Secondary Abilities

Secondary Abilities are often more specialized than the basic abilities thus enabling a player to define her character more exactly.
Each dot costs 1 pt for secondary abilities. I do 2 dots for 1 pt personally. You pay for those dots with your freebie points.
In Freebie points you get:
Vampire: 15
Elders: 20
Mortals/etc: 21

Skills

Acrobatics (VPG)
You are a trained tumbler and acrobat, able to perform feats of agility far beyond the capabilities of an untrained character. For each success with this Skill, a character can ignore one Health Level of falling damage, so a character with two dots in Acrobatics can fall up to 10 feet without injury, and takes only one Health Level of damage from a 15-foot fall.
* Novice: Grade school gym class
** Practiced: High school jock
*** Competent: College team
**** Expert: State champion
***** Master: Olympic gold medallist

Animal Training (VPG)
You are able to train animals to obey commands and possibly perform tricks or other feats. Each species is a different specialty.
* Novice: Heel, Fetch, Sit, Stay
** Practiced: Local show standard
*** Competent: Champion sheep dog standard
**** Expert: Elite police dog standard
***** Master: Circus/stunt standard

Archery (VPG)
You know how to fire a bow, and may be able to do so with great proficiency.
* Novice: High school gym practice
** Practiced: Forest bowhunter
*** Competent: Medieval ranger
**** Expert: Will hit a bull’s-eye, usually
***** Master: Robin Hood

Artillery (VPG)
You may operate and shoot artillery of all varieties anything from a mortar to a howitzer. Additionally, your knowledge of the weapons includes the ability to repair them.
* Novice: Young recruit
** Practiced: Operator
*** Competent: Forward observer
**** Expert: Gun captain
***** Master: Can fire the thing by yourself if need be

Blacksmith (VPG)
You are skilled in the working of iron, and can make objects from iron and steel.
* Novice: You can make a horseshoe from a cut-iron bar.
** Practiced: You can make wrought-iron and mild-steel objects.
*** Competent: You can make different grades of steel and cast iron to industrial standards.
**** Expert: You can pattern-weld different grades of iron and steel to make a complex object such as a sword blade.
***** Master: You can make a blade equal to any Japanese sword, or any other iron or steel object you please.

Blind Fighting (VPG)
Even when unable to see your foes, you can use your Brawl or Melee Abilities. This Skill may also be of great use out of combat. It should be noted that this Skill does not grant any actual ability to see better in darkness.
* Novice: You don’t stub your toe in the dark.
** Practiced: You can pinpoint the direction from which sounds come.
*** Competent: You can fight and predict your enemies’ locations at the same time.
**** Expert: You can almost “feel” where your opponents are.
***** Master: You possess an almost mystical sense Zen and the Art of Spatial Awareness.

Blowgun (Cbk Assa)
This skill is required to use a blowgun accurately.
* Novice: Kid with peashooter
** Practiced: Class peashooter ace
*** Competent: Ninja wannabe
**** Expert: Rainforest Dweller
***** Master: Ninja

Boat Handling (VPG)
You know your way around a boat, and can operate effectively in any crew position.
* Novice: Weekend sailor
** Practiced: Serious enthusiast
*** Competent: Competitor or semi-skilled professional
**** Expert: Professional or Olympic standard
***** Master: Instructor orOlympic gold medallist

Body Crafts

Brewing/Distilling (VPG)
You are skilled in the manufacture of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. You are familiar with the equipment used in brewing and distilling, and can maintain, operate and repair such equipment.
* Novice: Brew-kit user
** Practiced: Home winemaker
*** Competent: Moonshiner
**** Expert: Commercial winemaker
***** Master: Chateau of repute

Bribery (VPG)
You know how, when and where to grease palms. However, you still need to decide whom to approach and whom to leave alone remember, not everyone turns a blind eye.
* Novice: Get a bouncer to overlook the dress code.
** Practiced: Get the building inspector off your back.
*** Competent: A policeman won’t write you tickets.
**** Expert: The inspector from the EPA leaves you alone.
***** Master: State politicians and local CEOs scratch your back.

Camouflage (VPG)
You can change your appearance through a mixture of clothing, makeup and movement, rendering you difficult to spot in a variety of different surroundings. This is not the ability to look like someone else, but simply to hide.
* Novice: Boy Scout
** Practiced: Infantry trooper
*** Competent: Marine
**** Expert: Special Forces
***** Master: Ninja

Carpentry (VPG)
You are a competent woodworker, able to craft a variety of objects from wood.
* Novice: Amateur handyman
** Practiced: Professional handyman
*** Competent: Professional carpenter
**** Expert: Joiner and cabinetmaker or night school teacher
***** Master: You have your own TV show; rich clients seek you out.

Climbing (VPG)
You can climb mountains and/or walls, and seldom have any fear of falling. The technical skills of chimneying, spike-setting and rappelling are all well known to you though, depending on your skill, you may be good or indifferent at them. Remember, mountain climbing at night is far more difficult than a daylight climb unless you can see in the dark.
* Novice: You can scale easy mountains or walls with handholds.
** Practiced: You go on mountaineering vacations. You can climb heavily weathered stone or brick walls.
*** Competent: You work in an outdoor pursuits center as a mountaineering instructor. You can climb moderately rough stone or brick walls.
**** Expert: You’ve done at least a couple of famous peaks. You can free-climb a fairly smooth stone or brick wall.
***** Master: Everest and K2 are mild hikes. You could free-climb the World Trade Center.

Cooking (VPG)
You know how to prepare a variety of meals, and present them in an appealing manner. Although vampires no longer eat, this can be a very useful social Ability, especially if you like to lure potential vessels to your haven with the promise of a candlelit tête-a-tete.
* Novice: You give a reasonable dinner party.
** Practiced: You give an excellent dinner party.
*** Competent: You could make a business of this.
**** Expert: You could publish recipe books.
***** Master: You could have your own TV show or become a chef in the finest restaurants.

Dancing (VPG)
You are a proficient dancer, and may perform socially or for the entertainment of others. You are familiar with most varieties of dance, but specialize in one particular style.
* Novice: You can manage a waltz at a wedding.
** Practiced: You draw envious glances at weddings. You could perform on the local amateur stage.
*** Competent: You are the talk of the ball. You could perform on the local professional stage.
**** Expert: People ask you to teach them. You could perform on TV.
***** Master: Nijinsky, Fonteyn, Nureyev, Barishnikov, Astaire, Rogers, Kelley — and you.

Debate (VPG)
You are skilled at reasoned debate, and can present a convincing case through reason and logic.
* Novice: Student
** Practiced: Debate team member
*** Competent: Union negotiator
**** Expert: Politician
***** Master: You could make fundamentalists understand evolution.

Demolitions (VPG)
You have a knowledge of explosives and demolitions that allows you to set off and create (at higher levels) all types of bombs. Additionally, you know the techniques for disarming explosives.
* Novice: Guy Fawkes
** Practiced: The Mad Bomber
*** Competent: Underground chemist
**** Expert: You blow up buildings for a living.
***** Master: Bye-bye, World Trade Center.

Disguise (VPG)
You can conceal your appearance and even make yourself look like another specific person through the use of clothes and makeup.
* Novice: Good enough to fool someone who knows neither you nor the person you're impersonating.
** Practiced: Good enough to fool some of the people some of the time.
*** Competent: Good enough to fool some of the people most of the time.
**** Expert: Good enough to fool most of the people most of the time.
***** Master: Good enough to fool those nearest and dearest most of the time.

Escapology (VPG)
You are skilled in various techniques that enable you to escape from bonds and restraints. This skill is primarily used for entertainment purposes, but can also be very useful in real life.
* Novice: Children’s party entertainer; you can escape from loose or poorly tied bonds.
** Practiced: Amateur entertainer; you can escape from fairly well-tied bonds.
*** Competent: Professional entertainer; you can escape from handcuffs and chains.
**** Expert: Star; you can escape from a straitjacket.
***** Master: Houdini who?

Falconry (VPG)
Once the sport of nobles, falconry is now practiced only by a few enthusiasts.
* Novice: The bird comes back sometimes.
** Practiced: You can do small displays.
*** Competent: You work most of the local medieval fairs and outdoor exhibitions.
**** Expert: In a different time, you would have been a noble admired for your skill, or you could have worked for a noble.
***** Master: In a different time, you would have been with the king’s entourage.

Fast-Draw (VPG)
This skill allows you to ready a weapon almost instantly. You can draw a weapon and have it ready for use just as if it had been in your hand all along.
* Novice: You have good reflexes.
** Practiced: You’re good, but not great.
*** Competent: You would have lasted a little while in the Old West. You could work Wild West shows.
**** Expert: Pretty fast. You could headline your own act.
***** Master: Greased lightning. You might have been able to take Billy the Kid.

Fast-Talk (VPG)
This Skill allows you to convince someone of something using a sincere expression and an avalanche of words rather than reasoned debate and logic.
* Novice: Vacuum-cleaner salesman
** Practiced: Used-car salesman
*** Competent: Professional con artist
**** Expert: Teflon-coated politician
***** Master: You could sell sand to the Saudis.

Fire Dancing

First Aid (VPG)
This Skill allows a character to give basic medical attention to another. It is not as comprehensive an Ability as the Medicine Knowledge, but does allow for a basic grasp of all the practices of first aid, and at higher levels, techniques known to paramedics.
* Novice: Mother of small children
** Practiced: Boy Scout
*** Competent: Office safety representative
**** Expert: School nurse
***** Master: Paramedic

Fishing (VPG)
You can judge a body of water, and have a fair chance of catching fish if there are any to be caught.
* Novice: Weekend angler
** Practiced: Serious amateur
*** Competent: Competition winner
**** Expert: Professional fisherman
***** Master: Fish leap onto the shore as you walk by.

Forgery (VPG)
You can copy a document or two-dimensional artwork well enough to enable it to appear as the real thing under casual inspection, and perhaps more detailed inspection as well.
* Novice: Interoffice memos
** Practiced: Signatures
*** Competent: Commercial papers; passports
**** Expert: Checks; bonds; bank drafts; some artworks
***** Master: Banknotes; old master paintings

Gambling (VPG)
You are adept at one or more games of chance, and can play without too much risk of losing heavily. You can also increase your chances of winning without actually cheating.
* Novice: Saturday night poker with the boys
** Practiced: A couple of weeks in Vegas each year
*** Competent: You are known in Vegas, Reno and Atlantic City.
**** Expert: You make a living from this. Your mother despairs.
***** Master: You have to be careful not to tell people your name.

Game Playing (VPG)
This Skill covers games of strategy and skill, such as chess, go, shogi, xiang qui, hnefatafl and so on. It does not cover card games (see Gambling),or simple games like tic tac toe and gomoku, which rely largely on luck.
* Novice: You can beat your older brother.
** Practiced: You could get on a school team.
*** Competent: You could get on a college team.
**** Expert: You could get on a national team.
***** Master: You could beat Karpov.

Garrotte (Cbk Assa)
The garotte does no damage on the first turn, but causes damage automatically thereafter if the victim doesn't break free. Kindred did not suffer choking damage (they don't need to breathe) but it can wound. It is possible to decapitate a victim with a wire garrotte.
* Novice: Street Punk
** Practiced: Unarmed combat instructor
*** Competent: Special Forces
**** Expert: Professional assassin
***** Master: Ninja or Thuggee

Gunsmithing (VPG)
You can repair firearms and produce ammunition for a variety of different guns. At high levels of skill, you can construct specialty ammunition such as caseless, hollow-point, mercury-tipped, and silver bullets. Given the time and the tools (and enough skill) you can build a gun from scratch perhaps even one of your own design.
* Novice: Black powder and paper cartridges
** Practiced: Cased standard ammunition
*** Competent: Magnum rounds
**** Expert: Caseless and hollow-point rounds
***** Master: You name it

Heavy Weapons (VPG)
You have the ability to operate and shoot heavy weapons of all varieties anything from an M60 heavy machine gun to a Dragon antitank weapon. Additionally, your knowledge of the weapons includes an ability to repair them.
* Novice: Basic training
** Practiced: Operator
*** Competent: Warrior
**** Expert: Killer
***** Master: Rambo

Herbalism (VPG)
You have a working knowledge of herbs and their properties, medicinal and otherwise. You can find and prepare herbs, and know which herb or blend of herbs to use in any situation.
* Novice: Your read a book on it once.
** Practiced: You are a serious student of herb lore.
*** Competent: You are a local supplier.
**** Expert: You’ve written books on herbalism.
***** Master: You could easily function as an apothecary.

Hunting (VPG)
You are skilled at finding and killing animals for food or sport. In familiar terrain, you are able to predict the type, number and likely location of food animals, and know the best ways to find and kill them.
* Novice: Weekender
** Practiced: Enthusiast or trooper
*** Competent: Survivalist or Marine
**** Expert: Special Forces
***** Master: Lupine

Hypnotism (VPG)
You can place a willing subject into a trance, and use hypnotism to gather information or treat psychiatric problems. An unwilling subject must be immobilized or Dominated to comply.
* Novice: You do it occasionally, primarily to entertain.
** Practiced: You are a skilled amateur.
*** Competent: You could open a practice or go on the stage.
**** Expert: You could write books on the subject.
***** Master: Who needs Dominate?

Jeweler (VPG)
You are able to produce saleable pieces of jewelry. You can determine the approximate worth of most jewelry by quick appraisal, but it is easy to make a mistake without in-depth examination.
* Novice: You took a night school course once.
** Practiced: You treat it as a fairly serious hobby.
*** Competent: You could run a small business.
**** Expert: This is your chosen career.
***** Master: You are up there with Cartier.

Journalism (VPG)
You not only know how to write news stories, but also how to research and discover them in the first place. This Skill also gives you knowledge about the inner workings of a newsroom and a newspaper as a whole. Furthermore, Journalism often provides a familiarity with television news reporting.
* Novice: Hack (TV reporter)
** Practiced: Features reporter
*** Competent: Investigative reporter
**** Expert: Editor
***** Master: Pulitzer Prize winner

Leatherworking (VPG)
You are able to produce serviceable items of leather, either for sale or for your own use.
* Novice: You got a craft kit for your birthday.
** Practiced: You make birthday presents for friends and family.
*** Competent: You sell to local stores.
**** Expert: People ask for your work by name.
***** Master: Your picture appears in magazine ads.

Lip Reading (VPG)
You are able to understand speech without hearing it, just by watching mouth movement. Though you will not pick up on every word, you can usually figure out the gist of a sentence without too much trouble.
* Novice: If someone talks slowly and clearly, with exaggerated mouth movement.
** Practiced: If someone talks fairly slowly and you concentrate.
*** Competent: Under most circumstances.
**** Expert: Even under bad conditions, including foreign languages, bad light and distance.
***** Master: Under just about any conditions.

Lockpicking (VPG)
You are able to open locks without the correct key or the right combination.
* Novice: Simple mortise locks
** Practiced: Cylinder locks and basic security locks
*** Competent: Advanced security locks
**** Expert: Safes
***** Master: Fort Knox

Mechanic (VPG)
You are a jack-of-all-trades with a particular affinity for mechanical devices, and can jerry-rig or repair just about anything mechanical, given the right tools and materials.
* Novice: You can fix a broken doorbell.
** Practiced: You can fix a lawnmower or scratch-build a doorbell.
*** Competent: You can fix a car or build an automatic garage door.
**** Expert: You can fix a high-performance car or rebuild an engine.
***** Master: You can fix, build or improve almost anything.

Meditation (VPG)
You are able to enter a trance-like state at will, focusing your mind inward and dealing with a range of mental and physical problems.
* Novice: You read a book on it once.
** Practiced: You are a serious student.
*** Competent: You have studied under a master.
**** Expert: You are qualified to teach.

***** Master: Just that.

Parachuting (VPG)
You know how to use a parachute, both for sport and for other purposes.
* Novice: Weekend jumper
** Practiced: Reservist
*** Competent: Airborne regular
**** Expert: Special Forces or sport instructor
***** Master: Special Forces instructor or sport champion

Photography (VPG)
You know how to use a camera to produce quality and artistic pictures. You also know how to process photographic materials.
* Novice: Local club member
** Practiced: Local club prizewinner
*** Competent: Semi-pro; you sell some pictures.
**** Expert: Professional photographer
***** Master: One of the best

Pickpocket (VPG)
You are able to remove objects from someone else’s clothing and body without the person’s knowledge. You generally bump into the person to distract her as you remove the object.
* Novice: You can take wallets in a dense crowd.
** Practiced: You can take a wallet from an inside pocket.
*** Competent: You can take a keychain from a trouser pocket.
**** Expert: You can take a watch while shaking hands.
***** Master: You can take anything from anywhere.

Pilot (VPG)
You can operate a flying machine. Note that your skill limits the types of aircraft you can fly. A glider pilot (one dot) cannot fly a helicopter (requiring four dots).
* Novice: Club member; hang gliders only
** Practiced: Club champion; gliders and small aircraft only
*** Competent: Professional or club instructor; commercial airplane license
**** Expert: Military or display pilot; helicopter pilot; any type of commercial aircraft
***** Master: Top Gun

Police Procedure (VPG)
You know the general techniques and procedures employed by law enforcement authorities, and may utilize them yourself (especially if you were once a police officer).
* Novice: Recruit
** Practiced: Patrol officer
*** Competent: Detective
**** Expert: Police lieutenant
***** Master: Only a master criminal would need to know this much.

Pottery (VPG)
You are able to make and fire ceramic items, either for artistic or practical purposes.
* Novice: Hobbyist
** Practiced: Enthusiastic hobbyist; night school student
*** Competent: Professional; night school Instructor
**** Expert: Craftsperson; growing business
***** Master: Household name

Professional Skills
Psychoanalysis (VPG)
You are skilled in diagnosing and treating mental ailments (such as Derangements) without resorting to the use of behavior-altering drugs. Even Freud couldn’t cure people in a single session, so be patient! No amount of Psychoanalysis can cure a Malkavian’s initial Derangement.
* Novice: A shoulder to cry on
** Practiced: Volunteer counselor
*** Competent: Professional counselor
**** Expert: Qualified psychoanalyst
***** Master: Freud

Research (VPG)
You are highly skilled at finding information from conventional sources. Given time and a good library, you can assemble the sum of human knowledge on almost any topic.
* Novice: Undergrad
** Practiced: Grad student or research assistant
*** Competent: Professor
**** Expert: Research fellow
***** Master: Human database

Ride (VPG)
You can climb onto a riding animal and stand a good chance of getting where you want to go without falling off, being thrown or having anything else unpleasant happen to you. This Skill can also be combined with Mental Attributes to reflect your working knowledge of the relevant trappings and equipment.
* Novice: Pony club member; dude ranch vacations
** Practiced: Pony club champion; weekend cowboy
*** Competent: Pony club instructor; professional cowboy
**** Expert: Showjumping champion; rodeo star
***** Master: Stunt rider

Scuba (VPG)
You are proficient in the use of an aqualung (unnecessary for the Kindred), and are familiar with the many dangers of diving (such as sharks and the bends).
* Novice: Once a year, on vacation
** Practiced: Local club member
*** Competent: Instructor
**** Expert: Pro diver
***** Master: Navy SEAL

Singing (VPG)
You can sing over a wide range, with a variety of styles and techniques.
* Novice: You stand out when the family gathers around the piano.
** Practiced: You could get lead roles with local amateur societies, or become a lead singer with a garage band.
*** Competent: You could get a choral part on the professional stage, or get a recording contract.
**** Expert: You could get a lead on Broadway or a record on the charts.
***** Master: They’ll be playing your CDs 20 years from now.

Skiing (VPG)
You can travel on skis for sport or transportation with little chance of a mishap. You can read snow, and know where it is safe and where it is not — under most circumstances.
* Novice: Vacation skier
** Practiced: Enthusiast
*** Competent: Ski bum
**** Expert: Hotdogger, ski champ, Arctic forces
***** Master: Olympic medallist, elite forces

Sleight of Hand (VPG)
The quickness of your hands can deceive the eyes of others. You can perform magic tricks and other feats of legerdemain.
* Novice: Card tricks at Christmas
** Practiced: Children’s parties
*** Competent: Stage magician
**** Expert: TV magician
***** Master: A legend in your own time

Speed Reading (VPG)
Through practice, you have developed the ability to read and absorb large quantities of written material in a short time.
* Novice: The New York Times in an hour
** Practiced: A novel in two to three hours
*** Competent: A textbook in two to three hours
**** Expert: A fat textbook in two to three hours
***** Master: War & Peace in two to three hours

Survival

Torture (VPG)
You know how to inflict pain. Your ability is so precise as to be a science. You are capable of interrogating prisoners through torture and prolonging their suffering, keeping them barely alive — or undead.
* Novice: You know how to hurt people in different ways.
** Practiced: You are good at causing extreme pain and can keep someone alive for interrogation purposes.
*** Competent: You are equal to a military torturer. You can create pain never experienced by most.
**** Expert: You are equal to a professional torturer. You are able to get almost any information you want out of your subject.
***** Master: You are an artist and a scientist of pain and suffering.

Tracking (VPG)
You can identify the trail of an animal or person, and follow it under most conditions. The difficulty of such a feat varies according to the conditions following fresh tracks in deep snow is easier than following week-old tracks across a concrete sidewalk!
* Novice: Boy Scout
** Practiced: Eagle Scout
*** Competent: Hunter
**** Expert: Indian tracker
***** Master: Grizzly Adams; Tonto

Traps (VPG)
You know how to set various types of traps according to the type of game you want to catch.
* Novice: Boy Scout
** Practiced: Weekend survivalist
*** Competent: Outdoorsman
**** Expert: Mountain man
***** Master: Grizzly Adams

Vamp