Page 32 - Chronicles of Darkness

Attribute Task: Maintain balance (Dexterity + Composure, If your character has an applicable Specialty when you
reflexive action) are rolling a Skill, you gain a +1 modifier, allowing you to
roll an additional die.
Stamina

Stamina is your character’s general fitness and health. It Untrained Skills
is used for sustained effort, as well as determining how much A character who has no dots in a Skill can generally still
physical punishment your body can take. attempt to use it. However, there is a penalty due to the
Attribute Tasks: Resisting Interrogation (Stamina + character’s complete unfamiliarity with the Skill. For Physical
Resolve, reflexive action) and Social Skills, this penalty is -1. For Mental Skills, this
Social Attributes penalty is -3.

Social Attributes reflect your character’s ability to navigate Mental Skills
social situations and deal with others. Mental Skills generally represent knowledge, book
learning, and understanding of facts or procedure. They
Presence cover things like remembering a fact, searching for a clue,
or diagnosing an illness. Mental Skills are often gained
Presence is a character’s raw charisma, assertiveness, and
ability to command. Characters with a high Presence domi- through formal training, and a character may have certifi-
nate a room and are adept at changing people’s thoughts cates, degrees, or doctorates in her area of study. However,
and moods. the rating in the Skill does not necessarily map to a certain
Attribute Tasks: Air of authority (Presence + Intelligence, level of education.
instant action) Mental Skills are commonly paired with Mental
Attributes. However, they are sometimes used with Physical
Manipulation or Social Attributes. For example, repairing the wiring in a
broken CB radio requires a Dexterity + Crafts roll.
Manipulation represents your character’s ability to choose
his words, mask his intentions, and convince others to go Academics

along with his ideas. Academics represents general higher education and
Attribute Tasks: Poker Face (Manipulation + Composure,
reflexive action) knowledge of arts and humanities. It covers topics like his-
tory, language, literature, law, and economics. It is a very
Composure broad Skill that covers general knowledge in all of these
areas, but Skill Specialties can be used to represent a specific
Composure is a character’s ability to keep control of her focus. The Academics Skill often represents the amount
emotions and resist others’ manipulations. It also represents of schooling a character has. However, some characters
poise, dignity, and the ability to keep a level head when under are self-taught or have learned a great deal about relevant
fire (metaphorically or literally). topics without actually setting foot on a college campus.
Attribute Tasks: Perception (Wits + Composure, reflexive Also, some people with advanced degrees pay no attention
action) to topics outside their area of expertise, and have a low
rating in Academics.
Skills Academics), Research (Resolve + Academics), Translation
Sample actions: Recall historical facts (Intelligence +
(Intelligence + Academics)
Skills are learned and practiced abilities, rather than the innate Sample Specialties: English Literature, History, Law,
abilities that Attributes represent. Skills reflect a character’s origins Linguistics, Research
and interests, and can be acquired in many ways, from institution- Sample contacts: Rare Book Dealer, Law Professor, Head
alized learning to hands-on experience. Skills are divided into the Librarian
same Mental, Physical, and Social categories as Attributes.
Levels:
Skill Specialties • Novice: Someone with a basic knowledge of his-

Skills are very broad abilities, representing whole fields of tory, a high school graduate or college student.
knowledge or training. A Skill Specialty is a more focused ap- A character at this level knows how to conduct
plication of a Skill, representing a specific subcategory of the effective research and probably did well in school.
Skill that the character is particularly talented or trained in.
Skill Specialties allow you to personalize your character •• Professional: A PhD student, a teacher, or some-
more. Two characters with very similar Skills can feel very one who is well-read enough to have a solid grasp
different in play, if they have different Specialties. on a number of academic fields. A character at this

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Mental Skills