Step 9: Choose Skills and Knowledge

Skills represent your trained ability to perform certain common adventuring tasks. You also choose the kinds of things your character is knowledgeable about. Both of these are influenced by your ability scores, but they also can be trained by putting ranks into them each level. The ranks and ability together make your score, the number you add to a d20 roll to make a skill or knowledge check. Characters can make skill checks even without any formal training, however in order to make a knowledge check, you must have at least one rank in that category. There are also some skills--proficiency skills--that require the proper proficiency before you can use to train those skills.

Skills represent your trained ability to perform certain common adventuring tasks. You also choose the kinds of things your character is knowledgeable about. Both of these are influenced by your ability scores, but they also can be trained by putting ranks into them each level. The ranks and ability together make your score, the number you add to a d20 roll to make a skill or knowledge check.

Your score = ranks trained in that skill + ability bonus related to that skill or knowledge

Characters can make skill checks even without any formal training, however in order to make a knowledge check, you must have at least one rank in that category. There are also some skills--proficiency skills--that require the proper proficiency before you can use to train those skills.

Table 4a: Skills

Skill	Ability Score	Description
Acrobatics	Dexterity	Your ability to balance, tumble, and perform other feats of agility.
Athletics	Strength	Training in swimming, climbing, flying, jumping, and other athletics.
Deception	Charisma	Your ability to deceive, bluff, or disguise yourself.
Insight	Wisdom	Your ability to read others and discern their motivations.
Intimidation	Charisma	Your ability to intimidate others into a course of action.
Investigation	Intelligence	Searching rooms, finding information around town, and investigating items.
Perception	Wisdom	Your ability to see, hear, smell, or otherwise notice something about the world around you.
Persuasion	Charisma	Your ability to change people’s minds and convince them of what you are saying.
Sleight of Hand	Dexterity	Your ability to hide objects, pick pockets, or conceal weapons.
Stealth	Dexterity	Hiding, moving, or performing an action without being noticed.
Locks*	Dexterity	Ability to pick locks. Requires the locksmith proficiency.
Performance*	Charisma	Performance ability (music, theater, poetry, etc.). Requires the performer proficiency.
Track*	Wisdom	Allows you to follow trails and track creatures. Requires Tracker proficiency.
Traps*	Dexterity	Spotting, disabling, bypassing, or creating traps. Requires the Trapper proficiency.

*Proficiency Skill. Requires the proper proficiency before it can be used. Table 4b: Knowledge

Knowledge	Ability Score	Description
Craft	Varies	Ability to craft items of a certain type (repeatable)
Animals	Wisdom	Knowledge of domestic animals, riding, and their training.
Appraisal	Intelligence	Ability to appraise the value of an item.
Arcana	Intelligence	Knowledge of magic and magical creatures (including dragons).
Dungeoneering	Intelligence	Survival skills in dungeons, including direction sense and identification of underground creatures.
Engineering	Intelligence	Knowledge of constructs and buildings and how to disable or destroy them.
Linguistics	Intelligence	Ability to learn languages and understand those that you don’t speak.
Magic Items	Intelligence	Ability to identify and create magic items, and to use them when you normally can’t.
Medicine	Wisdom	First aid and the ability to evaluate wounds and sickness.
Nature	Intelligence	Knowledge of natural creatures, wilderness survival, direction sense, plants, animals, etc.
Planes	Intelligence	Knowledge of planes and creatures that come from them.
Poisons	Intelligence	Ability to create and identify poisons and their effects.
Regional Knowledge	Intelligence	Knowledge of religions, deities, undead, and creatures from celestial or abyssal planes.
Religion	Intelligence	Knowledge of local customs, law, history, culture, geography, and humanoid races.
Rope Use	Dexterity	Ability to tie knots or escape from bonds.

Each level you gain skill and knowledge ranks to use as you choose. You can allocate as many ranks at a time as you want, but you cannot have more ranks in a skill or knowledge category than your character level.

Table 5a: Skill Progression per Class

Progression Tier	Ranks Per Level	Classes
Low	2	Alchemist, Spellwright, Cleric, Fighter, Magus, Oracle, Paladin, Sorcerer, Warlock, Witch, Wizard
Medium	4	Barbarian, Druid, Elementalist, Inquisitor, Monk, Ranger
High	6	Rogue, Bard

Table 5b: Knowledge Progression per Class

Progression Tier	Ranks Per Level	Classes
Low	2	Barbarian, Cleric, Elementalist, Fighter, Monk, Paladin, Sorcerer, Warlock, Witch
Medium	4	Bard, Druid, Inquisitor, Magus, Ranger, Rogue
High	6	Alchemist, Spellwright, Oracle, Wizard

In addition to class-based ranks, you also get bonus ranks, which can be applied to either knowledge or skills. The number of bonus ranks you gain each level is equal to your Intelligence bonus. Humans gain 1 additional bonus rank each level on top of that.

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