Talents

Talents

Unlike ordinary mortals, you may have some very special gifts.

Each Flaw gives Flaw points equal to its level. Every 2 Flaw points can be exchanged for 1 Talent point, which you can spend on Talents, following the same rules as Feats.

Flaws and Talents roughly come in three kinds: physical, mental, and anomalous.

Physical: these Flaws and Talents work through your body. If you have body snatching or a similar ability to switch bodies, or an ability to leave your old body behind such as projecting your primordial spirit, you are no longer affected by physical Flaws and physical Talents in the new body. If you can still go back to the old body, you are still affected by the physical Flaws and Talents of the old body.

Mental: these Flaws and Talents work through your state of mind. If you have an ability to switch personalities or something similar, the old personality's mental Flaws and Talents don't carry over when you switch to a new personality, until you switch back.

Anomalous: how these Flaws and Talents work simply can't be explained. What is certain is that the way to be rid of them is death, and sometimes perhaps not even death can remove them.

Unless stated otherwise, Flaws and Talents give feat bonuses and feat penalties.

Physical Talents:

Absolute Timing (1-2):
It's as if there's a precise clock in your head. This Talent has 2 levels.
Level 1: you always know what time it is, to the second, and can measure elapsed time just as precisely. Changing time zones or dozing off doesn't affect it, and you can wake up at a time you choose in advance. Being knocked unconscious, hypnotized, and similar effects can stop this ability. When you enter a world in a different era, the passage of time confuses you until you learn the "new" time.
Level 2: changes of time and space don't affect you. You always know the current time in an absolute sense. Note that daylight saving time and calendar changes can still confuse you. When you travel through time and space, the ST tells you "you traveled 92,876.3 days into the past", and leaves you (or others) to work out questions like "how the hell do leap years work?"

Lifting (1-3):
You can lift things heavier than yourself.

For carrying and load calculations, your Strength counts as higher by this Talent's level.

Quick Recovery (2-3):

Prerequisite: you can't have the "Impaired Healing" Flaw.

This Talent has 2 levels.
Level 2: your injuries recover naturally twice as fast.

Level 3: your condition points recover naturally twice as fast.

Acute Senses series (1-3):

Prerequisite: you can't have a Flaw for the matching sense; for example, you can't have both the "Poor Eyesight" Flaw and the "Acute Vision" Talent.
You have superhuman senses.

Each Acute Senses trait is a separate Talent, one each for sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste.

You gain a feat bonus equal to this Talent's level on rolls that use that sense, and when only that sense is involved, your sensory range counts as (this Talent's level x 5) meters larger.
Some examples of Acute Senses:
Acute Hearing: gives a bonus when you listen for things or pay attention to a sound (such as dodging gunfire in the dark), such as on Investigation (Listening).
Acute Touch: when you examine things by touch (such as frisking a suspect for hidden weapons), such as on Investigation (Searching).
Acute Vision: gives a bonus when you spot things by sight or search visually (such as looking for traps or footprints), such as on Investigation (Spotting).
Special: if you lose a sense, you can ask the ST to give you an acute sense in another sense to make up for it. For example, if you go blind (the "Poor Eyesight" Flaw at level 5), you can gain Acute Hearing directly at no cost.

Flexibility (1-2):
Your body is unusually flexible. This Talent has 2 levels.

Level 1: you gain a feat bonus equal to this Talent's level on climbing rolls and in grapple contests.

Level 2: when you squeeze your Size down, shrinking by 1 doesn't cost you defense. But shrinking by 2 still costs you your Base Defense and Dodge Defense.

Lightning Calculator (1):
You have a gift for instant mental arithmetic.
You can use a calculator at any time to calculate anything you want, even when your life is in danger.
For simple math problems, the ST can simply rule that you know the answer.

Less Sleep (1-4):
You need less long rest than most people. A normal person needs 8 hours of sleep a night, but you can cut your rest needs by this Talent's level in hours.

If you meet some condition through sleep, such as recovering an Energy Pool, you still need the usual 8 hours of sleep.

Perfect Balance (1-3):
Under normal conditions, you never fall, however narrow or slippery the surface you walk on.

Level 1: you gain a bonus equal to this Talent's level on balance rolls and rolls to oppose a trip.

Level 2: you are immune to the halved movement from difficult terrain caused by the natural environment.

Level 3: you can charge normally across difficult terrain caused by the natural environment.

Danger Sense (5):
You have a keen survival instinct that warns you when danger is near. Maybe you are good at picking up subtle clues in your surroundings, or you have a mysterious sixth sense that helps you head off trouble and danger. When danger is about to strike, you have a strange reaction, perhaps your hair standing on end, goosebumps on your arms, or a chill up your spine. This gives you a 3 DP bonus on rolls opposing a target's Subterfuge and Stealth. And you aren't flat-footed from surprise attacks or being low in Initiative; this counts as an Unranked immunity.

Night Vision (2):

Prerequisite: you can't have the "Poor Eyesight" Flaw at level 5.
You gain low-light vision. You ignore the effects of dim environments.

Telescopic Vision (2-4):

Prerequisite: you can't have the "Poor Eyesight" Flaw at level 5.
You can focus your eyes as if using a telescope.

Your sensory sight range rises by (this Talent's level x Perception) meters, and your approximate sight range rises with it. This Talent's benefit doesn't stack with bonuses from technological devices such as telescopes; if you have both, choose one to use.

Natural Immunity (1-2):
Prerequisite: you can't have the "Weak Immunity" Flaw.

You can count your serious illnesses on one hand.

Level 1: you gain a bonus equal to this Talent's level on rolls to resist disease and poison.

Level 2: against diseases and poisons you have faced before, this Talent's bonus doubles.

Combat Reflexes (4):
You have extraordinary reflexes, and are rarely stunned for more than a moment.

While you are flat-footed, you can take immediate actions, as long as you have an ability that lets you take them. But you stay flat-footed.

Flat as a Board (0):

You can only have this Talent if you chose the Flaw of the same name. You are good at making the most of your body: your Dodge Defense rises by one, and your Reflex saves gain a 1 DP speed bonus. You are only affected by this Talent while your visible appearance is humanoid. When you remove the Flaw of the same name by any means (including but not limited to breast augmentation, transformation, or wearing fully enclosed armor), you also lose all of this Talent's benefits.

Impressive Figure (0):

You can only have this Talent if you chose the Flaw of the same name. You are good at making the most of your body. Your Health rises by 1. When socializing with characters attracted to women, you gain a 1-point size bonus. Out of combat, you can tuck a pen, a phone, or a similar small object into your cleavage; in that case, your Larceny (Concealment) rolls gain a 1 DP circumstance bonus. On grapple and pin rolls, you count as 1 Size larger than you are. You are only affected by this Talent while your visible appearance is humanoid. When you remove the Flaw of the same name by any means (including but not limited to breast reduction, transformation, or wearing fully enclosed armor), you also lose all of this Talent's benefits.

Ambidexterity (5):

Among humans alone, about 90% are right-handed and about 10% left-handed, while the ambidextrous are... under 1%. Both your hands are equally nimble, which brings you plenty of benefits: when buying and upgrading Two-Gun Shooting, Two-Weapon Fighting, or Sword and Shield, each level costs 1 XP less, and the feat bonus you get when using those Feats rises by 1.

Mental Talents:

Common Sense (5):
You have excellent basic knowledge and are practical. Usually you can make a direct, reliable decision after a short time thinking about what you know.
Once per scene, when you are about to do something with disastrous consequences, or when you feel completely stumped at a key point in the plot, you can make an INT roll or a PER roll. On a success, you tell the ST what you are about to do, and the ST tells you the result your action would lead to, giving you a chance to change course and avoid certain risks. Note that you can't use this ability more times per Film than your Legendary Intelligence or Legendary Perception, whichever is higher, with a minimum of 1.

The ST can ban this Talent for any reason.

Foodie (2)
Prerequisite: the "Gluttony" Flaw.
You are a foodie through and through; if you die one day, it will be from overeating.
Now the penalty after a full meal becomes a bonus instead, lasting until the next time you get hungry.

Empath (3):
Your Empathy rolls gain a 5 DP bonus, and you can sense other people's feelings. When you first meet someone, or meet them again after a long time, you can make a PER + Empathy (Read People) roll opposed by the target's MAN + Subterfuge, with no action. If you succeed, you sense how they feel about you. If you fail, the ST tells you something false. This is very useful for spotting impostors, demonic possession, and so on, and for telling whether an NPC is loyal and sincere.

Intuition (3):
You usually guess right. When you face a choice, you can ask the ST to let you use your intuition. Spend 1 Willpower and make a PER roll at DC 5. On a success, you tell the ST the goal you want to reach, and the ST tells you which of the options you gave is the "fastest", "safest", or "most points" route (your choice). Each use raises the DC by 5 for your next use of Intuition in that Film.
Note: you can only choose a definite result, such as getting a certain item or killing a certain target, not a conceptual goal like "I want to farm the most points". And you give the options to the ST, not the other way around. If your options are all terrible, the ST still gives you the best of them by your criterion, which may of course still be terrible. If none of the options can reach the goal, the ST can tell you that your intuition says all your ideas are terrible and you don't think the goal can be reached.
The ST can ban this Talent for any reason.

Inspiration (1):
Prerequisite: the "Intuition" Talent.
Your gift is so refined that you now automatically get 5 base successes on Intuition rolls. This means your first use of Intuition needs no roll, the second needs 5 successes, and so on.

Chuunibyou (2):
Some say it's just an excess of self-awareness, but in truth such people are revealers of the world's true nature, true prophets. They also have far more imaginative power than most, and can even vaguely change the power of worldly existence. You take a 2 DP penalty on Social rolls with ordinary people, gain a 2 DP bonus on them with people into anime, comics, and games, and gain a 2 DP bonus when you must oppose mind-affecting effects.

Anomalous Talents:

Last-Ditch Luck (3):
When you are in mortal danger, Lady Luck always seems to smile on you! At a matter of life and death (the ST judges what counts; usually an instant death effect, a roll that kills you if it fails, an attack that would kill you, and so on), if the roll is yours or includes yours (including active rolls, such as leaping a cliff, and save rolls), you can reroll all the 1s on it. If the roll is an enemy's (such as a spell attack roll or an attack roll), it gets no rerolls. This ability can only be used once per horror film.

Serendipity (3):
You have a knack for being in the right place at the right time.

Once per scene, you can come across one lucky but plausible coincidence. The ST decides the details. For example, the ST might announce that one of the guards the PCs need to talk past happens to be your cousin, or that when the PCs chase a fleeing bank robber, there happens to be a supercar parked outside the bank. The ST can rule that one use of this advantage covers several or even all of the "miracles" during a session (for example, the small-town repair shop happens to have every part you need to fix your super-tech antigravity belt).
You can suggest to the ST when and how to use this advantage, but the decision is theirs. If they turn down all your suggestions and never use it on their own, you can carry it over to the next scene, or even the next Film.

Luck (3-5):
You seem to have been favored by something since birth, and are unusually lucky.
When you make a roll, you can choose before the roll to use this Talent, rolling twice and keeping the better result. You can use it (this Talent's level) times per horror film.

Lucky Star (1):
Prerequisite: the "Luck" Talent.
You can now use the Luck effect on other people.

"Servant of Three Surnames" (2)

Prerequisite: the Flaw of the same name, "Servant of Three Surnames"

Description: in some ways you are like the Lü Bu of history: for example, you love taking people as your adoptive father.

Level 2: in a Film world, if you and your adoptive father are in the same scene, your adoptive father gains an extra Art: they can spend 1 Willpower and, as a free action, shout "Where is my son!" Your Initiative then rises by 6, and you gain a 3 DP perfect bonus on your next attack.

Also, if your adoptive father's highest Rank is no lower than yours, then when your adoptive father is within range of your attack or offensive Skill, you can, as a standard action, shout "A true man born between heaven and earth cannot live long beneath another!" and attack your adoptive father with an attack or Skill that gains 3 extra successes.

If you manage to kill your adoptive father, you gain 3 XP. This can only trigger once per Film world.

(Special: once you have killed two adoptive fathers this way, you no longer suffer the drawbacks of the Flaw of the same name.)