, a special success allows a 2 point difference, a critical is a 3 point success, and a supercritical or higher is a 5 point difference. This special ninja ability is sometimes taught to outsiders, but the suppleness necessary for squeezing through holes can only be achieved in childhood training. Ninja can learn this skill as though it were Medium difficulty.

RIDE (05)
Riding a horse or other riding animal takes no skill so long as the animal goes no faster than a walk and is trained to accept a rider. To compel the animal to go faster requires a Ride skill of at least 15%.

Ride limits the adventurer's ability to do certain things while on horseback. A saddle with stirrups adds 10% to the rider's Ride skill. The Ride skill determines the character's maximum combat skills while riding, as well as his ability to coax the animal to do things it has never tried before (like riding into melee, or jumping obstacles).

RUNNING (00)
This skill increases the characters ability to sprint for short periods of time. When in a Run Contest (see Game Systems) the percentiles in this skill are added to the characters roll in a Run contest.

SKATE (25)
Ice skates are sometimes used by cultures living in cold areas, such as the Barbarian Belt highlands. The Lunar Empire also supports skating in its Kalikos Icebreaker Championships. Blades are normally made of bone. Normal move rate for skates is 3m/round.

SKI (25)
This is the skill of cross country skiing, not downhill racing of the modern world. The skis are different from modern skis, instead they consist of a left ski, long and narrow, and a shorter right ski with a strip of animal skin glued to the bottom so that the fur bristled to the back of the ski. You balance on the left leg and push with the right. Poles are not used for motion, but sometimes for balance. Going downhill is much easier than cross country skiing but offers a greater chance of falling.

This skill is normally known by Orlanthi of Ralios where the snow is so bad that skis are required. With skis a character can move across snowy ground as if they were walking on normal good ground (i.e. move rate 3).

SWIM (15)

Affected by ENC penalty

A failed swim roll indicates that the character has failed to progress through the water; in the next melee round the character must make a successful check or begin to drown. If the second roll succeeds, the adventurer is not drowning, and can continue to move again.

As noted above, ENC modifiers apply for Swim rolls. However, them modifier is applied multiplied by three, so that someone with 23 ENC would suffer a -69% penalty to swim.

THROW (25)
A palm sized object balanced for throwing can be thrown one meter for every STR point which exceeds it's SIZ. If the thrown object is unbalanced or awkward, the distance falls off to one meter for every three STR points powering the throw. If the distance is over 20 meters, accuracy is affected. For such throws subtract 1% of Throw for every meter in excess of 20. An object can be thrown vertically only half the distance it can be horizontally.

TUMBLE (00)

Affected by ENC penalty

COMMUNICATIONS SKILLS

BARGAIN (05)
This is the skill of buying something for a lower price than asked. It should only be used in a non-roleplaying circumstance where the GM does not require GM/player interaction, for instance trying to bargain for a weeks food, a horse or a few days rations is a good use for the skill, but using Bargain to maximise the price of the Jewel of the Gods when you are selling it to an Exarch of Godunya is not when the skill should be used. To use it one must be in a position where bargaining is reasonable and the other person is likely to consent. The bargainer must state the price at which he wishes to purchase the item and for every 1% difference between that price and the asking price he must subtract 1% from his Bargain skill. In any case, the seller will never take a loss, no matter what. Bargaining should only be allowed to be used once.

BRIBERY (SPCL)
This skill allows the user to successfully bride a person who is susceptible to bribery. It also includes such aspects as knowing whether or not a person might respond to bribery, and what sort of payment would be required. Using this skill requires up to 15 minutes of conversation or observation, before the roll is can be attempted. When the skill is used, the gamesmaster may use the target's Bribery, Human Lore or other appropriate skill as an opposed skill, if he wishes.

On a successful roll, the target has been bribed successfully, if the right incentive was offered by the player. If the bribe was too small that information is communicated to the character, who can attempt a second roll at no penalty if a higher bribe is offered. On a critical roll, the target may not even realise that he or she has been bribed. On a failed roll the person was not bribed, and may or may not sound the alarm or report the briber, depending on his nature. On a fumbled roll, the target makes every effort to have the target arrested, blackmails or threatens him etc...

Bribery is a common skill, and may be available from other cults or organisations. Base skill level varies. For civilised characters or character raised in large, bureaucratic cults, the base chance if 15%. For nomad and barbarians it is 10%. For primitive characters, Mostali, Aldryami etc... it is 05%.

COURTESAN (10)
Courtesans are skilled and professional craftspeople whose tools and media are human bodies. Where Seduction is the skill of getting someone into bed, this is the skill of pleasing them once they arrive there. It goes beyond the simple necessities of sex, and is one part entertainment, one part manipulation, and one part basic know-how in what feels good.

Highly skilled courtesans are never found wandering back alleys and dimly lit street corners; they are almost always either House or Temple based, or make their livings as professional mistresses to men in positions of power and influence.

FAST TALK (05)
Successful use of this skill causes the target to agree with whatever the fast talker is saying, deceiving the target into thinking that the user is logically correct. If allowed a moment to think, the victim may make an INT x5 roll to shake off the effects of the fast talk, although if the talker was actually correct to begin with, this will only reinforce the victim's assistance. Fast Talk is implicitly used against one or only a few individuals. This skill cannot be used to change the mind of a listener who firmly believes in an opposing view, or whose duty constrains his options (a hangman or bodyguard, for instance).

However used, Fast Talk appeals to the intellect of the target. Only one Fast Talk roll is allowed per full turn of talking.

INTIMIDATE (05)
This is the skill of extracting information and/or influencing action through the use of threatened of actual violence. To use it, one must be in a situation where intimidation is reasonable, threatening an angry Zorak Zoran Death Lord is not usually feasible.

ORATE (05)
Fast Talk appeals to (or confuses) the intellect; Orate appeals to the emotions. This is the skill that politicians, clergymen, and other word-smiths use to appeal to the masses.

Orate is implicitly used against groups of people, for a successful use influences everyone without immediate chance for recovery, as with Fast Talk. If successful, Orate can be far more useful than Fast Talk, because it can grab and hold the emotions of the listener. However, where Fast Talk can take a full turn (five minutes), Oratory might require hours to unify the listeners to full agreement with the speaker.

SEDUCTION (05)
This is a sort of "cascade skill" off of Orate, and Fast Talk. It partakes of both in that while appealing primarily to the emotions, it also confuses the intellect and can be used in far less time than Orate (although generally longer than Fast Talk). A successful Seduction skill roll indicates that the adventurer can match the sum of his (INT, POW, and APP) minus 30 vs. the sum of his victim's (INT, POW, and APP) minus 30 on the resistance table. A success indicates that the victim has succumbed to the character's wiles. A failure does not always mean failure, since if the victim was inclined to bed the adventurer anyway, they might simply smile at his clumsy attempt and do so anyway. A fumbled Seduction roll always indicates that the character has offended his target, and he/she might well relate the failed attempt to their siblings, parents, spouses, etc., with varying (usually painful) results.

SING (05)
Success in this skill indicates that the singer pleased his audience. Failure indicates that the singer went off-key, forgot the words, or something similar. The better the singer's chance of success, the better the song when performed, so that a singer with 80% skill will sound significantly better than someone with only a 40% skill, even if both succeeded with their skill rolls.

SPEAK LANGUAGES
Language ability varies with each individual, and even people speaking the same language with widely differing skills can misunderstand one another. High skill in Language indicates a larger vocabulary, better grammar, and the knack for choosing the right words for the audience at hand (i.e. no big words in front of the ignorant foreigner, unless you WANT to talk over his head).

At 30% in any language, normal everyday communication is assured. At 50%+, you have the language skills of most storytellers, bards, and local politicians. At 80%+, you are speaking the rarefied language of scholars, diplomats, and philosophers.

Similar Languages: When trying to learn a language similar to one you already know, you get anywhere from one-quarter to one-half of the skill in the language you do know in the one you are trying to learn as a base percentage.

Eavesdropping: When trying to overhear a conversation, your chance of doing so is limited by both your skill in Listen and your skill in the language.

VENTRILOQUISM (00)
The ability to make one's voice seem to come from someplace other than the speaker. Normal range for throwing one's voice is the normal range for spoken voice.

KNOWLEDGE SKILLS

BLIND FIGHTING (00)
This complicated, and rare, skill allows a character to fight in the dark without penalty. When an attack roll is made, if the roll is underneath their Blind Fighting then the -75% modifier for fighting in the dark (or modifiers for fighting in dimly lit conditions) are negated. For instance, a character with 50% Blind Fighting and 75% in weapon attack would normally need to roll 01-05 to hit, however, if they roll under 50 on 1d100 then their normal, full, percentage of 75 is used.

BREED [INSECT] (00)
Each major type of insect has it's own associated Breed skill, generally taught by the Gorakiki cult. This skill enables the user to breed an adult insect of the appropriate type and raise it from the egg stage to the adult. It also allows the user to tell good insects from bad, and to identify the various species of insects falling under speciality.

BREW [substance] (00)
Fully explained in the Alchemy section. These skills cannot be increased by experience.

CONCENTRATION (INTx2)
This skill is used when casting magic. If you take damage, or are in any other way injured, then you are required to make a Concentration roll. If it fails then you must start the spell once again. Concentration rolls may be needed in other circumstances - see the various magic sections for more details. Concentration can increase by experience.

CRAFT (10)
Crafts can be divided into two main types, General and Specific. Both have advantages and disadvantages.

General skills, like 'Craft Wood' represent a broad array of skills relating to woodworking. While the user of such skills can accomplish a wide variety of tasks, it will typically take a general skill user twice the time to accomplish a task as a user of the correct specific skill.

Specific skills, like 'Craft: Cabinetry', represent a narrow selection of skills, but they allow the user to accomplish tasks within their specialization faster and with a higher degree of 'recognition'. Masters of specific skills are widely sought and highly paid.

Performance of a craft usually takes several hours of game time, and might or might not require tools appropriate to the craft. Craft examples include armourer, artificer, baker, bowyer, brewer, butcher, carpenter, cobbler, cooper, engraver, fletcher, healer, joiner, leatherworker, mapmaker, mason, potter, smith, tailor, and weaver.

EVALUATE (05)
With this skill you can evaluate the worth of artifacts and goods (cloth, jewelry, art objects, etc.), and valuable natural materials (gems, land, exotic animals, slaves). If the adventurer has a craft, he will double his normal chance to correctly value materials associated with his craft.

If an object or substance is associated with a Lore, and the adventurer also makes a successful Lore roll, the Evaluate chance is doubled.

Failure to Evaluate means that the character doesn't know the worth of the item. A fumble with the roll provides erroneous information, higher or lower, whichever is more detrimental to the adventurer. A Critical success means the character knows the exact worth of the object in whatever coinage he is most familiar with.

Evaluate takes one full turn to perform, and Evaluate rolls are commonly made by the GM for the player.

FIRST AID (10)
This skill imparts a basic knowledge of what to do with an injury, and how to use the materials at hand for that purpose.

The success chance for this skill should be rolled immediately. If the roll succeeds, all bleeding stops and the victim will not lose any more hit points. If unsuccessful, the user may try again the next round, but the victim will continue to lose hit points if his injury calls for it.

Once a success has been rolled, the user may specify that he is spending the next five full melee rounds to perform First Aid. At the end of that time the user will have healed 1d3 hit points of damage on a regular success, or 2d3 on a special or 1d3+3 hit points on a critical, and 6 hit points on a supercritical. A rare hypercritical heals all damage possible.

If anything else is done during the five melee rounds in which the user is performing this skill, subtract 2 from the recipient's hit points. This means that, even with a successful First Aid roll, rushing the job could wind up hurting the patient -more- than the amount he was healed for.

First Aid can only be used once successfully against each injury, but it may be tried again and again until successful. However, a fumble with this skill will cause 1d3 damage to the victim, and no further attempts may be made to repair that injury by that First Aider.

You can use First Aid on any living creature, the more different the creature, the stranger and more alien it is, the greater the penalty to First Aid.

INSECT CARE (00)
This skill allows a Gorakiki member to keep an insect alive and healthy for its normal lifespan. It permits him to know what type of food is appropriate to that insect type, and it allows him to choose a superior insect over an inferior one at the marketplace. It also lefts him treat common insect diseases.

KNOT WRITING (00)
This is a Praxian skill associated with the cult of Waha the Butcher. Knot writing is similar to Read/Write, but it is a very simple language, and cannot express such concepts as emotion, belief, or most aspects of time. The most important reason for its simplicity is the length of the rope necessary to record even simple messages.

Despite the simplicity of the language, it progresses as a normal skill, for it contains more than just knowledge of the knot language. There are many different types of Waha Ropes, each of which conveys different information. For example one type is used to denote Pathways through the Wastes. Successful use of the skill not only indicates the correct knot was tied, but also that the nomad correctly identified the location and its "distance" from chaos. Large amounts of cultural information are contained within this skill. For more information on Pathways see The Book of Drastic Resolutions #2 p.23.

LAWSPEAKING (05 for Orlanthi; 00 otherwise)
This is the skill of knowing the customary law of your people. It may only be increased by study, not experience. During a court session, the plantiff states his charges and names his witnesses. The defendant then steps forward and names his witnesses.

The players of each party then try to succeed in Lawspeaking rolls. This is one round of debate - each side states the arguments or precedents which bear upon the dispute.

If both sides fail or succeed in the Lawspeaking roll the case continues and another round of Lawspeaking can begin.

If one fails and the other succeeds, then the successful roll is the winner of the case. The suit is settled in his favour.

LORES (varies)
There are many different kinds of Lore. A successful roll for a particular Lore means that the adventurer has the necessary knowledge about an item or situation. A Lore skill does not increase through experience; either the character knows the information or he doesn't. Lore skills assume good knowledge about the native region of the character; Lores are rolled against when the character encounters new animals, plants, peoples, and so on. It is possible to research a Lore, to learn about unicorns, for instance, and in this way increase a particular Lore knowledge (or several, if there are interlocking factors. Unicorns would normally come under Animal Lore, but their horns have certain alchemical uses, so Lore increases in Alchemical Lore and even Poison Lore would not be inappropriate.)

Lores can also be further subdivided into regional subskills; a desert nomad's initial World Lore (Desert) would know much about desert weather and the ways of sand, but if he later moved to an heavily forested region, he could gain a new World Lore (Forest) with new research.

The base chance of some skills are noted on the character sheet, and are normally 05%. Unnoted skills are at 00%, except Chaos Lore.

Alchemical Lore: This lore provides a general knowledge of the principles and practices of alchemy. Successful use of this lore will enable the user to recognise various substances useful to, or produced by, alchemy. Alchemy is useful for creating potions, slaves, and oils that store magical energy, and for creating golems, homunculi, and simulacra.

Animal Lore: This lore represents biological knowledge. The user who successfully makes this lore roll can identify an animal, or know what to feed an animal, or tell if an animal is in good health, or perhaps predict the animal's behaviour.

A major use for this lore is in training riding animals. Any adventurer with a 50%+ skill in this lore and a 25% Ride skill can train a riding animal to saddle and bridle. This check is made once per week until successful.

A riding master is 50%+ in both of the above skills,. Such a character can train a riding animal to cavalry quality, so that the animal will not panic in battle. A riding master can also train the animals natural combat skills up to the master's skill in Ride minus 50%, thus a 90% riding master can train a war steed up to 40% with it's attacks.

Chaos Lore: This lore represents practical and scholarly knowledge of the forms of chaos common to one's local region. Orlanthi and other noted chaos haters have 15% base skill, other nomads, barbarians and primitive cultures (plus dragonewts and elves) have 10% base and most other culture, such as the civilised cultures like Dara Happa and Mostali have a base of 5%. Some isolated islanders have a base chance of 00%.

Demon Lore: This lore represents knowledge of forms of chaos and chaotic entities that do not exist naturally on Glorantha, primarily those entities which must be summoned here. With this lore a character could tell the difference between a chaotic entity native to this world, and one which is not. It also represents his knowledge of the more commonly summoned demon breeds. It can also be used to determine the needs, weakness' and / or desires of a demon, so that it might be placated, driven off, or slain. This skill has a base chance of 0%.

HeroPlane Lore: A rare lore that deals with knowledge about the layout of the HeroPlane, what lives there, how to get there etc... There is a specific Lore for each part of the HeroPlane, so there is Underworld Lore, Sky Realm lore etc... This skill has a base chance of 0%.

Human Lore: This lore represents psychology and sociology. With it an adventurer could evaluate the politics of an unfamiliar culture, bring to mind obscure facts about one's own nation or tribe, trace genealogies, or answer trivial questions about the place where he grew up or had lived. Humans have the normal base, other races have Base chance 0%.

Legal Lore: This allows a person to recall the letter of current statutes and to find examples of the law being used in practice. It's specific to the culture where the individual first learnt the skill. Note, this subtly different from Lawspeaking.

Magic Lore: Generally only learnt in the West, it is connected with the God Learners. This is the study of in depth workings of magic. Not just spells, they understand magical theory, and the methods of certain magics. Most people in Glorantha get along quite fine without it.

Mineral Lore: This lore is used to understand geology and soils. A successful skill roll allows the user to identify types of rock formations, determine if what glitters is really gold, check soil for fertility, or determine if a mine is truly valuable.

Music Lore: This lore includes knowledge of songs and singing styles common to one's local region. It might also relate to epic poems, folklore, and various other styles of poetry. A successful music lore roll would allow its user to recall the name, composer, and lyrics of an obscure song, or aid him in composing a song of his own.

Plant Lore: This lore allows its user to identify plants and know their common uses. It also helps determine what sort of food crops would survive in the given climate, or locate edible plants in the wilderness.

Poison Lore: This lore represents the ability to concoct both poisons and antidotes to poisons with common (or rare) ingredients. It interlocks quite nicely with Animal Lore (venom), Mineral Lore (mineral poisons, like arsenic) and Plant Lore (plant-based poisons, like nightshade or belladonna). A huge variety of poisons and their antidotes are possible through the use of this lore.

[Racial] Lore: This is the equivalent of [Human} Lore, applied to other races. A member of a race has 05% in this lore and 00% in all other racial lores.

River Lore: This Lore skill represents knowledge of river ecology. It combines knowledge of geology, physical effects, animals and plants, and gives information not only on the normal attributes of the river, but also the effects on the ecology from outside changes. It works equally well with rivers in any land.

Spirit Lore: This lore represents knowledge of the inhabitants of the spirit plane. With a successful lore role, a character could correctly identify a type of spirit, determine the most probable means of exorcising a spirit, or know what sort of spirit is necessary for the task at hand.

Undead Lore: This lore represents practical or scholarly knowledge of the various forms of undead, their capabilities, weakness', and formation.

World Lore: This lore represents knowledge of the physical world. A successful skill check enables the user to predict weather, remember geological facts, and generally understand the processes of the world around him.

MARTIAL ARTS (00)
This skill makes the best use of natural weapons. It is a discipline of the mind which allows a character to double the damage done by his natural weapons. To use martial arts, the adventurer must first successfully make an attack roll with such a weapon. If the roll made is also beneath his martial arts skill, then the adventurer gets the benefit of two weapon damage rolls for the weapon in question.

Additionally a character receives other benefits from having Martial Arts:

• Jump/dodge: A character who makes a martial arts roll may add half their martial arts skill to dodge and/or jump.
• Get up Quickly: If a martial arts roll is made a character can get up in 1 SR when on the floor. This costs one action.

NUMERACY (00)
This is the ability to do complicated mathematical procedure including algebra and geometry, but most often used in large-scale accounting and number crunching. Lunar Tax employees are often quite skilled in this.

POETRY (00)
Poetry is the knowledge of verse forms and conventions. Characters may create or critique poems with this skill. Short poems such as Kralorelan Haikus can be created spontaneously.

READ / WRITE (00)
This is actually the skill of understanding certain alphabets. With this skill the adventurer can read a language and write in it simply. The writer knows how to form the symbols that another literate person can read and understand. Some languages require a special calligraphic skill in order to communicate with anyone of status or pretence to culture, in which case this skill can have two separate skills listed.

REFINE MEDICINE (00)
This skill must be used with specific raw materials. They may be obtained with the use of Animal, Plant or Mineral Lores. Healer temples have supplies of such substances and sell to initiates at a cost of 50 pennies per potential POT.

A successful Refine Medicine roll transforms the raw materials into a medicine of the appropriate potency. A special success adds 1 to the POT. A critical roll increases POT by one half (round fractions up). A failure means the product was ruined and the raw materials wasted. A fumble means that the resultant potion is useless or even poisonous, but that the maker is unaware of this fact.

Healing potions, poison antidotes and medicine (curing diseases) can all be made with this skill. One point of poison antidote will counteract 1 POT of poison and is specific to a particular type of creature. Knowledge of this skill does not grant universal access to all antidotes, for instance to create Basilisk Antidote the Healer must have a good percentage in Chaos Lore.

Types of Poison: Basilisk, Giant Ant, Ghoul Venom, Grampus Gas, Insect Poison, Manticore Poison, Octopus venom, Scorpion venom, Snake venom, Stoorworm gas, Walktapus gas, Wyvern venom.

Medicines can be made to cure diseases. The maximum POT of medicine created is equal to the character's Refine Medicine score divided by ten. It works by matching its POT against the diseases resistance, if the resistance is overcome the patient is cured. The resistance for Mild diseases is 2, Acute is 6, Serious is 12 and Terminal is 20. In the case of possession spirits, the medicine must match its POT versus the spirits POW, if the POW is overcome the victim may engage the spirit in spirit combat and if the spirit is defeated, the spirit is expelled.

SHIPHANDLING (00)
This skill allows a character to successfully command a ship which needs a crew to operate. It includes aspects of navigation, sail-setting, arranging watches, and the other knowledge necessary for the master of a ship.

STELLAR LORE (00)
This mystical skill is needed to cast the Stellar Blessing rune magic spell. It is taught only by the Star Witches of Prax. It has no practical effect outside of that use.

SWORDSMITHING (00)
Whilst the skill of craft/armouring allows a person to make normal weapons, shields, armour and smithing tools, this special skill allows the manufacture of high quality swords from suitable raw materials provided the user has time and access to the requisite tools. A person's Swordsmithing ability may never exceed their craft/armouring skill. A successful use of this skill creates a sword with +1 ap, whilst a special success creates a sword with +1d3 ap and 10% less ENC. A critical success creates a sword with +1d3+3 ap, 20% less ENC, +5% attack and parry, +1 damage and -1 SR (but never less than one).

A skill roll above a person's swordsmithing skill but below their armouring skill still produces a normal sword. A total failure results in a sword with -2 ap, -5% to hit and parry, -1 damage and a 20% increase in ENC, although the sword may be reforged. A fumbled skill roll results in a totally ruined lump of scrap metal unsuitable for forging, and a dangerous accident.

TEA CEREMONY (00)
A skill used in the East. This skill is required to properly participate within the tea ceremony, or to present the ceremony with all the proper nuances of etiquette and culture. Practitioners of this skill are highly regarded.

TREAT DISEASE (05)
Successful use of this skill doubles a victim's chance of success at his or her next disease recovery CON roll. A critical success triples the next chance of success, a fumble halves the next chance of success. Victims of acute, terminal or serious diseases must be tended to constantly to get this bonus. Victims of mild diseases need only be tended for one day per week.

When dealing with possession based diseases (see Disease), this skill blocks 2d6 magic points of a disease spirit, reducing the chance of loss of characteristics and giving a Healing Spirit a greater chance of driving the Disease Spirit away. On a special roll, 3d6 magic points are blocked, on a critical 4d6 (on a supercritical or higher, 24 magic points are automatically blocked).

TREAT POISON (05)
Successful use of this skill purges the victim of 2d6 POT of poison, a special roll purges 4d6 POT, a critical success purges all of the poison. A fumble halves the victim's chance of resisting the poison.

The skill attempt must be begun before damage has been taken. A skill roll can be attempted only once per poisoning.

WRESTLING (00)
This skill gives expertise in the art of wrestling. A character with this may add their skill/10 to their STR when grappling other people. This STR applies to calculating damage bonuses and for resistance contests.

YOGEN (00)
Yogen is the knowledge of the mysterious compounds, dusts, poisons and potions used by ninja. Generally, only ninja learn this skill. A successful roll allows a character to identify a substance by its effects or physical characteristics. A character may also compound any of the common ninja substances or concoct an antidote to a known substance. Yogen is not taught to outsiders. This may not be increased by experience.

MAGICAL SKILLS

Magical skills are described both in Sorcery and Ritual Magic where their uses are included also. Here are described those skills that are neither used for Sorcery (the arts) or for rituals (the ceremonial skills of Ceremony, Enchant and Summon).

BAT MASTERY (00)
This Magic skill can only be learnt by members of the Crimson Bat cult. It enables the user to control the Bat under normal conditions. Only one person can attempt this skill at a time, and it gives control for a full day. If the Bat has gone on a rampage through lack of food, this skill is useless. However, after it has fed itself and is again satiated, the skill can be used to bring it back under control.

This skill can be raised through experience (though the local populace will not cheer the student when he fails), but is more normally trained by the priests. One must accompany the Bat to train or research this skill.

SPIRIT COMBAT (00)
This skill enhances your ability in spirit combat. It is commonly known only by shamans. It can only be taught, training and researched whilst Discorporate. It cannot be increased by experience. Spirit combat allows the character to add to their effective magic points in either attack or defence in spirit combat only, not in casting or resisting spells. The amount of effective magic points that the shaman has available is skill/5 rounded up. For example, a shaman with Spirit Combat 44% may increase their magic points in attacking in spirit combat by up to nine, or their defence by up to nine, or any combination thereof (such as attack magic points increasing by 4, and defence magic points by 5).

SPIRIT DANCE (15)
This skill governs the navigation of the spirit plane, and as such is commonly only known by shamans above base percentage. It's use is described in the Spirit Plane section and it is used for finding your way to and from places on the spirit plane and finding spirits upon the spirit plane. It can be increased by one percentile for every magic point devoted to the shaman by worshippers supporting him on his Spirit Quest. The maximum amount of magic points that each worshipper can donate is equal to the shaman's Ceremony/10 rounded up. Whilst devoting magic points, all supporters remain in a comatose state and, if roused, their support is lost and the extra percentiles disappear.

WARD SPIRIT (00)
This skill is used to ward off other spirits that come close to the character. It is rarely taught. The character must first use a Spirit Lore to identify the spirit and then use the appropriate Warding technique, such as a burning log for Darkness spirit or a Death rune for a ghost, to ward the spirit off. The Spirit Lore roll must be made to identify exactly what type of spirit it is - it cannot be guessed at. If the wrong ward is used, the skill immediately fails.

This skill use costs an action and takes effect on DEX SR+3. The character must roll their Ward Spirit skill, minus one percentile for every point of POW the spirit has. A normal success means that the spirit cannot approach within 10m of the ward, a special success means it cannot approach within 100m and is unable to use offensive abilities or magics against the character. A critical success means the spirit flees, and does not return. A fumble means the spirit homes in on the character, empowered by the ward and inflicting double damage in spirit combat.

It is ineffective on bound spirits.

MANIPULATION SKILLS

ARROW CUTTING (00)
This Skill is generally only found in Kralorela, Vormain and the East Isles. It allows character to parry any projectile with a shaft, not just arrows. It is based on rigorous discipline, emphasising the characters inner resources of timing, balance, speed and perception. Any melee weapon or fist may be used. The dice roll to parry must be below both the appropriate weapon attack (not parry) and Arrow Cutting skill. The character must be aware of the missile attack to use this skill, and have the weapon readied for use. This skill costs an action to use.

CONCEAL (05)
With this skill an object can be concealed so that it may be found only with a Search roll. The object may be of any size, and the act of concealing can be as simple as putting the it into a drawer or as complex as rigging a false floor into a chest.

To successfully use Search to find a concealed object, subtract the Concealing skill from the Searching skill and roll less than or equal to that percentage, as with Hide and Search. These rolls may be modified due to size or information possessed by the Searcher.

Assume that each SIZ point to be concealed requires 1 melee round.

DEVISE (05)
This is the skill of both assembling and disassembling mechanisms such as traps and locks. If the devisor has a craft, a successful craft roll will double his chances for the devise roll. If a mechanism has been devised by someone for the purpose of foiling subsequent devisors, then the creator's devise skill must be subtracted from all later devise rolls attempted against it.

Devise takes one melee round per SIZ point for disassembly, and one turn per SIZ point for assembly.

FEIGN DEATH (00)
This esoteric manipulation skill allows the practitioner to conceal himself amid a scene of carnage. Feigning death involves lying still and maintaining a posture so death-like as to be ignored by enemies. A successful use of the skill will fool an untrained enemy looking for dead bodies. A critical roll will even fool a trained healer not casting a Detect Life spell. A failure of this skill indicates that the character will not fool anybody who cares - perhaps he looks too comfortable! A fumble will draw the attention of a casual observer to some movement that he has made.

HOJOJITSU/BINDING (05)
Enables a character to rapidly bind and securely immobilise a subdued foe. A successful use gives bonds with STR equal to the binder's STR+DEX. Unless the victim can break the bonds or use the Escape skill, he is immobilised. The ropes, of course, have normal resistance to being cut.

In combat, one limb per MR may be bound, if the binder has a grapple on his victim. If someone else is grappling the victim, the binder may tie him completely in one MR.

JUGGLE (05)
This is the skill of keeping many small objects aloft in a (more or less) circular pattern. The user of this skill can keep a number of objects aloft equal to his skill / 10. The user of this skill can also elect to catch small hurled objects (such as eggs, but including knives) and return them to the person who threw them at a varying penalty. (Assume that a juggler attempting to catch and return a thrown knife must subtract the knife thrower's skill from his own when attempting this manoeuvre (assuming, of course, the knife was thrown to injure him; someone merely tossing a knife into the mix of objects would only generate a 10-20% penalty).

This skill can also be used to catch thrown objects, and as such can be used to catch thrown weapons such as knives. This requires an action.

KUSCHILE HORSE ARCHERY (00)
This skill can only be learned by initiates of Yelmalio. Learners of this skill must accept one random geas in exchange for a 25% plus category modifier. The skill can be trained or researched, once it has been obtained through the geas. Successful use of this skill allows the user his normal horse archery chance from horseback, regardless of his riding ability. The skill can be attempted once per arrow fired.

PLAY INSTRUMENT (00)
With this skill a specific type of instrument can be used to create a pleasing performance. Failure indicates wrong chords played, broken strings, dropped instruments, etc.. As with sing, the better the user's chance to play, the better the piece will sound when played.

SLEIGHT (05)
This is the skill of quick hands and misdirection. This skill is often used for such purposes as shell games, card tricks, and picking pockets. Success with this skill means that the user accomplished his purpose with no complications, if nobody was watching him with a Scan roll, for instance.

Sleight takes one SR to perform.

PERCEPTION SKILLS

DARKSENSE (SP)
This is the sonar sense that trolls and other darkness dwelling creatures use. The base percentage will be given in the information appropriate to that race. Darksense is not a skill, but a set of skills - thus you have Darksense/Scan and Darksense/Search. Each works as the visually based Scan and Search skills except they work in darkness and in all areas where it is not specifically stated that Darksense does not work.

In areas where both Visual and Darksense senses can be used, roll for both. So a character with Darksense scanning the field of battle in broad daylight gets both a Darksense/Scan and a Visual Scan.

EARTHSENSE (SP)
This is an ability possessed only by Mostali, and is the ability to sense changes in air currents. There is some element of heat detection as well. This ability is reduced by three times the Winds STR and so on a windy day is virtually useless. It works exactly like Darksense, it allows senses to work in the dark and there is both an Earthsense/Scan and an Earthsense/Search. If both apply in a particular situation, both are rolled.

ELFSENSE (SP)
Possessed by Aldryami and other plant species. Sentient plants often have this. It allows the character, by touch, to detect the emotions of a creature, sentient or otherwise. It also allows communication with the trees within an Aldryami Forest. If a message wishes to be sent an entire MR must be spent trying to commune with the plant life around, if the skill roll is successful then the message is implanted and spreads throughout the entire forest quickly and soon reaches its intended destination. The Great Trees of the Elf Forests are the epicentre of such information flows.

LIP READ (00)
The ability to understand a spoken language through observation of lips, teeth and tongue. If the target has a moustache subtract 5%, for a beard subtract 10% to 50%, depending on how full and concealing it is. Attempting to use this skill on a different species, such as human using the skill on a troll, is at best at half skill. A character's effective Lip Read skill can never be higher than the character's knowledge of the language being spoken.

LISTEN (25)
This is the skill of both listening intently for sound where one would not normally hear it and the ability to pick up incidental sounds and interpret them correctly, even when not consciously searching for them.

A successful Sneak roll is usually subtracted from a listener's Listen chance, along with modifiers for distance, obstructions, etc..

RECOGNISE WITCH (00)
This perception skill is only taught to initiates of Jakaleel the Witch and begins at 5% plus perception modifier. A successful roll allows the user to recognise a priestess of the cult, however disguised they may be, or it can be used to detect the presence of the Witch's dwellings or a local Coven. The scrutiny requires a certain amount of concentration and must be directed at a specific target person or building (within 15m) of the user. It also enables recognition of even a Shapechanged Witch, at one half the skill level.

SCAN (25)
Scan is used to observe areas for anomalous movement. Scan can be pitted against Sleight or Hide.

Scan takes one melee round per 90-degree arc scanned. This skill is reduced by half for every extra 90-degree arc a user attempts to scan in the same melee round.

SCENT/TASTE (05)
Using this paired skill, an adventurer can accurately identify wines, foods, even animal scents with just a small sampling. On a critical roll (or perhaps with a successful Alchemy or Poison Lore roll) he can spot tainted foods/beverages, identify familiar potions, etc. ..

SEARCH (25)
Using Search, an adventurer can closely scrutinise an area to find a Concealed item, a person using Hide, or even a small object hidden with a Sleight roll. This skill can also reveal hidden doors, traps, or secret drawers in chests. Search often involves handling items while tracing the exact outlines of a trap. Search takes one melee round per 4 meter area searched.

SENSE ASSASSIN (00)
A skill that can only be acquired by joining the cult of Humakt, under normal circumstances. Success allows the user to sense that a nearby person (within 50m) intends to assassinate someone that the user is currently attached to, whether it is a family member, part of a temporary alliance, or a permanent fealty relationship - or even the user himself. The sense does not tell the user who the intended victim is, but does point out the assassin.

SENSE CHAOS (00)
By the by, this skill is only possessed by Storm Bull beserkers. It may not be increased by training or research. It allows the user to sense the presence of chaos, in animate or inanimate forms, including visible spirits. The ability does not single out a source, like a Detect spell would, but rather gives the warrior a sense of uneasiness and the knowledge that chaos is close at hand. The intensity of the feeling gives a rough estimate as to how much chaos is present. This skill is effective within a 15m range.

SENSE CRIMINAL (00)
This special skill can only be gained by Danfive Xaron initiates, and begins at 5% plus perception modifier. Success allows the user to sense that a nearby person (within 15m) intends to commit a flagrant breach of law or custom. Use of this ability requires concentration, and it will only single out the criminal on a special success or higher. More normally it alerts an Overseer to the presence of an uneasy conscience.

SENSE FALSEHOOD (00)
This skill can be gained only by worshippers of Eudaimon. It begins at 5% plus Perception modifier upon initiation. It is the ability to sense falseness of guise in men (i.e. ogres or lycanthropes), falseness in soul (Illuminates) or falseness in intent (with respect to the teachings of Eudaimon only).

SENSE ORDER (00)
This spell can be gained by a Tongue or Jaw of Krarsht upon ordination, they gain it at a base of 1d6+perception bonus. Once gained, it can be trained if a teacher is available, but normal progress is by experience. If the initial roll produces a result of 0 or less (because of a negative modifier), no skill is or can ever be gained, even if the bonus is later increased.

Success allows the user to sense the presence of concentrated Order in animate or inanimate form, including visible spirits. It does not single out the source, as spell would, but rather gives a sense of unease, and the knowledge that Order is close at hand. The intensity of the feeling gives a rough estimate of the amount of Order present. The skill is effective within 15m. It is not triggered by the background aura of the natural world, but does alert the user to the presence of special magics, items and spirits, and to initiates of Lawful cults. Members who possess this skill automatically trigger skills which detect chaos, even if they do not possess any other chaos ability. It is therefore not always a blessing, and Jaws (especially) without this skill are highly prized, since they can operate within normal societies more safely.

SENSE RAPIST (00)
This is a Babeester Gor cult skill. This skill allows the user to identify rapists and despoilers of the Earth. The user must be close enough to see the target's mannerisms and hear his voice for at least one minute. A fumble means an incorrect assessment is made; no further rolls are allowed. Sense Rapist is only half as effective at detecting female despoilers.

TRACK (25)
With this skill a living being can be trailed through the wilderness and rural farming areas. The skill includes such knowledge of how certain animals behave when trying to elude pursuers, and the tricks used to cover trails. Track rolls are generally made every two turns.

UNDERSTAND BEAST SPEECH (00)
This skill is common to the cult of Eirithra. This skill trains a person to perceive and interpret warning signs, movements, odours and other gestures made by herd beasts. Speaking to animals is not possible with this skill. Also, it is not the same as knowing the actual language called Beastspeech (spoken by very few creatures in Glorantha).

UNDERSTAND WILD BEASTS (00)
This skill is accessed through the Lady of the Wild, and begins at a base of 5%. It allows the hunter to perceive and interpret warning signals, odours and other movements by wild (prey) animals he is stalking. Speaking to the animals is not possible with this skill.

STEALTH SKILLS

ASSASSINATE (00)
This skill can be used in combination with any surprise attack. It is combined with a surprise attack made by the attacker upon his victim - the attack must be a surprise. In cases where surprise may be an issue, use an opposed roll of either Hide or DEXx5 (as applicable) versus either the Scan or DEXx5 of the target.

If the attack roll is both underneath Assassinate and the weapon attack, the location struck can be altered by up to Assassinate skill/10 (round up) and recalculate the attacker's damage bonus for this attack as STR+SIZ+DEX.

DISGUISE (05)
This skill allows the user to disguise himself or someone else. If the person is to be disguised as a particular individual, the chance of success is halved. If the person is to be disguised as a member of another race or species, the chance is 1/4 to 1/10 depending upon the disparity between species. It is impossible to disguise a human as a dark troll, or merman (for example), but it might be possible to disguise one as an elf or a trollkin.

ON a successful roll the disguise will fool most viewers. Use Scan vs. Disguise roll only if someone is specifically looking for something. On a critical roll, only disguises of a specific person or another race can be detected, and only by someone familiar with that person or race. On a failed roll, anyone may see through the disguise with a successful scan. However, a disguise of a specific person of race might even succeed with a failed roll, if the viewer has never seen that person or race before. On a fumbled roll the disguise is instantly seen for what it is, even by people who would have no reason to suspect a disguise was being used, or who are unfamiliar with the person or race imitated. Disguise is a common skill, and may be available from other cults or organisations. Combined with shapechanging, it allows the spell caster to more easily replicate particular individuals without having to halve the Disguise skill.

GARROTE (05)
This skill is used for strangling people with a garrote. It's use is fully explained in the weapons section.. It is rare for people to learn this skill, it is impossible to research or be trained in it without proper access to teaching methods. Such methods are available from assassin cults, and Thanatar.

HIDE (10)
With Hide, any available cover, including shadows, brush, etc., can be used to hide oneself from others. If a character wishes to hide and move at the same time, his chance to do so is halved.

A simple success roll will work against casual passers-by, but active Searchers must subtract the user's Hide skill from their chances to locate him.

The Hide skill takes until the user's DEX strike rank to perform. It can only be attempted once per melee round.

SNEAK (10)
This is the skill of moving in silence, without alerting one's foes. If it is used in conjunction with Hide, a single roll covers both situations.

SWIM QUIETLY (00)

Affected by ENC penalty

SPECIAL SKILLS

BESERKING (00)
This powerful skill draws upon the emotions gained by the rituals of the Caer Carrumual sub-cult of Yanafal Tarnils. When taken it starts at a base of 5%. When used the character goes uncontrollably beserk, but the skill can only be used a maximum of once per encounter. The character has double attack percentages, but must forfeit all parries and dodges, and cannot cast any magic that does not relate to killing and violence. They will attack a random person, whether they be friend or foe, big or small or armed to the teeth. After fifteen minutes the skill ends, and the character collapses, reduced to -100fp. The skill is cumulative with other spells such as fanaticism and beserk, but if used with beserk then the system shock of exhaustion may kill the character when the spell ends. The chance of surviving is CONx3.

CHAOTIC WISDOM (00)
This special skill cannot be gained through normal means. When a person becomes a member of the Path of Infinite Mutations he gains a score in this skill equal to 20-(APP+POW) (minimum 1). Category modifiers do not apply to this skill. It may be increased only be research on the part of the student himself. At any time (but no more than once per holy day ceremony attended), the student may attempt a roll against his Chaotic Wisdom skill before members of the Inner Circle. Success indicates that he is accepted as a member of the Inner Circle. Success indicates that he is accepted as a member of the Inner Circle, as long as he meets the requirements. If he fails, 3d6 is subtracted from his skill level; if this brings his Chaotic Wisdom skill to 0 or lower, he dies during the test, and his body is devoured by the Inner Circle.

This skill has no value outside of the cult. It is concerned solely with the knowledge of the Inner Circle secrets, which are mostly incomprehensible to outsiders, even other chaotics. This skill includes some measure of Chaos Lore knowledge, and should a Chaos Lore roll be required, the character can substitute this skill, if the percentage is higher.

If at any time a character's Chaotic Wisdom drops below 0%, outside of the tests, he is immediately released from the cult and cannot return until he has fulfilled all the normal requirements. One-use rune magic spells are lost.

CHARISMATIC WISDOM (00)
This special skill is gained by joining the Path of Immanent Mastery, and cannot be improved by normal means. Instead, when the cultist is first accepted he gains a score in this skill equal to his (INT+POW)-20. No category modifiers apply. This skill can be increased only by research on the part of the lay student himself. At any time, the student may attempt a roll against Charismatic Wisdom before a panel of members of the Inner Circle. Success indicates that he is accepted as a full initiate of the cult. If he fails, 3d6 percentiles are subtracted from his skill. If he fumbles, he dies during the test and his body is destroyed.

This skill has absolutely no value outside of obtaining membership in the Inner Circle of the cult. It is concerned solely with knowledge of the Inner Circle cult secrets, which are uninteresting and largely incomprehensible to outsiders. If at any time a character's Charismatic Wisdom score drops to 0% or below, he is immediately released from the cult and cannot return until he has fulfilled all the normal requirements. POW previously sacrificed does count towards his chances of reacceptance.

CONTROL FEAR (00)
This skill is gained through joining Nemo Umbar. It is the foundation of the cult's power. It allows the cultist to understand and overcome his own fears and give him insight into the fears of others.

Its initial score is determined by the test carried out when the Initiate joins. It may only be increased by sacrifice of permanent POW. Each point sacrificed gives the cultist 5% in the skill. Only POW above the normal rolled maximum can be sacrificed i.e. 12 for enlo 18 for superior trollkin, humans and dark trolls).

Control Fear gives the following bonuses: When resisting a Fear orientated spell (i.e. fear, demoralise etc...) the Control Fear skill is deducted from the enemies chance of overcoming POW. When affected by Shade Fearshock, the Control Fear skill is added to the 1d100 roll.

When resisting Intimidation, the Control Fear skill is deducted from the intimidator's chances.

When attempting to overcome an enemy's POW with a Fear orientated spell the process works in reverse. When commanding a Fear Spirit, this skill is also added to the caster's chances.

The maximum level that Control Fear can be learned to is limited according to the cultist's rank. An initiate may learn up to 25%, a Fear Lord up to 40%, a Feared One up to 35% and a Fear Priest may learn up to 50%.

ENDURE HEAT (00)
This skill can only be learnt from the cult of Kelmos the Desert Walker. Initiates gain it at a percentage equal to their CON. This skill is used to both ensure the effects of dehydration and to resist the damage of flames. It acts as a negative modifier when rolling for dehydration equal to the level of the skill. When resisting damage from heat or flame and Endure Heat roll must be made. If the roll is successful then the damage is reduced by 25%. A special increases this reduction to 50% and a critical reduces it by 75%. A supercritical or higher negates it entirely. This is cumulative with spells (such as Fireshield) which reduce heat damage. Experience checks for this can only be given for successfully resisting dehydration in the desert in Fire Season for at least a week, or for resisting a powerful flame. This skill cannot be trained or researched.

TWO-HANDED SPEAR WITH SHIELD STYLE
This skill is described in the combat section.