Background Skills for Athanor, take 2 (or is it 3 or 4 by now?)

On reflection and thought, these rules are a bit more heavily influenced by EPT than EGG.

I have tried to fit the skill lists and notes to my vision of Athanor, but with some work I think it could be adapted elsewhere.

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Background skills represent the training a character received before beginning his or her life as an adventurer, and tends to include rather mundane activities associated with non-adventuring activities. These skills may have some impact in game, but largely serve to build up your character's background, distinguish him or her as a character, and provide a springboard for role-playing. Consider these a way to help define who your character was and is, rather than a limit on what he or she can do in the game.

TABLE: STARTING BACKGROUND SKILLS

d20 ROLL  RESULT
--------  ------------------------------------------------------
01 - 06   Choose 1 Common
07 - 12   Choose 1 Common and 1 Skilled
13 - 16   Choose 1 from each category
17 - 18   Choose 2 from Common, and 1 each from Skilled and Elite
19        Choose 3 from Common, 2 from Skilled, and 1 Elite.
20        Choose 3 from Common, and 2 each from Skilled and Elite

TABLE: BACKGROUND SKILLS

COMMON                  SKILLED                 ELITE
----------------------  ----------------------  ----------------------
Baker                   Accountant              Alchemist
Beggar                  Animal Handler/Trainer  Artist
Bricklayer              Armorer                 Assassin
Butcher                 Bowyer/fletcher         Astronomer
Carpenter               Captain, Airship        Courtier/Courtesan
Cobbler                 Healer                  Dancer
Cook                    Jeweler/lapidary        Engineer/Architect
Dyer/Fuller             Locksmith               Horticulturalist
Farmer/Gardener         Navigator               Hunter
Gambler                 Sail-Maker              Mathematician
Glass-blower            Scribe                  Musician
Leather worker/tanner   Shipwright, Airship     Natural Philosopher
Limner/painter          Smith                   Naturalist
Mason                   Teacher/Professor       Orator
Miner                   Tracker/Guide           Poet
Potter                  Trader/Merchant         Priest
Tailor/seamstress       Weaponer                Scholar
Tanner                                          Spy
Thief
Weaver

All skills should be considered as having three elements: the ability to appraise goods, services, or phenomena involving the skill area; the ability to perform tasks in the skill area; and the possession of social connections based on the skill area.

Most of the Common skills are fairly self-explantory. Some of the elite skills are scholastic skills similar to modern scholarly areas (Alchemist = Chemistry, Natural Philospher: Physics and Geology; Naturalist: Biology; Scholar: History, Literature and Philosophy). Other professions give some general background in related skills (Assassins might understand poisons and disguise; Courtiers understand how to seduce, flatter and act in polite society; Priests do the same in the Church, etc.)

LEARNING ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND SKILLS
Characters gain additional background skills every 2 levels you advance as noted in the table below:

TABLE: AUTOMATIC BACKGROUND SKILLS BY LEVEL

SKILL TYPE      LEVEL
----------      -----
Common          3
SKILLED         5
ELITE           7
ANY             9

Character may also spend money and time learning new background skills. This will require down time from adventuring and finding a teacher in addition to monetary costs, as noted in the table below.

TABLE: ACQUIRING ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND SKILLS

SKILL TYPE      G.P.COST        TIME
----------      --------        --------
Common            500           2 months
SKILLED          2000           4 months
ELITE           10000           6 months