Appraisal covers rough-valuing common goods, haggling fair prices,
spotting fakes and forgeries, valuing rare or exotic items, reading
market trends, and brokering profitable deals. A trader looks at a
crate of xeno-tech and sees ten thousand rek where a spacer sees junk;
a fence spots a forged serial number by the font; a smuggler reads a
port's price board and knows what will triple before the next convoy.
Streetwise knows the underworld; Appraisal knows what its goods are
actually worth. Bureaucracy knows the contracts; Appraisal knows the
prices behind the clauses. Failed appraisal by 5+ means acting on
catastrophically wrong information.
Rules Reference
Field
Value
Armor Check Penalty
false
Key Ability
INT
Opposed Skills
Deception
Trained Only
false
Untrained Use
Rough-value common goods at DC 10 only; haggling, fake-spotting, rare appraisal, and market reading require training.
Key Ability
INT
Notes
Special: Failed appraisal by 5+ means catastrophically wrong valuation.
Opposed by Deception for forgeries. Does not cover intimidation or
behaviour reading.
Special: A failed appraisal check by 5 or more means you act on catastrophically
wrong information: you buy a worthless fake at full price, sell a
priceless relic for scrap, or bet on a market that moves against you.
Appraisal is opposed by Deception when someone is actively trying to
pass off a forgery. It does not cover haggling through intimidation
(Intimidate) or reading people (Insight) -- it covers knowing the
price of things.
Untrained: An untrained character can rough-value common goods at DC 10 -- everyone
knows what food, fuel, and basic tech cost. Haggling, fake-spotting,
rare-item appraisal, and market reading all require training. A mark
does not know they are a mark until it is too late.
Descriptors
dc: 10
Field
Value
dc
10
task
Rough-value common goods and cargo
dc: 15
Field
Value
dc
15
task
Haggle a fair price in a transaction
dc: 18
Field
Value
dc
18
task
Spot a fake, forgery, or counterfeit
dc: 22
Field
Value
dc
22
task
Value a rare, exotic, or unfamiliar item
dc: 25
Field
Value
dc
25
task
Read a market trend or predict price shifts
dc: 30
Field
Value
dc
30
task
Broker a perfect deal for maximum profit
Synergy
bonus: 2
Field
Value
bonus
2
from
Streetwise
threshold
5
bonus: 2
Field
Value
bonus
2
from
Bureaucracy
threshold
5
Synergies
bonus: 2
Field
Value
bonus
2
ranks
5
skill
Streetwise
bonus: 2
Field
Value
bonus
2
ranks
5
skill
Bureaucracy
Uses
application: Rough-value common goods and cargo
Field
Value
application
Rough-value common goods and cargo
dc
10
failure
You misjudge by 20-50%; the GM decides which way.
success
You know the going rate; no one is going to rob you blind today.
application: Haggle a fair price in a transaction
Field
Value
application
Haggle a fair price in a transaction
dc
15
failure
You get taken; the other party negotiates you into a bad deal.
success
You close at a fair price or better; +10-20% on a sale, -10-20% on a buy.
application: Spot a fake, forgery, or counterfeit
Field
Value
application
Spot a fake, forgery, or counterfeit
dc
18
failure
It looks real to you; you buy the lie.
success
You see the flaw -- bad stitching, wrong alloy, forged serial.
application: Value a rare, exotic, or unfamiliar item
Field
Value
application
Value a rare, exotic, or unfamiliar item
dc
22
failure
You guess; wildly over or under at the GM's discretion.
success
You know what it is and what someone will pay for it.
application: Read a market trend or predict price shifts
Field
Value
application
Read a market trend or predict price shifts
dc
25
failure
You misread the market; bad intel for buying or selling.
success
You see the pattern -- supply, demand, the coming shortage or glut.
application: Broker a perfect deal for maximum profit
Field
Value
application
Broker a perfect deal for maximum profit
dc
30
failure
The deal collapses or you leave money on the table.
success
Both sides walk away satisfied and you walk away richer; +30-50% margin.