Powerful Aspects

At first glance, the most powerful aspects would seem to be things that are
broadly useful with no real downside, things like “Quick”, “Lucky” or “Strong”,
and a lot of players are tempted to go with those out the gate. Resist that
temptation!

See, there are three very large problems with aspects like this: they’re
boring, they don’t generate fate points, and they surrender your ability to
help shape the story.

Boring is a pretty obvious problem. Consider a character who is “Lucky” and one
who has “Strange Luck”. The latter aspect can be used for just as many good
things as the former, but it also allows for a much wider range of
possibilities.

You’ll also want to have some room for negative results of aspects. This may
seem counterintuitive at first, but remember that every time an aspect makes
trouble for you, you’ll receive a fate point, which is a pretty powerful
incentive.

To come back to “Strange Luck”, it means that the GM can throw bizarre, even
unfortunate, coincidences at the character, but you get paid for it. If
this doesn’t seem tempting enough yet, remember that the GM is probably going
to do something bizarre to you anyway – shouldn’t you benefit from it, and have
some say in how it happens?

And that leads to the last point. When the GM sits down to plan an adventure,
she’s going to look over the aspects of the players involved. If one character
has the aspect “Quick” and another has the aspect “Sworn Enemy of the Secret
Brotherhood of the Flame”, which one do you think suggests more ideas for the
GM?

Your aspects give you a vote in what sort of game you’re going to be playing
in, so don’t let it go to waste. If nothing else, you have just established
that the Secret Brotherhood of the Flame exists in the setting, and the GM will
probably turn to you for the details.

So in the end, the most powerful aspects are easy to spot, because they’re the
most interesting ones. If you consider that you want an aspect you can use to
your advantage but which can also be used to generate fate points, then it’s
clear you will get the most mechanical potency out of an aspect that can do
both. What’s more, aspects that tie into the world somehow (such as to a group,
or a person) help you fill in the cast and characters of the world in a way
that is most appealing to you.

Bottom line: if you want to maximize the power of your aspects, maximize
their interest. For more extensive advice on choosing aspects, see the
Aspects chapter, starting at page XX.

Some Tips

• Make sure players get values set for Athletics, Endurance, Resolve,
  and Alertness early on. Those skills are important enough to things
  like combat that players will end up feeling frustrated if they
  don’t think to pick those up until it’s too late. A fighting skill
  like Guns, Weapons, or Fists may be important, too.
• Stunts are a lot harder to choose on the fly than skills are, so the
  GM needs to keep the character concepts in mind, and suggest stunts
  when the situation seems to dictate that it might be useful. Look
  at skills rated close to the top of the character’s pyramid, then
  look to the stunts chapter (page XX) and locate the skill in
  question. Each skill has a few sets under it that are conceptually
  linked and can help quick picking. But for even faster picking,
  refer to our Quick Stunt Picks appendix, page XX.
• Don’t worry about apparent contradictions, such as situations where
  a player picks a skill at a high level after rolling it at Mediocre
  several times, or chooses a stunt which would have made an earlier
  scene play out differently. There is no contradiction. The character
  was playing their cards close to the vest, and like in much
  adventure fiction, their abilities only matter from the point where
  they’re revealed.

Character Story Worksheet for: Sky Hobo

Phase One (Background)

Events:	Diego was born Lexington Becksmith. His family had made quite a lot of money from industrial inventions and married into nobility in the 19th century. His father pressed upon him to become an inventor and engineer, and to marry someone of the appropriate social standing. Diego, however, longed for the freedom to mix and mingle with other children his age. He consumed his lessons on mathematics, physics, and engineering of various types with gusto. No one ever realized that he rushed through his studies in order to disguise himself as a street urchin, stealing away to the streets of Manchester to run with the local boys.
First Aspect:	Engineering Prodigy
Second Aspect:	Dandy Living Rough

Phase Two (The Great War)

Events:	It was at 16 that Lexington first knew that he would one day steal away from his family’s estate and never return. His father’s business was doing well contracting on a secret weapon known as the “tank”, and the pressure to learn all aspects of the business kept him away from his friends. When he heard that the older boys were enlisting in the army to fight the Germans, Lexington knew what he must do. His father had taught him to see bureaucracies and societies and organizations as great machines. The right adjustment could improve their function or send them crashing down. A more subtle adjustment, and they do your bidding without even realizing. In the Autumn of 1916, he boarded the ship with a new identity to fight in the trenches in Flanders. His ability to blend in with just about everyone from any upbringing made him an ideal candidate for espionnage. He learned the tricks of the trade from Captain Jake Forsythe, who acted the kind father that Lexington (now Diego) always dreamed of. He was as supportive as he was firm, and always covered for Diego. Alas, on a mission in Budapest in 1917, the two were separated and Diego was forced to return alone. When he reached Paris, Diego vowed to find Captain Forsythe before he died.
First Aspect:	Tinkerer in the societies of Men
Second Aspect:	Man of a thousand faces

Phase Three (Your Novel!)

Title:	Diego MacKinnon and the Spider’s Web
Guest Stars:	Drake Devlin, Maggie Honor
Events:	As our hero tramps through the war-torn lands of Eastern Europe, hoping to find some sign of his long-lost comrade, he uncovers signs of a vast conspiracy. Tripping over a web of clues, he awakes the hungry predator at their center. Stowing away in trains, ships, and aeroplanes, can he stay one step ahead of forces eager to re-carve the world map? And who is the sinister Khronos Group that sends its messengers to contact him via clockwork music-box? And what of the rumors of a devastating new many-legged war machine sighted in the Siberian forests? Diego comes within a hair’s breadth of catching the dastardly Drake Devlin, but soon finds himself on the trail of the very core of the Khronos conspiracy.
First Aspect:	Catchin’ out
Second Aspect:	Hobo Detective

Phase Four (Other Adventures)

Guest starring in…:	“The Struggle to Build Zeppelin City”
Events:	Battered by his encounter in Siberia and near death, Diego stowed away in the great dirigible Indefatigable. Fortunately for him, the rarified air at high altitude aided his recovery, and he rose to find that his transport had joined an armada of independent craft. Fearful that the flotilla might be building an engine of war, Diego joined the construction teams that connected the great ships together. As blueprints and work orders passed through his hands, he began to comprehend the grand design of Zeppelin City. As admiring as he was of the elegance of the vision, he imagined there to be flaws in its ivory tower planning. It was a city beautiful, built to be admired and wielded by those in power, and offered little for the lowly prole. As with all systems in motion, it could be brought down with a single carefully placed blow. Or, a more subtle change…
First Aspect:	Clinging to life by a thread
Second Aspect:	My trusty hobo harpoon

Phase Five (Other Adventures)

Guest starring in…:	Gerald Carter – The Heritage
Events:	Living rough on the underside docks, Diego is witness to a cruel murder. Unable to let injustice persist, he moves to track down the killer. Taking advantage of his knowledge of the city, he shadows the men involved. Eventually his investigations lead him to one Clyde Cummings, a ne’er-do-well after the Carter fortune. Diego helps Carter thwart the vile plan.
First Aspect:	“I built this city, so I know it better than anyone.”
Second Aspect:	Protector of the citizens

ASPECTS
- Engineering Prodigy
- A dandy living rough
- Tinkerer in the societies of men
- Man of a thousand faces
- Catchin’ out
- Hobo detective
- Clinging to life by a thread
- My trusty Hobo Harpoon
- I built this city, so I know it better than anyone.
- Protector of the citizens.

SKILLS
:Superb: Rapport
:Geat: Endurance, Stealth
:Good: Investigation, Engineering, Deceit
:Fair: Athletics, Guns, Burglary, Mysteries
:Average: Sleight of Hand, Survival, Pilot, Resolve, Alertness

STUNTS
:Engineering: Jury-Rig [juryrig]
:Athletics: Mighty Leap
:Alertness: Danger Sense
eceit: Clever Disguise
ersonal Gadget: The Hobo Harpoon [harpoon]

STRESS
:Health: OOOOO OO
:Composure: OOOOO O

Tagging

Tagging refers to the act of invoking an aspect that isn’t your own; this
includes scene aspects and aspects on other characters. In most respects this
functions the same way as with an aspect on your own character’s sheet – spend
the fate point, and get either a +2 bonus or a re-roll.

<Example>

Taggable aspects are sometimes introduced into play as the result of your
character’s action. This can happen due to a maneuver in a conflict (see page
XX), a declaration of a previously nonexistent aspect (see page XX), or the
assessment of a target and revelation of one of the target’s previously hidden
aspects (see page XX).

Whenever an aspect is introduced into play like this, it’s because the character has made some sort of effort to bring it to the fore – he’s rolled well
on whatever skill check brought the aspect onto the map. Because this is the
case, he’s earned the right to tag the aspect in question once, without
spending a fate point. In this way he’s able to turn his previous success into
a momentary advantage without it hitting his fate point budget.

A free tag is subject to one key limitation: it must occur immediately
after the aspect’s been brought into play. Some minor delay isn’t encouraged,
but is acceptable. This usually means that the free tag must be taken within
the same scene that the aspect was introduced.

The player who introduced the aspect has the option to pass his free tag to
another character if he so wishes. This can allow for some great setup
maneuvers in a fight; one person maneuvers to place an aspect on a target, then
passes the free tag to an ally, who attacks, using the advantage. This can
only be done, however, if it is reasonable that the advantage could be “passed
off ”. A sniper who uses a maneuver to aim his rifle at a target, putting an
“In My Sights” aspect on it, can’t pass the advantage to someone else – the
aspect placed is specific to him. But if one pugilist used a maneuver to put an
“Off Balance” aspect on a foe, he could reasonably pass the advantage to his
buddy who moves in for the knockout blow.

When the character does spend a fate point to tag another character’s aspect,
it might mean that the character getting tagged is due a reward. If the
character tagging is getting a benefit out of it that is to the tagged
character’s detriment, then the fate point spent on the tag goes to the
tagged character at the end of the exchange (i.e., he can’t use it until the
next one).

Tagging often involves temporary aspects that result from maneuvers. Make sure
you have a grasp on how temporary aspects behave; see the “How to Do Things”
chapter, page XX, for more. Many temporary aspects are fragile, and may
disappear after their first tag (what does that mean exactly? – read that
chapter!).

Escalation

Rarely, in moments of high tension or drama, the GM can choose to escalate

a compel. This is an optional rule, and really should only be used when the
character getting compelled is having a defining moment in his or her story.

Escalation can occur only when a player has bought out of a compel. To
escalate, the GM slides forward a second fate point, and prompts the player
with something like, “Are you sure…?” If the player accepts, he’ll get two fate
points instead of one; if he refuses, it’s going to cost him two fate points
instead of one. In the rarest of cases, facing a second refusal, the GM may
escalate a final time, making the reward and cost to buy out three fate points.
If the player is willing to spend three to refuse this truly monstrous
compulsion, the book is closed.

If a player’s willing to step it up, he can prompt the GM to start an escalation as well. When sliding forward his first fate point to buy off a compel,
the player should say something like, “I won’t go along for one fate point…”
Most GMs will look at the situation at that point and decide whether or not
it’s a moment of high drama; if it isn’t, they’ll take the proffered point, but
if it is, the escalation’s on!

Whatever the case, escalation should be done sparingly; it’s best as a spice,
and can be overwhelming as a main dish.

Anger

The character’s rage simmers just below the surface, awaiting opportunity to
burst. Sometimes his rage gives him the drive to see things through, but more
often it leads him to rash action rather than forethought.

A player might invoke this to: Vent his frustration, usually through
explosive action towards whatever he’s mad at.

The GM might compel this to: Cause the character to lose his temper at an
inappropriate moment. Interfere with any action that requires calm.

Bookworm

The character is an academic, well versed in all manner of obscure lore. His
knowledge, unfortunately, is almost entirely from books, and theory is not
always the same as practice.

A player might invoke this to: Dig up an obscure fact or other bit of
knowledge at the right time. Research like a fiend.

The GM might compel this to: Cause problems when the character is faced
with the need to apply his knowledge under the stress of “real world”
conditions.

Cowardly

The character is a firm believer in the better part of valor, either out of
meekness, deep self interest, or some other motivator.

A player might invoke this to: Run, hide, or otherwise get away from
something dangerous.

The GM might compel this to: Inspire the character to flee when he really
needs to stand his ground.

Duty

The character owes a duty to some one or thing which should come out of
creation. Alternately, the character may simply take all of his
responsibilities very seriously.

A player might invoke this to: Perform an action which directly upholds the
duty.

The GM might compel this to: Present a player a choice between upholding
his duty or doing something more practical. Raise an issue of responsibility at
an inconvenient moment.

Intelligent

The character is smart, simple as that.

A player might invoke this to: Know useful things, or find them out if they
aren’t known.

The GM might compel this to: Unless there are monsters that specifically
like eating big brains, there’s not much the GM can do with this. Consider
“Bookworm” instead!

Meticulous

The character is very thorough in his approach to almost everything.

A player might invoke this to: Get a bonus to any task where he has the
time and resources to do a thorough job, “discover” that he packed just the
right tool.

The GM might compel this to: Interfere with the character being
spontaneous.

Priest

The character is a member of the priesthood, and is expected to support the
appropriate dogma, as well as accept whatever duties, responsibilities and
powers come with the position.

A player might invoke this to: Give a stirring sermon. Resist the powers
antithetical to his faith. Attempt to use the resources of his church.

The GM might compel this to: Deliver inconvenient orders from a superior.
Present temptations that contradict the Priest’s Dogma. Raise the ire of
opposed religions.

Self-Destructive

For whatever reason, the character seeks his own destruction, although he is
unwilling to take direct action to do something about it. Instead, he throws
himself wholeheartedly into dangerous situations in the hopes that this time
will be his last.

A player might invoke this to: Help the character do something stupid and
dangerous.

The GM might compel this to: Make the character do something stupid and
dangerous.

Family Estate

This should be given the specific name of the character’s family estate, it is
a place of rest and refuge from the troubles of the world.

A player might invoke this to: Draw upon the resources of the house.

The GM might compel this to: Threaten the house, use the house as the scene
of a murder (thus pulling the character in).

Treacherous

The character has a knack for betrayal. He’s the type of character who, when he
shows up on the movie screen, everyone watching knows that he’s the one who’s
going to whisper lies in the king’s ear and try to seduce the naive princess.
Betrayal comes easily to the character, and while he may be steadfast and true
in the end, it would be so easy not to be.

A player might invoke this to: Lie, spy or generally connive.

The GM might compel this to: Incite suspicious reactions from NPCs,
especially when the character is telling the truth. Offer opportunities to stab
comrades in the back.

Veteran

The character is the survivor of many battles, and the experience has shaped
him. He probably was in the Great War, but may possibly have been elsewhere.
This is appropriate for a seasoned campaigner who has seen many battles (in
contrast to Gallipoli, below).

A player might invoke this to: Keep his wits about him in a fight. Assess a
tactical situation. Pitch camp in unfriendly country.

The GM might compel this to: Invoke flashbacks. Introduce old rivals from the
other side of the battlefield.

Gallipoli

The battles over the Dardanelles, the straits separating the Ottoman Empire
from Europe, were supposed to be easy, a swift strike at the soft underbelly of
Europe against the virtually helpless Turks. The result was a long, brutal
battle causing hundreds of thousands of deaths from fighting and disease on
both sides, and striking a devastating blow to ANZAC, Great Britain’s
Australian and New Zealand Corps.

A player might invoke this to: As with Veteran, but also to know a bit about
the Turks.

The GM might compel this to: As with Veteran, but also for many other
consequences. For ANZAC members, this battle is the root of vast swaths of
anti-British sentiment and inspiration for independence.

An Alternative to Skills

For some play-groups the idea of using particular skills to determine
initiative may seem “unbalancing”, or at least unpleasant, in that it tends to
force certain skills to prominence in many a skill pyramid. Also, some GMs
don’t like having to keep track of a detailed order of actions. If your group
doesn’t like skill-based initiative, use this alternative method instead:

• At the beginning of each exchange, the option to go first moves
  one player clockwise around the table.
• Initiative for that exchange proceeds clockwise (and includes the GM).
• Thus, the person who went first on the prior exchange goes last on the
  next one, and the others get their turn one step sooner.

This simple method makes sure that everyone gets a chance to go first over
the course of a game, and doesn’t require the players to make any sorts of
special initiative-based decisions in their skill selections.

Attacks

An attack is an attempt to force the attacker’s agenda on a target, by
attempting to injure them, by bullying them, or by some other means. An attack
is rolled as a contest, with the attacking character (the attacker) attempting
to beat the defending character (the defender) in a roll of skills.

Not all attacks are necessarily violent. An attempt to persuade or distract
someone is also a sort of attack. When determining whether or not the attack
rules apply, simply look for two characters in conflict, an agenda (or “want”)
pushed by the acting character, and the target or obstacle to that agenda, the
defending (or “responding”) character. The skills used to attack and defend
depend on the nature of the attacker’s agenda. Here are some examples.

If the attacker wins the roll, his shifts may be spent to inflict stress on the
defender (see “Resolving Actions”, page XX). If the defender wins, the attack
fails; if the defender wins significantly, he may even earn spin (see “Spin”,
page XX), which he can use to his advantage.

Maneuvers

A maneuver is an attempt to change the situation in some way, affecting the
environment or other people, but without damaging or forcing the target (if
force is used or damage is dealt, it would be an attack). When a character
tries to jump to grab a rope, throw dust in an enemy’s eyes, draw eyes upon
himself in a ballroom, or take a debate down a tangential path – that’s a
maneuver.

A maneuver is either a simple action or a contest, with the difficulty or
opposition determined by the nature of the maneuver. A maneuver that doesn’t
target an opponent is resolved as a simple action. Most simple maneuvers like
this result in a character rolling against a GM-set difficulty and doing
something with the resulting shifts. A maneuver can also target an opponent,
and, if successful, place a temporary aspect on him. Either kind can also be
used to place a temporary aspect upon a scene. See the “Resolving Maneuvers”
section later in this chapter (page XX) for details.

Special Actions

Resolving Attacks

A successful attack inflicts an amount of stress on its target equal to the
number of shifts on the attack (the difference between the attacker’s effort,
and the defender’s effort). Stress represents non-specific dif ficulties a
character can encounter in a conflict.

In a fight, it’s bruising, minor cuts, fatigue, and the like. In a social
conflict, it’s getting flustered or being put off one’s game. In a mental
conflict, stress might mean losing focus or running in circles.

Stress can usually be shaken off once a character has some time to gather
himself, between scenes.

The type of stress that a character takes in a conflict should be appropriate
to the type of conflict. Every character has two stress tracks. The first is
the Health stress track, used for physical stress, such as wounds and fatigue.
The second is the Composure stress track, representing the ability to “keep it
together” in the face of social and mental injuries.

A character can only take so much stress before being unable to go on, represented by a stress track filling up. Each stress track defaults to 5 boxes,
but the tracks can be increased by certain skills: Endurance can increase the
Health stress track, and Resolve can increase the Composure stress track. See
the skill descriptions of Endurance and Resolve on page XX and page XX for more
details.

When stress is determined, the character should mark off that box on the
appropriate stress track. For instance, if the character takes a three-point
physical hit, he should mark off the third box from the left on the Health
stress track.

<Example>

At the end of a scene, unless the GM says otherwise, a character’s stress
tracks clear out; minor scrapes and bruises, trivial gaffes and embarrassments, and momentary fears pass away. Deeper issues resulting from attacks,
called consequences, may last beyond the end of the scene, and are covered
further below.

Resolving Maneuvers

There are three types of maneuvers – uncontested maneuvers (without an opponent), scene-altering maneuvers, and maneuvers that target another character.

If the maneuver is uncontested – for instance, the character is trying to grab an idol or swing from a rope – it is a simple action, resolved just like any other simple action. The GM sets a difficulty, and the character rolls his skill and applies the resulting shifts as normal.

A maneuver can alter the scene in some way. How hard this is to do can range from trivial (knocking over a candle in a hay loft to add an “On Fire!” aspect to the scene) to virtually impossible (flapping one’s arms very hard to try to remove the “Foggy” aspect from a scene .) Whatever the result, the GM can decide whether or not the change the character makes merits adding or removing an aspect to the scene. The expenditure of a fate point can usually make a reasonable argument for making such a change; if the player’s willing to spend the point, his character’s actions to remove the aspect are invested with an unusual potency.

If the target is another character, the maneuvering character and the target make opposed rolls, using whatever skills the GM deems appropriate. Success is usually achieved if the maneuvering character generates at least one shift. A successful maneuver may add a temporary aspect to the targeted character; the target can either accept the temporary aspect, or spend a fate point to avoid accepting it. An aspect that results from a maneuver is temporary and does not last very long – we’ll get to the duration in a moment. The temporary aspect may then be tagged for a bonus on a subsequent roll. The first tag usually doesn’t cost the tagging player a fate point, but subsequent tags usually do (see the Aspects chapter, page XX, for more on the methods of tagging aspects). If a character is simply trying to increase the difficulty of another target’s action, this is considered a block action, and should be resolved as such; see page XX.

Manuevers can also have other special effects, as determined by the GM. Some
examples of these kinds of maneuvers are given later in this chapter.

Mixed Groups

One of the main uses for minions, be they ninjas or yes-men, is to improve the
effectiveness of their leader. Whenever a named character and a group of
minions are attacking the same target, they are considered to be attached.
This has two benefits for the leader: he receives a bonus based on the group
size (including him), and damage is applied to minions before it’s applied to
him. It has no benefits for the minions, who give up their ability to act
independently, but that’s more or less their job (see the Leadership skill for
more, page XX). Leaving or attaching to a group is a free action, and a
character may detach from a group automatically by moving away from it.

<Example>

Minions vs. Companions: Who Gets Them

Unspoken in the above is a simple assumption, which you may choose to make use
of or ignore as you see fit, and it’s this: minions are for bad guys – or at
least NPCs – while companions are for the players. There will most certainly be
exceptions – companions are the most able to show up in both – but very often
it simply isn’t thematically appropriate for a player’s character to run
about with twenty-odd minions at his beck and call. A plucky sidekick, on the
other hand, is entirely in keeping…

✪ Linguist [Academics]

<quote>

Normally, someone may only speak a number of additional languages equivalent to
the value of his Academics skill. With this stunt, your character may speak
five additional languages.

✪ Gift of Tongues [Academics]

<quote>

Requires Linguist.

There is no “mainstream” earthly language you cannot read or speak – no need to
pick your languages. In addition, you may use your usual language “slots” to
read and speak languages you have no business having learned, such as languages
from lost fantastic cultures (Atlantis, Erehwon, Lemuria), of extraterrestrial
or extradimensional origin, etc.

Your slots remain increased by the Linguist stunt, so someone with Average
Academics and these two stunts can speak every normal language on the
planet, plus six (1+5) very unusual ones. The Linguist stunt may be taken
multiple times in order to increase this number.

✪ Walking Library [Academics]

<quote> The character’s prodigious reading has paid off in spades, and he is
able to recall minute details from even the most obscure literary works. The
character is always considered to have a library on hand of a quality equal to
his Academics skill, enabling him to answer questions with a base difficulty
less than or equal to his Academics skill, using nothing other than his brain
and some time for contemplation. Additionally, any research performed by this
character in a real library automatically takes one unit less time (see “Taking
Your Time” on page XX), and any libraries with a quality less than his
Academics skill do not limit the difficulty of the question asked, as they
normally would.

✪ Photographic Memory [Academics]

<quote>

Requires Walking Library.

If you’ve read it, you remember it. If the answer lies in something you’ve read
before (this must be reasonable), then any research effort takes an additional
two units less time – stacked on top of the benefit of Walking Library, this
means that a half hour’s worth of research in books you’ve already encountered
can be resolved in a matter of seconds, and a day’s worth covered in a mere
hour. See the time table on page XX for more.

✪ Studied Recall [Academics]

<quote>

Requires Photographic Memory.

Your photographic memory extends outside of books. Once per scene, you may
spend a fate point and roll Academics against a difficulty of Mediocre. Each
shift you generate may be used to specify a target that you wish to memorize as
you might a book – returning later, in your mind, to assess new details (using
an appropriate perception skill, usually Investigation).

This ability differs from Investigation’s Eye for Detail stunt in that Eye for
Detail covers the entire location, after the fact, whereas Studied Recall
requires you to specify which individual pieces of a location you are studying,
while you are still in that location.

✪ Scholar [Academics]

<quote>

Your character is a respected authority in a specific academic field.
Possibilities include history, English, archeology, mathematics and so on. In
the elite circles of that particular field, you are recognized for your
expertise. Even if your skill level is low, it merely means you are towards the
bottom of that particular group of the elite.

When you make an Academics roll pertaining to your general area of expertise,
you automatically receive a +1 bonus. Beyond this, you should pick a specific
specialization within that area (like ancient Sumerian history, or
cryptography). When an Academics roll involves that specialization, you gain an
additional +1 bonus (for a total +2 to the value of the research effort).

Any research efforts involving the specialization take one unit less time; this
may be combined with Walking Library, in the Memory group of stunts, for
lightning-fast research. When taking part in an academic conference or
otherwise interacting with others in the field, you may use Academics to
complement your social skills (Rapport, Empathy, Deceit, etc). Your skill is
considered elevated by these bonuses, so someone with Good Academics, acting in
his area of specialization, would complement skills as if his Academics were
Superb (Good+2).

This stunt may be taken more than once, each time for an additional field. The
bonuses may not overlap, however.

✪ Dizzying Intellect [Academics]

<quote>

Requires Scholar.

Your area of knowledge is so advanced, there’s usually no one around who can
tell if you’re making things up. Whenever your area of expertise (as defined
when you took the Scholar stunt) comes to bear, and you would use Academics to
modify Deceit, you may use your Academics skill instead of Deceit, gaining its
full value rather than a simple +1. If you’ve taken Scholar multiple times,
this stunt applies to all covered areas.

✪ It’s Academic [Academics]

<quote>

Requires Scholar.

Your specialized knowledge gives you flashes of insight into all manner of
things.

Once per session, you can use this ability when you are about to perform an
action which your academic field touches upon. The connection can be tenuous,
provided you can explain to the GM how it might apply.

Make a declaration attempt as described under “Declaring Minor Details” (see
page XX). If you get at least one shift, you successfully declare one aspect;
for every two shifts you gain beyond the first, you may declare one additional
aspect about the subject in question (so two aspects total at 3 shifts, three
aspects total at 5 shifts, etc). If you opt to declare only one aspect in
total, you may instead convert these additional shifts into non-aspect facts.

✪ On Top Of It [Alertness]

<quote>

You may spend a fate point to go first in an exchange, regardless of your
initiative. If multiple people with this stunt exercise this ability, they go
in turn of their normal initiative, before those who don’t have the stunt get a
chance to act. If the exchange has already started, and you have not yet acted,
you may instead spend a fate point to act next, out of the usual turn order.

This may only be done between character’s actions, and cannot be done as an
interruption of any kind (so if you spend the fate point to do this while
someone else is acting, you must wait until they’re done). Your character must
not have acted yet in the exchange in order to use the ability in this way. If
your character’s turn has passed, and you elected to hold your action, then
there’s no need to activate this stunt; use the held action rules normally
(page XX).

✪ Ready for Anything [Alertness]

<quote>

Requires I’m On Top Of It.

The character’s senses are so keyed into minute changes that he is able to
respond more quickly to new details. The character’s Alertness skill is
considered to be one higher for purposes of determining initiative (allowing
someone with Superb Alertness to have Fantastic initiative). This stunt breaks
ties whenever facing opponents with the same initiative. This stunt may be
taken multiple times, each time increasing the character’s initiative one step.

✪ Cut Off [Alertness]

<quote>

Requires On Top Of It.

The character’s always watching for his opponents to try to get something past
him, and can cut that option off, even when he fails in his primary effort
against them. Whenever your character attacks an opponent (or performing an
attack-like maneuver), then no matter how well the opponent rolls on his
defense, the opponent does not generate spin, and thus can’t provide a +1 in
his side’s favor (see page XX).

✪ Run Interference [Alertness]

<quote>

Requires Ready for Anything.

Normally, a character who has held his action cannot interrupt another’s action
at all; he must allow the action to finish before acting. If your character has
this stunt, you may bend that rule.

Whenever you choose to hold your action, you may spend a fate point before
someone acts to have that person truthfully declare what he is about to do. You
may then use your held action to block (see page XX) the action your target has
declared, using whatever skill is appropriate to create the block. If you are
not opting to block the effort, you may not use your held action before your
target, and your target may proceed. If you commit to performing a block action
regardless of what your target declares, before he declares it, you do not need
to spend the fate point. Be clear about this when you make your demand!

Regardless, if you do act and your most recent target then changes his mind
based on that block, he must do so as a supplemental action (page XX), putting
him at a -1. If he continues his declared course of action despite what you
did, he must overcome the block.

✪ Danger Sense [Alertness]

<quote>

The character maintains a quick and easy awareness of ambushes and other nasty
surprises – perhaps preternaturally, perhaps simply due to finely tuned mundane
senses. Whenever ambushed (see page XX), the character is able to take a full
defensive action, gaining a +2 on his defense roll, regardless of whether or
not he’s surprised (if he is surprised, dropping his base defense to Mediocre,
this stunt takes his base defense up to Fair).

✪ Saw It Coming [Alertness]

<quote>

Requires Danger Sense.

The character is never surprised; he may always take a full defensive action
when ambushed, and his base defense is never reduced to Mediocre by surprise.

✪ Constant Vigilance [Alertness]

<quote>

Requires Saw It Coming.

Not only is the character never surprised, he is never forced onto a defensive
footing by an ambush. The ambush rules simply do not apply to him; in the first
exchange, where others may normally only defend (if that), he may act freely,
in normal initiative order.

✪ Take It All In [Alertness]

<quote>

Requires two other Alertness stunts.

The character has tuned his Alertness to the point where, if he takes a normal
Investigation length of time to open his senses to a location, he can gather an
Investigation level of detail about it, without really going through the
motions of a methodical search. When acting in this fashion, he may use
Alertness instead of Investigation (which, really, is nearly all of the cases
where he might use Investigation).

The trick with the results, here, is that they may come to the character with a
different set of details than a methodical approach would yield. Conclusions
may precede supporting details; the GM might choose to describe the middle part
of a piece of information before the beginning or the end. Such are the hazards
of Alertness.

✪ The Artist’s Eye [Art]

<quote>

The artist is always examining the world for the creative hand at work. Even
in endeavors which have nothing to do with art, he can recognize the elements
of personality – the “signature”, if you will – of those at work.

While this does not reveal identity, it does allow the artist to determine
common traits, themes, and behaviors with ease. Whenever making a determination
as to the source of something (its “author”, after a fashion), characters with
this stunt may use their Art instead of the usual skill that would be rolled.
If the character has encountered several products of the same person, he may
see past those things to the person – thus confirming a common source.

Furthermore, the character’s keen eye enables him to connect the metaphor of
the artist – his work – with the artist himself. When encountering a work of
art in any form, the character may roll Art to gain insight into the artist
behind the work, as if he were using the Empathy skill on the actual artist
(resisted by the usual skills). This stunt may only be used once per piece of
art.

Taken as a whole, this stunt allows the artist to make assessment efforts
against his target in absentia.

✪ Virtuoso [Art]

<quote>

The character is a master of some specific form of art – painting, composition,
singing, conducting or playing music, or the like. The character is a virtuoso
in his field and recognized worldwide for his skill. Even if his actual skill
level is not high, he is still on the list of the finest artists in the world,
just not necessarily at the top of it. The character receives a +1 knowledge
bonus when performing his art form. He may also pick a specialty (such a
specific instrument or a specific school of painting) for which he receives a
+1 specialty bonus. When applicable, the virtuoso may produce works of art one
time increment faster than would normally take.

✪ Moving Performance [Art]

<quote>

Requires Virtuoso.

Whenever the artist uses his art to place an aspect on the scene, the aspect
remains in place in any subsequent scenes involving the audience, up to a day
from the end of the performance. At its best, this can essentially move such an
aspect from a scene to the story itself, persisting across many scenes and many
office members.

✪ Razor Tongue [Art]

<quote>

The artist has a way with words, and knows how to craft the most exquisite
insults. Whenever making a social roll that uses such words, he may
automatically complement the effort with his Art skill – this is particularly
potent when complementing Intimidation to get a rise out of someone, and in
such a case, grants an additional +1 regardless of the level of skill.

✪ Poison Words [Art]

<quote>

Requires Razor Tongue.

The artist’s skill at satire is so profound as to take the whole audience with
him. The artist may choose a target normally, and that target need not be in
the audience (though it should be one familiar to the audience). Normally,
aspects resulting from a performance may not be specific; with this stunt,
however, the player may specify the target in any aspect he puts on the scene.
Thus, while an artist might normally be able to add the “Hate” aspect to a
scene, but one with this stunt may make it “Hate Lord Octavian”.

✪ Stage Presence [Art]

<quote>

Requires Virtuoso.

The artist’s works cannot be ignored. The character halves any additional
difficulty bonuses due to distractions (rounded down); see page XX for details.

✪ All the World’s a Stage [Art]

<quote>

Requires one other Art stunt.

Normally, acting is somewhat obvious for what it is, meant for a stage and not
elsewhere, but with this stunt, the character’s talent is natural and
unquestionable, and he may easily, convincingly adopt a persona off-stage. At
that point, normally it would stop being a performance and be more about trying
to fool someone – crossing over to Deceit. With this stunt, however, whenever
asked to make a Deceit roll to convince a target he is someone he isn’t, the
artist may choose to roll Art instead.

✪ Commissions [Art]

<quote>

Requires Virtuoso.

Your works and performances are heavily sought out, and there are those
who will pay handsomely for it. Once per session, you may use your Art
skill instead of Resources, representing a successful past commission.

✪ Do You Know Who I Am? [Art]

<quote>

Requires Virtuoso.

Your widespread name and your art are interlinked as one. When identif ying
yourself in order to get your way in a social or other applicable situation,
you may complement Rapport, Intimidation, Deceit and Contacting rolls with your
Art skill.

✪ Weight of Reputation [Art]

<quote>

Requires Do You Know Who I Am?

Your reputation as an artist is so well known that it occasionally covers up
for your social shortcomings.

For a fate point, you may use your Art skill instead of Rapport, Intimidation,
Contacting, or Deceit, provided those you are dealing with are aware of your
reputation (a second fate point will nearly always assure that they are).

✪ Contortionist [Athletics]

<quote>

You can fit into and through spaces and shapes that no normal human readily
can. Normally, contorting tasks are impossible to attempt, or at best default
to a (non-existent) Contortion skill rated at Mediocre. With this stunt, you
can use your full Athletics score instead, and have rationale to attempt feats
of contortion that are simply unavailable to others.

✪ Acrobat [Athletics]

<quote>

You are able to perform any number of impressive acrobatic feats. Difficulties
assigned for complex maneuvers while acting (e .g walking on a tightrope, doing
brain surgery while hanging from a trapeze) are reduced by two. Falling rolls
gain a +2 bonus. When used acrobatically, your Athletics skill can never be
used to restrict another skill, only complement it.

✪ Safe Fall [Athletics]

<quote>

Requires Acrobat.

The character can skip effortlessly down sheer surfaces without harm,
allowing him to safely fall great distances. When the character falls, but is
near a solid surface, such as the wall of a shaft, or has sufficient other things
like ropes to offset his fall, all falls are treated as two categories shorter (and
may be reduced another step with Athletics as normal).

✪ Slippery [Athletics]

<quote>

Requires at least one other Athletics stunt.

You gain a +2 to all attempts to defend against knockback or push attacks,
as well as any attempts to escape from bonds.

Marathon Training [Athletics]

<quote>

You know how to conserve your energy when undergoing lengthy athletic activity
(long-distance running, multi-day climbs, etc). You may use Athletics instead
of Endurance under such circumstances, and in most other cases may complement
any Endurance rolls with your Athletics.

✪ Fast as a Leopard [Athletics]

<quote>

Requires Marathon Training.

You are incredibly fast on your feet. Whenever taking a sprint (but not move)
action using Athletics, the value of that action is improved by two.
Alternately, you may set aside this bonus in order to be considered on an “even
footing” in a race with a mounted beast or a car (in 1920, cars aren’t that
fast).

✪ Faster than a Leopard [Athletics]

<quote>

Requires Fast as a Leopard.

You are simply, astonishingly fast. Whenever you roll to sprint, it’s at +4;
you can reduce this to +2 and be considered on an even footing with a horse or
a car. Furthermore, you face no penalties for moving one zone as a supplemental
action.

✪ Human Spider [Athletics]

<quote>

The character can climb surfaces he oughtn’t be able to. He receives a +2 bonus
on any climb, and by spending a fate point, he may eliminate the effects of all
difficulty modifiers resulting from the environment or the characteristics of
the thing he’s climbing (so he can climb a slick, mostly flat surface in a
rainstorm at much less difficulty).

✪ Mighty Leap [Athletics]

<quote>

The character’s leaping ability borders on the superhuman. The character may
reduce any height related borders (see page XX) by up to three.

✪ Equestrian [Athletics]

<quote>

The character can use Athletics instead of Survival for all maneuvers when
riding horses or other riding animals.

✪ Criminal Mind [Burglary]

<quote>

You have an acute understanding of what it takes to burglarize a place, and can
investigate such crimes from the perspective of the criminal instead of the
cop. You may use your Burglary skill instead of Investigation when
investigating a theft or other act (such as arson) committed by someone using
the Burglary skill. If the crime closely matches one the character has himself
committed before, he gets a +1 bonus for familiarity right off the bat (it’s
the GM’s job to factor this in).

✪ Tripwire Sensibilities [Burglary]

<quote>

You’ve run into enough traps that you’ve developed an instinct for avoiding
them. You may roll Burglary instead of Alertness or Investigation in order to
uncover or otherwise avoid stumbling onto a trap. When your GM calls for an
Alertness roll, be sure to make her aware that you have this stunt – it may
change the skill to roll.

✪ Trespass Tempo [Burglary]

<quote>

Requires Tripwire Sensibilities.

Whenever you’re running a burglarizing operation, you operate on very precise
internal clock. You are always aware of exactly how much time has passed, and
further, may use Burglary instead of Alertness as your initiative skill while
everything is going to plan.

✪ Hatpin Maestro [Burglary]

<quote>

The character’s skill with improvisation when bypassing a lock or similar
contrivance is improved, so long as he has something that could pass as a tool,
such as a hatpin. Characters with this stunt never suffer an increased
difficulty for lacking proper tools on a Burglary roll, and when given proper
tools, can defeat locks at one time increment faster than usual.

✪ Mental Blueprint [Burglary]

<quote>

You’re highly skilled at visualizing the whole of a target based on just a part
of it. When casing a location, you receive a +2 bonus on your roll.

✪ The Big Heist [Burglary]

<quote>
<quote>

Requires Mental Blueprint and at least one other Burglary stunt. When the
character is casing a location (see “Casing”, page XX), he normally reveals or
declares only one aspect about the location, in advance. With this stunt,
however, if the character gains spin on his roll, he may reveal or declare one
or more additional aspects (one additional aspect at 3 shifts, two at 5 shifts,
or three at 7 or more shifts).

Further, regardless of spin, if the player is using the declare method with
this stunt, he may save off from making his declarations until he’s already in
the middle of making the heist – in essence, retroactively introducing elements
he’d “already planned for”. Only one such retroactive declaration may be made
per scene, but in the truly big heists, the job rarely lasts only one scene.

Alternately, the character may trade in one of his “retroactive” aspect picks
in order to declare up to three non-aspect-based lesser details about the
scene. This may be done in addition to making an aspect pick for the scene.

<Example>

✪ Contact [Contacting]

<quote>

At the time your character takes this stunt, you must define a specific
contact, with a name, a brief sentence about the contact’s personality, and her
relationship to your character. This contact is a companion as described on
page XX, willing and capable to accompany you on your adventures, with three
advances for you to spend as you wish. For maximum effect, you may wish to
allocate one of your aspects to this contact as well. This stunt may be taken
multiple times, defining a different contact each time.

✪ Close Contacts [Contacting]

<quote>

Requires at least one Contact.

When you select this stunt, you may spread three additional advances out
amongst your existing contacts, creating unusually talented companions. You
may take this stunt multiple times, but can’t ever apply more than six
additional advances (for a total of nine) to any one contact.

✪ Network of Contacts [Contacting]

<quote>

Requires at least one other Contacting stunt.

The character can choose from a large number of companions available to him
when he needs them. With this stunt, when the character begins an adventure,
his companion doesn’t need to be defined. Instead, at the point where he
decides he needs the companion, he may reveal her, giving her a name and a few
brief cues to the GM to base a personality on.

This companion starts out at Average quality and may have up to two advances.

If the character takes this stunt more than once, he has two additional
advances which he may use to reveal an additional companion, or combine
together to create a more capable companion on the fly.

Only one “reveal” of this kind may be done per scene. Once revealed, the
companion will be involved and reasonably available at least until the end of
the adventure.

If, instead, you choose to have the companion available to you for only one
scene before the companion is called away to other things, you may build the
companion with three advances instead of two. Once the scene ends, the
companion is removed from the adventure, one way or another.

Connections

✪ I Know a Guy Who Knows a Guy [Contacting]

<quote>

Sometimes it’s not who you know, but who the people you know, know. Many of
your contacts are, themselves, very well connected. The breadth of your
contacts make all Contacting rolls take one unit less of time, and you gain a
+2 on any “second roll” efforts made to corroborate information you’ve gotten
from another of your contacts. Consequently, this bonus is useful on a
follow-up, but not on the initial roll.

✪ Insider [Contacting]

<quote>

The character is able to navigate bureaucracies easily, not because he
understands them, but because he knows people embedded in the bureaucracy who
can provide shortcuts. Normally, a character must roll Leadership in order to
deal with any sort of bureaucratic entanglement (see page XX). With this
stunt, the character may roll Contacting instead.

✪ Walk the Walk [Contacting]

<quote>

The character’s travels have taken him to every corner of the globe. His
familiarity with the streets and peoples of the world allow him to function
easily, at home and abroad. The character never suffers any additional
difficulty from unfamiliar circumstances when Contacting.

✪ Big Man [Contacting]

<quote>

When selecting this stunt, the player picks a specific field (Criminal,
Business, Politics, Espionage and Occult are the most common); this stunt is
often written with that field incorporated, e.g., Big Man in Politics. The
character is not merely well connected in that community, he is actually a
person of great importance within that area; for maximum benefit, this should
be paired with an aspect that indicates similar things.

In addition to the narrative benefits of such a position, the character may use
his Contacting skill in lieu of the Resources skill for anything which might
fall under the auspices of members in that field. This stunt may be taken
multiple times, each time for a different field.

✪ Talk the Talk [Contacting]

<quote>

Requires Big Man.

Whenever dealing with members of your chosen field, you put out all the right
signals, say all the right things. In such circumstances, you may roll your
Rapport at +2, or, alternatively, use your Contacting instead of Rapport, in
order to get a favorable reaction.

✪ Big Name [Contacting]

<quote>

Requires Big Man.

You’re so well known that an awareness of your name has crossed over into other
areas as well. The first time you deal with someone who’s heard of you
(spending a fate point can assure that they have), and you’re using your name,
you get a +2 bonus to a Rapport or Intimidation roll.

✪ Big Reputation [Contacting]

<quote>

Requires Big Name.

Your reputation has reached great proportions, and people are willing to
believe all sorts of things about you.

For a fate point, you may use your Contacting skill instead of Rapport,
Intimidation, Deceit, Leadership, or Resolve, provided those you are dealing
with are aware of your reputation (a second fate point will nearly always
assure that they do).

This stunt combines with the bonus from Big Name, getting the character a +2 to
Contacting when using it instead of Rapport or Intimidation.

✪ Con Man [Deceit]

<quote>

You are a bona fide confidence man, and that lets you get a read on people,
easy.

You may use your Deceit instead of Empathy to get a “read” on someone (see page
XX), but the type of aspects that may be revealed are limited only to things
like character weaknesses, never strengths or other advantages (unless you win
the contest or are otherwise in control of which aspect is revealed).

Some aspects will completely miss you; a Good Hearted Person might just fly
right over your head.

✪ The Fix Is In [Deceit]

<quote>

Requires Con Man.

The character is adept at cheating, so much so that he may use his Deceit skill
instead of Gambling whenever he chooses.

When he does so, he is cheating, which means if he fails, he’s caught, and
the game’s loss is treated as if it were a high stakes game, even if it wasn’t.

✪ Sucker [Deceit]

<quote>

Requires Con Man.

You’ve got this guy completely suckered – or at least, if he’s on to you, he’s
rich enough that he doesn’t care. Design a companion (page XX) with two
advances. In addition, he is automatically Fair quality, and Skilled with
Resources. He tends to buy things for you, along with whatever else it is he
does.

The downside is that he’s a sucker – you hooked him in, but he is a Poor
difficulty target for anyone else looking to sucker him too (although if you
when that happens).

Heck, you may even have some fondness for the guy – you certainly won’t leave
him hanging out to dry, and that’s not just because he pays for everything –
but, still, the relationship’s not entirely honest.

✪ Big Sucker [Deceit]

<quote>

Requires Sucker.

You hit it big – this guy’s loaded. Your companion’s Resources skill is
considered to be two steps higher than his quality; if you’ve advanced him to a
maximum quality of Great, this means he’s running around with Fantastic
Resources. You may also spend one additional advance on him. He’s not just
about the money, you know.

✪ Clever Disguise [Deceit]

<quote>

Normally, a character cannot create a disguise that will stand up to intense
scrutiny (see page XX). With this stunt, he may defend against intense scrutiny
(anything short of physically trying to remove the disguise) with his full
Deceit skill. Furthermore, he may assemble disguises of this quality in a
matter of minutes, provided he has a well-equipped disguise kit on hand.

✪ Mimicry [Deceit]

<quote>

Requires Clever Disguise.

Deceit can be used to convince people you are someone you aren’t – but usually
only in a general sense. You can seem to be a cop, an author, et cetera, but
you can’t seem to be a specific person without a lot of work (and an elevated
difficulty). With this stunt, you can easily imitate the mannerisms and voice
of anyone you’ve had a chance to study – removing another potential cause to
have a disguise examined, or perhaps convincing someone who can’t see you that
you’re someone else even though you’re undisguised.

Studying someone usually requires only an investment of time, and not a roll of
the dice – at least half an hour of constant exposure. This timeframe can be
reduced, but will require an Empathy, Investigation, or Deceit roll against a
target of Mediocre, increased by one for each step faster on the time chart
(page XX).

✪ Master of Disguise [Deceit]

<quote>

Requires Clever Disguise and Mimicry.

The character can convincingly pass himself off as nearly anyone with a little
time and preparation. To use this ability, the player pays a fate point and
temporarily stops playing. His character is presumed to have donned a disguise
and gone “off camera”. At any subsequent point during play the player may
choose any nameless, filler character (a villain’s minion, a bellboy in the
hotel, the cop who just pulled you over) in a scene and reveal that that
character is actually the PC in disguise!

The character may remain in this state for as long as the player chooses, but
if anyone is tipped off that he might be nearby, an investigator may spend a
fate point and roll Investigate against the disguised character’s Deceit. If
the investigator wins, his player (which may be the GM) gets to decide which
filler character is actually the disguised PC (“Wait a minute – you’re the
Emerald Emancipator!”).

✪ Infiltrator [Deceit]

<quote>

Requires Master of Disguise.

While the character is disguised (see Master of Disguise) he may make a single
Investigation roll against at target of Mediocre. Each shift gained can be used
to do one of two things: gain a useful (but general) piece of information about
the area or group being infiltrated, or leave a clue, hint or message for the
rest of the player characters without revealing himself.

✪ Disguise of the Mind [Deceit]

<quote>

Requires Master of Disguise and a Deceit skill of Great or better.

You inhabit your disguises so completely that you can actually fully inhabit
another persona and unlock hidden skills and knowledge you don’t normally
possess. While in a disguise, you may roll your Deceit minus two (so Fair if
Great, or Good if Superb) instead of any other skill the disguised persona
might reasonably possess. If you are outright imitating someone specific,
sometimes this might give you a higher effective skill than they actually have
– which is fine. You’re not a mind-reader, you’re simply so good at pretending
that you can actually, temporarily unlock a skill that you believe your persona
could have.

Any time you use this stunt, you must pay a fate point; if you do not wish
to pay a fate point, you may instead roll your Resolve against a difficulty
equal to the “false” skill. If you miss that target, you become lost in the
persona for a time, and may be subject to one no-fate-point compel before
you break out of it. The aspect compelled might not even be one of your
own – it may be one possessed by the persona you’re mimicking!

✪ The Honest Lie [Deceit]

<quote>

The best lies are the ones that contain a healthy dose of truth. Whenever the
character incorporates a hefty portion of the truth into a lie, he gains a +2
bonus. The truth must be relevant, not unimportant, and significant, not
trivial – it must be on par with (or bigger than) the lie, or at least in the
ballpark.

✪ Takes One to Know One [Deceit]

<quote>

As an accomplished liar, you’re especially able to figure out when someone else
is lying as well. You may use your Deceit skill instead of your Empathy skill
when trying to figure out if someone is lying. This is not the same thing as
getting “a read” on someone, as with the Con Man stunt, above; instead, it’s a
quick check: Is this guy lying? Is it a big lie or a small one? Is he mixing in
the truth or is it all fabrication?

✪ Clever Facade [Deceit]

<quote>

Requires either The Honest Lie or Takes One to Know One.

Whenever the character is the target of an Empathy “read”, and decides to put a
false face forward (see page XX), and wins the contest, he not only provides a
false aspect to the reader, he also gets a read on the reader himself
(revealing an aspect). The reader has fallen for your clever little trap!

✪ Custom Ride [Drive]

<quote>

You’ve been gripped by the American fascination with the automobile early on,
and have one car in particular that you take special care of. When driving that
car, you receive a +1 bonus (it’s assumed to have the craftsmanship improvement
– see page XX).

Additionally, you’ve added (or had added) a little something extra to the car,
and you may, once per session, spend a fate point and declare that the car has
some extra device (such as an oil slick, speed boost or the like) – for
guidelines, see the Universal Gadget stunt (page XX). You can’t go too crazy
with the improvements on this on-the-fly gadgetry – many forms of
miniaturization and futurization, and several kinds of alternate usage and
additional capability, are disallowed at this level of the stunt. To drive a
truly unusual car, you must also take Prototype (below).

✪ Prototype Car [Drive]

<quote>

Requires Custom Ride.

You have a one-of-a-kind vehicle. For starters, your once-a-session gadget, as
described above, can have any kind of improvement – the restrictions described
in Custom Ride do not apply.

Secondly, your vehicle has three additional built-in improvements you may
select. These improvements must be defined in advance of a session (only at the
beginning or end), but you needn’t pick all of them at the time you take this
stunt. Once they’re picked, they’re set, until an engineer can get a chance to
work at changing them.

Your vehicle is instantly recognizable as something unusual, unless you spend
one of your improvements on making sure that it looks just like any other
vehicle of its base type. Regardless, once people learn of its nature, there’s
almost certain to be attempts to steal it or otherwise learn its secrets.
You’d be well advised to take an aspect tied to your vehicle, so you can get
fate points when this happens!

✪ Car Mechanic [Drive]

<quote>

Requires at least two other Drive stunts. Your character may not understand the
broader aspects of engineering devices and such, but when it comes to cars, he
knows them inside and out. Whenever working on a car, you may use your Drive
skill instead of Engineering. Due to common principles, you may also use your
Drive skill to work on other vehicles, at a -1.

✪ Defensive Driving [Drive]

<quote>

You’re good at keeping your car in one piece. Whenever attempting a driving
maneuver in a chase (see page XX), you may treat the difficulty as if it were
one lower. The difficulty of the maneuver itself is not affected, however, for
any cars that might be chasing you.

✪ One Hand on the Wheel [Drive]

<quote>

Driving while doing some other action normally results in a -1 penalty. With
this stunt, you don’t suffer that penalty, regardless of whether you are
rolling Drive (driving is your primary action, and the supplemental action is
something minor), or rolling some other skill (you’re taking some other primary
action, but keeping the vehicle on the road isn’t all that challenging,
allowing driving to be the supplemental action). Furthermore, if Drive would be
a secondary skill that restricts or modifies a primary skill, but your Drive
skill is lower than the primary skill you’re using, your Drive skill has no
negative effect.

✪ Turn on a Dime [Drive]

<quote>

Requires Defensive Driving.

Somehow, no matter how crazy you drive, you always seem to pull it off. You’re
always able to make very tight turns and drive through very narrow spaces
without suffering any sort of increased difficulty due to environment, unless
it is in fact physically impossible for your vehicle to fit. In many ways this
functions like the Defensive Driving stunt, but instead of lowering many
difficulties by one, it potentially lowers these specific difficulties quite
significantly.

✪ Unsafe at Any Speed [Drive]

<quote>

Requires at least one other Drive stunt.

The character is the bane of curbside markets and rickety struts holding up
awnings. The value of any damage this character does to the environment (but
not characters or their vehicles) when driving a vehicle is doubled. Any time
an object is taken out by the damage, the result should be spectacular – an
explosion or collapse. This is not guaranteed to always fall in the character’s
favor (though it often can, and should)!

✪ Ebb and Flow [Empathy]

<quote>

The character is so aware of the social currents in a situation that he is able
to see something of what’s coming before it arrives. At the beginning of any
social exchange, before proceeding with the usual initiative order, the
character may spend a fate point and attempt a quick read – looking for surface
moods and other social cues – on any one target of his choosing, as a free
action. He may then act normally on his turn as usual.

✪ Preemptive Grace [Empathy]

<quote>

Requires Ebb and Flow.

You are so tuned into social situations that you may act quickly and decisively
to shape the situation to your liking. Empathy is used to determine initiative
in a social conflict, the same way Alertness is used in a physical one. With
this stunt, your Empathy is considered two higher for the purposes of
initiative. If you’re tied for initiative with someone who does not have this
stunt, this stunt breaks ties.

✪ Track the Soul [Empathy]

<quote>

Your understanding of people you’ve met is sufficiently strong that it gives
you an easy sense of how to find them. In any situation where you’re tracking
down or otherwise trying to find someone you’ve met before, you may roll
Empathy instead of Investigation.

✪ The Skeptic’s Ear [Empathy]

<quote>

Requires at least one other Empathy stunt.

The world is full of lies and liars, and your character is always on the
lookout for them. The character always knows when someone is using the Deceit
skill on him, and may take full defensive actions (getting a +2) with his
Empathy if appropriate.

Normally, the use of deception is not so easy to spot in advance, and thus
justifying full defensive actions is difficult. Successfully determining that
something is trying to deceive you is not the same as revealing the truth,
however, no matter how well you do.

✪ Cold Read [Empathy]

<quote>

Normally, to use empathy to get a read on someone it requires at least a few
minutes of conversation, if not more (see page XX). Characters with this stunt
may do so after much less time – two or three steps faster on the time table
(see page XX).

✪ Heart’s Secret [Empathy]

<quote>

You have an instinct for going right to the heart of a person and finding out
what matters most to them. Whenever you make a successful Empathy read on
someone (see page XX), the GM must select from the aspects that are of the
utmost importance to the character, unless you explicitly instruct her
otherwise. Normally, the GM has a freer rein in her selection.

While this still can’t get you to trip over anything that’s truly still a
secret to you (this isn’t an instant mystery solving stunt!), it should at
least put you as close to the core truth about a character.

✪ Hit Them Where It Hurts [Empathy]

<quote>

Your skill at reading people makes you adept at provoking a strong emotional
response if you’re trying to get them angry, depressed, or something similar.
Normally, the Intimidation skill would be used for such efforts; however, if
you’ve succeeded at any Empathy roll against the target previously, you may use
Empathy to wage such psychological warfare instead. In the hands of a character
with high Empathy, this is especially lethal when combined with a successful
read on someone that reveals an aspect.

✪ A Peek Inside [Empathy]

<quote>

Requires at least two other Empathy stunts.

Once you get an insight into someone, you may try to look much deeper than one
normally can. Trying to learn something specific and concrete about another
person can be a lot like trying to catch a specific raindrop – you can be sure
you got wet, but figuring out if you actually got the one you were going after
is another matter. In the best case scenario, you’ve revealed one of the
target’s aspects.

With this stunt, however, you achieve such a strong understanding of your
subject that you can start to make some fairly accurate guesses about his
behavior.

After you have successfully gotten a “read” as described in the Empathy
write-up (page XX), you may immediately ask the GM a hypothetical question
about the target’s motives, which the GM must be able to answer with yes, no,
or maybe, to the best of her ability. The question must speak to the kind of
person the target is, not things they’ve done, though it may ask if they are
capable of doing such things. If the GM answers with a maybe, you may ask a
second question to get clarification. This second question may seek details,
rather than another one-word answer.

<Example>

✪ Uncanny Hunch [Empathy]

See Investigation, page XX.

✪ Last Leg [Endurance]

<quote>

The character may spend fate points to keep standing. Any time the character
would be taken out by (or otherwise suffer a consequence from) a physical hit
he may spend a fate point to remain standing or otherwise defer a consequence
or concession for one more exchange, or until he’s hit again, whatever comes
first. Once the extra time he’s bought is up, all effects he has deferred come
to bear at once. He may keep spending fate points in this fashion until he runs
out, each time the time limit expires.

This means that with a whole handful of fate points he might go on for three
exchanges with no consequences or collapse impeding him, and then suddenly keel
over, revealing Multiple Bruises and a Broken Rib and a few surplus
consequences – which would suggest an immediate taken out result to be
determined by his attacker, even if that attacker has been defeated in the
intervening time!

✪ Feel the Burn [Endurance]

<quote>

The character can push through incredible pain in order to reach his goal. The
character can take one extra moderate, physical consequence (see page XX)
before moving on to a severe physical consequence, allowing him to take a total
of four consequences in a physical conflict.

✪ Face the Pain [Endurance]

<quote>

Requires Feel the Burn.

The character is able to lessen the effects of physical injury thanks to his
incredible stamina. Once per scene, he character may spend a fate point, and
remove move any single check mark from the injury track.

✪ Tireless [Endurance]

<quote>

Normally, someone who has not gotten a regular night’s sleep takes a
consequence indicating his lack of rest, which cannot be removed save with the
requisite amount of sleep. Not so for the character with this stunt.

Whenever this character would need to sleep, he may roll Endurance (see below
for the difficulties) and spend shifts to reduce the amount of time he needs
for a regular night’s rest. Each shift spent reduces the time increment (to get
a full night’s rest) by one. One shift gets from 6-8 hours down to 3-4; two
gets it down to an hour; three gets it to half an hour; four gets it to a few
minutes.

The character may continue sleeping past that point, but if awoken suddenly, he
does not face any issues due to insufficient sleep – he is refreshed and alert.
Normally the difficulty for the Endurance roll is simply Mediocre, but if the
character chooses to skip a night of sleep, the difficulty of the roll is
increased by one step each night. Once he fails the roll, he must get a full,
normal (6-8 hours) night of sleep to “reset” the clock; if he succeeds on
subsequent nights, and chooses to sleep, he can still sleep for the truncated
amount of time.

✪ Bounce Back [Endurance]

<quote>

The character heals faster than the norm, which has the effect of reducing the
severity of consequences resulting from physical injury. On some characters
this means no matter how bad of a beating they seem to have taken, they shrug
it off. When considering the amount of time it takes to recover from a
consequence of a particular severity, reduce the timeframe by two steps on the
time chart (page XX). This means that mild physical consequences will be
removed between scenes even if there’s no “break” between them, moderate
consequences will take about an hour of rest instead of six, and severe
consequences may be reduced from months to weeks, weeks to days, or days to the
length of an afternoon!

✪ Death Defiance [Endurance]

<quote>

If the character is ever taken out away from the view of other characters and
death appears imminent, certain, or absolute, (such as from dropping off a
cliff, apparently failing to escape from an exploding building and so on) then
coincidence will conspire to keep the character alive. This stunt does not
protect the character from dying “on camera”.

The player then spends half of his remaining fate points, rounded up (he must
have at least one to do this), and may watch play and think of a good
explanation for how he survived.

Once he has a story, he may re-enter play in any subsequent scene in as
dramatic a fashion as he sees fit, with all of his physical stress cleared and
a single consequence to reflect the dangers survived.

✪ Developed Immunities [Endurance]

<quote>

Requires at least one other Endurance stunt.

Whether through natural aptitude or careful exposure and development, the
character is quite simply immune to most common poisons, and terribly resistant
to uncommon ones.

He may resist any uncommon poison he has not previously encountered at a +2 to
his Endurance roll. If he has previously encountered the poison, even in trace
amounts, this bonus increases to a +6.

✪ One Hit to the Body [Endurance]

<quote>

When the character takes a hit which would roll up, he may instead choose to
fill in any number of lower wound boxes that total the value of the hit. Thus,
if the character took a 4 point hit, but the 4th box was already filled, he
could either roll up to the 5th box, or he could check off the 1st and 3rd box.

✪ Thick Skinned [Endurance]

<quote>

Requires One Hit To The Body.

This character just doesn’t feel pain and can take more punishment than a
lesser man. A character with this stunt gets one additional stress box beyond
those normally granted by his Endurance score – meaning a character with Superb
Endurance can have a top physical stress capacity of nine.

✪ Man of Iron [Endurance]

<quote>

Requires Thick Skinned.

The character’s physical injuries roll down rather than up. Whenever the
character takes a hit which would fill a box that has already been checked off,
they check off the next lower box that has not been checked off. If no lower
boxes are available, hits roll up as normal. Very simply, this means that the
character doesn’t start picking up consequences unless someone hits him for
more than his capacity (difficult at best!) or all of his boxes are filled up.

✪ Now You’ve Made Me Mad [Endurance]

<quote>

Requires two other Endurance stunts.

Once per scene, the character may turn a wound he has taken into pure
motivation. After the character takes physical stress, spend a fate point and
the character gets to add the value of the wound (the original value, not the
box it was recorded in, if it rolled to a different box) to an action in the next
exchange taken against the person who inflicted the stress.

✪ Personal Gadget [Engineering]

<quote>

You have a personal gadget based on an existing (or potentially existing)
piece of technology, with three improvements. You must define at least
the basic nature of the gadget, and one or two of the improvements, at
the time you take this stunt. You may take this stunt several times, either
for several personal gadgets, or to provide additional improvements to the
same gadget. See page XX for detailed gadget design rules.

✪ Universal Gadget [Engineering]

<quote>

A universal gadget is, essentially, a personal gadget that you may design on
the fly, in the middle of a situation, as if your character happened to have
“just the thing” in his satchel at the precise moment when it was needed. This
gadget follows the same design rules as a personal gadget (above), but is only
allowed two improvements, not three. Once defined, the gadget is locked in for
the remainder of the session. As with personal gadgets, see page XX for
detailed gadget design rules.

The trade-off is that you can define the gadget on the fly and in the moment,
as something your character already happened to have on hand (or just whipped
up in a matter of seconds). As with personal gadget, you may take this stunt
multiple times.

✪ Demolitions [Engineering]

<quote>

The character is an expert with explosives. Any time he can take the time to
properly set up charges, the resulting explosion’s force rating is increased by
three, by placing the bombs at the exact weak points of the targeted structure.

This benefit does not apply without preparation, a target structure, and a
chance to study the target. Thus, it doesn’t apply in situations such as
setting charges hastily or lobbing explosive devices at zombies.

✪ Architect of Death [Engineering]

<quote>

Requires one other Engineering stunt.

You have an innate knack for crafting weaponry. Whenever dealing with an
Engineering roll involving a weapon – repairing, designing, upgrading, etcetera
– your difficulties are reduced by one, and additionally, the time to get the
work done is reduced by one step on the time table (see page XX).

✪ Grease Monkey [Engineering]

<quote>

Requires one other Engineering stunt.

If it has an engine and wings, propellers, or wheels, you “get” it, intuitively
and completely. Whenever dealing with a Engineering roll involving a vehicle –
repairing, designing, upgrading, etcetera – your difficulties are reduced by
one, and additionally, the time to get the work done is reduced by one step on
the time table (see page XX).

✪ Mister Fix-It [Engineering]

<quote>

The character’s talented at getting things repaired under time-critical
circumstances. The time it takes to get something fixed by the character is
reduced by two steps. If the situation is already operating on the fastest
possible amount of time the difficulty of the repair effort is reduced by one.
These bonuses stack with Grease Monkey (above)!

✪ Thump of Restoration [Engineering]

<quote>

Requires Mister Fix-It.

Sometimes a bunch of repairs can get short-handed with a good swift thump. A
character must spend a fate point to activate this ability, and roll
Engineering. He then hits a device or other contraption that isn’t working, and
it starts working immediately, regardless of the difficulty rating to repair it
under time pressure. It will continue work for a number of exchanges equal to
the shifts gained on the Engineering roll (vs. a target of Mediocre). Once the
time is up, the device stops working again, and any efforts to repair it are at
a one step higher difficulty (since, after all, you hit the thing). If the
character wishes to thump again, he may do so for another fate point, but the
difficulty for the Engineering roll increases by one on each subsequent
attempt.

✪ Brawler [Fists]

<quote>

You’re at home in any big old burly brawl, with multiple opponents and ideally
some beer in you.

Whenever you are personally outnumbered in a fight (i.e., when someone gets to
attack you at a bonus due to a numerical advantage) your defense rolls with
Fists are at +1. When fighting two or more minions, you deal one additional
stress on a successful hit.

✪ Dirty Fighter [Fists]

<quote>

Requires Brawler.

Your character has a talent for fighting dirty and is experienced in pulling
all manner of tricks in order to get the upper hand on his opponents. By
exploiting an opponent’s weakness, you are able to strike deep and true. Any
time you tag an opponent’s aspect in a fight, you get an additional +1 on the
roll.

✪ Crippling Blow [Fists]

<quote>

Requires Dirty Fighter.

When you injure an opponent with your Fists, you may spend a fate point to
force the target to take a consequence rather than check off a box. This can
only be done once per opponent in a given fight scene. The target may choose
not to take the consequence if he is willing to concede.

✪ Signature Strike [Fists]

<quote>

Requires Crippling Blow (above) or Fist of Death (below).

Your character has a specific attack which he has honed to devastating
perfection. It may be a formalized punch with an appropriately dramatic name
(Thousand Whirlwinds Strike As One!) or may be as informal as complete mastery
of the kick in the crotch.

Once per fight scene, the character may use this strike. To do so, the player
must clearly describe whatever posturing or preamble the strike requires,
declare he’s using the strike, and roll the dice.

If the strike successfully damages the opponent (inflicts stress or a
consequence by itself), it imposes a consequence in addition to treating the
attack normally (such as checking off a box due to stress inflicted). This
means that if the the stress would normally produce a consequence, the victim
will end up taking two consequences.

✪ Mix it Up [Fists]

<quote>

Requires Brawler.

Overwhelming odds are your bread and butter. You are used to dodging and
twisting, keeping multiple opponents in each other’s way. You actually get
better the more people pile onto you. You may save up your spin whenever you
gain it on a defense, and apply it to your next attack, no matter how many
other actions happen in between. Multiple successful, spin-generating defenses
may allow you to save up multiple points of spin, for a single large bonus on
your next attack.

✪ Army of One [Fists]

<quote>

Requires Mix it Up.

You are a one-man army; the odds don’t matter to you. Whenever you are
attacked, opponents simply do not get a bonus to their attacks due to an
advantage of numbers.

✪ Whatever’s on Hand [Fists]

<quote>

Requires Brawler.

The character is skilled in the use of improvised weapons, and may use Fists
instead of the Weapons skill when using an improvised weapon. Improvised
weapons tend to break, and thus don’t usually last for more than one exchange,
so players are encouraged to choose weapons which smash dramatically.

✪ Fists of Fury [Fists]

<quote>

Requires Brawler.

Swinging wildly and with force, the character strikes at an opponent over and
over again, wearing down his defense with each blow. Against such an onslaught,
there is simply no good defense. Opponents who attempt to use an all-out
defense against your Fists attacks do not get a +2 bonus.

✪ Martial Arts [Fists]

<quote>

Your training in the martial practices of the Far East have honed your
abilities with your Fists into a finely disciplined form that is part combat
skill, part art form. This gives you an acute insight into the means and
methods of barehanded warfare.

You may use your Fists skill to study an opponent by engaging him and testing
his defenses with your own martial techniques. You must do this as a full
action during an exchange. Your target must defend against this action, which
is essentially a maneuver, with his Fists skill.

If you succeed, you have gained insight to your target’s fighting techniques,
and may place an aspect on the target, as with a successful maneuver. Whenever
you tag this aspect, you gain an additional +1 to your roll, for a total of +3
instead of the normal tagging bonus of +2.

✪ Brickbreaker [Fists]

<quote>

Requires Martial Arts.

You are able to focus the force of your blows into a concentrated, small area
that is devastating to solid materials. Any stress you deal to a non-character
target with Fists is doubled, once per exchange.

✪ Demoralizing Stance [Fists]

<quote>

Requires Martial Arts.

As a trained fighter, you are able to adopt a stance that makes it
unequivocally clear how capable you are of handing someone his ass. Whenever
displaying your fighting stance or techniques, you may roll Fists instead of
Intimidation.

✪ Flying Kick [Fists]

<quote>

Requires Martial Arts.

You are able to leap through the air, leading with a powerful kick that can lay
an unsuspecting opponent out. You may move one zone and launch a Fists attack
without taking a penalty for moving, or you may move two zones and make an
attack at -1. All other actions, including those with Fists, that are not a
Fists attack described as a flying kick, require a roll at -1 if you move a
single zone on your action, as normal.

✪ Flow like Water [Fists]

<quote>

Requires Martial Arts.

Whenever you mount a full defense, you gain an additional +1 to your
Fists rolls, for a potent total defense bonus of +3.

✪ Bend like the Reed [Fists]

<quote>

Requires Flow Like Water.

You have a flexible martial arts style that allows you to turn an opponent’s
force against himself. Whenever you gain spin on a defense, you may imme-
diately take a free action against the attacker to make a throw maneuver (see
page XX).

✪ Lethal Weapon [Fists]

<quote>

Requires Martial Arts.

Your martial skill is dedicated to dishing out punishment, and your hands are
practically illegal in most civilized countries. Any time your opponent opts to
take a mild or moderate consequence from a blow you have dealt, you may spend a
fate point to increase the severity of that consequence by one step, increasing
mild to moderate and moderate to severe. The opponent may then reconsider
whether to take the consequence, or instead offer a concession. You may not do
this to an opponent who is already taking a severe consequence.

✪ Fist of Death [Fists]

<quote>

Requires Lethal Weapon.

By concentrating your force into a powerful blow, you may devastate even the
most potent of opponents. Once per opponent per fight, you may spend a fate
point after landing a successful blow to fill your opponent’s highest unchecked
stress box, regardless of how much stress you would normally inflict.

✪ Signature Strike [Fists]

As with the stunt of the same name, above (page XX).

✪ Gambling Man [Gambling]

<quote>

Requires one or more compellable aspects related to gambling.

As a gambling man, the character is rarely able to turn down a bet or an
opportunity to take a risk. Compels involving your gambling aspects auto-
matically start out at a point of escalation – you must either spend two fate
points to avoid them, or gain two fate points if you accept them, right at the
outset.

✪ Double or Nothing [Gambling]

<quote>

Requires Gambling Man.

When it comes to head to head conflict, the character’s skill at gambling and
taking risks is paramount.

Once per scene, after the gambler has lost a Gambling roll, he has the option
to declare “Double or Nothing!” This is a call for both sides to reroll (and as
such doesn’t involve fate points). If the gambler wins the next roll, the
initial exchange is treated as a scratch (no loss to any participants), but if
he loses (by whatever amount) he takes a hit equal to double the value of the
initial loss. Regardless, such a move often elevates the stakes of a game.
This can turn a regular stakes game into a high stakes one, and a high stakes
game into a matter of life and death.

✪ The Devil’s Own Luck [Gambling]

<quote>

Requires Gambling Man and at least one other Gambling stunt. On games of pure
chance, like roulette, where a character could not normally roll a skill to
affect the outcome, the character may use his Gambling skill at its full value
(otherwise he’d be rolling Mediocre or worse instead).

✪ Know When to Fold ’Em [Gambling]

<quote>

Whenever gambling with NPCs, the player may ask that the GM roll the NPC’s
Gambling in advance. Whenever the GM does this, the roll is automatically
considered to be secret – she doesn’t have to show it to anyone.

The twist is that the GM must indicate to the player whether the NPC’s roll is
above or below the player’s character’s Gambling skill – just not by how much.
Given this knowledge, the player may then choose whether his character
participates, or excuses himself, from the Gambling contest. If the player’s
character does participate, the GM reveals the value of the roll, and may still
spend fate points on behalf of her NPC as usual once the contest starts in
earnest.

✪ Never Bluff a Bluffer [Gambling]

<quote>

The character’s experience with Gambling gives him an occasional insight into
other parts of life. Whenever dealing with a bluff of some kind, he may use
Gambling instead of Deceit (to run a bluff ) or instead of Empathy (to see
through one). The player should remind the GM that he has this stunt whenever
he’s the target of something that might be a bluff, so that the GM knows to
call for the correct skill to be rolled.

✪ Winnings [Gambling]

<quote>

The character wins more than he loses, and is often flush with cash. Once per
session, he may use Gambling instead of Resources to represent these winnings,
so long as he hasn’t recently experienced a loss. The player must provide a
quick one-sentence explanation of what the resource is and how he won it, when
using this stunt.

✪ Players’ Club [Gambling]

<quote>

Requires at least one other Gambling stunt.

You’ve played in so many games, and in so many places, that it’s rare that you
can’t find someone who knows you. You may use your Gambling skill instead of
Contacting whenever making a Contacting roll – though doing so invariably
colors the results with the nature of Gambling.

✪ Gambling Buddy [Gambling]

<quote>

Requires Players’ Club.

Once per session, you may introduce a companion character into a scene, on the
fly, as suits the convenience of the moment. This companion character has the
Skilled (Gambling) advance for free, and two other advances which you may
define at the moment of the reveal, or after the fact as you travel around with
your buddy.

✪ Long Shot [Guns]

<quote>

For whatever reason, you’re always able to take shots at a greater distance
than you should be. You can use pistols up to three zones away (instead of
two); furthermore, rifles and other such weaponry reach an additional zone (or
two, if the GM feels generous).

✪ Shot on the Run [Guns]

<quote>

The character is light on his feet with a gun in his hand, able to keep the
gunplay going while evading attempts to harm him.

This character may use Guns as a defense skill against physical attacks;
normally, Guns cannot be used defensively.

✪ Stay on Target [Guns]

<quote>

Taking slow and careful aim can be done as a maneuver, placing an aspect on
your target (such as “In My Sights”).

Whenever performing an aiming maneuver against a target, you may roll your Guns
at +1 to place the aspect, +2 if you’ve brought along a targeting scope or
similar aiming device (in addition to whatever bonuses the scope itself
provides).

✪ Trick Shot [Guns]

<quote>

Your character gains +2 on the roll for any Guns action that involves shooting
an inanimate object. While this cannot be used to actually attack another
character, it can be very useful for indirect effects, like shooting down a
chandelier.

✪ Fast Reload [Guns]

<quote>

Normally, reloading your guns is considered a part of the normal ebb and flow
of combat and doesn’t become an issue until something happens to make it
relevant. A lack of ammunition can show up one of two ways. First, “out of
ammunition” can often show up as a minor consequence for someone with a gun.
With this stunt, the character may spend a fate point in order to remove this
consequence immediately, at the end of any exchange.

The character is still considered to have taken a minor consequence for
purposes of determining whether his next consequence is moderate – the minor
consequence simply won’t be there.

Second, “out of ammunition” can show up as a temporary aspect resulting from a
maneuver (to try to get someone to use up his shots). Whenever this character
is the target of such a maneuver, he may defend at +2.

✪ One Shot Left [Guns]

<quote>

That last bullet has a kind of magic to it. A character with this stunt may
declare that he is on his last shot, and may make any single Guns attack at +3.
This is the character’s last shot – its use means that there’s no more ammo, no
holdout guns or the like. The only way the character is going to be able to use
his Guns skill in the scene is if he takes an action acquiring a new weapon or
ammunition, which may not always be possible. Even the Fast Reload stunt cannot
be used to remedy this situation; you really are out of ammunition.

✪ Rain of Lead [Guns]

<quote>

Your character is skilled at laying down a scathing hail of suppressive fire.
When using Guns to perform a block (see page XX), the character can ignore up
to two points of penalties imposed by the GM due to the complexity of the
block.

✪ Quick Draw [Guns]

<quote>

This allows a character to bring his gun or guns to his hand so fast it’s as
if by magic. The character takes no penalty for drawing a gun as a supplemental action; if someone is actively blocking such an action (see page XX),
you may treat that block as if it had a value two steps lower.

✪ Lightning Hands [Guns]

<quote>

Requires Quick Draw.

The character and his gun are as one; the thought to take aim and fire is the
same as the action. With this stunt, the character may use his Guns skill to
determine initiative, instead of Alertness.

✪ Snap Shot [Guns]

<quote>

Requires Lightning Hands.

Once per exchange, between or before other characters’ actions, the character
may spend a fate point to preempt the usual turn order and act next.

The action taken must involve a roll with his Guns skill – usually an attack.
This may be done in addition to the character’s normal action, but each time
it’s done in the same scene, the fate point cost increases by one.

✪ Gun-Crazy [Guns]

<quote>

The character’s so thoroughly into the modern phenomenon of gunsmithing that
he’s developed a focused talent for working on the things.

Whenever working with guns specifically, this character may use Guns instead of
Engineering.

✪ Custom Firearm [Guns]

<quote>

Requires Gun-Crazy.

You have one special gun that you hold above all others. This is a gadget,
which automatically has the craftsmanship improvement (see page XX), as well as
two other improvements which you may change between sessions. In addition, the
gun is so well-made that it never needs repairs of great length if it’s
damaged; reduce the time it takes you to repair it by four steps.

✪ Two Gun Joe [Guns]

<quote>

Normally, shooting with two guns just looks cool without providing a bonus.
With this stunt, a character firing two weapons has a decisive advantage.

Any time this character uses two guns and hits a target for at least one
stress, the stress of the hit is increased by one (meaning, essentially, that
he never hits a target for less than two stress, when he hits).

Furthermore, any defense against maneuvers to deprive the character of either
of his guns is improved by one. The two belong together, after all, in the
hands of a Two Gun Joe.

✪ Infuriate [Intimidation]

<quote>

Intimidation gives you a real talent for scaring people, but sometimes fear
isn’t an option. That doesn’t mean you can’t still get up someone’s nose, so
long as you’re willing to sacrifice a bit of the control that fear gets you.

Whenever deliberately trying to get someone angry with you, you receive a +2
bonus. If this results in an attack or other action against you by your target,
you may use Intimidation to complement the skill you use on the first exchange,
no matter the circumstance – after all, you made it happen, so you were ready
for it.

✪ Subtle Menace [Intimidation]

<quote>

The character exudes menace far in excess of his capability to act. Even bound
and behind prison bars, the character is so ripe with the promise of the awful
things he could do that he’s still scary. This character may use Intimidation
no matter what the power imbalance in the situation is, and reduces his
target’s bonuses for acting from a superior position by 2 (to a minimum of +0).

✪ The Serpent’s Tongue [Intimidation]

<quote>

Requires Subtle Menace.

It’s hard not to talk to this character. Not because he’s approachable, but
because it seems like such a bad idea not to. Fear makes people uncomfortable,
and they occasionally let things slip they would not otherwise.

The upshot is that the character may use Intimidation in lieu of Empathy or
Rapport when trying to get information out of someone in a “softer” fashion. If
successfully used in this way, the target is definitely rattled – so it
certainly doesn’t leave the target in the same pleasant state he might be left
by one of those other skills. If used to get a “read” on a character, the
aspects revealed are limited only to those which might be expressed in the
language of fear.

✪ Unapproachable [Intimidation]

<quote>

It’s difficult to try to manipulate someone when you’re constantly reminded of
how scary they are. A character with this stunt may use his Intimidation in
lieu of their Resolve to defend against Rapport, Deceit, and Empathy.

✪ Scary [Intimidation]

<quote>
This character is just someone you don’t want to cross, and that’s clear even
to other intimidating folks. Normally, Intimidation attempts are resisted
by Resolve; with this stunt, the character can use his Intimidation skill to
resist Intimidation attempts.

✪ Aura of Menace [Intimidation]

<quote>

Requires Scary.

Characters with an Aura of Menace are the terror of all those who oppose them.
Others are often powerless to describe what exactly it is about the character
that is unsettling, but regardless, it has the effect of rooting them to the
spot and believing the threats the guy makes.

Once per scene per target, the character may spend a fate point to intimidate a
target as a free action, no matter what the circumstances, immediately (if
between actions), or immediately after the current action underway.

This free action takes place in addition to any other action the character
might take during the exchange.

✪ Aura of Fear [Intimidation]

<quote>

Requires Aura of Menace.

The character’s intimidating appearance and attitude is potent, making him able
to intimidate entire crowds. As a full action, and only once per scene, the
character may spend a fate point and make an intimidation attempt against all
opponents in the scene. The effort is made at a -2 to the roll, but the
character only rolls once, essentially setting the defensive difficulty that
everyone must beat. If the effort at least beats the quality level of the
minions present in the scene, at least half their number are automatically
affected by the Intimidation effort regardless of their roll. This effect on
minions may be cancelled if they have a leader with Leadership present, who may
take a second defensive action on their behalf, using that skill.

✪ The Promise of Pain [Intimidation]

<quote>

Requires Scary.

The character makes a promise (really, a threat) to a target, and makes an
attack using Intimidation. If he scores a successful hit of one or better on
the target’s mental stress track, he may spend a fate point to immediately
force a psychological consequence instead. The consequence must represent an
appropriate response (such as folding up in fear, or a broken spirit) to the
threat.

✪ Steely Gaze [Intimidation]

<quote>

Requires Scary.

Your character’s unflinching gaze can lock an opponent in place. When a
character with this stunt looks an opponent in the eyes and makes an
Intimidation check, it locks the two of them into a contest that will last
until either something interrupts it or one of them flinches. Both characters
are locked in a contest of wills, and can only take Intimidation actions
against each other until one or the other either takes a consequence, concedes,
or is interrupted (by, say, a gunshot). Any defense rolls either makes against
an interrupting action while this is in effect is at -2.

✪ Fearsome Gaze [Intimidation]

<quote>

Requires Steely Gaze.

Your character’s gaze is so terrifying that those faced with it can end up
paralyzed with fear. This stunt is used in the same fashion as Steely Gaze, but
if the opponent loses to the point of taking a consequence, he takes two
consequences, one right after the other, immediately. Even if this means he’s
taken out, the target retains the option to concede after recording the
consequence, thus keeping his right to define the nature of his defeat (subject
to the gazer’s approval).

✪ Master of Fear [Intimidation]

<quote>

Requires Fearsome Gaze and Aura of Fear.

Your character is a master of the terrifying, and can have an entire room
cowering within moments. When this character uses the Aura of Fear stunt, he
does not take the -2 penalty.

Furthermore, minions (see page XX) whose quality level is beat by the roll fail
entirely and may not even roll to defend unless their leader discards his next
action for the exchange to roll Leadership to defend them. Without a capable
leader, these minions simply flee, faint, or otherwise take an immediate
consequence, to the last man.

✪ Scene of the Crime [Investigation]

<quote>

The character has a strong visual memory, and whenever he revisits a place
where he has used Investigation before, he may make an immediate use of
Investigation in a matter of seconds in order to determine what changed since
he was last there, as if it were an unusually detailed Alertness check.

✪ Eye for Detail [Investigation]

<quote>

Requires Scene of the Crime.

Your character’s visual memory is so strong that with a little concentration,
he can revisit any place he’s been to in his memory in exacting detail.

Sometimes, he can even pick up on details that he hadn’t consciously realized
before.

To use this ability, the character spends a fate point, and may make a single
perception based roll (usually Investigation, but not necessarily limited to
that) to find things out as if he were still in the location, no matter how
long ago he left the scene.

✪ Uncanny Hunch [Investigation]

<quote>

Requires at least one other Investigation stunt and one other Empathy stunt.

Sometimes your guesses play out to great advantage. Once per scene, you may
make a guess about what the “deal” is with a particular character, object,
location, or situation.

Do not speak this guess aloud; write it down on a piece of paper and give it to
the GM. The GM must accept it as a valid hunch that would be something of a
revelation if true (i.e., no “I’m convinced that moon orbits the Earth!” –
that’s too obvious). If, at some later point, your hunch proves to be correct,
you may use your Investigation or Empathy skill instead of any other skill,
where that target is concerned, for one exchange. (A savvy GM will
occasionally alter her characters’ motives to match your hunches; if she does,
that’s absolutely perfect!)

✪ Lip Reading [Investigation]

<quote>
<quote>

The character may use Investigation to eavesdrop on conversations he can only
see. If the GM would normally allow someone to attempt to read lips, the
difficulty is reduced by two; otherwise, you may simply roll Investigation when
others may not.

✪ Focused Senses [Investigation]

<quote>

The character is skilled at concentrating on one of his senses to the exclusion
of all others. The sense must be specified at the time this stunt is taken.
With a few moments of concentration, the character may enter a focused state.
So long as he remains in that state, for as long as the character uses nothing
but Investigation, all Investigation actions the character takes that use the
specified sense gain a +2 bonus. While in this state, if the character needs to
make a non-Investigation roll, that roll is at -2 due to this intense focus.

This stunt may be taken multiple times, each time for a single sense. If the
character has specified multiple senses, his focus may cover all of them at
once.

✪ Impossible Detail [Investigation]

<quote>

Requires Focused Senses.

When paying attention, the character’s senses operate at a profound level of
focus, allowing him to pick up on details that, very simply, no one else easily
or even possibly could.

With this stunt, the character faces no increased difficulties due to a
physical detail being too small or subtle. As an example, this can reduce the
difficulty to detect the presence of nearly any poison to Mediocre (as,
honestly, subtlety is all it has to conceal itself ).