This document contains a listing of all normal skills, with descriptions.
Armorer is the skill of maintaining and repairing the various types of weapons and armor available to adventurers. Given suitable equipment and supplies, the character may repair dents, scrapes, nicks, tears, and punctures in weapons, armor, and shields, as well as making adjustments to fit and style. Additionally, an armorer can work with a competant professional (which might be themselves) to create new pieces of armor or weapons (blacksmith, tailor, woodworker, weaver, etc).
Deception is the skill at lying, cheating, and grifting. While any character can skirt the truth now and then, true decievers are skilled craftsmen, able to convince people of elaborate scams, clever misdirections, and incredible plots.
Deception also includes bribery. Anyone can offer a bribe; Deception is the skill for people who go beyond that. This skill reflects the character's ability both to bribe people you wouldn't normally be able to bribe, and to `figure out' what an appropriate bribe might be. Characters with this skill can always count on getting a good table at Chez Ronald, if they're willing to pay the price.
While attempts at deception can often be very potent tool for adventurers to accomplish their goals, players should beware that failed attempts can yield equally potent disasters.
This is a play-or-roll skill.
This skill represents the ability to climb all sorts of things, including surfaces that aren't normally climbable (due either to nature or design). While most people can climb trees, characters with this skill can also climb sheer cliffs and smooth walls, for example.
Characters with this skill are also familar with the care and use of climbing-related equipment, such as hammer, pitons, and crampons, and possess familiarity with using ropes for certain situations (e.g. belaying).
Characters with animal companions (gained via spell, ability, or some other method) may use this skill to attempt to use exercise the bond between character and companion for some special purpose. Examples include the canonical ``Mage's familiar'' and the Beastmaster's ``companion sight''. Attempting this skill often requires great concentration.
This skill represents the character's ability to force their body into unusual positions and arrangements. This is useful for squeezing into tight places, hiding in `impossible' alcoves, and escaping bonds such as ropes, leather thongs, manacles, chains, and even straight jackets.
This is a play-or-roll skill. :-)
This skill can be used when a character just wants to Not Be Found. Characters using this skill attempt to disappear into shadows, duck behind foliage, and conceal themsves behind architecture. A successfully hiding character will be effectively invisible as long as they remain all but motionless (Slow, deliberate movements are allowed). This skill can be used to hide from certain common magical detections; however, some magical detections cannot be successfully hidden from.
This is a play-or-roll skill.
The skill of aiming and directing magical bolts, including Elemental Bolts.
This skill represents deep study into one particular topic. Both the nature and history of the topic are known. The more specific the topic chosen, then more detailed the knowledge will be. Some common topics are:
This is an play-or-roll skill.
This skill requires a specialization.
Familiarity and capability with mechanical devices of all types, including mechanical locks and traps. While Search is the skill used to detect and locate mechanical traps, Mechanical Devices is the skill necessary to deal with such devices (including open, disable, repair, and replace).
Search is the skill at finding things, especially things that don't want to be found. It is used when searching for hidden people, conclealed compartments, disguised traps, and the ever-popular secret door.
This is a play-or-roll skill
This skill is used for small, simple manipulations, usually based on misdirection and manual dexterity. Typical actions include palming small items, picking pockets, lifting purses, `planting' objects, and hiding items on your person. Attempts at Sleight of Hand might also backfire -- if done poorly, the intended target might notice, or the character might even get stuck somewhere embarrasing.
Some characters are skilled at making especially effective attacks (either to harm or to subdue) against unaware/unsuspecting persons. Before this skill can be used, the character must have some plausible means of surprising the intended victim, which may or may not involve use of the Sneak skill. A successful Sneak Attack attempt give the character a bouns to hit and can either incapacitate the target, generate an automatic critical hit, or do extra damage, depending on the character's desires and on how well the attempt succeeds.
Situations in which the character has done an exceptionally good job of `taking by surprise' the intended target should result in a bonus to Sneak Attack attempts.
A rose by any other name? Sneak is the skill at getting places undetected, including places like ``past the open door where the guards are plaing cards'' and ``right up close behind the unsuspecting victim''. Sneaking in this manner usually involves slow, deliberate movements and often can be enhanced with special equipment. Additionally, Sneak can be used by characters who are attempting to bluff their way past guards and wards.
Characters attempting the first (undetected) type of Sneak should use their Dexterity modifiers to this skill, while characters attempting the second (bluff) type should use their Charisma modifiers.
This is a play-or-roll skill.
Spontaneous Healing is the skill that lets you convert memorized spells into magical healing energy. Normally, this energy is used to heal d6+1 damage per spell level, but you may attempt to use this skill to repair wounds (generally involving a penalty to the attempt). A character attempting Spontaneus Healing `loses' the memorized spell regardless of the success or failure of the skill attempt.
This is the skill of using a particular type of weapon, such as `bastard sword' or `battle axe' or `long bow'. This skill allows you to use a weapon in combat both offensively and defensively (see combat for more details), as well as in certain other circumstances (for example, using a whip to swing across a chasm).
This skill requires a specialization.
This skill allows the character to make generally accurate assessments of common objects, including items made of precious metals and gemstones. The character can also assess the value of objects of art, tapestries, furniture, weapons, etc. -- provided a variety of these items are present in the game world.
A character using this skill may also be able to identify a forgery of a valuable object.
Sometimes even adventurers have `day jobs'. Professional skills are the mainstay of the non-adventuring populace, and many adventurers have profressional skills either from `before', as a sideline, or to more fully explore a particular interest. The benefits of professional skills varies from profession to profession, and, as with Lore, can be more or less specific. Common professional skills include:
This skill requires a specialization.
This is a play-or-roll skill.
Characters use the disguise skill to alter their appearance or the appearance of others. Simply looking `different' is relatively easy, while attempting to adopt the appearance of some particular person is more difficult. Disguise may be countered by people using search to look for hints of the disguise attempts, or by other characters using the disguise skill.
Etiquette deals with manners, dress, and behavior in formal situations. Characters using this skill will know how to address various potentates, which rituals to follow when during formal dining, and other such details of `high culture'. Additionally, characters successfully using etiquette will (almost) never accidentally offend members of foreign cultures, and will have little trouble gaining acceptance therein; it's not that they're familiar with all cultures, but rather that they are able to act in a way that makes others more tolerant of, or even amused by, the character's unintentional breaches of protocol.
Creating fake documents, signatures, etc., including counterfiet money and fake works of art (assuming relevant skills). Also can be used to detect forgeries.
Healing is the skill of curing wounds, injuries, and diseases. It includes diagnosis, first aid, dealing with brokens bones and burns, and applications of herbalism. Assuming appropriate time and materials, a successful use of this proficiency will restore hit points to the subject equal to the amount by which the check exceeds the success requirement (typically 20), although a success always restores at least 1 point. In Hackmaster, this skill is often used in conjunction with magical healing techniques.
A character with this proficiency can juggle up to three small objects without a proficiency check. Additional objects can be added, but a check is required; use a -1 modifier for each item beyond the fourth. Checks are also required for spectacular feats, such as juggling lighted torches or whirling scimitars, with failure meaning that 1d4 items are dropped. The potential for damage or disaster is left to the GM.
This skill is primarily useful for entertainment or diversions, though characters with the juggling proficiency have a chance to catch small objects -- such as darts or daggers -- that are thrown at them. They must be facing the source of the attack to make such an attempt, and they must make a proficiency check with a -2 modifier. Failure means they are automatically hit by the thrown objects.
This skill means that a character has unusual abilities to jump across distances, leap incredible heights, and vault with a pole.
A human or elven character with the jumping proficiency can perform a running broad jump of 20 feet without a proficiency check; a jump of more than 20 feet requires a check, with a -1 modifier for each foot above 20. The jumper can do a standing broad jump of 8 feet without a check; longer jumps require proficiency checks with the same penalties.
The character can high jump 4 feet without a check, higher obstacles require a check, with a -1 modifier for every 6" of additional height. If jumping from a standing start, the beginning height is 3 feet, not 4 feet.
Dwarves, gnomes, and halflings are more limited in their jumping ability. For these characters, the basic distances in each category are reduced to 75% of the listed amount -- e.g. 15 feet instead of 20 for the broad jump.A vaulting pole must be at least as tall as the character using it, but no more than twice as tall. The character can vault over obstacles up to the height of the pole. If the obstacles are within 2 feet of the pole's length, however, the character must make a proficiency check. The vaulter can also jump across a space no more than 11_2 the width of the pole's length. If the gap is greater than the length of the pole, a proficiency check is required.
The character knows a language in addition to their native tongue. This skill may be taken multiple times; once for each language. Simply possessing this skill in the given language is usually enough for rudimentary communication, although complex negotiations will generally want a higher degree of fluency.
This skill requires a specialization.
Characters with the navigation proficiency know how to fix their locations on the seas and oceans of the campaign world by observing celestial clues. Characters with a sextant (not necessarily available in all campaigns) and a compass, and who can see the stars or observe a sunrise or sunset, will know where they are -- no proficiency check is necessary. Such a skilled character can navigate across entire oceans without becoming lost, though bad weather can obscure the celestial clues and blow a vessel far off course.
If a character does not have the proper tools, or is forced to work with only a general idea of direction (fog obscures the sunset, for example), the GM should secretly make the proficiency check. Success means the character is reasonably accurate in plotting the day's course. Failure means an off-course error that varies by the extent of the failure -- a roll of 20 has the character going practically the exact opposite direction!
This is the ability to keep one's bearings on roadless, trackless land. Proficient characters will not get lost as long as they can either see the sky or have the use of a compass. This means that they can maintain track of a given direction, keeping themselves and their companions traveling in a straight line.
Characters who possess a map and can track their direction of travel can arrive at specific points -- towns, ferry crossings, bridges, monuments, wells, springs, etc. -- without proficiency checks.
If the map is slightly erroneous, or lacking in crucial details, the characters will have to make successful proficiency checks to accurately arrive at a specific point. This check can be modified for increased difficulty based on poor weather or major problems with the map.
The character is literate in a language that is contemporary to the campaign world, provided that the character can speak it (see ). This skill is specific to a particular language.
Characters possessing this proficiency have a chance to understand the speech of those they can see but not hear. The speaker must be clearly visible. The character must speak the language they are attempting to read, of course.
The skill of riding a mount, either directly or with some extra form of conveyance (such as a chariot or wagon).
This skill requires a specialization.
Using ropes, including for climbing, restraining people, and lifting things. Also includes tieing knots, and may be used to attempt to escape from bonds based on ropes and/or knots.
The Survival skill reflects a basic understanding of the techniques necessary to survive in a specific type of area, such as `jungle' or `desert'. It includes knowledge and techniques necessary for procuring food, water, and shelter, as well as a general understanding of any dangers particular to that type of area. Some area types include:
This skill requires a specialization.
While (almost) all Hackmaster characters can swim, characters with this skill can swim more quickly and efficiently. This skill can be used to make checks analogous to `running' and `sprinting' checks, or to swim for long distances.
Following trails and people.
Acrobatic characters are skilled at flips, rolls, and spins. In addition to performing, the character may attempt to use acrobatics to dodge (gaining a bonus to AC and/or Reflex saves).
A character using ventriloquism can attempt to `throw their voice', making it seem as if the sounds were coming from some other location.