Skills

Shadowrun: Genesys Skill List

The skills available to Shadowrun: Genesys Setting

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SKILL	CHAR	TYPE	SOURCE
Alchemy	Intellect	General	CRB 57
Arcana	Intellect	Magic	CRB 70
Athletics	Brawn	General	CRB 58
Brawl	Brawn	Combat	CRB 67
Charm	Presence	Social	CRB 54
Coercion	Willpower	Social	CRB 55
Computers (Hacking)	Intellect	General	New (SotBS)
Computers (Sysops)	Intellect	General	New (SotBS)
Cool	Presence	General	CRB 55
Coordination	Agility	General	CRB 59
Deception	Cunning	Social	CRB 56
Discipline	Willpower	General	CRB 60
Driving	Agility	General	CRB 60
Gunnery	Agility	Combat	CRB 69
Leadership	Presence	Social	CRB 56
Magic	Intellect	Knowledge	New
Mechanics	Intellect	General	CRB 60
Medicine	Intellect	General	CRB 61
Melee	Brawn	Combat	CRB 68
Negotiation	Presence	Social	CRB 56
Operating	Agility	General	CRB 62
Perception	Cunning	General	CRB 62
Piloting	Agility	General	CRB 62
Primal	Cunning	Magic	CRB 70
Qi	Willpower	Magic	New
Ranged (Heavy)	Agility	Combat	CRB 68
Ranged (Light)	Agility	Combat	CRB 68
Resilience	Brawn	General	CRB 63
Resonance	Cunning	Magic	New
Science	Intellect	Knowledge	New
Skulduggery	Cunning	General	CRB 64
Society	Intellect	Knowledge	New
Stealth	Agility	General	CRB 64
Streetwise	Cunning	General	CRB 65
Survival	Cunning	General	CRB 65
The Matrix	Intellect	Knowledge	New
Vigilance	Intellect	General	CRB 65

Descriptions of New Skills

Society (Intellect)

This skill has two distinct aspects that it governs. The first is knowledge about societies in general and how they function, which can include economic theory, sociology, law, and the like. The second aspect is information about the society your character lives in, assumed to be Seattle. This includes information on who Miranda Rhapsody is and what her greatest hits are, the distinguishing features of each Seattle district, such as the difference between downtown and the Redmond Barrens.

YOUR CHARACTER SHOULD USE THIS SKILL IF…

• Your character wants to remember facts about Seattle.
• Your character needs to make an argument in a court of law that’s grounded on a solid legal base.
• Your character wants to remember how the average Tir Tangier feels about the UCAS member before traveling to there.
• Your character wants to know if someone is trying to manipulate the stock market by short selling shares in a major company.
• Your character is trying to figure out what the most powerful organized crime outfits in Seattle are.

YOUR CHARACTER SHOULD NOT USE THIS SKILL IF…

• Your character needs to find the nearest SPD station. This would require Streetwise (although knowing information about the SPD in general would be covered by Knowledge [Society]).
• Your character needs to know some element of Network etiquette and habits. They would need Knowledge (The Matrix) instead.
• Your character wants to know how far a local street gang’s territory reaches. This would be a Street-wise check.

The Matrix (Intellect)

These days, the matrix has become far more than the internets of years past. For all intents and purposes, it is its own world, growing and changing, with its own inhabitants and dangers, all paralleling our own. Being able to understand and navigate the Matrix is an increasingly valuable skill, as many runners and netsplorers can attest. This skill represents your character’s knowledge about anything Matrix-related, from information on the dangers of specific pieces of ice, to the location of particular subservers and Shadow Net chatspaces.

YOUR CHARACTER SHOULD USE THIS SKILL IF…

• Your character wants to know which Shadow Net virtual chatspaces they should visit to recruit a reliable runner.
• Your character wants to know the dangers of trying to break a piece of ice.
• character is trying to figure out what real-world corp is hosting a server full of valuable information.
• Your character is trying to remember any rumors about so-called “god ice,” “ghost runners,” or other legends of the matrix.

YOUR CHARACTER SHOULD NOT USE THIS SKILL IF…

• Your character is attempting to break through a piece of ice. This is handled by the Computers (Hacking) skill.
• Your character is trying to reactivate or repair lines of code in a program. This is handled by the Computers (Sysops) skill.
• Your character wants to see what they know about current popular culture. Although that information can be found on the Matrix (in exhausting detail), it still requires a Knowledge (Society) check.

Magic (Intellect)

In a world filled with a wide variety of magical threats, from spellcasters to magic creatures, understand something about these things is becoming increasingly necessary. This skill represents the character academic understand of all things magical, from meta-types to meta-flora and fauna, legends and lore, spirits, spellcasters and spellcasting techniques.

YOUR CHARACTER SHOULD USE THIS SKILL IF…

• Your character is trying to identify an awakened creature.
• Your character is trying to identify the totem of a shaman by the shamans appearance, spells, or casting style.
• You character is trying to identify a spirit.

YOUR CHARACTER SHOULD NOT USE THIS SKILL IF…

• Your character is trying to cast a spell, Arcana or Primal would be used instead.
• Your character is trying to find a talismonger, Knowledge (Society) would be used instead.
• Your character is trying to create a foci or charm, Arcana or Primal would be used instead.

Science (Intellect)

Science has made great discoveries, the results of which are all around you. New technologies such as fusion power, clones, bioroids, the space elevator, and the Matrix have fundamentally changed the lives of ordinary people. And even as society works to perfect these technologies, scientists and researchers continue to search for the next great leap in our understanding of the universe. Knowledge (Science) represents an understanding of the various scientific disciplines, mathematics, and the workings of old and new technologies. This represents a character’s “book smarts” and is the kind of knowledge one would learn in school.

YOUR CHARACTER SHOULD USE THIS SKILL IF…

• Your character is trying to recall the formula for a drug or chemical.
• Your character needs to remember the name of a lunar crater.
• Your character tries to calculate the correct trajectory for a spacecraft entering Earth orbit. Your character needs to know how many people a buckyweave rope can support before breaking.

YOUR CHARACTER SHOULD NOT USE THIS SKILL IF…

• Your character is trying to fix a hydrogen fuel cell. This would require Mechanics.
• Your character is trying to fly a spacecraft along a specific trajectory. Your character may use Knowledge (Science) to calculate the course, but they need to use Operating to fly it.
• Your character needs to know the specifics of the Fed’s jurisdiction in Seattle, which would require the Knowledge (Society) skill instead.

Computers Skills

Because working with computers is such a major part of the Shadowrun setting, we’ve split the original Computers skill into two separate skills: Hacking and Sysops. The new skills in this section take the place of the single Computers skill presented in the GENESYS Core Rulebook. Note: These skills are taken directly from Shadow of the Beanstalk

Hacking (Intellect)

Hacking represents any offensive and destructive uses of the Computers skill presented in the GENESYS Core Rulebook. It covers any attempts at electronic code breaking, intrusion or, of course, running on servers and breaking ice. Any runner worth the title is going to be good at Hacking. However, most characters who spend a decent amount of time working with computers and programming are going to at least be familiar with this skill.

YOUR CHARACTER SHOULD USE THIS SKILL IF…

• Your character is trying to enter a secured server.
• Your character is shutting down a piece of ice.
• Your character is trying to open an electronic lock.
• Your character is trying to destroy a computer program.

YOUR CHARACTER SHOULD NOT USE THIS SKILL IF…

• Your character is trying to reactivate a deactivated program. This would require the Computers (Sysops) skill.
• Your character is trying to open a mechanical lock. Your character needs to use Skulduggery to defeat a mechanical item of that type.
• Your character is trying to backtrace someone who has intruded on a server. This also requires the Computers (Sysops) skill.

Sysops (Intellect)

If Hacking represents offensive or destructive uses of the  Computers skill, Sysops represents its defensive and constructive uses. The most prominent use of Sysops is to defend computer systems against runners, viruses, and other intrusions. However, Sysops can also be used to build computer programs, activate and improve ice and other countermeasures, and trace hacking attempts back to their source. While systems operators and administrators get the most use out of this skill, pretty much everyone who works with computers and programming needs at least some understanding of it.

YOUR CHARACTER SHOULD USE THIS SKILL IF…

• Your character is trying to backtrace a runner who is trying to hack your server.
• Your character needs to activate ice or other counter-measure programs.
• Your character is trying to repair a damaged program.
• Your character is trying to create a new program.

YOUR CHARACTER SHOULD NOT USE THIS SKILL IF…

• Your character is trying to deactivate or destroy a pro-gram. This would require the Computers (Hacking) skill.
• Your character wants to remember details about a particular server on the Net. They need the Knowledge (The Matrix) skill for that.
• Your character is trying to crack an electronic code or encryption. This also requires Computers (Hacking).

Magic Skills

These skills are used in addition to Arcana and Primal as described in the GENESYS core rulebook.

Qi (Willpower)

The Qi skill represents an adepts ability to manipulate their magical energies, bolstering their own natural abilities. This includes enhancing the adepts strength, perception, agility, and other abilities.

YOUR CHARACTER SHOULD USE THIS SKILL IF…

• Your character wants to augment their Perception skill to improve their visual acuity to see details far away.
• Your character wishes enhance their Athletics to leap to a building on the opposite side of the street.
• Your character seeks to augment their stealth to sneak vigilant guards.

YOUR CHARACTER SHOULD NOT USE THIS SKILL IF…

• Wishes to use magic (cast a spell) on another person. If a Mystic Adept, this would require Arcana or Primal.
• Your character wishes to look into the astral plane, this requires the Astral Perception talent.
• Your character seeks to recognize the martial style of another adept, this would requires Knowledge (Society) instead.

Resonance (Cunning)

The Resonance skill represents a technomancers ability to access and interact with the matrix without a deck or pad. Often thought of as being omnipotent within the matrix, techomancers actual abilities fall short of such extremes but their ability to access and manipulate the matrix is impressive.

YOUR CHARACTER SHOULD USE THIS SKILL IF…

• Your character wishes to take control of a nearby vehicle with a matrix presence.
• Your character seeks to search the matrix without using a deck.
• Your character is trying to compile a sprite.

YOUR CHARACTER SHOULD NOT USE THIS SKILL IF…

• Your character wishes to repair a computer, this requires Mechanics.
• Your character wishes to determine if someone has a non-networked computerized device hidden on their person, this requires a Perception check.
• Your character seeks to recognize a matrix signature, this would require Computers (Hacking).