The West That Wasnt - Skill List

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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

• Academics: This class of skills represents an area the character would learn by means of formal education or personal study, granting vast amounts of knowledge about the subject in question. Some examples of academic skills are history (pick your area/time period), philosophy, theology, law or mathematics. Academic skills have no specializations (each is considered to be its own specialization), and each field must be purchased as its own skill.
  

• Animal Handler (horse/dog/herd animals): This skill grants the character the ability to care and feed for animals. Animal handlers can train dogs and horses, break-in bucking broncos, and herd cattle. They also understand animal behaviors better than most, and are less likely to get negative reactions from domesticated (and some wild) animals because they know how to behave around them.
  

• Archery: This combat skill allows the character to effectively use a bow and arrow.
  

• Area Knowledge: The character has intimate knowledge of an area, either by spending lots of time there or studying it in-depth. Each area a character wants to have special knowledge of must be purchased as a separate skill. The broader the area described by the skill, the more general the character's knowledge is likely to be; if a character has Area Knowledge: Kansas, he might know things like where most of the larger, important or interesting towns are, where the railroads run, where major rivers are and what Indian tribes lurk in which prairies. If a character has Area Knowledge: Dodge City, with a successful skill check he might know the location of a certain businesses, their owners, the politics and power struggles, important people in town, or a shortcut to the local thugs' hideout. Area Knowledge skills do not have specializations, but each bump on the skill check should reveal some extra layer of information or added, useful, detail beyond which the character might be seeking.
  

• Artist (vaudevillian)—painting/sculpting/sketching
  

• Bravery: The ability of the Hero to resist fear and terror, and stand fast and keep cool in the middle of a gunfight. Some events in a story may call for a bravery check, and failure might result in the hero taking Stress damage. When a character is in a fight, stray shots will chip away at their ability to focus and carefully aim. When under fire, the Hero may need to make a bravery check to see if they keep their cool, or if their carefully aimed shot is disrupted by flying lead. Bravery may also be used in social combat to resist efforts at intimidation.

• Demolitions: This skill allows a character to use explosives (somewhat) safely. Dynamite, black powder, nitroglycerin and gun cotton are all examples of period-appropriate explosives the character might know how to handle. When using demolitions to blast a structure/obstruction, a successful skill check will increase the column (die type) of the explosive's effect for earning victory points, with each bump increasing the row (effect level). As such, knowing how to use explosives dramatically increases their effectiveness when trying to blow stuff up. Action speed: Slow
  

• Disguise (vaudevillian)
  

• Drive (Wagon/Coach, steamboat, train): The ability to operate and maintain what vehicles were available in the old west. Each skill must be learned separately, but each one has its own specialization of operate and maintenance, so a character might have the skill "Drive: steamboats (maintenance)," which would allow them to pilot a steam-powered riverboat, and give them special knowledge when it comes to fixing it should it break down. However, this ability to repair a steamboat won't help fix a broken wagon wheel or get a steam locomotive rolling. Action speed: Normal
  

• Fast Draw: The quintessential skill of the old west gunfight. This is the ability to draw your shooting iron as quickly as possible and make it ready to fire on target.

• Gambling (card games, dice games, other): Most people know how to play card, or shoot dice. Great gamblers are the ones who can sit down for a stretch at a back table of the saloon and play the odds to come out on top more often than casual players. Gambling for money is usually an Acuity-based skill check (while Presence may be substituted for purposes of the occasional bluff), and generally reflects the character spending an extended amount of narrative time playing multiple hands of cards, dice or what have you rather than a single hand of show-down (which is pretty random in nature and doesn't really require any skill). To engage in a round of gambling, the player resolves a gambling skill check at a TN of 5 (against multiple opponents) or TN 3 + the opponent's Gambling skill level (against a single opponent). If the check fails, you earn effect using the d4 column and your skill level to determine the row. If the check succeeds, you use your Acuity die type to determine the column, with each bump increasing the row. In a one-on-one match (one player against another or one Hero against a mob of gamblers represented as a single unit) a gambler may also opt to bluff his opponents and use his Presence rather than his Acuity. In this case, the opponent makes a Judge Character skill check at TN 5 + the bluffing character's gambling skill; if the Judge character check fails, the bluffing character can treat their action card draw as an exceptional success and draw an extra card to determine cause (or an additional extra card, if the initial result is already an exceptional success!), and use the character's presence die type and gambling skill level to determine effect. If the opponent's Judge Character check succeeds, the bluffing character uses the d4 column to determine effect. The Judge and players may opt to have gambling play out in one round, or multiple rounds for high-stakes games. The player with the highest effect total at the end of all rounds wins. While the stakes may vary (and might be laid out beforehand in the case of a buy-in) one suggestion is that the winner earns a number of dollars equal to the difference between his effect score and his opponent--which may get someone run out of town on a rail if they don't have the stakes to pay up!
  

• Investigation (questioning, clue-finding, puzzle-solving): This skill allows an investigator to figure out what happened by questioning witnesses (politely or otherwise), examining the scene of a crime, or by trying to piece together disparate bits of information to form a "big picture" based on many smaller details. Investigation can be used by the players to help move a story along; it can be viewed as the "give me a hint" skill. If there is a bit of information, such as a vital clue, to be gleaned in an area, use of the investigation skill should allow the Heroes to uncover at least part of it (this prevents a story from coming to a screeching halt because of a failed skill check!) Bumps to the investigation skill check should reveal extra details or greater certainty of the truth of the investigator's findings. Some applications of questioning or interrogating witnesses or suspects may require social combat. Basic use of the investigation skill to get information from people revolves around a more casual approach, and will generally eke out what people are willing to tell or what they might let slip accidentally.
  

• Judge Character: This skill helps a character size up another person if they have a chance to observe or interact with them for a while. It can allow the character to determine the target’s general strengths/weaknesses for social combat (Game mechanics TBD), and also helps a character make snap judgements about people, such as whether they might be bluffing at cards, or if they might be pulling the wool over their eyes. If a Hero is suspicious and tries to check for deception, the Judge should make a hidden check for the Hero as appropriate, and slip them hints if the Hero makes his Judge Character check that something may not be on the up-and-up. However, if a hero uses Judge Character repeatedly against the same character, the difficulty should get progressively harder to reflect the fact that repeated failure is causing the story in question to become more and more believable!
  

• Language: Languages are bought at level 1 each for the ability to speak or read/write only (1 Character Point), with a specialization (4 CPs total for full fluency). Each language must be purchased separately.
  

• Leadership: During a fight, this leadership can be used to inspire your allies by means of a quick, rousing speech or order, or by deed on the field of battle. Leadership can be used to rally the courage of those who are in the grip of fear and terror, or help them stand fast in the face of enemy fire. If used as an inspiring speech, Leadership is a fast action with a TN of 5, but cannot be mixed with any other actions. Success increases the bravery of all your allies within earshot by 1 for the entire round, with an additional +1 for each bump. If combined with an attack action, it is a normal speed action, and can inspire any allies with line of sight to your actions; bravery for allies is increased by 1 if your attack is successful with an additional +1 for each bump. If leadership is used with dodge, it acts as a normal dodge action, but allies within line of sight have their bravery increased by 1 for each attack that misses their leader.
  

• Luck: Fortune just seems to favor some people. While not really a "skill," luck--at the Judge's discretion--can be used to determine the result of mostly random events that may have a significant outcome for the Heroes. Need to know if the nitro goes off when the bad guy you just plugged drops it? The Judge may call for a Luck check. The leader of the gunslingers has offered to help based on one hand of show-down? Make an opposed luck check. If a player asks if one of his stray shots might have hit a nearby oil lamp and set it on fire, the Judge might call for a luck check, and set the barroom ablaze if the check is successful. Luck can be used at times when no other skill or talent really seems to apply, or when the outcome is somewhat arbitrary and would simply require a judgment call by the Judge.
  

• Medicine
  

• Navigation
  

• Perform—Acting/singing
  

• Pick Lock—keys/tumblers
  

• Professional Skills
  

• Repair—Weapons/vehicles/scavenge
  

• Ride—horse/wagon
  

• Scavenge
  

• Sciences
  

• Sleight of Hand
  

• Steal—Pickpocket (dex)/Misdirection (Acuity)
  

• Stealth
  

• Streetwise—Gossip/Black Market/scrounging
  

• Survival—Desert/Mountain/Winter (More hospitable climates should have reduced difficulty to survive in; specialties primarily focus on surviving in harsher regions)
  

• Swim
  

• Tactics
  

• Tracking
  

• Trade Skills
  

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