Skills: EscapeArtist-IntuitDirection
Escape Artist | Forgery | Gather Information | Handle Animal | Heal | Hide | Innuendo | Intimidate | Intuit Direction
Escape Artist (Dex; Armor Check Penalty)
Check: Making a check to escape from being bound up by ropes, manacles, or other restraints (except a grappler) requires 1 minute of work. Escaping a net or entangle spell is a full-round action. Squeezing through a tight space takes at least 1 minute, maybe longer, depending on how long the space is.
Ropes: The character's Escape Artist check is opposed by the binder's Use Rope check. Since it's easier to tie someone up than to escape from being tied up, the binder gets a special +10 bonus on her check.
Manacles (30 DC) and Masterwork Manacles (35 DC): Manacles have a DC set by their construction.
Net (20 DC): Escaping from a net is a full-round action.
Tight Space (30 DC): This is the DC for getting through a space where one's head fits but one's shoulders don't. If the space is long, such as in a chimney, the DM may call for multiple checks. The character can't fit through a space that the character's head does not fit through.
Grappler: The character can make an Escape Artist check opposed by the enemy's grapple check to get out of a grapple or out of a pinned condition (so that the character is just being grappled). Doing so is a standard action, so if the character escapes the grapple the character can move in the same round. See "Wriggle Free" under Other Grappling Options.
Spell: Escaping from an Animate Rope (20 DC), Command Plants (20 DC), Control Plants (20 DC), or Entangle Spell (20 DC) is a full-round action. The Snare Spell has a 23 DC.
Retry: The character can make another check after a failed check if the character is squeezing through a tight space, making multiple checks. If the situation permits, the character can make additional checks or even take 20 as long as the character is not being actively opposed.
Special: A character with 5 or more ranks of Use Rope gets a +2 synergy bonus on Escape Artist checks when escaping from rope bonds.
Use this skill to fake a written order from the duchess instructing a jailer to release prisoners, to create an authentic looking treasure map, or to detect forgeries that others try to pass off.
Check: Forgery requires writing materials appropriate to the document being forged, enough light to write by, wax for seals (if appropriate), and some time. Forging a very short and simple document takes about 1 minute. Longer or more complex documents take 1d4 minutes per page. To forge a document on which the handwriting is not specific to a person (military orders, a government decree, a business ledger, or the like), the character needs only to have seen a similar document before and gains a +8 bonus on the roll. To forge a signature, an autograph of that person to copy is needed, and the character gains a +4 bonus on the roll. To forge a longer document written in the hand of some particular person, a large sample of that person’s handwriting is needed.
The DM should make your check secretly so you’re not sure how good your forgery is. As with Disguise, you don’t even need to make a check until someone examines the work. This Forgery check is opposed by the person who examines the document to check its authenticity. That person makes a Forgery check opposed to the forger’s. The reader gains bonuses or penalties to his or her check as described in the table below.
| Condition | Reader's Check Modifier |
| Type of document unknown to reader | -2 |
| Type of document somewhat known to reader | +0 |
| Type of document well known to reader | +2 |
| Handwriting not known to reader | -2 |
| Handwriting somewhat known to reader | +0 |
| Handwriting intimately known to reader | +2 |
| Reader only casually reviews the document | -2 |
As with Bluff, a document that contradicts procedure, orders, or previous knowledge or one that requires sacrifice on the part of the person checking the document can increase that character’s suspicion (and thus create favorable circumstances for the checker’s opposing Forgery check).
Retry: Usually, no. A retry is never possible after a particular reader detects a particular forgery. But the document created by the forger might still fool someone else. The result of a Forgery check for a particular document must be used for every instance of a different reader examining the document. No reader can attempt to detect a particular forgery more than once; if that one opposed check goes in favor of the forger, then the reader can’t try using his own skill again, even if he’s suspicious about the document.
Special: To forge documents and detect forgeries, one must be able to read and write the language in question. (The skill is language-dependent.)
Use this skill for making contacts in an area, finding out local gossip, rumor mongering, and collecting general information.
Check: By succeeding at a skill check (DC 10), given an evening with a few gold pieces to use for making friends by buying drinks and such, you can get a general idea of what the major news items are in a city, assuming no obvious reasons exist why the information would be withheld (such as if you are an elf hanging out in an orc city, or if you can’t speak the local language). The higher the check result, the better the information.
If you want to find out about a specific rumor (“Which way to the ruined temple of Erythnul?”), specific item (“What can you tell me about that pretty sword the captain of the guard walks around with?”), obtain a map, or do something else along those lines, the DC is 15 to 25 or higher.
Retry: Yes, but it takes an evening or so for each check, and characters may draw attention to themselves if they repeatedly pursue a certain type of information.
Handle Animal (Cha; Trained Only)
Use this skill to drive a team of horses pulling a wagon over rough terrain, to teach a dog to guard, to raise an owlbear chick as a devoted pet, or to teach a tyrannosaur to “speak” on your command.
Check: The time required to get an effect and the DC depend on what you are trying to do.
| Task | Time | DC |
| Handle a domestic animal | Varies | 10 |
| "Push" a domestic animal | Varies | 15 |
| Teach an animal tasks | 2 months | 15 |
| Teach an animal unusual tasks | 2 months | 20 |
| Rear a wild animal | 1 year | 15 + HD of animal |
| Rear a beast | 1 year | 20 + HD of beast |
| Train a wild animal | 2 months | 20 + HD of animal |
| Train a beast | 2 months | 25 + HD of beast |
Time: For a task with a specific time frame, you must spend half this time (at the rate of 3 hours per day per animal being handled) working toward completion of the task before you make the skill check. If the check fails, you can’t teach, rear, or train that animal. If the check succeeds, you must invest the remainder of the time before the teaching, rearing, or training is complete. If the time is interrupted or the task is not followed through to completion, any further attempts to teach, rear, or train the same animal automatically fail.
Handle a Domestic Animal: This means to command a trained dog, to drive beasts of labor, to tend to tired horses, and so forth.
"Push" a Domestic Animal: To push a domestic animal means to get more out of it than it usually gives, such as commanding a poorly trained dog or driving draft animals for extra effort.
Teach an Animal Tasks: This means to teach a domestic animal some tricks. You can train one type of animal per rank (chosen when the ranks are purchased) to obey commands and perform simple tricks. Animals commonly trained include dogs, horses, mules, oxen, falcons, and pigeons. You can work with up to three animals at one time, and you can teach them general tasks such as guarding, attacking, carrying riders, performing heavy labor, hunting and tracking, or fighting beside troops. An animal can be trained for one general purpose only.
Teach an Animal Unusual Tasks: This is similar to teaching an animal tasks, except that the tasks can be something unusual for that breed of animal, such as training a dog to be a riding animal. Alternatively, you can use this aspect of Handle Animal to train an animal to perform specialized tricks, such as teaching a horse to rear on command or come when whistled for or teaching a falcon to pluck objects from someone’s grasp.
You can teach simple tricks (“Sit,” “Stay,” etc.) to an animal that is the subject of an animal friendship spell without needing to make a skill check, but a complex trick, such as accepting a rider, requires the Handle Animal skill.
Rear a Wild Animal or a Beast: To rear an animal or beast means to raise a wild creature from infancy so that it is domesticated. A handler can rear up to three creatures of the same type at once. A successfully domesticated animal or beast can be taught tricks at the same time that it’s being raised, or can be taught as a domesticated animal later.
Train a Wild Animal / Train a Beast: This means train a wild creature to do certain tricks, but only at the character’s command. The creature is still wild, though usually controllable.
Retry: For handling and pushing domestic animals, yes. For training and rearing, no.
Special: A character with 5 or more ranks of Animal Empathy gets a +2 synergy bonus on Handle Animal checks with animals. A character must have 9 or more ranks of Animal Empathy to get the same +2 synergy bonus on Handle Animal checks with beasts.
A character with 5 or more ranks of Handle Animal gets a +2 synergy bonus on Ride checks.
An untrained character can use a Charisma check to handle and push animals.
Use this skill to keep a badly wounded friend from dying, to help others recover faster from wounds, to keep your friend from succumbing to a wyvern’s sting, or to treat disease.
Check: The DC and effect depend on the task you attempt.
| Task | DC | Task | DC |
| First aid | 15 | Long-term care | 15 |
| Treat caltrop wound | 15 | Treat poison | Poison’s DC |
| Treat disease | Disease’s DC |
First Aid: First aid usually means saving a dying character. If a character has negative hit points and is losing hit points (at 1 per round, 1 per hour, or 1 per day), you can make her stable. The character regains no hit points, but she does stop losing them. The check is a standard action.
Long-term Care: Providing long-term care means treating a wounded person for a day or more. If successful, you let the patient recover hit points or ability score points (lost to temporary damage) at twice the normal rate: 2 hit points per level for each day of light activity, 3 hit points per level for each day of complete rest, and 2 ability score points per day. You can tend up to six patients at a time. You need a few items and supplies (bandages, salves, and so on) that are easy to come by in settled lands.
Giving long-term care counts as light activity for the healer. You cannot give long-term care to yourself.
A healer’s kit gives a +2 circumstance bonus to Heal checks.
Treat Wound from Caltrop, Spike Growth, or Spike Stones: A creature wounded by stepping on a caltrop has its speed reduced to one-half of normal. A successful Heal check removes this movement penalty. Treating a caltrop wound is a standard action.
A creature wounded by a spike growth or spike stones spell must succeed at a Reflex save or take injuries that slow his speed by one-third. Another character can remove this penalty by taking 10 minutes to dress the victim’s injuries and succeeding at a Heal check against the spell’s save DC.
Treat Poison: To treat poison means to tend a single character who has been poisoned and who is going to take more damage from the poison (or suffer some other effect). Every time the poisoned character makes a saving throw against the poison, you make a Heal check. The poisoned character uses your result in place of her saving throw if your Heal result is higher.
Treat Disease: To treat a disease means to tend a diseased character. Every time the diseased character makes a saving throw against disease effects, you make a Heal check. The diseased character uses your result in place of his or her saving throw if your Heal result is higher.
Special: If you have 5 or more ranks in Profession (herbalist), you get a +2 synergy bonus on Heal checks.
Hide (Dex; Armor Check Penalty)
Use this skill to sink back into the shadows and proceed unseen, to approach a wizard’s tower under cover of brush, or to tail someone through a busy street without being noticed.
Check:Your Hide check is opposed by the Spot check of anyone who might see you. You can move up to one-half your normal speed and hide at no penalty. At more than one-half and up to your full speed, you suffer a –5 penalty. It’s practically impossible (–20 penalty) to hide while running or charging.
For example, Lidda has a speed of 20 feet. If she doesn’t want to take a penalty on her Hide check, she can move only 10 feet as a move-equivalent action (and thus 20 feet in a round).
Larger and smaller creatures get size bonuses and size penalties on Hide checks: Fine +16, Diminutive +12, Tiny +8, Small +4, Large –4, Huge –8, Gargantuan –12, Colossal –16.
If people are observing you, even casually, you can’t hide. You can run around a corner or something so that you’re out of sight and then hide, but the others then know at least where you went. If your observers are momentarily distracted (as by a Bluff check; see below), though, you can attempt to hide. While the others turn their attention from you, you can attempt a Hide check if you can get to a hiding place of some kind. (As a general guideline, the hiding place has to be within 1 foot per rank you have in Hide.) This check, however, is at –10 because you have to move fast.
Creating a Diversion to Hide: You can use Bluff to help you hide. A successful Bluff check can give you the momentary diversion you need to attempt a Hide check while people are aware of you.
You know how to give and understand secret messages while appearing to be speaking about other things. Two rogues, for example, might seem to be talking about bakery goods when they’re really planning how to break into the evil wizard’s laboratory.
Check: You can get a message across to another character with the Innuendo skill. The DC for a basic message is 10. The DC is 15 or 20 for complex messages, especially those that rely on getting across new information. Also, the character can try to discern the hidden message in a conversation between two other characters who are using this skill. The DC is the skill check of the character using Innuendo, and for each piece of information that the eavesdropper is missing, that character suffers a –2 penalty on the check. For example, if a character eavesdrops on people planning to assassinate a visiting diplomat, the eavesdropper suffers a –2 penalty if he doesn’t know about the diplomat. Whether trying to send or intercept a message, a failure by 5 or more points means that some false information has been implied or inferred.
The DM should make your Innuendo check secretly so that you don’t necessarily know whether you were successful.
Retry: Generally, retries are allowed when trying to send a message, but not when receiving or intercepting one.
Each retry carries the chance of miscommunication.
Special: If you have 5 or more ranks in Bluff, you get a +2 synergy bonus on your check to transmit (but not receive) a message. If you have 5 or more ranks in Sense Motive, you get a +2 synergy bonus on your check to receive or intercept (but not transmit) a message.
Use this skill to get a bully to back down or to make a prisoner give you the information you want. Intimidation includes verbal threats and body language.
Check: You can change others’ behavior with a successful check. The DC is typically 10 + the target’s Hit Dice. Any bonuses that a target may have on saving throws against fear increase the DC. When used against another character the DC is the opponent character's Will save.
Retry: Generally, retries do not work. Even if the initial check succeeds, the other character can only be intimidated so far, and a retry doesn’t help. If the initial check fails, the other character has probably become more firmly resolved to resist the intimidator, and a retry is futile.
Special: If you have 5 or more ranks in Bluff , you get a +2 synergy bonus on Intimidate checks.
IntuitDirection (Wis; Trained Only)
You have an innate sense of direction.
Check: By concentrating for 1 minute, you can determine where true north lies in relation to yourself (DC 15). If the check fails, you cannot determine direction. On a natural roll of 1, you err and mistakenly identify a random direction as true north.
The DM makes your check secretly so that you don’t know whether you rolled a successful result or a 1.
Retry: You can use Intuit Direction once per day. The roll represents how sensitive to direction you are that day.
Special: Untrained characters can’t use an innate sense of direction, but they could determine direction by finding clues.
Skills: Alchemy-Disguise | Skills: Jump-Ride | Skills: Scry-WildernessLore
