• Type: Active, Physical
• Linked Aptitude: Somatics

Athletics encompasses various types of physical activity in environments with gravity. It specifically applies to maneuvering in morphs that are humanoid, uplift, or that use biomimicked movements (snaking, winged flight, etc.), whether sleeved or remote operated.

Use Athletics to scale a wall, tread water, throw a grenade, jump a crevasse, vault a table, backflip off a ledge, or make a barrel roll with a winged morph. Some actions are detailed under Movement.

• Specializations: Acrobatics, Fly, Climb, Jump, Parkour, Run, Swim, Throw

• Type: Active, Social
• Linked Aptitude: Savvy

Deceive is about presenting falsehoods in believable ways. It applies to any attempt to misrepresent or hide the truth with words and gestures. It does not include hiding (Infiltrate) or physical disguises (Exotic Skill: Disguise).

Use Deceive to act, lie, bluff, misdirect, con someone, impersonate someone, or fast talk your way out of a situation. The target of your deception opposes with their Kinesics skill.

• Specializations: Act, Bluff, Con, Fast Talk, Impersonate

• Type: Active, Field

This is a catch-all category for less-common skills. This includes proficiency with unusual and archaic weaponry and skills that have a very narrow focus but require education, training, and experience to properly execute.

Use Exotic Skill if you want your character to be talented in a field that is not covered by any existing skill. The GM determines the appropriate linked aptitude.

• Sample Fields: Animal Handling (SAV), Bow (REF), Disguise (INT), Escape Artist (REF), Plasma Cutter (REF), Sleight of Hand (REF), Throwing Knives (REF), Whips (REF)
• Specializations: As appropriate to the field

• Type: Active, Combat
• Linked Aptitude: Reflexes

Fray is your ability to get out of the way of danger, whether that is an attacker or a moving object. You start with a base Fray of REF × 2.

Use Fray to dodge attacks, avoid falling objects, maneuver deftly through a crowd, or side-step a collision. In combat, Fray is used to oppose melee and ranged strikes. Against guns, Fray is reduced by half.

• Specializations: Full Defense, Guns, Melee

• Type: Active, Physical
• Linked Aptitude: Somatics

Free Fall is a companion skill to Athletics for morphs that are humanoid, uplift, or using biomimicked movements. Use it for physical activity in microgravity environments or when free falling.

Use Free Fall to push yourself down a micrograv tunnel, propel yourself across an open space in zero g, re-orient yourself out of a spin, maneuver with vacsuit attitude jets, correctly apply some type of propulsion when drifting in space, or when parachuting.

• Specializations: Jump, Parachute, Pull, Vacsuits

• Type: Active, Combat
• Linked Aptitude: Reflexes

Guns deals with the maintenance and use of modern firearms, seeker launchers, and coherent energy and projectile weapons.

Use Guns to shoot beam, kinetic, seeker, and spray weapons. Attacks made with Guns skill are opposed with Fray ÷ 2.

• Specializations: Beam Weapons, Firearms, Plasma Weapons, Railguns, Seekers, Spray Weapons

• Type: Active, Field, Technical
• Linked Aptitude: Cognition

Hardware handles the design, construction, repair, and alteration of different types of technological systems.

Use Hardware to repair a life support system, upgrade a robot, hack an electronic lock, or assemble a functional vehicle from spare parts. Most Hardware Tests are task actions.

• Sample Fields: Aerospace (aircraft and spacecraft), Armorer (armor and weapons), Demolitions (explosives), Electronics, Groundcraft, Industrial (factory, habitat, and life support systems), Nautical (watercraft and submarines), Robotics (bots and synthmorphs)
• Specializations: As appropriate to the field

• Type: Active, Physical
• Linked Aptitude: Reflexes

Infiltrate is the art of escaping detection.

Use Infiltrate to sneak past a guard, hide from a search party, blend into a crowd, shadow someone, conceal an object, or evade a sensor system. It is opposed by Perceive skill, though anyone not actively searching suffers a distraction modifier; against a group, use the highest Perceive skill among them. Infiltrate is best handled as a task action covering a specified distance, rather than rolling each action turn.

• Specializations: Blend In, Hide, Shadow, Sneak

• Type: Active, Technical
• Linked Aptitude: Cognition

Infosec is short for “information security.” It incorporates training in electronic intrusion and counter-intrusion techniques, as well as use of cryptography tools.

Use Infosec to hack into electronic and mesh systems, subvert them, and protect them. Also use it to encrypt and decrypt communications and files. Most Infosec Tests are task actions. See The Mesh, for additional details on mesh systems and applications of Infosec skill.

• Specializations: Brainhack, Brute-Force Hack, Decrypt, Probe, Security, Sniff, Spoof, Subvert, VR Hack

• Type: Active, Technical
• Linked Aptitude: Cognition

Interface is about using and understanding computers, electronics, networks, sensors, and software. It applies to everything from mesh servers and cloud services to embedded habitat/spacecraft system controls and computerized or emplaced weapon systems.

Use Interface to manipulate electronics, command software, forge video files, scan for wireless devices, jam frequencies, get sensor readings, control life support functions, and understand new devices. Interface is also used to attack with non-portable weapon emplacements and the weapon systems of piloted (but not jammed or sleeved) vehicles and spacecraft (Weapon Systems).

• Specializations: Forge, Jam, Scan, Sensors, Weapon Systems

• Type: Active, Social
• Linked Aptitude: Savvy

Kinesics is the art of empathy and nonverbal communication.

Use Kinesics to read someone’s emotional state, gauge their intentions, detect lies, identify mannerisms and tells, and use body language to emote and convey information. Kinesics is used to oppose Deceive skill.

Though synthmorphs are designed to emote, reading them is more difficult; apply a −30 modifier. The same modifier also applies to ALIs that are operating pods, bots, or synthmorphs. At the GM’s discretion, similar modifiers may apply to morphs that lack anthropomorphic characteristics or that are sleeved by egos accustomed to much different physiologies (such as a neo-octopi in a neo-avian morph).

• Specializations: Detect Deception, Emote, Judge Intent

• Type: Active, Field, Technical
• Linked Aptitude: Cognition

Medicine fields encompass healthcare, diagnosis and treatment, design, and manipulation of biological life forms.

Use Medicine: Biotech to modify morphs or install implants. Use Medicine: Forensics to conduct autopsies to ascertain cause of death or the biological functions of alien life. Use Medicine: Paramedic to diagnose ailments and treat injuries. Medicine: Pharmacology is used to synthesize drugs or develop an antidote to a pathogen or toxin. Medicine: Psychosurgery is used to heal stress and manipulate the mind. Use Medicine: Veterinary to provide healthcare to smart animals and non-sapient critters.

• Sample Fields: Biotech, Forensics, Paramedic, Pharmacology, Psychosurgery, Veterinary
• Specializations: As appropriate to the field

• Type: Active, Combat
• Linked Aptitude: Somatics

Melee deals with fighting, whether unarmed or with held or implanted weapons.

Use Melee to punch, kick, grapple, or attack with a blade, club, or other weapon. Melee is opposed by Fray if dodging or by the opponent’s Melee skill if blocking or parrying.

• Specializations: Blades, Clubs, Disarm, Grapple, Implants, Unarmed

• Type: Active, Mental
• Linked Aptitude: Intuition

Perceive skill is awareness and use of your physical senses.

Use Perceive to spot an intruder, find a clue, locate a trap, search a room, or scrounge up something useful. You start with a base Perceive of INT × 2. Perceive is opposed by Infiltrate skill.

Basic perception is an automatic action, with a −20 distraction modifier as your attention is elsewhere. Detailed perception, without modifiers, is a quick action. Thorough investigation is a task action.

• Specializations: Hear, Investigate, Scrounge, See, Smell

• Type: Active, Social
• Linked Aptitude: Savvy

Persuade is the ability to convince others to do what you want through words and gestures, logic and reason. It is the art of subtle social manipulation. It does not include intimidation, coercion, seduction, or other emotionally driven manipulation (use Provoke).

Use Persuade to drive a bargain, convince a reluctant party, negotiate a truce, motivate your peers to take action, or sway someone to your side. Persuade is opposed by the opponent’s SAV Check.

• Specializations: Diplomacy, Negotiate, Motivate

• Type: Active, Field, Vehicle
• Linked Aptitude: Reflexes

Pilot is about maneuvering and controlling non-humanoid morphs, bots, and vehicles, whether sleeved or remote operated. It applies to movement systems that do not rely on use of limbs: wheeled, thrust vector, rocket, etc.

Use Pilot to drift a car around a tight corner, evade pursuit, avoid a crash, barrel roll a plane, or perform a high-g spacecraft maneuver.

• Sample Fields: Air, Ground, Nautical, Space
• Specializations: As appropriate to the field

• Type: Active, Technical
• Linked Aptitude: Cognition

Program deals with writing and modifying software code.

Use Program to write a script, analyze how a program works, design a blueprint for nanofabrication, break copyright protection, patch software against an exploit, code a virus, or craft a VR environment, AR illusion, or infomorph mind-state.

• Specializations: AIs, Infomorphs, Malware, Nanofabrication, Piracy, VR

• Type: Active, Social
• Linked Aptitude: Savvy

Provoke is your talent at emotional manipulation.

Use Provoke to taunt an opponent, intimidate a witness, rile up a mob, scare someone into submission, browbeat a captive into surrendering information, or seduce a potential lover. Opponents resist Provoke with a WIL Check.

• Specializations: Calm, Fluster, Inspire, Interrogate, Intimidate, Seduce, Taunt

• Type: Active, Mental, Psi
• Linked Aptitude: Willpower

Psi is the wielding of psychic abilities (sleights) to detect, manipulate, or harm others.

Use Psi to target others with psi-gamma sleights. Psi is resisted with a WIL Check.

You must possess the Psi trait to use this skill.

• Specializations: Control, Psi Assault, Sense

• Type: Active, Technical
• Linked Aptitude: Intuition

Research is your google fu, your skill at finding, analyzing, and understanding information online. It includes knowing where to look, optimizing your queries, separating fiction from truth, and processing massive amounts of data.

Use Research to look up an answer on the mesh, track people online, access the deep mesh, search databases, sift through archives, and mine data dumps.

• Specializations: Blogs, Cloud Services, Deep Mesh, News Archives, Social Networks, Science Archives, Track

• Type: Active, Physical
• Linked Aptitude: Intuition

Survival encompasses the skills needed to survive in and maneuver through hostile environments.

Use Survival to navigate, track a person or animal in the wild, find safe food and shelter, and defend against ecological and environmental dangers.

• Specializations: Forage, Hunt, Navigate, Track