A character’s Attributes measure his innate physical, mental and social qualities — how strong he is, how quick he thinks on his feet, and how well he interacts with other people. The different ways in which a character can apply these Attributes are determined by his Skills. A character’s Skills reflect the education and training he’s acquired over the course of his life, and are a reflection of his origins and interests. Skills can be acquired in any number of ways, from institutionalized learning to hard, hands-on experience. A young recruit at the police academy is trained to use a handgun, while a gangbanger learns to shoot as a matter of survival.
Like Attributes, Skills are broken down into three general categories: Mental, Physical and Social. A character’s initial Skills are purchased during character creation and are prioritized in the same manner as Attributes, with 11 points to allocate among primary Skills, seven points to allocate among secondary Skills, and four points to allocate among tertiary Skills. Skill dots can then be increased further using experience points (both at the conclusion of character creation if the Storyteller allows it, and later during play). Or new Skills can be purchased during a chronicle at the player’s discretion. For more information on selecting Skills for starting characters, see p. 34.
Skill Dots
Skills are rated from 1 to 5, with each score suggesting your character’s relative level of proficiency and knowledge in that area. Dots Proficiency Level
• Novice. Basic knowledge and/or techniques.
•• Practitioner. Solid working knowledge and/or techniques.
••• Professional. Broad, detailed knowledge and/or techniques.
•••• Expert. E xceptional depth of knowledge and/or techniques.
••••• Master. Unsurpassed depth of knowledge and/or techniques. A leader in the field.
Skill Specialties
Skills represent broad bases of knowledge and physical training in a given subject. An auto mechanic doesn’t just know about fixing engines, for example, but is versed in repairing tires, replacing windows and painting the body. In addition to this broad foundation of knowledge, characters can specialize in a particular aspect of a Skill, giving them an edge in a particular application due to their increased focus. There’s no limit to the number of Specialties that your character can have in a single Skill. You choose three Specialties at character creation. Any more must be purchased during play with experience points. Rolls involving a Skill Specialty gain a +1 modifier over and above any other situational modifiers. So, if your character has Crafts, but also has a Specialty in Automobiles, you gain a +1 bonus when he works on cars.
You are limited only by your imagination when devising your character’s Skill Specialties, although their focus should be fairly specific. A character possessing the Drive Skill might focus on sports cars, trucks, off-road or high-speed driving. Each Skill listed in this chapter has a number of suggested Specialties to give you an idea of the possibilities.
Skill Tasks
If a Skill represents a particular body of knowledge or training, a Skill task describes a specific application of the Skill in question. Healing Wounds, for example, is a task describing an application of the Medicine Skill. Skill tasks combine an applicable Attribute with the Skill, plus any relevant equipment modifiers to form a dice pool, minus any situational modifiers. Climbing a steep cliff, for example, is a Skill task combining Strength + Athletics + equipment such as rope, pitons and cleats. Many Skills in this chapter have one or more tasks associated with them that suggest different ways in which the traits can be applied in various situations. Use these as guidelines for determining other Skill tasks that arise in your stories.
The Right Tools for the Job
Having the proper equipment for a task can often mean the difference between success and failure. In addition to situational modifiers and Specialties, Skill rolls gain bonus dice if your character uses high-quality or specialized equipment when performing a feat. For example, a driver with a high-performance sports car has an edge in a race over someone in an old pickup. See “Equipment,” p. 139, in Chapter 6 for more information on the gear available to your character. Each task presented in this chapter lists a variety of tools that could provide bonus dice to your Skill roll. These lists are by no means exhaustive. You’re encouraged to employ other types of tools or equipment to assist in performing a task, but the Storyteller is the final arbiter on what bonus, if any, gear provides. It’s possible that using poor-quality tools might even make a task more difficult to perform, so choose wisely.
Doctor Carlton’s library was a shambles. Bookshelves leaned on broken supports as if drunk, and piles of antiquated tomes lay scattered amid bits of broken glass and ceramic on the carpeted floor. Julia picked her way through the debris to Carlton’s desk and examined a large, leather-bound book resting on the ink-stained blotter. “It’s his journal,” she said, running a slim finger over the careful lines of script. “The last thing he wrote looks like Latin: ‘mali principii malus finis.’”
“The bad end of a bad beginning,” Stapleton translated, bleakly surveying the damage from the doorway. “I told him that damned idol would be the death of him.”
Academics is a broad-based Skill that represents a character’s degree of higher education and general knowledge in the Arts and Humanities — everything from English to history, economics to law. Dots in this Skill do not directly correlate to a given level of education. Your character could have entered a doctorate program but spent more time partying than studying, resulting in low dots. Conversely, a self-taught individual who read voraciously and studied intensively could have high dots without ever earning a diploma.
Possessed by: College graduates, executives, lawyers, librarians, scholars, students
Specialties: Anthropology, Art, English, History, Law, Religion, Research
Dramatic Failure: Your character fails to remember crucial facts, incorrectly informing his actions. A charac- ter with a history background may remember an incorrect set of dates that completely alters his theory on a certain event, or a former art student might incorrectly identify a painting as a worthless copy instead of a priceless original.
Failure: Your character is unable to summon the necessary information. It’s on the tip of his tongue, but the name, date or reference eludes him.
Success: Your character is able to summon the necessary knowledge to serve his needs.
Exceptional Success: Your character recalls or knows especially obscure or detailed facts that give him additional insight into the matter at hand. She not only identifies a particular work of art but recalls that the artist was renowned for his fascination with demons and the occult.
The photo was a grainy digital reproduction, but the faces of the uniformed men were clear enough to be recognizable. Carla pointed a trembling finger at one of them. “That’s Mr. Denisov. Oh my God, where did you get this?” As grim as the situation was, Robert couldn’t help but smile. “There’s a newsgroup dedicated to supernatural research conducted by the Soviets during World War II. You can find damn near anything on the net if you know where to look.”
Characters possessing this Skill have the necessary training or experience to operate a computer. At high levels (3 or more), a character can create his own computer programs. People with high levels in this Skill are familiar with a variety of programming languages and operating systems. Note that dots in Computer do not apply to manually fixing or building machines, only to operating them. Construction and repair is the province of the Crafts Skill (see below).
Possessed by: Businesspeople, professors, programmers, students, sysadmins
Specialties: Artificial Intelligence, Data Retrieval, Graphics, Hacking, Internet
Dramatic Failure: Your character has caused a system crash, interrupting any work in progress and forcing him to start his efforts from scratch. Data may be lost at the Storyteller’s discretion.
Failure: The task your character attempts to execute does not go off properly or the database query he makes returns no useful information.
Success: Your character’s function executes properly or his queries come back with the correct information.
Exceptional Success: Your character’s program or function executes more quickly and efficiently than expected.
Howard pressed the carving tool gently against the smoothly spinning wood, shaving off a steady curl of pine with the whispery, scratching sound that he once loved. He hadn’t been down in his workshop since Angela died. He’d forgotten how much he enjoyed working with his hands. He heard the basement door open, and Martha’s voice, heavy as lead, sank down the stairs. “Dad? What are you doing down there?” “Just a quick project, hon,” he called back over his shoulder. “Should be done in a few more minutes.” “Okay. Listen... I’m going to start cleaning out mom’s stuff. I could use some help.” Howard put down the carving tool and switched off the lathe. He tried to keep his voice even. “I’ve got to go out for a while today. Can it wait till I get back?” Not waiting for an answer, he undid the clamps and pulled the chair leg from the lathe. The end was now tapered to a fine, strong point.
Crafts represents a character’s training or experience in creating works of physical art or construction with his hands, from paintings to car engines to classical sculpture. Characters possessing this Skill typically have the knowledge, but not necessarily the tools or facilities to make use of their capabilities. A character might be an exceptional mechanic, for example, but still needs to sweet-talk his boss into opening up the garage after-hours to work on his friend’s car. Crafting a piece of art or creating an object is almost always an extended roll, with the length of time and number of successes required determined by the complexity of the piece. The Storyteller has final say on the time required and the number of successes needed for a particular item.
Possessed by: Contractors, mechanics, plumbers, sculptors, welders
Specialties: Automobiles, Aircraft, Forging, Jury-Rigging, Sculpting, Sewing
Dramatic Failure: Your character makes a horrible mistake in creating the piece, ruining it in the process. The chisel hits a flaw in the stone, shattering the statue, or he over-tightens the pipe, stripping the threads. He must begin the job from scratch.
Failure: Your character makes no progress in creating the item in question.
Success: Your character makes progress in crafting the piece (apply successes rolled toward the total needed).
Exceptional Success: Your character makes substantial progress in crafting the piece — a sudden burst of inspiration or a breakthrough in fabrication speeds up the process dramatically (apply successes rolled toward the total needed).
All the other detectives were convinced. An arsonist had set the hotel fire and vandalized the fire hydrant out front so firefighters couldn’t put out the blaze. But Janet wasn’t so sure. The hydrant was literally ripped from of its moorings. Who could do that without something like a truck and tow chains? Who could do that so quickly, without being seen? She contemplated the answer as she picked through the building’s smoldering remains. When she stumbled across a charred wooden stake, she knew something was not as it seemed.
Investigation is the art and science of solving mysteries, examining seemingly disparate evidence to find a connection, answering riddles and overcoming paradoxes. It not only allows your character to get into the head of a killer to grasp his motives or plans, it allows her to look beyond the mundane world to guess at answers to mysterious problems, or to have a “eureka” moment that offers insight into baffling circumstances. Your character might realize that all murder victims have the same digits jumbled in their phone numbers, she might interpret a dream that has striking similarities to events in the real world, or she could recognize why an intruder took the time to paint a room red. Certain individuals such as law-enforcement officers, forensic specialists, scientists and investigators are trained in the art of examination, while others simply develop the knack through years of practice. Note that Investigation is different from the perception Attribute task detailed on p. 45. Perception (Wits + Composure or Wits + another Skill) is typically checked when a character could spot something unusual or amiss when she isn’t actually looking for it. Investigation-based rolls are typically made when a character actively studies a situation. Dots in Investigation don’t give a character sudden insight or capability in the realms of other Skills, however. She can’t miraculously identify changing brushstrokes in a painting, for example. That would be the realm of Academics or Crafts. But she might identify how the placement of paintings throughout a house creates a pattern and imparts a message.
Possessed by: Criminals, doctors, forensic examiners, police officers, scientists, scholars, soldiers
Specialties: Artifacts, Body Language, Crime Scenes, Cryptography, Dreams, Autopsy Diagnoses, Puzzles, Riddles, Scientific Experiments
Dramatic Failure: Your character studies an individual or situation and draws an incorrect conclusion or focuses on the wrong details.
Failure: Your character fails to notice the details or information for which she searches. It might be right under her nose but she overlooks it.
Success: Your character studies the situation or problem and finds useful details that answer her questions. A single success might be sufficient to solve a simple puzzle, but more successes may be required to gather extensive clues. The Storyteller may offer small insights with each success in an examination, starting with the obvious and ending with the obscure.
Exceptional Success: Your character studies and not only discovers useful details about a person or situation, but notices additional clues that provide more in-depth information. Not only have the murder victims at two separate scenes been killed elsewhere and dumped, they both possess matchbooks from the same bar.
The Land Rover’s tires squealed as Anderson took the turn as fast as he dared. Wind whistled through the bullet holes in the windshield. “Jesus Christ!” he yelled, his hands wrestling with the SUV’s steering wheel. “How bad is it?” Robert was slumped on his side in the back seat, a thin, keening moan escaping his lips. Jenny clambered out of the passenger seat and looked him over. There wasn’t much she could see in the shifting bands of light from the street lamps. Biting her lip, she ran her hands over Robert’s chest and back. When she held them up to the light, they were red-black with blood. “Shit,” she said, noting a froth of bubbles in the blood on her palms. “The bullet’s hit his right lung. I need a credit card!” “What?” “Plastic! I need something stiff and waterproof that I can use to plug the hole or his lung will collapse! Give me your damn wallet!”
The Medicine Skill reflects a character’s training and expertise in human physiology and how to treat injuries and illness. The trait represents knowledge of human anatomy and basic medical treatments. Characters with a low level in this Skill (1 to 2) often possess only rudimentary first-aid training, while characters with high levels (3+) are the equivalent of physicians or surgeons.
Possessed by: Medical students, paramedics, physicians, psychologists, surgeons
Specialties: Emergency Care, Pathology, Pharmaceuticals, Physical Therapy, Surgery
Dramatic Failure: Your character has made an improper diagnosis of a patient’s condition and his treatment makes the condition worse. The more serious the condi- tion, the greater the harm. Misdiagnosing a cold instead of a virus might only make the sickness last longer, while improperly treating a gunshot wound may result in infection or death.
Failure: Your character’s diagnosis or treatment has no effect on the patient’s condition.
Success: Your character’s diagnosis and treatment improves the patient’s condition.
Exceptional Success: Your character’s treatment and diagnosis is so effective that the patient’s recovery time is decreased.
Samantha flicked on the light in the pantry and scanned the shelves. “C’mon, I know mom keeps a box of the stuff around here somewhere.” Absently, she gestured at Lisa. “Get me the cookie jar on the counter. If there’s anything in it, empty it out.” Lisa opened the jar and spilled its contents — a scattering of stale crumbs and a small plastic bag with a spare key — and carried the ceramic jar to the kitchen table. “Are you sure this is going to work?” “Ah! There you are!” Samantha pulled the box of sea salt from one of the top shelves. Back at the table, she poured half the salt into the cookie jar. “Sea salt drains spiritual energy from objects,” she said, fishing Mr. Chamber’s pocket watch from her jacket. “Or, at least, that’s what the book says.” She dropped the watch into the jar and poured the rest of the salt over it. “I guess we’ll know for sure by midnight,” Samantha said grimly, sealing the jar.
The Occult Skill reflects a character’s knowledge and experience with the world’s various legends and lore about the supernatural. A character with this Skill not only knows the theories, myths and legends of the occult, but can generally discern “fact” from rumor. Characters may come by this Skill in a variety of ways, from oddball college courses to learning legends and myths from the lips of superstitious family members.
Possessed by: Anthropologists, authors, neo-pagans, occult scholars, parapsychologists
Specialties: Cultural Beliefs, Ghosts, Magic, Monsters, Superstitions, Witchcraft
Dramatic Failure: Your character mistakenly identifies an example of occult phenomena or remembers incorrect information that impacts his decisions for the worse. Depending on the situation, this flawed information could be deadly.
Failure: Your character is unable to identify or remember any useful facts about the situation at hand.
Success: Your character properly identifies or remembers facts about an example of occult phenomena.
Exceptional Success: Your character is able to identify or answer questions about a particular example of occult phenomena in great detail, possibly recalling extra details that enhance his understanding of the broader situation. Not only does he successfully identify the ancient grimoire, he recalls that only one known copy was believed to exist, and it belonged to a famous occult scholar who reportedly committed suicide.
Edgar Young spread his pasty, perfectly manicured hands and gave Wilson one of his trademark grins. “Mr. Wilson, I’m the governor’s political advisor, not a member of the Public Health Service. I don’t have the authority to do what you’re asking.” “No, but the Public Health Commissioner is a political appointee, and if memory serves, he’s one of the governor’s golf buddies,” Wilson replied. “I’m sure if you made a suggestion to the governor — and pointed out to him the risks of being implicated in a criminal cover-up — he’d persuade the commissioner to close the orphanage. Then we can relocate the kids until we finish investigating the disappearances.” The condescending smirk melted from Young’ s face. “Let me make a few calls,” he said coldly.
Characters possessing this Skill are not only familiar with the way the political process works, they’re experienced with bureaucracies and know exactly who to call in a given situation to get something done. Your character keeps track of who’s in power and how she got there, along with her potential rivals. He has a grasp of the issues of the moment and how they affect the political process, and knows whose palms to grease. It’s possible that your character acquired this Skill by running for political office at some point, or by working on a campaign or as a public servant. Or he could simply be someone who follows the news and understands the money trail.
Possessed by: Bureaucrats, civil servants, journalists, lawyers, lobbyists, politicians
Specialties: Bribery, Elections, Federal, Local, State, Scandals
Dramatic Failure: Your character has seriously misread the current political or bureaucratic climate. At best, he might find his efforts stonewalled by spiteful civil servants. At worst, he might be arrested for attempted bribery or be caught up in a public spectacle.
Failure: Your character makes no headway in his efforts in the political arena. Perhaps he can’t get the right politician to return his calls or a recent shakeup in an office means he has to work harder to find the right “in.”
Success: Your character achieves his objective.
Exceptional Success: Your character not only gains his objective quickly and efficiently, he makes new friends and associates in the bargain, possibly increasing his chances for success in future endeavors.
The young man’s body looked far worse beneath the harsh light of the autopsy table than it did at the crime scene. The antiseptic glare revealed his terrible injuries in gruesome detail. Even Wagner’s partner Robison had a hard time concealing his discomfort. Wagner took out a notepad. “What have you got, Doc?” Dr. Feingold, the city’s medical examiner, chose his words carefully. “For starters, the four lacerations across the victim’s chest are equidistant from one another, and measurements indicate that they struck the body with equal force. Thus, I believe that they were inflicted at the same moment, rather than separately. Wagner eyed the four deep furrows running diagonally across the man’s chest. They’d cut through tissue and bone as cleanly as a saw. “Four guys couldn’t have done that at the same time. No way.” “Not four assailants, Detective.” Feingold raised his left hand to the light. “Four fingers. These are claw marks.”
This Skill represents your character’s understanding of the physical and natural sciences: biology, chemistry, geology, meteorology, physics. Science is useful not only for understanding how the world works, but it helps characters make the most of the resources at hand to achieve their goals. A character with a strong Science background could describe the chemical process for plating metals, for example, allowing another character with Crafts to make a silver-edged steel sword.
Possessed by: Engineers, scientists, students, teachers, technicians
Specialties: Biology, Chemistry, Geology, Metallurgy, Physics
Dramatic Failure: Your character fails to remember crucial facts, incorrectly informing his actions with potentially explosive results. He mixes an acid into a base instead of a base into an acid, or otherwise causes his efforts to fail spectacularly.
Failure: Your character is unable to summon the necessary information from memory. It’s on the tip of his tongue, but the formula, chemical or equation eludes him.
Success: Your character is able to summon the necessary knowledge to serve his needs.
Exceptional Success: Your character recalls especially obscure or detailed facts that give him additional options or capabilities with the resources at hand.
John made it onto the balcony just as the hotel room door opened. There wasn’t time to close the elegant French doors to the patio, and the breeze already ruffled the drapes. It wouldn’t be long before Logan — or worse, one of his pale-faced bodyguards — noticed and checked outside. There was nowhere to hide. John looked about frantically and saw that the balconies to either side were at least 12 feet away — too far to risk a jump at 20 stories up. John stared down at the balcony below and tried not to think about how small the cars looked. He swung his legs over the railing, taking all his weight on his arms, and hoped that all the rock climbing he’d done last summer would pay off.
Athletics encompasses a broad category of physical training, from rock climbing to kayaking to professional sports such as football or hockey. The Athletics Skill can be applied to any action that requires prolonged physical exertion or that demands considerable agility or hand-eye coordination. Examples include climbing a high wall, marching long distances and leaping between rooftops. In combat, the Skill is combined with Dexterity to determine the accuracy of thrown weapons.
Possessed by: Professional athletes, police officers, soldiers, survivalists, physical trainers
Specialties: Acrobatics, Climbing, Kayaking, Long-Distance Running, Sprinting, Swimming, Throwing
Dramatic Failure: The effort not only fails, but your character injures himself. It might be a sprained muscle or ligament, which inflicts a single point of bashing damage. Risky efforts such as climbing up the side of a building or swimming a long distance can have severe repercussions. See the rules on falling (p. 179) and holding one’s breath (p. 49).
Failure: Your character fails to accomplish the attempted action. His throw misses the mark. He doesn’t make it to the far rooftop. In the case of an extended physical action such as climbing or long-distance running, he doesn’t lose ground but does not make any headway, either.
Success: Your character accomplishes the action as planned. His throw hits the mark. He gains on the fleeing, shadowy figure. He catches the falling baby.
Exceptional Success: Your character completes the attempted action with greater efficiency or power than anticipated. A masterful feat of balance and agility makes a rock-climbing attempt much swifter and smoother than expected. He catches the falling baby and her loose pacifier.
He was the stereotypical biker: big and broad-shouldered, the sleeves of his T-shirt straining around muscled, tattooed arms. He loomed over Miles. “You and me are gonna have a little fun, college boy,” he said through yellow teeth. “And then me and your girlfriend here are gonna have a little party.” Miles leaned back and the biker took the bait, bending down to glare at the young history student. Miles’ first punch struck the biker square in the Adam’s apple. The gag reflex doubled the man over, and Miles followed up with a shot to the ear. The biker hit the floor like a sack of wet cement. “Party on, asshole,” Miles said in the silence that followed, and then took Angela’s hand. “Let’s get out of here.”
Brawl defines your character’s prowess at unarmed combat, whether he’s a black belt in karate, a hard-bitten street tough or a college student who’s taken a few selfdefense courses. Characters with this Skill know how to hit an opponent, where to hit for maximum effect and how to defend themselves from attack. It can mean using fists, but also elbows, knees, shoulders, head butts wrestling, joint locks and choke holds. Characters with a sev- eral dots could be familiar with multiple techniques of unarmed combat. Expertise in such techniques is reflected in the Fighting Style Merits (see pp. 110-112), which are based on Brawl.
Brawl is added to your character’s Strength to battle people in unarmed combat.
Possessed by: Bikers, boxers, gangsters, police officers, soldiers
Specialties: Blocking, Boxing, Dirty Tricks, Grappling, Kung Fu, Throws
Dramatic Failure: Not only does your character fail to hit his opponent, the attack leaves him wide open for a counterblow. Your character’s Defense or Dodge trait does not apply to the next close-combat attack staged against him.
Failure: Your character’s attack misses its target.
Success: Your character scores a hit against his opponent. See Chapter 7 for details on combat and inflicting damage.
Exceptional Success: Your character lands a particularly powerful blow or hits his opponent in a vital area, increasing damage.
Suggested Equipment: Roll of quarters (+1), brass knuckles (+1), sap gloves (+3)
Possible Penalties: Slippery conditions (-1), bad weather (-1 to -3), extremely confined space (-2), intervening obstacles (-1 to -3), drunk (-2)
They took the turn with a screech of tires, coming out onto a deserted street. The pursuing pickup truck took the turn wide, riding up onto the far curb and flattening a mailbox before the driver got his vehicle under control. “Hang on!” John said, hitting the brakes and pulling on the wheel. Jenny and Robert were thrown against the far doors as the Volvo spun and headed back the way it had come, right at the oncoming truck. John got a glimpse of the other driver’s shocked expression before the man swerved and the truck struck a fire hydrant. Robert looked back at the wreck shrinking in the distance. “Holy shit,” he said, shaking his head. “Where did you learn to drive like that?” John laughed. “Who says you can’t learn anything from The Dukes of Hazzard?”
The Drive Skill allows your character to operate a vehicle under difficult or dangerous conditions. Characters don’t need this Skill simply to drive a car. It’s safe to assume in a modern society that most individuals are familiar with automobiles and the rules of the road. Rather, this trait covers the training or experience necessary to operate at high speeds, to tackle hazardous road conditions and to push a vehicle to the limits of its performance. Drive is the difference between a typical suburban parent with a minivan and a police officer, car thief or racecar driver. (See “Handling” on p. 146 for dice-pool equipment modifiers for various vehicles.) The Skill also applies to piloting and controlling boats; your character’s Drive dots are applied equally to handling boats. In order for your character to be able to pilot a plane, he needs a Pilot Specialty in the Skill. With that, efforts to control a plane call for a Drive-based roll, plus one die for your character’s Pilot Specialty. A character with the Drive Skill who does not possess a Pilot Specialty cannot effectively operate a plane. His efforts to fly are based on Attribute alone, at a -1 untrained penalty.
Note that dots in Drive do not apply to manually fixing or building vehicles, only to operating them. Construction and repair is the province of the Crafts Skill (see p. 57).
Possessed by: Car thieves, couriers, delivery drivers, emergency responders, police officers, racecar drivers
Specialties: High-Performance Cars, Motorcycles, Off-Road, Pursuit, Shaking Tails, Stunts
Dramatic Failure: Your character loses control of the vehicle while attempting a maneuver. If traveling at high speed, a crash occurs, wrecking the vehicle and likely injuring its occupants. If the local terrain presents no convenient obstacles (your character drives on an open a highway or salt flat), the car flips and rolls for some distance until it comes to a stop. If traveling at low speed, the vehicle sideswipes a parked car or tree, or possibly slides off the road and becomes stuck at the Storyteller’s discretion. See “Vehicles”, p. 141, for rules on how to handle vehicles and crashes.
Failure: Your character doesn’t complete his intended maneuver. The direction the vehicle travels (if it goes anywhere at all) is determined by the Storyteller rather than by your character.
Success: Your character completes his intended maneuver.
Exceptional Success: Not only does your character complete his intended maneuver, he gains much more ground than expected. Perhaps he swerves around a sharp corner, drops perfectly into a sudden gap in traffic and shoots down the road.
Theodore Logan was a well-protected man. His hillside mansion was surrounded by a high stone wall, topped with barbed wire and sensitive motion detectors. Cameras covered every inch of his property. Armed guards patrolled the grounds 24 hours a day, accompanied by huge dogs. And then there was the fortress-like manor itself. Simon checked the wind speed once more and noted it on his homemade range card. It had taken him almost a week to find the perfect vantage point on a hilltop nearly a mile from Logan’s property. From here, he had a clear view of the man’s heated pool. Logan was a creature of habit. He liked his nightly swim. And habits, as Simon had learned in sniper school, could get you killed. Reaching into his pocket, Simon pulled out the heavy, silver-tipped bullet, carefully loaded the scope-sighted rifle, and raised the stock to his shoulder. The night-vision sight revealed the poolside in eerie shades of green. Logan was climbing from the pool as Simon settled the crosshairs over the man’s heart.
Firearms allows your character to identify, operate and maintain most types of guns, from pistols to rifles to military weapons such as submachine guns, assault rifles and machine guns. This Skill can represent the kind of formal training provided to police and the military, or the basic, hands-on experience common to hunters, criminals and gun enthusiasts. Firearms also applies to using bows. Your character can use guns and bows equally. Note that dots in Firearms do not apply to manually fixing or building guns, only to wielding them. Construction and repair is the province of the Crafts Skill (see p. 57).
Possessed by: Criminals, gun dealers, hunters, police officers, soldiers, survivalists
Specialties: Autofire, Bow, Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun, Sniping, Trick Shot
Dramatic Failure: The weapon malfunctions in some way or your character accidentally hits a different target (possibly himself). The most common type of dramatic failure is a misfire — the bullet simply does not go off when the trigger is pulled, and your character is free to shoot again in the next turn. Other mechanical failures such as a jam can be cleared in the following turn.
Failure: Your character misses his intended target. The Storyteller determines what, if anything, the bullet actually hits.
Success: Your character hits his intended target. See Chapter 7 for details on inflicting damage with firearms.
Exceptional Success: Not only does your character hit the target, he strikes a particularly vital area, magnifying the damage as reflected by your stellar roll. Suggested Equipment: See Chapter 7 for a list of sample firearms and their Damage ratings, which are added to ranged attacks as equipment modifiers.
Possible Penalties: Target’s armor, target’s concealment, target is prone. See the Combat Chapter for details on all the preceding factors. High winds (-1 to -3)
The burly security guards hustled Carter and Susan through the lobby and out into the plaza. As soon as the guard holding him let go, Carter spun around and tried to push past, but the guard caught him and shoved him backward. “Don’t show your face here again,” one of the men said, pointing his finger at Carter and Susan in turn. “Next time we won’t be so gentle.” Susan watched the guards march back into the lobby, and sighed. “Well, so much for that idea. What’s plan B?” Carter turned, a faint smile on his face. “We wait until tonight and see which one of these fits the front door,” he said, showing her the guard’s thick key ring.
Larceny is a broad Skill that covers everything from picking locks to concealing stolen goods and everything in between. Most characters obtain this Skill the hard way, by committing crimes and often paying the price for their mistakes. Some individuals such as government agents and members of the military receive formal training in bypassing security systems and stealing valuable assets.
Possessed by: Burglars, commandos, government agents, private eyes
Specialties: Concealing Stolen Goods, Lockpicking, Pickpocketing, Security Systems, Safecracking
Dramatic Failure: Not only does your character fail his attempted action, he reveals himself in the process. He might trip an alarm, wake a guard dog or be spotted with his hand in another person’s pocket.
Failure: Your character doesn’t complete his intended action. His attempt at picking a mark’s pocket comes up empty, or the lock he works on refuses to cooperate.
Success: Your character completes his action without arousing any notice or suspicion. He pockets the stolen wallet, slips inside the dark building or plucks the diamond from the nest of laser beams without anyone the wiser.
Exceptional Success: Your character not only completes his action, he does so with exceptional speed and grace, saving precious seconds when time is of the essence. A lock pops open with a simple flick of the wrist, or a security system goes offline with a few quick strokes on the keypad.
The trick was to keep his weight evenly distributed, gliding across the floor rather than taking unbalanced steps. John moved soundlessly down the hall, slower than he’d have preferred, but speed and silence simply didn’t mix. He never let his entire weight come down on either foot, and the old hardwood floor never uttered a creak of protest. It took a few minutes to reach the dark kitchen, and then he was through the door and gone with no one the wiser.
The Stealth Skill represents a character’s experience or training in avoiding notice, whether by moving silently, making use of cover or blending into a crowd. When attempting to sneak silently through an area or to use the local terrain as concealment, roll Dexterity + Stealth + equipment. When trying to remain unseen in a crowd, Wits + Stealth is appropriate. The Storyteller may make Stealth rolls secretly on your behalf, since your character usually has no way of knowing he’s been noticed until it’s too late. If your character attempts to avoid notice by a group of alert observers, a contested roll versus the observers’ Wits + Composure + equipment is required.
Possessed by: Criminals, hunters, police officers, private investigators
Specialties: Camouflage, Crowds, Moving in Darkness, Moving in Woods
Dramatic Failure: Your character not only fails to move stealthily, he does something to actively draw attention to himself. He steps on a branch or a broken bottle,or jostles someone in a crowd who protests loudly and angrily.
Failure: Your character fails to move or act in a stealthy fashion. If potential observers get at least one success on a Wits + Composure roll, your character is busted.
Success: Your character avoids notice if his successes exceed his opponents’.
Exceptional Success: Your character, through a combination of luck and talent, finds just the right circum- stances to act virtually without being noticed for the turn. Say, the sudden noisy passage of a truck allows him to dash across an open courtyard under the noses of otherwise alert guards.
Simon picked his way carefully down the riverside, sticking to the rocks rather than leaving foot prints in the mud. He expected that the police had searched his hotel room by now, and there would be APBs posted all over the city. He’d have to lay low for weeks before he could risk going back to look for Anna. He stopped at his first trout line and tested it. Sure enough, there was a good-sized fish twisting in the swift current. Simon smiled. He could last here as long as he had to.
Survival represents your character’s experience or training in “living off the land.” He knows where to find food and shelter, and how to endure harsh environmental conditions. The more capable your character is, the fewer resources he needs in order to prevail. A master survivalist can walk into a forest, desert or mountainous region with little more than a pocketknife and the clothes on his back and survive for weeks if necessary. Note that Survival is not synonymous with Animal Ken (see p. 78). The former helps your character stay alive in the wilderness, living off the land with whatever supplies he has brought with him. The latter involves understanding animal behavior and interacting directly with animals. Your character could be knowledgeable in creating shelter and gathering plants to eat (Survival), but might know nothing about anticipating the actions of a bear in his camp (Animal Ken).
Possessed by: Explorers, hunters, soldiers, survivalists
Specialties: Foraging, Navigation, Meteorology, Shelter
Dramatic Failure: Your character has made a false set of assumptions about his environment that puts him in danger. The berries he picks are actually poisonous, the water is full of bacteria or the shelter he pitches is in a dry streambed.
Failure: Your character fails to find the proper resources to fulfill his needs. All the available firewood is wet and the trout line he strings doesn’t catch anything.
Success: Your character finds enough resources to fulfill his needs for the day.
**Exceptional Success: Your character manages to find enough resources to fulfill his needs so long as he wishes to stay in the area. Perhaps he finds a stream of clear water stocked with trout or happens on a hunter’s cabin with a supply of canned goods.
Lydia’s books dropped to the pavement as the dark-clothed man stepped from the bushes. Her hand tightened on the haft of her umbrella. The man smiled, his teeth gleaming white through the hole in his black ski mask. He raised a long-bladed hunting knife. “I’m not going to hurt you unless I have to, honey,” he whispered. “We’re gonna to take a little walk somewhere private, and then we’ll go our separate ways.” Lydia set her jaw and took a half-step forward, bending her knees into a fencer’s stance. She raised the umbrella point even with her assailant’s nose. “What the fuck you think you’re going to do with that?” the man snarled, swiping at the umbrella with his free hand. His snarl turned to a shriek as Lydia flicked the umbrella under his hand and stabbed the metal point neatly through the mask’s right eye hole.
As the name implies, the Weaponry Skill represents your character’s experience or training in fighting with everything from beer bottles to pipes, knives to swords. While formal instruction in Weaponry is uncommon (restricted to military and law-enforcement training and a few martial arts), any character who has grown up on the street or spent a lot of time in seedy bars has had ample opportunity to learn this Skill.
A character’s Weaponry is added to his Strength to stage armed attacks. For more information, see Chapter 7: Combat. Note that dots in Weaponry do not apply to manually fixing or creating weapons, only to wielding them. Construction and repair is the province of the Crafts Skill (see p. 57).
Possessed by: Bikers, criminals, martial artists, police officers, soldiers
Specialties: Improvised Weapons, Knives, Swords
Dramatic Failure: Not only does your character fail to hit his opponent, the attack leaves him wide open for a counterblow. Your character’s Defense or Dodge trait does not apply to the next close-combat attack staged against him.
Failure: Your character’s attack misses its target.
Success: Your character scores a hit against his opponent. See Chapter 7 for details on combat and inflicting damage.
Exceptional Success: Your character lands a particularly powerful blow or hits his opponent in a vital area, for exceptional damage.
Suggested Equipment: See Chapter 7: Combat for sample weapons and their Damage ratings, which are added to Weaponry rolls as equipment bonuses.
Possible Penalties: Opponent’s armor, opponent’s Defense, fighting blind, improvised weapon. See the Combat Chapter for the preceding factors. Slippery conditions (-1), drunk (-2), surrounded by inferno (-3)
Patrick followed the blood trail through the woods. He knew it was only a matter of time before the deer he had shot would collapse. The red drops scattered across the leaves and ground leapt out to his trained eyes. Or they did until he reacted instinctively to a nearby sound. To Patrick’s surprise, a wolf emerged out of nowhere and barred his path. “It’s on the blood trail, too,” he thought. Then he reassured himself, “It’s alone. It won’t attack without its pack.” Or so he thought, until a malicious glimmer shone in the animal’s eye that Patrick had never seen before.
Anticipating and understanding human emotions is one thing, but being able to interpret and recognize the behavior of animals is something else entirely. Your character intuitively grasps or has been trained to read animals to know how they react to situations. The Skill also involves innately understanding how the animal mind operates, and what may appease or enrage beasts. The knack often coincides with a respect for animals, but it could derive from the analytical observation of a lab scientist or from years of abuse inflicted by a callous animal handler. Animal Ken could be applied to grasp the thoughts or intentions of supernatural animals, if the Storyteller allows. Sometimes these beings have human or greater intelligence and cannot be read by this Skill alone.
Possessed by: Animal rescue workers, hunters, longtime pet owners, park rangers, ranchers, trainers, veterinarians
Specialties: Animal Needs, Imminent Attack, Specific Kind of Animal, Training
Dramatic Failure: Your character completely misreads an animal’s state, possibly with disastrous results. He may, for example, interpret furiously energetic behavior as play- fulness rather than as a warning.
Failure: Your character is unable to gauge the animal’s true state.
Success: Your character has a good read on the animal’s true emotional state.
Exceptional Success: Your character notes enough tell tale clues in the animal’s behavior to gain a detailed understanding of its state. Not only might he recognize that the animal is anxious, but that its offspring are nearby.
The crime scene was the usual mix of order and chaos. Detective Wagner pushed his way past the news hounds and under the yellow police tape. “Where is she?” he said to the first officer he found. “Over there, Lieutenant.” The cop pointed at the open rear door of a squad car. “Don’t know how much you’re going to get out of her. She’s messed up pretty bad.” Wagner headed for the car, stepping around the form splayed out on the asphalt, which was only partly covered by a blood-soaked tarp. He saw Dr. Feingold a few yards away, kneeling by the parked car, playing a small flashlight over what looked like a severed hand. The girl was curled up in the fetal position in the back of the squad car, pulling a blanket around her shoulders as if it could shut out the world. There was matted blood — her fiancé’s blood — in her hair. Her white-knuckled hands trembled. Wagner closed the rear door of the car and got into the front seat, putting a barrier between the two of them. He was going to have to play this very carefully if he hoped to get any useful information from his one and only witness.
This Skill represents your character’s intuition for reading people’s emotions. For some, it’s a matter of observing body language and non-verbal cues. Others employ an extraordinary sense that helps them divine a person’s true mood. As the name implies, Empathy also involves the capacity to understand other people’s views and perspectives, whether your character agrees with those positions or not. This is useful in everything from negotiations and crisis counseling to reading faces in a crowd and looking for potential trouble. If a subject actively conceals his emotions or motives, make a contested roll versus the person’s Wits + Subterfuge + equipment.
Possessed by: Counselors, diplomats, entertainers, profilers, psychiatrists, police officers
Specialties: Emotion, Lies, Motives, Personalities
Dramatic Failure: Your character completely misreads a person’s emotional state, possibly with disastrous results. He may, for example, interpret nervous laughter as genu- ine, missing the anxiety and potential for violence that clumsy jokes attempt to hide.
Failure: Your character is unable to gauge a subject’s true emotional state.
Success: Your character has a good read on a person’s true emotional state, regardless of whatever front the subject puts up.
Exceptional Success: Your character notes enough tell tale clues in a subject’s behavior to gain a detailed understanding of her emotional state. Not only can he discern, say, that she is being deceptive, but he can tell from her body language that she is afraid of whoever is in the store across the street.
Pubs weren’t supposed to be this quiet. Daniel stepped up to the bar, feeling every eye in the place bore a hole in him. The bartender looked him over him suspiciously while Daniel ordered a shot of whiskey. The tension was tightening around him like a noose. He’d heard of bars in parts of the city that were militant hangouts, but he never imagined anything like this. Still, if there was one place where he’d learn the truth about Finn O’Donnell, this was it. That is, if he didn’t get himself beaten to a pulp. The bartender pushed a shot glass across the polished wood. Daniel took a deep breath, raised the glass and turned to the staring crowd. “May Ireland’s enemies never meet a friend!” he cried, and tossed back the whiskey. “Now who’ll drink with me?”
Expression reflects your character’s training or experience in the art of communication, both to entertain and inform. This Skill covers both the written and spoken word and other forms of entertainment, from journalism to poetry, creative writing to acting, music to dance. Characters can use it to compose written works or to put the right words together at the spur of the moment to deliver a rousing speech or a memorable toast. Used well, Expression can sway others’ opinions or even hold an audience captive. When composing a poem or writing a novel, roll Wits or Intelligence (depending on whether the work is poetic or factual) + Expression. When reciting to an audience, roll Presence + Expression. Playing an instrument involves Intelligence + Expression for a known piece, and Wits + Expression for an improvised one. Dance calls for Dexterity + Expression.
Possessed by: Actors, ballet dancers, journalists, musicians, poets, rock stars, writers
Specialties: Classical Dance, Drama, Exposés, Musical Instrument, Newspaper Articles, Speeches
Dramatic Failure: Your character’s performance is muddled and confusing. It not only fails to communicate his ideas, but it’s unbearable. If she’s lucky, the fiasco is forgotten quickly. If not, she is the butt of critics’ jokes for some time to come.
Failure: Your character’s performance fails to capture the audience’s interest or attention.
Success: Your character’s performance gets its point across in the manner intended, capturing the audience’s interest.
Exceptional Success: The performance enthralls the audience to the extent that members can think of (or notice) nothing else.
Suggested Equipment: Haute couture (+1), quality musical instrument (+2), supreme-quality musical instrument — a Stradivarius violin (+4 or +5) Possible Penalties: Unfamiliar audience (-1 to -3), poorly made instrument (-1), foreign audience (-1), irritated audience (-3)
Susan came back into the apartment, white as a sheet. Carter glanced up from the computer and shot from his chair, eyes wide with concern. “What’s wrong? What happened?” “I went to get the mail... and this was in the box.” She held up a rifle bullet and a small piece of paper. The note bore a single sentence. ‘Bullets are cheap.’
Intimidation is the art and technique of persuading others through the use of fear. Your character can intimidate someone with a show of brute force (Strength + Intimidation), through more subtle means such as verbal threats (Manipulation + Intimidation), or simply through menacing body language (Presence + Intimidation). It can be used to get other people to cooperate (even against their better judgment), back down from a confrontation, or reveal information that they’d rather not share.
Possessed by: Bodyguards, bouncers, gangsters, executives, police officers, soldiers
Specialties: Bluster, Physical Threats, Stare-Downs, Torture, Veiled Threats
Dramatic Failure: Not only does your character fail to intimidate his intended victim, he invites retaliation. His heavy-handed treatment pushes the victim over the edge and touches off a heated confrontation, or the intimidating gesture backfires dramatically, making your character look ridiculous.
Failure: The victim isn’t impressed and does not cooperate.
Success: Your character overpowers his victim with threats and compels cooperation for the moment.
Exceptional Success: Your character thoroughly awes his victim, asserting himself as the dominant personality for some time. The victim is certain to cooperate in future encounters, if your character can ever find him again.
Melissa put on her best “Please?” face, the one that always worked on her father. She needed access to the stacks in the basement library, the old archives that were reserved for “special studies.” She now recognized that meant “the coven’s rituals,” but she couldn’t let on. She found the head librarian Mister Richards in the Humanities section and pleaded her desperate case. “If I don’t do well on this paper, I’ll flunk Philosophy. Professor Ingram talked about some first editions in the archives. If I can quote them, maybe I’ll get extra credit.” The kindly old librarian’s eyes seemed to soften with pity. “All right, my dear. Let me get the key,” he said. In truth, it was Melissa’s physical assets that impressed him.
Persuasion is the art of inspiring or changing minds through logic, charm or sheer, glib fast-talking. Though it can be taught to varying degrees of success, most characters with the Skill possess a natural talent and have honed it over years through trial and error, practicing their delivery until it rolls effortlessly off the tongue. Persuasion is the Skill of convincing others by force of personality alone, making one’s point through carefully chosen words, body language and emotion.
Possessed by: Con artists, executives, generals, lawyers, politicians, salesmen, sexual predators
Specialties: Fast-Talking, Inspiring Troops, Motivational Speeches, Sales Pitches, Seduction
Dramatic Failure: Your character not only fails to persuade someone, she actively inspires a negative opinion in her subject. Not only does she fail to sell the car, for example, the customer is encouraged to shop elsewhere.
Failure: Your character does not convince her subject.
Success: Your character convinces the subject to accept her assertions.
Exceptional Success: Your character convinces the subject completely, to the extent that the target trusts your character’s opinion implicitly and accepts further assertions on faith. Not only is the customer eager to buy the car, he trusts your character to fill out the terms of the contract and signs without reading them.
There were four kids playing a pick-up game at the basketball court across the street from the tenements. Lisa eyed the neighborhood warily as Gabriel stepped up to the edge of the court. “How exactly is this supposed to help?” she asked worriedly. “Chill out,” Gabriel said and turned. “Hey, Carlos!” He raised his hand and waved at one of the kids. Carlos stopped and tossed the ball to a friend before trotting over. Lisa’s eyes widened. “Are you kidding me? This kid’s 12 years old!” “It’s not him we’re dealing with, it’s his brother,” Gabriel whispered as the boy approached. “Carlos is the cutout. We tell him what we need and he names a price. Watch and learn.”
Streetwise characters can gather information, make contacts, buy and sell on the black market, and otherwise make use of the street’s unique resources. The Skill is also important for navigating urban dangers, avoiding the law, and staying on the right side of the wrong people.
Possessed by: Criminals, gangsters, homeless people, private investigators, police officers
Specialties: Black Market, Gangs, Rumors, Undercover Operations
Dramatic Failure: Your character completely misreads the situation, committing an error that could have fatal consequences. He might try to sell guns to an undercover cop, he convinces a real gun dealer that he’s a cop, or he flashes the wrong sign to the gangbangers on the corner.
Failure: Your character has no luck hooking up with any of his street associates, or of convincing the locals that he’s legit.
Success: Your character hooks up with someone who can provide what he needs.
Exceptional Success: Not only does your character find someone who can help him, that person turns up at just the right time to provide something quick and cheap.
Simon stepped into the lobby, a bored look on his face. He ignored the cameras and the security guards near the elevators. Guards expected people to behave like sheep, unknowing and unaware of what was going on around them. Overly alert, fidgety sorts were the kind of people who drew their attention. The guard at the reception desk glanced at Simon as he stepped up to the sign-in book. “Can I help you, sir?” “I’m here to see Mr. Moran in suite 702,” Simon said, scrawling a name in the register. He briefly made eye contact with the guard. “Busy day,” he said noncommittally. The guard nodded and reached for a visitor pass. “The third elevator on the left will take you right up.” “Thank you,” Simon replied, clipping the badge to his lapel and joining the crowd of other businessmen congregating at the elevators. The worst was over.
Subterfuge is the art of deception. Characters possessing this Skill know how to lie convincingly, and they recognize when they’re being lied to. Subterfuge is used when telling a convincing falsehood, hiding one’s emotions or reactions, or trying to pick up on the same in others. The Skill is most often used to trick other people, but characters also learn it to avoid being tricked themselves.
Possessed by: Actors, con artists, grifters, lawyers, politicians, teenagers
Specialties: Con Jobs, Hiding Emotions, Lying, Misdirection, Spotting Lies
Dramatic Failure: Your character utterly fails to conceal the truth from his subject. If he were any more transparent he’d be a window. No further Subterfuge efforts can work on that subject for the remainder of the scene.
Failure: Your character’s deception fails to convince his subject. If the Storyteller agrees, he can still try to lie his way out of the situation through successive attempts (see p. 132).
Success: Your character pulls off the deception without a hitch.
Exceptional Success: Not only does your character pull the wool over his subject’s eyes, he wins the victim’s trust and esteem.
Socialize
The receiving line stretched out past the ballroom and down the mansion hall. Julia stood close to Stapleton near the end of the line. She wrapped her stole around her bare shoulders and tried not to shiver. “How long is this going to take? I’m freezing.” Stapleton smiled. He looked like a picture out of a 1940s fashion magazine, poised and comfortable in his tailored tuxedo. “I don’t expect it to take more than half an hour,” he said, eyeing the procession. “Everyone wants to get to dinner and start sampling the wine. By the time we get to Chancellor Martin almost everyone else will be seated, giving us plenty of time for our... conversation. Just make sure you have the amulet ready.”
Socialize reflects your character’s ability to interact with others in a variety of situations, from talking people up at bars to comporting himself with dignity at state dinners. This Skill represents equal parts gregariousness, sensitivity, etiquette and custom. K nowing how to make friends is no less important than understanding how to treat guests in formal situations. Characters with low dots might be naturally entertaining or approachable, but unschooled in the finer arts of social interaction. Or they could be punctilious with their manners but difficult to approach. Conversely, characters with high dots could have the social graces of a practiced diplomat or raconteur, knowing just what to say and when to say it in any given situation.
Possessed by: Diplomats, entertainers, executives, politicians, salesmen
Specialties: Bar Hopping, Dress Balls, Formal Events, Frat Parties, State Dinners
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: Your character embarrasses himself in such a way that others avoid him if possible or treat him with contempt. All further Social rolls made in the scene fail outright.
Failure: Your character doesn’t succeed in winning friends, but he doesn’t embarrass himself, either.
Success: Your character blends effortlessly with the crowd and is accepted by his immediate companions.
Exceptional Success: Your character owns the room. Not only does he win over immediate acquaintances, he’s the life of the party, the person everyone wants to meet.