Animal Ken
You understand animal behavior and emotional states, allowing you to handle, train, calm, or predict the actions of natural beasts.
• Novice: You can feed and care for a domestic pet.
•• Practiced: You can train a dog or calm a nervous horse.
••• Competent: Professional animal shelter or kennel trainer.
•••• Expert: Circus lion tamer or master horse whisperer.
••••• Master: You can pacify feral predators with a glance and a soft word.
Specialties: Dogs, Horses, Birds of Prey, Big Cats, Wolves, Reptiles, Calming, Attack Training.
Crafts (Replaces "Repair" in later editions)
You know how to build, repair, modify, or create physical objects with your hands—ranging from carpentry and blacksmithing to auto mechanics.
• Novice: High school shop class; basic tinkerer.
•• Practiced: Apprentice or solid handyman.
••• Competent: Journeyman; professional mechanic or artisan.
•••• Expert: Master craftsman whose work commands high prices.
••••• Master: Artisan of legendary skill.
Specialties: Auto Repair, Blacksmithing, Carpentry, Clockwork, Electronics, Gunsmithing, Jewelry, Leatherworking, Pottery, Tailoring, Weaponsmithing.
Do (Mage: Akashic Brotherhood Exclusive) The sacred martial and philosophical Way of the Akashic Brotherhood, combining physical combat, chi manipulation, acrobatics, and moving meditation.
• Novice: Initiate learning basic balance and forms.
•• Practiced: Dedicated monastery student.
••• Competent: Sifu / Teacher.
•••• Expert: Master of the temple.
••••• Master: Living legend of physical and spiritual harmony.
Specialties: Joint Locks, Pressure Points, Weapon Kata, Chi Projection, Defensive Flow, Leaping.
Drive You can operate motorized ground vehicles under normal and hazardous conditions, including high-speed chases, icy roads, and evasive maneuvers.
• Novice: Daily commuter; knows the rules of the road.
•• Practiced: Chauffeur or delivery driver.
••• Competent: Stunt driver or police pursuit officer.
•••• Expert: Formula 1 or professional rally racer.
••••• Master: You can make an 18-wheeler dance through a narrow alley at 80 mph.
Specialties: Motorcycles, Muscle Cars, Heavy Trucks/Rigs, Evasive Driving, Off-Road, Manual Transmission, Ramming.
Etiquette You understand the proper manners, dress, greetings, and protocols of specific social circles—from mortal high society to Kindred Elysium or Fae courts.
• Novice: You know when to keep your mouth shut and which fork to use.
•• Practiced: Comfortable at black-tie galas and formal dinners.
••• Competent: Diplomatic attaché.
•••• Expert: Arbiter of social grace and courtly protocol.
••••• Master: You could host a summit of warring monarchs without a single faux pas.
Specialties: High Society, Elysium/Kindred Court, Corporate Culture, Street/Gang Protocol, Feudal/Chivalric, Seelie/Unseelie Court.
Firearms
You know how to identify, clean, unjam, and accurately fire guns of all kinds, from holdout pistols to assault rifles.
• Novice: Occasional trips to the shooting range.
•• Practiced: Beat cop or infantry soldier.
••• Competent: SWAT officer or veteran mercenary.
•••• Expert: Competitive trick-shooter or military sniper.
••••• Master: Deadly accuracy at maximum range in pitch darkness.
Specialties: Pistols, Revolvers, Shotguns, Assault Rifles, Sniper Rifles, Submachine Guns, Fast-Draw, Sniping, Two-Weapon Shooting.
Larceny / Security
You understand the tools and techniques of breaking and entering (and securing against it): picking locks, cracking safes, bypassing alarms, hotwiring cars, and pickpocketing.
• Novice: You can jimmy a cheap padlock or window latch.
•• Practiced: Car thief or house burglar.
••• Competent: Professional safecracker or security consultant.
•••• Expert: High-end heist specialist.
••••• Master: You can walk into a central bank vault unannounced.
Specialties: Lockpicking, Safecracking, Electronic Alarms, Hotwiring, Pickpocketing, Sleight of Hand, Security Design.
Meditation You can center your mind, control your breathing, block out pain or distraction, and enter deep trance states. (In Vampire, an extended 1-hour Meditation roll at difficulty 9 can restore Willpower).
• Novice: You read a book on it once.
•• Practiced: Serious student.
••• Competent: You have studied under a master.
•••• Expert: You are qualified to teach.
••••• Master: Complete detachment from external stimuli.
Specialties: Tantric, Transcendental, Yogic, New Age, Pain Suppression, Trance State.
Melee
You are trained in armed hand-to-hand combat using bladed, blunt, or improvised weapons (knives, swords, wooden stakes, clubs, staves, axes).
• Novice: You know which end of the knife to hold.
•• Practiced: Street knife-fighter or collegiate fencer.
••• Competent: Tournament duelist or martial weapons artist.
•••• Expert: Master swordsman.
••••• Master: Miyamoto Musashi.
Specialties: Swords, Knives/Daggers, Wooden Stakes, Axes, Blunt/Clubs, Polearms/Staves, Improvised Weapons, Disarming, Riposte.
Performance (Called "Music" in VtM 2nd Ed)
You can execute an artistic discipline before an audience to move, entertain, or entrance them—including playing instruments, singing, acting, or dancing.
• Novice: Campfire guitarist or church choir member.
•• Practiced: Coffeehouse regular or garage band lead.
••• Competent: Session musician or professional stage actor.
•••• Expert: Headlining virtuoso.
••••• Master: World-renowned legend whose performance brings audiences to tears.
Specialties: Guitar, Piano, Violin, Singing/Vocals, Acting, Stand-Up Comedy, Oratory, Classical, Rock/Punk, Improvisation.
Stealth You can move silently, blend into shadows, use cover effectively, and stalk targets without being seen or heard.
• Novice: Hide-and-seek enthusiast.
•• Practiced: You can sneak past a sleepy guard.
••• Competent: Cat burglar or military scout.
•••• Expert: You can walk across dry autumn leaves without making a sound.
••••• Master: A ghost in plain sight.
Specialties: Shadowing/Tailing, Silent Movement, Hiding in Shadows, Crowds, Wilderness, Crawling.
Survival
You know how to find shelter, forage for food and water, navigate without instruments, endure extreme climates, and track quarry across the wild.
• Novice: Weekend camper or Boy Scout.
•• Practiced: Park ranger or seasoned hunter.
••• Competent: Backcountry guide.
•••• Expert: Special Forces survivalist.
••••• Master: You could thrive naked in the Sahara or Arctic Circle.
Specialties: Tracking, Foraging, Desert, Arctic, Jungle, Woodlands, Urban Wasteland, Weather Reading, Trap-Making.
Technology
You can operate, modify, assemble, and repair modern technological, electronic, and industrial machinery (hardware-focused, as opposed to software under Computer).
• Novice: You can set up a home network or swap out a hard drive.
•• Practiced: IT technician or telecom installer.
••• Competent: Electrical engineer or hardware modder.
•••• Expert: You can build custom surveillance rigs out of scrap parts.
••••• Master: Bleeding-edge hardware inventor.
Specialties: Telecommunications, Surveillance Gear, Circuitry, Heavy Machinery, Cybernetics, Jury-Rigging, Power Grids.
Acrobatics You are a trained tumbler and acrobat capable of feats of agility, balance, and leaping. Each success on a Dexterity + Acrobatics roll allows you to ignore 1 Health Level of falling damage.
• Novice: Grade school gym class.
•• Practiced: High school jock.
••• Competent: College gymnastics team.
•••• Expert: State champion.
••••• Master: Olympic gold medalist.
Specialties: Sport, Martial Arts, Dance, Enhanced Jumping/Falling.
Animal Training You are able to train animals to obey commands and perform complex tricks or duties. Each species is a separate specialty.
• Novice: Heel, Fetch, Sit, Stay.
•• Practiced: Local show standard.
••• Competent: Champion sheepdog standard.
•••• Expert: Elite police dog standard.
••••• Master: Circus/stunt standard.
Specialties: Dog, Horse, Elephant, Seal, Falcon/Hawk.
Archery You know how to string, aim, fire, and maintain bows and crossbows.
• Novice: High school gym practice.
•• Practiced: Forest bowhunter.
••• Competent: Medieval ranger.
•••• Expert: Will hit a bull's-eye, usually.
••••• Master: Robin Hood.
Specialties: Arched Flight, Forests, Target, Hunting, Moving Targets, Crossbows.
Artillery You can operate, aim, shoot, and repair artillery of all varieties—from mortars to howitzers.
• Novice: Young recruit.
•• Practiced: Operator.
••• Competent: Forward observer.
•••• Expert: Gun captain.
••••• Master: Can fire the thing by yourself if need be.
Specialties: Aiming, Forward Observation, Line-of-Sight, Out-of-Sight, Radar, Night Fighting, Desert, Jungle.
Blacksmith You are skilled in working iron and steel to forge tools, horseshoes, and blades.
• Novice: You can make a horseshoe from a cut-iron bar.
•• Practiced: You can make wrought-iron and mild-steel objects.
••• Competent: You can make different grades of steel and cast iron to industrial standards.
•••• Expert: You can pattern-weld different grades of iron and steel to make a complex sword blade.
••••• Master: You can make a blade equal to any masterwork Japanese katana.
Specialties: Wrought Iron, Cast Iron, Toolmaking, Blademaking, Art, Spot-Welding, Pattern-Welding.
Blind Fighting Even when unable to see your foes, you can use your Brawl or Melee Abilities with reduced or no penalty. Each dot in this Skill reduces the difficulty penalty for performing actions while blind by 1.
• Novice: You don't stub your toe in the dark.
•• Practiced: You can pinpoint the direction from which sounds come.
••• Competent: You can fight and predict your enemies' locations at the same time.
•••• Expert: You can almost "feel" where your opponents are.
••••• Master: Zen and the Art of Spatial Awareness.
Specialties: Dodging, Punching, Indoors, Dueling, Multiple Foes.
Boat Handling You know your way around watercraft and can operate effectively in any crew position.
• Novice: Weekend sailor.
•• Practiced: Serious enthusiast.
••• Competent: Competitor or semi-skilled professional.
•••• Expert: Professional or Olympic standard.
••••• Master: Instructor or Olympic gold medalist.
Specialties: Sail, Power, Oared, Paddle, Inflatable.
Brewing / Distilling You are skilled in the manufacture of alcoholic beverages and maintaining brewing/distilling equipment.
• Novice: Brew-kit user.
•• Practiced: Home winemaker.
••• Competent: Moonshiner.
•••• Expert: Commercial winemaker.
••••• Master: Chateau of repute.
Specialties: Wine, Beer, Spirits, Industrial Alcohol.
Bribery You know how, when, and where to grease palms without offending the mark or getting arrested.
• Novice: Get a bouncer to overlook the dress code.
•• Practiced: Get the building inspector off your back.
••• Competent: A policeman won't write you tickets.
•••• Expert: The inspector from the EPA leaves you alone.
••••• Master: State politicians and local CEOs scratch your back.
Specialties: Police, Bureaucrats, Inspectors, Under-the-Table, Open "Gifts".
Camouflage You can conceal your appearance (or objects) through clothing, makeup, foliage, and movement, making you difficult to spot in various surroundings.
• Novice: Boy Scout.
•• Practiced: Infantry trooper.
••• Competent: Marine.
•••• Expert: Special Forces.
••••• Master: Ninja.
Specialties: Woods, Mountains, Urban, Open Country, Arctic.
Carpentry You are a competent woodworker able to craft structures and furniture from wood.
• Novice: Amateur handyman.
•• Practiced: Professional handyman.
••• Competent: Professional carpenter.
•••• Expert: Joiner and cabinetmaker.
••••• Master: Rich clients seek you out; you could host your own woodworking show.
Specialties: Construction, Furniture, Quality Items.
Climbing You can scale mountains, cliffs, and building walls using handholds, pitons, and rappelling gear.
• Novice: You can scale easy mountains or walls with handholds.
•• Practiced: You can climb heavily weathered stone or brick walls.
••• Competent: Mountaineering instructor; can climb moderately rough stone or brick walls.
•••• Expert: You can free-climb a fairly smooth stone or brick wall.
••••• Master: Everest is a mild hike; you could free-climb a glass skyscraper.
Specialties: Cliffs, Hiking, Ice, Buildings, Free-Climbing, Rappelling.
Commerce (Dark Ages)
You know the practical art of appraising goods, trading, running a market stall or guildhouse, and reading supply and demand.
• Novice: Local peddler.
•• Practiced: Shopkeeper.
••• Competent: Caravan master.
•••• Expert: Guild factor.
••••• Master: Prince of international merchants.
Specialties: Appraisal, Haggling, Luxury Goods, Livestock, Weapons/Armor, Smuggling.
Cooking You know how to prepare meals and present them in an appealing manner for mortal guests.
• Novice: You give a reasonable dinner party.
•• Practiced: You give an excellent dinner party.
••• Competent: You could make a business of this.
•••• Expert: You could publish recipe books.
••••• Master: Five-star Cordon Bleu executive chef.
Specialties: French, Italian, Chinese, Thai, Cajun, Bread, Desserts, Pastries, Cordon Bleu.
Dancing You are a proficient dancer, whether socially in clubs and ballrooms or on stage.
• Novice: You can manage a waltz at a wedding.
•• Practiced: You could perform on the local amateur stage.
••• Competent: You are the talk of the ball or club.
•••• Expert: People ask you to teach them; professional dancer.
••••• Master: Baryshnikov, Astaire, or Nureyev.
Specialties: Waltz, Polka, Two-Step, Foxtrot, Jive, Disco/Club, Latin, Show, Ballet.
Debate You are skilled at formal, reasoned debate and can present a convincing case through logic and rhetoric.
• Novice: Student.
•• Practiced: Debate team member.
••• Competent: Union negotiator.
•••• Expert: Seasoned politician.
••••• Master: You could make fundamentalists agree on evolution.
Specialties: Logic, Politics, Informal, Social Discourse, Morals, Lowbrow, Low Blow.
Demolitions You know how to handle, wire, set off, disarm, and (at higher levels) manufacture explosives such as dynamite, C4, nitroglycerin, blasting cord, and napalm.
• Novice: Guy Fawkes.
•• Practiced: The Mad Bomber.
••• Competent: Underground chemist.
•••• Expert: You blow up buildings for a living.
••••• Master: Master of structural demolition and bomb disposal.
Specialties: Dynamite, Plastic Explosives, Car Bombs, Disarmament, Detection.
Disguise You can conceal your identity or make yourself look like another specific person through clothes, posture, and makeup.
• Novice: Good enough to fool someone who knows neither you nor the person you're impersonating.
•• Practiced: Good enough to fool some of the people some of the time.
••• Competent: Good enough to fool some of the people most of the time.
•••• Expert: Good enough to fool most of the people most of the time.
••••• Master: Good enough to fool those nearest and dearest to the target.
Specialties: Specific Person, Type of Person, Concealing One's Own Identity, Stage Makeup.
Escapology You are skilled in techniques that enable you to slip out of bonds, ropes, handcuffs, and restraints.
• Novice: You can escape from loose or poorly tied bonds.
•• Practiced: You can escape from fairly well-tied bonds.
••• Competent: You can escape from handcuffs and chains.
•••• Expert: You can escape from a straitjacket.
••••• Master: Houdini who?
Specialties: Magic Tricks, Ropes, Boxes, Locks, Underwater, Handcuffs, Showmanship.
Falconry You know how to train, care for, and hunt with birds of prey.
• Novice: The bird comes back—sometimes.
•• Practiced: You can do small displays.
••• Competent: You can catch enough small game to subsist.
•••• Expert: Royal falconer standard.
••••• Master: Master of the mews; eagles and hawks obey your slightest whistle.
Specialties: Display, Hunting, History, Exotic Birds (e.g., Harpy Eagle).
Fast-Draw You can ready a holstered or sheathed weapon almost instantly. Rolling 3 successes on Dexterity + Fast-Draw readies your weapon as if it were in your hand all along (and can add to Initiative when appropriate).
• Novice: You have good reflexes.
•• Practiced: You're good, but not great.
••• Competent: You would have lasted a while in the Old West.
•••• Expert: Pretty fast; you could headline your own Wild West act.
••••• Master: Greased lightning; you might have taken Billy the Kid.
Specialties: Pistol, Knife, Sword, Arrow, Rifle/Shotgun, Sap.
Fast-Talk You can convince or confuse someone using a sincere expression and an avalanche of rapid-fire words before they have time to think (ineffective against targets with Wits 4+).
• Novice: Vacuum-cleaner salesman.
•• Practiced: Used-car salesman.
••• Competent: Professional con artist.
•••• Expert: Teflon-coated politician.
••••• Master: You could sell sand to the Saudis.
Specialties: Sell, Confuse, Get Off the Hook, Convince.
First Aid You can administer emergency medical triage and paramedic care to mortals (Vampires do not benefit from First Aid).
• Novice: Parent of small children.
•• Practiced: Boy Scout.
••• Competent: Office safety representative.
•••• Expert: School nurse.
••••• Master: Veteran paramedic.
Specialties: CPR, Broken Bones, Artificial Respiration, Diagnosis, Terminology.
Fishing You can read a body of water, select the right bait or tackle, and catch fish.
• Novice: Weekend angler.
•• Practiced: Serious amateur.
••• Competent: Competition winner.
•••• Expert: Professional fisherman.
••••• Master: Fish practically leap onto the shore as you walk by.
Specialties: Rod & Line, Fly, Deep-Sea, Net, Sharks, Survival.
Forgery You can copy documents, signatures, IDs, or two-dimensional artwork well enough to pass inspection.
• Novice: Interoffice memos.
•• Practiced: Signatures.
••• Competent: Commercial papers and passports.
•••• Expert: Checks, bonds, bank drafts, and some artworks.
••••• Master: Banknotes and Old Master paintings.
Specialties: Handwriting, Drawings, Paintings, Bonds and Bills, Official Documents.
Gambling You are adept at games of chance, calculating odds, reading tells, and increasing your chances of winning with or without cheating.
• Novice: Saturday night poker with the boys.
•• Practiced: A couple of weeks in Vegas each year.
••• Competent: Known regular in Vegas, Reno, and Atlantic City.
•••• Expert: You make a living from this.
••••• Master: Casinos ban you the moment they learn your name.
Specialties: Card Games, Dice Games, Roulette, One-Armed Bandits, Cheating.
Game Playing You excel at board games of pure strategy and tactical skill, such as Chess, Go, Shogi, and wargames.
• Novice: You can beat your older brother.
•• Practiced: School club team.
••• Competent: College team.
•••• Expert: National tournament contender.
••••• Master: Grandmaster.
Specialties: Chess, Go, Risk, Wargames, Shogi.
Gunsmithing You can repair firearms, build guns from scratch, and hand-load specialty ammunition (hollow-point, caseless, mercury-tipped, silver, or incendiary).
• Novice: Black powder and paper cartridges.
•• Practiced: Cased standard ammunition.
••• Competent: Magnum rounds and barrel modifications.
•••• Expert: Caseless and hollow-point rounds.
••••• Master: Custom weaponsmith; you name it, you can build it.
Specialties: Black Powder Weapons, Field Repair, Invention, Magnum/Supercharged Ammo, Specialty Ammunition (Silver/Incendiary).
Heavy Weapons You can operate, aim, fire, and field-repair heavy military ordnance—from M60 machine guns to anti-tank missiles.
• Novice: Basic training.
•• Practiced: Operator.
••• Competent: Veteran warrior.
•••• Expert: Mercenary specialist.
••••• Master: Rambo.
Specialties: Desert, Jungle, Night Fighting, Friend from Foe, Loading, Rocket Launchers.
Herbalism You have a working knowledge of plants and herbs, how to find and prepare them, and their medicinal, poisonous, or hallucinogenic properties.
• Novice: You read a book on it once.
•• Practiced: Serious student of herb lore.
••• Competent: Local herbal supplier.
•••• Expert: You've written books on herbalism.
••••• Master: Master apothecary.
Specialties: Culinary, Medicinal, Poisonous, Narcotic/Hallucinogenic.
Hunting You are skilled at locating, stalking, and killing wild animals for food or sport.
• Novice: Weekender.
•• Practiced: Enthusiast or trooper.
••• Competent: Survivalist or Marine.
•••• Expert: Special Forces.
••••• Master: Lupine.
Specialties: Temperate Forest, Jungle, Bush/Scrub, Mountain, Coast, Arctic, Desert.
Hypnotism You can place a willing (or immobilized) subject into a trance via an opposed Charisma + Hypnotism vs. Intelligence roll (difficulty 6) to gather information, recover memories, or treat psychiatric issues.
• Novice: You do it occasionally to entertain.
•• Practiced: Skilled amateur.
••• Competent: You could open a clinical practice or go on stage.
•••• Expert: You could write books on the subject.
••••• Master: Who needs Dominate?
Specialties: Interrogation, Past-Life Regression, Hypnotherapy, Behavior Modification.
Jeweler You can craft saleable jewelry (Dexterity + Jeweler) and appraise the value and authenticity of gems and metalwork (Intelligence + Jeweler).
• Novice: Night school course.
•• Practiced: Serious hobbyist.
••• Competent: Small business owner.
•••• Expert: Chosen career.
••••• Master: Up there with Cartier and Fabergé.
Specialties: Gold, Gems, Antique, Ancient, Mystical, Crystal.
Journalism You know how to research, uncover, and write compelling news stories, as well as how print and broadcast newsrooms operate.
• Novice: Hack.
•• Practiced: Features reporter.
••• Competent: Investigative reporter.
•••• Expert: Managing editor.
••••• Master: Pulitzer Prize winner.
Specialties: Politics, Sports, Corruption, Business, Deadlines, Editing.
Leatherworking You can tan, cut, and stitch leather into clothing, holsters, armor, and gear.
• Novice: Craft kit beginner.
•• Practiced: Makes gifts for friends and family.
••• Competent: Sells to local stores.
•••• Expert: People ask for your work by name.
••••• Master: Master saddler and leather artisan.
Specialties: Clothing, Utensils, Horse Trappings, Armor, Special-Interest Items.
Lip Reading You can understand spoken words without hearing them simply by watching the speaker's mouth movements.
• Novice: If someone talks slowly and clearly with exaggerated movement.
•• Practiced: If someone talks fairly slowly and you concentrate.
••• Competent: Under most normal circumstances.
•••• Expert: Even under bad conditions (foreign languages, dim light, distance).
••••• Master: Under just about any conditions.
Specialties: Accents, Drunks, Poor Lighting, Fast Talkers, Surreptitiously.
Lockpicking Specialized skill in opening mechanical locks and safes without the key or combination.
• Novice: Simple mortise locks.
•• Practiced: Cylinder locks and basic security locks.
••• Competent: Advanced security locks.
•••• Expert: Safes.
••••• Master: Fort Knox.
Specialties: Key-Operated Locks, Combination Locks, Mag-Card Locks, Alarm Systems.
Mechanic You have a natural affinity for mechanical devices and can repair, rebuild, or jerry-rig engines and machinery.
• Novice: You can fix a broken doorbell.
•• Practiced: You can fix a lawnmower.
••• Competent: You can fix a car or build an automatic garage door.
•••• Expert: You can tune a high-performance race car or rebuild an engine from scratch.
••••• Master: You can fix, build, or improve almost any mechanical contraption.
Specialties: Electrical, Cars, Domestic, Inventing, Heavy Engines.
Parachuting You know how to pack and use a parachute for sport or tactical insertion.
• Novice: Weekend tandem jumper.
•• Practiced: Reservist.
••• Competent: Airborne regular.
•••• Expert: Special Forces or sport instructor.
••••• Master: Master HALO jumper.
Specialties: Skydiving, Mass Deployment, Escape, HALO (High Altitude, Low Open), Display.
Photography You know how to frame, shoot, and develop quality photographs across film and digital media.
• Novice: Local camera club member.
•• Practiced: Local club prizewinner.
••• Competent: Semi-pro; you sell some pictures.
•••• Expert: Professional photojournalist or studio photographer.
••••• Master: Ansel Adams.
Specialties: Art, Photojournalism, Portraits, Forensic, X-Ray, Photolithography, Surveillance.
Pickpocket You can lift wallets, keys, and small items from someone's clothing or body without their noticing.
• Novice: You can take wallets in a dense crowd.
•• Practiced: You can take a wallet from an inside jacket pocket.
••• Competent: You can take a keychain from a tight trouser pocket.
•••• Expert: You can take a wristwatch while shaking hands.
••••• Master: You can take anything from anywhere on a person.
Specialties: Pockets, Watches, Chains, Getaways, Bumping.
Pilot You can operate flying machines. Your rating limits the complexity of aircraft you are qualified to fly.
• Novice: Hang gliders and ultralights only.
•• Practiced: Gliders and single-engine prop planes.
••• Competent: Commercial multi-engine airplane license.
•••• Expert: Helicopters, military transports, and commercial passenger jets.
••••• Master: Top Gun fighter pilot.
Specialties: Night Flying, Thermals, Dogfights, Long Distances, Takeoffs and Landings, Gliders, Helicopters, Light Planes, Corporate Jets, Commercial Jets, Fighter Jets.
Police Procedure You know the day-to-day techniques, radio codes, booking rules, and investigative routines of law enforcement agencies.
• Novice: Academy recruit.
•• Practiced: Patrol officer.
••• Competent: Precinct detective.
•••• Expert: Police lieutenant.
••••• Master: Precinct captain (or a master criminal who knows every cop trick).
Specialties: APBs, Reports, Detectives, Autopsies, Evidence Chain.
Pottery You can shape, glaze, and fire ceramic vessels and sculptures.
• Novice: Hobbyist.
•• Practiced: Night school student.
••• Competent: Professional potter.
•••• Expert: Master craftsperson.
••••• Master: Museum-grade ceramicist.
Specialties: Vessels, Sculptures, Models, Moldings.
Psychoanalysis You are skilled in diagnosing and treating mental ailments and Derangements through clinical therapy (extended Intelligence + Psychoanalysis rolls against the patient's Intelligence + 3, or Willpower + 3 if unwilling; cannot cure a Malkavian's core clan Derangement).
• Novice: A good shoulder to cry on.
•• Practiced: Volunteer crisis counselor.
••• Competent: Professional therapist.
•••• Expert: Qualified psychoanalyst.
••••• Master: Sigmund Freud or Carl Jung.
Specialties: Freudian, Jungian, Humanist, Ericksonian, Holistic, Childhood, Psychosis, Neurosis.
Research You know how to find obscure information from conventional sources—libraries, microfiche, public registries, and archives.
• Novice: Undergrad.
•• Practiced: Grad student or research assistant.
••• Competent: University professor.
•••• Expert: Senior research fellow.
••••• Master: Walking human database.
Specialties: Any specific Knowledge area (Occult, History, Law, Genealogy, etc.).
Ride You can ride horses and other mounts under stress or in combat, and care for tack and equipment.
• Novice: Dude ranch vacations.
•• Practiced: Weekend cowboy.
••• Competent: Professional cowboy or cavalryman.
•••• Expert: Showjumping champion or rodeo star.
••••• Master: Master stunt rider.
Specialties: Bareback, Horse, Mule, Camel, Elephant, Gallop, Tricks, No Hands.
Scuba You are proficient in underwater diving gear and navigating marine hazards like the bends and predators.
• Novice: Once a year on vacation.
•• Practiced: Local dive club member.
••• Competent: Certified dive instructor.
•••• Expert: Commercial deep-sea salvage diver.
••••• Master: Navy SEAL.
Specialties: Cold Water, Reef, Deep-Sea, Recreational, Cave/Wreck Diving.
Singing Specialized vocal skill across a wide range of musical styles and techniques.
• Novice: You stand out when the family gathers around the piano.
•• Practiced: Lead singer in a local garage band.
••• Competent: Professional choral singer or recording artist.
•••• Expert: Broadway lead or chart-topping vocalist.
••••• Master: Iconic voice remembered for decades.
Specialties: Opera, Easy Listening, Rock, Church/Choral, Musicals, Jazz/Blues.
Skiing You can travel on skis for sport or winter wilderness survival and read snow conditions for avalanche danger.
• Novice: Vacation skier.
•• Practiced: Enthusiast.
••• Competent: Ski bum.
•••• Expert: Ski champ or Arctic forces.
••••• Master: Olympic medalist.
Specialties: Cross-Country, Downhill, Ski-Jumping, Snowboarding, Stunts.
Sleight of Hand Your quick hands can deceive the eyes of others, palming small items and performing close-up magic tricks.
• Novice: Card tricks at Christmas.
•• Practiced: Children's party magician.
••• Competent: Professional stage magician.
•••• Expert: Headlining TV illusionist.
••••• Master: A legend of legerdemain.
Specialties: Produce Item, Conceal Item, Amuse, Card Manipulation.
Speed Reading Through practice, you can read and absorb large quantities of written material in a fraction of normal time.
• Novice: The New York Times in an hour.
•• Practiced: A novel in two to three hours.
••• Competent: A textbook in two to three hours.
•••• Expert: A fat technical textbook in two to three hours.
••••• Master: War & Peace in two to three hours.
Specialties: Technical, Fiction, Newspaper, Research, Cramming.
Torture You know the grim anatomy of inflicting physical pain for interrogation while keeping the prisoner alive (or undead).
• Novice: Street thug; knows how to hurt people.
•• Practiced: Can cause extreme pain while keeping the subject conscious.
••• Competent: Military interrogator.
•••• Expert: Professional inquisitor; can extract almost any confession.
••••• Master: An artist and scientist of pain.
Specialties: Exotic Methods, Prolonging Life, Pain, Flagellation, Psychological/Physical Mix.
Tracking You can identify and follow the trail of a person or animal across wilderness or urban terrain.
• Novice: Boy Scout.
•• Practiced: Eagle Scout.
••• Competent: Seasoned hunter.
•••• Expert: Master wilderness scout.
••••• Master: You could track a ghost across solid granite.
Specialties: Wolf, Deer, Rock/Hard Ground, Urban, Identification, Covering Tracks.
Traps You know how to construct, set, and conceal snares, deadfalls, and mechanical traps.
• Novice: Boy Scout.
•• Practiced: Weekend survivalist.
••• Competent: Backwoods trapper.
•••• Expert: Mountain man.
••••• Master: Master of deadfalls and ambush engineering.
Specialties: Specific Species, Deadfalls, Pits, Booby Traps, Disarming.