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Mental
Academics
This catchall Knowledge covers the character’s erudition in the
“humanities”: literature, history, art, philosophy and other “liberal”
sciences. A character with dots in Academics is generally well-rounded in
these fields, and at high levels may be considered an expert in one or
more areas of study. Not only can this Knowledge impress at salons and
other Elysium functions, but it can also offer valuable clues to certain
past and future — movements in the Jyhad.
* Student: You’re aware that 1066 is something more than a Beverly Hills
area code.
** College: You can quote from the classics, identify major cultural
movements, and expound on the difference between Ming and Moghul.
*** Masters: You could get a paper published in a scholarly journal.
**** Doctorate: Professor emeritus
***** Scholar: Scholars worldwide acknowledge you as one of the foremost
experts of your time.
Computer
This Knowledge represents the ability to operate and program computers, as
well as the savvy to keep up with the latest technology.
* Student: Point and click.
** College: You can process data with relative ease.
*** Masters: You can design software.
**** Doctorate: You can make a very comfortable living as a consultant.
***** Scholar: You’re on the bleeding edge.
Crafts
You MUST declare a secondary/specialty when taking this skill.
This Skill covers your ability to make or fix things with your hands.
Crafts allows you to work in fields such as carpentry, leatherwork,
weaving or even mechanical expertise such as car repair. You can even
create lasting works of art with this Skill, depending on the number of
successes you achieve. You must always choose a specialization in Crafts,
even though you retain some skill in multiple fields.
* Novice: High-school wood shop
** Practiced: You’re starting to develop your own style.
*** Competent: You could make a living at your work.
**** Expert: Your work might be featured in college- level textbooks for
your field.
***** Master: Your artistry is virtually without peer.
Investigation
You’ve learned to notice details others might overlook, and might make an
admirable detective. This Knowledge represents not only a good eye for
detail, but also an ability to do research and follow leads.
* Student: You’ve read your share of Agatha Christie.
** College: Police officer
*** Masters: Private detective
**** Doctorate: Federal agent
***** Scholar: Sherlock Holmes
Medicine
You have an understanding of how the human body, and to a lesser extent
the vampiric body, works. This Ability entails knowledge of medicines,
ailments, first-aid procedures, and diagnosis or treatment of disease.
Medicine is of great use to those Kindred with an interest in repairing,
damaging or reworking the human body.
* Student: You’ve taken a CPR course.
** College: Premed or paramedic
*** Masters: General practitioner
**** Doctorate: You can perform transplants.
***** Scholar: You are respected by the world’s medical community as a
modern-day Aesculapius.
Occult
You are knowledgeable in occult areas such as mysticism, curses, magic,
folklore and particularly vampire lore. Unlike most other Knowledges,
Occult does not imply a command of hard, factual information; much of what
you know may well be rumor, myth, speculation or hearsay. However, the
secrets to be learned in this field are worth centuries of sifting legend
from fact. High levels of Occult imply a deep understanding of vampire
lore, as well as a good grounding in other aspects of the occult; at the
very least, you can discern what is patently false.
* Student: You’ve paged through the New Age section of a Waldenbooks.
** College: There seems to be some unsettling truth to some of the rumors
you’ve heard.
*** Masters: You’ve heard a lot and actually seen a little for yourself.
**** Doctorate: You can recognize blatantly false sources and make
educated guesses about the rest.
***** Scholar: You know most of the basic truths about the hidden world.
Politics
You are familiar with the politics of the moment, including the people in
charge and how they got there. This Knowledge can aid you in dealing with
or influencing mortal politicians, or even offer some insight into the
local Cainite power structure.
* Student: Activist
** College: Political science major
*** Masters: Campaign manager or talk-radio host
**** Doctorate: Senator
*****Scholar: You could choose the next President of the United States.
Science
You have at least a basic understanding of most of the physical sciences,
such as chemistry, biology, physics and geology. This Knowledge can be put
to all forms of practical use.
* Student: You know most of the high-school basics.
** College: You’re familiar with the major theories.
*** Masters: You could teach high-school science.
**** Doctorate: You’re fully capable of advancing the knowledge in your
field.
***** Scholar: Your Nobel Prize is waiting for you.
Physical
Athletic
This Talent represents your basic athletic ability, as well as any
training you might have had in sports or other rigorous activities.
Athletics concerns all forms of running, jumping, throwing, swimming,
sports and the like; however, it doesn’t cover basic motor actions such as
lifting weights, nor does it govern athletic feats covered by another
Ability (such as Melee).
* Novice: You had an active childhood.
** Practiced: High-school athlete
*** Competent: Professional athlete
**** Expert: Top-notch in your sport
***** Master: Olympic medalist
Brawl
The Brawl Talent represents how well you fight in tooth- and-nail
situations. This Talent represents skill in unarmed combat, whether from
formal martial-arts training or simply from plenty of experience either
type can make you a dangerous adversary. Effective brawlers are
coordinated, resistant to pain, quick, strong and mean; the willingness to
do whatever it takes to hurt your opponent wins plenty of fights.
* Novice: You were picked on as a kid.
** Practiced: You’ve seen the occasional barroom tussle.
*** Competent: You’ve fought regularly and routinely, and generally walked
away in better shape than your opponents.
**** Expert: You could be a serious contender on a boxing circuit.
***** Master: You can kill three men in four seconds.
Drive
You can drive a car, and maybe other vehicles as well. This Skill does not
automatically entail familiarity with complicated vehicles such as tanks
or 18-wheelers, and difficulties may vary depending on your experience
with individual automobiles. After all, helming a station wagon doesn’t
prepare you for controlling a Lotus at 100 miles per hour.
* Novice: You know how to work an automatic transmission.
** Practiced: You can drive a stick shift.
*** Competent: Professional trucker
**** Expert: NASCAR daredevil or tank pilot
*****Master: You can make a Yugo do tricks out of a James Bond movie.
Firearms
Executing a mortal with a sword starts investigations. Clawing someone to
ribbons shakes the edges of the Masquerade. So Cainites adapt, and many
have devoted their energies to learning how to kill with guns. This Skill
represents familiarity with a range of firearms, from holdout pistols to
heavy machine guns. Of course, this Skill doesn’t include heavy artillery
such as mortars or tank guns. However, someone skilled in Firearms can
clean, repair, recognize and, of course, accurately fire most forms of
small arms. This Skill is also used to unjam guns.
* Novice: You had a BB gun as a kid.
** Practiced: You while away the occasional hour at the gun club.
*** Competent: You’ve survived a firefight or two.
**** Expert: You could pick off people for a living.
***** Master: You’ve been practicing since the debut of the Winchester.
Larceny
...
Stealth
This Skill is the ability to avoid being detected, whether you’re hiding
or moving at the time. Stealth is often tested against someone else’s
Perception. This Ability is, for obvious reasons, highly useful in
stalking prey.
* Novice: You can hide in a darkened room.
** Practiced: You can shadow someone from streetlight to streetlight.
*** Competent: You have little difficulty finding prey from evening to
evening.
**** Expert: You can move quietly over dry leaves.
***** Master: Nosferatu elder
Survival
Although vampires have little to fear from starvation and exposure, the
wilderness can still be dangerous to a Cainite. This Skill allows you to
find shelter, navigate your way to civilization, track prey and possibly
even avoid werewolves (although this last is exceedingly difficult).
* Novice: You can survive a five-mile hike.
** Practiced: You “roughed it” on a regular basis.
*** Competent: You know poisonous mushrooms from edible ones.
**** Expert: You could live for months in the wilderness of your choice.
***** Master: You could get dropped naked into the Andes and do all right
for yourself.
Weaponry
...
Social
Animal Ken
You can understand an animal’s behavior patterns. This Skill allows you to
predict how an animal might react in a given situation, train a
domesticated creature, or even try to calm or enrage animals.
* Novice: You can get a domesticated horse to let you pet it.
** Practiced: You can housebreak a puppy.
*** Competent: You could train a seeing-eye dog.
**** Expert: Circus trainer
***** Master: You can tame wild beasts without benefit of supernatural
powers.
Empathy
You understand the emotions of others, and can sympathize with, feign
sympathy for, or play on such emotions as you see fit. You are an easy
hand at discerning motive, and might be able to pick up on when someone’s
lying to you. However, you may be so in tune with other people’s feelings
that your own emotions are affected.
* Novice: You lend the occasional shoulder to cry on.
** Practiced: You can sometimes literally feel someone else’s suffering.
*** Competent: You have a keen insight into other people’s motivations.
**** Expert: It’s almost impossible to lie to you.
***** Master: The human soul conceals no mysteries from you.
Expression
This is your ability to get your point across clearly, whether through
conversation, poetry or even email. Characters with high Expression can
phrase their opinions or beliefs in a manner that cannot be ignored (even
if their opinions are misinformed or worthless). They might also be
talented actors, skilled at conveying moods or feigning emotion with every
gesture. Additionally, this Talent represents your ability for poetry,
creative writing or other literary art forms.
* Novice: Your talent has matured past crude poetry on notebook paper.
** Practiced: You could lead a college debate team.
*** Competent: You could be a successful writer.
****Expert: Your work is Pulitzer material.
***** Master: A visionary such as yourself comes along only once in every
generation.
Intimidation
Intimidation takes many forms, from outright threats and physical violence
to mere force of personality. You know the right method for each occasion,
and can be very....persuasive.
* Novice: Crude teenage bully
** Practiced: Mugger
*** Competent: Drill sergeant
**** Expert: Your air of authority cows casual passersby.
***** Master: You can frighten off vicious animals.
Persuasion
...
Streetwise
The streets can provide a lot of information or money to those who know
the language. Streetwise allows you to blend in unobtrusively with the
local scene, pick up gossip, understand slang or even dabble in criminal
doings.
* Novice: You know who sells drugs.
** Practiced: You’re accorded respect on the street.
*** Competent: You could head your own gang.
**** Expert: You have little to fear in even the worst neighborhoods.
***** Master: If you haven’t heard it, it hasn’t been said.
Subterfuge
You know how to conceal your own motives and project what you like.
Furthermore, you can root out other people’s motives, then use those
motives against them. This Talent defines your talent for intrigue,
secrets and double dealing; mastery of Subterfuge can make you the
ultimate seducer, or a brilliant spy.
* Novice: You tell the occasional little white lie.
** Practiced: Vampire
*** Competent: Criminal lawyer
**** Expert: Deep-cover agent
***** Master:You’re the very last person anyone would suspect.
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