Skills
Characters acquire skills and advanced those skills individually as they progress through adventuring in the world the Storyteller has put forth. Players gain experience as they play in the form of skill points, which can then be spent on their character to advance skills. Skills are bound to a progression system tied to the tiers below. As a player advances a skill, their character’s ability to command that skill is enhanced.
| Skill Level | 1-4 | 5-10 | 11-15 | 16-18 | 19-20 | 21+ |
| Skill Tier | Novice | Journeyman | Expert | Master | Grandmaster | Legendary |
| Skill Dice | 2d6 | 2d8 | 2d10 | 2d12 | 3d10 | Storyteller |
Tiers are represented by titles such as Novice, Journeyman, and Expert and graduating from one tier to another changes the dice used with that skill. Since skills are leveled up individually by spending skill points, it is expected that characters will have skills at different levels.
Skills also interact with Character Attributes (Strength, Virtue, Intelligence, etc.), each having a Controlling Attribute (CA) assigned. The value a character has in a controlling attribute will determine the maximum a player may assign to skills associated with that attribute on their character. In this way, attributes determine a character’s potential in associated skills. As an example, if an attribute value is thirteen, you may only assign up-to thirteen skill levels to a skill linked or controlled by that attribute.
The dice set used to roll for a given skill is determined by the skill level in it. A character with four points spent in Perception will roll 2d6+4, while a character with eleven points will roll 2d10+11. This significant difference is intended to scale difficulty in encounters dynamically and give a great deal of flexibility to the Storyteller while preserving the sense of achievement players enjoy as their characters advance.
When you create your character initially, you will be given a number of starting skill points to spend however you wish. Keep in mind that this initial count should be distributed between character qualities, core skills, weapons, weapon forms and defense, as well as any other skills your character may possess.
The cost to advance a skill also increases as players make the transition from Novice to Journeyman, Journeyman to Expert, and so-on. This is intended to mimic life, in that the more advanced one becomes at a skill the less it becomes about learning new things and the more it becomes about mastery. Becoming an expert in a skill or subject takes considerably longer and requires more effort than learning the basics.
