Detect Concealment: This is a skill which enables the character to spot and recognize camouflage, concealed structures/buildings and vehicles, as well as the ability to construct unobtrusive shelters, use camouflage, and blend into the environment. Base Skill: 25% + 5% per level of experience.
Disguise: The character knows how to apply makeup, wigs, skill putty, dyes, and other special effects in order to alter or conceal his true appearance or that of someone else. The ability to disguise oneself is different than impersonation. Base Skill: 25% + 5% per level of experience. Reduce the character's skill by half when he tries to determine if someone else is wearing a disguise.
Escape Artist: The methods, principles, and tricks of escape artists. Includes muscle control (tensing and relaxing muscles),flexing and popping joints, knowledge of knots, and the ability to conceal tiny objects on a person. The character can try to slip out of handcuffs, ropes, straightjackets, etc. Note: Picking locks is a separate and distinct skill. Base Skill: 30% + 5% per level of experience.
Forgery: The techniques of making false copies of official documents, signatures, passports, I.D.s, and other printed material. The forger must have an original or photocopy to work from in order to make an accurate copy. Skilled forgers can recognize other counterfeits at -10%. Base Skill: 20% + 5% per level of experience.
Hojo-Jutsu: The Art of Binding, Japanese style. Tying someone up with Hojo-Jutso makes it far more difficult to escape (-15% to the opponent's Escape Artist roll). Base Skill: 30% + 5% per level of experience.
Ninjas & Superspies
Hypnotism: A character with this skill is trained in the art of hypnotism. This is effectively the same as the psi-power of the same name. Note that an unwilling person cannot be hypnotizd through this skill. In most cases, hypnotism requires that the subject of the hypnotism relax completely, sometimes by focussing on an object or the hypnotizer's voice. Only if the subject allows him/herself to be hypnotized can the hypnotizer roll for success. Base Skill: 32% + 4% per level of experience.
Original Skill
Imitate Voices and Impersonation: The ability to imitate the voice, accent, and expressions of another person or area. This skill is common among spies and espionage agents, as well as ninja and the occasional assassin or mercenary. The first number indicates the character's ability to change his voice and imitate accents, inflections, and expressions from other regions. The second number indicates his ability to impersonate a specific person. This is much more difficult, and the character will either need to know the person being impersonated very well, or have studied him for several hours, maybe even days. Base Skill: 36%/16% + 4% per level of experience.
Coalition War Campaign, New West
Intelligence: This is the specific training in the practices and principles of recognizing and analyzing sources of information about the enemy, observation techniques, counterintelligence measures, and proper procedure. This includes the practical assessment of sights and sounds, estimation of ranges, what to report, handling prisoners of war, handling prisoners of war, and handling captured documents and equipment. This means the character will be able to accurately estimate ranges, the number of enemies, direction, purpose, and assess the importance of specific information.
Further intelligence training includes a working knowledge of indigenous guerilla warfare, enemy practices, appearance, and current activities. This enables the intelligence officer to recognize suspicious activity as guerilla actions and identify guerilla operatives.
Another area of training made available to intelligence is the identification of enemy troops, officers, and foreign advisors. This means the person learns the many distinguishing ranks and marks that identify specific military units, special forces, groups, and leaders of the enemy. Such identifications can pinpoint and confirm enemy operations, goals, and movement, as well as confirm outside intervention/aid.
Note: A failed roll in any of the areas of intelligence means that evidence is inconclusive, or that the character has incorrectly assessed the information/situation, and is uncertain. A failed roll involving individual clues may mean the person has dismissed it entirely as being meaningless. Base Skill: 32% + 4% per level of experience.
Interrogation Techniques: This skill is common among police officers, intelligence officers, and assassins/spies/bounty hunters. The character knows the techniques of getting information from (typically unwilling) subjects. This includes such classic methods as "good cop, bad cop", deceiving and misleading the subject, etc. This character can also judge if the character is lying (MA, ME, and/or PB of the subject will affect how convincing the subject's lies are). This skill also includes some basic knowledge on the methods of torture. Base Skill: 20% + 5% per level of experience.
Juicer Uprising, Coalition War Campaign, New West
Pick Locks: The character knows the methods and tools for picking/opening key and basic tumbler type locks. This does not include sophisticated computer or electronic locks. It takes 1D6 melee rounds for each attempt to pick a lock. A failed roll means the lock holds, try again. Base Skill: 30% + 5% per level of experience.
Pick Pockets: An ability to remove items from a person without their being aware of it. If a pick pocket attempt fails, the item has NOT been removed, and there s a 67% chance of the intended victim recognizing the intent of the action. This skill is also useful for planting small items in a person's pocket without the person being aware of it, but at a penalty of -10%. Base Skill: 25% + 5% per level of experience.
Sniper: This skill represents special training in long range bow and arrow and/or rifle firing and marksmanship. Only rifles that can be made to fire a single round or blast can be used for sniping (no automatic/multi-firing weapons). Adds a bonus of +2 to strike on an aimed shot.
Tailing: Following someone without their knowledge is another, often overlooked, form of surveillance. this also includes stakeout procedures. A failed roll indicates that the "tail" was spotted and the subject is aware of being observed or followed. Base Skill: 30% + 5% per level of experience. Penalties may come into play with Perception checks or psionic powers as Presense Sense.
After the Bomb
Tracking: Visual tracking is the identification of tracks, and following the path of men or animals by the signs they leave on the ground and vegetation. Tracking is a precise art, requiring much practice. The skill includes the evaluation of tracks, indicating whether the person being tracked is loaded down with equipment, running, moving quickly or slowly, and so on. By this means, the tracker can estimate the person's rate of movement, apparent direction, the number of persons in the party, and whether the person knows he is being followed. Other methods of tracking require recognizing other telltale signs, such as blood and other stains, broken and displaced vegetation, overturned rocks, litter, and even odors carried by the wind.
Tracking also includes the recognizing of dangerous animals by their tracks, habits, and feces. Likewise, the tracks left by vehicles can reveal much, such as size and type of the vehicle, the of its load, etc.
Counter-tracking techniques are also known, such as covering one's trail, misdirection, parallel trails, and avoiding obvious pitfalls like littering.
A failed roll means that the signs are inconclusive, vague, or misleading. Additional signs must be found to verify or clarify (roll again). Three consecutive failed rolls means the tracker has completely lost the trail. Roll once every 40 yards/meters when following a trail. Persons attempting to follow a skilled tracker are -25% when following his trail if he is trying to conceal his trail. Base Skill: 30% + 5% per level of experience.
Wilderness Survival: Techniques for getting water, food, shelter, and help when stranded in wild forests, deserts, or mountains. Characters without this skill will not be able to stay healthy for more than a few days in the wilderness once their supplies run out. Base Skill: 30% + 5% per level of experience.