Skills are capabiliites gained through practice or other forms of learning, which benefit the character who learns and uses them.
Types of Skills[]
Skills give a variety of benefits, with the following rough groupings:
- Passive skills grant their benefits constantly and at no cost. An example of a passive skill is SPRINT, which constantly increases running speed for a character who has the skill.
- Toggled skill benefits require the character to set whether they are on or off (and sometimes to what degree), but otherwise automatically spend the resources while the skill is 'on'. An example of this would be JUMP, which automatically grants its bonus to jumping dice rolls while active at a cost of 1 MP per roll.
- Active skill benefits require direct action on the part of the character to activate the skill, though some active skill benefits last for a duration after being activated. Usually, any costs entailed are paid upon activation. An example of this would be WORK OUT, which is activated at an MP cost and then gives a Status Condition that lasts for some amount of time.
Skills may have any or all of the above use methods; some skills have passive benefits but also can be toggled or activated at MP cost for increased benefits.
Progress and Mastery[]
Skills are initially learned by consuming Guidebooks, attempting to use the skill without possessing it, or as a reward from a Quest. Guidebooks can be summoned for 30 MP each; however, not all skills have an associated Guidebook - in particular, Magical Skills that are strongly associated with Puella Magi. It is unconfirmed whether this is because the corresponding books do not exist, or because such skills inherently cannot be learned through books.
Once learned, a skill is at the UNSKILLED rank, with zero progress. On each successful use of a skill, it gains a 'point' of progress, which brings it closer toward the next rank. Each normal rank requires more progress than the previous one:
- At 0 - 20 points, skills are at UNSKILLED rank.
- At 0 - 80 points (after that), skills are at BASIC rank.
- At 0 - 180 points (after that), skills are at PRACTICED rank. If a skill's prerequisites are not met (such as if it was acquired via Quest reward), this is the highest rank it can reach.
- At 0 - 320 points (after that), skills are at SKILLED rank. This is the minimum rank where a skill may be carried into the next loop via LOAD SAVE.
- At 0 - 500 points (after that), skills are at EXPERT rank.
- At 0 - 720 points (after that), skills are at MASTER rank.
A skill that surpasses MASTER rank either hits LMAX (for skills such as IDENTIFY), or it enters Grand Mastery, at the level GRAND MASTERY I (which lasts for 960 points). Skills which enhance die rolls in particular have Grand Mastery levels, and receive the following benefits:
- Automatically pass all checks of DC 20 and below. (Improves by 3 per level of Grand Master achieved, to a maximum of DC 50.) (This implies that GRAND MASTER XI is the highest level of Grand Mastery, though that is yet unconfirmed.)
- The option to spend 5 MP, or put in twice the time needed, to turn a regular success into a critical success.
- On a critical failure (natural 1), re-roll and take the higher of the two rolls. (On a 20, it is treated as having rolled a critical success.)
- Critical success on rolls of natural 19 and natural 20 instead of only natural 20.
Note that use of the 'auto-pass' feature will mean that the skill gains no experience from that attempt; this should not be used when attempting to train.
Skill Interactions[]
The most basic interaction between skills is that some skills require others in order to be learned in the first place. For example, ENCHANT (ITEM) cannot be learned until Homura has EXUDE MANA up to the SKILLED rating. Prerequisites will be listed in a skill's description, and skills that a given skill is a prerequisite for will also be listed as such links are discovered. Prerequisites must also be met when carrying skills between loops.
Additionally, some skills modify the use of other skills more directly. While AUGMENTATION is active, for example, it doubles the MP cost of skills in order to improve their bonuses.