Difference between revisions of "Discern"

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In short: figure it out. Discern is all about sizing up a person or situation. A powerful general stands high over a battlefield deducing his opponent's objectives.  A judge hears a defendant's case, and then determines if he's telling the truth.  A powerful wizard sees through the disguise of an assassin posing as one of his servants.  All of these are perfect examples of the use of the Discern skill.
 
In short: figure it out. Discern is all about sizing up a person or situation. A powerful general stands high over a battlefield deducing his opponent's objectives.  A judge hears a defendant's case, and then determines if he's telling the truth.  A powerful wizard sees through the disguise of an assassin posing as one of his servants.  All of these are perfect examples of the use of the Discern skill.
  
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{{section|Difficulty|Since Discern can be used for multiple purposes, the DL differs depending on the task.  Mostly, Discern is an opposed roll.}}
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You can't retry Discern checks; you either figure it out or you don't. However, you can try to Discern something different about the same subject.
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=====Estimation=====
 
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Estimating is useful for determining the number of troops on a battlefield, revealing the market price of a gem, guessing a woman's weight, or figuring out how long building a ship will take with six laborers. The GM should decide the DL for each on an individual basis using the example difficulties chart at the beginning of the chapter. A character can include ranks from an Occupation which is relevant to the estimation (e.g. a farmer can estimate when crops are ready for harvest, a sailor can estimate the travel speed of a sailboat).
 
  
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=====Learning combat plans=====
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{{section|Revealing Deception|}}
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With a successful Discern check, you can determine your enemy's (or ally's) battle strategy before it unfolds. Some of the possible information one could Discern from battles include: a place, object, or person a combatant is guarding; the next plan of attack; a likely escape or fall-back point. Oppose your Discern against the combatant's [[Bluff]] (if you're trying to determine the plans of an entire group, use the commanding officer's Bluff).  
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When another character attempts to deceive you, using either a [[Bluff]] or [[Disguise]] check, you must make a Discern check to see through their falsehoods. If you meet or exceed the other character's check, you can tell fact from fiction. If your result is lowest, you believe the lie, but it doesn't necessarily mean that you trust the liar wholeheartedly.
  
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=====Sense ability=====
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You must also make an opposed Discern check when another character uses the [[Perform]] skill to draw your attention. If you meet or exceed the other character's check, you remain alert. If your result is lowest, you take a −2 penalty to [[Perception]] checks while the performance is underway. If your Discern check is a [[Critical Failure]], you gain the ''wide-eyed'' condition for the duration of the performance.
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With a successful Discern check, you can figure out specific things about people you meet.  A DL of 10 will get you comparative skill (they're better/worse/as good as you at something).  A DL of 15 will get you style specifics (the clothes they wear indicate they practice [[Fire School|fire magic]], etc.).  A DL of 20 will get you limited statistic information (a ballpark of how many [[Health Points]] remaining, what percentage of their [[Magic Points]] are drained, or what's the neighborhood of their [[Endurance]] score, etc.)  A DL of 25 or over gets you specifics — one stat (e.g. attribute, skill) per roll.
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{{section|Estimating|}}
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Estimating is useful for determining the number of troops on a battlefield, revealing the market price of a gem, guessing a woman's weight, or figuring out how long building a ship will take with six laborers. A roll of 5 means you're not close ''at all'', a roll of 15 means you're pretty close, a roll of 30 means you've got it ''exactly'' down to the last decimal place. Characters should include ranks from an Occupation which is relevant to the estimation (e.g. a farmer can estimate when crops are ready for harvest, a sailor can estimate the travel speed of a sailboat).
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Also, with a successful Discern check, you can figure out specific things about people you meet.  A DL of 10 will get you comparative skill (they're better/worse/as good as you at something).  A DL of 15 will get you style specifics (e.g. the clothes they wear indicate they practice [[Fire School|fire magic]]).  A DL of 20 will get you limited statistic information (e.g. a ballpark of how many [[Health Points]] remaining, what percentage of their [[Magic Points]] are drained, what's the neighborhood of their [[Endurance]] score)  A DL of 25 or over gets you specifics — one stat (e.g. attribute, skill) per roll.
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{{section|Understanding Intent|}}
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You can make a Discern check to figure out others' mood, goals, motivation, or reasoning. By reading body language, tone of voice, behavior, and other social clues, you can figure out why a person is performing an action, how they're feeling about a situation, or what their next move may be. The higher your roll, the more specific or accurate your gut feeling. This works just as well in combat as it does conversation, and it works just as well for allies as it does enemies.
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You can even ascertain the strategy of entire armies. If your Discern check exceeds the commander's [[Leadership]] check, you can determine the battle strategy before it unfolds. Some of the possible information one could Discern from battles include: a place, object, or person a combatant is guarding; the next plan of attack; a likely escape or fall-back point.
  
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{{section|Opposed Rolls|Discern checks are used versus [[Bluff]] and [[Disguise]] checks.}}
 
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{{section|Retry|Discern attempts cannot be retried without spending a [[fate point]], however, the character can try to Discern something different about the same subject.}}
 
 
[[Category:Skills]]
 
[[Category:Skills]]

Revision as of 13:26, 19 June 2019

Typically used with: Insight.

In short: figure it out. Discern is all about sizing up a person or situation. A powerful general stands high over a battlefield deducing his opponent's objectives. A judge hears a defendant's case, and then determines if he's telling the truth. A powerful wizard sees through the disguise of an assassin posing as one of his servants. All of these are perfect examples of the use of the Discern skill.

You can't retry Discern checks; you either figure it out or you don't. However, you can try to Discern something different about the same subject.

Revealing Deception

When another character attempts to deceive you, using either a Bluff or Disguise check, you must make a Discern check to see through their falsehoods. If you meet or exceed the other character's check, you can tell fact from fiction. If your result is lowest, you believe the lie, but it doesn't necessarily mean that you trust the liar wholeheartedly.

You must also make an opposed Discern check when another character uses the Perform skill to draw your attention. If you meet or exceed the other character's check, you remain alert. If your result is lowest, you take a −2 penalty to Perception checks while the performance is underway. If your Discern check is a Critical Failure, you gain the wide-eyed condition for the duration of the performance.

Estimating

Estimating is useful for determining the number of troops on a battlefield, revealing the market price of a gem, guessing a woman's weight, or figuring out how long building a ship will take with six laborers. A roll of 5 means you're not close at all, a roll of 15 means you're pretty close, a roll of 30 means you've got it exactly down to the last decimal place. Characters should include ranks from an Occupation which is relevant to the estimation (e.g. a farmer can estimate when crops are ready for harvest, a sailor can estimate the travel speed of a sailboat).

Also, with a successful Discern check, you can figure out specific things about people you meet. A DL of 10 will get you comparative skill (they're better/worse/as good as you at something). A DL of 15 will get you style specifics (e.g. the clothes they wear indicate they practice fire magic). A DL of 20 will get you limited statistic information (e.g. a ballpark of how many Health Points remaining, what percentage of their Magic Points are drained, what's the neighborhood of their Endurance score) A DL of 25 or over gets you specifics — one stat (e.g. attribute, skill) per roll.

Understanding Intent

You can make a Discern check to figure out others' mood, goals, motivation, or reasoning. By reading body language, tone of voice, behavior, and other social clues, you can figure out why a person is performing an action, how they're feeling about a situation, or what their next move may be. The higher your roll, the more specific or accurate your gut feeling. This works just as well in combat as it does conversation, and it works just as well for allies as it does enemies.

You can even ascertain the strategy of entire armies. If your Discern check exceeds the commander's Leadership check, you can determine the battle strategy before it unfolds. Some of the possible information one could Discern from battles include: a place, object, or person a combatant is guarding; the next plan of attack; a likely escape or fall-back point.

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