Skills

Skills listed with a * can be bought multiple times to improve or increase the skill. Read the description carefully.

Alchemy*

Alchemy allows the character to create nonmagical elixirs, poisons, oils, and solvents. For each time Alchemy is bought, the character gets four Production Points.

In order to mix an ingested substance into a food or drink, you must have Alchemy 1. Anyone can use an ingested substance if not mixed into food or drink. (In other words, anyone can drink a Cure Damage elixir straight from the bottle, but you must have Alchemy 1 in order to mix that elixir into a drink or food.)

To employ a gas or apply a contact substance other than Vorpal Coating requires at least Alchemy 3. Note that all gas packets must be orange to differentiate them from spell packets (which cannot be orange).

Alchemy cannot be used to determine the presence of an alchemical substance or magical potion in a creature’s bloodstream.

The list of substances that can be made with the skill Alchemy and their Production Point cost is in the Skills System chapter. For a description of those substances, see the Alchemy chapter.

Armorsmith*

This skill allows the character to create suits of armor with a predetermined number of armor points for a particular suit.

For each time this skill is bought, the character gets four Production Points as described on page 28. A character with Armorsmith 1 could then make one 4 point suit of armor each day. There is also a cost in game money to create suits of armor.

Suits of armor can be traded in and used as “raw materials” to create a greater suit of armor. The costs to upgrade are determined by taking the cost of the new armor and subtracting the worth of the existing armor. Note that even with these extra points, an armorsmith can never make a suit of armor larger than his or her maximum size.

Example one: Thor has Armorsmith 3, giving him 12 Production Points per game-day. He checks the chart in the “Production Points” section on page 29 and sees that he can make an 8 point suit with his 12 Production Points. He goes to logistics and pays 12 copper pieces and Logistics gives him an 8 point armor tag.

Example two: Thor has Armorsmith 4, giving him 16 Production Points per game-day. He tells logistics that he wants a 7 point suit and a 5 point suit. A 7 point suit will cost him 10 Production Points, and the 5 point suit will cost him 6 Production Points. He pays Logistics for the suits of armor and Logistics gives him the tags. He can then sell these suits by selling the tags in-game.

Example three: Grumpo the Fighter had a suit of armor worth 15 points, but due to his many battles, it now provides protection worth only 5 points. He goes to Thor the Armorsmith. Thor accepts Grumpo’s 5 point suit as “raw materials.” He checks the chart on page 29 and sees that a 5 point suit of armor is worth 6 Production Points. Thor has Armorsmith 8 which gives him 36 Production Points a day. A 15 point suit costs exactly 36 Production Points so he can easily make a 15 point suit for Grumpo. He uses 30 Production Points, and the 5 point scrap (worth 6 Production Points), and makes a 15 points suit. He must still pay the in-game cost for 30 production points, since that’s how many he used. He also has 6 Production Points left, and can use these, too. Note that if Thor only had Armorsmith 7, he could not make a suit greater than 13 points even with the trade-in.

Example four: Thor gives logistics the tags for a 5 point suit plus the tags for a 10 point suit he had made earlier. The 5 point suit is worth 6 copper pieces, and the 10 point suit is worth 18 copper pieces, making a total of 24. Since a 15 point suit would cost 36 Production Points and copper pieces to make, Thor then uses his 36 Production Points and pays another 12 copper pieces to make the 15 point suit. Thor receives the tag for a 15 point suit of armor. Thor then goes back to Grumpo with the new suit of armor and charges Grumpo 6 silvers for it (Hey, a guy’s gotta make a profit!).

Some chapters require a character to have this skill in order to “refit” armor.

Assassinate / Dodge*

This skill enables the character to do one massive attack of damage in one blow once a day for each time the skill is bought. Assassinate may be used with any weapon, but must be purchased for a specific hand.

An Assassinate can only be done from behind but can be blocked by a Parry. A Magic Armor spell protects the wearer from an Assassinate. You must be behind and able to see the victim’s shoulder blades to do an Assassinate; you cannot reach around from the front. By its nature, an Assassinate cannot be held active nor may it switch targets; it can only be used for one strike. It does not have to be by surprise.

An Assassinate does damage of five times the character’s number of Backstabs plus 20 and the weapon damage. Note that the multiplier of five is applied only to the Backstabs. It is not applied to Vorpal Coatings or magical effects that may be present on the weapon. These points are added after the multiplier. No other skill adds damage to an Assassinate. For instance, Critical Attack, Back Attack, Proficiency, Critical Slay, Ways, etc., will never add to the amoune of damage being called.

For example: Krogir the Assassin has bought 3 Backstabs for use with his One Handed Edged skill. When he uses his Assassinate skill with his longsword, he will call “37 Normal Assassinate.” This amount is figured by first taking the number of Backstabs he has (3) multiplying it by 5, giving him 15. Then he adds 20 plus the 2 from his longsword.

If he had also added a 6 point Vorpal Coating to his weapon and is using an Endow spell, he would add those but would not count them in the amount to be multiplied by 5. He would then call “45 Normal Assassinate!” ([3 x 5] + 20 + 2 (from his longsword) + 6 (from the Vorpal Coating 6) + 2 (from the Endow).

This skill can also be used as a Dodge. This use of the skill allows the character to dodge any single NERO safe weapon attack or any packet delivered attack for each time the skill is purchased. It does not protect against traps (except for weapon traps), Waylay, or Killing Blows. Dodge cannot be used if a character is completely immobilized, such as in a Confine or a Paralysis.

Assassinate/Dodge can be bought after every two Backstabs.

Back Attack*

This skill allows the character to do two extra points of damage against any one opponent from behind for the duration of the battle (which is defined as “Line of Sight”) once per day for each time the skill is taken. This bonus applies to any weapon in which the character has the skill. When the skill is bought, the player must specify for which hand the skill is to be used. You must be behind and able to see the victim’s shoulder blades to do a Back Attack; you cannot reach around from the front.

After a character has earned the fourth Back Attack, the character can trade them in and buy a Backstab (see below). The character may then begin learning Back Attacks again.

For example: Nira the Rogue has worked her way up to the point where she has learned Backstab +2. She now does +2 damage for every hit from behind with any weapon she can use. She then begins to learn Back Attacks again. For each Back Attack she learns now, she can do another two points of damage to one opponent, so when she uses these skills, she does +4.

Backstab*

This skill allows a character to do an extra 2 points of damage to any foe they can hit in the back while standing behind the person. You must be behind the victim and able to see the victim’s shoulder blades to do a Backstab; you cannot reach around from the front. When purchased, the player must specify for which hand the skill is to be used.

The skill can be bought multiple times and the effects are cumulative. This skill can be used with any weapon with which the character has the skill.

Break Charm*

With this skill, a Biata or Mystic Wood Elf can break all active charm effects on another creature once per day for each time the skill is taken. The effects included are Charm, Shun, Dominate, Fear, and Vampire Charm. It does not include Love, Love Potion #9, or Enslavement.

You must be able to touch the charmed person, have his or her attention, and spend one full minute of roleplaying conversation with the charmed victim. If you perform any other skills during this minute, if the charmed person is attacked, or if the conversation is halted, then the Break Charm is unsuccessful. Attempting this action on a character that had not been charmed will still result in the ability being used for the day. This ability does not affect (nor is it affected by) any Spell Defenses.

You cannot use this skill upon yourself.