Skill Information

In Shinseina, Skills are a way to show what your character is actually good at, beyond simply making a list of skills that hold no value, from combat and survival to crafting and communication. It adds depth and helps guide how well your character performs in GM-led encounters, without additional rigid mechanics or stat blocks.

This system only plays a role in GM-led or Lore-based roleplays, which means you can ignore this for casual encounters and roleplays where you simply don't need to worry about skills. Furthermore, there is no need to update your character constantly with new Skill Tiers; instead, just make a post for it in your own Character Forum Post.

Skill Tiers

It goes without saying that there are different levels to a skill; how good you are at a skill naturally differs from person, experience, and usage. As such, each skill has a tier ranging from Tier 0 to Tier 10, showing how proficient a character is. You can have any number of skills, and any kind of skill, combat, creative, utility, or social, all of which have a tier that plays a role.

Tier 0 – Basic. Nearly everyone has Tier 0 in most things. You’ve done it once or twice, or have common knowledge.
Tier 1 – Casual use. You’ve practiced or done it enough that you’re familiar with it, like a hobbyist or beginner.
Tier 2–3 – Trained. You’ve spent real time on it. You’re solid at the skill and can use it effectively in real situations.
Tier 4–5 – Specialist. You’re considered well-trained and experienced. At this point, you’re respected in that field.
Tier 6–8 – Master. You’ve refined the skill to a near-effortless level. It’s second nature, and others may seek you out for your expertise; you're a professional.
Tier 9–10 – Peak. Only a few reach this level. You’re among the best in the world at this skill.

How to Progress Skills

Skills progress through natural roleplay, not by grindy self-training posts or anything meaningless like that. Just use the skill in RP, whether that’s through GM sessions, personal stories, events, or sessions with other players.

When you feel you've demonstrated clear growth, you can ping the Roleplay Team with them to request a tier increase. This could be one strong session or multiple smaller ones.

Progression is based on:

Consistency in using the skill.
In-character focus and effort.
How meaningfully the skill impacted roleplay.

Where Skills Matter

As said before, Skills only really matter for a handful of things; this is to keep the roleplay fun, while still adding actual use to the skills.

GM-Led Roleplay: Skill tiers help the GM determine how successful your character might be at something (tracking a beast, forging a weapon, charming a noble, etc). The higher your skill tier, the better.
Casual Roleplay: Skills add flavour but play a small part in player interactions. They’re a storytelling tool, nothing more.

Passive Skill-Based Perks

As characters reach higher tiers in a skill, Roleplay Team may allow passive benefits for having a specific perk; this is up to the Roleplay Team to decide, as you Tier up a skill, as such, they vary from person to person.

But they could be:

A Tier 6 Tamer might calm wild beasts more easily.
A Tier 7 Performer could command attention just by entering a room.
A Tier 5 Smith might build higher-quality gear more quickly.

These perks are up to Roleplay Team discretion, used to enrich scenes, not as mandatory mechanics.