Crowfield House Rules: Talents

I was actually writing this for last week's post, but it was giving me issues. I ended up pushing it off a week and quickly wrote the Experience Bonus post instead.

It turns out that this is still giving me issues, so I'm going to change the format of it. Instead of my usual "article" format, I'm going to use a "FAQ" format. Seeing that this is the first time I'm presenting this information, this really can't be a list of frequently asked questions; maybe "FAQ" could mean "Fictionally Asked Questions?" Wikipedia says "...the [FAQ] format is a useful means of organizing information, and text consisting of questions and their answers may thus be called an FAQ regardless of whether the questions are actually frequently asked." I guess I'm in the clear!

Anyway, this is my talent system that I developed for my Crowfield campaign.

What are talents?

Talents are something like a cross between skills and feats (in 3E terms) or skills and advantages (in GURPS terms).

They allow characters to do something better than they could if they didn't have the talent.  An example might be walking across a narrow ledge.  Anyone can try it, but a person with the Balance talent has a better chance to succeed. 

How are talents different than skills?

This is my terminology, so don't try to apply it to all games.

In most games, skills are "analog." You can have skills at a low level, a high level, or somewhere in between.

A talent is "binary." You either have it or you don't; there's no in-between. In this way, they're like feats and advantages.

Why use talents?

Talents (especially combined with multi-classing) help individualize your character without the need for a bunch of different classes.

Want to play a ranger? Play a fighter with the Animal Handling and Wilderness Survival talents.

Want to play a barbarian? That's pretty much the same as a ranger, except add carousing.

Want to play a druid? Play a cleric with the same talents as the "ranger."

Want to play a thief? Play a fighter with the Burglary, Slight-of-Hand, and Sneak talents.

Want to play a paladin? Start as a fighter or a cleric and flip between the two classes as you level up. Add the Diplomacy talent.

Want to play a bard? Start as a fighter or a magic user and take the Entertain, Carousing, and Diplomacy talents.

Why not just use analog skills?

I feel that talents "feel" closer to the older editions. When the Dungeons & Dragons family of games finally added such a system (in 1985's Oriental Adventures) it was binary system called "non-weapon proficiencies."

Gygax himself is said to be a fan of skill systems, but felt they didn't mesh well with class based systems. This is kind of a middle ground.

Finally, D&D is largely an ability score-based game. I don't think ability scores should be overshadowed by the skills. (Mind you, I feel quite the opposite about this in games that aren't trying to feel like D&D).

How do you use a talent?

It's easy!  Just roll 2d12 + Ability Score Modifier.

If the result is 14 or better, you succeed.

If it's 12 or less you fail.

Why 2d12?

The regular dodecahedron is my favorite platonic solid.

Yes, I'm serious.

How do I know what the ability score modifier is?

Ability score modifiers are based on the ability's score:

Score	Modifier
3	-3
4 - 5	-2
6 - 8	-1
9 - 12	±0
13 - 15	+1
16 - 17	+2
18	+3

How do I determine which ability score modifier to use?

Your GM will tell you.

sigh Okay, wiseguy, how does the GM determine which ability score modifier to use?

Any Talent can be used with any ability score. The best one to use should be pretty obvious based on the situation. Examples:

Swinfar the Barbarian has a the following ability scores:

STR: 16 INT: 7 WIS: 9 CON: 11 DEX: 10 CHR: 8

Swinfar is trying to drink Modock Haforc under the table. This is a use of the Carousing talent, and the stat would be Swinfar's Constitution. His Constitution is an 11, so the modifier is ±0. He rolls 2d12 and gets a 7 and a 3 for a total of 10. He wakes up the next day with a nasty hangover and an empty coin pouch.

Several days later, Swinfar attempts to seduce the baroness's chamber maiden in hopes of discovering secrets. This is still the Carousing talent, but this time the ability would be Swinfar's Charisma. He rolls 2d12 and gets a 8 and a 6 for a total of 14. That would be a success, but the smelly barbarian has a Charisma of 8, so the modifier is -1, making the total an "Unlucky 13." The chamber maiden giggles at the attention, but rejects our odoriferous hero (but keep reading!).

Wait--if 14+ is a success, and 12- is a failure, what about 13?

We call that "Unlucky 13."

If the player's modified roll is exactly 13, the GM will offer them a choice:

• The player can choose to accept the failure, or
• The player can choose to succeed, but they have to accept a Bad Thing. The Bad Thing will often, but not always, be related to the task that was attempted. The players may or may not know what the Bad Thing is when it happens.

Continuing the last example, the GM tells Swinfor's player that while he failed, he has the option of accepting a Bad Thing if he really wants to succeed. The player accepts, and the GM rules that the chamber maiden not only reveals the baroness's secrets to him, but in the process he's also revealed some of his secrets to the chamber maiden. And clearly, she has a problem keeping secrets, right?

How about easier/harder tasks?

If the GM determines that the task is particularly difficult then instead of rolling 2d12, you'll roll 3d12 and sum the lowest two dice.

If the task is very difficult, he'll ask you to roll 4 dice and sum the lowest two.

Likewise if the task is easy or very easy, you'll roll 3 or 4 d12 and sum the highest two.

Of course, things balance out. If you have a few factors that would make it easier, and a few that would make it more difficult, they just cancel each other out and you'd make a normal 2d12 roll. 

It's important to note that this is about the overall feel of the situation, and not an exercise in bookkeeping.

If you ever get to rolling 5 dice, you probably shouldn't. At that point the GM should just rule that the task succeeded or failed without requiring a die roll.

We can sum all that up in a nice table:

Difficulty	Roll	Sum
Very Easy	4d12	highest two
Easy	3d12	highest two
Normal	2d12	the two
Hard	3d12	lowest two
Very Hard	4d12	lowest two

Can I attempt a task if I don't have the talent?

Yes!  Just increase the difficulty by one level (see the previous question).  Thus, if a person with the talent is rolling two dice, you'll have to roll three and discard the highest. 

How many talents do I get?

You start with three talents.  You don't even have to pick them before you start to play!

I was originally going to base the number of talents on the character's Wisdom score, but that seemed too complicated.

Do I get more talents as I gain levels?

Fighters, clerics, and magic users do not gain any more talents as they gain levels.

A jack-of-all-trades gains one talent for each level.

Can I see a list of the talents?

Of course! These might change, though:

Animal Handling

This is the ability to work with/ride/train animals of all sorts.

Artist

The ability to make decorative or recognizable items. Take this talent if you want to make things like sculptures, paintings, and drawings. Less savory types use this talent for forgeries.

Athletics

This is the category that includes the physical skills not covered by other, more specific, skills. It includes things like running, jumping, and swimming.

Balance

Useful for things like tightrope walking, narrow ledges, and log-rolling.

Burglary

This is the skill of bypassing security precautions in order to gain access to a building or container. That's a lot of words to say pick locks, detect traps, etc.

Carousing

This is a social skill, but differs from diplomacy in that carousing is mainly the skill of vices. It includes such dubious talents as drinking, seduction, and gambling.

Craftsman

The basic skill for converting raw materials into finished goods. Woodworkers, leather-workers, blacksmiths, silversmiths, and potters are all craftsmen. This skill is specialized in making sound, functional items. For decorative items, the craftsman also needs talent as an Artist.

Diplomacy

This is the primary social skill of interacting with other people. Remember that not all diplomats are highbrow society; it can be argued that the most diplomatic are those who have to walk the mean streets every day.

Entertain

This is the ability to hold the attention of others. It includes things like acting, joke telling, singing, dancing, etc.

Fast Draw

Allows a character to draw a weapon and use it on the same round. Each weapon type is its own talent.

First Aid

This is the art of treating injuries, and diagnosing and treating illnesses. A successful roll will restore up to 1d6 hit points of damage suffered in the last few minutes.

Knowledge

A general skill that represents everything a character knows that's not covered under another talent.

Merchant

The skill of buying low and selling high. It is used for commercial transactions. Things such as haggling, appraising, and marketing fall under this skill.

Observation

A measurement of a character's general awareness of their surroundings.

Sleight-of-Hand

The ability to move the hands quicker than the eye. Useful for parlor tricks and picking pockets.

Sneaking

This skill represents the character's ability to avoid being noticed.

Swashbuckling

Swinging on ropes, rolling to reduce damage after a long fall, flashy moves, etc. Some might call this Acrobatics, but that doesn't sound very adventurous.

Urban Survival

This is the talent that you would expect of a street urchin or a low-life thief, but everyone living in a big city probably has it to some degree. It's the ability to recognize the bad part of town, to avoid (or find!) trouble, to navigate honest and corrupt guards, and to find a good fence to buy stolen goods.

Trick Shot

This is the ability to make impressive shots with a ranged weapon. It's usually not useful in combat, because it takes a while to aim and set up the shot.

Vehicle

All vehicles from chariots to sailing ships to flying carpets, need their drivers. Some GMs might rule that each vehicle type is a talent unto itself.

Wilderness Survival

This is the skill of living in wilderness areas. It covers the basics of food, water, heat, and shelter.