TALENT CHECKS
Talent checks are made when attempting to perform tasks outside of combat, such as hacking a computer, convincing a watchman to look the other way, or chasing down a thief.
Before the check is made, the PCs are given a difficulty level along side a target number for the check:
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After learning the difficulty, one PC in the group can choose to perform a Talent Check. When doing this, they must spend 1 Stamina, then roll 2d10 and add the numbers together. If the result is equal to or greater than the difficulty's target number, they successfully pass the check. If not, it's a failure. In most cases, another PC may attempt to make their own check after the fact if the first one failed, though in certain cases this might not make sense.
If you have any Talent Skills relevant to the check, they add bonuses effects to the talent check roll, usually making them easier to succeed.
Assisting a Check
If multiple players have Talent Skills relevant to the check and it's one they feel is important, they might choose to have someone assist with the roll rather than waiting to see how it pans out.
When this happens, everyone involved with the check must pay 1 Stamina to participate, and 2d10 are rolled as normal a single time. After seeing the result, every one that assisted in the check is capable of using and modifying the result with their own Talent Skills, and they may stack.
Talent Status Effects
Advantage - When you roll the check, roll 3d10 rather than 2d10 and take the two highest die.
Disadvantage - When you roll the check, roll 3d10 rather than 2d10 and take the two lowest die.
Focused - When you roll the check, use d12s rather than d10s.
Exhausted - When you roll the check, use d8s rather than d10s.
Talent Experience
Any time you personally succeed in a Talent Check, gain 3 TP.
Any time you personally fail a Talent Check, gain 1 TP.
Any time a party member succeeds in a Talent Check you weren't involved in, gain 1 TP.
STAMINA
In order to perform a Talent Check, you must spend 1 Stamina per check. When you run out, you become unable to perform Talent Checks via regular means.
Each player character has 3 Stamina, though in campaigns with 3 or fewer players the GM may (and probably should) elect to bump this up to 4.
Anytime you Rest, you regain your maximum amount of stamina.
TALENT SKILLS
Talents are divided into two different types; Attribute and Specialties. Attributes share a name with the combat stats - but aren't directly linked, while individual Specializations are more specific applications of that attribute outside of the context of combat. Each Attribute has four associated Specialties.
Strength
Hide Presence - when you're employing stealth, avoiding drawing attention to yourself, or hiding your truth strength from others.
Prowess - feats of strength. Lifting heavy objects, kicking down locked doors, chasing a car down, etc.
Parkour - climbing, jumping, and ability to quickly maneuver around obstacles.
Street Fighting - for when you need to beat up thugs and bit players in a minor brawl that aren't strong enough to force a combat encounter.
Dexterity
Pilot - being able to sit down in front of any kind of vehicle (car, boat, plane, anything!) and quickly figure out how to get it moving, performing evasive maneuvers with them, or even hot wiring one you don't have keys too.
Search - When you're looking for a needle in a haystack or tracking someone down.
Sleight of Hand - when you pick pockets, pick a lock, or otherwise do something discreetly enough that no one else realizes you're doing it.
Trick Shot - impressive projectile feats. Hitting a target with a handgun from multiple blocks away, ricocheting a rock or knife off a wall and into a target behind cover, blowing out the tires on a vehicle performing evasive maneuvers, etc.
Spirit
Fire Magic - Solve problems using fire magic. Generate heat and small flames.
Ice Magic - Solve problems using ice magic. Make things colder and produce small layers of ice.
Lightning Magic - Solve problems using lightning magic. Short circuit something, or give something a jump start.
Ritual Magic - Solve problems with ritual magic. Ritual magic might need to be learned or observed, and always takes times to cast, but can do all sort of thing that elemental magic couldn't, like seal a spirit within a force field, letting you use teleportation circles to quickly travel to set destinations, discerning the location of someone you have marked, etc. Consult with your GM if you're thinking about investing in Ritual Magic about the sorts of things your character could do with it.
Mind
Deceit - The ability to lie without giving it away, present yourself as someone you're not, naturally withhold information, or just generally make people think you know what you're doing or talking about, even if you don't.
Influence - Whether by natural charm or intimidation, manipulate the way people react to you or the situation you find yourselves in.
Insight - Being able to read people. Knowing the sorts of things they're respond positively or negatively to after sizing them up, and if they're being truthful or withholding information.
Intuition - When you Have A Good Feeling. When you're not sure what to do, or you're staring at something and trying to figure out why it's important, or getting a read on a room and knowing who's most worth talking to.
Will
Danger Sense - When someone's trying to catch you by surprise, when a situation suddenly becomes bad, or knowing exactly when a loose floorboard's about to give out.
First Aid - When someone's hurt and you patch them up.
Resist - When something bad is about to happen to you, and you don't want it to. Shrugging off gun shots and spell blasts, avoid being affected by a poison, or even ignoring harsh environments.
Scavenge - Being able to find food and shelter, regardless of your environment. What berries are okay to eat, which places run free hostiles to crash for a night, etc.
Intelligence
Analyze - When you need to figure out how exactly something works, or why it's doing something unusual.
Engineering - Messing with hardware. Building or dismantling machines.
Programming - Messing with software. Hacking systems, writing custom code, etc.
Recall - When you're tapping into knowledge you've seen or read about before that's just on the tip of you tongue.
Talent Skills
Talent Skill acts modifiers when making Talent Checks.
Talent Skills are broadly broken up into two different types: Passive skills that are always on, and Charge Skills which can only be activated a limited number of times. When you Rest, your regain all uses of your Charge based talent skills, however.
Each Skill either applies to a single Attribute, or a single Specialty, noted by the Skill in question. Skills can be purchases multiple times, either to increases its rank or to apply to an addition attribute/specialty.
Each Skill can be a maximum of Rank 5. You start with 50 TP, and gain certain bonuses from Race and Background.
Each Skill has a different TP cost, and many of them become more expensive when trying to acquiring addition ranks. For example, one rank of Expertise in Analyze only cost 4TP, where as rank 2 cost 8TP, rank 3 12TP, and so on. This increase only applies when trying to increase the rank of a skill you already know, so even after you gain Expertise in Analyze, the first rank of Programming would still only cost 4TP.
Attribute Skills: These are given to one of the six attributes, and then may in turn be activated with any of that attribute's specializations.
Practiced Hand: When you clear a talent check utilizing this Attribute by 8+ over its DC, regain +1 Stamina. Passive. 20 TP.
Special Trick: Before rolling, grant yourself Advantage on a talent check utilizing this Attribute. 1 Charge per rank. 15 TP Per Rank, +5 TP Cost each time a rank is bought.
Wingman: Only usable after an ally fails a talent check utilizing this Attribute, and cost 1 Stamina to perform in addition to a Skill Charge. Allow the ally to reroll the check entirely and use any skills they with it. Additionally, if *you* have any Specialty Skills related to the talent check, they may be applied as well. 1 Charge per rank. 5 TP Per Rank, +5 TP Cost each time a rank is bought.
Scrape By: Only usable after you fail a talent check utilizing this Attribute, and cannot be performed if you are Exhausted. Scrape by then automatically force the check to succeed, but possibly with an additional cost. If your result was within 5 points of the DC, you're fine. If it was between 6-10 points off of the DC, you become Exhausted. If the difference between your roll and the DC is greater than 10, become Exhausted and gain 2 ranks of Fatigue. 1 Charge per rank. 5 TP Per Rank, +5 TP Cost each time a rank is bought.
Specialty Skills: These are given to the 24 Specialties. While not as broadly applicable as Attribute Skills, they're generally more powerful.
Expertise: Add +1 to your roll results. Passive. 4 TP Per rank. +4 TP Cost each time a rank is bought.
Dependable: After seeing your roll results, reroll your lowest die. This can be used multiple times for a single talent check, but must consume a Charge each time. 1 Charge per rank. 5 TP Per Rank, +5 TP Cost each time a rank is bought.
Muscle Memory: The first time you perform a talent check with this Specialty, you ignore its Stamina cost. Reset this effect after you Rest. Passive. 20 TP.
Reliable: Ignore Disadvantage and Exhaustion when you perform a talent check with this Specialty. Passive. 20 TP.