This was brought up in another thread about how some skills are lacking in guidance for setting difficulties and modifiers, even though many of them have talents, abilities, or equipment that alter the roll. So, I've been attempting (mostly in my head and not on paper [well, digi-paper]) to put together a system for the various skills for a while, but this prompted me to actually knuckle down and do it. And since I figured it might be helpful to others, and that others could help me improve it, here's what I've got so far.
I will not be listing Knowledge, Combat, or Social skills here as they are a whole different sort of thing and already have difficulties and modifiers associated with them.
Here are some other skills I am not listing, and why:
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Computers:
This is discussed at length in Special Modifications and Cyphers and Masks, and will not be covered here. -
Coordination:
Like Athletics, many checks have either prescribed difficulties or too many variables to put into neat little tables, and will not be covered here. -
Mechanics:
This is discussed at length in the Core Rulebooks and in Special Modifications, and will not be covered here. -
Medicine:
This is discussed at length in the Core Rulebooks, and will not be covered here. -
Piloting:
These are discussed at length in the Core Rulebooks, and will not be covered here. -
Skulduggery:
The difficulties for this are more situational, and different classes of lock are actually referenced on a difficulty table on page 17 of the EotE CRB, and so will not be covered here. -
Stealth:
The difficulties for this are either prescribed by the opposition or otherwise discussed in the Core Rulebooks, and so will not be covered here. -
Streetwise:
The difficulties for this are covered in official materials and will not be covered here.
Astrogation:
Any time that a character wishes to program a navicomputer for a hyperspace jump, he must first use Astrogation to program the navicomputer:
- RAW difficulties.
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Modifiers (Setback/Boost):
Boost if travelling along a major hyperspace lane (Corellian Run, Hydian Way).
Setback for nearby planets not clearly connected via hyperlanes (Kiros to Shili, Ord Mantell to Anobis)
In the event characters arrive in an unknown system, they may use a navicomputer and their Astrogation skill to identify their location.
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Difficulties:
Core Worlds-Inner Rim: Easy
Mid Rim-Expansion Region: Average
Outer Rim: Hard
Wild Space: Daunting
Unknown Regions: Formidable -
Modifiers (Setback/Boost):
Boost if familiar with the area, possibly more than one depending on familiarity
Setback if the area is particularly unknown or unfamiliar to the character.
(optional use, not RAW) Calculating ship exit trajectories and potential destinations:
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Difficulties:
Base difficulty of Hard
If you were within sensor range when it jumped, reduce the difficulty by 1.
For each range band past sensor range, increase difficulty by 1.
If the acting ship lacks sensors or its sensors have been disabled, increase difficulty by 2. -
Modifiers:
Setback if the ship is obscured in some way.
Triumph can be spent to give the exact destination of the ship.
Important to note, if the ship is jumping along a hyperspace route, the acting character will not be able to narrow down the destination to a specific location. They will instead learn the hyperspace route taken by the ship.
Athletics:
Climbing:
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Difficulties:
Difficulty determined by range band in the same manner as ranged combat checks. -
Modifiers:
Boost if there is an excess of hand-holds and beneficial circumstances.
Setback if there are adverse conditions (wind, rain), or abnormally slick surfaces. Extremely adverse conditions may upgrade the difficulty instead.
Most Athletics checks will be competitive, opposed, or have too many variables to put into neat little tables, which is why this is the only use I list. There are other uses outlined in the Core Rulebooks.
Discipline:
Staying awake:
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Difficulties:
1 per contiguous day of missed sleep (at GM discretion, a nap of appropriate length may prevent increasing the difficulty or reduce the difficulty by an appropriate amount, but a full night’s rest resets the clock). -
Modifiers:
Boost if there are helpful conditions such as loud noise, bright lights, discomfort, fear, etc.
Setback if there are hindering conditions such as darkness, quiet, peace, comfort, etc. -
Results:
Failure: The character falls asleep.
Threat: Each Threat adds a Setback to the Resilience check.
Failure and Despair: The character falls asleep, the consequences of the Despair are up to the GM, but should generally affect whatever the character was trying to do.
Success and Despair: The character must test against this again later on.
Advantage: Each Advantage adds a Boost to the Resilience check
Triumph: Voids the need to make a Resilience check (see Resilience: Resisting the effects of sleep deprivation)
Perception:
Positively identifying something of Silhouette 0-2 from a distance:
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Difficulties:
Difficulty determined by range band in the same manner as ranged combat checks (Engaged is Simple difficulty).
Increase difficulty by 1 for Silhouette 0
Decrease difficulty by 1 for Silhouette 2
Macrobinoculars and Electrobinoculars decrease the difficulty by 1 at Medium range, and by 2 at Long or Extreme range. Weapon optics may also be used to modify Perception checks at GM discretion. -
Modifiers:
Boost if the target is taller than average (Dowutin), stands out (Dowutin with flamingo perched on head), etc.
Setback if there are obscuring conditions such as crowds, darkness, concealment, shorter than average height (Jawa), blends in (Jawa in herd of Jawas), etc.
Identifying something of Silhouette 3+ from a distance:
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Difficulties:
Number range bands 1-10 (Personal-scale Engaged=1, Planetary-scale Extreme=10).
Subtract ship Silhouette from range band number to get difficulty (Sil 3 at Medium range is Formidable). Note that this is for visually identifying, not just noticing. To simply notice, reduce the difficulty by 1. -
Modifiers:
Boost if the target is well-lit, sticks out, or is visually distinctive.
Setback if there are obscuring conditions such as clouds, asteroids, darkness, other space-objects, matte black hull plating, etc.
Noticing poison in a drink or food item:
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Difficulties:
Set a base difficulty for detecting a dose of the particular poison and subtract the number of additional doses. If the poison is tasteless and odorless, then I would suggest setting the difficulty at Impossible in order to allow the chance to still occur (with multiple doses or a DP flip). -
Modifiers:
Setback if the food is particularly pungent or flavorful.
Resilience:
Resisting the effects of sleep deprivation (discrete from the Discipline check to stay awake):
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Difficulties:
1 per contiguous day of missed sleep. -
Modifiers:
Boost if there was Advantage on a check to stay awake.
Setback if there was Threat on a check to stay awake. -
Results:
Failure: The character adds a Setback to all checks the character makes.
Threat: The character suffers Strain equal to Threat.
Failure with Despair: The character increases the difficulty of all checks by one.
Success with Despair: The character must test again later that day, increasing the difficulty by 1.
Advantage: Gain Boost to next check to resist the effects of sleep deprivation
3 Advantage or a Triumph: Avoid the increase in difficulty of the next check to resist the effects of sleep deprivation normally necessitated by having performed this check.
The effects of Failure and Despair on subsequent checks are cumulative until the character has had a full night’s rest.
Resisting the effects of cold (credit to @gtgauvin ’s Encounter Toolkit for much of this concept):
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Difficulties:
Difficulty depends on the harshness of the conditions, upgraded once for each contiguous check made without time to recover (check every few hours of exposure). -
Modifiers:
Boost if the sun is out, or if in shelter
Setback if night is falling, there are heavy winds, the character’s clothing is inadequate (brass bikinis on Hoth=bad idea), or other aggravating circumstances. -
Results:
Failure: Setback to all checks the character makes. The character suffers 1 wound for each net Failure.
Threat: The character suffers Strain equal to Threat.
Failure with Despair: The character suffers a Critical Injury
Success with Despair: The character must test again sooner than they would otherwise have to, upgrading the difficulty once.
Advantage: Gain Boost to next check to resist the effects of cold.
3 Advantage or a Triumph: Avoid the upgrade in difficulty of the next check to resist the effects of cold normally necessitated by having performed this check.
The effects of Failure and Despair on subsequent checks are cumulative until the character has had sufficient time to recover in an environment of suitable temperature.
Resisting hot or arid conditions:
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Difficulties:
Difficulty depends on the harshness of the conditions, upgraded once for each contiguous check made without time to recover (check every few hours of exposure). -
Modifiers:
Boost if in possession of ample supplies of water or if in shelter.
Setback if lacking sufficient water, exposed, or other aggravating circumstances. -
Results:
Failure: Setback to all checks the character makes.
Threat: The character suffers Strain equal to Threat.
Despair: The character suffers 3 Strain (this is instead of the other options for spending Despair).
Failure with Despair: Increase the difficulty of the next check to resist the effects of hot or arid conditions.
Success with Despair: The character must test again sooner than they would otherwise have to, upgrading the difficulty once..
Advantage: Gain Boost to next check to resist the effects of hot or arid conditions.
3 Advantage or a Triumph: Avoid the upgrade in difficulty of the next check to resist the effects of hot or arid conditions normally necessitated by having performed this check.
The effects of Failure and Despair on subsequent checks are cumulative until the character has had sufficient time to recover in an environment of suitable temperature.
Survival:
I'm stuck on this one, so I'll list the uses and toss it out here for assistance:
- Locating food, water, and shelter
- Weathermanning
- Tracking
- Animal-handling