Mano a Mano:Abilities

Abilities

Abilities allow characters to do certain types of actions, or do them better. Each of a character's abilities has a modifier which is added as to success rolls when a character tries to use the ability to do something difficult. Abilities can also give the character other advantages based on ability modifier. Characters can usually try to use (or fake) many abilities they don't have, but some special abilities, like flight, cannot be imitated without the right abilities or equipment. These abilities often have a special CP value. (See Game Design/Template CP.)

Each game should have an ability list adapted to the setting and style of play. The following ability list is just one example of the abilities a game might have. Some abilities may only be available to certain templates, and others have a maximum modifier. (See Game Design/Templates/Abilities.) The game designer should decide which abilities characters can develop. Some abilities may be available to all characters all the time. Others may only be available to certain templates, or may only be changed while creating a character.

Movement Abilities

Movement abilities help character's move faster and more effectively. (See Action/Movement.)

Running

A movement ability that improves a character's ability to move on the ground.

Swimming

A movement ability that improves a character's ability to move in water.

Climbing

A movement ability that improves a character's ability to climb.

Acrobatics

A movement ability which helps a character perform acrobatic feats, such as jumping and tumbling without getting hurt.

Flight

A movement ability that improves a character's ability to move in the air. Usually characters may not develop the flight ability unless their template also has this ability.

Combat Abilities

Unarmed combat

A character's unarmed combat modifier is added to their close range fighting bonuses with grappling techniques or natural weapons. A martial-arts themed game might have more than one unarmed combat ability, with a different set of techniques for each of these abilities.

One-handed weapons

A combat ability which can be used with short weapons and flexible weapons as long as the heft of the weapon is at least one point less than the character's power.

Two-handed weapons

A combat ability which can be used with long weapons and some short weapons and flexible weapons (ball and chain, giant sword, bastard sword, broadsword, club, cane, maul, axe, mattock)

Thrown weapons

A combat ability used when throwing thrown weapons or hand weapons. This ability can be used for catching and throwing both weapons and other items.

Marksmanship

A combat ability used with guns and bows

Stealth and Detection Abilities

Sleight of hand

The ability to use illusion, distraction and suggestion as well as manual dexterity to perform subtle actions in plain sight without being noticed. Sleight of hand can be used to conceal weapons, draw them without being noticed, pick pockets, pass notes in class and perform magic tricks.

Stealth

The ability to remain undetected while sneaking around, ambushing, or hiding from searches. Stealth is used against detection rolls. When a stealth roll succeeds against one or more opposing detection rolls, the character using stealth successfully hides from the characters trying to find him. (See Gameplay/Success Rolls/Multiple Opposing Actions.)

Detection

The ability to detect others sneaking around, avoid ambushes, and search for hidden objects and characters. Detection is used against stealth rolls. When a detection roll succeeds against a stealth roll, the detecting character successfully finds those trying to hide from him.

Transportation Abilities

Navigation

This ability is used to control water vehicles. For piloting planes, see piloting ability. Navigation includes both the ability to steer the vessel and the ability to use charts, instruments and visual cues to get where you want to go.

Piloting

This ability is used to control air vehicles. For piloting boats see navigation ability. Piloting includes both the ability to steer and land the vehicle, and the ability to use instruments, charts and so forth.

Driving

This ability is used to control mechanical ground vehicles. This ability includes both the physical skill of driving and knowledge of roads and traffic systems related to driving.

Animal handling

A knowledge of animal behavior, maintenance and safety. Animal handling includes the ability to control riding animals, but not the physical ability to do riding stunts. (See riding ability.)

Riding

An athletic ability similar to animal handling ability except that it can only be used to control animals that are ridden. Riding ability helps with physically challenging riding stunts.

Communication Abilities

Each language the character knows in addition to the character's first language is an ability. Effective conversation in languages other than the character's first language usually requires a success roll.

Communication

This ability improves a character's ability to communicate in all languages, including the character's native language. Communication or specific language ability modifier, whichever is greater, is added to success rolls for simple communication, like asking for the general direction to a named place. More complex communication may use the character's language ability or communication modifier, whichever is less. Complex communication in a character's first language can even require a communication success roll.

Acting

This ability is used by a character to change their own behavior for entertainment or deception. Acting can be used for concealing beliefs or intentions, and for impersonation. Acting ability can make a believable lie more convincing, but making a lie believable may require both communication and acting ability.

Other Abilities

Agriculture

The ability to produce raw materials by growing plants and animals.

Art

This ability is used to make effective visual presentations, including decoration, sculpting, painting and drawing.

Cooking

This ability is used to produce food from appropriate raw materials.

Craftsmanship

General proficiency in creating "low tech" products in a variety of materials from textiles to smithing, carpentry and stonework. Craftsmanship ability can be used to create armor and weapons from an equipment list, to modify armor and weapons, or to create new items designed by a player or GM.

Engineering

The ability to design and repair technologically sophisticated things, from structures to gadgets.

Law

Understanding how systems of government work, and the ability to use those systems.

Medicine

This ability is used to help injured characters heal, to treat sickness, disease and poisoning, and to help characters stay healthy. (A character can also use their medical knowledge to poison others or spread disease.)

Music

The ability to produce effective structured audio presentations. Music includes the ability to recognize, remember and repeat organized patterns of pitch and rythm, as long as the character is physically able to hear and duplicate the sounds.

Regeneration

Improves the character's ability to heal quickly. The character recovers one extra damage point each week for each point of their regeneration modifier.

Science

The ability to learn about the natural world through observation and experiments. Science also includes the ability to share observations and broad familiarity with current scientific knowledge. Scientific research combined with the application of other abilities helps to increase the level of technology available.

Teaching

This ability is used to help other characters learn.

Qualities

Qualities are "on or off": you have it or you don't. Qualities do not have levels. Qualities can have positive, negative or 0 CP value. Negative qualities replace disabilities.

The quality which allows you to fly will be separated from the flight ability which determines your air movement. A character cannot have any of the flight-related qualities unless his template has it or the setting specifically allows it. For example a superhero game might allow characters of any template to have the flying quality.

flying

This quality allows a character to fly. Specifically it allows powered flight, like a bird that can fly by flapping it's wings.

gliding

This quality allows a character to steer while falling. A character cannot have both gliding and flying because flying includes the ability to steer while falling.

soaring

This quality allows a character to gain altitude by riding thermals. Soaring requires gliding or flying

parachuting

This quality prevents a character from taking falling damage. A character cannot have both parachuting and flying because flying includes the ability to take no damage from falling.

mechanical

A mechanical character does not heal, but can be repaired using craftsmanship or abilities which allow characters to modify mechanical characters. Mechanical characters do not require surgery rolls when they are modified. Characters who do not have this ability are called organic characters. The main difference between mechanical and organic characters is how they are affected by trauma. (A very complex robot which can heal itself but can be easily destroyed by an attempted modification might not have the mechanical character ability.) Mechanical characters do not decay as quickly as organic creatures, so they can be easier to resuscitate from fatal injuries. Mechanical characters can be repaired more quickly than organic (non-mechanical) character's heal. For each day of repairs the mechanical character recovers damage equal to the ability of the character performing the repairs plus circumstance modifiers. Mechanical characters recover from stun like normal characters. Even a simple machine can often correct temporary mechanical problems, especially autonomous and semi-autonomous robots with redundant systems like space probes.

blind

The character has very poor or no vision (legally blind or worse.)

deaf

The character has very poor or no hearing.

dumb

The character cannot speak. In other words the character cannot reproduce the complex sounds used by some species for communication. Most species who do not have a complex language are dumb even though they use their voices for simple communication and emotional expression. (This ability is not related to intelligence or competence. See the inept and unintelligent qualities for characters who are "dumb" in the pejorative sense.)

mute

The character has no voice. A character cannot have both the mute and dumb qualities because a mute character also cannot speak.

lame

The character's ability to move is limited, halving ground, water and climbing movement. The character also has a -2 modifier to any rolls involving acrobatics, running, swimming or climbing. A character could have this quality if walking is very difficult and painful or if the character is paraplegic and cannot walk at all.

immobile

The character cannot travel without assistance. His ground, water, air and climbing movement are all 0.

inept

The character has serious difficulty doing most things a normal person can do, but may still be able to do some things well. The character has a -2 modifier to all rolls unless the character has an ability which applies to that roll. Animals which are smart but not as intelligent as people are often inept.

unintelligent

The character does not do anything except what it was designed or trained to do, although it might be very good at those things. The things the character can do are basically limited to it's abilities. If the character does not have a fighting ability it cannot fight. If the character does not have a movement ability it cannot move. If the character does not have a communication ability it cannot move.