Table of Contents
Skills
The Nexus Framework uses a light and flexible skill structure. There are eighteen skills, each tied to a single attribute. A character’s focus within a skill can be refined through Skill Traits, which represent specialization or expertise.
| Skill | Attribute | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Aim | Dexterity | Making ranged attacks, including thrown weapons |
| Acrobatics | Agility | Climbing, balancing, swinging from chandeliers |
| Athletics | Body | Jumping, swimming, or performing feats of strength |
| Brawling | Body | Making unarmed attacks, breaking objects |
| Coercion | Charisma | Convincing or fooling people into seeing things your way |
| Endurance | Body | Carrying heavy loads, running over an extended period |
| Esoterica | Education | Specialized training in unusual fields, such as magic or technology |
| Influence | Charisma | Etiquette, making a good impression, surviving in high society |
| Knowledge | Education | Remembering lore, procedures, or specific information |
| Leadership | Charisma | Inspiring your allies or intimidating your foes |
| Legerdemain | Dexterity | Picking pockets, holding out items, minor manipulations of objects |
| Melee | Agility | Making melee attacks with a weapon held in hand |
| Perception | Foresight | Spotting hidden things, noticing details |
| Precision | Dexterity | Opening locks, disarming traps, or assembling devices |
| Profession | Education | Doing a “job”, including the skilled trades |
| Stealth | Agility | Moving without being noticed |
| Strategy | Foresight | Recognizing patterns and spotting opportunities |
| Survival | Foresight | Wilderness navigation, tracking, foraging, weather awareness |
Skills and Training
Each skill in the game has an associated training value, which represents a character’s competence with that skill. Skills can be either trained or untrained:
Untrained Skills
If a skill is untrained, the character has no formal ability in it, and its value is +0. The character can still attempt the skill, but they rely entirely on the governing attribute and any situational modifiers.
Trained Skills
When a character first becomes trained in a skill, that skill receives a value of +2, reflecting basic proficiency.
Trained skills improve over time. Upon reaching levels 2, 8, and 13, any skill a character has trained will gain an additional +1 bonus to its value. Further specialization is possible: certain traits allow characters to gain bonuses to skills within specific fields, representing focused study, practice, or innate talent.
Skill Checks
Whenever a character is directed to make a skill check, they must do the following:
- Roll 2d10.
- Add their skill's training value, plus the controlling attribute's modifier.
- Consult the Success Table to determine how well they did.