XerExaltedLite/Abilities

Abilities

There are only ten Abilities, though only those of Heroic Mortal or greater stature may purchase them as such. Typical mortals may only take Skills, as do those small gods, common Raksha, and First Circle Demons that do not rise above their station.

The ten Abilities are Combat, War, Might, Prowess, Subterfuge, Craft, Lore, Socialize, Expression, and Natural.

Awareness is mentioned nowhere and Investigation only in Lore - with the exception of Combat (which uses War for such things) - Awareness falls under the perview of any given Ability, as does the gathering of clues.

Standard difficulty is one success, representing what nearly anyone with minor training can perform regularly.

Competant is three successes, representing what significant training will allow for regularly. This is normally what 'Joe Average' can get to (~6 dice).

Challenging is six successes. Extreme training and a great deal of natural talent will allow for this regularly. Joe Average, in his chosen fields, may achieve this now and again.

Legendary is twenty successes - almost unheard of for a mortal, though with drive, passion, and a lot of luck, it is possible. Naturally, legendary results are completely outside the ken of Joe Average. Only the Exalted do this with any regularity.

Beings who do not posess a skill add +1 to the difficulty of all rolls involving that skill. The Exalted, being generalists by nature, do not suffer this setback.

Combat

Any action involved in physically attacking someone else, or parrying their attacks. Covers Archery, Brawl, Martial Arts, Melee, and Thrown. When dealing with inanimate objects, Might or Prowess may be more appropriate. Noticing things in combat ('combat awareness') falls under War.

Craft

The art of making, repairing and evaluating things. Anything. Covers Craft (duh) some Sail (repairs), some Occult (alchemy, enchanting, some geomancy), and some Survival (building shelters, etc).

Expression

As the name. Covers most Performance, some Socialize ('life of the party' stuff), some Presence (seduction), and some Linguistics (poetry and 'expressive writing').

Lore

Raw knowledge. Covers Lore, most Occult, some Medicine (advanced remedies), and some Investigation (for piecing things together).

Characters with the ability to take Lore know their Native language family flawlessly, which is likely spoken across a very wide region. Their first dot of Lore lets them read and write. Characters may learn their Lore squared in language families. Language families are described in /Languages.

Might

Physical training. Covers some Athletics (lifting weights), some Endurance (versus pain), some Presence (intimidation via muscles) and Resistance.

Each dot of Might adds one health level.

Natural

Understanding of the natural world and things - including humans. Covers most Medicine, some Survival (wilderness knowledge, animal handling), and Ride.

Characters with the Natural Ability heal faster - instead of one wound level per a given period of time, they heal their full Natural ability.

Prowess

The art of being generally awe inspiring. Covers most Athletics, most Endurance, some Sail, and Dodge.

Socialize

People skills. Covers most Bureaucracy and of course, Socialize.

The Socialize ability is added to all Social Soak.

Subterfuge

The naughty arts. Covers most Investigation, Larceny, Stealth, and sometimes bluffing.

Exalted subtract their Subterfuge ability from their peripheral Essence pool, adding it to their personal Essence pool.

War

The Art of War. Covers some Presence (Leadership), some Performance (Training), some Bureaucracy (military organization) some Sail, Tactics, Strategy, Logistics, and so on.

War allows characters to successfully coordinate a number of others equal to their War Ability, for /SmallUnits and /LargeUnits purposes.

Specialties

Celestial Exalted may not purchase Specialties.

A specialty is basically an area in which a Character gets to roll an additional die. They can be Skills, or something a bit more esoteric - a haunting voice, or striking appearance, that grant bonuses to rolls in certain situations.

Multiple Specialties may be combined, but in no case may these dice exceed a character's Essence score.