Skills

Overview

This section full details all of the skills used in Fatewalker including the primary and secondary trees as well as the magical skill trees and all categorical skills. It also includes a vast list of suggested leaves for every branch. Remember in Fatewalker the GM will only ever ask for a Branch, the leaves and their application are up to the player (including reference skills, which specifically use leaves). Be creative and have fun.

Primary Skill Trees

There are eight primary skill trees, each with three branches and any number of leaves. The Roots and Branches available are fixed by the system but players are invited to create their own unique Leaves. Below all of the Roots, Branches, and some sample Leaves have been detailed. Skills can only be improved through the application of Character Points and/or Learning Points.

Vigor

Vigor represents all gross motor skills (as well as a solid subset of manual dexterity). The branches and sample leaves are detailed below.
Strength: Power, Throwing, Jumping, Swimming
Agility: Quickness, Balance, Hand-to-Eye Coordination, Flexibility
Stamina: Fortitude, Running, Climbing, Hiking

Weaponry

Martial training in how to mutilate people. Weaponry covers any and all man-portable implements of directed destruction.
Ranged: Pistols, Shotguns, Rifles, Submachineguns, Archery, Crossbow
Melee: Knives, Swords, Axes, Polearms, Spears, Clubs/Maces
Unarmed: Block, Grapple, Strikes, Kicks

Primitive

The skills learned spending lots of time outside on your feet including how to acquire food, track things, and navigate in almost any space as well as dealing with the most basic concepts of existence. Early cavemen possessed few other skills.
Survival: Foraging, Hunting, Fishing, Remedy, Cooking
Search: Tracking, Camouflage, Inspection (Urban, Rural), Navigation
Repair: Build, Fix, Forage, Improvise, Design

Criminal

The criminal tree covers the various skills prized by the shadow denizens of the underworld as well as the professionals dealing with them.
Security: Lockpick, Active Systems, Procedures, Traps, Safecracking
Streetwise: Sources, Criminal Patterns, Read, Gambling
Sneak: Pick Pocket, Stealth, Blend, Sleight of Hand, Camouflage

Internal

Various skills focused on the inner-space of oneself and the wisdom to be realized therein.
Introspect: Meditate, Memory, Sense, Reflection
Observe: Surprise, Patterns, Analyze, Details
Mystic: Relics, Demonology, Psy/Theurgy, Annunaki, Visions

Interpersonal

Various skills focused on direct, personal interactions.
Empathy: Animals, Comprehension, Emotions, Syntax
Charisma: Charm, Manipulate, Impress, Speech
Deceit: Disguise, Intimidate, Lie, Forgery

Society

Various skills focused on interacting with larger social structures.
Bureaucracy: Politics, Leadership, Laws, Propaganda
Economics: Financial Systems, Bartering, Investment
Etiquette: Court, Xeno, Customs, Fashion

Technology

Skills focused on the high tech and data of Fading Suns
Redemption: Repair, Design, Materials, Systems
Information: Networking, Sensors, Think Machine, Programming
Advanced: Propulsion, Field Technology, Jump-tech, Antimatter, Fusion

Secondary Skills

Mechanically secondary skills can often be used as a reference skill on primary rolls or can stand as skill rolls of their own when appropriate. Players are highly encouraged to leverage their secondary skills whenever possible to add flavor. That said in many circumstances secondary skills stand on their own as independent skills and players should not ignore investing into them. Compared to Primary skills secondary skills tend to have a larger variety of leaves which can really help define a character.

Knowledge

Less applied and more theoretical than the Technology primary tree.
Science: Terraforming, Life, Materials, Programming, Chemistry, Demolitions
Medicine: Physick, Anatomy, Pharmacology, Xeno, Caretaking, Implants, Cosmetic
Warfare: Squad Tactics, Artillery, Fleet, Land, Naval, Primitive, Guerilla, Terrorism

Anthropology

The softer sciences of peoples, cultures, psychology, and arts.
Arts: Dancing, Acting, Writing, Instrument, Singing, Painting, Sculpting
Lore: Places, Peoples, Organizations, 1st Republic, 2nd Republic, Xeno, Anunnaki
Sociology: Planet, Organization, Race

Artisan

How to build, fix, or create or grow most low(er) tech things.
Crafts: Carpentry, Masonry, Jeweler, Smith, Brewer, Baker
Trades: Chef, Maid, Hawker, Innkeep, Fence, Journalist, Accountant
Agriculture: Husbandry, Breeder, Trainer, Farmer, Herbalist

Special Skills

These skills stand alone, distinct from any tree. For cost purposes they function as Primary leaves and can be put into the same section of the character sheet. Unlike all Primary and Secondary skills, Special skills do not form the Target Number for actions, even those in their purview. Instead the GM will assign a relevant normal skill for the given action however if a character doesn't have the requisite Special skill they will suffer a stiff penalty (-4). Having a single dot in a special skill essentially enables the character to perform these actions without a penalty. A second dot can be purchased and will give a moderate bonus (+2). Characters with a skill of the same category but lacking the specific skill can default at only a -2 penalty (ignore any 2nd dots when defaulting)

Ride: The skill of riding a mount. One skill per animal type (Horse, Griffon, Dragon, Vorox, etc ...)
Ground: The skill of operating a powered land vehicle. One skill per vehicle type (Crawlers, Skimmers, Armor, Screamers)
Air: The skill of operating a powered air vehicle. One skill per vehicle type (Hoppers, Flitters, Thunderbirds)
Pilot: The skill of operating a powered space vehicle. One skill per vehicle type (Fighters, Frigates, Cruisers, Dreadnaughts, Tugs)
Speak: One skill per language.
Read: One skill per language. Can default reading to speaking the same language (but cannot default speaking to reading)
Instrument: One skill per instrument.