Aptitude tricks

Anyone can pick up a sword and try to swing it, but a trained soldier can use it better than an untrained farmer. Aptitude tricks allow your character advantages when using certain. For your character’s calling, you receive a few aptitude tricks for free.

List of Aptitude Tricks

 * Simple Weapon Aptitude
 * Anyone can use a simple weapon, but dogs with this trick can add their proficiency bonus to attack rolls when using any simple weapon.
 * This includes clubs, daggers, darts, handaxes, javelins, maces, quarterstaves, shortbows, sickles, slings, small crossbows, spears, and unarmed punches, kicks, and bites.
 * Martial Weapon Aptitude
 * Using martial weapons requires training and dedication — a dog without this trick always attacks with such weapons at a disadvantage. Dogs with this trick, however, can use martial weapons well, and can add their proficiency bonus to attack rolls using them.
 * This includes battleaxes, crossbows, flails, glaives, greatswords, greataxes, halberds, lances, longbows, longswords, rapiers, scimitars, shortswords, tridents, war picks, warhammers, and whips.
 * Characters must have the Simple Weapon Aptitude trick before they can take Martial Weapon Aptitude.
 * Exotic Weapon Aptitude
 * Exotic weapons are so strange and rare that it’s hard to train in them, and most dogs can’t even work out how to use such bizarre weaponry. However, a dog with this trick has been around these exotic weapons enough that she can not only use them, but can also add her proficiency bonus to attack rolls using them.
 * This doesn’t include masterwork weapons that are based on existing simple or martial weapons (such as masterwork swords) — those weapons only require either Simple Weapon Aptitude or Martial Weapon Aptitude.
 * Characters must have the Martial Weapon Aptitude trick before they can take Exotic Weapon Aptitude.
 * Light Armor Aptitude
 * The dog with this trick can wear light armor effectively, giving her a defense of 11 + her Dexterity modifier.
 * Examples of light armor include padded armor, leather armor, and studded leather armor.
 * Medium Armor Aptitude
 * The dog with this trick can wear medium armor effectively, giving her a defense of 13 + her Dexterity modifier. Further, the dog’s Dexterity checks (not attack rolls) are at a disadvantage.
 * Examples of medium armor include hide armor,  chain shirt, scale mail, and half plate mail.
 * Characters must have the Light Armor Aptitude trick before they can take Medium Armor Aptitude.
 * Heavy Armor Aptitude
 * The dog with this trick can wear heavy armor effectively, giving her a defense of 16 (no Dexterity modifier is added). Further, the dog’s two-legged and four-legged speeds are reduced by five feet, and her Dexterity checks (not attack rolls) are at a disadvantage.
 * Examples of heavy armor include ring mail, chain mail, splint mail, and plate mail.
 * Characters must have the Medium Armor Aptitude trick before they can take Heavy Armor Aptitude.
 * Shield Aptitude
 * The dog with this trick can use a shield effectively, giving her +2 to her defense. However, she only has one free paw and cannot use weapons or objects with the “two-pawed” quality. Further, the shield offers no benefit against attacks that the user cannot actively defend against (such as attacks from behind or spell effects that go around corners).