Analyst
If you want to decipher a magical artifact or uncover the powers of an elemental creature, you must be able to interpret the smallest clues. …
Area Knowledge (Specific Area)
You know the region of your birth (or where you have lived for many years) better than other places. …
Cartography
This special ability covers drawing coastlines, producing detailed measurements of areas to scale, creating maps, and checking existing maps for accuracy. …
Cheating
By using loaded dice, hiding cards up their sleeves, or having accomplices look at other players’ cards, experienced cheaters can earn a lot of money (as long as they aren’t caught). …
Counterfeiter
Sometimes an impostor needs to forge a letter or make a new document look older. Forged documents open many doors, but rogues caught using forged documents are severely punished. …
Craft Instruments
Anyone can fashion a simple bone flute that will produce some sounds. However, crafting instruments that produce clean, clear tunes in proper pitch is much more difficult and requires specific knowledge. …
Disarm Traps
To disarm mechanical traps, you need basic knowledge of their intricacies and must also be able to deal with bolts and locks. This special ability is important to rogues, thieves, and riffraff for bypassing security measures. …
Distilling
A skilled distiller can ferment almost anything containing sugar or starch into a high-proof alcohol. …
Expert at Improvising
Some heroes can create items or work objects without the necessary tools. These adventurers are imaginative and can improvise in any situation. …
Fate Point: Improve Attack
Some heroes possess a little bit of extra luck in close combat. …
Fate Point: Improve Attribute
An attribute check can succeed because of sheer luck. You can spend a FtP on a skill check, but only to improve the result of one specific die, no matter how often the skill check invokes an attribute. …
Fate Point: Improve Dodge
When the situation is really dire, the hero can dodge an attack. …
Fate Point: Improve Parry
Using this special ability, a hero can still succeed even after failing a parry. …
Fate Point: Improve Ranged Combat
Some heroes possess a little bit of extra luck in ranged combat. …
Fate Point: Vigilance
A character with Vigilance can sense a dangerous situation before it happens. Examples include an animal attack or an ambush by a robber gang. …
Fencing Stolen Goods
Some seedy characters try to sell stolen goods, even if this violates the laws given by Praios. For such people, getting a good price is all that matters. …
Fisher
An experienced fisher is always more successful than unskilled counterparts at catching fish. …
Gatherer
Berries, mushrooms, and roots might not always be tasty, but they can help you survive. …
Glassblowing
This special ability conveys knowledge of the creation of fragile items like bottles, windows, mirrors, or the many instruments alchemists use for their experiments. …
Guild Law
The hero knows the laws of mage guilds and their institutions. …
Heraldry
Heraldry deals with coats of arms and all relevant rules and laws. What does the Baron of Twomills’ coat of arms look like? What heraldic colors are allowed? Is a landless knight of Bimselbridge even allowed to carry a coat of arms? To answer these questions, you must be well-versed in heraldry. This special ability also includes knowledge of various Aventurian noble houses’ family trees. …
Horse Faker
Horse fakers know ways to make old or sick animals look better, hiding their infirmities to get the best possible price. …
Hunter
An experienced hunter can survive by hunting game. However, hunting isn’t permitted in all regions of Aventuria. …
Iron Will I-II
With this special ability, heroes can try to guard their minds against manipulation. …
Language I-III
To speak a language, a hero needs that Language special ability. Language has three levels, which measure comprehension and fluency (see The Meaning of Language Levels, below). A list of available languages appears on page 222. This must be purchased separately for each language. …
Language: Folding Fan
The language of the folding fan, which is common in Horasian high society, is a non-verbal communication method comprised of gestures with a hand-held, decorative fan. Folding Fan Language is often employed for seduction and insults. Both sender and recipient must know Folding Fan Language. This language’s vocabulary is restricted, limiting the kinds of messages that may be shared. …
Language: Foxian
Many underworld gangs have developed their own secret language. This language, commonly known as Foxian, consists mainly of reinterpretations of words from other languages and includes a small number of secret symbols. Foxian is spoken all across Aventuria and takes a similar form in every city (so a Middenrealmer can understand spoken Tulamydian Foxian, and a Horasian in Brabak can understand carved Foxian symbols). …
Leader
A good leader guides and assists fellow combatants, giving them tactical advantages. …
Lip Reading
You can decipher words visually by watching someone’s lips as they speak. Of course, you must also know the language being spoken to understand what is being said. …
Literacy
For their written forms, many languages use their own alphabets, ideograms, or other symbols, collectively called scripts. Note that a character may speak and understand a language and still not be literate. To be literate in a language, you need the corresponding Literacy special ability. …
Mimicry
People who live in the wilderness, such as hunters and (especially) elves with their close connection to nature, can imitate animal noises. This is useful for luring animals when hunting, or for giving unobtrusive signals. …
Numerology
The art of interpreting mystical connections in random series of numbers is quite popular in the Lands of the Tulamydes and Alamada, and also among the ore dwarves. …
Pottery
This special ability covers all aspects of ceramics, from choosing the right clay and working it with a potter’s wheel to firing it in a kiln. …
Predict Weather
Few can predict tomorrow’s weather accurately and prepare accordingly. This special ability grants knowledge of signs that indicate a change in the weather. …
Skill Specialization (Skill)
The hero can specialize in certain applications of skills. Many skill descriptions mention applications, but not necessarily all that are available for that skill. Ask the GM about others that may exist. …
Suppress Pain
A hero can internally mitigate pain. …
Terrain Knowledge
Rangers, hunters, and other heroes with experience in the wilderness are expert nature survivalists. They possess extensive knowledge of the indicated terrain type. …
Trade Secret
Many professions have special knowledge that teachers don’t necessarily pass on to every student. Alchemists stubbornly hold on to their most valuable formulas, crafters protect their secret procedures for creating goods of the highest quality, and scholars pass esoteric lore only to select students. …
Writing
Some authors enjoy great fame for their work. Many people can write in their language, but few of them are writers. You must have technique and talent to create pleasing verse or incite a crowd with an inflammatory political pamphlet. …
