AI:L Skill List
General Skills
Alertness: Alertness is used for awareness of threats and surroundings. It is often rolled when there is something unusual in the environment, or to detect threats.
Athleticism: Athleticism is a general skill used for an array of physical actions, including running, dodging, and throwing.
X Conditioning: Conditioning can be Physical or Mental. It increases the DC others must overcome in some direct rolls against you, and increases the amount of Physical or Mental Stress your character can tolerate.
Intuition: Intuition is a general awareness of what makes people “tick;” what motivates them, frightens them, what they like and what they don’t. It is useful for sensing lies, detecting personality quirks, and grasping the nature of a social situation.
Stealth: Stealth is used for sneaking around and hiding yourself and evidence of your presence from detection.
Combat Skills
Archery: Archery is for all forms of bow use, which require specific training (this skill). The skill also involves the maintenance of bow, and the creation of arrows.
Firearms: Firearms covers all forms of personal firearms, including pistols and rifles, but also including larger weapons such as machineguns and rocket launchers. Additional traits can provide bonuses to a character’s preferred weapons.
Melee Weapons: Melee weapons include the full range of hand to hand weapons, including knives, clubs, spears and swords. It is a general proficiency, however special talent with particular weapons can be purchased as Traits.
Quick Draw: Quick Draw is a combat skill that adds to the initiative roll. It can be applied to any form of physical combat.
Tactics: Tactics is knowledge of practical combat drills, as opposed to the more cerebral Military Theory. It can be used to set up bonuses before a battle begins, and to call on additional resources during combat.
Unarmed: Unarmed is for hand-to-hand combat. It can be complementary to the use of Melee Weapons. It is a general proficiency, however specific martial arts forms can be further purchased as Traits.
Weapon Systems: Weapon Systems are usually large and remotely operated weapons where the character does not physically hold and control the weapon themselves. This is usually the case for heavy vehicle mounted weapons.
Academic Skills
Linguistics: Linguistics is the knowledge of other common languages. Each level equals another language known. Additional traits can be taken to speak these languages like a natural.
Problem Solving: Problem solving is the ability to arrange and assemble information (or lack of it) to determine meaning. It is useful for finding clues, solving mysteries, or logically approaching a situation.
Teaching: Teaching is used to teach skills to others. A good teacher can reduce the cost to learn skills they know.
X Theory: Theory is applied to a wide variety of practices, and is required to conduct research, and advanced technical work. Some common Theory skills are Etheric Theory, Thaumatech Theory, Military Theory, Psychological Theory, and Electronic Theory, among many others.
Social Skills
X Circle: Circle is used for knowledge of various Social Circles, such as Nobles, Military, and Sorcerors. It allows a character to blend in, identify trends and leaders, and avoid embarrassing faux pas.
Conversation: Conversation is used for long round social conflict, and can be used to convey ideas to other characters, or to manipulate them. Although most uses of Conversation are verbal, the skill does include non-verbal elements.
Deception: Deception is used to fool others into believing a character is someone they are not. In benign usage it can be used for acting, but it can also be used to infiltrate social gatherings, or to disguise a character as someone else.
Graces: Graces influences how adept a character is at using social graces to their benefit, such as putting on a stunning appearance, or adopting impressive mannerisms. At root, it’s the art of looking good.
Interrogation: Interrogation can be used for long round social conflict when the target is under your physical control. It can be just a very stern discussion, or it can escalate to outright torture.
Leadership: Leadership is a short round social conflict action used in combat to direct and inspire those on your own side.
One-Liners: One liners are a short round social conflict action used to throw off witty quips and vicious put downs. These can be used to distract or dishearten the enemy.
Quick Uptake: Quick Uptake is added to initiative rolls in a social conflict, and allows a character to take another’s measure faster, or more quickly realize that social conflict has actually begun.
Ride: Ride is used for riding animals, and involves actually getting them to do what you want, and also bonding with them, and properly caring for them.
Technical Skills
Drive: Drive is used for piloting ground vehicles, from motorbikes to automobiles to hovercars, to armoured vehicles. Specific traits are required to make full use of the more advanced and complex vehicles.
Electrotech: Electrotech is used for maintaining, fixing and creating electronic based technology.
Etherics: Etherics is used for maintaining, fixing and creating ether based technology. This skill does not give the character access to actual Thaumatech Praxis.
Mechanic: Mechanic is used for working on complex machines, and can be used for anything to fixing a broken pistol to souping up a combustion engine, to setting up a complex spring trap.
X Pilot: Pilot is used for controlling more complex and often flying vehicles. It must be specifically selected for each vehicle type, such as helicopter, aircraft, and giant robot.
X Practice: Practice is used for the application of Theory, and allows a character to perform advanced tasks at the head of their chosen field.
Thaumatech: Thaumatech is a skill required to actually create magitech spells, rather than just use them. It is required for characters taking the Thaumatechician Trait.
Aetheric Skills
Aether Channel: Aether Channel is a basic skill that allows a character to actually use the Aether that gathers in their Aura. It is required to use all forms of Thuamatech, and for all forms of magic.
Read Auras: Read Auras allows a character to interpret the flow of Ether through the world, and is useful for detecting Etherically active individuals, and seeing etheric workings. The skill does not, on its own, allow a character to actually see Ether, which is an ability that must be taken as a trait or activated with a spell.
Sorcery: Sorcery is a skill required to use sorcerous magic. It is required for characters taking the Sorcerer Trait.
Willwork: Willwork is a skill required to use Wild Magic. It is required for characters taking the Magi Trait.
Esoteric Skills
X Tricks
Tame Monster
Astrology
Dreams