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Dice Mob Home > Dice Mob Rules > Skills > Skill Descriptions > World Effects
Life and Death World Effects
World effects involve effects upon the natural world over and above what a natural man could be expected to perform. Generally none of these skills would be available in universes without magic, technology akin to magic, supernatural elements, or superhuman powers, so taking any of these skills would be per the GMs judgment. These skills particularly concern forms of life and life itself as well as the ending of that life into death or the half-life of the undead.
| Skill | Non-Proficient? | Dice Type | Effect in a Nutshell | Mana? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Animals | Yes | Standard Skill Check | Characters have a general knowledge of animals, scientifically and practically; each degree of proficiency allows the character to pick a different class of animals to be proficient in; this skill is often combined with other skills including tracking, insight, trust, and summoning. | No |
| Death | No | Standard Skill Check, Standard Damage Roll, Standard Win-Loss Roll | Speaking with the dead, speaking with undead, assuming control over undead, determining the cause of death, sensing dead or dying bodies; see description for details and degree levels | Per degree |
| Life | No | Standard Skill Check | Bringing plants, animals, and humans back to life; detecting life | Per degree, Special |
| Plants and Fungi | No | Standard Skill Check | Entangling or tripping someone with plant-life; growing plants to climb or to eat; speaking with plants; can be combined with summoning; skill check if difficult; acrobatics and balance apply to defensive rolls | One |
Animals
Characters with this skill have a general knowledge of animals of a specific type, both scientifically and practically, including their habitats, food sources, general anatomy, social structure, etc, as well as the treating and care of them. Some of these skill are also shared with the farming trade skill, but characters with this skill are more familiar with all animals, wild and domestic, and less familiar than a farmer on those found on a farm or ranch.
When choosing the Animals skill, a character much choose from a group of animals for their first degree. With each additional degree of proficiency, the character becomes proficient in another group. The character should pick from the following:
- Mammals
- Birds (including bats)
- Reptiles (including amphibians and dinosaurs)
- Insects (including arachnids, centipedes, worms, mollusks, and other animals generally known as bugs)
- Fish (including whales, dolphins, crustaceans, sea stars, sponges)
Like a Chemist with chemical poisons and a Plants and Fungi skill with botanical poisons, a character with the animal skill would be able to identify animal-based poisons and their effects as long as the animal is within one of the groups they have a proficiency in.
Most animal skill actions can be performed without a skill check, but difficult actions would require one.
Because this doesn't have much practical campaign use on its own, this skill is often combined with other skills including tracking, insight, trust, and summoning. Domesticating an already wild creature, for example, would involve the Trust skill. Speaking with animals would require a high enough degree of the Scholar trade skill.
Death
Speaking with the dead, speaking with undead, assuming control over undead, determining the cause of death, sensing dead or dying bodies. When used in conjunction with summoning, undead can be raised. Even death magic causing instant death is not beyond a master of death.
Necrotic damage requires an action and causes personal damage with a standard damage roll. Like nearly all skills, this is of course limited based on the degree and what can be affected (e.g. touch, point-to-point, area of effect). Necrotic damage cannot be immediately healed by natural means.
As life is the antithesis of death, a character cannot have a skill over both life and death.
| Degree | Abilities |
|---|---|
| First | Speaking with the recently dead or undead. Cause necrotic damage. |
| Second | Detecting recently dead or dying bodies within range and some sense of how they died (if it isn’t obvious by the scene itself) |
| Third | Detecting bodies much longer dead. 1) |
| Fourth Degree: | Undead within the area of effect and range can automatically be de-animated through a successful Win-Loss vs Personal Defense roll |
| Fifth Degree: | A successful Win-Loss vs Personal Defense can automatically kill an opponent no matter their hit points. 2) 3) |
Life
A character proficient in life has the ability to detect life in creatures and plants as well as has the ability to bring creatures and plant life back from the dead. Bringing plant life back from the dead simply requires mana equal to the degree required to accomplish it.
Bringing life back to creatures, however, is different. Unlike most skills, bringing creatures back to life drains actual hit points from the person using the skill at a rate equal to the degree required. Hit points lost will be return with at least six hours of rest. Any creature brought back from the dead only has one hit point and must sleep for a day or more to recover most of their functions. Only plants and creatures dead for less than three days can be revived. Others are too long dead to return to life.
At higher levels, a skilled master of life can even prevent themselves from dying.
As life is the antithesis of death, a character cannot have a skill over both life and death.
| Degree | Revive Plants | Revive Creatures | Additional Abilities |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | Flowers | Detect life in plants and creatures, even if they're adept at feigning death (requires touch) | |
| Second | Shrubs, Bushes | Tiny | A character will not drop below one hit point on the first attack that would do so. If they don't recover hit points prior to a second attack, they will be dropped unconscious on the subsequent attack. |
| Third | Small Trees | Very Small, Small | Immune to Necrotic Damage |
| Fourth | Flower patches, gardens | Medium | Life can be detected within an area of effect equal to the degree and level per the General Rules, including invisible creatures. |
| Fifth | Large Trees | Large | Character cannot drop below one hit point unless they fail a skill check. |
| Sixth | Extra-Large | ||
| Seventh | Gargantuan |
Plants and Fungi
Depending on the campaign and genre, this could just be the skill for a botanist or herbalist, or it could include more, including magical abilities. Among the standard abilities of an expert in plants and fungi would be the identification, both scientifically and naturally, of all things botanical, including identifying plant-based poisons and their effects.
Among some of the magical abilities available to a person with the plants and fungi skill include entangling an opponent with vines, weeds, or other plant life, and growing plants to climb or to eat.
When used to entangle an opponent, the standard entrapment effect is used, but the type of the plants in the vicinity should be large enough to entrap an opponent, even if just their feet or legs.
The uses of this skill is generally fairly limited by itself and is often combined with other skills such as first aid, curing, summoning, and the Scholar trade for better effect.
Speaking with plants (with a properly high Scholar trade degree) can only yield limited results such as understanding that a creature brushed by a particular plant recently or that a nearby trail is commonly used by possible food sources.
When used in combination with summoning, plants can be grown to eat or can be used as minions though careful control has to be maintained over them or they will lose their animation and just become regular plants again as they have no real mind of their own.