There are four Skill Types: Agility Skills, General Skills, Intellect Skills and Interaction Skills. Most Skill Types are based on a Characteristic: General Skills are the exception, as they usually cost a set amount of points for a set ability or effect.
The cost of Agility, Intellect and Interaction Skills are affected by their Category (Major, Limited or Minor).
Major: Acrobatics, Athletics, Breakfall, Climbing, Contortionist, Driving, Fast Draw, Lockpicking, Piloting, Riding, Sailing, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Teamwork.
Minor: Professions.
Autofire Skills, Combat Reflexes, Combat Skill Levels, Defence Manoeuvre, Languages, Lightning Reflexes, Martial Arts, Penalty Skill Levels, Rapid Attack, Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Familiarity.
Major: Acting, Bribery, Bureaucratics, Conversation, High Society, Interrogation, Oratory, Persuasion, Seduction, Streetwise, Teaching, Trading, Wardrobe and Style.
Limited: Animal Handler.
Minor: Professions.
Major: Analyse, Bugging, Combat Sense, Computer Programming, Concealment, Criminology, Cryptography, Deduction, Demolitions, Dimensional Travel, Disguise, Education, Electronics, Forensic Medicine, Inventor, Lipreading, Mechanics, Mimicry, Paramedic, Security Systems, Shadowing, Spellcasting, Systems Operation, Tactics, Tracking, Ventriloquism.
Limited: Forgery, Gambling, Navigation, Survival, Weaponsmith.
Minor: Knowledges, Professions, Sciences.
Every character is familiar with a set of Skills based on their background. Characters have a Characteristic roll with a -3 penalty in these Skills without having to spend 1 Character Point, though they must still pay the full cost of the Skill if they want to improve it past this minimum level of proficiency.
All characters from a typical American background are considered to be familiar with the following Skills:
As a free action, you can use Acrobatics to stay on your feet instead of being thrown to the ground by a combat manoeuvre such as Throw. To stay on your feet requires a successful Acrobatics check (TN 13). If you succeed, you still take full damage from the Throw manoeuvre, and can still use Breakfall to reduce the damage caused by being thrown to the ground.
As a free action, you can use Acrobatics to improve your DCV against melee attacks while prone. Normally, a prone character has a -3 penalty to DCV against melee attacks. A successful Acrobatics check reduces that penalty as follows: -2 for TN 10, -1 for TN 13, and no penalty for TN 16.
As a free action, you can use Acrobatics to move or crawl though hexes threatened or occupied by opponents without provoking an attack of opportunity. A successful Acrobatics check (TN 10) is required to move through threatened hexes, while a successful Acrobatics check (TN 13) is required to move through occupied hexes.
You can attempt to analyse an opponent's fighting ability or find a weakness in an opponent's defences.
As a move action, you can analyse an opponent's fighting ability. A successful Analyse check (TN 10) tells how you the opponent compares to you in CV and combat levels, and the degree by which you succeed determines how much additional information you learn. You gain a +2 bonus if the opponent has a Fighting Style Social Disadvantage, and take a -2 penalty if the opponent is not actively fighting someone when you attempt the check.
As a move action, you can find a weakness in an opponent's defences. A successful Analyse check (TN 16) gives you one of the following benefits (chosen by you before your roll):
You gain a +2 bonus if the opponent has a Fighting Style Social Disadvantage.
Multiple attempts are allowed as long as all previous attempts were successful, and there is a cumulative -2 penalty for each successful attempt. Multiple successes can be distributed between all three effects as desired by the user, but note that multiple levels of Armour Piercing do not stack.
This Skill represents your overall knowledge of and prowess at physical activities. Ability in a particular sport or event requires a Professional Skill, and Athletics functions as a Complementary Skill for relevant Professional Skill checks.
As a free action, you can use Breakfall to reduce the damage caused by hitting the ground after falling or being affected by a combat manoeuvre such as Throw. You cannot use Breakfall to reduce the damage caused by being thrown into another character or object, such as a wall. A successful Breakfall check (TN = 10 + DC/2) halves the DC of damage caused, while a successful Breakfall check (TN = 10 + DC) negates the damage. If you succeed, you can still use Acrobatics to stay on your feet instead of being thrown to the ground.
As a free action, you can use Breakfall to stand up from a prone position as a free action instead of a move action, and thus avoid provoking attacks of opportunity for doing so. A successful Breakfall check (TN 10) is required. If you fail, you stand up as a move action, provoking attacks of opportunity for doing so. As a result, you cannot attempt a Breakfall check to stand up from prone if you do not have a move action remaining.
Dimensional Travel is an Everyperson Skill for any character with the Extra-Dimensional Movement Power. It determines how quickly and carefully you travel between dimensions.
A successful Dimensional Travel check (DC 10) means you arrive immediately. A failed check means the journey takes longer: each point by which the roll failed increases the travelling time by a step on the time chart. In addition, the journey may attract attention or weaken the barriers between dimensions (allowing less powerful beings access to your home dimension).
Modifiers to the skill check include: +1 to +5 for travel along a familiar route to an often-visited dimension; -1 to -3 for travel to a distant or isolated dimension; and competing Dimensional Travel checks to travel past a dimensional barrier. In addition, a Knowledge Skill for the dimension being travelled to functions as a Complementary Skill.
You can handle a ground-based vehicle in and out of combat. The character is automatically familiar with one category of vehicle, and may purchase additional categories for 1 point each.
Categories: Cars, Hovercraft, Motorcycles, Tanks, Trucks.
This Skill represents your general knowledge of common subjects, such as mathematics, history, science, trivia, and current events. It is an Everyperson Skill.
As a free action, you can use Fast Draw to draw or sheathe a weapon or focus as a free action instead of a move action, and thus avoid provoking an attack of opportunity. A successful Fast Draw check (TN 10) is required. If you fail, you draw or sheathe the item as a move action, provoking attacks of opportunity for doing so. As a result, you cannot attempt a Fast Draw check if you do not have a move action remaining.
A character with the Paramedic skill can attempt to treat one injury as a full-round action. The Target Number is the same as that required for the injured character's initial CON check, and the Paramedic check result is used to determine the time required for the injury to worsen if it is better than the injured character's CON check result.
You can handle a flying vehicle in and out of combat. The character is automatically familiar with one category of vehicle, and may purchase additional categories for 1 point each.
Categories: Airplanes, Balloons, Gliders, Helicopters, Spaceships (large), Spaceships (small).
You can handle a living mount (ground-based, flying or swimming) in and out of combat. The character is automatically familiar with one category of mount, and may purchase additional categories for 1 point each.
Categories: Camels, Elephants, Horses.
As a free action, you can use Riding to mount or dismount as a free action instead of a move action, and thus avoid provoking an attack of opportunity. A successful Riding check (TN 10) is required. If you fail, you mount or dismount as a move action, provoking attacks of opportunity for doing so. As a result, you cannot attempt a Riding check to mount or dismount if you do not have a move action remaining.
You can handle a water-based vehicle in and out of combat. The character is automatically familiar with one category of vehicle, and may purchase additional categories for 1 point each.
Categories: Motorised Ships, Oared Ships, Sailing Ships, Submarines.
You can identify magic spells and ceremonies and to cast magic spells. Any Powers with magic special effects that require a skill roll use this Skill. A Knowledge Skill for the relevant discipline of magic functions as a Complementary Skill.
You have the ability to impart information or Skills to others. Teaching is an Everyperson Skill.
You know the right clothes to wear, when to wear them, and how to look your best. This skill includes a grasp of fashion, wardrobe, and personal grooming. Wardrobe and Style is an Everyperson Skill.