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With 2e we have decided that we are going to adopt a more in-depth skill model with the d100 system that allows us to go into more detail and make overarching skill progression a more major feature of the character rather than feeling like a progress tax like it did with Edges.
Characters will start with a healthy allocation of initial skill points and will gain more with each level up to allow them to achieve new heights, and this goes for Pokemon just as much as humans.
As an added benefit to the approach, we want it to be entirely viable for GMs to add their own skills to the list as required for a given campaign premise.
We’ve added in two types of skills. Normal Skills, and Category Skills. With a normal skill, it is very much as it appears and you invest skill points into it. With a category skill, you pick a sub-skill within that category (players and GMs are encouraged to devise their own if appropriate) and advance that specific subskill. Examples of these would be Running and <Science>. With <Science> you would pick a specific scientific discipline to invest skill points in.
Of course, the standard skill list will be made available when 2e launches but in the meantime we would like to give you an example of a Skill Challenge in the form of a new type of competition coming to 2e’s rules; the Pokeathlon!
A Pokeathlon can consist of as many events as the GM wants to represent the challenge and prestige of the course, with scores being determined by what we call Degrees of Success on a skill check. When the contestants roll, they check their skill (the base DC) and then modify it appropriately for the difficulty level of the course (an interval of -10) and roll aiming to get under the modified DC.
From there, you count how many full intervals of 10 there are between your roll and the DC to determine Degrees of Success on a successful check, and you would bank these as your score for that test. After the course is completed, the GM would total up the Degrees of Success for each competitor, and the one with the most would be declared the winner.
Hurdle Rush: This event consists of a number of Running and Acrobatics checks (determined by the GM), where degrees of failure (the inverse of degrees of success, of course) on Acrobatics checks are deducted from the Degrees of Success the competitor has scored.
Wrestling: Wrestling competitions are resolved one-on-one, as each competitor rolls the Lift skill against one another in an attempt to displace the other competitor from the Ring. Each wrestler starts in the center of the ring and has 3 marks. If the competitor wins a roll-off, they push the other wrestler back a mark. After defeating a wrestler on the third mark, they are eliminated. Watch out, however, as the opponent might defeat you in some rolls and force you back – reclaiming lost marks, and maybe even taking some of yours.
For a final example, you can look at mashing up various events such as making a Triathlon!
Compare a Swimming, Riding and Running check to cover all 3 legs, and then sum degrees of success across all 3 legs to determine a winner! Maintain tension during the event by narrating competitors pulling ahead or if people are staying close to one another.
With the new skill system comes a new meta-resource that's exclusive to PCs and "Ace" creatures called Luck. These creatures have a reserve of Luck Points between 0-100 that they can use to manipulate the outcome of rolls. Luck can be spent at a 1-for-1 rate to alter the outcome of a d100 roll.
Ideally this is best reserved for when you've just missed the mark on a check, come oh so close and need that little nudge to tip it into the success you really wanted. Be aware though, Luck may recharge faster the less you have of it, but you may not want to burn it all too soon.
As for Pushing Your Luck, this is exclusive to skill checks, and potentially a good answer if you're way off the mark rather than spending luck points.
Because, normally, you may only attempt a given skill check once if it is not an extended check, it may be something you consider important to make sure you succeed. This is where Pushing Your Luck comes in.
When you Push Your Luck, you must offer the GM a way in which pushing your luck could horrendously backfire - such as accidentally starting a fire in a library while Researching, or crashing a car while Piloting in a chase scene - before you are allowed to make the reroll. If you can't think of anything, maybe your GM has some devious idea for a consequence, so it can't hurt to ask.
Once greenlit, you can roll the dice again and see if you hit the mark. While the Pushed result stands, you can still use your Luck resource to manipulate the outcome, but this could be costly if your reroll comes out even worse than the initial one.