Cardsharp:
A skill that involves the manual dexterity of hand and finger
manipulation to perform tricks, palming, and other gimmicks of sleight of hand
with playing cards. This includes dealing from the bottom or middle of the deck,
stacking a deck (to the cardsharp's favor), hiding cards up the sleeve (and
elsewhere), fancy and impressive methods of shuffling and dealing the cards,
as well as "marking" cards, card counting and understanding the odds.
Marking cards often includes a complex series of Braille-like indentations,
punctures or trimmed edges so that they are slightly concave or convex, all
things that the delicate touch of the professional cardsharp can feel as he
deals the cards. Other types of "marks" include incredibly subtle,
almost indiscernible variations of the pattern on the back of cards, typically
in the right, upper corner. A failed roll means the character has fumbled the
trick, missed (or misread) one of his secret markings, or was too obvious and
is caught cheating! Base Skill: 24% +4% per level of experience.
Add +4% if the character also has the Palming skill.
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Computer Hacking:
This is a computer skill similar to computer programming; however,
the emphasis of the skill is breaking computer access codes to gain illegal
access to other computer systems and steal or sabotage its data. The character
is an expert in tracing computer data, bypassing defense systems, and breaking
("hacking") codes; add a one time bonus of +5% to the Cryptography,
Surveillance Systems, and Locksmith (electronic and computer controlled locks
only) skills if the character is a hacker. Base Skill: 15% +5% per level of
experience. Requires: The ability to read and write, Computer Operation, Computer
Programming, and at least Basic Mathematics. Concealment: The practiced ability
to hide small items on one's body or in hand, usually by continually moving
it around from hand to hand or place to place unnoticed. Objects must be no
larger than 14 inches (36 cm) in height and depth, and six inches (15 cm) in
width. The weight must also be 10 pound (4.5 kg) or less. The smaller and lighter
the object, such as a knife, gem, key, credit card, etc., the easier it is to
conceal (add a bonus of +5%). Larger items, such as a book, scroll, club, statue,
or similarly large or heavy object, are more difficult to conceal on one's person
for obvious reasons. Base Skill: 20% +4% per level of experience.
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Find Contraband, Weapons
& Cybernetics:
The character with this skill knows where to find arms dealers,
smugglers, body chop-shops, M.O.M. and Juicer conversions, criminal Cyber-Docs
and illegal medical treatment, as well as how to spot them. He is also familiar
with their hang-outs, gang or criminal ties, general practices, codes of conduct,
pricing structures and modes of operation. Likewise, the character has a good
idea of what black market weapons and cybernetics should cost and what these
people pay for contraband items (typically about 20% of what they sell it for).
The character also knows the penalty for being caught with an illegal weapon,
implant or bionics. For most societies, any M.D. weapons, concealed weapons
and sidearms are forbidden inside large population centers. This skill is especially
appropriate in the modern cities of Rifts Japan, as well as in large cities
of the Coalition States, the NGR, Atlantis, and other large, modern cities.
Base Skill: 26% +4% per level of experience. Note:
This skill should be considered a separate skill apart from streetwise.
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Gambling (Standard):
This skill enables the character to skillfully play several
different games of chance. The character knows the rules of 1D4 games, plus
one additional game for every 2 points of the character's I.Q. (rounded up).
In addition to rules, the character understands the theories of mathematical
"odds" (+5% bonus to math skill), some basic strategies and tactics
for winning consistently, when to hold them, fold them, etc. Base Skill:
30% +5% per level of experience.
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Gambling (Dirty Tricks):
This is the other side of gambling in which the character is
skilled at cheating in games of chance. This includes knowledge of dirty tricks
such as counting cards, how to use marked cards, using trick/loaded dice, stacking
the deck (in one's favor), sleight of hand tricks to hide cards up sleeves or
in the palm of the hand, dealing from the bottom of the deck, and other cheats
(must have the Palming skill for the latter two). Base Skill:
20% +4% per level of experience.
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Palming:
Simply the ability to pick up and seemingly make a small object,
such as a coin, key, or credit card, disappear by concealing it in one's hand.
Adds a bonus of +5% to the Pick Pockets skill. Base Skill:
20% +5% per level of experience.
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Pick Locks:
The character knows the methods and tools for picking/opening
key and basic tumbler type locks. This does not include sophisticated computer
or electronic locks. It takes I D6 melee rounds for each attempt to pick a lock.
A failed roll means the lock holds; try again. Base Skill: 30%
+5% per level of experience.
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Pick Pockets:
An ability to remove items from a person without their being
aware of it. If a pick pocket attempt fails, the item has NOT been removed and
there is a 67% likelihood of the intended victim recognizing the intent of the
action. Base Skill: 25% +5% per level of experience.
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Prowl:
This skill helps the character to move with stealth; quietly,
slowly, and carefully. Techniques include balance and footing, short steps and
pacing, rifle positioning, prone positions for low visibility, and crawling.
A failed prowl roll means that the character has been seen or heard. If the
prowl roll is successful, then the character is not seen or heard and may make
a sneak attack. Base Skill: 25% +5% per level of experience.
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Safe-Cracking:
This is a specialized skill in which the character studies the
strengths, weaknesses, and construction of safes and how to open them without
damaging the contents inside. The fingers of the safecracker are so sensitive
that they can "feel" the subtle calibration of combination locks and
other locking mechanisms. When using explosives, they can use their abilities
to such precision that they can "blow" the lock off a safe, security
door, safe deposit box and similar without creating a big, area affect explosion
or inflicting damage to the contents (a failed Safe-Cracking skill or demolitions
roll means the explosion was too much and the contents are damaged). Base
Skill: 20% +4% per level of experience. Bonuses: Adds +5% bonus to
the Lock Picking and Demolitions skills. Penalties: Requires
focus, concentration and keen hearing, characters with a M.E. under 15 are -10%
on this skill.
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Seduction:
This is the ability to make the opposite sex melt with desire.
This skill is somewhat similar to the interrogation skill, in that the seducer
knows how to ask the right questions to get information without being obvious.
The seducer usually seems attentive, sympathetic, and alluring/sexy. Men and
women who are seduced tend to have loose lips, meaning they tend to talk freely,
say more than they should, and tell secrets. They also lose track of time, spend
big money to impress and please their seducer, and lavish her or him with their
affection, time and attention, while oblivious to everything else around them.
Most of all, somebody who is seduced is vulnerable. The person who is successfully
seduced is distracted, skill performance is half and takes twice as long to
perform, the character has no initiative, does not notice people or events around
him/her, and is easily caught off guard; no initiative and all bonuses are at
half when attacked by a character other than the seducer. Worse, the victim(s)
of seduction is completely vulnerable to the seducer! The seducer always gets
the first strike/attack/action (any roll above a 4 hits or is successful). The
victim has no chance of self-defense against that first attack, plus loses one
attack/action from surprise or horror. In addition, the seducer is +5% to Pick
the Pockets of, Palm, or plant things on, his/her victim of seduction, as well
as +5% to the skills Cardsharp, Sing and Dance. Research has shown that the
more alcohol the intended victim drinks, the easier he/she is to seduce (+5%).
Base Skill: 20% +3% per additional level of experience. Skill
Bonuses: +1% for every one M.A. attribute point above 20, and every
two P.B. points above 17. So a character with a P.B. 23 (+3) and M.A. 24 (+4)
would be +7% to successfully seduce a victim. The seducer can influence more
than one person at a time; one additional per every three levels of experience.
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Streetwise:
This skill instills an understanding of the darker side of city
life and the scoundrels who roam the streets. The streetwise character will
be able to recognize gang members by their actions and philosophies, gang colors
(emblems and clothing that denote membership to a particular organization),
gang symbols and mannerisms, and dangerous locations and gangland haunts. The
individual will also recognize a potential brawl situation, assess a gang member's
rank/power in the organization, and know some of the hangouts, modes of operation,
rituals, ethics, and perhaps even notorious gang leaders of the more infamous
street gangs. This skill also includes the ability to recognize and locate black
market dealers/organizations, illegal Cyber-Doc clinics, drugs and arms dealers,
and similar criminal outfits. Base Skill: 20% +4% per level
of experience.
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Streetwise: Drugs:
The following additional street knowledge can be included as
part of the regular streetwise skill or used as an additional rogue skill; G.M.'s
choice. If used as a separate skill, then Base Skill: 25% +5%
per level of experience. This skill gives the character the ability to recognize
characters addicted to drugs, street corner pushers, big time dealers, drug
smugglers, Juicers, Japes, and undercover agents looking to bust dealers. Similarly,
the character has a good idea what drugs cost, how to use them and where to
buy them (even if he doesn't use them himself). The character also knows most
of the "street names" of common drugs, recognizes the drug when he
sees it and knows the general effects and dangers it represents. He can also
recognize the symptoms in others and can guess what drug a user may be high
on with reasonable accuracy (roll under skill ability).
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Ventriloquism:
The practiced ability to throw one's voice. This can be used
to create the illusion of not speaking while making a voice or verbal noise
appear to be coming from someone or something else, such as a puppet, a tree,
box, chair, etc. Maximum range is 10 feet (3 m) away. A failed roll means the
voice is not well thrown or the ventriloquist's mouth is seen moving, so the
trick does not work. Base Skill: 16% +4% per level of experience.
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