Abilities are the Traits used to describe what you know and what you’ve learned to do. Whereas Attributes represent your raw potential, Abilities represent the ways you’ve learned to use that potential. You may not need anything but brute strength to smash through a door - but if you’re trying to use sheer muscle power to force an engine part into place without breaking anything, you’d better know something about mechanics. When rolling dice, you’ll probably have to pair an Ability with an appropriate Attribute, in order to properly depict the combination of potential and know-how that’s necessary for getting things done.

There are 30 Abilities: 10 Talents, 10 Skills and 10 Knowledges. Each Ability typically covers a broad range of aptitudes. For certain Abilities (Expression, Crafts, Performance, Academics, Science), it is best to pick a Speciality, even if the character’s rating in the Ability is not yet 4 or higher. Thus, a character with the Crafts Skill is generally versed in handiwork of all sorts, but might be particularly adept at auto mechanics.

Talents describe what you intuitively know, what you can do without coaching or instruction. The only way to improve your talents is through direct experience - with the exception of a very few cases (such as studying a text on Jeet Kune Do to learn a dot or so in Brawl), these things can’t be learned from a book or mail-order course. If you try an action involving a Talent your character doesn’t possess, there’s no penalty to your basic Attribute dice pool; these Abilities are so intuitive that virtually everyone has some degree of capacity in each one.

This is your basic knack for noticing things that go on around you, even when you’re not actively looking for them. Alertness describes the attention you pay to the outside world, whether otherwise occupied or not. This Talent is typically paired with Perception, and is best used when sensing physical stimuli (as opposed to moods or clues).

*           Novice: You’re no mindless drone.

**         Practised: Habitual eavesdropper.

***      Competent: You keep a sharp eye on your surroundings.

****    Expert: Whether from paranoia or good sense, you are rarely caught off guard.

***** Master: You’re senses are on par with those of a wild animal.

Possessed by: Hunters; Body Guards; Security Personnel; Journalists; Burglars.

Specialities: Noises; Eavesdropping; Ambushes; Hidden Weapons; Crowds; Forests; Animals.

This Talent represents your basic athletic ability, as well as any training you might have had in sports or other rigorous activities. Athletics concerns all forms of running, jumping, throwing, swimming, sports and the like; however, it doesn’t cover basic motor actions such as lifting weights, nor does it govern athletic feats covered by another Ability (such as Melee).

*           Novice: You had an active childhood.

**         Practised: High-school athlete.

***      Competent: Professional athlete.

****    Expert: Top-notch in your sport.

***** Master: Olympic medallist.

Possessed by: Athletes; Enthusiasts; Park Rangers; Jocks; Kids.

Specialities: Swimming; Rock Climbing; Acrobatics; Dancing; Endurance Running; specific sports.

The Brawl Talent represents how well you fight in tooth-and-nail situations. This Talent represents skill in unarmed combat, whether from formal martial-arts training or simply from plenty of experience - either type can make you a dangerous adversary. Effective brawlers are coordinated, resistant to pain, quick, strong and mean; the willingness to do whatever it takes to hurt your opponent wins plenty of fights.

*           Novice: You were picked on as a kid.

**         Practised: You’ve seen the occasional barroom tussle.

***      Competent: You’ve fought regularly and routinely, and generally walked away in better shape than your opponents.

****    Expert: You could be a serious contender on a boxing circuit.

***** Master: You can kill three men in four seconds.

Possessed by: Military; police; Roughnecks; Thugs.

Specialities: Boxing; Wrestling; Dirty Fighting; Kicks; Karate; Judo; Muay Thai; Throws; Submission Holds.

The first rule of self-preservation, this Talent covers your ability to avoid blows, missile fire or even oncoming cars. Dodge entails taking cover, ducking punches or any other methods of getting out of harm’s way.

*           Novice: You can reflexively duck and cover your head.

**         Practised: You’ve weathered a self-defence class.

***      Competent: You can evade thrown rocks, maybe even knives.

****    Expert: It’d take a skilled brawler to land a punch.

***** Master: You can virtually sidestep bullets on open ground.

Possessed by: Police; Criminals; Brawlers; Boxers; People in Bad Neighbourhoods.

Specialities: Cover; Sidestep; Footwork; Leap.

You understand the emotions of others, and can sympathise with, feign sympathy for, or play on such emotions as you see fit. You are an easy hand at discerning motive, and might be able to pick up on when someone’s lying to you. However, you may be so in tune with other people’s feelings that your own emotions are affected.

*           Novice: You lend the occasional shoulder to cry on.

**         Practised: You can sometimes literally feel someone else’s suffering.

***      Competent: You have a keen insight into other people’s motivations.

****    Expert: It’s almost impossible to lie to you.

***** Master: The human soul conceals no mysteries from you.

Possessed by: Social Workers; Parents; Actors; Psychologists; Detectives; Seducers; Mediums; Best Friends.

Specialities: Emotions; Personalities; Motives; Gaining Trust.

This is your ability to get your point across clearly whether through conversation, poetry or even email. Characters with high Expression can phrase their opinions or beliefs in a manner that cannot be ignored (even if their opinions are misinformed or worthless). They might also be talented actors, skilled at conveying moods or feigning emotion with every gesture. Additionally, this Talent represents your ability for poetry, creative writing or other literary art forms.

*           Novice: Your talent has matured past crude poetry on notebook paper.

**         Practised: You could lead a college debate team.

***      Competent: You could be a successful writer.

****    Expert: Your work is Pulitzer material.

***** Master: A visionary such as yourself comes along only once in every generation.

Possessed by: Actors; Writers; Poets; Politicians; Journalists; Instructors; Rabble-Rousers.

Specialities: Acting; Poetry; Fiction; Impromptu; Conversation.

Intimidation takes many forms, from outright threats and physical violence to mere force of personality. You know the right method for each occasion, and can be very…persuasive.

*           Novice: Crude teenage bully.

**         Practised: Mugger.

***      Competent: Drill Sergeant.

****    Expert: Your air of authority cows casual passersby.

***** Master: You can frighten off vicious animals.

Possessed by: Bullies; Executives; Military Officers; Thugs; Bouncers; Gangsters; Sabbat.

Specialities: Veiled Threats; Pulling Rank; Physical Coercion; Blackmail.

You are an example to others and can inspire them to do what you want. Leadership has less to do with manipulating people’s desires than it does with presenting yourself as the sort of person they want to follow. This Talent is usually paired with Charisma rather then Manipulation.

*           Novice: Captain of your Little League team.

**         Practised: Student body president.

***      Competent: An effective CEO.

****    Expert: Presidential material.

***** Master: You could be the lord and master of a nation.

Possessed by: Politicians; Princes; Managers; Executives; Military Officers; Police.

Specialities: Oratory; Compelling; Friendly; Open; Noble; Military; Commands.

The streets can provide a lot of information or money to those who know the language. Streetwise allows you to blend in unobtrusively with the local scene, pick up gossip, understand slang or even dabble in criminal doings.

*           Novice: You know who sells drugs.

**         Practised: You’re recorded respect on the street.

***      Competent: You could head your own gang.

****    Expert: You have little to fear in even the worst neighbourhoods.

***** Master: If you haven’t heard it, it hasn’t been said.

Possessed by: Criminals; Homeless People; Reporters; Detectives; Vice Squads; Sabbat.

Specialities: Fencing; Illegal Drugs; Illegal Weapons; Rumours; Gangs; Pickpocketing; Local Slang.

You know how to conceal your own motives and project what you like. Furthermore, you can root out other people’s motives, then use those motives against them. This Talent defines your talent for intrigue, secrets and double-dealing; mastery of Subterfuge can make you the ultimate seducer or a brilliant spy.

*           Novice: You tell the occasional little white lie.

**         Practised: Vampire.

***      Competent: Criminal lawyer.

****    Expert: Deep-cover agent.

***** Master: You’re the very last person anyone would suspect.

Possessed by: Politicians; Lawyers; Vampires; Teenagers; Con Men; Pick-up Artists.

Specialities: Seduction; Impeccable Lies; Feigning Mortality.

SKILLS:

Skills are Abilities learned through training, apprenticeships or other instruction. If you try to perform an action involving a Skill in which you have no rating, your difficulty is increased by one. An unskilled worker just isn’t as effective as someone who might have lower Attributes but an understanding of what the procedure entails.

You can understand an animal’s behaviour patterns. This Skill allows you to predict how an animal might react in a given situation, train a domesticated creature, or even try to calm or enrage animals.

*           Novice: You can get a domesticated horse to let you pet it.

**         Practised: You can housebreak a puppy.

***      Competent: You can train a seeing-eye dog.

****    Expert: Circus trainer.

***** Master: You can tame wild beasts without benefit of supernatural powers.

Possessed by: Farmers; Animal Trainers; Zookeepers; Park Rangers; Pet Owners; Domitors.

Specialities: Dogs; Attack Training; Big Cats; Horses; Farm Animals; Falconry.

This Skill covers your ability to make or fix things with your hands. Crafts allows you to work in fields such as carpentry, leatherwork, weaving or even mechanic expertise such as car repair. You can even create lasting works of art with this Skill depending on the number of successes you achieve. You must always choose a specialisation in Crafts, even though you retain some skill in multiple fields.

*           Novice: High-school wood shop.

**         Practised: You’re starting to develop your own style.

***      Competent: You could make a living at your work.

****    Expert: Your work might be featured in college-level textbooks for your field.

***** Master: Your artistry is virtually without peer.

Possessed by: Mechanics; Artisans; Artists; Designers; Inventors; Back-to-the-Land Types.

Specialities: Pottery; Sewing; Home Repair; Carpentry; Appraisal; Car Repair.

You can drive a car and maybe other vehicles as well. The Skill does not automatically entail familiarity with complicated vehicles such as tanks or 18-wheelers, and difficulties may vary depending on your experience with individual automobiles. After all, helming a station wagon doesn’t prepare you for controlling a Lotus at 100mph.

*           Novice: You know how to work an automatic transmission.

**         Practised: You can drive a stick shift.

***      Competent: Professional trucker.

****    Expert: NASCAR daredevil or tank pilot.

***** Master: You can make a Yugo do tricks out of a James Bond movie.

Possessed by: Cabbies; Truckers; Race Car Drivers; most 20^th Century residents of affluent Western nations.

Specialities: Off-road; Wheelies; Curves; Stick Shift; Sudden Stops; Heavy Traffic.

You understand the nuances of proper behaviour, in both mortal society and kindred culture. Your speciality is the culture with which you are most familiar. This Skill is used during haggling, seduction, dancing, dinner etiquette and all forms of diplomacy.

*           Novice: You know when to keep your mouth shut.

**         Practised: You’ve been to a black-tie event or two.

***      Competent: You know your way around even obscure silverware.

****    Expert: Her Majesty would consider you charming.

***** Master: If the right people came to dinner, you could end wars - or start them.

Possessed by: Diplomats; Travellers; High Society; Executives.

Specialities: Formal Dinners; Business; Street Culture; Kindred Society.

Executing a mortal with a sword starts investigations. Clawing someone to ribbons shakes the edges of the Masquerade. So Cainites adapt, and many have devoted their energies to learning how to kill with guns. This Skill represents familiarity with a range of firearms, from holdout pistols to heavy machine guns. Of course, this Skill doesn’t include heavy artillery such as mortars or tank guns. However, someone skilled in Firearms can clean, repair, recognize and, of course, accurately fire most forms of small arms. This Skill is also used to unjam guns (Wits + Firearms).

*           Novice: You had a BB gun as a kid.

**         Practised: You while away the occasional hour at the gun club.

***      Competent: You’ve survived a firefight or two.

****    Expert: You could pick people off for a living.

***** Master: You’ve been practising since the debut of the Winchester.

Possessed by: Sabbat; Policemen; Military Personnel; Survivalists; Hunters.

Specialities: Fast-Draw; Gunsmithing; Pistols; Sniping; Revolvers; Shotguns.

As the kindred maxim runs, Guns mean nothing to a lifeless heart. A blade is often worth far more, as is the skill to use it properly. Melee covers your ability to use hand-to-hand weapons of all forms, from swords and clubs to esoteric martial-arts paraphernalia such as sai or nunchaku. And, of course, there is always the utility of the wooden stake…

*           Novice: You know the right way to hold a knife.

**         Practised: You may have been in the occasional street fight.

***      Competent: You could make a college fencing team.

****    Expert: You could keep order in the prince’s court.

***** Master: Your enemies would rather face a SWAT team than your blade.

Possessed by: Assassins; Gang Members; Martial Artists; Police; Duellists; Medievalist Buffs.

Specialities: Knives; Swords; Improvised Clubs; Stakes; Disarms; Axes.

The Performance Skill governs your ability to perform artistic endeavours such as singing, dancing, acting or playing a musical instrument. You are almost certainly specialised in one field, although true virtuosos may be talented in many forms of performance. This Skill represents not only technical know-how, but the ability to work an audience and enrapture them with your show.

*           Novice: You could sing in the church choir.

**         Practised: You could get a leading part in a college production.

***      Competent: You’re in demand in the local clubs.

****    Expert: You have the talent to be a national sensation.

***** Master: You are a virtuoso without peer.

Possessed by: Musicians; College Students; Actors; Ballerinas; Mimes.

Specialities: Dancing; Singing; Rock and Roll; Acting; Guitar Solos; Drunken Karaoke.

This Skill entails familiarity with the tools and techniques for picking locks, deactivating car or burglar alarms, hot-wiring automobiles or even safecracking, as well as countless forms of breaking and entering. Security is useful not only for theft, but also for setting up “the unbeatable system” or deducing where a thief broke in.

*           Novice: You can pick a simple lock.

**         Practised: You can hot-wire a car.

***      Competent: You can bypass or disable a house alarm.

****    Expert: You can crack a safe.

***** Master: You could get a bomb out of - or into - the Pentagon.

Possessed by: Burglars; Security Consultants; Policemen.

Specialities: Safecracking; Hot-wiring; Electrical Alarms; Pressure Plates; Deadbolts; Cars.

This Skill is the ability to avoid being detected, whether you’re hiding or moving at the time. Stealth is often tested against someone else’s Perception. The Ability is, for obvious reasons, highly useful in stalking prey.

*           Novice: You can hide in a darkened room.

**         Practised: You can shadow someone from streetlight to streetlight.

***      Competent: You have little difficulty finding prey from evening to evening.

****    Expert: You can move quietly over dry leaves.

***** Master: Nosferatu elder.

Possessed by: Burglars; Assassins; Kindred; Spies; Reporters; Commandos.

Specialities: Hiding; Silent Movement; Shadowing; Crowds.

Although vampires have little to fear from starvation and exposure, the wilderness can still be dangerous to a Cainite. This Skill allows you to find shelter, navigate your way to civilisation, track prey and possibly even avoid lupines (although this last is exceedingly difficult). When you use Stealth in the wilderness, you cannot roll more dice for your Stealth rating than you have in Survival.

*           Novice: You can survive a 5-mile hike.

**         Practised: You “roughed it” on a regular basis.

***      Competent: You know poisonous mushrooms from edible ones.

****    Expert: You could live for months in the wilderness of your choice.

***** Master: You could get dropped naked into the Andes and do all right for yourself.

Possessed by: Scouts; Soldiers; Outdoors Enthusiasts; Survivalists; Hunters; Park Rangers.

Specialities: Tracking; Woodlands; Jungle; Trapping; Hunting.

Knowledges involve the application of the mind, not the body; consequently, Knowledge Abilities are most often paired with Mental Traits. (It’s possible to roll Charisma + Academics, or even Stamina + Medicine, but such things are pretty rare). The following descriptions speak of Knowledge levels in collegiate terms, although formal schooling is just one way to improve a Knowledge.

If you don’t have any dots in a Knowledge, you can’t even attempt a roll involving it unless the ST gives explicit permission (such as where common trivia is concerned). If you don’t know Spanish, you can’t try holding a conversation in espanol on your wits alone.

This catch-all Knowledge covers the character’s erudition in the “humanities”; literature, history, art, philosophy and other “liberal” sciences. A character with dots in Academics is generally well-rounded in these fields, and at high levels may be considered an expert in one or more area of study. Not only can this Knowledge impress at salons and other Elysium functions, but it can also offer valuable clues to certain past - and future - movements in the Jyhad.

*           Student: You’re aware that 1066 is something more than a Beverly Hills area code.

**         College: You can quote from the classics, identify major cultural movements, and expound on the difference between Ming and Moghul.

***      Masters: You can get a paper published in a scholarly journal.

****    Doctorate: Professor emeritus.

***** Scholar: Scholars worldwide acknowledge you as one of the foremost experts of your time.

Possessed by: Professors; Literati; Trivia Buffs; Elders.

Specialities: Poststructuralism; Impressionist Painting; Imperial Rome; American Realism.

This Knowledge represents the ability to operate and programme computers, as well as the savvy to keep up with the latest technology.

*           Student: Point and click.

**         College: You can process data with relative ease.

***      Masters: You can design software.

****    Doctorate: You can make a very comfortable as a consultant.

***** Scholar: You’re on the bleeding edge.

Possessed by: Hackers; Office Workers; Programmers; Data Processors; Students.

Specialities: Computer Languages; Internet; Code Breaking; Viruses; Data Retrieval.

You know the ins and outs of commerce, from evaluating an item’s relative worth to keeping up with currency exchange rates. This Knowledge can be invaluable when brokering items, running numbers or playing the stock market. Sufficiently high levels in Finance allow you to raise your standards of living to a very comfortable level.

*           Student: You’ve taken a few business classes.

**         College: You have some practical experience and can keep your books fairly neat.

***      Masters: You’d make a fine stockbroker.

****    Doctorate: Corporations follow your financial lead.

***** Scholar: You could turn a twenty dollar bill into a fortune.

Possessed by: Executives; Upper Class; Stock Brokers; Accountants; Fences; Drug Dealers; Smugglers.

Specialities: Stock Market; Laundering; Appraisal; Foreign Currencies; Accounting; Fencing; Corporations.

You’ve learned to notice details others might overlook, and might make an admirable detective. This Knowledge represents not only a good eye for detail, bit also an ability to do research and follow leads.

*           Student: You’ve read your share of Agatha Christie.

**         College: Police officer.

***      Masters: Private detective.

****    Doctorate: Federal agent.

***** Scholar: Sherlock Holmes.

Possessed by: Detectives; Mystery Buffs; Policemen; Stalkers.

Specialities: Forensics; Shadowing; Search; Discolorations.

With all the lawyers and lawmakers out there, this Knowledge can prove very useful. Law can be useful for filing suit, avoiding lawsuits or getting out of jail. What’s more, even the kindred keep their own laws, and more than one vampire has saved his own unlife by deftly exploiting a loophole in one of the Traditions.

*           Student: You’ve watched your share of courtroom dramas.

**         College: You’re either studying for or just passed the bar exam.

***      Masters: Ambulance chaser.

****    Doctorate: Major public figures have your number - just in case.

***** Scholar: You could find the loopholes in the Devil’s contract.

Possessed by: Lawyers; Police; Judges; Detectives; Legislators.

Specialities: Criminal; Suits; Courts; Contracts; Police Procedure; Kindred Law.

You begin play with the native of your choice for free, but if you want speak any other languages, whether modern or ancient, Linguistics is a must. This Ability allows you to understand additional languages, but at high levels also offers a more general understanding of linguistic structure. Linguistics may allow you to recognise accents or decipher word puzzles.

*           Student: One extra language.

**         College: Two extra languages.

***      Masters: Four extra languages.

****    Doctorate: Eight extra languages.

***** Scholar: Sixteen extra languages.

Possessed by: Diplomats; Ambassadors, Travellers; Ancient Vampires; Cryptologists; Scholars.

Specialities: Romance Languages; Kanji; Idioms; Hieroglyphics; Written Expression; Ciphers.

You have an understanding of how the human body, and to a lesser extent, the vampiric body, works. This Ability entails knowledge of medicines, ailments, first-aid procedures, and diagnosis or treatment of disease. Medicine is of great use to those kindred with an interest in repairing, damaging or reworking the human body.

*           Student: You’ve taken a CPR course.

**         College: Pre-med or paramedic.

***      Masters: General practitioner.

****    Doctorate: You can perform transplants.

***** Scholar: You are respected by the world’s medical community as a modern-day Aesculapius.

Possessed by: Med Students; Doctors; Lifeguards; Parents; Paramedics; Tzimisce.

Specialities: Organ Transplants; Emergency Care; Poison Treatments; Pathology; Pharmaceuticals.

You are knowledgeable in occult areas such as mysticism, curses, magic, folklore and particularly vampire lore. Unlike most other Knowledges Occult does not imply a command of hard-factual information, much of what you know may well be rumour, myth, speculation or hearsay. However, the secrets to be learned in this field are worth centuries of sifting legend from fact. High levels of Occult imply a deep understanding of vampire lore, as well as a good grounding in other aspects of the occult; at the very least, you can discern what is patently false.

*           Student: You’ve paged through the New Age section of a book store.

**         College: There seems to be some unsettling truth to some of the rumours you’ve heard.

***      Masters: You’ve heard a lot and actually seen a little for yourself.

****    Doctorate: You can recognise blatantly false sources and make educated guesses about the rest.

***** Scholar: You know most of the basic truths about the hidden world.

Possessed by: Occultists; The Superstitious; New Agers; Tremere.

Specialities: Kindred Lore; Rituals; Infernalism; Witches.

You are familiar with the politics of the moment, including the people in charge and how they got there. This Knowledge can aid you in dealing with or influencing mortal politicians, or even offer some insight into the local Cainite power structure.

*           Student: Activist.

**         College: Political science major.

***      Masters: Campaign manager or talk-radio host.

****    Doctorate: Senator.

***** Scholar: You could choose the next President of the United States.

Possessed by: Activists, Politicians; Lawyers; vampires of all sorts.

Specialities: City; State; Federal; Bribery; Dogma; Radical; Camarilla.

You have at least a basic understanding of most of the physical sciences, such as chemistry, biology, physics and geology. This Knowledge can be put to all forms of practical use.

*           Student: You know most of the high-school basics.

**         College: You’re familiar with the major theories.

***      Masters: You could teach high-school science.

****    Doctorate: You’re fully capable of advancing the knowledge in your field.

***** Scholar: You’re Nobel Prize is waiting for you.

Possessed by: Students; Scientists; Researchers; Teachers; Engineers; Technicians; Pilots.

Specialities: Chemistry; Biology; Geology; Physics; Astronomy.