Samsara:Abilities
ABILITIES[edit]
Abilities include skills, special powers, social influences, patrons, and whatever else might be a modifier to contest but isn’t a personal attribute or motive. A relevant ability will be added to the base modifier. And yes, you could have negative abilities (Prof. Schnitzel has INT +4, but also Practical Knowledge -5. If called upon to actually do anything with his knowledge, he has a penalty).
In a sense, abilities are modifiers on top of modifiers (attributes). Alternately, one could consider them specializations of attributes. Either way, they add or subtract more from the Contest roll. If one of the characters had Pugilism +2, then he would add that to his basic modifier in a fist-fight. Motives do much the same as abilities, but are a bit more complex so let’s leave them until later. But they can also add modifiers in relevant situations, so that if one of these chaps was fighting someone for which he had a passionate hatred, that would also add to his roll, while if he was boxing someone he loved, that would subtract from his roll.
If playing in the Classical mode, there will be a pre-set correspondence between attributes and abilities. “Lock-picking” will always be used to modify the INT + PER roll required to get through the door. “Drive truck” will always modify the DEX + ACU roll needed to drive.
If playing in the Romantic mode, there will be a lot more variation. One might try to use his “Drive truck” to identify a certain make and model, based on the idea that this ability means the characters is familiar with all trucks. One might try to use the same ability to help bluff a guy into thinking that you work at the auto shop. One might use the ability to help ingratiate himself with someone who likes trucks. You get the picture.
Which Abilities?[edit]
The particular abilities available must be determined by the setting and style of the game, so it doesn’t make sense to provide a master-list. A game that focuses on highly skilled agents operating around the unskilled masses, will probably feature lots and lots of abilities and differentiate between “Security Systems” and “Lock-Picking”. It might have separate “Drive” abilities for cars, trucks, semis, and motorcycles. The many abilities are a part of the feel of the game.
On the other hand, a superhero game that is more focused on personalities might have one, lump ability called “Sneaking” and another called “Drive”. These abilities are not a focus of the game: probably everybody is assumed to drive and who cares? Superheroes scarcely ever drive a car anyway. On the other hand, it would have a lot of abilities like “Flight”, “Shoots laser beams out of his eyes”, “Survive in a vacuum”, and a whole bunch of things that wouldn’t show up in the spy-game.
Variation: Specialized Actions[edit]
The style of play will determine if characters can perform actions for which they have no relevant ability. This is another fine line. Most folks will allow someone to throw a punch whether he has martial arts training or not. But can a character try and create a nuclear reactor using just INT + PER without any ability in nuclear engineering? It depends on how much realism you want, which is to say how much you want to complicate things.
You might make a distinction between common actions and specialized actions and allow anyone to try the first, but only those with relevant abilities to try the second. Alternately, let those without the specialized skill try, but give them a penalty to their roll. This distinction must be tailored to the game setting: literacy might be considered a specialized action in certain settings and common in others.
This sort of problem will likely come up in any game using technical abilities. Can every super-spy reprogram computers? It might also crop up in games using magic. There is a huge difference between one world where only those with the Sorcery ability can perform magic and another world where anyone can try.
Contents
2.Contests
6.Motives
7.Checks
