sion from clues given to you. At a base 10 what classifications. At a base 16 you are
you often get hunches that point you in the well-versed in the various weaknesses and
Technicaly the Elder Races,
right direction. At a base 13 your hunches strengths of all common monsters. At a base
the Nilfgaardians, and the
are usual y right and you can back them up 20 you rarely encounter a beast you can’t
Skelligers all speak different
with logical reasoning. At a base 16 you gen- analyze in a matter of seconds and even a
dialects of the Elder Speech.
eral y can find what has occurred or what witcher would be proud.
For the sake of simplicity
may occur with only a few clues. At a base
these are treated as one lan-
20 your deductions are almost never wrong Social Etiquette: Blending in at social func-guage. If you want to get into
and you can find answers with the barest of tions and not making a fool of yourself in
the fine detail of this, you
clues.
polite company. At a base 10 you know how
can treat your points in El-
to address nobility and can act properly
der Speech as 2 points lower
Education: The level of formal education when in a fancy neighborhood. At a base
when dealing with a different
you have received. At a base 10 you have 13 you can attend social gatherings and not
dialect of the Elder Speech.
basic knowledge, the amount you would get stick out like a sore thumb. At a base 16 you
from a parent explaining the world to you. appear dashing—a cavalier, knowledgeable
At a base 13 you probably mentored under in all laws of society, fitting in with ease. At
someone or attended one of the few schools a base 20 you know even the unspoken rules
around where you lived. At a base 16 you of the highest courts and could probably
collect knowledge, probably having gone to impress the Emperor of Nilfgaard himself.
51
Streetwise: Knowing the streets. This skill is alone with some discomfort and you could less about knowing a geography and more earn a living hunting. At a base 16 you could
about knowing how certain areas operate. be a hermit or a ranger, living in the wilder-
Foraging
At a base 10 you have enough knowledge ness with ease. At a base 20 you know almost
Wilderness Survival can be
to avoid muggers and know where the nice everything about the wilderness. There’s no
used to forage for just about
parts of a city are. At a base 13 you can gen- natural environment that you couldn’t adapt
anything you can find in the
eral y pick up what factions hold sway in an to and no prey that can avoid you.
wilderness. Foraging for food
area and why. At a base 16 you can glean a
is usualy pretty easy, as you can
phenomenal amount about an area from
see from the table below. But
studying it, identifying the important peo- REFLEX
you can also hunt for alchem-
ple in the city and their relationships with Brawling: The skill of fighting hand to hand ical ingredients and crafting
ease. At a base 20 you are able to assess a with fists, feet, and the like. At a base 10 you components. The specific
whole town easily, picking up enough to are a competent fist fighter and probably
foraging DCs are mentioned,
make you effectively a local.
could win an average fight. At a base 13 you
starting on pg.143 in the Craft-
are a skilled fist fighter and will general y
Tactics (2):
ing section
Anticipating enemy movements beat any common bar room brawler. At a
and planning accordingly. At a base 10 you base 16 you are very skilled at hand-to-hand
can figure out the basics of an untrained combat. You know many techniques for
Forage
mob’s combat plan. At a base 13 you could physical combat and can beat even military
DC
Location
probably lead a small battalion of men suc- combatants. At a base 20 you are a master of
10
Forests
cessful y and could rout an enemy force of hand-to-hand combat and can beat almost
12
Plains
equal size. At a base 16 you could be placed anyone barehanded. You can even stand up
in charge of a mercenary band and be a ma- against armed warriors.
15
Caves
jor military force, adapting to all kinds of
14
Coast
situations with knowledgeable leadership. Dodge/Escape: Dodging attacks and mis-
18
Desert
At a base 20 you could be a full-on military siles and escaping from holds and grapples.
general, leading whole armies with the tac- At a base 10 you can dodge telegraphed at-
14
Mountains
tical and strategic knowledge to win the day tacks and escape from weak assailants. At a
20
Tundra
against even unspeakable odds.
base 13 you can dodge a spear if you can see
it coming and you know how to escape from
Teaching: The skill of explaining skil s to basic holds. At a base 16 you can dodge mis-others. This skill is not required to teach siles such as arrows and crossbow bolts if
other skil s, but it makes it a lot easier. At a you can see them coming. At a base 20 you
base 10 you can walk a person through a ba- can dodge even things you aren’t complete-
sic demonstration, though they may not al- ly aware of and can escape from all sorts of
ways understand. At a base 13 you can teach holds.
the basics of a skill to a diligent pupil with
no issues. At a base 16 you could teach even Melee: Using weapons such as whips, bludg-uninterested students the higher levels of a eons, and axes. At a base 10 you can reliably
skill with time. At a base 20 you are master wield melee weapons. At a base 13 you can
of teaching and can connect with anyone. swing an axe with enough skill to match
Your lessons immediately make sense and professional soldiers. At a base 16 you can
rarely ever have to be repeated.
rival hardened veterans in melee combat. At
a base 20 you are a master of melee who can
Wilderness Survival: Surviving outdoors take on multiple assailants at once.
and tracking prey. At a base 10 you know
how to make a fire, what common plants are Riding: Riding horses, and in some cases poisonous, and how to follow a trail. At a riding other animals or even monsters. At a
base 13 you could survive in the wilderness base 10 you can ride a trained horse and not
52
fall off. At a base 13 you can ride well enough soldiers. At a base 16 you can face cavalry to jump small obstacles and race. At a base charges without flinching. At a base 20 you
Crossbows
16 you can handle wild horses and ride are a one-person wall of wood and steel.
bareback without too much issue. At a base
Lotta folk can’t figure why ya’d
20 you can do trick-riding and even attempt Swordsmanship: Using swords. At a base
want a crossbow if ya can have
to ride more dangerous beasts.
10 you can reliably wield swords. At a base
a long bow. Don’t blame ‘em.
13 you are a professional and can take the
Used a crossbow sinc
e I was a
Sailing: Sailing ships and controlling mar- field. At a base 16 you win most duels you wee sprout and it’s always been
itime vessels. At a base 10 you can sail in fight. At a base 20 you are a hardened veter-
my weapon of choice. Ya see, it
calm weather. At a base 13 you can handle an who cuts a swath through the field.
takes strength to draw a bow.
rough weather and avoid obstacles with
Strength, a steady hand, a good
ease. At a base 16 you can maneuver in the
eye, and plenty of stamina.
open ocean and escape sirens and drowners. DEXTERITY
Crossbow on the other hand,
At a base 20 you can sail a ship through the Archery: Firing a bow and arrow. At a base nice and simple! Machinery to
most dangerous storms with minimal dam- 10 you can string and fire a bow with some
pull the draw for ya, a straight
age.
accuracy. At a base 13 you are as skilled as
sight to look down, and a com-
any battlefield archer and you can fire in
fortable grip to hold onto. Plus
Small Blades: Using light weapons such as combat with good accuracy. At a base 16
ya can keep the thing at ful
daggers and cleavers. At a base 10 you can you can hit most targets and quickly make
draw long as ya want. Great for
reliably wield small blades. At a base 13 you shots that most average archers would con-
pickin’ off targets from the shad-
are a professional and can wield small blades sider difficult. At a base 20 you are a master ows. I’ll admit, though, they ain’t
with enough skill to match an assassin. At a archer and you can hit almost any target, no
too fast. Heh, remember durin’
base 16 you can rival hardened veterans in matter the range or size.
the Second Northern War, I was
knife fights. At a base 20 you are a hardened
sittin’ pretty in front a chargin’
veteran who can take on multiple assailants Athletics: The skill required for climbing, knight. Shot his horse out from
at once.
balancing, thrown weapons, and such. At a
under him but I coudn’t get an-
base 10 you can climb craggy rock surfac-
other bolt loaded before he was
Staff/Spear: Using long weapons such as es and hit stationary targets. At a base 13
on me. Heh, ever beaten a man
staves, pole axes, and spears. At a base 10 you can scale buildings fairly easily and can
to death with a crossbow? It ain’t
you can reliably wield pole arms. At a base fight on slanted rooftops. At a base 16 you
easy.
13 you are a professional and can wield a can walk tightropes and throw daggers and
–Rodolf Kazmer
pike with enough skill to match professional the like at chinks in armor. At a base 20 you
can perform acrobatic stunts on tightropes,
fight on ceiling beams, and climb anything
that isn’t greased.
Crossbow: Firing a crossbow. At a base 10
you can string and fire a crossbow with some
accuracy. At a base 13 you are as skilled as
any battlefield arbalist and you can fire in
combat with good accuracy. At a base 16
you can hit most targets and quickly make
shots that average arbalists would consider
difficult. At a base 20 you are a master ar-
balist and you can hit almost any target, no
matter the range or size.
53
Sleight of Hand: Performing stage magic face of seasoned torturers and surviving
tricks, making small things disappear or more than the body should be able to under
appear, pickpocketing and slipping things the hardships of harsh climates and supply
Creating Art
into people’s pockets. At a base 10 you can shortages.
We leave what you can create
do simple tricks such as slipping things out
and how much you can sell it
of your pocket as if they just appeared. At a
for to the Game Master’s dis-
base 13 you can reliably pickpocket people EMPATHY
cretion. Obviously the better
without them knowing. At a base 16 you can Charisma: Getting along with people. At a the rol, the more the art piece
slip things into observant people’s pockets, base 10 you can make friends pretty easily
is worth at market.
slip small objects out from under people’s at your local tavern. At a base 13 you are a
noses and such. At a base 20 you can make likeable person and it’s pretty rare for you to
larger objects disappear, even things like make enemies. At a base 16 you are the life
swords and small animals.
of the party and it’s hard for anyone to stay
mad at you for long. At a base 20 you could
Growing Up Poor
Stealth: Moving silently through your sur- convince a raging troll to sit down for a pint If one had little money, and les
roundings and acting without being per- over a game of gwent.
popular regard, one had the
ceived. At a base 10 you can sneak by sleep-
choice of becoming a cutpurse
ing guards without waking them. At a base Deceit: Lying and conniving. At a base 10
or a bard. Having no musical
13 you can sneak by guards and quietly you can general y lie about having taken an
talent, I found many other smal
draw weapons without people noticing. At a extra helping at dinner or convince peas-
sources of income. Some I have
base 16 you are as stealthy as a trained assas- ants you weren’t spying on them. At a base
mentioned earlier. For a short
sin and are rarely caught when you’re sneak- 13 you are a fairly practiced liar and can
time I was a mes enger boy
ing through an area. At a base 20 you can lie about most anything without too much
and spy for several bards that
infiltrate secure buildings with ease, sneak of a tel . At a base 16 you can conceal your
frequented The Chicken and
by alert guards, and draw blades directly be- tel s very well and can bluff even city guards Fox. I learned to dodge thrown
hind people without being caught.
convincingly. At a base 20 you are a master
objects, improved my penman-
of deceit and you could lie your way out of
ship, and learned much of the
an interrogation by the Nilfgaardian Impera
seamier side of the nobility. I
BODY
Brigade.
learned to hire myself out as a
Physique: Lifting, tearing, and bending
guide to country bumpkins who
heavy and tough objects. At a base 10 you Fine Arts: Creating works of art, from
came to Oxenfurt and to always
can lift large people up over your head and painting to song writing to glass-working.
get paid up front. Where those
break wooden bars. At a base 13 you can rip Each time you take this skill you must spec-
people wound up as a result of
thin books in half, crush wooden boxes, and ify what fine art you are training in. At a
my guidance I have no idea.
bend thin bars. At a base 16 you can snap base 10 you have practiced this skill before
–Brandon Of Oxenfurt
manacles and break rusted metal. At a base and can create artwork. At a base 13 you are
20 you can bend prison bars and dent metal. skilled in your craft and can make art im-
pressive enough to be bought at market. At
Endurance: Enduring fatigue, or the pain a base 16 you are a seasoned artist and can of torture and drugs. At a base 10 you are support yourself entirely by creating and
tough, able to perform forced marches and selling art. At a base 20 you are a supremely
stand up to the pain of a long bar brawl. At a talented artist and a king or emperor com-
base 13 you have hardened your body to the missioning you is not out of the question.
pain of torture and can stand up to amateur
interrogators. At a base 16 you are mental-
ly strengthened beyond the resolve of most
interrogators and can march for days with
minimal food and water. At a base 20 you
are one tough son of a gun, scoffing in the
54
Gambling: Counting odds, calculating Persuasion: Convincing people to agree risks, and earning money by gambling. It’s with you or do something you want them
“Human” Perception
important to note that while dice poker re- to do. At a base 10 you are a fairly persua-
quires Gambling, gwent require Tactics. At sive person and you rarely have to buy the
Human Perception is used
a base 10 you can general y figure out odds next round at the tavern. At a base 13 you
to gauge the emotions and
and win against new gamblers. At a base 13 can convince guards to let you go for mi-
thoughts of another sapient
you can win against most average people. nor crimes such as trespassing. At a base 16
creature. Despite being called
At a base 16 you can swindle most people you can debate in the hal s of Oxenfurt. At
Human Perception, it can be
out of their money and are often accused of a base 20 you are a rhetorical powerhouse
used to gauge humans, elves,
cheating. At a base 20 you are known across and could even convince King Radovid the
and dwarves as well as other
cities and in most of the underground as a Stern to spare a mage.
non-human races and sapient
master gambler.
monsters. When at empting to
Performance: Playing instruments, singing,
use Human Perception on a
Grooming and Style: Grooming yourself and acting. Each time you take this skill you
race other than your own you
and arranging your outfits to make an im- must specify a form of performance. At a
The Witcher Pen & Paper RPG Page 12