Skills & Magic
As part of character creation, you must choose how many ability points to assign to each of the available Skills and magic Paths. Magic determines the supernatural raw power that a character has. Skills represent the training and knowledge to actually be able solve particular problems. Paths and Skills are most effective when used together, for example, a Mountain mage who gets in a fight could hit very hard, but wouldn't know how to most efficiently hurt their opponent or avoid getting hit themself in the process unless they also have the Frontlining Skill. Magic Paths allow you to solve problems more creatively, enabling different approaches, which may also allow you to use your Skills more creatively to situations they would otherwise not apply to.
For Skills, Ranks range from -1 to 3, positively incompetent to masterful. Ranks of magic range from 0 to 3, with 0 meaning the character is totally unable to use magic of that Path, and 3 meaning they're a powerful mage.
| Skill Rank | Description |
|---|---|
| -1 | Inept. You are actively bad in this area, getting things wrong, causing problems, misunderstanding the core concepts of the Skill |
| 0 | Untrained. You have an average level of competence anyone would be expected to have (which, in this setting, includes some basic combat knowledge) |
| 1 | Trained. You have both an understanding of how to do things in this Skill, as well as experience doing it |
| 2 | Journeyman. Extended experience or training mean you are not only perform this Skill very effectively, but are able to apply some finesse and style (if you wish) |
| 3 | Master. With both serious training and experience applying this, you have mastered the Skill. You know the tricks of the trade, all the nuances, and are at the top of your game in this area |
| Magic Rank | Description |
|---|---|
| 0 | You are unable to use this Path of magic |
| 1 | You may have no or very little training, but have some intuitive ability to use the Path. The things you create generally fit in a hand |
| 2 | With more training, you can generally create effects somewhat larger than a person |
| 3 | With mastery of the Path, you can create powerful effects on huge scales |
Point Allocation
All Skills and Paths start at 0, and may be raised by spending points, one point per Rank. You have 5 points to spend at character creation. You must also pick one Skill to lower to -1. You may lower a second skill to -1 in exchange for a 6th point to spend. You may lower even more Skills to -1 if you want, up to 4 skills total at -1, but there is no further mechanical advantage to doing so.
Advancement
As your character takes advantage of the opportunities the Labyrinth presents, it is expected they will become more powerful. Over the course of the game, you will get 4 advancements which can be used for an ability point to advance your Paths and Skills with, up to the same limit of Rank 3. This may raise a Skill from -1 to 0.
Magic
The eight Paths are
- Path of the Sun: the field of magic for creating fire, light, etc.
- Path of the Moon: the field of magic for growing plants and influencing the weather
- Path of the Earth: the field of magic for creating solids in bulk
- Path of the Heavens: the field of magic for creating fluids in bulk
- Path of the Mountain: the field of magic for enhancing strength and toughness
- Path of the River: the field of magic for enhancing agility
- Path of the Hammer: the field of magic for creating and enchanting detailed objects and tools
- Path of the Crucible: the field of magic for creating specific substances and compounds, and material enchantments
Detailed examples of what each Path can achieve can be found here.
Skills
Frontlining
The ability to engage in different kinds of combat directly, to give and take hits.
| Rank | Description |
|---|---|
| 0 | Knows how to hold a sword, capable enough to not create a weak point in a line |
| 1 | Effective frontline combatant, able to hold their own in a fight, especially when working with others |
| 2 | Very skilled alone or in groups and can make a direct impact on a frontline themselves, hold back a number of soldiers single-handedly, be a skilled duellist, or face up to monstrous creatures |
| 3 | A force to be reckoned with, able to endure against overwhelming odds, carve a bloody path through a battle, or out-fight a professional bodyguard |
Support
The ability to aid others in combat and adjacent scenarios without having to engage the enemy yourself. This includes any supportive action, from covering fire, tending to wounds, application of magic, encouragement, or creating beneficial situations for your allies.
| Rank | Description |
|---|---|
| 0 | Can at least drag an injured person to safety or use supportive magic in obvious ways, may need to withold fire sometimes to not hit allies |
| 1 | Provide aid to a group of allies, know how to treat basic wounds, create appropriate distractions or provide accurate artillery |
| 2 | Effectively support large groups or armies, treating multiple casualties, deploying magic to cover an advance, steeling the hearts of faltering soldiers |
| 3 | Always in the right place, able to set up a magical feint on the fly to devastating effect, timing a volley of ranged fire to stop an enemy advance dead in its tracks, salve wounds to send the injured back into battle hale and reinvigorated |
Roguery
The ability to remain undetected, eavesdrop, and pick locks. An understanding of security systems and their weaknesses.
| Rank | Description |
|---|---|
| 0 | Can probably sneak by already distracted guards, or brute force a weak enough door |
| 1 | Able to apply the fundamentals of stealth and spying, but unlikely to bypass serious security and determined watchers |
| 2 | Good understanding of a large variety of ways to remain undetected, pick complex locks and set devious traps |
| 3 | A shadow, able to stay hidden even in plain sight, pick esoteric locks and circumvent all but the best efforts of spy-hunters |
Pathfinding
The ability to survive in the wild, to navigate across the world, to find the uses of natural resources.
| Rank | Description |
|---|---|
| 0 | Can survive fine in moderate climates given good provisions and equipment |
| 1 | Familiarity with the basics of flora and fauna in different lands, the basics of sailing and safe travel |
| 2 | Seasoned traveller with knowledge of where to look for rare resources, can work their way through unfamiliar terrain and guide others safely through it |
| 3 | Encyclopaedic knowledge of regional and local survival, cannot get lost navigating on sea, land or underground and can guide large groups through adverse conditions |
Crafting
The ability to make, design, alter and understand useful goods, from weapons, armour and traps to jewelery and buildings. Dependent on having the right materials.
| Rank | Description |
|---|---|
| 0 | Do basic DIY, maintain equipment, and apply common sense design principles |
| 1 | Make or alter things at a slow and sure pace, at a respectable quality, either alone or with an adequate workforce as appropriate |
| 2 | Craft things of high quality and work at a fast pace to produce them, understand design and improvement principles to come up with their own designs |
| 3 | Conceive of and craft things at the highest quality, whether particularly beautiful, sturdy or otherwise effective; can work in adverse circumstances and although still limited by resources, may be able to improvise |
Planning
The ability to make and execute complex plans, from battlefield tactics to running a business. Foresight, organization and leadership.
| Rank | Description |
|---|---|
| 0 | Adequately prepared for commonplace tasks like managing a household, can execute straightfoward plans with competence |
| 1 | Familiarity with planning needs, familiarity with famous strategies and ability to execute at a small scale |
| 2 | Deep understanding of logistics, supply lines, business operation and ability to execute at larger scales |
| 3 | Leadership and organization capabilities to deal with highly complex and unusual scenarios, always planning for the unexpected |
Diplomacy
The ability to negotiate deals, ease tensions, charm people, and generally navigate tricky social situations.
| Rank | Description |
|---|---|
| 0 | Adequately polite and sociable, capable of convincing reasonable people given a good argument |
| 1 | Comfortable in social situations and dealing with a variety of cultures and approaches, familiar with the principles of negotiating |
| 2 | Has considerable charm and understanding of different perspectives and how to deal with them and is able to turn social situations to their advantage |
| 3 | Social chameleon, able to effortlessly bring people round to their point of view; knows the right time and leverage to use in any negotiation |
Scholarship
The ability to research, to extrapolate evidence, to find relevant sources, to theorize and find connections.
| Rank | Description |
|---|---|
| 0 | Has a reasonable amount of general knowledge and common sense, probably knows how to read |
| 1 | Good grounding in history, theology and scholarly matters and tools to find out more, given time and access to the right libraries |
| 2 | Excellent understanding of logic and complex theoretical principles, able to deduce connections and use available resources deftly |
| 3 | Deep knowledge on a variety of subjects and understanding of where to start on more esoteric topics, great skill at pulling together theories from scant evidence and postulating highly complex hypotheses |