Starcraft
D6

Table of 
Contents

Basics

Characters

Attributes
& Skills

Psionics

Actions &
Combat

Space Travel

Allies &
Enemies
   Terrans
   Protoss
   Zerg

Resources

Equipment

Cybernetics

Gamemaster's
Section

Links

Email

Guestbook

III.  ATTRIBUTES AND SKILLS
Many of the skills that are used in Starcraft D6 are exactly the same as those used in West End Games' Metabarons game, or the new DC Universe.  However, I have made a few changes.   The links below lead to each Attribute and explanations of the skills they control (many of the skills are more completely explained in the West End Games rulebooks).

Attributes:
Attributes represent a character's physical and mental characteristics.  Each Attribute controls a number of skills whose starting level depends on the current score of the Attribute.

Strength:  raw physical power for lifting, jumping and fighting.
Dexterity:  balance, hand-eye coordination, and reaction time.
Constitution:  physical and mental toughness.
Knowledge:  scope of understanding, education and analytical ability.
Instincts:  perceptiveness and intuittion.
Presence:  charisma and interpersonal abilities.
Psi:  the character's psionic potential and control.  This Attribute and its associated powers are described in the Psionics section.
Skills are listed under each Attribute.
 

Terms:
Skill name:  Aside from just the skill name, the skill may be designated as (A)dvanced or (S)pecial.  Advanced skills usually require prerequisites and are more difficult in which to gain levels.  Special skills are particular for some other reason, usually because there are certain rules that apply only to those skills.
Prerequisites:  Any skills and their levels that must be attained before the skill in question may be taken.
Time of Use:  Amount of time that passes while the character attempts the skill (regardless of whether or not it is successful).  This can be highly variable and depends on the GM's discretion.  An action that takes 1 round means that it is the only skill the character can attempt in that round.  An action that takes "1 action" can be attempted in conjunction with as many other actions as the character can perform in one round.  Other attempts may take anywhere from a minute to days (Scrounge, for example).  Difficulty numbers may vary depending on time spent as well.
Difficulty:  This gives an approximate Difficulty level to successfully use the skill.  GM's should vary this depening on the situation:  including stress, available tools, amount of time dedicated to the task, familiarity with the situation and other factors.
Description:  A (hopefully) brief description of what the skill does includes and other notes.

If a skill is listed by not given any other information, assume that it is available in one of West End Games' products (probably the Star Wars books, 3rd Edition).



STRENGTH

Brawling
Time Taken:  One action.
Specializations:  none.
Difficulty:  Easy (10)
    Brawling covers basic hand-to-hand combat.  It is less graceful than Martial Arts, but can be equally effective.   A character will do an amount of damage equal to his Strength + 1D per Effect Value (10 over the Target Number).
Note:  Brawling may be taken under Strength of Dexterity.

Climbing
Time Take:  One action (but GM's may decide to have characters just roll once for an entire "pitch")
Specializations:  Different things climbed:  buildings, trees, rock faces.
Difficulty:  Moderate (15)
     While Climbing covers the actual act of scampering up something, it may also be used when a character tries to do things like hold on to the hood of a speeding car (the "TJ Hooker maneuver") or grab on to the struts of a helicopter as it takes off, etc.  The difficulty may be increased if the character is burdened or wearing armor.

Jumping
Time of Use: 1 action.  Note that "big" jumps may require a certain amount of "hang time."  GM's should consider this in modifing difficulties for other actions that are attempted while the character is in the air.
Specializations:  None.
Difficulty:  The distance covered depends on die total attained.  See below.
     Jumping is not really an "academic" skill, but it is a talent that may be cultured nonetheless.  You may notice a somewhat strange progression in the distance covered and the number of successes.  This is because almost anyone can jump at least a little, but only a few people can really jump far. A roll of 40 is about the maximum that an Olympic jumper could get (assuming he didn't use Wild Dice, Chi or Character Points--all of which, I think, are illegal at the Olympics)--this assumes a Strength of 4 + Jumping skill of 6 (World Class) and a getting an average of 4 or greater on each die.  After 40, the distance increases dramatically.  This is because the jumper will only get this far if aided by technology (cybernetics) or some other "superhuman" means (Chi or Character Points).
    I would recommend to GM's that a result of 40 be the "maximum" allowed any non-augmented jumper (this includes the use of Chi and CP's) because the laws of physics and gravity have to apply somewhere.  There is simply no way for a "normal" human to jump 50 feet horizontally!
 

Difficulty
Approximate Distance Covered
5
Horitzontal:  about 2.5 feet.
Vertical:  about 3 feet.
10
Horizontal:  about 4 feet.
Vertical:  about 4 feet.
15
Horizontal:  about 6 feet.
Vetical:  about 5.5 feet.
20
Horizontal:  about 10 feet
Vertical:  about 6 feet
25
Horizontal:  about 15 feet.
Vertical:  about 7 feet
30
Horizontal:  about 20 feet.
Vertical:  about 8 feet
35
Horizontal:  about 25 feet.
Vertical: about 10 feet.
40
Horizontal:  about 30 feet (this is about the current world record).
Vertical:  about 12 feet.
50
Horizontal:  about 40 feet.
Vertical:  about 15 feet.
Beyond 50, a jumper may only achieve these distances if aided by magic or technology.  Even Chi and CP's should not be permitted to carry a jumper this far.
60
Horizontal:  about 75 feet
Vertical:  about 35 feet.
70
Horizontal:  about 100 feet.
Vertical:  about 50 feet.
80
Horizontal:  about 125 feet.
Vertical:  about 75 feet.
For each additional 5, add about 25 feet to the result.

Lifting
Time Taken:  1 action
Specializations:  none
Difficulty:  Depends upon the weight and bulkiness of the item.
     Lifting represents more an innate ability than a learned skill (though you can certainly learn the "correct" way to lift heavy objects).  Difficulty depends on the weight of the object. The table below indicates the difficulty of lifting a common object of about the provided weight.  Characters will be able to life much more than this amount  if they bench press (approximately 3 x the amount) or do a dead lift (approximately 4x this amount)
 

Weight of Object
Difficulty
20 pounds
Very Easy (5)
50 pounds
Easy (10)
75 pounds
Moderate (15)
100 pounds
Difficult (20)
150 pounds
Very Difficult (25)
200 pounds
Heroic (30)
Increase Difficulty by 5 for each additional 50 pounds



DEXTERITY

Acrobatics
Time Taken: One round
Specializations:Tumbling, Balancing, Swinging
     Acrobatics is used whenever a character attempts to make an unusual or difficult maneuver with her body. A character may attempt an Acrobatics check if they fall or are thrown to the ground to roll to her feet or avoid damage (roll Acrobatics versus the damage. If the Acrobatics roll is higher, subtract the difference from the damage taken).
     Acrobatics may also be used in combat. If a character uses Acrobatics during combat they can potentially reap one of the following benefits:

Brawling
Time Taken:  One action.
Specializations:  none.
Difficulty:  Easy (10)
    Brawling covers basic hand-to-hand combat.  It is less graceful than Martial Arts, but can be equally effective.   A character will do an amount of damage equal to his Strength + 1D per Effect Value.
Note:  Brawling may be taken under Strength of Dexterity.

Dodge
Time Taken:  One round.
Specializations:  None.
    Dodge is the art of getting out of the way.  A character need only make one Dodge roll per round.  The result becomes the base difficulty for anyone shooting or throwing anything at the character.  Thus, if a character makes a Dodge roll resulting in 20, enemies will need at least  a 20 to hit the character.  The Dodge result replaces the base difficulty, thus a bad Dodge result can put the character in a worse position than if he had just stood still.  Dodge may also be used to get out of the way of other objects that are not purposely aimed at the character, such as falling boulders, careening busses or out-of-control skateboarders.

Drive
Time Taken:  One round.
Specializations:  Particular types of vehicles, such as Motorcyles, Jeeps, Hovercraft, etc.
    Drive applies to the conduction of commonplace passenger vehicles. It won't do you a lick of good in a tank...

Firearms [Archaic Weapons/Firearms (Pistols and Rifles)/Light Artillery/Heavy Artillery/Vehicle Weapons/Remote Weapons]
Time Taken:  One round.
Specializations:  Particular weapons types.  For example, Firearms: Rifles.
    When choosing the Fire Weapons skill, the player must choose one of the categories listed above.  The character is considered unskills in all the other categories unless they too are selected.
    Marines using may only use Gauss rifles when wearing a Powered Combat Suit, but they fire them using the Firearms: Rifle skill.

Martial Arts
Time Taken: One round.
Specializations: none.
Difficulty:  Moderate (12) for standard blows (Damage = STR +1D per Effect Value);  Special Moves have variable Difficulties.
     Martial Arts covers the study of unarmed hand-to-hand combat. At character creation, the character receives one special maneuver for each die they place in the skill.   When the character advances with experience, each special move costs an additional 8 CP's (a character can buy as many as he would like).

Example:  Coburn has a Dexterity of 3D and at character creation adds an additional die into Martial Arts (giving him a total of 4D in Martial Arts). He chooses Disarm, Elbow Smash, Multiple Strikes, and Power Block.  Later,  he increases the Martial Arts skill from 4D to 5D (costing 12 CP's) and decides to purchase  Spinning Kick for an additional 8 CP's.
SPECIAL MOVES
The standard Difficulty for each move is given in parenthesis. Melee Weapon
Time of Use:  1 action.
Specializations:  Particular weapon "classes":  e.g., swords; knives; blunt weapons; psi-blades, etc.

Missile Weapons
Time of Use: 1 action.
Specializations:  Particular archaic missile weapons:  Bow, Crossbow, Slingshot, Dartgun, etc

Pilot [Aircraft/ Starfighter / Freighter / Capital Ship]
Time of Use: 1 action.
Specializations: Particular models of machinery within the chosen category.
    When the player chooses Pilot, he must choose one of the categories within the brackets.  He is considered unskilled in all other areas.

Ride Animal
Time of Use: 1 action.
Specializations: Particular animals.

Running
Time of Use: 1 action.
Specializations: none
Difficulty:  Easy.  May be increased if there are obstacles or the character is burdened.
    Running includes not only the ability to move your feet rapidly, but also of avoiding objects and stumbling while you are doing so.  Running is often one of those essential skills for avoiding becoming dead.

Throwing
Time of Use: 1 action.
Specializations:  Particular objects:  grenades, spears, shoes.
    This covers the hand-eye coordination required to pick something up and hit a target.  Difficulty depends on whether the object was designed to be thrown and range (see Equipment).



CONSTITUTION
Endurance:
Time of Use: 1 round.  Generally not considered an action.
Specializations:  Particular forms of exercise:  Climbing, Running, Swimming, etc.
    Characters must make Endurance checks when they exert themselves physically and begin to push the limits of their energy.  The GM may decide when rolls are appropriate.  For example, if a character is chasing a theif through sewer tunnel, he will make a Running roll.  If the chase continues for a long time, the GM will ask the character to make an Endurance roll.  If he fails, he will have to stop running to catch his breath.  The difficulty of the rolls should increase with the time of the physical exertion.

Resistance:
Time of Use:  1 round.
Specializations:  Particular forms of duress:  Drugs, Pain, Gravitational forces (good for pilots), etc.
    Resistance indicates the character's physical resiliency against outside duress, such as pain or drugs.  Furthermore, for when a character rolls to establish his Hit Points, he may roll Resistance if it is higher than his Constitution.  Also, as he may roll an additional die each time he increases his Resistance skill level (only to the general skill, not Specializations).

Swimming:
Time of Use: 1 action.
Specializations:  None.
    When you know how to swim, you generally won't drown.  This is a good thing.

Willpower:
Time of Use:  1 action.
Specializations: None.
    Willpower represents the strength of the character's mind and ability to resist outside influences.  Characters must make Willpower checks to avoid temptations, fight the powers of suggestive drugs, and remain conscious when physically weak or in extreme pain.
     Psionic individuals may use their Willpower to perform certain actions.  Some machines, such as the Protoss Slipbike, respond only to the users will rather than physical commands.  These individuals may Specialize in using these particular machines.



KNOWLEDGE

Alien Species
Time of Use:  1 round.
Difficulty:  Moderate (15).
Specializations:  Particular species: Human; Protoss; Zerg.
      Alien Species is the knowledge of the biology, culture and general inclinations of a particular species.

Astrogation
Time of Use: 1 minute to several hours.
Difficulty:  Depends on distance travelled.  See Space Travel.
Specializations:  None.
     To travel the stars via hyperspace, an individual must know how to navigate around the various planets, suns and nebulae that will smash, burn, or simply disintigrate one's ship.  This is done with a combination of star charts, mathematics, and a fair bit of guessing.

Bureaucracy
Time of Use: 1 round to several hours.
Difficulty:  Easy (10). May be increased for particularly obscure or secret bureaucratic information.
     This character has an unfortunately advanced knowledge of how bureaucracies work.  They will know who is in charge of what duties, where paperwork is kept, and what processes must be followed to get something done in a bureaucratic chain of command.  Every species has its own kind on bureaucracy, and a smart individual can learn how to use it to his advantage.

Business
Time of Use:  usually ongoing.
Difficulty:  Moderate (15) for most matters.
     This character knows how economic principles can be best applied to a given situation.  They can organize profit-making ventures, find appropriate contacts, and recognize needed resources.  In Starcraft, characters with Business may make a Moderate (15) Business Check once per game to gain an additional RP for their team.  They gain an additional RP for each Effect Value of the attempt (Chi and CP's may not be spent on this attempt).  Only one character per team may attempt this in a game, but characters may aid each other (+1D for each additional character skilled in Business).

Communications
Time of Use: 1 round.
Specializations: None.
Difficulty:  usually Easy (10).
     Represents familiarity with various forms of communication devices and how to best use them.  It may also be used to diagnosis problems or propose improvements, though the actual work requires Electronics.

Computers
Time of Use: 1 round.
Difficulty:  Easy (10). Increased for complex actions like Hacking (Difficult to Ex. Difficult) and breaking encryptions (depending on the strength of the cipher).
    Computers represents an overall ability to use and manipulate computers.  The character not only knows how to access files, but can break through security, program, and do all sorts of other fun things.  It may also be used to diagnosis problems or propose improvements, though the actual work requires Electronics.

Demolitions
Time of Use: 1 round to several minutes.
Specializations:  Particular explosives.
Difficulty:  Moderate or higher (generally).
    A character skilled in Demolitions is able to recognize, build and disarm bombs of all sorts.  It's a very dangerous skill to employ, since failure often results in detonation.  Regardless, it's  usually better to attempt to disarm a bomb than just let it sit and go off by itself!

Education
Time of Use:  1 round to several hours.
Specializations:  Particular areas of study.
    Education indicates the depth of the character's academic background.  Characters may make Education checks in areas that require general knowledge, such as Geography, History, Greek mythology, basic mathematics, etc.  This differs from Social Sciences, Life Sciences and Physical Sciences in that the knowledge is not generally applicable to real problems in front of the character--it only indicates that the character has a very general knowledge.
    The table below gives a rough idea of what each level in Education represents. Note that it is not necessary to go to college to have a level 3 or 4 Education, it just means that the character has invested time in learning on his own  (in fact, lots of people who graduate from college never paid much attention and might only have a level 2 Education).
 

Comparative Education Level
Schooling Equivalent
1
Elementary School
2
High School
3
College
4
Post-graduate studies
5
Advanced studies
6
World reknowned scholar
7
Revolutionary scholar

 

Electronics
Time of Use: 1 round
Difficulty:  Varies greatly.  Usually Moderate (15).
Specializations:  Various electronic devices:  optics; shield generators; starship systems; building systems; etc.
     Electronics represents a comprehensive knowledge of "things with wires."  Got it?

First Aid

Jury Rig
Time of Use: 1 round to several minutes.
Specializations:  Jury-rigging particular objects such as cars, weapons, or computers.
    Someone with Jury Rig can fix almost anything, at least for a few minutes. This is the quick-fix, the hack, that gets something working when it needs to be working.  But without more time and better parts, it won't last long.  A Jury-rigged item will continue to function for 1 hour per Effect Value point.  The GM may alter this time table as he sees fit.  Some very broad examples of Jury-rigging and the associated difficulties are given below:
 

Attempted Action
Difficulty
Getting a decent, but malfunctioning, car started Easy (10)
Fixing the heat sinks on an old computer so it will run without overheating. Moderate (15)
Working out the kinks in an old elevator that won't budge.
Difficult (20)
Re-attaching a wing to a busted up airplane
Very Difficult (25)
Re-wiring a newly discovered and extremely complex alien technology.
Extremely Difficult (30)

Language (Special) [Particular Language]
Time of Use: 1 action to speak, 1 round to translate.
Difficulty:  Easy for common languages.  Difficulty increases with more rare languages or dialects.
Specializations:  Any Language skill is considered a Specialization.  See below.
    When a character selects Lanuguage, he must choose a particular language in which he is skilled.  All characters are considered to have a Languages skill of 3D in their native language.

Law
Time of Use: 1 round.
Difficulty:  Easy for knowing basic information.  Difficulty increases for understanding more complex legal regimes or employing legal knowledge ni a professional manner (trying a case, etc.).
Specializations:  The laws or particular planets or sectors.
    With Law, a character understands how legal regimes work and what must be done in order to comply with those laws.  Skilled characters may attempt to use the law to defend themselves (or others), gain access to information, or have the weight of authority brought done upon another person (i.e., charging them with a crime).  Different cultures have different laws.  Thus, a character may be very familiar with the laws of one country and completely ignorant regarding others.
 

Mechanics
Time of Use: 1 round for simple attempts.  Often will take several minutes or hours for most repairs. Larger projects will take days.
Specializations:  particular machines:  Walkers (Goliaths and Dragoons); Starships; Passenger Vehicles, etc.
Difficulty:  Depends on the action attempted and the condition of the unit worked on. Default is Moderate (15).
     Mechanics is somewhat of a catch-all skill for the physical repairs of mechanical units.  It usually applies to the actual, moving parts and their engines.  Electronics is to be used for on-board computers, shields, optics, and other more specialized systems.

Medicine (A)
Time of Use:  1 round to several hours or days.
Prerequisites:  Sciences 4D, First Aid 5D, Education 4D
Specializations:  Particular areas: cardiology, optomology, etc.
Difficulty:  Depends on action attempted.  5 to render basic aid.  10 to peform advanced aid (patient is Mortally Wounded).  15 to perform light surgery.  20 for basic surgery.  25 for invasive surgery  or to diagnosis a rare disorder.  30 for experimental or novel work.
Special:  Though Medicine is under Knowledge, when the skill is taken, it is at 1D (not the character's Knowledge skill). At 1D will be considered a medic or med student.  At 2D, a registered Nurse or an intern.  At 3D, a doctor.  At 4D, a specialist or experienced doctor.  At 5D and above, the doctor will have a good reputation in the field, perhaps even be world reknowned.
     Medicine represents the whole of medical sciences, from advanced medic procedures, to surgery, to experimentation and development.  When a character uses the Medicine skill to perform first aid and basic field/emergency procedures (including light surgery), it is added to the character's First Aid skill.  Furthermore, it may be added to Physical Sciences rolls when performing biological experiments.  Finally, it may be added to Research skills when doing a medical research in libraries or with a computer.
     Penalties may accrue when working in substandard conditions or with patients who are not human.

Navigation
Time of Use:  1 round.
Difficulty:  Easy (10);  modified depending on conditions and the familiarity of the character has with her surroundings.
Specializations:  particular local areas.
     Navigation is the ability to orient onself by terrestrial landmarks.  This includes using stars, but only in so far as they provide directions and relative distances to other places on a planet's surface.  Stellar navigation is controlled by Astrogation.

Sciences
Time of Use: 1 action (to several hours, depending on the action).
Specializations:  Particular fields of study:  Physics, Chemistry, Biology, etc.
Difficulty:  Easy (10), but increased for more complex or obscure scientific theories.
     Sciences represents knowledge in fields such as physics, mathematics, chemistry and biology.

Scrounge
Time of Use: 1 round to several hours (GM's discretion).
Specializations:  None.
Difficulty: Moderate (15).  Modify for available resources to scrounge in (dumps are better than jail cells).
    Scrounge is the ability to find useful things just about anywhere.  Need a broken television?  A battery with some juice still in it?  This is the skill for you.  Find both useful things and semi-valuable junk.  With the right skills, you may find just the part you need to get you car, toaster or robot working again...

Security
Time of Use: 1 round to several minutes.
Specializations:  Various types of security systems: Terran Installations; Protoss Bases; Zerg Colony, etc.
Difficulty:  Moderate (15).  Varies widely depending on the quality of the defending security system.
     Security represents the ability to set up solid security systems or to defeat them.  It also includes knowledge of encryption devices, various codes, mechanical locks, and just about anything one person would use to keep something from another.

Sensors
Time of Use:  1 round to several minutes.
Specializations:  None.
Difficulty:  Easy (10).  May be increased due to conditions such as terrain, ambient radiation, poor quality sensors, etc.
     Sensors is the ability to best use mechanical sensory devices.  It may also be used to diagnosis problems or propose improvements, though the actual work requires Electronics.

Streetwise
Time of Use:  1 round.
Difficulty:  Easy.  Difficulty may be increased if used in a city unfamiliar to the character.
   Streetwise represents a character's ability to tap into the resources of the darker side of society.  This skill may be used to procure stolen items, contact assassins, or score some drugs.  It may also be used to find more unsavory and alien creatures and items.

Tactics
Time of Use: 1 round.
Difficulty:  Dependent upon the situation.  See Combat: Mass Combat.  To guess an enemy's strategy, toll vs. Opponent's Tactics.
    Tactics is used whenever a commander attempts to guide his troops into battle.  It may also be used to second-guess an opponent and predict means of attack.

Weapons Technology
Time of Use: 1 round to several hours depending on the action taken.
Specializations:  particular weapons classes:  Archaic Weapons; Firearms; Psionic Weapons; Starship Weapons; Vehicle Weapons; etc.
    Weapons Tech refers to one's knowledge of various forms of weaponry and how to build and/or repair them.

Value
Time of Use: 1 round to several if the character must research the item.
Specializations:  particular types of items (jewelry, weapons, technology, texts, etc.)
Difficulty:  Easy (10).  GM's should freely modify this difficulty, depnding on the obscurity of the item.
    Value represents the a familiarity with the economic value of things--books, real estate, collectibles, etc.



INSTINCTS

Investigation
Time of Use:  1 round to several hours or days.
Difficulty:  Highly variable, depending on the circumstance.  Easy for general background checks and research.  Difficult for probing into deep, dark secrets.
Specializations: Particular areas of investigation:  crime, forensics, scholarly research, etc.
    A character with Investigation has honed her ability to pick up on clues, follow complex paper-trails, and put together disparate pieces of puzzles.  This skill often comes in handy for routing out criminals, uncovering secret motivations behind business transactions, and discovering the truth behind long, lost secrets.

Gambling
Time of Use: 1 round.  Can roll for whole "games" or gambling events.
Specializations:  Particular games: Poker, Blackjack, Protoss Psi-chess, etc.
Difficulty:  Depends on the game.  Generally, Easy for simple games up to Very Difficult for very complex ones.  Can be used as an Opposing Action against other gamblers.
    Gambling can be found all over the Koprulu Sector--in the back rooms of the local Supply Depot, the bunks of Barracks, and, most likely, between the technicians killing time in the stock room of a Command Center.  Skilled gamblers can make a nice little income just playing the various games available on a base.

Profile
Time of Use:  Depends on difficulty (See below).
Difficulty:  Moderate (15), modified by the table below.
Specializations:  Detecting certain behavioral patterns such as lying, worry, anger, apprehension, guilt etc.
    With Profile, a character can attempt to size up a target, making educated estimates of the target's emotional and mental state.  The longer the skill user studies her subject, the greater chance she will draw the appropriate conclusions.  The base difficulty is the target's opposing Willpower check.  Additional difficulty modifiers are as follows:
 

Desired Outcome
Difficulty
Surface emotions + 0
Emotions or thoughts the target actively attempting to hide + 5
Emotions or thoughts that the target is in denial about +10
Emotions or thoughts that the target doesn't even know he's having (secretly in love with someone, etc.) +15
Attempting to use this skill in a single round +15
Spending 3 rounds to use this skill. +10
Spending 5 rounds using this skill. +5
Spending a full minute using this skill. +0
Interviewing target (asking personal questions). -10
Observing the target closely for more than one hour. -7

Search
Time of Use:  GM's discretion.  It depends on how large the area searched is and what is being sought.
Specializations:  None.
    Search represents the character's ability to pick up on clues, notice little details, and general alertness to her surroundings.

Stealth
Time of Use:  1 round.
Specializations:  Type of habitat in which character seeks to be stealth:  Forest, Urban, Aquatic, etc.
    With Stealth, a character attempts to move unnoticed.  This skill includes walking silently as well as hiding in shadows and blending in with a crowd.  A character using stealth moves at half-speed (walking).  To move quickly while being stealthy, the character must endure increased difficulty levels (GM's discretion).

Survival
Time of Use: One roll should represent 1 "event."
Specializations:  Particular habitats:  Forest, Jungle, Urban, Aquatic, Desert, Arctic, etc.
    A character with Survival may attempt to endure the rigors of the natural world in a number of environments and situations.  The skill is used when the character must find food and shelter or take other actions to survive in the wild.  Note that Survival only covers what is needed for substinence. If you want to build a nice house like they have on Gilligan's Island, you'd better learn Craftsmanship: Carpentry or something similar...Difficulty levels increase when the character is using Survival not only for himself but to aid others as well.

Tracking
Time of Use: 1 round.
Specializations:  Tracking in particular habitats:  Forest, Jungle, Urban, Subterranean, Desert, Arctic, etc.
Difficulty:  Easy (10) to Difficult (20) depending what is being tracked and where.
    Tracking represents the skill of following and catching "prey."  This does not include the ability to kill or trap it (those are different skills).  However, the character can pick up on small traces, estimate how long it has been since the prey was in the area, and make educated guesses as to the condition of the animal.



PRESENCE

Bargain
Time of Use: 1 round.
Specializations:  Bargaining over certain items:  weapons, natural resources, ships, etc.
Difficulty:  Typically an opposed roll against the other bargaining party.
     Bargain represents the character's ability to haggle over just about anything.  In the Koprulu Sector, nearly everything is up for sale, and merchants tend to be shrewd.  Without this skill, characters may find themselves much more than they should for goods and services.  The table below gives general outcomes of Bargain "battles":  If the winner is the buyer, reduce the "real price" (GM's discretion) by the Price Multiplier. If the winner is the seller, inflate the price accordingly.
 

Winner's Total > 
Loser's Roll
Price Multiplier
1-5
 x 1.5
6-10
 x 1.75
11-15
 x 2
16-20
 x 3
21-25
 x 4
26+
 x 5

Command
Time of Use:  1 action.
Specializations:  Commanding certain types of troops:  Infantry, Fighter Squads, Battleship Armadas, etc.
Difficulty:  Easy (10) to Moderate (15) depending on the situation.  Can be easier or hardier depending on the skill and morale of the troops.
    With this skill, a character can manage, direct and mobilize others in a wide variety of endeavors.  She knows how to give clear instructions and inspire obediance and prompt response.  In the heat of battle, an able commander is essential.

Con
Time of Use: 1 action.
Specializations:  Certain types of cons:  disguise, fast-talking, forgery, etc.
Difficulty:  Opponants may make a Willpower or Knowledge opposing roll to rat out a Conning player.
    Con represents a character's ability to bend the truth and slide by on fast-talking.  It also includes other ways of being less than honest--disguise, forgery, etc.

Perform
Time of Use: 1 round.  Can roll for one whole performace.
Specializations:  Particular performance arts:  music, acting, visual art, etc.
Difficulty:  Moderate (15).  Vary difficulty depending on the quality and intricacy of the art attempted.
     With Perform, a character can attempt just about any art form.  From song-and-dance to sculpture, the character can express herself and perhaps make a buck or two for the effort.  The Koprulu Sector has become a well-developed human society, and has many celebrities, entertainers, and a burgeoning art world.

Persuasion
Time of Use:  1 action.
Specializations:  Particular forms of persuasive speech:  Seduction, Oration, Debate,
Difficulty:  Easy (10).  Targets may make Opposed Willpower rolls to set a Difficulty.
     Persuasion measures a character's ability to convice others of just about anything.  It does not include the ability to bark orders (see Command), but rather to debate with logic, appeal to sympathy, and otherwise verbally convince others to see things the character's way.