SILHOUETTE
CYBERPUNK
MASTER SKILLS LIST
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* Skill has prerequisites.
** Skill is New or otherwise Modified from "canon"
rules
*** Seduction may be either APP- or INF-based, depending on the
character
DESCRIPTION OF SKILL LEVEL
A character's skill in Silhouette is typically ranked
from 0 to 5. Here's a quick table comparing the different levels.
| Skill Level | Description |
| 0 | Unskilled. Character has little or no experience in this area. Equivalent to Skill Level 0-1 in Interlock. |
| 1 | Skilled. The character has some specific training in this area. Most skills except those that are directly related to a character's profession are usually at this level. Ex: Most anyone knows how to Drive (level 1), professional drivers (truckers, race car drivers, etc) would be considered to have Level 2 (See below). Equivalent to Skill Levels 2-4 in Interlock. |
| 2 | Professional. The Character has developed this skill to a professional's level. This is the equivalent of a Bachelor's Degree for KNO-based skills, or a Black Belt in Martial Arts, for example. Equivalent to Skill Level 5-7 in Interlock. |
| 3 | Expert. Equivalent to an Advanced Degree (Masters, Ph.D), or extensive training in a specific area. World-class athletes, martial artists, actors, etc will have their relevant skill(s) at Level 3. Most characters will eventually reach Level 3 in their specialty later in their careers. Most KNO-based skills require the purchase of a Specialization before progressing to this level. Equivalent to Skill Level 8-9 in Interlock. |
| 4 | Renowned Expert. Equivalent to extensive post-doctoral experience, or Olympic-winning athlete. A character with a Level 4 skill is one of the most skilled people in the world at what they do. Equivalent to Skill Level 10 in Interlock. |
| 5 | World-Renowned. Nobel prize-winner equivalent. You know more about whatever it is you do than anyone else on the planet. There's probably only one or two people in the world that ever attained Level 5 in any skill. This represents near-perfection. Equivalent to skill levels beyond 10. |
SKILL CHANGES OF NOTE:
Ambush:
The Ambush skill is utilized for both detecting as well as
performing ambushes. Effectively a specialized form of Tactics,
Ambush allows the player to evaluate the area as a potential
ambush site. In selecting an ambush location, the Ambush skill is
rolled. The result, plus/minus any applicable cover modifiers
(light, medium, or heavy) or other GM modifiers (good idea/RPing,
bad idea/RPing, etc) is the threshold for any Notice checks to
detect the ambush. Additionally, this knowledge can be reversed,
allowing the PC to determine if an ambush is likely to occur. If
a character succeeds in an Ambush check (threshold is GMs
discretion, 4 is typical), they would be allowed a dodge vs. the
ambush attack, with a penalty of 3 minus the MOS of the Ambush
check.
Exo Pilot:
Exo Pilot is the skill required to operate humanoid linear
frame-based vehicles, ranging from Landmates and ACPA to smaller
powered armor suits such as the SAMAS. Gunnery (Exo) is required
to utilize any weapon system tied in to the vehicle's fire
control. Electronic Warfare and Communications skill are required
to use any onboard sensors and radio systems.
Foreign Languages:
Each language must be individually purchased, and
there's too many foreign languages to list here, but assume that
all characters have their native language at Level 2 (3 if
they're especially well educated). In areas such as Europe, where
bilingualism is fairly common, players may receive up to two free
levels of additional languages (i.e. one additional language at
Level 2 (fluent), or two additional languages at Level 1
(passable)) at the GM's discretion. Additionally, a character can
attempt to speak a similar language (e.g. French to Spanish),
with a -2 penalty. Attempting to speak a specific dialect of a
language is performed at a -1 penalty.
Grooming:
Grooming measures a character's ability to improve their physical
appearance. A Grooming check versus a 5+APP yields an addition of
MOS points to the character's APP.
Gunnery:
Gunnery skill is required to fire any non-portable weapon, such
as those mounted on vehicles. Gunnery selections include:
Aircraft, Exo, Ground (eg. Tanks, hovercraft), Naval (eg. ships
and submarines), Space, and Strider, and must be purchased
separately. However, a character can use the weapon systems on a
vehicle he is not familiar with at a -2 penalty.
Example: Exo-Joe has Gunnery (Exo) at level 2. However, he's
trapped behind enemy lines, but has managed to commandeer an APC
(Ground vehicle) with one of his squadmates. Exo-Joe can attempt
to use the APC's turret-mounted 30mm autocannon at a -2 Penalty.
It's not an ideal situation for Joe, but it's a heckuva lot
better than rolling Unskilled!
Intimidate:
The Intimidate skill can be either BLD or PSY based,
depending on whether or not the Character typically attempts to
cause intimidation by brute force (BLD), or by
being...well...insane or just generally unnerving (PSY).
Security:
This skill gives the character a basic understanding of security
practices and protocols. Additionally this skill grants some
understanding of security devices and their capabilities.
However, it is important to note that this skill does NOT convey
any knowledge of how to bypass such devices (Computers,
Electronic Warfare, Electronics and/or Stealth is required).
Additionally the Security skill also encompasses some very basic
legal training, specialized towards security procedures and
related offenses.
Strider Pilot:
Strider Pilot training allows the character to pilot any
nonhumanoid walker vehicle that does not use a linear-frame as
the primary control interface. Examples of such vehicles would
include the Fuchikoma or Thinktank, or larger units such as the
Coalition Spider Scout Walker or any Strider vehicles as seen in
Heavy Gear. Strider Pilot also includes training on the use of
most secondary movement system that might be seen on a strider
(eg. road wheels). As with Exo Pilot, Gunnery (Strider) is
required to use onboard weaponry, and Electronic Warfare and
Communications are required to use the sensor or communications
suites.
Tactics:
The Tactics skill represents specific training or
experience that the character has related to all knowledge
tactical. Specializations may include: antiterrorist, small
group, squad, battalion, or large scale. At the beginning of any
combat situation, a Tactics roll can be made vs a 4. The player
and his "team" receive a number of Command Points equal
to their MOS, that can be used at any time during the conflct.
Additionally, Tactics can be used in order to "scope
out" a facility, and give Command Points towards
infiltration and/or escape.
MISCELLANEOUS SKILL NOTES
Cyberdocs and other medical technicians that work with cybernetics must also learn some Mechanics in order to maintain/repair cybernetic parts.
Security and Ambush skill can work like Tactics, but only in those very specific situations as dictated by the skill. A Security "tactics" roll would allow a pool of points usable to say, search a compound for intruders.
House Rule Alert!: I've also toyed with the possibility of allowing the purchase of the "specialized" version of some complex skills as simple. EG: Jimbo the industrial Exo-Pilot drives a Power-Loader type unit, day in and day out. Instead of purchasing traditional Pilot (Exo), which would also allow him to utilize such combat exos as SAMAS and Landmates, Jimbo could buy Pilot (Power-Loader) as a simple skill, allowing him to be very competent at loading crates with his humanoid forklift, but he'd be lost in a milspec Landmate. Similarly, the Dealer/Pusher archetype (see Archetype Conversions), currently has Life Sciences at level 2. This literally means that your badsider drug dealer has an effectively professional (College Level, eg. Bachelors degree) education...In biology, zoology, botany, AND the more relevant Pharmacology/Toxicology. It may be far more relevant to allow the Dealer to purchase effectively a Craft: Pharmacology as a Simple skill. <shrug> It's a thought...
Last Updated: 01.08.01 13:16