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Much like Fighting Styles, the purpose of Skill Mastery merits is to increase the options available to characters whose primary role is not combat related, giving them many of the same cool 'special abilities and manuevers' that warriors get out of Fighting Skills. In this way, Skill Mastery merits are outlined similarly, being 4 or 5 dot merits where each particular dot gives you a new named capability. Much like Fighting Styles enhance the abilities of Brawl, Weaponry, and Firearms skills in combat, these Skill Mastery's will allow your characters to perform amazing feats in their chosen specialities.
Skill Mastery: Hacker (* to ****)
Prerequisites: Wits 3, Intelligence 2, and Computer 2
Effect: You are a skilled and mastery Hacker, "Elite", able to pry through even the toughest defenses.
Second Chance (*): You know your way around systems, and have access to tricks that those less skilled than you would never even be able to think up in order to get into a system - or kick some schmuck out. Whenever you loose a extended hacking contest, you can immediately spend a willpower point in order to clear all accumulated successes and begin again. If your opponent doesn't have this merit, you gain a +3 to your first roll in the contest to reflect his surprise at your unexpected tactics.
Prying the Door (**): After you've successfully penetrated a computer system or other network, you can leave yourself a backdoor back into it for later use. This is a simple Intelligence + Computer roll, with no bonuses. If successful, you gain a +3 bonus on any future Hacking rolls against the network that you compromised. A system administrator attempting to clean out such backdoors has to make an extended Wits + Computer roll and accumulate a number of successes equal to the Hacker's Computer skill + Hacker merit. However, before he can do such, a system administrator has to suspect that such a backdoor exists. Replacing the network all together will also erase the backdoor bonus.
Rerouting (***): You've learned the true value of anonymity and can be a ghost on the web. When you put the effort into it, it's incredibly difficult to follow your electronic trail and find out any hard information about your various electronic actions. Instead the convoluted trail just leads from false IP address to false IP address, whirling through an electronic bedlam that's near impossible to navigate. Whenever you initiate a computer action that you wish to Reroute, you take a -1 penality to the dice roll for that action. Anyone attempting to trace that action back to you in any way takes a dice penality equal to your computer skill.
Stealth Hacking (****): In most cases, a skilled System Administrator can spot someone messing around with his system. However, a Hacker with this penultimate ability can often manage to sneak his activities past even the most competent of overseers. Prior to engaging in an extended hacking contest, a hacker with this merit can choose to make a contested stealth action to hide his actions and avoid any confrontation with the system administrator. Each side rolls Wits + Computer, with the person scoring the most successes winning the contest. If this is the hacker, his hacking contest proceeds as if their wasn't a system administrator on duty at all. Drawback: If the system administrator wins this contest, the stealth attempt backfires, and the hacker takes a -3 penality to all his rolls during the extended hacking contest to follow as a result of his botched attempt at stealth.
Driving Style: Stunt Driving (* to ****)
Prerequisites: Resolve 3, Dexterity 2, and Drive 2
Effect: You have mastered a number of techniques used by stunt men in the field.
Backwards is the New Forward (*): You can drive backwards as easily as going forwards, though both Safe and Maximum Speeds are halved for this purpose.
Flight of the General Lee (**): You've discovered how to jump a car with minimal scrapes and scratches. As well, with a reflexive Resolve + Driving roll, you can quickly identify all potential avenues of taking to the air within your line of sight.
Two-Wheeled Driver (***): You can drive on two wheels with a reflexive Dexterity + Drive roll each minute of driving, though getting up on two wheels requires a ramp or way up such as those identified with Flight of the General Lee. Returning to four wheels is a reflexive and automatic action.
Push and Shove (****): You're experienced in the methods and ways of pushing someone out of control, even if you're the one being rammed. Should you be rammed or ram someone, they must immediately make a Dexterity + Drive roll to stay in control.
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