ADCC doesn't have an idea of “race”, but rather Culture of Origin (CoO) and Social Class (SC). Your CoO and SC determine your skills. Every PC automatically has the skill in the required row. Playere then can pick 2 additional skills to begin the game with that are appropriate to their character's CoO and SC.
Note: The table below is not intended to be all inclusive. If you think a skill makes sense for your PC, and it is not in the table, talk to your gamemaster about it.
| Culture / Social Class | Laborer | Tradesman | Merchant | Noble | Common to All Social Levels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Required Skills | - Lifting and Hauling | - Tradeskill (choose from below) | - Bargaining & haggling | - Titled | |
| City | - Street sweeping & refuse hauling - Bricklaying & masonry basics - Cart pushing, heavy lifting - Rat catching / vermin control - Urban gossip networks | - Tailoring & cobbling - Blacksmithing (urban tools, horseshoes) - Brewer/distiller (beer, spirits) - Locksmithing / tinkering - Apprentice scribework | - Accounting & bookkeeping - Reading tariffs & toll laws - Hiring caravan guards - Networking with guilds - wealth | - Court etiquette & heraldry - Swordplay (rapier/dueling) - Patronage of the arts - Legal knowledge (city charters) - Political intrigue & rhetoric - wealth | - Basic literacy/numeracy - Gossip & rumor-trading - Street navigation & shortcuts - Awareness of city laws/guards - Everyday etiquette (tavern to court) |
| Rural | - Plowing, sowing, harvesting - Animal husbandry (cows, sheep, goats) - Foraging wild herbs & berries - Building fences & thatching roofs - Sling or staff use | - Miller’s craft (grinding grain) - Carpenter / wheelwright - Leather tanning & curing - Bee-keeping & mead brewing - Folk healing & poultices | - Managing crop surplus sales - Barter/trade in local fairs - Wagon driving & oxen handling - Grain storage & preservation - Negotiating tithe/tribute | - Horsemanship & hunting - Falconry - Administering serfs & land taxes - Feasting & hospitality rites - Knowledge of family heraldry | - Plant/animal recognition - Basic animal care - Seasonal awareness - Simple tool use/repair - Campfire cooking & preservation |
| Mountainous | - Quarrying stone - Mining & ore hauling - Trail marking & rope handling - Goat herding on cliffs - Avalanche safety & calls | - Blacksmithing (ore refining, forge work) - Masonry (walls, bridges) - Brewing hardy ales - Trap setting (wolves, bears) - Woodcarving (tools, sticks) | - Trading ore & gemstones - Pack animal handling (mules, llamas) - Mountain trail logistics - Weather-sign reading - Border tolls & negotiations | - Command of fortress-keeps - Skiing/snowshoe use (fantasy) - Martial training (axes/polearms) - Clan diplomacy & feuds - Hosting alpine festivals | - Trail following & pathfinding - Reading weather signs - Stone & wood familiarity - Balance & climbing instinct - Calling/shouting across distances |
| Seaport | - Dock loading/unloading - Net weaving & fish gutting - Rope coiling & knot tying - Rowing small boats - Basic swimming & tides | - Shipwright carpentry - Sail repair & canvas work - Cooperage (barrels) - Navigation basics - Fish smoking & salting | - Maritime trade contracts - Cargo insurance & ship shares - Hiring mercenary crews - Negotiating foreign customs - Languages (pidgins, trade tongues) | - Naval strategy & fleet command - Patronage of explorers - Courtly sea festivals & pageants - Command of harbor laws - Dueling with cutlass/pistol | - Basic swimming/water safety - Knot-tying & rope handling - Tide & weather awareness - Boat loading/unloading - Team shanties & rhythm work |
| Universal Across All Settings | \- | \- | \- | - Horsemanship | - Storytelling, songs & oral traditions - Superstitions, charms & folk rituals - Negotiating & haggling at markets - Recognizing authority symbols (badges, banners, heraldry) - Simple first aid & folk remedies - Basic self-defense (fists, sticks, rocks) |
A player may chose to voluntarily narrow a skill. For instance, horsemanship might be limited to mounted combat . This would be written as horsemanship(mounted combat) a specialized skill starts by rolling a d24.
At every level a player may either choose to learn a new skill or advance an already known skill one stepup the die chain (see DCC rules for an explanation of the die chain.) In order to learn a new skill the PC must have spent significant time in an appropriate setting. The skill must also make sense for the story. For instance, a laborer could not suddenly gain the wealth skill unless the story allows for it. (For instance, the party defeated a dragon in its lair.)