Template:Character Creation Step Three
Step Three: Select Abilities[edit]
Unlike Attributes which represent a broad generalization of a character’s aptitude, Ability Traits represent specific capabilities or talents that a character might learn. These Abilities, overall, are able to be broken down into three specific areas, each with different mechanics in regards to how they are handled if a particular Ability hasn’t been purchased or trained.
The first step for assigning Abilities is to allocate any free Traits from your Tradition Advantage. Next, assign your 5 “floating” Ability Traits to any Ability that you feel fits your character’s concept; no more than three of the five Traits may be assigned to a single Ability in this stage.
It is recommended that players pick five Abilities that make sense for their character’s life history, training, Tradition, and personal predilections, then assign each Ability a single Trait. While you’ll get a chance later in the process to add more points to your character’s Abilities, this can help you put a focus on the five things the character is best at and/or those five things which have a strong influence on the character’s life and personality.
Ability Categories[edit]
As mentioned above, Abilities are broken down into three mechanically different categories. While all considered “Abilities” the mechanical differences are meant to represent a character’s ability to improvise; improvising is defined as the attempted use of an Ability which a character does not possess at least one Trait. The three categories are Talents, Skills and Knowledge
Talents: Defined as inborn affinities refined by practice, Talents should reflect a character’s natural tendencies and life-honed gifts. There is no penalty for not having an Ability in this category when improvising.
Skills: A Skill reflects something that a character has learned to do by a combination of practice, natural aptitude and/or formal education. If a character lacks the appropriate Skill being called for, and has no appropriate substitution, they may still attempt the challenge but must reduce the Attributes being bid by 1 to reflect the added difficulty and lack of aptitude.
Knowledges: Certain Abilities demand learning. These Traits reflect things that a character understands on an intellectual level. Without the proper Knowledge, your character may not even attempt to roll for certain Knowledge-based feats.
Ability Specialization[edit]
Each Ability represents a character’s proficiency within that specific Talent, Skill or Knowledge. Sometimes though, a character becomes more than a master by further developing a more highly concentrated subset of an ability. Ability Specializations represent that additional mastery.
After the fourth Trait of a Talent, Skill or Knowledge is purchased, you may then purchase an Ability Specialization. While not as broad as the Ability itself, specializations can give the extra edge in specific situations, turning a failure into a success.
To specialize, a single point of Experience needs to be expended. A single, narrow field of expertise related to the Ability is picked and added as a note on the character sheet. As a specialization is meant to represent a narrow area of focus, taking a specialization in Firearms: Guns would not be acceptable nor would taking a specialization in Survival: Outdoors; Appropriate examples for these two categories are Firearms: Assault Rifles, Firearms: SMGs, Survival: Temperate Forests or Survival: Arctic.
When bidding Traits, if the Ability Specialization is applicable to the challenge, add one additional Trait to the number of total Traits you are bidding.
Abilities for Inheritance of Ashes[edit]
The below list, while not fully comprehensive or exhaustive, consists of a well-rounded selection of Abilities appropriate for the Inheritance of Ashes’ game space and where they can be found—see the parentheses for references. Typically, when a challenge is being called by a ST the below list is what will be referred in regards to bidding Traits. If you, the player, has an Ability that you think would be better suited for the task or wish to go about solving the problem a different way, don’t hesitate to inform the ST running your scene; ultimately it is the ST’s call in regards to what Ability/Attribute is requested/used for a challenge, however, if you don’t tell us what’s on your sheet we likely won’t know what to ask for or what you could possibly substitute.
