User:Guy/Splat/Fortes

Fortes effectively replace skills and tool proficiencies. Fortes are intended to be more dynamic and not be tied to any specific ability score. There is deliberately no "Perception" forte or equivalent.

When you are proficient in a forte, if you make an ability check relevant to that forte, add your pro bonus to the check result.

Fortes are divided into major and minor, with major fortes generally covering broader topics. If you have both a major forte and minor forte which applies to the check, in addition to adding your pro bonus (once only), you also gain advantage on the check.

Major Fortes

There are 8 major fortes: Athletics, Deception, Engineering, Nature, Occultism, Performance, Persuasion, and Society.

• Athletics. Activities that require skill and stamina. Climb, swim, lift, maintain balance, jump, use gymnastics, and practice most physical sports. Recall lore about such activities, or judge the athletic abilities of others.
• Deception. Bluff, disguise the truth effectively, hide, move without being detected, pick pockets, practice larceny, feint, use subterfuge, plant a small object on someone else's person, spy without being seen, succeed at tactical games against a crafty opponent, or employ other means of subterfuge.
• Engineering. Industrial sciences; construction, material sciences, blacksmithing, carpentry, bombs, firearms, constructs, and other technological subjects. Craft wood, stone, metal, and mechanical tems. Operate machines whether simple or complex; drive wagons and sail ships.
• Nature. The natural world and sciences related to it; agriculture, animal husbandry, prospecting, etc. Survive in the wild, predict the weather, train or tame animals, identify herbs or animals, diagnose a natural disease, recall natural geography, control a tamed animal. Craft leather, bone, chitin, and other materials directly derived from beasts.
• Occultism. The supernatural world and sciences related to it; magic, potions, poisons, curses. Craft occult items, diagnose or treat curses, identify spells.
• Performance. Entertain, play music, tell stories, inspire others, tell jokes, sing, dance, and create other forms of art.
• Persuasion. Influence or understand others without deliberate guile. Convince someone to do something whether gently or forcefully, intimidate, debate, flirt, make a good impression, empathize with another, accurately guess the motivations of another creature, or convince someone of something that you believe is true.
• Society. Understand or influence society as a whole (as opposed to an individual person); discern conventions and taboos. Barter effectively, give a rallying speech, use social sciences, recall historical lore, understand or influence politics, understand or influence laws and legal proceedings, investigate a conspiracy, recall religious rites, employ streetsmarts, survive in an urban environment, guess the meaning behind a foreign language, or gather information.

Minor Fortes

• You can give up a major forte to instead gain 2 minors. (You can't give up 2 minors to gain a major.)
• You can give up a minor forte to instead learn any widely-known language.
• Your narrator might add minor fortes specific to your character or the campaign.

Minor fortes can be either tool fortes or focus fortes.

Having a tool forte adds your pro bonus to checks made to use the tool for its intended purpose, such as using smith's tools to craft a sword, or using a musical instrument to play a melody skillfully. Of course, crafting items already uses the Engineering forte and a musical performance uses Performance, so having both can grant you easy advantage on the check. See tools for the various tools to choose from.

A focus forte doesn't require a tool, and generally represents a narrower band of expertise than a major forte. Focus fortes are not designed to be all inclusive; consult your narrator if you have an idea for a focus forte for your character. The following list merely includes examples.

Athletics specialties

• Balance
• Climbing
• Jumping
• Sleight of Hand; juggle, perform legerdemain, shuffle cards, flip daggers, palm a coin
• Swimming

Deception specialties

• Bluffing
• Hiding
• Moving Quietly

Engineering specialties

• Architecture
• Land Vehicles
• Sea Vehicles
• Artisan tools typically fall under Engineering

Nature specialties

• Agriculture
• Animal Handling
• Geology
• Medicine
• Weather
• Wilderness Survival

Occultism specialties

• Astrology
• Curses & Magical Diseases
• Any one of the magic sources: Alchemy, Arcane, Draconic, Eldritch, Jotun, Ki, Melodic, Spiritual, Sylvan, etc
• Any one of the spell schools: Abjuration, Conjuration, Divination, Enchantment, Evocation, Illusion, Necromancy, Transmutation

Performance specialties

• Dancing
• Hosting
• Humor
• Oratory
• Singing
• Musical instruments typically fall under Performance

Persuasion specialties

• Debate
• Empathy; gain insight into a creature's true motives or next move; discern a lie from the truth
• Flirting
• Haggling
• Intimidation

Society specialties

• Appraisal; judging the economic value of items
• History
• Politics