Abilities

Abilities are the Traits used to describe what you know and what you’ve learned to do. Whereas Attributes represent your raw potential, Abilities represent the ways you’ve learned to use that potential. You may not need anything but brute strength to smash through a door — but if you’re trying to use sheer muscle power to force an engine part into place without breaking anything, you’d better know something about mechanics. When rolling dice, you’ll probably pair an Ability with an appropriate Attribute, in order to properly depict the combination of potential and know-how that’s necessary for getting things done.

Talents
Talents describe what you intuitively know, what you can do without coaching or instruction. The only way to improve your Talents is through direct experience — with the exception of a very few cases, these things can’t be learned from a book or an Internet video.

Acting/Performance
The Performance Skill governs your ability to perform artistic endeavors such as singing, dancing, acting, or playing a musical instrument. You are almost certainly specialized in one field, although true virtuosos may be talented in many forms of performance. This Talent represents not only technical know-how, but the ability to work an audience and enrapture them with your show. You must choose a specialty, even though this Talent also imparts a general sense for watching and responding to your audience’s mood regardless of medium.

• Novice: You could sing in the imperial choir.

•• Practiced: You rock the cantina better than anyone else.

••• Competent: You almost always have a gig booked.

•••• Expert: You have the talent to be a planetary sensation.

••••• Master: You are a virtuoso without peer.

Alertness
This is your basic knack for noticing things that go on around you, even when you’re not actively looking for them. Alertness describes the attention you pay to the outside world, whether otherwise occupied or not. This Talent is typically paired with Perception, and is best used when sensing physical stimuli (as opposed to moods or clues).

• Novice: You’re no mindless drone.

•• Practiced: Habitual eavesdropper

••• Competent: You keep a sharp eye on your surroundings.

•••• Expert: Whether from paranoia or good sense, you are rarely caught off- guard.

••••• Master: Your senses are on par with those of a wild animal

Athletics
This Talent represents your basic athletic ability, as well as any training you might have had in sports or other rigorous activities. Athletics concerns all forms of running, jumping, throwing, swimming, sports, and the like. However, Athletics doesn’t cover basic motor actions such as lifting weights, nor does it govern athletic feats covered by another Ability (such as Melee).

• Novice: You had an active childhood.

•• Practiced: Imperial Academy athlete

••• Competent: Talented lifelong amateur

•••• Expert: Professional athlete

••••• Master: Sports Savant

Awareness
Awareness is an instinctual reaction to the presence of the supernatural. It differs from Alertness (which measures sensitivity to mundane events) and Occult (which covers actual knowledge about the supernatural). Usually, only supernatural creatures have access to this particular Talent, but some unique mortals have a sense that something is strange in the world. Characters with Awareness sometimes get hunches, chills, or sudden flashes of inspiration when they are near supernatural creatures, objects, or events. This insight is purely subconscious, and knowing that something’s wrong doesn’t mean that the character knows what it is.

• Novice: Once in a while, you get the feeling that something isn’t right.

•• Practiced: You sometimes get strange vibes from a particular direction or vague area (like a building).

••• Competent: You can walk into a room and know that something unusual is going on within.

•••• Expert: If you concentrate, you can sense whether a someone in a group of people or a collection of objects is supernatural.

••••• Master: You instinctually know if something or someone is mundane or supernatural.

Brawl
Brawl is the fine art of injuring other people with only your natural weapons. For humans, this involves punches, kicks, elbows, and the like. For a werewolf, it also covers the powerful teeth and claws of her non-human forms. Brawl reflects the character’s experience in actual fights alongside any formal martial arts training. Experienced brawlers need to be ruthless and brutal, willing to fight on through loose teeth and broken bones to make the other guy fall first.

• Novice: You picked fights in the schoolyard.

•• Practiced: You can hold your own in a cantina brawl.

••• Competent: You’ve been in your fair share of fights and have come away on top.

•••• Expert: You could give a wookie a run for his money.

••••• Master: You are a deadly weapon, you can fight a war and expect to win.

Empathy
Empathy measures a character’s ability to identify other people’s emotions and feelings. She may use this to take advantage of someone, feign sympathy, or even connect genuinely. A particularly successful Empathy roll might even allow her to tell if someone is lying to her. A highly empathetic character has to watch out, however — she may get so caught up in the feelings of others that her own emotions are affected, whether she wants to or not.

• Novice: You provide the odd shoulder to cry on.

•• Practiced: Sometimes, you feel the same emotions as the person you’re talking with.

••• Competent: You can analyze the emotions of people around you with a degree of accuracy.

•••• Expert: It takes a real master (or a sociopath) to lie to you.

••••• Master: You know what they’re going to say before they do.

Expression
Expression is the art of getting your point across to an audience, in any medium. A character with a high Expression Trait sends emails and tweets with the same eloquence and delicate phrasing she demonstrates in her public speaking, and people sit up and take note — whether she’s telling the truth or not. Expression covers the delivery of information using language as a primary form, whether poetry, speeches, or blog posts. Using nonverbal forms to hook the public’s imagination is the domain of Persuasion. You can choose a specialty for Expression even if you have less than four dots.

• Novice: You’ve sold a poem or two.

•• Practiced: You could lead a college debate team.

••• Competent: You could make a living as a writer or journalist.

•••• Expert: Your work gets submitted for international awards.

••••• Master: When you speak, everyone around you praises your words.

Intimidation
Intimidation takes many forms, from outright threats and physical violence to mere force of personality. It needn’t be course or callous, and a well-placed intimidating word under the right circumstances might well be called “diplomacy” in certain circles. You know the right method for each occasion, and can be very… persuasive.

• Novice: Shady teenager

•• Practiced: Lower coruscant thug

••• Competent: Drill sergeant

•••• Expert: Your air of authority cows casual passersby.

••••• Master: You can frighten off vicious animals.

Leadership
You are an example to others and can inspire them to do what you want. Leadership has less to do with manipulating people’s desires than it does with presenting yourself as the sort of person they want to follow. Anyone can lead a group into some sort of conflict; a good leader can get them back out intact. This Talent is usually paired with Charisma rather than Manipulation.

• Novice: Captain of your Little League team

•• Practiced: Student body president

••• Competent: An effective CEO

•••• Expert: Imperial Officer material

••••• Master: You could be beloved dictator of a nation.

Primal Urge
This Talent describes a character’s connection to her bestial nature, and her level of gut feelings in her various nonhuman forms. A character with high Primal-Urge relies not just on her heightened instincts, but a whole range of sensory information that humans don’t fully understand. Her understanding of her feral nature gives her an easier time when changing form, and can let her instinctively notice signs of supernatural activity — though this rarely goes beyond the level of a chill down the spine or the hairs on her neck standing on end. Note: This is a talent unique to jedi.

• Novice: Merely a youngling. The urge is there, but hasn’t been honed.

•• Practiced: Your instincts put you on a safe path through danger.

••• Competent: You know when something weird is going on, and have an easy time taking the right shape to deal with it.

•••• Expert: The wolf within drives you to act, and its guidance is never wrong.

••••• Master: You have an innate understanding of what it means to be Garou: a synthesis of man, wolf, and spirit created to be Tython’s guardian.

Streetwise
The streets can provide a lot of information or money to those who know the language. Streetwise allows you to blend in unobtrusively with the local scene, pick up gossip, understand slang, or even dabble in criminal doings.

• Novice: You know who’s holding.

•• Practiced: You’re accorded respect on the street.

••• Competent: You could head your own gang.

•••• Expert: You have little to fear in even the worst neighborhoods.

••••• Master: If you haven’t heard it, it hasn’t been said.

Subterfuge
Subterfuge involves hiding your motives and projecting something else on top of that. If you can figure out what someone else wants, you can twist that to your best advantage. This Trait defines your talent for intrigue, double-dealing, con artistry, and just plain lying to people. Characters with high Subterfuge are masters of finding people who want something for nothing and giving them nothing for something, knowing precisely what to say to further their own goals.

• Novice: You can pass a white lie as the truth.

•• Practiced: You could be a pickup artist.

••• Competent: You can get hardened criminals declared “Not Guilty.”

•••• Expert: You could be a very successful grifter or double-agent.

••••• Master: They’ll never know it was you.

Quick-shooting
Quick-shooting involves aiming, drawing, and firing a blaster before anyone else can. Whether you're in a discussion with a bounty hunter and need to take him out before he shoots you, or you're making a daring escape while firing into the sea of troopers. The difficulty of a Quick-shooting roll will depend on how accurately and how quickly you want to shoot. It is a successful Quick-shooting roll that allowed Han to shoot first.

• Novice: You get a few lucky shots off before the shootout begins.

•• Practiced: You can aim from the hip after a few minutes.

••• Competent: You can quick draw fairly easily.

•••• Expert: It's hiiiiigh noon.

••••• Master: You shot first.

Skills
Skills are Abilities learned through training, apprenticeships, or other instruction. If you try to perform an action involving a Skill in which you have no rating, your difficulty is increased by one. An unskilled worker just isn’t as effective as someone who might have lower Attributes but a better understanding of what the procedure entails.

Animal-ken
Humans think and behave far differently to other animals. It takes a special touch to deal with other creatures, especially if they’re hurt or frightened. A person (or werewolf) with Animal Ken knows how to speak and move in such a way to gain an animal’s trust. Animal Ken is also necessary for training animals and for working closely with animals (such as leading a mule train).

• Novice: You know how to behave around tame animals.

•• Practiced: You’ve housebroken Akk puppies and performed basic obedience training.

••• Competent: You can train animals for specialized work, like herding or sniffing out drugs.

•••• Expert: You can teach most animals complex tricks and routines.

••••• Master: You can train wild animals to perform very complex tasks.

Crafts
This Skill covers your ability to make or fix things with your hands. Crafts allows you to work in fields such as carpentry, leatherworking, weaving, or even mechanical expertise such as car repair. You can even create lasting works of art with this Skill, depending on the number of successes you achieve. You must always choose a specialization in Crafts, even though you retain some skill in multiple fields.

• Novice: Academy wood shop

•• Practiced: You’re starting to develop your own style.

••• Competent: You could start your own shop.

•••• Expert: You make holo-vid tutorials on your field of specialization.

••••• Master: Your craftsmanship and insight is virtually without peer.

Piloting
The Piloting Skill covers familiarity with starships and Speeders. The difficulty of a given piloting roll might increase or decrease depending on the terrain and the character’s familiarity with the vehicle. Having taken her friends on a road trip in her X-34 Landspeeder isn’t much use when she’s chasing the horizon at 150,000 in a new Pod Racer, and neither is of much use when the only getaway vehicle is a speeder bike.

• Novice: You can set the hyper drive and operate a basic land speeder.

•• Practiced: You prefer to co-pilot, and could probably ride a speeder bike.

••• Competent: You can pilot frieghters on long hauls.

•••• Expert: You’re good enough to be a starfighter pilot, or you can make a cruiser do what you want.

••••• Master: If it’s got an engine, you can make it sing.

Etiqette
You understand the nuances of proper behavior, in mortal society. In many cases, knowing how to broach a topic is as important as the discussion itself, and a person with poor etiquette will never have an opportunity to make herself heard because she doesn’t know when or how to interject. This Skill is used during meetings, haggling, seduction, dancing, dinner etiquette, and all forms of diplomacy.

• Novice: You know when to keep your mouth shut.

•• Practiced: You’ve been to a black-tie event or two.

••• Competent: You know your way around even obscure silverware.

•••• Expert: Her Majesty would consider you charming.

••••• Master: If the right people came to dinner, you could end wars — or start them.

Blasters
A character with the Blasters Skill knows how to kill things with blasters. This Skill represents a broad knowledge and familiarity with all kinds of Blasters, from a small stun blaster to a heavy blaster cannon. The character can clean, repair, recognize, and accurately fire pretty much any kind of blaster he comes across — though it doesn’t extend to massive artillery cannons or tank blasters.

• Novice: You can shoot gungans in a barrel.

•• Practiced: You leave the blaster range happy most of the time.

••• Competent: You’ve been in a firefight, and know how to handle a lot of blasters.

•••• Expert: Chances are, you’ve been in a lot of blaster battles, and could work as a hitman.

••••• Master: You can bulls eye womp rats in your T-16 skyhopper.

Larceny
This Skill entails familiarity with the tools and techniques for the sorts of physical manipulation typically associated with criminal activity. Picking locks, manual forgery, safecracking, simple hotwiring, various forms of breaking and entering, and even sleight-of-hand all fall under the auspices of Larceny. Larceny is useful not only for theft, but also for setting up “the unbeatable system” or deducing where a thief broke in. This skill does not confer any aptitude with advanced security or anti-crime technologies such as video surveillance or alarm systems — those are covered by the Computers Knowledge.

• Novice: You can pick a simple lock.

•• Practiced: You could run a shell game hustle on the corner.

••• Competent: You can open a standard locked window from the outside.

•••• Expert: You can “retool” a passport or ID card.

••••• Master: You could get into (or out of…) a multinational bank’s central vault.

Melee
The counterpart to Firearms and Brawl, the Melee Skill involves fighting up close and personal with a weapon. A master of Melee can use a sword, spear, staff, or a wooden stake with equal ease. Jedi and Sith use this Skill to fight with Lightsabers — mystical blades of spirit energy said to cut through anything. This Skill covers weapons from around the world, such as Vibro-spears, Vibro-cutlasses, and Sound shields.

• Novice: You can hold a Vibro-knife with confidence.

•• Practiced: You’ve been in street fights and survived.

••• Competent: You could make an academy fencing team.

•••• Expert: In your hands, anything is a deadly weapon.

••••• Master: You have a widespread reputation as an extremely dangerous opponent with any weapon.

Stealth
Stealth allows a character to avoid being seen or heard, whether moving through cover and shadows, hiding in a crowd, or shadowing someone on his route home. Most uses of Stealth are contested by someone else’s Perception + Alertness, with whoever rolls the most successes thwarting the other. The Storyteller should keep in mind that staying hidden in a forest is very different to hiding out in an urban alleyway. Stealth is also used for hiding items, either on one’s person when being searched or in the environment.

• Novice: You can hide in full darkness.

•• Practiced: You know how to stick to the shadows when moving.

••• Competent: You have little difficulty following your prey without being spotted.

•••• Expert: Dry leaves and twigs don’t give away your position.

••••• Master: If you don’t want to be seen, you’re as good as invisible.

Survival
This Skill allows you to find shelter, navigate your way to civilization, track prey, establish a makeshift haven, and possibly even avoid supernatural threats like Jedi that also prowl the Galaxy of Darkness. Note that Survival need not be used only in areas considered “wilderness.” There’s plenty of Survival that goes into getting by in various parts of modern cities.

• Novice: You can survive a night spent outside.

•• Practiced: You’ve “roughed it” on a regular basis.

••• Competent: You can separate poison or spoilage from edible forage.

•••• Expert: You could live for months in the challenging environment of your choice.

••••• Master: You could get dropped naked into the Andes and do all right for yourself.

Scavenging
This skill covers your ability to find useful parts and items in your current location. Whether it's trying to find a computer spike in the middle of a research facility, or finding the right piece to rip out to fix a ship you've never ever been in thus solving the problem that stumped the owner of the ship for several years instantly. Now this doesn't mean anything can be found, it has to match the surroundings, but this skill is very useful when your plan fails and you need to improvise something fast.

• Novice: You might be able to find the tool you need in a workshop given an hour or two.

•• Practiced: You could find a usable ship in a junkyard.

••• Competent: You could repair your blaster with not but a screwdriver and a dumpster full of garbage.

•••• Expert: You could make a working blaster from two bits of wood, a paper clip, and some duct tape.

••••• Master: You can build a ship out of actual trash and it would still fly.

Knowledges
Knowledge Abilities develop from time spent in classroom learning, private tutoring, or rigorous independent study. Because they focus more on what you character knows rather than what he does, Knowledges normally involve the use of Mental Attributes. If a character doesn’t have any dots in a Knowledge Ability, she can’t make a roll for it. While this may seem odd, most of what’s considered “common knowledge” doesn’t require a roll in the first place, much as someone with the Piloting Skill doesn’t need to roll to fly somewhere on the same planet.

Academics
This catchall Knowledge covers the character’s erudition in the humanities: literature, history, art, philosophy, and other “liberal” arts and sciences. A character with dots in Academics is generally well rounded in these fields, and at high levels may be considered an expert in one or more areas of study. If you like, you can choose a specialty for Academics.

• Student: You’re aware of the mortal planets and the various systems that govern them.

•• College: You can quote from the classics, identify major cultural movements, and expound on the difference between a twi'lek and a torgruta.

••• Masters: You could get featured in an imperial scientific report.

•••• Doctorate: Professor emeritus.

••••• Scholar: Scholars worldwide acknowledge you as one of the foremost experts of your time.

Computers
Computer defines the character’s ability to operate and program computers, and manipulate the various computer systems across the galaxy. A character with this Knowledge can hack doors, over ride autmatic controls, scan a ship for life forms. At higher levels, you can write software and create convincing fake websites, and even use system vulnerabilities to break in to secure networks.

• Student: You’re at home with a PDA or a traditional command prompt interface.

•• College: You’re familiar with most major operating systems and applications, and don’t get scared at a comupter spike.

••• Masters: You can develop websites, write custom software, and provide tech support to the rest of your team.

•••• Doctorate: You can make a very comfortable living as a droid programmer.

••••• Scholar: You’re well on your way to making the next big thing to rival Imperial Technologies.

Enigmas
The Enigmas Knowledge describes a character’s ability to solve logic problems, puzzles, and mysteries. Characters with this Knowledge link information, trivia, and hunches to solve conundrums of all varieties — especially useful when dealing with spirits who do not share a werewolf’s frame of reference. High Enigmas can lead a character to apply lateral thinking to all manner of problems, from setting up codes and signals among his pack so they can talk in secret, to matching wits against a devious villain. Note: This is a knowledge exclusive to jedi

• Student: You solve the New York Times crossword every day.

•• College: You can work out whodunit several chapters before the ending.

••• Masters: You are your pack’s resident riddler, used to talking to wily spirits.

•••• Doctorate: You recognize when your starting point is wrong, then reason your way to the right conclusion.

••••• Scholar: Deep philosophical mysteries and issues pose you little difficulty.

Finance
You know the ins and outs of commerce, from evaluating an item’s relative worth to keeping up with currency exchange rates. This Knowledge can be invaluable when brokering items, running numbers, or playing the stock market. Sufficiently high levels in Finance allow you to raise your standards of living to a very comfortable level. Note: Due to Jedi philosophy, Jedi eschew Financial gains for spiritual ones, thus only hunters, kindred, and mortals can utilize this.

• Student: You’ve taken a few business classes.

•• College: You have some practical experience and can keep your books fairly neat.

••• Masters: You’d make a fine stockbroker.

•••• Doctorate: Corporations follow your financial lead.

••••• Scholar: You could turn 20 credits into a fortune.

Investigation
You’ve learned to notice details others might overlook, and might make an admirable detective. This Knowledge represents not only a good eye for detail, but also an ability to do research and follow leads. Such research may include Internet searches or more specific research techniques like hitting the law books and periodicals archives at the library.

• Student: You can parse a broad Web search for clues.

•• College: Police officer

••• Masters: Private detective

•••• Doctorate: Imperial agent

••••• Scholar: Bounty Hunter

Law
The Law Knowledge represents a knowledge of both legal statutes and proper procedures for enforcing them. Law can be useful for filing suits, avoiding lawsuits, or getting out of jail.The Law Knowledge has any number of specialties, and a player may choose one for her character when she takes this Ability, representing both her field of experience and a general sense for how the legal system (especially in her locality) functions, though this is not mandatory.

• Student: You’ve paid a traffic ticket and know whether to plead guilty, not guilty, or nolo contendere next time.

•• College: You’re either studying for or just passed the bar exam.

••• Masters: You can make a living of the practice, and probably do.

•••• Doctorate: If you’re not partner yet, you will be soon.

••••• Scholar: You could find the loopholes in the Emperor’s contracts.

Medicine
You have an understanding of how the human body — and to a lesser extent the various alien bodies — works. This Ability covers knowledge of medicines, ailments, first-aid procedures, and diagnosis or treatment of disease. Medicine is of great use to those Kindred with an interest in repairing, damaging, or reworking the human body.

• Student: You’ve taken a CPR course.

•• College: Premed or paramedic

••• Masters: General practitioner

•••• Doctorate: You can perform transplants.

••••• Scholar: You are respected by the world’s medical community as a pioneer.

Occult
You are knowledgeable in occult areas such as mysticism, curses, magic, folklore, and particularly vampire lore. Unlike most other Knowledges, Occult does not imply a command of hard facts. Much of what you know may well be rumor, myth, speculation, or hearsay. However, the secrets to be learned in this field are worth centuries of sifting legend from fact.

• Student: You write a blog about Fortean phenomena, and read tarot cards on weekends.

•• College: You’ve pieced together some truths, and have gleaned some insights into the world of spirits.

••• Masters: You can make educated guesses about the veracity of any new information.

•••• Doctorate: You can pick credible stories out of the tabloids.

••••• Scholar: You know truths that would cripple a weaker mind.

Rituals
Rituals are an important part of werewolf life. Ritual behavior helps a werewolf control the Rage within. This Knowledge lets the character know about the traditions, mysteries, and ceremonies of the Garou, including how to participate in common rites and how to behave properly towards elders and leaders. Some werewolf rituals are more than formalized behavior: they call upon ancient spirit magics to powerful effect. A character cannot learn a rite of higher level than his Rituals rating. Note: Only Jedi use the rituals knowledge, as sith only have rituals for Necromancy and Thaumaturgy.

• Student: You’ve watched a number of rites closely.

•• College: You know how to carry yourself at tribal moots.

••• Masters: Other tribes invite you to attend their moots.

•••• Doctorate: Even Black Spiral Dancers know and respect your knowledge.

••••• Scholar: You’ve quested into the Umbra to develop new rites.

Politics
You are familiar with the politics of the moment, including the people in charge and how they got there. The Politics Knowledge includes the ability to practically navigate various bureaucracies, as it assumes that certain organizational structures and relationship currencies are universal.

• Student: Activist; you can pay a speeding ticket online.

•• College: Political science major; you know how to file a request for information.

••• Masters: Campaign manager or holo-vid host; the clerk will help you navigate the forms you need to complete and tell you who needs the duplicates.

•••• Doctorate: Senator; “We’re not supposed to show this to anyone without press credentials, so don’t quote me.”

••••• Scholar: You could choose the Emperor. “Sure, here are the keys to the file morgue. Turn off the light when you leave.”

Science
You have at least a basic understanding of most of the physical sciences, such as chemistry, biology, physics, and geology. This Knowledge can be put to all forms of practical use. In most cases, a player should select a specialty to reflect a focus for her character’s scientific studies, but this isn’t strictly necessary.

• Student: You know most of the Academy basics.

•• College: You’re familiar with the major theories.

••• Masters: You could teach Academy science.

•••• Doctorate: You’re fully capable of advancing the knowledge in your field.

••••• Scholar: Your Prize for excellent Imperial Achievement is waiting for you.

Technology/Droids
The Technology Knowledge represents a broad acumen with electronics, computer hardware, and devices more elaborate than “machines,” which fall under the Crafts Skill. If it has a processor, a transistor, or an integrated circuit — if it’s electronic rather than electrical — manipulating it uses the Technology Knowledge. This is the wide-ranging Ability used to build one’s own computer, install (or subvert) a security system, repair a mobile phone, or kitbash a shortwave radio. This is also used to do various workings with droids from repairs to modifications.

• Student: You can perform simple modifications or repairs. Could temporarily fix an astromech.

•• College: You could make your living in assembly or repair. Could fully repair an Astromech.

••• Masters: You can design new technologies from a set of objective requirements. Could build an Astromech.

•••• Doctorate: For you, it’s not, “Can this be done?” but “How can this be done?” Could build a protocol droid.

••••• Scholar: A visionary in the field; you shape how people interact with their world through devices. Could Build an assassi droid