The Specialties which appear in ICONS Superpowered Roleplaying: The Assembled Edition are certainly enough to cover most needs for a superheroic campaign, but there are times when you want to throw something unusual at your players. The new Specialties are presented here for ease of reference (some of them were compiled from The Villainomicon), and for the use of any Game Masters who wish to make them available to their players.
Please feel free to discuss, critique and evaluate in the comments below.
Animals
You are skilled in handling and dealing with animal life. Add your speciality bonus to tests involving training animals, influencing or predicting their behavior, etc. If you wish to specify a single particular species, which bestows an increasing level of aptitude beyond specialist, but you lose the general benefit of the specialty for all other species.
Area
You are knowledgeable about a particular location (which must be specified), and can add your specialty bonus to Intellect and Awareness tests based on your familiarity with that location.
From the swashbuckling feats of Errol Flynn to the over the top combat in modern blockbusters, Hollywood heroes have developed a group of nonstandard combat tricks, and so has your hero. Sliding down the banisters, swinging from chandelier chains, and the like are all a level of difficulty lower for your hero.
Cinematic Combat
From the swashbuckling feats of Errol Flynn to the over the top combat in modern blockbusters, Hollywood heroes have developed a group of nonstandard combat tricks, and so has your hero. Sliding down the banisters, swinging from chandelier chains, and the like are all a level of difficulty lower for your hero.
Cryptography
You are particularly good at analyzing, solving and making codes and other puzzles.
Deception
You are skilled in the arts of lying, bluffing, trickery and subterfuge. You may add your specialty bonus to tests that involve deceiving others — including Persuading (ICONS Superpowered Roleplaying: The Assembled Edition, page 144) or even combat maneuvers involving feint or misdirection.
Dimensional Geography
The science of leaving this plane of existence. Your hero has catalogued alternate realities and new dimensions.
Disguise
This allows you to change your appearance with makeup, costumes, body language, facial expression, and the like. You know about the different types of makeup and other equipment used to create disguises, how to apply/use/remove them, and so on. You also may know something of the history of the art of disguise, including who’s who both historically and currently in the world of changing one’s appearance.
Escape Artistry
Getting out of dangerous places. Your hero can reduce the difficulty rating to squeeze through ultra-narrow corridors, squirm out of ropes, and undo handcuffs from behind.
Espionage
The art of spying. An espionage-trained hero notice small clues, conceal or reveal information in communications, operate spy equipment and tell when someone is on his or her trail.
History
The science of humanity's past. Your hero knows of lessons from past events that may have an impact on the modern day. If the hero is transported back in time, he or she can pass for a native of the past time period.
Nature
Add your specialty bonus to tests involving the wildnerness, including tracking and survival.
The science of the nature of things, generally the fundamental beliefs as they come to be conceptualized and formulated, based on logical reasoning rather than empirical methods. It compromises logic, ethics, aesthetics, metaphysics, and epistemology. This skill also includes theology, the study of the nature of God, His relationship with humanity and with the world, and religious truths.
Philosophy
The science of the nature of things, generally the fundamental beliefs as they come to be conceptualized and formulated, based on logical reasoning rather than empirical methods. It compromises logic, ethics, aesthetics, metaphysics, and epistemology. This skill also includes theology, the study of the nature of God, His relationship with humanity and with the world, and religious truths.
Politics
The art of oration and political strategy. Your hero can reduce the difficulty rating to influence others to his or her views. This skill aids in dealing with the complexities of bureaucracy.
Teaching
Passing on one's wisdom to others. Add your specialty bonus to tests involving explaining and imparting knowledge that you possess.
Trivia
A mishmash of specialized knowledge. You have one or more subjects in which you are an acknowledged expert. This can be anything: old movies, military history, sports, rock music, comic books — you name it.
0 comments:
Post a Comment