Okay, we've got more skills. Three of these ended up as powers in later editions, but for now they are just plain skills. Let's dive right in.
First up is Lack of Weakness. This, as I mentioned, was made into a power later on. It's a counter for Find Weakness, of course. It costs 5 points as a base, which subtracts 5 points from the enemy's Find Weakness roll. Every additional point spent on this skill further reduces the enemy's roll by one point.
Next is...Luck. I'm not sure how this would have qualified as a skill, which is why it ended up not being a skill later on as well. You can buy up to three levels of Luck for 5 points apiece. The higher your Luck, the more lucky you'll be with some pretty ridiculous results at times. Basically, when you're in deep doo-doo, you make a Luck roll, which is 1d6 for each level of Luck you have. Every 6 you roll counts as one level of Luck. At Level 1, you might get a clue, or your opponent might be distracted somehow, giving you a quick advantage. At Level 2, you get into coincidences like running into the person you really needed to find, or your opponent's weapon malfunctions. At Level 3, it's the ridiculous results. You're falling to your death, but there happens to be a huge pile of mattresses at the bottom that save you. That sort of thing.
The next skill is Martial Arts. This is very generic; you get access to the Martial Attacks on the Combat Maneuvers Table (which we'll get to later on), which are more effective than normal attacks. There's no distinct style such as Kung Fu or Karate; you're just a martial artist. You pay your Strength value in points; if you have a 10 STR, you pay 10 points. 20 STR, 20 points, etc. You can also pay an additional cost of half your STR total to get a damage multiple of +1/2 to your attacks. The minimum cost is 10 points, so weak characters are still going to pay full price.
The last of the 'skills that should be powers' is Missile Deflection. You can deflect a ranged attack as a DEX roll (9 + DEX/5) at a cost of 10 points. It costs 3 additional points to add 1 point to your Missile Deflection roll target. The only attacks that can't be deflected are mental attacks, No Normal Defense attacks, and attacks you can't anticipate. It takes a half-move action to deflect an attack. If the incoming missile is heavy (half or more of your STR weight limit), you can't deflect it. If it's not your turn to act, you can Abort your next action to attempt the missile deflection; this just means you miss your next phase action. Once you're using this skill, you can keep doing it no matter how many incoming attacks there are, until your next phase. However, the more you try to deflect, the harder it gets (-2 cumulative penalty for every missile deflection attempt after the first one). Normally, you have to have some sort of item (a shield, a billy club, etc.) to use this skill, although you don't get a Focus limitation on it.
Next is Security Systems. This is your ability to get past locks and alarms. It's an INT roll, costing 5 points for the skill and 2 points per additional point to the roll. This skill covers both electronic and mechanical security devices, so it's very versatile.
Finally, we have Skill Levels. This is a bonus that you can buy to various skills, powers, or attacks, making you more adept at using them. There are different types: Specific (costing 3 points and affecting a single attacks, power or skill), General (5 points, one class of powers, skills, or attacks), and Overall (10 points, affecting any power, skill, attack, or action you take). You have to apply the level to whatever action you are taking, and it is locked in until your next phase. So, if you use your 10-pt level to increase your Energy Blast attack roll, you can't switch it to your Missile Deflection until your next phase.
And that's it for this page. We're nearly done with the skills, and then we'll start into the powers.
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