Current Affairs
Name
Current Affairs
Skill Attribute & Difficulty
Int - Easy
Defaults
6+Int, Research-4
Prerequisites
None
Description
This is the ability to assimilate quickly whatever qualifies as “news” in your world, and to recall it as needed. You must specialize in one of the following areas:
Specializations
- Business: Exchange rates, investment performance, etc.
Headline News: Usually bad news, such as assassinations, plagues, and wars.
High Culture: Information on galleries, operas, symphonies, and so forth.
People: The names of and gossip on celebrities, heads of state, and the like.
Politics: Election results, international treaties, etc.
Popular Culture: Hit songs, cool fashions, and hot products, among other things.
Regional: News of all kinds for a specific region (pick one). This is the definitive “town crier” skill at low TLs.
Science & Technology: New discoveries and inventions.
Sports: Scores for recent matches, names of star athletes, etc.
Travel: Where the “beautiful people” are going this year, and how much it all costs.
These specialties default to one another at -4. It is hard to bone up on one kind of news without learning about all the others!
On a successful Current Affairs roll, the GM will inform you of any news within your specialty that pertains to the current adventure (possibly including clues, on a good roll) or give you a small skill bonus (e.g., a success on Current Affairs (Sports) might give +1 to Gambling skill when betting on a boxing match).
Modifiers
-1 per day that you have been unable to access news media; -3 if you only have one source; +1 or more for “inside” access to the news (a subscription to an ordinary wire service is worth +1, while a job at an intelligence agency might give +3 or more).
