Focus
Spirit Skill
Focus is a Spirit Skill that represents a character’s ability to concentrate on difficult or complex tasks or to work under pain and stress. It can be thought of as analogous to willpower, and characters with a high Focus Rank are often intensely driven and ambitious, or at the least unshakable once they’ve dedicated themselves to a task.
The most common uses of Focus come into play when it’s rolled alongside a use of another SKILL to test how well you can concentrate on the other task. For example, it may be a Stealth Check to pick a lock, but if a character was suffering from the painful venomous bite of a Seviper on their hand, they might also need to test Focus to keep steady and concentrated on the task. A complicated maneuver such as jumping into the air, throwing a knife to hit a specific target, then teleporting to a platform mid-air and pulling a lever at an exact timing when landing would also call for a Focus Check in addition to the Acrobatics Check that would be invoked.
Some tasks might require Focus Checks by their very nature, even if they’re not excessively complicated. Disarming a bomb, for example, would almost always call for a Focus Check due to the stress of the situation.
Another example is when performing delicate actions under the stress of being attacked in combat (page 245). These actions always require a Focus Check.
Focus is also closely associated with a number of supernatural abilities. The Telepathy and Telekinetic Capabilities run off of the user’s Focus Rank, for example (page 308). In general, Focus is used for resisting supernatural mental influence as well, such as possession by powerful Ghosts. This is usually an Opposed Check against the foe’s Focus Skill.
Even outside of supernatural influences, emotions can disrupt someone’s ability to act in tip-top condition. Focus is tested to keep self-control in the face of very strong fear, anger, or other volatile emotions. Focus is often used in an Opposed Check against Intimidate in this context, to continue acting under duress.
Prerequisites: Elemental Connection (Psychic)
Effect: You learn the Move Confusion.
Iron Mind
Prerequisites: Novice Focus
Effect: You become aware of all attempts to read your mind with Telepathy, whether the attempt is successful or not.
Work Up
Prerequisites: Adept Focus
Effect: You learn the Move Work Up.
Smooth
Prerequisites: Expert Charm or Expert Focus
Effect: You gain +4 Evasion against Moves with the Social keyword, and gain a +2 Bonus on Save Checks against Rage and Infatuation.