Skills
Every skill is based on either Intelligence, Agility, or Charisma. A character's beginning score in any skill equals his/her save number for the Basic Characteristic the skill is based on.
Example: Joe has a 23 Agility and has the Locksmith skill. Locksmith is based on Agility, so Joe's beginning Locksmith skill score is 14.
There are Common skills and Unique skills. Every character has a skill score equal to their Basic Characteristic save in every Common skill and a skill score equal to their Basic Characteristic save -10 in every Unique skill at no cost.
It costs 1 CP to buy a Unique skill, which negates the initial -10 penalty in that skill. Each 1 CP spent on any skill thereafter (Common OR Unique) adds +1 to the character's score in that skill.
Example: Locksmith is a Unique skill, so it already cost Joe 1 CP to raise it from 4 to 14. If Joe spends 1 more CP on his Locksmith skill, his score in Locksmith would become 15.
If a Basic Characteristic is increased sufficiently to raise its save number, all skills based on that Characteristic are rased accordingly.
Note that these rules imply a rather different interpretation of the Charisma characteristic. In V&V, Charisma is a rating of the character's force of personality. The popularity aspect of Charisma is obsolete.
Specializations
Some skills may require you to select a specialization. The specialization must be specified immediately when you take the skill. If the skill is "Unique," then picking up one specialization allows you to use all other specializations as if they were Common. For example, if you learn Animal Handling: Exotic Birds, it is assumed that you know enough about animal handling in general now to be able to use Animal Handling: Dogs as a Common skill.
Skill Rolls
A skill roll is a saving throw vs. the character's score in the skill.
The GM may apply modifiers to a character's chance of success to reflect the difficulty of the task they're attempting. The following table presents some suggested modifiers.
| Task Difficulty | Modifier |
|---|---|
| Simple | +10 |
| Easy | +5 |
| Difficult | -5 |
| Impossible | -10 |
Characters can only attempt skill rolls when they are conscious and able to act.
Hurrying and Taking Extra Time
A character can try to accomplish a task more quickly by accepting a penalty to their chance of success. A character can also gain a bonus to their chances of success by taking longer to prepare, or by simply proceeding slowly and cautiously. The GM applies a modifier to reflect the impact of hurry or caution. The following table presents some suggested modifiers:
| Time Taken | Modifier |
|---|---|
| Instant (no time at all) | -10 |
| Hurried (half normal time) | -5 |
| Relaxed (double normal time) | +5 |
| Cautious (5x normal time) | +10 |
Opposed Skills & Skill Rolls
When a skill is used against another character, the GM may impose a penalty based on the target's save in some applicable characteristic. For example, the Charm skill is used to make other characters like you. The target's Charisma is used to oppose attempts at Charm. The modifier is found by subtracting 10 from the target's characteristic save, and subtracting the remainder from the chances of success. Many such cases are spelled out in the skill descriptions (see below).
For example: Darla (with a 13 Charm skill score) is trying to charm Albert (who has a 15 Charisma, and thus a 12 Charisma save). Darla's chance of success is reduced by 2.
In some cases a particular skill may be necessary in order to oppose someone else's skill attempt. If the target has the appropriate skill, the modifier is found by subtracting 10 from their skill score, and subtracting the remainder from the chances of success. If the character doesn't have the required skill, the modifier is calculated from their base characteristic save (-10 more if the skill is Unique). Again, many examples of this are spelled out in the skill descriptions (see below).
Example: Forgery skill is necessary to oppose someone detecting a fake with Appraisal. Elaine (with a 15 Appraisal skill score) is evaluating a fake Rembrandt painted by Doug (who has a score of 12 in Forgery). Elaine's chance of success is reduced by 2. If Doug didn't have the Forgery skill his ability would default to his base Intelligence save (11), -10 because Forgery is a Unique skill. Elaine's roll would be *increased* by 9 (because 11 - 10 = 1, and 1 - 10 = -9).
Opposed saves are always made by the character who is currently active, or on the offensive (unless otherwise specified in the skill description). In our Forgery vs. Appraisal example, the painting is already done when the situation comes up, so the character doing the appraising is the active character.
Characters can only (actively -B.) oppose skill rolls when they are conscious and able to react.
Skills and Combat
The "Accuracy Modifier" from Agility is now obsolete. Instead, attacks are made using skill rolls. A character's base chance to hit equals their skill score with the type of attack they're making, and all modifiers on the character's chances of hitting apply to that.
Since Fighting is a skill that's opposed by Agility, the target's Agility save -10 is now subtracted from rolls to hit that target, as long as the target is conscious and mobile. There is no "Dodge skill". To enhance a character's ability to dodge attacks beyond his Agility save, the character must take a power such as Heightened Defense.
Or raise his/her Experience Level. -B.
Because of the shift in emphasis in Intelligence and Agility toward skills, the "Damage Modifier" that used to be derived from those two characteristics is now obsolete and should be ignored.
Also, "% To Detect Hidden Objects" is obsolete. This function is now taken over by the "Search" skill. "% To Detect Danger" is obsolete, too. Its function is now taken over by the "Perception" skill.
Skill Selection
Skills can be selected by choice or at random.
To select skills at random, roll twice for general "knowledge areas", and then roll 5 times among the knowledge areas received to select specific skills. Spend one CP on each skill. If a particular skill is rolled more than once, spend one CP on it each time.
Don't feel bound by the choices presented in the tables. These are only the skills that seemed most obviously linked to the basic knowledge area. It is certainly not meant to imply that anyone with Locksmith skill must have a criminal background, even though Crime is the only knowledge area where the Locksmith skill happens to appear.
To select skills by choice, spend as many CPs as you like on any skills you want. You can still refer to the list of knowledge areas and their related skills for guidance on selecting the appropriate skills to fit your idea of the character's background.
I will generally allow players to choose their characters' skills. -B.
