Concentration

Key Attribute: Wisdom

Concentration is a purely mental skill. Those trained in it can ignore distractions and focus on a complicated task and perfectly memorize complicated things. Those with a great deal of skill in concentration can even focus their way past spell effects that would paralyze or alter their minds.

Rank 1 Ability

Split Focus
You know how to split your focus without either task suffering, and can better deal with or even ignore distractions while you work. Generally, a distraction will be listed as a modifier on a different skill check, like Perception. If you would be subject to the distracted or extremely distracted penalty, you may make a DC 15 Concentration check to reduce or eliminate the penalty. This check is a free action, and is made immediately before you would make the check for your other action.

Base DC: Varies (see above)

Success: You're pretty good at focusing on your task, but some distractions may still get through. You suffer no penalty for beign distracted, and only suffer a -5 penalty for being extremely distracted. If you exceed the DC by 5 or more, you successfully manage both extreme distraction and the task at hand. You suffer no penalties for being either distracted or extremely distracted.

Failure: You suffer all normal penalties.

Rank 4 Ability

Manage Interruption
As a free action, you may attempt a concentration check to mitigate or ignore the effects of interruptions that occur during an interruptable action.

The DC for this check depends on the triggering event. If you take damage during an interruptable action from an instantaneous source, like being stabbed or hit with an instantaneous spell, the DC is equal to 15 + 1 per 3 points of damage suffered from instantaneous sources during the time you were focused on the action this round. Damage taken from continuous sources, like swimming in lava or breathing an acid fog, is not added to this total since resisting continuous damage effects is a function of the Endurance skill. If you are being grappled, the DC is equal to your the highest of your opponents' grapple checks. Damage and grappling are checked separately, however, so if you are grappled and stabbed you should have a low expectation of being able to maintain an interruptable action.

Base DC: Varies (see above).

Success: You successfully work through the interruption, and may proceed without penalty

Failure: You partially succeed at working through the interruption, and maintain some measure of composure. If you action was an attack roll or skill check, you suffer a -3 penalty to your final result. If you were casting a spell or similar ability, you suffer a -2 penalty to the save DC and your caster level. If you fail the check by 5 or more points, you fail to block the interruption, and also fail to maintain your composure. This ruins whatever action you were in the middle of, and probably wastes the attempt as well.

Rank 5 Ability

Photographic Memorization
You can attempt to memorize a written string of numbers, a long passage of verse, a street scene, or some other particularly difficult piece of information. While you can memorize magical writing or similarly exotic scripts with this ability, you never gain the ability to understand or translate them if you did not have at the time you memorized it. The DC for this check is 20, though non-static magical work or extraordinarily complicated work may have a DC as high as 30, and the check requires one full minute of concentration. Each successful check allows you to memorize a single page of text (up to 800 words), numbers, diagrams, or sigils (even if you don’t recognize their meaning). If a document is longer than one page, you can make additional checks for each additional page.

Once memorized you retain this information indefinitely; however, you can recall it only with another successful check as a swift action. Once recalled you have access to it for 1 minute and can read it, describe it, attempt to analyze it, or even put it to paper or canvas as long as you have the proper implements at hand. You can not properly recreate a magical or exotic image that you did not understand, however. Your lack of understanding will make you unable to get or properly utilize some of the proper implements. You’ll know the recreation is wrong though, and can express that to others, so they’ll be able to treat any recreation as an approximation or degraded source. These recreations are not generally useful. This is why most people don’t memorize things they don’t comprehend, since it’s rarely useful to anybody. That doesn’t stop you from doing it if you want to though.

Base DC: 20, though it may rise to 30 for exceedingly complicated scenes, images, or texts.

Success: You successfully memorize the image, storing it away for later recall. If you were attempting to recall it, you do that instead, and have access to the image for one minute before you have to make an additional check.

Failure: You fail to store the image, and you know it, so you probably try again if you have the time. If you were attempting to recall it, you fail to do so this round, but can try again next round time permitting.

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