Skills

This is a general skill list. In a given game, some of these skills may or may not be available. The cost, in Skill Points, will also vary based on the game. Skills that will be more useful in a given story will cost more, whereas skills that are unlikely to be of use will have a lower cost. Skill costs typically vary from 1-6 points per level. Typically, a character with level 6 in a skill is considered to have complete mastery of the skill, although each storyteller is free to adjust any maximum skill limit based on their game. When you purchase a skill, you receive 1 specialization automatically. Additional specializations may be purchased for 1 Skill Point each. When a skill's specialization applies to an action, the character receives a 1 point bonus on the use of that skill.


Academics: A character’s level of education including history, math, and literature. This skill also represents a knowledge of the cultures and creatures.
Specializations: By field – History, Math, A Specific Culture, Spirit Lore, etc.

Alertness: A character’s perceptiveness using the 5 normal senses.
Specializations: By sense – Vision, Hearing, etc.

Animal Ken: A character’s knowledge of animal species throughout the world and the ability to tame, train and otherwise deal with them. This skill generally deals with wild animals.
Specializations: By species – Feline, Canine, Equine, Ursine, etc.

Archery: A character’s ability to accurately launch missiles from Bows and Crossbows.
Specializations: By weapon - Long Bow, Crossbow, Short Bow, etc.

Athletics: A character’s aptitude and training in climbing, running, jumping and swimming. An action may be taken to roll Body + Athletics, allowing a character to move their full movement again.
Specializations: By activity – Climbing, Running, etc.

Awareness: A character's supernatural sensitivity. In some settings, this is used to attack with and defend against magic.
Specializations: By type - Telekinesis, Sense Emotions, Fire Spells, etc.

Brawl: A character’s aptitude or training in unarmed combat, whether the natural fighting instincts of animals or complex martial arts. This skill is used to both attack and defend in unarmed combat.
Specializations: By attack – Grappling, Strikes, Throws, etc.

Crafts: A characters skill in making objects and items. This skill covers the creation of artistic objects, utilitarian objects (ropes, harnesses, armor), and weapons. Building machines requires the use of the Technology skill.
Specializations: By craft – Painting, Sculpture, Weaponsmith, etc.

Demolitions: A character’s training in safely handling, setting, and disarming explosive substances and devices.
Specializations: By task – Building bombs, Directing blasts, Disarming, Setting devices, etc.

Dodge: A character’s spatial awareness, judgment of trajectories, and ability to move very fast. This skill can be used to avoid attacks by any weapon.
Specializations: By attack – Strikes, Grabs, Swords, Fire Spells, Etc.

Empathy: A character’s ability to understand the thoughts and feelings of others. This skill can be used to notice subtle emotional clues or to see through lies and deceptions.
Specializations: By ability – Feelings, Sense Deception, etc.

Etiquette: A character’s knowledge of different cultures, both accepted practices and taboos.
Specializations: By setting – Royalty, Peasants, Church, Business, etc.

Firearms: A character’s ability to use hand-held firearms.
Specializations: By Weapon - Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun, Automatic Rifle, etc.

Gunnery: A character's ability to use mounted guns (either stationary turrets or vehicular weaponry).
Specializations: By Weapon - Missiles, Machine Guns, Lasers, Flak, etc.

Intimidation: A character’s ability to make other people do what they want through threats, staring, shouting, or even just an imposing presence.
Specializations: By method – Roughing up, Shouting, Threats, etc.

Investigation: A character’s ability to notice small details and to draw conclusions from them. This skill be used to track people in both urban and wilderness environments, but with more difficulty than with using Streetwise or Survival.
Specializations: By method – Clues, Forensics, Research, Urban Tracking, Wilderness Tracking, etc.

Law: A character’s knowledge of various legal systems.
Specializations: By setting – Different Countries

Leadership: A character’s ability to inspire others to action.
Specializations: By setting – Pirate Crew, Army, Civilians, etc.

Linguistics: A character’s fluency in various languages and the ability to decipher new ones.
Specializations: Each specialization represents fluency in a language.

Medicine: A character’s ability to diagnose and treat injuries and illness. A roll to diagnose must be made before any treatment may be attempted.
Specializations: By task – Diagnosis, Emergency Treatment, First Aid, etc.

Melee: A character’s skill with hand-held close-combat weapons. This skill may be used to both attack with and defend against melee weapons.
Specializations: By Weapons – Broadsword, Fan, Knives, etc.

Navigation: A character’s skill in reading maps and charts and in plotting courses. This skill covers choosing the best route by which to travel.
Specializations: By setting – Mountains, Desert, Urban Routes, etc.

Performance: A character’s talent for and training in arts such as singing, dancing, acting and playing musical instruments.
Specializations: By art form – Acting, Dancing, Tsungi Horn, Singing, etc.

Politics: A character’s familiarity and knowledge of the governments of the world.
Specializations: By setting – Various Countries

Ride: A character’s ability to mount, guide, and ride cooperative animals.
Specializations: By animal – Bovine, Equine, Avian, etc.

Science: A character’s knowledge of scientific subjects such as physics, chemistry, and biology.
Specializations: By field – Chemistry, Physics, etc.

Security: A character’s knowledge of security systems from patrol patterns and traps to locks of all complexities.
Specializations: By task – Disabling Alarms, Lock Picking, etc.

Stealth: A character’s ability to hide or move without making noise or being seen.
Specializations: By method – Camouflage, Hiding, Silent Movement, Unseen Movement, etc.

Streetwise: A character’s knowledge of the slang, customs, and practices of street and underworld cultures. This skill is used to track people through urban environments.
Specializations: By task – Fencing, Fixing, Information, Urban Tracking, etc.

Subterfuge: A character’s facility with lies, deceptions, seduction and persuasion. This skill can be used to represent acting, but with greater difficulty than the Performance skill.
Specializations: By task – Cheating, Lies, Seduction, etc.

Survival: A character’s knowledge of all types of wilderness terrain and the knowledge of how to avoid natural dangers and find food. This skill also covers tracking people through wilderness environments.
Specializations: By setting – Arctic, Desert, Forest, Swamp, Wilderness Tracking, etc.

Technology: A character's ability to use and, more importantly, repair technological objects.
Specializations: by system - Sensors, Engines, Lasers, etc.

Thrown Weapons: A character’s ability to accurately throw objects and weapons. Each level of Super Strength the character has adds 5 squares to the range of thrown weapons.
Specializations: By weapon - Knives, Stars, Chakram, etc.