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Prowess
The Prowess of a character as selected on the Priority Chart chart determines the maximum number of ranks which a character may invest into a Weapon Group Skill. To calculate a character's attack bonus with a melee or ranged weapon, consult the following formula:
Weapon Group Skill Rank + Strength Bonus + Misc Mod = Melee Attack bonus
Ranged Weapon Group Skill Rank + Dexterity Bonus + Misc Mod = Ranged Attack bonus
Dex (or even other abilities) can often be used in place of Strength.
Table: Prowess to Maximum Weapon Group Skill Ranks
| Global Skill Level | Excellent | Good | Normal | Poor | Terrible |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2nd | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 3rd | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 4th | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 5th | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 6th | 7 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| 7th | 8 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| 8th | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| 9th | 11 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| 10th | 12 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 2 |
| 11th | 13 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 3 |
| 12th | 15 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 3 |
| 13th | 16 | 13 | 9 | 6 | 3 |
| 14th | 17 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 3 |
| 15th | 18 | 15 | 11 | 7 | 4 |
| 16th | 20 | 16 | 12 | 8 | 4 |
| 17th | 21 | 17 | 12 | 8 | 4 |
| 18th | 22 | 18 | 13 | 9 | 4 |
| 19th | 23 | 19 | 14 | 9 | 4 |
| 20th | 25 | 20 | 15 | 10 | 5 |
Example: Sarah wants to make an attack using her Elven Curved Blade. She has 5 Ranks in the Weapon Group (Elven) Skill, and a Dexterity Bonus of 5. Sarah's character is flanking with an ally as well. After adding up these bonuses, this comes to a total of +12; +5 from Skill, +5 from Dexterity Bonus, and a +2 from flanking bonus.
Even though Sarah gave her character Skill Focus (Weapon Group [Elven]), this bonus does not apply to attack rolls, because they are not treated as ranks, nor would the +3 class skill bonus. However, if Sarah wanted to perform a trick with her Elven Weapons, this bonus would apply because she was performing a Skill roll, not an Attack roll.