INNATE

starting characters take one of these at Adept, one at Competent, and one at Unskilled

 Endure (Vigor)

This is your character's ability to push on and persevere though pain and fatigue. It is used to test the limits of a character's physicality and fitness.

React (Instinct)

This measures the quickness of a character's body and mind. It is as much "how quick the character notices something" as "how quick the character moves."

Resist (Reason)

Resist is the strength of a character's will, and is used to prevent compulsion of a natural or supernatural type. This includes physical compulsion: Resist would be used for a character to keep her cool under torture, for example, while Endure would be used to see how long she could stay conscious under the same torture.

OTHER

Aim (Vigor)

Aim is used for throwing objects and using primitive ranged weapons, such as bows and thrown spears.

Animal Ken (Instinct)

Animal Ken is the social skill for dealing with animals, and is used to deal with domesticated animals or wild ones. Domesticated animals are much easier to control, of course, and this may be used to give them commands. For wild animals, on the other hand, this works about as far as scaring them off, or convincing them not to eat you. This skill covers riding horses as well.

Athletics (Vigor)

This is a measure of raw physicality and fitness. It is used for running, jumping, swimming, climbing, or any other strength-based task not listed as a separate ability.

Bladework (Instinct)

This ability is used for all sorts of intricate knife skills, from cutting paper-thin slices of meat and vegetables, to vivisection, to cutting down your enemy with a long dagger. It can be used to perform skilled work with any well-made sharp knife.

Brawling (Vigor)

Melee fighting is the center of this ability. Fists, feet, and improvised weapons are covered by this ability. (for trained blade use, see either Bladework or Dueling).

Command (Reason)

Command is the basic skills and tactics known by any military commander. It is used for giving orders in combat and planning attacks, including ambushes.

Complex Crafts (Reason)

Complex Crafts is used for making things that require a great deal of steps or mixing of different materials, ranging from clockmaking to needlecraft to cooking.

Counsel (Reason)

Counsel is used to bring peace to someone via private conversation, not unlike mental health counseling. It is the spiritual equivalent of First Aid.

Create (Instinct)

Create is used for painting, sculpting, and other arts where a concrete item is created.

Dancing (vigor)

This is used for any kind of social or artistic dancing.

Deceit (Reason)

Deceit is used to fool other characters, including pretending to be someone else, forge a document, or straight-out lie well.

Discern Truth(Instinct)

Discern Truth is used to tell if someone is being honest, or read a person's intentions.

Dueling (Vigor)

Dueling is the art of honorable one-on-one battle. Noble society in certain parts of the Verse adhere to rituals for physically solving problems, usually involving fighting to the death with swords. This ability can be used for fighting with sword in other situations as well.

Etiquette (Reason)

Etiquette is used to know your way around a society, including knowing who is important and where to get favors. It is the non-illegal society equivalent of Streetwise.

Explosives (Reason)

This is knowledge of things that go boom! This skill covers proper handling of such dangerous materials, and knowing how much is enough for a given job. To throw explosives, use Aim.

Family Bond (Instinct)

This ability represents the awareness and understanding that comes with being part of a family, whether blood-related or not. It can be used as like Sense Danger for members of the character's family, allowing for a chance to help a family member in danger with another Ability roll (modified by this one). Likewise, Family Bond can also be used to hurt a family member, either directly or supporting another ability- nobody knows you like family.

Farming (Reason)

Farming is used for the cultivation of plants. This does not include herding and management of animals.

Fine Crafts (Reason)

Fine Crafts is used for making things from rough materials that require fine manipulation, including leatherworking, woodworking, and other such skills.

Firearms (Instinct)

This ability covers the basic understanding and use of firearms, including simple slugthrowers, automatic weapons, and lasers. This ability is used to hit targets with guns as well as when a character needs to reload or fix the weapon under duress.

Gamesmanship (Instinct)

This ability covers the playing of games (those using cards, dice, boards, etc.) for amusement, social interaction, and profit. It includes skill at such games as well as other important aspects of gamesmanship- sensing the mood of one's opponents, bluffing, and knowing when to walk away.

Haggling (Instinct)

Haggling is used to get the best price for goods. This skill is used to make sure you get a fair trade in trade agreements which means it can be used to evaluate the quality and worth of goods as well. This skill can and should be used with Smuggling when dealing with illicit goods.

Intimidate (Vigor)

This ability is for those who like the direct approach- staring down your opponent with your hand on your gun, and telling them what they're going to do. This is the overt alternative to Persuade and Seduce. This can be used either individually or with crowds, if you're scary enough. (penalty dice for use when outnumbered)

Medicine (Reason)

This ability can be used for a variety of medical purposes, from assessing an illness, identifying and using appropriate medicines, and performing major surgery. At the lowest levels of expertise, this ability is simply first aid, and allows for a healing check. This ability can also be used to perform cruel acts of torture while keeping a subject alive.

Mining (Vigor)

This ability covers the dirty work of extracting value from the earth. It covers knowledge of drilling and blasting techniques, awareness of the environment (depth, etc.) and a sense for where the best claims are located.

Music (Instinct)

Music is used for singing and playing instruments, and represents musical talent, not lyrical talent. Music and Storytelling are often used together to make an effective song.

Orate (Reason)

Orate is used to sway opinion with speech or demagoguery, and is generally used with crowds. For individuals, use Persuade or Intimidate.

Piloting (Instinct)

Piloting covers controlling vehicles of all kinds, from wheeled cargo bikes and hovercrafts to flyers and spaceships. Piloting air and space vehicles is always done at a base 1 die penalty, as it is more complicated. This ability also covers atmospheric handling (takeoff, re-entry, and landing) as well as interplanetary navigation.

Poisons (Instinct)

The art of quick and often mysterious death is the primary domain of this ability, although it covers all manner of using illicit drugs and poisons. It can also be used to induce illness, intoxication, compliance, or unconsciousness, provided that the poisoner has access to the right materials. This ability can generally only be used to harm an individual who is unaware that your character is trying to do so.

Persuade (Instinct)

Persuade is used to affect individuals through subtle conversation. Unlike Seduce or Intimidate, this ability focuses on charisma, and getting people to do what you want because they want to. Unlike Orate, this works better one-on-one, and the character being persuaded may not even realize your character's intentions.

Resources (Reason)

This ability encompasses a characters accumulated wealth and easy access to things they want or need. It represents credits in the bank, a store of platinum under the character's bunk, or a space station full of goods that can be liquidated. Whatever the nature, this wealth can be used to buy goods and services. (see Scrounging when Resources fail you)

Rough Crafts (Vigor)

Rough Crafts is used for skills such as construction, foundrywork, and other crafts that require a great deal of strength to create things.

Seduce (Instinct)

Seduce is used to act smooth, flirt, and otherwise use one's allure to influence another (such as getting them into your character's bed). Although generally used one-on-one, a skilled practitioner can even influence crowds. (penalty dice for use when outnumbered)

Scrounging (Instinct)

This ability can be used to find items or materials when they should not be commonly found. Your character can't really get wealthy using Scrounging, but you can often find something you need in a pinch, just by looking at things in a different way. See also Resources.

Sense Danger (Instinct)

This ability is used to perceive anything that might physically harm your character. It is not a "sixth sense": the danger must be somehow perceivable, if only barely. Here's where you get those cat-like reflexes.

Serve (Instinct)

To serve is to anticipate your master's needs, to broach uncomfortable subjects while remaining servile, and to be invisible until wanted. This ability allows for performance of all the roles of a servant. This ability is also used to negotiate the financial aspects of indentured servitude in the Border worlds.

Shipwise (Reason)

Everybody who spends much time aboard a ship learns the basic rules of The Black- how to wear a space suit, when not to open the hatch, and how to control vertigo when there's no up or down. This ability also covers general ship protocols, including pre-flight checks, stowing cargo, etc.

Smuggling (Reason)

Smuggling not only involves the skill of hiding illegal or restricted items in ordinary baggage, but also knowing how to find a buyer for the items in a foreign land.

Soldier (Vigor)

This is the skill working as part of a fielded army. It is used for tests of discipline, fieldcraft, and military knowledge.

Stealth (Instinct)

Stealth is used to sneak up on people, hide from other characters, and conceal objects on your character's body.

Storytelling (Reason)

Storytelling is used for creating or telling stories, including ballads.

Streetwise (Reason)

Streetwise is used to know information about the illegal underground, particularly in Border and Rim society, including where to buy illegal things, sell stolen goods, or know who controls organized crime.

Subterfuge (Reason)

Subterfuge is the art of quiet secrecy, and more specifically, creating, communicating with, and maintaining secret networks. It is used to create ciphers and codes, as well as decrypt them, organize secret meetings while keeping them secret, and for all other sorts of long-term sub-rosa activity.

Theft (Instinct)

Theft is used for picking pockets, cutting purses, lockpicking, breaking and entering without being noticed, and safecracking, as well as any other theft-related activity.

Tracking (Reason)

Tracking is used to hunt people or animals in a given environment. This includes knowledge of what sorts of terrain to expect in an area and how to set traps. This ability also covers using the natural environment as camouflage. The player should choose an environment (urban, wilds, the Black, etc.); hunting in other environments is done with an automatic penalty die.