There are six normal abilities that describe characters and most opponents: Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Perception, Presence, and Wits.

Strength describes a character’s overall athleticism, the ability to exert physical force, and the ability resist damage or fatigue. This ability is used to calculate damage in a melee combat, overcome obstacles that test endurance, and shift objects through applied leverage.

The normal skills associated with Strength are: brawling, melee, athletics, lifting, and stamina.

• Brawling is used for attack and defense in unarmed close combat.
• Melee is used for attack and defense in close combat using forceful weapons.
• Athletics is used to move around a location and interact with obstacles.
• Lifting is used to determined close combat damage and to shift and move objects.
• Stamina is used to resist damage and physical effects.

Dexterity describes a character’s reaction time, balance and coordination, their speed, and the ability to place objects with precision. This ability is used to dodge ranged attacks, use finesse weapons, pilot vehicles, and to navigate obstacles that require precise body control.

The normal skills associated with Dexterity are: fencing, shooting, acrobatics, stealth, and pilot.

• Fencing is used for attack and defense in close combat using finesse weapons.
• Shooting is used for attacking in ranged combat.
• Acrobatics is used to move around a location, bypass obstacles, and for defense in ranged combat.
• Stealth is used to evade detection, move around a location, and bypass obstacles.
• Pilot is used to guide a vehicle or mount through a location and interact with or bypass obstacles.

Intelligence describes the breadth of a character’s knowledge and their ability to apply that knowledge to problem solving and procedural navigation. This ability is used repair and manipulate devices, integrate with social customs, research subjects, and treat injuries.

The normal skills associated with Intelligence are: communications, medicine, tactics, design, and cultures.

• Communications is used to create hooks, boosts, and penalties by manipulating information networks.
• Medicine is used to recover conditions on the Health or Sanity tracks, to prepare drugs, and to manipulate medical equipment.
• Tactics is used to create hooks, boosts, and penalties by planning ahead and anticipating the need for actions or equipment.
• Design is used to recover conditions on the Body track, to prepare gear, and to manipulate equipment.
• Cultures is used to create hooks, boosts, and penalties by manipulating social organizations.

Perception describes a character’s ability to anticipate actions, gather information from their surroundings, focus the mind, and influence the perceptions of others. This ability is used for sleight of hand, recovering willpower, searching, and resisting sensory manipulation.

The normal skills associated with Perceptions are: tradecraft, operations, search, focus, and survival.

• Tradecraft is used to detect traps, disable locks, perform sleight of hand, and deceive through the use of equipment.
• Operations is used to defend vehicles against attacks, detection, and disabling by using vehicle systems.
• Search is used to overcome abilities preventing detection, and to create hooks, boosts, and penalties through observation.
• Focus is used to recover conditions on the Willpower or Composure tracks and to create hooks, boosts, and penalties through self-control.
• Survival is used to determine initiative in close or ranged combat, to track a target through a location, and to interact with the environment.

Presence describes the force of a character’s personality, their determination, their ability to influence others, and their ability to resist influence. This ability is used to endure hardship, inspire others, ingratiate oneself with them, and to overawe them.

The normal skills associated with Presence are: discipline, command, charm, intimidate, and pressure.

• Discipline is used to resist coercion and mental effects. (Resist)
• Command is used to coerce NPCs. (Hit)
• Charm is used to convince NPCs. (Hit)
• Intimidate is used to coerce NPCs. (Hit)
• Pressure is used to convince NPCs. (Damage)

Wits describes a character’s ability to adapt and react to their environment and to the influence of others. This ability is used to deceive others, perceive their deceptions, provoke a reaction, and to lay out a convincing argument.

The normal skills associated with Wits are: insight, con, persuasion, interrogate, and provoke.

• Insight is used to resist convince attempts. (Defend)
• Bargain is used to convince NPCs. (Hit)
• Persuasion is used to convince NPCs. (Hit)
• Interrogation is used to coerce NPCs. (Hit)
• Provoke is used to coerce NPCs. (Damage)