NON-WEAPON SKILLS Back of this wine is the Vintner, And back through the years, his skill; And back of it all are the vines in the sun, And the rain and the Master's will. --- Anon You cannot know wine by the barrel. --- Herbert Predentum The varieties of the wine and the names of its grapes are beyond number. --- Virgil All non-weapon skills presented here are general. Thus all classes make take a skill without any penalties. Of course, GMs may want to limit them to a particular class. # of Slots Relevant Check Skill Required Ability Modifier Bartending 2(3) Special Special Disguise Drunkenness/Hangover 1 Intelligence -4 Drinking (Boozing) 1 Special Special Drinking Skills/Tricks 1 Dexterity Special Toasting 1 Intelligence -2 Wine Pouring 1 Wisdom 0 Wine Tasting 1 Wisdom 0 Bartending - A character with this skill has a great knowledge of mixed drinks and can make a perfect mixed drink on a successful Wisdom check. Note that the mixed drink must be known (i.e. ingredients, preparation, etc.). The GM may require an Intelligence to see if the character is familiar with the drink. Wine is the drink of the rich, but a small tavern having a large supply of wine in stock isn't practical or economical. Thus, a bartender has the skill to mix wines together to make an entirely different wine. The bartender has the ability to mix wines to make them look and/or taste a certain way. The maximum number of wines the bartender can mix together is two with one more wine added for every wisdom point over 12 (ex. a bartender with a 14 wisdom can mix a maximum of 4 wines together). Whether it be a dreadful odor, an unwholesome sticky taste, or a fantastic texture, the bartender can attain this on a successful Wisdom check. If the bartender fails the check while trying to do this, he/she gets the exact opposite result (i.e. good tasting wine becomes bad tasting wine). Bartenders have the uncanny ability to raise morale. This ability is another benefit bestowed from this skill. On a successful Charisma check, the character can raise the morale of those he/she serves by +2. GMs should make sure characters don't abuse this ability. A character shouldn't be able to hand a beer to a soldier in a middle of a battle in hopes to raise his morale. It is intended to be used in a tavern setting. Also, GMs should require that the player role-plays the situation. Just stating that the character wishes to raise morale isn't enough. A lot of people go to taverns when depressed, and the bartender has a tendency to raise their spirits. A bartender can bring a person out of a non-magical depression on a successful Charisma check with a positive modifier equal to the character's level. A bartender can bring a person out of a magical depression on a successful Charisma check with a modifier of -1 for very level under 8th. A lot of taverns, bars, and inns have a tendency to doctor drinks to make them more potent or make them less potent than they should be. Usually it is making drinks less potent which is the tendency, better known as watering them down. Sometimes a bartender may wish to make drinks more potent to cause certain patrons to get really inebriated. Why would a bartender want to make a drink more potent? Well many people, like thieves or adventurers, would like certain people in a drunken state so their job (whatever it may be) can be easier and a few coins to a bartender is a small price to pay to make sure a person is drunk. The key to doctoring drinks is making the customer not notice a change. A successful Wisdom roll indicates that nobody will notice a change in the drink. Failure indicates that a customer may notice a change. The customer must make a successful Intelligence check to notice a change. A more seedier skill of this skill allows him to mix other liquids together to make them taste like a wine. The bartender must have knowledge of the wine's taste that he/she wishes to duplicate, almost to perfection, and gets a -3 to his/her roll if he/she has the wine with him/her. On a successful Wisdom check, the character creates a fake of the original wine. This ability can be counteracted with a successful Wine Tasting skill check. Another skill of this skill is the ability to make alcohol drink additives (discussed elsewhere in the guide). A character needs to make a Intelligence check with a -3 modifier. Failure indicates that the additive is worthless and the process must start over (i.e. get new ingredients, etc.). Another skill of this skill is the ability to slide drinking containers down a bar or another flat surface like a table. A character needs to make a Dexterity check. If successful, the character slides a drinking container down the bar and can even make it spin around a 90 degree angle (only once). If the check fails, the glass slips, spills its contents, and will probably break. If the player devotes a third slot to this skill, the character gains the skills of the Wine Pouring and the Wine Tasting non-weapon skills. Disguise Drunkenness/Hangover A person with this skill has the uncanny knack for concealing his/her unattractive alcoholic problems of drunkenness and hangovers. The character must make a skill check after moving into a new state of intoxication. A successful skill check indicates that the character seems to be at the previous state of intoxication. The character still suffers the penalties for the new state of intoxication, but it will appear at face value that he/she is at the previous state. For example, Rath (who is proficient in this), just went into a state of slight intoxication. His stats are adjusted accordingly. He makes his skill check. So it seems at face value that Rath is not intoxicated, although he is slightly intoxication. Of course, if he would need to use an ability like intelligence (intelligence attribute check), then his -1 intelligence penalty will manifest itself. If a character has a hangover and makes a successful skill check, he/she can suppress 1 or 2 (GM's option) of the hangover effects. For example, Rath has a hangover. He rolls a 13 on the hangover effects table. The effects are blinding headache, the squats, and trembling. He suppresses "the squats" effect, but still suffers from a blinding headache and trembling. If he only suffered from one effect like vomiting, then he wouldn't have any hangover problems. NOTE: All checks are made at the current intelligence (i.e. with modifiers from being intoxicated). Another benefit of this skill is the ability to hide the fact that the character has an alcohol addiction problem. An intelligence check is made when a character is not drunk or hungover. If successful, the character disguises his/her alcohol addiction from people. The character is so nonchalant that people don't realize that he/she has a problem. Drinking (Boozing) A person with this skill has a great love of alcohol. He/she has the skill to consume more alcohol then most people without suffering the ill effects as bad. Also, the character can tell the quality of any alcoholic drink by taste. This knowledge goes deeper than just general quality knowledge. He/she can know interesting facts about alcohol drinks if a successful intelligence check is made. For example, he/she may know the year it was made, what race created it, its value, specific ingredients, etc.. When consuming a serving of alcohol, the character now gets a bonus for his/her constitution checks. Thus, the penalties for constitution checks are as followed: Beer +5 A 20 on the constitution check Ale +4 always fails. Wine +3 Mead +2 Liquor +1 When the character is in a state of great intoxication, he/she doesn't receive a penalty when he/she saves vs. poison. With each save a character has a cumulative 2% instead of 5% of permanently lowering his/her constitution by 1 point. Unfortunately, this skill has an evil side to it. The character's alcohol addiction can never be at 0 for amount and drinking levels. Furthermore, the character suffers a -1 penalty to poison saves for alcohol addiction checks. Drinking Skills/Tricks This skill bestows many benefits to the character although they tend to have any enlightened value. "The Chug", "The Gulp", "The Neck" are all names for the ability to consume a single serving of alcoholic beverage in a seconds. A skill check (cumulative -1 penalty per serving) is required when competing against another person. If both make the check, the person with the highest score loses. If both fail the check, neither wins because they either choke, spit up the booze, etc.. Of course, if one fails the check and the other makes the check, then the winner is the successful one. "Fire Breather" is the ability to spit alcohol, through a flame, and hit a target. The spitter must have a flame source of at least candle power and the target must be within 9 feet. The spitter must make a successful skill check with a penalty based on range between him and the target. Success indicates a hit and the target suffers burn damage based on range. Failure indicates a miss unless a 20 is rolled. A 20 indicates that the flame back tracks into the characters mouth and cause 1d6 points of burn damage. Range Damage (*) Check Mod. 0' to 3' 2d6 -2 3' to 6' 1d6 -3 6' to 9' 1d4 -4 (*) save vs. Breath Weapon for half damage. Dexterity bonus apply. "The Big Belch" is the incredible and slightly disgusting ability to produce long-lasting burps while drinking alcohol. A character can burp continuously for 1d10+10 rounds after having only one serving of any alcoholic beverage. If the character makes a successful skill check, he/she gains an additional 1d10+10 rounds to the burp. "The Mouth Catcher" is the ability to throw a small object into the air and catch it in his/her mouth. Typical small objects are a nuts, popcorn, pretzels, etc.. The character can throw the object up to 5 feet into the air and catch it without requiring a check. A skill check is required if the character tries for over 5 feet. The check requires a modifier of -1 for every additional foot the character wants. A failed check indicates that the small object misses the character's mouth. Roll on the following table to see where the object lands: Roll Effect 1 Lands in character's nose. 2 Pokes character in left eye. Can't see through eye for 1d6 turns. 3 Pokes character in right eye. Can't see through eye for 1d6 turns. 4 Bounces off head and hits nearest person. 5 Bounces off head and lands in character's drink. 6 Bounces off head and lands in nearest drink other than character's drink. GMs should modify effects that would not apply to a given situation. "Bottle Cap Flick" is the ability to take a bottle cap and flick it at a target. A skill check is required if the character aims for a target over 5 feet away. The check requires a modifier of -1 for every additional foot the target is away. A successful check indicates that the bottle cap hits the intended target. A failed check indicates that the bottle cap misses the target a number of feet equal to the number of points the check was missed. Thus, if the check was missed by 4 points, then the bottle cap lands four feet from it's target. The direction the bottle cap is randomly determined by the GM. Toasting The term "toast" comes from the fact that, in days of old, beer was often consumed in front of the fireplace, where bread was being toasted at the same time. To add nutrition and flavor (?) bits of the toast would be thrown in the about-to-be-drunk beer and then a "toast" would be made. In any case the custom of toasting one's drinking companions goes back many centuries and only the skilled make toasts that are remembered for centuries. Skill in toasting includes the skills of reciting above average to excellent toasts and judging the quality of toasts. It also indicates that the character has a repertoire of toasts memorized for toasting at any time. A character may wish to create a new toast to be used later or immediately. A successful skill check indicates that the toast is of excellent quality. Failure indicates an above average toast, which is still better than a toast of a commoner. After a successful skill check and toast, a character with the Etiquette skill gains a -2 to all etiquette skill checks in that situation. The excellent toast demonstrates that the character is a person of high class, whether he is or not, and thus the toastees are more relaxed and less cautious of the character's true economical and social class. Here are two examples of toasts: Drink to fair woman, who, I think, Is most entitles to it; For if anything drives men to drink, She certainly can do it. Here's to a long life and a merry one, A quick death and easy one A pretty girl and a true one A cold beer - and another one. Players and/or GMs are encourages to read Toasts and Anecdotes by Paul William Kearney (Clode pub. 1923, written in 1896) and Toasts, the Complete Book of the Best Toasts, Sentiments, Blessings, Curses, and Graces (Delacorte Press, c1981) for a great source of toasts to be used in the campaign to take full advantage of this skill. Some clever people have made careers out of creating toasts for less than imaginative kings and other nobles. Sitting around making up toasts is quite a cushy job. Wine Pouring With this skill the bearer can entertain any other person with his flare in pouring wines. He can make even the dullest, worst tasting wines look good to the common person. On a roll of 5 or below, the pourer does his act with so much flare a few coins could be tossed his way. If he fails, he spills the wine. On a roll of 16+ (unless 16+ is a succeed) he pours the wine over himself. On a roll of 20 he pours the wine over himself and destroys any paper or object that can be destroyed by liquid. Wine Tasting Less powerful than the Drinking (Boozing) skill but also less evil, this skill is for a more elite, upper class person. This is the ability to appreciate and judge the quality of wines. On a successful roll, the character can identify the kind of wine he is drinking and the quality: terrible, very poor, poor, normal, good, very good, excellent. On a roll of 4 or less, the character can name the year of the vintage, and recognize the vineyard. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- NOT A TYPICAL ASSORTMENT OF WEAPONS A paradox exists to those who enjoy intoxicating beverages that must attend places that serve intoxicating beverages: how can a person enter combat when the person's combat weapons were checked at the door. The solution would be to use a combat weapon that isn't considered a weapon but rather a common item. Thus, this section provides information for items that might not be considered weapons by most people. Characters of any class who would become proficient in any of these weapons would be indeed unique. A Fighter who swings a tankard rather than a long sword would be a sight to see. One item mentioned later is the Maltov Cocktail, a grenade filled alcohol that is lit and then tossed at its target. A grenade weapon specialization and a few cocktails would come in very handy against drunken adventurers and the undead (hard to tell them apart). While on the subject of weapons, GM's should note that the preferred weapon by tavern owners and employees who must keep the peace is the crossbow which is usually kept behind the bar (cocked in the more rowdier establishments). Weight Speed Damage Item (lb.) Size Type Factor S-M L Bottle, small 1 S B 4 1d4+1 1d3 Bottle, large 2 S B 4 1d6 1d3 Bottle, broken 1-2 S P 2 1d4 1d3 Sling bullet, olive 1/4 S B - - - Swizzle stick 1/4 S P 2 1d3 1d2 Tankard 1 S B 4 1d6 1d3 Casket, small 4 gal L B 10 1d6 1d4 Keg 5 gal L B 10 1d6+1 1d4+1 Casket medium 6 gal L B 10 1d8 1d6 Casket, large 8 gal L B 10 1d10 1d8 Barrel, small 16 gal L B 12 2d8+2 1d6+2 Barrel, medium 24 gal L B 12 3d6+2 3d4+2 Barrel, large 32 gal L B 12 5d6+4 5d4+4 Table 30 (V)L B 15 4d6 3d6 Bottle, small: The bottle can hold .5 gallon of liquid but the purpose is not to be a container. Bottle, large: The bottle can hold 1 gallon of liquid but the purpose is not to be a container. Bottle, broken: Whether large or small, this bottle works the same as a piercing weapon. A person with a normal bottle can make a broken quite easy by breaking it (of course the bottle must fail a save). Sling bullet, olive: The olive does no damage when used, but a successful called shot (-4 attack modifier) to a target's eye will temporarily blind him/her. Thereafter, the victim gets +4 to hit. Swizzle stick: A swizzle stick is six inches in length and thin. It is mainly used to stir drinks but in the hands of a clever person, can be used as am effective weapon. Tankard: A tankard is a large drinking cup usually with a handle and a hinged cover. Many people who wield a tankard as a weapon like to have a finely crafted tankard with magnificent artwork on it. Of course, a good, old, solid tankard would work just as easily. Containers: The various containers (Casket, small; Keg; Casket medium; Casket, large; Barrel, small; Barrel, medium; Barrel, large) that contain alcohol can make very effective missile type boulder weapons. The stats given for the containers assume that the container is at least half-full of liquid at the time of tossing. Strength bonuses apply. GMs must make sure that the character is capable of lifting the container and if so, be able to toss it to the required distance. Table: This table is any large, wooden round thing that has 4 wooden "legs" and a smooth surface. It is wielded by picking it up over your head and throwing it in any certain direction. Hence the weight, it is very hard to pick up. If it is thrown at a person with 19 strength and over, that person smashed the table to bits before it hit (unless surprised or didn't know the table was coming). Any sharp object is stuck in the surface and any blunt object bounces off. After taking about 2d6 points of damage in the same general spot it will smash into bits in the next throw. The Use of Alcohol as a Weapon The use of high-proof spirits can be a really effect weapon; especially in a room illuminated by torches and candles. SPLASH! FOOM! AAUUUGH! HA, HA, HA!. Put simply, flaming alcohol burns for two rounds, causing 2d6 points of damage in the first round and 1d6 points in the second round. Any container filled with alcohol can be used as a grenade-like weapon. When created for the purpose of using it as a weapon, it is referred to as a Maltov Cocktail. Lit alcohol used in a grenade-like missile can be considered the same as lit oil. Of course, the alcohol must have a high alcohol content to be flammable. For more information on grenade-like weapons check your RPG rule book. If the player wishes to create a Maltov Cocktail, the grenade-like stats for such a weapon are: Type of Missile: Alcohol (Lit) Type Amount: 16 oz. Area of Effect: 3' diameter Damage from Direct Hit: 2d6/1d6 hp Splash Damage: 1d6/2 hp Alcohol causes damage only when it is lit. Thus, the character must light the grenade (which must have some type of "fuse", i.e. cloth sticking out, etc.). The lighting of the flask will result in a +4 to the initiative (this is in addition to the +2 speed factor and any range modifiers). This also assumes that the character has an available source of fire close at hand. Most characters will light a cloth that is wrapped around the grenade so that the alcohol will not light prematurely, but allow the alcohol to burst into flame when the container is broken. Of course, those that desire an open connection to the alcohol may do so. In this case, vindictive GMs may have a percent chance equal to the character's initiative multiplied by 5 that the fire will get into the alcohol causing the character to drop it which would cause damage to him, for example. Another option of a character is that a character could make two separate attacks: the first to throw the alcohol on thew target, the second to throw fire on the target to light the alcohol. This is a much safer way, but harder way. In any case, most proficient characters opt to wrap a cloth around the grenade and light it before throwing it because this is the safest way. -----------------------------------------------------------------------