The Continuum Skills FAQ

The Continuum roleplaying game has been in existence for about five years now officially, and there are many elements of the game system that have aspects to them that make the players, and GMs, think a little bit. This Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) page is designed to answer some of the commonly asked questions about one of the more interesting Continuum game elements - Skills.

Skills Frequently Asked Questions

If a character has a Master Rank in a Skill based on an Attribute of 7, the Skill Rating is therefore 10. If the character rolls a 0 (ten) in this Skill, he'll have to roll again as per the rules on page 16. If the character rolls another "0", is it a Blunder or a Grace?

It is a Blunder. Grace rolls are for chronies wit Attributes and Skills below 10 - they're the ones that need the help! If your character has many Skills (or *any* Attributes) above 9, expect him to start being called upon to solve the Grace rolls other spanners are rolling!

Also note that in Continuum every creature from an Inheritor down to an amoeba Blunders on a double "0". It keeps things interesting.

One of the things I've noticed about Continuum is that there are several skills from the older versions missing. Library Science is an obvious one, but there are things missing such as a Research skill (which might be applicable under Investigation), there's no skill for repairing items and devices and the like, not to mention Profession skills. What's with this?

Yes, I have noticed this too, and it was mentioned on the Continuum mailing list. Library Science is one of the most obvious omissions. Most of the Profession skills you mention are covered with Acumen, but I agree that a Repair skill category would be a good idea. The Library Science and Repair skills can be found in the Further Information book.

I am somewhat confused about Unskilled actions. In the rules on page 14, it states that any character may attempt an action without having the skill needed using only their base attribute and a -2 modifier (assuming that the GM allows it). However, on page 16, the action modifier chart lists Unskilled actions as one title below Novice (so a character attempting an unskilled action with a Novice difficulty would be at -1). Are the penalties cumulative (with our above character having a final -3 modifier to his base attribute)? Or does one method relate to contested actions and the other to uncontested?

Characters have skill levels of experience. For example, a character can have a Journeyman-level skill, such as Computers (Security/Hacking). If his Mind score is 6, then his Computer (Security/ Hacking) skill is J8 (see Skill Title Rating Table on page 11 of the rulebook).

However, skills also have difficulty levels. One of the examples in Continuum , page 16, is useful here. Suppose the character wants to hack NORAD's mainframe computer. The book suggests that this is a job for Master level of skill. If the character had Master level of skill in Computers (Security/Hacking), he would roll normally. However, he doesn't - he's only Journeyman level. He's not as experienced as the character would need to be able to get in. Therefore, there's a penalty. Looking at the Action Difficulty Modifier Table on page 16, the character is a Journeyman trying to achieve something that really calls for a Master. The action's difficulty is one title higher than the character's skill, so there is a -1 penalty to his rating. Thus, although he has a J8, he would roll against a 7. It's harder for him to do it. If he succeeded and then told his computer-hacking buddy what he had done, he might try. However, though brilliant, this guy's a bit flaky: he's never tried hacking anything before, and thinks it'd be fun to try something impossible for a change. With a Mind of 8, his effective Computer (Security/Hacking) skill is "U"6. ("U" is in quotes because it's not really a skill he has. However, the effect is the same.)

This guy now tries NORAD. Master is effectively four titles above unskilled. Thus, the U6 acquires a new rating of 2. (It's still possible! Probably time for GM intervention as per the footnote to the table on page 16.) So yes, the modifiers are cumulative. But the first modifier isn't really a modifier as such... it's how the skill rating is arrived at in the first place. It will remain the same as long as the attribute and skill title remain the same.

As far as skills go, is the Action Difficulty Modifier Table also used in competitive actions?

Well, the rulebook isn't clear on this one. Competitive actions seem to assume someone will certainly win (aside from a complete tie); there's nothing there saying anything about getting negative results, only whoever gets the higher result (-2 is higher than -3, for instance!). Are competitive actions designed to be used in situations where both characters might lose? Not according to what I've interpreted from the rulebook. At least, not directly.

Here's how I imagine it should work. Suppose a character and his friend decide to compete at archery. The character has Missile Weapon (Bow) (note that this skill is not on the skill list) A7, and his friend has Missile Weapon (Bow) J8. They're both aiming at a small target which requires a Journeyman level to hit, so the character's rating is modified to 6 and his friend's remains the same (8). Here are a couple of possible outcomes.

The character rolls a 9 and his friend rolls a 3: The character's result is -3 and his friend's is 5. He hits and the character misses. Thus, his friend wins, since the character didn't even hit the target. The character rolls a 2 and the friend rolls a 6. The character's result is 4 and his friend's is 2. Both the character and the friend hit, and the character wins because he had the higher result.

Note that the uncontested action part of this resolution used the Action Difficulty Modifier Table, while the competitive action part did not. Note also that if the character and his friend had decided to race hacking into NORAD (see the previous question's answer), that the character would win by superiority. And remember, winning by superiority only applies in contested actions. The GM should still require a roll, since the characters have to see if they break in at all.

Bear in mind that this interpretation is not in the rulebook, but I believe it is the best one.

Special thanks to Chris Adams, Dave Fooden, Barbara Manui, David Trimboli, and the folks on the Continuum Mailing List for their help in the compiling of this FAQ information.

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