|
|
The Rules of Gladius: Skills and Feats
While most of the skills work in the Core Coliseum (or don't) just as you'd expect them to, there are a few skills that work slightly differently in Gladius, or have some special issues of note. When using any skill outside of a fight or encounter, you're always assumed to be taking 10 (unless you can't take 10 on the skill in question, like Use Magic Device, or as noted here). However, many skill uses are based on your total skill modifier, rather than the result of a check. What are Free Activities?As the name suggests, Free Activities are character actions that do not interfere with arena fights because they do not take up enough time to force a character to sit out. There are, however, some rules for Free Activities that must be obeyed! First of all, Free Activities can only be used in conjunction with the character being active in one of the various Battles of Gladius. Quests/Miniquests, Operations and Campaigns do not grant Free Activities.
You may only use one Free Activity per fight, never more. You must write it into the subject line of your character sheet (Example: Ready for June 3; Free Activity: teach 'seek' to direwolf). If the details of the Free Activity are too much to fit in the title line, you can say something like "Ready for June 3; Free Activity: scribing scrolls (see sheet)."
Linking Activities: Some activities, noted in the skill descriptions below, must also be recorded on your sheet. The Pitlord of your fight will post the Free Activity you mentioned in the headline of your sheet to the Fight Summary. You must link this post to your character sheet on the spot where it belongs to. For example, if you taught the seek trick to your wolf, you would have to link the post to the "Tricks" section of your ally on your sheet, and name the link "seek". Failure to do so means the trick/item/etc is not available. What are Full Activities?Similar to Free Activities, Full Activities are character actions with the difference that they do take up more time thus can only be done if the character is not otherwise occupied (arena, quest, campaign). Your character is considered active (marked {X} on the Roster) and can do nothing but the Full Activity (not even a Free Activity). Example Full Activities are crafting for more than 1000 gold or training two tricks to an animal. Note that full activities are not improved Free Activities.
Linking Activities: Like Free Activities, Full Activities must be linked to the character sheet but since you do not fight, there is no fight or quest a Pitlord/Questlord can write it into. Instead, you have to link the correct weekly character actions on the Battles of Gladius thread (not the ones in the Characters of Gladius thread, since that one changes weekly). Your activity is recorded in this post, which you have to link as described above. Failure to do so means the trick/item/etc is not available. Tools and Masterwork ToolsSome skills require mundane tools to operate effectively, else the character suffers a -2 circumstance penalty for using improvised tools. These skills are
- Craft skills (artisan's tool: 5 gp)
- Diplomacy vs courtiers/nobles (Courtier's outfit+jewelry: 80 gp; Noble's outfit+jewelry+signet ring: 180 gp)
- Disable device (thieves tools: 30 gp)
- Open lock (thieves tools: 30 gp)
- Perform skills that require an instrument (common musical instrument: 5 gp)
- Ride (riding saddle: price varies)
You can buy a set of masterwork tools for certain skills which give you a +2 circumstance bonus for the skills. These masterwork tools are only available for
- Appraise by weight (merchant's scale: 2 gp) {non-magic value only}
- Appraise by detail (magnifying glass: 100 gp) {non-magic value only}
- Climb (climber's kit: 80 gp)
- Craft Alchemy/Poisonmaking (alchemy lab: 500 gp)
- Craft skills, all others (artisan's tool: 55 gp)
- Disable device (masterwork thieves tools: 100 gp)
- Disguise (disguise kit: 50 gp/10charges)
- Handle Animal (whistle: 50 gp)
- Heal (healer's kit: 50 gp/10charges)
- Open lock (masterwork thieves tools: 100 gp)
- Perform skills (masterwork musical instrument: 100 gp)
- Professions (various tools: 50 gp)
- Ride to stay in the saddle (military saddle: price varies).
Note that you need a different tool for each skill; for example, you need to buy seperate tools for Craft Weaponsmithing and Craft Armorsmithing! Exceptions to this rule are the thieves tools (apply to Disable device and Open lock) and the alchemist's lab (alchemy and poisonmaking). You can buy magic items that grant a higher bonus and/or a bonus to skills not listed here (eg. listen, spot, etc) by paying credits (and the price, of course) in the Blackmarket. Skill Package ActivitiesSkill Packages are a combination of two or more skills or abilities that can be used in conjunction with a Free Activity to perform certain activities, many of them affecting your fight in a beneficial way. Other require no Free Activity and automatically come into effect. In order to use them, you must fulfill the skill requirements and pass the "Task" (mentioned in the entry) to benefit from the "Effect". As with all Free Activities, this must go into the title line of your sheet along with your ready status. Automatic Packages obviously don't require that. The following Skill Package Activities are available. | Free Activity Package | Requirements | Effect | | Rob Store | 5 ranks in Sleight of Hand and Open Lock | You gain one item for your fight up to the product of your Sleight of Hand x Open Locks skill modifiers. The item is lost after the fight. 20 units of ammunition counts as one item for the purpose of this ability. All 20 must be identical. Items cannot cost credits and must be allowed under the rules of expendable cap with regard to CL/ML (you can exceed your GP maximum for expendables). The item cannot be an item combined with another item (a dose of poison is okay, a pack of 20 arrows is okay, but an arrow dosed with poison is not). | | Burglary | 5 ranks in Open Lock and Search. Open Lock must beat the opponent's ECL+5 or the opponent's Open Lock (whichever is greater) | You may remove expendables (potion/oil, scroll, tattoo, power stones) from your opponent's sheet for the fight up to a marketprice value of Search x "ECL Multiplier" (see table below). The item is returned to the opponent after the fight. You may not use this item.
.Special: Free Activity 'Guard' increases the DC by 5 (so, the burglar has to beat the opponent's ECL+10 or Open Lock+5). A character can assign a trap to his equipment (must be mentioned on his sheet) which goes off unless the burglar disables it with a take 10.
.Note: The burglar writes a PM to both the Pitlord and the affected Player which items he wants to steal. If he hasn't sent this PM (to both) until Friday 2AM GMT (24 hours after pairings) his Burglary attempt fails. | | Discount | 5 ranks in Appraise, Bluff and Sense Motive | Gain a discount for one bought item in percent equal to the average of the three skills. It may not be raw materials or material components. | | Sell Items | 5 ranks in Appraise and Gather Information | Normally, an item is sold at 50% its marketprice. This skill use allows you to increase that percentage by an amount equal to the lower of the two skills, for a single item. |
Since the following activities work without adding them to the title line, make sure you have the listed on your sheet in a clear manner and include a link to this section of the rules (Rules: Skills & Feats) which a pitlord can quickly check. Failure to link it means the Skill Packages does not function. | Automatic Skill Packages | Requirements | Effect | | Hide Resources | 5 ranks in Forgery and Sleight of Hand | You may exceed your expendable cap by a percentage equal to the sum of both skill modifiers. | | Political Career | 5 ranks in Knowledge (Nobility/Royality) and Diplomacy | You gain a bonus to your XP Rewards by a percentage equal to the sum of both skill modifiers. Calculate gold rewards from that new XP value. For the purposes of this package, Bardic Knowledge (and the similar abilities of Cloistered Clerics and Loremasters) does not count as a substitute for the knowledge skill. | | Court Connections | 5 tanks in Knowledge (Nobility/Royality) and Any Free Activity used to earn money (Profession, Craft, Sleight of Hand). You must also use your free activity to make money. | The money earned with the Free Activity increases by a percentage equal to your Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) value. For the purposes of this package, Bardic Knowledge (and the similar abilities of Cloistered Clerics and Loremasters) does not count as a substitute for the knowledge skill. |
Attack/Defend Skill PackagesAs described above, Skill Packages are combinations of skills which create certain effects if used jointly. Attack/Defend Skill Packages are just that but they require no Free Activity to activate. Instead, they are automatically activated anytime you fight. There are, however, some restrictions: You need at least 5 ranks in each skill mentioned, and you can only use it in a 1 vs 1 Battle of Gladius (ie no Multiplayer fights, quests, etc). If that's the case, then just check the 'Task' required. If all task requirements are fulfilled, the activity is executed.
Attackers & Defenders: The following skill packages are divided into Attack Packages and Defend Packages. That means you can only use an Attack Package if you're the Attacker, and Defend Packages are only for the Defender. To determine who's considered to be the Attacker or Defender, just check the order in which the characters are aligned in the Pairings Post: the left character is the Attacker; the right one is the Defender. Example:
Gork the Orc (Player1) vs. Schecko (Player2) : Pitlord {Map}
In this case, Gork would be the Attacker and Schecko the Defender.
Note: Since we want to make it as easy as possible for pitlords add any Package you can do to the title line, and make sure you have them listed on your sheet in a clear manner and include a link to this section of the rules (Rules: Skills & Feats) which a pitlord can quickly check. Failure to link it means the Skill Packages does not function. The following skill packages are available: | Attack/Defend Skill Packages | Requirements | Effect | | Ambush (Attack) | * Hide (vs Spot)
- Move Silently (vs Listen)
- Bluff (vs Sense Motive)
- Sense Motive (vs Bluff)
All four skills must be higher than the respective opposed skills of your opponent. You need at least 5 ranks in each skill. | You may pick your and your opponent's starting boxes, and you gain a surprise round. The boxes still can't be the same. | | Assassinate (Attack) | * Disguise (vs Spot)
- Gather Information (vs Gather Information)
- Bluff (vs Sense Motive)
- Open Lock (vs ECL+5) or (vs Open Lock), whichever is higher
All four skills must be higher than the respective opposed skills of your opponent. You need at least 5 ranks in each skill. | You gain one standard action against an opponent's ally. You may apply any prebuffed effect to the attack. This attack takes place before initiative is rolled, which in most cases means that the ally is flat-footed against the attack. If either character gets any prebuff or surprise rounds, they take place immediately following this attack.
Note: The action must affect the ally in a harmful way. You cannot use this action to buff yourself. | | Scout (Attack) | * Survival or Search (vs Track DC)
- Use Rope (vs Escape Artist)
- Knowledge (Geography)
You have to pass the Track DC (Indoor: Dc15; Outdoor: Dc10; plus modifiers on PHB p101 or [1]). Your Use Rope value must be higher than your opponent's Escape Artist. You need at least 5 ranks in each skill. | You gain one free prebuff round just before the fight for every 5 points of your Knowledge (Geography) skill modifier. Without the track feat, you can only find tracks up to DC 10. | | Set Trap (Defense) | * Search (vs Trap DC)
- Disable Device (vs Trap DC)
.You must own a trap, and pass the DCs with a Take 10. You need at least 5 ranks in each skill | Your opponent faces this trap just before combat begins. Traps count as allies in all respects (determining how many allies you can bring to a fight, XP penalties, etc.)
.Note: An opponent can avoid the trap if he passes the trap DC in both Search and Disable Device with a Take 10.
A character who has found the trap (Search) can also avoid the trap if the total of his Balance, Climb, Jump, and Swim skill modifiers exceed the Disable Device DC of the trap by 10 or more. In this situation, the trap is not set off at all and can be re-used.
To find a trap with a DC of 20 or more, you need the trapfinding ability.
See [Rules_of_Gladius_(3.5e)/NPC_Services Advanced Rules: NPC Services] for more rules on traps. | | Outmaneuver (Defense) | * Balance (vs Balance)
- Climb (vs Climb)
- Jump (vs Jump)
- Swim (vs Swim)
.All four skill modifiers must be higher than the respective opposed skill modifiers of your opponent. You need at least 5 ranks in each skill. | You (and your allies) may start outside your starting box by a number of squares equal to the difference between the sum of your skill modifiers and the sum of your opponent's skill modifiers.
.Example: If your Balance+Climb+Jump+Swim is 80, and your opponent's is 60, then you may start 20 squares (100 ft) outside your start box. |
Single Skill ActivitiesUnlike Skill Packages, Single Skill Activities can be used as a Free- or Full Activity (as mentioned in its description) but involve mostly only one skill, with a second skill sometimes granting additional benefits. The following list shows all Single Skill Activities available as {Free}- or {Full} Activities; for a detailed description, see the individual description in the skill entry below.
| Single Skill Activity | Effect | | Earn Money (Profession/Crafts/Perform/Sleight) | Not everyone was born as a gladiator. Many characters had to get their daily bread in another way, by using their talents and skills, and many continue to do so now. Once a week, as a Free Activity, you can use certain skills to earn extra money if you have at least 5 ranks in that skill. These skills are Sleight of Hand, all Perform skills, all Profession skills, and some Craft skillsx. You may only use one skill at a time to earn money! You earn (Take10+skill modifier)*ECL gold pieces in a week. The Pitlord mentions this extra income at the bottom of the fight along with the fight rewards, and adds them together. There is no need to link it seperately because you will already link it along with the fight.
x: all Craft skills except Craft armorsmithing, weaponsmithing, bowmaking, poisonmaking, and alchemy. These skills already have a function in the CoCo (see 'Other Skill Applications' below). | | Use Blackmarket Connection (Gather Information) | Normally, a character can use his secret contacts, outstanding favors, or bribes, to buy custom items from the Blackmarket which is expressed in a credit cost. Characters with at least 5 ranks in the Gather Information skill can circumvent that credit cost by paying the Blackmarket with their knowledge of Gladius' underworld: Once a week, as a Free Activity, you can buy one item that would normally cost credits, up to the allowed gold piece value. Alternatively, you can gain two such items as a Full Activity. The maximum value of one item depends on your ECL and your Gather Information modifier: Look for your ECL in the table below, then multiply your gather information skill modifier with the multiplier. Note that you still need to pay the gold cost! You must link this activity. You can buy a more expensive item by using this Free Activity multiple times witin the same fight cycle. Examples: if you are ECL 3 and have a Gather Information modifier of +10, then you can buy one item worth 170 gp as a free activity, two items worth 170 gp as a full activity, or one item worth 510 gp by using this free activity during all three fights of a cycle. | | Train Beast (Handle Animal) | You may teach a trick to an animal, train an animal, or teach or train a magical beast. The DC to do so is as listed in the PHB and here. Note that you always take 10 on such checks, so you need a skill modifier of +5 or +10 (+5 for creatures other than animals) to use this action. You can buy a masterwork tool (50 gp) which grants you a +2 circumstance bonus to your Handle Animal skill.
Training and Time: According to the rules, you need to spend only 3 hours a day training with your companion which doesn't interfere with your arena fight. Once a week, as a Free Activity, you may teach one trick to your animal, or you may teach two tricks as a Full Activity provided you have a high enough Handle Animal value. You have to link this activity.
Trained for War: If you want to equip your ally with barding, it needs to be trained for war or suffer penalties for not being proficient with armor. This requires the 'Combat Riding Package' which consists of the six tricks Attack, Come, Defend, Down, Guard, and Heel. Alternatively, you can customize your ally by exchanging its feats with armor proficiencies (see [Rules_of_Gladius_(3.5e)/Allies_I The Rules of Gladius: Allies I] for more information about that).
You can also train your animal tricks not listed in the PHB as long as they are reasonable and within the animals capabilities. We suggest you ask the GM or an Elder first. Here are some ideas for tricks (taken from the WotC homepage 'Wildlife'):
- Ambush (DC 15): The animal hides using the Hide skill to the best of its ability. It then stays in one place and attacks the first creature to come near it, unless it has been previously trained to recognize the creature as a friend.
- Bull Rush (DC 15): The animal attempts to bull rush a designated creature.
- Flush Out (DC 20): The animal moves into an area and, if it encounters any creatures, it makes noise and feints attacks toward the creature in an attempt to drive it to you. If the animal makes the creature move, there is a 50% chance that the quarry moves directly toward you. Otherwise, the quarry veers to your left or right (equal chance for each).
- Overrun (DC 15): The animal attempts to overrun a designated creature. If the animal has the trample special ability, it uses that ability against the creature if the creature is small enough to be affected.
- Pin (DC 15): The animal attempts to grapple and pin a designated creature.
- Stalk (DC 20): The animal follows a designated creature using the Hide and Move Silently skills to the best of its ability. It stays with the target until you call it off (normally accomplished with a whistle). If attacked by the designated creature, the animal attacks. If attacked by a different creature or severely wounded, the animal attempts to return to you.
| | Frighten Allies (Intimidate) | As a Free Activity, you can use your Intimidate skill to scare one or more allies of your opponent that have an intelligence of 3 or more. Your Intimidate value must be at least as high as (Ally CR + Ally Wisdom modifier + any bonuses to saving throws vs. fear) to affect him or her (called Courage Value). There are three different effects depending on your Intimidate value relative to the Courage Value:
- Scared: Your intimidate skill is at least equal to the ally's Courage Value. Your opponent's ally is Shaken for the entire combat.
- Frightened: Your intimidate value is higher than the Courage Value by 5 or more. Your opponent's ally is Frightened for the first 4 rounds, then is Shaken for the rest of the fight.
- Panicked: Your intimidate value is higher than the Courage Value by 10 or more. Your opponent's ally is Panicked and does not appear to the fight.
Multiple Allies: If the opponent has more than one ally, you can decide which ally you want to intimidate. After having intimidated the first ally, deduct the the Courage Value from your Intimidate Value. If you have points left, you can intimidate another ally (and so on) but your Intimidate value is decreased after each intimidation.
Handle Animal: If you also have a Handle Animal skill modifier equal to the CR of an opponent's ally, you may also intimidate animals. If you have a Handle Animal value of the ally's CR+5, you can intimidate magical beasts and vermin.
Class Allies: Most class allies do not have a CR. In this case (including when a class ally is a modified version of a creature with a CR, such as an animal companion), the CR is treated as equal to the character's class level (in the class that provides the ally) -2. When multiple classes contribute to the abilities of the ally (such as a multiclass sorcerer/wizard's familiar), those class levels also stack for this purpose.
Note: If the ally is immune to fear, he is also not subject to Intimidate. If the master has the Aura of Courage (Paladin 3), the ally gains an additional +4 bonus to resist the level check. |
Other Skill ApplicationsAside from the activities mentioned above, skills can also have passive or automatic effects which need no Free or Full Activity. Other skills need to be clarified on how they interact with the Core Coliseum and its enviroment. The following section addresses all that. | Other Skill Applications | Description | | Concentration | You can take 20 to become psionically focused outside combat, and you need to pass DC 20. You must list this action under the Prebuff Section on your sheet. Quest- and Campaignlords may require you to actually roll the checks, if they so desire. | | The Craft Skills | Weaponsmithing, Armorsmithing, Bowmaking: You may craft any non-magical item with a listed price that is related to the respective craft skill. The cost of raw materials is 1/2 (not 1/3), but the speed of crafting is much faster than that given in the skill description: you can craft 1000 gp's worth of market price in one day. For example, an adamantine greatsword costing 3050 gp would take 4 days to craft, and cost you 1525 gp. You are assumed to be taking 10 on all crafting rolls. For example, the above adamantine greatsword would have a craft DC of 20, meaning that your character would need a Craft (weaponsmithing) skill bonus of at least +10. You can buy a masterwork tool (55 gp) for the respective craft skill which gives you a +2 circumstance bonus. Note: arrows and bolts are created with craft bowmaking (DC 12).
Poisonmaking and Alchemy: With Craft poisonmaking, you can craft any non-magical poison listed in the DMG, p297 or here. The cost of raw materials is 1/2 of the base price. There is no chance for failure and you complete it much faster. To create a poison, you need to have a Craft Poisonmaking skill modifier of at least as high as the respective poison's DC. For example, if you want to craft carrion crawler brain juice poison (Dc13), you would have to have a Craft poisonmaking modifier of +13 or more. You can buy an alchemist's lab (500 gp) which gives you a +2 circumstance bonus on craft poisonmaking.
With Craft alchemy, you can craft any alchemical item listed in the Equipment section of the PHB, or on p71 (Craft skill). Your Craft alchemy modifier needs to be +5 for acid flasks, +10 for alchemist's fire, smokesticks, and tindertwigs, and +15 for antitoxins, sunrods, tanglefoot bags, and thunderstones. You also need to have at least one caster level in any spellcasting class, or one manifester level in any psionic class. You can buy an alchemist's lab (500 gp) which gives you a +2 circumstance bonus on craft alchemy.
Craft Firearms & Knowledge Engineering: If you have at least 5 ranks in each and pass DC 20 with a take 10, you can craft Renaissance Weapons (DMG,p145) at half the mentioned price (such weapons cannot be bought). Note that some require you to take Exotic Weapon Proficiency and to craft special ammunition. The Rapid Reload feat can be used for firearms (a reload time of 1 standard action is reduced to 1 swift action), and magical enchantments work like for any ranged weapon.
Crafting and Time: You may craft items worth up to 1000 gp (Marketprice) as a Free Activity. As a Full Activity, you can craft items worth up to 7000 gp per week; you can continue to work as many weeks as you like to create an item (or a group of items) worth any amount, adding up to 7000 gp to the value for every week worked. You can even mix magic item creation with items created using Craft skills in a single activity. You must link this activity. | | The Craft Feats | This section includes all craft feats for spellcasters (scrolls, potions, arms & armor, rods, staffs, wands, rings, wondrous items, and constructs) as well as those equivalents for psionic manifesters (tattoos, powerstones, dorjes, cognizance crystals, psicrowns, universal items, and psionic constructs). In order to craft a magic or psionic item, you must have the appropriate feat and any spell or power mentioned as necessary in the items entry. However, you do not have to have the caster level mentioned in the item's entry (unless a caster level is specifically mentioned as a requirement). Crafting follows the core rules as described in the DMG/XPH in the respective feat description. You have to pay 1/2 of the market price in raw materials; you never lose XP when crafting.
Crafting and Time: See the rules under "Craft Skills," above. | | Handle Animal | One possible source of allies is the Handle Animal skill, which you can use to tame wild beasts. You will generally have to go on a [Rules_of_Gladius_(3.5e)/Quests The Rules of Gladius: Quests] to find a particular beast. Once you have found it and overcome the Quest obstacle, it is yours. Finally, you must take the time to teach it tricks or train it for a purpose (see skill description for details). See [Rules_of_Gladius_(3.5e)/Allies_I The Rules of Gladius: Allies I] for more information on which races you can obtain and train with Handle animal. To teach a trick to an animal, see Single Skill Activities above. | | Heal (Identifying Health Status) | A character always knows his own health exactly, but guessing the injury level of others is a different matter. That's where the Heal skill comes in. Note that Heal also functions untrained so if a character has a very high Wisdom, he may be able to determine more than the default.
- Default: By default, a character without the appropriate value in the Heal skill can only determine other's health status as "Unconscious/Dead, Disabled, Injured, Uninjured" and automatically succeeds.
- Medicus: The study of medicine helps in assessing wounds. If a character has a Heal value as high as the target creature's HD+5, he can determine the injury level of that creature as "Dead, Unconscious, Disabled, Quarter Health, Half Health, Three-quarter Health, Uninjured". Additionally, a character recognizes the symptoms of poisons and diseases and can tell if someone is affected by that.
- Anatomist: Specialized in the field of anatomy, those characters can immideately see the exact health status of a creature (in hitpoints). To use this, a character must have a Heal value as high as the target creature's HD+5 and have the appropriate Knowledge value for that type of creature at HD+5. For example, to determine the exact health status of a 7-headed Hydra {7 HD} a character needs Heal+12 and Knowledge Arcana+12. Bardic knowledge and Lore always count as the necessary knowledge skill.
| | Hide and Spot | These skills are often used incorrectly. Please read the Spot skill description carefully. A quick clarification on how Hide/Spot works: First of all, if a character has no cover or concealment at the end of his turn, he cannot hide. If he has no cover or concealment at the beginning of his turn, but manages to move to cover or concealment by the end of the turn, he can hide, but his opponent will know exactly where he last lost sight of the guy hiding (although see the Bluff skill). Note that hiding is not an action; if a character has cover, he will automatically try to hide. Don't forget about the -5 for moving faster than half speed, or the -20 for running or attacking. Secondly, an character gets one reactive Spot roll every round in their opponent's round, if line of sight is not completely blocked. For the distance modifier, use the closest distance the opponent was to the spotter in the round. If the spotter wants to make a Spot roll during his own action, he can use a move action to do so. | | Knowledge | Knowledge skills are used to identify monsters encountered on quests, campaigns, or monster fights. It can also be used in conjunction with Heal to know the exact hitpoint status of others (see 'Heal' above).
Monster Fights: Monsters rolled in the pairings are not identified automatically. A character must have the requisite knowledge about a monster to gain information about it. This is done by using the various knowledge skills. When the pairings are rolled, the Game Master lists a monster fight by default as "Unknown Monster." The assigned Pitlord then rolls that monster with an online roller (same ID as for the fight, making the result private until after the fight) and gives the player more information on the monster. The amount of information depends on the knowledge skill value. The knowledge skill modifier must be as at least as high as the following:
- No Ranks: Size and rough description (like 'huge monster')
- 1+ Ranks: Size, Type, Description (huge magical beast with many heads)
- CR: Race (7-headed hydra)
- CR+5: Race, Subtypes, Class levels (7 headed Cryo-Hydra, no classes)
- CR+10: Race, Subtypes, Class levels, Equipment, Feats
- CR+15: Race, Subtypes, Class levels, Equipment, Feats, and tactics
You have to have the right knowledge skill to gain information. For example, you would only gain the information above about a hydra if you have Knowledge (Arcana). Any other knowledge skill is useless against that monster. Bardic knowledge and Lore always count as the necessary knowledge skill. The following list shows the requisite knowledge skills:
- Arcana: Constructs, Dragons, Magical Beasts
- Dungeon: Aberrations, Oozes
- Local: Humanoids
- Nature: Animals, Fey, Giants, Monstrous humanoids, Plants, Vermin
- Religion: Undead
- Planes: Elementals, Outsiders
- Psioncs: Psionic creatures
Quests and Campaigns: If the character meets a monster on a quest, the questlord should make the appropriate Knowledge roll in secret. If the character fails his roll, he should only get a rough description of what he has encountered (an ogre might be a "large, giantish brute clothed in rags", for example). The questlord should feel free to lie to the player about what he has encountered, especially if the roll fails by 5 or more. For example, he could say that the Wyvern the character encountered is actually a Black Dragon, or a Troll is actually an Ogre. If a character goes hunting a specific creature, that creature should, of course, be identified correctly without making any rolls.
Knowledge and Templates: If a creature has a template that changes its type, multiple knowledge skills may apply (one to the base creature, and one to the post-template one). In this situation, each knowledge skill is considered independently. For instance, if the character encounters a fiendish dire rat, he or she would be able to identify the fiendish template with Knowledge (arcana), and to identify the dire rat with Knowledge (nature). Similarly, a skeletal troll would require both Knowledge (nature) and Knowledge (religion) to identify completely, but a character with only Knowledge (religion) would still know that it is a Large, bipedal skeleton (which is probably enough). | | Move Silently and Listen | Move Silently and Listen work similarly to Spot. Specifically: Moving Silently is not an action; a character will automatically try to move silently. Don't forget about the -5 for moving faster than half speed, though, or the -20 for running; as house rules, a character who attacks with a manufactured or natural weapon (including an unarmed strike) makes a Move Silently check with a -20 penalty, and a character who casts a spell with a verbal component or uses a command word can be heard with a DC 0 Listen check. A character gets one reactive Listen roll every round in their opponent's round. For the distance modifier, use the closest distance the opponent was to the listener in the round (or, if the opponent did something particularly noisy, use the distance they were at when they performed that action). If the spotter wants to make a Listen roll during his own action, he can use a move action to do so. Finally, the rules don't specify how precisely someone's position is determined if the Listen roll beats the Move Silently, but by less than 20. We use the following estimate:
| Roll Result | Pinpoint Patterns | | If the Listen roll beats the Move Silently by 0-4, randomize within 20'; this is 61 possible positions in 2D, or a lot more in 3D | | | | |*|*|*| | | |
| |*|*|*|*|*|*|*| |
| |*|*|*|*|*|*|*| |
|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|
|*|*|*|*|@|*|*|*|*|
|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|
| |*|*|*|*|*|*|*| |
| |*|*|*|*|*|*|*| |
| | | |*|*|*| | | | | | By 5-9: within 15'; randomize between 37 squares in 2d, 179 in 3d. | | | |*|*|*| | |
| |*|*|*|*|*| |
|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|
|*|*|*|@|*|*|*|
|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|
| |*|*|*|*|*| |
| | |*|*|*| | | | | By 10-14: within 10'; randomize between 21 squares in 2d, 91 in 3d. | | |*|*|*| |
|*|*|*|*|*|
|*|*|@|*|*|
|*|*|*|*|*|
| |*|*|*| | | | By 15-19: within 5'; randomize between 9 squares in 2d, 27 in 3d. | |*|*|*|
|*|@|*|
|*|*|*| | | By 20 or more: pinpoint. | |
| | Psicraft and Spellcraft | You cannot use Spellcraft to identify psionic-related things, and vice versa, you cannot use Psicraft for magic-related things. This has nothing to do with the magic-psionic transparency.
To decipher a scroll or address a powerstone, the item needs to be identified first. This can be done with a Spellcraft (scrolls) or Psicraft (powerstones) check. You are assumed to take 20 on the check, and you must pass the Dc of the item (Scrolls: Dc20+spell level; Powerstones: Dc15+power level). If you have access to the read magic spell, you do not need to make any spellcraft checks. | | Ride and Mounted Combat | The ride skill lets you perform any trick mentioned in the Ride skill entry. Although ride functions normally in the Core Coliseum, a clarification of the complicated rules on mounted combat is necessary to prevent confusion.
- Cover from Mount: If you use your mount for cover (Ride check Dc15), you cannot make any attacks at the exact time of doing this but you are not prevented from casting spells or attacking later in the same round. This has been clarified by Skip Williams in the Rules of the Game: All about Mounts section of the WotC homepage. You have to be aware of the attack and not flatfooted.
- Mounted Combat: If you have the Mounted Combat feat, and want to use your ride skill to negate a hit, you must be aware of the attack and not flatfooted.
- Mounted Movement: If your mount moves, you move aswell. It does not take up your move-equivalent and standard actions, though. If you want to do an action while riding, you must complete the action before your mount has moved half its total distance during that round.
- Commanding a mount: The mount can perform any action that is within the limits of its physical abilities and intelligence. The mount must be able to see or hear the rider. If the commanded action is a trick the mount knows, giving the command is a move action and requires a DC 10 Handle Animal check. If the mount does not know the trick, the rider must make a DC 25 handle animal check as a full-round action (called "push an animal"). For druid's and ranger's giving a command to their companion, these are a free action if it knows the trick, or a move action if it doesn't.
- The Defend trick: Unlike all other tricks, the defend trick does not require an action but is automatically triggered if the master of the animal is being attacked.
| | Use Magic/Psionic Device | Use Magic Device and Use Psionic Device are two separate skills that apply only to either magic (UMD) or psionic (UPD) items, respectively. Magic-psionic transparency does not apply to these skills
You can use Use Magic Device to decipher magic scrolls by succeeding on a DC 25 check with a take 20, and you can address psionic powerstones the same way using Use Psionic Device. |
ECL MultiplierSome of the skills and packages in this section refer to an "ECL Multiplier." The table below covers the multipliers you will need. | ECL | Multiplier | ECL | Multiplier | | 3 | x17 | 12 | x35 | | 4 | x20 | 13 | x36 | | 5 | x22 | 14 | x37 | | 6 | x24 | 15 | x39 | | 7 | x26 | 16 | x40 | | 8 | x28 | 17 | x41 | | 9 | x30 | 18 | x42 | | 10 | x32 | 19 | x44 | | 11 | x33 | 20 | x45 |
|
