Skills and Languages

Skills are a key part of skill tests. Certain tasks may only be done with those who have ranks in a skill when logical. Some tasks or abilities allow for passive tests; instead of rolling a dice, if ranks of a skill is greater than the Difficulty, the character receives a result (may use this on unopposed checks, or checks without time pressure).

• Academics: Diverse learning in history, theology, philosophy, literature, art, simple mathematics, and the humanities. Ranks do not correlate to years of study; the represent the depth of learning and what is remembered from that study. All characters with at least 1 rank in Academics can read and write the languages they speak.
  • Linguist Mastery: Gaining partial fluency in a language now costs 1 XP, 3 XP for full fluency. You can read in partial fluency languages. May test Reason+Academics to attempt communication in non-fluent languages.
  • Theoretical Knowledge: Once per session, may substitute Academics for any other skill in a test.
• Artisan: For the middle class, this skill is used to invent all sorts of technological marvels that might find their way into the next World's Fair. Manual labour is, however, the line that separates “those in trade” from the more educated professionals in high society. For tradesmen, this skill is not a hobby, it is a livelihood. Blacksmiths, coopers, cobblers, carpenters, and craftsman of all sorts use the skill to produce goods that are bought & sold throughout the Empire. For the lower class, daily life requires the Artisan skill to work with one's hands: cooking, cleaning, and mending clothes.
  • Expert Production: All Artisan tests to produce items add
  • Rapid Production: When working with 0-4 others to produce an item, reduce Time to complete the item by 1.
• Athletics: Sport has always been popular entertainment, but the current era has seen athletic endeavors lifted up to promote health and sportsmanship, and codified to support fair play. The Olympics is being revived for the modern era, and throughout the Empire sports are enjoyed by men and women of all ages and classes, including lawn tennis, football, cricket, rugby, cycling, and golf. Among the constabulary, military, and Witchfinders, it is a life-saving skill as they move through dangerous terrain in the thick of combat, or escape the same.
  • Acrobat: All Grace+Athletics tests related to movement are passive tests; no speed penalties when climbing.
  • Olympian: Choose a particular sport or a closely-related group of track & field events; tests related to that sport may be re-rolled once per round. Only Athletics checks - not including Fencing, Fisticuffs, or Firearms).
• Bureaucracy: This skill deals with navigating political, civil, medical, religious, military or legal institutions. Sometimes laws contradict, paperwork becomes cumbersome, or mechanisms of society do not operate as they should. This skill overcomes the complexities of our society to accomplish things despite these hindrances.
  • Appeal to Higher Powers: May re-roll any Bureaucracy check once per Round - narratively dropping a name/position of authority.
  • Expert Forger: Successfully forged documents will automatically succeed passive tests to detect: only discoverable by deliberate active tests by someone who suspects fraud. Difficulty = success of original forgery test. Also, receive to detect others' falsified documents.
• Burglary: For some, theft is a profession. Picking pockets and locks, robbing homes, or orchestrating teams of thieves use this skill. Burglary also covers sleight of hand, distraction, and reconnoitering.
  • Misdirection: Subtle social attack of Presence+Burglary vs target’s Focus+Composure. Success =temporary “Outmaneuvered” condition on target; often used to allow another to sneak past a distracted watchman, or set up a test to pick a pocket, or sucker-punch someone to begin a conflict.
  • Skilled Hands: Grace+Burglary tests – may re-roll the check once per Round. Used for pickpocketing, picking locks, escaping bonds, palming objects, other sleight-of-hand.
• Command: Whether it be a noble overseeing servants, an officer leading troops in the thick of combat, or a street tough bullying the residents of a rookery, those in positions of power project their authority to achieve their ends. The Command skill is used to demand obedience and lead by example, to sow fear, and to build respect. It is a language-dependent skill, and requires the target to be able to hear and understand the speaker.
  • Cow: Once per conflict, declare special Present+Command test (Potency 3, Fatigued condition). Upgrade the difficulty of the target's next check once per .
  • Iron Morale: When leading troops, any unit under your command does not shift Morale the first time they normally would; May re-roll Presence+Command tests once per Round to improve Morale.
• Composure: The ability to perceive and make sense of the world and one's experiences in it, as well as a measure of the discipline needed to retain control of oneself in situations that inflame animal passions and instinctual responses. Lack of awareness has its own dangers, and coming off as undisciplined and not in control of one's emotions can be a serious breach of etiquette in the Empire, so almost all subjects have at least one or two ranks in this skill.
  • Palace of Memory: At the beginning of a scene, you may take a moment of calm to commit your surroundings to memory. Anytime later, you may perfectly recall any detail you were exposed to and make relevant tests regarding sensory information as though you were still there.
  • Unsullied Mind: Add to incoming attacks with supernatural effects (defended by Composure); Spending Purpose to prevent these effects/outcomes does not count towards turn limit.
• Engineering: The ability to understand and operate a technological device, repair broken machinery, or even design entirely new items.
  • Automata Design: May use the Narrator Character Build system (up to Threat 3, p. 297) instead of normal list of functions on p 198. Requires power supply = Threat, designed separately. Time = 4xThreat, Expenses = Threat+1, Difficulty= 4xThreat (reduced w/ Crew Build, Production:Dangerous, Slow, and/or Refined Materials restrictions). (Difficulties may need to be tweaked)
  • Expert Production: Add to Engineering tests to create items.
• Fencing: The use and understanding of swords and similarly balanced thrusting and slashing weapons in actual combat as well as formalized sport fighting. Everything from sharpened steel longswords to wooden training weapons, from a walking stick to a cutlass.
  • Flawless Defense: While wielding a Fencing-class weapon, Armor = 2 vs close quarter attacks
  • Vicious Riposte: Once per conflict, while your Guard is still up, you may roll a free out-of-turn counterattack after an opponent has failed their attack against you.
• Firearms: The use and understanding of all aspects of shooting pistols, rifles, and other small arms, as well as basic maintenance of the same.
  • Sharpshooter: Your first Aim maneuver downgrades difficulty twice instead of once; your second Aim maneuver removes up to 2 (instead of 1 per additional Aim maneuvers).
  • Quick Draw: Draw any single-handed firearm from a holster or within easy reach without spending a maneuver. Shots fired during this turn also gain for surprising the target.
• Fisticuffs: Various established schools of hand-to-hand combat exist around the world, and the use of any such formalized style is covered by this skill. Regardless of the particular techniques and philosophy, structured and stylized fighting is covered by this skill (no-holds-barred brawling and general mob combat is governed by Melee). In Britain, boxing and wrestling are the most common forms, with a growing popularity of Bartitsu and other Eastern martial arts.
  • Bartitsu: May use Fisticuffs when using canes or clothing as weapons; +1 Guard as long as you have at least one free hand, a cane, or piece of flowing cloth. May spend in any close combat check to place the Disarmed condition.
  • Pugilist: May use Vigor+Fisticuffs when making unarmed attacks. Close combat gains the Incapacitated condition, and +1 Guard as long as you have one hand free.
• Guile: The art of lying, from the well-mannered deceptions at the heart of social intrigues to the complex layers of confidence schemes and criminal plots. Since lies and deceptions are so often selfish and socially disruptive, this skill is not viewed favourably by society at large, but it is a polite fiction to ignore the fact that most, if not all, people use it from time to time.
  • Bald Lies: Once per scene/conflict, a single lie may be rolled as a Presence+Guile check vs the target’s Will only. The attack may be used to change disposition in a social conflict, or lower Guard in physical conflict (with a convincing reason why the lie conveys a credible threat to the target).
  • Expert Imposter: May re-roll a check to impersonate another person once per round; if the impersonated target has been observed for at least 1 scene in the past month, and has an appropriate disguise, those trying to see through the deception receive .
• Intuition: Some characters learn to follow their instincts in addition to their rational mind. Intuition is the strength of one's gut feeling and use of passive observation to pick up on nuances of emotion, behaviour, and awareness. It allows a character to get a sense of what other people are feeling, how they may act, and whether or not they are lying. In situations where a character is exposed to the supernatural, Intuition may be used to “feel” what the normal senses cannot perceive.
  • Medium: You feel a shiver/get a sense of the supernatural when in the presence of a shade, demon, fey spirit, Pontus event, or you enter a Breached location. If your combined current ranks in Focus and Intuition are 4+, you also detect the general location of supernatural entity/event and its dominant emotion (if any); at 6+, detect the type of entity/creature.; at 8+: Know entity’s Threat and if it has any Chaos points.
  • Smell a Lie: When make a Focus+Intuition test to recognize a lie, you may re-roll the check once per turn.
• Investigation: A character's ability to collect and interpret clues, rumors and information in an organized, thoughtful manner. This includes forensic science, robust methods of analysis and systematic inquiry in the field rather than in the laboratory or library.
  • Cold Reading: Deduce facts about a person’s history based on a quick Focus+Investigation test vs . For each , the Narrator provides one specific piece of helpful information about the target; each = gain a wrong impression.
  • Eye for Detail: May re-roll the first Focus+Investigation test to search an area for clues.
• Medicine: Training in Medicine represents a characters knowledge of practical first aid, ability to diagnose and treat diseases and maladies, and to plan and execute long-term care.
  • Battlefield Medic: May re-roll Reason+Medicine tests to Stabilize other patients; may perform these tests during physical conflict without penalty if the patient skips their next turn or is Incapacitated.
  • Gifted Surgeon: May re-roll Grace+Medicine to perform surgery once per round. May ignore a single on all Reason+Medicine checks targeting others (ie. not self-treatment).
• Melee: This is the “anything goes” combat that occurs on battlefields and in brawls. It can be used to attack with a variety of weapons and is essentially the skill of using anything at one's disposal to win a fight. A man using melee is just as likely to strike at his opponent and slam his face into the nearest brick wall or hit him with a nearby chair. Melee attacks are about brutal efficacy by any means possible, and is a faux pas when used in formal situations under the gaze of dignified men and women.
  • Brawler: In a conflict with 2+ opponents, you may force 1 target to re-roll incoming attacks once per round, as long as 2 opponents are in your zone of control.
  • Improvised Weapons: Spend 1 maneuver to manipulate an tem at hand to make it more deadly: it gains Potency 3, and choose either the Dazed or Bleeding condition (ie. breaking a bottle in just the right way).
• Mysteries: There are many truths that exist beyond science and pure reason, and only through studying Mysteries can one hope to deepen an understanding of the Clockwork's theological and magical reality. It is an understanding of the supernatural and the religious and spiritual disciplines.
  • Expert Ritualist: Remove for all Will+Mysteries tests when performing a ritual.
  • Scholar of the Profane: Add to checks made to identify Outsiders (demons, Fallen, fey, shades, etc) or Pontus-touched creatures (aberrations, chimera), understand their powers, learn their weaknesses.
• Parley: This skill is used to influence others through polite conversation, debate and negotiation. It can be used to haggle, guide the topic of conversation, and otherwise engage in discussions and disagreements with art, poise, and intelligence.
  • Closing Argument: May re-roll (once per round) Presence+Parley vs a target that is currently Agreeable or Favourable to their line of argument
  • Silver Tongue: Once per scene/conflict, Presence+Parley may shift the target's Disposition by 2 steps instead of 1.
• Refinement: The stability and privilege of middle and upper class living (Class 2+) requires adherence to strict formalities, with behaviours and standards governed by a complex and rigidly enforced etiquette. Those trained in Refinement can navigate genteel culture, but those lacking this skill are viewed as unfit to interact with polite society. Those of high Class without this skill are considered uncultured boors and suffer social consequences.
  • Acid Tongue: You may re-roll Presence+Refinement to avoid committing a 'faux pas' once per round (narratively, using wit or ruthlessness to change a faux pas into an amusement).
  • Flawless Etiquette: The first time you commit a faux pas in a scene, others ignore it; all Presence+Refinement tests may be taken passively.
• Riding: The understanding and ability to ride horses and similar mounts as well as understanding the necessary care and equipment.
  • Dragoon's Agility: You may use your mount as cover while riding: you are considered to have light cover when desired (mount will get hit on an attacker's )
  • Uncanny Horse-Sense: Influence nearby horses to do the implausible on a Presence+Riding test; quieting another’s panicking mount with a whisper, convince a wild horse to accept a bridle, compel an unfamiliar/untrained horse to approach and trust the character. Convince the horse to do activities they are untrained for without + penalty. First time per scene you fail a test to control a frightened/panicked animal, may instead treat it as a basic success.
• Science: Characters with ranks in Science have formal education in specialized fields of study such as mathematics, physics, biology, and chemistry, and well as experimental procedure and lab work.
  • Experimental Biologist: Alter livings things so drastically, they become creatures of your own design (using the Narrator character creation system, up to Threat 3), based on aberrations, animal, or beastfolk templates. Reason+Science vs 4x Threat, reduced with Crew Build, Production: Dangerous, Slow, and/or Refined Materials restrictions. Time = 3x Threat, Cost = Threat+1. (Difficulties may need to be tweaked)
  • Expert Alchemist: Add to Reason+Science tests for Alchemy.
• Stealth: The ability to hide, sneak, and move about unnoticed.
  • Blend into the Crowd: May re-roll Presence+Stealth checks to disappear into a crowd (acting casually to avoid notice, or pretending to be a local) once per round.
  • Expert Sneak: May re-roll Grace+Stealth checks to move unseen through the environment once per round.
• Streetwise: This skill represents a character's understanding of the geographical, mercantile, and social nuances of the underbelly of society.
  • Ear to the Street: Passively test Presence+Streetwise to collect and spread rumors and gossip; + on Presence+Streetwise tests to follow low Class etiquette.
  • Home City: A character in their home city never needs to test Streetwise to travel safely through it; may re-roll once per round when testing Presence+Streetwise for non-conflict (ie not in social or physical combat) social interactions with others of that city.
• Survival: Those who live and work in the wilder parts of the world must anticipate the weather, find food, water and shelter, as they live without the comforts of modern life.
  • Rugged Survivor: May make passive Reason+Survival tests to prepare for difficult environments, and passive Vigor+Survival tests to endure extreme environments and deprivation.
  • Trapper: Use the item creation system to design traps and poisons (p 153) using Reason+Survival rather than Artisan.
• Tactics: An individual trained in Tactics can draw upon one's knowledge of strategy and military history to anticipate the flow of conflict, and quickly redirect the efforts of one's troops to maximize advantageous situations. The ability to visualize potential scenarios is also useful when orchestrating or attempting to spot an ambush.
  • Always Prepared: May re-roll Focus+Tactics once when rolling for initiative; take a free Move or Maneuver on a or spend it to give an ally a free Move or Maneuver.
  • Cunning Strategist: Test Reason+Tactics when planning for a physical conflict (ie Ambush or seeing the enemy ahead of time). Difficulty = 0 with no time pressure; with 30 minutes of preparation time; for 10 minutes; for 1 minute. Each = you or an ally may take a free maneuver before the first character's turn in the Conflict (max 2 per ally); Each = you or an ally adds ; = you or an ally may perform one Action before the first turn.
• Temptation: This skill manipulates the weaknesses and desires of others to influence their behaviour. One can skillfully sway a young gentleman to spend a night carousing and ignore an important familial obligation, or more sinisterly draw him into a situation which escalates into excellent fodder for blackmail. This skill is also useful in understanding others' Affinities and understand what motivates them.
  • Forbidden Fruit: If you know the full description of your target’s Affinities and you're able to couch their temptation in a way to escape or violate that obligation without immediately harming the object of the Affinity, social attack gains Potency = to rank of known Affinity and ignores Armor of the Affinity.
  • Seducer: In social conflict, a single test of Presence+Temptation vs target’s Will alone (ie no skills used for Defense); such behavior could be considered a faux pas in certain situations.
• Vocation: This skill covers all routine tasks of a particular occupation. The specifics depend on the occupation chosen - from carpentry to firing artillery. When a character performs work solely related to your occupation, you may choose to passively or actively test Aptitude+Vocation against a difficulty set by the Narrator. In cases where Vocation is being used to mimic activity usually covered by other skills, Vocation can only be used in passive tests and not during adverse circumstances such as being in conflict or under intense pressure. eg. Vocation: Locksmith would be able to pick a lock in a calm situation without pressure. If the same character attempted to quickly pick the lock on a manor gate as part of a break-in, you would need to use the Burglary skill.
  • Related Knowledge: Choose a second related field/career (discuss with Narrator)

Link to Skill Spreadsheet (in progress - not fully converted to Genesys yet)

• Rank 1 - Competent: Basic concepts and uses are understood, and you will likely be successful in attempts made to use this skill in routine situations.
• Rank 2 - Proficient: You have reliable understanding of all common uses, and are comfortable using the skill regularly. Professionals and tradesmen often make their livelihoods with this skill level.
• Rank 3 - Adept: You have a sophisticated grasp of all areas of the skill. You can adapt the skill to uncommon situations and are likely to succeed in the face of adversity.
• Rank 4 - Expert: You are notable for your success with the skill, even when compared to others who use it professionally.
• Rank 5 - Master: You are so thoroughly versed in the skill that your success is almost guaranteed, and your deep understanding of the skill allows you to use it in ways that others can only envy.

Skills & Languages: