SKILLS: WHAT CAN YOU DO?

After the player has determined their Attributes, they may choose their Skills.  The player may choose a number of skills equal to the Priority that the player has chosen from the table, or from the points allocated, if the player used the Point system instead.  Each skill’s level is determined by the average of two of the character’s Secondary Attributes.
Some characters may gain bonus skills based on their Tribe; these should be noted on the Character Sheet before the player chooses their other skills.

SKILL LIST

APPRAISAL: INTUITION PLUS MEMORY
Appraisal allows the character to judge the condition and worth of a piece of equipment.  The player draws their cards, and consults the table below. 

Successes Information Gained
0 None
1 Basic functions
2 Value
3 Detailed functions
4+ All discernable facts

the results are cumulative; so if a character drew three successes whan appraising an object, they would learn its value, as well as its basic and detailed functions.
 

ARMOURER: MEMORY PLUS DEXTERITY
Armourer allows the character to make and restore all types of armour.  Repairs without the proper equipment and time can only restore Wear equal to half the character’s score in this skill; repairs with the proper resources and plenty of time (1 hour per point of Wear restored) can restore 1 point of Wear per success.  Each point of Wear takes 1 day to repair; the player may elect to use successes to reduce the time instead of increasing the Wear restored. Each success sacrificed in this way halves the time taken.
If the Armourer has access to an Armourer’s Forge (Low Tech, Low Complexity facility), then they may add the rating of the facility to their skill when determining times and/or points of Wear restored.  If the Armourer has access to a Nanotech Forge (High Tech, High Complexity facility) then they may halve the time needed for the repairs.
Note that this skill may be used on any kind of armour, from leather jackets to Battlesuit plating.
 

ATHLETICS: SIZE PLUS DEXTERITY
Athletics covers all aspects of physical activity – running, jumping, swimming, and so on.
 

AXE: BRAWLING PLUS DEXTERITY
Axe allows the character to wield axes, from small hatchets and tomahawks, to Monoedge axes and cleavers, to the giant DU-headed axes wielded by Battlesuit pilots.
 

BARGAIN: INTUITION PLUS CHARISMA
Bargain Allows the character to barter for goods.  As currency per se is no longer used in the Desert of the Real, this skill is especially handy for Freeborns. Bargaining allows the character to haggle over the price of items.  The Target for this draw is twice the opponent’s Intelligence; for every success, the character may deduct 10% from the asking price (down to a minimum of 50%); a Critical Success automatically lowers the price to 50% of its original.  However, if the character achieves no successes, they must add 10% to the price; and a Critical Failure increases the price by 50%.  For example: a character with Bargain: 5 tries to haggle over the price of a weapon (400 units) with a tribal gun-runner (INT 3 – Target 6).  The player is lucky, and draws four successes; so the character has managed to haggle the price down to 240 units (400-160 [40%]).  Note that an NPC with Bargaining may also roll against the character in negotiations.
Bargaining may be used when selling items as well; in this situation, every success raises the price by 10% (to a maximum of 150%), while failure subtracts 10% from the price.
 

BATTLESUIT: SIZE PLUS DEXTERITY
This skill allows the character to pilot the combat exoskeletons used to fight the Machines in the Real World.  Characters who are able to jack into the Matrix are also able to jack into the exoskeleton, which gives full use of the Battlesuit’s sensorium systems.  For further details, see the section on Battlesuits, in Gear.
 

BIKE: INTUITION PLUS DEXTERITY
Bike allows the character to rise two- and three-wheeled motorbikes.  Unlike the other vehicle types, riding a bike requires more manual dexterity, as reflected in the Secondary Attributes indicated.
 

BLADE: BRAWLING PLUS DEXTERITY
Blade allows the character to use edged weapons in combat, from a makeshift shiv, through conventional swords and knives, through to the mighty DU Blade claymores of the Battlesuit pilots.
 

BOW: INTUITION PLUS DEXTERITY
Allows the character to use cross- and regular bows.  Despite their archaic overtones, an experienced bowman with a quiver of EMP-head arrows can bring a Battlesuit brigade to a standstill.
 

CAMOUFLAGE: INTUITION PLUS STEALTH
Camouflage allows the character to hide.  The player draws cards equal to their skill score, with the highest result becoming the Target for anyone to notice the character.  The GM may impose situational modifiers to this Target (like lighting, surveillance measures, and so on).
 

CAR: MEMORY PLUS INTUITION
Car allows the character to pilot cars, vans and smaller trucks.
 

CLIMBING: INTUITION PLUS STEALTH
Climbing allows the character to climb vertical surfaces.  Modifiers for climbing depend on the grade of the climbing surface: an ordinary wall would have no modifiers (or even a small bonus), while a sheer rock-face (or a 20-storey building) will incur high penalties.  Climbing equipment, if provided, may reduce these Targets.
The character must make a test every (Dexterity÷3) metres (which is how far they can climb in one turn), or at the start of every Combat Turn.

CLUB: BRAWLING PLUS SIZE
Allows the character to use weapons that rely on blunt trauma to do damage: clubs, maces, even the humble 2×4.

CODING: MEMORY PLUS BELIEF
The ‘modern’ version of Computer, Coding allows the character to read, comprehend and manipulate the code of the Matrix in its raw form.  Coding is used to create objects and training programs in the Construct, as well as building the constructs themselves.

COMPUTER: MEMORY PLUS INTUITION
The lifeblood of most Freemind characters, the Computer skill allows the character to use computers.  This includes programming, hacking, and data processing.  Freemind characters that take this skill receive a +1 bonus.

CONSTRUCTION: INTUITION PLUS MEMORY
Construction gives the character knowledge of building things, from simple ramps and walls to full-scale houses.  It also allows the character to assess such buildings and discover any irregularities.  A character with this skill will also have the ability to use construction equipment (cranes, dump-trucks, cement mixers, and so on) using their Large Vehicle skill.

CON: CHARISMA PLUS INTUITION
Con allows a character to bamboozle the subject with double-talk and so on.  It is basically used to bluff past guards, gain the confidence of others, and to get out of jams without resorting to violence.  A successful draw against twice the Target’s Intelligence Rank will allow the character to distract the target.  The GM may impose modifiers to this Target as they see fit; for example, bluffing your way past the doorman of an apartment building would be much easier than trying to get past a SWAT team member guarding a crime scene.

DEMOLITION: MEMORY PLUS INTUITION
Demolition allows the character to work with explosives.  It includes knowledge of fuses, timers, accelerants, and how exactly to bring that 12-storey apartment down without crushing the school-house next to it.  A character with this skill is also able to work with Demolition machinery (cranes, wrecking-balls, and so on) using their Large Vehicle skill.

DISGUISE: CHARISMA PLUS STEALTH
Disguise allows the character to change their appearance; they may appear to be of either sex, age or race (within reason, of course), and about 5cm taller or shorter than they already are.  The character’s highest draw when using this skill is added to the character’s score in the skill; the total is the Target for anyone to notice the disguise.
This skill is practically useless without a Disguise Kit (see Equipment).  If a character is attempting anything elaborate without the use of this Kit, the guise is at half effectiveness (round down).

ELECTRONICS: INTUITION PLUS MEMORY
Allows the character to understand and operate electronic machinery not covered by Computer: Jump chairs, ATMs, Mobile Phones, and so on.

ENERGY WEAPONS: DEXTERITY PLUS INTUITION
Covers the use of plasma and laser weapons in the Desert of the Real, as well as Gauss rifles and railguns.  Because they don’t exist in the Matrix, this skill is usually only possessed only by Freeborn characters.

ETIQUETTE: CHARISMA PLUS MEMORY
Etiquette is about knowing how to act around people, knowing any social rituals, customs, taboo conversation topics, and so on, that must be observed to be accepted in a social situation.  Etiquette can be specialised by social group, from the upper echelons of big business to the underground hacker scene.

FARMING: INTUITION PLUS MEMORY
Farming gives the character knowledge of soil, crops, and other such things.  In the Real World, it also imparts basic knowledge of hydroponics and genetic engineering, as well as rudimentary knowledge of operating Genies and other nanotech food-processors.  A character with Farming can also operate farm machinery (tractor, harvester, and so forth) using their Large Vehicle skill.

FIRST AID: INTUITION PLUS MEMORY
The art of putting people back together.  Allows characters to heal others with the right equipment: a Medkit, or a medical facility of some type.

FORENSICS: INTUITION PLUS MEMORY
This skill gives the character knowledge of the processes involved in crime scene analysis: fingerprinting, reconstruction, and so on.  A character with this skill and First Aid may determine the cause of death of a subject, according to the actual cause of death (so a gunshot wound to the head will not require a draw, but something like internal bleeding or head trauma would).

FORGERY: INTUITION PLUS MEMORY
Forgery allows a character to make and identify fake documents.  The character’s highest draw when creating the forgery becomes the Target for anyone to spot the fake.  When trying to spot a fake, a character with the Forgery skill may subtract 1 from the Target.

GUNNERY: SIZE PLUS DEXTERITY
Gunnery allows the character to effectively fire large weapons such as those mounted on vehicles, in defence towers, and so on.

HEAVY WEAPONS: SIZE PLUS DEXTERITY
The Heavy Weapons skill allows the character to effectively use any big-ass guns – medium and heavy machine guns, miniguns, and sniper rifles.

HOVERCRAFT: MEMORY PLUS INTUITION
This skill allows the character to pilot conventional air-thrust hovercrafts in the Matrix and the slightly more snazzy varieties in the Real World.

INFORMATION GATHERING: CHARISMA PLUS MEMORY
Information Gathering entails using the character’s contacts to find information.  The GM draws against the character’s score in this skill, using the relative difficulty and obscurity of the information as the Target.  The GM then compares the result with the table below. 

Successes Result Example
Critical Failure False Information "Mr Black? I heard he got called back East."
None No Information "Black, Black, hmm...Sorry, name doean't ring a bell."
One Very Basic Information "Mr Black? He's staying in a hotel downtown, the regent or the Emperor, I'm not sure which."
Two Basic information "He's at the Regent. I don't know why he's here, though."
Three or more Detailed Information "Black? Regent Hotel, room 202. He's here to cut a deal with the Machines."

A Critical Success allows the character to ask questions about the information, with the GM answering to the best of their ability.
As always, it is up to the GM as to how much a draw reveals.  The basic time for gathering is four hours, plus one hour per category above a No Information result (ie 5 hours for Very Basic information, 6 for Basic, and so on).
This skill cannot be loaded into the character’s Flash Memory.

INTERROGATION: CHARISMA PLUS INTUITION
Interrogation: the not-so-gentle art of getting information.  When interrogating, the Target Rank is equal to twice the interrogated person’s Willpower.  Success is determined on the Information Gathering table, with False information counting as No information instead.

LANGUAGE: CHARISMA PLUS MEMORY
A character must take one Language skill for each language they learn (ie, one for Japanese, one for German, and so on); also, a character can never learn more levels in Languages than they have points in their Knowledge attribute.  The Target for the roll depends on what the character is trying to say.  Simple phrases (like “What is your name?” and “Where is the hospital?”) may be draw-free, while more complex phrases (detailed directions and descriptions, for example) will require a draw.
To begin with, the character knows their native language well enough not to need a draw.  For every language after that, the character has the allotted points (The average of Charisma and Memory) to distribute between them.  For example, if a character with Charisma 5 and Memory 7 wanted to learn Spanish and Japanese in addition to English, they would have [(5+7)÷2], or 6 points to allocate to the two Languages.

LARGE VEHICLE: INTUITION PLUS MEMORY
Large Vehicle allows the character to pilot larger vehicles, such as buses, large trucks and semis, and, as a special bonus, any half- or full-tracked vehicle.  Now you too can go from bus driver to tank operator in one easy lesson.

LIP READING: STEALTH PLUS INTUITION
This skill allows the character to decipher what is being said in a conversation by tracking the movements of the lips of the conversants.  There are several provisos to this ability:
1) The character must be able to naturally speak the language seen.
2) The targets’ lips must be visible through normal sight (not thermographic).
The target is set by the GM, taking into consideration the light, line of sight, and any other factors that may affect the character’s ability to see the mouths of the targets.

LOCKPICKING: STEALTH PLUS MEMORY
Lock-picking allows the character to open locked doors.  An average lock requires a draw against a Target of 8; a security lock is Target 9 to 10, and so on.  Generally speaking, the more valuable the thing protected is, the higher the Target to pick the lock.  This skill is useless without a Lock-picking Kit (See Gear)

MACHINE GUNS: SIZE PLUS DEXTERITY
Machine guns, include any burst-fire or full-auto weapons larger than a pistol or rifle but smaller than a Heavy Weapon.

MARTIAL ARTS: BRAWLING PLUS DEXTERITY
Martial Arts is a more refined version of Brawling, substituting finesse for some of the brute strength of the former skill.  Characters cause (Brawling+2) stun damage with each blow.  Characters may also execute some of the moves below:
Jump Kick – Character may cover distance and attack at the same time.  +2 Damage, +1 difficulty.  Failure indicates character prone for next round.
Spinning Kick – Adds power to the character’s kick.  +3 Damage, +1 difficulty.  Failure indicates character prone for next round.
Penetrating Kick – concentrates on bypassing armour.  +1 Damage, +2 difficulty, no armour if successful.
Forceful Kick – concentrates on pushing the opponent.  –1 Damage, +1 difficulty.  Success indicates opponent forced (Strength÷2) metres in the direction the character wishes.
Sweep – Attacking the legs, causing the opponent to fall prone on success.  –2 damage, +1 difficulty, Close Range move.
Throw – Concentrates on a grab-and-pivot that sends the opponent flying.  Success indicates opponent thrown away (Strength÷2) metres in a direction chosen by the character.  No damage, +2 difficulty, Close Range move.
Close Range – Allows the character to step into the opponent to perform some of the close-up techniques.
Kip Up – allows the character to flip back to their feet, allowing them to act in the next Combat Pass.
Multiple Blow – allows the character to attack multiple people in one round.  –1 damage per extra target, +1 difficulty to all strikes per extra target (So striking three people in a single turn will subtract thee points from the damage of each attack, as well as adding 3 to all Targets to hit).  May not attack more than (Dexterity÷2) targets in one turn.
Hard Strike – increases the damage of the blow to Physical rather than Stun.  ½ damage, +2 difficulty.
Disarm - Disarm allows the character to removve an oopponent’s weapon from their hand in close combat.  A standard attack is made against the intended opponent; if the character wins the combat, no damage is done.  Instead, the opponent’s weapon flies 1 metre per success in a random direction.  For example: Engel, with Martial Arts: 7 tries to disarm a police officer with a nightstick.  The police officer has Club: 5.  They draw: Engel comes up with 3 successes, while the officer manages only 1.  Instead of causing damage, the officer’s stick is knocked out of his hand and flies (3-1=)2 metres away in a random direction.  A Critical Success in this test allows the character to choose the direction and distance of the weapon.  On a successful Dexterity draw against a Target of 10, the character may also pluck the weapon from their opponent’s hands.  No damage, +1 difficulty, Close Move.
For every two points in this skill, the player may choose one technique for their character.

MOUNT: DEXTERITY PLUS INTUITION
Although rare in the primarily urban environments of the Matrix (and even more rare in the Real World) the art of transportation by animal means is still alive.  In 99.9% of cases, this skill will reflect the character’s skill on a horse; the player would have to do a LOT of explaining to get another mount (but to have some fun with it, here are some alternate mount suggestions: Camel, Elephant, Donkey…)
A character will not have to draw when riding normally; however, other more complicated tasks, like jumping, riding over rough ground, or flat-out galloping, will require a draw against a Target set by the GM.

NAVIGATION: INTUITION PLUS MEMORY
The art of using navigational equipment.  This skill imbues the character with a decent sense of direction, and it also allows the character to effectively use the sensor equipment installed in most Desert vehicles.

PISTOLS: DEXTERITY PLUS INTUITION
Allows the character to use semi-automatic handguns, machine pistols, revolvers, and any other small arms.

POLE ARMS: DEXTERITY PLUS SIZE
Pole-arms is a catch-all category that includes any long-handled weapons: spears, staves, glaives, and so on.

REPAIR: INTUITION PLUS MEMORY*
Repair allows the character to maintain and repair the indicated equipment.  The character must decide what type of items they are able to practice on, from:
Weapon (Close-Combat/Projectile/Firearm)
Electronics/Computers
Vehicle (Including Battlesuits)
This skill also allows the character to do repairs on existing equipment.  The Rank Difficulty for repairing the item is equal to twice the existing Wear – hence, it is easier to repair something that has been lightly scuffed than something that has just been run over by a tank.  The character draws cards equal to their Repair score; every success removes 2 points of Wear, to a minimum of zero.  A Critical Success repairs the object to perfect working order, while a Critical Failure indicates that the character has screwed up the repairs, and must add 1 Draw of Wear to the object.
For example: Worker B, with Repair (Hovercraft): 8, is making some repairs on his hovercraft (Wear 4) after an encounter with a group of Sentinels.  Worker B’s player gets to draw six cards against a Target of 8 (4×2).  He draws an Ace, a six, two eights, a nine, and a ten, for four successes.  This is enough to restore up to 8 points of Wear.  However, the extra four points are not needed, as the hovercraft is restored to perfect working order.
The base time for repairs on items depends on the size and complexity of the item. 

Item Base Time Plus Reduce Time by:
Electronics 2 hours 1 hour per point pf Wear ½ hour per success
Close-combat weapon, Bow 12 hours 2 hours per point pf Wear 1 hour per success
Firearm 36 hours 4 hours per point pf Wear 2 hours per success
General Mechanics 2 days 12 hours per point pf Wear 6 hours per success
Bike 3 days 1 day per point pf Wear 12 hours per success
Small Vehicle (Car, Pick-up, Van) 1 week 1 day per point pf Wear 12 hours per success
Large Vehicle (Truck, Bus) 10 days 36 hours per point pf Wear 1½ days per success
Aircraft (Chopper, Plane) 10 days 2 days per point pf Wear 1 day per success
High-Tech vehicle (Hovercraft, Battlesuit) 2 weeks 2 days per point pf Wear 1 day per success

The item is unable to be used during the period in which it is being repaired.  During this time, the item cannot be used in any way.  At the GM's discretion, extra successes may be used to reduce the time needed to repair the item, according to the chart above; the repair time may only be reduced to the Base Time, never lower. So, in the above example, Worker B will have to wait a base time of 14 days (High-tech vehicle), plus (4 points of Wear × 2 days per point=) 8 days, putting the Hovercraft out of action for a total of 22 days, or a little over three weeks. If Worker B elected to use the two successes to reduce the repair time, the hovercraft would only be out of action for (22-[2×1]=)20 days.
This skill is useless without some kind of Repair tools.  An ordinary Repair Kit (Low Tech, Low Complexity) can restore up to its Rating in Wear; a Repair Shop (Low Tech, High Complexity) can restore up to twice its Rating.  A Nanotech Forge (High Tech, High Complexity) can restore up to twice its Rating, as well as cutting the downtime of the object in half.
This skill also allows the character to create or modify the indicated equipment given the right parts and time.  The Target depends on the complexity and size of the construction or modification; for instance, it is easier to install a laser sight on a pistol, than to build a Battelsuit from scrap.
* - The ability to repair an item depends on the character’s understanding of the item both as an object made up of individual parts, and a tool that is used in all manner of environments and ways.  What does this mean?  It means that the Repair skill score is calculated differently to other skill scores.  The base score for repair is the average of Intuition and Memory, as listed above.  When the player decides which item they wish to be able to repair, the base skill is modified.  If the character is able to use (has the skill for) the item, add the two scores and divide by two.  If the character doesn’t know how to use (doesn’t have the skill for) the item, add the character’s Repair skill to the non-existent other skill (work it out from the formula) and divide by three.  Yeah, life sucks, get over it.

RESEARCH: INTUITION PLUS MEMORY
Research grants the character a proficiency at finding information in written material ie libraries, the Internet, and so on.  The base Category and results are the same as those for the Information Gathering skill.  A character with this skill and Computer who uses the computer as a primary source of information may reduce the Target by 1.

RIFLES: SIZE PLUS DEXTERITY
The Rifles skill includes the use of shotguns and single-shot and semi-auto rifles.

ROTORCRAFT: INTUITION PLUS MEMORY
Rotorcraft allows the character to pilot all manner of helicopter and autogyro.

SAILCRAFT: INTUITION PLUS MEMORY
Ahoy!  The Sailcraft skill allows the character to sail wind-powered craft.  While this generally means sailboats and the like, there are some craft, like kite-karts, that run on land, too.

SALVAGE: INTUITION PLUS MEMORY
This skill allows the character to scrounge for useful things, as well as recycle junked or damaged equipment into spare parts. These parts have half the Wear of the thing that they are looted from, and may be used to automatically (pending a successful Repair draw) restore Wear to an item.  In this case, the remaining Wear of the parts (ie 10-existing Wear) is automatically removed from the Wear of the repaired item.  So, if Geezer wanted to use parts from an augured-in Hovercraft (Wear 8) to repair his own ship, a successful Repair roll would restore (10-8=)2 points of Wear.  Repairing an object in this fashion takes half the listed time.
Scavenging is a tricky business; one has to know where to look, and what to look for.  The GM must decide if there are modifiers for the location and rarity of the part.  For example, looking for a replacement circuit board in a computer junkyard may require a draw against a Target of 8 or 9, whereas looking for water in the desert may attract a target in the low teens.

THEFT: STEALTH PLUS DEXTERITY
Theft allows a character to achieve several tasks: pick-pocketing, sleight-of-hand pilfering, and so on.  When using this skill, the character pits Theft against twice their opponent’s Intuition.  If the character draws a Critical Failure, then the attempt has been noticed.

THROWN WEAPON: SIZE PLUS DEXTERITY
Covers the use of grenades and other less explosive hand-thrown weapons, like shiruken, darts and throwing knives.

TRACKING: STEALTH PLUS INTUITION
Tracking allows the character to follow a trail made by person, vehicle or animal.  The Target is twice the hunted’s Stealth, modified by weather, freshness of trail, and so on (GM’s discretion).

TUMBLING: DEXTERITY PLUS STEALTH
A character with this skill may flip, dodge, and cartwheel.  It also imparts an ease of movement that allows the character to add 10% to all Armour ratings while their armour does not restrict the character’s movement (ie if the character’s armour decreases their Speed, it also negates this bonus).

VECTORED-THRUST AIRCRAFT: MEMORY PLUS INTUITION
Vectored-thrust vehicles rely primarily on directed air to keep them airborne.  Such technology is really only available outside the Matrix; inside, only military and government agencies have access to such equipment.

WATERCRAFT: MEMORY PLUS INTUITION
Allows the character to pilot motorboats, jetcats, and all other powered watercraft.

WHIP: DEXTERITY PLUS INTUITION
Not just an Indiana Jones wannabe skill anymore, whips have progressed a long way in the Desert.  The latest development is a nanotech-maufactured ‘monowhip’, a hair-thin filament of carbon atoms that can slice through the toughest armour like butter.  However, people untrained in its use often find themselves sort a few extremities. For the ninja in all of you, the Whips skill also encompases the use of multi-piece club weapons, like morning stars and nunchaku.

WINGED AIRCRAFT: MEMORY PLUS INTUITION
Winged Aircraft covers piloting aircraft, from Cessna to Harrier.  The latter may be a little harder to pass off as a recreational vehicle, though.


Jason has an impressive 9 skills to allocate.  He wants a nice balance of skills, with perhaps a slight emphasis on combat abilities.  In the end he chooses Theft, Martial Arts, Blade, Pistols, Bike, Athletics, Electronics, Repair (Electronics), and Computer. Because Jason's character is a Freemind, he automatically gains a 1-point bonus to his Computer skill.
While Kate only has 5 skills to allocate, her character gains two bonus skills as a Mouser: Appraisal and Salvage.  In addition to these, she chooses Theft, Bargain, Energy Weapon, Electronics, and Repair (Electronics).