Specialty

In Ars Magica, the Storyteller System and the Storytelling System, a Specialty is a modifier attached to a trait that grants a bonus to actions within its purview. This allows for extra customization of the character sheet.

Ars Magica

In Ars Magica, most character traits can have a Specialty attached. For instance, a character with Survival (Mountains) uses their Survival rating as normal to take actions, but gets a one-die bonus when trying to survive in mountainous terrain.

Interestingly, Ars Magica also allows for negative Specialties - areas where a character is particularly bad at something, which grant a one-die penalty instead of a bonus. For example, a character with Dexterity (Trembling Hands) would use their normal Dexterity for most actions, but take a penalty when doing something that requires extremely precise and careful manipulation.[1][2]

Storyteller System

World of Darkness

In Vampire: The Masquerade First Edition, Specialities only applied to traits with three or more dots, and the mechanical effect was to some extent at the Storyteller's discretion. Specialties could be selected for lower-rated traits, but these existed for flavor or role-playing purposes without mechanical effect.[3] In later versions and other game lines, this was raised to four dots or more, and the player may re-roll tens ("ten-again") on rolls related to the specialty.[4]

For the Twentieth Anniversary Editions, Specialities instead allow a ten to count as two successes.[5] In V5, a Specialty instead adds one extra die to the roll.[6]

Exalted

There is no minimum rating required for a Specialty to have mechanical effect in Exalted. Adding a specialty to a skill adds a one-die bonus to rolls related to the specialty.[7][8][9]

Trinity

Trinity, Aberrant and Adventure! do not have a minimum rating required for Specialties, and they always add one die to the roll.[10][11][12] However, these games also have qualities attached to Attributes, which allow players to re-roll tens. A quality can only be applied to an Attribute of four dots or higher.[13][14][15]

Storytelling System

Skill Specialties in the Storytelling System have no minimum rating. They always add a bonus die to the roll.[16]

References

  1. ↑ ArM: Ars Magica Revised Edition, p. 15-16
  2. ↑ ArM: Ars Magica 3rd Edition, p. 58
  3. ↑ VTM: Vampire: The Masquerade Rulebook, p. 67
  4. ↑ VTM: Vampire: The Masquerade Second Edition, p. 127
  5. ↑ VTM: Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition, p. 196
  6. ↑ VTM: Vampire: The Masquerade Fifth Edition, p. 159
  7. ↑ Exalted: Exalted Rulebook, p. 133-134
  8. ↑ Exalted: Exalted Second Edition, p. 123
  9. ↑ Exalted: Exalted Third Edition, p. 123
  10. ↑ TU: Trinity Rulebook, p. 182
  11. ↑ TU: Aberrant Rulebook, p. 136
  12. ↑ TU: Adventure! Rulebook, p. 138
  13. ↑ TU: Trinity Rulebook, p. 180
  14. ↑ TU: Aberrant Rulebook, p. 134
  15. ↑ TU: Adventure! Rulebook, p. 134-135
  16. ↑ CofD: Chronicles of Darkness Rulebook, p. 73
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