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CHARACTER SKILLS There are 20 skills in HWC, which are meant to be all inclusive for any action a player might want to undertake during game. The skill descriptions are intentionally short, as a GM may determine other actions are appropriately represented by a skill. Table: Skill Descriptions |
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COURAGE SKILLS |
DESCRIPTION |
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Break Down Door |
Entering an enclosed space by force |
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Fight |
Melee combat – anything hand-to-hand |
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Fire Gun |
Firearm combat – anything projectile based |
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Pick Up Heavy Thing |
Lifting and supporting any object |
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Throw |
Projectile weapons that use muscle propulsion |
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POISE SKILLS |
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Athletics |
Climbing, swimming, jumping, running, anything endurance related |
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Dodge |
Acrobatics, anything defense related that deals with dexterity |
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Drive |
Operating any vehicle |
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Sleight of Hand |
Stealing, lock picking, palming, any sort of legerdemain |
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Sneak |
Staying physically hidden |
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| JETS SKILLS |
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Perceive |
Anything to do with perception with the five senses |
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Identify Dangerous Thing |
Recognizing danger, sensing motives |
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Read |
Finding information in any written, printed, or illustrated formats |
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Set/Disarm Trap |
Bypassing electronic security; jury-rigging; simple & complex trap making and disarming |
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Track/Cover Tracks |
Resisting and locating someone using detectable evidence |
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| MOXIE SKILLS |
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Detect/Tell Lie |
Telling and recognizing falsehoods in social skill checks |
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Entertain |
Any sort of performance |
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Fast-Talk |
Using diplomacy, manipulation, or intimidation to gain social leverage |
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Handle Animal |
Any animal training and handling technique |
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Resist Fast-Talk |
Avoiding social manipulation |
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USING SKILLS
There are two types of skill checks in HWC: unopposed and opposed. Unopposed is defined as no outside force attempting to hinder the player.
UNOPPOSED SKILL CHECKS
Roll 2d6. If the sum of the dice is equal or less than your skill modifier, your succeed at your skill check. If you roll above your skill modifier, you fail.
E.g. Stephanie has a 10 in her Break Down Door skill. She kicks at a locked door, rolling 2d6. Provided she rolls a 10 or lower, she will kick open the door.
OPPOSED SKILL CHECKS
If you're opposed by another character or NPC, you roll 2d6 + your appropriate skill modifier against your opposition's counter skill. In the case of a tie, both parties reroll until a winner is determined.
E.g. Stephanie attempts to punch June. Stephanie rolls 2d6 plus her Fight modifier (which is a +10) and June rolls 2d6 plus her Dodge modifier (which is a +11). Stephanie rolls a 5, which means her total is 15. June rolls a 5 as well, which means her total is 16. June successfully dodges Stephanie's punch.
RULE OF THREE
Players that fail an unopposed skill check may retry twice, for a total of three chances to succeed. If they fail all three, they are profoundly stumped and may not attempt that specific action for 24 hours. Players can attempt to use other relevant skills under a different attribute tree to reach similar results. GMs are encouraged to increase the difficulty of succeeding whenever relevant following a retest by lowering a player's skill modifier. As a rule of thumb, -1 to -3 is a sufficient number except in unusual circumstances.
E.g. Stephanie attempts to Break Down Door but fails three times, disqualifying her from using any Courage skills to open the door. With her shoulder quite sore, she decides to use a Poise skill and attempts to pick the lock using Sleight of Hand (which she has a +10 in). The GM decides the door is damaged from her repeated attempts to break it down and lowers her Sleight of Hand modifier by 2, meaning Stephanie must roll an 8 or lower to succeed.
ALTERNATE RULE: 50/50
A GM may determine that a particular action is not covered by a skill in game or represents luck more than skill. A quick way to resolve this is to have a player declare odd or even before rolling a d6. If the number turns up as the player called, he is successful. Otherwise, he fails. The 50/50 roll may not qualify for the Rule of Three per GM's discretion.
ALTERNATE RULE: COMPLEX TECHNOLOGY
Dealing with simple technology (i.e. technology lacking any contextual awareness) should be treated as unopposed checks, but opposed skill checks can also occur with some types of machines. Hacking an alien computer could require opposed checks, with bonuses being awarded to the technology depending on complexity. The "rule of three" still applies, but failure may mean dire consequences like setting off an alarm or triggering a self-destruct sequence.
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Table: Modifiers for complex technology |
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Complexity |
Example |
Possible bonuses |
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Civilian |
Magnetically locked door |
+0 - +4 |
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Military |
Door with security camera and keycard reader |
+5 - +9 |
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Prototype |
Alien multi-retina scanner portal device |
+10 |
E.g. Kicking down a wooden door is an unopposed check for Stephanie, but now she attempts to get past an electronically locked door. She rolls her Set/Disarm Trap, while the GM rolls 2d6 for the door. The GM gives the door a +5 to the roll since it is in a military installation.
