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Abilities - Universal

Animal Ken (I)
Use ANIMAL KEN as the general social Ability for interacting with animals. Domesticated animals may follow orders; wild ones will just understand to go away. Most cultures in Near have domesticated animals that are handled with this Ability. Those cultures that train riding animals either expand this Ability with a Secret or train the rider in a specialized Ability.
Barter (I)
Most of Near has devolved into a barter economy, so the rarity of money complicates trade. Experience with trade also allows the character to evaluate the value of things to others. Use BARTER to find out whether a character’s wealth of the moment is enough to make a purchase, or what he might have to sacrifice to make the price.
Brawl (V)
Natural propensity for violence, uninformed by any finer discipline. Generally speaking a brawler will fight in a rage and limited in technique, which makes the use of sophisticated weapons inefficient and special technique all but impossible.
Charm (I)
Giving good impressions and making friends. Useful in delivering compliments and convincing others by subtle and personal means. The primary Ability for romantic conquest, should an Ability be required.
Craftwork (I)
Most cultures have traditions of creating elaborate art from wood, bone or other materials. While HOUSEWORK (R) is enough to create simple tools, this Ability is used when mere function is not enough, but beauty is desired as well. Items created with craftwork may reflect meaning and are reasonable as individual Effects that can influence people in different ways.
Deceit (I)
Delivering lies with a straight face, pretty much. Opposed by RESIST (R) when a character tries to perceive the lie for what it is. DECEIT and SPEAKING (R) overlap and support each other naturally when lies are delivered by a glib tongue. I’m not entirely consistent with DECEIT myself all the time; sometimes I allow characters to lie and mislead with CHARM (I). Caveat emptor.
Hard Work (V)
Most direct production in Near happens with human labor. Farming and related work is first and foremost about patience, measured use of force and experience. HARD WORK is used whenever characters want to support others with grunt work, or when they end up on the bottom ladder of a working group, or when they want to make their way honestly.
Housework (R)
Only the most well preserved or newly advanced communities in Near feature large degrees of specialized labor. Most of what makes people happy and comfortable from day to day is made in the home with this Ability, such as cooking, craftwork, folk medicine and so on. Essential for the functional household. HOUSEWORK may be used to treat simple injuries and illnesses.
Music (I)
A character’s skill with instruments and song. Music is beautiful and universal to life in Near, but its usefulness is a subtle thing. Choosing this Ability as a major facet for a character is to choose to chase mirages that only occasionally perform truly. In other words, it takes some work to maneuver the game into a situation where music will be useful in conflict.
Pray (V)
This Ability is used to conduct rituals and focus the mind towards a higher power in meditation. Sometimes faith can move mountains, or at least support other Abilities at critical moments.
Speak (R)
The skill of explaining yourself well. Useful for arguing a point or delivering a rousing speech. Speaking usually requires some sort of valid point to work from, though. Use SPEAK for any social conflicts where substantial issues decided with reason are at stake.
Sports (V)
Sports are an important status practice, especially for men who use them to establish prominence. The same Ability is used to resolve general athletic situations, such as swimming, climbing, jumping and so on.
Storytell (R)
All but the most civilized places have lost their literary culture. What they have instead are storytellers, the sons and daughters of people who might have been erudite in their time. This Ability is used to know the old things and tell the truth of them, as well as to combine the old stories into new ones.
Thievery (I)
Thievery is experience in casing targets, picking pockets, stealthy entrance, confidence tricks and other unsavory practices that come with societal hostility and willingness to break norms. Experts are unlikely outside major urban centers.
Vagrancy (I)
Beggars and vagabonds are common in the Near of today. They learn how to freeload and draw a meager livelihood from the gratitude of strangers. Vagrancy is also useful for knowing things about the wider world. Aside from vagrants, any well traveled character might have this Ability.
Woodcraft (R)
Most of Near is temperate, consisting of woodlands, grasslands, wetlands and highlands. This Ability concerns survival skills in these wilderness environments, such as recognizing the flora and fauna, remembering their properties, tracking and trapping them. Extreme environments, such as dense jungle or bare tundra are wont to cause penalty dice, as is simple unfamiliarity with a specific terrain.