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--- setting:general_system_house_rules [2023/Mar/19 01:02]
zechstein [Abilities]
+++ setting:general_system_house_rules [2025/Feb/24 01:23] (current)
lastoriadi
@@ Line 31: / Line 31: @@
   * **Ritual Sleeper, Sleepwalker & Psychic Vampire**: Flaws affecting not just you but also other player's characters are nothing more than recoloured PvP merits. We discourage PvP and therefore those are banned.
   * **Abusive Partner**: A multitude of reasons, most of which should be obvious. Even putting aside the argument that this is WoD and bad things happen, even if we //did// allow a topic this serious and this potentially upsetting to players who (God forbid) may have to deal with this IRL and absolutely do not also need to deal with it in a game, the moment a lot of other PCs found out about it, said partner would be dead or in jail less than a day later, making this flaw unworkable in this game both mechanically and, frankly, morally. Take the Dark Secret flaw and pick something else if you absolutely must have something traumatic in your character’s private life.
+  * **Firearms License**: Rolled into the Certification Background.
+  * **Flexible Job**: Due to the way the game works it is very unlikely that a character's day job will get in the way of their supernatural activities, whether they posses this merit or not. As such the merit is effectively obsolete.
 These merits are outright banned, don't ask, the answer is no.
@@ Line 153: / Line 155: @@
 ==== Abilities ====
-  * Technology is a Skill, in all system types.
+It is an unfortunate reality that no two splats within the classic World of Darkness feature exactly the same list of abilities, which is of course a problem in a multi-splat game. To alleviate this issue we make use of the following lists of primary and secondary abilities for all splats. Please note that **Gremayre, Kenning, Primal Urge,** and **Rituals** are not mentioned on the lists, since only characters of specific splats have access to these abilities. However, those abilities are still available for members of the respective splats. Please consult the core books of //Changeling: The Dreaming// and //Werewolf: The Apocalypse// for details. Further it is worth mentioning that various abilities belong to different categories in different splats. So if you cannot find an ability, please check the other lists before consulting your ST.
-  * Research is a Knowledge, in all system types.
-  * Martial Arts are no longer hard OR soft style.  All styles are both.  This is covered in depth in [[Combat System House Rules]].
+|  [[setting:talents|Talents]]  |  [[setting:skills|Skills]]  |  [[setting:knowledges|Knowledges]]  |
+Additional rules and considerations regarding abilities:
+  * **Technology** is a Skill, in all system types.
+  * **Research** is a Knowledge, in all system types.
+  * **Martial Arts** are no longer hard OR soft style.  All styles are both.  This is covered in depth in [[Combat System House Rules]].
+  * **Religion** has been subsumed in the more general **Belief Systems.**
   * We allow Dual Specializations, but they can only be purchased //after// character creation, never during. For the mechanics behind this, please see Page 277 of //Mage 20th Anniversary Edition// corebook, specifically the section titled 'The Well-Skilled Craftsman.'
+  * While most abilities receive a specialisation at four dots, there are some exceptions: **Academics, Art, Belief Systems, Crafts, Esoterica, Hunting, Performance** and **Science** receive a specialisation at the first dot.
   * Since the following abilities are defined differently in different game lines,  the following compromise shall apply to all splats:
-    * Art is a talent and applies to visual art forms: Drawing, painting, sculpting, flower arrangement, etc.
+    * **Art** is a talent and applies to visual art forms: Drawing, painting, sculpting, flower arrangement, etc.
-    * Performance is a skill that applies to performance arts: Dancing, singing, acting, etc.
+    * **Performance** is a skill that applies to performance arts: Dancing, singing, acting, etc.
-    * Expression governs activities that involve the effective use of language, including writing novels or poetry.
+    * **Expression** governs activities that involve the effective use of language, including writing novels or poetry.
-    * Crafts encompasses abilities for the creation of primarily functional objects, like tailoring, carpentering, forging, etc.
+    * **Crafts** encompasses abilities for the creation of primarily functional objects, like tailoring, carpentering, forging, etc.
-    * Technology refers to the building, operation, and maintenance of electronics.
+    * **Technology** refers to the building, operation, and maintenance of electronics and electromechanical devices.
-    * Computers is the software side to Technology's hardware. Writing, operating, and maintaining computer programs is handled by this ability.
+    * **Computers** is the software side to Technology's hardware. Writing, operating, and maintaining computer programs is handled by this ability.
@@ Line 349: / Line 358: @@
 Fla. Statutes § 790.065: May not knowingly transfer a firearm to anyone who is prohibited by federal law.\\
 \\
-**If you plan to carry the weapon legaly know what transportation rules are or buy dots in the certification background
+**If you plan to carry the weapon legaly know what transportation rules are or buy dots in the certification background**
+----
+==== Translating foreign languages ====
+**The 'linguistic' ability is not used in this game and was replaced for all splats exclusively by the Language merit.**
+The go-to method is to purchase one or several dots of the "Language" merit (one pt per dot, one language per dot, in addition to your character's native language which comes for free). You can also purchase the "Natural Linguist" merit which gives you 2 languages instead of 1 per dot of Language merit.\\
+(See [[universal_merit]])\\
+Some splats might have the ability to learn certain languages (e.g. Ancient Egyptian for Amenti) and teach them to other PCs. This will give your PC justification to purchase a dot of Language merit and now understand or speak the language.
+//The Language merit doesn't give you the ability to study languages (their histories, their structures, etc.) This can be achieved via the knowledge 'Academics'.//
+So, how to gain temporary understanding of a language?
+__Supernatural means__ : Some supernatural abilities (e.g. the Mind Sphere (level 3) for Mages) can allow you to gain temporary understanding of a language. However a Supernatural will still have to learn the language the Mundane way and the player will still have to purchase the Language merit to gain permanent knowledge of the language in question.
+__Mundane means__ : In your everyday life, how do you translate a language you don't know? You use a translation app. Well in game, PCs can do that as well.
+However there are a few **restrictions**: Only modern languages or sufficiently commonly spoken can be translated by app.\\
+**Languages such as Ancient Egyptian spoken by Amenti or the First Tongue spoken by Fallen won't work.**\\
+**Likewise codes such as Hunter Code or any code cannot be translated that way because it's not a language.**
+There are also a few **conditions** : Your character should have a smart phone with them and at least one dot in 'Computer' knowledge.\\
+If those conditions are fulfilled roll Int + Computer (diff 6 for common languages (English, Chinese, French, Spanish...), diff 7 for less common languages (Ancient Greek, Latin,...), diff 8 for rare or regional languages (Numic, Corsican,...). **As a rule of thumb, ask your ST for roll difficulty.**\\
+Rolling will have you lose 1 turn but only the first time, then the result of then roll remains valid for the remainder of the scene.\\
+As an indication, results of this roll might be (but the actual results will be given by STs):
+  * 2+ success : You understand perfectly what's being said and can reply in kind.
+  * 1 success : You understand the basics of what's being said and give basic replies.
+  * 0 success : Nope, this is just gibberish to you.
+  * botch : You think you understand but your app is just feeding you wrong info. In case of multiple botch, the replies you give might be offensive.

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