People sometimes forget that with magic, almost anything becomes possible. While a great many spells have big, flashy effects, magicians profit from the smaller, subtler forms magic takes. The Skullduggery tradition offers solutions to a raft of common challenges spellcasters face on their quests. And when they don’t solve the problem, they offer a way out of it.
Beat a Hasty Retreat: You can use this talent if you lack the confused, controlled, stunned, or unconscious afflictions when you move at least 1 yard. Until the end of your turn, your Speed increases by 5, and you gain the Slippery trait. You can use this talent once, twice at level 3, and three times at level 7. You regain expended uses after you rest.
Handy Hole: You can use an action to open two connected hand-sized portals, one on a point within reach, and the other on a point within 10 yards. Anything entering one portal emerges from the other, such that you could reach through one portal and pluck a ring of keys from a hook on the wall some distance away. The portals remain open for 1 minute. When the effect ends, the portals close and severs anything that’s not magical reaching through them. You can use this talent once, twice at level 3, and three times at level 7. You regain expended uses after you rest.
Keenest Edge: You can use an action to make a weapon you wield inordinately sharp. Target one edged weapon such as a dagger or sword. For 1 hour, you get critical successes with the weapon when your roll is 20 or higher; the roll need not exceed the target number by 5. In addition, when you get a critical success with the weapon, the attack deals an extra 1d6 damage. At level 3, your attacks with the blade deal an extra 2d6 damage, or 4d6 damage at level 7.
Sneaky Moves: You can use an action to gain one of the following benefits: Climber, Silent, Slippery, Squeeze (6 inches). The effect lasts 1 hour. You can use this talent once, twice at level 3, and three times at level 7. You regain expended uses after you rest.
Danger Sense
Tradition: Skullduggery
Rank: Novice
Castings: 1
Duration: 1 minute
It feels almost as if fingers were massaging your head. In times of peril, the rubbing becomes more insistent. You know the location of each creature within 15 yards, which prevents such creatures from hiding from you. In addition, when a creature in that range succeeds on a roll to attack you, you can use a reaction to make a luck roll. On a success, you turn the success into a failure.
Flee The Scene
Tradition: Skullduggery
Rank: Novice
Castings: 3, reaction when you become injured
Duration: Instantaneous
You kick your feet back and forth, and can speed off. You gain the Slippery trait and increase your Speed by 20 for 1 minute.
Locate Traps
Tradition: Skullduggery
Rank: Novice
Castings: 3
Duration: Instantaneous
You cast your senses out to detect the presence of any security measures that might be nearby. If there are ordinary or magical traps within 10 yards of you, you are aware of it and know where to find it.
Read Anything
Tradition: Skullduggery
Rank: Novice
Castings: 3
Duration: 1 hour
Any text you happen to see gets all swimmy for a second and then resolves into something you can read. You can read any script you see.
Sabotage Object
Tradition: Skullduggery
Rank: Novice
Castings: 3
Duration: Instantaneous
You flick your finger and the target either stops functioning or takes 10 damage. You could force open a lock, disarm a trap, or break a glass bottle.
Sticky Fingers
Tradition: Skullduggery
Rank: Novice
Castings: 3
Duration: 1 minute
Your fingertips become sticky as if you were playing with honey. You roll to steal with 1 boon. In addition, when you move to where you can reach a creature, you can use a reaction to attempt to steal something from that creature.
Expert Skullduggery Spells Break On Through
Tradition: Skullduggery
Rank: Expert
Castings: 3, perform a ritual
Duration: Instantaneous
You press yourself against the target surface. When you finish, if the surface thickness is less than 1 yard of wood, 1 foot of stone, or 1 inch of metal, you pop through to an empty space on the other side of it.
Filch Skill
Tradition: Skullduggery
Rank: Expert
Castings: 3
Duration: Instantaneous
You send your mind into the target's mind and withdraw something use ful. The creature gains an impaired affliction of your choice (luck ends). While the target is impaired in this way, you make attribute rolls using the attribute you chose for the affliction with 1 boon.
Invisibility
Tradition: Skullduggery
Rank: Expert
Castings: 3
Duration: 1 hour
Your appearance washes away until you become invisible. The spell ends early if you harm another creature.
Murderous Strike
Tradition: Skullduggery
Rank: Expert
Castings: 3
Duration: Instantaneous
You whisper the incantation and spring into action. Until the end of your next turn, you have the Slippery trait and your Speed increases by 10. If you can reach an enemy before the end of the turn in which you cast this spell, that enemy takes 6d6 damage.
Quick Change
Tradition: Skullduggery
Rank: Expert
Castings: 1, reaction when you move 1 yard
Duration: 8 hours
You completely change your appearance to look like someone else of approximately your age. You can change your ancestry to a different one, thereby losing your traits and gaining those from the new ancestry. You can alter your height and weight to fall within the limits of your ancestry. The spell can also affect any ordinary armor or clothing you are wearing, such that you can change ordinary clothing into a suit of mail. The spell lasts 8 hours but ends early if you become fully immersed in water or incapacitated.
Master Skullduggery Spells Bend Fate
Tradition: Skullduggery
Rank: Master
Castings: 1
Duration: 1 hour
You hear Calamity's laughter in your ears as you beseech her for a blessing. You make luck rolls with 1 boon. In addition, whenever you make an attribute roll, you also make a luck roll. If either roll succeeds, the attribute roll is a success. If both rolls result in a success, you regain the casting you expended to cast this spell.
Break The Rules
Tradition: Skullduggery
Rank: Master
Castings: 1
Duration: 1 hour
The rules don’t apply to you. On your turn, you can perform one of the following options. Once you use an option it cannot be used again until you complete a rest or cast this spell again.
* Turn your failed roll into a successful one. * Automatically evade any pursuers in a chase (see Chapter 2). * Grant 3 boons on the next roll a creature within 5 yards makes before the end of your next turn. * Impose 3 banes on the next roll a creature within 5 yards makes before the end of your next turn. * Heal all damage. * Regain all Health lost. * Cast an expert or novice spell without expending a casting. You need not know the spell. * Deal maximum damage for an attack. * End all afflictions. * Ignore one feature within 5 yards of you, such as obscurement, challenging terrain, or a damaging hazard, until this effect ends.
Each time you make use of an option, make a luck roll. On a failure, you become cursed (luck ends). While you are cursed, you lose access to the spell's effects.
Freedom
Tradition: Skullduggery
Rank: Master
Castings: 1
Duration: 8 hours
Your clothing feels a bit looser, owing to the sudden freedom you gain. Until the spell ends, any lock you touch unlocks. You do not trigger traps. You have the Slippery and Squeeze 1/4 inch traits, and you can leave any space that would confine you, including magical spaces.
Phasing
Tradition: Skullduggery
Rank: Master
Castings: 1
Duration: 1 hour
You become insubstantial, transparent, and a bit smudged around the edges. You can move through obstacles and can end your movement inside an obstacle, though you die if the spell ends while you occupy the same space as an obstacle. You can move on a surface in any direction as if you were moving across solid ground. You have the Slippery and Strider traits. You are immune to the held, prone, and slowed afflictions. You take half damage from ordinary sources, but your attacks deal half damage.
Superior Invisibility
Tradition: Skullduggery
Rank: Master
Castings: 1
Duration: 1 hour
From head to foot, you become invisible and have the Silent trait. If you already have the Silent movement trait, increase your Speed by 3 for the duration.
Woo Lady Luck
Tradition: Skullduggery
Rank: Master
Castings: 1
Duration: 8 hours
You roll the dice and they come up in your favor. You gain a pool of luck that lasts for the duration or until you expend the last of it. You generate this pool by making a luck roll and noting the result. If you roll a 10 or less, add 10 to the number you rolled.
Whenever you make an attribute roll or an attribute roll is made against you, you can spend luck from your pool and either add the amount spent to your roll or subtract it from the roll.