About Skills

Format

Skills are like powers. Each has a Link Attribute, a Base Cost, and a Factor Cost. By default, all skills have a range of 'self' and the 'type' is always a Dice Roll no matter if that is the Game master rolling the dice or the player!

Subskills

Some skills are broken down even further into more detailed types of skills. These are called 'subskills'. They are a collection of independent skills that are related to the main skill itself. For example, 'Stealth' is a subskill of 'Thief', but isn't the same as 'Security Systems'. A character may choose to purchase one or more subskills instead of the main skill if that suits their main concept. An example again would be to spend Hero Points on 'Stealth' instead of 'Thief' which means you would have access to all subskills under thief.

Purchasing Subskills

To purchase a subskill from a collection, subtract 1 from the main skill's Factor Cost for every subskill the Character will not have on the character sheet from that main skill.

Unskilled Use

Some, but not all, skills and subskills can be attempted through unskilled use. Unskilled use only means that a character may try to use a skill in a scene by using the skills related attribute. This is also called 'defaulting'. The related attribute for a skill is noted by "Link Attribute" in the skill writeup.

But if a skill has an asterisk next to the Link Attribute - an example of this would be with Martial Arts - then that skill may not be 'defaulted'.

Benchmarks of Skill Proficiency

When a character has devoted time, effort, financial resources, and Hero (or Villain) Points to develop a skill, the value of the APs on their sheet would be a useful indicator of how well that character performs while using that skill. If Knight Thrasher and Kabuki cross paths at a karaoke contest, will their rendition of Meghan Trainor's "Lips Are Moving" win them a backstage pass into the Disco Girls' Denim Den? Or would they be better off finding a more subtle path into the villain lair, never once setting foot on that stage?

Rough Skill Benchmarks in MEGS

Is this character considered competent at that Skill?

At some point, APs can feel like meaningless numbers. Concept is more important than number crunching, especially in an exponential system where each "number" is meant to represent a large range of proficiency ratings. We know that in Mayfair's Exponential Gaming System, an AP rating of 2 in "Vehicles (Land)" ought to be a reasonable skill level for a non-adventuring Character who drives an automobile, commercial transport truck, motorcycle, or tank around a typical city on a daily basis.

We also know that the same "Vehicles (Land)" Subskill at a rating of 3 APs ought to be up to twice as proficient.

It is all too easy to only see that 3 APs fall into a different row or column when checking The Action Chart and The Result Chart. What does it matter to the character concept if that rating is 3 APs or 4 APs?

Fortunately, the Writeups dot Org trio of Sébastien Andrivet, Roy Cowan, and Mike Davies put together a rough chart of benchmarks for Skills of all sorts. Think of this chart as a guideline, not a strict rule!

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Level	Rough description
1	Vague knowledge about the skill. Reliable ability to produce shoddy results. Maybe also the level of a lazy/indifferent/casual hobbyist.
2	Amateur with some talent or basic training. Will not provide professional results most of the time.
3	Indifferent professional. Good enough to make a living, but rarely gets cool results. Or skilled amateur/avid hobbyist – good enough to impress most people, but not professionals in the field.
4	Competent professional. A skilled person you’d want to hire.
5	Expert. By virtue of superior talent or experience, the character produces results and has knowledge a step above most professionals’. Level of a typical R&D head, conductor of major symphonies, etc.
6	Renowned expert. The character’s name comes up in discussion about the skill ; he has illustrated himself with newsworthy exploits in his discipline.
7	Cinematic expert. The characters can achieve results you’re not likely to see in real life and that make people go “wow”.
8	Heroic, world class expert. A contender among the pantheons of the very best musicians, doctors, scientists, Formula One drivers, etc. in the world. Called a genius by some.
9	Cinematic genius in that area. Author of various breakthroughs and impossibly knowledgeable in the discipline. This level, or perhaps a 10, would be equivalent to a Feynman or an Einstein.
10	Comic-book genius in that area. Will do impossible stuff twice over breakfast.
11	The highest level of Physical Skills before they begin to be considered superhuman. The domain of the greatest human practitioners, but only in a comic-book setting or similar over-the-top genre.
12	Physical Skills at this level or higher are usually considered beyond unenhanced human ability even in a cinematic/comic-book setting. Mental Skills at this level are at the tipping point between the greatest human potential and a truly preternatural level of competence.
13+	Those with Mental Skills in this range are superhuman geniuses. Can casually make amazing breakthroughs in several different disciplines simultaneously while working a problem.

(Thrasher and Kabuki will probably stick to the skills they have prioritized over their heroic careers, at least for a high-stakes gambit with such close scrutiny. Artist (Musician) is not a defaultable subskill, which puts karaoke firmly in the "Fun" or "Distraction" categories for either of these heroes.)