Athletics (sage study)

Athletics is a sage study in the field of Training, encompassing a range of foundational physical skills that characters cultivate through dedicated practice and hard work. Great knowledge of athletics requires ongoing effort, with progress achieved through repetition, conditioning and refinement of technique. Between moments of play, the character is assumed to have spent time honing their abilities, improving performance through deliberate exercise and training.

Each ability demands specialised agility and physical conditioning, requiring dedication to developing flexibility, precision, speed, strength, stamina, equilibrium, attentiveness and timing. These qualities allow for superior movement, endurance and control over the body, whether in the context of sport, combat or daily physical exertion. The roster of athletic disciplines offers:

• Cliff Diving
• Free-diving
• Hurling
• Ice Sailing
• Kayaking
• Martial Arts
• Running
• Sailing
• Scrambling
• Skating
• Skiing
• Surfing
• Swimming

Many combat-related athletic disciplines, such as wrestling or horseback riding, are categorised within different areas of study. Furthermore, certain sports that might appear suitable, like dog sledding, are non-existent in a pre-Industrial era setting.

Each form of athletic is counted as a "sage ability" — however, they should be regarded as separate endeavors categorised under the overarching study "Athletics." When knowledge points are allocated to a specific ability, the character's proficiency in that pursuit advances; however, this advancement confers no advantages in other athletic disciplines.

Assigning Points

The study of Athletics gathers knowledge in the same way as any other. However, when acquired, this knowledge can be assigned by the character to enhance their proficiency in the specific pursuits they choose. Points can be entirely dedicated to a single pursuit or scattered across multiple endeavors. Some characters may opt not to invest any points in certain pursuits, deeming sage abilities with fewer than 10 points as unworthy of their attention — as "amateur-status" can be desirable.

Nonetheless, many of these athletic activities can be performed without any skill at all, and even a modest allocation of points in each can yield significant improvements.

Skill Levels

Here's a breakdown of the character proficiency levels in Athletics:

Unskilled. This is characterised by having less than 5 points of knowledge in the specific discipline. It signifies a lack of skill or expertise in the activity. While most characters may possess basic physical abilities like running, jumping, or throwing objects, a lack of knowledge in these areas suggests a deficiency in breath, technique, or sound judgment. Essentially, a little knowledge conveys the character's minimum familiarity with that athletic.

Talented. The character demonstrates a modest proficiency in the Athletic discipline, with 5 to 9 points of knowledge. Having some training, they possess a basic understanding of the activity, but their technique is somewhat raw.

Skilled. These characters have achieved an amateur-status or better. The degree of their ability varies depending on their status within this category, signifying their level of expertise and competence in the specific pursuit.

See also,
Fighter Sage Abilities
Ranger Sage Abilities