These Trainings are the result of the sophisticated nervous architecture and intense training that Aries and Taurus students undergo and may not ordinarily be selected by non-alumni without GM permission.
Advanced Command
Taurus Offi cer
The Offi cer may spend a Conviction point and make a ‘Presence + Attitude’ roll as a full action. If successful their XS on the roll is converted into temporary Conviction points that may be divided among any allied troops (including Agents) within earshot. You may not personally benefi t from any Conviction generated in this way. Unspent temporary Conviction is lost at the end of the scene.
Zodiac Child
Aries or Taurus Alumni, Character Creation Only
You are an unparalleled success of Project Zodiac. Your conditioning took exceptionally well, allowing you to accept more varied training and making you even closer to perfection than your fellow graduates. You gain both Accelerated Learning traits of your school. However, any Rank Point losses you suffer are increased by -5, great things are expected of you but that draws more attention to your failures, and people are much less willing to forgive them given their higher expectations of your abilities.
Genius
Aries or Taurus Alumni
Select one skill apart from your Professional skill, you are now considered to be Professional in that skill as well. This Training may only be taken once.
Omniglot
Aries or Taurus Alumni, Knowledge of at least 5 Languages
You have studied languages and the similarities between linguistic groups to the point where you can quickly decipher the underlying syntactical structure, allowing you to make, albeit disjointed, conversation with almost anyone. You may communicate with people who you do not share a language with, but take a -2 on all Presence rolls while doing so. At the GM’s discretion, people speaking particularly rare languages or who
speak one which is merely uncommon but have been isolated long enough to develop a completely alien dialect may still require a successful ‘Intelligence + Arts & Culture’ roll to communicate with.
Perfect Killer
Taurus Operative, Assassinate Training You may use the Assassinate Training against an opponent on the fi rst round of combat, even if they are aware of your presence, providing you win initiative against them. You must select the target of the Assassination attempt before rolling initiative.
Psychoanalyse
Aries Political-stream, Psychology 8 Your highly developed empathic sense makes other people an open book to you, with enough information on a person’s character you can accurately predict how they will react under any imaginable circumstance. Providing you can either engage the subject in a fairly lengthy relaxed conversation, about an hour is suffi cient, or have access to detailed dossiers of their movements and psyche profi le, you can determine exactly what circumstances would be necessary to make them take a certain course of action. This requires a successful ‘Perception + Psychology’ roll, modifi ed by the level of detail in the information you have. A failure on the roll means that you cannot yet determine the course of action necessary to cause the desired outcome. A Critical Failure results in an outcome which is actively misleading. Obviously this training requires some adjudication by the GM.
Pure Science
Aries Scientifi c-stream, Science 8, Assess Tech 6
No physical principle is beyond your understanding, you even understand quantum strangeness at an instinctual level. When dealing with Xeno, Archon or other rare and unusual technology or science, any penalties you take associated with understanding or modifying it are reduced by -4.
Socioanalyse
Aries Political-stream, Psychology 10, Corp. Knowledge 8
You can correctly determine he general sociopolitical ramifi cations of any event. This can be on a local level, affecting a small community such as a village or city block, or on a geopolitical level. You can even work backwards from a desired sociopolitical outcome to determine exactly what would be necessary to achieve it. Of course this also means you know exactly how far you can go before causing a political incident... Very few Aries alumni are this skilled and they are alternatively looked to for guidance and watched carefully as they have the potential to manipulate world events like puppet masters. Using this Training requires 8 hours of rumination and a successful ‘Intelligence + Corp. Knowledge’ roll with a penalty depending on the size of the social group in question;
Very Small -0
e.g. Single corporate offi ce, small company, hamlet.
Small -2
e.g. Whole corporate department, UIG area HQ, village.
Large -4
e.g. Minor corporation, old-city or Spire.
Very Large -8
e.g. Major corporation, the Order of the True Faith, UIG.
A failure on the roll means that you cannot yet determine the course of action necessary to cause the desired outcome. A Critical Failure results in an outcome which is actively misleading.
Undivided Focus
Aries and Taurus students are one of the few groups who can select the Undivided Focus Training. (The Mind Unbound, page 42).
A tribe of Alofian hermaphrodites at his heels, the man rode east-wards towards the Dakwinski steppe, hoping to reach fabled Xanardwys before the snows blocked pass.
– The Black Blade’s Summoning