Skills
- Awareness: Sight, hearing, scent, taste—anything related to our senses are collected under this skill, as well as tracking.
- Focuses: Insight, Perception, Track.
- Combat: The Combat skill is used for any situations featuring physical violence: swashbuckling, bar brawls, demolitions or firing a gun.
- Focuses: Gunnery, Melee, Ranged, Unarmed.
- Cunning: Covers sneaking and hiding, but also typical thievery crafts, like lockpicking, pick pocketing, forgery and sleight of hand.
- Focuses: Gambling, Lockpicking, Sleight, Stealth.
- Knowledge: This broad skill covers various knowledge-based proficiencies, like languages, research and bureaucracy.
- Focuses: Art & Music, Bureaucracy, Commerce, Craft, Language, Research.
- Move: This skill covers all physical skills, like climbing, jumping, running, swimming and dancing.
- Focuses: Acrobatics, Athletics, Brawn, Dancing, Ride, Swim.
- Science: Science, like Knowledge, is a broad skill, covering all natural sciences, including Medicine.
- Focuses: Astronomy, Chemistry, Medicine, Navigation, Survival.
- Social: All social activities are collected here. If you need to tell a convincing lie or entertain at a cocktail party, this is the skill to use. Also, bribery, acting and oratory fall under Social.
- Focuses: Acting, Deceit, Influence, Oratory.
- Tech: The character understands how mechanical and electronic objects work and knows how to hot-wire, repair and build them. Also covers the handling of vehicles.
- Focuses: Comms, Computers, Engineering, Mechanics, Pilot, Sensors.
- Willpower: Any time your grit and mental resilience comes into play, Willpower is used. Examples include resisting the influence of a charismatic speaker or staying cool in frightening situations.
- Focuses: Circle, Person.
| Focus | Primary (1) | Secondary (2) | Tertiary (4) | Remaining |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Without Focus | 70% | 50% | 30% | 5% |
| With Focus | 50%* | 30%* | 30% | 5% |
* When using a Focus (an area of expertise within a Skill), add +20% to these three skill values.
Tags
- #Contact: During a scenario, you can arrange meetings with a contact to gain information and hear (or spread) rumours. The first meeting is always accepted (100% success rate). But for each following request during a scenario, the chance is halved (50%, 25%, 13% and so on). The contact might be an old friend, a former colleague, an informant, an old professor, a relative or any other acquaintance. Keep in mind that the information they have might be useless, biased or false all depending on the scenario.
- #High Society: You know how to dress, behave and speak in the upper classes. Without #High Society, all Social rolls are at -20% with members of the upper class.
- #Lab: You have easy access to one or several labs—including a knowledgable assistant – where clues and specimens can be analysed without questions being asked. Similar to #Contacts, the first request for access is always granted. But for each following request, the chance is halved.
- #Pass: You have an ID card that provides easy entrance to otherwise closed facilities. It might be a journalist pass, a police badge or something similar. It will not grant access every time or to every place however. In borderline situations, treat #Pass as +20% to Social.
- #Streetwise: You know how to behave in criminal circles and who to ask for rumours, information or illegal wares. Without #Streetwise, all Social rolls are at -20% in criminal circles.
- #Wealth: You own a sizeable house or apartment, can afford fine clothes and delicious food. Optionally, you also have access to a vehicle, an ageing butler or a small plot of land.
- #Membership: You are a member of an organisation—covert or open—that you can call upon for support. Examples include military intelligence, religious organisations, criminal networks and various scientific societies. Unfortunately, calls are not always heeded and any reactions might be quite untimely. The membership might be in the same Circle as in the Willpower Focus.
- #Status: You have acquired a certain status, through deeds or a position of power. For people that are aware of the status, all your Social rolls are at +20%. Examples include skilled artists, envoys of a king and well-regarded scientists.
- #Gear: You have access to advanced or experimental equipment. For weapons, this might mean +1 to +3 extra damage. Other gear will have other (more or less subtle) updates, like speed, range, miniaturisation, cool design or experimental features. But beware of bugs.
- #Secret Identity: You have a second identity known only to a few select people. This is often used by secret agents, criminals and vigilantes.
- #Headquarters: You have access to a small property as a base of operations. It might be a detective’s office, a secret back room at a research facility or a hideaway in the woods.
- #Auspicious: Fate smiles at you. You have 3 Luck Points to start with, returning to 3 every time they renew.
Conflict Pools
- BODY: Represents physical stress, like wounds, exhaustion, blood loss and diseases. Both combat and strenuous activities drain the BODY Pool.
- INT: Intelligence is used for intellectually challenging activities, like research, investigations and puzzle solving.
- POW: Power comes into action to test your mental strength in stressful and frightening situations. In settings that include magic, it also rates magical affinity and resistance.
- CHA: Charisma is used in any social situations, when you need to persuade someone, give a rousing speech or outwit a competitor at a fund raising party.
Allocate the following four values to the Conflict Pools: 16, 14, 12, 10.
Alternatively, roll 2d6+6 for each Conflict Pool.
Luck Points
Most characters have 2 Luck Points, and can spend them to:
- Flip the Dice. After a roll on a d100, you can flip the digits.
- Reduce Damage. Damage from a single roll can be reduced to 1.
- Timely Appearance. Have a Contact appear.
- Look What I Found. Find a small piece of equipment.
- Refreshed. Restore one Conflict Pool to 1.
Careers
Detective
Awareness //Perception, Combat, Social //Influence
Tags: #Secret ID, #Headquarters
Doctor
Science //Medicine, Awareness //Perception, Social
Tags: #High Society, #Lab
Archeologist
Knowledge //Research, Knowledge //History, Awareness //Perception
Tags: #Contact, #Lab
Criminal
Combat, Cunning, Move //Athletics
Tags: #Streetwise, #Contact
Journalist
Knowledge //Language, Knowledge //Research, Social
Tags: #Contact, #Pass
Pilot
Tech //Pilot, Willpower, Knowledge //Navigation
Tags: #Auspicious and choose: #Streetwise or #High Society
Scientist
Science, Awareness //Perception, Tech
Tags: #Circle (Scientific Society), #Lab
Soldier
Combat, Cunning //Stealth, Move //Athletics
Tags: #Circle (Military Intelligence), #Gear
Dilettante
Science, Social, Knowledge //Research
Tags: #Contact, #Wealth
Character Improvement
At the end of a session, each PC gets 1d4+1 to raise one skill.
If they played according to their Willpower Foces, add a second experience roll.
A new Focus costs four experience rolls; a new Tag costs six experience rolls.
Bonuses and Penalties
- Routine: Automatic success
- Easy: Add +20% to the skill
- Normal: Use the skill as it is
- Hard: Reduce skill by -20%
- Very Hard: Reduce skill by -40%
A Helping Hand: Add +10% for one assisting PC with the right skill, +5% for the second, +2% for the third.