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Pathfinder Unchained / Background Skills

Expanded Skill Uses

Source Pathfinder Unchained pg. 51
Skills such as Craft, Perform, and Profession already include basic uses, such as crafting objects and making money. However, they can also be useful for other tasks related to practicing those skills. Further uses are expanded upon here, with sample DCs for common tasks. These expansions are meant to include additional uses to help these skills work into the framework of a regular game, and can be used separately from the background skills system if desired. These uses, particularly those that allow you to aid another at a lower DC, are at the GM’s discretion. For more in-depth subsystems to replicate crafting and running a business, see Alternate Crafting and Profession Rules.

Expanded Craft

Source Pathfinder Unchained pg. 51
An understanding of the properties and quality of an object comes part and parcel with the ability to craft it. Some of these checks could take extended periods of time, especially involved tasks like restoring a mural, as determined by the GM.

This entry also includes two useful Craft skills not specifically listed in the Core Rulebook: Craft (blacksmithing) and Craft (musical instruments).

Task	Craft Skill	DC
Determine what culture (e.g., elves, frost giants, etc.) made an item	By item type	15
Identify a famous maker's mark	By item type	10
Identify an obscure maker's mark¹	By item type	20
Identify the creator of an item with no mark¹	By item type	30
Determine the hardness and hit points of an item¹	By item type	20
Determine the items an alchemist makes with substances from his lab¹	Alchemy	15
Etch metal armor plates with decorative designs	Armor or paintings	15
Identify a suit of masterwork armor on sight	Armor	15
Determine what type of environment a basket's material came from	Baskets	10
Determine the specific region a basket's material came from	Baskets	20
Smelt ore and refine the metal	Blacksmithing	15
Create armor spikes or shield spikes without Craft (armor)¹	Blacksmithing	+5
Determine a book's approximate age	Books	10
Identify a composite bow on sight	Bows	10
Identify a masterwork bow on sight	Bows	15
Determine a writer's experience level and handedness¹	Calligraphy	10
Write an invitation that matches appropriate social conventions	Calligraphy	10
Create a makeshift barrel or crate	Carpentry	10
Create a rudimentary raft from found materials	Carpentry or ships	15
Carve fine woodworking	Carpentry or sculptures	15
Create wooden armor or a wooden shield without Craft (armor)	Carpentry	+5
Correctly dye a garment or bolt of cloth	Cloth	10
Mend a sail	Cloth, clothing, or ships	15
Tailor a garment to another size or body shape	Clothing	10
Create temporary cold-weather gear (grants a +2 bonus)	Clothing	20
Create padded armor without Craft (armor)	Clothing	+5
Locate or identify naturally formed glass	Glass	10
Identify the work of famous jewelers	Jewelry	15
Create a fake gemstone¹	Jewelry	Opposed²
Identify the sort of creature from which a piece or leather came¹	Leather	10³
Skin an animal and tan the hide	Leather	15
Create a high-quality item from the hide of a nonstandard creature	Leather	20
Create leather, studded leather, or hide armor without Craft (armor)	Leather	+5
Aid another on a Disable Device check to open a lock¹	Locks	5
Tune a musical instrument	Musical instruments	10
Create paint or other pigments from scratch	Paintings	10
Re-create someone's likeness from memory	Paintings	15
Re-create someone's likeness from an eyewitness account	Paintings	20
Create a temporary or makeshift kiln	Pottery	20
Make a mold of an object or part of a body	Sculptures	10
Alter shoes to a different size or foot shape¹	Shoes	10
Recognize a famous ship and where it likely came from	Ships	10
Identify whether a stone wall is entirely stone or a veneer	Stonemasonry	10
Create a temporary stone support or small rampart with found supplies	Stonemasonry	15
Determine the age of a mechanical trap	Traps	15
Identify a masterwork weapon on sight	Weapons	15

1 A character must be trained in the listed skill to attempt this task.
2 With a successful opposed Perception or Craft (jewelry) check, a character identifies the work as a fake.
3 This DC is for items made from the hides of common animals, such as cattle, and increases by 5 for other types of creatures.

The table below lists which craft skills to use for certain prominent items and adventuring tools. The list omits obvious items—outfits are made with Craft (clothing), keelboats with Craft (ships), and so on. More specific skills can also be used instead of the listed skill, such as using Craft (tattoos) instead of Craft (paintings) for a tattoo.

Item	Craft Skill
Alchemist's lab	Alchemy
Artisan's tools	Blacksmithing or carpentry
Backpack	Clothing or leather
Barding	Armor
Bedroll	Cloth or leather
Caltrops	Weapons
Cart or carriage	Carpentry
Chain	Blacksmithing or traps
Chest	Carpentry or locks
Climber's Kit	Blacksmithing
Disguise Kit	Alchemy or paintings
Flint and steel	Blacksmithing or stonemasonry
Grappling hook	Blacksmithing or weapons
Gunslinger's kit	Alchemy or blacksmithing
Harrow deck	Paintings
Healer's kit	Alchemy or cloth
Hemp rope	Baskets or cloth
Lamp	Blacksmithing or glass
Manacles	Blacksmithing or locks
Masterwork tool	Blacksmithing
Musical instrument	Musical instuments
Saddle	Leather
Scroll case	Carpentry or leather
Signet ring	Jewelry
Silk rope	Cloth
Silver holy symbol	Blacksmithing or sculpture
Skeleton key	Locks
Spell component pouch	Leather
Spyglass	Glass
Tattoo	Paintings
Tent	Cloth or leather
Thieve's tools	Blacksmithing or locks
Waterskin	Leather
Wood holy symbol	Carpentry or sculpture

The following table indicates which Craft skills are typically used to create common worn items. While the normal system for creating magic items doesn’t incorporate Craft skills, such skills could reasonably be used while creating a magic item to make it appear especially ornate.

Worn Item	Craft Skill
Amulet	Jewelry
Belt	Leather or clothing
Bracelet	Blacksmithing or jewelry
Bracer	Armor or leather
Brooch	Jewelry
Cape or cloak	Cloth or clothing
Circlet	Blacksmithing or jewelry
Crown	Blacksmithing or jewelry
Gauntlet	Armor
Girdle	Clothing or leather
Glasses or goggles	Glass
Glove	Clothing or leather
Hat	Clothing or leather
Headband	Cloth or clothing
Helm	Armor
Mask	Clothing or leather
Necklace	Blacksmithing or jewelry
Periapt	Jewelry
Phylactery	Leather or carpentry
Ring	Jewelry
Robe	Clothing
Vestments	Clothing

Expanded Perform

Source Pathfinder Unchained pg. 52
In addition to being able to put on a show, a performer knows the prominent works of her chosen type of performance.

Task	Perform Skill	DC
Mimic the style or a famous performer	Varies	15
Recall or recognize all the notes, lyrics, or lines of a popular work	Varies	15
Recall or recognize all the notes, lyrics, or lines of an obscure work	Varies	20
Improvise a routine on a specific subject	Act, comedy, oratory, or sing	20

Expanded Profession

Source Pathfinder Unchained pg. 53
A profession often encompasses many smaller areas of expertise, and these auxiliary skills can come in handy in situations beyond just making money or answering tradespecific questions. Below are some sample additional uses for Profession skills, and GMs are encouraged to create their own.

Task	Profession Skill	DC
Determine hardness and hitpoints of a structure	Architect or engineer	20
Prepare trail rations (takes 1 hour per day’s worth of rations)	Baker or cook	10
Obtain a legal permit	Barrister or clerk	15
Get someone released from jail who has been imprisoned for a minor crime¹	Barrister	20
Ask a special favor from a judge (such as arresting someone)	Barrister	30
Brew alcohol of exceptional quality	Brewer	20
Notice poison in a beverage	Brewer	25
Skin an animal and tan the hide	Butcher, shepherd, or tanner	10
Slaughter and butcher an animal	Butcher, cook, or shepherd	15
Reduce a legal fine or tax by half the result of the check in gp²	Clerk	20+
Cook a meal of exceptional quality	Cook	20
Notice poison in food	Cook	25
Find potential clients within an establishment or large group	Courtesan	10
Assess a social hierarchy	Courtesan	15
Continue steering a vehicle when you take damage	Driver or sailor	5
Take cover (as the Ride skill) while steering a vehicle	Driver or sailor	15
Identify a non-creature plant	Farmer or gardener	10
Rejuvenate dying plants	Farmer or gardener	15
Provide 1 day’s worth of food for yourself and others in the wild or trapper	Fisherman or trapper	15³
Recall the rules of a game of chance	Gambler	10
Get a hunch regarding whether a game is rigged	Gambler	20
Reduce an average or lower cost of living by 50%	Innkeeper	15³
Sate hunger or thirst for 1 day	Herbalist	10
Identify common medicinal herbs	Herbalist	10
Identify rare medicinal herbs	Herbalist	15
Aid another on a Knowledge check using reference material	Librarian	5
Recall the name of a rare book	Librarian	15
Determine where an item was manufactured	Merchant	10⁴
Recall where a common good fetches a higher price	Merchant	15
Safely deliver a child	Midwife	15
Safely deliver a child despite complications	Midwife	20
Grind a small piece of a nonmagical substance into powder hardness	Miller	10+hardness
Identify common metal or semiprecious stone	Miner	5
Identify rare metal or precious gem	Miner	15
Ignore half hardness when attacking a stone or metal object	Miner	20
Increase carrying capacity for 8 hours as if Strength were 2 higher	Porter	15
Unload a vessel in half the normal time	Porter	20
Navigate a ship in fair conditions	Sailor	20
Pilot a ship safely through a hazardous seaway	Sailor	25+
Determine which scribe wrote a document	Scribe	10⁴
Copy a document (30 minutes per page; requires a blank book)	Scribe	10
Illuminate a manuscript (1 hour per page)	Scribe	20
Determine the quality of woolen textiles	Shepherd	10
Determine whether a weapon or armor is of masterwork quality	Soldier	10
Estimate the size of a military force	Soldier	15
Identify advantages and disadvantages of a military formation	Soldier	20
Keep horses fed in the wild	Stable master	10
Fit or remove barding in half the normal time	Stable master	15
Recognize damaged or sabotaged horse tack	Stable master	20
Determine the quality of leatherwork (and tell if it’s masterwork quality)	Tanner	10
Aid another on an Escape Artist check to get out of a trap or snare	Trapper	5
Reset a trap in half the normal amount of time	Trapper	20
Scavenge wood suitable for campfire or shelter	Woodcutter	5
Ignore half hardness when attacking wooden object	Woodcutter	20

1 A major crime typically requires a trial involving a series of Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, Profession (barrister), and Sense Motive skill checks, as well as appropriate Knowledge checks.
2 To a minimum of 25% of the original value.
3 Provide this benefit for yourself plus one other person for every 2 points by which your skill check exceeds the DC.
4 Increase the DC by 5 if the item is from a region the character is unfamiliar with, and by another 5 if it’s more than 20 years old. Exceptionally rare or ancient pieces can’t usually have their origin identified in this way.

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Expanded Skill Uses

Expanded Craft

Expanded Perform

Expanded Profession