Testing Skill & the Feats

For the Fighting Fantasy Role Playing Game™.

In many occasions the adventurers will have to Test their Skill to see whether or not hey have completed tasks diverse from hacking and slashing trough monsters. In such occasions the player has to roll two dice: if the result is less than or equal to his SKILL score, then the action has been performed correctly. But if the result is greater than his SKILL score, however, something has gone wrong.

The results of these tests may be influenced by some Feats the adventurer may possess. During the character creation phase, the player chooses four Feats for his character from the twelve available: Animal Kinship, Athletics, Brawl, Camouflage, Courtesy, Healing, Hunting, Lore, Robbery, Sixth Sense, Tracking and Weaponskill.

If the task given to the adventurer by the Storyteller involves one of the Feats the adventurer actually has, he has to Test for Skill by rolling two dice. If the PC hasn’t the requested Feat, he must Test his Skill with three dice instead.

There will be times during the adventures when the PCs will come across an unusually dangerous situation and their SKILL, STAMINA, LUCK or MAGIC will be tested to the full; for example they may be instructed to Test their Skill, «adding 2 to the number rolled». This simply means that when they roll two dice they must add 2 to the total; if they have rolled a 1 and a 3, for example, their modified total would be 6 (1 + 3 + 2 = 6). They then compare this outcome with their current SKILL score to discover whether they have succeeded in the test.

On very rare and exceptional cases, the Storyteller, may also instruct the players to Test their Statistics with even four dice rather than the usual two or three.

Finally, the Storyteller may state that some actions can’t be performed if the adventurer doesn’t possess the appropriate Feat. Such actions are usually related with specific knowledges or activities, granted only by the possession of a given Feat. For example a character without the Courtesy or Lore Feat can’t read and write. In this cases a generous Storyteller may allow the player to Test for Luck instead.

As per the combat system, the PC could obtain a spectacular success - or a botch - when he Tests his Skill. A roll of double one means a Mighty Success, whose results will go well beyond the expected, while a double six means a Fumble. Remember that a roll of double (or even triple!) six always implies a Fumble, regardless the character’s skill score and Feats he may have.

Feats description
Animal Kinship: this Feat enables an adventurer to successfully deal with some animals and to be able to guess the intentions of others. This Feat also grants a +1 bonus to the Attack Strength in a mounted fight.

Athletics: this Feat enables an adventurer to be agile and swift, to climb and swim effectively and, to some degree, to perform acrobatics.

Brawl: this Feat enables a character to lethally fight unarmed, granting him a +3 bonus on the Attack Strength when fighting bare-handed, thus neutralising the -3 malus given in such occasions.

Camouflage: this Feat enables the adventurer to blend with his surroundings. In the countryside, he can hide undetected among trees and rocks and pass close to an enemy without being seen. In a town or city, it enables him to look and sound like a native of that area, and can help him to find shelter or a safe hiding place.

Courtesy: this Feat enables a character to correctly behave in mundane situations, as courtly ones, and to have a good heraldic and diplomatic knowledge. This Feat also assures the PC he can read and write.

Healing: this Feat can be used to restore lost stamina points. If the character has this Feat he may restore one more STAMINA point, instead of his usual amount, after a night of good sleep. An adventurer with this Feat may also try to cure up to 2 STAMINA points lost by a character once per scene. This Feat grants a minimum knowledge of herbal medicine, too.

Hunting: this Feat ensures that an adventurer will never starve in the wild. He will always be able to hunt for food except in areas of wasteland and desert. The Feat also enables an adventurer to move stealthily when stalking his prey, or moving not to be noticed by enemies.

Lore: this Feat grants a character a vast knowledge about diverse subjects, such as occultism, history and legends. This Feat also assures the PC he can read and write.

Robbery: this Feat enables an adventurer to pick pockets and locks, and to disarm traps. The Feat also grants a degree of streetwise.

Sixth Sense: this Feat may warn a character of imminent danger. It may also hint at the true purpose of a stranger or a strange object encountered during the adventures.

Tracking: this Feat enables an adventurer to make the correct choice of a path in the wild, to discover the location of a person or object in a town, city, building or dungeon, to search for hidden passages and to read the secrets of footprints or tracks.

Weaponskill: this Feat indicates that the character has been taught to master melee weapons. The Feat grants a +1 bonus on the Attacks score and a +1 bonus on Attack Strength in melee fighting. The adventurers without the Weaponskill Feat can’t wield two-handed weapons.