Skills

Armorer

Rating: Difficult

Example Specialties: Body Armor, Rifles, Heavy Weapon Ammunition

The Armorer skill the ability to create weapons, armor and ammo, including upgrading, and manufacturing brand new items. The item you're creating requires materials that are 1/4 the cost of the item, and to actually manufacture the item is a challenge roll with an attempt time of one hour per roll, and the number of successes equal to Cost/(1000*Skill rank) Where cost is the Weapon cost in credits (rounded up), and skill rating is your level of skill. This is not used to make electronics, dolls, or mecha. In order to actually create parts you need a Tool Shed, or a Mech Lab. To upgrade them, you can use a workbench, as long as you have the materials or the ability to buy them.

Athletics

Rating: Easy

Example Specialties: Gymnast, [Sport], Track

Athletics is the ability of runners, climbers, and sports teams. It governs your ability to go through extensive physical activity, as well as your ability when playing in sports, such as Baseball, Football, or Basketball.

Jump: Athletics is used to determine Jump height and distance. An Athletics roll used for Jumping gets you 1 meter per success for long-jumping, and 1/2 meter per success for high-jumping.

Sports: Athletics is used as an opposed challenge roll in sports games. A check is made once every minute, and the first to achieve the target number (usually very high) wins the game.

//I like the idea of different sports having different rules. Some might be trying to reach a target number, but some might be just trying to score higher than the other guys.

Quickened Run: Requires Student; Athletics can be used to run up to three times your movement speed. When you use a difficult action to run, you can make a free Athletics check to run up to 3 times your speed, instead of 2.

// I think Athletics skill giving you a better run is a good idea, but I want to sit on this for a bit until all the rules match across the whole site.

Awareness

Rating: Intermediate

Awareness is often an opposed roll, to notice, for example, someone hiding, or to see through their disguise or illusions. It might also be used as a basic roll to notice hidden items, or that a device has been tampered with. Awareness does not have specialties. It's up to the GM whether or not to let the players roll their own perception. I like what D&D 4th Edition did with Passive Perception. It let the player feel like they were in control when the DM wanted to surprise the players, but if they wanted to look for something, they still could. This covers both search and what it says on the tin, being aware of everything around you. Noticing ambushes and that creepy sound and all that jazz.

Blades

Rating: Intermediate

Example Specialties: [Weapon Specific]

Blades is the ability of swordsmen. While it IS called blades, all slashing and piercing melee weapons fall under this category. From ancient claymores to ethertech blades to bone claws. Blades is a combat skill, and is used in combat rolls.

Parry: Requires Student; Yeah, the bread and butter of blocking with a melee weapon. This is why you don't dodge. This is why you trained with a sword all those years. No, it's not to cut a squad down in one fluid motion, although that's fun too. It's like the Aikido of swordplay. When you roll a successful defense while parrying, you can roll any extra successes as an attack against the opponent immediately. The opponent can't add his weapon skill (or rating if I decide to make that apply to defense) to his defense dice. This can only performed with a melee weapon, against a melee attack. Unfortunately, you're not Dante, and can't parry with a gun. When blocking, you have to announce that you're parrying. The roll has a 1-die penalty. Additionally, you can only parry once per round.

Iajutsu: Requires Skilled; Iajustsu is what happens in every samurai anime ever. The art of quick-drawing your weapon, striking your opponent, and sheathing your blade in one quick fluid motion. Iajustsu duels are where two characters make an opposed Blades (or Pistols, because sci-fi westerns are cool) and Awareness test. The players simply add the successes of both skills together to determine margin of scucess. The loser of the challenge takes three times normal weapon damage and, as an optional rule, is knocked prone. In true cinematic fashion, the loser of the duel isn't immediately apparent, and the characters should stand for a moment in silence to raise dramatic tension before the GM declares who won, but that's up to the GM.

//I'm not sure if I wanna remove this. I like having this skill, but it would make more sense

Block

Rating: Intermediate

//Arghfragl. Blocking will use the weapon skill you are using in place of this skill. This skill is removed. Let us have a moment of silence for its passing.

Blocking, either with a melee weapon or unarmed, falls under this skill. The ability to stop, or deflect a blow is one way to defend yourself, and is made for those who want to be an immovable brick or not take a penalty under heavy armor or weighed down somehow. While both dodge and block will get the job done, some cases are better for block, and certainly the bonus abilities are different. It's worth noting that without a shield (manufactured or improvised), you cannot block ranged attacks.

Shield Bash: Shield bashing is a time-honored tradition in knocking your opponent around with defensive gear. Hell, it's the only thing Goofy can do at all. A shield bash is considered a basic attack using block as the skill, you do not need Ambidexterity to use shield bash, even if the shield is in your off-hand. Instead of dealing damage, shield bash knocks your opponent around. On a successful hit, they are required to make an Acrobatics check. If they succeed, they take a 1-die penalty to their defensive skills (block or dodge) until their turn. If they fail, they take a 1-die penalty on defensive skills until the end of your next turn. And if the lag on the roll, they are knocked prone.

Parry: Requires Student; Yeah, the bread and butter of blocking with a melee weapon. This is why you don't dodge. This is why you trained with a sword all those years. No, it's not to cut a squad down in one fluid motion, although that's fun too. It's like the Aikido of swordplay. Their attacks are worthless before your successful parry. The unsuccessful ones might get you stabbed though. Watch out for that. This action can only be performed with a melee weapon. Unfortunately, you're not Dante, and can't parry with a gun. When blocking, you have to announce that you're parrying. The roll has a 1-die penalty.

Blunt

Rating: Intermediate

Example Specialties: [Weapon Specific]

While blades deals with melee weapons that slash or piece foes, blunt is more the realm of brute force and bludgeoning your opponent to an unrecognizable sack of lumps. From wooden clubs to force hammers, this skill hurts people. Or maybe you do. I forget. If you're using your fists, however much they bludgeon the opponent, you're using the unarmed skill.

Shield Bash: Shield bashing is a time-honored tradition in knocking your opponent around with defensive gear. Hell, it's the only thing Goofy can do at all (Thanks, Kingdom Hearts). A shield bash is considered a basic attack using blunt as the skill, you do not need Ambidexterity to use shield bash, even if the shield is in your off-hand. Instead of dealing damage, shield bash knocks your opponent around. On a successful hit, they are required to make an Acrobatics check. If they succeed, they take a 1-die penalty per margin of success to their defensive rolls (dodge or blocking) until the beginning of their next turn. If they fail, they take a 1-die penalty on defensive skills per margin of success until the end of your next turn. And if the lag on the roll, they are knocked prone.

Computer

Rating: Easy

Example Specialties: Google-fu, I don't need no GUI, Fuck the Language Barrier

The ability to use computers for the basics. You'd think that such a skill wouldn't need to exist, and while true that you are assumed to be able to operate a computer to browse the internet, create documents, manage your daily life with a suite of tools and make calls and messages to contacts, this is more for the stuff like using programs outside the norm and more difficult Google-fu. If you're trying to find a hidden forum for example, or attempting install and learn to use a program with no guide or information at all, maybe in a language that's not archived in the machine already, you would use this skill to try and intuit your way around with the stuff you already know. As usual, it's up to the GM to decide what you'd use this skill for and what's obvious enough to not roll. It's assumed that computers in this day and age are fairly user-friendly, but the denizens of the less-savory places on the Ethernet might not be as inclined to make guides just for you.

Con

Rating: Intermediate

Example Specialties: Street, Academic, Military

If you're telling a lie, trying to omit information, or just plain covering your tracks, you'll need Con. This is how you rely on deceit or trickery in social situations. If you wanna rely on your charm and good will, without resorting to trickery, diplomacy is the skill for you. Trying to Con someone is an opposed test using Con vs. their Nerve. For the most part you'll do it out of combat, but if for some reason it arises that you're trying to trick someone on the go, it's a difficult action.

Feint: Don't lie, you knew it was coming. You use feint to make your opponent defend from a different stance then your attack is coming from in melee combat. Before making an attack, announce that you're trying to feint. You then roll your Con (Charisma) against the opponent's Awareness before making the attack. If you succeed, the opponent gets -2 dice to their defensive roll on your real attack.

//I think I'm gonna remove this skill, if I can design a system that isn't SR4

Cybercombat

Rating: Intermediate

Example Specialties: [Program Specific]

This skill is how a hacker survives. Without it, defender programs, firewalls with biofeedback, or network admins would annihilate them. For combat in the Ethernet, a local LAN or even a hardwired or disconnected computer that you hook into, you're using cybercombat to attack and defend. Programs that are used out of combat to break into a network or secure data fall under the Hacking skill. Skills work a little differently in the Ethernet. While you have Intellect as your attribute for the nonstandard uses that you might encounter, in the Ethernet, you roll a program's rating against your skill. This means it is possible to have a skill where you can only succeed or fail by way of automatics, rolling a 1 or 10.

//While SR4 is good, I want hacking to be my own thing.

Cybertech

Rating: Difficult

Example Specialties: [Implant Location]

Cybertech is skill at creating implants, that upgrade a character's body or abilities. To actually install them uses the Medical Skill's Surgery action. To enhance them with Ethertech or Xenotech requires the relevant skills in an additional challenge roll, after the base piece is done. To create a piece of cybertech is a challenge roll with an attempt time of 2 hours, with a required number of successes equal to the Cost/(500*Skill Rank). It also requires a cost in materials, like all manufacturing skills, of 1/4 of the base item. This is more difficult to develop than Weapons, Armor and Mecha. In order to create Cyberware, or upgrade it (including with Xenotech or Ethertech) you need a Med Lab.

//I want to make rules for faulty cyberware, dolls, ethertech and xenotech. Especially cyberware that you're putting in someone's body.

Demolitions

Rating: Intermediate

Example Specialties: Structure Destruction, Ethertech Diffusion, Underwater Explosives

Demolitions represents the ability to place, charge or dispose of explosives without undesired outcomes. Demolitions is used for setting all different types of explosives, from your classic TNT, to EMPs, to Ethertech. Creation of bombs or other types of explosives falls under the Explosives skill. The results of explosions are often spectacular. If your GM doesn't allow explosives to end a mission at ONE POINT in the game, I think he's doing it wrong, and you should demand a refund. The opportunities for point blank annihilation are so good and you should seize those.

//Grenades, they're kind of thrown weapons. They're definitely explosive. I'd let you use either, but you can present that to your GM. RAW says you can.

Disguise

Rating: Intermediate

Example Specialties: Costume, Prosthetics, Voices

Disguise is awesome for making someone believe you're someone you're not. Infiltrating an enemy base is pretty much reliant on this skill. It's also one of the most under-appreciated skills in D&D. The most being Profession (Basket Weaving). I mean- that's handy in all kinds of situations! Anyhow, Disguise is an opposed roll against Awareness. It's rolled at the time you don the disguise, and for tricking someone if they confront you about it uses Con. Remember to write down what you got on the roll, because it applies for as long as you're wearing the disguise, but perceive is made as soon as someone gives it any form of scrutiny. Disguise is also used to oppose a Size-up attempt. if you're trying to hide your power level.

Diplomacy

Rating: Intermediate

Example Specialties: Street, Academic, Military

While Con is used to fool someone, Diplomacy is to try and reason with them, without resorting to trickery. It's all about charm and reason. Diplomacy is rolled just like Con. It's your skill against their Nerve in an opposed roll.

Dodge

Rating: Intermediate

Dodge is a defense skill. Representing the agility to nimbly escape a hit rather than being able to hit it out of the way, or tough it out. It represents a level of awareness and a sense of where to move to avoid getting hit. You're not Neo, you can't just step out of the way of bullets. You can present a more difficult target. Dodge does not have Specializations. If you're dodging in a mecha or vehicle, use Piloting instead.

Dodge Roll: As a reactive action to an attack, you can roll dodge (counts as your defense, and thus is subject to multiple defense penalties), and move half of your speed in one direction. If you lag on this roll, you end up prone after the move. This can be used to get away from a group, or get behind cover, for example.

Dolltech

Rating: Difficult

Example Specialties: Doll PAAs, Doll Weaponry, Heavy Dolls

The ability to create and upgrade the frame, weapons and software for Dolls. This skill is also used for controlling dolls without an AI or PAA inside them. You need to have the Doll Master trait to unlock this skill. You can create a doll and its PAA designed for someone else. They, however, cannot give it commands beyond its innate programming. Creating a Doll is a challenge roll with an attempt time of 1 hour per roll that requires Doll's Rating * 10 successes. They also cost, in materials, Doll's Rating * 25 for the frame and weapons. You can create or upgrade Dolls at a Tool shed or Mech Lab. You can upgrade Dolls at a Workbench only if you have the Materials. You should, when creating new dolls, have the stat block planned before you start, and give it to your GM because he gets to make the decisions about whether or not it's possible.

//When I design dolls, instead of attributes I'm throwing around having the Creator's Dolltech stat. They roll their rating vs that. The Dolltech Stat can be boosted with upgrades from someone with a higher stat. Say you make a Doll when you have Dolltech at 5. Then, later in the campaign, your doll is still around with your party. You, now having Dolltech 7, can upgrade the Doll with a challenge roll so that it rolls their rating against that 7 instead of its initial 5.

Endurance

Rating: Easy

Endurance allows you to force on through sheer grit and determination. When the going gets rough, or say, you're poisoned, Endurance rolls will see you through. In order to compensate for the various levels of trials a character would have to endure, the GM should modify the difficulty of the roll often. Endurance does not have specialties.

//This is a reminder for myself to read the Scion book.

Engineering

Rating: Difficult

Example Specialties: Power Armor, Frigates, VTOL

Engineering is manufacturing and upgrading mecha parts. Be it hull, torso, arms, legs, head or the parts to put on them. The part you're manufacturing, like the other skills, require materials that cost 1/4 of the item itself, and to actually create the item is a challenge roll (attempt time of one hour per roll), and the number of successes equal to Cost/(10,000*Skill Rank). Where cost is the part or hull cost in credits, and skill rank is your level of skill. In order to create Mecha parts you need a Mech Leb.

//Escape Artist - Dexterity

//Cost: 1

//I think this will fall under whatever the skill will be for Pickpocketing that I forgot to make. Sleight of Hand or maybe Thievery.

//Look at how old this skill it. It doesn't have a rating, and ties an attribute to it. GB2 2012 scrub

Ether Manipulation

Rating: Intermediate

If you're a connected, this is the skill to manifest a power. You roll Ether Manipulation plus Connection on manifestation rolls vs an Ease determined by what you're trying to do, usually 7. The only time that the rules change and you don't do what it says in the Ether part of the book, is when you're projecting yourself into the Ethereal plane. More at 10. Ether Manipulation does not have specialties.

//I really don't know what to write here. It's uses are will be covered in the Ether section.

Ethertech

Rating: Difficult

Example Specialties: Dolls, Weaponry, Demolitions

Ethertech is used to upgrade gear to channel energy from the Ether to improve its functions. You need to be Connected to make it, seeing as it's not something you know how to do as it is just something you... do. Connected scientists and engineers, as you can imagine, are incredibly valued for this purpose. Because the item has been made, this one works a little differently. You don't need to spend more money on materials. It's still a challenge roll with 1 hour per skill roll. Number of successes equal to Cost/(1000*Skill Rank). The type of facilities you need to use are limited by the item in question, seeing as this skill does not create new items but upgrades existing ones.

Ether Projection

Rating: Intermediate

Hacking has weird rules around what you do when you're not physically present, and the Ether does too. When you're metaphyscially projecting an image of yourself into the Ether, your body slumps over and doesn't do anything. Your mind, or spirit, or whatever you wanna call it, is running around the mirror of our world that people call the Ethereal Plane. It's how we achieve FTL transport and communications. It's how we made powerful weaponry that probably shouldn't exist. It's how you're able to form fire at will and create something from seemingly nothing. It's all expending energy from that mirror of our world. Don't worry, there's so much energy there, that we can't even measure it. Any attempts to do so have told us, we think, that there's enough to be immeasurable, or maybe infinite. Anyhow, when you're projecting yourself into the Ether, you use your Ether Projection skill or Connection, whichever is lower, to manifest a power. Ether Projection does not have specialties.

//Ettiquette - Charisma

//Cost: 2

//Slated for removal.

Exotic Weapon (Specific)

Rating: Intermediate

Example Specialties: [Weapon Specific]

There are some things that don't fall under any weapon category. Or, maybe there are. I tried to think of everything, but I'm developing this entire system from scratch, so give me a break. If it doesn't fall into a category, you get to take a skill just for it. Sorry, them's the dice. On the upside, if someone steals your weapon, there's a good chance they can't use it. Also, instead of using this skill, your GM can be nicer than me and just let you use the one that seems most relevant. I'm not that nice. You and your GM should work together to make a Style just for your exotic weapon. Otherwise you're at a huge disadvantage for being awesome and making a unique character and that's not cool.

//Because cool characters are getting shafted with this system, I would suggest instead of specialties, you give +1 die on attack and defense rolls every time you would gain a specialty.

Explosives

Rating: Difficult

Example Specialties: Grenades, Plastic Explosives

Oh my god, this has to be the skill with the most entertaining and exciting results in any game. This skill is used for challenge rolls (manufacturing). Opposed rolls (combat) and normal rolls (placement, assuming it's in question whether or not the explosion will do what you want it to) are under the other Explosives skill I have yet to name, but which I totally should name "Wanton Destruction". it's called Demolitions.

//move this sentence to the other explosives skill. That skill will be intermediate and be used for placement and opposed combat rolls like grenades.

Manufacturing. Making grenades and your own charges or what have you that will make sparks fly. Standard fare, a bit. 1/4 the cost in materials. Challenge roll with 10 minutes per roll, and Cost/(100*Skill Rating). Most of this stuff is cheap, and if designing Experimental Tech (discussed at the end of this chapter), it will be far easier to make explosives than most of the other stuff here.

First Aid

Rating: Easy

Example Specialties: Wound Treatment, Diagnosis, Antivenom

This skill isn't rocket surgery. That's high level medical. This is field stabilization. This is a basic level of knowledge. You can use either skill for the basic stuff, but First Aid cannot be used to perform operations, cannot be used to treat anything beyond physical wounds and identify common poisons or diseases. Medical gets you a lot more, but if you're a field medic, this is probably your skill. Medical is like... doctors and shit.

//Forgery is being rolled into Thievery.

Forgery

Rating: Easy

Example Specialties: Cyberware, Weapons, Demolitions

Forgery is Disguise for manufacturing. When you manufacture something that you want to be a fake, but pass for real, you roll this at the time of creation. You spend 1/8 of the item's cost in materials. Your Forgery roll is an opposed roll against whoever gives the item any scrutiny, that is, actually looks at and pays attention to the item's perceive. Remember that your forgery roll is made at the time of the creation of the item, so write it down somewhere. You can use a successful con vs. nerve test to give them a penalty to their perceive equal to your MOS, no less than one.

//Slated for removal

//Genetics - Intellect

//Cost: 3

//This skill is slated for removal.

Gunnery

Rating: Intermediate

Example Specialties: [Weapon Specific]

Gunnery is Dakka. It's your ability to use mecha or shipboard guns. Infantry weapons don't fall under this skill. The general rule is that if you're interfacing with the weapon through anything but your hands, it's gunnery. Gunnery is opposed by Piloting if you're firing at other mecha, and dodge if you're firing at infantry. This skill applies even if you're using a melee weapon for the mecha.

Hacking

Rating: Intermediate

Example Specialties: [Program Specific]

For hackers who practically live in VR, breaking into other networks, this is probably the most important thing on your character sheet, perhaps only second to Cybercombat. Programs that aren't attack or defense programs roll against this stat. Intellect is listed in the event that any purpose that isn't program use arises.

Hardware

Rating: Difficult

Example Specialties: Nanolinks, Nodes, External Linksets

Hardware is the manufacturing skill at making Linksets and Ethernet nodes. Hackers will want this in order to make Experimental Tech later on. In order to make a Nanolink, a linkset implant, you need to make the actual device through this skill first, and then use or have someone else use cybertech to make the actual implant. Life's a bitch for VR users, huh? For that, you cannot use a Tool Shed. You need a Medical Lab. External Linksets can, however. 1/4 cost in materials. 1 hour per roll. Requires Rating * 10 - Skill Rank in successes.

Heavy Weapons

Rating: Intermediate

Example Specialties: [Weapon Specific]

Are you the Heavy Weapons guy? You might have a name for your gun. Sasha, Vera, Ibarazaki Emi. They're usually female names. And to be fair, Heavy weapons are beautiful, beautiful things. Wreaking havoc across the battlefield with massive explosions, or veritable wall of bullets. How can one not fall in love with the destruction that sees them through so many tight spots? Same deal with most combat skills, opposed roll vs. their defense skill. Welcome the havoc, my friend. Welcome it.

Intimidate

Rating: Intermediate

Example Specialties: Street, Academic, Military

Alright boys. These bastards been takin' things that don't belong to them. We want to know where they're storing our shit. One of the bitches is sitting chained to a chair right now, while Tommy and Bruno are eager to take some souvenirs off of his hands, if you know what I mean. I want you to get the information out of the little shit, but try not to get blood on the carpet. This skill is handled just like Diplomacy and Con, opposed roll vs. Nerve. The differences lie in how a specific person would react. Intimidate might not work on a Religious Fanatic (who the GM would hopefully give a substantial bonus on this roll due to circumstances), but a businessman doesn't have the training or the willpower to stand up to someone who knows how to throw a threat around.

Knowledges

Rating: Easy

Example Specialties: Mechanics, Tactics, Ether, Xenos

If it's called into question that your character would know about something, you can roll this. A larger MOS would indicate more that you know about the subject. A suggested use is when the players are stuck, for them to roll this and ask the GM if the have any knowledge that might help (they should specify a topic that their character might know). I'm reluctant to split this into different skills for a less broad topic than everything because that will get overwhelming fast SO: specialties give you +2 to a specific area of knowledge.

Language

Rating: Intermediate

Each rank is a language you know. Simple as that. You can also roll to try and communicate with someone with whom you share no common language.

Medical

Rating: Difficult

Example Specialties: Surgery, Diagnosis, Wound Treatment

First Aid is about tending to wounds on the field, and the more, for lack of a better word, simple side of medicine. Medical is Rocket Surgery. This is the complex, the stuff you had to get an education to learn, and your abilities when a patient is on a table in front of you. I've said this way too much, but it's Rule 0, the GM calls what falls under First Aid and what falls under medicine. Generally, if you can identify or treat it without going to your doctor's office, it can be treated with First Aid. Medical can do everything First Aid can do and more, which is why it costs twice as much. Operations are challenge rolls. Diagnoses are basic rolls.

//With Adept Medical and Skilled Endurance I want an optional rule where you can operate on yourself. Yes it's unrealistic, but shush because so is the Ether.

Navigation

Rating: Intermediate

Example Specialties: Oceanic, Intersteallar, Arboreal

If you're without a map, or you just wandered into the Nebula that I need to name that's pretty much a clone of the Grand Line, guess what? You'll be glad you have a Navigator. This is usually a challenge roll to see if you can find your way to your destination.

//Put a table here with a list of example difficulties and modifiers.

Nerve

Rating: Easy

Nerve is like Endurance for the mind. It's used in all manner of opposed rolls, most notably rolls to persuade others. The GM could totally make use of Nerve in horror games. I should make an optional sanity system. GOD DAMMIT, WHY DOES STATTING SKILLS GIVE ME MORE WORK TO DO? Nerve does not have specialties.

Piloting

Rating: Intermediate

Example Specialties: Mecha, Tanks, Capital Ships

Piloting is the ability to control Mecha. It acts as your dodge when you're in a mech, as well as all manner of maneuvers in the cockpit. Because there are so many different types of mecha, this skill may seem unrealistic. I think you'll by default take a penalty for all types of mecha and at every rank you negate the penalty for one additional specific type. I might change that to a bonus if you forgo an additional type, so you can make specialized characters if you so desire.

Pistols

Rating: Intermediate

Example Specialties: [Weapon Specific]

Pistols is what it says on the tin. It's your skill at using pistols and SMGs in combat. Combine with the Ambidexterity trait if you wanna dual-wield.

Rifles

Rating: Intermediate

Example Specialties: [Weapon Specific]

Rifles, much like pistols, is plain and simple. Your combat ability with rifle-grip weapons, including but not limited to Shotguns and Sniper Rifles. Unfortunately, dual wielding these is a tad unrealistic.

Security

Rating: Intermediate

Example Specialties: Security Panels, Doll Override, Cameras

This skill is Hacking for Hardware. This represents overriding a physical device to get it to do what you want. You have to have physical access to the device, be it a security camera or a keypad. This will usually be a challenge roll, the difficulty determined by the device you're trying to bypass. Some devices will require tools, I'll be sure to write up costs and stats for those. Hit me if I forget.

Software

Rating: Difficult

Example Specialties: PAAs, Viruses, Defense Programs

This is a manufacturing skill for making programs. Hackers will want this to make stuff for the higher powered expirimental tech, once the default gear just doesn't cut it. This costs nothing in materials, only requires access to a linkset or nanolink to make, and has a test time of 1 week per roll. Requires Rating * 10 - Skill Rank in successes.

Stealth

Rating: Intermediate

This is being sneaky. Hide and Move Silently. This is an opposed roll vs. Perceive. This can also be used as a "Cover your tracks" opposed roll. Make a roll as you're leaving the scene, and keep track of it. Depending on the situation, the GM could allow anyone who sees the scene to automatically get a perception roll, or only give them one if they look for traces of anyone being in the area. If they give someone an automatic roll, it's suggested that they take a penalty to it. Stealth does not have specialties.

//REMOVED

Summoning

Rating: Intermediate

Some manifested connection powers create allies for you with limited sentience beyond your own will. This skill is basically how good you are at creating and "coding" Ether-formed golems and monstrosities to do your

//REMOVED

Survival

Rating: Easy

Example Specialties: Tracking, Foraging, Extreme Heat

You're stuck on a frozen tundra with very little survival gear? You're trying to track down an enemy through a forest and want to know which way they went? Roll this. Usually a challenge roll. I'll make a table of example difficulties.

//Urban tracking uses Stealth or whatever else you might need. Following the trail of someone might use diplomacy or con to extract information from the security guard, thievery or hacking to get information on where they went, or stealth to avoid being seen.

Thievery

Rating: Intermediate

Example Specialties: Pickpocket, Forgery, Lock cracking

This is stuff like pickpocket, but can also be grabbing something from someone's office without them noticing. You don't NEED to sneak in when you have a meeting in their office. Just grab a disk off of his desk. Be creative. People aren't always on the alert. This is an opposed roll vs. Awareness normally, but I'm sure you can find some creative uses I didn't think about that might be challenge or basic rolls.

Forgery: Forgery is Disguise for manufacturing. When you manufacture something that you want to be a fake, but pass for real, you roll this at the time of creation. You spend 1/8 of the item's cost in materials. Your Forgery roll is an opposed roll against whoever gives the item any scrutiny, that is, actually looks at and pays attention to the item's perceive. Remember that your forgery roll is made at the time of the creation of the item, so write it down somewhere. You can use a successful con vs. nerve test to give them a penalty to their awareness equal to your MOS.

//This very well might move. It used to be its own skill before the great Skill purge of 2013. Now I'm not sure WHAT to do with it.

//Slated for removal.

//Throwing Weapons - Dexterity

Rating: Easy

A combat skill that doesn't cost a shitton of points? Well yeah, basing a build around throwing weapons is probably not gonna be easily balanced vs. things like Mecha or, y'know, guns. Sure you can be an absolute badass with knives (see Hei from Darker Than Black), and I would encourage awesome builds like this, but because of how innately underpowered something like this would be, I'm giving you a break in the skill point department. Surprise me with awesome builds. You know the deal, opposed roll vs. Dodge.

//Use Exotic weapons or Athletics instead.

Unarmed

Rating: Intermediate

Example Specialties: Soft Style, Hard Style.

You hit people. With your fists. It hurts. From Martial Arts, to grappling, to a drunken bar brawl, Unarmed is a combat skill, through and through. Unarmed has a little bit of bonus as far as combat skills though. In the day and age of giant manned robots and sniper rifles, why use something as weak as your own body? Martial Arts is usually a basic training for soldiers, but doesn't go very far. Those who practice aren't very common. Fun fact, though. They can still wreck some shit. You can use the higher of your Strength or Dexterity as this skill's primary attribute. Still a good idea, but not required anymore. Whichever one fits your style best is the guideline.

Style: At Rank 6, you get to choose one of two exclusive styles. Instead of specialties for the skill, you choose a style of fighting that suits your character. Something like Chin Na or Krav Maga. You might know these names. Let's for simplicity's sake, call them Soft Style and Hard Style. Soft Style, is about mobility, and disabling your opponent's ability to fight or y'know, move before he has a chance to react. Strikes are aimed at pressure points, and don't rely on brute force. Another upside is that this can disable an opponent long before you kill them. I'll link the Chin Na style on the Styles page before the playtest, but rest assured, you need the Soft Style card to get in.

Your other option, Hard Style, is designed to incapacitate, or even kill that guy, or those guys, before they use that weapon on you. Defending against weapons, multiple attackers, and breaking out of holds and grapples, while striking somebody in the most efficient way possible and moving on to the next guy are the focuses. Krav Maga actually has one of the most interesting histories I've ever read about.

Xenobiology

Rating: Difficult

Example Specialties: [Species Specific]

This is one of the reasons I'm making this system. I wanted to make a system and setting that did all the cool sci-fi things I'd done in various games like BESM and GURPS. One of my characters was a StarCraft surgeon who has zerg parts implanted in him. I absolutely had to have that in my setting. Sithrugami tech was based loosely around that. This is used as a manufacturing skill for Xenobiotic implants. Because the implants effectively give you traits, you NEED an undamaged sample from the creature you're taking it from. You can only develop this in a med lab. There are no material costs, but development time is 1 week per roll, you need Trait Cost * 10 - Skill Rank successes. It's suggested that unless the character spends the points on these traits (at a significant discount from the costs) they have some kind of defect related to the implant. Unstable abilities, an HP penalty, messing with Ether abilities if they have them... There are tons of possibilities. I'll leave it to the GM.

Xenotech

Rating: Difficult

Example Specialties: ???

//I still need to figure this out.

Yay! Another manufacturing skill! This one is just like Ethertech for Xenobiology. This is about designing living mecha parts (or xenodolls). I'm gonna think about how I want to do this, so it's incomplete for now. But then again so is Ether, and Networking, and Styles, and Traits, and Anathema, and Mecha Combat, and, well, you get it.

Manufacturing Skills

As you may have noticed, creating your own stuff is a big part of the game. Come midway to late in a campaign you might notice that stuff gets difficult (or it's suggested that that is the case, nudge nudge GM), and that your gear doesn't really give you the umph you'll need to succeed. That is where these skills come in. You can create Experimental Tech. Awesome gear that gives you bigger dice pools, can take a better hit or packs a bigger punch. It's recommended that you can't buy this stuff, and if you do find some, it's really rare, and only comes up toward the end game. If the players have some free time, it might be wise for them to take on a pet project with these skills and start making some gear that will prepare them for the enemies they'll be fighting that have big, crazy stats. If they don't ever catch a break and have no free time because that's just wrong, maybe you want to give them opportunities to find or acquire this through difficult rolls on missions or whatnot. Later, I'm gonna include a guideline on what the rolls would look like to make some of this stuff. Since the skills base creating items on cost, the guidelines will be in cost, but if you DO end up putting this shit in your game in some market somewhere, give it enormous markup. This gear is meant to be unique. As experimental implies.

Lab types: Workbench, Tool Shed, Mech Lab, Med Lab.

Workbench: Has a few basic tools, no special equipment, and requires you to bring the most basic of materials. You're mostly stuck to upgrading things on a workbench, and sometimes not even that.

Tool Shed: Has a nice supply of tools, equipment and basic materials. Everything you can do on a workbench, you can do better in a tool shed. Add one die to your manufacturing rolls.

Mech Lab: This place is great. Has all the supplies of a tool shed, plus the heavy equipment required for working on Mecha and their parts. Add two dice to your manufacturing rolls, and subtract 10% from the cost of the materials.

Med Lab: This is where SCIENCE is performed. Cybertech, Medical, and Xenobiotics need the special equipment here. Add two dice to your Medical rolls for operations performed here.

Costs

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Skills can be bought at character creation depending on their rating. Easy skills come at 1 point for the first level, and then their current level - 1 in CP (minimum 1) for each additional level. Intermediate skills cost 1 point for the first level, and then their current level in CP for each additional level. Lastly, Difficult skills cost 2 points for the first level, and their current level + 1 for each additional level.

Awesome costs are, much like Abilities, higher. Easy skills cost 3 for the first level, and their level x 2 for each additional level. Intermediate skills are 4 for the first level, and their level x 3 for each additional level. And Difficult skills cost 5 for the first level, and are their current level x 4 for each additional level. I'll post this all in a handy dandy note- er, table.

Handy-Dandy Note- Er, Table

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//Table why won't you center?