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Author Topic: Lejendary Adventures Q&A  (Read 11872 times)

Rithuan

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Lejendary Adventures Q&A
« Reply #45 on: March 11, 2019, 12:48:55 PM »
Quote from: Lunamancer;1078520
If we can somehow manage to gather an active community again, I'd write it myself. It's really not an easy thing to write, but I've been fielding these questions for nearly 20 years now. I've gotten better and better at answering them over time, to the point where I have a fairly clear as to what needs to be communicated for most questions.


That's awesome! Even without an active community, I think it will be instrumental for new players (out of curiosity or luck) that start reading this game. Even the advice to start with BoL and continue with LML before LR4AP.


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Enchanters have a power called Convey Energy. It's a highly potent healing spell. In terms of AEP efficiency, you're better off using the Theurgy Heal power to recover harm of 25 or less. For higher than that, Convey Energy is a much better power. Point being, Enchanters certainly can produce healing effects.

As to cooperation of activators, I tend to want to limit this. I like the idea of out-sourcing Alchemy ability. That was in the 1E magic item creation rules, too. When MU's first become able to create potions, they need to hire an alchemist. At higher levels, they can do it all themselves. I think out-sourcing the creation of the item is perfectly kosher, too.


Got it. There is an Enchantment to create a feast, so the property to work as a meal can also be extracted from Enchantment. But a third property of the bolus was to heal diseases. On that account, since we already have 2 out of 3 effects, I would consider discarding this effect in the bolus created by the Avatar, or merely consider it an enhancement of the medicinal herbs used as source material.


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I was trying to keep it brief. Yes. Mechanics is mentioned. What I described (which does not include mechanics) is the process of infusing the magic into the item. Mechanics comes into play because the item itself has to be flawless. So if it's steel armor being crafted for magical enchantment, it takes both Mechanics and Metallurgy, weekly checks, and even one failed check means having to scrap the whole thing and start over. How many checks is that in all? Depends on the item.

There's all that, plus the infusion probability. The infusion probability is also a one-shot check. Though if it fails, I might allow for a successful luck check to give one re-roll.

I would also require individual activations. I'd give a 24 hour window for regular activations. Failed activations are permissible so long as you have the AEPs to finish the job. Thus having higher Ability score and greater AEPs is necessary for more powerful items. Naturally.

So in other words, there are three steps. Steps 1 and 3 may require quite a few checks. Step 2 is the main gatekeeper though and it's one shot, pass or fail.


I have to confess that I'm still a bit lost in this process. If you have the time (and only if you have the time!) would you mind going create an extraordinary item, step by step? I think it would be great considering the skill selection, the original object selection, and the activations required (permanence for example)

On a side note, exploring the LML, I found several items that caught my attention regarding alchemy.

Mandrake [LML p 31]
Materia (for Alchemia) [LML pg 31]
Herbs (for Alchemia) [LML pg 31]
Berries (for Alchemia) [LML pg 30]

The other thing that caught my attention was that the Lejends Magazine included special items such as Ambrosias, Boluses and Wound Dressings at a fantastic price (1500 per Grade + 10% to 40% more).

Also, they included the kobold Fixative... wich is a question on its own!
(How this thing works? Can I apply it to my house windows and doors? how long does it last?)

Also, the Alchemist order and the Rustic skill is another question on its own! (Where do we use it in the create an extraordinary item? Finding the materials?)

So many questions. God, I love this game.

Atsuku Nare

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Lejendary Adventures Q&A
« Reply #46 on: March 11, 2019, 05:38:56 PM »
Quote from: Rithuan;1078459
That's a great question. I know one FAQ and a few errata.
The Dragonsfoot FAQ is available here: https://www.dragonsfoot.org/la/articles/faq.shtml

For the errata, you have to dive into the internet archives of the original lejendary adventures website. You can find a "Lmerrata", "Ordererrata" and the "Playererrata" as pdf.

However, to my knowledge, they don't contain the latest post from Gary's in Dragonsfoot or Enworld.

Thanks for the pointers! I will investigate.

Another question - aside from the abilities of Health, Precision, and Speed, there is an optional 4th ability of Intellect. Does anyone play with this option?
Playing: 1st-ED Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (Elf Wizard), D&D 5E, halfling thief
Running: nothing at present
Planning: Call of Cthulhu 7E, Adventurer Conqueror King, Warhammer FRP 4E, Torg: Eternity
On Hiatus: Earthdawn, Shadow of the Demon Lord

Atsuku Nare

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Lejendary Adventures Q&A
« Reply #47 on: March 11, 2019, 05:40:04 PM »
Quote from: Lunamancer;1078482
There are both.

A caveat, though. The "errata" was mostly new materials and updates. And the "FAQ" still gets a lot of things wrong. You can imagine the challenge of people who didn't understand what Gary was saying the first time also not understanding what he's saying the second time.

Lejendary FAQ
Lejendary Errata

Thanks for the pointers and the advice. I'll read these over and see what makes the most sense to me for when I run LA.
Playing: 1st-ED Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (Elf Wizard), D&D 5E, halfling thief
Running: nothing at present
Planning: Call of Cthulhu 7E, Adventurer Conqueror King, Warhammer FRP 4E, Torg: Eternity
On Hiatus: Earthdawn, Shadow of the Demon Lord

Rithuan

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Lejendary Adventures Q&A
« Reply #48 on: March 11, 2019, 06:49:45 PM »
Quote from: Atsuku Nare;1078626
Thanks for the pointers! I will investigate.

Another question - aside from the abilities of Health, Precision, and Speed, there is an optional 4th ability of Intellect. Does anyone play with this option?

Hello there. I don't use Intelect. My reason is that the Base Rates are broad enough to cover all bases. If you start separating Intellect from Health, you might as well separate Speed from "Extraordinary Power" to differentiate physical reaction from raw magic potential.

Also, Intellect is my less favorite type of attribute in any RPG (that's a personal bias).

As an option, if you consider that some skill should be cover by a BR other than Health, I might use Speed or even Precision. My main message here is "try to keep things simple." Roleplaying on the hands of the players and Ruling on your hand will be the most important factor. But please take this advise with a grain of salt, since I have run the game just one time.

Lunamancer

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Lejendary Adventures Q&A
« Reply #49 on: March 11, 2019, 08:03:55 PM »
Quote from: Rithuan;1078587
I have to confess that I'm still a bit lost in this process. If you have the time (and only if you have the time!) would you mind going create an extraordinary item, step by step? I think it would be great considering the skill selection, the original object selection, and the activations required (permanence for example)

Okay, I've got a pretty straight-forward example for you. I'll go through step by step how I'd handle an Avatar who wants to create a Shielding Ring.

First step is to create the ring. I fall back to Mechanics and Metallurgy. Although I would definitely allow the cross-feed from Creativity here because it's jewelry. (If you read the Ability description for creativity, it cross feeds 10% of its own score to 9 other different abilities!!!) I use the sell price of extraordinary objects as a guide to setting material cost from LML pg 13. The material cost will be roughly one-third the sell value. I'd set that base value (the one that varies between $1k and $10k) to being ten. This will be multiplied according to the potency of the ring.

The multiplier will be 1 for each 1 point of Armor Protection value plus 1 for each attacker the ring can defend against. So a "Good" grade shielding ring that offers 4 AP vs 3 opponents will have a multiplier of 7 (4+3). Or $70,000. One third that being roughly $23,500. That's the material cost for the ring itself. Note that this is no guarantee the ring will be of "Good" grade. That is it's maximum potential based on the materials used. Again, my own adjudication of things.

Creating the item thusly can be outsourced to a gemner/jeweler, however it must be a special sort who possesses Metallurgy Ability. The cost of hiring such an individual would be at least 3-5 times that for hiring an ordinary jeweler. 6-8 times for the master work that must go into a ring that is to be made of Supernatural Grade, and 9-12 times for one a ring with the capacity for holding Extreme+ or Extreme++ power. The jeweler must craft the ring from scratch out of precious metal, silver, gold, or platinum, and gemner must cut the stone or stones to be set into the ring. All of this work must be flawless. This requires 1 to 3 weeks each for the ring and the stone depending on whether it is to be preternatural (1 week), supernatural (2 weeks), or beyond extreme in grade (3 weeks), plus one final check to set the stone into the ring. One check per week is required. A single failure means the process must begin again (though a failure on the stone does not set back the ring and vice versa, though a failure on the final setting would require both begin from scratch!).

That covers step 1. Once the physical ring is created, then it must be enchanted. This is where powers are activated on the ring. The following Enchantment powers are required for making an Extraordinary object:
1. Amalgamate Vegetable Energies
2. Bestow Animal Energies
3. Combine Mineral Energies
4. Imbue with Extraordinary Power Capacity
5. Imbue With Spirit Entity
6. Implant Power Node
7. Renewing Extraordinary Energization

For this item specifically, there are no animal of vegetable components, so #1 and #2 are not needed. #3 is. Since this item does not store Extraordinary Powers (spells) #4 is not needed. Since it won't contain a spirit, #5 is not necessary. Since it won't store AEPs, #6 is not needed. And since it will not have charges or need to recharge, #7 is not needed. So of those 7 powers, only #3 is necessary. A check will be required to activate this power as would for any power. However, the second check, the one with the penalty mentioned in the power description in LR4AP, that will wait until after the ring is enchanted by those powers most closely resembling the item's final function.

The closest power in my estimation is Personal Armor 1-5/Personal Shielding 1-5. I adjudicate as follows. Personal Armor 1 provides 1 AP to the ring, Personal Armor 2 provides 2, and so on. Personal Shielding 1 provides 6, personal Shielding 2 provides 7, and so on. Whichever power is chosen, it must be successfully activated once per opponent the ring will defend against. 5 times if the ring will defend against all. So to continue with my example of the Good grade Shielding Ring, it requires Personal Armor 5 be activated successfully 3 times. Once that is done, THEN the second check from Combine Mineral Energies is made. Since this is a Good grade item (Grade V), the activator will have to succeed in an enchantment check with a -25 penalty. If this results in failure, you may go back and attempt Combine Mineral Energies again, and once again activate Personal Armor 5 three times, provided you have enough AEPs left to do so.

Once all the casting is done, then the infusement check is made. This is the one I'd previously been referring to as Step 2. I suppose I should have called it Step 3. But this is the one that is made at 10% of Metallurgy plus 5% Enchantment, 5% Learning, and 5% Evaluation. Note, a failure on this one botches the entire thing. But if it succeeds, you've done it!!

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Also, the Alchemist order and the Rustic skill is another question on its own! (Where do we use it in the create an extraordinary item? Finding the materials?)

Rustic would be analogous to Mechanics in my above example. It's not going to be used in the casting or in the infusing. But it is used in preparing the herbs, oinments, ambrosia, etc to be enchanted.
That's my two cents anyway. Carry on, crawler.

Tu ne cede malis sed contra audentior ito.

Lunamancer

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Lejendary Adventures Q&A
« Reply #50 on: March 11, 2019, 08:07:35 PM »
Quote from: Atsuku Nare;1078626
Another question - aside from the abilities of Health, Precision, and Speed, there is an optional 4th ability of Intellect. Does anyone play with this option?

I use it.

It appears under powers like Seduce to Evil. If you don't use Intellect, the avoidance check calls for Speed x2 instead. So I tuck that away. Mentally, for the sake of avoidance rolls, Intellect is roughly equal to Speed x2. So I'll use that for avoidance checks that are strictly mental. I also do an odd thing for Gaze attacks. Avoiding Svetlana's Petrifying Gaze of Animosity, for example, calls for a Speed x3 check for intelligent beings, Speed times 2 for less intelligent ones. Where does that leave Orcs and Oafs? Rather than try and make that judgment call every time it goes up, I just have a standard "Save vs Gaze" I guess you could call it as Intellect plus Speed.
That's my two cents anyway. Carry on, crawler.

Tu ne cede malis sed contra audentior ito.

mightybrain

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Lejendary Adventures Q&A
« Reply #51 on: March 13, 2019, 12:55:27 PM »
Does anyone know of a good place to get the rulebooks for someone in the UK? I can see lots of auctions but only from the US and it usually costs as much in postage as the item to ship.

Rithuan

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« Reply #52 on: March 13, 2019, 03:47:34 PM »
Unfortunately Idk much about UK gaming world. But before buying, did you try the Quick Start?

mightybrain

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« Reply #53 on: March 13, 2019, 07:58:09 PM »
Yes, I've downloaded the quick start. I don't know if I'll ever run it, but I'd be interested in seeing the full core rule set at least.

Lunamancer

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Lejendary Adventures Q&A
« Reply #54 on: March 13, 2019, 09:48:35 PM »
Quote from: Rithuan;1078587
That's awesome! Even without an active community, I think it will be instrumental for new players (out of curiosity or luck) that start reading this game. Even the advice to start with BoL and continue with LML before LR4AP.


I'll talk about something I got out of looking at BoL. And that goes back to what I mentioned about the 5 stats. I began thinking in terms of the 5 stats when I write stat blocks in my notes when I'm preparing an adventure for AD&D. Hit Points, Hit Dice, Movement, Attack (weapon and damage), Defense (AC and armor type). Then optional headers for abilities, including attributes and special class abilities, powers for spell-casters, and then special advantages/disadvantages like a Paladin's protection from Evil and +2 to all saves, or a rangers +1 damage when striking giants.

Having spent time thinking about how to keep stat blocks as brief and useful as possible, I got to using my own format for attack stats. I identify the attack type, followed by a parenthetical note including hit probability and harm range. The hit probability, I actually break up into four numbers which include not just the probability of hitting, but also t he number needed for special success, perfect success, and a fumble/weapon-break roll.

For example, long spear (1/3/35/00, 1-20). This is read as on a roll of 1, it does maximum harm and bypasses armor, on a roll of 2-3 you roll harm as usual but it bypasses armor, on a roll of 4-35 it's a normal hit. On a roll of 36-99 it's a miss, and on a roll of 00 the weapon breaks.

This comes in handy when I go to explain modifiers in LA.


MODIFIERS IN LEJENDARY ADVENTURE

This question has come up a lot in the past. A lot of people observe that LA is not consistent in how their modifiers work. Sometimes a bonus is expressed as a +, sometimes as a -. It's not inconsistent, though, for the most part. There is a distinction in LA between a bonus that increases the probability, and a bonus that deducts from the die roll. The difference is a deduction from the die roll greatly increases the probability for maximum harm bypassing armor roll. Whereas a bonus to probability increases the overall odds of a hit and the odds of a armor bypassing roll.

So suppose the weapon is a cut & thrust sword, which has a 10 weapon precision. I'd write it as:
cut & thrust sword, (1/4/45/007, 4-20)
Note that the 10 bonus to hit probability also raised the probability of an armor bypassing hit by 1%. The 007 in the fumble spot indicates that if a 00 is rolled, a confirming d10 must be rolled, a result of 7 or higher indicates the weapon breaks.

If instead, for some reason, the Avatar has a -5 bonus to the die for hit rolls due to some favorable situation modifier, I would write it like this:
cut & thrust sword, (6/9/50, 4-20)
Note now there is no chance of weapon breakage, because even a roll of 100 would be a 95 after the die decution. Also note a automatic max harm/bypassing armor occurs on a 6 or lower, since subtracting 5 makes it 1 or lower. Normal harm/bypassing armor occurs on a 9, because 9-5 is 4. And the original probability is 45%, so 1/10th of that is 4%. The probability of hitting is 50% because 50-5 is 45 which was the original probability.

The rules are MOSTLY accurate and consistent with regards to which of the modifiers you should use. However, I would always recommend the individual LM apply whichever type of modifier they find most reasonable regardless of whether the rules express it as a + or -.


EXCEPTIONS

A couple of minor exceptions to these modifiers. In combat, a weapon's natural precision adds to the probability (and slightly to the odds of a special success) but does not count towards the Avatar's skill for purposes of determining if multiple attacks are possible, and does not count towards "Weapons over 100" for bonus harm. Extraordinary weapon precision, however, does count towards weapons over 100 (but not skill). It adds to the probability for purposes of determining special success. But it also deducts from the die roll for purposes of affecting hit probability and max harm/armor bypassing rolls, but does not negate the possibility for weapon breakage.

So suppose the spear above is a preternatural spear with 5 extraordinary precision and 3-5 bonus harm. I would write that as:
pret. long spear, (6/9/40/006[15], 1-20 +3-5 pret)
So note that since the modified probability of success is 40%, the odds of a special success is bumped up to 4%. With the 5 point die adjustment, that means the weapon bypasses armor on a 9 or less, and does automatic harm on 6 or less. The weapon breakage number is 006(15). This means if a 00 is rolled on the hit roll, a confirming d10 is rolled, and if that results in a 6 or higher, that indicates a weapon breakage, however the extraordinary power of the weapon gives it a further 15% chance to save against breakage.
That's my two cents anyway. Carry on, crawler.

Tu ne cede malis sed contra audentior ito.

Rithuan

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Lejendary Adventures Q&A
« Reply #55 on: March 17, 2019, 11:55:19 AM »
Thanks, Lunamancer. Please, keep them coming. I often wondered if there was any difference in using a bonus to the skills (+) or subtracting (-) a value to the roll.

Lunamancer

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Lejendary Adventures Q&A
« Reply #56 on: March 18, 2019, 12:00:26 AM »
Back when the LA online community was active, it would happen every month or two, someone would say that in Lejendary Adventure you can't defend yourself. Dice to determine whether or not you hit are checked only against the attacker's ability. This really should have never been a criticism but rather a question, of what can LA Avatars do to defend themselves?


DEFENSE IN LEJENDARY ADVENTURE

Contrary the criticism that there is no way to defend yourself in LA, it turns out there are no fewer than 5 different ways to defend yourself.

1) Minstrelsy, Unarmed Combat, and Swashbuckling abilities can improve your Armor Protection, representing dodging and defensive tactics. By shifting harm a number of points to the down side, this means not only can this turn a "hit" into something that causes no harm, it also reduces the impact of anything that does hit.

2) Lucky dodge, generally allowable once per ABC if the defender possesses Luck ability. A successful check dodges the attack entirely.

3) Against both striking and shooting attacks, if you are moving, the attacker has a -5 to hit; -10 if moving rapidly/erratically.

4) Dodging to avoid attacks. This is detailed in Lejend Masters Lore. It's based on Speed BR and if successful dodges the attack entirely.

5) Parrying, also detailed in Lejend Masters Lore. It's based on Weapons Ability. It can fail, it can be a partial success negating some harm, it could be a full success, blocking the attack entirely or negating all harm, it can also result in a full parry and counter-attack.


#1 and #2 depend on having the listed abilities.
#3 doesn't reference any abilities at all and any Avatar can do it.
#4 uses a Base Rating and any Avatar can do it.
#5 uses combat skill and any Avatar can do it.
#1 and #5 can partially mitigate an attack. They're not "all or nothing."
#2, #4, and #5 involve counter-rolls.
#1 and #3 are D&D-like in that they shift the target numbers needed "to hit" (#3) or to penetrate armor (#1)
#1 and #2 do not cost you an attack or action; #3 might in some cases, might not in others; #5 uses one attack, #4 uses your actions for the ABC


The point is, there are more ways to defend yourself in LA than most other RPGs. And just about any sort of "defense" mechanic you can think of, you can find somewhere in LA. Of all criticisms, this one had to be furthest off base.


Edit: There's another obscure one. Also based on Speed. Also available for all Avatars. But it's only a rare case type of thing. Any attack that causes over 51 harm allows the Avatar a disaster avoidance check. If the d% roll is less than Speed x4, the harm is reduced by half. If under Speed x2, harm is avoided entirely. This is something to keep in mind when you're a high ranking soldier--harm accumulates VERY quickly when weapons exceeds 100. Or if you're a Noble Order Avatar with the generous Harm bonus Chivalry offers. Huge harm bonuses can actually be liabilities when they start to trip this odd rule. High rank soldiers can mitigate it if they themselves have high enough Speed that allows them multiple attacks. The attack penalty reduces the weapons-over-100 harm bonus, which effectively redistributes the harm bonus over multiple attacks, keeping any single attack from tripping the rule.
« Last Edit: March 18, 2019, 12:06:01 AM by Lunamancer »
That's my two cents anyway. Carry on, crawler.

Tu ne cede malis sed contra audentior ito.

Rithuan

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Lejendary Adventures Q&A
« Reply #57 on: March 18, 2019, 10:43:48 PM »
An amazing post, as usual. I think there is an optional way described in Lejends Magazine, using the Weapon value of your opponent as a penalty to your roll. Somehow, used as a way to reflect that is not the same to attack a regular villager or a trained knight.

Lunamancer

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Lejendary Adventures Q&A
« Reply #58 on: March 19, 2019, 11:35:03 PM »
Quote from: Rithuan;1079708
An amazing post, as usual. I think there is an optional way described in Lejends Magazine, using the Weapon value of your opponent as a penalty to your roll. Somehow, used as a way to reflect that is not the same to attack a regular villager or a trained knight.

It's something that was discussed in length back in the day on the LA forums. I was never crazy about this sort of rule. I felt LA already has plenty of modes of defense. None of them burden down the game with extra calculations. They all require some level of player engagement to put them in play.
That's my two cents anyway. Carry on, crawler.

Tu ne cede malis sed contra audentior ito.

Lunamancer

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Hunt, Ranging, and Savagery
« Reply #59 on: March 19, 2019, 11:40:04 PM »
Here's another one that gets asked a lot.

What is the difference between Hunt and Ranging? Or Savagery for that matter? Aside from being based on different BRs?

So what I did was went straight to the Ability descriptions. Not changing anything or making judgment calls. Just based on what is written, here's how I break down the comparison:

Here's where the three are similar:
  • Hunt includes hunting afoot and/or mounted and locating game animals. Ranging includes poaching and locating game animals. Savagery includes hunting & fishing.
  • Hunt includes woodcraft. Ranging includes outdoors craft. Savagery includes crafting necessities and weapons.
  • Hunt includes survival. Ranging includes survival in the outdoors. Savagery includes survival in forests.
  • Hunt and ranging both include camouflage and concealment in woods. Savagery includes camouflage and concealment (no "in woods" qualifier).

Areas where two abilities out of three provide skill:
  • Hunt and Ranging both include the ability to avoid being surprised in an encounter. Savagery does not.
  • Ranging includes skill at deadfalls, pits, traps, and trapping. Savagery includes snares, deadfalls, pits, traps, etc. Hunt has no similar ability.
  • Hunt allows for recognition of flora and fauna. Savagery allows for recognition of native flora and fauna. Ranging has no similar ability.

And here's where the abilities are most different:
  • Hunt includes the chase and tracking.
  • Ranging includes surprise an individual or group, hazardous travel, scouting, scavenging, and smuggling.
  • Savagery includes knowledge of forest tribes, primitive living in forests, +1 to hit and harm with weapons for each 10 points possessed

There are also differences per the LML section on Ability-related activities.
  • All three provide skill in the following activities: basic climbing, hanging/holding on, jumping, running, swimming, swinging, basic brachiating
  • Hunt and Ranging but not Savagery provide skill in: riding
  • Ranging and Savagery but not Hunt provide skill in: advanced climbing, diving, and advanced brachiating
That's my two cents anyway. Carry on, crawler.

Tu ne cede malis sed contra audentior ito.