The Pit (Of Knowledge)

Fate Core-based, with a few tweaks.

The official list of “Skills” from the original Fate Core is:

Athletics, Burglary, Contacts, Crafts, Deceive, Drive, Empathy, Fight, Investigate, Lore, Notice, Physique, Provoke, Rapport, Resources, Shoot, Stealth, Will

A majority of the changes from stock “FATE Core” are cosmetic - several concepts have been renamed, and the default skills list has been somewhat reworked. “Skills” has been renamed to the broader “Abilities”. “Stunts” have been renamed to “Specialties”. “Schtick” has been added as as a form of “stunt”/specialty that is too minor to “cost” the same as a full “Specialty”

In addition to the cosmetic change from “Skills” to “Abilities”, the “ standard” list of abilities has been adjusted to better fit the setting and the GM's sense of balance. Some of these abilities overlap (and may or may not be redundant for many characters). Any ability described as a “natural talent” will have a score of at least zero.

Learned or exotic abilities may or may not be possessed by a particular character (such as Sorcery). “Learned” skills are treated like limited “natural skills” for characters who have an Aspect or Specialty that overlaps (i.e. they get the ability at rating “0” for free), but only for those specific applications and are otherwise considered nonexistent for characters unless paid for in character points.

Custom abilities that a player can justify which don't substantially alter the balance of power or the setting will also be permitted.

Similarly, “Stunts” has been renamed to “Specialties”. The concept of “Schtick” is also added as an optional way for a character to have a “non-default” but “normal” ability that applies to an Ability (such as the ability to swim, literacy, etc) when that isn't covered by an existing Aspect or full Specialty, or a way to reflect a minor extra level of skill (+1) in a particular context. “Schtick” can also be used to define any minor talents or quirks that don't usually have any practical advantage (for example: “Whenever the character takes off his hat and tosses it onto a hook, hat-rack, shelf, etc. it will always land exactly where the character intended”). “Schtick” costs half-a-stunt, rounded down (so a character can optionally have one “schtick” for free).

Alertness: Natural talent for noticing (c.f. “Notice” in the official rules) small or hidden details and ability to mentally react quickly and appropriately to external events.

Athletics: a natural talent that covers individual exhibitions of bodily speed, strength, and agility. This only applies to the ability to swim if the character has an Aspect or Specialty that suggests they should know how to.

Celestial (or Infernal) Authority: Special ability, usually only useful in combination with an appropriate Specialty representing the specific Authority the god(s) have granted to the character. It can also represent the general special interest the gods have taken in the character, however.

Contacts: represents the character's existing social network and connections which may be of help to them.

Dexterity: Natural talent for manual dexterity, fine manipulation of objects, or any other application of careful small-scale deftness. When appropriate, this would cover sleight-of-hand tricks, picking pockets, and may overlap with Mechanics or some Trade skills (such as Scribe work).

Investigation: Natural talent for finding things that you are looking for. This is the ability that applies when you search something (or someone) for something that you expect to find. There is some overlap with Alertness, but Alertness applies for discovering something that you were not specifically looking for instead.

Knowledge: (c.f. “Lore”) How much the character “knows”, generally speaking. This includes but is not limited to formal education. This is a “natural talent” because everyone “learns things” in life. The specifics of what a character knows should generally adhere to their background, Aspects, and other Abilities.

Mechanics: The natural talent for assembling, disassembling, or manipulating complex objects and using tools. Overlaps somewhat with “Trades”. If a character has an appropriate Aspect or Specialty this skill would also apply to things like lockpicking or dealing with trap apparatus. (Mechanics is a Specialty/Schtick of “Trades”)

Persuasion: The general natural talent for convincing others to agree with you. This generally includes most forms of intentional deception as well as general charisma, bargaining, intimidation, etc.

Reflexes: The natural ability to physically react quickly and appropriately to external events (dodging, diving for cover, sometimes catching thrown objects, etc.). Some overlap with Athletics (for example, catching a thrown object might be Reflexes or Athletics depending on the situation) and Alertness (shoving someone out of the way of danger would be Reflexes, shouting a warning in time would be Alertness).

Sneaking: The general natural talent for Not Being Seen (or otherwise noticed) while moving around or hiding.

Sorcery: This is a special ability, only possessed “naturally” by a select few - perhaps 10% of the general population to *any* degree, with only a tiny fraction of the population being extraordinarily “powerful” at it. A character *should* only have this ability if they have an appropriate Aspect, and ideally should have at least one Specialty to go with it. (It *is* actually possible for non-sorcerers to learn sorcery, However, people who are not natural sorcerers do not get “Sorcery” stress-boxes to absorb the stress of handling magic, and furthermore in the Celestial world it is culturally forbidden for non-sorcerers to practice it to varying degrees, depending on where they are.)

Stubbornness: This is the natural talent for withstanding mental stresses (c.f. “Will” in the original FATE Core rules). It applies when actively resisting Persuasion, torture, social stresses, distractions from mental activity, etc.

Throwing: This is the natural ability to throw, swat, or kick something such that it strikes or lands on a particular place. If the character has an appropriate Aspect or Schtick this skill will also cover any other form of ranged weaponry (e.g. bows, blowguns, hand-cannon, and some forms of magical implements).

Toughness: This is the natural talent for withstanding physical stresses (c.f. “Physique” in the original FATE Core rules), especially over extended periods of time. This includes dealing with physical injury, withstanding poisonous substances, resisting diseases, and so forth.

Trades: This is a learned ability, so not every character will necessarily have it. The Trades covers any particular professional skills involved with making things/stuff. Any Aspect or Specialty that a character has that implies an ability to maintain, repair, or making things can treat this as a “natural ability” for accounting purposes when applied specifically to those aspects of specialties (i.e. starting score of “0”), otherwise the character is assumed to have no ability. Characters should have at least one Aspect or Specialty that describes the kinds of things they can make (or sometimes un-make, for example disassembling a piece of furniture without harming it) - being a skilled tailor does not imply being a capable glassblower, for example. Any “making things” profession may apply here - cooks, bakers, shoemakers, blacksmiths, jewelers, armorers, tailors, farriers, alchemists, etc. There is some overlap between the individual professions and with some other Abilities and may complement others (e.g. Forgery is an application of “trade” skills, which may complement Persuasion in some cases). If a character doesn't have an explicit aspect/specialty/schtick that describes what area of trades the character is familiar with, it's usually reasonable to assume, roughly, that a skill of 5+ should suggest a broad range of trades experience, while a 1 would suggest a single, narrow range of professional skill.

Transport: This is the learned ability to handle one or more kinds of vehicles or riding-animals. No particular skill is needed for simply being a passenger in most cases, this skill reflects expertise at controlling forms of conveyance under difficult conditions. A character with this skill should have at least one Aspect, Specialty, or Schtick that describes the particular type or types of vehicles/animals they are experienced with, though in lieu of this it's reasonable to assume a lower score represents basic knowledge of one or two particular means of transport while a higher score suggests broader experience.

Violence: The natural talent for hurting animate things and breaking inanimate ones by the application of bodily force. Includes any natural “weapons” (fists/feet/etc.) and culturally-familiar implements of destruction. Exotic weaponry may require a Specialty in order for this ability to apply.

Wealth: (Under consideration, c.f. “Resources” in the original FATE Core rules)

Acrobatics: This is a specialty of Athletics

Alchemy: “practicing” alchemy is a Trade. “Understanding” alchemical theory is Knowledge.

Animal Handling: This is a specialty of Persuasion, though if the character handles particular forms of animals professionally (e.g. sheep-herders, cattle-ranchers, breeders, etc) then Trades may be substituted as appropriate.

Appraisal: being able to evaluate the value of things is a specialty of Knowledge. However, when judging the value of things related to a character's profession, “Trades” may be substituted as appropriate.

Backstabbing: Gaining an advantage to applications of Violence by sneaking up on someone is a specialty of Sneaking

Bargaining: This is a specialty of “Persuasion”. If the character is a “merchant” by profession, “Trades” may be substituted where appropriate.

Chutzpah: An application of Persuasion

Climbing: This is a specialty of Athletics

Con: A specialty of Persuasion

Concealment/“Hide in shadows”/etc.: see Sneaking

Deception: This is a specialty of Persuasion

Fast-talk: A specialty of Persuasion

First Aid/Medicine: Understanding of (non-magical) healing arts is a specialty of Knowledge. If a character is a healer, apothecary, etc. by profession, “Trades” may be substituted as appropriate.

Insight: The ability to discern someone's motives or intentions in “real-time” would typically be a specialty of Alertness. Determining this through longer questioning, research, or observation would be a specialty of Investigation.

Interrogation: Getting useful answers from people by direct questioning is a specialty of Persuasion

Intimidation: Influencing people's behavior by implicit or explicit threats is a specialty of Persuasion

Languages: Being able to speak/read/write languages other than the one “native” language is a Specialty of “Knowledge”. Understanding one additional language can also be a Schtick.

Literacy: In this quasi-medieval setting, literacy is more common that it would have been in real-world medieval history, but is still not “default”. Simply being “Literate” is a Schtick, or Specialty of Knowledge.

Lockpicking: This is a specialty of Dexterity, though if the character is a Locksmith or similar professional, “Trades” may be substituted as appropriate.

Melee combat: This is what Violence is for. Specific forms of Melee combat are specialties of this.

Move Silently: A specialty of Sneaking

Perception: This is nearly always “Alertness”

Performance: Putting on a show to entertain or deceive people is a specialty of Persuasion. A character who is a professional performer of some sort may substitute Trades where appropriate.

Picking Pockets: A specialty of Dexterity

Sleight-of-Hand: A specialty of Dexterity Survival: knowing how to survive in the wilderness is typically a specialty of Knowledge. If a character is a “wilderness guide” or similar by profession, “Trades” may be substituted as appropriate.

Swimming: In this quasi-medieval setting, knowing how to swim well is more common than it would have been been in real-world medieval society but still not typical. Swimming is a Specialty or Schtick of Athletics.

Tracking: This is normally a specialty of “Investigation” (though noticing that there is a track to follow might be Alertness if one isn't actively looking for it.)

conflict between versions 1637998707 and 1650766777

Fate Core-based, with a few tweaks.

The official list of “Skills” from the original Fate Core is:

Athletics, Burglary, Contacts, Crafts, Deceive, Drive, Empathy, Fight, Investigate, Lore, Notice, Physique, Provoke, Rapport, Resources, Shoot, Stealth, Will

A majority of the changes from stock “FATE Core” are cosmetic - several concepts have been renamed, and the default skills list has been somewhat reworked. “Skills” has been renamed to the broader “Abilities”. “Stunts” have been renamed to “Specialties”. “Schtick” has been added as as a form of “stunt”/specialty that is too minor to “cost” the same as a full “Specialty”

In addition to the cosmetic change from “Skills” to “Abilities”, the “ standard” list of abilities has been adjusted to better fit the setting and the GM's sense of balance. Some of these abilities overlap (and may or may not be redundant for many characters). Any ability described as a “natural talent” will have a score of at least zero.

Learned or exotic abilities may or may not be possessed by a particular character (such as Sorcery). “Learned” skills are treated like limited “natural skills” for characters who have an Aspect or Specialty that overlaps (i.e. they get the ability at rating “0” for free), but only for those specific applications and are otherwise considered nonexistent for characters unless paid for in character points.

Custom abilities that a player can justify which don't substantially alter the balance of power or the setting will also be permitted.

Similarly, “Stunts” has been renamed to “Specialties”. The concept of “Schtick” is also added as an optional way for a character to have a “non-default” but “normal” ability that applies to an Ability (such as the ability to swim, literacy, etc) when that isn't covered by an existing Aspect or full Specialty, or a way to reflect a minor extra level of skill (+1) in a particular context. “Schtick” can also be used to define any minor talents or quirks that don't usually have any practical advantage (for example: “Whenever the character takes off his hat and tosses it onto a hook, hat-rack, shelf, etc. it will always land exactly where the character intended”). “Schtick” costs half-a-stunt, rounded down (so a character can optionally have one “schtick” for free).

Alertness: Natural talent for noticing (c.f. “Notice” in the official rules) small or hidden details and ability to mentally react quickly and appropriately to external events.

Athletics: a natural talent that covers individual exhibitions of bodily speed, strength, and agility. This only applies to the ability to swim if the character has an Aspect or Specialty that suggests they should know how to.

Celestial (or Infernal) Authority: Special ability, usually only useful in combination with an appropriate Specialty representing the specific Authority the god(s) have granted to the character. It can also represent the general special interest the gods have taken in the character, however.

Contacts: represents the character's existing social network and connections which may be of help to them.

Dexterity: Natural talent for manual dexterity, fine manipulation of objects, or any other application of careful small-scale deftness. When appropriate, this would cover sleight-of-hand tricks, picking pockets, and may overlap with Mechanics or some Trade skills (such as Scribe work).

Investigation: Natural talent for finding things that you are looking for. This is the ability that applies when you search something (or someone) for something that you expect to find. There is some overlap with Alertness, but Alertness applies for discovering something that you were not specifically looking for instead.

Knowledge: (c.f. “Lore”) How much the character “knows”, generally speaking. This includes but is not limited to formal education. This is a “natural talent” because everyone “learns things” in life. The specifics of what a character knows should generally adhere to their background, Aspects, and other Abilities.

Mechanics: The natural talent for assembling, disassembling, or manipulating complex objects and using tools. Overlaps somewhat with “Trades”. If a character has an appropriate Aspect or Specialty this skill would also apply to things like lockpicking or dealing with trap apparatus. (Mechanics is a Specialty/Schtick of “Trades”)

Persuasion: The general natural talent for convincing others to agree with you. This generally includes most forms of intentional deception as well as general charisma, bargaining, intimidation, etc.

Reflexes: The natural ability to physically react quickly and appropriately to external events (dodging, diving for cover, sometimes catching thrown objects, etc.). Some overlap with Athletics (for example, catching a thrown object might be Reflexes or Athletics depending on the situation) and Alertness (shoving someone out of the way of danger would be Reflexes, shouting a warning in time would be Alertness).

Sneaking: The general natural talent for Not Being Seen (or otherwise noticed) while moving around or hiding.

Sorcery: This is a special ability, only possessed “naturally” by a select few - perhaps 10% of the general population to *any* degree, with only a tiny fraction of the population being extraordinarily “powerful” at it. A character *should* only have this ability if they have an appropriate Aspect, and ideally should have at least one Specialty to go with it. (It *is* actually possible for non-sorcerers to learn sorcery, However, people who are not natural sorcerers do not get “Sorcery” stress-boxes to absorb the stress of handling magic, and furthermore in the Celestial world it is culturally forbidden for non-sorcerers to practice it to varying degrees, depending on where they are.)

Stubbornness: This is the natural talent for withstanding mental stresses (c.f. “Will” in the original FATE Core rules). It applies when actively resisting Persuasion, torture, social stresses, distractions from mental activity, etc.

Throwing: This is the natural ability to throw, swat, or kick something such that it strikes or lands on a particular place. If the character has an appropriate Aspect or Schtick this skill will also cover any other form of ranged weaponry (e.g. bows, blowguns, hand-cannon, and some forms of magical implements).

Toughness: This is the natural talent for withstanding physical stresses (c.f. “Physique” in the original FATE Core rules), especially over extended periods of time. This includes dealing with physical injury, withstanding poisonous substances, resisting diseases, and so forth.

Trades: This is a learned ability, so not every character will necessarily have it. The Trades covers any particular professional skills involved with making things/stuff. Any Aspect or Specialty that a character has that implies an ability to maintain, repair, or making things can treat this as a “natural ability” for accounting purposes when applied specifically to those aspects of specialties (i.e. starting score of “0”), otherwise the character is assumed to have no ability. Characters should have at least one Aspect or Specialty that describes the kinds of things they can make (or sometimes un-make, for example disassembling a piece of furniture without harming it) - being a skilled tailor does not imply being a capable glassblower, for example. Any “making things” profession may apply here - cooks, bakers, shoemakers, blacksmiths, jewelers, armorers, tailors, farriers, alchemists, etc. There is some overlap between the individual professions and with some other Abilities and may complement others (e.g. Forgery is an application of “trade” skills, which may complement Persuasion in some cases). If a character doesn't have an explicit aspect/specialty/schtick that describes what area of trades the character is familiar with, it's usually reasonable to assume, roughly, that a skill of 5+ should suggest a broad range of trades experience, while a 1 would suggest a single, narrow range of professional skill.

Transport: This is the learned ability to handle one or more kinds of vehicles or riding-animals. No particular skill is needed for simply being a passenger in most cases, this skill reflects expertise at controlling forms of conveyance under difficult conditions. A character with this skill should have at least one Aspect, Specialty, or Schtick that describes the particular type or types of vehicles/animals they are experienced with, though in lieu of this it's reasonable to assume a lower score represents basic knowledge of one or two particular means of transport while a higher score suggests broader experience.

Violence: The natural talent for hurting animate things and breaking inanimate ones by the application of bodily force. Includes any natural “weapons” (fists/feet/etc.) and culturally-familiar implements of destruction. Exotic weaponry may require a Specialty in order for this ability to apply.

Wealth: (Under consideration, c.f. “Resources” in the original FATE Core rules)

Acrobatics: This is a specialty of Athletics

Alchemy: “practicing” alchemy is a Trade. “Understanding” alchemical theory is Knowledge.

Animal Handling: This is a specialty of Persuasion, though if the character handles particular forms of animals professionally (e.g. sheep-herders, cattle-ranchers, breeders, etc) then Trades may be substituted as appropriate.

Appraisal: being able to evaluate the value of things is a specialty of Knowledge. However, when judging the value of things related to a character's profession, “Trades” may be substituted as appropriate.

Backstabbing: Gaining an advantage to applications of Violence by sneaking up on someone is a specialty of Sneaking

Bargaining: This is a specialty of “Persuasion”. If the character is a “merchant” by profession, “Trades” may be substituted where appropriate.

Chutzpah: An application of Persuasion

Climbing: This is a specialty of Athletics

Con: A specialty of Persuasion

Concealment/“Hide in shadows”/etc.: see Sneaking

Deception: This is a specialty of Persuasion

Fast-talk: A specialty of Persuasion

First Aid/Medicine: Understanding of (non-magical) healing arts is a specialty of Knowledge. If a character is a healer, apothecary, etc. by profession, “Trades” may be substituted as appropriate.

Insight: The ability to discern someone's motives or intentions in “real-time” would typically be a specialty of Alertness. Determining this through longer questioning, research, or observation would be a specialty of Investigation.

Interrogation: Getting useful answers from people by direct questioning is a specialty of Persuasion

Intimidation: Influencing people's behavior by implicit or explicit threats is a specialty of Persuasion

Languages: Being able to speak/read/write languages other than the one “native” language is a Specialty of “Knowledge”. Understanding one additional language can also be a Schtick.

Literacy: In this quasi-medieval setting, literacy is more common that it would have been in real-world medieval history, but is still not “default”. Simply being “Literate” is a Schtick, or Specialty of Knowledge.

Lockpicking: This is a specialty of Dexterity, though if the character is a Locksmith or similar professional, “Trades” may be substituted as appropriate.

Melee combat: This is what Violence is for. Specific forms of Melee combat are specialties of this.

Move Silently: A specialty of Sneaking

Perception: This is nearly always “Alertness”

Performance: Putting on a show to entertain or deceive people is a specialty of Persuasion. A character who is a professional performer of some sort may substitute Trades where appropriate.

Picking Pockets: A specialty of Dexterity

Sleight-of-Hand: A specialty of Dexterity Survival: knowing how to survive in the wilderness is typically a specialty of Knowledge. If a character is a “wilderness guide” or similar by profession, “Trades” may be substituted as appropriate.

Swimming: In this quasi-medieval setting, knowing how to swim well is more common than it would have been been in real-world medieval society but still not typical. Swimming is a Specialty or Schtick of Athletics.

Tracking: This is normally a specialty of “Investigation” (though noticing that there is a track to follow might be Alertness if one isn't actively looking for it.)