.

Talents

(Taken from the Talents chapter in the Ruins of Arcanum Core Rulebook)

An interesting part of The Ruins of Arcanum is an aspect called Talents.  Talents are a representation of knowledge that your character has, that you as a player may not.  When you're in that tight spot and an obscure knowledge of the inner workings of the royal court will help, that's when your Talents come into play.

At character creation, all players have the opportunity to choose some starting Talents for their characters.  These Talents are only a beginning point for your character.  They may learn more as the game progresses, improving in those things they already know, and picking up some new bits of wisdom along the way.

This is a part of the game that is designed with the primary purpose of improving your experience as a player.  And, just like how this experience requires you to swing a sword, role-playing and improvisation are essential when using Talents.  Even if you as a person don't know anything about a certain subject, if your character has that Talent, he does know!  So make it show; act like you're an expert.  Talents are an opportunity to resolve conflicts, provide effective solutions to abstract problems, and be a great aid to your fellow players and teammates - all in ways that others may not be able to.

Each Talent has five ranks, ranging from novice status to mastery:  Acceptable, Decent, Good, Very Good, and Excellent.  This gives you an easy way to express your ability during an in-game conversation:  "I'm an acceptable singer, but I have an excellent knowledge of the High Elves!"  Just like Skills, Talents must be learned from someone who already has that Talent at the desired rank or higher, and the training for the Talent must be done in-game.

Additionally, the Talents are divided up into two categories:  Active and Knowledge.  Active Talents are those that allow your character to perform a certain action, such as repairing armor or tracking.  Knowledge Talents are those that represent the knowledge that your character has about a certain subject.  Every character should have a good mix of Active and Knowledge Talents.

Following is a list of Talents that are available to all players.  However, these are just suggestions.  We invite all players to use these Talents, and even to invent their own according to their character's needs, personality, desires, background and history.  But remember: all Talents that are obtained, whether listed here or not, must be approved by a Marshal.  The Marshal has final say on whether a Talent may or may not be used in any given situation.

As we mentioned before, most Talents represent the knowledge a character has gained or a certain ability they have learned during the course of their life and the game.  Most benefits and results that come from having each Talent will vary on the Talent's rank, the current in-game scenario, and the Talent's  application to the situation at hand.