Abilities

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 quickly the character notices something" as "how quickly the character moves."

Resist (Reason)

Resist is the strength of a character's will, and a general measure of their ability to stay calm and rationale under duress. Use this to test for panic or shock in extreme situations.

PROFESSIONAL

This single ability is meant to be defined by a specialty. Take this at Competent to start

Profession (Reason)

This ability covers all the mundane skills and knowledge associated with your characters every day job. Define your professional specialty at the start of play, and consider the situations in which this might help you. An office temp might know the layout of a corporate building, a police officer knows how to find weapons, a meth dealer might know about volatile chemicals, and a waiter might have access to food. Let your imagination be your guide.

OTHER

Start with one ability at Adept and three at Competent

Academics (Reason)

This skill represents the level of advanced education on the character's part, and covers specialized knowledge in all academic and scientific fields. This skill covers languages, history, geography, and chemistry, just to name a few.

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.

Construction (Vigor)

Construction represents both a general knowledge of engineering and architecture as well as specific knowledge about actually building structures. This skill can be used to do new construction or to create impromptu barricades and rennovations.

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.

Deceit (Reason)

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

Demolitions (Reason)

This is knowledge of pyrotechnics and other 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 Throwing.

Driving (Instinct)

This ability is used to drive wheeled vehicles, including cars, motorcycles, trucks, etc. The skill might be used for situations that call for speed or control, and for keeping the vehicle in one piece when collisions are imminent.

Empathy (Instinct)

This ability is used to sense someone's general state of mind and even their intentions. Use this skill to tell if someone is being honest, or to give you an advantage in a conflict.

Firearms (Instinct)

This ability covers the basic understanding and use of firearms, including pistols, shotguns, rifles, and machine guns. This ability is used to hit targets with guns as well as handle guns under durress- reloading or clear a breech when an enemy is almost on top of you.

Hand to Hand (Vigor)

Unarmed fighting is the center of this ability. Fists, feet, grappling, locks, and throws are all part of this skill. This might represent disciplined martial arts training, barroom scrapping, or simply panicked flailing.

Intimidation (Vigor)

This ability is for those who like the direct approach- looming over an opponent with rage in your eyes and telling them what they're going to do. This is the overt alternative to Sway. This can be used either individually or with crowds, if you're scary enough. (penalty dice for use when outnumbered)

Leadership (Reason)

Leadership represents the essential ability to rally others and create workable strategies for a team. This might represent a military officer's command of his troops in battle or a sales director's ability to drive his staff to reach quarterly goals.

Medicine (Reason)

This skill represents all things related to healing - an understanding of physiology, basic first aid skills, setting broken bones, and possibly even surgery. If someone's been physically hurt, this can be used to heal them.

Pilot (Instinct)

This ability is used to pilot either air- or water- crafts. Determine which at the start of play. This covers working as either the lone captain or serving as part of a crew, and includes performing maneuvers, setting course, and reading the environment and instruments to deal with difficult situations.

Security (Reason)

This skill covers a working knowledge of criminal activity, including lockpicking, breaking and entering, hotwiring cars, and safecracking,among other things. It may be appropriate for either actual criminals or those who defend against them.

Shopping (Instinct)

This ability can be used to know exactly where to find items or materials in a modern world. This skill allows for the character to find things where they shouldn't be available or, where appropriate, find a particular good bargain.

Stealth (Instinct)

Stealth is used to sneak up on people, hide from other characters, steal things without being noticed, and conceal objects on your character's body.

Survival (Instinct)

Survival comprises an innate undestanding of the character's environment, whether urban or rural (decide at the start of play). It can be used to track people or animals, orient yourself in a complex environment, scrounge subsistence-level resources, set traps, and generally use the environment to your advantage.

Sway (Instinct)

This broad skill covers the ability to affect individuals through conversation. This might be used to make a deal, talk sense into someone, lure an attractive person into bed, preach to a crowd. The influence may be obvious or not, depending on the speaker.

Technology (Reason)

This skill covers working with machines and tools, including electronics, mechanics and computers. Use this skill to create, repair, or disable such things as radios, cars, generators, etc. and to work with heavy tools and equipment.

Weapons (Vigor)

This ability covers fighting with any sort of melee weapons, such as knives, bats, fireaxes, batons and other such devices, as well as improvised weapons such as pool cues and severed arms.