Saturday, 15 December 2012

Career Skills

PCs don't have a class.  Instead they start with a career skill.  The maximum number of career skills a character can have is 1 plus their INT bonus plus their DEX bonus.  Each time the character gains a level, they can add 1 career skill relevant to their experiences, up to the maximum number of skills.

Some skills are also associated with an ability score for performing checks.  A character can attempt some actions without having the skill, in which case they should use half the value of their ability score.

Some typical Career Skills:

  • Navigator(INT)- navigate a boat
  • Helmsman(INT)- pilot a large ship
  • Able Sailor(DEX)- tie knots, fix sails, traverse rigging
  • Doctor(INT)- know how to set broken bones, install peglegs, care for wounded crew
  • Carpenter(DEX)- fix boat parts
  • Smith(DEX)- make simple things from metal
  • Gunshmith(DEX)- make/fix guns
  • Leatherwork(DEX)- make complex things from leather
  • Gunner(DEX)- fire a heavy gun and oversee it's maintainance
  • Burglar(DEX)- typical thief skills
  • Performer(CHR)- entertain people
  • Professional Gambler(LUCK)- gamble
  • Duellist(DEX)- +1 to hit with pistols
  • Sharpshooter(DEX)- +1 to hit with muskets
  • Swordsman(DEX)- +1 to hit with swords

2 comments:

  1. Can players take skills multiple times, to ensure that a PC with a high ability score doesn't always trump a PC with years of experience?

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    Replies
    1. That's a good idea. Maybe a +1 bonus to the check for each additional time you take the skill.

      I actually though about not allowing advancement at all. The idea being that Career Skill is somewhere between a class and a skill. That way you'll have one PC who is the navigator, another who is the Ship Doctor. Still not sure which is the better approach...

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