Utility Abilities

Utility Abilities are a string of abilities that are neither magical abilities or weapon-focused combat abilities. While there are magical and combat abilities below, they are not the focus. These abilities instead are meant to give characters more flavor and greater strength within social roleplaying scenarios and travel scenarios.
None of these abilities will be useful all the time (as any good and balanced ability should be), but are instead specialized strengths your character has honed over time. Consider what professional skills you would see your character cultivating when choosing from these abilities.
Below, you will find two types of abilities: passive and energy. Passive abilities do not require you to spend energy and will automatically work within the stated specifications. Meanwhile, energy abilities require at least one energy to be spent; some abilities require an energy and also specify it requires a successful attack action to work; In this case, using both the ability and the to-hit will only require a single energy.

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Social-Focused Utility Abilities

Bounty Hunter (passive): You are versed in techniques used to find persons who would prefer to stay hidden. You gain the following abilities:

• You can read the lips of anyone who can see so long as you speak the language.
• You can recall any face, minute physical detail, name, conversation you observed within the past week, and you know exactly when and where you saw or heard these things within the same week's time.
• You are able to obtain a vague assumption of a person's career, health, and mood so long as you can hear and see them.

Chameleon (passive): You are able to mix into any crowd. All Archetypes favor you so long as you wear the appropriate clothes or have an an item that would stereotypical identify you as part of an archetype. While they favor you, they will act as though they are friendly toward you: they may divulge personal but non-incriminating information, and may provide discounted goods and services. For Archetypes that do not naturally favor you, they may at any time make a social save if they suspect you of being a poser. On a successful save, they no longer favor you and either become neutral or hostile toward you.
Gambler (energy): You like to keep things interesting, or in other words, high-stakes. Pick a number of targets equal to or less than your Speciality Modifier (minimum 1) and force them to make a Social Save. On a failed save, you can convince these targets to gamble anything they own or will own so long as a) they are given the opportunity to pick the game, and b) you put something up of equal or greater value (if the player does not have anything of equal value, the GM should suggest something of equal value to the NPC--it might not be fair). Note, the target(s) are not liable to play fair should they desperately want to keep what they are gambling. On a successful save, the targets will not gamble. This ability can be reused on targets but at a loss to the player per attempt. For example, first use of ability has target's saves rolled normally, second use has target's saves rolled at advantage, third save is at double advantage, and fourth save is an automatic pass and no further attempts may be made for the day.
Gravetender (passive): You have cared for the dead and have earned their respect. Accursed creature types are not immediately hostile to you; this ends if they or their allies are harmed, or if the area or item they are bound to is disturbed--whichever of these is more applicable to your GM. Finally, you can understand any dead creature as though it were an animal, understanding base sentiments and feelings it conveys, but not specifics; this allows you to engage with it in a Social Scenario.
Justicar (passive): You are a guild-registered legal agent. You are able to use your legal influence to have guards overlook minor crimes; and if an ally is accused of a crime, you are able to defend them, bringing on willing and allied player characters as consultants, witnesses, and investigators. In Social Scenarios where a crime has been committed, innocent persons are willing to open up to you and divulge information you might need.
Scholar (passive): You are able to teach and learn skills and other abilities easily. Roll at advantage when training as part of your rest actions.
Wallflower (passive): You go unnoticed wherever you go. All allies are unaffected by these abilities. No one can remember your face nor any distinguishing characteristics about you even if they saw you. If a target does focus on you, they must make a Social Save at disadvantage to be able to recall information about you. While in a social scenario, you naturally have a Stealth success of three, which cannot be affected by other abilities. Those that do not notice you may be more likely to have very interesting conversations around you, divulging rumors, current events, and plans as they would normally in their given situation, as per GM discretion.

Travel-Focused Utility Abilities

Astronomer (passive): By spending a minute looking at the night sky, you learn the following:

• Which direction is north.
• Your exact location.
• What direction a known location is within 50 miles (5 days travel, 5 tiles--GM's Discretion and Needs). You automatically pass a navigation travel check when traveling toward this destination.

Backpacker (passive): You can carry the world on your shoulders. When calculating equipment, small items cost no equipment slots, medium items cost 1, and large items cost 2. Additionally, you can securely hide one small or medium item that is otherwise undetectable on your person.
Cook (passive): You cook delicious meals regardless of what ingredients are available. During a short or long rest, you can make a meal so long as you have at least 1 plant or 1 animal material. You can feed a number of people equal to your Expertise Score. All who eat may remove gain 5 temporary health and may automatically pass a check of their choosing.
Geologist (passive): The earth and its signs are as readable as a book to you. You are able to identify and appraise metals, minerals, and stone. This ability also allows you to determine how far underground you are, notice worked stone, see odd features like secret doors, and to identify potential hazards such as an unstable stone surfaces.
Wanderer (passive): You always know where to find food, water, and shelter. When making a hunting or scouting check, you roll at advantage. Additionally, when making unsafe sleep checks, you cannot fail or crit fail the roll; these are instead treated as a half pass for your character and your character only.

Combat-Focused Utility Abilities

Brawler (passive): your body and fists are your weapon. Your weapon damage with your fists, other appendages, or other found items is equal to your Fitness Score. Your Armor Rank will always instead equal the armor ranked skill as written on your character sheet in place of the rank granted from worn armor. Your Defense is equal to your Expertise Modifier.
Commander (passive): Through fierce warcries or an inspiring presence, you can lead your team to and from the jaws of death. At the start of combat, all allies that can hear and see you gain temporary health equal to your Speciality Score. Additionally, those nearby you cannot be affected and cease to be affected by disadvantage.
Death Knight (passive): Maverick, the tide of cruel battle fuels the strength behind your blows. When bloodied, you Crit Pass on an 8 and 9. When on Death's Door, your damage is doubled.
Martial Pacifist (energy): You are nonviolent by nature, but when forced to fight, you are adept at defending yourself. When attacked, you can use this ability to parry an attack regardless whether or not you have a weapon or magical abilities. This ability does not apply to damage inflicted from a passed or failed save. You may parry incoming damage equal to either your base weapon damage or 5 (whichever is greater) per energy you spend on this ability. For example, spending two energy could parry 10 damage. When you parry at or over the amount of damage dealt, the target is gains the Surprised status effect until the start of your next turn.
Ranger (passive): Sharpshooter, anything within eyesight is a viable target. you may double the distance for a thrown weaponized item. For Ranged Weapons, you may decrease the start range (to a maximum of 0) and increase the end range by a number equal to 10 multiplied by your Expertise Modifier.
Witch Hunter (passive): You have handles mages before, criminal or otherwise, and you are used to their wiles. You have advantage to attacking a mage. If they cast a spell near you, you may use your reaction to attack them; on a successful attack, they spend the energy to cast the spell, which fails.

Miscellaneous Utility Abilities

Antiquarian (passive): You are accustomed to appraising and identifying artifacts. When you encounter a strange, new, or ancient artifact, you are able to determine the following without needing to make a check:

• its culture of origin
• its usage
• when it was made
• the object for its value

Arms Master (passive): You are used to keeping your team outfitted for battle. You can craft any weapon using 1 metal material; you may increase the rank of the weapon by using 1 metal material per rank. You may do very the same for armor: Light Armor costs 1 Textile, Medium Armor costs 1 Animal, and Heavy Armor costs 1 Metal.
Artist (energy): You are well versed in many arts--prose, poetry, and drawing mediums. Given five minutes, you can sketch an exact and realistic depiction of anything you have seen in the same day. Otherwise, you gain a +2 success to Sleight checks to sketch a person, area (not a map), or object (a map) from memory.
Beast Master (passive): The animals by your side can be in no better hands than yours. When you are adjacent to an animal companion or mount, they make physical saves with advantage so long as you are riding it. Additionally, if the animal companion or mount is targeted by an attack, you may instead make the attack hit you; this works for area of effect spells or hazards that do not require saves.
Healer (passive): You have or will save lives. you gain a +2 success to Aid checks to diagnose illnesses, even corruption. You also heal the max amount per one use of a healer's kit.
Monster Hunter (passive): Your expertise is monsters, what they are, how to find them, and how to hunt them down. You gain advantage to recall any information related to known magical being creature types: you know what corruption makes them--if any, where they lair, their resistances, vulnerabilities, immunities, and other unique means of getting rid of them, like rituals--if any.
Moontouched (passive): You were born in the light of a full moon. You may communicate telepathically with a willing target, who can speak at least one language and is nearby.
Ley-Hearted (passive): Your soul is empowered by volatile primordial magics. When interacting with magical being creature types, you have their favor or will be neutral towards you. If they speak at least one language, many are eager to enter into pacts, deals, and agreements with you should it be beneficial to them as well. Additionally, you are naturally magically charged but at the cost of your health. Your Fitness Score may never increase above 3; in return, Rank 1 and Rank 2 spells don't cost energy to use, and you may learn an additional 3 spells of any school equivalent to your magic ranked skill in addition to any spell granted to you by abilities.
Outrider (energy): Whether on horseback or on an elephant, your beast will obey any command you give it. When riding a creature, you may spend energy and allow your mount may dash, disengage, dodge, help as a bonus action.
Silverglassed (passive): You are steeped in the otherworldly charm of the Silverglass. After five minutes conversing with a willing person, you gain advantage on influence, empathy, and spine checks for that individual. Additionally, you are able to see the dreams of others so long as they are nearby you. When allied targets sleep nearby you, you can send telepathic messages to them that appear as visions; if you are asleep, you can communicate back and forth.
Smith (energy): There is no split shield, bent sword, or broken cuirass that you cannot repair. Given five minutes, you can repair all of a single weapon's or a single armor's flaws so long as you have Smith's Tools.
Tinkerer (passive): You have had to make due with what you have, and it has made you scrappy. When crafting an item, you can freely substitute any one material needed for another material. It is up to the GM's discretion whether or not this substitution is viable or not (for example, Metal and Electronic rations might not feed a person, but they might feed something else).