back to Character Generation page 3, or the Index
Besides this long list of skills, many characters with academic degrees have a sort of "skill" based on their EDU rating. There aren't a bunch of (for example) engineering-related skills -- instead, the player describes the project and the referee sets a difficulty level for an EDU-related roll. So for example a character with a civil engineering B.S. will have a skill "Civil Engineering" at somewhere between 65% to 75%, even if they spend no points there. "Personal interest" skill points may be used to increase academic skills during character generation.
The campaign will often have two "break points" on skills; the lower one (sometimes called proficiency) is usually 40% -- generically, you can earn a living with most skills at the 40% level. Some skills have a second set of nice effects, at 60%. Don't fret too much about these.
Remember to use the "MP %" value for base skill, if your character is part of the Project. The base skills shown are for non-Project 20th Century North Americans ... we have a separate sheet for 22nd Century persons.
skill |
base % |
notes |
MP % |
Accounting |
10 |
||
Anthropology |
0 |
||
Archaeology |
0 |
||
Art |
5 |
choose fields and note in your background; examples are singing, painting, dancing - it's all one skill, though. Some fields of art may require Woodworking, Masonry, Metalworking, etc. Note this is for the creation of art; art lore, criticism, etc. may be related but will usually fall under a general EDU-related roll. |
|
Astronomy |
0 |
||
Bargain |
5 |
||
Biology |
0 |
||
Boat/Row |
10 |
covers canoes, kayaks, rafts. Proficiency occurs at 25% level. |
|
Botany |
0 |
||
Cartography |
0 |
||
Chemistry |
0 |
||
Climb |
40 |
||
Computer Use |
0 |
10 |
|
Conceal |
15 |
||
Craft |
5 |
choose fields and note in your background; examples are cabinetmaking, wheelwright, musical instrument maker, boatbuilding; it's all one skill however. Some crafts may require you to also have Woodworking, Masonry, Metalworking, etc. |
|
Credit Rating |
15 |
social connections in pre-war America; also affects starting funds |
|
Cryptography |
0 |
||
Demolitions |
0 |
10 |
|
Disguise |
5 |
||
Diving |
0 |
includes SCUBA and hard-hat diving, knowledge of medical issues, dive tables, equipment maintenance. A character with Dive skill should have Swim at 40% or more. Skill levels are:
|
5 |
Dodge |
DEXx2% |
note that a dodging character cannot (usually) attack that same round |
|
Drive Auto |
20 |
||
Drive Bike |
10 |
includes motorcycles and bicycles |
|
Drive Truck |
10 |
includes armored cars and other large wheeled vehicles (specifically, trucks that would require a Commercial Driver's License in the US) |
25 |
Drive Overland Train |
0 |
the base skill for Project teams assigned one of these vehicles is 40% |
0/40 |
Electrical Repair |
10 |
creating, understanding, and repairing such devices as electric motors, engine ignition systems, burglar alarms, simple radios, household wiring, etc. |
|
Electronics |
0 |
|
|
Fast Talk |
5 |
||
Fieldcraft |
10 |
replaces Hunting, Natural History, Navigation (Land), Orienteering, Survival and Tracking. This includes wilderness survival, traditional rural knowledge, fishing for food, following footprints in the dirt, identification of birds, plants and animals ("It's a yucca ... lizard?"), stuff like that. Especially the wilderness survival part; this is very much an "Eagle Scout". Note that if you're hunting for game, you may still need to make some kind of trap/archery/rifle/knife/whatever attack on your prey ... but good Fieldcraft will get you closer, faster, to the kind of prey you prefer. You may also use Fieldcraft as a substitute for either Sneak or Hide in an outdoorsy, wilderness setting. The referee may apply modifiers based on the character background ("No, Nanook doesn't seem to know much about desert survival."). |
15 |
First Aid |
30 |
an EMT is at the 40% level, a paramedic is at the 60% level. Paramedics were little-known in the US before 1972 |
40 |
Forensics |
0 |
|
|
Forgery |
0 |
||
Geology |
0 |
||
Hide |
10 |
characters may substitute Fieldcraft for Hide in wilderness settings |
|
History |
20 |
||
Hypnosis |
0 |
||
Jump |
25 |
||
Law |
5 |
||
Library Use |
25 |
||
Listen |
25 |
||
Lockpicking |
0 |
and safecracking at higher levels. At 40% skill level, you can pretty much automatically open ordinary door locks (5 pin tumbler locks). |
|
Martial Arts |
0 |
choose types with which the character is experienced, and note in your background; it's all one skill though |
|
Masonry |
5 |
cutting stones, laying bricks or tile, building arches, tunneling through solid rock, etc. Specialized uses of this skill may call for an appropriate Art or Craft skill. |
|
Mathematics |
10 |
||
Mechanical Repair |
20 |
creating, understanding, and repairing mechanical stuff. This skill covers plumbing, fixing engines, welding up a steel frame, etc. ... there's not a clear line between Craft, Metalworking and Mechanical Repair |
|
Medicine |
5 |
|
10 |
Metalworking |
10 |
casting, forging, welding, shaping, heat-treating, machining, and generally creating functional metal stuff. Specialized uses of this skill may call for an appropriate Art or Craft skill. |
|
Military Science |
0 |
includes small-unit tactics, procedures, history, and traditions. Can give info about weapon system effects and weaknesses. |
|
Navigation |
0 |
specifically, using technical methods such as celestial navigation |
|
Occult |
5 |
not the Cthulhu Mythos! |
|
Operate Heavy Machinery |
0 |
for driving and operating railway locomotives, cranes, steamshovels, paving machines, dam spillgates, steam engines, tracked military vehicles, bulldozers, and the use of dozer blades, backhoes, concrete pumpers, scrapers, graders, etc. |
5 |
Other Language |
0 |
each language is a separate skill. Some general notes on fluency:
You make your skill roll to perform at the next better level ...of course, dialects, the skill level of listeners, complexity of conversation, will all come into play. Use of written language is based on background, EDU, and other imprecise things. |
|
Own Language |
EDUx5 |
almost always English for Morrow Project personnel |
|
Parachute |
0 |
you can justify a Parachute skill of anywhere from 5% to 15% if you attended the Army Airborne Course (and did nothing else involving parachutes for the remainder of your life). |
|
Persuade |
15 |
||
Pharmacy |
0 |
5 |
|
Photography |
10 |
understand and operate still or film cameras, and develop film |
|
Physics |
0 |
||
0 |
includes gliders, jets, multi-engine, etc.; however the character's experience should be specified |
||
Pilot Hovercraft |
0 |
Project members sent to hovercraft training will have a base level of 25% |
5 |
Pilot Rotary Wing |
0 |
includes the use of helicopters in combat |
|
Pilot Airship |
0 |
balloons, blimps, zeppelins |
|
Pilot Fighter |
0 |
air combat maneuvering, air-to-ground attack, air-to-air weapons. Your effective level of Pilot Fighter is limited to your skill in Pilot Airplane. |
|
Psychology |
5 |
used for studying persons and forming an idea of their motives or character. Often used to detect deceit, but a skilled or insane person may not be so easily found out |
|
Ride |
5 |
specify animals covered by this skill; it's all one skill though. Wagon-driving can be covered by this also. Before the Second World War, the base for this skill would be 20%. |
|
Sail |
0 |
specify types familiar with; it's all one skill though |
|
Signals |
5 |
at 25% level, includes knowledge of Morse code. This is pretty much everything radio-related that might come up in the campaign. |
10 |
Ski |
5 |
10 |
|
Sneak |
10 |
characters may substitute Fieldcraft for Sneak in wilderness settings |
|
Spot Hidden |
25 |
||
Surgery |
0 |
||
Swim |
25 |
||
Throw |
25 |
||
0 |
|||
Tradecraft |
5 |
the procedures, techniques and devices used in clandestine operations. "When you're a spy ... " |
|
Woodworking |
20 |
all general forms of carpentry, carving, whittling, and so forth. Specialized uses of this skill may call for an appropriate Art or Craft skill. |
|
Zoology |
0 |
Combat Skills |
|||
skill |
base % |
notes |
MP % |
Unarmed Combat |
50 |
replaces Fist, Grapple, Headbutt, and Kick. Those are now optional actions in combat, rather than skills. |
|
Melee Weapons |
25 |
replaces Knife, Sword, Club, Spear, etc.; this includes attack and parry skills. Weapons you haven't trained with, or unwieldy weapons, will have a reduced chance to use effectively. |
|
Bow |
20 |
replaces Bow, Crossbow. |
|
Throw |
25 |
used for all manner of weapons: grenades, thrown daggers, thrown axes, rocks, baseballs, darts, shuriken, bolas, javelins, chakra, quoits, boomerangs, hungamungas, etc. Remember, your damage bonus is halved for thrown weapons (if it even contributes at all). Unfamiliar thrown weapons may take a week or two for the character's full skill percentage to be available. |
|
Handgun |
20 |
includes tasers and other modern dart-firing weapons |
|
Full Auto |
15 |
automatic weapons (including shotguns), if handheld, bipod or tripod mounted; thus replaces the Machine Gun and SMG skills |
|
Rifle |
25 |
single-shot or 3-round burst fire; includes shotgun (though this may not model bird shooting or skeet very well) |
|
Grenade Launcher |
25 |
includes flare gun, HAFLA |
|
Energy Weapon |
30 |
includes MP lasers |
|
Direct Fire Weapon |
5 |
cannon and mounted autocannon, bazooka, LAW rocket, Armbrust |
10 |
Indirect Fire Weapon |
1 |
includes mortar, howitzer |
10 |
Guided Missile |
1 |
TOW missile, Dragon |
|
Pepper Spray |
DEXx5% |
limited accuracy even with good skill |
|
Flamethrower |
DEXx5% |
limited accuracy even with good skill |
As a guide to military rifle skill, you need to score at least "marksman" to exit Army and Marine basic enlisted training (though not everyone is that good later on!):
military rifle qualification |
skill % |
marksman badge |
40% |
sharpshooter badge |
60% |
expert badge (top 10% or less of military shooters) |
75% |
sniper course graduate |
80% |
competitive shooter at national level; or "distinguished shooter" in the US military |
90% |
Olympic-class shooter |
99% |