ESPIONAGE/MILITARY
Detect Ambushes: Training which developes an eye for spotting locations and terrain suitable for ambushes and being ambushed. It also provides a rudimentary knowledge of guerrilla tactics used by the enemy. Base Skill is 30%+5% per level of experience.
Detect Concealment: This is a skill which enables the individual to spot and recognize camouflage, tricks, concealed huts, buildings and vehicles, as well as the ability to construct unobtrusive shelters that blend into the environment. Base Skill is 25%+5% per level of experience.
Disguise: The character knows how to apply make-up, wigs, skin putty, and other special effect, in order to alter his/her own appearance or those of anybody else. Base Skill is 25%+5% per level of experience.
Escape Artist: The character will know the methods, principles, and tricks of escape artists. By teasing and relaxing muscles, flexing and popping joints; the character can try slipping out of handcuffs, straightjackets, etc. Also includes a knowledge of knots and the ability to conceal small objects on the person. Picking Locks is a seperate skill. Base Skill is 30%+5% per level of experience.
Forgery: The techniques of making false copies of official documents, signatures, passports, I.D., and other printed material. The character must have an original or photocopy to work from, in order to make an accurate copy. Skilled forgers can recognize other counterfiets at -10%. Base Skill is 20%+5% per level of experience.
Impersonation: This skill enables a person to impersonate another person or type of soldier (in general). This means the person must have a rudimentary (if not comprehensive) knowledge of the person or general type of personnel that he or she is impersonating. This is likely to include a knowledge of enemy/subject of impersonation's military proceedures, dress, command, rank, and will usually require speaking the language fluently. This means the character can convincingly impersonate a general type of person/soldier/advisor by accurate disguise, proper action, and language.
The Base Skill is 30% to impersonate general personnel and 14% to impersonate a specific individual (which may require weeks of study and special disguise), +4% per level of experience.
The success of one's impersonation/disguise can only be determined after exposing oneself to those whom you wish to trick. A successful impersonation requires the player to roll under his character's impersonation skill for each of his first THREE encounters. Afterward, the character must roll under their skill for each encounter with an officer. If interrogated/questioned, he must successfully roll for every other question or be revealed as an imposter. A failed roll means their impersonation has failed and they are recognized as an imposter and are in immendiate danger.
Intelligence: This is the specific training in the practices and principles of recognizing and analyzing sources of information about the enemy, observation techniques, counterintelligence measures and proper procedure. This includes the practical assessment of sights and sounds; estimation of ranges, what to report, handling prisoners of war, and handling captured documents and equipment (tagging, and reporting to group leader or proper authority).
This means the character will be able to accurately estimate ranges; the number of enemies/troops, direction, purposes; and assess the importance of specific information, documents and prisoners.
Further intelligence training includes a working knowledge of indigenous guerrilla warfare, practices, concealment techniques, appearance, and current activities. This will enable the intelligence officers to recognize suspicious activity as guerrilla actions and identify guerilla operatives. For Example: A particular booby trap, or weapon, or mode of operation, may be indicative of guerrilla activity in that area. It may be up to the character to confirm the existence of guerrillas, and their strengths and numbers in a particular area.
Another area of training, made available to intelligence, is the identification of enemy troops, officers and foreign advisors. This means the person learns the many distinguishing ranks and marks that identify specific military units, special forces, and officers of the enemy. Such information can pinpoint and confirm outside intervention/aid. Note: A failed roll in any of the intelligence skills means that evidence is inconclusive, or the character has incorrectly assessed the information/situation and is uncertain. A failed roll involving individual clues may mean the intel officer has dismissed it entirely as being meaningless. (GMs, use your discretion). Base Skill is 32%+4% per level of experience.
Interrogation: This skill includes training in the questioning of prisoners, captives and informers, and the assessment of that information. Base Skill is 30%+5% per level of experience.
Navigation: Land: This skill allows a person to stay on course, while traveling over land, by means of observation. This includes mentally marking/recognizing geographic landmarks, estimating distance and movement, recognizing sounds and other navigational tricks. Techniques include night travel. The player should roll once for approximately every three miles traveled. A failed roll means the group is drifting off course by 200-2000 yards (roll 2D10X100 yards). Do not roll again until the next three miles. A successful roll at that time will allow the character to recognize his or her error and correct it. Of course, errors mean lost time and traveling through unknown or potentially dangerous areas. A second (and third) failed roll means the team continues to travel 2D10X100 yards further off course. All failed rolls are cumulative unless corrected.
Note: A group of average men can cover approximately 5 miles an hour at a brisk, but relaxed pace, through grasslands, along dirt roads or paved streets. Travel through dense forest or jungle at a cautious pace, with eyes open for danger, is about one mile per hour. At this pace, one can easily watch for booby traps, snipers, ambushes, wild animals, tracks, clues and other observations, without fear of traveling too fast (and missing them). Only at a faster pace will one begin to miss details and court death. Base Skill is 40%+5% per level of experience.
Picking Locks: The character knows the methods, techniques and tools for picking/opening, key, and basic tumbler type locks. It takes 1D6 melee rounds for each attempt to pick a lock. A failed roll means the lock holds; try again. Base Skill is 30%+5% per level of experience.
Sniper: This skill represents special training in long-range rifle firing, and marksmanship. The character must first have a semi-automatic rifle or bolt-action rifle skill, to which the sniper skill adds a bonus of +2 to strike on an aimed shot.
Tracking: Visual tracking is the identification of tracks, and following the path of men or animals by signs they leave on the ground and vegetation. Tracking is a precise art, requiring much practice. The skill includes the evaluation of tracks, indicating whether the person being tracked is loaded down with equipment, running, moving slowly (by measuring the space between steps), male, female, walking backwards, injured (staggered footprints), and so on. By these means, the tracker can estimate the person's rate of movement, apparent direction, the number of persons in the party, and whether the person knows they are being followed. Other methods of tracking require recognizing other telltale signs such as blood and other stains, broken vegetation, overturned rocks; litter such as cigarette butts, ration cans, candy wrappers, soiled bandages and remains of camp fires, and even odd odors carried by the wind.
Tracking also includes the recognition of dangerous animals by their tracks, habits and feces. Likewise, tire tracks of vehicles can reveal much, such as size and type of vehicle, weight load, etc.
Counter-Tracking techniques are also known, such as covering one's trail; avoiding obvious pitfalls, such as littering, misdirection, parallel trails, and others.
A failed roll means that signs are inconclusive, vague or misleading. Additional signs must be found to verify or clarify (roll again). Three consecutive failed rolls means the tracker has completely lost the trail. Roll once every 40 yards when FOLLOWING a trail. Persons attempting to follow a skilled tracker are -25% in following their trail, if they are deliberately trying to conceal that trail (however, their rate of travel is reduced by half).Base Skill is 25%+5% per level of experience.
Wilderness Survival: Techniques for getting water, food, shelter, and help, when stranded in wild forests, deserts or mountains. Characters without this skill will not be able to stay healthy for more than a day out in the wilderness area. Base Skill is 30%+5% per level of experience.
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