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10:29, 29th March 2024 (GMT+0)

Skills List (OOC)

Posted by The JudgeFor group 0
The Judge
GM, 19 posts
Fri 23 Oct 2020
at 14:12
  • msg #1

Skills List (OOC)

Combat Skills

Archery
Brawling
Knife/Sword
Pistol
Rifle

Work Skills

Accounting - A character with this skill is trained as a bank clerk, accountant, store clerk, railroad ticket agent, or in another position that involves using math and handling money. He has a fair amount of business sense.
prerequisite: Literacy.
Artillerist - This character probably served in the U.S. or Confederate artillery during the Civil War. He knows how to handle and fire a cannon, mortar, and even a Gatling gun. The use of heavy weapons is described in Chapter 3.
Artist - This character is a skilled painter. He could be a wildlife artist, a newspaper sketch artist, or a traveling portrait painter. Alternatively, a player could choose this skill to be a poet or playwright (in which case its prerequisite is Literacy)
Assaying - This skill lets a character assess the value of gold, gems, and other minerals. He is qualified to work in a government or private assaying office. He can identify fool’s gold automatically, and a skill check will let him identify a metal or mineral, spot a counterfeit coin (if he handles it), or judge the value of cut or uncut gems.
Bartending - This character is skilled at all the various aspects of tending bar, from the simple (pouring a shot of whiskey without spilling) to the complex (telling some lout what his problem is without making him mad). He knows how to make a wide variety of mixed drinks (which were quite popular in the West), judge good whiskey from bad, and make bad-tempered men happy.
Bureaucracy - This skill conveys understanding of the inner workings of the army, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and all forms of national, state, and territorial governments and commissions. A successful skill roll can help the character navigate through the channels to get whatever information, permit, license, or deed he requires.
prerequisite: Literacy.
Carpentry - This character is trained to build wooden buildings, furniture, toys, and equipment. If the character tries to build something small, a single skill check at the end determines whether it turned out right (on a bad roll, for example, the lid of a chest might not fit quite right). On larger projects, several skill checks should be made, one for each stage of the work. When building a house, for example, one check could be made to determine whether the frame went up all right, a second to check the exterior appearance, and a third for the interior finishing. Failure does not necessarily mean that the whole job is flawed, but some part of it probably needs to be done over. A carpenter can also repair wooden items that have been damaged.
Chemistry - This character is educated in the chemical sciences, including pharmacy. He can mix and identify simple chemicals (bicarbonate of soda) automatically. More complicated procedures require a skill check. In any case, the character cannot produce any chemical without the proper ingredients. Even with this skill, no one can make gunpowder from cotton balls and wood shavings. However, in an emergency the judge may allow a skill check for the player to come up with an insight on how the ingredients at hand can be usefully combined.
prerequisite: Literacy.
Civil Engineering - This character is educated in the mechanical sciences, particularly architecture, drainage, railroad construction, and street building. While the day-to-day effort of designing and building a municipal water tower is not the stuff of western adventure, characters can also use this skill to spot weaknesses or flaws in such structures.
prerequisite: Literacy
Cooking - This character is qualified to work as a trail cook or short-order cook. With a score of 17 or higher, he could work as a chef in a restaurant or hotel.
Cow Handling - This is the skill of cowboys. Herding, cutting out, branding, and rounding up are all among the skills essential to cow punchers. This skill can be used in a specific case where something needs to be done with one or more cattle. It can also be used in a general way, once every two or three days on a cattle drive, to determine whether a cowhand does something foolish, embarrassing, or dangerous.
Dentistry - This skill lets the character treat toothaches, broken teeth, rotten teeth, or make dentures. A character with this skill is also considered to have 6 points of Medicine skill, automatically.
prerequisite: Literacy.
Entertainer - This character has some talent at singing and dancing. Or, if the player prefers, the character could be a stage magician, a comic, a storyteller, a puppeteer, or any other sort of entertainer (except an actor, which is covered by Thespian skill). The skill score is a general indicator of the character’s ability to keep an audience entertained. A successful skill check means the audience likes the show, an unsuccessful check means things could get ugly.
Explosives - This character is trained to handle, set, and detonate explosives. Most anyone can light the fuse on a stick of dynamite and throw it, but only a trained character knows how to position explosives for the best effect, rig multiple charges, safely transport nitroglycerine, or correctly judge the right amount of explosive to use for a particular job. Usually, one skill check is all that’s required for a small job, but larger tasks - bringing down a railroad bridge, for example—may require several skill checks. Failing a skill check does not necessarily mean that the charge exploded in the character’s hand, or even that it didn’t explode at all (though on a very bad roll, both of those results are possible). If the roll was close, it may simply mean that the charges did not explode the way they were supposed to—parts of the bridge are still standing, the mine caved in, etc. The use of explosives is explained in Chapter 3.
Farming - This character probably was raised on a farm. He knows about planting, harvesting, and tending crops, as well as raising cows, chickens, pigs, sheep, or any other farm animals the player chooses.
Fast Draw - In those cases where clearing the holster first is important, characters make Fast Draw skill checks. If the number rolled is equal to or less than the character’s Fast Draw score, then he’s pulled his gun up into firing position and the number rolled is that character’s speed for that shot. If the number rolled is greater than the character’s Fast Draw score, he hasn’t cleared his holster yet and is not ready to fire. His opponent probably has gotten the drop on him. All of this is explained in greater detail in Chapter 2, Gunfights.
Gambling -  When characters sit down to gamble, a character with Gambling skill has a significant edge. He also has the option to cheat with a decent chance of avoiding detection. Gambling skill can also be used to detect whether another player is cheating. Gambling is explained in greater detail in Chapter 7, The Western Campaign.
Gunsmithing - This character can repair or even make guns, with the proper equipment. Any gunsmith will usually carry with him the simple tools needed for most repairs, but he needs a stocked gunsmith’s shop to make a gun or perform extensive modifications. If a Gunsmithing skill check fails, the judge decides whether the task is beyond the character’s skill, he doesn’t have the equipment he needs, or it is just impossible (too badly damaged to be repaired, for example).  A gunsmith can also cast and reload bullets, and modify existing guns (turn a regular pistol into a fast-draw pistol, for example).
Indian Contact - This character has considerable experience dealing with indians. He speaks a variety of indian languages and knows their customs and traditions. This does not mean that all indians like him, but a successful skill check improves the likelihood of a favorable reaction.
Law - Yes, there were lawyers and judges out west. A character with this skill is trained to serve as both. A skill check can serve to determine whether the character knows the legalities of a situation, whether he can adequately defend or prosecute a suspect, or pass a judgement that is both fair and satisfactory to the crowd. prerequisite: Literacy
Leadership - A character with this skill is either trained, or has a natural aptitude for, leading bodies of men, either soldiers or civilians. The character can command a number of civilians (as in a posse) equal to his skill score, or four times that many soldiers. A successful skill check will also keep a group in line when trouble is brewing.
Linguistics - This character has made an extensive study of foreign languages. One half the skill score, rounded up, is the number of languages the character speaks fluently. A successful skill check also lets the character
understand at least part of any language.
prerequisite: Literacy
Literacy - A character with this skill can read and write any language he can speak, including Indian languages. The Judge can require a skill check in cases where the written material is complicated or the character doesn’t get much practice.
Locksmithing - This skill represents both the lawful and honest pursuit of craftsmen who make and repair locks, and the dishonest pursuit of safe crackers and lock pickers. A skill check lets the character open a lock, repair a lock, or build a lock. The Judge should impose modifiers on this skill check suitable to the situation.
Medicine - While great strides were made in medicine in the years leading up to the second half of the 19th Century, a combination of inadequate knowledge and poor facilities made both disease and injury very lethal on the frontier. A good doctor was both very rare and very highly regarded. Even some of the basic principles of first aid, which we now take for granted, were largely unknown to the general public.
  Regarding wounds, medical skill has these capabilities and restrictions: No amount of medical skill or tending will save a character who has been mortally wounded. Serious wounds will begin healing after a doctor makes a successful Medicine skill check. Light wounds heal on their own, or twice as fast if tended by a doctor. A doctor can also use his Medical skill to treat animal bites, poisoning, fevers, and other diseases. prerequisite: Literacy
Orienteering - This is the art of traveling cross-country, with or without a map, without becoming lost. A character relying on his Orienteering ability to get from here to there should make a skill check every one to five days, depending on how difficult the terrain is. The judge must decide, based on the landmarks available, whether a lost character realizes his predicament. Characters without Orienteering skill must make Observation checks, at least one per day, to not get lost in wilderness.
Photography - This character knows how to take photographs, develop film, and even make his own emulsions. Photography was still young, and very much in evolution, during the years 1865-90. Many photographers were from the do-it-yourself school and had a keen interest in the art they were helping to both invent and develop. Cameras and other equipment were bulky and fragile, but the public clamored for photographs, from personal portraits to portrayals of fabulous natural wonders and romantic figures to ship back East. Skill checks can be required for a wide
variety of photographic tasks: exposing or developing the plate; transporting the equipment safely; coating the plates with emulsion.
Pocket Picking - Anyone who would sneak up to another person, reach into his pocket, and remove something is a thief. Anyone caught pursuing this profession can expect harsh treatment. A successful Pocket Picking check will lift a victim’s wallet or purse (from a jacket or vest pocket, where it most likely would have been carried). If the pickpocket attempt fails, the victim checks his Observation to see whether the attempt was noticed.
Preaching/Theology - This skill is essential to the stump-riding circuit preacher as well as to the selfless missionary. Successful skill checks can bring people into worship services or hold them enthralled with the power of the word. Preachers, ordained and otherwise, were always in demand, to minister to the faithful, read over the dead and dying, and grant blessings on endeavors of every
kind. Literacy is not a prerequisite for this skill but it is highly recommended.
Printing/Journalism - This character knows every aspect of the publishing trade, from writing to editing to typesetting to printing. He is qualified to run a newspaper of his own, file stories to a paper, or even write dime westerns. Skill checks can be used to determine whether a story was gripping and compelling, whether the character can get all the information he needs for a story, and as a general guide to how good a writer the character is.
prerequisite: Literacy
Prospecting/Mining - This is the skill that lets a character locate oil, gold, or other valuable minerals and recover them safely. Skill checks can determine whether a mine shaft was dug safely, whether anything is found in the mine (modified, of course, by whether there’s anything there in the first place), and whether the character even recognizes something of value when he sees it. If a character is operating a mine, a weekly skill check determines whether his work is paying off. Again, the size of the payoff is up to the Judge, based on the richness of the area.
Public Speaking - The ability to address and influence a crowd is essential to politicians, preachers, demagogues, temperance unionists, labor organizers, and dozens of other professions. Depending on the initial mood of the audience, a successful skill check can calm them down, whip them up, or even get them ready to storm the jail and string someone up. Like most skills, the player can’t just say, “I’m speaking to the crowd,” and roll some dice to see how people react. He should
have to give at least a summary of the content of his speech. The Judge can impose
modifiers on the skill check for particularly effective or ridiculous arguments.
Railroad Engineering - There is a mistaken notion that anyone can climb into a locomotive and run a train. This is true to about the same extent that anyone can climb into a car and drive it. If you value your life, however, you might not want to be in that car or train. A railroad engineer (literally, someone who runs the engine) can operate a train safely and correctly. He knows railroad procedures and signals. A skill check can be used to avoid mishaps planned by the Judge (e.g., stopping the train before it hits a torn-up section of track), but a failed check should never be the cause of a random mishap
Riding - Assume that everyone in a BOOT HILLĀ® game knows how to ride a horse. This skill comes into play in situations that call for something unusual: staying on a bucking or spooked horse, riding across difficult ground (steep slopes, deep rivers), jumping an obstacle. A character on horseback can also use this skill to calm his mount if it gets frightened or ornery.
Roping - A character with this skill can make a lasso and catch something with it. A single skill check is all that’s required in most cases. In combat, throwing a lasso is the equivalent of firing a careful shot, except the character’s Roping skill is his chance to hit. If the throw misses, reeling the rope back in
takes at least six seconds (one combat turn). If a character is lassoed, he gets one chance to escape by making either a Strength or Coordination check. If the ability check fails, the character’s arms are pinned at his sides (or his legs are tangled, depending on the lassoer’s target). A lasso’s short, long, and extreme ranges are 2, 5, and 10 yards.
Saddlemaking - Actually, this skill entails leatherworking of all sorts: making saddles, bridles, holsters, belts, or just about anything else, with the exception of boots. A skill check determines whether the work was performed properly and to the customer’s satisfaction.
Scouting - The ability to move through unknown or enemy territory, gather useful information, and return to safety again without being detected is called scouting. This skill does not cover the immediate acts of moving silently or without being seen, which are more properly covered by Stealth. Instead, it deals with the bigger questions like can the character find the indian village? Can he get an accurate count of the warriors and their weapons? Can he spot their sentries, their source of water, or identify how many different tribes are represented? Skill checks can determine whether the scouting character finds what he’s looking for, whether
he avoids discovery, and whether he gets the facts right about what he saw.
Sheepherding - Sheep (”woollies”) were extremely unpopular with cattlemen when herds were first brought West. Eventually, around the turn of the century, even cattlemen began to see how sheep and cattle could coexist on the same range, and even benefit from each other’s presence. Before that time, however, a sheepherder had to be as courageous and heroically dedicated to his profession as anyone out West, considering the obstacles he faced. Like Cow Handling, skill checks can be used to control a herd, calm it down, stop or turn a stampede, and give rudimentary
care to sick animals.
Silversmithing - When times were flush, the silversmith’s art was in demand.
Decorations on belt buckles, pistol grips, watches and watch chains, and jewelry were fancied by gamblers, gunmen, and wealthy ranchers and businessmen. A skill check determines whether the work turned out as desired. It also allows the character to appraise silver items.
Smithing - The smith was a multi-faceted craftsman, whose responsibilities ran far beyond shoeing horses. In remote areas he could be called upon to fix or manufacture almost anything from metal: horseshoes, plows, knives, buttons, shovels, hammers, hinges, bathtubs, and barber chairs. A skill check determines whether an item can be repaired, and whether the work turns out properly.
Stealth This skill allows a character to move silently or without being seen. Staying out of sight requires cover of some sort, whether it is rocks and brush or a crowd. Usually only a single roll is required to be stealthy. If the roll succeeds, anyone observing the area where the character is has his Observation score divided by three, rounded down, before making an Observation check.
Surveying/Mapmaking - The job of surveying and mapping the West was both vital to its eventual taming (via the railroad and telegraph) and dangerous (since the areas being surveyed were generally pretty wild). A skill check determines the accuracy of the character’s mapping or survey measurements. A character with this skill automatically gets 6 points of Orienteering skill, too.
prerequisite: Literacy
Survival - This character knows how to find water, food, and shelter in inhospitable wilderness. He also can tell healthy food and water from potentially dangerous stuff, and pick out a safe place to sleep (as opposed to, say, a scorpion’s nest). The player makes one skill check per day. If the roll failed, the character’s Strength, Coordination, and Observation scores (and those of everyone
else depending on him) are reduced by one. If the roll succeeded but was within two points of the character’s score, his Strength is reduced by one. If the roll succeeded by more than two points, the character is all right for today. If any attribute drops to 2 or less, that character becomes helplessly delirious. If any
attribute drops to 0, that character dies. Characters recover one attribute point per attribute per day once they reach civilization (or find help, at least).
Swimming - Surprisingly few Westerners actually knew how to swim. Anyone with this skill can swim automatically under normal circumstances, but must make a skill check in turbulent water or rapids, if seriously wounded, or if weighted down with heavy clothing, guns, gold, etc. Characters without this skill must make a skill check against one-half their Strength score, rounded up, anytime they get dunked. If this roll fails, they are going down. They get one more chance, to make a Luck check this time. Success means they drag themselves to the bank, half drowned. Failure means they can’t get out without help, and will drown in 30 seconds (five turns) unless rescued.
Tactics - Tactics skill gives a character the ability to predict, to some extent, what an opponent will do in combat, and also grants some insight on the best course of action in a fight. At the beginning of a fight a character with Tactics skill makes a skill check. If it succeeds, that character’s side gets to add one to its initiative die rolls through the whole fight. Also at the beginning of a fight, if the players aren’t sure what to do, they can ask the Judge for advice. The Judge makes a Tactics skill check behind a screen where the players can’t see the result. If the check succeeds, the Judge gives the players some vague but generally good advice. If the check fails, the advice is vague but poor. The players, of course, don’t know which they’re getting. (If more than one character has Tactics skill and they all try to use it at once, use it as an opportunity to spread confusion. Never give more than one piece of good advice and one piece of bad, and try to make them contradictory.)
Tailor/Seamstress - Anyone who was anyone at this time wore tailor-made clothes. Clothes bought off the rack came complete with sharp creases, which were a dead giveaway of either cheapness or lack of funds. Tailor-mades, on the other hand, were always fashionably rumpled. A tailor can make, fit, and alter clothing of any style, as well as recognize the value (and possibly even the region of manufacture) of a piece of clothing or an outfit.
Teamster - A teamster is, literally, someone who handles a team of animals; i.e., a professional wagon driver. More information on wagon trains and freight hauling is given in Chapter 7. A Teamster skill check can maintain control of a panicking team, keep a wagon on its wheels at top speed, or prevent swamping when crossing a flooded stream.
Telegraph - By 1876, telegraph lines crossed the continent. A year later, they crisscrossed the West. This skill allows a character to send and translate messages via telegraph in Morse code. Except in the case of very simple messages (five words or less), a skill check is necessary to get the whole message or send the message with no significant errors. If the skill check fails, entire words will be scrambled or untranslatable.
prerequisite: Literacy
Thespian - This character has at least some talent and/or experience as an actor. His skill score gives a measure of his general worth in this regard, as well as his chance to deliver a pleasing and convincing performance.
Throwing - This skill applies equally to rocks, bottles, knives, and spears. Throwing something counts as a careful shot, but the character’s chance to hit equals his Throwing skill score. This is covered in greater detail in Chapter 3. A character without Throwing skill can still throw, using one-third of his
Coordination score (rounded up) as his chance to hit.
Tracking - In a region with few roads, often the only way to tell where someone went was to follow the faint trail left by his passage. Overturned stones and sticks, scuffed rocks, scratch marks, and churned-up sod are the signposts a tracker reads, as well as his own intuition about where the quarry is headed. A skill check is required every 2 miles. Adjust the character’s skill score by: -3
if the area is hard or rocky; -6 if the trail leads through a large town or across a river (only if the quarry moved up or down stream); -1 if the quarry is Indians; +6 if the quarry is Indians in a town. If it rains, the trail is wiped out. If the trail is lost, it can be recovered by making a skill check with an additional -4 modifier, one check per hour.
Trading - This character has a knack for haggling. He won’t get a discount every time he buys something, but if the price is negotiable (and he makes his skill check), he can probably get another 10 percent off (or add 10 percent to the sale price). This applies equally to bartering and cash purchases. Knowing something about the items up for sale helps; e.g., a trader may get an even better deal on a
horse if he has Horsemanship skill, too. Trading must not be limited to a die roll, however; as always, some role-playing should be involved.
Trapping - By the end of the Civil War, most hats were being made from felt instead of beaver.  Still there was a market for beaver and exotic pelts, enough at least to support those few hard-core individualists who just couldn't stand having neighbors closer than 50 miles.  The skill score represents the character's chance to run his trap lines successfully that week, bringing in 1 to 20 pelts worth $2 to $3 each.  A skill check can also be used to build a man trap, bear trap, or any other sort of trap the character needs.
Veterinarian - This is the animal equivalent of Medicine. Because of the difficulties in tending to them, however, there is often very little a veterinarian can do for an injured animal. Anesthetics for animals were, in many cases, worse than the injury or illness. If an animal needed to be unconscious for surgery, it would be done as quickly as possible to maximize the animal’s chance to survive the anesthetic. After being treated by a vet, an animal recovers three wound points immediately, though all light and serious wounds must still recover normally. Serious wounds do not begin healing until tended by a veterinarian. Light wounds heal on their own, or heal twice as fast if tended by a veterinarian. A character with this skill automatically has 6 points of Medicine skill as well.
prerequisite: Literacy.
Wainwright - This character can build and repair wagons, coaches, carts, buckboards, surreys, and all other sorts of horsedrawn, oxen-drawn, or mule-drawn vehicles. A skill check can verify whether repairs are made correctly or on time, and whether a new wagon is built correctly and on time.
Whip - The whip was a common tool among teamsters, drovers, swampers, and
others who worked with animals. A skilled man with a whip could slash clean to the
bone, though rarely would he use a whip in such a way on an animal. When used as a
weapon, a whip can be cracked as often as a careful shot. A Whip skill check determines whether the target was hit. Check wound locations and severity as usual, but with a -2 modifier on the severity roll.
Wrangling - This skill is necessary to the work of the wrangler, the man who oversees the spare horses on a ranch, cattle drive, or wagon train. This skill can also be used when judging a horse’s value or training them.
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:26, Sat 26 Aug 2023.
The Judge
GM, 255 posts
Thu 21 Jan 2021
at 21:41
  • msg #2

Work Skills List

Using Work Skills

Work skills are used during play the same as attributes. When a character tries to use a skill, the player makes a “skill check” by rolling a 20-sided die. If the result is equal to or less than his skill score, he succeeded at his task. If the die roll is greater than his skill score, he failed.
If a task is unusually easy or unusually hard, the judge can impose modifiers on the character’s skill scores. These modifiers usually won’t exceed + or - 5 in even the most extreme cases. A skill check of any sort is required only if there is some degree of difficulty to the task.
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:36, Tue 29 Mar 2022.
The Judge
GM, 891 posts
Thu 14 Jul 2022
at 11:14
  • msg #3

Work Skills List

Spending X Points

increase work skill score by 1
range 7-15 100 experience points
range 16-19 200 experience points
range 20+ 300 experience points

increase weapon skill score by 1
range 2-4 100 experience points
range 5-6 300 experience points
range 7+ 500 experience points

learn new skill 250 experience points

increase attribute score by 1
range 7-15 500 experience points
range 16-19 1,000 experience points
range 20+ 1,500 experience points
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