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.

Animal Ken

The two men by the limousine were engrossed in their conversation, and never saw the movement in the shadowy alley behind them. They didn't see the hideous creature in the tattered trenchcoat kneel by the sewer grating, nor did they hear the low, susurrant call that drifted down below the street.
But when the rats came boiling out of the alley by the hundreds, thy noticed. You can understand an animal's behavior 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.
** Practiced: You can housebreak a puppy.
*** Competent: You could 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
Specialties: Dogs, Attack Training, Big Cats, Horses, Farm Animals, Falconry

Crafts

Jutes gestured with unconcealed pride at the wall hanging. "Look there. The original Bayeux Tapestry, stolen away from Britain and replaced with a common forgery. Oh, how the mortals would panic, if we let them discover the truth!"
"Yours is the forgery," Carmelita said quietly, hiding all but a hint of her smile. Jules' normally ashen face paled into eggshell-white, but she continued. "Double-check the edges, Jules. The threads are tied in severalplaces in knots thatare distinctly 13th'century, and the dyes have been chemically faded." Then she looked at his stricken expression, and laughed. "Oh, poor dear! I'm so sorry. Here, pretend I didn't say anything."

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 mechanical 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 specialization in Crafts, even though you retain some skill in multiple fields.

* Novice: High-school wood shop
** Practiced: 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
Specialties: Pottery, Sewing, Home Repair, Carpentry, Appraisal, Carburetors

Drive

Karl slammed hard on the brakes, twisting the wheel around as he did so. The Thunderbird's tires squealed as the vintage car slid into the classic bootlegger's reverse - thankfully, they didn't blow out in the process. The black cars behind him weren't so lucky; as Karl poured on the gas, he could hear the passengers' threats turn into screams, followed by the grinding percussion of crumpling metal.
So far, so good...

You can drive a car, and maybe other vehicles as well. This 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 100 miles per hour.

* Novice: You know how to work an automatic transmission.
** Practiced: 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 20th-century residents of affluent Western nations
Specialties: Off-road, Wheelies, Curves, Stick Shift, Sudden Stops, Heavy Traffic

Etiquette

Carmelita waited until the two men had turned the corner two blocks down, then clutched at her companion s arm. "Those two - Hesha, were they...?"
"Yes, dear. Assamites." His face was expressionless basalt under the street lamps. "And they have agreed to leave us to our affairs while they scrutinize Vlados' chantry instead." He affably patted her hand. "You see, my dear! Clan matters little - theirs, or mine. So much rests on mere civility."

You understand the nuances of proper behavior, in both mortal society and Kindred culture. Your specialty 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.
** Practiced: 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, Travelers, High Society, Executives
Specialties: Formal Dinners, Business, Street Culture, Kindred Society

Firearms

Valentine hissed a low, contemptuous sigh. His hand flickered ever so briefly - and instantly a gun appeared in his fingers, a lusterless, heavy revolver. Before the hired security couldeven gasp for breath, the room shook with four thunderclaps, one right after the other.

Valentine neatly stepped over the nearest spreading pool of scarlet, proceeding directly for the oak door.

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.
** Practiced: You while away the occasional hour at the gun club.
*** Competent: You've survived a firefight or two.
**** Expert: You could pick off people for a living.
***** Master: You've been practicing since the debut of the Winchester.

Possessed by: Sabbat, Policemen, Military Personnel, Survivalists, Hunters
Specialties: Fast-Draw, Gunsmithing, Pistols, Sniping, Revolvers, Shotguns

Melee

Even as the .44 round tore through her shoulder, Fatima pivoted like a ballerina, bringing the Damascene scimitar directly down on the gunman's neck. The carefully honed blade sheared neatly through collarbone, dead flesh and vertebrae, and the head came free almost instantly.

Her expression was aloof as she shifted her gaze to the gunman's panicking partner. "What do they teach you childer these days?" Her English was as flawless as the grace with which she shifted her grip. "Guns against Kindred? No, no. You must do things in the proper fashion." Her grip tightened. "Like so."

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.
** Practiced: You may have been in the occasional streetfight.
*** 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, Duelists, Medievalist Buffs
Specialties: Knives, Swords, Improvised Clubs, Stakes, Disarms, Axes

Perfomance

There was nothing but silence around the bonfire as the last notes of Nikos' tune drifted off into the pine forest and night sky. Then there was cheering, whistling, laughing. Nikos, with a laugh of his own, looked over to the stranger. "How's that, hey?" He proffered the fiddle, and the stranger quietly accepted it. "I tell you," Nikos continued, "the man hasn't been born that can outplay me. Go ahead and try, but...." He let his words trail off into a chuckle.
The stranger lifted the fiddle to his shoulder, tucked it neatiy under his pointed chin, smiled like a cat, and began to play.
And in that moment, Nikos' laugh died in his throat, for he knew he'd lost the wager - and far more than that.

The Performance Skill governs your ability to perform artistic endeavors such as singing, dancing, acting or playing a musical instrument. You are almost certainly specialized 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.
** Practiced: You could get a leading part in a college production.
*** Competent: You're in demand at 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
Specialties: Dancing, Singing, Rock and Roll, Acting, Guitar Solos, Drunken Karaoke

Security

The orderlies burs t out of the front door, then skidded as a group to an unruly halt. Just ahead of them was John Doe #244, absent-mindedly wandering the lawn,his discarded straitjacket lying crumpled on the walk. "What!" hissed the newest among them. "How'd he...?"
"Never mind that, " replied the shift overseer in a low, worried tone. "Just hope he doesn't have any thing sharp with him this time."

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.
** Practiced: You can hot-wire a car.
*** Competent: You can bypass or disable house alarms.
**** Expert: You can crack a safe.
***** Master: You could get a bomb out of - or into - the Pentagon.

Possessed by: Burglars, Security Consultants, Policemen
Specialties: Safecracking, Hot-wiring, Electrical Alarms, Pressure Plates, Deadbolts, Cars

Stealth

Lucita suddenly froze - then threw herself down and to the right. There was a sudden, dull noise as the book she'd been holding was bisected by the razored metal blade that sliced through the air. She came up in a roll, muscles bunched, and growled - or was it a purr? - one word: "Fatima."
The woman facing Lucita grinned, her teeth startlingly white against her dark skin. "Lucita. It seems I still give myself awayto your ears. " Her voice was smooth as the silks she wore, and her hands shifted their grip on the scimitar. "I suppose thiswill be a challenge, then. As always."

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. This Ability is, for obvious reasons, highly useful in stalking prey.

* Novice: You can hide in a darkened room.
** Practiced: 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
Specialties: Hiding, Silent Movement, Shadowing, Crowds

Survival

"Here, kid," Emmett grunted, tossing a reeking bundle into the ditch. The ragged Caitiff flinched away at first, then gratefully accepted the noisome wad of blankets. "You wanna get most of the way into that culvert, " Emmett continued, " 'cause the sun's gonna be mostly on this side for the day. Go fetal, too, 'cause you'll be able to cover more of yourself that way.
The skinny vampire blinked back up at Emmett. "But wouldn't it be safer in the sewers! I mean, there's no..." He stopped short when he saw the look on Emmett's hideous face. "Oh. I see." "Ain't no sunlight down there, " Emmett scowied os he straightened up and turned away. "Don't mean it's safe."

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 civilization, track prey and possibly even avoid werewolves (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 five-mile hike.
** Practiced: 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
Specialties: Tracking, Woodlands, Jungle, Trapping, Hunting

Other Skills: Archery, Boating, Cooking, Demolitions, Disguise, Escapology, Fast-Draw, Gambling, Hypnotism, Kailindo, Klaive Dueling, Mechanics, Mediation, Pilot, Swimming, Traps.