A supplement to the Risus setting Arcadomai created by Dan Suptic©2007

A note about Risus and Arcadomai
Arcadomai is a fantasy setting (created by Dan Suptic) that uses the Risus system to play. It can be found at http://risusiverse.wetpaint.com/page/Arcadomai. Risus itself is a free and easy to learn role-playing game (created by S. John Ross) that is used to play Arcadomai. Simply go to the freebie page on http://www222.pair.com/sjohn/risus.htm and download it there. The whole system is 6 pages long, and that’s all you’ll need to play. Download it, print it, heck, even put it in a nice 6-page binder. So long as you understand it, you’ll be able to use the Arcadomai Skill Guide.

What lies within
This supplement contains detailed abilities of the skill clichés found in the Arcadomai setting. While certainly not an extensive list of abilities for each cliché, every list here should be enough to certainly give the GM and the Player a good knowledge of what the cliché can do.

Implied Statistics
It can be difficult trying to figure what Skill clichés have as their implied stats. Does a thief have good Dexterity because he can pickpocket, or does he have good Perception because he can detect traps? Is a Peasant Strong because of his hard work in the fields, or is he Healthy because of the length of work he does? For the most part, the other descriptors in the cliché name will tell you exactly what they’re good at. A Strong and Burly Peasant will naturally, be strong and burly. A Hard Working, Even When the Weather is Horrible, Peasant will have high health. In the end, it’s up to the GM to have the final call whether a skill cliché embodies a certain attribute, and at what degree.

Getting Paid
If a character does nothing but work all day, he’ll get paid depending on the quality or skill of his work. This can represent a day’s worth of simple work, like selling crops, minor thieving, getting good returns on investments, etc. They spend a full 8 hours at their job, roll their skill cliché and then get an amount of hex at the end of the day as indicated by the chart below
TN 4 – 1d6 hex
TN 7 – 2d6 hex
TN 10 – 3d6 hex
TN 14 – 5d6 hex
TN 19 – 7d6 hex
+5 TN for every additional +3d6 hex
Again, this is for a simple day’s work. If the character is trying to heist something big, sell a large lot of land, or try to acquire any major amount of hex, they need to role-play it out.

Cliché Equipment
This is a list for each cliché of what equipment they need to be able to perform their cliché normally. It costs 10 hex to replace an entire cliché’s set of equipment. Single items usually cost two or three hex, but may cost more or less at the GM’s discretion. These costs assume the character is using basic equipment – increase costs for personalized, ornate or (of course) magical equipment

Keep in mind that the following items are things that the one using this cliché would carry on their actual person. Other, larger equipment will be kept at their home, unless specifically stated by the player that the item is being taken with them

Politician – current codex of local laws, badge of office, assorted forms and new law templates, simple pen and inkpot
Aristocrat – family history, family crest, simple coat of arms, land deeds, accounting book, simple pen and inkpot
Thief – lockpicks, climbing gear, ropes, disarming kits, small bull’s-eye lantern, printed appraising guide
Blacksmith – leather wraps (for weapon handles), scrap metal, tongs, small bellows, portable forge and anvil
Merchant – small null-mana box, scales, merchandise reports, financial reports, printed appraising guide, simple pen and inkpot
Sailor – star charts, compass, portable sextant, assorted maps, fresh water (in a water skin or metal container)
Bard – bard’s instrument of choice, maintenance kit for bard’s instrument, sheet music, blank staff paper, simple pen and inkpot
Teamster – teamster’s whip, sugar cubes and other food rewards for animals, hoof pick, spare horseshoe
Cook – small pots and pans, utensils, cookbook, assorted spices, salt and pepper, portable fire pit
Farmer – assorted seeds and buds, miniature hoe and spade, small harvesting sickle, weather almanac
Peasant – heavy gloves, back brace, small wheelbarrow or cart, list of potential employers, payment vouchers
Scribe – reasonably nice pen and inkpot, blank parchment, scroll cases, a couple of famous and old books

Guilds
For each skill cliché, there exists a guild that supports its members and helps them out. Getting into a guild can be simple or complex, depending on the nature of the guild itself. If you’re a member of a guild, you can get your basic cliché equipment for free through them. A character may not start in a guild – to gain guild membership you must first meet their requirements and then gain membership through whatever the GM deems appropriate. Guild membership is not required to use the clichés abilities listed later

Politicians’ Guild – Requirement – must have successfully helped pass 3 laws in the area. A member of this guild will usually receive guild support on laws he writes or supports, and gains a bit of leeway when involved in legal problems
Aristocrats’ Guild – Requirement – a recital of the Aristocrat’s pedigree and acceptance from the other members. This old boy’s club gives its members access to better land deals and hard to get invitations to high class parties and other social events
Thieves’ Guild – Requirement – finding the guild and stealing any object of great value (100 hex or more). This illegal guild helps its members plan out complex jobs and shows them where they can find fences throughout the area for their stolen goods
Blacksmiths’ Guild – Requirement – must own their own forge and worked on a weapon or suit of armor for a prestigious person. Members of this guild may use the guild forges, and may also buy and sell weapons and armor to the guild’s stock at better prices
Merchants’ Guild – Requirement – must own their own shop and have good word of mouth from customers. The guild helps its members with shop location, and is willing to help buy or sell any item at all that the member legally comes across
Sailors’ Guild – Requirement – must own their own ship and must have made complete voyages at least 10 times. A sailor in the guild may dock for free at any guild sponsored port, and can find cheaper repairs and willing crew much more easily
Bards’ Guild – Requirement – must have played for an audience of at least 500 and received a standing ovation. This guild helps its members find venues to play at and also helps those who are looking to start a whole band to find other members
Teamsters’ Guild – Requirement – must have transferred at least 10 animals from one city to another, on 3 separate occasions. Members of this guild can replenish their personal stock from the guild’s stock, and gain discounts on bulk feed
Cooks’ Guild – Requirement – must cook a meal for the senior guild members that they all consider excellent. A member of this guild gets access to famous and unique recipes and access to all sorts of rare and unusual ingredients, at greatly reduced costs
Farmers’ Guild – Requirement – must own at least 4 acres of land. The guild member receives reduced costs on bulk seed. The guild will purchase any excess crop that the farmer hasn’t sold by the end of the season
Peasants’ Guild – Requirement – must have helped build or repair a government building. The Peasant’s guild helps their members find the best paying jobs for their personal skills, and also gives them discounts on training in other skill clichés
Scribes’ Guild – Requirement – must have worked as a scribe for 20 years. The member of this guild gains access to any written account they desire. Forbidden magical tomes, criminal records and ancient and unique texts are all available to them

Politician
The Politician’s job is to make sure that the legal and bureaucratic workings of the area are all fair and just. They write laws, come up with taxes, and vote on issues that affect the people of their land. They control wide areas of heavy populated lands – for smaller, less populated areas, the laws are usually left to the Aristocrats

Push/Impede Law
The Politician may attempt to rush a law into becoming official, or impede a suggested law from becoming official for a while. The Politician rolls their Politician cliché against the average Politician cliché of those against him. The degree of success determine how much faster (or slower) the law becomes official
Lengthen/Shorten Sentence
The Politician may lengthen or shorten a jailed criminal’s sentence. The Politician rolls their Politician cliché against the Politician cliché of whoever jailed the criminal. The degree of success determine how much longer (or shorter) the criminal’s sentence will be adjusted
Arrest
A Politician can call for the arrest of almost any citizen in his area. Of course, if that citizen is later found innocent, the Politician loses respect, and may even get into legal trouble himself. A Politician cannot call for an arrest of someone who has a Politician or Aristocrat cliché that is higher than his Politician cliché
Taxes
A Politician may attempt to raise or lower taxes for any specific condition. This condition could be having a certain cliché, number of children, land owned – anything the Politician sees fit. The Politician rolls their Politician cliché against the average Politician cliché of those against him. The degree of success determines the change in taxation
Search
The Politician may demand a search of almost any building in his area. The Politician must give proper reason for any item taking from the building. A Politician cannot call for a search of a building owned by someone who has a Politician or Aristocrat cliché that is higher than his Politician cliché
Commission
The Politician can have a building either built to his specifications or torn down. The Politician rolls his Politician cliché – the higher the number he rolls, the faster the building is raised or destroyed. This act will always create public opinion; whether good or bad depends on the nature of the building built or destroyed
Conscription
The Politician may force a number of people into the local army. The Politician rolls his Politician cliché – the number he rolls is equal to the percent of the population than he may force to join the army. If the Politician takes more than 5 percent, his public opinion will go down, depending on how much more than 5 percent he takes

Aristocrat
The Aristocrat is the ruler of a small locale, usually a town or small kingdom. While having to obey the laws of the local area, the Aristocrat may make laws and enforce taxes of his own area at their whim. Aristocrats usually come from within the same family, although there are places where succession is chosen in other ways

Succession
The Aristocrat may choose who rules his area after him. This is usually done by direct heir inheritance, but the Aristocrat may change this to any system he sees fit. Common ways include popular vote, hiring a local politician, or even gladiatorial combat. Whatever the Aristocrat chooses may be seen as unfair, but may never be challenged
Taxation
The Aristocrat may choose whatever taxes they feel fit for their area. If they are too high, the local populace may revolt and attempt to overthrow the Aristocrat. If the taxes are too low, the Aristocrat will find himself short on money when working on public projects. A good balance will keep enough money to please the public without angering them
Family Friend
The Aristocrat knows other Aristocrats. They may roll their Aristocrat cliché whenever they meet another Aristocrat. The higher the roll, the more that the Aristocrat knows about the other one. This does not effect how one Aristocrat feels about the other, but can be used to get information that might improve that
Immunity
The Aristocrat can use his high class standing to avoid punishment for breaking some laws in different locals. The Aristocrat rolls their Aristocrat cliché. The TN is determined by the nature of the law broken. If the Aristocrat succeeds in the roll, they are not punished for their minor transgression.
Execute
The Aristocrat may demand the execution of anyone under his rule. This may be welcomed with cheers from the crowd (if the executed was a well known criminal) to outright revolt (if the executed was a well known local hero). If this is used to often, the people may revolt even if only criminals are being executed
Festival
The Aristocrat may throw a grand festival for his people. The festival lasts all day, at the end of which, the public’s opinion of the Aristocrat improves. The GM determines how much public opinion improves by, based on money spent, attractions and activities that are prepared for the people
Command
This lets the Aristocrat take whoever he wants into battle. So long as he’s respectful of how many people he takes with him, the populace will be mostly ok with it. In times of great need, however, he may choose to mobilize the entire populace towards war (of course, after the war, he may not have a populace willing to follow him anymore)

Thief
The thief makes his living by stealing. Whatever is not his, he can make his, and either use it himself or sell it for hex. Most areas have laws against thieving, anything from simple reimbursement to outright execution. The life of a Thief may be dangerous, but it’s a good way to make money and have a good time as well

Pickpocket
The Thief rolls his Thief cliché against the target’s Perception based cliché. If the Thief loses, the target notices and takes whatever action they would in a dangerous situation. If the Thief succeeds, he takes some hex or a small object from the person. The more that the Thief beats their target by, the more they steal
Open Lock
The Thief may attempt to open a lock without a key by making a Thief cliché roll. The TN for this attempt varies with the lock. A simple home lock is around TN 4 to 6, while a lock for an Aristocrat’s treasure room can get up to TN 22 to 24. In general, locks keeping important things reasonably safe are around TN 10 to 14
Detect/Disable Trap
The Thief can detect and disable traps with a Thief roll. Trap TNs (like lock TNs) vary greatly, and trap effects can be anything from a simple alarm to a deadly end for the Thief. The Thief makes a roll to detect a trap first, and then to disable the trap. The thief may retry on the disable roll, but if they miss the detect roll, they set off the trap
Hide
The Thief may attempt to find a quick hiding place. So long as no one is directly observing him, he may make a Thief roll. The result of that roll is the TN anyone has to beat with a Perception based cliché roll to find him. This TN goes up by 1 for every minute the Thief stays hidden, up to a total of +5 after 5 minutes
Fence
The Thief may attempt to sell stolen goods. The Thief makes a Thief cliché roll. The higher the result on that roll, the faster the Thief can find a local fence. The higher the result also is equal to how trustworthy the fence is. A low roll may have the Thief trying to sell to an undercover guard or to someone who has a personal agenda against them
Burglary
The Thief can plan a major burglary on a building. Every day that the Thief spends planning (up to 5) reduces the TN of all Thief rolls by 1. Every day that the Thief spends planning (also up to 5) increases the amount of wealth the Thief finds in the building by ten percent
Quick Appraise
The Thief can spot the most valuable object in the room. The TN varies depending on how many objects are in the room, and how similar those objects are to each other. The Thief may keep making this roll, to get the next valuable item, and the next valuable item after that, and so on and so on. This will not let the Thief know the exact cost of an item

Blacksmith
The Blacksmith’s job is to make arms and armor for the local’s citizens and army. The Blacksmith can make anything out of metal and wood if needs be. The Blacksmith may work for the city, supplying soldiers and guards directly, or he may own his own forge and shop, selling to anyone who has the hex to pay

Craft Arms and Armor
The Blacksmith makes a quantity of weapons and suits of armor. This takes the Blacksmith’s full day of work. At the end of the day, they roll their Blacksmith cliché. They make weapons and armor with a total hex value (or add to the hex value of a more expensive ongoing project) equal to the result of their Blacksmith cliché roll
Fix
The Blacksmith may fix a weapon or a piece of armor with his portable forge. The TN varies from a scuffed piece of armor or a nicked blade (TN 4 or 5), to a broken sword or armor that’s been split apart (TN 16 to 20). The process of fixing a weapon or piece of armor takes 3 minutes times the TN of the task
Customize
The Blacksmith can make custom equipment for someone. They must spend the day with the person who their making the equipment for, studying how they use the equipment, how they hold it, etc. At the end of the day, the equipment is now custom equipment for the person the Blacksmith is making it for
Decorate
The Blacksmith can make ornate equipment. They must spend the day with the equipment in question, making small engravings and etchings, adding gold or silver inlay and other aesthetic additions. At the end of the day, the equipment is now considered ornate equipment.
Misshape
The Blacksmith knows how weapons and armor are put together, and can bend them to uselessness. In combat, the Blacksmith can take a -1 die penalty to their roll. If they succeed in the roll, the opponent’s weapon or armor is bent baldy, giving them a cumulative -1 to their combat rolls until fixed
Jewelry
The Blacksmith can make small necklaces, rings, bracelets and earrings with embedded gemstones. The Blacksmith pays for the raw materials and makes a Blacksmith cliché roll. After a day of work, the jewelry gains value equal to the result of the original roll. Value can be added each day by working further and making more Blacksmith rolls
Friend of Fire
The time spent in the forge makes the Blacksmith more tolerant against heat and flames. He gains a +3 bonus to any roll to resist flame or fire magic. This bonus only applies if the Blacksmith is aware that they are about to be attacked by fire; otherwise, they are caught by surprise and do not gain the bonus

Merchant
The Merchant makes their living by buying and selling merchandise in a shop. Merchants do all sorts of interesting business, from the simple food stall vendor, to someone who deals in rare materials or objects. A Merchant can buy and sell pretty much anything – in Arcadomai, there’s always a buyer for what you have on hand

Buy Low
When buying anything, the Merchant may roll his Merchant cliché. The result of the roll is how many hex cheaper the Merchant gets the item for, without the seller feeling cheated. This may not bring an item’s cost below half its original price, and has no effect on items that only cost one hex
Sell High
When selling anything, the Merchant may roll his Merchant cliché. The result of the roll is how much more hex the Merchant can charge for the item, without the buyer feeling cheated. This may not bring an item’s cost above one and a half times its original price, and has no effect on items that only cost one hex
Trade
The Merchant always has a ton of merchandise available at their disposal. Whenever they’re in their shop, they made trade one item for another of equal or lesser value, so long as the item traded in is the same type as the item traded for (weapon for weapon, tool for tool, food for food, etc)
Appraise
The Merchant studies an object for 3 rounds and makes a Merchant cliché roll. If they succeed, they learn the exact price of the object. The TN that the merchant must beat will vary depending on the age of the item, how common the item is, and whether or not the item is magically enchanted
Barter
The Merchant does not need hex to make purchases. The Merchant may trade goods of equal value to obtain anything they need. If the Merchant’s goods are of the type that the person they’re trading to sells, the Merchant needs only 90 percent of the value in order to get what he needs
Acquire
The Merchant can find rare items to sell in his shop. The item must cost at least 250 hex, and the Merchant must spend one week tracking it down. At the end of the week, the Merchant pays its exact cost and receives the item. When using Sell High on an item acquired with this skill, the Merchant may raise the price by 3 times his Merchant roll
Scrounge
In times of need, the Merchant can sell off normally worthless personal items for a bit of hex. The Merchant rolls their Merchant cliché. They gain an amount of hex equal to the result of the roll. This ability may only be done when the Merchant has no hex, and may not be used more than once a week

Sailor
The Sailor is master of the seas. A Sailor can steer a boat of any size, work with a crew to keep a ship running, and knows which port towns are easy to get to from other port towns. The Sailor makes his living transporting cargo and taking on passengers. On rare occasions, the Sailor may be drafted by the army engaged in marine warfare

Sailing
The Sailor’s main ability is to pilot a boat. The TN they must beat for a successful voyage depends on ship size, distance traveled, weather conditions, amount of crew on hand etc. In general, medium sized ships are easiest to sail, shorter distances are easier, more crew is easier, and clear, slightly windy weather is easier
Sea Legs
Time spent on the rolling waters has made the Sailor better able to keep his footing. He gains a +3 bonus to any Dexterity based cliché roll when trying to keep his footing on unstable ground. This ability may be used for anything from old shaky floors to full-blown earthquakes
Bad Diet
Weeks on end on a boat with nothing to eat but salted and dried meat gives the Sailor a hard working gut. So long as something’s not actually poisonous, a Sailor can eat pretty much anything without ill effect. Stale food, rotten fruit, even leather made for armor can be eaten by a hungry Sailor
Red Sky at Night…
The Sailor can predict general weather conditions for the next few days. The higher the roll, the further in the future and the more detailed information the Sailor gets. This skill does not take into account magical meddling, and does not work when within 5 miles of the Cicatrix main continent (works fine on Cicatrix surrounding islands)
Swimmer
The Sailor has a knack for swimming, usually from a lot of accidental overboards earlier in their career. 3 times per day, the Sailor may reroll a missed roll involving swimming or holding their breath. They may continue rolling missed rolls on the same action until they run out of rerolls for the day
Swashbuckler
The Sailor fights a little bit better when his crew has his back. Whenever the Sailor is on a ship, a dock or in a tavern (and the Sailor is within eyesight of other Sailors on his crew) he gains a +1 bonus to his combat cliché rolls. This +1 bonus disappears if the Sailor has taken enough cliché damage to take him to half his normal dice or less
Well Traveled
The Sailor picks a number of port towns equal to his Sailor cliché level. These are considered port towns he’s frequently visited in his career. Whenever a Sailor is docked at one of these port towns, he receives a 50 percent discount on room and board. He also receives a 50 percent discount on his cliché equipment if he needs to replace it

Bard
The Bard plays their instrument of choice for money, fame and respect. Most bards also sing while they play. Their music can have quite an effect on the people around them as well. Whether jovial and uplifting, or dour and depressing, the Bard’s music is always well done and moving

Perform
The Bard plays a piece of music for a group of people. The Bard rolls their Bard cliché against the crowd’s TN. The TN is determined by the general mood and musical tastes of the crowd, and the appropriateness of the song. If the Bard beats the TN, the crowd truly enjoys the performance and becomes a little friendlier to the Bard.
Inspire
The Bard inspires his allies with his music. All of his allies get a +1 to the total of their rolls as long as the Bard plays. The Bard cannot take any other action while playing. If the Bard is attacked, he may choose to keep playing and take an automatic die of damage in his primary cliché, or he may stop playing and engage in combat like normal
Dishearten
The Bard disheartens his enemies with his music. All of his enemies get a –1 to the total of their rolls as long as the Bard plays. The Bard cannot take any other action while playing. The bard may react to attacks the same way he reacts to attacks with the Inspire skill
Eavesdrop
The Bard can listen to a conversation while still playing his music. The Bard makes a Bard cliché roll versus the target’s Perception based cliché roll. If the bard wins, he can hear the entire conversation without being suspected. If the targets win, they know the bard is listening to them
Practice
The Bard may spend a whole day practicing a specific song. The next time that the Bard uses either the Inspire or Dishearten ability, the bonus is increased to +2, or the penalty is increased to –2. After this performance, the bard is too familiar with the song to play it with the original passion that increased the bonus or penalty
Known
The Bard is a famous person in his local area. Whenever meeting someone of importance, there is a cumulative 1 in 6 chance (equal to the Bard’s level in the cliché) that the person has heard favorably of the Bard. Thus, a Bard (4) would have a 4 in 6 chance of being recognized by an important person in his home area
Compose
This allows the Bard to compose a completely original song. This may be given to other Bards to perform publicly, or may be kept by the composer to use for himself. The Compose ability has no game effect other that spreading the Bard’s popularity and getting him renown from other Bards

Teamster
The Teamster’s job is to raise and take care of livestock. The livestock may be used for food, for helping to plow fields, for use as a mount or even as pets for people. Most Teamsters’ have an area outside of the main city or town where they raise and train their animals away from the bustle of human activity

Raise Animal
So long as the Teamster works with an animal at least 10 minutes a day from the animal’s birth, that animal will grow up to be comfortable around humans and trainable. Exotic and intelligent animals may require more time per day. Creatures from Cicatrix are not affected by the Teamster’s attempts to train them
Domesticate Animal
This allows the Teamster to domesticate a wild animal. The animal must first be confined to captivity. A contest of the Teamster cliché versus the animal’s strongest cliché is rolled. If the teamster wins, the animal’s domesticated in a number of days equal to the animal’s total cliché levels. If he fails, he can try again after a week passes
Train Animal
The Teamster can train an animal to do one specific task when commanded (attack, pull, follow closely etc). This can only be done with an animal that has been Raised or Domesticated. This takes 1 full day of work to train the animal. An animal can know a number of commands equal to the Teamster’s level in their Teamster cliché
Groom Animal
The Teamster spends a day grooming and pampering an animal. For a number of days equal to the animal’s strongest cliché, that animal receives a +2 on all rolls it makes when obeying commands of the Teamster. If any other Teamster commands the animal, the bonus is only a +1
Tough
Working with ornery and dangerous animals (like horses, mules and other large animals) leaves a Teamster tough and strong. Arm wrestling and other contests of strength are easier to the Teamster. They receive a +3 bonus to any contest that focuses on brute strength versus brute strength
Animal Friend
Wild animals leave the Teamster alone. Unless provoked or threatened, any wild animals will watch the Teamster and leave him and his friends alone. Of course, if someone in the group threatens the animal or it’s young, it will attack like normal. This ability has no effect of creatures from Cicatrix
Brand
Each Teamster has their own brand that they mark their animals with. Each brand is unique; a Teamster will know who an animal belongs to if it has a brand. Taking an animal that belongs to another Teamster is almost always a punishable offense. Animals can be re-branded when sold, by using the Cleric cliché to heal the original branding

Cook
The Cook’s job seems simple enough, but there are enough recipes and variations to make it a truly interesting skill. Everything from slaughtering the cow to garnishing a steak is covered by this skill. A good enough Cook who trains hard enough may one day even find himself as a well paid personal chef to a wealthy Politician or Aristocrat

Cook
The Cook’s obvious skill, this allows a Cook to prepare a pleasant meal for his guests. The TN that the cook must beat with his Cook cliché roll is adjusted by the mood of the patrons, as well as how esoteric their tastes in food are. A success means everyone enjoys the meal while failure indicates that their not impressed and probably won’t tip
Distill
The Cook can make an alcoholic beverage. The Cook rolls his Cook cliché. The higher the number that they roll is how high of concentration and the general quality of the end beverage. Extremely low rolls (less than TN4) can result in drinks that are almost undrinkable, if not actually poisonous
Prepare Tobacco
The Cook knows how to gather and prepare certain plants to make smoking tobacco. The Cook rolls his Cook cliché. Higher rolls yield higher quality tobacco. The Cook can even make mind altering and other intoxicating mixtures. Tobacco with this quality usually has the same effects on the smoker as alcoholic consumption
Detect Poison
A good Cook knows when things have been tampered with. The Cook rolls his Cook cliché when testing a suspect meal. If it’s been poisoned, the TN is the result the poisoner got on his roll to poison the food in he first place. If the Cook succeeds, he’ll know that the food or drink is poisoned, and how deadly the poison is
Hearty Buffet
The Cook can create a truly filling and energizing buffet. Everyone who eats from this buffet gains a +2 to extended manual labor for an hour. This only applies to repetitive tasks like farming a field, building a house, etc. This meal has no effect on a person’s combat ability
Trail Rations
The Cook can condense an entire meal into a small, dense chunk of food. While not tasty, this half pound chunk of foodstuff is enough to feed a person for an entire day. It takes a half hour to prepare a Trail Ration. Foodstuff made with this skill will stay fresh and edible for a month
Minimalist Cooking
The Cook can make a meal even when in the deepest wilderness. The Cook’s knowledge of plant and animal life will let him identify which ingredients are poisonous and which ones are not. This ability has no use on Cicatrix, where there are not plants to speak of, and the wildlife’s meat is all very poisonous

Farmer
The Farmer grows crops, gathers eggs and milk and otherwise supports their local area with food. They usually sell directly to the local government, who then distributes the food to area merchants. Most Farmer’s have an area outside of the main city or town where they can grow crops away from the bustle of human activity

Cultivate Land
This ability lets the Farmer prepare areas of land for growing crops. The Farmer spends a day with the land. At the end of the day, he gains a number of separate land plots equal to his number of dice in his Farmer cliché. If the Farmer uses Teamster led animals or strong Geomancy (at least 4 dice) he gains one extra plot in addition to his normal plots
Plant
The Farmer plants crops in his cultivated plots of land. The Farmer may choose a different crop for each different plot of land. Crops are generally planted late spring or early summer, and are available for harvest in mid fall. Some crops may have different schedules – any unusual crop rotation should be set by the GM before hand
Nurture
The Farmer waters and fertilizes his crops on a regular basis. After planting, the Farmer only makes a single Farmer cliché roll for each plot of land which is growing crops. High roll results will yield higher quantity and better quality crops. Low roll results will result in low quantities and poor quality and stunted crops
Harvest
The Farmer gathers the crops that he’s grown. This takes a whole day of work. The quality and quantity of the crops is determined by the Nurture rolls. The amount of hex gained for selling the crops should be determined by how well they were nurtured, but GMs should keep in mind that Farmer’s payment needs to last them the whole year
Renew
After the Farmer uses Harvest, he may choose to keep the same crops planted. This allows the Farmer to skip the Plant phase of growing crops, as the already planted crops regrow at the start of the next season. Most Farmer’s keep the same crops, if only to get an extra day off in the future
Weather Sense
The Farmer has an innate ability to know when the weather will be the best for planting. He knows which conditions require extra care for his crops and which conditions he can basically leave his crops alone. The Farmer can predict temperature and precipitation for the next day with reasonable accuracy
Livestock Farming
This allows the Farmer to gather eggs, milk and meat from his stores of livestock. The Farmer rolls his Farmer cliché and spends a day gathering eggs, milking cows, and choosing which animals to send to slaughter. Higher results on this roll give the Farmer a higher quantity and quality of goods

Peasant
The Peasant does manual labor for whoever needs it. They help build buildings, they help Farmers cultivate land, they lay brick roads, make basic repairs on ships…pretty much anything that requires repetitive manual labor. While they tend to be on the poor side, Peasant’s stick together and help each other out when needed

Jack of All Trades
The Peasant does a lot of different types of work in their careers. They are called upon for so many different types of work, that they are familiar with the basics of any job. When doing something that is only implied by their Peasant cliché, the TN is only increased by 3 instead of 5.
Promotion
At the end of any gaming session, the Peasant may trade his Peasant cliché in for any other skill cliché at the same level (except for Politician or Aristocrat). Once this change has been made, the character may not revert back to Peasant – the new skill cliché requires too much focus for the character
Motivated
A Peasant currently working under the command of a high class Aristocrat or Politician receives a bonus on all rolls associated with their assigned task. This bonus is a + (number) bonus, where the (number) is equal to half the number of dice that’s in the Aristocrat’s or Politician’s cliché, rounded down
Mob
When Peasants group together to become Grunt Squads, the squad’s cliché (Mob of Angry Peasants) is considered a combat cliché. The number of Peasants required for levels in the mob cliché are as follows: Mob(1) = 4, Mob(2) = 10, Mob(3) = 25, Mob(4) = 50, Mob(5) = 100, Mob(6) = 200, +1 to mob cliché for each extra 100
Keep Your Head Down
Peasants can keep their focus on their job. Whenever combat is happening around them that does not involve them, they are always out of the way of stray danger (misfired arrows, off course fireballs, etc). This ability does not work if the combat focuses directly on the Peasants themselves
Endurance
The Peasant is used to work long hours with little time for breaks. Whenever making a Health based cliché roll to test the Peasant’s endurance, the Peasant receives a +3 to the results of this roll. This ability does not work in combat or any other situation where the Peasant is in obvious danger
Thrifty
The Peasant knows the places and people to talk with to get lower prices when buying basic needs. The Peasant only pays 50 percent of the cost for any basic food, boarding or clothing. This ability does not affect weapons or armor, fancy food or boarding, or any cliché specific or ornate clothing

Scribe
The Scribe is tasked with writing down important oratory, copying important documents and translating ancient scripts. They fill schools with textbooks, libraries with reference materials and even governments with official forms and written decrees. Wealthy shopkeepers may even hire a Scribe to make their signs and leaflets

Notate
The Scribe can write down what someone is saying at the same speed as the speaker is speaking. The Scribe rolls their Scribe cliché. Higher rolls mean that not only is the notation accurate, it is also looks nice and well written. Lower rolls produce inaccurate texts written in hastily scribbled words
Copy
The Scribe copies a written piece to new parchment or paper. The amount of time it takes depends on the size of the original text and the complexity of the text’s content. The Scribe’s own writing style will show in the copied text. The shape and style of the Scribe’s personal handwriting is unique to each Scribe
Notary
The Scribe has legal rights to notarize certain documents and make them official. They may notarize weddings, sales, contracts, work orders, pedigrees and all other documents that a normal citizen may need. The document must also be signed off by the creator of the document – therefore, the Scribe can’t simply write himself requisition decrees
Forge
The Scribe can forge a signature or handwriting style of someone that the Scribe has studied their handwriting. The Scribe rolls their Scribe cliché. The results of this roll is the TN that someone must beat on a Perceptive based cliché roll to notice that the document or signature is a forgery
Translate
While the whole world of Arcadomai uses the same language now, a long time ago there were multiple languages all across the different lands and races. This ability allows the Scribe to understand any written piece of ancient language. The TN is determined by the complexity of both the language and the content of the message
Read Card
The time that Scribes spend studying writing gives them the ability to recognize all sorts of written runes and symbols. The Scribe can read and understand any magic card they find, without having to have any dice in magical clichés. The Scribe may draw a magic card, but that card will have no ability until given power by an appropriate mage
Encrypt
The Scribe can write a message in code. He may teach this code to anyone he wants to be able to read it. Those who learn the code may also write messages in it, but may not come up with new codes on their own. The code can only be deciphered by someone else if they can beat the Scribe in a contest of Scribe versus Scribe