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Non-Weapon Proficiencies
I adapted a set of rules from another game I'd played in years ago, called Inc-Unc-Ugh (not a published game). The proficiencies are simpler and less powerful, but the character gets more of them to start, and can improve on them over time (with some exceptions). Also, different levels of difficulty of actions are scaled.
For instance, Religion Skill. Most skills are limited to 3 levels of proficiency. At the 1st level, a character can answer easy questions about the gods or religious ceremonies, with varying degree of success on percentage (% or d00). This character has about a 40% chance of answering an easy question, like "What god's symbol is that (of a common deity)". He has a 20% chance of a hard question like "Which god's cleric's sacrifice flowers on stumps in the woods, and how often?". And he has a 5% chance to notice that that burnt hunk of silver was part of the holy symbol of the foreign goddess "Selectra" of the islands no-one else know about.
Each of these chances are augmented with the second and third NWP assigned at later levels. Easy: +20%, Hard: +10%, Very Hard: +5. DM's can add Impossible for 1%+1% per skill if they want to stretch it. There's no telling what little pieces of info a character has picked up in his life.
The list covers about all the major areas of AD&D play, and anyone can specialize using a "Specific Lore" Skill.
Several NWP's have limitations at 1 skill (Blind Fighting) for game balance, and a few have limits based on physical capabilities (Running).
Characters start off with NWP's in number in opposition of the number of Weapon Proficiencies the class gets, plus 2 random "background" skills.
Each level, the character gains one General Skill, and one Class Specific Skill per class.
The Class specific skills are chosen to keep the characters in line with their class to some extent (Clerics taking Religion and Fighters taking combat related skills, etc). They are on the second set of tables and are rolled on a d12 instead of on the general table (d00)
One of the more interesting additions is the ability to make gains in character's ability scores. This is limited to class, and can be rolled or chosen on the specific to class tables. Mages can augment their Dexterity and Intelligence, Clerics their Wisdom and Charisma, etc. In these cases, the character rolls a percentage die to determine where he/she is now (WIS 14, 57%). When he takes a WIS skill, he rolls 3d20 and adds it to his percentage. i.e. 57% + 37% = 94%. When he/she breaks 100% the ability goes up 1, and any leftover points are the new percentage. This way a mage can bring his AC down with additional Dexterity points!
Miscast results for Failure to save against Spell:
General Skills (Open to all classes):
| Administrator/Leader (organizational and command skill) | |
| Acting/Performer (entertain, mnemonics) | |
| Animal Handling (specific type-bird, canine, horse animal husbandry) | |
| Animal Training (specific type-bird, canine, horse etc.) | |
| Appraisal (general worth & bartering) | |
| Armourer (make/repair metal armour) | |
| Artist (drawing, sculpting, painting-pick) | |
| Bargaining/Haggle/Negotiating (possible +/- 5% per to cost/price) | |
| Blacksmith (make metal items) | |
| Blind Fighting (-2 only to hit in darkness or blinded) Limit 1 | |
| Boating (small craft use) | |
| Boatwright (repair and building of watercraft) | |
| Bowyer/Fletcher (make bow in 2 weeks, arrows 4/day) Limit 1 | |
| Brewer/Drinker (appraise, tolerance lowers effect by 1; +1, or +2 save vs. ingested poison) | |
| Carpenter/woodworker (make/repair wooden items) | |
| Choose | |
| Climbing (DSG- wall or rocks with ropes) | |
| Combat (vs. specific creature type/size; +1 damage per skill | |
| Cooking (knowledge of prepare-able meats and vegetation) | |
| Creature Lore (name, type, nature of monsters) | |
| Dancing (+1 to DEX saves for footwork) | |
| Danger Sense (Traps, Ambush, etc add +1 to Alt save or surprise) | |
| Deceit (verbal lie telling, control body language) | |
| Direction Sense (orientation w/o sun/stars, need Reading for mapping) | |
| Disguise (use of make-up, costumes, masks) | |
| Discipline (body control- up at: 1=0hp, 2=-1, 3=-2, hold breath, Orient | |
| Engineer/Construction |
|
| Etiquette/Manners/Culture | |
| Farming/Gardening (grow vegetation successfully) | |
| Fishing | |
| Fire Building (speed, no need for tinderbox...) | |
| Forestry (Flora ID and uses) | |
| Fortune Telling/Astrology (attempt to predict future) | |
| Gaming (chance to cheat 5% per, 20% cushion) | |
| Herbalist (identify plants/uses, speed normal healing +1hp/day recovery) | |
| History (specific area background) | |
| Hunting/Trapping/Skinning (animal recognition and stalking, use) | |
| Initiative (-1 to roll, 1 minimum) | |
| Jeweler/Gem Cutter (Identify, appraise, chance to increase value) | |
| Jump/Fall (+.5 to Jump#, +1 save against falling) # up to 1/6 Dex | |
| Language (pick specific to speak, 3 = fluent) # up to Int ability | |
| Looting (find most valuable items first, find secreted in limited time) | |
| Mathematics (solve puzzles/problems, patterns) | |
| Medical (bind/stop bleeding, prevent scarring, +1hp/day recovery) | |
| Meditation (+2 to PSP, Realm of magic, or vs. weapon type) | |
| Mining (find ore, note unsafe areas, know depth) the way) | |
| Musician (play specific instrument type) | |
| Multi-weapon (use 2nd –size S weapon in “off” hand – attack at round’s end) | |
| Navigation (specify land, sea, astral, space, desert, underground) | |
| Observation (remember details, see invisible, find trap, find doors +5% per) | |
| Poison Use (safe handling and use of contact and ingested poisons) | |
| Pottery (make/repair/appraise) | |
| Reading/Writing/Scribe (any spoken language or specify dead one) | |
| Religion (identify god, sect or ritual) | |
| Riding (handling & packing; specify land, avian(2), or other mount) | |
| Rope Use (tying knots, escaping bonds) | |
| Running (+.5" per, sprinting, -1 run-up req.) # up to 1/3 DEX | |
| Sense/Deal With Reality/Spatial Shift (-2, -1, 0 modifier to CON roll) | |
| Ship's Hand (sailor, deckhand, oarsman, steersman) | |
| Signaling (distance communication-specify drums, flags...) | |
| Specific Lore (Specialized study or interest not on lists)* | |
| Spellcraft (recognize spell or effects) | |
| Streetwise (information gathering from public) | |
| Survival (specify cold, forest, desert, sea, tropical, other) | |
| Swimming (+1" rate, +1 Save to hold breath) # up to 1/3 DEX | |
| Tailor (appraising, working with cloth | |
| Tanner/Leatherworker (make armor, harness, etc) | |
| Teamster/Freighter (chariot/wagon driving & loading) | |
| Tracking | |
| Weapon Smith | |
| Weather Sense (prediction) | |
| Voice Control (mimicry of voices, whistling, or singing) |
Specific Lore Examples:
Skills Specific to Class(d12) 1 each level per class:
Maximum of three of any one skill unless noted.
(Note: Herbalist and Medical daily hit point recovery cumulative to only 1 each/day)
Tiered: Trivial action: 25+20% per skill
Average Action: 20+15% per skill
Hard Action: 10+10% per skill
Combat Skills
The idea is the individual has some knowledge of the target creature, whether it is tactical, or where to hit it for best effect.
| Result | |
| Animal | |
| Avian | |
| Elemental | |
| Large Humanoid | |
| Medium Humanoid | |
| Reptile | |
| Small Humanoid | |
| Undead | |
| Water Dweller | |
| Other (Outer Planes or choose) |
Languages
| T'Lierea | |
| Dominant | |
| Felician | |
| Kentan | |
| Rhomnaric | |
| Rexic | |
| Toril | |
| Human Common | |
| Silent Speech |
Non-Human Languages
| Result | |
| Aerial | |
| Dwarvish | |
| Dragon | |
| Giant-kind | |
| Goblin | |
| Illythid | |
| Lizard-kind | |
| Neogi | |
| Orcish | |
| Sea Common | |
| Shedu | |
| Sphinx | |
| Sylvan (elvish, centaur..) | |
| Under-common |
Weapon and Non-Weapon Proficiencies at first level by class:
Each Level: 1 General/1 Specific to each class
Chance to pick = Square root of (INT + WIS) * 10 (24-60%) + New Level
Actively studying on own +15%
Studying with Teacher +30% * 1 Gladiators gain Warrior Skill/level (Sub Medical for Navigation)
Specialty class NWPs not available to everyone:
Quick-draw (Rogues): Possible 4th level of Initiative. If Initiative below 1, additional attack possible throw/draw.
Contact (Psionicist):
Discipline Related Skill (Psionicist):
Ejection (Psionicist):
Harness Sub-Conscious (Psionicist):
Hypnosis (Psionicist):
Meditative Focus (Psionicist):
Rejuvination (Psionicist):