The West That Wasnt - Skill List

Skills help define the general abilities and knowledge each character possesses. It is a measure of what they are good at doing. Skills are rated in levels from 1 to 5. When called upon to use a skill, the Master will determine the associated trait being used. This will determine the column used on the cause grid of the action card. The level of the skill being used will determine the maximum number of rows used. So, if the associated Trait has a value of d8 and the level of the skill being used is 3, you would reference the d8 column and can choose your result from rows 1, 2 or 3 (unless the (3)d8 cell is a CF result; more on that in chapter XX: Action Cards)

Trait-Related Skills: Training Levels

Some tasks in the game won’t readily fall under the purview of any particular skill, and it may be determined that such tasks may be best resolved by a check of a character’s Trait. Each trait is assigned a die type (to denote which column of the cause section checked on the action card), but the amount of training devoted to that trait will increase the row number.

Every character begins with 1 level of Training for each Trait. Each additional level adds one die when making a check using just a character’s trait. A character with a d10 rating for Strength and 2 levels of training would roll 2d10 when making a check for using sheer strength (maybe to lift a timber off an ally, bust down a door or to break out of a pair of manacles).

The character’s die type is most important when determining a character’s range of ability when it comes to traits; the level of training more or less causes the character to be more consistent in the application of their abilities.
Training Level Cost:

Rank	Cost
1	Free!
2	3
3	6
4	10
5	15

Skill List

• Archery
• Steal—Pickpocket (dex)/Misdirection (Acuity)
• Pick Lock—keys/tumblers
• Sleight of Hand
• Drive—boat/train
• Ride—horse/wagon
• Stealth
• Swim
• Artist—painting/sculpting/sketching
• Judge Character—helps determine the target’s strengths/weaknesses for social combat
• Tracking
• Academics
• Area Knowledge
• Demolitions
• Disguise
• Language
• Medicine
• Professional Skills
• Sciences
• Trade Skills
• Animal Handler—horse/dog/herd animals
• Leadership
• Perform—Acting/singing
• Gambling—cards/dice/other
• Scavenge
• Streetwise—Gossip/Black Market
• Survival—Desert/Mountain/Winter (More hospitable climates should have reduced difficulty to survive in; specialties primarily focus on surviving in harsher regions)
• Repair—Weapons/vehicles
• Investigation
• Navigation
• Tactics
• Luck

Physical Combat Skills

• Archery
• Firearms—Pistol/Rifle/Shotgun
• Melee—Knife/Sword/Heavy
• Brawl—Fisticuffs/Grappling/Improvised Weapons

Social Combat Skills/Counterskills (Work in Progress; Disregard for now)

• Argument/Argument
• Charm/Presence (resolve)
• Indimitate/Aura (bravery)
• Blather/Awareness (focus)
• Lying/Education (memory)
• Taunt