Revised Abilities

A few Abilities have been modified for our saga and are described below. Most of them relate to Combat, as the creation of a new combat system required changing some combat skills.

Scribe (Specific Alphabet): Your familiarity with a particular alphabet, such as Latin, Greek, or Arabic. It allows you to recognize letters and how they sound, but it does not grant an understanding of any specific language. In the medieval period, few languages actually had a regular written form, and words were spelled arbitrarily based on their sound. A medieval person must therefore read the words out loud, (reading silently is considered a magical skill in this time period) and use his Speak (language) Ability in order to decipher their meaning.

Speak (Specific Language): The ability to actually use one the many languages of Mythic Europe. As there is no "Common Tongue" in Mythic Europe, this Ability can be essential to successful journeys abroad. Your score in the Ability is not added to a die roll, but is used as a general indicator of your ability to communicate. In a conversation, the lowest Speak score determines the level of ideas that can be shared. Note that understanding how to speak a language also gives you the ability to read and write it, if you have a Scribe Ability in the appropriate alphabet (Latin for most Western European languages). Use the lower of the two scores to determine your fluency with the written language.

Brawling: Your Brawling skill is your ability to fight unarmed or with everyday weapons like knives, daggers and clubs. It also includes your skill at using makeshift weapons (eg, stools, tree branches) and for fighting with weapons when you haven't enough room to use the weapon properly (see combat). Brawling is useful to anyone who engages in any kind of fighting. Your Brawling skill is used to dodge weapons and missiles. Brawling includes proficiency in the following weapons: Fist/Kick, Knife, Sap, Dagger, Club and Thrown Rock.

Bladed Weapons: Your skill in using swords of all kinds in combat. Usually possessed only by the nobility. Includes: Shortsword, Broadsword, Bastard Sword and Great Sword.

Crushing/Cleaving Weapons: Your skill in using weapons with a long handle and the impact point on the end. This includes the following: Club, Mace, Morning Star, War Maul, Flail, and all Axes.

Longshaft Weapons: The ability to use typically jabbing weapons with long hafts. This is the usual combat skill for peasants, as makeshift farm tools tend to fall into this category. Longshaft weapons include: Short Spear, Long Spear/Lance, Polearm, and Quarterstaff.

Shield and Weapon: You have been trained how to fight with a shield in combination with most one-handed weapons. Knowing this fighting style does not allow you to fight with one-handed weapons if you are not carrying a shield (the combat styles are completely different). This skill is most often taken by Knights. The following weapons may be used in combination with a shield: Shortsword, Broadsword, Bastard Sword (1h), Mace, Morning Star (1h), Flail (1h), Axe, and Short Spear (1h).

Thrown Weapons: The ability to use throwing weapons. For throwing unusual objects, use the Brawling skill. Includes: Thrown Rock, Throwing Knife, Throwing Axe, and Javelin.

Two Weapon Use: You have been trained in fighting with two weapons at the same time. Add this ability as a bonus to your combat totals when fighting with two weapons (see combat). You must be skilled in both weapons to get this bonus.

Mounted Weapons: Allows you to make attacks from horseback. Use this skill to determine your combat totals, unless your Riding Ability is lower, in which case you use that (see combat). Having the Mounted Weapons skill is of no use if you are on foot. While it is possible to take only this skill (ie, learn how to fight on horseback without knowing how to use the weapons while on foot) it would be pretty stupid. This skill includes mounted proficiency in: Broadsword, Bastard Sword (1h), Mace, Morning Star (1h), Flail (1h), Axe, Short Spear (1h), and Long Spear/Lance (1h). You may also use a shield with each weapon.