Abilities

Talents

Alertness
Over the years, you have become practiced in noticing all that happens around you, even if you are not actively concentrating upon the surroundings. You may be a capable bodyguard; for you have learned to stay alert over a long period of time. Alertness simply indicates your awareness of the world around you. It describes how much attention you pay to things other than the rumblings in your belly or the doubts in your mind.

1. You tend to be alert to changes, moreseo than most.
2. You are watchful and very attentive to your surroundings.
3. You are highly vigilent
4. You are a truly cautious individual and rarely let down your guard
5. You notice everything that goes on around you

Athletics
This Ability describes your general athletic prowess and assumes a familiarity with most sports. It is used to see if you can jump across a chasm, swim through a storm, vault a fence or climb a tree. Athletics concerns quite complex motor actions; physical actions requiring only one type of motor action, such as lifting, do not use the Athletics rating, nor do athletic actions already subsumed by another Ability.

1. You can break into a run without being crippled.
2. You keep yourself fit.
3. You train regularly.
4. You are a professional athlete.
5. Olympic gold (go figure).

Awareness
This Talent reflects a character's ability to detect things that are not of the physical world, like the presence of magic. However, the range of detection is still limited by realworld parameters. A character cannot sense magic cast on the other side of a city (unless it was very potent and very successful), although he might be able to sense it through a wall. A sucessful Awareness roll allows a character to ascertain the location and approximate power of a nearby magical item, a being's Karmic balance, mental state and more. A character with three or more dots in Awareness can also detect the auras that surround objects and people. This allows her to analyse the general disposition of a person, or to glean other information, such as whether the 'person' is in fact some non-human creature. This Talent may also be used to help a character relate to spirits and animals, as Awareness enables the character to sense the disposition of such creatures.

1. You see strange things out of the corner of your eye.
2. Odd things are revealed to you.
3. All things have an aura that you can see.
4. You can find a four-leaf clover in seconds.
5. You see the bizarre everywhere.

Brawl
You know how to fight bare-handed. This Ability includes such maneuvers as punching, kicking, grappling, throttling, throwing, gouging and biting. Brawling can get quite ruthless, but generally is a nonlethal form of combat - however accidents do happen.

1. You know what to do, but haven't had much experience.
2. You know where to hit people and make it hurt.
3. Nobody bothers you in your home village anymore.
4. You can take a sword from a robber with little trouble.
5. You can wrestle bears to the ground.

Citywise
The cities are a major source of information and money, as well as big-time trouble. The Citywise Talent has a variety of uses. First and foremost, Citywise allows you to blend in with the local scene without drawing attention to yourself. Gossip, felony, theft and street slang are also imparted by using this Talent.

1. You know the local Thieves Guild contact.
2. You know who might be amiable to some smuggling.
3. You blend in perfectly with any area of the city.
4. You've spent most of your life on the streets.
5. If you don't know it, it hasn't been said.

Dodge
The most efficient way to win a fight is not to be struck. Becoming proficient in the Dodge Talent is a very wise choice. Your rating in this area describes your ability to avoid both melee and missile attacks; this includes diving for cover and docking punches.

1. You hit the ground if someone screams, "Look out!"
2. You have no problem finding cover in a goblin attack.
3. You're always the last one out in dodgeball.
4. No pidgeon ever shit on you.
5. You can nearly sidestep crossbow bolts.

Empathy
You understand and can sympathise with the emotions of others, and are thus able to respond to them appropriately. Oftentimes you can discern the motives behind a person's actions simply by listening to him. You can also detect when you are being told lies. Empathy has a down side, however - because you are so open to the feelings of others, you often fell the same emotions as those around you.

1. Gossipy widows fell they can trust you.
2. Occasionally you get sympathetic pains from others.
3. You have an amazing insight into others' motivations.
4. No lies ever get past your scrutiny.
5. You often finish other people's sentances.

Expression
Expression covers your ability to get your point across, whether by writing a book or debating social issues. Characters with high Expression are unforgettable, but only in their ability to convey their feelings; intelligent or meaningful expression is the purview of other Traits. Expression at its highest form is art.

1. Tabloid reporter.
2. Debate champion.
3. Renowned Bard.
4. Best-selling novelist.
5. William Shakespeare.

Intimidation
The art of intimidation takes many forms, ranging from a subtle suggestion to outright physical damage. Each method of intimidation has its time and place. You understand the science of being overbearing and know how to use it to get what you want. People with high Intimidation ratings seem to radiate an aura of authority.

1. Six-year-olds give you the right of way.
2. You win the occasional staredown.
3. You gaze is very unsettling.
4. You can dominate foreigners on their home ground.
5. You can make vicious animals turn tail and run.

Intuition
The Talent of Intuition reflects a character's ability to guess correctly, and follow her "gut feelings". Intuition is a kind of safety net for characters, and it is up to the StoryTeller to prevent it from being abused. High levels of this Talent also indicate some aptitude in certain areas of ESP, like precognition. A rating in Intuition means the character can probably guess the result of a coin toss more often than not. She might also have a sense of when someone is lying to her.

1. You have good instincts.
2. Always go with your first answer.
3. You're a con man's nightmare.
4. A sixth sense seems to tell you when something's amiss.
5. You would bankrupt any casino - and the city its in.

Primal Urge
This describes your native instincts and connection to your ancestral past. Primal-Urge functions differently for each race. Those beings skilled in Primal-Urge are very attuned to their inner, beastial side of the their nature. Primal-Urge is used for tracking, overland navigation and detecting hidden dangers about which only age-old instincts would be able to warn (such as the distinctive odour of a predator, the subtle shift of thin ice or if you were being watched).

1. You occasionally feel more affinity with wild beasts than other people.
2. With concentration, you can sense which way is north.
3. People are uncomfortable in your presence for long periods of time.
4. Subtle instinctual warnings are routine.
5. You are a wild thing - something about you comes from the ancient past.

Subterfuge
You know how to conceal your own motives; moreover, you know how to decipher the motives of others and how to use those motives against them. The secrets and intrigues of others interest you, and you work at understanding their weaknesses. A command of this skill makes you the ultimate conversationalist or the ultimate spy.

1. A few white lies never hurt anyone.
2. You can pick up at a town dance.
3. You are considering joining the DDC.
4. No one ever knows what you are really doing.
5. You should be advising the Magistrate.

Skills

Animal Ken
Animals do not behave as humans do, even when confronted with identical circumstances. The ability to understand the actions of animals can thus prove quite handy. Characters skilled in Animal Ken can not only predict the actions of animals, but can calm or enrage them. Animal Ken is also the skill required to train animals.

1. Befriend a domesticated animal.
2. Housebreak a puppy.
3. Train a horse to carry a rider safely.
4. You could be a king's falconer.
5. Domesticate a wild animal.

Crafts
Craft Skills are simply the professional skills most people have, which they use to make a living and survive. Some people may have two Crafts (ie a farmer who is also a carpenter) but most specialise in one. Such Skills often include various petty abilities. So, Farming does not just cover sowing and reapon,; it includes handling sheep and domestic animals, repairing buildings and driving carts. Goldsmithing allows a character to evaluate gems and metals, and to speculate on the age of jewelry, etc. Examples of Craft Skills include Farming (the most common), Carpentry, Blacksmithing, Glazing, Stonemasonry, Wheelwright, Tanner, Brewing, Goldsmithing, Dyeing, etc.

1. You watched your dad and helped him with the easy bits.
2. You apprenticed yourself to the local craftsman for some time.
3. Professional, earning a fair living.
4. You've specialised in this craft - traders come to you.
5. Grand artisan - you are rising fast in the Guild Heirarchy.

Etiquette
You understand the small nuances of social life, and are able to conduct yourself in a manner that is both unobtrusive and gracious. You understand how to make your way through society. Your speciality is the culture with which you are most familiar. You use Etiquette during actions such as dancing, seduction and haggling. Etiquette is also used when engaged in diplomacy.

1. You know when to shut up.
2. You know know how to address a local lord or alderman.
3. You understand the nuances of courtly manner.
4. You can get along with nearly anybody.
5. You can seat blood enemies at the same table.

Leadership
You can get people to follow your lead and obey your orders by exerting authority and by example. Leadership isn't so much knowing the techniques of getting people to follow you as it is being the type of person people will follow. Leadership is often used in conjunction with Charisma.

1. Novice: You are one of the leaders of your own social group.
2. Practiced: Your voice is a dominant one; you can demand silence.
3. You are an effective leader in times of strife.
4. You attract followers without really trying.
5. You are a Napoleon, a Churchill - or a Hitler ...

Meditation
You are able to enter a trance-like state at will, focusing your mind inward and dealing with a range or mental and physical problems. A successful Willpower roll is necessary to enter meditation; the difficulty depends on the surroundings, but is generally an eight. After a full hour in a trance, the character rolls Meditation skill alone against a difficulty of 9. Dice from the character's dice pool are subtracted if there are any distractions during that time. Each success on the second roll restores one point of Willpower - each botch result subtracts a Willpower point. If the meditation is interrupted and concentration is lost before the hour is up, no benefits are gained.

1. Read a book on it once.
2. Studied seriously.
3. Studied under a master.
4. Qualified to teach.
5. Just that.

Melee
The ability is fight with a weapon is a valuable skill in the Darokin wilderness. Proficiency in this skill allows you to use hand-held weapons. Melee covers everything from simple knives, blackjacks, maces, swords, staves and axes to wooden stakes and 20-foot pikes. Although not everyone will posess a great deal of this ability, it is common for people to able to defend themselves.

1. You've seen a knife being used.
2. You've had some brief training with the Darokin army.
3. No one likes to spar against you.
4. Almost any weapon is deadly in your grasp.
5. Hello, my name is Inago Montoya ...

Missile Weapons
You know how to fire a bow, hurl a sling stone or throw a spear, and may do so with great proficiency. This Skill applies to any missile weapon, whether the kinetic motion comes from the character themselves or from a taunt string. You can also string a bow, and care for and make minor repairs to bows, crossbows, arrows and quarrels.

1. You've practiced on a range.
2. You're used it for hunting once or twice.
3. You can keep yourself fed happily. You have your own fletching.
4. Will usually hit a bullseye.
5. Robin Hood or William Tell.

Research
Every good student or seeker of knowledge knows how to find information that he needs or desires. In the cities, information is available through libraries, but this Skill also reflects a character's ability to discern information through experimentation and observation.

1. After 10 minutes, you can find the book you want in a library.
2. Given time, you can work anything out from first principles.
3. You have access to many private libraries.
4. Given time, you can find almost any reference material.
5. If its been written, then you know where it is.

Ride
You can climb onto a riding animal and stand a good chance of getting where you want to go without falling off, being thrown or having anything else unpleasant happen to you, and with practice might be able to fight from horseback. When attempting something difficult, or when danger threatens, the ST may require a Dex + Ride roll to avoid trouble. This Skill can also be combined with Mental Attributes to reflect your working knowledge of the relevant trappings and equipment, such as telling the rough value of a horse, spotting obvious ailments and defects in tack and harness.

1. Hang on, shut up and don't try to gallop.
2. Maybe you rode roundup on the local herds.
3. You have taught others how to ride, and have ridden in combat.
4. You are a champion rider - you break in the difficult mounts.
5. Horses treat you as their own.

Security
You know the techniques and are proficient with the tools used for such activities such as picking locks and opening up safes and vaults, as well as many other forms of breaking and entering. You also have a knowledge of the common methods of hiding items, for security, smuggling or other reasons. Many individuals who possess the Security Skill do not use it to conduct criminal activities,but rather use it to prevent such from occuring or to deduce how they were accomplished after the fact.

1. You can pick a simple lock.
2. You can smuggle small items around with ease.
3. You can disable complex security systems.
4. You can crack a safe.
5. The Merchant's Guild Vault isn't safe for you.

Stealth
Stealth is the ability to sneak about or hide without being seen or heard; it is often rolled against another character's Perception.

1. You can hide in the dark.
2. You can hide in the shadows.
3. You are an accomplished hunter.
4. You can walk silently over two inches of dry leaves.
5. You could sneak up on a pack of wolves.

Survival
The wilderness is a dangerous place, at least for those that do not understand it. The Skill of Survival includes seeking shelter, finding a direct route through and relative safety in the wilderness, and tracking. When you use Stealth in the wilderness, you cannot roll more dice for your Stealth Dice Pool than you have in Survival.

1. You can survive a five-mile hike.
2. You are familiar with the wilderness.
3. You know how to brew natural medicines.
4. You are at home in the wild.
5. You could find an oasis in the Alasiyani Desert.

Knowledges

Area Knowledge
You are familiar with an area - it's landscape, history, politics and inhabitants. This Knowledge provides a basic "who's who" of the areas around the area chosen.

1. You know a fair amount for an outsider.
2. You've lived there a while.
3. You're native born to the area.
4. You've always like exploring the area, since you were born here.
5. You know every stone, stream and building in the area.

Cosmology
The unseen worlds of the Multiverse hold many secrets. This Trait reflects how many of these secrets you understand. The Multiverse is unknowably vast, so no one can ever know all its secrets (besides, it has a frustrating tendency to change, especially in the Astral Realms). Possession of this Knowledge indicates that a character knows something of the forces that shape, and dwell within, the Multiverse. The "geography" and myriad realms of this invisible world can also be learned.

1. You know it exists.
2. You know some spots to avoid.
3. You can get around ok - you know the Near Realms fairly well.
4. You know the location of a Dream Warp.
5. Things from the Astral Realm drop in and say 'hi'.

Culture
Understanding the behaviour, beliefs, art, institutions and general thought patterns of a society is part of this Knowledge. Possessing such information allows more than just knowledge of how people act, but why as well. This is very important if a person wishes to interact with a culture, especially if the culture consists of another race entirely. This Knowledge provides an understanding of past and present cultures, an ability to pick up quickly cultural details of a new society, and indicates a talent for blending into the local society.

1. You know a few of the taboos of the culture.
2. You probably won't get lynched.
3. You understand all levels of many cultures.
4. You can recount the past and predice the future of a culture.
5. Indiana Jones.

Enigmas.
Puzzles and problems occupy your imagination - in fact, you may even enjoy being perplexed. Solving riddles of all sorts is a passion, and this interest has given a knack for piercing together and remembering information vital to many kinds of problem solving. The Enigmas Knowledge assists players in solving the mysteries created by the Storyteller. It is irreplacable for divining secret pathways to lost Realms, answering the riddles of mystical guardians, or even trying to navigate the paper trails of guild commerce.

1. You can put together a 100-piece jigsaw puzzle.
2. You can guess the outcome of a mystery novel.
3. You guessed the Sphinx's riddle first go.
4. You'd have whipped Gollum without hobbit trickery.
5. You understand the deepest mysteries.

Finance
You are knowledgeable about the values of many different things and can properly evaluate the worth of almost any item with a fair degree of accuracy. Finance is often used in connection with other Abilities to ensure a fair price.

1. You can perform basic accounting, and maintain a small business.
2. You have some practical experience with high finance.
3. You could be an international banker.
4. You are a valued advisor to the local Houses.
5. You are an economic genius and can make money do nearly anything.

Hearth Wisdom
Yours is the common wisdom of the peasant, what some might call 'superstition' or 'folklore'. You may not understand the complexities of faerie Glamour or lycanthrope behaviour, but you know that the simple items (silver, holy water, cold iron) have some power over supernatural beings, perhaps more than those beings would like to admit. Hearth Wisdom can also be used for simple herbal remedies; such remedies will be for minor aches, fertility, colds and other small things. Hearth Wisdom carries certain corollaries with it, however. Folklore can vary from place to place, and what a Karameikan character knows may mean nothing to his Ylari friend. Likewise, while a great deal of folklore may have that kernel of truth in it, the rest is chaff, and only experiementation may prove which is which. Most truth:fiction ratios should run about 30:70 or so, depending on the ST, and the character. The Occult Ability accounts for harder facts and the resources to aquire such facts.

1. You listened to Granny's fireside stories.
2. You learned from the village wise woman.
3. People come to you for advice. You are familiar with other area's lore.
4. You are a fountain of lore from your native culture and 1 or 2 others.
5. You word is respected in matters pertaining to the shadow world.

Law
The Law is not a thing to trifle with, and those with knowledge of the law are well able to use it to their advantage. If you ever need to get out of jail, this Ability is essential. This Knowledge provides a local knowledge of what is illegal and how severely infractions are punished. More often, this Knowledge allows local judges, officials and rules to settle disputes over property and the like.

1. Practical knowledge.
2. Watch officer.
3. Captain of the Guard or DDC member-in-training.
4. Judge or DDC Diplomat.
5. Central Court Justices, Senior Diplomats.

Linguistics
It is assumed that you can speak your natural language, but you must purchase any other languages that you wish your character to speak. Some demihumans start with additional languages that they may speak without purchasing Linguistics; however, Linguistics allows greater fluency in these languages. each level of Linguistics allows your character to speak another language fluently. Linguistics also gives a character an understanding of the structure of language, which is in turn the basis of thought. With this Ability, you can identify accents or read lips, and have a chance to be able to figure out phrases from languages related to the languages you know.

1. One additional language.
2. Two additional languages.
3. Three additional languages.
4. Four additional languages.
5. Five additional languages.

Magic Lore
Characters possessing this Knowledge have spent time learning the known facts about magic - not just human and elven spells, but clerical magic and the abilities of other beings that inhabit the world. Either they have been taught by a mentor who has much experience in the world, or they were lucky enough to find old texts relating to magic (and knew how to read). This Lore extends not only to magic abilities but also to legends of items and artifacts, and can be combined with Cosmology to render knowledge of similar information in other realms.

1. You have learnt a little about common magic.
2. You are familiar with most human magic - clerical and sorcerical.
3. You have gained some familiarity with the magic of other being's.
4. Facts and legends are at your fingers - people come to you to learn.
5. There is little you don't know about this world's or others' magic.

Medicine
The medical science known in Darokin is very primitive by modern standards, partially due to the influence of clerical orders. Even the simplest internal surgery has a difficulty factor of 9. In practical terms, this Knowledge is only useful for basic "first aid" - stopping bleeding, treating burns - and for simple procedures like treating fractures, fevers or stopping wounds from festering.

1. You know the basics of setting bones and binding wounds.
2. You can deliver a child and rarely lose the mother.
3. You are a physician and can diagnose and treat illnesses.
4. You can, if necessary, perform intrusive medical tasks.
5. You have the ability to advance medicine to the next level.

Occult
This Knowledge is a catch-all dealing with local folklore, arcane texts, ancient legends and most other forms of supernatural facts and hearsay. This understanding of the more sinister side of the world includes knowledge of curses, rituals, magic and mysticism. This knowledge is of the utmost interest to many mages and clerics, who often pursue in in addition to the more factual Magic Lore.

1. You vaguely remember some legends.
2. You know some details of the mystic world.
3. You've got some proof to back up the stories you know.
4. You can seperate truth from fancy.
5. You have been fully initiated in many of the great mysteries.

Theology
Religion is a familiar aspect of endeavor for you, and you understand its place in the world. You have a good grasp of your own faith's (if any) beliefs and doctrines, and at higher levels, understand and plumb other being's faiths. Possession of this Knowledge does not require personal belief in the tenets of any specific religion.

1. One of the faithful.
2. Altar boy, or regular attendee.
3. Acolyte.
4. Priest or cleric.
5. Theologian.