Proficiencies

In T13 we describe a Character’s abilities in terms of the things that they can do. Usually this is expressed most simply as a Proficiency Thread (or just a Proficiency, Thread, or Prof). A Proficiency Thread is a mimetic unit in T13, if you have a Proficiency in something then you know a lot about it, you may even have a deep and nuanced understanding of the thing you have a Proficiency in. Proficiencies in the system are virtual Threads woven from Facet Sway that we weave to create more complex models, and that makes Proficiency Threads are the most basic object in the system.

There really isn’t much to know about Proficiency Threads, they are really very simple:

• Proficiency Name — What is this a proficiency for?
• Description — What is this thing that we have a Proficiency for, what does it look like, is it physical or a concept, can we count it, what can we do with this knowledge?
• Facet — Every Proficiency has a Facet, some have more than one Facet that they can be associated with. In fact, it is quite common for more complex Proficiencies to be available to multiple Facets as those complex Threads contains hints of all the Facets.

Proficiencies are the most simple part of the T13 System, but everything else is constructed from these memetic building blocks. Because of this Proficiency Threads have a simple cost of 2 Sway or 1 Chi. Although Characters can be limited in how many Proficiencies they can hold at once (and potentially limited in how many Proficiencies of a given Facet they may have), they are almost always able to buy a new Proficiency somehow.

Proficiencies are used by Characters to model all the things that the Character knows about. Because this knowledge is contained within the Proficiencies, having a Proficiency Thread in a particular topic grants a Character an ability or knowledge in and about that topic. This will allow the Character to know how to apply their Boon Dice from a Facet or Annex to the best affect possible. Having extra Proficiencies that are applicable to the task you are attempting can potentially grant you extra Dice to add to the roll. We call these extra dice Proficiency Dice and they can have a profound impact on not just the Test or task being attempted, but the Character and even the plot or setting sometimes.

Proficiency Dice

When a Character in T13 makes a Dice Roll they also must look at how many Proficiencies you have that are applicable to the task being attempting. If a Proficiency is particularly applicable it may count double for this Test. So if you have a Proficiency in Repairing Swords and you are asked to repair a sword then you would effectively have 2 Proficiencies. However, if you had a Swords Proficiency and a Repairs Proficiency then they would probably be considered generic and would also count as 2 Proficiencies not 4.

So the Character can roll some Proficiency Dice, but what sort of Proficiency Dice? Well Edges (these are special effects on Annexes or Descendants) can alter these Dice, but the base Proficiency Dice are set as follows. Smaller Dice cause more Proficiency Crises, larger Dice add more Score, but have less Crises. The default is a D6 for the Profiency Dice.

Proficiency Crisis

If your Proficiency Dice roll maximum or minimum (all 6s or all 1s normally) then you are experiencing a Proficiency Crisis. A Proficiency Crisis has a number of effects, which vary depending on whether the roll has passed or not.

• Automatic Stalemate — Regardless of the roll involved the action was not successful, or a failure, a Crisis has occurred and the action remains unresolved.
• Reversal of Success — Whatever the result of the roll as well as the rolled result you will also experience the opposite level of failure. So if you roll Boxcars on a Superior Success you’ll also experience a Serious failure.
• Redeal — When a Crisis occurs each player may elect to keep one Wyrd Tarot or Yarn card from their hand or in play (note that Ordeal Pools are not affected). The rest of the Wyrd Tarot Cards (including the deck, the discard pile and any cards in play) are gathered and shuffled. Then all hands are re-dealt once more (to full).
• Autosave — A Proficiency Crisis automatically creates a new ‘Save’ Chronolith with 4 Chi stored for each Proficiency Die and Card involved in the Crisis.
• Annexing — A Proficiency Crisis automatically lets a Character combine the Proficiencies being rolled into a new Skill, Talent or Power, assuming they have the free slots. A Character with no free Annex slots may opt to create instead a new Descendant, but the Descendant must be non-physical (such as an idea) and must be purchased (at half price though, which is nice), although it is created as though it is a new Annex (so all Facet Boons, Values, etc. are treated as the Character’s Facet Boons).

Proficiency Potency

Proficiencies are affected by the Potency Level of their Facet in the Tapestry. A “Spirits” Proficiency represents folklore and religious knowledge if Awe is Banal, for an Intrepid Awe Tapestry “Spirits” are more nebulous, invisible and intangible, but still perceivable, and the Proficiency indicates a Character has some intuitive or actual knowledge of the Spirits. Bold Awe “Spirits” can be perceived and have a real existence. A Character will have experince of dealing with them. Monstrous Awe would indicate “Spirits” that are real monsters with truly powerful Awe Monster Facets can exist in the universe, as you may find in most Fantasy Universes and Horror stories, and the Proficiency will include practical knowledge of dealing with and controlling spririts. Twisted Awe would indicate Spirits are all infested by the Increated and have reality destroying abilities and ambitions.