History (Draw Steel)

Skills

Definition

History covers what happened before the campaign started: which empire built the road the party is standing on, why two noble houses have hated each other for four generations, what the last war did to this valley, whose tomb this is. It is a Reason skill because it rests on study and recall. It comes up at ruins, in archives, during negotiations where old claims matter, and whenever the party needs to know if a threat they just met has happened before.

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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 recalls the full account, including a detail the party can act on. Tier 2 gives the broad shape with gaps. Tier 1 gives nothing, or a confident version of a popular myth. **Edges and banes**: Access to a library, an inscription to read, or a local expert grants an edge (+2). A deliberately suppressed history, a foreign region, or events from before recorded memory imposes a bane (-2).

Tips

**Best for**: Heroes who want to arrive at a ruin already knowing what is buried in it. **Character concepts**: Sage career archivist, academic upbringing, an Aristocrat raised on family chronicles. **Synergies**: Culture for living customs rather than dead ones, Architecture for dating a structure, Religion when the past is a matter of doctrine.

Frequently asked questions

Does History cover recent events?

Living memory is usually Gather Rumors or Culture territory. History takes over once the events pass out of firsthand recollection.

Can History identify an old weapon or relic?

It can place its era, maker, and reputation. What the item does is Magic Lore or Craft.

History (Draw Steel)

Definition

How it works

Tips

Frequently asked questions

Further Reading