Skills

What is a skill?

Skills are what characters use to get things done in Swords of Infinity. Whether that character is doing battle, casting a magic spell, or applying her knowledge of theoretical physics, they are all broadly categorized as Skills. Every one of these Skills is keyed to a related Ability (i.e. Swimming is keyed to Strength), and the key Ability's score is used to determine a character's base chance of success at using that Skill. Swords of Infinity calls for the explicit use of several Skills that make the system mechanics work, however the skills called for by name should not be considered an exhaustive list, but rather a foundation that can be built upon.

Using Skills

To use a Skill a player need only declare their intent to do so and name the skill they plan to use and then roll a Success Check to determine the results -- this is referred to broadly as a "Skill Check" in many RPG systems and is also the term used by Swords of Infinity. Sometimes this declaration is made in response to a prompt from the Storyteller (i.e. the Storyteller may ask everyone at the table to perform a Spot skill check to notice a nasty monster creeping up on them).

Most Skill Checks with substantial effects on the story require a Success Check to determine the outcome. The character's target score for the Success Check is based off of the Skill's key Ability score plus any skill specialization score and situational or equipment bonus. Once the Success Check has been rolled, the Storyteller narrates the outcomes of the successful or failed Skill Check.

Storyteller's Note: In some cases the result of a roll might give a player meta information about what is about to happen in the story (e.g. a poor roll on a sneak Skill Check might cause a player to behave more cautiously than he otherwise might). In situations like these it is recommended that the Storyteller makes the roll for the player and keeps the outcome secret in order to save the player from having to pretend that they did not know this meta information.

Pushing Past Limits

Swords of Infinity is a game designed to tell stories about heroes that succeed no matter the costs. To reflect this players are able to modify their rolls by taking damage to a single Damage Target, this is referred to as Pushing Past Limits (and often shortened to just "Pushing"). Players have the opportunity to use this mechanic whenever they make a Power or Success Check, and do so by increasing or decreasing their rolls to reach any target number they desire, once their rolls have been modified they apply damage equal to the amount they modified their roll by to a single Damage Target. This mechanic can be used once per check.

Example: Parthenia is attacking a Goblin with her greatsword, and rolled a 50 on her Success Check. Her target number for success on an attack is 40, so Parthenia's attack will miss. This attack is very important to Parthenia, so instead of accepting the failure, she pushes past her limits and applies the difference between her roll (50) and her success target (40) as 10 damage to her right arm. Her attack is now a successful hit and the Goblin will need to defend itself.

Non-Player Characters and Pushing Past Limits

Non-Player Characters (NPCs), the characters and monsters controlled by the Storyteller, are typically unable to Push Past Limits. This is a deliberate decision that skews the balance of the game in the favor of the player characters, and is often the only thing that stands between their success and death at the hands of a terrible monster. In some cases, however, it might suit the story to give an NPC access to this mechanic (i.e. when a opponent is intended to be particularly challenging). Storytellers should be aware that giving this mechanic to an NPC can drastically slow down the flow of the game, so it is recommended that it be used sparingly.