Intellect: 9 + (int/5) Cost: 3 character points;
+1 to roll per +2 points
A character with this Intellect Skill can program and operate computers. This includes knowledge of, and the ability to use, hardware, software, operating systems, and the like.
Computer Programming also allows charac- ters to penetrate computer systems electronically (commonly known as “hacking” or “cracking”) and to create security for computers. The char- acter may attempt to discover access codes, gain information, conceal tampering, extract informa- tion from data banks, defeat computer-assisted Security Systems, falsify records or other data, and so on. A character may have to make separate Computer Programming rolls to perform each task. Cryptography often acts as a Complemen- tary Skill. Of course, a character can only “crack” computers he has access to (either directly, or via a modem or some other remote means). Target computers may have sophisticated secu- rity programs, resulting in a -1 to -5 (or greater) modifier. If the character does not know the proper passwords, similar modifiers may result, or perhaps he can’t crack the computer at all.
Computer Programming usually takes a fair amount of time, from several minutes to many hours or days, depending on the complexity and difficulty of the task. If the computer has unfa- miliar software or hardware, the character may suffer a -1 to -5 modifier. Unsuccessful Computer Programming rolls may set off alarms or cause a system to crash, but usually the character simply fails to program the computer properly.
Characters from Fantasy settings and other pre-industrial campaigns cannot buy Computer Programming, since those eras lack computers.
HCONCEAlmENT
Intellect: 9 + (int/5) Cost: 3 character points;
+1 to roll per +2 points
This Intellect Skill represents a character’s ability to hide things and to find things others have hidden — important papers, weapons, jewels, artifacts, drugs, and so forth. Concealment is a lot more fun if the GM actually describes the situation, and the character then describes exactly where he hides the object. Characters can also use Concealment to hide and find traps, security devices, bugging devices, and the like. Any Skill directly connected with the object being hidden (like Demolitions when hiding a bomb) acts as a Complementary Skill.
Failing a Concealment Roll may mean the object isn’t really hidden properly, or that it’s in a location a searcher can easily check. But just because an object’s in an open, obvious place doesn’t mean someone will find it — remember Poe’s story The Purloined Letter?
HCONTORTIONIST
Agility: 9 + (DeX/5) Cost: 3 character points;
+1 to roll per +2 points
This Agility Skill gives a character the ability to manipulate his body so as to get out of ropes and other bonds (including some forms of Entangle). An attempt to escape from normal ropes would incur a -0 or -1 modifier, wires would be -2 or -3, and handcuffs would be -3 or -4. Escaping from an Entangle depends on its special effect (a net requires a normal Contortionist roll, a sticky web would impose a big penalty, and a block of ice would be impossible). The character may also contort his body so he can work on normally inac- cessible locks (though he must use Lockpicking to unlock them) or other equipment. Contortionist isn’t a mystical way to escape bonds — some reasonable way for the character to escape must exist.
A character with Contortionist can also try to escape constraints in a combat situation. Any Phase after an opponent Grabs a character with this Skill (see 6E2 62), the character can use Contortionist to help break out. When he tries to break free, he should make a Contortionist roll. If he succeeds, he can add +1d6 to his STR dice for every 1 point by which the roll succeeds (if the character makes the roll exactly, he still may add 1d6 to his STR). Thus a character who makes his Contortionist roll by 4 gets to add 4d6 to his STR dice, only for the purpose of escaping the Grab. Using Contortionist this way takes no time (the character may take more time to improve his chances), but the character may only attempt it once per Phase.
Example: Ogre grabs Zigzag during a battle. Knowing his puny 15 STR will never overcome Ogre’s might, Zigzag uses his Contortionist skill. He rolls a 9, making the roll by 6. He can now roll 3d6 (for STR) + 6d6 (for Contortionist) = 9d6. Ogre, with a 60 STR, rolls 12d6. They roll their dice; Zigzag gets 8 BODY and Ogre gets 11. Pity.
Lastly, Contortionist allows a character to contort his body so he can fit into tiny spaces which he’s normally too big for. This is ideal for escaping from collapsed mine shafts, hiding in small cupboards, and so forth.
HCONVERSATION
Interaction: 9 + (pre/5) Cost: 3 character points;
+1 to roll per +2 points
This Interaction Skill allows a character to extract information from people with careful conversation, and/or to be an entertaining conver- sationalist. Use of this Skill takes time, and if the character fails the roll, the subject typically realizes he’s being subtly “pumped” and stops talking. However, if Conversation is performed correctly, the victim won’t even know he’s divulged anything. Sometimes the target of Conversation is using his own Conversation to get information, too.
To use Conversation properly, the character must know the language being spoken. If he doesn’t know the language well, the GM should apply a -1 to -3 modifier. If the desired informa- tion is closely linked with another Skill, that Skill is Complementary — it helps to know what to ask. Charm, High Society, and Persuasion can also act as Complementary Skills for Conversation.
Although successful Conversation rolls indicate that a character is a witty and intriguing conver- sationalist, in general you shouldn’t substitute this Skill for roleplaying. If a character makes clever or stupid statements, the GM should apply modifiers to the roll. You should roleplay most conversations without using Conversation rolls.
HCRAmmING
Intellect: no roll required Cost: 5 character points
Cramming, which is an Intellect Skill although it involves no roll, allows a character to acquire a basic understanding of a non-combat Skill quickly. The character needs several hours to study the Skill, and must have access to learning resources, like a teacher or library. (With the GM’s permis- sion, a character may begin a game session with a Skill already Crammed, or he may be able to reduce the necessary Cramming time by having lots of really good teachers, using Eidetic Memory and/or Speed Reading, and so forth.)
volume 1: character creation n chapter three 73 After studying the subject, the character
acquires a Familiarity (an 8- roll) with the Skill, basic conversation (1 point) in a language, or any 1-point Skill (such as a TF or WF) that he can use for the duration of the adventure. He cannot increase or improve this roll in any way (including Skill Levels or Skill Enhancers), and he forgets what he’s learned once the adventure ends. (Characters who wish to acquire the learned Skill permanently may spend Experience Points to do so.) If the GM permits and circumstances allow, a character can change his Crammed Skill in mid- adventure by taking the time to study some other subject (in the process forgetting whatever he had first Crammed). Characters can purchase Cram- ming multiple times, allowing them to Cram for more than one Skill per adventure.
HCRImINOlOGy
Intellect: 9 + (int/5) Cost: 3 character points;
+1 to roll per +2 points
A character with this Intellect Skill knows how to look for clues, dust for fingerprints, analyze evidence, examine criminal records and files, do ballistics tests, and perform other criminalistic tasks. These procedures can tell the character which gun fired the bullet that killed someone, where dirt on a tire came from, and who touched the murder weapon. The character can discern many other details of a person’s identity, origin, habits, and recent whereabouts.
Criminology tests often require a great deal of time, but characters can tell a lot from a quick examination of a crime scene. Extensive use of Criminology requires some equipment (micro- scopes, a chemistry lab, fingerprinting materials, and other tools are necessary for certain tests), access to information files, and sometimes Bureaucratics. Area or City Knowledge and some Sciences (such as Pharmacology) act as Comple- mentary Skills for certain facts.
Characters with Criminology also know something about the behavior patterns and modus
operandi of criminals, criminal psychology, and so
forth. Streetwise and Science Skills like Psychology may be Complementary when characters use Criminology to find out such facts.
Failing a Criminology Roll can result in improper conclusions or results. However, it generally means “no conclusive result.”
Criminology is most appropriate for Modern (including near-modern) and Future settings. For example, the authorities have used fingerprinting and other scientific techniques in crimefighting for only about a century. However, it does have some applications in Fantasy settings and similar genres, where it’s sometimes renamed Inquisi-
tion. It serves as more of an observational Skill,
akin to Deduction and Interrogation, but includes knowledge of criminal behavior and the ability to skillfully interview witnesses and gather whatever clues the society has the technological capability to analyze.
HCRyPTOGRAPHy
Intellect: 9 + (int/5) Cost: 3 character points;
+1 to roll per +2 points
This Intellect Skill allows a character to solve ciphers and codes, encrypt or encode messages, and hide messages in ordinary text. Ciphers, which involve replacing letters and numbers in a message with other letters and numbers, range from the simple (alphabet-number substitutions) to the very complex (involving nulls [meaning- less characters] or multiple substitutions). Codes, which involve substituting one word or phrase for another one, are very difficult to break unless there have been many messages or the codebook has been discovered. Science Skills (like Math- ematics) and Computer Programming are usually Complementary to Cryptography.
The main use of Cryptography is to decode and decipher messages. This can take a long time — sometimes years — unless the character has some clues to the nature of the code or cipher. Modern computer-generated codes and ciphers are virtually impossible to break without the aid of other computers (and sometimes not even then). A failed roll may mean an inability to decode the message, or an incorrect translation of the message.
A character with Cryptography may also encode and hide messages. This may involve invisible inks and other techniques for hiding data; it can take a long time unless the character has devices to help him. Secret messages may be imprinted on paper in ultraviolet, grown into crystal structures, or hidden until looked at through certain optic fibers. A failed roll may indi- cate improper encoding or a garbled message.
In some campaigns, Cryptography can also represent a character’s knowledge of ancient, obscure, and dead languages. While the character cannot speak these languages, or read them easily, he can, given sufficient time and reference mate- rials, translate them — thus providing a means to read the grimoires of long-dead wizards, the instructions on treasure maps from empires that fell millennia ago, and so forth. If a character can only use Cryptography this way (i.e., he cannot decode and encode messages), he can buy it with a -½ Limitation.
HDEDuCTION
Intellect: 9 + (int/5) Cost: 3 character points;
+1 to roll per +2 points
Deduction, an Intellect Skill, represents the ability to take several facts and leap to an inob- vious conclusion — the classic detective’s skill. Complementary Skills include any Skill directly connected with the problem confronting the character (such as Bureaucratics for a paperwork mystery). A failed Deduction roll usually indicates the character can’t think of an answer, but it may mean an incorrect deduction.
You should use Deduction sparingly. It’s useful when the character should be able to figure out what’s going on (even though the player is stumped) and/or the GM wants to move the scenario along. The GM should try to help the character out, but not reveal everything — it’s usually more fun for players to solve mysteries on their own. The GM should use successful Deduc- tion rolls as a reason to provide tips or point out overlooked clues instead of just handing the char- acters all the answers on a silver platter.