Post by Triple 7 on Feb 23, 2019 15:00:53 GMT -8
ABILITIES
Abilities are pretty straight forward. Below you will find a list of common occurrences or popular instances that are either not spelled out in V20 or ones that we have tailored to our online Chronicle.
No Skill or Talent?: Add +1 Difficulty for rolling.
No Knowledge?: You cannot roll for something. Where with Skills or Talents you can fake it until you make it, factual Knowledge cannot be faked. You cannot spontaneously create facts. With that in mind; if you do not have a Knowledge needed for a roll, you cannot make the roll.
TALENTS
Alertness
Eavesdropping on a conversation is a matter of Perception + Alertness, Difficulty 6-9 (3 Successes Needed). The variable difficulty is based off your environment. A quiet coffee shop would be Difficulty 6. It could be that a loud sporting event is Difficulty 7. A noisy bar with live music? Difficulty 8. Something like a construction sight with jack hammers actively operating or heavy machinery would be Difficulty 9. Activating Auspex in these higher difficulty situations would be an annoyance rather than damaging. It'll be hazardous, not dangerous. Auspex will help lower the difficulty of your roll once activating Heightened Senses, as your hearing hyper focuses to tune out the noise and weed out what you don't want to hear at the time. It's the reason that 3 Successes is needed to accurately hear anything. Regardless of the initial Difficulty, any time you're listening through a surface (door, wall, window, etc.) will add +1 Difficulty to the base.
To search for traps is Perception + Alertness, Difficulty 5-9. The Difficulty starts at 5, but is based off the successes achieved when the trap was placed to a maximum of 9.
Athletics
V20 rules only cover Firearms and handheld weapons and as such we feel the need to expand to another kind of weapons like bows. Re-curve style weapons will use Dexterity + Athletics for the attack dice and is Damage 4L.
All thrown weapons are rated at base Difficulty 7.
Awareness
Awareness has a passive effect (Reflexive Action) that is triggered upon the activation of Disciplines during moments of low stress. Provided your character has Kindred Lore, they can roll Perception + Awareness, Difficulty 7. Characters can determine that a Discipline is being used in the area with 1 Success. With 3 Success or more, they can determine what Discipline is in use if it is from the common eight Disciplines. (Animalism, Auspex, Celerity, Dominate, Fortitude, Potence, Presence, or Obfuscate) With 4 Successes, they can determine from whom the Discipline was activated. Note: If characters don't have Kindred Lore, they can still roll but may only benefit from the uneasy feeling they get when something Supernatural is in the area. Clearly we're focusing on Kindred here. The general use of Awareness will allow you to feel the uneasiness of the Supernatural around you, but without the appropriate Lore it will just be that uneasiness as explained in the previous note. Using the scale listed under the description; you will need Awareness 4 at minimum to locate the source of your uneasiness.
Using the Merit: Medium, with the -2 Difficulty to your Awareness roll, it would be a Perception + Awareness, Difficulty 5 roll as our standard Supernatural interest rolls are at Difficulty 7. Please keep in mind that without Wraith Lore to back up your knowledge, you will not know exactly what it is that you're dealing with, but know that it is Supernatural in origin.
Brawl
Attacks using weapons similar to brass knuckles or "punch daggers" will use Brawl for having a similar maneuver for the attack. Only Lethal rated weapons will be able to Parry using this method, still using Brawl for the roll.
Empathy
Thought bashing another characters is seen as passive aggressive sometimes. These thought bubbles that only benefit Characters using Auspex 4 (Telepathy) on another could be insulting to some. Players are allowed to roll Perception + Empathy, Difficulty 7 versus their Manipulation + Empathy, Difficulty 7 to determine passive aggressive mood or emotions behind the true words of their rivals. This roll, regardless of it being contested or not, will be used to determine body language on others.
In the contested roll using Willpower to resist being cowed; the Target will use their permanent Willpower rating, not current.
SKILLS
Crafts
In order to use a disguise, it will take a Dexterity + Crafts, Difficulty 7 roll to properly form the layers of a false identity. This will cover all manners of disguise from facial features or any other physical portion of the disguise. Latex skin, dentures, rubber noses, wigs, stage make up, and other physical applications of prosthesis are included in this roll to complete the new appearance. A botch will destroy materials while a fail just means you are unable to pull off the new look.
As a common roll, to be able to capture photographic images at night with poor lighting will be represented by a Dexterity + Crafts, Difficulty 8 roll with the successes determining how well the image comes out on the digital format. Daylight photos will be taken at Difficulty 7. Using a professional camera will lower this Difficulty -1. Similar to Firearms rules found on Pg. 278, V20 - point blank photos will be taken at -2 Difficulty. As a frame of reference; distanced shots will need 3 Successes to obtain an accurate photo of plate numbers on a vehicle.
When it comes to visual arts (such as, but not limited to - drawing, painting, or sculpture) with the purpose of capturing the likeness of something, it is hard to gauge how strong someone paid attention to the subject they're reproducing. For that reason, we will apply special the common and uncommon mechanics to discern Difficulty. If your subject is within line of sight, your rolls will be common (Difficulty 4, requiring 5 Successes). If you are recreating the subject from memory, your rolls will be uncommon (Difficulty 6, requiring 15 Successes). If your memory is affected by a stressful situation at the time of preserving it (combat, attention is split, etc), the uncommon roll will receive a +2 Difficulty modifier.
Drive
Due to us not using Secondary Traits, Drive will cover everything from sailing to piloting.
Firearms
An attack with a crossbow will use Firearms for having a similar function. Stats can be found on Pg. 281, V20.
Larceny
Picking locks has a variable Difficulty; based off the severity of the lock. These locks require tools to be used in order to pick them by physical means. Locks of this nature are our traditional padlocks, deadbolts, or anything else that requires a combination or key to properly open. Combination or padlocks are at Difficulty 6. Deadbolts or keyed residential/commercial entry are at Difficulty 7. Security safes are at Difficulty 8. Anything like a bank vault would be Difficulty 9. Anything with an electrical component will be covered by Computer or Technology as the case might warrant.
Melee
Staking can be an extended action using Melee. The subsequent rolls will still be made at Difficulty 9 and the damage from the previous roll stacked with the following rolls.
Survival
We use the example and mechanics on Pg. 66, HH2 for placing traps. (Dexterity + Survival, Difficulty 6)
KNOWLEDGES
Academics
Once obtaining an applicable Lore; you can then roll Intelligence + Academics, Difficulty 7 to research any historical facts based on Kindred history over downtime actions. This is for when you want to know in depth knowledge on historical events that might otherwise have been lost to time and memory. To recall from memory something uncommon with an on the spot check; you will roll Wits + Academics, Difficulty 7. This is for things like knowing when the Camarilla was formed.
Computers
There is a potential for computer systems and cellphones to be hacked, as always. Should a Player look to perform this action, they'll need to roll Intelligence + Computer, Base Difficulty 8 to access the software on either device. The mechanics are the same, the results depend on the level you're trying to access. Hacking comes with a purpose. You are unlocking a system to accomplish something. If you're looking to create software that does something, that falls under creating a common, uncommon, or rare item while using Computers.
- Botch!?: The device system you're accessing alerts the user to an intrusion.
- Failure: You are unable to access the Target's device system.
- 1 Success: You're able to unlock the Target's device system to your intrusion.
- 2 Successes: You're able to read the text messages on the Target's device or access their e-mail accounts remotely (in addition to previous successes).
- 3 Successes: You're able to activate the microphone on the Target's device or discover hidden files remotely (in addition to previous successes).
- 4 Successes: You're able to activate the camera on the Target's device or unlock encrypted files remotely (in addition to previous successes).
- 5 Successes: You're able to activate the GPS on the Target's device or able to recover deleted files remotely (in addition to previous successes).
Picking a lock using Computers is used when you're trying to hack into the system and force the coded program to open the locks for you. It requires an Intelligence + Computers, Difficulty 6-9 roll. A standard residential home lock on the network is Difficulty 6. Opening a interior commercial lock will be Difficulty 7. A commercial gate on a security network is Difficulty 8. Opening a commercial vault connected to the company network would be Difficulty 9.
Occult
Once obtaining an applicable Lore; you can then roll Intelligence + Occult, Difficulty 7 to remember any factual information on Occult related topics. This can be done over downtime to represent researching the individual. On the spot checks to recall memory on Occult related phenomenon will use Wits + Occult, Difficulty 7.
Politics
Once obtaining a Clan/Sect related Lore; you can then roll Wits + Politics, Difficulty 7 for an on-the-spot check of someone's reputation. This action is to recall any rumors circulating on the individual identity they're using, and not their true identity if those identities are different. The number of Successes will determine how much information is related. This test may only be submitted once. Successes are cumulative during extended rolls and last for the scene. Please reference Merits & Flaws for Lore results.
Technology