SR5:Skill Lists:Common Skill and Attribute Uses

5th Edition Lists
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Active Skills

Knowledge Skills

Language Skills

Common Skill and Attribute Uses

This page is for common rolls that don't fall under the "skill" category.

Attribute Only Rolls

These rolls do not use skills, how ever they are just as important.

Composure (CHA + WIL)

Some situations are tough to deal with, even for hardened professionals like shadowrunners. When a character is faced with an emotionally overwhelming situation there are only two choices. Stay and fight or turn into a quivering lump of goo. To find out which one happens, make a Willpower + Charisma Test, with a threshold based on the severity of the situation.Take note that repeating similar situations over and again eventually eliminates the need to perform this test. Staring down a group of well-armed gangers will be scary at first, but after a character does it a few times the fear gives way to instinct.

Judge Intentions (CHA + INT)

Reading another person is also a matter of instinct. A character can use their instincts to guess at the intentions of another person or to gauge how much they can trust someone. Make an Opposed Intuition + Charisma Test against the target’s Willpower + Charisma. This is not an exact science. A successful test doesn’t mean the target will never betray you (intentions have been known to change), and deceptive characters can gain another’s confidence easily. This primarily serves as a benchmark or gut instinct about how much you can trust the person you are dealing with.

Lifting/Carrying (BOD + STR)

The baseline for lifting weight is 15 kilograms per point of Strength. Anything more than that requires a Strength + Body Test. Each hit increases the max weight lifted by 15 kilograms. Lifting weight above your head, as with a clean & jerk, is more difficult. The baseline for lifting weight above the head is 5 kilograms per point Strength. Each hit on the Lifting Test increases the maximum weight you can lift by 5 kilograms. Carrying weight is significantly different than lifting weight. Characters can carry Strength x 10 kilograms in gear without effort. Additional weight requires a Lifting Test. Each hit increases the maximum by 10 kilograms.

Memory (LOG + WIL)

While there are numerous mnemonic devices, and even a few select pieces of bioware, designed for remembering information, memory is not a skill. If a character needs to recall information make a Logic + Willpower Test. Use the Knowledge Skill Table to determine the threshold. If a character actively tries to memorize information, make a Logic + Willpower Test at the time of memorization. Each hit adds a dice to the Recall Test later on. Glitches can have a devastating effect on memory. A glitch means the character misremembers some portion of the information, such as order of numbers in a passcode. A critical glitch means the character has completely fooled himself into believing and thus remembering something that never actually happened.

Common uses of skills

This section is for common uses of skills (What a suprise right?). The section will point out skills that are put against eachother and also explain bonuses and penalties for each of the skills.

Perception vs. Sneaking

This section is for the age old Perception vs. Sneaking.

Using Perception

Perception Tests are for any situation involving basic senses (sight, hearing, smell, touch, or taste) where you’re looking for something that isn’t obvious. Your gamemaster might call for you to make one, or you can call for a Perception Test by taking an Observe in Detail Simple Action to get a handle on what’s going down around you. Making the threshold on a Perception + Intuition [Mental] Test indicates that you’ve noticed something subtle or important (or both)—net hits determine how much detail you get.

Perception Tests involving vision (which is most of them) use the same Visibility and Light modifiers as attacks do in combat. Other modifiers are listed on the Perception Test Modifiers table. If a bunch of people are making a Perception Test and looking for the same thing, use a Teamwork Test.

Environmental Modifiers

VISIBILITY	LIGHT/GLARE	WIND	RANGE	MODIFIER
Clear	Full Light/No Glare	None or Light Breeze	Short	None
Light Rain/Fog/Smoke	Partial Light/Weak Glare	Light Winds	Medium	–1
Moderate Rain/Fog/Smoke	Dim Light/Moderate Glare	Moderate Winds	Long	–3
Heavy Rain/Fog/Smoke	Total Darkness/Blinding Glare	Strong Winds	Extreme	–6
Combination of two or more conditions at the –6 level row	-----	-----	-----	-10

PERCEPTION TEST MODIFIERS

SITUATION	DICE POOL MODIFIER
Perceiver is distracted	-2
Perciever is specifically looking/listening for it	+3
Object/sound not in immediate vicinity	-2
Object/sound far away	-3
Object/sound stands out in some way	+2
Interfering sight/odor/sound	-2
Perceiver has active enhancements	+ Rating
Visibility and Light	Environmental Factors (Above)

PERCEPTION THRESHOLDS

ITEM/EVENT IS:	THRESHOLD	EXAMPLES
Obvious	1	Neon sign, running crowd, yelling, gunfire
Normal	2	Street sign, pedestrian, conversation, silenced gunfire
Obscured/Small/Muffled	3	Item dropped under table, contact lens, whispering
Hidden/Micro/Silent	4	Secret door, needle in haystack, subvocal speech

Using Stealth

Skill tests in the Stealth skill group boil down to staying hidden when someone is trying to find you. Treat this as an Opposed Test using Perception + Intuition, and apply any appropriate Perception modifiers (see p. 135). The gamemaster can decide to swap out Perception for a suitable skill from the Stealth skill group at no penalty. For example, if a Triad assassin is trying to spot you in a crowd, she could rely on her own experience at hiding and roll Sneaking + Intuition