Penwick

---

Below you can find a full list of all available abilities on Penwick. Abilities are purchased using Advancement Tokens, which you can read more about here: click me

Abilities are organized per tier going from Tier 1 (cheap and fairly mundane) to Tier 4 (expensive and character-defining). Unlike spells, there are no Tier 0 abilities, but each origin provides a innate ability which is a free ability.

Each ability requires a certain amount of AT (Advancement Tokens) to purchase. Since AT is also used to purchase spells on your character, you will have to make a careful decision between buying spells versus buying abilities.

Some abilities may have special requirements or prerequisites, such as being bound to a particular origin. You may choose to give your character advanced Abilities early on, if you believe this would suit them. However, due to their high cost, you will be left with fewer Advancement Tokens to spend elsewhere, so choose carefully!


Abilities at a certain Tier have a fixed price in Advancement Tokens. The prices are as follows:

• Tier 1 Ability: 25 AT.
• Tier 2 Ability: 50 AT.
• Tier 3 Ability: 100 AT.
• Tier 4 Ability: 200 AT.

---

Moderated only. This ability may only be used in moderated scenarios, like a moderated adventure. Official sport games also count as moderated threads.
Once-per-thread. An ability which is marked as once-per-thread is an ability which may only be used one time within a thread. "Thread" here is interchangeable with story or adventure. Sometimes a thread may consist of more than one topic, like a when a group splits up and an adventure continues in two separate new topics. In those cases, the whole adventure is considered a single thread and so the ability can only be used one time during that entire story.
Auto-activates. An ability which auto-activates is an ability that is always on. This means you do not have to state in your post that you are using the ability, because it is "on" by default. You do have to state it if you are turning this ability "off" however.
Does not auto-activate. Abilities with this on it are the reverse of the above. These are abilities which you must declare you are using, when you use them. Declaring the use of an ability is done by adding an out-of-character remark (such as in a spoiler) at the start or end of your post.
Cap-breaking. An ability which is marked as cap-breaking will allow the ability's effect(s) to break the cap on the Aptitude(s) to which it applies. For example: first-year Penwick students have an aptitude cap of 8. If a first-year has an ability with cap-breaking on it, the bonus that the ability provides would allow them to raise their aptitude beyond their cap of 8. Cap-breaking abilities cannot raise any Aptitude beyond the hard limit of 16.
Stacks # times. This means the ability can be taken # many times. Often this means that the ability becomes more potent when taken more than once.

---

As touched upon in the keywords section, some abilities automatically activate and are always on. You can think of these as permanent traits of your character. However, other abilities require manual activation. This means that you, the player, have to write in your post that you are using (activating) an ability which you have. Importantly: you may only activate one ability at a time per post/round in a thread. So while it is possible that you have a whole suite of abilities on your character that you can activate, you cannot activate them all at once.

This limitation does not apply to auto-activating abilities, since these are considered traits which are inherent to your character and, by default, are always active.

---

Below is a table of all Tier 1 abilities. All these abilities cost 25 AT to purchase on your character.

Name	Prequisites/Requirements	Effect
Lucky Me	-	A 1d20 will be rolled. Upon a natural 20, you will receive a valuable item worth up to 10 galleons. You must declare activation of this ability in a post. Once-per-thread. Does not auto-activate. Moderated only.
Leap of Faith	-	Declare an aptitude, then roll a 1d2. If the roll is 1, you will suffer a -2 debuff to the declared aptitude. If the roll is 2, you will gain +1 to the declared aptitude. The buff/debuff gained from Leap of Faith precedes all other rolls. Leap of Faith cannot break the hard aptitude cap of 16. Once-per-thread. Does not auto-activate.
Cheater	-	Roll a 1d20 and add this number to your charisma or intelligence. If the result exceeds 20, you will have successfully managed to cheat in a non-magical game or sport and you will get an automatic win for that round of the game. If an opponent also uses Cheater and succeeds, the effects will cancel each other out. This ability only affects mundane games like card games, muggle sports, wizard's chess, and so on. How an "automatic win" is flavoured is up to the players. Moderated games like Quidditch are unaffected by this ability. Once-per-thread. Does not auto-activate.
Tenacious	You may not own more than 2 of: Tenacious, Focused, Charming, Defiant, Well-rested, Inspired.	Get a temporary +1 to Physique. This buff will only apply during the round it is activated in and cannot break cap. Once-per-thread. Does not auto-activate. Stacks 2 times.
Focused	You may not own more than 2 of: Tenacious, Focused, Charming, Defiant, Well-rested, Inspired.	Get a temporary +1 to Intelligence. This buff will only apply during the round it is activated in and cannot break cap. Once-per-thread. Does not auto-activate. Stacks 2 times.
Charming	You may not own more than 2 of: Tenacious, Focused, Charming, Defiant, Well-rested, Inspired.	Get a temporary +1 to Charisma. This buff will only apply during the round it is activated in and cannot break cap. Once-per-thread. Does not auto-activate. Stacks 2 times.
Defiant	You may not own more than 2 of: Tenacious, Focused, Charming, Defiant, Well-rested, Inspired.	Get a temporary +1 to Spirit. This buff will only apply during the round it is activated in and cannot break cap. Once-per-thread. Does not auto-activate. Stacks 2 times.
Well-rested	You may not own more than 2 of: Tenacious, Focused, Charming, Defiant, Well-rested, Inspired.	Get a temporary +1 to Agility. This buff will only apply during the round it is activated in and cannot break cap. Once-per-thread. Does not auto-activate. Stacks 2 times.
Inspired	You may not own more than 2 of: Tenacious, Focused, Charming, Defiant, Well-rested, Inspired.	Get a temporary +1 to Sorcery. This buff will only apply during the round it is activated in and cannot break cap. Once-per-thread. Does not auto-activate. Stacks 2 times.
Seance Enjoyer	-	Summons a ghost upon a successful outcome. Roll a 1d20. If the roll is below 10 or exactly 10, nothing will happen. At value of 11 up to and including 15, a ghost will arrive in the next round. When the roll is greater than 15, the ghost will arrive immediately, meaning during the round in which you activated this ability. A ghost cannot give you any kind of magical or physical aid, due to their nature, but they can serve as messengers in a pinch. You may also have other story reasons to summon a ghost, such as to inquire about something or to gain certain knowledge which you may need during an adventure. You are free to flavour how you summon this ghost in your stories as you seem fit. It could be that you used a Ouija board, it could be that you simply cried for help, or the ghost could just so happen to be near. Whether this ghost actually wants to help you, if you need their help, is story dependent. This ability merely summons them, it does not govern their actions. Once-per-thread. Does not auto-activate.
Navigator	-	Perhaps you know how to navigate by the stars, memorized a map, or have a strong internal compass. Whatever the case may be, you know where to go. Where to go can mean finding an exit in a dark room, or finding your way back home in a storm. It will also allow you to know what direction to travel in during a moderated adventure. In those instances this ability only grants you a direction, it does not solve any puzzles or other barriers that may be between you and your destination. In other words: this ability only grants you the knowledge of where to go. It could be that you are incapacitated, petrified or immobile, in which case you'd have to find means to communicate your knowledge to another. Spells or potions that affect memory, such as Forgetfulness potion or a memory-modifying charm nullify the effect of this ability. Once-per-thread. Does not auto-activate.
Animal Friend	-	Non-magical animals are drawn to you and seem to like and trust you. This is mostly a fluff/flavour ability, but an example use case of this could be that you are able to calm down a distressed animal. Note: owls, toads and snakes are all considered non-magical, even though these animals have a special role in this setting. Magical creatures are creatures like pygmy puffs, centaurs, unicorns, dragons, etc. Auto-activates
Taunt	-	You know how to get under someone's skin. For the next round after this ability was activated, the target suffers a temporary -1 to either: Intelligence, Charisma, Spirit, or Sorcery. Does not auto-activate. You may repeatedly activate this ability during a thread.
Lockpicking	-	You know how to pick locks, the muggle way, which may prove useful in a pinch. This ability also applies to bondage such as handcuffs, whether they are on your character or another's. If you have this ability once, you have a 20% of picking a lock. Each additional purchase of this ability adds another +20% chance, up to 80%. To test whether you've managed to pick a lock, roll a 1d5. If you have this ability once, only a rolled 5 will amount to a successful lockpick attempt. If you have the ability twice, then both 4 and 5 count as success. If you have the ability three times, then 3, 4 and 5 count as success. Finally, if you have the ability four times, then anything but a rolled 1 will amount to a successful lock-picking attempt. Does not auto-activate. Stacks 4 times.

---

Below is a table of all Tier 2 abilities. All these abilities cost 50 AT to purchase on your character.

Name	Prequisites	Effect
Versatile	-	Add +1 to an aptitude of choice for the duration of the thread. You must declare the Aptitude to which Versatile is applied upon activation of the ability. Once per thread. Does not auto-activate.
Well-read	-	You have access to Tier 0 spells one year above your current year level. You may take this ability up to three times. Auto-activates.
Smuggler	-	You may bring one additional item from your inventory into a moderated scenario. Once per thread. Moderated only. Does not auto-activate.
Escape Artist	-	Whether your are bound, petrified, cuffed, or otherwise being held against your will, you are determined to become free. When you activate this ability, you get to have a second go at whatever means you have available to free yourself. For example: if you are trapped by Devil's Snare and attempted to cast Lumos Solem but failed, this ability allows you to roll for that spell again. Another example would be that some other character or NPC is physically holding you and you lost the contested Physique roll. With this ability, you may force a new roll. The exact way in which this ability manifests is story-dependant. In some cases it may mean that you can re-roll for a spell, in other cases it might mean that you get to re-roll for a stealth or strength check. Whatever the case may be, this ability affords you the chance to try a second time. This ability does not automatically free you from your restraints, it only gives you a second chance at escaping them. Does not auto-activate. Once-per-thread
Forgery	-	You have the uncanny ability to imitate another's penmanship and can convincingly forge documents. Whether this means faking a signature or faking a document entirely depends on the story and is up to you to decide on a case-by-case basis. Since this forgery is not performed by magical means, it cannot be detected by magical means either. However, circumstantial evidence may still throw a wrench in your schemes. Other characters will have to roll a detection test to be able to see through your forgery. This test is calculated as follows. Take your character's Intelligence and add 7 to it. An opposing character attempting to detect your forgery must roll higher than Your Intelligence + 7 in order to detect the forgery. Characters with the Inquisitive ability are better at detecting falsehoods and as such only have to roll their Intelligence against that of your character (without the +7 added). If their Intelligence + 1d20 exceeds your Intelligence + 1d20, they will have detected your forgery. Does not auto-activate. Once-per-thread Note: you cannot use this ability to give yourself unreasonable advantages. For example: you cannot claim to have sent a letter to your local wizarding bank claiming you are the sole heir of some Nigerian Prince who has left you an enormous inheritance. Think more along the lines of: faking a signature to get into Hogsmeade, faking a letter in order to frame someone, signing a waiver with a Professor's signature to get yourself off the hook, etc. Remember: you can be caught performing forgery through the mechanisms outlined above.
Inquisitive	-	You have a keen eye and have a +25% chance of detecing a hidden object, pathway or person. This ability does not apply to persons hidden with an invisibility cloak, but does apply to persons hidden using a disguising or invisibility spell. You don't have magical X-ray vision, but you are able to notice circumstantial evidence or other small details which lead you to discover the hidden object, path, or person. Additionally Inquisitive gives you an advantage against characters with the ability Forgery as you are better equipped to detect forgery attempts (see Forgery for details). Does not auto-activate. Once-per-thread. Stacks 2 times. If you have this ability once, roll a 1d4. Upon a 4 you will have detected the hidden object, path, or person. If you have this ability twice, roll a 1d2. Upon a 2 your will have detected the hidden object, path, or person.

---

Below is a table of all Tier 3 abilities. All these abilities cost 100 AT to purchase on your character.

Name	Prequisites/Requirements	Effect
Athlete	-	Add a permanent +1 to your Physique. Auto-activates. Stacks 3 times. Cap-breaking
Bookworm	-	Add a permanent +1 to your Intelligence. Auto-activates. Stacks 3 times. Cap-breaking
Charismatic	-	Add a permanent +1 to your Charisma. Auto-activates. Stacks 3 times. Cap-breaking
Resolute	-	Add a permanent +1 to your Spirit. Auto-activates. Stacks 3 times. Cap-breaking
Hermes	-	Add a permanent +1 to your Agility. Auto-activates. Stacks 3 times. Cap-breaking
Numinous	-	Add a permanent +1 to your Sorcery. Auto-activates. Stacks 3 times. Cap-breaking
Poison Resistance	-	We won't question how you built your resistance to poisons, but the fact of the matter is that poisons don't seem to work as well on you. When a poison is applied to you (through drinking, fumes, or otherwise), you have a 20% chance of ignoring its effects. You may take this ability up to three times, and your chance of ignoring the poison's effects are increased by an additional +20% for each additional time that you take this ability, up to a 60% chance of complete resistance. In order to test your resistance, roll a 1d5. If you have Poison Resistance once, rolling a 5 means you resisted the poison's effects and are unaffected by it. If you have Poison Resistance twice, rolling a 4 or 5 on a 1d5 means you will have resisted the poison. Finally, if you have Poison Resistance three times, rolling a 3, 4, or 5 on a 1d5 all mean you have successfully resisted the poison. Auto-activates. Stacks 3 times. Note: you are free to flavour your character resisting the poison how you like. You may choose to write that they literally don't notice any effect, or you could decide to write that they do notice they have been poisoned and have a bad taste in their mouth, but are not negatively affected by the poison otherwise.
Librarium Gerardi Access	Requires the Reputable ability	The Professors think well of you, and you have been entrusted with access to the restricted section of the library, the Librarium Gerardi. Auto-activates. Note: this ability allows your character to enter the Librarium Gerardi through all the proper and legal channels and allows you to purchase 1 restricted spell per year from the spell list.

---

Below is a table of all Tier 4 abilities. All these abilities cost 200 AT to purchase on your character.

Name	Prequisites/Requirements	Effect
Reputable	Cannot be taken if you already have Disreputable	There is something about you which sets you apart from others. Maybe you're from a well-known family of philanthropists, maybe you had a sibling whose good name is now rubbing off on you, or maybe your good reputation is the merit of your own labors. Whatever the case may be, the effect is all the same. You are well-regarded by others, perhaps even recognized. Sometimes doors or opportunities may even open to you that are not open to others. Thanks to your reputation, you are that little bit more persuasive and a friend, teacher, or acquaintance is more inclined to grant you that favor which you need. You are just that bit more easily trusted because you're a known quantity and people feel like they can rely on you. Reputable and its inverse ability, Disreputable have one unique feature. Since reputation is not a fixed thing, these abilities can be refunded once per year. The refund will only be given if you've had the ability for a full year. Refunding this ability means you lose it (which may in turn mean that other abilities) which require this one as a prerequisite, are no longer in effect on your character. Auto-activates. Note: this ability allows you to roleplay your character as having a noticeably good reputation. You are free to flavor this how you like, in terms of what it is about your character that gives them their reputation, but there is no fixed impact of this ability on other characters. By having this ability, other characters must acknowledge your character's good reputation, but having this ability does not give you any automatic wins or advantages. Doors or opportunities opening to you due to your good reputation is up to moderator discretion within the context of moderated threads. Reputable may have an effect in self-moderated Choose Your Own Adventure locations, such as Blinkin & Nods.
Disreputable	Cannot be taken if you already have Reputable	There is something about you which sets you apart from others, and not in a good way. Maybe your family has a dark reputation, or maybe you earned that all by yourself. Perhaps it is a sinister reputation, or one for cruelty, or maybe you're known to be as friendly and welcoming as a brick of ice. Whatever the case may be: people think poorly of you and would rather avoid you. Your teachers, friends (if you have any), and acquaintances are likely to distrust you, though they may not show it. You are the proverbial black sheep, whether you earned that reputation or it was perhaps unfairly bestowed on you hardly matters, because the effect is all the same. You are disliked at best and just barely tolerated at worst. Disreputable and its inverse ability, Reputable have one unique feature. Since reputation is not a fixed thing, these abilities can be refunded once per year. The refund will only be given if you've had the ability for a full year. Refunding this ability means you lose it (which may in turn mean that other abilities) which require this one as a prerequisite, are no longer in effect on your character. Auto-activates. Note: this ability allows you to roleplay your character as having a noticeably poor reputation. You are free to flavor this how you like, in terms of what it is about your character that gives them their reputation, but there is no fixed impact of this ability on other characters. By having this ability, other characters must acknowledge your character's poor reputation, but having this ability does not give you any automatic wins or (dis)advantages. Doors or opportunities opening to you due to your good reputation is up to moderator discretion within the context of moderated threads. Disreputable may have an effect in self-moderated Choose Your Own Adventure locations, such as Blinkin & Nods.