Delving Deeper

by Luke Fleeman with Art by Andy Taylor

Skill Systems
Brave Halfling Publishing
Delving Deeper Skill Systems

Skill Systems quagmire of bookkeeping and inane details.

One of the signature advances in the gaming world The skill systems given below all use the same group
in the 1980's was the implementation of skill of 11 skills, given here. In parentheses following
systems. A concrete method of resolving attempted each skill is an ability, which is important in certain
PC actions, skill systems are now standard fare for skill systems, as indicated in its description. These
roleplaying games. key abilities should be a good guideline about the
basis of the skills. Each skill is followed by a brief
For many old school gamers, they are an anathema. description of what it may be used for.
Skill systems remove a certain degree of power from
the referee, defining the performance of certain Some canny readers will note the absence of certain
actions in perpetuity. While the referee can modify skills pertaining to the Thief class. This is
difficulties, skill systems support themselves. Skill intentional, as allowing every class to perform the
systems often feel tacked on and burdensome in old skills of the Thief removes the special qualities of
school games, but that does not mean they cannot that class and renders it useless for future games.
be implemented successfully. It is worth noting that Additionally, mundane skills like crafting and
legendary game designer Gary Gygax advocated smithing are not represented, as they are mostly
skill systems; however, he suggested that they were unnecessary in an adventure game.
at odds with the intentions and methods of a class Skills
based game.
Open (Strength): This skill is used when attempting
The key to using skill systems in Labyrinth Lord is to break down doors, bend bars, or open gates.
to make them fit as seamlessly into the system as
possible. They should use mechanics already Movement (Strength): This skill is used when
inherent in the system, offering the least interference attempting to climb normal surfaces, jump, swim, or
and most potential gain, without disrupting the feel move in other ways involving body strength. This
of the game. As such, the skill systems given below should not be used to climb sheer surfaces, which is
play on existing mechanics and standards of play to the sphere of the Thief skill.
feel smooth and unobtrusive. Athletics (Dexterity): This skill is used to determine
Labyrinth Lords should take care to note that skill success at balancing, acrobatics, and tumbling.
systems are a double edged sword - they give Sleight of Hand (Dexterity): This skill is used
players a better idea of what they can do, and a when trying to palm items, confuse enemies, or
concrete explanation of how to do them. While this feint. This should not be used to pick pockets,
may help them, it may hinder your ability to which is the sphere of the Thief skill.
improvise, and may also lead to a form
exceptionalism, whereby only those skilled may Concentration (Constitution): This skill represents
perform any given action. the ability to maintain concentration and focus
under dire circumstances or rough situations, or
With that in mind, we offer two guiding points for
environmental extremes.
these systems. First, it must be stressed that the
absence or presence of a skill is not in and of itself Lore (Intelligence): This skill represents the general
the last word on PC skills. Rather, it is a simple way and specific knowledge of a character, and the basic
to measure those skills, and the right to adjudicate chance to know or recall something.
skills or determine expertise is still solely the power
Arcana (Intelligence): This skill is used to determine
of the Labyrinth Lord. Second, one must use a
knowledge, understanding, and memory about
diverse but broad range of skills. This cuts down on
magic, the planes, or religion.
total rules and mechanics, but also prevents the
massive fracturing that turns skill systems into a

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Delving Deeper Skill Systems

Nature (Wisdom): This skill is used to survive Using Skills

outdoors, track, deal with animals, locate food and To use a skill, a player must roll a 1d6. Depending
water, and intuit weather and directions. on their rating, they must roll a certain number or
Detection (Wisdom): This skill is used to search, below to succeed at the skill attempt. These
see things, and perceive things that are difficult to numbers are given on the following chart. Labyrinth
find or are hidden. This should not be used to find Lords may give bonuses or penalties to the rolls
traps, which is the sphere of the Thief skill. based on circumstance and situation, and skills may
not be used to circumvent what has been declared
Streetwise (Charisma): This skill is used to gather possible or impossible by the Labyrinth Lord. Skill
information, track people in urban locales, and rolls may only be made when the Labyrinth Lord
make one's way among the people. gives approval. When using a skill tied to your class
Persuade (Charisma): This skill is used to bluff, prime requisite, you may subtract 1 from your rolls.
deceive, convince, persuade or intimidate an NPC
or monster. Skill Rating Success on

Option 1: d6 Skills Unskilled 1

Many of the possible actions taken by PCs in Skilled 2 or lower

Labyrinth Lord pertain to a 1 in 6 chance; hearing Expert 3 or lower
noises, determining surprise, and other mechanics Master 4 or lower
use the chance in 6. Systems that use the d6 as the
core of their skills are therefore well within the
mechanical suppositions of Labyrinth Lord, and are Advantages and Drawbacks
also very simple. The d6 system is the most unobtrusive and easy to
Skill Ratings learn skill system given here. It does not require
math or extensive new rules, and fits with the
Under this system, each skill has four ratings: existing Labyrinth Lord system well. Unfortunately,
Unskilled, Skilled, Expert, and Master. On the character ability scores are not abundantly
character sheet or attached paper, each PC should important, which may be unacceptable to some
list the 11 skills given above. Following each skill players.
they should list their rating in that skill; all skills
begin at unskilled. Option 2: Ability Skills
To determine their rating, each player receives 3 One of the mechanics offered in the Labyrinth Lord
skill slots at first level. By spending 1 skill slot, they core rules is the ability check. When attempting to
may upgrade their skill rating from unskilled to take an action, the Labyrinth Lord may ask for an
skilled, skilled to expert, or expert to master. Master ability check, which requires a d20 roll. That roll
is the absolute upper limit of skills in this system. At must be equal to or less than the ability in question
each new level, a character receives one new skill to be successful. This skill system plays on that
slot to spend as they choose. For Labyrinth Lords existing and widely-used mechanic.
who feel that 3 skill points per per level is too Skill Ratings
generous, one option might stipulate that characters
receive 3 skill points at their creation and only 1 Under this system, each skill rating is recorded in
skill point every level thereafter. Another option skill points. On the character sheet or attached
would be to say a character at the start of each new paper, each PC should list the 11 skills given above.
level can either have 3 points to spend on prime Following each skill they should list their rating in
requisite skills, or 1 point for any non-requisite skill. skill points; all skills begin at 0, and may go up to as
high as 10. No rating may exceed half the

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Delving Deeper Skill Systems

character's level. Thus, the maximum skill points for At each level, a character receives 30 percentage
a level 6 character in a skill is 3. points which they may split as they wish among the
At each level, a character receives 3 skill points, 11 skills. Each point adds one to the percentage
which they may assign to any one of the 11 skills. chance to perform an action.
All skill points invested in a skill add to prior Using Skills
invested points for the total rating.
To use a skill, a player must roll two d10s,
Using Skills designating one as the 'ones' place and one has the
To use a skill, a player must roll 1d20. The total of 'tens' place, to generate a number between 1 100
the roll must be equal to or less than the ability tied (2 '0's mean you have rolled 100). If the number
to that skill. For every skill point invested in that rolled equals or is lower than the skill percentage,
skill, a player may subtract 1 from the roll. So if the then the attempt is successful.
ability in question was a 10, and the skill in Advantages and Drawbacks
question had 2 skill points, then the player would
The similarity of this system to the existing skill
roll 1d20, subtract 2, and attempt to get 10 or
system in the core rules makes it easy enough to
lower.
learn. Unfortunately, the probabilities inherent in
Advantages and Drawbacks this system mean that at low levels, even the most
This system is easy for many players, as it plays off skilled characters have a poor probability of
of a mechanic used by many Labyrinth Lords to succeeding, while at high levels, they almost never
determine success. The key abilities also play a large fail. Labyrinth Lords may consider implementing
roll, making ability scores very important for PCs. different maximums to get the best results out of
Unfortunately, this system requires a little more this system.
arithmetic, and is not as smooth in implementation
as the d6 system.

Option 3: Percentage Skills

The final skill system possibility is the percentage
system. Many players know this system as the
method of dealing with the usage of thief abilities.
In that manner, the system is also familiar and
normal within the confines of the game rules.
Skill Ratings
Under this system, each skill rating is measured in a
percentile. On the character sheet or attached
paper, each PC should list the 11 skills given above.
Following each skill they should list their rating in
that skill in a percentile; all skills begin at 0%, and
may go up to as high as 99%. Each skill has a cap
of (level x 5) + 19%. Thus, at level 16, any skill may
reach as high as 99%. If the character has a 15 or
higher in the key ability of the skill, they receive a
bonus of + 5%, which may exceed the level cap.

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Delving Deeper Skill Systems

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