Knowledge Skills
Knowledge
Academia (As appropriate)
Specialized knowledge of various subjects is often underappreciated, but can sometimes be of vital importance. Some examples might be history, Forerunner Lore, or alien customs. This skill represents information a character might have “at hand” regarding a particular subject, with higher levels in the skill representing a more complete understanding of the associated specialty. Academic specialties are almost never associated. Note also that some specialties may be limited in scope; if your character is a history buff, he might only know the history of his native world. Knowing what historical events led to a war on another planet may be more difficult (this might be a related skill check, for example; Master’s discretion).
Area Knowledge (As appropriate)
This skill gives the character an in-depth understanding of the area in question. While every character may have detailed knowledge of the local area they grew up in, Heroes in Future Imperfect tend to be upwardly-mobile, and their adventures often take them halfway across the skies. Specific information of a far-off place requires the area knowledge skill. The area about which you are knowledgeable can be of any size, from an entire starsector to a single city on one world, but the larger the region, the less specific the information. Without area knowledge, one may have to resort to chancy social interactions or even chancier payouts to find people, places or services--even basic services, if the locale does not have rudimentary tech-6 "internet."
Gip Zrepyp seems to know a little about every world in the Mutara sector; he knows which planets and cities are groovy with his style of partying. If you make planetfall on Rial IV, however, you can’t expet Gip to know where to find you some black market weapons, though; his knowledge is too broad for that. Instead, you’d talk to Mac Scorpio, up on the bridge, who has area knowledge (Rial IV).
Argument
There will come a day (probably soon) where you need to settle differences with someone, but shooting them in the face might not be an option. Come that day, you will have to roll out your big-boy words and try to convince some other sod that they are wrong. Enter the Argument skill. This skill enables you to put forth your position, tear down the assertions of another, call out logical fallacies and use the words of others against them...all for the purpose of getting your way without physical violence (hopefully). In some social/psychological combats, one may be called upon to use the argument skill.
Armorer (armor, power armor, melee, firearms, energy weapons, launchers, heavy weapons, battlescreens)
While skill with a category of weapons generally implies the ability to perform basic maintenance, overhauling, repairing or modifying armor and weapons will often fall to the specialized skills of the techs in a ship’s armory. When weapons suffer a breakdown or armor gets pummeled in combat, armorers are the ones who can get things back in working order. See chapter XX for armor and weapons breakdown.
Bureaucracy
The more advanced a society gets, the larger its population or the stricter its government, the thicker its red tape inevitably becomes. In some places permits will be required for any number of actions, tariffs or duties paid, officials bribed, et cetera. A well-connected bureaucrat can often mean the difference between a deal taking place on time and under budget or a project stalling out and dying on the vine. Successful uses of bureaucracy can yield such results as the reduction or waiving of docking fees, reduced wait time for permits or shipping, finding the right officials to talk to about issues or preventing underworld agencies from interfering with your crew or activities. This skill may be called upon in dealing with Red Tape (see chapter XX for the Red Tape minigame).
Demolitions Expert (Demolitions, Bomb Disposal)
While some explosives are dirt-simple and designed to be used by grunts in the middle of combat, the free-form use of explosives is best left to the experts. Sure, if you pack enough anti-personnel mines or grenades in something, you’re bound to destroy it, but a skilled hand can achieve the same results with much less ordnance (and probably do it safer, too!). This skill is also used to defuse the occasional bomb or booby trap that some enemies are so fond of leaving behind.
Disguise (make up/prosthetics, biometrics)
Making oneself unrecognizable is not terribly difficult. Making oneself unrecognizable while still being able to carry on with normal activities and not arouse suspicion requires skill in the art of disguise. Part of this skill is simply making oneself look different. Another aspect is acting differently, as well. When a disguise is applied, the player (or Master) makes a skill check to determine the TN for others to see through the disguise. Whenever a character in disguise is spotted by someone who might catch on (someone who knows him or whoever he might be impersonating, or someone who might call out an alarm if the character is recognized), the observer attempts an Observation skill task, racking up effect points to see through the disguise. If an NPC is attempting to use a disguise to fool one of the Crew, the Master can make passive Observation checks for the player(s) and let them know something is amiss if and when they see through the NPC's disguise. One successful Observation check on the part of the observer might make him suspicious. If the observer is able to maintain a good visual long enough to accumulate effect points equal to the TN x the target's disguise skill, they have successfully seen through the disguise. Without any level in this skill, a disguise applied by someone else is little more than a costume or a change of appearance. The number of effect points to see through the disguise will be halved, unless the recipient of the disguise has the disguise skill, themselves, or the Perform (acting) skill. More advanced societies may also use computerized scanners to verify specific characteristics such as retina/iris scans, fingerprint analysis, or various recognition systems based on a person’s voice, gait/stride or facial features. Some of these can be defeated by experts while others may rely on high-tech gadgets to spoof the sensors. Other, even more secure systems might require DNA or neural authentication to trick, or even more arcane means…
Engineering (Armaments, Combat, Computer, Mechanical, Stardrive, other as appropriate)
Mechanics can tinker. Engineers create. With the appropriate time, materials and equipment, it is possible for a trained engineer to design and/or build things, from defenses and fortifications, to weapons, even starships. On larger vessels, the head of any given technical section will probably be a trained engineer directing lesser techs or mechanics. Whenever a ship system suffers a breakdown, a ship’s mechanic may be able to provide a temporary fix, but it will often take an engineer to fix the problem for good. Engineering skills may be called upon during ship combat situations. If a task calls for the starship mechanic skill, an engineer with the proper specialty can generally use it as an associated skill, but if the task requires the accumulation of effect points, these are halved.
Forensics
When scientific principles are applied to the investigative process, forensics is the result. While there are nearly as many fields of forensics as there are fields of science and research, forensics is a catch-all that includes many common types of evidence collection and analysis, be it from fingerprints, autopsies, DNA, trace evidence, or even computer evidence. Successful use of this skill may point out clues, identify victims or perpetrators, or clear the name of the unjustly-convicted. Investigators may find the evidence, but to truly learn what it means often requires the knowledge of forensic experts.
Language (As appropriate)
All characters are fluent (have 2 levels) in their native language. Over time and distance, the languages of most cultures will drift, sometimes becoming completely incomprehensible to outsiders. As a world’s methods of travel and communications improve, a mere handful of languages will likely be spoken by the vast majority of the world’s native population. By the time a culture has reached starfaring levels of technology, their race will often have developed a “common” form of language, with other dialects understood by some, especially in provincial areas. The smaller populations of Colonial worlds will also often be dominated by a single language. A character with 1 point in another language can speak and understand relatively simple ideas. At level 2, the character can read and write in the language, and has a larger vocabulary. At this level, one is considered fluent in the language. Because of racial differences, the sounds of another language may be difficult to reproduce or might require a well-trained ear to distinguish, such as a human learning the growls of The Rauwoof or Blarad, or the whistles and chirps of the avian Whistlers. Treat these as one fluency level less, and at level one, the character may only be able to listen and pick up while being unable to speak. Some languages are truly “alien,” such as Klackon or Mertun, and require organs or body control that simply make it impossible for some races to “speak.” Languages are not always verbal, as well. Some groups or cultures have “sign” languages, and many military special forces have non-verbal “languages” that can range from simplistic to complex. Since, in game terms, it will often be difficult or impossible for a player to predict what races they will encounter or locales they may have to visit, each level of the language skill gives the Hero 5 levels of fluency that he can assign as needed. He could speak a smattering of 5 different languages or speak one fluently (2 points) backed up by fluency in a slightly alien language (3 points). The Master reserves the right to veto any fluency choices if, for example, doing so helps the story somehow or maybe if your Hero would have never had the opportunity to learn the language in question. Deciding your Hero knows another language may be an excellent form of character development, as well, since you may need to explain where he learned to speak Hiss’ist…
Medicine (First Aid, Surgery, Xenomedicine)
It’s easy to get hurt when you put the comforts of hearth and home far behind you and lead a life of excitement and danger on the fringes of known space. When your hard living catches up to you, it pays to seek out a medic. Someone trained in first aid can stop you from bleeding out, set broken bones and generally treat most “flesh wounds.” This allows a character to heal up to heavy wounds. He can do nothing for serious and critical wounds and maimed limbs other than stop bleeding. A trained surgeon has had formal medical training in a university or equivalent. A surgeon can cut people open, treat internal injuries and perform operations. Proper surgery generally requires specialized equipment or facilities. The surgery specialty allows one to treat wounds that are serious or greater, although a surgeon can make an associated skill check on patients with light or heavy wounds. Medtechs with training in xenomedicine can treat a variety of beings other than their own race, and this specialization will allow them to use their first aid or surgery skill on a member of an alien race with no penalty. Attempting first aid or surgery on an alien without knowledge of xenomedicine is treated as a related skill check, subtracting 2 from the roll. Very alien races may incur a -4 penalty. Xenomedicine requires one to first have a specialty in either first aid or surgery.
Personal Flight System (Jump Belt, Contra-gravity Harness)
Gravsled devices are able to nullify, harness and redirect a small portion of a planet’s gravity well. This allows characters so equipped advanced mobility. Jump belts just nullify gravity, allowing the character to jump extremely high or far and coast through the air with their own momentum. CG harnesses are more heavy-duty and are “powered” with gravsled technology, allowing the user to maneuver and move at high speed. When using a jump belt, the common application is to move in short, controlled bounds, which may require the use of a continuous action. If the character is attempting to make a large jump that that would keep one in the air longer than the user's skill level in rounds, make a roll at TN 7 to see if they land on target. If they fail, use the scatter element on the action card to determine which direction the jump is off by, and the step number minus skill level to determine drift. CG harnesses basically allow one to "fly," and using one for movement requires the use of a continuous action. For both jump belts and CG harnesses, maneuvering checks should be made when critical maneuvers arise.
Pilot FTL
Safely making the transition from Einsteinian space into the folds of hyperspace requires extensive training and practice, as any number of precise calculations could be disastrous if off by even a tiny bit. As such, many FTL pilots spend a good deal of time under instruction before they are ever allowed to perform solo jumps. Difficulty of making a hyperspace jump is determined by the distance, with shorter jumps being easer to compute, and by the accuracy of the course plotted by the astrogator. If the pilot fails his roll when making a hyperspace jump, the ship overshoots or undershoots the target, or travels in a random direction. Determining the ship’s location is space will require an astrogation roll, and another check to plot a new course. If there is no trained astrogator to plot a course while lost in space, one may simply have to turn on the distress beacon, and hope the ISP finds them before the scavs do…
To determine the range (in light years) a Pilot can make in a basic, short FTL jump (TN 3), multiply his skill level by his knowledge trait die type. So, a Pilot with level 3 skill and a d8 in his Knowledge trait can make a TN 3 jump out to 24 light years. This is the basic range increment. The pilot can perform a jump at double this range (range increment 2) at a TN of 5, four times this range (range increment 3) at a TN of 7, 8 times this range (range increment 4) at a TN of 9 and so on. In the above example, the pilot could make a single jump of up to 768 light years with a TN of 13.
Other scene attributes may affect the piloting difficulty roll as determined by the Master. Improved Mk. rating of the ship's computers may give a bonus (TBD), and if another member of the crew with Programming (Systems Operation) aids the pilot, a successful check at TN 5 will decrease the TN of the piloting roll by 1 with and additional -1 to the piloting TN for each bump. If the pilot has made this exact same jump before (from one system to another), he can add +2 to his skill roll.
If the skill check succeeds, the pilot makes the transition from regular space to tachyon space with no issue, and when the trip is complete, from tachyon space back into regular space. The ship's location will match the course laid out by the astrogator. If the skill check fails, the pilot has missed the precise transition to real space, and the ship's location will be a number of light years off target. In deep space, location generally isn't so important, but if it is (if one was close to enemy territory and you need to figure out if you jumped behind enemy lines, for example), use the scatter element on the action card to determine the x/y position and the yes/no toggle to determine direction on the z-axis (up or down). The distance from the target is equal to the range increment of the jump times the number the piloting check failed the TN. So, a pilot attempting a range increment 5 (TN 11) jump rolls a 5 for his skill check. He will be off course by 30 (5 x (11-5)) light years.
A piloting check failure will also require a breakdown check of the FTL drives. If the drives break down, the ship is dead in space until they are repaired (though the ship will still be able to use its TISA drives, but in deep space, a ship operating under Torch drive might as well be a worm inching across a continent. Along some routes and near some systems, pirates and other criminals may have deployed deep space sensor buoys that can detect FTL signatures. These pirates often prey upon ships that miss their mark, swooping in with short-range FTL jumps using pre-plotted astrogation courses. One of the primary duties of the ISP is to crack down on these pirates and secure the space lanes from such predation. As such, if a pilot misses his mark, there is also a chance that an ISP vessel may come to assist (though depending on the law level or government type of the local system, this aid may not be free...) If the drives are not inoperable, recovering from a failed piloting roll will require the astrogator plot a new course to the target, and the pilot will need to make another piloting check.
A ship's FTL speed is rated in light years/day, so many voyages, even "short" ones can take several days or even weeks, depending on the distance traveled. If the pilot gets a bump to his piloting roll, the ship may experience a phenomena known as time dilation, whereupon even though their hyperspace jump has taken them out of real space for the length of time their course would normally take, the time the crew experiences is drastically reduced by a factor of 288. So, during a jump that would normally take 20 days (480 hours), if time dilation occurred, the crew would only experience a trip of 100 minutes! As such, people who travel in FTL a lot over the course of their lives may actually be significantly younger than the age specified by their birthday and the calendar! Lastly, since a normal FTL jump may take a long time, even for short jumps, the pilot only needs to man his station during transition from or to real space. Otherwise, he is available for other duties aboard ship.
If the pilot critically fails his piloting check, the ship may jump in a random direction an untold distance. Consult the Lost in Space minigame for more details.
Professional (As appropriate)
Professional skills are largely academic, intellectual “trades” such as journalism, photography, politics or the practice of law. Using the skills and performing them may fall under traits other than knowledge. Due to the wildly different nature of the possible professional skills, specializationss in the professional skill are never considered related.
Science (Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Planetary, Social, Others)
This skill covers formal education, empirical data and skill in many forms of scientific pursuit. Engineers, researchers and doctors will often have multiple science specializations under their belt. While some specializations may be related, it is up to the Master to determine how close they are and what penalty might be incurred for trying to say, solve a biology problem with your advanced understanding of chemistry. (See minigames in chapter XX for how the science skill affects research.)
SCUBA
Underwater environments can be every bit as deadly as the cold vacuum of space. The SCUBA skill allows the character to safely use specialized gear for diving, breathing underwater and even reaching abyssal depths. This does not necessarily help you move faster in water (that’s what the swim skill is for), but use of select SCUBA gear may help. An untrained person can probably only swim to a depth of about 10 meters at most before they run out of air, panic or the water pressure hurts their ears too much. Each level of SCUBA beyond the first will provide training with increasingly effective equipment that will double the maximum dive depth (to over 150m at level 5!). Level one will train the character in how to use basic breathing apparatus to allow extended underwater operation at normal skin-diving depths. Technologically advanced equipment may add other multipliers to the maximum dive depth allowed for one's SCUBA skill.
Starship Operations (Sensors, Power Systems, Computers, Communications)
Qualified Astronauts have undergone extensive training to operate a multitude of shipboard systems with some proficiency. This is a long-standing, traditional requirement of most navies, and a necessity for many smaller, privately owned vessels. The former group demands its astronauts to be able to fill any role aboard a larger ship, while the limited crew numbers of the latter group means that sometimes a small pool of people must be able to "do it all," an specialization is a luxury. Also, understanding of some aspects of common ship systems will grant passable knowledge of many others. Outside the listed specializations, many other aspects of ship-board operations may be treated as an associated skill, such as engineering, gunnery, engineering, EVA or Zero-G operations (all with Master approval). While listed with the knowledge skills, the associated trait used with Starship Operations skill checks may vary widely depending on how the skill is being used.
Survival (Terraformed, Xeno, Hostile)
Planetary environments will fall into one of three categories. Terraformed environments are generally “earth-like,” falling in the Goldilocks zone of a stellar body, with adequate gravity and atmospheric pressure. They are either naturally or artificially similar to your race’s home planet and have been seeded with flora and fauna that are familiar. Xeno environments are generally habitable by terms of atmosphere, pressure and temperature, but have indigenous life that may not mesh with your race’s body chemistry and may have planetary phenomena (storms, seismic activity, solar activity) that can be hazardous. Hostile environments include various “Hell” worlds, where surface activity without proper training or protective gear could prove hazardous or even instantly fatal. For terraformed or xeno environments, a successful task check at TN 3 that accumulates one's size in effect will feed one person for one day, with each bump or additional effect (usually between 5 and 7) providing enough sustenance for an additional person. For hostile environments, there will be no sustenance to be gathered; at the Master’s discretion, every unit of time (which can vary depending on the hazard level of the planet) spent on the surface or outside of a secure hab might require a survival roll simply to avoid calamity.
Trade (As appropriate)
Trade skills are hands-on skills like the professional skill. Professionals learned about something, Tradesmen learned how to do something, and can get paid for it, be it building houses with carpentry, slinging hash with cooking, or excavating ore with knowledge of mining. For skill with trading goods, see the Merchant skill.
