Trained Only

Use this skill to piece together the meaning of ancient runes carved into the wall of an archaeological dig or to break a coded message.

Check: You can decipher writing in an ancient language or in code, or interpret the meaning of an incomplete text. The base DC is 20 for the simplest messages, 25 for standard codes, and 30 or higher for intricate or complex codes or exotic messages. Helpful texts or computer programs can provide a bonus (usually a +2 circumstance bonus) on the check, provided they are applicable to the script in question.

If the check succeeds, you understand the general content of a piece of writing, reading about one page of text or its equivalent in 1 minute. If the check fails, the GM makes a Wisdom check (DC 10) for you to see if you avoid drawing a false conclusion about the text. (Success means that you do not draw a false conclusion; failure means that you do.)

The GM secretly makes both the skill check and the Wisdom check so you can't tell whether the conclusion you draw is accurate or not.

Try Again?: No, unless conditions change or new information is uncovered.

Special: You can take 10 when making a Decipher Script check, but you can't take 20.

A character with the Studious feat gets a +2 bonus on all Decipher Script checks.

Time: Decipher Script takes 1 minute or more, depending on the complexity of the code.