Simplified Skill System.
This article briefly describes a simplified skill system for Palladium 2nd edition, born from a desire for creativity with skill use, rather than mundanely applying a set of skills to a problem.
Rather than using the dozens of skills listed in the various Palladium books, skills are limited in detail to skill categories. Rather than use a specific detailed skill, a character will use his category bonus. E.g. A thief climbing a wall, picking the window lock, then trying to seduce the room’s occupant will make a Physical roll for the climb, a Rogue roll for the lock, and a Communication roll for the seduction.
The base chance for each category is listed below:
|
Communications |
30% |
Each advance or additional 10% of skill gives a new language, spoken or written. |
|
Domestic |
30% |
|
|
Espionage |
25% |
|
|
Horsemanship |
30% |
Basic horsemanship bonuses. At 40% Knight Bonuses are used. Paladin Bonuses ad 55%. |
|
Magic |
20% |
|
|
Medical |
30% |
|
|
Military |
25% |
|
|
Physical |
30% |
Each additional 10% of skill gives the bonuses of one physical skill. 40% skill is required for acrobatics, gymnastics and sprinting. 50% skill is required for Boxing. |
|
Rogue |
20% |
|
|
Science |
25% |
|
|
Scholar |
30% |
|
|
Weapon |
2 Weapons |
Each advance adds one weapon proficiency. 3 Weapons skills are required for Missiles and 2 Handed Weapons. 4 are required for Paired weapons, Targeting and Sniping |
|
Wilderness |
25% |
Special OCC abilities remain unaffected. No normal OCC, Other/Elective or Secondary skills exist, with the exception of Hand to hand skills, that remain unaffected.
OCC Bonuses
OCC category bonuses apply to each category, using the following guidelines.
|
None |
Reduce skill to half chance, with no advancement possible. |
|
None except specific skill |
Reduce skill to half chance |
|
None except specific skill at +n |
Reduce skill to half chance, add half n to category |
|
Any |
No bonuses |
|
Any, specific skill at +n |
Add half n to category |
|
Any (+n) |
Add n to skill category |
Advancements
Add together the number of OCC skills (Except Hand to Hand), Other/Elective and half of the Secondary skills. Half this figure. This is the number of advancements you may apply to your skills at each category at each level.
Each advancement gives a bonus of +5.
Advancements must also be used to purchase advancements in Hand to Hand skills, and is the equivalent of one ‘Other’ skill or Elective.