Jump | Knowledge | Listen | Move Silently | Open Lock | Performance | Pick Pocket | Profession | Read Lips | Ride
Jump (Str; Armor Check Penalty)
Use this skill to leap over pits, vault low fences, or reach a tree’s lowest branches.
Check: You jump a minimum distance plus an additional distance depending on the amount by which your Jump check result exceeds 10. The maximum distance of any jump is a function of your height.
| Type of Jump | Minimum Distance | Additional Distance | Maximum Distance |
| Running jump* | 5 ft. | +1 ft./1 point above 10 | Height x 6 |
| Standing jump | 3 ft. | +1 ft./2 point above 10 | Height x 2 |
| Running high jump* | 2 ft. | +1 ft./4 point above 10 | Height x 1 1/2 |
| Standing high jump | 2 ft. | +1 ft./8 point above 10 | Height |
| Jump back | 1 ft. | +1 ft./8 point above 10 | Height |
*You must move 20 feet before jumping. A character can’t take a running jump in heavy armor.
The distances listed are for characters with speeds of 30 feet. If you have a lower speed (from armor, encumbrance, or weight carried, for instance), reduce the distance jumped proportionally. If you have a higher speed (because you’re a barbarian or an experienced monk, for instance), increase the distance jumped proportionally.
For example, Krusk the barbarian has a Jump skill modifier of +2 (no ranks, +3 Strength bonus, –1 armor check penalty) and a base speed of 40 feet. He attempts a running jump across a 10-foot wide chasm, and his player rolls an 11 for a result of 13. That’s 3 over 10, so he clears 3 feet more than the minimum distance, or 8 feet. Also, his base speed is one-third higher than normal (40 feet instead of 30 feet), so his jumping distance is likewise one-third greater. Adding one-third of 8 feet to 8 feet yields another 2 feet, 8 inches, for a total of 10 feet, 8 inches. Krusk clears the chasm by 8 inches.
Distance moved by jumping is counted against maximum movement in a round normally. For example, Krusk runs 20 feet toward the chasm, leaps 10 feet over it, and then moves an additional 10 feet to be next to a hobgoblin. He can now attack the hobgoblin, since he can move 40 feet and make an attack in the same round.
If you intentionally jump down from a height, you might take less damage than if you just fall. If you succeed at a Jump check (DC 15), you take damage as if you had fallen 10 feet less than you actually did.
Special: If you have 5 or more ranks in Tumble, you get a +2 synergy bonus on Jump checks.
The spell expeditious retreat doubles both your speed and your maximum jumping distances. These increases count as enhancement bonuses.
The subject of a jump spell gets a +30 bonus on Jump checks and does not have the usual maximums for jumping distance. For leaps of maximum horizontal distance, the jump reaches its peak (one-fourth the horizontal distance) at the halfway point.
A character who has the Run feat and who makes a running jump increases the distance or height he clears by one fourth, but not past the maximum.
Like the Craft and Profession skills, Knowledge actually encompasses a number of unrelated skills. Knowledge represents a study of some body of lore, possibly an academic or even scientific discipline. Below are typical fields of study. With your DM’s approval, you can invent new areas of knowledge.
• Architecture and engineering (buildings, aqueducts, bridges, fortifications)
• Geography (lands, terrain, climate, people, customs)
• History (royalty, wars, colonies, migrations, founding of cities)
• Local (legends, personalities, inhabitants, laws, and traditions)
• Magic (ancient mysteries, magic traditions, arcane symbols, cryptic phrases)
• Nature (plants and animals, seasons and cycles, weather)
• Nobility and royalty (lineages, heraldry, customs, family trees, mottoes, personalities, laws)
• Religion (gods and goddesses, mythic history, ecclesiastic tradition, holy symbols)
Check: Answering a question within your field of study has a DC of 10 (for really easy questions), 15 (for basic questions), or 20 to 30 (for really tough questions).
Retry: No. The check represents what you know, and thinking about a topic a second time doesn’t let you know something you never learned in the first place.
Special: An untrained Knowledge check is simply an Intelligence check. Without actual training, a character only knows common knowledge.
Use this skill to hear approaching enemies, to detect someone sneaking up on you from behind, or to eavesdrop on someone else’s conversation.
Check: Make a Listen check against a DC that reflects how quiet the noise is that you might hear or against an opposed Move Silently check.
The DM may make the Listen check so that you don’t know whether not hearing anything means that nothing is there, or that you rolled low.
| DC | Sound |
| 0 | People talking |
| 5 | A person in medium armor walking at a slow pace (10 ft./round) trying not to make noise. |
| 10 | An unarmored person walking at a slow pace (15 ft./round) trying not to make any noise |
| 15 | A 1st-level rogue using Move Silently within 10 ft. of the listener |
| 25 | A cat stalking |
| 30 | An owl gliding in for a kill |
| +1 | Per 10 ft. from the listener |
| +5 | Through a door |
| +15 | Through a stone wall |
In the case of people trying to be quiet, the listed DCs could be replaced by Move Silently checks, in which case the listed DC would be the average result (or close to it). For instance, the “25” listed for a cat stalking means that a cat probably has about a +15 Move Silently skill modifier. (Assuming an average roll of 10 on 1d20, the skill check result would be 25.)
Retry: You can make a Listen check every time you have a chance to hear something in a reactive manner. As a full round action, you may try to hear something you failed to hear previously.
Special: When several characters are listening to the same thing, the DM can make a single 1d20 roll and use it for all the listeners’ skill checks.
The subject of a hypnotism spell suffers a –4 penalty on Listen checks.
The subject of a bard’s Fascinate ability suffers a –4 penalty on Listen checks.
A character with a favored enemy gains a bonus on Listen checks when using this skill against that favored enemy.
MoveSilently (Dex; Armor Check Penalty)
You can use this skill to sneak up behind an enemy or to slink away without being noticed.
Check: Your Move Silently check is opposed by the Listen check of anyone who might hear you. You can move up to one-half your normal speed 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 move silently while running or charging.
Special: The master of a cat familiar or an owl familiar gains a +2 bonus on Move Silently checks.
*Note: This check cannot be used to manipulate objects that otherwise make sound in a silent manner, such as stealing a bell, trying a door etc.
You can pick padlocks, finesse combination locks, and solve puzzle locks. The effort requires at least a simple tool of the appropriate sort (a pick, pry bar, blank key, wire, etc.). Attempting an Open Lock check without a set of thieves’ tools carries a –2 circumstance penalty, even if a simple tool is employed. The use of masterwork thieves’ tools enables you to make the check with a +2 circumstance bonus.
| Lock | DC | Lock | DC |
| Very simple lock | 20 | Good lock | 30 |
| Average lock | 25 | Amazing lock | 40 |
Check: Opening a lock entails 1 round of work and a successful check. (It is a full-round action.)
Special: Untrained characters cannot pick locks, but they might successfully force them open.
You are skilled in several types of artistic expression and know how to put on a show. Possible Performance types include ballad, buffoonery, chant, comedy, dance, drama, drums, epic, flute, harp, juggling, limericks, lute, mandolin, melody, mime, ode, pan pipes, recorder, shalm, storytelling, and trumpet. (The DM may authorize other types.) You are capable of one form of performance per rank.
Check: You can impress audiences with your talent and skill.
| DC | Performance |
| 10 | Routine performance. Trying to earn money by playing in public is essentially begging. You earn 1d10 cp/day. |
| 15 | Enjoyable performance. In a prosperous city, you can earn 1d10 sp/day. |
| 20 | Great performance. In a prosperous city, you can earn 3d10 sp/day. With time, you may be invited to join a professional troupe and may develop a regional reputation. |
| 25 | Memorable performance. In a prosperous city, you can earn 1d6 gp/day. With time, you may come to the attention of noble patrons and develop a national reputation. |
| 30 | Extraordinary performance. In a prosperous city, you can earn 3d6 gp/day. With time, you may draw attention from distant potential patrons or even from extra planer beings. |
A masterwork musical instrument gives a +2 circumstance bonus to Perform checks that involve the use of the instrument.
Retry: Retries are allowed, but they don’t negate previous failures, and an audience that has been unimpressed in the past is going to be prejudiced against future performances. (Increase the DC by 2 for each previous failure.)
Special: A bard must have at least 3 ranks in Perform to inspire courage in his allies, use his countersong ability, or use his fascinate ability. A bard needs 6 ranks in Perform to inspire competence, 9 ranks to use his suggestion ability, and 12 ranks to inspire greatness.
In addition to using the Perform skill, a character could entertain people with tumbling, tightrope walking, and spells (especially illusions).
PickPocket (Dex; Trained Only; Armor Check Penalty)
You can cut or lift a purse and hide it on your person, palm an unattended object, or perform some feat of legerdemain with an object no larger than a hat or a loaf of bread.
Check: A check against DC 10 lets you palm a coin-sized, unattended object. Minor feats of legerdemain, such as making a coin disappear, are also DC 10 unless an observer is determined to note where the item went.
When performing this skill under close observation, your skill check is opposed by the observer’s Spot check. The observer’s check doesn’t prevent you from performing the action, just from doing it unnoticed.
If you try to take something from another creature, you must make a skill check against DC 20. The opponent makes a Spot check to detect the attempt. The opponent detects the attempt if her check result beats your check result, regardless of whether you got the item.
| DC | Task |
| 10 | Palm a coin-sized object, make a coin disappear |
| 20 | Lift a small object from a person |
Retry: A second Pick Pocket attempt against the same target, or when being watched by the same observer, has a DC +10 higher than the first skill check if the first check failed or if the attempt was noticed.
Special: If you have 5 or more ranks in Bluff, you get a +2 synergy bonus on Pick Pocket checks.
Profession (Wis; Trained Only)
You are trained in a livelihood or a professional role, such as apothecary, boater, bookkeeper, brewer, cook, driver, farmer, fisher, guide, herbalist, herdsman, innkeeper, lumberjack, miller, miner, porter, rancher, sailor, scribe, siege engineer, stablehand, tanner, teamster, woodcutter, and so forth.
Like Craft, Profession is actually a number of separate skills. For instance, you could have the skill Profession (cook).
Your ranks in that skill don’t affect any checks you happen to make for milling or mining. You could have several Profession skills, each with its own ranks, each purchased as a separate skill.
While a Craft skill represents skill in creating or making an item, a Profession skill represents an aptitude in a vocation requiring a broader range of less specific knowledge. To draw a modern analogy, if an occupation is a service industry, it’s probably a Profession skill. If it’s in the manufacturing sector, it’s probably a Craft skill.
Check: You can practice your trade and make a decent living, earning about half your check result in gold pieces per week of dedicated work. You know how to use the tools of your trade, how to perform the profession’s daily tasks, how to supervise untrained helpers, and how to handle common problems. For example, a sailor knows how to tie several basic knots, how to tend and repair sails, and how to stand a deck watch at sea. The DM sets DCs for specialized tasks.
Retry: An attempt to use a Profession skill to earn an income cannot be retried. You are stuck with whatever weekly wage your check result brought you. (Another check may be made after a week to determine a new income for the next period of time.) An attempt to accomplish some specific task can usually be retried.
Special: Untrained laborers and assistants earn an average of 1 silver piece per day.
You can understand what others are saying by watching their lips.
Check: You must be within 30 feet of the speaker and be able to see her speak. You must be able to understand the speaker’s language. (Use of this skill is language-dependent.) The base DC is 15, and it is higher for complex speech or an inarticulate speaker. You have to concentrate on reading lips for a full minute before making the skill check, and you can’t perform some other action during this minute. You can move at half speed but not any faster, and you must maintain a line of sight to the lips being read. If the check succeeds, you can understand the general content of a minute’s worth of speaking, but you usually still miss certain details.
If the check fails, you can’t read the speaker’s lips. If the check fails by 5 or more, you draw some incorrect conclusion about the speech.
The DM rolls your check so you don’t know whether you succeeded or missed by 5.
Retry: The skill can be used once per minute.
You can ride a particular type of mount (usually a horse, but possibly a different mount). When you select this skill, choose the type of mount you are familiar with. For this purpose, “horses” includes mules, donkeys, and ponies. If you use the skill with a different mount (such as riding a giant lizard when you’re used to riding horses), your rank is reduced by 2 (but not below 0). If you use this skill with a very different mount (such as riding a griffon when you’re used to riding horses), your rank is reduced by 5 (but not below 0).
Check: Typical riding actions don’t require checks. You can saddle, mount, ride, and dismount from a mount without a problem. Mounting or dismounting is a move-equivalent action. Some tasks require checks:
| Riding Task | DC | Riding Task | DC> |
| Guide with knees | 5 | Soft fall | 15 |
| Stay in saddle | 5 | Leap | 15 |
| Fight with warhorse | 10 | Control mount in battle | 20 |
| Cover | 15 | Fast mount or dismount | 20* |
*Armor check penalty applies.
Guide with Knees: You can react instantly to guide your mount with your knees so that you can use both hands in combat. Make the check at the start of your round. If you fail, you can only use one hand this round because you need to use the other to control your mount.
Stay in Saddle: You can react instantly to try to avoid falling when your mount rears or bolts unexpectedly or when you take damage.
Fight with Warhorse: If you direct your war-trained mount to attack in battle, you can still make your own attack or attacks normally.
Cover: You can react instantly to drop down and hang alongside your mount, using it as one-half cover. You can’t attack or cast spells while using your mount as cover. If you fail, you don’t get the cover benefit.
Soft Fall: You react instantly to try to take no damage when you fall off a mount, such as when it is killed or when it falls. If you fail, you take 1d6 points of falling damage.
Leap: You can get your mount to leap obstacles as part of its movement. Use your Ride skill modifier or the mount’s Jump skill modifier (whichever is lower) to see how far the mount can jump. The DC (15) is what you need to roll to stay on the mount when it leaps.
Control Mount in Battle: As a move-equivalent action, you can attempt to control a light horse, pony, or heavy horse while in combat. If you fail, you can do nothing else that round. You do not need to roll for warhorses or warponies.
Fast Mount or Dismount: You can mount or dismount as a free action. If you fail the check, mounting or dismounting is a move-equivalent action. (You can’t attempt a fast mount or dismount unless you can perform the mount or dismount as a move-equivalent action this round.)
Special: If you are riding bareback, you suffer a –5 penalty on Ride checks.
If you have 5 or more ranks in Handle Animal, you get a +2 synergy bonus to Ride checks.
If your mount has a military saddle, it gives a +2 circumstance bonus to Ride checks related to staying in the saddle.
Skills: Alchemy-Disguise | Skills: EscapeArtist-IntuitDirection | Skills: Scry-WildernessLore
