Secret of the Addiction

Your character is addicted to a substance or behavior. You cannot refresh any pools if it has been longer than a day since your character took part in this addiction. In addition, your character can never refresh Vigor normally: instead, he only refreshes Vigor through taking part in this addiction. This refreshment can only happen once per day, but there is a boon. Your character can take part in the addiction, however, as often you like, and one point of Vigor is returned each time. You can break this addiction. The character must abstain from the substance or behavior. At the end of each day doing so, make a Stay Up roll. If the roll is successful for five straight days, the addiction is broken. If any roll is failed, start over. The secret is kept and if the character ever takes part in the addiction again, it returns.

 Secret of the Bodhisavatta

You must have at least one ability ranked at Grand Master to take this Secret. When you roll a Transcendent success level, you do not have to have your character transcend. Your character can deny herself of perfection and will stay chained to this life. Roll a penalty die immediately. You can keep rolling penalty dice until you are no longer Transcendent. Cost: Take a level one harm associated with the ability per penalty die.

 Secret of Business Savvy

You know how to work a deal and spot con-men. Spend 1 Instinct to spot the flaw in your opponents business negotiations (haggling) and earn +1 die or +2 harm, as appropriate.

 Secret of the Captain

You are in charge of a ship, whether by ownership or not, and all responsibility and authority is yours. Get +1 die per instinct spent in conflicts of authority with your crew.

 Secret of the Companion

Your character has had Companion training, and is an expert at human interactions. He or she can "play" anyone, discerning their needs and naturally presenting the best possible appearance. Spend 1 instinct to get +1 bonus on any social interaction skill (including- but not limited to- Seduce, Persuade, Orate, and Intimidation).

 Secret of Contacts

Your character knows all sorts of people in all sorts of places. You can use this Secret for your character to automatically have a past relationship with any GM character in the adventure. You may describe the relationship in a short phrase, such as "old enemy," "wartime buddy," "ex-lover," but the GM gets to decide the history and current disposition of the relationship. Cost: 3 points from a pool determined by the GM. Vigor would fit for a wartime buddy, Instinct for an ex-lover, and Reason for a former colleague in your character's field of study.

 Secret of Disarm

Your character can disarm an opponent, without changing intentions, with a successful ability check using a weapon in Bringing Down the Pain. Because weapons can be all sorts of things in this game, "disarm" just means that the weapon's been rendered ineffective for the duration of Bringing Down the Pain. Cost: 1 Vigor.

 Secret of Enhancement

You must select an ability when you take this Secret. You may spend as many points out of the associated pool to give bonus dice to the ability as you like.

 Secret of Fire and Brimstone

You are a preacher whether religious or not, spend 1 instinct to add a bonus die to your Orations.

 Secret of the Giant

You are a massive person, and dominate others with your size. +1 die to efforts to intimidate others.

 Secret of the Greasemonkey

This character has a natural talent for mechanical engineering and possibly other technical systems. Take +1 die for any attempt to fix machines that are broken.

 Secret of the Guild

you are a member of one of the 'Verse guilds (Companion, Traders, Miners, the Syndicate, etc.), or have close ties to someone who does. +1 die to negotiations when you can bring the Guild's weight to bear on the situation.

 Secret of the Hidden Pocket

This character is adept at hiding objects on her person. No matter how carefully searched the character has been, she may pull an inexpensive, small (hand-sized) item off her person with a successful Stealth ability check. There is no need for the player to have written this item on the character sheet previously. Cost: 1 Instinct.

 Secret of Imbuement

Turn an item into a weapon or armor, using the rules found in the Resolution chapter. You can add one weapon or armor rating to the item each time you take this Secret. In addition, you can use this Secret to imbue the item with the power of another Secret. That Secret will have its costs lowered by one pool point. The item can be taken away from you, but you must be given a chance to get it back, or you can roll your advances spent on this Secret into a new item. You can take away someone else's Imbued item, but you'll have to pay the original cost to keep it.

 Secret of the Implant

Thanks to your Alliance background or your shady connections, some part of your body has been enhanced by cybernetics implants. This might be a replacement for a missing limb or organ, or you might just be showing off. Get +1 die per vigor spent to rolls involving an ability reasonably related to the implant.

 Secret of Inner Meaning

Your character's art carries a meaning beyond the surface. Use any non-physical Instinct-based ability at a distance via a piece of your character's art. Cost: 2 Reason.

 Secret of the Iron Mind

Your character can refresh Reason whenever he defeats someone else in a one-on-one personal contest of any type, as long as it has been established as a contest between the two.

 Secret of the Iron Stomach

Your character has great ability to consume things that would otherwise harm him. Gain one bonus die to resist any poison or drug taken orally, or to resist the effects of spoiled, overly spiced, or otherwise harmful foods. Cost: nothing.

 Secret of Knowledge

Choose one ability that is not currently rated at Adept. That ability is now rated at Adept for your character.

 Secret of Living off the Land

Your character knows how to hunt, fish, trap, and collect berries. Also good at finding shelter in a pinch! Gain a bonus die per Instinct point spent to use for scrounging when in the wilderness.

 Secret of Mighty Blow

Your character can strike with extreme might. Spend as many dice of Vigor as you like to increase the harm of a successful blow in combat.

 Secret of Quality Construction

You must choose a specific Craft Ability when you take this Secret. Your character can craft items of excellent quality. Any item your character creates using this Secret gives one bonus die to a particular ability when using the item, permanently. Cost: 5 Reason.

 Secret of the Safehouse

Through painful experience, you know where the best places are to go to ground. Spend 1 Instinct to locate a good hideout within a reasonable distance. This secret does not guarantee safety, it only provides an opportunity (the locals might have to be convinced to help, for example)

 Secret of Schooling

Compared to the regular folk of the Border worlds, your character is well educated. He likely has a thorough understanding of history and Core culture. Spend 1 Reason to recall a useful bit of information from your studies,giving yourself a +1 bonus to any other ability.

 Secret of the Ship

You are invested in the ship, either financially or emotionally, and you know it inside and out. +1 die to any rolls for actions involving the ship directly, such as finding a place to hide onboard, performing crazy piloting maneuvers, or figuring out what's broken in the engines.

 Secret of Shooting

Your character is a crack shot. On a successful hit on any target, using the Firearms ability, she gains an additional +1 weapon bonus. Cost: 1 Instinct.

 Secret of Sibling Rivalry

You can refresh your character's Instinct pool whenever he gets in a knock-down, drag-out fight with a member of his family. In addition, you can immediately roll your Family Bond ability after the fight and add those bonus dice to your family member's Healing Check. Cost: nothing.

 Secret of the Signature Weapon

Your character has one weapon with which she is bonded. You gain a bonus die to any action taken with that weapon and any other character else attempting to use the weapon receives a penalty die. (Note: to change this weapon, this Secret must be taken again.)

 Secret of Small Stature

Your character is smaller than most people in the world, and can use that to his advantage in combat. Gain a bonus die any time your character is avoiding an attack from someone larger than him or any other situation in which his reduced size may help (i.e. an Athletics Ability Check to wriggle through a pipe.) Cost: nothing.

 Secret of Specialty

You must select an ability when you take this Secret. Choose a specialty your character has within that ability - for example, cooking pastries for the Complex Crafts skill. You always have a bonus die when your character attempts an action that falls within that specialty.

 Secret of Taking a Beating

You have innate toughness thanks to years of hard living. Determine a rating of armor (+1 to +3) for yourself, using the rules found in the Resolution chapter. You can use this armor as often as necessary to reduce harm at the cost of 1 die from any pool.

 Secret of Throwing

Anything is a dangerous missile in your character's hands. She can throw anything fist-sized to greatsword-sized as an attack, using the Aim ability, and the object counts as a +1 weapon. Cost: 1 Vigor.

 Secret of the Traveler

Your character has been around, and visited moons and planets all over the 'Verse. Take +1 die to Etiquette checks to understand the local culture and customs.

 Secret of the Tree Witch

While in the wilderness, your character automatically receive a bonus die for any Healing Checks. Cost: none.

 Secret of Trustworthiness

You have an honest face, and it's hard to doubt your word. +1 die in conflicts where you're trying to convince others that you're being honest and have their best interest at heart.

 Secret of the Unwalked Path

Your character's movements leave little trace for others to follow. You can use your character's Stealth ability in resistance to anyone trying to track her. Cost: 1 Instinct.

 Secret of the Veteran

Your character's battle experience has given her the ability to read an opponent well. For each point of Reason spent, get +1 die on any roll to figure out your opponent's next move (Discern Truth or Command, as appropriate).