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MUD Character Progression & Skill System

Level Tiers

  • Low Tier: Levels 1–5

  • Mid Tier: Levels 6–10

  • High Tier: Levels 11–15

  • Epic Tier: Levels 16+

Tier intent

  • Low: Survival & identity

  • Mid: Specialization & reputation

  • High: Mastery & influence

  • Epic: Myth & world impact

Skills

Skill Range

  • Skills range from 1–100.

Training vs Use

  • Skills are trainable up to 20 (trainers, books, guilds, starting bonuses).

  • After 20, skills increase only through use.

Naming Convention

  • All skills end with “ing” (e.g., Dodging, Thieving, Climbing).

  • If a verb sounds awkward with “-ing,” rename the action (keep the convention consistent).

Suggested Skill Categories (Examples)

Physical

  • Fighting

  • Dodging

  • Climbing

  • Swimming

  • Throwing

Mental

  • Tracking

  • Investigating

  • Remembering

  • Lockpicking

  • Brewing / Mixing (avoid awkward “Alchemying” unless you like the tone)

Spiritual

  • Praying

  • Meditating

  • Channeling

  • Warding

  • Binding

Social

  • Persuading

  • Intimidating

  • Deceiving

  • Leading

  • Bargaining

Crafting & Handling

  • Repairing (repair damaged weapons, armor, tools)

  • Smithing (forge weapons, armor, metal items)

  • Taming (tame, calm, and bond with animals)

Attributes → Skills & Maneuvers

Attribute Model

Attributes:

  • Physical

  • Mental

  • Spiritual

  • Social

Attributes provide bonuses to skills in their areas and improve maneuver effectiveness (damage, duration, secondary effects, etc.).

Skill Attribute Mapping

Each skill has:

  • Primary Attribute (full bonus)

  • Secondary Attribute (half bonus)

Example:

  • Dodging → Primary: Physical, Secondary: Mental

Attribute Bonus (Example Formula)

Tune this, but keep it consistent.

  • Attribute Bonus = floor((Attribute - 5) / 2)

Example table:

  • 3–4 → -1

  • 5–6 → 0

  • 7–8 → +1

  • 9–10 → +2

  • 11+ → +3+

Effective Skill (Used for Checks)

Effective Skill =

  • Skill Rank

    • Primary Attribute Bonus
    • Secondary Attribute Bonus (rounded down)
    • Situational Modifiers (gear, buffs, terrain, status)

Unified Skill Check Mechanic

Core Check

  • Roll d100

  • Success if: Roll ≤ Effective Skill

This is the single consistent mechanic used across the game.

Degrees of Success (Recommended)

  • Critical Success: Roll ≤ Effective Skill ÷ 10

  • Success: Roll ≤ Effective Skill

  • Failure: Roll > Effective Skill

  • Critical Failure: Roll ≥ 95

(Optional: Epic tier can shift critical thresholds.)

Difficulty Modifiers

Apply difficulty as a modifier to Effective Skill (not the roll):

  • Trivial: +30

  • Easy: +15

  • Standard: +0

  • Hard: -15

  • Extreme: -30

  • Legendary: -50

Skill Advancement Through Use

After a check:

  • On success → chance to gain skill

  • On failure → smaller chance (learning from mistakes)

  • Chance decreases as skill increases

Example concept:

  • Gain Chance = (100 - Skill Rank) × Activity Modifier

(Exact tuning TBD.)

Maneuvers

Maneuvers are special actions and spells that players learn from masters they must seek out throughout the world. They represent trained techniques, secret knowledge, and rare teachings — not generic abilities.

Maneuver Acquisition

Learning Maneuvers

  • Maneuvers are taught by NPC masters (fighters, sages, priests, beastspeakers, etc.)

  • Masters require the player to meet prerequisites before teaching:

    • Minimum Level (tier-gated)

    • Minimum Skill Rank (relevant skill)

    • Sometimes reputation, quest completion, or faction standing

Example:

Master Requirement:
- Level 6+
- Fighting 35+
- Dodging 25+

This reinforces:

  • World exploration

  • Social discovery

  • Skill mastery

Starting Maneuvers

Each new character begins with two maneuvers:

  1. Lower-Tier Maneuver (Choice)

    • Chosen by the player at character creation

    • Must meet all prerequisites

    • Represents basic trained technique

  2. Planetary Maneuver (Granted)

    • Granted automatically by the character’s Planet

    • Always considered a Lower-Tier maneuver

    • Unique to that planetary influence

This ensures:

  • Early mechanical identity

  • Planet choice has immediate impact

  • No two characters feel identical at level 1

Maneuver Tiers

Maneuvers are tiered and generally align with level tiers:

  • Lower Tier Maneuvers → Levels 1–5

  • Mid Tier Maneuvers → Levels 6–10

  • High Tier Maneuvers → Levels 11–15

  • Epic Maneuvers → Level 16+

Masters will never teach maneuvers above your tier.

Maneuver Structure

Each maneuver defines:

  • Required Skill(s)

  • Scaling Attribute(s)

  • Cost (stamina, mana, focus, etc.)

  • Cooldown or usage limit

  • Effects by outcome

Example:

Shield Bashing
Tier: Lower
Skills: Fighting
Attributes: Physical
Cost: Stamina

Success: Damage + stagger
Critical: Knockdown
Failure: Miss
Critical Failure: Lose balance

Maneuver Resolution

Maneuvers use the same unified skill check system:

Roll d100 ≤ Effective Skill → success

  • Skills determine success chance

  • Attributes scale potency, duration, and secondary effects

  • No special-case math

Maneuver Slots (Recommended)

To encourage meaningful choices:

  • Players may learn many maneuvers

  • Players may only equip a limited number at once

Example:

  • Low Tier: 2 active maneuvers

  • Mid Tier: 3 active maneuvers

  • High Tier: 4 active maneuvers

  • Epic Tier: 5+ active maneuvers

Design Intent

  • Maneuvers are earned, not handed out

  • Masters matter as world content

  • Planet choice gives immediate flavor

  • Skill mastery gates power

  • Epic maneuvers bend rules, not numbers

This keeps combat and magic grounded in the world instead of menus.