Editing FANGS: Skill Pool (section)

==Cultural Skills Descriptions==

The following Skills are specific to some culture or era. If taken by someone from the wrong era, they cost points from the Skill Pool. And of course Skills cannot be taken from a future era. Thus, someone from a space setting might pay out of his Skill Pool to take Ride Horse as a Skill. The Medieval character cannot take Computer Ops... 

'''Craft (Type)''' -- This is a professional skill that the character can perform at Journeyman status. The character may not actually be good enough to be a journeyman (or might be of Master quality, for that matter), but journeyman is his social status with the skill and determines what kind of recompense he can expect for working at the craft. Sample crafts include Blacksmith, Swordsmith, Tailor, Weaver, Cooper, Brewer, etc. 

'''Ride Horse''' -- Depending on the actual world involved, this might be some other riding animal. If there is a variety of possible riding animals, pick one. Like other movement skills, such as Run, this Skill comes into play when the character is in extremis. Any combat skill higher than the Riding Skill is reduced to the level of the Riding Skill when in combat on animal-back. Unlike self-propelled movement skills, the character can move and fight while using this skill, but ability in fighting is limited to the Riding Skill. 

Like Running, Riding is often used in Racing and Pursuit situations. 

'''1H Melee Weapon''' -- This attack skill can be exchanged for 2H Melee Weapon as long as the following Shield Parry is exchanged for 2H Weapon Parry with the same weapon. Only one weapon can be chosen for this Skill. Any other weapons have to be paid for from the Skill Pool or picked up later in the game. 

'''Shield Parry''' -- This can actually be Weapon Parry, and applied to a two handed weapon, an offhand parrying weapon, or even a single handed weapon also used for Attacking. In the first and last instances, it must the same weapon as picked for Weapon Attack. 

'''Short Bow''' -- This can also be Sling rather than short bow. It is the Skill of using a domestic ranged weapon used as much for hunting as warfare. Only members of cultures okayed by the GM can take Longbow or crossbow for this Skill. 

'''Survival, Woods''' -- Depending on the culture, Survival Mountains or Survival Desert or Survival Fishing Culture can be substituted for this Skill. Essentially the ability to find food, find direction, and find shelter in the wilderness named. Things like tracking game and building simple shelters are part of the skill. 

'''Drive Car''' -- Modern day equivalent of Ride Horse. Some other civilian vehicle or civilian aircraft or civilian watercraft can be taken instead. Used for desperate maneuvers, racing, and pursuit. 

'''Literacy''' -- In modern and future games, this is mostly for getting the meaning out of obtuse language, vast mounds of research, and/or archaic forms of the language. Anyone can be expected to read the newspaper/faqscreen comics. 

For pre-modern games, this skill can be assumed to be present for those who come from educated backgrounds, such as wizards, clergy, and educated nobles, plus any craftsmen of the clerk or scribe type. For others, it is an extra skill and must be paid for as such.

This Skill is also used to test whether the character is familiar with common literary characters and situations. Want to know how well you know Romeo and Juliet? Check the Literacy skill. Not just the ability to read, but the fact of having read. This also applies to illiterate characters who might have a very good knowledge of the hero legends of his people. In any case the skill has to be bought as an extra skill in a non-literate culture.

'''Mechanic''' -- Like Craft, this could instead be machinist, or electronics technician, or photocopier repairman. Or it could be a profession like Journalist or technical writer. It's a profession that someone could be expected to make a reasonable living off of. 

'''Pistol''' -- This could have rifle or shotgun substituted. Essentially a ranged weapon attack skill. The character could take archer as an alternate. 

'''Streetwise''' -- Survival in the wilderness of the modern city's mean streets. The character could also take one of the previous era's survival skills. Streetwise lets you find the people you need, find where jobs are to be found, and find where shelter can be found in the city. The GM may limit this to one city, or to the cities of one country or climatic zone or ethnicity. 

'''Computer Ops''' -- Any futuristic setting that includes computers has computers that are no more complicated to use than opening a book. This Skill has to do with programming computers and fixing them. It does not include Hacking, which would be a special skill that has to be paid for. 

'''Free Fall''' -- This is the skill of moving and working effectively in Free Fall. Like other Personal Movement Skills like Swimming, combatants in Free Fall have to use Free Fall for combat skills if their normal combat skills are better than their Free Fall. Because of the unrestricted nature of Free Fall, a character can move and fight using Free Fall. 

'''Stunner''' -- Use of a simple futuristic stunning weapon. A GM may allow substitution of a blaster, hand-held laser, or old-fashioned slugthrower. 

'''Pilot Aircar''' -- Skill of piloting a hovercraft or contragravity or ducted jet vehicle. Similar to Driving, Running, and Riding, it is used for extreme circumstances, racing, and pursuit.