Perks & Skills (Embers)

Fighting Styles

Characters can only use one fighting style at a time. Changing style is a combat action.

Anskryte	4
Fighting style. +3d when attacking or defending while hidden. Feint: Roll Intellect/Psyche to cause dazed on target within short range.
A fighting style with a shady history, Anskryte is rumored to have been developed by a secretive order of assassins. Whether this is true or just a flight of fancy is unknown, but its emphasis on striking from the shadows and distracting one's opponents does conjure up images of mysterious killers. However, since it has moves that work well with gunpowder firearms, either the style is not as ancient as it would like to appear, or it is a living, breathing art still under development.

Khalihata	4
Fighting style. +1d when using Agility to attack or defend. Ignores 2d defense when target rolls Agility to dodge damage. Sway: Every hit dodged at melee range transfers to another opponent at melee range.
Originally part of the culture of the Zen Oru, Khalihata is a martial art that flows like the dal, often appearing more like dancing than fighting. In recent years it has received a surge of popularity amongst non-Oru, especially due to its effectiveness in self-defense, allowing one to bend around an opponent's strike and use their energy to one's advantage. The greatest masters of the form, however, are still Zen Oru masters, who know that the philosophy is as important as the physicality.

Melikration	4
Fighting style. +1d when using Strength to attack or defend while unarmed. 4d additional hits against dazed targets. +2 Endurance. Lunge: Can use Strength instead of Agility to close from short range to melee range.
Hailing originally from Langstroth, Melikration has three thousand years of history as both a sport and a method of combat. While the sport would develop into the slightly-more-civilized boxing, as a martial art it remained stable and still as violent and destructive as it was in antiquity. It exemplifies and glorifies physical strength, and a flurry of knockout blows can floor opponents in seconds.

Talavara	4
Fighting style. +1d when attacking or defending with a melee weapon. Bleed increased by 1d. +1 Endurance. Volley: Causes pinned on 4 hits or more.
The Peacekeepers developed Talavara from the swordsmanship disciplines of Cheterin and other worlds in an attempt to perfect armed combat that would allow their numbers to subdue criminals effectively. While most Peacekeepers use nightsticks on duty, the techniques work just as well with bladed weapons. Most importantly, the precision of its moves allows one skilled in Talavara to restrict movement and corral opponents.

Zamkou Pyen	4
Fighting style. No penalty for using ranged weapons at melee range. Bombardier: Can deploy any ranged weapon for 3d additional hits.
A modern fighting style, Zamkou Pyen is a collection of disciplines and moves appropriated from other styles, adapted for the use of firearms. The graceful movements allow the practitioner to exploit their weapons at incredibly close range, even when under duress. Special stances designed to maximize trauma to vital parts of the body allow a Zamkou Pyen student to increase their effective firepower.

Skills

Knowledge

Emberology Degree	1
Knowledge skill. +2d when studying Ember artifacts. Requires 2d Intellect.
The best ideas about the Embers and their culture is mostly guesswork, but there do exist some small traces, and not just the Emberspore. Though these artifacts are mainly trinkets and curios, they still give some glimmer of insight into the Embers as they once were. The Ember Institute funds university courses in the recognition and study of these artifacts, hoping to increase the chances of more valuable artifacts being unearthed in the near future.

Financial Savvy	1
Knowledge skill. +2d when trading, haggling, or selling. Requires 2d Psyche.
In these unstable economic times, the wheels of commerce continue to spin thanks to those who have a natural aptitude for exploiting the mercantile world. While not all of them end up rich, their capacity for keeping money flowing helps the Empire stay afloat.

Scientific Education	2
Knowledge skill. +2 guaranteed successes when performing scientific analysis. Requires 3d Intellect.
In this modern day and age, a scientific education is worth thousands. New solutions to the Empire's problems are paramount, and so think tanks and research laboratories get plenty of funding. Even those inventors tinkering away in one-bedroom apartment workshops, learning from library books and trial-and-error, are considered to be valuable assets to the Empire's continued wellbeing.

Tactical Thinking	2
Knowledge skill. For one combat action, an ally within short range gains +2d on their next attack or move. Requires 2d Psyche.
Cunning and foresight can overcome superior numbers and superior firepower. This is an adage well known at the Peace Academy, where fighting smart is drilled into every recruit. By taking command during high-stress situations, a skilled tactical mind can bring out the best in a team, providing direction and plans of attack in the heat of the moment.

Telepresence	2
Knowledge skill. +2d when hacking and rolling hacking initiative. Requires 2d Psyche.
As the best operators know, the telepiary isn't a mere network of wires and stations, it's a way of life. A second world where those with the skills to manipulate systems are the pioneers, where strange names and identities command respect and, sometimes, fear. Those who live and breathe through their prompt, those who have true telepresence, are the elite of the operator world.

Practical

City Slicker	2
Practical skill. +1d to Senses and Agility when in urban environments.
Having been born and raised in the city gives an edge when it comes to finding one's way around urban environments, having spent a lifetime learning how to exploit the walls and roads as easily as any naturally-forming terrain.

Mechanical Aptitude	3
Practical skill. +2 guaranteed successes when repairing or building machinery. Requires 2d Intellect.
Understanding machinery, especially the complex machinery of the modern age, is a real talent, and requires not just a keen mind but also a skilled set of hands. While most can at the very least figure out how to rewire a broken prompt or fix the steering on their automobile, the truly capable can put together their own out of scrap and spare parts.

Medical Training	3
Practical skill. +2 guaranteed successes when fixing up wounds. Requires 2d Intellect.
Proper training in medical procedure can mean the difference between three days recovery and three weeks. It allows for the most efficient use of resources to hand, and it gives a better understanding of the physiological differences between the peoples of the Empire. While anyone can follow the instructions in a pamphlet, only training allows for split-second decisions that could save a life.

Scout Training	2
Practical skill. +1d to Senses and Agility when in the wilderness.
Being able to survive and thrive outside the bounds of civilization is a useful skill to have, especially for those who live or used to live on the far-flung border worlds of the Empire. While most of those worlds have been abandoned, the skills are still alive, and being passed down to new generations.

Speed Demon	1
Practical skill. When driving a vehicle, that vehicle gains +4d Agility when moving.
Getting from A to B in a vehicle is good, getting from A to B in half the time is even better. Provided you have the skill to do so without wrapping yourself and your vehicle around a lamppost, or getting pulled over by the authorities, the latter of which is usually solved by more speed.

Perks

Cautious	2
Perk. +2d on initiative rolls. Requires 2d Senses.
Those who are always alert are more ready for trouble when it comes. They may also be jumpy, paranoid, and not fun to be around. But they're always slightly more ready than the average person. Usually.

Daredevil	2
Perk. Reduces any psychological penalty by 2d to a maximum of 1d.
Some people find danger exciting, push their limits, and are generally a little crazy. But sometimes a little crazy can be a good thing, especially when holding back could be even worse. Only the most foolhardy of actions, the most dangerous of situations, will breathe a whispered "maybe don't" into the ears of the daredevil.

Imposing Presence	3
Perk. +1d when defending when not dazed. Requires 3d Psyche.
There are those people who just have a particular way of looking, or holding themselves, that makes them look nothing like a victim. They could be short or tall, but their natural composure and bearing sends a message to would-be attackers: don't you try anything or you will regret it very quickly.

Inventive Mind	3
Perk. Reduces any no tools or no parts penalty by 2d to a maximum of 1d.
Being able to build a toaster out of a box of toaster parts is useful, but not impressive. Being able to build a radio out of a box of toaster parts is both useful and impressive. Those who have the knack for re-purposing and re-imagining are acknowledged for the geniuses they are, although sometimes not under the best of circumstances, especially if their constructions have been for less-than-legal purposes.

Light-Fingered	3
Perk. +1 guaranteed successes when stealing, picking locks, fixing electronics, or performing surgery. Requires 2d Agility.
A delicate touch can be appropriate for quite a few vocations, not all of them reputable, but a useful talent all the same. Nimble fingers aren't a requirement in the same way that steady hands or practical experience are, but they make things a lot easier.

Light-Footed	2
Perk. +1 guaranteed successes when moving while stealthed. Requires 2d Agility.
Having a delicate step can be a blessing for those who need to progress without undue attention. It's not just about not making any noise when you step, but knowing where to step, and when to stop moving completely.

Persistence	2
Perk. If you fail an Intellect roll, you can remake the roll instantly at a 1d penalty.
Stubbornness can be a useful trait sometimes, especially amongst those smart enough to realise they must be right, even if they aren't right at this specific point in time. While trying the same thing over and over again may lead to a complete breakdown, a quick double-check can sometimes yield a positive result.

Quick Draw	3
Perk. You do not need to take a combat action to equip weapons from unarmed.
Practice makes perfect, and practising drawing a weapon can reduce the time from seconds to a mere instant. It may not make it that much faster to swap out one's weapon for another, but the ability to quick draw from a holster can make all the difference when the shooting starts.

Scar Tissue	3
Perk. +3 Endurance.
A lifetime of taking hits can toughen up anyone, even if that lifetime hasn't been particularly long. Just by having experienced more, enduring more, a person can develop the kind of body that lets them take more hits than they should rightly be able to take.

Scoundrel	1
Perk. +2d to Psyche rolls when lying, bluffing, or being duplicitous.
Some people are just born duplicitous, or learn the talent over a lifetime of misdeeds. While misleading others seems like a rather despicable habit, it can sometimes be put to good use, and even more rarely, put to good use beyond one's own self-interests.

Survivor	3
Perk. When being healed, roll Psyche for additional successes.
Sheer force of will can help someone pull through wounds that would incapacitate a more weak-minded, or some might say saner, individual. While the actual wounds may not actually heal any faster or better, it is more about the strength of mind to work through the pain.

Wealthy	3
Perk. +3 equipment points.
Money is a funny thing, and people can accumulate a lot of it through a variety of means. The results of this can lead to personality changes, greater access to government and education, but usually boils down to simply having more stuff than anyone else.