In 13th Age, characters have backgrounds to help with ability checks rather than discrete skills. This is meant to both add detail and richness to a character – “mountain ginseng harvester +2 ” rather than “survival +2” – and add more flexibility to how players approach ability checks. “Mountain ginseng harvester” could be useful in a variety of contexts outside of just harvesting mountain ginseng.
Backgrounds do, however, have one shortcoming I’ve seen pop up in the four years our group has been playing 13th Age. It’s entirely possible to craft creative and evocative backgrounds that become difficult to reasonably apply to the common challenges adventurers face – solving puzzles, talking your way past guards, climbing steep cliffs, that sort of thing. Not being able to apply your background bonus means you’re missing out on between +1 to +5 to a d20 roll, which is significant.
Now, falling off a cliff and taking some damage isn’t the worst thing in the world – but failing checks becomes more frustrating when it comes to advancing the plot of the campaign. Failed to decipher ancient runes because none of your backgrounds could help? Well … maybe the GM can improvise a way to allow progress at a cost or complication – known as failing forward, in gaming parlance – but to me that just slows things down and can lead to a frustrating experience. Is there no better way?
Then I played Swords of the Serpentine, and I had my answer.
In that game, based on the GUMSHOE system, players have two sets of abilities. General Abilities work like skills in traditional games – roll a die and hope for the best. But Investigative Abilities, which give players access to clues, always work. So, while a character’s rolls while acting on what they’ve learned may fail, they’re guaranteed a basic level of understanding of what’s going on.
Here’s how I propose incorporating Investigative Abilities into 13th Age:
- Each class receives a suite of four Investigative Abilities taken mostly intact from Swords of the Serpentine. Corruption – a mechanic tied to the Swords of the Serpentine setting of Eversink – is replaced with the more general Arcana.
- Unlike in Swords of the Serpentine, players do not have points in these skills they can spend for extra effects. Instead, they can invoke the extra effects by spending any Icon Die. Roll for complications as normal.
- Since characters no longer have backgrounds to add to ability checks, the standard check DCs are reduced by three. For example, a normal adventurer tier check would be DC 12, a hard check would be DC 17, and a ridiculously hard check would be DC 22.
After assigning the abilities into different classes, I’m pleased with how they turned out. Each class ended up with a combination that leans into their identity. A couple classes overlap a bit (namely Paladin and Commander, which already have similar themes in their class descriptions) but by and large they’re all remarkably thematic and distinct from one another. This system also provides another useful way to use Icon Dice.
It’s definitely some homebrew I’m excited to try out in our next 13th Age campaign … after my players (hopefully!) prevent the Dawn of Eternal Night in Eversink.
Investigative Abilities
| Ability Name | Class | Description | Suggested Extra Effect |
| Arcana | Demonologist, Necromancer, Sorcerer, Wizard | You understand magical abilities, such as a dragon’s breath weapon, a spell, ward, or other magical power. | Dispel a magical trap or ward; magically understand an ancient language. |
| Charm | Bard, Paladin | Whether through flattery, flirting, or sorcerous mind control, you’re so charming or desirable other people are willing to reveal their secrets just to get your attention. | Make an NPC trust, like, love, or be infatuated with you. |
| City’s Secrets | Rogue, Wizard | You know the back streets and hidden truths of cities. | Determine entry points into sealed portions of the undercity, or to travel across the city through shortcuts at roughly double normal speed. |
| Command | Commander, Fighter | People listen to you when you give them orders. | Get crowds to follow your orders, particularly in chaotic circumstances. |
| Felonious Intent | Fighter, Necromancer | You can spot warning signs of crime and criminal behaviour. | Generate a knowledgeable and helpful contact who owes you a favor, such as a Watch officer or minor criminal from your past. |
| Forgotten Lore | Bard, Demonologist, Druid | You know facts, legends, and trivia others have long forgotten. | Establish a new fact about the world. If your new fact conflicts with a truth that the GM has already established, usually she’ll either accept your truth instead or she’ll give you your Icon Die back. |
| Intimidation | Barbarian, Demonologist, Sorcerer | Others find you terrifying. | Bully an NPC into obeying you even after you’ve left the area. |
| Know Monstrosities | Barbarian, Ranger, Wizard | You know legends or secrets about monsters (defined by their presence in Chapter 10: Monsters) including their tactics and motivations. | Goad a monster into an action or position you desire in order to set a trap; if you need that swamp giant to be standing right next to the quicksand, you can make sure that occurs. |
| Laws and Traditions | Commander, Monk, Paladin | You know the (often obscure) laws and traditions of wherever you live. | Make up an obscure but applicable church dictate or city ordinance that then becomes canon for the rest of the campaign. |
| Liar’s Tell | Demonologist, Rogue | You usually know when you’re being lied to. | Gain great insight into why a person may be lying, even if it doesn’t tell you what the truth actually is. |
| Medicine | Cleric, Druid, Fighter | You can diagnose ailments and know how to cause or heal diseases, injuries and poison. | Wake up someone who is unconscious. Automatically treat a disease or poison. |
| Nobility | Commander, Paladin | You fit in with the upper crust, who treat you with special privilege. | Manipulate others through your social status, convincing them they will be socially humiliated if they don’t do as you suggest. |
| Prophecy | Cleric, Monk | You can prophesy secrets from the past, present or future. | Invoke a flashback: describe how you foresaw a challenge and put a plan in place to shift the odds your way. |
| Ridiculous Luck | Rogue, Sorcerer | You’re far luckier than most people, and stumble on leads others might miss. | Generate a lucky coincidence when you need one most, such as an unexpected escape opportunity or a handy unlocked armory door. |
| Scurrilous Rumours | Necromancer, Wizard | Bribery, gossip, and whispered secrets help you learn what others have done. | Affect public opinion about a person, faction, idea or event. |
| Servility | Bard, Monk | You fit in with common people, and tend to fade into the background. | Manipulate an attacker into attacking someone else instead, since you seem so servile and inconsequential. |
| Skulduggery | Ranger, Rogue | You can find out hidden information through reprehensible methods such as blackmail, spying, and shadowing. | Find the general location of someone who doesn’t wish to be found; perfectly remember an overheard and illicit conversation; blackmail an NPC. |
| Spirit Sight | Cleric, Necromancer | You can see into the spirit realm, and may sense ghosts. | Only if your GM allows, fully enter the spirit world for one scene. This may cause damage to body and mind, but you’ll feel the effects with enough time to escape back to the real world before the experience kills you. |
| Spot Frailty | Barbarian, Ranger | You notice and exploit weaknesses in armor, objects, and structures; and you might even see weakness in people’s personalities, allowing you to manipulate them emotionally. | Heroically smash, break or destroy something non-magical: an enemy’s shield, a locked door, a stout chain, sturdy manacles, a pillar holding up the temple ceiling. |
| Tactics of Death | Barbarian, Commander | You can read fight scenes and understand military tactics. | If you find yourself commanding troops of NPCs (whether small units or whole armies), give your troops an offensive or defensive tactical advantage in combat, as determined by your GM. |
| Taunt | Bard, Sorcerer | You can make people angry enough to monologue at you. | Goad an enemy or enemies into attacking you or paying attention to you, instead of an ally who would rather stay unnoticed. |
| Trustworthy | Cleric, Paladin | People want to trust you unless you give them a reason not to. | Pass a bald-faced lie off as the truth without anyone immediately questioning you. |
| Vigilance | Druid, Monk | You notice tiny details others might miss, making you seldom surprised. | Notice someone or something hidden, such as signs of an ambush before it has been sprung. |
| Wilderness Mastery | Druid, Ranger | You can navigate, survive, and even thrive outside of cities. | Move twice as quickly as normal when outside; stampede a herd of animals, from rats to cattle; temporarily bond with one or more specific animal |
Investigative Abilities by Class
| Barbarian | Tactics of Death, Spot Frailty, Intimidation, Know Monstrosities |
| Bard | Charm, Forgotten Lore, Servility, Taunt |
| Cleric | Trustworthy, Medicine, Prophecy, Spirit Sight |
| Commander | Command, Laws and Traditions, Nobility, Tactics of Death |
| Chaos Mage | Choose any four Investigative Abilities. You’re special! |
| Demonologist | Arcana, Forgotten Lore, Intimidation, Liar’s Tell |
| Druid | Forgotten Lore, Medicine, Vigilance, Wilderness Mastery |
| Fighter | Command, Felonious Intent, Spot Frailty, Medicine |
| Monk | Laws and Traditions, Prophecy, Servility, Vigilance |
| Necromancer | Arcana, Felonious Intent, Scurrilous Rumours, Spirit Sight |
| Paladin | Charm, Laws and Traditions, Nobility, Trustworthy |
| Ranger | Know Monstrosities, Skulduggery, Spot Frailty, Wilderness Mastery |
| Rogue | City’s Secrets, Liar’s Tell, Ridiculous Luck, Skulduggery |
| Sorcerer | Arcana, Intimidation, Ridiculous Luck, Taunt |
| Wizard | Arcana, City’s Secrets, Scurrilous Rumours, Know Monstrosities |
Into the Fray 