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| − | === Presence ===
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| − | '''Animal Handler'''<br>
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| − | Even in a technologically advanced society, domesticated animals may still have their place as pets, work animals or beasts of burden. Getting animals to follow your commands requires time, patience and the animal handler attribute. Skill checks are opposed rolls versus the animal’s Presence. Teaching an animal a new trick usually takes 4-5 days.
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| − | '''Bluff'''<br>
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| − | This is the art of telling tales, spinning lies or getting someone to look out for the Klackon right behind them so you can get in a cheap shot. Bluffing is a test of wills versus an opponent’s scrutinize skill. The more raises you get, the more your opponent falls for it.
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| − | '''Gambling'''<br>
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| − | If you’re playing against the house, gambling (also known as “losing”) is a matter of math and memory or sheer, blind luck. When playing against other beings, gambling involves knowing how to hide your tells, read those of the other players and knowing when and how to bet to maximize wins and minimize losses. There are nearly as many games out there to bet on as there are people to play them. For purposes of game mechanics, characters should decide on stakes. Each player participating makes a gambling skill roll. The lowest roll pays the highest, the second lowest pays the second highest and so on. If there is an odd player in the middle, he breaks even. The stakes determine the payout. The difference between the high/low rolls multiplied by the stakes are what the loser must pay the winner. Each roll of this type might cover a considerable amount of gambling, perhaps an hour spent at a table. If a character wants to try and amass a fortune running a table, he may be able to make several gambling rolls in one night.
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| − | '''Intimidate'''<br>
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| − | The threat of harm can be subtle or blatant, it can be backed up by authority, resources or strength. Convincing your opponent that you can back your words up is all part of intimidation: getting someone else to do something…or else. An intimidation attack is an opposed roll against an opponent’s guts attribute. If the attacker wins, the loser is usually compelled to obey under threat of harm. If forced to fight, the loser is shaken and fights at -2 to all actions for a number or rounds equal to how many points they lost their guts roll. Each raise for the intimidate roll increases the penalty by another -1. With a good intimidation roll, discretion may be the better part of valor.
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| − | '''Leadership'''<br>
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| − | Besides using leadership to control NPC crew, this attribute has two specific uses: In a combat situation, a leadership roll can keep people from being surprised. Whenever a friendly crewmember fails a surprise roll, you can attempt to make the roll for him as long as your character is not surprised as well. This counts as an action for your character. Every success and raise you get on your leadership check allows the leader to affect one other individual. In addition, you can use your leadership attribute to actually trade action cards between friendly characters during combat. When it’s your turn to take an action, make a Fair (5) leadership roll. For every success and raise you get, you can help any two players (possibly even including yourself) trade a single action card in their hands. In each trade, both players must agree to make the trade, first.
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| − | '''Merchant'''<br>
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| − | This is the ability to buy low and sell high. The knack of getting people to sell what they might be reluctant to part with, or purchase that which they may not need. If you’re going to be running cargo or offloading bounty, it will pay dividends to be a skilled merchant, or have one on the payroll.
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| − | '''Perform''' (Acting, Singing)<br>
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| − | On a long trip in FTL, there is no communication with the real universe. Many a group of midshipmen have gotten together and treated the æthir with some slow jazz or a reading of Shakespeare’s sonnets just to pass the time and entertain their fellows. On frontier worlds, entertainment may be a premium, and live performances can be a viable way to gain fame or simply earn some credits. A good performance against a fair (5) TN can net the character 2d6 credits, plus 1d6 per raise. The wealth of the crowd or the venue may apply a multiplier; throwing your hat on the sidewalk and playing on the street may earn you peanuts but stepping up to the piano in a swanky lounge that serves 15-credit cocktails will likely earn you quite a bit more.
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| − | '''Persuasion'''<br>
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| − | Persuasion is the friendlier, more genteel version of intimidation. Both are means of getting people to do what you would like, but with vastly different approaches. Each method will also leave a much different impression on the other party, as well! Talking someone into providing aid or information in times of need may be as vital as skill with a blaster. Persuasion attempts are opposed rolls versus the target’s scrutinize attribute.
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| − | '''Streetwise'''<br>
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| − | No matter where you go, the streets have their own rhythm, and you can dance to that beat. You know how to work the streets to get information from the less reputable elements. While some level of area knowledge is helpful, it is not necessary; asking a few questions of the right people in the wrong part of town will tell you all you need to get the ball rolling. This attribute is generally used to get illicit goods, services or information. The difficulty generally depends on the prize and what hoops you have jumped through to secure it. The law level or local government model might also play a part; streetwise checks will likely be easier on a world whose government is classified as “Anarchy” as opposed to a “Religious Dictatorship.”
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| − | === Reflexes ===
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| − | '''Quick Draw''' (Melee-short, Melee-long, Pistol, Long Gun, Others)<br>
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| − | If the enemy gets the drop on you, you’d best be able to arm yourself fast. It usually takes an action to draw a new weapon in combat. If you’ve got this skill, you can draw a new weapon and use it in the same action. The TN is usually fair (5). If you fail, you draw the weapon normally and can’t use it in that action. If you go bust, you’ve dropped it. If you go bust and you’ve got bad luck, you might blast yourself or a friend, or slice yourself open on the draw.
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| − | '''Speed Load'''<br>
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| − | In the thick of a firefight, guns will run dry depressingly fast, especially if you’ve got an automatic weapon and are heavy on the trigger. Speed loading helps keeps your guns roaring while missing as few beats as possible. For weapons such as revolvers, tube-magazine weapons (like pump shotguns or some rifles) or rifles with internal magazines (such as most hunting rifles), it normally takes one action to reload bullet or shell. A successful speed load check allows a character to slam up to 3 rounds into a weapon during a single action. If a weapon has a magazine, a fair (5) speed load roll removes the old mag and slaps a new one in place in a single action, otherwise it takes two actions. If you fail loading single bullets, you still get in one round. If you fail to load a magazine, you don’t get it in at all. Maybe the empty is stuck or the fresh mag snagged when you tried to get it out of the pouch. Try again next turn and remember that sometimes haste cuts both ways…
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| | === Essence === | | === Essence === |
Revision as of 21:30, 20 March 2016
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Chapter 5: Skills
Traits are the raw materials of a Hero, while Skills are the programming. The essence of a Future Imperfect encounter is task resolution, and tasks cannot be effectively resolved without Skills.
Each Skill has an associated Trait. When rolling dice for a given Attribute, use the type associated with the Trait. Roll a number of dice equal to the level of the Skill.
Insert example here.
Skill List
The following Skill list is organized by associated Trait. Where appropriate, specialties and related skills are notated.
Default Attributes
Every Hero has a set of default Skills for no cost. These are Awareness 1, Search 1, Language (own) 2, any granted by the race and any campaign Skills as defined by the Master.
Acuity Skills
Reflex Skills
Dexterity Skills
Knowledge Skills
Presence Skills
Essence Skills
Essence
Bravery
This skill may be known by many names: guts, cool, courage. What it boils down to is one’s ability to face the unknown in the blackness of space and not back down. Wherever you go, you were likely not meant to be there. You have to surround yourself with a spaceship to survive the harshness of space that got you to some forsaken rock where man has never set foot. Taking that step off the dropship—and facing whatever horrors may be waiting—takes bravery. As your character travels the stars, he will become hardened. Hardness is added to bravery checks, which means that which did not kill you has made you stronger. Fear can be a powerful survival mechanism, though, and tales abound of battle-weary marines or grizzled astronauts looking some cosmic terror square in the eye and shrugging before squaring off for their last dance when flight might have saved their hides…
Psi
The psi skill is difficult to describe. Some might say you have it or you don’t. Others say it’s in the blood. Many an archaeologist has gone mad hunting Forerunner artifacts and archives trying to find the secrets of this art, hoping it is something that can be learned or taught. A strong psi skill is part intuition, part empathy. Perhaps a dash of luck, and an ineffable…something. The psi attributes are important to characters that wish to have Psionic talents, and can only be purchased or learned by characters that have latent psionic ability or are psionic Adepts. See Chapter XX: Psionics for a complete description of the psionic skill trees.
Advanced Martial Arts
Some players want a little more depth and complexity in their combat. With Master approval players may create their own martial arts styles to simulate techniques from anywhere in the known universe. Masters may also create styles to enrich the setting and differentiate between cultures.
