The Realm itself and Avatar action in there (which remember is 90% of the game) uses a dice pool system with semi-fixed target numbers. This is somewhere between SR4/nWoD and SR3/oWoD (it uses d6). Basically, Target Numbers are almost always 4, which means any given die almost always has a 50% chance of succeeding. However, situational modifiers (penalties like inadequate equipment, bad lighting conditions, etcetera) are applied first in the form of "Step" penalties. At a one-step penalty, you're looking for fives. At a two-step penalty, you're looking for sixes.
Once you have a two-step penalty (TN: 6) it (the target number) can't get any worse, because stacking modifiers is fucking annoying.
Situational BONUSES are more likely to add more dice; anything like a "Step Bonus" (TN 3 for instance) would be extremely rare. I know that we're moving two-sliders to adjust difficulty here, but the truth is that both sliders have a limited degree of motion, and don't move often.
Dice pools are vaguely comparable to SR3. Six is a very respectable dice pool. Even three or four is genuinely usable.
It is also a semi-classed system. There are no classes, but there are races that function a lot like classes.
Here are the rules for avatar creation which also happen to contain a great deal of the mechanics WITHIN the game world.
This is long, and will be formatted in a way approximately as shitty as an actual poop because MS Word and 4ums are not particularly compatible. I apologize for the formatting, although not necessary the length; this a lot of the meat of the game here.
Avatar Creation
Every Player has an Avatar that they appear as in the world of The Splinter. The Player does not choose his avatar, but fortunately you do choose your Player’s Avatar. The Avatar does not change from Game to Game; a Player has only one Avatar, so choose wisely.
The transition from Player Consciousness to Avatar Consciousness is extremely jarring the first time, and honestly doesn’t get much easier after that. The Player’s memories are violently scrambled upon porting into The Splinter, shattering a Player’s lifetime of recollections into a million pieces, and leaving only half the pieces, badly randomized. The Player is left with only a vague idea of who and what they were in the real world; the Game preserves the player’s goal for the set of rules currently being used.
Likewise, upon first port, the Player has no memories from the host body—Avatar—that he Thought-Grafts onto. The Player first enters the game with no innate knowledge of The Splinter, its layout (which is a chimera anyway), its politics, or its inhabitants. Anything the Avatar learns by playing the game is remembered, even after Porting out, when the Player next Ports in. Anything that the Player learns about The Splinter from outside is fragmented and forgotten upon Porting in; but memories from the Avatar are retained.
The only thing a Player knows about their Avatar upon first assuming it is the Avatar’s name and basic capabilities. If the Avatar has a back story outside of the player, it will need to be learned through context clues. But many Avatar lives seem to be blank slates, newly created when the Player first ports into the game.
When the Avatar dies in The Splinter, the Player dies in the “real world”.
Choose a Bloodline:
There are seven sentient bloodlines that can become a Player’s Avatar. There are countless other non-sentient bloodlines in The Splinter, but these cannot be Avatars. While in traditional RPGs, each character has a ‘race’ and a ‘class’, the Bloodlines of Splinter have evolved to such a specialized degree that each one of them is a race and a class.
Each Bloodline has certain genetically inherited personality traits and beliefs. How much of these come through in the way the Avatar is roleplayed is entirely up to you. Different Players take on the personalities of their Avatar’s Bloodline to different degrees, or none at all. Likewise, even non-Player inhabitants of the Realm sometimes deviate from their Bloodline’s stereotypes.
Every Bloodline has at least three Shapes ranging from a Man Shape (most human) to a beast shape. Every Bloodline can change shape more or less at will.
Each Bloodline has bonuses and penalties to two or more Avatar Statistics. These bonuses and penalties both get larger as the Avatar shifts from Man Shape toward a beast shape.
Each Bloodline has access to several Harmonics. An innate kind of magic called Tuning, Harmonics tend to provide potent supernatural powers.
Each Bloodline has a propensity towards joining certain sects (ideological groups/political factions). The possible Sects for a given Bloodline are listed in their description.
In general, characters from any Bloodline may choose any Avatar Skills.
The Aventine:
The Aventine are the noble and haughty ruling class of The Realm, at least they believe themselves to be. In reality, the Realm’s governing structure could be best described as post-apocalyptic anarchy, and no one is in control of anything. Hence, the Court status of the Aventine is of at best dubious utility in many situations. However, no matter what the social structure, in small or large groups Aventine tend to wield a lot of social power, and often wind up in charge of the situation.
Aventine in Man Shape are tall, thin, pale and blonde humanoids with aquiline bone structures, long, narrow noses and sharp, severe features. They prefer to dress in light blues and greens. Aventine in Rione are taller and thinner, though still vaguely humanoid. Their blonde hair is replaced by short, glossy blue downy feathers, and occasionally their bodies are covered in similar down. Their manicured fingernails become razor sharp talons. Their eyes glow bright blue. Aventine in Gyre form are tremendous birds of prey, their feathers ranging from sky blue to midnight blue.
Statistics:
Man Shape: Celerity +1, Omniscience +1, -1 Vitality, -1 Might.
Rione: Celerity +1, Omniscience +2, -1 Vitality, -2 Might.
Gyre: Celerity +1, Omniscience +3, -1 Vitality, -3 Might.
Harmonics: Aventine Gauntlet, Storm-Crow, Regal Mien, Flight.
Possible Sects: Novemberist Court, Metropol, or Sages.
The Asilos:
The Asilos as a whole are somber ascetics, walking around in a haze of regret, mourning the mistakes of past lives, trying to make repentance for their sins as best as they can by doing good. Their primary cultural identifier is a failure to let go of the past. They frequently act as confessors of others sins, or staunch moral support in times of need, for others. While deeply felt, the moral code of most Asilos is simple enough; put others before yourself, and do do harm unto none. Asilos Avatars of course, like any Avatars, need not follow the Bloodline’s moral code.
Asilos in Man Shape tend to be stocky, slow moving, dark-haired, dark-eyed, sickly looking and pallid. Most Asilos even in this humanoid form shamble around with downcast eyes and perpetual frowns. They prefer to dress in dark clothing, especially monk’s robes and hoods. Asilos in Ghola are paler, darker-countenanced and smell worse. Their eyes either have huge dark bags beneath them or stare out blankly, like skeletal sockets. They go from being stocky to freakishly thin, with their skeletons often visible through their paper-white and paper-thin skin. Asilos in their final form, Lich, are no longer corporeal; they are dark shadows with eyes like smoke, animating black robes and staves of charred wood.
Statistics:
Man Shape: Vitality +1, Conviction +1, -1 Celerity.
Ghola: Vitality +1, Conviction +2, -2 Celerity.
Lich: Vitality +1, Conviction +3, -3 Celerity.
Harmonics: Dead Reckoning, Bone Weary, Necrogenesis, Smog Soul.
Sects: Penitents, Punishers, Priests
"Race Emo, Class Emo" would be a fair jab, but in actuality 13th century monks would be a more accurate comparison to how I saw these guys culturally. Well, I mean, 13th century monks that also happen to all be wereliches.
I'll add that I'm noticing as I post this that while I'm making a lot of generalizations about what different Bloodlines are
like as people, those aren't mean to to be hard and fast "rules". You can have an Asilos who's super fucking pissed and has something to prove, a Needlekin who's quiet, gentle and introspective, and so on.
Other thing I am feeling self conscious about: I stole proper nouns from LOLFUCKINGEVERYWHERE.
The Mnemonic:
Mnemonics are brilliant inventors, tinkerers, craftsmen and scientists. Often they prefer architecture, engineering, and gadgetry to living people, and so they can appear cold, distant, and brusque. They are often narrow-minded, focusing only on the projects at hand. To most of the inhabitants of The Realm, the motivation of Mnemonics are inscrutable, but their skills are invaluable. They seem to share the curiosity that the Tzaetzi have about the nature of The Realm, but they seem more interested in reverse engineering for their complex and inscrutable purposes.
Mnemonics in Man Shape are frail, slight humans with pronounced foreheads, a slightly greenish or bronze colored huge to their skin. They prefer to dress in shimmering golden and silver robes, sashes, and tunics. Mnemonics in Clockwork have exposed artificial pneumatic arms and legs made of gears and cogs, pistons and actuators, the brass clockwork endlessly ticking. Mnemonics in Numidium are glistening golems of metal and machinery, their backs puffing steam as they trundle noisily about
Statistics:
Man Shape: Brilliance +1, Omniscience -1.
Clockwork: Brilliance +2, Omniscience -2.
Numidium: Brilliance +3, Omniscience -3.
Harmonics: Kraftwerx, Amputechture, Form/Function, Jam Tuning.
Possible Sects: Sages, Scientists, Novemberist Court.
The Needlekin:
Needlekin are the living embodiment of violence, combat, and physical force. They exist only to assert their martial dominance on the field of battle. They have no strong ideals or dominant personality traits, only the desire to always be fighting.
Man Shape Needlekin appear as big, strong humanoids with very sharp, strong teeth and nails. They prefer to wear armor and carry weapons at all times. In Razorback, the skin of bladelings is penetrated all over from razor sharp blades, spurs, and spikes growing out from their bones, and their skin gains a reddish hue from the blood that these natural weapons make on their way out. In the final form of Needlekin, Bladeling, the flesh disappears entirely beneath a razor sharp porcupine-like coat of steel bristles, that forms an exoskeleton layer of razor sharp armor that becomes the Needlekin’s skin.
Statistics:
Man Shape: Vitality +1, Might +1, Brilliance -1, Omniscience -1.
Razorback: Vitality +1, Might +2, Brilliance -2, Omniscience -1.
Bladeling: Vitality +1, Might +3, Brilliance -3, Omniscience -1.
Harmonics: Arms like Swords, Skin like Plate Mail, Rain of Needles, Battle Scream.
Possible Sects: Metropol, Punishers, Anarchists.
The Tzaetzi:
The Tzaetzi are serpent people, long-lived and wise. They make excellent counselors, and advisors, and hence are often close to royalty and those in power. They often explore the Realm out of pure curiosity, and they are great lovers (and jealous hoarders) of knowledge and lore of all kinds.
Tzaetzi in Man Shape are tall and sinuous. They have broad faces, amber colored, almond-shaped eyes, and slightly pronounced canine fangs. Their skin has a pale golden hue, and they prefer to dress in flowing green robes and sarongs. When Tzaetzi shift to Serpens, their reptilian qualities become more pronounced; their skin becomes tough and scaly, their tongue becomes long and forked, their fangs long and venomous, their fore-arms shrivel. In their final form, Ouroboros, Tzaetzi are enormous sixteen-foot long golden cobras.
Statistics:
Man Shape: Brilliance +1, -1 Celerity.
Serpens: Brilliance +1, Conviction +1, -1 Celerity, -1 Might.
Ouroboros: Brilliance +1, Conviction +1, Omniscience +1, -1 Celerity, -1 Vitality, -1 Might.
Harmonics: Star Venom, Cobra’s Gaze, Healer’s Craft, Raw Tuning.
Sects: Sages, Scientists, Priests, Novemberist Court.
The Wyndlass:
The Wyndlass are the silver-drake people. They are quick and clever, but flighty, capricious, irresponsible, and lack common sense. Many Wyndlass are artists, explorers, adventurers, and rogues. Often, a given Wyndlass will have many occupations in a life cycle and even flit from Sect to Sect, since very rarely can one way of life hold their interest for more than a few years.
Wyndlass in Man Shape are extremely tall and very bony, weighing next to nothing with bones that are near hollow. They have silver hair and eyes, and like to dress in rich dark red and purple silks with gold trim. They rarely wear armor. Wyndlass in Zu form manifest a long, prehensile silver tale, and a bladed silver carapace begins to pierce through their skin in angular plates. Their features grow more bestial as well, with their eyes flaring silver. Wyndlass in their final Aurora form become the incredibly thin silver drake, gaining two long, graceful azure wings and a slender, scythe-like tail.
Statistics: Man Shape: Celerity +1, Conviction -1.
Zu: Celerity +2, Conviction -2.
Aurora: Celerity +3, Conviction -3.
Harmonics: Flight, Silver Wing, Rift Wind, Prehensile Swordplay.
Sects: Almost any, except the Punishers.
The Vryx:
The Vryx are demons of greed and murder, often assassins and thieves. Even the kindest Vryx are incorrigible treasure hunters with little respect for the law. They are typically vicious and cruel, caring first and foremost about amassing a great fortune. For a typical Vryx, collecting treasure at all costs isn’t a choice, but a genetic imperative, a way of life. A Vryx in Man Shape is a scrawny, slouched humanoid with red-tinted skin and blood red eyes. Vryx in man form have their teeth filed down to points. They prefer to dress in black, for concealment. Vryx in Telane fall to all fours, growing four surprisingly dexterous cloven hooves in place of their hands, their arms and legs growing hairy. They also sprout a tufted, forked tail, and their skin color darkens to bright red. Vryx in Abadd on are truly monstrous, they crawl at incredible speed along the ground on their bellies. They have razor-sharpened six foot long tongues, and bladed tails, and speak in hideous, distorted voices.
Statistics:
Man Shape: Celerity +1, Omniscience +1, Conviction -1, Vitality -1.
Telane: Celerity +2, Omniscience +1, Conviction -1, Vitality -2.
Abbadon: Celerity +3, Omniscience +1, Conviction -1, Vitality -3.
Harmonics: Camouflage, Lock Lash, Cut-Throat, Hoarder’s Luck.
Sects: Anarchists, Punishers, or independent.
Choose a Sect
There are many sects in The Realm, political factions united by a shared belief in either the origins of The Realm or what its future should hold. While the Sects used to be powerful and unified enough to convoke and war with each other, the sects are now fragmented, shards scattered across the splinter, each trying to survive. Since your Avatar arrives in The Splinter with little or no knowledge of The Realm, the blurbs here are extremely cursory. Any more you want to learn about a given sect, you must learn by playing the game.
Note: your Avatar does not have to belong to a sect, and you may well have a hard time convincing a Sect you are a member of it even if you do. Also note these aren’t the only factions.
The Novemberist Court: The once-mighty Aventine ruling family of The Realm, the Novemberist Court wish to maintain the status quo and retain their power.
Metropol: The order-obsessed guards and police of The Realm, they wish to maintain rule of law and order at all costs.
Sages: The goal of the Tzaetzi lead sages is to collect all pertinent lore that remains in The Realm, and to put together a coherent history of The Realm, and even discern its purpose.
Penitents: The Penitents believe that The Realm is a prison to which all the Bloodlines have been consigned for their sins. For this reason, they share Metropol and The Court’s desire to maintain the status quo.
Priests: The Priests earnestly believe that The Realm is a holy place, an organ of living divinity, and they wish to protect and preserve its sanctity. They are opposed to Penitents and Punishers.
Punishers: The most dangerous of the factions, the Punishers believe that The Realm is a punitive hell for all there, and wish to inflict as much suffering as is possible upon everyone.
Scientists: The Mnemonic lead scientists wish to parley, decipher, and restore as much technology as possible; their motives are diverse, from personal power, to restoring civilization, to arcane motives, like discerning (and manipulating) the nature of The Realm.
Anarchists: Anarchists wish to destroy the status quo, and in spite of themselves, they are winning, due to the chaotic nature of The Realm itself. Many anarchists are looking for a way to escape from The Realm forever. Of course, they don’t work well together.
***
Avatar Statistics
Avatars have six Main Statistics, three mental and three physical.
Descriptions of Main Statistics
Vitality: Life-force, toughness, endurance, fortitude, resistance to damage, and health.
Might: Physical strength/power, which determines hurting, breaking, and carrying capability.
Celerity: Speed, agility, quickness, dexterity, adroitness, reaction-time.
Omniscience: Perception, alertness, awareness, and empathy/adeptness in social situations.
Brilliance: Intelligence, wits, common sense, knowledge, brain power. Mental vitality.
Conviction: Courage, willpower, force of will, leadership, Mental might.
The fact that all statistic names are when possible "ten dollar words when a one dollar word would do just fine" was actually an intentional stylistic choice. I know that other people arrive at attribute names like this by a different route, so I thought I'd point out that I was being intentionally pretentious to reinforce certain themes.
The following method is used to determine your Avatar’s Main Statistics.
Roll 2d6 (two six sided dice) and add the results together. Record what you got. Repeat this process five more times, noting your results each time. You should have six numbers between two and twelve. Distribute these numbers as you see fit amongst your six main statistics. Higher is better, obviously; you must decide your strengths and weaknesses.
Now, note how those statistics change when you apply your Avatar’s Bloodline stat modifiers for each form. Caveat: your Avatar must have at least a 1 in each Statistic, even after maximum racial penalties (for the most extreme form) are applied.
But hey, what if my scores are too low?
To determine if your scores really are “too low” add them all together. If they add up to 36 or less, then you can reroll all of them. You can keep rerolling until they add up to 37 or more.
I am aware of all of the ways in which rolling up stats as opposed to say, point-buy, is controversial and bad. However this was made as an intentional stylistic choice. The roleplaying game of Splinter that I am writing isn't meant to be unfair, but the game-within-a-game, the Game? That is explicitly meant to be painfully unfair. Like..."roll 2d6, drop nothing, and deal with it" type unfair. But I don't care about that enough to risk the game being fun. But then again ye olde D&D wasn't strictly speaking unfun so yeah...I don't know. Thoughts?
Statistic Tests
You will sometimes have to use your Avatar’s raw statistics to do something that skills don’t govern; Might for bursting down a door, Celerity for outrunning someone, Brilliance for remembering something, Conviction for resisting intimidation, Omniscience for noticing something, Vitality for resisting the effects of a poison.
In this case, roll a number of dice (all dice used in Splinter are d6) equal to roughly half the attribute score, rounded down. Here’s a table to help you remember what your bonus is for each attribute score:
Stat Score: Dice Rolled
1: None. (You automatically fail this test. Shit.)
2-3: 1
4-5: 2
6-7: 3
8-9: 4
10-11: 5
12-13: 6
14-15: 7
As with all Avatar Tests, each 4, 5, or 6 that you roll on one of those dice is a success. One success is enough for most tasks; the more successes you get, the better.
Derived Statistics
Life Points: How much damage your Avatar can take before kicking the bucket. This statistic is equal to your Avatar’s Vitality multiplied by your Player’s Strength. (A Player with Strength 3 who has an Avatar with Vitality 6 has 18 Life Points.) Note that maximum Life Points can decrease with shifting forms; this change in Life Points can shave current Life Points off the top, but cannot kill an Avatar in-and-of itself. Changing forms can increase/decrease Maximum Life Points, but never current Life Points.
(A Vrix with Vitality 6 in Man-Shape and 18 out of 18 Life Points shifting from Man-Shape to Abaddon would lose 6 Current and Max Life Points, and be at 12 out of 12 Life Points. Shifting back would leave the Vrix at 12 out of 18 Life Points.)
Evasion Factor:
Equal to your Avatar’s Celerity divided by three, rounded down. This is how many successes are required on an attack test to hit you. Your Evasion Factor can later be increased by worn armor. Shifting forms can increase or decrease your Evasion Factor; note your Evasion factor for each form on your sheet.
Avatar Reaction:
This is what you ‘roll’ for initiative at the start of each combat to determine what order you act in combat; Avatar Reaction is recorded as a number of dice plus a flat number. You roll those dice during initiative, not now. Your Avatar Reaction IS: a number of d6 equal to the dice you roll for Avatar Omniscience tests + your Player’s Speed. A Player with Speed 4 and an Avatar with Omniscience 7 would roll 3d6 + 4 to determine initiative.
Starting Harmonics:
Your Avatar starts with a number of levels of Harmonics to distribute equal to the average of your Player’s Wits and your Avatar’s (Man Shape) Brilliance (rounded down).
In other words, your Avatar has starting levels of Harmonics to distribute equal to (Wits + Brilliance)/2 (round down).
Gnosis:
Your Avatar’s Gnosis is equal to your Player’s Will. Gnosis is the number of ‘stages’ per combat you can shift. (For an Aventine to shift from Man Shape to Rione is one stage; to shift from Gyre back to Man Shape is two stages.) Gnosis/2 (round down) is the number of stages that an Avatar can shift in a turn.
Tuning Points: Tuning points are used whenever you Tune, i.e. use your Bloodline’s Harmonics to achieve certain potent effects. You have Tuning Points equal to your Gnosis x Conviction. Note that maximum Tuning Points can decrease with shifting forms; this change in Tuning Points can shave current Tuning Points off the top. Changing forms can increase Maximum Tuning Points, but never current Tuning Points. (An Asilos with Conviction 7 and 21 out of 21 Tuning Points in Man Shape shifting to Lich would be at 21 out of 27 Tuning Points.)
Bonus Damage: All armed melee attacks deal an additional amount of bonus damage equal to ½ your Avatar’s Might (round down). Two-handed melee weapons deal an amount of bonus damage equal to your Avatar’s full Might.
Carrying Capacity: Your Avatar can carry Might x 2 stone and remain able to move. (Stone is a unit of weight in The Realm, equivalent to about 14 lbs.)
So yeah that's why Will matters.
Avatar Skills
Avatar skills are the stuff of adventure; dungeon delving, lock picking, hunting, trapping, and of course, combat. Unlike the wide-open skill creation for Players, there is a set list of Avatar Skills to choose from listed below.
Every skill has a level from zero (untrained) to twelve. Like all Avatar Tests, the level of a skill is how many dice you roll when attempting to perform that skill (making a skill test). Every one of those dice that turns up a four, five or a six is a success; the more successes, the better. If you must attempt to perform an action governed by a skill that you do not have, instead make a test with that skill’s governing attribute—however, on this test, only fives and sixes are successes.
Avatar Skills are bought with Talent Points; one Talent Point buys one level in one skill, simple as that. All Avatars have a number of (non-transferable) Talent Points to buy starting skills equal to their (Man Shape) Brilliance x 2 + their Player Wits + (50 – the total of all your (Man Shape) attributes, added together). In other words, a Player with Wits 4 who has an avatar with Brilliance 8 (Might 9, Omniscience 4, Conviction 7, Vitality 10, and Celerity 6, for a total of 44) would start with 26 Talent Points.
The highest level a starting skill can be at is 7.
Avatar Skill List
Barter: This skill is used to appraise the value of found objects and items, to haggle when bartering with other characters (the vastly decentralized world of The Splinter uses a barter system, if you can even find someone to barter with) and for other general applications of the mercantile trade. Your Barter skill cannot exceed your Omniscience Stat.
Athletics: This skill covers long-distance running, swimming, jumping, climbing, balancing, and various other athletic endeavors. Your Athletics skill cannot exceed your Celerity stat.
Deceit: This skill is your ability to lie and cheat, but not necessarily steal (see Legerdemain). Whenever you use Deceit, your opponent rolls a number of dice equal to their Omniscience to resist see through your lie. Whoever has more successes wins the contested deception test. Ties are resolved by the GM. Your Deceit skill cannot exceed your Brilliance stat.
Diplomacy: This skill is used for all social situations that don’t directly involve deceit, intimidation, or haggling. Diplomacy can’t be used for any of those things, but it can be used for any other social maneuver at the GM’s discretion. Your Diplomacy skill cannot exceed your Conviction stat.
Legerdemain: This skill is used to conceal weapons, pick pockets, and for various other feats of sleight of hand. This skill is not used to pick locks or disarm traps. Your Legerdemain skill cannot exceed your Celerity stat.
Security: This skill is used to pick locks, disarm traps, and perform miraculous escapes from bonds. Unless you have proper tools, only dice that come up five or six on a Security Test count as successes Your Security skill cannot exceed your Brilliance stat. One Step Handicap: No Tools.
Intimidate: This skill is used to coerce or scare another sentient creature into obeying you or fearing you, at least at the present moment. People who are intimidated tend not to like you later on. Your Intimidate skill cannot exceed your Conviction stat.
First Aid: This skill is used to provide immediate care to others. Unless you are equipped with some kind of proper tools—bandages, salves, sutures, styptics, herbal poultices—only results of a five or six on dice rolled for a First Aid test count as a success. When attempting First Aid on yourself, only fives and sixes count as successes—when attempting First Aid on yourself AND without proper tools, only sixes count as a success. Each success on a First Aid test to heal a wounded Avatar restores 1d6 Life Points to that Avatar. However, you can only attempt First Aid on an avatar once per any given set of wounds. After performing First Aid on an Avatar, you must wait until that Avatar is wounded in combat with enemies again before retrying First Aid. Your First Aid skill cannot exceed your Omniscience stat. One Step Handicap: No Tools or Working On Self. Two Step Handicap: Working On Self No Tools.
Literacy: This skill is used for all tasks related to reading, writing, translation, research, and study; it is also used to decipher the meaning of ancient scripts, runes, and texts. Your Literacy skill cannot exceed your Brilliance stat.
Animal Ken: This skill is used for all skill involving “social interaction” with non-sentient beasts, including training, taming and commanding “pets”, trying to get neutral beasts not to attack you, and riding any mounts you might acquire. Your Animal Ken skill cannot exceed your Conviction stat.
Technology: This skill is used for all encounters with technology that is more advanced than the splinter’s medieval baseline. Keep in mind that even if you and your Player know how to work an assault rifle or a biometric lock, your Player’s Avatar does not necessarily have that knowledge. This skill allows you to decipher, operate, repair, disable all manner of high tech objects. It also allows you to wield any high tech weapons you might find. Your starting (and only starting) Technology skill cannot exceed half your Brilliance stat (round down).
You automatically get a skill called "Sorcery" equal to your starting Technology skill level. I will get into why this is later on.
Survival: This skill determines your basic ability to keep you and your allies clothed, fed, sheltered, and warm within The Realm, as well as your ability to hunt and gather, and your skill at tracking enemies over a wide range of terrains. Your Survival skill cannot exceed your Vitality Stat or exceed your Omniscience Stat.
Stealth: This skill is used to hide, move silently, and avoid detection by other characters. Usually, your Stealth roll to do something unnoticed is contested by the Omniscience rolls of those looking for you; who achieves more successes wins. Stealth can’t be higher than Celerity. Two step handicap: hiding in “plain sight”.
Unarmed Combat: This skill is used for all attacks made with fists, feet, claws, teeth, tails, tentacles, clockwork limbs, razor sharp tongue, or whatever other natural weapons are present in the current form of your Avatar’s Bloodline. Defaults to Might at a one step handicap.
Melee Combat: This skill is used for all armed attacks with melee weapons, including dagger, swords, spears, axes, maces, halberds, and any other melee weapons you might find in The Realm. Defaults to Celerity or Might (user’s choice) at a one step handicap.
Ranged Combat: This skill is used for all armed attacks with ranged weapons, including throwing knives, slings, bows, crossbows, guns, and any other ranged weapons you might find in The Realm. Defaults to Ominiscience at a one step handicap. (Note, attacks with high tech weapons use Technology, default to Ranged at one step handicap, or default to Omniscience at a two step handicap.)
Defaulting:
If you need to use a skill that you don’t have, make an appropriate Statistic Test for the governing Statistic at a one-step handicap (i.e. only 5s and 6s count as successes), except for Technology, which defaults at a two-step handicap (i.e. only 6s count as successes).
Note that for short-term one-off games skills like Unarmed Combat and Survival have proven to be really important in playtesting because every time you port in to the Splinter, you port in Naked and Unarmed.