Academics

You possess a level of education and general knowledge beyond rudimentary

schooling. With Academics, you can express artistic criticism, debate the classics,

consider philosophy and indulge in studies of culture. This broad Ability covers

all sorts of humanities in learning.

Academics allows you to recognize historical, art and cultural references. You

can use Academics when working in such fields, when developing a critique or

researching. Calling on Academics Ability may require a Mental or Social Challenge

to determine your exact level of competence.

You may further direct your studies by choosing a specific field, such as

Art Criticism, Classical Studies, History, Journalism, Theology or anything else that

could be studied with higher education.

 

Animal Ken

Most animals find Kindred frightening. With Animal Ken, you have learned

to understand animals, and you can sometimes deal with them more equitably.

Though they may retain a healthy fear of the predator lurking within you, you

know what drives them and how to assuage their fears.

Animal Ken is often used with the Animalism Discipline. With Animal Ken,

you can train an animal (especially a ghoul) into particular behaviors (stay, fetch,

attack), or attempt to deduce an animal’s state of being (injured, angry, frightened,

etc.) with a Mental Challenge. If you work with an animal over a long period of

time (generally a month or so), you may be able to teach it a simple trick, up to

a limit of one trick for each Mental Trait that the animal has.

 

Athletics

Whether due to a background in sports or just personal talent, you are skilled

in all manner of athletic endeavors. You can throw a ball, sprint, climb, jump and

swim. This last can be especially useful to vampires, who do not naturally float.

Your Athletics Ability is used for retests on most forms of raw physical activity:

acrobatics, swimming, jumping, throwing, climbing and running. You may

choose to focus on something you do especially well.

 

Awareness

You have a talent for knowing when things are not as they should be, whether

by that strange feeling in the pit of your gut or through tested observation.

This is particularly useful for sensing when other supernatural creatures about,

detecting evidence of Numina or other strange phenomena, or just getting that

weird feeling when the laws of nature are about to take a hard left.

Awareness requires a Mental Challenge to use, and retests are made with

the Occult Ability.

 

Brawl

Back-alleys, martial arts schools and rough bars are your stomping ground.

You might have military training, or maybe you just grew up with a passel of

rough-and-tumble siblings. Whatever the case, you know how to dish out damage

with your fists and feet.

Use the Brawl Ability for retests in combat when you are using your natural

weapons (teeth, claws or fists). This Ability is also the province of the martial

arts, although you should specify which art when taking this Ability.

 

Computer

Most Cainites have difficulty adapting to modern inventions. As a result, an understanding

of cutting-edge technology makes for dangerous knowledge. With the Computer

Ability, you understand how to use, program and access computers of all sorts.

Use Computer with a Mental Challenge (difficulty determined by the Storyteller) to

break into systems, alter data, write programs or figure out unfamiliar operations.

 

Crafts

You can build things. Depending on your area of expertise, you know how

to manufacture items and make handy tools or decorations. You must choose

a focus for Crafts, specifying your form of creation: Carpentry, Clockworks, Blacksmithing,

Leatherworking and the like are all possibilities. You can fashion works

of art, studying Painting, Drawing or similar physical media. Crafts also covers

more technical skills done with labor, such as Mechanics and Electronics.

Making or repairing an item with Crafts usually involves a Physical Challenge

of your dexterity, with difficulty set by the Storyteller based on the type

of job (making a concealed spring-loaded trap is far more difficult than planing

a board, for instance). Artistic works designed with Crafts x 3 or better may

entrance Toreador, at the discretion of the Storyteller.

The Tzimisce practice a focus of Body Crafts when using Vicissitude. This

Ability covers tattooing, piercing, flaying and all other applications thereof

regarding the alteration of the body.

 

Dodge

When trouble rears its ugly head, you know how to get out of its way. Unhesitating

reactions let you evade blows and shots, getting out of the way of injury. You

can use Dodge against any attack that you’re aware of: diving for cover as someone

fires a gun or twisting away from a sword, for instance. Dodge may be used as a

retest when defending against an attack that you can see or sense coming.

 

Drive

Though most people can drive in the modern age, you can drive well. You’re equally

at home with a stick shift or an automatic, rush hour is no concern and you can get the

most performance out of a car. In dangerous situations, you can evade traffic and even

use your vehicle as a weapon. Bear in mind that just because you can drive a station

wagon doesn’t mean you can drive a semi with equal ease. A Mental Challenge may be

required to allow you to figure out where everything is in an unfamiliar vehicle.

Drive tests most often involve a Physical Challenge of your reflexes.

 

Empathy

You are sensitive to the moods and emotions of people around you. When

you listen to someone, you understand her feelings. You can identify with others

and tell when people are lying or holding back while talking to you.

With a Social Challenge and the expenditure of an Empathy Ability, you

can determine if the last thing that someone said was a lie (although Subterfuge

can defend against this expenditure). Alternately, you can attempt to determine

the subject’s current Demeanor.

 

Etiquette

Even though knowing which fork to use isn’t as important to Kindred

society, you do know the proper way to greet someone, when to rise and how to

make introductions. You can hold a toast with the best of them, and you keep

your cool in any social scenario, from high tea to a gang’s rally.

The Etiquette Ability can be used with Social Tests to impress or blend in at

parties. If you make a social faux pas, you may expend an Etiquette Ability immediately

to negate the gaffe — your character knew better than to make the mistake.

 

Expression

Words and feelings flow freely from you. When the muse strikes, you put

pen to paper (or fingers to instrument) and pour out a torrent of emotion and

stirring imagery. You can convey message and meaning in your art, from symphonies

to poetry, and whatever you write is both clear and moving.

When writing or composing, you can sink true Expression into the work.

Works created with Expression x 3 or more have the potential to entrance Toreador,

as per their clan weakness.

 

Finance

The world of money and business awaits your whim. You understand interest,

CDs, stock market transactions, currency exchanges and GNPs. A little

Finance lets you make quite a bit of money. You can also use your Finance to

balance books or run a business of your own.

Typically, you can run a business, follow a money trail, perform an audit or

clean up an accounting mess with a Mental Challenge (difficulty dependent on

the task, as determined by the Storyteller). Alternately, you can expend a level of

Finance Ability to raise $250 in cash between games. Not every use of Finance is

so benign — money laundering operations have to come from somewhere.

 

Firearms

A little time at the gun range goes a long way. You know how to hold, fire

and clean a gun. You can unjam one, too, and you can tell different models

apart. You know how to stand to get the best aim, how to handle recoil and

how to take care of problems in the field.

If you possess the Firearms Ability, you may use your Mental Traits for gun

combat instead of using Physical Traits, at no cost. You can expend Firearms for

a retest in ranged-fire combat.

 

Hobby/Professional/Expert Ability

In a certain area of expertise not covered by another Ability, you have

achieved some level of skill. You may have a small grasp of a trade due to some

work on the side, or perhaps you’ve specifically studied a topic.

Hobby/ Professional/ Expert Ability is a catch-all category for highly unusual

Abilities like Cainite Lore, Thanatology, Demolitions and so on. Any Ability of this

type must be specifically approved by the Storyteller, and it has its capabilities

defined by the Storyteller.

 

Intimidation

Intimidation represents any of a broad variety of techniques for terrifying

people into compliance. This could be anything from physical size, to a particularly

frightening grin, to knowing which emotional buttons to push.

You can use Intimidation when trying to scare someone with a Social Challenge,

or with certain Disciplines.

 

Investigation

You know how to pick up clues and put together disparate pieces of information.

By habit and training, you can set a jumbled mass of data into order,

discovering identities, motives and patterns in an otherwise chaotic scene. You

can use Investigation with a Mental Challenge when trying to puzzle out meaning

to a random scene, or with most Auspex Discipline powers.

 

Law

Nobody is above the law, except those who know how to use it to their own

advantage. You’re one of the latter. Perhaps you uphold the law, or maybe you

twist it to your own ends. Your knowledge of Law allows you to understand legal

processes, courts and lawyers, and to use them effectively.

Use the Law Ability in court situations or with Social Challenges involving

legal matters. Because the legal body is so vast, your Storyteller may require you

to select a particular area of study (Criminal, Civil, Tax, etc.). Alternately, you

may choose to study Kindred law in depth.

 

Leadership

When you speak, people listen. A good speaking voice and self-confidence

lend a powerful presence to a leader. The Leadership Ability represents your ability

to motivate people and to get them to follow your guidance. Even among those

who do not know or respect you, you can demand attention.

You can use Leadership with a Social Challenge to try to get a minor favor

or task from a character. Leadership is also used with many Presence powers.

 

Linguistics

You’ve studied a language — or languages — other than your native tongue.

Whether you’re an older vampire whose childhood language is no longer spoken,

you frequent the global community, or it is necessary for other studies, you can

speak, write and read other languages.

You must choose one language for each level of Linguistics you possess. Thus,

you could have Linguistics: Cantonese and Linguistics: German. Alternately, you can

focus on the underlying study of Linguistics itself, granting some understanding of

the principles behind the structure of language. Languages need not be spoken;

American Sign Language or Egyptian hieroglyphics would also be considered

fields for study. Those who wish to converse in another language (but cannot

actually do so) should hold up one hand with the first finger and thumb making

an L-shape to indicate to other players the characters are not speaking English.

Those who wish to listen in must also possess the language.

 

Medicine

You know how the human (and, to a lesser extent, Cainite) body functions.

You can speed the recovery and healing of an injured mortal, or you can use your

knowledge to inflict injury. Many Cainites learn just enough to know where to

bite their victims or how to punish their ghouls.

You can use the Medicine Ability to speed a mortal’s healing by one category:

a Wounded mortal would heal as if Bruised, for instance. Medicine may be used

for other sorts of research and lab work with a Mental Challenge. As Medicine

represents such a vast field, your Storyteller may require you to specify what you

know (Pharmaceuticals, Internal Medicine, General Practice).

 

Melee

If you’ve got something in your hands, you’re a deadly fighter. Be it a sword, a

stick or a set of nunchaku, you can use it to damaging effect. Expend Melee for retests

in hand-to-hand combat when you are using a close combat weapon like a knife or

a chair. Certain weapons function best when wielded by a character with Melee.

 

Occult

The hidden world teems with mysterious secrets. By unlocking universal keys

and studying the basics of spirituality, you can learn the shadowy paths of the cosmos.

Your Occult Ability serves as a general knowledge of the supernatural, alerting you to

the existence of many varied sorts of inhuman creatures and paranormal events.

Some Disciplines, most notably Thaumaturgy, rely on the Occult Ability.

Occult grants some basic (and sometimes erroneous) knowledge of the various

denizens of the supernatural world; for more detailed information, study Expert

Ability: Lore in your particular subject of interest.

 

Performance

You are a true virtuoso. Whatever your chosen medium, you have a gift for

artistic endeavors. Whether playing an instrument, singing, dancing or acting,

your skills allow you to entertain and even earn money.

Your Performance Ability can be used to earn a modest income, just like other

artistic trade skills. If you execute a work with Performance x 3 or better, you may

transfix Toreador in the area with the beauty and grace of your style.

You must choose a specific art form when you take Performance, such as playing an

instrument, singing, acting or dramatic readings. Note that Performance is generally anything

done before an audience, while Expression most often focuses on literary works, and Crafts

concentrates on the creation of physical objects (such as paintings or sculptures).

 

Politics

The world of influence-trading and favors is extensive enough among mortals.

In vampire society, where one’s prowess is measured in standing with one’s peers,

the game of Politics is all-consuming. Through observation, intrigue and a bit of

spin-doctoring, you’ve learned how to handle appearances, what a speech really

means, and where the deal-making is going on. In short, it’s Politics as usual.

The Politics Ability is useful primarily in dealings with mortal society or Influence.

You may be able to manipulate the outcome of local political actions, with the

proper Influence and some well-placed Social Challenges; Politics Ability ensures that

matters proceed in the direction that you desire. Politics is also used to discern hidden

motives and broker deals, and as such, it is almost a requirement of any harpy.

With Politics, you can usually set an appropriate level of debt for a prestation boon.

The hierarchies of power are often obvious to you, granting you insight into whether

the prince is really in charge, or is simply a puppet of the primogen, for example.

Politics also makes you aware of who’s in favor and who’s out, and you can determine

how much Status a particular vampire possesses once introduced. (If you know your

quarry’s name, expend a Politics Ability to determine the subject’s Status Traits.)

A knowledge of Politics includes, by extension, an understanding of the bureaucratic

levels of power. You know how to cut through red tape, or how to obstruct others with

it. By determining who’s important in a given strata, you can usually avoid wasting

time and simply go straight to the person with the power to do what you want.

 

Repair

You possess a working understanding of what makes things tick. With times,

tools and parts, you can fix or slightly alter most of the trappings of modern society.

This knowledge also allows you to excel at sabotage. The Repair Ability is widespread

among inventors, mechanics and handymen. Using this Ability usually calls for a

Mental Challenge, the difficulty of which depends on such factors as the item’s complexity,

tools and parts available, extent of damage and time spent on the repairs.

 

Science

The modern Information Age sees the explosion of all manner of studies.

Categorizing and breaking down the world into many different forms, the methods

of logic and reason give sentient beings the means to understand the universe, or at

least small pieces of it. Education in Science covers techniques of inquiry, modern

studies and a broad range of underpinning work in a diverse range of fields.

Science Ability requires an area of particular study: Biology, Chemistry, Physics,

Metallurgy, Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, Geology and Botany are all possibilities,

though such a list is far from comprehensive. Combining a Science with different

fields may give a wide variety results. For example, Science: Metallurgy with Academics

may give results regarding historical research and theory, while the same Science with

Occult may center around ancient alchemy or parapsychology. Actually constructing

objects or devices theorized with Science may require use of the Crafts Ability.

Using a particular branch of Science usually requires a Mental Challenge of some

sort to determine the success of research or the viability of theoretical work.

 

Security

Whichever side of the law you’ve worked on has granted you experience in Security

techniques. You know about police operations and guard work, how they make their

schedules and how they undertake their business — and how to disrupt such operations.

Locks, traps, security systems and alarms are all within your purview. With a little time, you

can put together Security measures for a location; you can also defeat such measures.

Use the Security Ability with Mental Traits to set up a secure area or network,

or to formulate a plan for breaching such a network. Security Ability is also used

to disarm traps, alarms and other devices, and to defeat locks. At the discretion

of a Narrator, you may be required to use a Physical Trait related to dexterity

when attempting to bypass a physical lock or alarm.

 

Scrounge

You’re exceptionally good at finding stuff. Whether it’s a crucial part for a

1890s’ gramaphone, invitations to the most exclusive gallery opening in town, or

just haven space in the downtown, you’re a wiz at knowing where to go, who to talk

to and how to get what you need. Granted, the things you get are rarely brand-new

or exactly right and do take time and favors to acquire. Still such an ability is useful

when your finances are less than sparkling or theft is out of the question.

Scrounge is typically used in conjunction with Mental Traits (although the Storyteller

may occasionally require a Social Challenge for haggling), and can be useful

when looking for particular items or searching a place that is in shambles.