Page 46 - World of Darkness

Roll Results Defense
Dramatic Failure: The information is memorized or
remembered incorrectly, to be determined by the Story- Derived Traits: Wits or Dexterity
teller. Action: Reflexive
Failure: In one ear and out the other, or your charac- The lowest of your character’s Wits or Dexterity is
ter draws a blank. used to determine his Defense trait, which is subtracted
Success: The details are at your character’s disposal. from incoming Brawl, Weaponry and throwing attacks.
Exceptional Success: Your character has access to not See p. 152 for more information
only what’s important, but to related information on the
topic or details of where and when the facts were memo- Perception
rized. Dice Pool: Wits + Composure or a relevant Skill in
Suggested Equipment: Book or television show re- place of Composure (see the “Skill-Based Perception”
lated to the topic (+1), photograph taken at the event sidebar)
(+2) Action: Reflexive
Possible Penalties: Extensive information (-3 to -5), Sometimes subtle or instantaneous actions occur
details studied quickly or distractedly (-1 to -2), unusual around your character, testing his powers of observation.
or strange facts (-1 to -2), items observed days, weeks or A shape races by. Someone hides behind nearby bushes.
years ago (-1 to -5) Maybe your character recognizes these events. Maybe he
goes oblivious to them. Alternatively, a single unusual
Wits phenomenon is in his presence, and he may (or may not)
recognize it without trying. Maybe a piece of furniture is
Martin had accepted some weird jobs, but this one took out of place in a room or a door is unlocked when it should
the cake. He’d installed or repaired plumbing across the city. be locked.
He liked the work; jobs could be challenging and fun. The Storyteller typically knows when something un-
Busting open drywall and messing with pipes was like usual or out of place occurs in your character’s vicinity,
tinkering with the skeleton of a building. You got to see and may call for a reflexive Wits + Composure roll for
straight into people’s private worlds. Sometimes you even got your character to recognize it. Such observation almost
to peek at the skeletons in their closets. always occurs without your character intentionally search-
But why be hired to do a full re-pipe at this place and be ing or looking (that’s the province of “Investigation,” p.
told not to go on the top floor? Martin had to know. So, 59). Perception rolls simply check to see if your character
when the greasy guy who hired him caught him at the top of instinctually notices what’s going on. In many cases, the
the stairs, Martin had to think fast. Storyteller may make perception rolls for you, so that you
remain as aware or unaware of what’s going on as your
“Yeah, I tried to find you. It’s uh… it’s what I was character.
afraid of. An old building like this, the fittings have given Roll Results
way from wood rot or something. We’re, uh… we’re gonna Dramatic Failure: Your character notices something
need to re-route all the pipes upstairs instead of running the strange or out of place, but it’s not what has actually oc-
same lines.” curred, or he makes a dangerous assumption about the
Damn, that was good, he thought. Might be able to event. A picture hanging at an odd angle indicates that
squeeze some extra bucks out of this job. someone has moved it, but your character assumes that a
The other man didn’t seem convinced. door has been slammed, shifting the piece of art.
The ability to think on one’s feet, under pressure or Failure: Your character notices nothing amiss or out
duress, without letting them see you sweat. Wits also en- of place.
compasses an eye for detail, the ability to absorb what’s Success: Your character recognizes that something
going on in the environment, and to react to events. It has happened. If he wants to learn more, Investigation
might mean recognizing that the temperature in a room rolls are called for. See “Investigation,” p. 59.
slowly drops, that a landscape painting incorporates a dis- Exceptional Success: Your character not only recog-
guised human face, or that a trap is about to be sprung. nizes when something unusual or quick happens nearby,
Wits involves the powers of perception and response. Your he sees it all happen and gets a good look. Or he notices a
character may be oblivious, dumbfounded, quick-eyed or variety of things that are amiss in his surroundings, just by
wary. The trait is useful for entrepreneurs, charlatans, ath- entering the room.
letes, tacticians, lawyers and criminals. Suggested Equipment: Hopped-up on caffeine (+1)
or amphetamines (+2)
Possible Penalties: Dark (-3), obscuring weather (-1
to -3), subtle detail (-1), obscure detail (-3), distracting
circumstances (-1 to -3)

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ATTRIBUTE DESCRIPTIONS- MENTAL