More questions

#1

Questions

  1. Evade Skill - This looks like a must have skill. I assume this skill can only be used when an Evade roll is called rather than Defense roll? Or can a player choose to use Evade in place of Defense whenever a Defense roll is asked for?

  2. Spellsinger core ability - Your spells work on a target that can HEAR you cast. Does this mean no roll is needed, whatever you cast just happens? Otherwise I’m not sure what the benefit of this core ability is.

  3. Spells - This looks pretty clear but I just want to be sure I didn’t miss something. Spells are 1 cast (once per day) use. So you have to rest in safety before you get the use of it back. Unless you modify the spell to add 1 casting, which it looks like you could add this up to 3 times per spell, so a spell upgraded this way could be cast up to 4 times.

  4. Paragon faith Core Ability - increase your Faith Skill by 2 to a max of 16 on a successful cast. It also references page 84. On page 84 “gain faith” says increase faith skill by 1 to a max of 14. Is this meant to be what happens if you don’t have the paragon of faith core ability? Does this increase reset daily or is it perpetual until you fail? I assume the latter. Again I just want to make sure I didn’t miss something.

  5. Is there somewhere that calls out what items take up an equipment slot? It looks like no, the GM is supposed to make these choice for their game. So as an example an ordinary ring wouldn’t count as an equipment slot but a Magic Ring that provides some benefit would.

  6. It doesn’t appear armor imposes any penalty to casting spells? You could buy a chest plate, helm, greaves and still cast any spell. I assume a shield would have to be unequipped as two-hand are needed to cast spells?

I guess that is enough for now :slight_smile:

#2

:grin::coffee:

  1. You can totally Evade in place of Defense. Evade is like dodging, Defense is like blocking. Just remember that some things can’t be Evaded, and some things can’t be Defended.

  2. An unmodified spell has a range of Touch, Spellsinger boosts your base range to Hearing distance. And you are correct, you do not roll to cast. (You also do not the Magic Skill to cast.)

  3. You are correct. 1 cast, but can be modified to 4 casts with Hero Points.

  4. I’m not 100% sure, but I can find out. :+1: Pretty good chance someone may get you an answer before me, lol.

  5. It does say in the book that small items are collectively stored as a Pouch Item and to make a judgement call about those items.

  6. Correct again, as long as your hands are free you cast spells. Spell Limitations may change what you can wear though, for instance Druidic Limitation causes your magic not to work if you’re touching metal.

Hope this helps. :blush::shield:

#3

A follow-up question for #1: It’s possible to lose the Evade skill due to attrition, but not Def, right? It seemed like Def isn’t a true skill that takes an inventory slot, but Evade is. Does that sound right?

#4

Well DEF will be reduced through Attrition as you lose equipment that gives bonuses to DEF. As I understand even if you lost all equipment you’d still have at least a value of 6 in DEF as it is the default number.

So as a follow up question, I assume if you did lose Evade to Attrition and an Evade check was required you’d still get to make one, it would just also be at the default value of 6.

#5

Oh really? I was assuming that Def wasn’t truly a skill, so like you said, you would always have at least a 6 in Def. But Evade is actually a skill you have to pick, so one it’s gone, no more Evading until you heal that flesh attrition. I think this is the same thing with something like Resist and even Magic. Basically, any skill you can use to avoid negative consequences, besides Def, is fair game to lose, with no default at all. But I’m definitely still learning, so maybe that’s incorrect. :slightly_smiling_face:

#6

Evade can totally be lost to Attrition till recovered. Now here’s the dangerous part, you cannot Evade till you get it back. :grimacing: If it’s an Evade only attack you just take the hit. Ouch!

Seth nails it on Defense. It’s not a skill, just your body and what you wear. You will always have a base 6 that can’t be lost. But gear that adds to Defense can damaged or destroyed with Attrition.

Attacks that specifically call for skills like Evade, Resist, Breakfall, Magic can’t be avoided at all without the skill. But, you can totally make a call at your table for a Flat Roll, and doesn’t always have to be a 6.
“Roll for it, on a Crit you’re saved from Brutal Attrition…” (or whatever effects the attack has)

#7

Thanks @JDStirling

Maybe one last example on how to resolve. Bob the fighter is trying to hold a door closed from an orc trying to open it. Bob has the muscle skill but only a 3. Lets say the orc does not have that skill and a flat opposed role is called for. Does Bob need a 3 or less to succeed while the unskilled orc needs a 6 or less? How would this work, maybe flat rolls are different than skill checks?

By the way this line of questioning DEFINITELY comes from 35 years of playing D&D and how skills are used there. So please forgive me while I’m trying to unlearn that use absorb C&S.

#8

No apologies necessary, man. We’re all learning this together. :blush::shield:

So the Orc is never going to roll, remember C&S is Player Facing rolls. Instead the player would roll at or below their skill (3 in this case) to hold the door. But the Orc is probably pretty strong too, so it might be Tough (-5 penalty) to keep the door held. This would probably be a situation where the Fighter is just not strong enough to out-muscle an Orc YET.

Crown and Skull invites us all to step into a game where we can’t take 20 to succeed and some things are just out of reach till we “level up.” Like original Zelda, gotta find the bombs before we can open that wall. :coffee::grin:

#9

I might just be having a dense moment, but this doesn’t make sense to me. I mean, I get what you’re saying, but I also think struggling with an orc to hold the door would be a pretty classic example of an opposed test. Additionally, it seems like it would be a “common task” that anyone could at least attempt. At the very least, I can imagine a scenario in which this is the case, for example, say it’s just another human on the other side of the door instead of an orc. Then it really seems like an opposed “whoever rolls lowest is the winner” situation. But that then goes back to the question, does a character with Muscle (even if it was really low, like a 3), get any inherent advantage over sometime without the skill?

I do think that it’s possible, as a GM, to simply arbitrate the situation and move on, I’m just kinda surprised there’s not more explicit guidance and/or examples in the book for this. Thanks for all the discussion!

#10

A lot of the time you just don’t have a chance of success without the skill, so there’s no roll. This is a far step away from DnD where you can attempt anything and succeed if you well enough. It’s a tough tradition to break, but C&S is introducing new traditions to the classics so to speak.

Definitely a good discussion! I hope it is also helpful. :pray::coffee::shield:

#11

I get what you are saying. But having played DnD so long, and everyone I play with, there will be questions. It does help that I can really lean into the fact that you have to be skilled to even make an attempt. And as you said sometimes that may not be enough if the player only look the absolute minimum. Thanks for clarifying.

#12

Yeah definitely helpful for sure, thank you!

#13

Skills certainly take on an entirely new function in C&S. In 5e, proficiencies seem to be the icing on the cake. As JD said, skills in C&S are more like Zelda items – they fundamentally change how players interpret their environment. Very, very interesting design!

#14

In the case of the Fighter holding the door closed against an orc incursion, if the GM called for a Flat Roll between the Fighter and the Orc to see who rolled lower, the PLAYER should point out they have the Muscle skill. Even at the low level of 3, the fighter is much stronger than most. Normally, I would say the GM make the call that no roll is necessary since the condition of strength is already met with Muscle skill. Since this isn’t one of the named rolls of the skill…

Roll this skill to bend bars, lift the unliftable, or brace against wind.

… they can succeed automatically.

If the GM believes that this would pose a problem to even someone with Muscle skill, then there would have been no call for a Flat Roll and anyone attempting to hold to door would have immediately failed as it would have been considered impossible. At that point, it is the PLAYER’s responsibility to point out they have the Muscle skill and that they would like to brace against these impossible odds (even at a 3 and under [15% chance])

If additional difficulty would be added to someone with the Muscle skill, it can be added to the roll (such as a -2 penalty).

I hope this gives out some clarity.

#15

It does indeed (along with your reply in my other post). Once again, thanks so much!

#16

One additional question: do you call for opposed rolls often? Most of the player facing systems I’ve played don’t have opposed rolls, as it forces the GM to roll. So I find it a bit odd that there’d even be a need for opposed rolls in C&S. Any insight?

#17

I’ve done opposed rolls once when both parties don’t have any skills related. Then the win goes to whoever rolled lowest. This is great because if there is a tie, I’d give it to the Players ( if they both roll nat 20s, player wins).

If I call for an Opposed roll and the player states he has an appropriate skill, I might give it to the player then if it’s a soft version of what the skill can do. Otherwise, I’ll ask for a Skill roll and only offer negative effect on a critical failure.

#18

Is there anything in the book that can actually confirm this? All we get about Evade is one line- “Used to avoid attacks that armor cannot protect against.” Every attack seems to call for Defense, and Shield Fighting specifically states it can be used in place of Defense, but Evade does not. A few attacks that use Evade cannot be defended with Defense. While it seems logical that Evade could be an option, from an as-written POV, I don’t see evidence of it. Would the same apply to Resist, for example? Where instead of blocking or dodging, you just tank the hit like a champ and shrug it off?

#19

I believe that this is where the player and Gamemaster have to have a discussion and negotiation, per table basis. I don’t see why you couldn’t use Evade, but I might rule that you have DEF for a reason already.

#20

This has been hashed out ad nauseum on the discord, with Hankerin himself clarifying. Crown has specific language for reasons. The skill description is to be combined with the actual skill itself. Can you Evade a sword? A thrown rock? What about poison gas?

In addition, the game text also specifically states that the GM should not normally be calling for a skill, rather the Players are in charge of stating what skill they want to use in a given situation, and the GM then either agrees or doesn’t. If agreement is made then the dice are rolled.