Architecture (Draw Steel)

Skills

Definition

Architecture covers how structures stand and how they fall: which wall bears the roof, where a castle's builders would hide a sally port, whether a bridge will take a wagon, what a floor plan says about the missing space behind it. It is a Reason skill because it draws on learned principles and comparison to known styles. It comes up when scouting a fortress, finding a route through a dungeon, planning a collapse, or dating a ruin by its construction.

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How it works

**Characteristic**: Reason. **Skill group**: Reason skills. **Test**: 2d10 + Reason; 11 or lower is tier 1, 12 to 16 tier 2, 17 or higher tier 3. Training grants a benefit and unlocks attempts untrained heroes cannot make. **How it is used**: Tier 3 gives a precise read: the exact weak point, the concealed space, the safe path. Tier 2 gives a general assessment. Tier 1 misjudges the structure, which can mean a wrong turn or a wall that gives way. **Edges and banes**: Plans, time to inspect, or a familiar building style grants an edge (+2). Darkness, rubble, alien construction, or pressure imposes a bane (-2).

Tips

**Best for**: Planners who like to know the layout before the fight, and anyone who breaks into or out of fortified places. **Character concepts**: Artisan career mason, dwarf raised in delved halls, Soldier who served on siege works. **Synergies**: Engineering for the machines inside a wall, Search for the door Architecture says must exist, Tactics for turning a floor plan into a battle plan.

Frequently asked questions

Can Architecture find secret doors?

It tells you where one should be, based on wasted space or odd wall thickness. Search then finds the actual mechanism.

Can I bring down a wall with this skill?

It identifies where to strike. The collapse itself takes tools, force, or an ability, and the Director sets the time and risk.

Architecture (Draw Steel)

Definition

How it works

Tips

Frequently asked questions

Further Reading