The practical uses of non-weapon proficiencies can be complex, especially those that have been expanded in my game. What follows is, where possible, text from the various books; where not, my own interpretation of how these NWPs can be used.
Note that it is possible to have up to five levels of any given NWP, which gives you the ability to roll that many D20 to check for success; multiple successes can indicate excellent results, while multiple failures can indicate disaster.
Acting - This proficiency allows a character to skillfully portray various roles, often as an entertainment. It can also be used to enhance a disguise. If a character has both acting and disguise proficiencies, the check for either is made with a +1 bonus.
Proficiency checks are required only if the actor must portray a particularly difficult role or is attempting to “ad lib” without rehearsal.
Administration
Alertness -A character with this proficiency is exceptionally attuned to his surroundings, able to detect disturbances and notice discrepancies. A successful proficiency check reduces his chance of being surprised by 1.
Alms
Anatomy
Arcanology
Agriculture -The character has a knowledge of the basics of farming. This includes planting, harvesting, storing crops, tending animals, butchering, and other typical farming chores.
Ancient Geography
Ancient History - The character has learned the legends, lore, and history of some ancient time and place. The knowledge must be specific, just as a historian would specialize today in the English Middle Ages, the Italian Renaissance, or the Roman Republic before Caesar. Thus, a player character could know details about the Elven Kingdoms of the Third Age, for instance. The knowledge acquired gives the character familiarity with the principal legends, historical events, characters, locations, battles, breakthroughs (scientific, cultural, and magical), unsolved mysteries, crafts, and oddities of the time. The character must roll a proficiency check to identify places or things he encounters from that age. For example, Rath knows quite a bit about the Coming of the Necromancer, a particularly dark period of history. Moving through some deep caverns, he and his companions stumble across an ancient portal, sealed for untold ages. Studying the handiwork, he realizes (rolls a successful proficiency check) that it bears several seals similar to those he has seen on "banned" portals from the time of the Necromancer.
Animal Handling -Proficiency in this area enables a character to exercise a greaterthan-normal degree of control over pack animals and beasts of burden. A successful proficiency check indicates that the character has succeeded in calming an excited or agitated animal; in contrast, a characterwithout this proficiency has only a 20% chance of succeeding in the attempt.
Animal Lore - This proficiency enables a character to observe the actions or habitat of an animal and interpret what is going on. Actions can show how dangerous the creature is, whether it is hungry, protecting its young, or defending a nearby den. Furthermore, careful observation of signs and behaviors can even indicate the location of a water hole, animal herd, predator, or impending danger, such as a forest fire. The DM will secretly roll a proficiency check. A successful check means the character understood the basic actions of the creature. If the check fails by 4 or less, no information is gained. If thecheck fails by 5 or more, the character misinterprets the actions of the animal. A character may also imitate the calls and cries of animals that he is reasonably familiar with, based on his background. This ability is limited by volume. The roar of a tyrannosaurus rex would be beyond the abilities of a normal character. A successfulproficiency check means that only magical means can distinguish the character's call from that of the true animal. The cry is sufficient to fool animals, perhaps frightening them away or luring them closer. A failed check means the sound is incorrect in some slight way. A failed call may still fool some listeners, but creatures very familiar with the cry automatically detect a false call. All other creatures and characters are allowed a Wisdom check to detect the fake. Finally, animal lore increases the chance of successfully setting snares and traps (for hunting) since the character knows the general habits of the creature hunted.
Animal Noise
Animal Rending
Animal Training - Characters with this proficiency can train one type of creature (declared when the proficiency is chosen) to obey simple commands and perform tricks. A character can spend additional proficiencies to train other types of creatures or can improve his skill with an already chosen type. Creatures typically trained are dogs, horses, falcons, pigeons, elephants, ferrets, and parrots. A character can choose even more exotic creatures and monsters with animal intelligence (although these are difficult to control). A trainer can work with up to three creatures at one time. The trainer may choose to teach general tasks or specific tricks. A general task gives the creature the ability to react to a number of nonspecific commands to do its job. Examples of tasks include guard and attack, carry a rider, perform heavy labor, hunt, track, or fight alongside soldiers (such as a war horse or elephant). A specific trick teaches the trained creature to do one specific action. A horse may rear on command, a falcon may pluck a designated object, a dog may attack a specific person, or a rat may run through a particular maze. With enough time, a creature can be trained to do both general tasks and specific tricks. Training for a general task requires three months of uninterrupted work. Training for a specific trick requires 2d6 weeks. At the end of the training time, a proficiency check is made. If successful, the animal is trained. If the die roll fails, the beast is untrainable. An animal can be trained in 2d4 general tasks or specific tricks, or any combination of the two. An animal trainer can also try to tame wild animals (preparing them for training later on). Wild animals can be tamed only when they are very young. The taming requires one month of uninterrupted work with the creature. At the end of the month, a proficiency check is made. If successful, the beast is suitable for training. If the check fails, the creature retains enough of its wild behaviour to make it untrainable. It can be kept, though it must be leashed or caged.
Appraising - This proficiency is highly useful for thieves, as it allows characters to estimate the value and authenticity of antiques, art objects, jewelry, cut gemstones, or other crafted items they find (although the DM can exclude those items too exotic or rare to be well known). The character must have the item in hand to examine. A successful proficiency check (rolled by the DM) enables the character to estimate the value of the item to the nearest 100 or 1,000 gp and to identify fakes. On a failed check, the character cannot estimate a price at all. On a roll of 20, the character wildly misreads the value of the item, always to the detriment of the character.
Armourer -This skill has a very long writeup located on this sub-page. It is not set in stone yet, and may undergo changes before I let a player take this up as a NWP.
Armourer, Crude
Artistic Ability -Player characters with artistic ability are naturally accomplished in various forms of the arts. They have an inherent understanding of color, form, space, flow, tone, pitch, and rhythm. Characters with artistic ability must select one art form (painting, sculpture, composition, etc.) to be proficient in. Thereafter they can attempt to create art works or musical compositions in their given field. Although it is not necessary to make a proficiency check, one can be made to determine the quality of the work. If a 1 is rolled on the check, the artist has created a work with some truly lasting value. If the check fails, the artist has created something aesthetically unpleasing or just plain bad. Artistic ability also confers a +1 bonus to all proficiency checks requiring artistic skill--music or dance--and to attempts to appraise objects of art.
Assimilation
Astrology - This proficiency gives the character some understanding of the supposed influences of the stars. Knowing the birth date and time of any person, the astrologer can study the stars and celestial events and then prepare a forecast of the future for that person. The astrologer's insight into the future is limited to the next 30 days, and his knowledge is vague at best. If a successful proficiency check is made, the astrologer can foresee some general event--a great battle, a friend lost, a new friendship made, etc. The DM decides the exact prediction (based on his intentions for the next few gaming sessions). Note that the prediction does not guarantee the result--it only indicates the potential result. If the proficiency check is failed, no information is gained unless a 20 is rolled, in which case the prediction is wildly inaccurate. Clearly this proficiency requires preparation and advance knowledge on the part of the DM. Because of this, it is permissible for the DM to avoid the question, although this shouldn't be done all the time. Players who want to make their DM's life easier (always a good idea) should consider using this proficiency at the end of a gaming session, giving the DM until the next session to come up with an answer. The DM can use this proficiency as a catalyst and guide for his adventures--something that will prompt the player characters to go to certain places or to try new things. Characters with the astrology proficiency gain a +1 bonus to all navigation proficiency checks, provided the stars can be seen.
Astronomy - A character proficient in this skill has a detailed knowledge of the relative movement of stars, moons, and planets. The character can predict with complete accuracy the arrival of eclipses, comets, and other cosmic phenomena (evening and morning stars, full moons, etc.) The astronomer can identify numerous stars and constellations, and gains a +3 bonus to all checks made using the navigation proficiency, providing that the stars can be seen.
Athletics
Awareness
Bartering
Begging
Blacksmithing - A character with blacksmithing proficiency is capable of making tools and implements from iron. Use of the proficiency requires a forge with a coal-fed fire and bellows, as well as a hammer and anvil. The character cannot make armor or most weapons, but can craft crowbars, grappling hooks, horseshoes, nails, hinges, plows, and most other iron objects.
Blind-Fighting - A character with blind-fighting is skilled at fighting in conditions of poor or no light (but this proficiency does not allow spell use). In total darkness, the character suffers only a -2 penalty to his attack roll (as compared to a -4 penalty without this proficiency). Under starlight or moonlight, the character incurs only a -1 penalty. The character suffers no penalties to his AC because of darkness. Furthermore, the character retains special abilities that would normally be lost in darkness, although the effectiveness of these are reduced by one-half (proficiency checks are made at half the normal score, etc.). This proficiency is effective only against opponents or threats within melee distance of the character. Blind-fighting does not grant any special protection from missile fire or anything outside the immediate range of the character's melee weapon. Thus, AC penalties remain for missile fire. (By the time the character hears the whoosh of the arrow, for example, it is too late for him to react.) While moving in darkness, the character suffers only half the normal movement penalty of those without this proficiency. Furthermore, this skill aids the character when dealing with invisible creatures,reducing the attack penalty to -2. However, it does not enable the character to discover invisible creatures; he has only a general idea of their location and cannot target them exactly.
Boating
Boatwright
Bookbinding
BowyerFletcher
Bowyer/Fletcher, Crude
Bureaucracy
Brewing
Calligraphy
Camouflage
Carpentry
Cartography
Catnap – somewhat like meditation, except there is a one segment delay in awareness when danger occurs. The advantage is that the character with this ability can sleep in the saddle as well, and gains one hour of sleep-rest for each two hours of catnapping.
Caving
Ceremony
Chanting
Carioteering
Cheesemaking
Chicanery - Chicanery is the use of clever but tricky or dishonest talk or actions to deceive or cheat someone. It often involves quibbling, sophistry, or other forms of subterfuge, especially in legal or political dealings. Characters with this skill can attempt to sway others to convince them to believe or do something they are resistant to, but not completely opposed to. This adds 10% to your Reaction Adjustment, normally tied to your Charisma.
City Familiarity
Clockwork Creation
Close-quarters Fighting - Humanoids with this proficiency have learned to fight in the cramped confines of dungeons and underground lairs. In such locations, or in other extremely close fighting conditions, characters armed with bludgeoning or piercing weapons (or their own natural weapons) receive a +2 bonus to attack rolls. Slashing weapons cannot be used in close quarter fighting. This bonus is not cumulative with wild-fighting. A successful proficiency check versus dexterity at the start of combat yields this bonus. Failure means the humanoid fights normally.
Clothesmaking, Crude
Cobbling
Concentration
Concocting
Cooking
Craft Instrument
Crowd Working
Dancing
Danger Sense
Debate - Characters with this proficiency can hold their own during heated discussions, remaining quick-witted and cool-tempered. They do not gain the ability to convince guards or holy warriors of their viewpoints, however. Nor can they sway the thinking of unruly hordes or skeptical masses.
This proficiency does allow them to engage in meaningful arguments, impressing others with their mental faculties. As a result, debaters gain a +2 bonus to encounter reactions when they can speak with the other creatures. When they’re attempting to smooth ruffled feathers, the bonus is subtracted from the result on the dice. When they’re attempting to enrage another character with cheek and guile, the bonus is added to the dice roll.
An individual with the debate proficiency is quite engaging. An individual must be willing to talk in the first place before a debater can use this proficiency. Further, the proficiency does not work unless the targeted individual is at least cautious toward the debater (if they saw eye to eye, there’d be nothing to debate). Assuming these conditions are met, the debate begins. It continues until the target makes a d20 roll HIGHER then his or her intelligence score. (The smarter the individual, the livelier the debate, and the harder it is to end it.) Debate also ends if a sudden action or activity interrupts it— i.e.: a failed pickpocket attempt, a sudden attack, scream, etc.) Two individuals with debate proficiency can seek to best each other in verbal sparring. In this case, both make proficiency checks each round until one fails.
Detect Signing
Diagnostics
Diplomacy
Direction Sense
Disguise
Display Weapon Prowess
Distance Sense
Dowsing
Dream Interpretation
Drinking
Eating
Enamour
Endurance
Engineering
Escape
Etiquette
Falconry
Fast Draw - this skill trains the user to quickly draw or sheath a specific melee weapon, keeping them from losing any time during combat if they need to do such. (Normally this uses a segment.)
Fast-Talking
Feign/Detect Sleep
Fire-Building
Fishing
Flower Arranging
Foraging
Forgery
Fortune Telling
Fungi Recognition
Gaming
Gem Cutting - This skill will allow the character to cut one gem per day in an attempt to increase the value of the gem. At the end of the period, a dexterity check is rolled with a d20; if the roll is above the character's dexterity, the gem is shattered and all that is left is tiny shards and dust. If the roll is equal to or no more than 3 below the dexterity, the value of the gem increases 1-20%; 4 to 8; the value increases 21-40%; 9-12, the value increases 41-60%; 13-16, the value increases 61-80%; 17 or more, the value increases 81-100%. Also note that higher levels of this NWP are required to learn to cut more valuable gems:
1 - jade and aquamarine
2 - garnet and amythest
3 - pearl and opal
4 - ruby and sapphire
5 - emerald and diamond
Also note that each level of NWP allows the character to learn six different cuts, assuming a teacher can be found. The list of cuts may be found here.
Genie Lore
Geography
Glassblowing
Grooming
Haggling
Healing
Heraldry
Herbalism
Hiding
Hold Breath
Hunting - When in wilderness settings, the character can attempt to stalk and bring down game. A proficiency check must be made with a -1 penalty to the ability score for every nonproficient hunter in the party. If the die roll is successful, the hunter (and those with him) have come within 101 to 200 yards (100+1d100) of an animal. The group can attempt to close the range, but a proficiency check must be made for each 20 yards closed. If the stalking is successful, the hunter automatically surprises the game. The type of animal stalked depends on the nature of the terrain and the whim of the DM.
Hypnotism - With this proficiency, the character can hypnotize another character, placing him into a relaxed state in which he is susceptible to suggestions. The subject must be willing and must know he is being hypnotized. Only human, demihuman, and humanoid characters may be hypnotized, and the hypnotist and subject must be able to understand one another's language.
It takes about five minutes to hypnotize someone in a reasonably calm or peaceful environment. Once hypnotized, the subject is willing to do almost anything that isn't very dangerous or against his alignment. However, a hypnotized subject can be fooled into thinking he's doing one thing when he's actually doing something else. Hypnotism can have the following effects:
A character can be induced to remember things he has forgotten by reliving a frightening or distant event.
A character can be made calm and unafraid in the face of a specific situation that he has been prepared for, gaining a +2 bonus to saving throws versus fear effects or morale checks.
A character can be cured of a bad habit or addiction (but not of curses, physical diseases, or magical afflictions.)
Hypnotism can't increase a character's attributes, give him skills he does not normally possess, let him do things that are beyond his capabilities, or give him information he couldn't possibly know. As a guideline for adjudicating effects, the hypnotism proficiency is substantially weaker than magical commands or directions, such as charm person, command, or hypnotism. Spells magically compel a person to obey the caster's will; a well phrased hypnotic command is nothing more than a strong suggestion.
Information Gathering
Inkmaker - this is the skill of taking ingredients and making them into ink. A minimum skill level is needed to guarantee success in an attempt to make each kind of ink. For each level of skill the person attempting to make is below that minimum, the change to successfully make the ink drops 25%. Failed ink making ruins all of the ingredients, leaving a useless mess. (Specific recipes and ingredients must be learned and can be costly.)
Intimidation - This is a talent for bending people to your will by scaring the living daylights out of them. NPCs who are intimidated are quite likely to do what they're told, out of fear. On the negative side, they are also very likely to harbor much resentment against the character that intimidates them. Intimidation may be attempted with one of two abilities: Strength or Charisma. If Strength is used, the user is threatening immediate, personal bodily harm. If Charisma is used, the intimidation consists of more subtle threats, which need not be physical. If successful, the NPC is convinced that the user is ready and capable of making his life miserable—if not immediately, then in the near future. Player characters are never forced to submit to intimidation, as this would detract from the players' freedom to role-play.
Investigation
Juggling
Jumping
Landscape Gardening - Player characters with this artistic ability are naturally accomplished in this area. They have an inherent understanding of color, form, space, flow, tone, pitch, and rhythm. Although it is not necessary to make a proficiency check, one can be made to determine the quality of the work. If a 1 is rolled on the check, the artist has created a work with some truly lasting value. If the check fails, the artist has created something aesthetically unpleasing or just plain bad.
Languages, Ancient
Languages, Modern
Law
Leadership
Leather Working
Light Sleeping
Local History
Locksmithing
Looting
Masseur
Meditative Focus
Medium
Metalworking
Military Science
Mining
Mountaineering
Musical Instrument
Navigation
Necrology
Netherworld Knowledge
Night Vision
Numeracy
Numerology
Observation
Omen Interpretation
Omen Reading
Oratory
Origami
Painting
Papermaking
Persuasion
Pest Control
Philosophy
Planar Direction Sense
Planar Sense
Planar Survival
Planology
Poetry
Poisoner - this skill is not required for members of the Assassin class. For others, this will allow one to learn to safely mix and use both insinuative (blade) venoms and ingestive poisons. Having one point in this skill will teach poison formulas for both types of poisons A and B; two points, C and D; three points, E and F; four points, G, and five points, H. Note that use of poisons to kill may draw the attention of the assassin's guild.
Politics
Pottery
Prestidigitation
Quick Study
Reading Lips
Renderer – this is the skill of cutting up creatures to separate the useable parts desired in such a way as to maximize the value and usefulness of the kill. The base chance of success is 90%, and the act will create 1-2 useable items each of the types desired. For each level of skill below that needed, the chance of success drops 25%. If a creature was killed in a particularly destructive way (DM’s call) or killed below –10, then the base chance of success is reduced 25%. Note that only two different items can be salvaged in any given rendering, as the act of cutting to carefully preserve some items destroys the others (except for normal food use). This skill assumes the possession of a set of special cutting tools and containers that will cost 10 gold per level of skill. A higher level set of tools subsumes the lower level set of tools, so essentially a renderer must spend 10 gold on each additional level of skill tools.
Reading/Writing
Rejuvenation
Religion
Research - A character with this skill is well-versed in the theory and application of magical (spell, lore or item) research. He is familiar with the use of libraries, laboratories, and other resources, and also has a good grasp of the fundamental processes of experimentation and problem-solving. With a successful (Intelligence -5) proficiency check, the character gains a +5% bonus per NWP level to his success roll when researching and reduces research time by 1 'level' per each level of the proficiency that the person has (thus, level 2 NWP would treat research on a level 3 spell as if it were only level 1, for determination of time). This will never take less time than as researching a level 1 spell or item. However, the amount of money spent on research remains the same because the person is still expending the same amount of books and supplies.
Rhetoric
Riding, Airborne - this skill allows one to safely ride and use a flying beast, such as a griffin, pegasus, or dragon, both in the air and on the ground. As noted on the chart for NWPs, it costs twice as much to learn as land based riding. No special training is needed for such actions as 'charge' or normal aerial movements; extraordinary maneuvers might require special training from a knowledgeable teacher, and a cost in CIPs or NWP slots.
NOTE - per the Wilderness Survival Guide, this NWP grants the ability to skillfully ride ONE type of mount; the character must spend more points on the proficiency to be able to skillfully ride additional mounts. Note the rather long description in the WSG on page 16 which gives an assortment of special abilities for someone who has such a NWP - if you simply wish to ride from one point to another, the general skill is sufficient.
Riding, Land-based - this skill allows one to safely ride and use a land-based riding beast, such as a horse, donkey, and the like. Various combat aibliities are granted; see WSG page 16.
NOTE - per the Wilderness Survival Guide, this NWP grants the ability to skillfully ride ONE type of mount; the character must spend more points on the proficiency to be able to skillfully ride additional mounts. Note the rather long description in the WSG which gives an assortment of special abilities for someone who has such a NWP - if you simply wish to ride from one point to another, the general skill is sufficient.
Riding, Sea-based
Rope Use
Rowing
Running
Sage Knowledge
Scribe
Sculpting
Seamanship
Seamstress/Tailor
Sense Motive:
A successful check lets you avoid being bluffed. You can also use this skill to determine when “something is up” (that is, something odd is going on) or to assess someone’s trustworthiness.
This use of the skill involves making a gut assessment of the social situation. You can get the feeling from another’s behavior that something is wrong, such as when you’re talking to an impostor. Alternatively, you can get the feeling that someone is trustworthy.
Sense Enchantment - You can tell that someone’s behavior is being influenced by an enchantment effect (by definition, a mind-affecting effect), even if that person isn’t aware of it.
Discern Secret Message - You may use Sense Motive to detect that a hidden message is being transmitted via the Bluff skill. In this case, your Sense Motive check is opposed by the Bluff check of the character transmitting the message. For each piece of information relating to the message that you are missing, you take a -2 penalty on your Sense Motive check. If you succeed by 4 or less, you know that something hidden is being communicated, but you can’t learn anything specific about its content. If you beat the DC by 5 or more, you intercept and understand the message. If you fail by 4 or less, you don’t detect any hidden communication. If you fail by 5 or more, you infer some false information.
These facets of Sense Motive require a Wisdom over 20.
Discern Partial Alignment - This use of the skill lets a character discern one component of a target’s alignment. When making the check, the character states whether he or she is trying to discern the law-chaos or good-evil component. A character can’t retry the check, and he or she can’t use this to discern more than one component of the alignment (but see below). The target must be visible and within 30 feet of the character, and this takes a turn of interaction/observation.
Discern Full Alignment - This use of the skill lets a character determine both components of a target’s alignment. The character can’t retry the check. The target must be visible and within 30 feet of the character, and this takes a turn of interaction/observation. The difficulty of this is at -5.
Detect Surface Thoughts - This lets a character read the surface thoughts of a single target. There is no saving throw to resist this effect, though normal resistances apply. The target must be visible and within 30 feet of the character, and this takes a turn of observation.
Set Snares
Sign Language
Signalling
Silk Making
Singing
Skinning
Slow Respiration
Smelting
Soothsaying
Sound Analysis
Sound Imitation
Spellcraft
Spell Recovery
If a character with this proficiency is casting a spell and is interrupted by an attack or the like, they can roll a saving throw vs. magic to not lose the spell. They may not continue casting it, but they may cast it in a later round.
Spelunking
Spirit Lore
Stonemasonry
Streetwise
The streets can provide a lot of information or money to those who know the language. Streetwise allows you to blend in unobtrusively with the local scene, pick up gossip, understand slang, or even dabble in criminal doings. As there are many possible uses for this skill, it can't be closely defined, and will have to be adjudicated on site.
Style Analysis
Subterfuge
You know how to conceal your own motives and project what you wish. Furthermore, if you can root out other people's motives, you can then use those motives against them. This Talent defines your talent for intrigue, secrets, and double-dealing. Mastery of Subterfuge can make you the ultimate seducer or a brilliant spy.
Survival
Swimming
Tactics
Tactics of Magic
Tattooing
Tea Ceremony
Thaumaturgy
Tightrope Walking
Time Sense
Toxicology
Tracking
Trailing
Trail Marking
Trail Signs
Traps - this skill allows the setting of simple mechanical traps, such as needles, rockfalls, trip ropes, pits, and so on. Other skills would be necessary to add poison or magical effects to such traps.
Tumbling
Undead Knowledge
Undead Lore
Underclass
Ventriloquism
Vetinary Healing
Voice Mimicry
Water Walking
Weapon Improvisation
Weaponsmithing
Weaponsmithing, Crude
Weather Sense
Weaving
Whistling/Humming
Wild Fighting
Winemaking