Neverwinter Nights Skills List

Skills - Info & Brief Explanation
Skills - Detailed Description & In-game Usage

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Each character class has a list of skills that are the preferred skills of their class. A 'preferred' skill is one where a player must only spend 1 skill point to raise the rank of that skill by 1 point.

Most other skills are considered 'cross-class' which means that a player can take that skill but it will cost 2 skill points per rank instead of 1.

There are some skills that are so specialized that only certain classes can take them:

Animal Empathy - Only Rangers and Druids.
Perform - Only Bards
Use Magic Device - Only Bards and Rogues.

This means that no other class in the game can spend points on these skills but the classes listed.

Skill List

Here is a brief explanation of each skill:

• Animal Empathy- Gaining the temporary trust of a wild animal.
• Concentration- Defense against being distracted while casting a spell or fighting.
• Disable Trap*- Player can perform a variety of actions on a trap.
• Discipline*- Defense against combat feats like Knockdown and Disarm.
• Heal- Can be used with Healing Kit to heal wounds and cure diseases and poisons.
• Hide- Hide from enemies.
• Listen- Chance to detect hidden creatures.
• Lore*- Identifying properties of items found.
• Move Silently- Move without being detected.
• Open Lock- Allows a chance to unlock a door or chest.
• Parry*- Defensive stance in combat.
• Perform- Bard's gain access to Bardsong.
• Diplomacy: Persuade- Sway another's thinking.
• Pick Pocket- Steal items from another character.
• Search- Ability to find important or valuable items.
• Set Trap*- set a trap for others to trigger.
• Spellcraft- identify a spell being cast.
• Spot- Ability to see hidden or camouflaged things.
• Diplomacy: Taunt- Distract opponents in combat.
• Use Magic Device- Ability to operate a magical device that has some sort of restrictions on it such as only being useable by a certain class, race or alignment.

Notes*:

Disable Trap and Set Trap can be considered subsets of the Dungeons & Dragons® Disable Device skill.

Discipline is a Neverwinter Nights skill. It is not a part of the Dungeons & Dragons® game experience but is a necessary part of the Aurora Engine technology.

Lore can be considered a subset of the Dungeons & Dragons® Knowledge skill.

Parry is a Neverwinter Nights skill. It is not a part of the Dungeons & Dragons® game experience but is a necessary part of the Aurora Engine technology.

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Animal Empathy

Ability: Charisma.
Requires Training: Yes.
Classes: Druid and ranger.

A successful check allows a character to charm or dominate certain creatures.

Check: Animals and dire animals have a DC of 20 + the creature's hit die. For beasts and magical beasts, the DC is 24 + the creature's hit die. If the check succeeds, the creature is charmed; if the check exceeds the DC by six or greater, the creature is dominated.

Special: If the character fails their check by five or more, the creature will go hostile.

Use: Select this skill and then select the target creature. Dominated creatures are commanded as if they were henchmen. The creature will remain charmed or dominated for one round per level of the character using the skill.

Concentration

Ability: Constitution.
Requires Training: No.
Classes: All.

Concentration checks are made whenever your character is distracted during the act of casting a spell. It is also used to avoid the effects of the Taunt skill.

Check: The DC to avoid casting failure is equal to 10 + damage received + spell level. The caster receives a -4 penalty to his check if casting within three meters of an enemy.

Use: Automatic.

Disable Trap

Ability: Intelligence.
Requires Training: Yes.
Classes: All.

This skill allows the character to perform a variety of actions on a trap.

Check: There are four progressively difficult actions that a character may perform on a trap; base DC is determined by the difficulty rating of the trap, modified by the action being performed.
- Assessing a trap to determine its difficulty modifies the DC by -7.
- Flagging a trap to make it visible to the rest of the party modifies the DC by -5.
- Recovering a trap raises the trap DC by +10.
- Disarming a trap has no effect on the trap DC.

Special: A rogue is the only class capable of disarming traps with a DC of 35 or greater. With 5 or more ranks in the Set Trap skill a character gets a +2 synergy bonus on Disable Trap checks.
Spectacular Failure: When disarming or recovering a trap, a spectacular failure results in the trap immediately going off.

Use: Assess, Flag, Recover, and Disarm are radial menu options off of a detected trap.

Discipline

Ability: Strength.
Requires Training: No.
Classes: All.

A successful check allows the character to resist any combat feat (Disarm, Called Shot, or Knockdown).

Check: The DC is equal to the attacker's attack roll.

Use: Automatic.

Heal

Ability: Wisdom.
Requires Training: No.
Classes: All.

With this skill a character can use a healing kit to cure wounds and heal poisons and diseases.

Check: To heal poisons and diseases, the healer must make a successful check against their DC. If he is successful, the target is healed and is cured a number of HP equal to the skill roll, plus all modifiers. If the target suffers from no poisons or diseases, it is still cured of damage.

Use: Use healing kit on a wounded creature.

Hide

Ability: Dexterity.
Requires Training: No.
Classes: All.

This skill allows a character to hide from enemies.

Check: The character must succeed at an opposed test against a searching creature's Spot check. Success means that the character goes undetected.

Special: The Hide and Move Silently skills combine into a single Stealth action. Movement in Stealth mode is slower than the normal rate. Wearing armor or using a torch inhibits this ability, but low light can provide a bonus. A character in Stealth mode is harder to spot if standing still, and if his stature is small.

Use: Select the Stealth action from the Special Abilities radial. Invisible characters automatically enter Stealth mode. Opposed Spot and Listen rolls are made once per round, where applicable.

Listen

Ability: Wisdom.
Requires Training: No.
Classes: All.

Listen alerts a character to hidden creatures that may be nearby.

Check: Listen detects hidden creatures by opposing their Move Silently check. A successful check renders the hidden creature visible, and makes it a valid target for the listener.

Special: Standing still provides a +5 bonus to a Listen check. A character with the Alertness feat gains a +2 bonus on Listen checks. Rangers gain a bonus when Listening against a favored enemy. Elves, gnomes, and halflings gain a +2 racial bonus to Listen checks. Half-elves receive a +1 racial bonus.

Use: Listen is part of the Detect modal action. In Passive Detect mode, checks are made automatically every round. Active Detect mode is a modal action that reduces the normal movement rate and makes the character perform an Active Listen, as well as Spot and Search checks.

Lore

Ability: Intelligence.
Requires Training: No.
Classes: All.

Lore allows a character to identify unknown magic items.

Check: A roll against an unidentified item's value to determine magical properties that the item may possess.

Special: Bards are able to identify items more easily than other classes. Various spells and items can also give a character a bonus to their lore skill.

Use: Automatic every time the character examines an item.

Move Silently

Ability: Dexterity.
Requires Training: No.
Classes: All.

A character may sneak quietly past an enemy.

Check: A Move Silently check is opposed by the listening creature's Listen check. If the character is successful, the opposing creature remains unaware as the character moves.

Special: Hide and Move Silently are combined into a single Stealth action. Movement in Stealth mode is slower than the normal rate. Wearing armor inhibits this ability, but low light can provide a bonus.

Use: Select the Stealth action from the Special Abilities radial. Invisible creatures automatically enter Stealth mode.

Open Lock

Ability: Dexterity.
Requires Training: Yes.
Classes: All.

This skill allows the character to enter locked rooms and open locked containers.

Check: The DC is determined by the lock's difficulty rating. A successful check opens the lock.

Special: Thieves tools can be used to provide bonuses to a character's Open Lock attempt, but are destroyed in the attempt whether succesful or not.

Use: Select the skill and then target a locked object.

Parry

Ability: Dexterity.
Requires Training: No.
Classes: All.

Parry allows the character to block incoming attacks and make spectacular counterattacks.

Check: The DC is the modified attack roll of the incoming blow. A successful Parry check means that the attack does not damage the parrying character. A character may only parry a number of attacks per round equal to the number of attacks per round available to the character.

Special: If the parry is successful and the difference between the roll and the DC is ten points or greater, a counterattack occurs. A counterattack is a free attack made by the parrying character, at his full attack bonus, against the parried opponent.

Use: Select the Parry mode. The character will remain in parry mode until the mode is exited.

Perform

Ability: Charisma.
Requires Training: No.
Classes: Bard.

A Bard using Perform can perform the bardsong, which improves their allies ability to fight in combat and withstand mind-affecting enemies. Perform is essential for any Bard who wants to have access to their bardsong.

Check: None required. The higher the rank in this skill, the better the bardsong.

Use: Select the skill to affect a 30-foot radius of allies around the singer.

Persuade

Ability: Charisma.
Requires Training: No.
Classes: All.

A successful Persuade check prompts NPCs to reveal additional information or give bonus treasure in conversation.

Check: The DC is determined by the NPC being spoken to.

Use: Used in conversation.

Pick Pocket

Ability: Dexterity.
Requires Training: Yes.
Classes: All.

Pick Pocket allows a character to remove items from another's backpack.

Check: There are two parts to successfully picking a pocket. First, the item must be acquired, and then the targeted creature must not notice the theft. Stealing the item is a simple skill test against the target's DC. The base DC for a neutral or tolerant creature is 20, and 30 for a hostile creature. This roll is modified by armor check penalties. The targeted creature then makes an opposed Spot check against the character's Pick Pocket check. Hostile creatures have a +10 bonus to their Spot checks in this test. If the targeted creature succeeds at this opposed check, then the target has detected the theft attempt. An NPC who detects the attempt will turn hostile, and a PC will be informed that the character has attempted to use Pick Pocket on him. If the character is successful at both checks, then he steals the item without being detected.

Use: Select skill, then select valid target.

Search

Ability: Intelligence.
Requires Training: No.
Classes: All.

Search is used to detect traps.

Check: Detecting a trap is an opposed test, pitting the character's Search check against a DC equal to the Set Trap skill check, plus the strength of the trap. Only rogues may detect traps with a DC greater than 35.

Special: Elves and dwarves receive a +2 bonus to their Search checks, and half-elves gain a +1 bonus.

Use: Search is part of the Detect modal action. In Passive Detect mode, checks are made automatically every round. Active Detect mode is a modal action that reduces the character's normal movement rate and perform an Active Search, as well as Spot and Listen checks.

Set Trap

Ability: Dexterity.
Requires Training: Yes.
Classes: All.

This skill allows a character to place trap kits.

Check: When a trap kit is used, the character makes a skill check. The DC of the task is determined by the power of the trap.

Special: 5 or more ranks in Disable Traps grants a +2 synergy bonus on Set Trap checks. Any party members are able to see traps that one character has set.
Spectacular Failure: If a skill check is failed by 10 or more, the trap goes off in the attempt to set it. This can only occur if you are in combat when trying to set the trap.

Use: Use a trap kit from your inventory. An icon visible to you and your party will appear on the ground to represent the trap.

Spellcraft

Ability: Intelligence.
Requires Training: Yes.
Classes: All.

Spellcraft is used to identify spells and to perform counterspells.

Check: A successful check means that the character has identified a spell being cast by an opponent. The DC of this check is equal to 15 + spell level. The character also gains a +1 bonus for every 5 ranks in this skill to all saving throws against spells.

Special: A specialist wizard gets a +2 bonus when dealing with a spell from his specialized school. As well, a successful Spellcraft check is required before your character can attempt to counterspell. The specialist wizard suffers a -5 penalty when dealing with a spell or effect from a prohibited school.

Use: Spellcraft checks are automatic whenever a spell is cast nearby.

Spot

Ability: Wisdom.
Requires Training: No.
Classes: All.

A successful Spot check reveals a hidden creature.

Check: The DC is determined by the Hide check of the hidden creature.

Special: The Alertness feat grants a +2 bonus on Spot checks. Rangers receive a bonus on Spot checks against their favored enemy. Elves gain a +2 bonus on Spot checks, and half-elves gain a +1 bonus.

Use: Spot is part of the Detect modal action. In Passive Detect mode, checks are made automatically every round. Active Detect mode is a modal action that reduces the normal movement rate and makes the character perform an Active Spot, as well as Search and Listen checks.

Taunt

Ability: Charisma.
Requires Training: No.
Classes: All.

Taunt is used to provoke an enemy into dropping his guard for a short time.

Check: The DC is a concentration check made by the target against the character's Taunt skill roll. It is considered an attack. If the Taunt is successful, the opponent suffers an Armor Class penalty equal to the difference between the taunt roll and the defender's roll (to a max of a -6 penalty) for 5 rounds. The target will also suffer a 30% chance of spell failure, if they don't resist the taunt.

Special: Taunt penalties are not cumulative.

Use: Select skill and then target creature.

Use Magic Device

Ability: Charisma.
Requires Training: Yes.
Classes: Bard and Rogue.

A successful Use Magic Device check allows the character to use a magic item as if he had a required class, race, or alignment.

Check: The base DC is determined by the value of the item, and modified by the type of emulation the character is attempting. If the character attempts to emulate a specific race, the DC increases by 5; if he attempts to emulate a specific alignment, the DC increases by 10. Emulating a specific class does not modify the base DC.

Use: Automatically applied whenever a character attempts to use or equip an item normally unusable by his class, race, or alignment.