A.C.E.S
Alternate Character Enhancement Skills
As our characters make their way through their lives, players may desire a way to better tweak their individuality and prowess. The Alternate Character Enhancements allow players to spend excess or saved XP on expensive skills with great utility. ACES are divided into 3 tiers. Each Tier increases in cost and power. A character can only purchase 1 skill from each tier. ACES can only be purchased once the Player has spent 100 XP on that Character per tier of ACE skill being purchased. Teaching an ACES requires 1 hour per tier, but can be divided into 15 minute sections. Once the teaching is complete, the ACES is available for use at the next Deuces as with regular skills. A personal plot request can be made for an NPC ACES teacher, who will require some payment or service, but will generally be amiable. This is not a process that requires approval, but will be subject to time constraints and thus finding a PC to teach you may be faster if such a PC exists. If such a PC does not exist, the personal plot request will not require an expenditure of HP.
XP Costs (in addition to having spent the 100xp per tier already)
- Tier 1: 15xp
- Tier 2: 30xp
- Tier 3: 60xp
Tier 1
Blade Shield
Angles and proper parries make you hard to hit. You can use Dodge against successful ranged attacks for 3 Will, instead of 5, so long as you are wielding 2 melee weapons, 2 brawlers, or 1 of each.
Bodyguard
While holding a shield you can defend someone. Spend 10 Will and declare “Bodyguard!” while pointing at your target. They are immune to damage for 10 seconds, so long as they make no attacks, don't deliberately try to take hits, and stay within 5 feet of you. This skill can be activated in response to your target taking damage. That damage is nullified, and the 10 seconds begin.
Crunch Time
When you put your mind to it, you can do your job incredibly quickly. Spend 10 Will to reduce the Timer on your next use of the following skills by 1 hour; all [Crafting] skills, Hunting, and Farming. This reduction will stack with any other time reduction, to a minimum of 1 minute but can only be used twice per Deuces.
Crushing Blows
Thunder crashes and the seas part when you swing your weapon. When you use the Break skill with a melee weapon, reduce the cost to 3 Will, instead of 5. Additionally, when wielding a 2-handed melee weapon you deal +2 damage. This stacks with all other effects.
Curiosity
Your inquisitive mind allows you to wring more information from research. When you use the Research skill, you can ask 3 additional questions. Curiosity also reduces the Investigation skill timer to 20 seconds.
Disparage
Sometimes all it takes is a look. Spend 10 Will and gesture at a target to declare "Disparage! No [X] skill uses 10 minutes!" Where X is the user's choice of [Offense], [Social], [Covert], [Healing] or [Observation] skills. Disparage cannot be countered, and cannot be used again for 10 minutes. If the user makes an insult relevant to the chosen Skill category, and the required gesture is a rude one, reduce the Will cost by 3.
Hail of Bullets
You can reload your gun with amazing speed and always get the most out of your magazines. Your reloading threshold is +10 bullets, and you reduce your reload timer by 1 second. These effects stack with other effects, minimum 1 second, and you may move at any speed while reloading (stay safe).
Inner Fire
Find your inner peace and gather your strength. When you Meditate, -10 minutes to the [Timer](minimum 5 minutes) and you gain 10 Will and 10 Heart in lieu of the normal benefit.
Open Hand Style
When fighting with a Single one handed Melee Weapon only(no off hand weapon, shield or knucks), you deal +2 damage with that weapon and your offense skills cost 1 less Will to use (minimum 1). You may also use Cleave and Sweep skills(if you have them) as if you were wielding your weapon with two hands (this part only helps with Large weapons and does not add the additional +1 damage from using it in two hands). Carrying objects, people or thrown weapons in your off hand will not impede these abilities.
Ninja
You are a master of stealth. When you are using Stealth or Vanish, you can move as fast as you wish, without restriction on direction. Also reduce the Will cost for Stealth and Vanish by 3, minimum 1.
Prestige
Some entertainers make it look easy, and get paid well for their time. When you use the Entertain skill, you pay half the Will cost. Additionally, during check in you can roll on the Downtime Gigs chart to reap the rewards of your abilities, this will come in the form of payment for assorted Gigs that happened off camera. This does not count as your downtime action.
Quick Hug
With a well timed hug, you can restore someone's Will to fight on. Declare "Quick Hug'' and hug someone if you're both willing, and transfer any number of your own Will to the Target. If either is uninterested in a hug, you may spend a 5 second [Timer] pantomiming a Hug within arm's reach of the target for the same effect.
Safe Cracker
Bypassing locks is no problem for you. Spend 10 Will and open any lock in 5 seconds, bypassing any requirements written on the lock card. This can be done once per hour. This skill does not address traps, you still need the Pick Locks skill for those.
Shenanigans
Pinning you down is an impossible task. Spend 10 Will and Declare “Shenanigans!” to immediately leave a Mod. You may not reenter that mod, and you cannot gain benefits or resources from it. Surrender any materials gained from the Mod at Ops, and reenter play from there. In very rare cases, a Mod will be labeled as “No Shenanigans.” In that case this skill cannot be used, but you will be notified before beginning the Mod.
Stat!
You are an expert at patching people up quickly. You can use Restoration in 1 minute(30 seconds with a Nurse assistant), and heal 1 additional Heart per Will you spend.
Supermarket Sweep
You know where to find the choicest food. Once per Deuces, as long as the character has been in play for one hour since the last Deuces, you may Spend 5 Will, and go to The Principal’s Office to collect 5 vegetables or meat of your choice. Players are encouraged to work with the worldbuilding team to develop a reason for this discovery.
Tank
While wearing heavy armor with 6 coverage, you gain 10 additional armor per armor tier, and cannot be knocked down, knocked back, or moved unwillingly, so long as you are not [Immobilized]. The armor gained from this skill is lost first, and is immediately replenished when your armor is repaired, or you don a different suit of unbroken armor.
Terminate
Deal a grievous wound to your foe. Spend 10 Will when you land a successful melee strike to call "30 Heart Poison".
Versatile
Restrictions aren’t your thing. Gain a 3rd profession, you may purchase skills as normal. If you choose a Hybrid profession, you gain your choice of free skill off of its skill list.