Dear All, The design principal for skills is closer to the d20 approach: that is, rather than have a more open-ended list of skills, where the effective list of skills is near-infinite, we have a more close-ended list. This makes deciding which skills to use for a particular action more of a science and less ambiguous. What I need are some thoughts, criticisms and ideas for the skill list and rules I have compiled so far. Most skills require a specializations. Like Ability focuses, these impart a +1 bonus to rolls they are relevant for, for example, Culture (East Africa) would impart a reduction in difficulty of 1 for any rolls involving East African culture. The list I have devised so far is as follows: * Acrobatics * Art * Bargain * Brawl * Craft * Culture * Diplomacy * Dodge * Expression * Intuition * Intrigue * Knowledge * Leadership * Manipulation * Navigation * Perform * Ride * Science * Sport * Strategy * Stealth * Swim * Survival * Track * Vehicle * Weapon Here follows a detailed description of why I have chosen the above skills (the design rationale) and what precisely those individual skills cover: Acrobatics -- Acrobatics represents the basic 'amazing feats of dexterity' skill - amazing jumps, balancing on tight ropes, swinging from chandeliers. I intended this skill to encompass a wide scope, including climbing. Do we need a separate Climb skill or is this skill sufficient? Brawl -- General unarmed combat skill for punching, kicking, head-butts, biting, etc.. Is this a good name for this skill and if not is there a better one? Diplomacy -- General negotiations skill, good for dealing with outsiders, bargaining, basic etiquette and so forth. Is this better represented with other skills (see Cultures, Intrigue) Dodge -- Basic dodging skill, making it harder to hit you in combat. Should this be under acrobatics or does it really deserve its own skill? Expression -- Oratory skill - getting your ideas across. Is this the same as Manipulation or is it different? Heal -- This is a tricky one: how does this work across different genres. In fantasy this would be your basic, primitive ability to clean wounds etc, but in a modern setting this would be more akin to first aid. And what about medical science, chirurgy, surgery etc.? Intrigue -- Basic politicking skill - how to handle yourself in sensitive, political situations, gossip and so on. See Manipulation and Cultures for similar skills. Intuition -- A generic skill for guessing or determining someone else's intentions (aka Empathy) or detect lies. Leadership -- Basic leadership/management skills - motivating and controlling a large group of people. Manipulation -- Usually most games have several skills (intimidation, lying, seduction, etc) but I think these can all go under one skill. For example, intimidation is a Strength/Manpulation roll. Thoughts? Am I mad? Sport -- Sport in the old sense of the word - running, jumping, and so on. Basic ability to run fast, jump high or long and so forth. Is this right or should there be seperate skills for Run, Jump etc? Stealth -- Fairly self-explanatory - sneaking around skill for skulking, shadowing and moving silently. Strategy -- Basic tactical/warfare skill for determining a good stategy for combat, and so forth. Swim -- Self-explanatory. Is there any place for this skill under another skill? Survival -- Basic ability to survive in the wild. Does this skill include Track or is that a seperate skill? Track -- Ability to follow someone. Is this skill replicated by Stealth, Scent or Survival. I don't know! Animals -- Knowledge of how to handle and care for a particular animal. For example Animal (Horse) permits you the ability to ride a horse, care for it, etc. Arts -- Knowledge and talent for a variety of art forms, such as painting, drawing, and so forth. Crafts -- Inlcudes ship-building, blacksmithing, guns manufacture and so forth. Is this a good, genre-neutral heading for this skill group? Cultures -- Knowledge of a particular culture or strate of society, including politics, etiquette and so forth. For example, Culture (New York/Street) would allow you to get by on the mean streets of New York, whilst Culture (Nobility) would allow you to pass as a noble in the royal court. Knowledges -- Basic knowledges, such as History, Occultism, and so forth. Weapons -- Skill groups for vazrious weapons, from swords, to semi-automatic weapons. Sciences -- Knowledge of various sciences, including Medicine, Chemistry, Psychology and so forth. More useful than knowledges. Other Possible Skills -- The following skills are quite common in many genres but don't quite fit into the above. I'm not happy with them unless there can be a method of turning them into more generic skills or finding a place for them with the group skills. Administration/Beuraucracy Computers (Knowledge?) Disguise Forgery Hide Lock Picking (Craft?) Martial Arts [Group] Meditation Pick Pocket (Craft?) Research Ride (same as Animal Handling - perhaps an Animal skill group) Sleight of Hand Teaching Throw Traps Ideas? -- Ricardo Gladwell President, Free Roleplaying Community http://www.freeroleplay.org/ president@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx