Disco Elysium Skills

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1. #1selective

   Keys: LOGIC

   Cool for: Analysts, Pure Rationalists, Obviously Logicians.

   Logic urges you to analyze the living daylights out of situations. It enables you to piece evidence together, detect inconsistencies in statements, and impress everyone with your astonishing conclusions. It’s the bread and butter of many a detective.

   At high levels, Logic will be able to solve even the most complicated puzzle but You will be very proud and thus susceptible to intellectual flattery; for those blinded by their own brilliance often miss important clues. With low levels of Logic, you’re going to have a hard time solving even the simplest puzzles. Even if you find the pieces, good luck putting them together.

   LOGIC - Start with the biggest letters in order to learn the characteristics of the style. Then work your way down. LOGIC - No objections. It's mathematically impossible to achieve a classless society. Everyone knows this. LOGIC - Let's think about this -- logically. Why would nothing be terrifying if it's, well, nothing?

2. #2selective

   Keys: ENCYCLOPEDIA

   Cool for: Thinkers, Historians, Trivia Freaks

   Encyclopedia makes you a know-it-all, turning your mind into a database of facts. It enables you to draw on these facts innately, offering a wealth of background knowledge to all things related and unrelated to your situation. Who knows when the history of cigarette brands will provide the breakthrough you need – or when knowledge of pre-Revolutionary guns might save a life?

   At high levels, Encyclopedia shares this wealth of knowledge to an almost overwhelming degree – while it may give you crucial breakthroughs, it more often will clutter your mind with useless tidbits. With low levels of Encyclopedia, though, you’ll be forced to work with only the clues in front of you. Without any background knowledge, living is going to be tough stuff.

   ENCYCLOPEDIA - Revachol is the disgraced former capital of the world, divided into zones of control under foreign occupation -- half a century after a failed world revolution. She is central to our moment in time. ENCYCLOPEDIA - That's a Kiejl A9/90 Armistice mass-produced muzzleloader. Ascetic, frugal, one of the most common firearms in the world. ENCYCLOPEDIA - Sapormat 'Sport' Knezhinisky is well into his third decade as president of the SRV. Outside Samara he's known for three things: Brutal repression of internal dissent, monumental corruption, and a near-pathological obsession with physical fitness.

3. #3selective

   Keys: RHETORIC

   Cool for: Ideologues, Conversationalists, Would-Be-Politicians

   Rhetoric urges you to debate, make intellectual discourse, nitpick – and win. It enables you to break down arguments and hear what people are really saying. You’ll spot fallacies as soon as they’re used – what exactly did the waiter leave out of their testimony? What was the dancer trying to divert you from? Was that double entendre intended, or did you just get an accidental lead?

   At high levels, Rhetoric will make you an impressive political beast – one whose beliefs are impenetrable. Which is to say, one whose mind will not change; one who will calcify. With low Rhetoric, though, you’ll have a hard time of shooting down any argument. Nailing people to their testimonies will be nigh impossible.

   RHETORIC - He doesn't actually think the challenge is unique. He thinks it's frustrating, annoying and harder than he thought. RHETORIC - Everything is political. RHETORIC - The weary tone is the surest indicator that the lieutenant is being sarcastic. RHETORIC - There is no gift. It must be repeated: there is no Gift. It is meant as obvious sarcasm. Do not ask what The Gift is. Do not ask what the Remote Viewers Division is.

4. #4selective

   Keys: DRAMA

   Cool for: Undercover Cops, Thespians of the Stage, Psychopaths

   Drama urges you to treat the world as a stage – and on it, to perform. It will enable you to lie, to concoct the most elaborate and wonderful stories; to take on ingenious personas and perform acts of stagecraft in an entertaining amalgam of fourberie and deceit! As well, it enables you to see through would-be actors and their false antics. If they lie, you’ll know. Immediately.

   At high levels, Drama may render you an insufferable thespian – one prone to hysterics and bouts of paranoia; for to know the world is a stage is to know that Truth is a Vanity. However, with low Drama you cannot lie – or discern when others lie. Only Drama uses "my liege" or "sire", that little sly bag.

   DRAMA - His eyes dart from left to right. This man isn't lying, but he is hiding something. DRAMA - Believeth in thyself, my liege! 'Twas all a clever ruse. DRAMA - It's the voice of someone who has something to hide my liege. DRAMA - He speaks the truth, my liege.

5. #5selective

   Keys: CONCEPTUALIZATION

   Cool for: Creatives, Psychedelic Fanciers, Critics.

   Conceptualization has a special role it wants you to play in this world – an Artist. It enables you to make fresh associations, to delve into world-concepts from Jan Kaarp’s postmodernist karperie, to Revachol’s arabesque architectural style dideridada, and even the concept of HARDCORE – and then, importantly, to add your own contribution to these works.

   At high levels, Conceptualization makes you go big – perhaps too big. It is ostentatious, demanding grand displays. Why live life when you can throw yourself into a live volcano? At low levels, however, you will be unable to see the world in a creative light. You’ll be unable to contribute to conversations in an art gallery. Only boring people will invite you to their dust parties.

   CONCEPTUALIZATION - ...like whorls of floorboards. The design looks organic, influenced by highly resistant wood materials, like Lignum Vitae and ebony perhaps. CONCEPTUALIZATION - Great gears are grinding to a halt. The machine is powering down. She's all out of jolt. CONCEPTUALIZATION - He isn't even drawn right. CONCEPTUALIZATION - It's the contrast between the cheery, chemical yellow and the rigor mortis. As if the cheery guy didn't know he was dead or the dead guy didn't care that he was. Either way, you get the sense the forces of future are at work here.

6. #6selective

   Keys: VISUAL CALCULUS

   Cool for: Forensics Scientists, Tactical Fighters, Math-Minded People

   Visual Calculus verses you not only in the laws of the state, but the laws of nature. It enables you to create virtual scene models in your mind’s eye. You’ll see how a bullet shattered the glass and from that trace its trajectory with mathematical precision. You’ll also count so many footprints – and at a glance discern shoe size and design; as well as the height, weight, and gender of the one who wore them.

   At high levels, Visual Calculus makes the world reveal its secrets to you – but you may be so absorbed by your mind-diorama, you don’t notice as crooks steal your pants. However, at low levels, your mind’s eye will be blind. Reconstructing scenes will be difficult without outside help.

   VISUAL CALCULUS - The shards face outward. Whatever broke this window came from the inside. It is too large for a bullet yet too small for a piece of furniture. You're looking for something heavy and larger than your fist. VISUAL CALCULUS - A young woman in her twenties. There is care, effort, and a smile, you think -- although that is not something you can read from someone's handwriting. VISUAL CALCULUS - The shot would have been a small miracle: 5% likelihood. There is an extremely narrow field of view from the bay to the window, between Rue de Saint Ghislaine 10 and 33A. The angle would have been extreme and access to the islets is questionable... VISUAL CALCULUS - You see the same two neon lit shapes -- a man and a woman. Only now a red thread bisects the room, pointing from the antenna outside, to the cupboard on the wall.

7. #7selective

   Keys: VOLITION

   Cool for: Sane People, Well-Adjusted Cops, The Non-Suicidal

   Volition urges you to be a good guy – to others and to yourself. It enables you to resist temptation: be it in a bottle, between a pair of legs, or at the end of an iron barrel which promises oblivion. Volition gives you the will to live, improving your Morale.

   At high levels, Volition makes you hyper-sane. When you’re about to get funky, it keeps you normal. It’s a bit of a party-pooper. At low levels, however, you’ll have little Morale. Without it, you’ll be a profoundly unstable person, falling apart at the seams as you make irreversible mistakes.

   VOLITION - You clearly have issues you need to address. VOLITION - Stop. There's no need for this. It's in your power to change the subject. VOLITION - This is your tiny chance for redemption. Apologize. VOLITION - You don't have time for this nonsense. You've got safe boring things to do. VOLITION - Or -- you could not do that. No one is making you. VOLITION - Just let it all out. This might be your last chance.

8. #8selective

   Keys: INLAND EMPIRE

   Cool for: Dreamers, Para-Natural Investigators, Mental Creators

   Inland Empire is the unfiltered wellspring of imagination, emotion, and foreboding. It enables you to grope your way through invisible dimensions of reality, gaining insight into that which sight can’t see. What’s really going on? What do these enigmatic riddles mean for the world-fate?

   At high levels, Inland Empire animates the inanimate. You’ll have conversations with your clothing, conversations that may change the course of your world if you’re not thrown in the loony bin first. With low Inland Empire, however, you’ll be void of imagination – and character. And then how will you shape the cosmos?

   INLAND EMPIRE - Rust peels off the bent iron posts of the swing. The wind whistles through the skeleton of the small house behind you. There's desolation... everywhere. INLAND EMPIRE - In there she is alone, trapped in a world of blue and red lights. INLAND EMPIRE - Something mysterious is going on here... INLAND EMPIRE - That's not right at all. Thoughts don't exist in the brain, they float through the air! Your brain is but a fish swimming through them... INLAND EMPIRE - A little rhyme jingling in your mind's attic... "Of the future, of the past/ Of all that is not made to last"... INLAND EMPIRE - You're all alone out there, wandering a blasted heath, calling out to the night, but there is no reply, except for the buzzing of invisible machines...

9. #9selective

   Keys: EMPATHY

   Cool for: Judges of Character, Interviewers, Interrogators

   Empathy breaks into the souls of others and forces you to feel what’s inside. It enables you to notice social cues others may miss: perhaps a hidden sadness you could coax out a little more, a strange joy from someone who should be bereaved, or a hidden resentment that could return to harm you later.

   At high levels, Empathy really puts you in other people’s shoes. You’ll cry for their sorrows, punch walls to relieve their angers, and be an even more unstable person. With low Empathy, however, you’ll be an ungainly beast unable to talk to anyone without upsetting them.

   Examples: EMPATHY - That was disdain in his eyes. Even now he is purposefully ignoring you. Looks like he's not a fan. EMPATHY - He feels bad about it. About his eyes mostly, just having bad eyesight -- probably from a young age. Whatever you do, do not console him. EMPATHY - You left him hanging on an Ace's High?! What is wrong with you, you sharpshooting asshole? EMPATHY - He feels uncomfortable with this conversation. He doesn't know what to add. EMPATHY - He's not dissatisfied with you, but with himself. EMPATHY - There is a hint of pity in her eyes. EMPATHY - People just don't know how to accept gifts, especially taxidermy. He likes it. He likes the bird. It solves his broken bird problem.

10. #10selective

    Keys: AUTHORITY

    Cool for: Leaders, Experts of Psychological Warfare, Respect-Junkies

    Authority urges you to assert and reassert your dominance over those around you. It enables you to understand the power dynamics of groups of thugs, know how far you can push a perpetrator, and how to establish control of situations.

    At high levels, Authority demands respect; even a perceived slight could send you into knee-breaking mode. With low Authority, however, you’re forever in awkward situations – like when you suffer psychological breakdowns after you yell at teenagers, and they laugh at you.

    AUTHORITY - Retreat is not a winning tactic. AUTHORITY - Do not go along with this. AUTHORITY - She speaks with the authority of a leader. Hers is the final word around here. AUTHORITY - He hates the Union, but grudgingly recognizes its power over him -- so he's directing his frustration at you instead. Retaliate! AUTHORITY - This is the look of a man who's defeated. He knows he's out of excuses. AUTHORITY - What happened? Did your balls shrivel up? You had plenty of chances to get off this road, but no, you let this guy keep talking. Then when the time came to make your choice you tried to split the difference. Weak. AUTHORITY - It's safe to assume this is their leader. Or at least he thinks he is.

11. #11selective

    Keys: ESPRIT DE CORPS

    Esprit de Corps takes the nature of teamwork with your peers, those who act alongside you. Synchronize with them and fit the pieces together as one, acting promptly without even needing a speech, they know what you want, and you know what they want. At its best, Esprit de Corps bonds you with your brothers and sisters for incredibly comical and surreal feats, such as coming up with a momentaneous outcome in unison and performing a memorable feat as a team. At its worst though, prepare to be left out, because you, my friend, don't have what it takes.

    ESPRIT DE CORPS - You, your friends, your family. Everyone you had ever known. This was you. ESPRIT DE CORPS - Across the city, the lieutenant stops to consider a smoke break. He shrugs off the urge: maybe tonight. His absence is palpable. Too late now. ESPRIT DE CORPS - The lieutenant, elsewhere in Revachol, runs a finger over the rough mesh of a stereo. He is deep in thought. He needs to be here for this. ESPRIT DE CORPS - Three figures on the spring ice. One, a shortish man, is standing with his shoulders slightly hunched. Another, a young woman, tries her best to ignore the third, a middle-aged man with bloated cheeks, who's screaming at her with all his might... ESPRIT DE CORPS - Wanna hear what's stupid? Somewhere in a one room apartment on Boogie Street a young man shows Patrol Officer Tillbrook his genital warts, asking if they're cancer.

12. #12selective

    Keys: SUGGESTION

    Cool for: Diplomats, Charmers, Sociopaths

    Suggestion urges a soft-power approach. If people think they want what you want, you’ve already won. This skill enables you to implant ideas into the minds of others. You can make people like you more. You can make gangsters turn on each other, too; many crime-rings have been broken by just a little doubt, after all.

    At high levels, Suggestion makes you affable to everyone and more resistant to their charms in turn. But all that schmoozing and oozing charm will make you slimy. And you’ll know it, even if no one else does. With low levels of Suggestion, though, you’ll have difficulty getting any kind of rapport with others. You’ll be alone, both during the day and at night.

    SUGGESTION - It's really in her best interest to listen to you. You know how the world works. SUGGESTION - Not a big fan of skepticism, this one. SUGGESTION - He's not sorry about his behavior for your sake. Now that you have money, he really wants to make sure you're not angry with him. SUGGESTION - Whatever he may feel about you, he can't miss the opportunity to throw you a look of what he assumes is shared understanding. Go with it. SUGGESTION - Flattery is the way. SUGGESTION - Perfect, all you have to do is pretend to have taste. This will be your weapon. SUGGESTION - He would be appreciative if you did not further chase this line of inquire in front of the women.

13. #13selective

    Keys: ENDURANCE

    Cool for: Fighters who can take a hit, Lookouts who don’t sleep, Human Batteries

    Endurance is your metabolism and circulatory system. It improves your Health. It enables you to survive. Who cares if you can’t aim a gun, if you can take a few bullets? Why be afraid of drugs that hurt your health if you’re a very, very healthy man?

    At high levels, Endurance enables you to take a few knocks to the head, enjoy a greater quantity of drugs, and shake off a few cardiac arrests – it makes you a powerful man, who looks down on the weaklings who can’t keep up. However, people with low Endurance are likely to struggle. The body is frail already, and the flesh of a person will often be tested. And if it doesn’t pass, it dies.

    ENDURANCE - More cardio? Let's do this. ENDURANCE - This was mostly about the fucking cardio. Massive cardio here. You'll live 'til 90! Or you'll get a heart attack from running. ENDURANCE - This man seems to be experiencing a mild to medium level of congestive heart problems, either due to narrowing of the arteries or high blood pressure. ENDURANCE - Maybe you were wrong. She's endured for at least four decades in this world. ENDURANCE - Walks are fucking great cardio. Very stable fat-burner. Aerobic exercise. ENDURANCE - This will keep you nice and warm out there. Good choice, if a bit goofy looking... ENDURANCE - I'm satisfied. Are you satisfied? Because I am.

14. #14selective

    Keys: PAIN THRESHOLD

    Cool for: Unstoppable Fighters, Guys who don’t die, Masochists

    Pain Threshold ignores damage so you can push on, bloodied and crawling, to the bitterest end. It enables you to negate damage you would otherwise take. Even mental pain – heartache and loneliness. In fact, these things can become a thrill you seek out and perversely revel in.

    At high levels, Pain Threshold turns in on itself in seriously unhealthy way, with full-on self-destructive behavior. With a low Pain Threshold, however, you will suffer too easily, even a slap from a teenager will make you whine and complain.

    PAIN THRESHOLD - You can take this. It's not nearly as bad as the last time. PAIN THRESHOLD - This is bad. Feels like sharp stones grinding in your chest and keeping you from moving. PAIN THRESHOLD - Almost snapped your neck... but I fucking got this. No pain... no pain... PAIN THRESHOLD - You can take this! Blossom like a pain-flower. PAIN THRESHOLD - It hurts, but keep your cool. You've got this. PAIN THRESHOLD - The pain flows over your entire body like an awful shock. A grim knowing rises from within -- half of your body must be gone.

15. #15selective

    Keys: PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT

    Cool for: Muscle Men, Bare Knuckle Brawlers, Gym Teachers

    Physical Instrument is not only your muscles and your skeleton – it is your ability to use them effectively. It enables you to do push-ups, sit-ups, knock-out punches, and 360-degree spin-kicks. It’s a one size fits all solution to thriving and surviving in a physical world.

    At high levels, Physical Instrument breaks doors, chains, and bones, and it makes you laugh at the namby-pansies who can’t. You’ll be manned-up, encouraging others to curl iron until they’re manned-up too. At low levels, however, you’ll have a hard time fighting anyone who isn’t infirm or already dead. Indeed, engaging in physical confrontations could leave you in either state.

    PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - Suddenly your biceps coil up. Your elbow is sharp and cocked for a punch. PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - Doesn't matter! The flow of events is already passing you by! The woman said something, now the man's saying something... KEEP YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME, SON! PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - WHAT IS HAPPENING TO YOU?!?! Are you going to CRY now, son? PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - No, that would be silly. Your body isn't for thinking. It's for robust, wholesome things. Things like discus, javelin, and 400 meter hurdles. Mmm... discus. PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - Son, you've really let yourself go -- it's a disgrace. But Coach Physical Instrument is going to get you back in prime condition. Even if it takes a million push-ups!

16. #16selective

    Keys: ELECTROCHEMISTRY

    Cool for: High-Fliers, Party Enthusiasts, People who need Lightning

    Electrochemistry is the animal within you, the beast longing to be unleashed to indulge and enjoy. It enables you to take drugs with fewer negative side-effects. It also enables you to better investigate lurid matters – if you need to understand a chemical breakdown, or talk to someone blasted out of their mind, or understand sexual dynamics, Electrochemistry is there to guide you.

    At high levels, Electrochemistry makes you a man of unrestrained pleasure – an unrepentant Lothario who leers at people with a bottle of speed and a plastic bendy straw in either hand. But with a low Electrochemistry, you’ll be too innocent to be effective. Without a working knowledge of drugs and sex, the city life will be difficult to understand.

    ELECTROCHEMISTRY - The best cure for a headache is, of course, morphine. They won't have that, so cigarettes will have to do. ELECTROCHEMISTRY - This is a good place for a nice sad drink. Uncork a velvety bottle of red wine and think about life for a moment. Really philosophise. ELECTROCHEMISTRY - Sexual euphoria... increased sensitivity to stimulation... if you didn't know better, you'd say this plasm stuff sounds a lot like being on amphetamines.. ELECTROCHEMISTRY - Oh yeah, we're talking about white-hot communist sex, baby. ELECTROCHEMISTRY - No. You can figure it out. Replace it! Replace the alcohol with amphetamine. Or GBL! Fuck it -- morphine! Graffito removal agent! Anything. It'll buy you time. All you need is time.

17. #17selective

    Keys: SHIVERS

    Cool for: City Lovers, The Wisest of the Street Wise, The Genuinely Supra-Natural

    Shivers come when the temperature drops and you become more keenly aware of your surroundings. It enables you to hear the city itself, to truly belong to the streets. It is a supra-natural ability; old wrongs play out in present time, scenes across the city happen in front of you. But who is speaking to you?

    At high levels, Shivers may make you seem mad to the outside world – as you listen to the city, you don’t listen to others. Your superiors may begin to worry. With a low Shivers, though you will seldom hear the city speaking to you – and if you cannot hear it, how can you ever save it?

    SHIVERS - On Clinton Street, near the Boogie Street Diamond, a small truck rattles down an alleyway. It stops by a rusted trash container. Two men, their faces rough and swollen, jump out. They look at the container, despondently. CSM is written on their backs... SHIVERS - A traffic jam. Rain thrumming on the roofs of motor vehicles. Inside, drivers watch water streaming down their windshields. The statue of a king shudders, he too is cold. The canal bridge has been raised. SHIVERS - Under the night sky the great district sleeps: A dark chessboard of wooden houses in the rain, 80,000 living souls inside. Firetraps as far as the eye can see -- from Main Street to Precinct 41 atop the motorway, to Boogie Street glowing on the rainswept horizon...

18. #18selective

    Keys: HALF LIGHT

    Cool for: High-Strung Investigators, Shoot-Now-Ask-Questions-Later Cops, Surprise Haters

    Half Light is your fight-or-flight response. It enables you to sense the way situations are about to turn. It injects palpable fear into your heart – fear that urges you act before it’s too late to act ever again; fear that makes you frighten others. It is the aggression that lets you squeeze every last drop of information out of someone.

    At high levels, Half Light makes you ultra-attuned to the world. It is perpetual fear – of your own shadow, of someone else’s name or scent. You’ll be ready, always, to pounce and physically interrogate passersby. At low levels, however, you’ll find your survival instinct is lacking. And your methods are limp-wristed. Those who respect violence will not respect you.

    HALF LIGHT - Your muscles tense up. The vision in your dead angle darkens. You feel the sudden urge to push your hand into his soft gut. HALF LIGHT - What you want is a GOD DAMN DRINK. How is that so hard to understand? HALF LIGHT - THIS ISN'T A FUCKING JOKE. HALF LIGHT - You suddenly feel afraid of the chair. It looks like blood is peeling off it... HALF LIGHT - Kill them. They broke it. HALF LIGHT - Look at his shit-eating grin... He knows there's nothing you can do to him. He's bullying you and you are helpless. Kill him. Kill him now. He won't see death coming.

19. #19selective

    Keys: HAND/EYE COORDINATION

    Cool for: Trick-Shooters, Snipers, Jugglers

    Hand/Eye Coordination loves the interaction between you and things that fly in the air. It enables you to catch coins, shoot straight, and understand firearms intimately. Want to know the precise make and mark of a pistol? Hand/Eye Coordination’s got you. Want to shoot someone with it? Ditto.

    At high levels, Hand/Eye Coordination makes you deadly – supposing you’ve a weapon in your hand. But once you do, Hand/Eye Coordination will compel you to take the shot – even if it’s not the best approach. At low levels, however, you’ll be even more of a disaster in waiting. Because when the guns go off – and they always do – you’ll probably hit the wrong target.

    HAND/EYE COORDINATION - A miss. HAND/EYE COORDINATION - That's an Ister 50. A Zsiemsk-made monstrosity. It'll blow your head clean off. HAND/EYE COORDINATION - Firearm! A Glace 08, or a .38 calibre pistol -- either is small enough for you to have missed. HAND/EYE COORDINATION - This does look like an embrasure, a slit made for shooting out of. HAND/EYE COORDINATION - Chalk powder. Absorbs moisture and keeps your grip firm. HAND/EYE COORDINATION - The kid moves his hands like a basketball player dribbling fast.

20. #20selective

    Keys: PERCEPTION

    Cool for: Fine Detail Detectives, Sensualists, Urban Scavengers

    Perception wants you to be open to the world – with eyes, ears, and nose working at full capacity. It enables you to take in what others don’t notice. The little wad of bills hid away in the sugar bowl; the odor of an intruder, hiding beneath the floorboards; the gulp of a suspect, after claiming they’ve nothing to hide.

    At high levels, Perception takes in every final detail of the physical world – enough to overwhelm all but the strongest mind. However, with low levels, you are going to miss out on everything. After all, you can’t notice what you can’t see, hear, or smell.

    PERCEPTION (SIGHT) - Her eyes are brown and her face is speckled with birthmarks. She can't be more than 28. PERCEPTION (SIGHT) - He wears a wide leather belt around his waist and a gun holster under his arm. PERCEPTION (TASTE) - Tastes like soap. Unsurprisingly. PERCEPTION (SIGHT) - "Eat shit, pig!", "FUCKED BY THE CUNN" and "Saint-G" with a crown have been scribbled on it. "Jennie is a WHORE" and "Baise cette mailbox!" also. PERCEPTION (SMELL) - He smells of heavy motor oils. And his breath -- of high-tar content cigarettes. Probably Astra Whites. PERCEPTION (HEARING) - Waves crashing in the distance, the sound of sea below the window.

21. #21selective

    Keys: REACTION SPEED

    Cool for: Shot-Dodgers, Thinkers on their Feet, Pinball-Heads

    Reaction Speed is the agility of your body and mind. It is instinct. It enables you to dodge punches, knives, bullets. Also suckers punches of the verbal kind. You’ll be more streetwise, never lost for words or lacking a witty comeback. Your mental alacrity lets you connect little details on the fly, working in tandem with your Intellect skills.

    At high levels, Reaction Speed makes your twitch-reflex freakishly good. However, when your body acts before your mind, innocent situations can turn bad fast. You’re high strung, overly alert. At low levels, though, you won’t be the one shooting first – which probably means you won’t be shooting at all.

    REACTION SPEED - That melody is oddly familiar... Why does it feel like some gang-related thing? REACTION SPEED - A punch is not imminent, but it's being cocked. Hard. REACTION SPEED - Yeah -- streetwise. Zoom right past, do it on your own terms. REACTION SPEED - Wait... did he push himself to prove he can pull his weight and doesn't need hand-outs? REACTION SPEED - No, you don't. Just back up, cancel this. REACTION SPEED - His fingers are twitching. That's a draw reflex. He's about to draw.

22. #22selective

    Keys: SAVOIR FAIRE

    Cool for: Acrobats, Thieves, Unbearable Show-Offs

    Savoir Faire urges you to be better than you are: it urges you to be disco. Slip by others in Samaran boxing style, then tumble out the back with unexpected acrobatics. It enables you to move silent footsteps, to groove to a good beat, and to lift useful items off people without them noticing. It also makes you a cooler person, whose athletic flair will certainly impress the masses.

    At high levels, Savoir Faire will make you the King of Cool – which is as much to say, the most stylish douchebag in the world. Nobody will see you until you’re ready to be seen; and then, they’ll get the full treatment, whether they want it or not. At low levels, however, you’ll be a bumbling, feckless retard unable to catch pair of keys thrown by your friend without losing an eye.

    SAVOIR FAIRE - An acrobatic maneuver would solve this situation. Nothing can go wrong with a good maneuver. SAVOIR FAIRE - This is a cool moment. It needs a cool thing to be said. SAVOIR FAIRE - Try the jump? Up there, on the roof! It'll be worth it. Else there is little choice but to figure out a way to deal with the man... SAVOIR FAIRE - Cool. Let's do this swindle. This tare swindle. SAVOIR FAIRE - Nothing is inaccessible.

23. #23selective

    Keys: INTERFACING

    Cool for: Machinists, Tinkerers, Instrument Players

    Interfacing wants you to connect to machines: to use and improve them, because that makes you a better human organism. It enables you to understand interactions with machines – be that how to repair the motor of a Kineema motor carriage, how to analyze the way someone used a pen, or how to re-figure electrical circuits. It even lets you steal keys off a keyring without being noticed.

    At high levels, Interfacing will isolate you from society – why bother with people when you can talk to machines? And why bother with things like money when you can just pocket that display sandwich? At low levels, however, you will have a crucial part of the world cut off from you. People use machines all the time – if you can’t understand how a machine works, how can you use it?

    INTERFACING - This particular lorry is a FALN A-Z 'Tempo', a model infamous for its irritating design mistake: the slippery-smooth throttles. INTERFACING - There's no picking this lock. The owner has put special care into it. It's a recessed design. INTERFACING - This is the Rehm Prefect, radiocomputer model number RC7024, equipped with a Feld mainframe and a Rehm-compatible Interim printer. INTERFACING - This is wrong, machines shouldn't behave like that. INTERFACING - The legendary Kvalsund multitool! This is prybar version 2.0 -- for professionals, like you.

24. #24selective

    Keys: COMPOSURE

    Cool for: Card Players, Military Fetishists, Cool People

    Composure wants you to not crack: or, at least, it wants you to not crack in front of other people. It enables you to put up a strong front. It keeps your emotions hidden from the world and helps you to read the body language of others – to sense the cracks in their own composure. As well, it keeps you looking good while you do it. You’ll rock that disco outfit a lot more if you don’t slouch.

    At high levels, Composure makes you tuck your gut in and maintain a stern expression. Even lying in bed late night when no one else can see you, you’ll have to keep it up. You’ll never be able to stop. With low Composure, though, you’ll always be the first to crack. Everyone's got a point when all that fear and rage comes spilling out – and the ones who unleash it doesn’t stay sane much longer. Perhaps worse still, you won’t even make the ranks of the Fashion Police.

    COMPOSURE - He keeps the language unemotional but it's in there -- disappointment. COMPOSURE - The colour has drained from his face. COMPOSURE - You're not dressed for this weather. You should get an overcoat, or a cloak. COMPOSURE - Now, chin up. You've got this. COMPOSURE - Remember: Where most people go wrong is in thinking they have to hide what they don't know... COMPOSURE - He isn't bluffing. He appears invigorated, as though he's truly experiencing life for the first time. COMPOSURE - A distended pause. A slight chill of embarrassment. She isn't sure what to say.

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