Hi, mom, Cassandra’s daughter said with a smirk, and the newly-minted Level 1 Sorceress buried her face in her hands.
Only for a moment, though. A spot of indulgence was important in order to keep one’s balance, her husband had always been clear about that, but there was always so much work to do at the start of a long trip.
“What’s our clock?”
“It’s dawn in the summer, and the caravan leaves the city at noon.” Jason smiled at her, broad and sparkling, eyes glinting and tusks shining.
Wait, she thought to herself, tusks?
“I’m a Tiefling Sorceress,” she rapid-fired on autopilot. “Level 1, six hitpoints, stats are Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intellect, Wisdom, Charisma. 8, 8, 10, 15, 8, 20. Primary spellcaster, most of the Skills for a Face but really bad Perception.” Belatedly, she realized she hadn’t actually thought to wonder what those Skills did—
Persuasion
When you attempt to influence someone or a group of people with tact, social graces, or good nature, make a Charisma (Persuasion) check. Typically, you use persuasion when acting in good faith, to foster friendships, make cordial requests, or exhibit proper etiquette. Examples of persuading others include convincing a chamberlain to let your party see the king, negotiating peace between warring tribes, or inspiring a crowd of townsfolk.
Insight
Your Wisdom Charisma (Insight) check decides whether you can determine the true intentions of a creature, such as when searching out a lie or predicting someone’s next move. Doing so involves gleaning clues from body language, speech habits, and changes in mannerisms.
Arcana
Your Intelligence (Arcana) check measures your ability to recall lore about spells, magic items, eldritch symbols, magical traditions, the planes of existence, and the inhabitants of those planes.
History
Your Intelligence (History) check measures your ability to recall lore about historical events, legendary people, ancient kingdoms, past disputes, recent wars, and lost civilizations.
—but the question rather resolved itself, as it so often did.
“Mixture of what seemed like canned content and really weird stuff tailored to me, Dwarvish and Infernal as languages. My mentor is leaning on us to join the caravan way harder than expected, so we’re guaranteed complications and I want some armor, whatever the robes look like.”
Dwarvish
Dwarvish is full of hard consonants and guttural sounds. Many other languages use the Dwarvish script.
Infernal
REDACTED
“You do look good in the robes, light of my life and joy everlasting.” Her husband laid rough, greenish fingers on her wrist. “But stay safe, please.”
The look in his eyes warmed her to her toes, and the tusks turned out to not get in the way at all.
“Mom, dad, no! Oh my god, fine, ignore me, I’m not here, I don’t see anything, I’m a level one Halfling Ranger, stats are 8 20 16 16 8 18, longbow with backup double shortswords, and I mostly got the canned stuff—Mischief Gremlin, parents only notice me when I make trouble, thirteen hitpoints, great Sleight of Hand and Stealth—”
Sleight of Hand
Whenever you attempt an act of legerdemain or manual trickery, such as planting something on someone else or concealing an object on your person, make a Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check. A Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check will also determine whether you can lift a coin purse off another person or slip something out of another person's pocket.
Stealth
Make a Dexterity (Stealth) check when you attempt to conceal yourself from enemies, slink past guards, slip away without being noticed, or sneak up on someone without being seen or heard.
“Excuse you,” the little gremlin’s mother said flatly. “Harriet Joan Claire, what did you just say?”
“Oh, so you’re done kissing?”
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“Honey.” Jason knelt down to ruffle his daughter’s hair. “Gremlin, okay. But come on. Only notice you when you make trouble?”
The teenager huffed in irritation. “I didn’t pick it, it just handed itself to me, okay? And I didn’t even get the pet mouse.”
“I’m glad you picked a ranged weapon primary this time. You know we worry about you when you’re in the scrum. You’ve got some great stats, too! We’re so proud of what that means about how hard you’ve been working to be your best self.”
“Daaaad,” the girl whined feebly. “How can you say things like that and have it not be cringe, like not even a little bit cringe?”
“It’s because I love you like I love the sun through the redwood forests and the sound of the ocean, kiddo. How can something genuine and true be cringe?”
“Dad, oh my god. I can’t deal with you right now.” Belying the truth of her claim, Harriet wrapped her arms around his leg. “I got scale armor, by the way,” she said more quietly. “After last time. You know.”
MEDIUM ARMOR: SCALE MAIL
Medium armor offers more protection than light armor, but it also impairs movement more. If you wear medium armor, you add your Dexterity modifier, to a maximum of +2, to the base number from your armor type to determine your Armor Class.
This armor consists of a coat and leggings (and perhaps a separate skirt) of leather covered with overlapping pieces of metal, much like the scales of a fish. The suit includes gauntlets.
COST: 50gp
ARMOR CLASS (AC): 14 + DEX Modifier (max 2)
STRENGTH: Not Applicable (N/A)
STEALTH: Disadvantage
WEIGHT: 45lb
Advantage and Disadvantage
Sometimes a special ability or spell tells you that you have advantage or disadvantage on an ability check, a saving throw, or an attack roll. When that happens, you roll a second d20 when you make the roll. Use the higher of the two rolls if you have advantage, and use the lower roll if you have disadvantage. For example, if you have disadvantage and roll a 17 and a 5, you use the 5. If you instead have advantage and roll those numbers, you use the 17.
If multiple situations affect a roll and each one grants advantage or imposes disadvantage on it, you don't roll more than one additional d20. If two favorable situations grant advantage, for example, you still roll only one additional d20.
If circumstances cause a roll to have both advantage and disadvantage, you are considered to have neither of them, and you roll one d20. This is true even if multiple circumstances impose disadvantage and only one grants advantage or vice versa. In such a situation, you have neither advantage nor disadvantage.
When you have advantage or disadvantage and something in the game, such as the halfling's Lucky trait, lets you reroll the d20, you can reroll only one of the dice. You choose which one. For example, if a halfling has advantage or disadvantage on an ability check and rolls a 1 and a 13, the halfling could use the Lucky trait to reroll the 1.
You usually gain advantage or disadvantage through the use of special abilities, actions, or spells. Inspiration can also give a character advantage. Circumstances can influence a roll in one direction or the other and grant advantage or impose disadvantage as a result.
“Good,” Harriet’s father rumbled powerfully after a moment, while the information poured into her mother’s brain. “I’m a Paladin, by the way!”
“I’m still not over Mischief Gremlin,” Cassandra managed, wrapping an arm around each of them—with some difficulty, given the difference in heights. “Huh. Okay… Reference Query: Mischief Gremlin.” She paused for a moment, then frowned. “I thought that would work. It always works.”
“Mom, you’re such a ditz.” Harriet stuck her tongue out at the disgruntled face that elicited. “Tell the System to look for what you want in everything that’s in any references instead of just the currently-loaded ones!”
“… I’ve had my cheat skill for longer than you’ve been alive, how are you better at using it than I am? System, set autoquery for definitions based on all available references and permanently incorporate references containing those definitions into the cache.”
EXTERNAL REFERENCES ADDED. SYSTEM REFERENCE DOCUMENTS RE-INDEXING. PLEASE HOLD FOR “MISCHIEF GREMLIN”.
“I’m getting a please hold? Really?”
“I’m sure it’ll be cleared up soon, dear.”
Cassandra turned to look up at Jason’s smile, relaxing as his hand massaged its way across the base of her neck. “So, Paladin? I’m guessing a d12—no, Paladin is hybridized, d10 for hit dice, proficient with all armor and shields and weapons… some sort of divine communion thing and divine magic, but maybe not till level 2. And a bunch of physical skills? I’m forgetting something.”
“I love you,” he said, beaming, “so incredibly much, my brilliantly deductive wife.”
“You’re not making it any easier for me to remember what I forgot,” she muttered, grinning back at him.
“No exotic weapon proficiencies, but I’m a simple man with a warhammer.” Harriet snorted; Cassandra just kept smiling. “Wisdom and Charisma saving throws, Athletics and Persuasion as Skills, and I’ve got Divine Sense and Lay on Hands as abilities at level 1.”
“A simple man with a what?”
WARHAMMER
COST: 15 gp
DAMAGE: 1d8 bludgeoning
WEIGHT: 2 lb.
PROPERTIES: Versatile (1d10)
VERSATILE
This weapon can be used with one or two hands. A damage value in parentheses appears with the property--the damage when the weapon is used with two hands to make a melee attack.
“Well?” Cassandra glanced down at Harriet. “Come on, mom! Dish the details! The rest of us don’t have your quantizing bullshit.”
“Lang—oh, I’m sorry.”
They both gave Jason a forgiving smile, having long since come to terms with his difficulty in remembering, early in an adventure, that Harriet was allowed to use whatever foul language she wanted as long as it didn’t get in the way of victory. “It’s a die-based System—the warhammer is one eight-sided die of bludgeoning, or 1d10 if it’s wielded two-handed. I’ve gotten mentions of a Fate and her dice, so I suspect there’s a Power involved; remember, play along and don’t fight it, especially early on.”
“Hey, Dad? Did you skip your stats on purpose?”
The question came with narrowed eyes on the parts of both women and an almost nervous shuffling from the man in question. “Well, you know. I don’t like to brag, we just all do what we can.” The narrowed eyes developed a touch of glare, and he winced performatively. “20, 14, 17, 8, 18, 16.”
Two palms struck two faces in unison, as mother and daughter made the exact same face.