Training
Use: Macro skill.
Sample specializations: Skills of a particular attribute
(Dexterity, Perception, etc.), a particular set of skills (combat
skills, knowledge skills, etc.), a single skill.
One of the major factors in determining the cost for the first add of a new skill is whether the person acquiring the skill is being taught the skill or learns it on their own. Training is used by a character to instruct another character so that they can acquire that first skill add at the lower cost. One training skill check is used to cover an entire training session. When a training session begins, several decisions must be made. First, if the skill is being acquired by spending possibilities the amount of time spent on training must be decided. If the skill is being learned over time, then the duration of the training session is equal to the amount of time determined using the normal rules earlier in this chapter. One week is the minimum amount of time required when spending possibilities, but spending more time will decrease the difficulty of the training skill check. The modifier is found by subtracting the time value spent on training from 29, the time value for a week, creating a negative modifier to the difficulty number. Second, the teacher and the student must decide if they are training to the exclusion of all other activities. If not, they are considered distracted which increases the difficulty. If the skill is being learned over time, the distracted penalty applies if the training does not occupy at least eight hours a day and 25 days out of a month’s time. Third, if the skill is being acquired using possibilities the student must decide if she is committed to learning the skill. Being committed means that at the end of the training session the character can and will purchase the first add of the skill even if the teacher fails his training skill check. In other words, the character has enough possibilities to pay the self-taught cost for the first skill add and will pay that cost if the teacher fails.
A character who is not committed can choose whether or not to buy the first add of the skill at the self-taught cost if the teacher fails his skill check. If the skill is being learned over time, the student is automatically considered to be committed but the only effect this has is to reduce the difficulty number. If the training skill check fails, the student does not learn the skill. At the end of the training session, the teacher makes a training skill check against a difficulty of 8, modified by the following conditions:
TRAINING CHART
Condition Modifier
Teacher has skill at only one add +2
Teacher or student is distracted +4
Teacher and student are distracted +5
Student is committed -3
Skill can be used unskilled at a penalty +2
Skill cannot be used unskilled +4
Skill is not native to teacher’s or student’s reality +5
Skill is not native to teacher’s and student’s reality +7
Training session longer than one week (only when
spending possibilities to learn skill)
29 - Time value
Example: Terrill is going to teach Marco divination magic. They decide to spend two weeks on it rather than the minimum of one week. Marco is going to devote all of his time to learning the skill but Terrill has other things he needs to do so the teacher is considered distracted. Marco really wants to learn the skill so he is committed to learning it. Terrill only has one add in divination magic and the skill cannot be used unskilled. The base difficulty for Terrill’s training skill check is 8. It is modified by +2 for Terrill only having one add, +4 for Terrill being distracted, -3 for Marco being committed, +4 for being unusable unskilled and two weeks is a time value of 31 so (29 - 31) a -2 modifier for that. The final difficulty is 13. Unfortunately, Terrill only generates a skill total of 12 and fails. Because Marco was committed, he has to buy the skill add at the self-taught cost, which is 10 possibilities instead of the five he would have paid if Terrill had succeeded.