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--- starrangers:suggested_characters [2015/06/21 18:20] – created weby
+++ starrangers:suggested_characters [2018/07/31 23:23] (current) – external edit 127.0.0.1
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-=====Suggested=====
+======Suggested======
 It is suggested that each character has some function aboard the starship and some ability to function in combat. The extra training packages are good for fleshing out options.
@@ Line 83: / Line 83: @@
    * Paleontology
    * Pharmacy
+====== Challenges/Niches and their importance ======
+See that the group fills at least the ++ and + niches below and maybe some of the - niches if wished.
+They are rated from ++ (very important) and + (important) down though - (not important) to --(totally non important)
+===== Animals -- =====
+Beasts do come up but the amount of interaction is limited.
+Advantages: Allies, in the form of highly capable pets; Animal Empathy; and Animal Friend.
+Disadvantages: Any self-imposed mental disadvantage
+(p. B121) tied to animal welfare.
+Skills: Animal Handling; Disguise (Animals); Falconry;
+Mimicry (Animal Sounds or Bird Calls); Mount, when the PC
+is a beast; Naturalist; Packing; Riding; Teamster; and Veteri-
+nary. At higher TLs, add Biology (Zoology), an IQ/H optional
+specialty, and Paleontology (Paleozoology).
+===== Combat ++ =====
+Almost every adventurer needs abilities useful in a fight,
+because battles take a while to game out and an incompetent
+PC means a bored player. However, combat challenges also
+define niches. The difference is that characters who fill pure
+combat niches require higher skill levels and more supporting
+attributes and advantages than their associates.
+Attributes and Secondary Characteristics: ST; DX; HT; HP;
+Basic Speed; and Basic Move.
+Advantages: Ambidexterity; Combat Reflexes; Enhanced
+Defenses; Extra Attack*; Fit; Gunslinger; Hard to Kill; Hard
+to Subdue; High Pain Threshold; Peripheral Vision; Rapid
+Healing; Trained by a Master; and Weapon Master.
+Disadvantages: Berserk, which brings both benefits and risks;
+Bloodlust, especially for assassins; Callous, ditto; and Sense of
+Duty, to one’s own side or some great cause worth fighting for.
+Skills: All combat/weapon skills! Countless niches encom-
+pass combat tasks, so pick matching skills. For example, an
+assassin might prefer Fast-Draw, Garrote, Guns (Pistol), Knife,
+and other skills for concealable weapons; a sniper needs Guns
+(Rifle); and a space marine is likely to know Battlesuit. Com-
+mon supporting skills are Armoury, Connoisseur (Weapons),
+and Tactics; Animal Handling and Riding, for cavalrymen; and
+Savoir-Faire (Dojo), and possibly cinematic martial-arts skills,
+for martial artists.
+===== Communications + =====
+Handling an adventuring group’s communications calls for
+a clear-voiced language expert. Intercepting enemy messages
+demands a good ear, too. Add technical proficiency to
+all this. If the PCs aren’t prepared for such challenges, the
+adventure may grind to a halt the first time they encounter a
+code or a foreign tongue.
+Attributes and Secondary Characteristics: IQ and Per.
+Advantages and Perks: Acute Hearing; Cultural Familiarity;
+Language Talent; Languages; Penetrating Voice; and Voice.
+Disadvantages: Xenophilia.
+Skills: Computer Operation; Cryptography; Electronics
+Operation (Comm, EW, Media, or Surveillance); Electronics
+Repair (ditto); Gesture; Heraldry, because visual codes are
+communications, too; Linguistics; Lip Reading; Mimicry
+(Speech); Public Speaking; Savoir-Faire, in settings with strict
+social protocols surrounding messages; Typing; and Writing.
+===== Crafting + =====
+Adventurers often face difficulties posed by broken or missing gear, or otherwise find themselves making hasty material
+preparations. Entire stories have been written about such
+things: raising the barn before winter, building a plane fromthe crash wreckage, etc.
+Through the campaign creating and improving items will increase the effectiveness and repairs will be needed.
+Advantages: Artificer; Gifted Artist
+Disadvantages: Workaholic.
+Skills: Armoury; Artist, especially Interior Decorating, Pot-
+tery, and Woodworking; Carpentry; Electrician; Electronics
+Repair; Jeweler; Leatherworking; Machinist; Masonry;
+Mechanic; Scrounging; Sewing; and Smith. If the campaign
+features relevant Professional Skills such as Clothmaker, Dis-
+tiller, Glassblower, and Tanner, add those. Engineer should
+be an option for very talented individuals.
+===== Deceit - =====
+The campaign features some criminal and espionage activities but they are not common. Some niche should handle the art of bypassing
+security not through force, stealth, or technology, but by pre-
+tending to be somebody else.
+Attributes: IQ is crucial to impersonators (see p. B174).
+Advantages and Perks: Cultural Adaptability*; Honest Face;
+Social Chameleon*; Voice; and Zeroed. Traits with an asterisk
+(*) may be too cinematic for some campaigns. People with
+established alter egos might have Alternate Identity.
+Disadvantages: Compulsive Lying; Enemies; Secret; and
+Trickster.
+Skills: Acting; Disguise; Fast-Talk; Forgery, if the deceiver
+prepares his own fake ID; Makeup; Mimicry (Speech); and Psy-
+chology. Savoir-Faire and Streetwise are useful for passing
+oneself off as a “generic” member of a particular social class.
+===== Detective Work + =====
+It’s the rare adventure that doesn’t involve tracking foot-
+prints, questioning captives, searching bodies, tossing rooms,
+and so on. Most plots have at least one place where the PCs –
+– must follow a trail of clues.
+Attributes and Secondary Characteristics: IQ and Per.
+Advantages: Acute Senses, for spotting clues; Empathy, for
+detecting lies; and Intuition, for those times when the evidence
+is ambiguous. Actual detectives usually have Legal Enforce-
+ment Powers and/or Police Rank.
+Disadvantages: Curious. Detectives often have Duty, Hon-
+esty (for the eventual reaction bonus), and/or Sense of Duty
+(ditto), too.
+Skills: Artist (Drawing), for sketching faces from descrip-
+tions; Body Language; Computer Operation, in worlds with
+databases of fingerprints, license plates, photos, and so on;
+Criminology; Cryptography (Code-Breaking), an IQ/A optional
+specialty; Detect Lies; Electronics Operation (Security or Sur-
+veillance); Forensics; Interrogation; Photography; Psychology;
+Research; Scrounging; Search; and Tracking. Intelligence
+Analysis is vital for combining all the information if the GM
+plans to provide “free” insights on a success. Give genuine
+detectives Law (Police) and Savoir-Faire (Police).
+===== Esoterica -- =====
+The campaign does feature the occult and paranormal, but in really small amounts.
+Attributes and Secondary Characteristics: IQ; Will; and Per.
+If spells are involved, add FP to the list.
+Advantages and Perks: Autotrance; Danger Sense; Empa-
+thy; Illuminated; and Intuition. Use
+Luck and Serendipity to emulate abstract “blessings.”
+Disadvantages: Disciplines of Faith; Vows, especially weird
+ones; and Xenophilia, for those who deal with supernatural
+entities. Mystics occasionally exploit problems like Addiction
+(psychedelics), Epilepsy, Flashbacks, and Phantom Voices for
+gain. If occult powers exist, then Divine Curse, Weirdness Mag-
+net, and related difficulties might even be required.
+Skills: Autohypnosis; Dreaming; Esoteric Medicine; For-
+tune-Telling; Hidden Lore; Hypnotism; Meditation; Mind
+Block; Occultism; Philosophy, the weirder the better; Religious
+Ritual; Symbol Drawing; Theology; and any Expert Skill with
+an unorthodox subject matter (Conspiracy Theory, Psionics,
+Thanatology, etc.). Skills that manipulate genuine power –
+Alchemy, Artist (Illusion), Enthrallment, Exorcism, Herb Lore,
+Ritual Magic, Thaumatology, spells, etc. – also belong here, if
+they exist.
+===== Establishment + =====
+Dealing with the setting’s apparatus of power can be a
+major challenge. This can be the primary job of a niche, or
+of several if there are many different authorities to wrangle.
+Advantages: Charisma, for leaders; Claim to Hospitality;
+Contacts; Legal Immunity; Patrons; Rank; Reputation; Secu-
+rity Clearance; Social Regard; Status; and Wealth.
+Disadvantages: Any Code of Honor, Duty, or
+Sense of Duty expected of the position. In some set-
+tings, Jealousy or Selfish might be necessary to
+seem convincing.
+Skills: Administration; Current Affairs (People or
+Politics); Diplomacy; Economics; Expert Skill
+(Political Science); Geography (Political); Heraldry;
+Law; Leadership; Politics; Propaganda; Public
+Speaking; and Savoir-Faire, usually but not always
+the High Society specialty.
+===== Exploration + =====
+“How do we get there?” is a classic challenge! While not all adventuring groups have a dedicated navigator, map-maker, and route-finder, it’s an essential sideline for at least one niche.
+Advantages: Absolute Direction; Eidetic Memory; and Intuition.
+Disadvantages: Curious.
+Skills: Navigation above all else. Add Architecture, for
+indoor exploration; Area Knowledge, if only of the entire
+world in broad strokes; Cartography, for making maps; Cur-
+rent Affairs (Regional); Geography; Mathematics (Survey-
+ing); Meteorology/Weather Sense; Naturalist; Prospecting;
+and Urban Survival, for urban exploration.
+===== Inventing + =====
+Coming up with new technologies is an important challenge
+in a long-term campaign with a sci-fi angle.
+Attributes: IQ is the most cost-effective way to be good at the
+many associated skills.
+Advantages: Artificer; Gadgeteer*; Gizmos*; High TL*; Less
+Sleep; and Versatile.
+Disadvantages:  Curious; and Workaholic, which the rules thrust upon inventors, so they might as
+well get points for it.
+Skills: Bioengineering, for biotechnology; Computer Pro-
+gramming, for software; Engineer, for most things; Metallurgy,
+for alloys; Pharmacy, for drugs; and so on. Add Current Affairs
+(Science & Technology); Mathematics (Applied), as a prerequi-
+site for Engineer; and Scrounging, for parts. Many inventions
+call for subsidiary skills, such as Architecture, for buildings;
+Armoury, for weapons or armor; Electronics Repair, for elec-
+tronic gadgets; Machinist, for tools; and Mechanic, for vehi-
+cles. When permitting Gadgeteer and Gizmos, consider
+topping off this list with Weird Science.
+===== Medicine + =====
+Adventurers who engage in chases, combat, and dangerous
+athletics need a healer. In horror and technothrillers, medical
+challenges encompass bio-weapons, epidemics, and infected
+matter. Cyberpunk adds performance-enhancing substances
+and implants. Sci-fi often features all of these elements.
+Attributes: IQ.
+Advantages: Empathy; Healer; and Resistant to Disease.
+Disadvantages: Code of Honor (Professional); Pacifism;
+Selfless; Sense of Duty; and Workaholic.
+Skills: Bioengineering; Biology (Microbiology), an IQ/H
+optional specialty; Diagnosis; Electronics Operation (Medical);
+Esoteric Medicine, especially in fantasy; Expert Skill (Epidemi-
+ology); First Aid; Hazardous Materials (Biological); Hypno-
+tism; NBC Suit; Pharmacy; Physician; Physiology; Poisons;
+Surgery; and Veterinary.
+===== Military - =====
+Military challenges call for solutions like artillery barrages,
+commando raids, sieges, and the sheer mass of manpower and
+hardware that an organized fighting force can bring to bear.
+Niches that handle military challenges normally tackle
+Combat, too. Training ranges from Melee Weapon skills
+for primitive soldiers, through Guns, on up to Beam Weapons
+for futuristic troops.
+Advantages and Perks: Charisma, for leaders; Combat
+Reflexes; Courtesy Rank; Fit; Military Rank; Penetrating Voice,
+for sergeants and low-TL officers; Reputation, in the form of
+medals and decorations; and Security Clearance.
+Disadvantages: Chummy; Code of Honor (Soldier’s); Duty
+(Service), which is often required; Intolerance of the opposi-
+tion; Overconfidence, for a reaction bonus from green recruits;
+and Sense of Duty, to unit or nation, for a reaction bonus from
+one’s fellows.
+Skills: Grunts have Soldier and maybe Tactics; NCOs defi-
+nitely have Tactics, and add Leadership; officers resemble
+NCOs, but acquire Strategy at the high end; and depending on
+the background, Savoir-Faire (Military) might be universal or
+matter only at high Rank. To this add technical skills such as
+Armoury; Artillery; Camouflage; Engineer (Combat); Expert
+Skill (Military Science); Explosives; Forward Observer; Haz-
+ardous Materials; Heraldry, especially at low TLs; NBC Suit;
+Parachuting; and any Electronics Operation or vehicle-opera-
+tion skill for gear that’s largely or entirely military in the setting.
+===== Mobility +=====
+Many adventuring challenges amount to “Get from A to B,”
+but separate A and B with distance and danger. When the whole
+gang goes, that’s a job for Exploration and Transportation.
+Attributes and Secondary Characteristics: DX; HT; Basic
+Speed; and Basic Move.
+Advantages: Enhanced Dodge; Fit; Flexibility; and Perfect
+Balance. If the GM is willing to deem Catfall or a half-level of
+Enhanced Move (Ground) “realistic enough,” then add those.
+Skills: Acrobatics; Body Sense; Breath Control; Climbing;
+Escape, for tight squeezes; Free Fall, in space campaigns;
+Hiking; Jumping; Running; Sports, especially those to do
+with running around; and Swimming. While this normally
+means personal mobility, not vehicles, unpowered equipment
+counts; e.g., Bicycling, Parachuting, Piloting (Glider or Low-
+G Wings), Scuba, Skating, and Skiing. Finally, add Aerobat-
+ics, Aquabatics, Flight, and Mount, for those capable of
+suitable movement.
+===== Money - =====
+Money makes most game worlds go round and presents PCs
+with endless challenges, starting with “How do we pay for our
+gear?” Solving these problems is essential in all genres.
+Advantages: Business Acumen; Independent Income; Light-
+ning Calculator; Mathematical Ability; Rank (Merchant or
+Administrative); and Wealth.
+Disadvantages: Greed; Miserliness, to keep the money; and
+Workaholic.
+Skills: Accounting; Administration; Current Affairs (Busi-
+ness), and conceivably other specialties, to exploit trends; Diplo-
+macy, for high-powered negotiations; Economics; Finance;
+Gambling; Heraldry (Corporate Logos); Law (Contract or Busi-
+ness); Market Analysis; Mathematics (Statistics); Merchant; Pan-
+handling, down at street level; Propaganda; and Savoir-Faire
+(High Society). These skills assume existing money; add Coun-
+terfeiting to make money (literally!) or Prospecting to find gold,
+silver, etc. at the source.
+===== Nautical -- =====
+If the campaign world has vast bodies of water that the
+heroes can’t simply fly over – which describes most interesting
+historical settings – then these are likely to pose major chal-
+lenges indeed. Like Military (p. 38), this category might
+describe everybody but is also a valid niche in itself.
+Advantages: Absolute Direction and Perfect Balance.
+Disadvantages: Chummy, as ships are close quarters, and
+Xenophilia, because ports are full of foreigners.
+Skills: Area Knowledge, for any body of water; Biology
+(Marine Biology), an IQ/H optional specialty; Boating; Climbing,
+for rigging at lower TLs; Diving Suit; Fishing; Freight Handling;
+Knot-Tying; Law (Marine); Meteorology/Weather Sense; Navi-
+gation (Sea); Scuba; Seamanship; Shiphandling (Ship or Sub-
+marine); Submarine; Submariner; Survival (Island/Beach); and
+Swimming. At TL6+, add Electronics Operation specialties for
+equipment commonly found aboard ships, particularly Sensors
+and Sonar.
+===== Outdoors + =====
+The challenges of the great outdoors are legion. Unless the
+adventurers won’t leave the city, ever, the campaign should
+define at least one niche that has the job of dealing with these.
+As many of the things happen in the outback, the ability to survive in non civilized places is important.
+Secondary Characteristics: Per.
+Advantages: Absolute Direction; Acute Senses; Outdoors-
+man; and Temperature Tolerance.
+Disadvantages: Loner, plus almost any self-imposed mental
+disadvantage (p. B121) tied to keeping nature pristine.
+Skills: Area Knowledge, for any expansive outdoor area;
+Camouflage; Climbing; Fishing; Hiking; Meteorology/Weather
+Sense; Mimicry (Animal Sounds or Bird Calls); Naturalist;
+Navigation; Survival; Swimming; and Tracking. Some ranged
+combat skills – Blowpipe, Bolas, Lasso, Net, Thrown Weapon
+(Harpoon), etc. – are used more often for hunting than for
+fighting. High-tech niches might include Biology (Ecology), an
+IQ/H optional specialty; Geography; and Geology.
+===== Performing -- =====
+Many plots call for the PCs to entertain NPCs, whether that
+means placating the king to avoid beheading, impressing some-
+one who can provide an introduction or a lucrative contract, or
+using a performance as a diversion. Or perhaps the play is the
+thing, and the campaign is about putting on successful shows!
+Advantages and Perks: Appearance is universally handy.
+Then there’s Flexibility for contortionists; Musical Ability and
+Voice for musicians; Penetrating Voice and Rapier Wit (unless
+deemed too cinematic) for spoken-word types; Perfect Balance
+for acrobats; and so on. Be sure to suggest these in customiza-
+tion notes.
+Disadvantages: Compulsive Carousing and Overconfidence.
+Performers sometimes actively exploit Dwarfism, Hunchback,
+Skinny, etc.
+Skills: Acrobatics; Carousing; Dancing; Fire Eating; For-
+tune-Telling; Games; Mimicry (Speech); Musical Instrument;
+Performance; Public Speaking; Singing; Sleight of Hand;
+Sports (anything fun to watch); Stage Combat; and Ventrilo-
+quism. Behind the scenes, add Artist (Scene Design); Elec-
+tronics Operation (Media); Group Performance; Makeup;
+Musical Composition; Poetry; Sewing, for costumes; and
+Writing, for plays. Some artists are also experts at Connois-
+seur (Dance or Music) and/or Current Affairs (High Culture
+or Popular Culture).
+===== Plants -- =====
+Plants might not matter at all to adventurers, but as they’re
+everywhere in most game worlds, they can be a big deal –
+whether that means leafy monsters in fantasy, a haunted forest
+in horror, a plant-based cure in a medical thriller, or growing
+a living in a low-key historical campaign. With rare exceptions,
+there’s just enough here for one niche.
+Advantages: Green Thumb and Plant Empathy.
+Disadvantages: Phobia (Fire), in settings where intelligent
+plants don’t appreciate flame.
+Skills: Farming; Gardening; Naturalist; and Pharmacy
+(Herbal). Most fantasy and cinematic settings add Herb Lore;
+high-tech ones might tack on Biology (Botany), an IQ/H
+optional specialty, and Paleontology (Paleobotany).
+===== Research + =====
+Heroes occasionally have to look for answers in whatever
+repositories of information suit the setting: libraries, the
+Internet, etc. While research-related tasks rarely constitute a
+whole niche, they can be essential to moving the story forward
+– particularly in mystery, occult, and technothriller plots.
+Attributes: IQ is archetypal.
+Advantages: Eidetic Memory; Intuition; Less Sleep, for
+all-nighters; Single-Minded; and Tenure, for access to the
+best libraries.
+Disadvantages: Curious; Obsession with some academic
+goal; and Workaholic.
+Skills: Administration, for getting past librarians and clerks;
+Computer Operation; Current Affairs, for “common knowl-
+edge”; Intelligence Analysis; Literature; Philosophy, for
+informed insights; Public Speaking, for debating, lecturing,
+and presenting expert testimony; Research; Speed-Reading;
+Teaching; Typing; Writing; and IQ/H or IQ/VH skills, particu-
+larly Expert Skills, concerning abstruse subject matter.
+===== Sabotage - =====
+Many an adventure plot revolves around blowing up, burn-
+ing down, or otherwise wrecking things. If the campaign fea-
+tures mission objectives or obstacles that can’t be worked
+around in more subtle ways, then one or more niches should
+specialize in such destruction.
+Advantages: Artificer; Fearlessness, for walking around with
+explosives; High Manual Dexterity; and Luck, for avoiding
+unintended accidents.
+Disadvantages: Pyromania.
+Skills: Architecture, for knowing the weak spots in structures;
+Engineer (Combat); Explosives (Demolition or Fireworks);
+Forced Entry; Machinist; and Traps, for leaving nasty surprises.
+Remember that “repair” skills can also destroy: Armoury can
+neutralize weapons; Electrician can cut power; Electronics
+Repair can short-circuit gizmos; and Mechanic can sever brake
+lines and facilitate car bombs.
+===== Science + =====
+Eespecially in sci-fi many problems call for scientific solutions – most often testing
+and field-expedient applications. If this stuff is relevant, then at
+least one niche should excel at it. In a cerebral game, several
+niches might specialize in different areas.
+Attributes: IQ is the cheapest way to shine at more than a
+few of the relevant skills.
+Advantages: Lightning Calculator and Mathematical Ability.
+Disadvantages: Curious.
+Skills: Astronomy; Biology; Chemistry; Geography (Physical);
+Geology; Mathematics; Metallurgy; Meteorology; Naturalist;
+Paleontology; Physics; Physiology; Psychology (Experimen-
+tal); and any scientific Expert Skill imaginable (Epidemiol-
+ogy, Hydrology, Natural Philosophy, etc.). In fiction,
+Engineer is frequently associated with science, too. These
+often come with some of Computer Programming, Current
+Affairs (Science & Technology), Electronics Operation (Sci-
+entific), and Hazardous Materials.
+===== Security - =====
+Except in the most sedate of campaigns, keeping watch for
+trouble is important, and there should be at least one niche
+tasked with doing so. If this is a central premise – the PCs are
+bodyguards, antiterrorist forces, etc. – then every niche ought
+to have some of these traits.
+Secondary Characteristics: Per in itself is crucial for meeting
+security challenges.
+Advantages: Acute Senses; Combat Reflexes; Danger Sense;
+Less Sleep; Night Vision; and Peripheral Vision. True security
+officers often have Legal Enforcement Powers and/or Rank.
+Disadvantages: Light Sleeper and Paranoia. Security offi-
+cers often have Duty and/or Sense of Duty.
+Skills: Animal Handling (Dogs), for working alongside guard
+and sniffer dogs; Body Language; Electronics Operation (Secu-
+rity or Sensors); Explosives (EOD); Lip Reading; Observation;
+Search; Shadowing; Streetwise, for noticing dodgy situations;
+Tactics, for suitable responses; and Tracking. Niches covering
+these tasks should add combat skills for the relevant “force spec-
+trum”: Intimidation, usually a Melee Weapon skill (whether
+Broadsword for a big club or Tonfa for a modern side-handle
+police baton), and possibly ranged skills such as Liquid Projec-
+tor (Sprayer) and Guns. Police officers know Law (Police) and
+Savoir-Faire (Police).
+===== Sneaking + =====
+In adventure plots, not being detected by enemies comes sec-
+ond only to combat. If the entire PC group needs to be circum-
+spect, then give all niches a few suitable traits – but even then,
+the dedicated stealth expert is a common and necessary role.
+Attributes: IQ (DX, not so much, despite the common asso-
+ciation between grace and sneakiness).
+Advantages and Perks: Honest Face and Night Vision.
+Disadvantages: Loner.
+Skills: Acting, for not behaving suspiciously; Camouflage;
+Holdout, for one’s gear; Housekeeping, for making evidence
+disappear; Observation, for spotting guards and hidden cam-
+eras; Shadowing; Smuggling; and Stealth.
+===== Social Engineering + =====
+People can be the most puzzling challenge. Manipulating
+others and settling conflicts peacefully is a huge niche in
+almost every genre. In fact, it’s such a major role that unless
+the GM foresees the campaign being wall-to-wall Combat
+(p. 36) and Sneaking (p. 40), it’s best to scatter these abilities
+across several – perhaps all – templates.
+Attributes: IQ defines “social intelligence,” doing what the
+“Charisma” or “Charm” attribute does in other RPGs.
+Advantages and Perks: Appearance; Charisma; Cultural
+Adaptability*; Cultural Familiarity; Empathy; Fashion Sense;
+Honest Face; Pitiable; Rapier Wit*; Smooth Operator; Social
+Chameleon*; and Voice. Traits with an asterisk (*) may be too
+cinematic for some campaigns.
+Disadvantages: Chummy; Compulsive Carousing; Overcon-
+fidence, for the reaction bonus from the impressionable; and
+Xenophilia, to avoid accidental bad reactions from foreigners.
+Skills: Acting; Carousing; Connoisseur (Wine), or any other
+specialty that would impress; Current Affairs (High Culture,
+People, Popular Culture, or Travel); Dancing; Detect Lies; Diplo-
+macy; Erotic Art; Fast-Talk; Interrogation; Intimidation; Leader-
+ship; Makeup; Merchant; Panhandling; Politics; Psychology;
+Public Speaking; Savoir-Faire; Sex Appeal; and Streetwise.
+===== Social Sciences -=====
+The trappings of culture can present
+interesting challenges, ranging from spot-
+ting art forgeries to determining whether
+the tribesmen are cannibals. In high-
+action campaigns, the associated traits are
+at best part of one niche. In more sedate
+tales, there’s room for at least two niches –
+arts and humanities – and maybe more.
+Attributes: IQ is the most affordable
+way to be good at lots of suitable skills.
+Advantages: Cultural Familiarity; Lan-
+guage Talent; and Languages. Cultural
+Adaptability also fits, though it’s cinematic.
+Disadvantages: Curious and Xenophilia.
+Skills: Anthropology; Archae ology; Car-
+tography; Connoisseur (Literature, Visual
+Arts, etc.); Criminology; Current Affairs,
+particularly Headline News, Politics, and
+Regional; Economics; Geography (Politi-
+cal); Heraldry; History; Law; Linguistics;
+Literature; Philosophy; Psychology; Sociol-
+ogy; Theology, especially the Comparative
+specialty; and many Expert Skills (Egyptol-
+ogy, Political Science, Xenology, etc.).
+===== Space =====
+As space travel features in the cam-
+paign skills for dealing with the curves it throws at the PCs are vital.
+Every space voyager should know the basics, but the sea-
+soned space-hand is a strong niche of its own.
+Advantages: 3D Spatial Sense; G-Experience; Improved G-
+Tolerance; Perfect Balance; and Xeno-Adaptability, in cinematic
+campaigns with alien cultures.
+Disadvantages: Chummy, because spaceships are close
+quarters, and Xenophilia.
+Skills: Area Knowledge, for an interplanetary state or even a
+galaxy; Astronomy; Expert Skill (Xenology); Free Fall; Freight
+Handling; Law (Interstellar); Navigation (Space or Hyperspace);
+Physics (Astrophysics), an IQ/H optional specialty; Piloting, for
+anything space-related; Shiphandling (Spaceship or Starship);
+Spacer; and Vacc Suit. Electronics Operation specialties that
+campaign assumptions make vital to space action also fit; e.g.,
+Force Shields, Matter Transmitters, and Sensors are widespread
+in space opera.
+===== Stealing + =====
+PCs often face the challenge of taking what isn’t theirs. This is a
+niche unto itself in genres where it matters. In stealth-heavy
+campaigns, there’s room for several templates: the nimble-fin-
+gered pickpocket, the agile cat burglar, the security-systems
+cracker, etc.
+Attributes: DX and IQ.
+Advantages and Perks: Flexibility and Perfect Balance, for
+cat burglars; High Manual Dexterity, for pickpockets; and
+Night Vision.
+Disadvantages: Greed, as motivation, and Loner, to avoid betrayals.
+Skills: Architecture, for find-
+ing secret doors; Climbing;
+Connoisseur, for recognizing
+unobvious treasures worth
+stealing; Electronics Operation
+(Security); Electronics Repair
+(Security); Escape; Explosives
+(Demolition), for blowing safes;
+Filch; Forced Entry; Lockpick-
+ing; Merchant, for appraising
+the value of obvious loot; Pick-
+pocket; Search; Sleight of
+Hand; and Traps.
+===== Streets - =====
+The streets pose problems
+that must be solved through
+morally (if not physically!) dirty
+means: bribery, threats, vio-
+lence, and lurking in dark alley-
+ways. Solutions to these often
+inform a niche, which can be
+substantial if all the other tem-
+plates are polite and proper.
+Advantages and Perks: Alco-
+hol Tolerance; Contacts (Crimi-
+nal); Danger Sense; Fearlessness; and Indomitable.
+Disadvantages: Bad Appearance, Callous, and a mean-
+and-nasty Reputation all aid Intimidation. Often, Social
+Stigma (Criminal Record) is necessary to be taken seriously.
+Skills: Acting, for appearing downtrodden; Area Knowledge
+(any “tough” locale); Brawling; Carousing; Fast-Talk, for spe-
+cious intimidation (p. B202); Forced Entry; Gambling; Her-
+aldry (Graffiti Tags); Holdout; Intimidation; Merchant, for
+illegal deals; Observation; Panhandling; Savoir-Faire (Mafia);
+Scrounging; Shadowing; Streetwise; and Urban Survival.
+===== Technical Means ++ =====
+“Technical means” is a euphemism for tools with few honest applications: computer viruses, false-bottomed luggage,
+forged ID cards, poisons, signal jammers, tiny cameras,
+truth serums, etc. High-end crooks, spies, and commandos –
+ routinely face challenges that
+require them to use or confront such stuff.
+Advantages: Those with legitimate support will have a few of
+Alternate Identity, Legal Immunity, Rank (Administrative, Military, or Police), and Security Clearance.
+Disadvantages: Paranoia and Secret Identity. Duty (Service)
+and Sense of Duty (Nation) are common among real spies and
+black operators.
+Skills: Brainwashing; Cartography; Computer Hacking;
+Computer Programming; Counterfeiting; Cryptography; Electronics Operation, particularly EW and Surveillance; Electronics Repair (ditto); Expert Skill (Computer Security);
+Explosives; Forgery; Holdout; Intelligence Analysis; Interrogation; Mathematics (Cryptology); Photography; Poisons; Propaganda; and Smuggling.
+===== Transportation ++ =====
+Travel is a classic motivation for adventure, and thus a large
+part of many campaigns. An expert with vehicles, cargos, and
+related subjects can tackle numerous challenges. “driver” and “pilot,” “operator” and “mechanic,” and so
+on are separate niches.
+Attributes: DX.
+Advantages: Absolute Direction; Acute Vision; Combat
+Reflexes; and Signature Gear (Vehicle).
+Disadvantages: Workaholic, for those long hauls.
+Skills: Area Knowledge, possibly of specific transportation
+networks; Bicycling; Boating; Connoisseur (Vehicles); Crewman
+skills of all kinds; Current Affairs (Travel); Driving; Engineer
+(Vehicle Type); Freight Handling; Mechanic; Navigation; Pack-
+ing; Parachuting; Piloting; Riding; Shiphandling; Submarine;
+and Teamster. Any Electronics Operation specialty
+needed for essential vehicle systems may qualify, most often
+Sensors and – Comm