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Skill Descriptions

This section contains an alphabetical list of skills, including a brief description and which groups the skills appear in. Magic skills are listed separately see Magic.

Defaults: Most skills default to Poor, so if a skill isn’t listed on your character sheet, your character probably knows it at Poor. Certain skills, such as Magic, are an exception to this they’re not known at all if not listed on the character sheet. Other skills may have a default of Terrible or Mediocre. Skills which have a default other than Poor have the default listed in [brackets].

Acrobatics/Tumbling: moving your body gracefully and successfully through difficult maneuvers, such as rolls, tumbles, leaps, springing to your feet, etc. (Athletic)

Aerial Acrobatics: swinging from ropes, chandeliers, vines, trapezes, rigging, etc., safely and accurately. (Athletic)

Alchemy: knowledge of the processes and ingredients used to create elixirs and talismans of magical power. See Magic for the Scholarly Magic version, which allows you to create alchemical mixtures as well as recognize them. [No default] (Knowledge, Magic)

Animal Handling: managing animals in many situations. (Professional)

Animal Training: training animals for specific tasks. (Professional)

Arcane Lore: knowledge of occult things otherworldly stories, legends, etc. (Knowledge)

Area Knowledge: knowledge of a given area. The larger the area, the more shallow the knowledge. (Knowledge)

Armorer: making, altering, and repairing armor.[Terrible] (Professional)

Artist: creating aesthetically pleasing art in a given medium. Each medium is a separate skill. (Professional)

Astrology: this is either simple astronomy or an actual potent forecasting and divination tool ask the GM. (Knowledge)

Balance: keeping one’s equilibrium in awkward physical situations, such as tightrope walking, beam walking, crossing a stream on a log, etc. (Athletic)

Barroom Savvy: like Urban Survival, but very specific to barrooms. (Social, Covert)

Barter/Haggle: raising or reducing prices, depending on whether you’re selling or buying. Opposed by the other person’s Barter/Haggle skill. (Social)

Basketry: making baskets and other woven products from bark, grasses, and other plant materials. Includes a knowledge of materials, market prices, etc. (Professional)

Bluff: misleading people into thinking you will perform an action you have no intention of performing. Opposed by Reasoning. (Social)

Boating: small boat handling. (Athletic, Scouting)

Bookkeeping: knowledge of accounting practices requires Literacy and some math ability. (Professional)

Botany: broad knowledge of plants their habitats, growing needs, uses, dangers, etc. See Herb Lore, Farming, Basketry, Poisons, etc., for more specific skills. (Knowledge)

Bow: using and caring for a bow and arrows, either longbow or short bow. [Terrible] (Combat)

Bowyer/Fletcher: making bows and arrows, including harvesting the appropriate material. [Terrible] (Professional)

Brawling: fighting without weapons. (Combat)

Camaraderie: being entertaining in social settings, such as at a bar, at a party, around a campfire, etc., which can gain someone’s confidence and approval. (Social)

Camouflage: blending in with your surroundings so you don’t stand out. Primarily used in natural settings use Disguise in urban settings. (However, a case could be made for using Camouflage skill to hide in an alley, for example.) (Scouting)

Camping: similar to Survival, but requires some tools, such as blankets, pots, an axe, a tent, etc. In return, it allows greater comfort and quality of life in the wild. (Scouting)

Carpentry: working with wood, to make anything from houses to furniture to cabinets. (Professional)

Climbing: climbing, either natural formations such as cliffs and trees, or man-made ones such as stone, brick, etc., (but not sheer) walls. (Athletic, Covert)

Club/Mace: using a club or mace as a combat weapon. (Combat)

Con: making people believe in some plan or product you are pushing. (Social)

Cooking: preparing tasty and nourishing food. (Professional)

Counseling/Priest: comforting the afflicted, restoring good emotional health, helping people through grief, etc. (Professional)

Courtesan: professional pleasure giving. (Professional)

Crossbow: using a crossbow effectively in combat. [Mediocre] (Combat)

Dancing: dancing aesthetically. (Professional)

Detect Lies: telling when someone is lying. Opposed by Lies/Pretense. (Covert)

Detect Traps: determining if a given area has a trap of some sort set, and what type. (Covert)

Diplomacy: not a separate skill see Parley/ Negotiate

Disarm Traps: deactivating a trap without harm. This may or may not cause noise, however_…(Covert)

Disguise: passing for someone else under visual inspection. There is a penalty for serious inspection, of course. Opposed by Reasoning, though no roll is needed if the observer has no reason to be suspicious. (Covert)

Engineer: designing and making tools, structures, sewer systems, etc. (Professional)

Equestrian Acrobatics: performing acrobatic mounts, dismounts, trick riding, etc. This skill cannot be higher than your Riding skill. (Athletic)

Etiquette: knowledge of good manners in any society, and the ability to carry them out. Not as specific as Savoir-Faire, but gives a broader base for knowledge. (Social)

Evaluate Goods: a general skill to assess the value of something. It won’t be as accurate as a specific Professional skill (for example, a Potter will be a better judge of Pottery than someone with this skill), but as a broad skill allows a good general knowledge. (Knowledge)

Falconry: training and controlling a raptor for sport and hunting. (Professional)

Farming: raising crops and/or livestock, and everything associated with that: soil preparation, planting, weeding, tending, harvest, drying, storage, markets, etc. (Professional)

Fast-draw: readying a weapon for combat use effectively instantly. A different skill for each weapon, and some weapons cannot be fast-drawn. (Combat)

Fast-talk: convincing someone of something, which, upon reflection, they may realize isn’t true. Fast-talk doesn’t create lasting belief see the Con skill for that. Opposed by Reasoning. (Social)

Find Hidden: locating concealed doors, compartments, catches, etc. (Covert)

First aid: administering emergency medical treatment knowledgeably. (Knowledge)

Fishing: catching fish for food, sale, barter, or sport. (Scouting)

Flail: using a flail as a weapon. (Combat)

Flatter: making people like you by complimenting them to the point they begin to trust your judgement. Opposed by Willpower. (Social)

Flirt/Vamp: arousing sexual interest in an appropriate subject, for whatever reason. Opposed by Willpower. (Social)

Forgery: making fake documents and/or signatures that look authentic. (Covert)

Gambling: gaming for money. Note that some gambling includes games of skill, and others games of chance this skill helps largely with the former, and knowledge of the latter, including a good estimate of the odds. Also the ability to cheat at games, and spot cheaters. (Professional)

Geography: broader than Area Knowledge, Geography is the knowledge of general topography, terrain nature, biomes, etc. (Knowledge)

Heraldry/Court Rituals: knowledge of signs, symbols, and devices used to denote rank and family of the nobility. Also knowledge of court rituals, such as how many trumpet calls to announce a king as opposed to a duke, etc. (Knowledge)

Herb Lore: knowledge of, preparation of, dosage of, and dangers of using herbs as medicinal agents. While it may tell you which herbs to avoid, this skill does not go into specific poisons see Poisons for that skill. See Botany for a broader knowledge of plants. (Scouting, Knowledge)

Hide Traces: hiding any traces that people or animals used an area. This includes hiding tracks as well as camping areas. (Scouting)

History: knowledge of historical figures and events. This can be a broad and shallow skill, such as World History, or a narrower and deeper skill, such as history of a specific state. (Knowledge)

Hunting: hunting and killing animals for food, hides, sport, or whatever. (Scouting)

Infiltrate: slipping into a guarded camp, either by pretending to have a right to be there or simply by avoiding all contact.

(Covert) Inn Keeping: the knowledge of running a hotel or inn; includes kitchen, bar-keeping, maid service, stable, etc. (Professional)

Interrogate: extracting information from an unwilling subject. There are two basic types of interrogators: those who get their subjects to trust them, and those who psychologically abuse them. Chose one type. Opposed by Willpower. (Social)

Intimidate: psychologically brow beating someone else into doing your will. Does not involve any physical component. Opposed by Willpower. (Social)

Jeweler: making and evaluating jewelry. Includes assessment of gems, gold, silver, etc. (Professional)

Juggling: juggling anything you can lift. See also Performing. (Athletic)

Jumping: jumping for distance and accuracy. (Athletic)

Knife: using a knife in combat, but not necessarily to throw it. (Combat)

Knife Throwing: throwing a knife accurately and with force. (Combat)

Knot-tying: tying functional and/or ornamental knots for various purposes. [Mediocre] (Athletic)

Lance: using a lance (a type of hand-held spear used from horseback). Does not include the Riding skill. (Combat)

Language: speaking and understanding a language. Every character knows their native language well at no cost take this skill to learn foreign languages. Each language learned is a separate skill. [No default, or may default to similar language] (Knowledge)

Leatherwork: working with leather includes tanning, preparation, tooling, sewing, etc. (Professional)

Legal Process: knowledge of legal matters. [Terrible] (Knowledge)

Legends/Stories: knowledge of legends and stories, either as a source for entertainment, wisdom, or clues to treasure hunting, etc. (Knowledge)

Lie/Pretense: dissembling your true intentions, origins, or role from others. Opposed by Detect Lies. (Social)

Lip reading: seeing what people are saying by watching their lips move. (Covert)

Literacy: reading and writing. (Knowledge)

Map Sketching: creating reasonably accurate and readable maps from observation. (Scouting)

Masonry: working with stone. (Professional)

Medicine: diagnosing and treating injuries and diseases in humans and other sentient beings. (Knowledge)

Merchant: broad knowledge of what it takes to be in the business of selling or trading, either retail or wholesale. (Professional)

Mimic Animal Noises: making a noise which sounds like a specific animal. (Scouting)

Move Quietly: moving without attracting attention. Opposed by Perception. (Athletic, Covert, Scouting)

Musician (each instrument separate): mastery of an instrument (which may be voice). See Performing. (Professional)

Navigation: finding your way based on the stars, position of the sun, map-reading, etc. (Scouting)

Observation: trained ability to notice and remember things conscious application of Perception and memory. The player’s notes are the character’s memory. (Scouting)

One-handed Axe: using small axes as combat weapons. (Combat)

One-handed Sword: using any sword designed to be used with one hand. (Combat)

Oratory: keeping the focus of a group of people through speaking, and attempting to sway them to your point of view. Opposed by group’s average Reasoning-1. (Social)

Parley/Negotiate: reaching a compromise solution. (Social)

Performing: stage presence actively entertaining people. You’ll need another skill to actually entertain with, such as Juggler, Storyteller, Musician, etc. A musician without the Performing skill may be skilled at producing music, but lacks “audience connection” and won’t be as popular as a musician with good Performing skill. (Professional)

Persuade: convincing an individual of your point of view. Opposed by Reasoning. (Social)

Pick Locks: opening locks without the correct key. Penalty of -1 with improvised lockpicks. Difficult locks may have an additional penalty. (Covert)

Pick Pockets: removing items from an individual’s pockets, belt, purse, etc., without them noticing it. Opposed by Perception. [Terrible] (Covert)

Pike: using a very long hand-held spear as a weapon most useful in formations, especially against cavalry. (Combat)

Poisons: knowledge, use, preparation, and dosage of various poisons. (Covert)

Politics/International: knowledge of the international situation in a given area, and of the internal politics of states within that area. May be for a broad area, such the entire known world, or a more focused area, such as Europe. In the latter case, the knowledge is more detailed. (Knowledge)

Pottery: making pots, plates, bowls, etc., from clay. Includes the ability to assess the value of other potters’ work, knowledge of good clay sources, etc. (Professional)

Read Opponent: roughly estimating a given opponent’s skill level in combat. An exceptionally good result may even reveal a particular combat “style,” if appropriate for the setting. (Combat)

Repartee: delivering witty sayings, usually double entendres, which cannot be construed as libelous but carry hidden insults or stings. (Social)

Riding: riding and controlling a horse (or other riding animal specify) comfortably, safely, and with precision. (Athletic)

Running: you practice a lot better speed than nonrunners, as well as distance. (Athletic)

Salesmanship: selling someone something. Opposed by Willpower. (Social)

Savoir-Faire: functioning smoothly, without social blunders, in any upper or middle class setting. (Social)

Seamanship: assisting in any task on a large sailing vessel. (Professional)

Shady Contacts: knowledge of the underworld, or, in a strange city, at least general underworld habits and likeliest places to contact fences, etc., without offending them. (Covert)

Shield: using a shield or buckler in combat, both on offense and defense. [Mediocre] (Combat)

Shiphandling: directing seamen to correctly handle a large sailing ship. Includes piloting and navigation skills. [Terrible] (Professional)

Shopkeeping: running a shop of some sort knowledge of basic bookkeeping, sources of materials, rotation of stock, general prices, sales techniques, etc. (Professional)

Sleight of Hand: manipulating small objects cleverly in your hands so as to conceal what you are actually doing with them. (Athletic)

Sling: using a sling in combat. [Terrible] (Combat)

Smithy: working metal into tools, weapons, ornaments, etc. [Terrible] (Professional)

Spear: using a spear in combat, but not including throwing it accurately or powerfully. (Combat)

Spear Throwing: throwing a spear powerfully and accurately. (Combat)

Sports, Various: Each sport is a separate skill Camp-ball (similar to football), Hurling, Pole-Throwing (Caber-Tossing and the like), Stickball (lacrosse), Stone (similar to Horseshoes), etc. Other popular “sports” are covered by other skills; Bow (for archery contests), Falconry, Hunting, Riding, etc.. (Athletic)

Staff: using a staff as a weapon. (Combat)

Storytelling: entertaining by recounting stories, either from your past or from other sources. Storytelling without the Performing skill is more likely to be successful in a bar or other personal setting than in a professional setting. (Social)

Streetwise: Savoir-Faire for the lower classes. (Covert)

Survival: surviving in the wilds. Includes basic fire making, food procurement, and shelter construction. Won’t be fancy, but you’ll be alive. (Scouting)

Swimming: moving yourself in water without danger of drowning. (Athletic)

Tactics: knowledge of the best way to arrange a group of warriors so as to take best advantage of the situation, terrain, their skills, etc. Also reading an opposing group’s tactical sophistication level. (Combat)

Tailing: following someone without their noticing. Opposed by Perception. (Covert)

Tailor: turning cloth into clothes, as well as mending clothing. Can also make other items out of cloth, such as tents. (Professional)

Teaching: imparting knowledge or skills to others. (Professional)

Team Acrobatics: working with others trained in this skill to perform acrobatic maneuvers such as stacking, vaulting, trapeze work, etc. (Athletic)

Teamster: handling an animal or team of animals pulling a wagon, carriage, coach, etc. (Professional)

Thaumatology: the knowledge of magic spells, results, abilities, etc. Does not require any Magical Ability, nor is it required to perform magic. [No Default] (Knowledge)

Theater: the skills and knowledge associated with the theater: acting, directing, management of props, sets, the house, the stage, etc. Not the same as pretending to be someone else offstage see Lie/Pretense for that skill. (Professional)

Theology/Myths/Rituals: knowledge of a specific religion’s beliefs, dogma, and rituals. It may also be Comparative Theology, in which case the knowledge is broader covers more than one religion but shallower. (Knowledge)

Throwing: throwing things accurately, but not specifically optimized to do damage. That is, it’s not a combat skill, though it could be used as one, with -1 to damage-dealing ability. (Athletic)

Tracking: following animals or sentient beings in terrain where they might leave traces. Of limited use in urban areas, it is more a nature skill. (Scouting)

Trail Blazing: finding an optimum route through wilderness, and marking your trail, either obviously or subtly. (Scouting)

Two-handed Axe: using any two-handed axe designed as a weapon. (Combat)

Two-handed Sword: using any two-handed sword as a weapon. (Combat)

Urban Survival: the skill of the urban poor: where to find free or cheap food, shelter and clothing; what parts of the city to avoid, who not to offend, etc. (Covert)

Ventriloquism: “throwing your voice” so as to make it sound as if it comes from somewhere else. Also disguising your voice. (Covert)

Veterinarian: diagnosing and treating animal injuries and diseases. (Knowledge)

Weather Sense: predicting the weather for the near future. (Knowledge)

Weaving: spinning yarn from wool or plants, then making cloth from yarn. (Professional)

Whittling: carving wood into useful or aesthetic shapes. (Athletic)

Woods Lore: knowledge of woodland animals, plants, cycles, etc. (Scouting)

Zoology: knowledge of animal behavior, habits, diets, capabilities, etc. (Knowledge)

8.13 Attributes

There are six attributes in Fantasy Fudge. The GM may customize this list as she wishes changing the attributes included, adding or deleting them at will.

Reasoning: Thinking ability; puzzle-solving; intelligence; mental acuity.

Perception: Awareness of the environment; raw ability to notice things.

Willpower: Strength of will; psychic stamina; determination; guts.

Strength: Physical strength; lifting/ carrying capacity; ability to deal damage.

Agility: Physical dexterity; adroitness; native talent for physical skills.

Health: Fitness; resistance to disease and injury; physical stamina.