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Abilities

   Note: When an ability allows a character to perform an action (such as Strike To Stun or Art), any character can, with the GM's approval, attempt to perform that action unskilled - a characteristic test is required, but the characteristic is halved, prior to any modifiers being factored in.

An acrobatic character adds +D6 yards when leaping, and can jump directly upwards D3+3 yards. The percentage chance of an action combined with a jump or a leap is reduced by a quarter, rather than by a half.

The character gains +10 Initiative when making auditory Awareness tests.

On a successful Sagacity test, the character is capable of producing, maintaining and harvesting a farm’s worth of crops. The character is also generally knowledgeable about farming topics.

On a successful Sagacity test, the character is capable of rearing, breeding and milking pastoral animals. The character is also generally knowledgeable about farming topics.

The character has no off-hand, and can use either hand with an equal degree of skill.

Characters with this ability are used to dealing with domestic animals, including riding animals and beasts of burden. They are aware of the requirements of the animal as regards general care, feeding, grooming and exercise. They will also be likely to spot any developing illness or sign of discomfort.

This ability can be used on virtually any domestic animal, but bonuses to characteristic tests resulting from possession of Animal Care should be higher in species with which the character is familiar than with more exotic animals.

Characters with this ability can train animals to perform certain duties or tricks. The ability is general, and can apply to horses, dogs, gyrinx and other animals, whether alien or of Earth origin, as long as it has Sagacity of 6 or more.

The more complicated the task, the longer it takes to teach, as the following guidelines show:

The training must be appropriate to the animal. The loyalty of a previously trained animal cannot always be transferred to a new owner. The GM should determine if this occurs. Riding horses would probably accept a new owner, whilst dogs would be less likely to do so.

The ability confers a +10 modifier to any Employment tests for work as stablehands, circus performers or blood sport animal trainers (who raise animals ready to be hunted or pitted in an arena against gladiators.

Characters with this ability can speak one of the arcane languages. A character with either of the Literacy abilities can also read and write this arcane language to a similar standard as his first language. Arcane languages are the restricted languages not spoken by the common Imperial citizen, either due to superstition or legal prohibition. They are also used in religious rituals and can, at certain times, hold great power, either psychologically or spiritually.

High Imperial Gothic is the most widespread arcane language amongst humans. It is an ancient form of Common (or Low) Imperial Gothic, the standard language of the Imperium. The reason High Gothic exists is to provide a common tongue where every planet has its own (often unintelligible) dialect of the Low tongue. The sanctity of High Gothic is strictly enforced, with new words and constructions only being allowed into the language after generations of discussion and review. As such, it is one of only two universal languages across the Imperium.

Lingua Technis is the other. Its use is unique to the servants of the Machine God of Mars. Any other speaker is committing a capital crime under Imperial Law. Like High Imperial Gothic, Lingua Technis is a constant language, with evolution only permitted by a bureau of the Adeptus Mechanicus on Mars. Although individual intellectual groups have proposed their own non-Mechanicus terminology for explaining concepts, these tend to be isolated to particular regions of the galaxy, and even individual planets. Thus, Lingua Technis is the only way in which the most advanced scientific concepts can be communicated throughout the Imperium and advanced technology and science are kept as the almost-exclusive possessions of the Tech-Priests.

The Dark Tongue is forbidden to most Imperial citizens on pain of death and, far worse, of excommunication from the Emperor’s love. Only the highest-ranking Imperials can use the Dark Tongue with even the slightest feeling of safety – the Inquisitors of the Ordo Malleus, certain Ministorum cardinals, occasionally, one or two of the High Lords of Terra. The Dark Tongue is the natural language of Daemons, and use of it by a weak mind can, or so superstition has it, attract the attention of these creatures. Chaos worshippers often cast aside their original language to communicate entirely in what they see as the holy language of their masters. Several non-Chaotic secret societies within the Imperium have discovered the Dark Tongue and use it as a childish and irresponsible act of defiance of the law that bans it.

Characters with this ability have a working knowledge of archaeology. On a successful Sagacity test, they can identify the function of a building from its ruins. They also have a +10 bonus when Estimating the age or value of any ancient structures or artifacts.

When combined with Xenology or Daemon Lore, characters can use this ability on alien or Chaos structures and artifacts as well.

Artists can paint, sculpt or produce other works of art, as appropriate to the individual character’s style or career. Whatever their talent, artists can produce useable or saleable items (saleable at the GM’s discretion, naturally), including convincing copies of existing works of art.

A week’s work on a piece of art will (after a successful Sagacity test) be worth D10xD10 sestertii. If the test is failed, the piece is still produced but is only saleable for D10 sestertii, probably to a company producing packaging for chocolate boxes or pulp novels. A critical failure results in a lack of inspiration, or a block between the inspiration and the artistic medium, and no saleable work is produced.

For every additional week of work, an additional Sagacity test is taken. If this test is successful, the value of the piece is increased by D10xD10 sestertii. If the test is failed, the value of the piece is halved as the artist messes up. A critical failure will result in the artwork being irretrievably bad and being saleable for a mere D10 sestertii.

Forgeries are usually worth significantly more (the exact amount depending on the artist being forged), but there is a chance of the forgery being detected. A non-expert will detect a fake if he passes a Sagacity test, with a –10 modifier for every successful week of work that the artist put into the fake, and a +10 modifier for every unsuccessful week. Experts (i.e. others with the Art ability), gain an additional +20 modifier to this test.

Punishments for art forgery tend to vary from planet to planet, depending on cultural sophistication and the level of the planet’s appreciation of art.

Producing a forgery of religious art is often tantamount to heresy, so the punishments are exceptionally harsh on all but the most enlightened worlds. Even if death is avoided, mutilation of some sort (eyes burned out or the painting hand cut off, for example) is common in a religious court.

Characters with this ability are familiar with the heavens and the cycles of heavenly bodies. They can recognise constellations, planets and unusual bodies such as comets, novae, orbiting spacecraft etc. On a successful Sagacity test, the character can navigate by the stars and can predict cyclic astral events such as eclipses and meteor showers.

It is assumed the character knows the astronomy of his home planet like the back of his hand. Other planets require D3 weeks of clear sky to learn their layout, during which time the GM should impose hefty negative modifiers to any Sagacity tests using this ability.

This is an ability learned the hard way, and usually strictly through necessity. Characters with this ability know all the standard beggar’s tricks: pleading, grovelling, whining, pretending to be a war hero and so on. The ability allows characters to earn a little cash. On a successful test based on the average of Willpower and Leadership, the character will gain 2D6 denarii. A test should be made for every hour of begging. Any success depends ultimately on being in the right place at the right time, and the GM should modify the chance of success and the reward as circumstances warrant.

The character is an expert knife-fighter. He increases the WS modifier of knives to +10 and the Parry Penalty becomes -20.

Characters with this ability may attempt to blather against characters who speak the same tongue. Blathering can be used in almost any situation in order to gain time. Blatherers simply invent a complete string of nonsense, ranting on and on whilst their victims stare dumbfounded, wondering whether they are insane, intoxicated or possibly dangerous. Blathering is always nonsensical – it is not an attempt to bluff, only to confuse. Blathering characters should make a Sagacity test. Success indicates that the blathering succeeds in its purpose for a single round (5 seconds). Success by 20 or more indicates that it works for an additional D6 rounds as well. After this time, the victim will wise up, and the character had better run for it.

NPCs will not remain transfixed by a blathering character if they are in obvious danger, or if blatant preparations are being made to harm them. Although blathering characters may transfix a number of opponents, they are unlikely to succeed with more than one if anything else is going on around them, such as a fight.

The character adds +20 to hit when charging, rather than +10. This increased bonus is lost in the same ways as normal charge bonuses (e.g. when changing weapons during a charge).

The character is trained or experienced in unarmed combat, and knows exactly how and where to strike an opponent to cause maximum damage. All hits count as critical hits when fighting unarmed or with fist weapons. In unarmed combat, this will cause location injury.

Characters with the Brewing ability can brew wine, beer or spirits, and understand the principles (and occasionally the science) of the fermentation process. They are also able to judge the quality of the ingredients and the finished product, estimate fermentation times in any given environment and judge whether a particular brew is ready. They also have a +10 Sagacity modifier to their chance of noticing a drug or poison in alcoholic liquids. If successful, the presence of some foreign substance is detected, but not identified.

   The character can determine the approximate amount needed to bribe a person upon a successful Sagacity test.

The character has a +10 modifier to all tests involving construction of wooden structures, furniture or other objects.

The character can read maps of planetary surfaces, even when they are badly-drawn, inaccurate or disguised in some way. He can also draw his own maps.

The character can read star charts, even when they are badly-drawn, inaccurate or disguised in some way. He can also draw his own maps, although for it to be accurate, a cogitator is needed.

Catfall

When suffering falling damage, the character rolls a D100, and treats the distance fallen as that amount (in percent) of the actual distance fallen.

The character has an indefinable ability to get on with people, giving them a +10 modifier to any tests involving communication.

The character gets on exceptionally well with animals, and receives their trust for some reason. Domestic animals with Sagacity of 10 or more will be affected as soon as they approach within 10 yards of the character. They will respond by wagging their tails, mewing, purring or acting in a similarly friendly manner, and – unless restrained by a leash or something – will start following the character around.

If any animal has previously been taught verbal or visual commands, the character can use these with a degree of success. This can even be attempted on hostile animals that are threatening or attacking him, although they will rarely show any outward signs of affection.

The GM can enliven proceedings by having charmed animals constantly trailing the character.

A character with this ability has an extensive knowledge of practical and theoretical chemistry. He can recognise various types of mineral ores, naturally occurring chemical compounds and prepared chemicals. He also knows where to look for these items (e.g. that sulphur can normally be found in volcano pits, etc.). Chemists also understand how to extract and refine chemicals from mineral ores and compounds. They can isolate an element from its compound to produce iron, copper, silver, and so on. With advanced equipment, they can do almost anything that a modern chemist can do.

The character can manufacture many compounds, including (as many PCs will eventually attempt) basic explosive or flammable substances. A test against Sagacity is required for success. Critical failures can be messy, expensive and, in some cases, painful.

In multiple combats, if the character successfully hits an opponent in close combat, he may immediately attack another opponent, and so on, until each opponent has been attacked once. If the character is using more than one weapon, only weapons that hit in the previous attack can be used in bonus attacks.

A character with this ability can hide in rural environments almost perfectly, using trees, branchs and undergrowth for cover. Initiative tests for hiding are made with +20 modifier if the character is remaining still, or a +5 modifier if he is sneaking.

Rural areas are basically non-urban areas – farms, woodland, riverbanks, fields, parks and gardens, jungles, swamps and so on.

Obviously there needs to be somewhere to hide, and the GM should ask the player to describe how exactly their character is hiding, and apply modifiers accordingly.

As Concealment – Rural, except that the ability only applies in urban areas (i.e. roads, buildings, and other man-made (or alien-made) settings.

The character has a +10 modifier to all tests involving the construction of buildings or other structures.

The character is an experienced drinker and gains a +10 bonus to Resistance tests against alcohol.

Contortionists are either slightly mutated or have been trained to control their bodies in ways not possible for normal people: moving bones out of sockets, distorting the physique in lots of horrible ways, and otherwise being revolting.

A character with this ability can escape from ropes, chains or other physical bonds on a successful Initiative test, with a penalty equal to half the Sagacity of whoever secured the bonds.

He can also squeeze through ridiculously narrow openings, such as the bars of a cell or a narrow ventilation shaft. 6"x1’ is the narrowest practical gap such a character can squeeze through.

Even though many people find their antics repulsive, contortionists have a +10 modifier when to characteristic tests while busking.

While anyone can heat up a meal in a microwave or over a stove, a character with the Cook ability can prepare food to the highest standards, and judge the quality of both the ingredients and the finished product.

The character also has a +10 modifier to their chance of spotting a drug or poison in food. If successful, the presence of some foreign substance will be noticed, but not its nature.

The character may perform cosmetic surgery. This ability may only be taken by characters with the Medic ability.

The character is skilled in the art of inscribing pentagrams and runes of warding, both against psychic attack and Daemonic creatures. The character can draw functional pentagrams for the summoning of Daemons, or create any kind of protective ward, on the success of a Sagacity test. A critical failure will result in a ward or pentagram that looks functional, but will have no effect when actually put into use.

The character increases his Strength by 20 when determining damage from close combat attacks.

The character is an expert in the art of devising, using and cracking codes and ciphers. He can devise a new code on a successful Sagacity test, and has a +10 modifier to Sagacity when attempting to crack an unfamiliar code. The GM may assign additional modifiers for exceptionally easy or difficult codes.

A character who has this ability is reasonably well-versed in the activities of Daemons. He will recognise a Daemon when he sees it, and can distinguish general types at a glance (Greater, Lesser, Beast, etc.). He may also be able to identify the specific type of Daemon, its temperament, weaknesses, or at least what power created it, on a successful Sagacity test.

Additionally, the character has a degree of knowledge about the habits of individual Chaos powers, and of Chaos worshippers in general.

The character does not have to have had practical experience of Daemons to possess or use this ability, but should have had the opportunity to research them. This is extremely difficult to do in any legal way within the Imperium, since only the highest-ranking Imperial servants have anything more than a superstitious belief in Daemons. Many Imperial governments keep the very existence of Chaos a secret.

When communicating with a Daemon about which the character has some sort of knowledge, the character has a +20 Leadership modifier.

The character can dance exceptionally well in most circumstances, whether at a formal occasion or informally. The character has a +10 modifier to any tests when seeking employment as an entertainer or when busking.

Characters with this ability can make a placed shot on a matched success without having to aim first.

Instead of fighting a normal round of combat, characters with this ability can attempt to knock a single weapon out of their opponent’s hand. Roll to hit as normal, but half the chances of success. A hit results in the targeted weapon being knocked from the opponent’s hand and flying D6 yards in a random direction.

The character has a talent for preparing and using disguises. A disguise can be very elaborate or quite simple. The GM should bear in mind how much effort has gone into a disguise when deciding whether it works or not. A disguised character can normally pass unnoticed amongst unsuspecting people, and will pass casual examination if a test against the average score of Nerve and Leadership is successful. Close examination will always reveal anything but the most complex disguise (surgical modification, psychic disguises, etc.).

Examination can often be forestalled by bluffing the searcher – ‘Careful what you do down there, sir, I’ve not quite been the same since that dose of necrotising liquifacitis.’

The character can attempt to dodge a single shooting attack each round, declared before the firer rolls to hit. If the character passes an Initiative test, the firer receives an additional negative BS modifier equal to the amount by which the test was passed. A character who attempts to dodge shooting has one less action in his next round.

The character can drive all normal ground vehicles, like cars, jeeps, dune buggies, light vans and trucks, and so on. No Initiative tests are required for safe driving unless the character is at high speed or under stress. He also knows the basics of maintaining such vehicles.

As Driver – Ground, but applicable only to bikes, including bicycles, motorbikes, trikes and jetbikes (which also require Driver – Grav), and so on.

As Driver – Ground, but applicable only to vehicles using anti-gravity or hovercraft propulsion, like hovercars, land speeders, jetbikes (which also require Driver – Bike) and so on.

As Driver – Ground, but applicable only to heavy vehicles, like heavy trucks and vans, tanks, personnel carriers, massive vehicles, and so on.

If placed in a job that allows contact with money, the character can employ this ability. The GM should test against the character’s Sagacity to establish whether the character is successful. A successful embezzler ‘acquires’ D6 sestertii and always escapes detection. If the test is failed, nothing is acquired and the character may be suspected. A matched failure indicates that the character has been caught red-handed.

The character can attempt to embezzle as often as he likes. If he embezzles more than once per day from the same place, each successive attempt is subject to a cumulative –10 modifier.

The GM should modify the amount of money and the chances of success, depending on the precise context of the crime being committed – a planetary treasury is going to hold far more money than a corner shop, yet normally carries a far higher risk of detection.

The character has a basic knowledge of methods of construction, engineering and electronics. Although engineers normally oversee groups of labourers, they are capable of working on their own, and gain a +10 modifier to all construction tests. Note that more complex machines may be beyond the character’s capabilities.

The character is a repository of knowledge and understanding of the theories and practices of construction, engineering, design, electronics, ballistics, energy production and so on.

He is capable of repairing most damaged machines on a successful Sagacity test (assuming he has access to the appropriate spare parts).

Also, he gains a +20 modifier to all construction tests.

If the character is physically restrained or tied up, he will eventually escape, and may make an Initiative test to do so once per minute until he succeeds. This test is modified by half of the Sagacity of whoever tied any bonds, or half the average Strength of other characters who are physically restraining him.

The character has a +10 Leadership modifier when communicating with high society, or with upwardly-mobile snobs.

Characters with this ability have a practiced eye and can judge the worth of goods with a fair degree of accuracy. They have a modifier of +10 Sagacity when estimating the value of items, and the margin of error is reduced to 5% in all cases.

The character gains +10 Initiative when making visual Awareness tests.

The character may attempt the exorcism of any Daemonic presence, whether a physical manifestation, possession, or some other form of real-universe existence (e.g. Daemon weapons). The length of the rite necessary is up to the character performing the exorcism, although when a Bloodthirster is slavering at your throat, drawing out sacred circles and assembling a choir of psykers is usually impractical.

A successful exorcism requires the exorcist to pass a Sagacity test. Additional rules and modifiers for exorcism can be found in the rules for Daemons.

The character can draw and fire pistols in a single action.

If attempting Fast Draw with his off-hand, the character must pass an Initiative test for the weapon to be drawn successfully. A matched failure results in the pistol being thrown D3 yards directly forwards.

The character is immune to the effects of Fearsome or Terrifying opponents.

Anyone wishing to charge a Fearsome character must pass a Nerve test. If this is failed, the character spends the rest of the round rooted to the spot with fear.

Characters charged by a Fearsome character, or fighting against one at the start of a round, must pass a Nerve test or be at –20 WS for the remainder of the round.

A character who is Fearsome is immune to the effects of other Fearsome characters, and treats Terrifying characters as if they were Fearsome.

The character may make a Feint instead of another close combat action. The character rolls to hit as normal, and if the Feint hits it is successful.

A successful Feint causes no damage, but if the character attacks with his next action (either this round or next round), the opponent will be too off-balance to parry or dodge.

The character may draw and attack with a close combat as a single action, although if the character is already in combat, this requires an Initiative test. Additionally, the character does not lose his charge bonus for drawing/changing a weapon during a charge.

Characters with this ability can, if properly equipped, catch fish from any waters (assuming there are fish in there, of course).

It takes approximately D3 hours to catch enough fish to keep most characters fed for a day (ratlings require twice this, ogryns three times as much). The GM should modify catching rates and probabilities, according to season and environment. Some fish may be poisonous to touch or to eat, but characters with this ability will recognise them on a successful Sagacity test.

Fear lends the character wings, and increases all movement rates by 50% when fleeing from danger.

The character runs at 10 yards per action, and sprints at 15 yards per action (as opposed to 6 yards and 10 yards).

A character who suffers from Frenzy must, when confronted by an enemy, pass a Willpower test or move at maximum speed towards the target, charging if possible, and probably firing ranged weapons as he moves.

He must continue to fight until the enemy is at least unconscious, whereupon he must pass a Willpower test to stop hacking at the defeated enemy, even beyond death.

A frenzied character can force himself to remain calm if he passes a Willpower test at the start of a round. The GM may use his discretion to apply modifiers to frenzy-related Willpower tests, depending on how much the frenzied character wishes to kill the enemy. For example, a minor business rival may give a +20 bonus to the character’s Wp, but the bandit who murdered the character’s family may impose a –40 bonus.

During a charge action, the character may make an extra attack, but he loses his charge bonus of +10 WS. Note that, when using two weapons, the character only gets one extra action, with the weapon of his choice.

When gambling, the character applies a modifier to any D100 rolls equal to half of his Sagacity score. He may also elect to throw a game, in which case he automatically loses.

A character with this ability can cut gems given the correct tools and sufficient time, at a rate of D6 stones per day, provided no stone is worth over 50 sestertii. Stones worth 51-100 sestertii each take a whole day to cut. Stones worth more than this take D6 days to cut.

To determine success or failure, test an average of Sagacity and Initiative. If successful, the value of the gem is increased by 20% for every five points or part under the requirement rolled on the dice.

If the character is recutting a previously cut gem, the value can be increased by a maximum of 10%.

If the test is failed, the value of the gem is halved, but the cutting may be tried again from scratch on the smaller stone.

Large gems may be split into two smaller stones, each worth 75% of the original value, and jewellery can be broken up or recut, losing 10% of its value.

The character can fire a weapon in each hand without having to halve the chance of success, although the off-hand penalty applies as normal.

The character gains a +10 modifier when haggling.

The character may opt to forego all of his normal close combat attacks in favour of a single unarmed attack with a –20WS modifier. The defender cannot parry, but can dodge as normal. If the head butt hits, it will automatically land on the defender’s head location and cause damage as if from a natural weapon. For the purpose of determining Strength bonuses to damage, treat the attack as having been made with both hands.

A character with this ability will recognise (or guess the meaning of) the insignia of most military formations, noble houses or official organisations of the same species, on a successful Sagacity test. He may also know something of their history, practices and, in the case of noble houses, their genealogy.

A character with the Xenology ability may use Heraldry to identify the insignia of alien species with which he is familiar. Likewise, a character with Daemon Lore may use Heraldry to identify the insignia of Chaos followers.

The character does not suffer any penalties for combining running and firing actions, as if he were walking or crawling. The usual penalties apply for other types of movement.

A character with this ability has an extensive knowledge of local history, and a general knowledge of history in general.

For more obscure or detailed historical knowledge, a Sagacity test may be required.

The character knows what kind of animal will be found in a given environment, and where to search for it. A Sagacity test is required to find the animal, with a failure resulting in nothing being found. The degree of success of a passed test can be taken as a guide to the number of animals, whether they are what the character was looking for, and the time it takes to find them.

Depending on the situation, the test can be performed once per day, or more or less often.

Characters with this ability are skill in throwing their opponents in unarmed close combat. Characters must take a Strength test after hitting normally, but a pass will throw the opponent D3 yards, plus one additional yard for every full 10 points by which the test was passed. The throw causes normal unarmed close combat damage, and can be used to end the combat by separating the combatants.

This ability is only really dangerous when fighting on cliff tops, in iron foundries, close to busy roads, and so on.

A character with this ability is able to recognise common plants and spot unusual ones. This ability is only effective if the character has experience of a particular region or planet’s flora, although most planets have at least some flora native to Terra.

The character adds +10 to his Toughness when taking tests involved with resisting disease.

The character adds +10 to his Toughness when taking tests involved with resisting poison. In addition, the character is immune to three kinds of poisons or animal venom, although the player must justify these immunities (usually because they are present in the character’s home habitat or they are involved in his career).

If the character knocks an opponent to the ground (regardless of any injury caused), he may immediately make a free charge action against any other target within run distance, without having to break from combat.

The character has a number of contacts in high places, and is seen as the ‘right sort’ of person to have dealings with. This gives the character a +10 bonus to all Leadership tests taken at court, or in official circles.

Prior to beginning interrogation of another character, the character may take a Willpower test. If it is successful, the number of points by which the test was passed becomes a negative modifier to the victim’s Willpower when attempting to resist interrogation.

The character may force socially (or militarily) subordinate individuals to follow orders through threats of violence or punishment. He can force a character to perform a particular task if he successfully passes a Willpower test. There is a +10 bonus to this test if the recipients of the order have the Unquestioning Obedience ability. Abilities like Charm, Seduction and Wit do not apply bonuses to intimidation, but Public Speaking applies a +10 bonus. If there is a significant probability that following the order will result in physical harm to the recipients, there is a –20 penalty, and a +20 bonus if physical harm is highly unlikely.

A success means that the recipients will attempt to carry out the orders to the best of their abilities. A failure means that they will either refuse to or that they will try, but give up as soon as it becomes difficult.

A matched success means that the victim is so browbeaten that he will obey all subsequent similar orders that the character issues (e.g. the character will take on guard duty again, but charging a heavy bolter nest armed only with an empty pistol will require another test). A matched failure means that not only is the order not satisfactorily carried out, but the victim rebels in some way.

The number of characters that can be successfully intimidated with a single test is equal to the intimidating character’s Willpower. Larger groups require more Willpower tests (in combat situations, allow one intimidation attempt per action).

Characters taking Nerve tests within 10 yards of a character with Intimidate can opt to use the intimidating character’s Willpower instead of their own Nerve characteristic, if it is higher.

The character receives a +10 bonus to the Initiative test for breaking off from combat.

The Law ability reflects a character’s ability to handle legal systems and arguments; such characters have formal legal training, or – at the very least – some sort of legal experience. When encountering a legal system in any place, the player can invoke this ability to avoid the character’s incarceration or punishment, or to lessen a statutory punishment. Success can be established by a Sagacity test. Similarly, it is possible to prosecute someone using the same procedure.

The character is assumed to have an in-depth knowledge of Imperial Law, as well as the laws and legal customs of his home planet.

The character may persuade socially (or militarily) subordinate individuals to follow ideas by virtue of his natural charisma and leadership qualities. He can order characters to perform a particular task if he successfully passes a Leadership test. There is a +10 bonus to this test if the recipients of the order have the Unquestioning Obedience ability. Abilities like Charm and Public Speaking each apply a +10 bonus, but Wit does not. Seduction may or may not apply a bonus, depending on the situation. If there is a significant probability that following the order will result in physical harm to the recipients, there is a –20 penalty, and a +20 bonus if physical harm is highly unlikely.

A success means that the recipients will attempt to carry out the orders to the best of their abilities. A failure means that they will either refuse to or that they will try, but give up as soon as it becomes difficult.

A matched success means that the recipient is so impressed that he will obey all subsequent similar orders that the character issues (e.g. the character will take on guard duty again, but charging a heavy bolter nest armed only with an empty pistol will require another test). A matched failure means that not only is the order not satisfactorily carried out, but the recipient rebels in some way.

The number of characters that can successfully be given an order with a single test is equal to the leading character’s Leadership. Larger groups require more Leadership tests (in combat situations, allow one order to be issued per action).

Characters taking Nerve tests within 10 yards of a character with Leader can opt to use the charismatic character’s Leadership instead of their own Nerve characteristic, if it is higher.

The character gains a +10 bonus to all Reaction rolls, and when determining order of activity in combat rounds.

The character can work out what people are saying from the movement of their lips. He can listen in to whispered conversations, provided he has a clear view of the lower half of the speakers’ faces. A Sagacity test is required to lip-read successfully. The GM may impose modifiers for extreme distance or other considerations. If the character cannot understand the language being spoken, lip-reading is impossible.

The character is able to understand most simple texts, like street signs and public information posters, and can write to the same level of literacy. Characters who gain Literacy – Advanced during initial generation are assumed to have Literacy – Basic as well.

See the rules for Literacy And Education for more details.

The character can read and write to a high degree of competence. This skill may only be gained during initial character generation or by first buying Literacy – Basic. If a Career states that a character must have Literacy – Advanced in order to complete it, assume that Literacy – Basic may also be taken for 100 Experience Points.

See the rules for Literacy And Education for more details.

Characters with this ability are able, on a successful Sagacity test, to manufacture drugs using chemical substances. Drugs may be medicinal in nature, or poisons of a deleriant, narcotic or toxin type.

As Manufacture Drugs – Chemical, except that the drugs have a natural base, rather than chemical. A drug made from a herb retains the properties of the herb, but in a more convenient tablet or liquid form.

This allows the character to manufacture explosives out of both household chemicals and professional military or industrial products. This is similar to the Chemistry ability, except that it allows the character to come up with more complicated, versatile and (importantly) much less unstable explosives, without having to know about irrelevant side-subjects.

The character also knows how to assemble homemade detonators, bombs and mines, which are not covered by the Chemistry ability.

A test against Sagacity is required for success, with matched failures resulting in either completion of a dud device or explosive that will not work when used, or a dreadful accident during production.

The character may manufacture force weapons, psychic hoods, psi-trackers, psycannons and other equipment that utilises psychic energy, on a successful Sagacity test. If the item being manufactured requires other abilities that the character does not have (e.g. Metalworking, to build a force sword), he may share the work with another character who has.

The character may coolly pick out individual targets in groups where normally the GM might force a character to fire at another target. He can also pick out individual crewmembers on vehicles or riding beasts. He automatically passes Nerve tests when trying to aim at a target when other hostile characters are close by.

The character has a reasonable knowledge of medical treatment and emergency first aid (see Combat – Recovery for details).

The character may meditate to recover lost Willpower points, drawing on hidden reserves of mental power to replenish his psychic abilities.

The player should declare how many Willpower points he is attempting to recover (which must not take the character past his maximum level), and then roll 1D6 for each. When the dice scores are added together, this indicates the length of time in minutes that the character must meditate. Once meditation is complete, characters can refuel their Willpower by the pre-selected amount.

A meditating character goes into a trance-like state, during which time he is unaware of his surroundings, and cannot stir even if attacked or struck. To all intents and purposes, he counts as being unconscious until the trance comes to an end.

The character can recognise the ores of the more important metals (principally iron, copper, tin, lead and silver) and can extract the metal from the ore, given the right equipment. He can also calculate the correct mixture of metals required to produce alloys of varying qualities, such as mild steel, adamantium, diamantine and so on. Note that this ability confers no ability to work the prepared metal – Metalworking is required for that.

The character has the ability to work metals, and can prepare them in a furnace using scrap metals or ingots. Under normal circumstances, the character could not refine metal from ore, although this may be attempted at the GM’s discretion.

The character can manufacture or mend articles of everyday use: nails, railings, pans, car bodies etc. He can also produce or repair useable standard close combat weapons, bayonets, chainmail, plate armour, carapace armour and metal shields.

The character has +10 Sagacity when manufacturing or repairing suitable metal products.

The character has an ear for voices and accents, and can imitate them almost faultlessly. This skill may be combined with others involving communication, enhancing their effects (conversing with someone in their own accent often yields better results than if using an unusual accent). Precise results are left up to the GM, taking into account the exact circumstances, but in most cases +10 Leadership when bluffing should be the minimum bonus. The character also gains +10 modifier to Leadership when busking.

The character has a degree of practical experience of mining, tunnelling or excavating, or at least of life in subterranean tunnels. He gains certain advantages when moving about in the underground world.

He is able to tunnel using appropriate tools, and is capable of constructing supports, floor planking and bridging and walling where the earth is soft. He should receive a +10 modifier to characteristic tests when constructing such tunnels.

Once underground, the character can recognise most mineral ores, rock types and gem-bearing rocks. Where valuable minerals or gems occur as part of the natural rock formation, the character will usually notice them. The GM can test against Sagacity to determine success.

The character also has a +10 modifier to his chances of spotting secret doors and concealed passages in underground complexes. Whilst underground, he can sense changes in direction, ground slope, temperature and humidity. The GM can use these traits to help players where appropriate.

This ability has no effect when in properly finished tunnels, like concrete bunker complexes, only in hewn tunnels like mines, animal lairs and natural cave systems.

The character is able to play a variety of keyboard-based instruments. The character may choose a specific instrument from the category, should he so wish, but can improvise on other instruments in the same category.

The character gains a +10 bonus to his chances of success when seeking employment as an entertainer or when busking.

The character is able to play a variety of percussion instruments. The character may choose a specific instrument from the category, should he so wish, but can improvise on other instruments in the same category.

The character gains a +10 bonus to his chances of success when seeking employment as an entertainer or when busking.

The character is able to play a variety of stringed instruments. The character may choose a specific instrument from the category, should he so wish, but can improvise on other instruments in the same category.

The character gains a +10 bonus to his chances of success when seeking employment as an entertainer or when busking.

The character is able to play a variety of wind instruments. The character may choose a specific instrument from the category, should he so wish, but can improvise on other instruments in the same category.

The character gains a +10 bonus to his chances of success when seeking employment as an entertainer or when busking.

The character is capable of charting a path along rivers and across bodies of water (or similar substances), and knows how to spot and avoid sandbanks, rocks, mines and dangerous creatures.

The character is capable of charting a path through planetary systems, thanks to his knowledge of celestial phenomena like solar flares, gravity wells and so on. Theoretically, he is also capable of navigating through interstellar space, but since that takes many years to complete even a short journey, most rely on Navigators and warp jumps to travel interstellar.

The character is capable of navigating a vessel through the Warp. Normally, this ability is only available to Navis Nobilite Navigators, Daemons and certain other Warp-tainted creatures.

The character has a natural (or implanted) ability to see in the dark. The darkness should not be complete, light sources giving the same level as starlight will allow the talent to operate.

Night Vision trebles the distance that a character can see in the dark and halves all to hit penalties caused by low light.

The character is used to handling the currencies of various planets, and keeps up to date on exchange rates between the Imperial sestertii, local currencies and the Merchants’ Guild credit system.

When the character comes across an unusual currency type, the character may be able to work out where it is from, how old the coin, note or credit chit is, and so on, on a successful Sagacity test.

The character has an almost instinctive ‘feel’ for directions. He will always be able to work out which way is north (or prow-wards, when on board a spacecraft), and can navigate in most circumstances with little or no chance of becoming lost. In difficult circumstances, the GM can impose a Sagacity test.

This is a useful ability that allows the character to slip small objects into his pocket, up his sleeve or simply into his palm. The largest object that can be palmed would be about the size of a clenched fist. Although the character may attempt to pilfer something in this way, characters with this ability have a +15 bonus when attempting to palm objects.

The object to be palmed must be handled. For example, shuffling a deck of cards, counting out money or examining vegetables at a market stall would allow a character to attempt to palm one object (be it a single card, coin or carrot). An Initiative test is required for success, applying any modifiers that are appropriate.

A passed test means that the object is successfully palmed. A failed test indicates that the palming was a failure (because the character was too closely watched, slipped etc.) but went unnoticed. A matched failure indicates that the palm has gone badly wrong and the character has been caught red-handed.

This is an extreme version of the Untouchable ability, where the character actually has a negative signature in the warp, and absorbs psychic energy.

The character is utterly immune to psychic powers, and cannot be detected by psychic methods. Any other characters within 6 yards are similarly affected, and psykers in this area cannot use their powers. All psychic powers within 6 yards of a pariah are nullified. Psykers, Daemons and warp entities within the 6 yard radius have all characteristics halved, and must pass a Willpower test at the start of each round or suffer D6 damage. Any psyker, Daemon or warp entity in physical contact with a pariah suffers an automatic D6 points of damage.

Such is the revulsion caused by the pariah’s condition that he halves his Leadership when attempting to communicate with anyone within the 6-yard radius who isn’t also an untouchable or a pariah. The Pariah is Fearsome towards non-psykers and Terrifying towards psykers.

A character with the Untouchable ability can never have any kind of psychic or wyrd abilities, or the Sixth Sense ability.

Characters with this ability impose an additional –10 Parry Penalty on close combat opponents, but only when armed. If they don’t have weapons, they may not parry.

The character gains a +10 Initiative modifier when picking locks, and may make several attempts before admitting defeat.

The character gains a +10 Initiative modifier when picking pockets.

The character is skilled in the piloting of all atmospheric aircraft, including helicopters. No Initiative tests are required for safe flying unless the character is at high speed or under stress. He also knows the basics of maintaining such craft.

As Pilot – Atmospheric, but applicable only to small spacecraft like shuttles, fighters, bombers assault boats and so on.

If the character also has the Pilot – Atmospheric ability, he is capable of performing re-entry manoeuvres with a +10 Initiative modifier.

The character is expert at preparing poisons and is able to recognise the various types. A successful Sagacity test is required in both cases. Given the correct materials, he can manufacture one dose of any poison type within a day, +D6 doses per day thereafter so long as he does nothing else.

A character with this ability also gains a +10 bonus when spotting poison in food and drink.

If the character remains totally inactive for a round and passes a Willpower test, he will become aware of the presence and rough direction of any other psykers within 50 yards.

The character is not necessarily psychic, but is capable of resisting psychic influence. When a psychic power uses his own Willpower score to determine its difficulty, treat his Willpower as being 20 points higher than normal.

If the psyker touches an object that has psychic powers, this will become apparent. He will not be aware of the precise nature of the power, only that it is present. If he comes into physical contact with another psyker, he will recognise the other character as such.

The character is a psyker and can learn powers from the Astrotelepathy discipline. The first power to be learnt must be Astrotelepathy. Amongst the Imperium, this ability is unique to members of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica, although some Chaos, eldar and even ork psykers have displayed similar abilities to astropaths.

The character is a psyker and can learn powers from the Biomancy discipline.

The character is a psyker and can learn powers from the Daemonology discipline.

The character is a psyker and can learn powers from the Pyromancy discipline.

The character is a psyker and can learn powers from the Telekinesis discipline.

The character is a psyker and can learn powers from the Telepathy discipline.

The character is a trained psyker, and gains +10 to any Willpower tests when casting psychic abilities, resisting psychic effects or in psychic duels. The character also gains +20 Willpower when fending off Daemonic attacks, and +20 Willpower when nullifying psychic powers. When learning new powers, the character gains a +20 Willpower bonus.

Characters with this ability are able to manipulate whole audiences or crowds of people by verbal persuasion. This is represented by the normal bluff and gossip rules, but they should be applied to far more people than normal – a number up to the speaker’s Leadership characteristic should be the maximum, although this can be increased when using equipment like microphones and sound systems.

An appropriate test should be made to gauge the audience reaction, applying modifiers for the nature of the bluff or gossip attempt, and for the mood of the crowd.

The GM should always be aware that, once the crowd disperses, they will have time to think about what they have heard, and that doubts may creep in…

The character halves the number of actions that must be spent reloading any ranged weapons he uses. In the case of weapons that load a certain number of rounds in an action (e.g. revolvers), this number is doubled.

Obviously this ability has no effect on weapons that require recharging.

Characters with this ability are knowledgeable about the layout of most library and archive systems – if the information’s there, they’ll find it. The character gains a +20 bonus to Sagacity when trying to find useful information in a book, library, records archive or (with Use Cogitator) cogitation engine.

Accomplished riders can mount, ride about or gallop without fear of doing anything embarrassing, like falling off. No Initiative tests are required to keep control of the mount, unless under stress or at excessively high speed. This ability only applies to a single species of animal, but may be taken multiple times for additional animals.

The character may walk and maintain an aim action. The aim is lost as normal if he moves any faster than a walk. The character also does not lose his aim for firing semi-automatic shots.

See the Movement and Terrain rules, specifically the Climbing Obstacles section, for details about this ability.

The character is well versed in the ways of the sea, and can handle most types of boat. This is effectively the same as having a Drive – Ship ability. Certain vessels (a sailing ship in an advanced society) may be outside a character’s experience, as determined by the GM with reference to the character background.

The character also gains a +20 bonus to any tests to resist seasickness.

There are a number of common secret languages within the Imperium, as well as countless minor ones that are tied to single organisations. A character with this ability can speak one of them:

Imperial Battle Tongue: A clipped, shortened and otherwise unintelligible version of Low Imperial Gothic, with most regional dialect words removed. Thus, troops from a million cultures across the Imperium can fight alongside one another with minimal language confusion.

Inquisition: There is no single Imperial Inquisition language. Instead, individual Inquisitors work out code systems known only to their own staff. A commonly cited example is Glossia, developed by Inquisitor Gregor Eisenhorn. Glossia was impenetrable to those unfamiliar with it, but that could be used intuitively by those with experience, thanks to shared associations between particular concepts and phrases.

Military Sign Language: A non-verbal form of battlefield communication, military sign language consists of a number of hand signals indicating battlefield tactics, enemy types, numbers and locations, and so on.

Chapter Battle Tongue: Individual Space Marine Chapters come up with their own battle tongue, since they realise that, more often than not, they will end up fighting against renegade Imperial forces who know Imperial battle tongue. It is generally rooted deep in the Chapter’s history, culture and traditions – for example, the Space Wolves battle tongue has strategies codenamed, ‘claw of Russ’, ‘prow harpooners’ and ‘troll’s awakening’.

Street: This category actually consists of thousands of secret languages, although the basic characteristics of each are the same, thanks to interplanetary travellers blending various ‘dialects’ together. The intent of Street is to enable people on the shadowy end of the law to communicate without falling foul of the authorities. Slang terms are extremely common, as are derogatory nicknames for law enforcement officials. These are generally the terms that cause confusion between speakers of different dialects of Street.

Secret signs are normally related to specific careers (Inquisitor, spy, cultists and so on). Signs can only normally be understood by another character with the same specific Secret Signs ability. Signs are pictograms or abstract sigils denoting a concept or thing. They do not comprise a language as such. An inscribed sign corresponds roughly to three words or fewer of Low Imperial Gothic, along the lines of ‘Beware secret police’ or ‘Meeting normal time’. Two or more signs can be inscribed, but they cannot be grammatically interconnected.

This ability is based on a combination of natural charm, physical attraction and conversational ‘techniques’. It allows characters to bluff, bargain or gossip with members of the opposite sex, with a +10 modifier to any characteristic tests. A successful seduction may lead to further activities if the character being seduced fails a Willpower test (or doesn’t bother to take the test)…

However, if the test is a matched failure, a slap around the face is a common reaction.

This ability isn’t necessarily only of use with members of the opposite sex – depending on sexual preferences of the recipient, anyone may be targeted, even aliens (it’s called xenophilia). Be aware that misjudging a character’s preferences may cause a degree of offence, possibly to the extent of physical aggression.

Also, pretending to seduce someone of a different sexual preference to yourself can lead to awkwardness if the attempt is too successful.

The character is good at setting traps and knows which baits to use. The character gains a +10 bonus when setting a trap, and a successfully set trap imposes a –20 penalty on the victim’s Initiative.

Animal traps and snares placed by a trapper have a 25% + Sagacity chance of catching an appropriate-sized animal per day. The GM should feel free to modify this chance, should the area be particularly sparsely or densely populated.

Characters with this ability can follow someone without being spotted, and have a +10 modifier to Initiative tests when avoiding being noticed.

The character is a shaman and can learn powers from the Biomancy discipline.

The character is a shaman and can learn powers from the Daemonology discipline.

The character is a shaman and can learn powers from the Pyromancy discipline.

The character is a shaman and can learn powers from the Telekinesis discipline.

The character is a shaman and can learn powers from the Telepathy discipline.

The character is adept at landing snap shots in locations where it is less likely to kill a target, but just violently incapacitate it. If the character hits the torso or head locations while shooting a single shot weapon, he may opt to instead relocate the hit to a random limb (roll a D100):

01-25 Right leg

26-50 Left leg

51-75 Right arm

76-00 Left arm

This ability cannot be used in semi or full auto firing.

The character can move through rural environments almost silently (see Concealment – Rural for a guide as to what ‘rural’ entails). Auditory Awareness tests made against the character’s movement in these settings are made at –20 Initiative, and movement can only be heard at half the normal range.

As Silent Move – Rural, except that the ability only applies in urban settings (see Concealment – Urban for a guide as to what these entail).

The character has a natural ability to know if he is being followed or watched. The GM should make a secret Sagacity test whenever it is appropriate to do so. If the result is a success, the GM can then inform the player that the character ‘has a strange feeling of being watched’.

The character is capable of casting psychic powers using sorcerous magic. Only characters who already possess one or more Psyker abilities may learn this ability.

The character can speak and (if literate) read and write in a single additional dialect of a language he already knows. For example, a character that can speak Low Imperial Gothic – Necromunda could learn Low Imperial Gothic – Logan’s World.

This ability may be taken multiple times, with several different dialects. It may also be combined with Speak Alien Language to allow multiple dialects of the basic alien language learned.

The character can speak and (if literate) read and write a particular alien language dialect (e.g. Eldar – Alaitoc Craftworld).

Many weapons require specialist knowledge to use and maintain safely. If used without the appropriate ability, chance of success is halved, after all other modifiers. Some weapons require more than one Specialist Weapon ability, or a Xenotechnology ability, to be used effectively, and all of these abilities must be possessed to avoid penalty.

The Specialist Weapon – Two-handed ability is slightly different in its use. Any close combat weapon (within reason) can be held in two hands (usually for a Strength bonus), but WS is halved unless the Specialist Weapon – Two-handed ability is possessed.

The character has a +10 Initiative modifier when spotting (either deliberately or accidentally) traps, including pits, landmines, mantraps, pressure pads and so on.

He can also disarm a trap on a successful Initiative test, although failure will result in the trap going off.

This ability is normally only possessed by trained military soldiers. Spotters can provide accurate co-ordinates for indirect weapon or artillery fire, provided they are both in direct sight of the target and able to communicate directly with the crews of the weapons being fired. If this is the case, the indirect firing no longer scatters automatically (although it will still scatter if the shot misses).

Characters with this ability add +20 to their Initiative when dodging close combat attacks.

The character can successfully run a business or estate. Once a year (the end of the financial year, at harvest time, or some other appropriate time), the character must make a Sagacity test.

If the test is passed, the organisation brings in its average income (decided by the GM), +10% for every ten points or part by which the test was passed. A matched success means that double the average income has been taken.

If the test is failed, the estate brings in half of its average income, -10% for every ten points or part by which the test was failed. A matched failure means that some disaster has befallen the business or estate (market collapse, embezzling accountant etc.) or estate (crops failed, employees strike etc.) and no income is received at all.

The organisation’s expenditure is then subtracted from its income to provide an overall profit.

This is a partly natural ability that endows the character with the ability to spin entertaining yarns. This can apply to jokes, anecdotes, religious stories, historical events or anything.

The character can possibly earn a little money by telling stories, although it is more likely that he will get people’s interests and a few free beers. He has a +10 modifier to tests for busking or gossiping.

The character is capable of co-ordinating the activities of entire businesses, armies or populations, by setting up chains of command and knowing how to use the strengths of his underlings to greatest advantage.

A character with this ability can use the Intimidate or Leader abilities on a far greater number of characters, provided it is possible to communicate with that many people or groups of people. The maximum number of characters that can be ordered with a single characteristic test is equal to the strategist’s Willpower or Leadership (depending on the ability being used), multiplied by 10.

If the characters being given orders have the Leader ability, they can relay orders to their underlings, setting up a chain of command and potentially giving a Strategist command of a far greater number of individuals than his or her Willpower or Leadership characteristics suggest.

Strategists also have a grasp of the theoretical side of their respective field (military, business, agriculture, naval etc.), and the GM should take this into account when the character is working within this sphere.

The character is adept at hitting characters in close combat with enough force to violently incapacitate them, but holding back from killing them outright. If the character hits the torso or head locations in close combat, he may opt to instead relocate the hit to a random limb (roll a D100):

01-25 Right leg

26-50 Left leg

51-75 Right arm

76-00 Left arm

If a character declares that he is attempting to stun an opponent instead of attacking normally, the chance of hitting is halved after all other modifiers have been applied. If the attack hits, it automatically lands on the head location, but only causes half damage.

Designer’s Note: This ability is intended to be used to incapacitate characters without necessarily killing them. The GM may disallow the use of this ability if he suspects that a PC is deliberately using it to be get instant kills, i.e. hitting opponents in the head with a powerful weapon, knowing that the half damage is still going to be enough to cause severe crippling injuries.

The character is a numerical whiz, with an uncanny and deeply irritating to work out maths problems in almost no time at all, probably while reciting pi at high speed to help them concentrate.

When faced with a mathematical problem, the GM can assume that the character will successfully solve it eventually, no matter how difficult the problem. A Sagacity test is taken every minute until the problem is solved (whereupon the GM reveals the solution to the player). The GM may impose reasonable modifiers on excessively complicated problems, although there should be nothing beyond a super numerate character.

The character has a +20 Sagacity modifier when estimating an item’s value and a +10 modifier to tests when gambling.

The character may perform surgical operations. This ability may only taken by characters with the Medic ability.

The character adds +2 yards to his swimming movement rate, and does not need to take Strength tests to avoid floundering or drowning. The GM may override this ability in extremely cold or fast-flowing water, but a character with the Swim ability should always be at an advantage over a character without it.

The character is an experienced tailor, and can repair or manufacture any fabric-based items (clothes, boat sails, tents, flak armour, leather armour) on a successful test of the average of Sagacity and Initiative. He can also make effective disguises, conferring a +10 modifier to all tests involving the disguise, and a –10 modifier on any attempts to see through the disguise.

The character can dive into the path of a shot aimed at another person if he passes an Initiative test, but only if he is aware of both target and firer. If the test is successful, all hits scored from that shooting action hit the character instead of the intended target. A character may only attempt to block one shooting attack per round.

The character is an expert in hitting the weak spots of vehicles. If the character aims before firing at a vehicle, armoured or otherwise, any hit will count as a placed shot, rather than just matched successes.

Characters with this ability are able to pass on their knowledge to others, training characters in new abilities.

In order to teach an ability to another, the teacher must not only already possess the ability in question, but must have a Sagacity characteristic higher than the pupil. It will take some time to teach a subject to a pupil. This may be days, it may be months, it could even be years, the exact period being left to the GM’s discretion

The teacher takes a Leadership test with a negative modifier equal to the difference between their Sagacity scores. If the test is passed, then the pupil may expend Experience points to learn the ability being taught. A failure means that the pupil has bee unsuccessful in learning the ability.

A matched success means that the Experience points cost of the ability is halved, while a matched failure means that not only does the pupil not learn the ability, but also wastes the Experience points.

With Public Speaking, this ability can be used over a wider audience (for example, lecture theatres).

As Fearsome, except that Nerve tests are taken with a –40 modifier. Also, if a character rolls more than double his modified Nerve characteristic, he will flee. Fleeing characters may recover their composure by passing a Nerve test at the end of each round. A character that fails a Terror test but doesn’t flee gains a single Insanity point. A character that flees from a Terrifying opponent is so pant-wettingly disturbed by the experience that he instead gains D3 Insanity points.

A Terrifying character is immune to the effects of Fearsome or Terrifying opponents.

A strongly religious character with this ability will know everything there is to know about his own religion (provided it matches his personal interpretation of the religion, of course), and a collection of poorly informed presuppositions about other religions.

Other characters will have a more general, theoretical knowledge of their culture’s main religion (usually the Imperial Cult) and possibly several other religions as well. They will be able to discuss the pros and cons of various belief systems from a more-or-less objective viewpoint.

The character is an expert at ‘physical interrogation’. The victim’s Willpower is reduced by 10 during torture sessions, and damage inflicted is halved. A roll of a 6 will cause 3 points of damage, plus a level of location injury.

Characters with this ability can follow any trail made by animals or travellers. A faint or difficult trial may require a Sagacity test. The trail can be followed without the tracker becoming slowed down.

From footprints, tyre-tracks, the state of campfires and other trail features, characters can estimate the distance between themselves and their quarry (either in time or in distance) with a +10 Sagacity modifier. Trackers may also add +10 to Sagacity when estimating the numbers of quarry and, in some cases, their species or sub-species.

They can identify animal (and some sentient) species from their droppings where present.

The character ignores the first level of location injury caused to a location, in effect gaining an additional injury box before Light injuries (or Heavy on the head and groin locations), which does not debilitate the character in any way.

The character also halves the duration of unconsciousness.

The character is a psychic blank, with no registering presence in warpspace, rendering him totally immune to psychic powers, or detection by psychic methods. Any other characters within 3 yards are similarly affected, and psykers in this area cannot use their powers. All psychic powers within 3 yards of an untouchable are nullified, and Daemons and other warp entities have all their characteristics halved

Unfortunately, the untouchable’s condition means that people are disturbed by his presence, and he suffers a penalty of –10 Leadership to any attempts at communication with anyone within the 3-yard radius who isn’t also an untouchable or a pariah. Untouchables count as Fearsome towards psykers.

A character with the Untouchable ability can never have any kind of psychic or wyrd abilities, or the Sixth Sense ability.

The character can use a cogitation engine with a degree of competence, and may even have programming skills. Characters attempting to use a cogitation engine (or certain other machines) without this ability halve their Sagacity

The character is proficient in the use of jump packs. See the Equipment section for more details.

The character is proficient in the use of parachutes and grav-chutes. See the Equipment section for more details.

The character may use the polymorphine drug. Male characters must pay twice as many Experience points to learn this ability, because their bodies are less responsive to polymorphine.

The character is trained in the use of power armour suits. There is no active benefit for having this ability while wearing power armour, but a character attempting to use it without training halves his Initiative score.

The character can use respirators and aqualungs efficiently. There is no benefit for using such a device, although characters attempting to breathe through any respirator without having been trained must make a Nerve test every five minutes. If the test is failed, the character panics and misses a round as he struggles to breathe. If the test is a matched failure, the character will rip off the respirator and possibly get gassed or drowning.

The character also knows how to avoid oxygen narcosis (the ‘bends’) when surfacing after diving, and runs no risk of suffering the ill effects, unless under extreme stress.

This ability is vital for anyone attempting to use tactical dreadnought armour. Attempting to use terminator armour without this ability results in the only movement available being a one-yard walk, and WS, BS and I are reduced to 5 points each.

The character can speak without moving his lips. Where he is under close scrutiny, he must pass a Willpower test or his lips will be seen to move.

The character has a +10 bonus to characteristic tests while busking.

The character’s Toughness is increased by 10 points.

The character’s Strength is increased by 10 points.

Teams of characters with this ability are able to take all their rounds simultaneously while crewing a weapon, performing actions in whatever order they choose. For example, a pair of Guardsmen is firing a rocket launcher into a rebel tank. The firer fires the first rocket (his first action), and his loader slams another rocket into the launcher (his first action). The firer sends a second rocket into the tank, finishing it off (his second action), and the loader aims his lasgun at the wreck in case any crew try to escape (his second action).

Other weapons have different advantages from being operated by a weapons team – belt-fed weapons, for example. In this case, the loader spends actions checking ammunition as the firer spends actions firing.

When determining the order of activity for the round, the weapons team takes all its actions at the lowest Initiative of the members.

The GM should decide when having a weapons team working on a weapon is simply a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth.

The character is a master of quick wit and repartee, eager to amuse or enlighten others with a wry comment or penetrating observation. The ability allows characters to be charming (should they wish), giving them a +10 modifier to tests when bluffing or gossiping.

The character may spend an action preaching the Word of the Emperor, filled with fiery zeal and conviction. Any enemy characters within earshot must pass a Nerve test or spend their next action recovering from their nervousness. Daemonic creatures that hear the Word of the Emperor must pass a Willpower check or they are stunned for D6 rounds.

The GM may decide that certain characters are immune to the Word of the Emperor. Where a Chaos cultist may be stabbed with guilt at his heresy, causing him to falter, a Traitor Legionnaire may react violently to someone preaching the creed of the False Emperor. Many aliens are indifferent or scornful towards the Imperial Cult, so would likewise not be affected, or have a positive Nerve modifier to their tests. Chaos Daemons, understanding that the Emperor is indeed a powerful and hostile god, will always be affected normally.

The character is an accomplished wrestler, and any successful hits confer a –20 penalty to the opponent’s Initiative when attempting to avoid the grapple.

The character is a wyrd and possesses a single psychic power of any discipline – for example, Wyrd – Sunburn. The GM can either decide on the power or allow a player to choose, but maintain the right of veto.

This ability only works on alien races of which the character has had either theoretical or practical experience. On a successful Sagacity test, he will know useful details about the species, such as diet, required atmosphere, optimal environments, cultural details, and so on. The character gains a +20 bonus to Leadership when communicating with a species that he has experience of.

Characters with this ability have gained a general understanding of how the weapons and other equipment of a particular alien species work, and can use them as effectively as they can use their own species’. Attempting to use an alien weapon or piece of equipment without the Xenotechnology ability has the chance of success halved.

If a weapon also requires one or more Specialist Weapon abilities to be used effectively, all of these, plus Xenotechnology, must be possessed in order to use it without penalty.

Note that this ability covers entire species, not just individual cultural groups. For example, Xenotechnology – Eldar covers the technology of Craftworld eldar, dark eldar, exodites and harlequins, plus any other eldar cultures that may exist.