1.6.1 Talent list

The following is a list of all the talents available in the game. The referee is at liberty to come up with additional talents as he/she sees fit.

Non-human characters will normally have several of these talents based on theirrace (racial talents). Certain talents (marked with a *) are normally only available as racial talents.

Talent cps value Effects
Night vision 2 Can see in normal darkness as though it is a gloomy day.
Light sleep 2 Does not need as much sleep as normal (normal is 7-8 hours/day). Recovers from fatigue twice as fast as normal. Wakes easily when asleep (+5 to Hearing dice roll to wake).
Rapid healing 2 Recovers from wounds twice as fast as normal.
Regenerates 5* Does not suffer from after-wound shock. Recovers from wounds twice as fast as normal. Re-grows body parts if they are damaged.
Does not age 5* Matures at normal speed up to adult, but then does not age.
Long life-span 2* Ages three times as slowly as a normal human (i.e. adult is from 60 to 119).
Attuned to magic - latent 2 Gains a +4 bonus on dice rolls to sense the presence of magic. A character with this talent may (given suitable justification) upgrade the talent to active capability.
Attuned to magic - active 5 Gains a +4 bonus on dice rolls to sense the presence of magic. A character with this talent can also cast magic, using appropriate magical skills. A character without this talent cannot cast magic.
Enchanted varies The character is the beneficiary of a long-term enchantment (i.e. > 1 day duration) that is either cast directly on him/her or is in a focused enchantment onto an item that the character possesses. The referee should determine how much the enchantment is worth with reference to how many character points it would cost the character to gain that effect normally through characteristics, talents or skills. The referee may apply a small discount for limitations that make the enchantment less good than simply buying the capability normally. For example:
  • a long-term characteristic boosting enchantment that increases a characteristic by +2 would typically cost 4 cps (since that would be the equivalent cost of increasing the characteristic score without magic). If the enchantment was Strength of Stone and so only increases the characteristic score when the person is in contact with the ground, the referee might rule it only cost 3 cps. If it was also in a focused enchantment on an item that could be taken from the person, the referee might rule it only cost 2 cps.
  • a long-term sight enchantment might be the equivalent of night vision talent and so cost 2 cps. If the enchantment is true vision enabling a blind person to see, the cost should be increased by the value of the blindness disability (i.e. an extra 12 cps). If the enchantment wasn't concealed and so left the recipient with magically glowing eyes, the referee might reduce the cost by a few cps to reflect the associated distinctive looks.
  • if a character benefits from a long-term weapon enhancement enchantment, each +2 bonus to the attack dice roll (from finesse) costs 1 cp (since it is equivalent to a point spent on the skill with a narrow specialism in that weapon). Bonuses to the damage dice roll should be slightly more expensive e.g. a +3 bonus should cost 2 cps (equivalent to claws talent). If the enchantment is focused in an item (the weapon) that could be grabbed from the character and used by an enemy, the referee should reduce the cost by between a quarter and a half.
  • a long-term resistance enchantment should cost the equivalent of similar levels of tough skin talent, again potentially reduced for limitations in the enchantment.
Ambidextrous 1 Able to use both hands equally well. No penalty on actions with off-hand (normal penalty is -2).
Extra limb(s) 2* or 3* Character has an additional limb (hand, foot, tentacle, tongue or tail) that he/she can use to grab things or use a weapon in combat. For 2 cps, the limb is as effective as a right-handed person's left hand. For 3 cps, there is no penalty with the extra limb.

Having an extra limb, gives a character +2 to dice rolls such as grabbing someone, escaping entanglement and avoiding falling by grabbing a ledge.

Talent for a particular skill 2 Character has a talent for a specific skill and gains a +2 bonus on any dice roll involving that skill and a +2 bonus to that skill's limit. The player should identify a rationale for the talent, and based on this the referee may allow the talent to have additional benefits, for example:
  • Talent for Music might mean the character has perfect pitch and can recognise and reproduce notes exactly; or it may mean the character has perfect time sense and can keep track of time perfectly even if unconscious.
  • Talent for Navigation might mean the character has a natural bump of direction; he/she usually knows which direction is which and cannot be disorientated, or it might represent a love of the sea.
  • Talent for Art might mean the character is extremely creative and artistically gifted or might mean the character can automatically recognise or match colours or textures.
  • Talent for Administration might mean the character is a lightning calculator and can instantly perform mathematical calculations in his/her head.
  • Talent for Swimming might represent webbed hands/feet and/or a strong pair of lungs.
  • Talent for Athletics might represent a double-jointed character.
  • Talent for Riding might represent animal empathy, for which the referee may give the character bonuses in other situations (e.g. animal handling).
  • Talent for Regional Knowledge covers all Regional Knowledge skills, and represents an innate ability to learn languages, pick up cultural ideas and remember places and events easily.
  • Talent for Memory might represent a photographic or eidetic memory.
  • Talent for Stealth might reflect innate quietness of movement and/or stillness when not moving.
  • Talent for Empathy might reflect a natural (limited) telepathic ability; the referee may also give the character bonuses with telepathic magic.
  • Talent for Acting might reflect a good voice, for which the referee may also give bonuses in other situations (e.g. influencing, conversing, singing).
  • Talent for Intimidation might reflect an unusually strong aura or presence about the character; The referee may also give the character bonuses with/against certain types of magic connected with strength of aura or life force.
  • Talent for Survival might mean the character is attuned with nature and has an instinctive understanding of animals and the environment; the referee may also give the character bonuses in other situations (e.g. riding, animal handling).
Luck 2 Character is naturally lucky. Once per game session (or 4-5 hours play at the referee's discretion), the player can, before the results of a dice roll affecting the character are declared, declare that he/she is lucky. This allows the character to apply a +3 or -3 modifier to the dice roll. In addition, the dice roll should be rolled twice and the player can choose the best outcome for the character. Players should use these "luck" rolls carefully, saving them for critical or life threatening circumstances. Luck may be taken more than once to increase the number of dice rolls per session that the player can affect.
Resistant to disease/poison 2 Character gains +4 on any dice roll to resist the effects of disease, drugs or poison.
Immune to a particular disease/poison 1 Character is immune to one particular disease, drug or poison
Immune to all disease/poison 5 Character is immune to the effects of any disease, drugs or poison.
Can breathe water 5* Character can extract oxygen from water sufficient to breathe.
Cold-blooded metabolism 2* Character has a cold-blooded metabolism. The character only needs to eat about 10% of the food of an equivalent warm-blooded character, and can store food for long periods of time in his/her body. However, the character must suffers penalties on all dice rolls in cold temperatures (e.g. -1 in temperate to -5 in polar).
Tough skin 1-20* The character has a tough skin, made out of fur, feathers, leather or bony plates. This acts as natural armour, in addition to any artificial armour that the character wears as clothing. Tough skin costs according to how much protection value (PV) it provides:
  • 1 cp = 1 PV (equivalent to clothing)
  • 2 cps = 2 PV (equivalent to heavy clothing)
  • 3 cps = 3 PV (equivalent to leather armour)
  • 4 cps = 4 PV (equivalent to studded leather armour)
  • 8 cps = 6 PV (equivalent to light mail armour)
  • 12 cps = 8 PV (equivalent to heavy mail armour)
  • 16 cps = 10 PV (equivalent to partial plate armour)
  • 20 cps = 12 PV (equivalent to full plate armour)

1, 2 or 3 PV tough skin is not necessarily obvious; higher protection skin is always obvious. Some races may have natural armour on some areas of their body but not others; in which case the referee should reduce the cps cost accordingly.

Claws 2 or 4* Character's hands/feet have claws built into them, which means that the character's unarmed attacks (punch, kick) count as inflicting sharp damage (with +3 damage compared to a normal punch/kick). Claws also give a +2 bonus on certain climbing dice rolls. For 2 cps, the claws are obvious and make wearing shoes or gripping objects difficult. For 4 cps, the claws are retractable.
Flight 2 or 4* Character has wings and can take to the air. For 2 cps, the character can glide (and must use thermal air currents to gain altitude). For 4 cps, the character can fly and hover. Flying ability tends to be restricted heavily by encumbrance.
Universal translator 2, 4 or 6 Character has an uncanny knack for understanding what people are saying in a foreign language and for being able to communicate back to them. There are three levels of this talent:

For 2 cps, the character can understand or speak short phrases of common words (equivalent to a dice roll basic value of 2 in communication) in any language.

For 4 cps, the character can carry out basic conversation (equivalent to a dice roll basic value of 5 in communication) in any language.

For 6 cps, the character can speak like a native (equivalent to a dice roll basic value of 8 in communication) in any language.