Decipher Writing

Concentration, Exploration, Secret
Actions: Special
Required Proficiency: Trained
Applicable Skills: Arcana, Lore, Theology

You attempt to decipher complicated writing or literature on an obscure topic. This takes 1 minute per page of text, or 1 hour per page for decrypting ciphers or the like. The text must be in a language you can read. If your proficiency with a language is Broken, your check is made with -1d.

The DC is determined by the GM based on the state or complexity of the document. The GM might have you roll one check for a short text or a check for each section of a larger text.

Critical Success: You understand the true meaning of the text.

Success: You understand the true meaning of the text. If it was a coded document, you know the general meaning but might not have a word-for-word translation.

Failure: You can’t understand the text and take a –1d circumstance penalty to further checks to decipher it.

Critical Failure: You believe that you understand the text on that page, but you have in fact misconstrued its message.