Am I thinking about "Sub-Skills" correctly?

[IotaPrime]

First off, is there a proper name for "sub-skills" like MELEE: STRENGTH +3" as opposed to STRENGTH?

Looking at Valeros' Skills and the Skill Feats he could select, am I right in thinking that taking the STRENGTH +1 Feat will "stack" with MELEE: STRENGTH +3 for a total of 1d10 +4 for a Combat Check, or do I ignore any STRENGTH bonuses less than the "sub-skill" bonus in combat (i.e. a STRENGTH bonus less than +4 would only help out on non-Melee Combat STRENGTH Checks)?

Bonus question: If a Power/Spell/etc. lets you roll a different base die for a check (e.g. Lini's third Power), do you still get the +# bonuses from Skill Feats, or are those ignored due to the "upgrade" in the base die?

[Zoltán Mészáros]

Hi,

MELEE: STRENGTH +3 is completely ok as a skill definition. :)

For your questions :

- Yes, Skill Feats on a skill affect all other skill based on that dice, so basically it stacks.

- Yes, in the case of Lini's power Skill Feats on Strenght/Dexterity still counts. It's only your D4/D6 die which is replaced by a D10, everything else cares about this new value --> for example blessings at that point add D10s to your Strengh chacks instead of D4s.

[csouth154]

The bonuses stack and anything that affects either skill (melee or strength in the case of Val's melee skill) can be used to affect the check. This only applies if one skill references another skill on your card. Someone that does not have the melee skill must use a d4 if they want to make a melee check, and only cards that can affect melee checks would apply.

[csouth154]

And just because you used it, it's worth noting that the designers themselves have said that it's best to forget the term "sub-skill" altogether when playing this game. There are no sub-skills. There are only skills. Some skills reference another skill. This means that a check made using that skill is also considered to be a check using the referenced skill. So when Ezren makes an Arcane check, he is also making an intelligence check; but that does not mean that someone without the Arcane skill (or someone who's Arcane skill references a different skill) can roll their Intelligence die for an Arcane check.