Skills

A skill defines what a character can and cannot do, and to what efficiency they can perform various actions. The Roshanri skill system is based on a simple core concept. The higher you rank in any individual skill the greater your ability to perform that skill. It is a simple, and very straight forward way of saying that by using your Thread Points (TP) earned through roleplay you can purchase new and higher ranks within your skills of interest. The higher a characters rank in a skill the better they are at that skill, and if a player chooses to specialize in one particular aspect of that skill then they have the option to advance beyond the limits of the primary skill and into Mastery ranks. It is up to the players to decide how to allocate their Thread Points, for once they are spent then there is no turning back.

Primary Skills

A primary skill is a broad skill which has many potential specialties within it. Ranking up in the primary skill will ensure that a character has a good level of ability in a wide range of skills, but will not be exceptional in any one until a specialty is taken. Examples of primary skills include Swordsmanship (One Handed), Smithing, or Medicine.

Ranks

Rank E

• You have just learned about your skill, just became interested in it, or are only just beginning to dabble. Even the most basic of tasks requires more time and energy than you expect. Your grip on a sword is loose and undisciplined, your stances easily broken. If you are baking something it usually turns out burnt, or inedible entirely. In a lab you are more a danger to yourself than a benefit to society.

Rank D

• The basics are finally coming together. Your cakes don't taste terrible, your sword stays in your hand most of the time, and your not quite as ignorant in your subject matter as you were at start. Still you are a very long way away from mastering anything.

Rank C

• Actions you have done repetitively over and over again for endless hours are becoming closer to second nature. You don't have to think about your ready stance anymore, your cooking looks good and you're even starting to venture into new recipes. Some original ideas of your own are beginning to show themselves in your research, and while you certainly can't say your confident in your abilities at least you don't have to have someone hold your hand through the easy stuff.
• You may select up to two Specialties at this rank

Rank B

• Turns out you are actually pretty good at this stuff. Your martial arts and sword swinging is feeling less like a conscious act and more like its just how your body should move. Your better than your average Joe, and since you don't have to focus on keeping your feet in the right place you can suddenly see a new broader perspective to your skill. The cakes you make are not just pretty to look at, they are down right delicious.
• You may select up to 3 Specialties at this rank

Rank A

• There is no denying it, you are good at what you do and other people notice. Your weapon of choice is more like a part of your arm, simple and quick to respond to your every command. In the kitchen you are an artist, both visually and in taste. A person will walk across Hanzah just to sample your latest creation, and in the lab you are making more than a few potentially game changing breakthroughs. Most who get this far are content with their skills.
• You may select up to 4 specialties at this rank

Specialty Skills

A specialty skill is a specific skill which falls under the broader umbrella of a primary skill. An example of this would be a specific weapon type such as a Longsword, Armor Smithing, or Surgery. Taking a specialty allows a character to focus their time and energies into truly mastering one or several individual skills until they surpass what is commonly seen in NPC's. When comparing a Primary Skill of a rank and a Specialty Skill of a similar rank the Specialty Skill will always be given the advantage over the Primary since the character has spent more time with his specialty and knows its strengths and weaknesses far better than someone who simply knows the general techniques found in the Primary Skill.

A specialty skill may be chosen once you reach Rank C in the Primary Skill, and each new specialty skill chosen will begin at Rank C and must be ranked up just like any other skill. The ranks of specialty skills mirror those of the primary skills, but with the added nuances found below.

Ranks

Rank C

• You feel more comfortable with your chosen specialty, and as a result the basics of this skill come almost naturally to you. To those who have not chosen this specialty you seem like a natural talent, though as of yet you do not stand out for your skill.

Rank B

• It's true, you really are gifted with this specific skill and people take notice. You learn with ease what someone of a similar rank would struggle with when using this weapon or studying this field. It just feels right to you, more like its a lost piece of yourself instead of a skill you picked up randomly.

Rank A

• You are better than most, even in a crowd you stand out for your expertise in this specialty skill. Talented, gifted and prodigy are all words that would describe your ability as you have a unique knack for understanding the intricacies of the skill that most people do not. This allows you to see more than two or three paths to your goal, and your creative freedom with this skill puts others those who didn't specialize in it to shame.

Master Ranks

After selecting a specialty it is possible to advance that specialty to ranks beyond expert, and beyond the ranks of what most NPC's in Roshanri possess. These new ranks are called Master Ranks, and achieving them not only denotes time and dedication to your character but also sets your character apart as they now belong to a league of their own. The creativity and flexibility allowed a character who has achieved Master Ranks in a skill are great, and it is at these levels that players may begin creating their own unique combination of skills to create new variations of skills, or even new skills entirely.

Ranks

Rank X

• You have gone beyond the top of what most people obtain, and it shows. In a room of people with similar skills you stand out for the natural ability to understand and incorporate new ideas into your skill. Your baking is no longer just a job, your swordplay not just your way of defending yourself. It is your way of life and you understand its nuances better than some people understand themselves.

Rank Y

• What you do is no longer a skill, it is an art form. Things you create are the stuff whispered by lesser in your craft, and what you say on the topic is often considered the new law. Your sword sings through the air as you appear to dance between your opponents to disarm them, or slay them, with the ease of someone taking a stroll on the beach. In the kitchen your recipes are so well known than few who taste them can ever go back to the boring way of life they had always known. To view your research is to look into the face of a new horizon.

Rank Z

• What you are is the stuff of myth. You shouldn't be able to do what you do. It's like magic. Cutting the wick off of a candle without extinguishing the flame, or slicing through steel as though it were butter nothing its beyond you as long as you have the motivation and imagination to achieve it. Your cakes change lives, causing true emotions to well within people who taste them as you hold the power to sway a persons very outlook with just a single bite. You are at the zenith of your field of research, beyond your lessers head and shoulders as you have found the formula no one thought existed. You understand what most cannot even comprehend to see.

Purchasing Skills

Each level of skill costs an individual amount displayed in the diagram below. Every level of a Primary Skill costs 10 more thread points than the rank before, E costing 10 tp, D costing 20 tp, and so on. As an example purchasing a skill at rank C will cost the player 60 thread points in total. The same is true with Specialty Skills, with their base cost starting at 35 tp, increasing in cost by 10 tp for every rank thereafter. Master Ranks of skills cost 75 tp each.

How do skills affect Combat Scores

A characters Combat Score is a reflection of their overall ability and is a combination of their skill, knowledge and equipment. The goal of the combat score is to give a numerical value to calculate the overall difficulty of any given situation in order to accurately portray this in your writing and roleplay. Thus, as stated, your ranking in your skills also factors into your combat scores and determines overall what your ability rankings are. It should be noted, as always, that just because you have a higher skill level, or higher combat score, this does not mean victory is yours. In the end it is how well the scene is written, and how creative one is with their skills that ultimately decides the victor.

Primary Skills

You receive 1 point toward your combat score for every rank you have achieved in your primary skill. Thus if you are a Rank A you would put 5 points toward your combat score, one for each rank E-A you have earned.

Specialty Skills

Like with the Primary Skills you receive 1 point for every rank you have achieved in your specialty skill. If you are a Rank B in your specialty you will then put 2 points toward your combat score, one for each rank C-B you have earned.

Master Skills

To reflect the ability of your character that has attained mastery, each rank in Mastery you will add 2 points toward your combat score. So if you are Rank Y in your skill then you will add 4 points toward your combat score, 2 for each rank Y-X you have earned.

Rank Stacking

Your ranks within your skills stack as long as they fall within the same Primary Skill tree. For instance, if you are a Rank C Swordsmanship (longblades) and a Rank Y in Longswords your points will be counted as follows.

Primary Rank C= 3 points Specialty Rank A= 3 points Mastery Rank Y= 4 points

Total points added to combat score= 10

How you allocate your thread points between your skills has a big impact on your character as a whole, and so it pays to think about what kind of character you wish to play and how his/her skill set would best be set up.

Skill List

On the skill list you will find all of the Primary Skills currently available on Roshanri. Any specific skill (specialty) you wish to take will fall under one of these primary skills, but if you do not see any skill you are looking for please let a moderator know so that the skill may be added to the list if necessary.