Skills

In addition to the skills in the Cortex Rulebook, additional skills have been created for the Mass Effect RPG. All skills that are already in the rulebook have been kept; any notes about them will be after the list of new ones.

Biotics
In order to use this skill, you must already have the Biotic Asset. This skill allows you to use biotic talents. Some can be used unspecialized - up to a d6 in Biotics allows you to use the talent. Some are more advanced and must be specialized, with a d8 in that talent's specialization. Talents that do not need specialization may still be specialized in to make them more powerful.

Your Biotics skill is linked to the Biotic asset - that is, your skill cannot go higher than your trait die, e.g. a d8 Biotic trait allows for up to d8 in the Biotics skill tree. At a d12 trait die, d12 and higher (d12+d2, d12+d4, etc.) are unlocked for this skill.

All biotic talents require line-of-sight in order to perform. To hit a target with a talent, the target must be within 100 ft. The character must roll Biotics only and beat the Tech/Biotic Protection value on the armor that the target is wearing.* Once hit, any rolls required for the talent are done with the talent die only. (Biotics rolls are not linked to an attribute; quite simply, they're overpowered enough as it is.) Any effects are calculated by taking this talent roll and subtracting the target's Tech/Biotic Protection.

All talents need five rounds to recharge before they can be used again.

The following talents can be used without specialization:

Barrier: Roll Biotics/Barrier. The result is added to your shields. Any damage (of any kind) taken must be taken from the Barrier before it goes to shields (and subsequently the character).

Lift: The target is lifted from the ground a number of feet equal to a Biotics/Lift roll minus their Tech/Biotic Protection. If the target hits the ceiling, it takes Stun damage equal to the difference between the original roll and the height of the ceiling (a 10 Biotics/Lift with an 8 ft. ceiling results in 2 damage). By specializing in this talent, the character gains the ability to control the movement of the target at the rate of ten feet per round (as in the Pull skill in Mass Effect 2). The target is considered prone without cover for a number of seconds equal to the original roll (rounded down); at the end of the last turn, the target falls to the ground. taking 1 Stun damage for each foot fallen. (Example: A target is lifted with a roll of 7. After their 2 Biotic/Tech protection is taken into account, the roll is 5. This rounds down to 3 seconds, for one round. The target is lifted for the rest of the round that Lift is used and the complete round following it. If the resulting roll is under 3, the target is only lifted for the round that Lift was used.)

Throw: The target is pushed a number of feet equal to a Biotics/Throw roll minus their Tech/Biotic Protection while taking a simultaneous amount of Basic damage. If the target hits any object, it takes additional Stun damage equal to the difference between the original roll and the distance from the target's original point and the object it struck; the target stops moving at that object. (Example: A target is his with a roll of 6. There is a crate 5 ft. behind it. It takes 6 Basic damage plus 1 more Stun from the box.)

Warp: The target takes damage equal to a Biotics/Warp roll minus their Tech/Biotic Protection. Additionally, the target's Armor Rating is reduced by half (round up, e.g. a 5W armor rating becomes 2W) for a number of seconds equal to the original roll (round down to the nearest full round).

The following talents must have a point of specialization in order to use:

Charge: The character can run towards a target at twice his base speed. Upon impact, the charge deals Biotics/Charge minus their Tech/Biotic Protection damage to the target; the target flies backwards an equal number of feet.

Shockwave: Similar to Throw. Instead of aiming for a specific target, this talent automatically targets all objects (friendly, hostile, or inert) that are adjacent to the character. Each target must resist the original Biotics roll; those that do not are affected in the same manner as Throw.

Singularity: Pulls all objects within a radius of a number of feet equal to a Biotics/Singularity roll. Lasts for two rounds. Does not impart any damage on its own; however, if multiple objects are pulled into the singularity, all objects take Basic damage equal to the number of objects in it each round. As with Shockwave, Singularity does not discriminate between friendly, hostile, or inert.

Stasis: The target is unable to do anything for a number of seconds equal to a Biotics/Statis roll minus their Tech/Biotic Protection (rounded down to the nearest full round). The target cannot move, use skills or talents, or even communicate; however, nor can they be attacked with weapons or affected by any further skills for the duration of the Stasis.


 * Yes, you read this right - the character rolls a max of d6 against the Tech/Biotic Protection. This can result in a low chance to hit - one of the only things balancing out this overpowered skill tree.

Tech
This skill allows you to use tech talents. You must be skilled in Tech to use any of its associated talents. Some can be used unspecialized - up to a d6 in Tech allows you to use the talent. Some are more advanced and must be specialized, with a d8 in that talent's specialization. Talents that do not need specialization may still be specialized in to make them more powerful.

All tech talents require line-of-sight in order to perform. To hit a target with a talent, the target must be within 100 ft. The character must roll Tech only and beat the Tech/Biotic Protection value on the armor that the target is wearing.* Once hit, any rolls required for the talent are done with the talent die only. (Tech rolls are not linked to an attribute; quite simply, they're overpowered enough as it is.) Any effects are calculated by taking this talent roll and subtracting the target's Tech/Biotic Protection.

All talents need five rounds to recharge before they can be used again.

The following talents can be used without specialization:

Damping: The target is unable to use any Tech or Biotic talents equal to a number of second equal to a Tech/Damping roll minus their Tech/Biotic Protection. Any talents that are currently recharging get the resulting number of seconds (each round being 3 seconds, round up (5 results in 2 rounds) added to the recharge time.

Decryption: This talent is not used in combat. When your character encounters a locked crate, cabinet, locker, door or anything else, they may roll Alertness + Tech/Decryption against its difficulty as a Simple Action to unlock it.

Electronics: This talent is not used in combat. When your character encounters a secure computer system, they may roll Alertness + Tech/Electronics against its difficulty as a Simple Action to bypass its security. Some systems may have multiple levels of security, each with increasing difficulty.

Overload: The target receives shield damage equal to a Tech/Overload roll minus their Tech/Biotic Protection. Upon specializing (d8), this expands to include a ten ft. radius area (four squares) that effects hostile characters only.

Sabatoge: The target's weapon is overheated, and the target must wait the required two turns for it to overheat. If a Tech/Sabatoge roll is 7 or greater, this becomes 3 turns. Upon specializing (d8), this expands to include a ten ft. radius area (four squares) that effects hostile characters only.

The following talents must have a point of specialization in order to use:

AI Hacking: Can only be used against synthetic targets. The target is reprogrammed and attacks the closest target to it (friendly or hostile). This lasts a number of rounds equal to a Tech/AI Hacking roll minus their Tech/Biotic Protection.

Neural Shock: Can only be used against organic targets. It does an amount of damage equal to a Tech/Neural Shock roll minus their Tech/Biotic Protection and cuts the target's movement speed in half for two rounds.


 * Yes, you read this right - the character rolls a max of d6 against the Tech/Biotic Protection. This can result in a low chance to hit - one of the only things balancing out this overpowered skill tree.

Drive
Note that, in specializing, each vehicle (Grizzly, Mako, Hammerhead) is a different specialization.

Guns
When specializing in Guns, you may pick from the four different weapon classes - Pistols, Assault Rifles, Shotguns and Sniper Rifles. You may specialize in more than one type of weapon, or even all four if you feel like depriving yourself of points to spend elsewhere.

Medicine
In a compromise between the fast healing of Mass Effect and the slow healing of Cortex, a middle ground has been found. When not in a combat situation, a character who is skilled in Medicine may use 1 packet of Medi-Gel to heal another character. Roll Alertness + Medicine; this number of Wound points are regained, and all Stun damage is taken away. This takes a full hour of rest, or two hours of light activity. Specialization in First Aid allows use of a higher die (making the roll Alertness + Medicine/First Aid).