Extended RC D&D Skills List

Again, presented to be torn apart and used or used as you desire, here's the extended list of skills added to my campaign over the years. These are to be used in addition to the ones in the Rules Cyclopedia, of course. Some are I think taken from the Gazetteer series, some are modified from other supplements, and others are novel. Enjoy.

Aerial Tactics (Int): The tactics of deploying and fighting using aerial vessels, flying mounts, etc.

Agility Training (Dex): Allows a spellcaster to cast a spell while moving. A normal, unmodified check is made to cast a spell while walking at normal speed, to move faster than encounter speed a caster will have to make a check modified by speed. To move full running speed requires a check be made at -4, at half running speed -2, between combat and half running speed there is no modifier at all.

Archery (Dex): The ability to loose extra arrows in combat, but not necessarily with any accuracy, usually as part of a unit of archers. A well trained unit of archers is expected to loose 15 arrows per archer per minute, and the percentage of trained archers in a unit affects BR cumulatively such that:

1.       10% of a unit of archers possesses the archer skill - +10% BFR bonus to BR           

2.       50% of a unit of archers possesses the archer skill - +10% BFR bonus to BR

Note that this skill isn’t especially useful for hitting a single target, that being covered by weapon mastery and character level. But a skill check will allow 1d6 extra arrows to be loosed per minute (or 2d6 for a hasted character, 4d6 for a double hasted character) at any block of 20 or more foes, but all at basic mastery level.

This skill works with any long or short bow type weapon.

Arrow Cutting (Dex): A successful check will allow the warrior to intercept an arrow or similar incoming missile with a hand held weapon. One arrow may be ‘cut’ at the cost of one hand held attack, fighters able to make multiple attacks due to level or haste may cut multiple arrows. The skill check is modified as follows:

Basic Weapon Mastery	+1
Skilled Weapon Mastery	+2
Expert Weapon Mastery	+3
Master Weapon Mastery	+4
Grand Master Weapon Mastery	+6
Arrow attack hit by more than 4	-2
…by more than 8	-4
…by more than 13	-8

Art, Illusion (Int): The use of illusion and phantasm spells for creating art.

Atl (Dex):  A skill common in primitive societies, an atl-atl is a spear thrower that acts as a lever, or an extension of the arm. A successful check will allow a javelin to inflict extra damage at short or medium range (+1d4) and adds the stun ability to a javelin (as for a spear) from skilled mastery upwards.

Battle Charge (Str): The knack of charging into battle screaming and at full speed, often with no regard for one’s own safety. Much used in so called ‘barbarian’ cultures, to break opponents lines and formations.

In appropriate terrain it cumulatively confers bonuses to BR thus:

1.       20% of an infantry unit is trained in this skill - +10% BFR bonus

2.       40% of an infantry unit is trained in this skill - =10% BFR bonus

A single warrior may use this skill if he has room to do so, a successful check allowing the warrior to move up to his full running speed to enter combat without the usual loss of initiative. If the distance charged is greater than the fighters usual encounter speed, their first attack is at +2 to hit and damage.

Berserker (Con): The unnerving knack of going ape-shit. More common in the northern reaches and among humanoids such as orcs and bugbears, but prevalent across the world. A successful skill check allows the fighter to enter a berserk state. A berserker makes all melee attacks with a +2 to hit and damage, but until the end of combat cannot retreat or surrender. His chance of deflecting any blow is reduced by -6, but all modifiers due to fatigue are ignored.

Even after all enemies are defeated, a berserker must make a wisdom check once per round thereafter until passed, otherwise the berserker will attack the nearest ‘friendly’ target.

Note a berserker cannot refuse to make a skill check to enter a berserk state while in any melee combat.

Blending (Wis): The ability to meld into a crowd, useful for thieves and others up to no good. The crowd must be at least 6 people, and the character must not be dressed or otherwise act conspicuously. Hiding in absurd crowds (an orc obfuscating among hobbits, for example) may not be possible.

Block Fighting (Int): Fighting in a line or block. A unit of suck warriors will make their way up field more solidly than those without, probably less quickly but while retaining form and structure. The skill cumulatively confers BR bonuses as follows:

1.       40% of an infantry unit trained in block fighting - +10% BFR bonus

2.       100% of an infantry unit trained in block fighting - +10% BFR bonus

Note that this bonus is situational and may be nullified by terrain.

A successful check can allow a lone fighter to hold his footing when he may otherwise be forced backwards, and negates the bonus of skills such as for example battle charge.

Bow Melee Fighter (Dex): A successful check will allow a character to use a longbow as if it is a staff. This will confer the ability to use the defensive and offensive capabilities of the staff using the bow as a melee weapon.

Bowyer (Int): How to make, maintain, modify and string bow weapons.

Brawling (Dex):  The ability to always have a tankard, hand full of sand, or broken chair leg conveniently to hand in a fight. A successful check will avail a character of a useful advantage in any unarmed dirty fight.

Brewing (Int): Making good quality beer, wine or mead, a practice frequently practiced by clerics and monks. Often the best means of making water safe to drink, this skill allows the user, with time, to create a large volume of safe, drinkable material.

Cantrip (Int): The skill of releasing a negligible amount of energy from a memorised spell. For example, a mage capable of cantrip and who has the fireball spell memorised ought not have to light his pipe with a match. Cannot be used to cause damage or for any real offensive purpose, but can add an element of panache to the spellcasters life.

Cavalry Combat (Dex): The skill of making the most of fighting from horseback. A successful skill check confers a +1 to hit and damage against unmounted foes, and confers a -1 to hit and damage from enemies on foot. Cumulative BR bonuses for units possessing this skill are as follows.

1.       20% of a mounted force possess the Cavalry Combat skill - +10% BFR bonus

2.       60% of a mounted force possess the Cavalry Combat skill - +10% BFR bonus

Charioteering (Dex): Driving a chariot, usually pulled by a single horse or two horses.

Chariot Jumping (Dex): Performing jumps or other tricks with a chariot. Requires Charioteering.

Church Politics (Wis): Being skilled in coming out best in the internal wranglings of church politics in any given following.

Cleave (Str): If enough damage is inflicted with a melee attack to drop an opponent, a skill check allows the attacker to make a second attack against any other melee opponent within reach.  The second attack is made at -2 to hit, and inflicts half damage.

Conjure Companion (Int) (MU only): Can create a familiar. The familiars intelligence is d10+8, and is mentally linked to its creator within 360’. Part of a creature to be emulated must be used in the creation of a familiar, and there is a -2 chance of success per asterisk the creature has. The creature has a number of hit points equal to the level of spellcaster, and the casters alignment, but the original creatures temperament. No new familiar can be created until a year after the death of a previous familiar.

Del-Chliss (Dex): A rare skill known from Caltia, Denagoth and Yannifey. The capacity to spin a spear on throwing. A successful check confers a -2 to hit, but upon impact the spear inflicts an extra 1d4+1 damage. Attempts to catch a spinning spear are made with a -3 penalty.

Dwarf Throwing (Str): Throwing dwarves, halflings, gnomes, kobolds etc. The throwee must be willing, and the range is limited (5/10/15), and unless the thrown character possesses the skill ‘right stuff’ or makes a successful dexterity check with a -4 penalty, that character will take 2d6 damage.

Fence Goods (Wis): Selling stolen or valuable goods through underworld sources. May obtain better prices than legitimate sources, or simply facilitate getting rid of ‘hot’ goods that cannot be liquidated otherwise

Fighting Frenzy (Con): An unnerving skill possessed by various humanoid tribes and some in the Northern Reaches. A skill check is made each round after the character reaches 0 hit points in combat, a success allowing the fighter to keep fighting until reaching their negative constitution score, or until the fight ends.

Fletcher (Int): Making good quality arrows.

Fortune Telling (Cha): Spinning a convincing tale interpreting the stars, bird flight, chicken entrails, tea leaves, etc. Includes knowledge of methods of fortune telling and how to lie convincingly about how they work.

Gae-Bolga (Dex): A legendary skill known only in Caltia, Denagoth and Yannifey. Requires that the fighter already have the skill Del-Chliss. When this skill is attempted the fighter rests a specially crafted (costing 9gp) barbed spear on his foot, aiming it at a foe and using the strength of his entire body to throw it. For AC modifiers, time taken to attack and hit modifiers this attack is then treated as a smash. If the skill check is successful and the attack hits, the fighters entire strength score is added to the damage. Note that this skill can be used with Del-Chliss, and that modifiers to hit and damage are cumulative.

Hard Ball (Dex): The skill of the commoner who plays the dangerous, rapid hard-ball sport in Alphatia. A successful hard-ball roll will give a character a +1 to hit with any missile weapon, or a +3 with anything approximately like a hard ball (4” to 6” hard rubber spherical ball of less than 3 lb in weight), or a +2 to saving throws based on agility, or a +1 on opening doors.

Immortal Laws (Int): Knowledge of the rules by which immortals interact with each other and with the moral world, and the rules imposed by hierarchs of each sphere and councils of immortals.

Immortal Lore (Int): Knowledge of the pantheons and individual immortals, including beliefs of each set of followings, the interests of individual immortals and where and how they are followed.

Information Gathering (Int): Allows a character to gather information, especially from underworld and tavern sources, and in regard to roguish people and jobs. A successful check will, for example, allow a character to gather 2-3 times more rumours than other characters, or will allow gathering of information about specific topics. The chance for success will be modified by whether a character is in their home town, their charisma, etc.

Jarring Blow (Str): The skill is used in conjunction with a melee attack to break an item or smash through defences. If a skill check is successful and a melee attack hits, the chance of damaging an item is increased, and the saving throw to deflect a jarring blow attack suffers a -3 penalty.

Juggling (Dex):  A character can juggle normally with no need for a check, but difficult tricks require a check. If attempting to catch a small object thrown at a character rather than to a character, the chance of catching is based on the hit roll made by the attacker, with a -1 penalty per number rolled above the needed number to hit.

Looting (Wis): A successful check allows a character to immediately ascertain what the most valuable item visible is, even while only glancing for a moment.

Magical Forging (Int): The sacred knowledge of how to employ the dwarven forges of power for creating items.

Meditation (Wis): After an hour of uninterrupted meditation (and a successful skill check) a single intelligence or wisdom check can be made at +1 per 5 levels of experience of the caster (rounded up).

Military Cooking (Wis): How to feed the masses with food that is vaguely edible and nutritious.

Military Intelligence (Int): The art of interpreting the movement of military forces and bringing together otherwise intangible information sources necessary to work out an opposing forces plan. A successful check allows the character to get hints as to what complex pieces of military evidence might mean.

Monster Lore (I): A knowledge of the common monster types of Mystara. An understanding of the typical abilities of creatures normally encountered in the campaign is given, and with a successful check the player may apply their own knowledge or be given a background by the DM into the typical capabilities of a monster type encountered.

Narcotic Foraging (Int): Finding, identifying and ‘safely’ preparing narcotics from wild plants, animals and fungi.

Naval Tactics (Int): How to organise a ship or fleet for battle – does not include piloting or captaincy, but does include how and where artillery and magic may be best deployed.

Parting Blow (Dex): Making a wild, misleading blow in melee combat prior to disengaging. A successful check allows the fighter to make an attack before taking his combat movement.

Piloting (Dex): Piloting or driving a flying ship or launch.

Practical Monsterology (Int): Similar to monster lore but with a focus for using creature parts in practical crafts such as forging, making tools, clothing, food, etc.

Prestidigitation (Dex): The skill of palming small objects to impress others or hide objects. Any single handed object can be handled thus, with objects larger than the palm requiring a -2 or -4 penalty, depending on size.

Rend (Str): A skill that can only be obtained if a fighter already possesses both Parting Blow and Cleave. This skill effectively extends Cleave to allow the warrior to sweep through all opponents he drops.

Research (Int): Obtaining and collating a large number of facts. A successful check allows the character to utilise a library or information source to its fullest potential.

Rigging Combat (Dex): The ability to successfully fight in or loose arrows from within a ships rigging or similar roped environment. A successful check negates melee penalties, and the skill is required to use bows from rigging.

Right Stuff (Con): The ability to take a fall and bounce back. A successful check will allow a character to ignore the first 2d6 damage from a fall, provide a +1 bonus against KO or stun, etc.

Riposte (Dex): Can only be used with a single handed weapon weighing 30cn or less, that can be used to deflect. The fighter must gain individual initiative over a foe, and waits for them to attack. If that attack is successfully deflected the fighter may make a skill check, which if successful allows an attack to be made in return with a +2 bonus to hit and with a -4 penalty to deflect.

Sentinel (Dex): A successful check allows a character to apply all defensive bonuses (including AC bonuses against M and H attacks, any deflects, armour class bonuses from a shield, and if the character chooses not to attack a -4 bonus to armour class from parrying) to any other willing adjacent character, for 1 round. During this time the character cannot use those defences to defend themselves - the Sentinel only gains benefit from armour, dexterity and magical devices such as rings, all other defensive benefits going to the recipient.

Siege Tactics (Int): Skill in running a siege (on either side). Includes tactics, resource management, sapping, the use of belfries, gallery sheds, rams, bores, etc.

Singing Marches (Cha): Used by drill sergeants everywhere. Successful use of the skill increases a troops morale by 1 and alleviates the impact of mild fatigue.

Slingshot (Dex): Requires the skills hardball and spear catching or juggling. The skill of returning an incoming thrown missile or projectile and immediately returning to sender. At the cost of one attack action for the round an incoming projectile caught using spear catching or juggling can be thrown back at the attacker on the same initiative slot, with a +2 to hit and damage. If the PC has no skill with the weapon, damage is calculated as per basic weapon mastery.

Slow Respiration (Con): Being blocky or bulky enough to not fall down when poisoned or even deprived of oxygen. A successful check is needed every round after being poisoned, drowned, etc., with a cumulative -1 penalty per round after the first. A successful check allows the character to continue acting as normal with no penalties. When a check is failed, the poison (etc.) takes full, normal effect.

Spear Brawling (Dex): A successful skill check allows the user to combine spear and staff weapon mastery during a fight. The character may choose from both offensive and defensive characteristics of each weapon at appropriate levels of mastery.

Spear Catching (Dex): Catching spears, tridents, javelins etc. Rolls modified as per arrow cutting (above).

Spell Combination (Int) (MU Only): While memorising spells for the day, the magic user may add up the total number of spell levels they are capable of casting and memorise a total number of spell levels not exceeding that. This does not increase the maximum level of spell the caster is capable of.

Surfing (Dex): Surfing. On Waves. Dude.

Tatterdemailion (Cha): Making jewellery, clothing, trinkets and decorative items from scraps, bones, hide and fur, horns, antlers, branches, etc. Includes a rudimentary understanding of preserving said components and how to attach them to each other. Created items may appear crude but are functional.

Trailing (Dex): Following someone in an urban setting without being spotted. Modified by cover, speed, etc.

Treewalking (Dex): A skill known only in certain Elven lands, the capacity to travel from one closely set tree to another, allowing working and fighting from tree to tree. Normal movement between trees does not require a skill check, such is only necessary if the character tries to travel faster than 15’/round or perform complex actions.

Undead Lore (I): A deeper knowledge of the undead than is provided by monster lore, giving the character a deeper understanding of undead mentality, methods of control, behaviour, where they are found and how they operate, etc. 

Warrior Scream (Con): Used primarily in primitive and ‘warrior’ cultures, although not confined to them. The art of letting out an ear piercing scream to threaten opponents and psyche oneself up for combat. After spending a round screaming, a successful check will confer a +1 to hit and damage for 2d4 rounds, and may depending on circumstances force opponents to make a morale check.

Weapon Length (Dex): The skill of using long weapons (pikes, spears, halberds, etc.) to keep enemies at range. A successful check confers a +2 bonus to hit and damage against any foe closing to within 5’ of the fighter.

Cumulative BR bonuses for units making use of this skill are:

1.       20% of an infantry unit has appropriate weapons and Weapon Length - +10% BFR

2.       60% of an infantry unit has appropriate weapons and Weapon Length - +10% BFR

Note that most creatures of animal intelligence will simply not engage a well presented spear line.

Weaponsmithing (Int): How to make and maintain simple melee weapons.

Whip Tricks (Dex): Using a whip as an acrobatics tool. Requires the use of a whip. The whip may be used as a swing, to knock drinks out of peoples hands, etc. The full Indy.