Crafts

All talents of this area may be improved by up to 2 points per level. 

Rowing/Sailing (DE/AG/ST) 

This talent comprises every way of moving on some kind of vehicle on water, rowing, sailing, paddling, etc... Every hero will be capable of gliding across a still water without any TaPs in this talent, but sailing and wild water trips should be dangerous enough to require a test in Rowing/Sailing.  
 
 

Driving (IN/CH/DE)

The art of driving a vehicle consists of controlling a variety of animals and their numbers, thus these criteria determine the test. To keep a mail coach on the road spanned by four horses it is essential to stand a test Driving+4, whereas an oxcar may be driven with a Driving-test minus 6. Harder tests are always of certain use in difficult manoeuvres like galloping through a town-gate or steering a quadriga into the battlefield.  
 
 

Cheating (CO/CH/DE)

Cheating comprises different styles of cheating during games in a role-playing game. These may be applied as following: 1st A hero wants to earn money fast. He walks into a tavern, rolls a Cheating-tests and by succeeding gets some money. the amount is controlled by the gamemaster alone. 2nd The gamemaster wants to do the game in real-time, i.e. he offers a game of cards or dice. Heroes may now improve their cards or dice rolls by rolling a Cheating-test and changing one card or one die to another card or a better role. If more than 1 card or die is essential to win and a lot of spectators watch the game, the test may be a harder test.  

In some situations cheating might lead to a counteract by another gambler. In Arkania steady cheating might lead to a quick death.  

In combination with a test of Sensitivity Cheating may also be employed to unmask another Cheater in the game. (But attention, please: The cheater may not be of the same opinion and he may force the bold man to a duel to regain his honour.)  

"Is this a game of luck ?" 

 "Not the way I am playing it." 

 (W.C.Felder, a gambler from the Horasrealm) 

 

Healing Poison (CO/WI/IN)

Succeeding in a first test of Healing Poison requires the gamemaster to analyse the kind of poison involved. It should also lead to a solution to the problem, i.e. the master should tell plants or anti-poisons to heal the sick. This could involve running to some herb-selling witch or whatsoever. If all essential herbs are available the hero may test his Healing Poison-Talent for another time. This test will be a harder test with an additive of the level of the poison. If the test succeeds, the effect of the poison is stopped. By further investigation and Healing-Poison the healer may even remove some of the damage that has already been done. Every self-declared additive of the hero will regain one point of life-energy of the affected person.  

If the test fails, this will show up as: 1st test (Identification): No identification. 

 2nd test (Stopping): No healing at all. 

 3rd test (Healing): The poisoned body is affected by 3 more points of damage, i.e. LE=LE-3.  

The first test takes 1 turn to be established, the second and third one take at least 4 turns. 

Healing Wounds (WI/CH/DE)

Cuts, Stitches and fractures, resulting from a fight, can be cured by Healing Wounds. The healer stands a first test to investigate the wounds to supply the body with the essential care (i.e. to stop battle fever) and to observe the problem. The next test will be responsible for giving back lost points of life energy to the damaged body. The sick hero regains as much points as the talent points he did not need to succeed in the Healing Wounds-test. These points will be regenerated during the following night.  

If the first test fails, the wounds will not heal and the the probability of battle fever will rise, i.e. 15-20 on a D20 will allow battle-fever to break out. If the second test fails, the normal regeneration during the night will be interrupted for 24 hours and the wounded body will have to face a loss of another 3 points of life energy (LE).  

The first test takes 4 turns, the second the rest of the day.  

Some general notes on Healing-tests:  

The time it takes to heal a wounded or poisoned body is not the time it takes to heal someone, but the time it takes to be healed. That is, during this time no other apparent healer should approach the cured person, because this would endanger the progress in healing. So it should be secured that the person regenerating lies in a safe place before starting to heal her. 

 

Singing (WI/IN/DE)

Well, this is a talent that may as well be performed in real, but experience shows that avoiding such situations is an essential part contributing to the general peace around the gaming table.  

Singing is involved in some particular kinds of magic performed by elves that are not specified in this rule book, but will follow at some distant time in the future. Singing is an essential part of any time of nature community, i.e. druids, witches and elves are well-trained at it. It may also serve as a talent on a royal court or in a tavern to gain some money or expanding some information in a subtle way. To sing an aria or sing in a choir might be a harder test to stand.  
 
 

Breaking Locks (IN/DE/DE)

This is a talent I do not really like to explain, because somebody used it against me in real life more often than I would have preferred, i.e. they broke the locks of our home as well as the locks of my bicycle.  

But, all the way, this is the basic stuff for being a real thief, I suppose. To open a lock without the suitable key (i.e. a needle, picklock, knife etc.), the gamemaster may demand a test of Breaking Locks, which could be harder test if the lock is a complicated mechanical device.  

Magical locks may not be broken by this talent. The failure of the test could harden any other trials again, because a broken picklock hinders anyone from accessing the basic mechanics of the lock. So the master should be assured about the device used before any damage is done.  

By use of this talent some heroes may as well disarm some mechanical traps. A failure would mean that he gets a full load of the damage it is capable of doing.  
 
 

Thieving (CO/IN/FF)

When demanding an additive to a Thieving-test as a gamemaster you should reassure yourself on the general conditions of the attempt: Will the target know what is happening ? Is the loot big or small ? Is there a way the thief tries to fool her target by bumping into the target or things like that...  

The player can influence the test by explaining exactly what she is going to do and convincing the gamemaster that this is the real stuff to loot everyone or exactly this cute guy who wears the most valuable diamond of all Arkania.  

An attempt of thieving may be detected by a crosscheck of Sensitivity. 

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