Combat Skills
Automatic Weapons
Automatic weapons covers all firearms that fire multiple bullets for each trigger pull and includes Submachineguns and Assault Rifles as well as Auto-Shotguns.
Clubs
Clubs are hand-held melee weapons less than one meter long that have no edge or blade. This skill allows a character to use any short, weighted item as a weapon, from baseball bats to Tonfa to a chair leg.
Edged Weapons
Edged weapons include knives and swords of all kinds from the popular Japanese katana of Street Samurai fame to the massive Claymores that Trolls like to wield one-handed to remind everyone of just how big they are. Small axes can also be learned under this skill.
Choppers
Choppers covers weapons under a meter in length that have a weighted blade or penetrating head at the end of a handle. They rely more on strength than agility and include axes, picks, hammers and certain heavy bladed swords such as the falchion or majewski chopper.
Gunnery
Vehicle mounted weaponry that is either manually or remotely controlled.
Heavy Weapons
This skill covers any firearm larger than an assault rifle, including tripod, pintel, gyromount or fixed-emplacement (but not in vehicles) weapons.
Laser Weapons
This skill covers any weapon that fires a beam instead of a projectile
Launch Weapons
This skill covers the use and targeting of any weapon that fires a missile, rocket, grenade or mortar including manual and sensor-enhanced fire. This skill covers both specific grenade-launchers and underbarrel ones. Note that underbarrel grenade launchers can be defaulted to the weapon they are attached to as if defaulting to a base skill in the same grouping (+2 modifiery to Target Number)
Longarms
Longarms covers the use of semi-auto and bolt action rifles & shotguns. This includes civilian sport rifles, sniper rifles, and pump-action & semi-auto shotguns.
Pistols
Pistols covers the use of all types of hand-held firearms including hold-out, light and heavy semi-automatic pistols & revolvers, and tasers.
Polearms/Staffs
This skill covers the use of hand-held melee weapons longer than one-meter.
Projectile Weapons
This skill covers muscle-powered projectile weapons that utilize a tensile material to store and/or transfer energy to the projectile. This skill includes Bows, Crossbows, Slings & slingshots as well as the Atlatl.
Throwing Weapons
This skill covers any weapon thrown by hand, such as throwing knives, shuriken and spears.
Unarmed Combat
Unarmed combat covers melee combat skills based on solely the users body. In addition to boxing, this skill also covers martial arts from around the world and the use of cyber weapons like spurs & shock hands. In addition, this skill also allows the use of body weaponry such as forearm snap blades and shock gloves which are worn rather than wielded.
Underwater Combat
This skill covers specialized techniques to effectively maneuver and strike opponents in underwater melee situations.
Whips/Chains
This skill covers both whips and chain-based weapons such as kusarigama, nunchaku, and monofilament whips.
Zero G Combat
Covers combat techniques effective in Zero-G.
Physical Skills
Athletics
Athletics is the training and honing of the body in the performance of physical activities. May be used to increase running distance
Diving
This skill covers underwater diving, including swimming techniques and the use of scuba and other underwater gear.
Stealth
This skill covers sneaking around, sleight of hand, camoflage and disguising onself. It also includes both eluding a tail and tailing someone. Using the Stealth Skill usually requires an Open Test.
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Magical Skills
Aura Reading
The skill of psychometry, learning information from a person's aura, astral forms and signatures. Aura Reading functions as a Complementary skill for Assensing Tests
Sorcery
This skill is available only to Awakened characters with a Magic Attribute of 1 or greater and covers the control of magical energy usually in the form of spells.
Conjuring
Conjuring covers the calling, controlling and banishing of spirits and is available only to Awakened characters with a Magic Attribute of 1 or greater.
Enchanting
Enchanting covers the collection and processing of materials for use in magical work and the crafting of magical items.
Social Skills
Etiquette
Etiquette allows an individual to function within a specific subculture without appearing out of place. It allows the individual to recognize prominent figures and cliques within the subculture and to have a general idea of their strengths, weaknesses, likes and dislikes. This skill is absolutely necessary to obtain goods and services within a society.
Instruction
Gives the individual the ability to teach something to another character effectively.
Interrogation
This skill covers the extraction of information from unwilling subjects. The user makes an Opposed Test against a base Target Number of 4 and the target makes a Willpower Test against a base Target Number of 4. The number of net successes the interrogator makes determines the quality of information they recieve. The Target Numbers are modified as per the following table:
| Victim is Restrained | +1 to the Victims Will TN |
| Lack of equipment or facilities | +1 to the Users TN |
| For each ally in vicinity | +1 to the users TN |
| Victim is injured | Injury modifiers |
| Info more valuable than own life | -2 to the Victims Will TN |
Intimidation
This skill falls between a weaker version of the Interrogation skill and the Negotiation skill. Intimidation allows a character to influence the attitude of other people to the character out of fear inspired by the character's in-your-face appearance or behavior. This skill uses an Open Test to generate a Target Number the victim must meet or exceed with a Willpower check to withstand the intimidation. A character with the Intimidation Skill can use it as a Complementary Skill for the Willpower Test when being intimidated or interrogated.
Technical Skills
Computer
Iconography and the idiot-proof nature of computers in Shadowrun allow anyone to use computers at a basic level in much the same way as many people drive cars without actually having the skill to drive them. However, the manipulation of programs and systems and taking full advantage of the power of the Matrix requires the Computer skill.
Cybernetics: The cybernetics specialization is useful in creating ICCM biofeedback filters, as well as any surgical operation involving cyberware.
Decking: The Decking specialization is used to circumvent the Matrix in any non-authorized system operation or improvised attack. Many novice Deckers sacrifice their programming ability for the raw seat-of-the-pants skill to maniuplate the Matrix, to their ultimate detriment.
Hardware: The Hardware specialization covers regular computers, mainframes and other computer devices in a role similar to a Sys-Admin. Actually building or modifying such systems requires the Computer B/R skill.
Programming:Programming allows deckers to craft programs and utilities with a max rating equal to their Computer (Programming) skill. The ratings of character-designed MPCPs and frame cores may not exceed the character's Computer (Programming) Skill multiplied by 1.5
Search Operations:This is the mastery of search engines and databases, and an invaluable skill for detectives and information brokers. This specialization is used whenever conducting Matrix information searches.
Forgery
More and more a digital skill, Forgery allows the manipulation of data in a number of ways to create authentic-appearing data that has been falsified in some way. The File Editing specialization is used in forging computer files and their associate data - adjusting file headers, date stamps, backups,a dn so forth. The Image Manipulation and Audio Manipulatio specializations are useful for digintally massagin images and footage - removing, adding, or altering images, sound or video. Physical Forgery is fast dissappearing, but will always be around to some small extent. This allows countereiting of hard currency, old printed bearer bonds, certificates of authenticity, artworks and the like.
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