Skills

What Are Skills?
Skills are a mechanical representation of what your character is capable of outside of the combat area. Skills though, are not an end all, be all. They are not abilities that one just uses and suddenly the man you just stole from doesn't realize it. No, skills are simply a way to represent how well versed your character is in that particular area, but it is up to you, as a player, to tell the GM/DM what your character is doing when making the attempt.

Skill Points and Ranks
Whenever you put a skill point into a skill, that skill's rank increases by one point. This is representative of yoyur character getting better at the skill. If the skill is NOT a class skill, then you must spend two skill points to achieve a single rank of that skill. You gain skill points at every level, usually it is your intellect modifier in addition to a predetermined base points that depends on your class (E.G. fighters get 4+Int). "Oh, but DM, the book says 2+Int". Sush, I am getting to that. So in order to have the game a little more balanced skill wise, all 2+int skill points will now be 4+int skill classes. This is due to the fact that skills are very important and have about 4 or 5 you can max out is just too few. The max ranks that one skill can have is equal to your level plus three. You gain no bonuses from a skill being a class skill.

Whenever you are called to make a check (some you can roll fereely, just tell the DM), you roll a d20 and add your skill modifier. This skill modifier is determined by this formula SM = relevant ability mod + ranks + Miscellaneous modifiers (feats, class bonuses, racial bonuses, etc.). If the total number is satisfactory, you succeed on the skill check. A good DM though, would take the number into consideration, high, low, failed or otherwise, and use the "yes, and: yes, but: No, and, :no, but" stipulations to keep the game from being static.

Skill Descriptions
Below will be all the base skills in the game and what they should be used for. If any skill is not listed here, consult with your DM about what that skill is or entails. If all else fails, find a rule,

Acrobatics
Acrobatics is the representation of how agile your character is. It will be used for tumbling through an enemy's square, how quickly your character can dodge non-damaging objects, and other agility based situations. A character with a high acrobatics could parkour theri way across a city if they wanted. This is modified by Dexterity.

Arcana
Arcana is a skill to be used when a character knows about any magical object or occurence. For instance, the mage might roll arcana to see what type of spell had been placed on the door. The same mage would roll arcana to determine what a magical object does. This skill is modified by Intellect.

Athletics
Athletics is a determination of your characters stamina and ability to perform strength related tasks. Running long distances, climbing up a cliff, swimming; These are all athletic type activities. Characters with high Athletics could run marathons, throw further, and ge a god damn athlete. This is modified by strength.

Disable Device
Disable device allows a character to spring traps without harming themselves, break locks, make it where a wagon will not work, and any other hampering effects. A character with a high Disable Device skill would really be able to mess with their enemies to ensure that their locks, logistics, and lodging are forever unstable. This skill is modified by Dexterity.

First Aid
First aid is a check that one makes when trying to bandage wounds or do any non-magical healing procedure. First aid can only be used on a character once every 4 hours (I mean changing fresh bandages does not really do anything). The amount healed is equal to exactly half of the total skill check, rounded down. Characters with high first aid skills could even perform basic battlefeild surgeries. This skill is modified by Wisdom.

Intimidate
Want to act the bully and try and get people to do what you want by scaring them into submission? Roll intimidate. It is a skill that can be used to represent how good a person is at using their force of personality to bully others into doing what you want. This skill is modified by Charisma

Investigate
The world is full of obvious things of which nobody, by any chance, ever observes. Investigate is the skills to determine how well your character can find what they are looking for be it information, clues to a person's whereabouts, a ring hidden in a room, etc. It also is a determination of how well a character can track the presence of their quarry. This skill is modified by Intellect.

Knowledge
Knowledge skills are representations of how well versed a character is in a certain subject. There are several types of knowledge skills, each with their own subject. Below are just a few examples.

Planes - Knowledge of the various planes of existence. Heaven, hell, purgatory, and the Primal Elements.

Religion - Knowledge of the gods and the practices associated with them.

Dungeoneering - Knowledge of the creatures and traps that await you in the pitts of the earth.

Nature - Knowledge of poisons, animals, plants, and other naturally occurring things.

Local - The knowledge of local folktales, lore, and people.

Nobility - The knowledge of families of nobles as well as the leaders of society.

These are not all of the types of knowledge, only a few. You can have a maximum of fie knowledge skills at one time. This skill is modified by Intellect.

Linguistics
This skill is the determination of how well a character can learn or decipher a language. If you wanted to understand smatterings of a foreign language based upon context clues, one would roll a linguistics check. Characters with high Linguistics skills would be able to decipher even the most ancient of languages. This skill is modified by Intellect.

Nimble
Why try to break the shackles when you can simply slip them? This skill represents your character's ability to escape traps, disguise their hand movements, and use their quickness to distract their audience. Characters with high Nimble skills can break out of any binding, fool even the most perceptive viewer, and tick the most fickle of traps. This skill if modified by Dexterity.

Perception
Perception shapes the world. If something goes unseen, well who is to say it ever existed? Perception is the skill that determines how observant a character is and how well they can spot changes or hidden things in their environment. Characters with high perceptions could detect even the most subtle of movements. This skill is modified by Wisdom

Perform
Life is a grand stage, and we are all actors upon it. Perform is a characters ability to successfully entertain an audience. It denotes how well a person can sing, dance, play an instrument, act, or any other creative art media. Characters high in perform could entertain whole cities and become famous over night. This skill is modified by Charisma.

Persuasion
Persuasion is the skill that determines how well a person can persuade others to come to their point of veiw. It covers how diplomatic a person is as well as how good at telling lies that they are. Characters with high persuasions can change even the most staunch, stubborn, stable-hands minds about anything. This skill is modified by Charisma.

Sense Motive
Oh what, that magical wishing lamp turned out to be a scam? Too bad you got caught up in the peddler's lies. Sense motive is a skill that allows characters to ascertain a person's true purpose. This is done by reading subtle body language and hints in their speach patterns. This skills is modified by Wisdom.

Stealth
This is a representation of how well a person can hide, sneak, and move quietly. It is a skill that thieves, assassins, cheating husbands, and hunters would have an abundance of. Someone with a high enough stealth skill could potentially disapear from sight even if the most barren of areas. This skill is modified by Dexterity.

Survival
How long do you think you would live out in the wilds, alone, with no modern conveniences? Well that is what survival is for. It is a character's knowledge of how to weather the harsh environments and live without a guiding hand. Characters high in this skill would be able to survive fine even in the most extreme environments. This skill is modified by Wisdom.

Trade
Trade is a person's job. When you choose job, you are granted all the perks of that job such as money, access to materials, etc. This is also the skill you would use to determine how well you can craft an object. For instance Trade (Blacksmith) would allow you to forge armor, swords, and other basic armaments. This skill is modified by Wisdom.

Use M.D. (Magic Device)
Use magic device, or UMD for short, is the representation of how well a character can use a magical object. Not every one knows how to use a wand or a staff. Characters with a high UNMD skill could unlock and use even the most mysterious arcane devices. This skill is modified by Intellect.