Recognition Skills

These are the skills that you need to learn in order to recognise various creatures and other things. 

It is recommended practice for the Ref to take players with relevant skills (Recognise, Sense or Discerns) to one side before an encounter begins and to give them their monster descriptions before time in. This trusts the players to only relay or act on the information once they have noticed the relevant monster(s) in character, but reduces the need to break time in or immersion during the encounter. The Ref has discretion as to how much information to give the players, and should reflect how much a trained scout of Lesia would know.

Analyze Enchantment

This skill is also known by the alternative names "Discern Enchanted" and "Sense Enchanted".

Proficiency in this Skill Category enables you to accurately sense the type of Enchantments on a creature or object, if any, that you are in the presence of. The range of this skill increases to match the range of the characters Discern Spirits and Sense Magic for Inherent and Focussed Enchants respectively, without which the range defaults to two inches from the spell casting hand for either type of enchantment.

In addition to this, you may take some time to concentrate or meditate on an item or artefact to determine its Spiritual or Focussed magical qualities. The time depends on the item but no other actions, including moving may be taken at the same time. For every 30s of study the analyst learns the following in this order:

1. Identify if the item is bonding, the number of item slots it occupies, if it is single use, has multiple charges or is permanent

2. Determine if the item requires a command word to use, if FIA or IIA skills are required

3. Identify the type of magic present in the item (typically the closest spell list)

4. The specific spell effects of the item can be determined

For example, studying a wand of Moderate Fireball (3 uses only) would reveal the following:

1. At 30s - Non bonding, 1 Focussed slot, multiple charges, not permanent.

2. At 1 Minute - Requires FIA & a command word

3. At 1 Minute & 30s - Red / Fire Magic

4. At 2 Minutes - Moderate Fireball spell

Identifying the precise command word required and how many charges would require further examination, for example using the Question or Artefact Study spells.

Analyse Enchantment can also be used to examine the abilities of an Enhanced Creature, you may take some time to concentrate or meditate on an Enhanced Creature to determine its Special Abilities, this follow the same requirements as studying an item. If used on a corpse this study must occur within 1 encounter of the creatures death, or on a sample taken using the Essence Trap or Spirit Trap spells. For every 30s of study the analyst learns the following in this order:

1. 30s - Identify how many Enhancements they have.

2. 60s - Know the broad purpose of their enhancements (Offensive, Defensive or Utility)

3. 90s - No. of uses or Permanency of each.

4. 120s - Brief description of 1 ability and remaining charges at this time. 

5. +30s - Brief description of 1 ability and remaining charges at this time.

Diagnose Wounds

This skill is also known by the alternative names “Recognise Wounds”, “Sense Wounds” And “Discern Wounds”. By learning this Skill Category, you can examine the bodies of Player Characters, NPC’s or Monsters, to discern how badly wounded they are. It also enables you to determine whether they have any diseases and whether they have been poisoned. The benefits you gain vary according to your level of proficiency.

This Skill requires close examination of the subject for any reasonable result and you will receive an assessment of the patient’s condition when the Referee is free. You may also use this skill in conjunction with the skills SENSE MAGIC and DISCERN SPIRITS to determine the patient’s condition at a distance if within range of those skills (for a spiritless or spirited patient respectively). The target of this skill must be willing to be examined, and a non-compliant target will not guarantee the results to be completely accurate.

1. At the first level of this skill (Minor), the tagets Total Body and Locations are described as a percentage of their starting health.

   1. • The number of all Minor Diseases and any potions affecting the target are also determined with a "Yes present, X number of diseases & Y number of potions".

2. At the second level of this skill (Moderate), the targets Total Body is described as an exact number.

   1. • The number of all Moderate Diseases and any potions affecting the target are also determined with a "Yes present, X number of diseases & Y number of potions".

3. At the third level of this skill (Major), the locations are also described as exact numbers.

   1. • The number of all Major Diseases and any potions affecting the target are also determined with a "Yes present, X number of diseases & Y number of potions".

NB: The term "Potions" refers to any Herbal, Alchemical or Poison potions.

Discern Runes

This skill allows you to sense the presence of inherent Runes up to twenty feet directly in front of the characters spell casting hand, or the range of your Discern Spirits skill if it is greater. The level of rune detected by this spell will be of the same level or lower than your level in this skill, therefore you cannot detect a moderate rune with Discern Rune I.

This skill is also required to learn and cast the equivalent level Inherent Rune spell.

Discern Spirits

This Skill Category enables you to discern the presence of Spirits in an object, creature or area. Other Discern skills are increased to match the range of Discern Spirits. In general, you can discern spirits though normal objects such as walls, doors, chests, etc although getting a response through a real life barrier such as a wall may be impractical. There are methods to make mundane objects impenetrable to this skill but they are very expensive, and normally only available to Guilds or other people with similar power and wealth. Even if your character can discern spirits beyond physical barriers, Line of Sight is still required to cast spells at a target, preventing spells from being cast through walls.

Discerning requires concentration and in the heat of combat can be difficult to read specific creatures, especially when reading several at once such as through the area ranges of moderate skill level and above. Scanning an area requires the call "DISCERN [SKILL] X" and indicating the area of the scan with one hand, objects may be held in hand provided the gesture is clear or if indicated verbally.

Creatures within the area should respond appropriately, "Ping" is acceptable in place of a yes response if already in combat or the target is unable to respond at length. If a creature (or object) is specifically targeted then a full response is required, for example Discern Undead would yield "Zombie, Dismiss Minor" or "Undead unknown, Dismiss Major" against the right targets.

1. At the first level of Skill (Minor), your character can discern a spirit in an object or creature up to twenty feet directly in front of the characters spell casting hand.

   1. • It will also determine if the target is under a spiritual spell or effect and the number of those effects.

2. At the second level of this skill (Moderate), the range is increased to within twenty feet of the character, and also a line up to forty feet directly in front of their spell casting hand.

3. At the third level of this skill (Major), the range is increased further to twenty feet centred on the character and a circle twenty foot in radius, up to forty feet away.

   1. • In addition you can also determine the Inherent Spell lists known by a caster, or in the case of a creature with special abilities the affinity of the creature towards the Gold, Bronze or Silver Dragon (for example EPCs or Undead with spell like abilities).

Discern Undead

This skill allows you to sense the presence of Undead up to twenty feet directly in front of the characters spell casting hand, or the range of your Discern Spirits skill if it is greater. 

Proficiency in this Skill Category enables you to accurately discern the Subtype and Level of Undead, but will not give specific details about the creature. For example a Bloated Plague Zombie would be detected as a "Zombie, Minor". To specifically identify it as a Bloated Plague Zombie which will explode upon death in a deadly cloud of disease you would require the RECOGNISE MINOR & RECOGNISE - UNDEAD skills.

This skill will also often give further details on Spiritual effects, such as if Undead have spiritual bonds to locations or other creatures in the area.

This skill will also determine if an Undead Possession is present and it's level, ie Minor, Moderate or Major.

This skill is required to Summon, Control or Dismiss undead using the appropriate spell described in the Inherent Spells section.

Recognise

This skill is required to use the RECOGNISE TYPE skill. It determines the level of knowledge of beings that you have studied for example if you had Recognise Creature and Recognise at Level 2 (Moderate) you would be able to correctly identify Creatures that are listed in the Monster Manual as Creature – 2 or below. The Ref should give you a brief rundown of the Creatures abilities and any special requirements to kill the creature such as requiring Magical damage.

If you don’t have the required level of skill for the being then it will be listed as Unknown Creature Type for example using the scenario above if you came across an War Troll which is Creature Level 3 (Major) then you would get Olog Unknown.

You do not need this Skill category to recognise creatures listed as LEVEL 0 (such as Humans, Elves and Dwarves), but you must be able to clearly see creatures to recognise them.

Recognise *Type*

When you purchase this skill you need to select one of the four different types of recognition that you will specialise in. These types are listed below:

• Creature – A being of the Material Plane.

• Extra Planer Creature (EPC) – A being from a place outside of the Material Plane.

• Undead – A creature that has been created using the power of the Silver Dragon and was previously dead.

• Disguise – If a person is using a Disguise Kit to hide their identity.

These sections are expanded upon below under each sub-category.

You require the RECOGNISE skill to be able to determine the level of these beings that you know of.

The lists are known examples of documented creatures, grouped into subgroups by scholars, but adventurers may encounter new and undiscovered creatures. In this case, you will be informed that it is a "Creature Unknown" if you cannot classify it into any group. After many such sightings by characters with the sufficient Skill level, it will be added to the list of creatures recognisable with this Skill Category.

NOTE: the bestiary is currently being constructed, therefore some of the creature descriptions (and particularly subtypes) may be changed. I have included the current list of subtypes at this time.

Disguised Creatures

Creatures disguised as other creatures will be recognised as their disguise, not the creature under the disguise. The RECOGNISE DISGUISE Skill is required to determine if a creature is disguised, and allows the viewer to apply their RECOGNISE skills to both the disguised creature and it's disguise, see that skill for details.

Enhanced Creatures

An Enhanced Creature is one which has been dramatically altered and possesses abilities beyond what is naturally possible for one of its kind. This must be a new property of the creature itself, not simply abilities granted by a magical item or temporary spell.

Creatures with Special Abilities which do not occupy Magic Item slots qualify a character as an Enhanced Creature. Abilities which are pure roleplay titles (ie “Ser”) are not enhancements. Some abilities taken through the Racial Mutation skill will qualify a creature as an Enhanced Creature, for example a human who has been transformed into a Half Elemental would qualify, while a Goblin with enhanced Dexterity would not as that is a natural mutation for a goblin.

Rec X (of their normal type, for example, Creature) reveals they are Enhanced but not what the abilities are, for example, Enhanced Human. Analyse Enchantment can be used to examine the abilities of an Enhanced Creature similarly to an item, see that skill for details.

Recognise Type - Creature

Proficiency in this Skill Category enables you to recognise many of the creatures that you may encounter. The creatures recognisable with this Skill Category are native to the Prime Material Plane, this plane of existence. A complete list of all these creatures would be very long.

Enhanced Creatures will be recognised as "Enhanced X" of their usual type, for example Enhanced Wolf.

For a list of examples see the Creatures page in the Bestiary for details.

Recognise Type - Disguise

This skill enables you to recognise whether a creature is in disguise or not. At each level of proficiency that you have gained in this Skill Category, you will be able to recognise disguises created by someone with an equal level of proficiency, or lower, in the General Skill Category's DISGUISE.

In addition you may apply your other Recognition skills to the creature beneath the disguise. For example, a Fae (EPC) is disguised as a Zombie (Undead), a scout using Rec Creature and Disguise would receive the response "Unknown disguised as Unknown", a scout with Rec Undead & Disguise would get "Unknown disguised as Zombie", and a scout with Rec EPC, Undead & Disguise would get "Fae Disguised as Zombie".

Note that this skill does not help you identify the specific individual underneath, only their creature type.

Recognise Type – Extra-Planar Creature

This Skill Category enables you to recognise if a creature is an extra-planar creature, many of which have been brought to this plane by others and are not natural creatures. You must be able to clearly see creatures to recognise them and unlike the Sense Extra-Planar Creature, this skill is purely visual.

With Recognise Extra Planar Creature and Recognise Creature Major, you may also distinguish between creatures native to the Prime Material Plane and those from a Parallel Material Plane, provided you can recognise the base creature using the respective skill. For example, you can recognise if a Human is from another material Plan, in which you would be informed they are an "EPC Human".

Enhanced Creatures will be recognised as "Enhanced X" of their usual type, for example Enhanced Elemental.

For a list of examples see the Extra Planar Creature page in the Bestiary for details.

Recognise Type - Undead

This Skill Category enables you to recognise if a creature is an Undead, many of which have been brought to this plane by others and are not natural creatures. You must be able to clearly see creatures to recognise them and unlike Discern Undead doesn’t tell you the dismiss level of the Undead.

Like the broad creature types of regular creatures, undead also fall into broad categories, both the Forrester's and Churches Guilds of Lesia group undead in the below categories. It is occasionally possible for some undead to appear to fit two categories, for example Non-Corporeal undead often look like another type except noticeably translucent or "ghostly".

Enhanced Creatures will be recognised as "Enhanced X" of their usual type, for example Enhanced Skeleton.

For a list of examples see the Undead page in the Bestiary for details.

Recognise Forgery

Proficiency in this skill means that you can recognise whether a document is a forgery or not. At each level of proficiency that a character has in this skill, the character can recognise a forgery created by someone with an equal level of proficiency in the skill FORGERY. This skill can also be used to identify forged items, for example artwork or jewellery.

Recognise Value

This skill allows a character to identify valuable items and accurately estimate their value. The types of items correctly identified increases with level - items above a character’s skill level will either be unidentifiable or possibly be mistaken for a similar item of greater or lesser value.

Characters without the skill may even misidentify common items with more valuable counterparts, for example a well-polished but ordinary sword may be suspected of being master crafted or silver.

This skill does not identify or infer magical or spiritual properties of items, but can evaluate the physical item on an "un-enchanted" basis. For example, a magic sword is almost always a masterwork blade, a magical amulet an expensive piece of jewellery and so forth, and thus this skill would evaluate them as their non-magical counterparts.

1. Mundane or common trade goods

   1. • Standard guild quality equipment.

2. Uncommon items such as rare gems, fine jewellery or art (up to 500g).

   1. • Unusual materials such as Cold Iron or Silver.

3. Rare items such as masterpiece jewellery or art (any value)

   1. • Master Crafted equipment or Rare materials such as Mithril or Meteoric Iron.

Sense Extra Planar Creatures

This skill allows you to sense the presence of EPCs up to twenty feet directly in front of the characters spell casting hand, or the range of your Sense Magic skill if it is greater. 

Proficiency in this Skill Category enables you to accurately discern the Subtype and Level of EPCs, but will not give specific details about the creature. For example a Vengeful Flame Imp would be detected as a "Elemental, Minor". To specifically identify it as a Vengeful Flame Imp which will explode upon death in a deadly fireball you would require the RECOGNISE MINOR & RECOGNISE - EPC skills.

This skill will also often give further details on Focussed effects, such as if EPCs have magical bonds to locations or other creatures in the area.

This skill will also determine if an EPC Possession is present and it's level, ie Minor, Moderate or Major.

This skill is required to Summon, Bind or Banish EPCs using the appropriate spell described in the Focussed Spells section.

*While Banishing and Binding are now accepted spell lists, the Summon spell list is still under playtest.

Sense Glyphs

This skill allows you to sense the presence of focussed Glyphs up to twenty feet directly in front of the characters spell casting hand, or the range of your Sense Magic skill if it is greater. The level of Glyph detected by this spell will be of the same level or lower than your level in this skill, therefore you cannot detect a moderate Glyph with Sense Glyph I.

This skill is also required to learn and cast the equivalent level Focussed Glyph spell.

Sense Magic

This Skill Category enables you to sense the presence of Focussed Magic in an object, creature or area. Other Sense skills are increased to match the range of Sense Magic. In general, you can Sense Magic though normal objects such as walls, doors, chests, etc although getting a response through a real life barrier such as a wall may be impractical. There are methods to make mundane objects impenetrable to this skill but they are very expensive, and normally only available to Guilds or other people with similar power and wealth. Even if your character can sense magic beyond physical barriers, Line of Sight is still required to cast spells at a target, preventing spells from being cast through walls.

Sensing requires concentration and in the heat of combat can be difficult to read specific creatures, especially when reading several at once such as through the area ranges of moderate skill level and above. Scanning an area requires the call "SENSE [SKILL] X" and indicating the area of the scan with one hand, objects may be held in hand provided the gesture is clear or if indicated verbally.

Creatures within the area should respond appropriately, "Ping" is acceptable in place of a yes response if already in combat or the target is unable to respond at length. If a creature (or object) is specifically targeted then a full response is required, for example Sense EPC would yield "Elemental, Minor" or "Elemental unknown, Major" against the right targets.

1. At the first level of Skill (Minor), your character can sense magic in an object or creature up to twenty feet directly in front of the characters spell casting hand.

   1. • It will also determine if the target is under a focussed spell or effect and the number of those effects.

2. At the second level of this skill (Moderate), the range is increased to within twenty feet of the character, and also a line up to forty feet directly in front of their spell casting hand.

3. At the third level of this skill (Major), the range is increased further to twenty feet centred on the character and a circle twenty foot in radius, up to forty feet away.

   1. • In addition you can also determine the Focussed Spell lists known by a caster, or in the case of a creature with special abilities the affinity of the creature towards the Black, Blue, Green, Red, White or Mighty Dragons (for example EPCs or Undead with spell like abilities).