Perception (Cunning)

PERCEPTION (CUNNING)

Characters must often maintain a careful awareness of their environment. Subtle cues can hint at imminent danger or unexpected advantage. The Perception skill represents the character’s constant, passive state of awareness. This is how a character notices concealed or subtle cues when he is not actively seeking them out. The skill is critical for anyone who faces dangers on a regular basis—whether they are in the wilds of a frontier world or among the urban jungle of a sprawling city.

Note that Perception encompasses all of a character’s natural senses. Humans without cybernetic augmentation are limited to five. However, many alien races have additional means to perceive their surroundings.

• If a character is unprepared for a trap or an ambush, he may have an opportunity to make a Perception check to avoid being surprised. Alternatively, this might oppose an attacker’s Stealth check.
• Opposed Skulduggery checks are often opposed by a target’s Perception.
• Perception may be checked any time the character has an opportunity to notice a subtle clue— an overheard conversation, the telltale scent of explosive materials, or a drug introduced to their beverage.
• Perception can be used in surveillance situations, in which the user is trying to observe an unaware target from a distance.

Perception may be opposed by skills used for concealment, or it might have a difficulty set by the environment. The noise of a loud factory could conceal a conversation, just as a spicy drink might prevent a character from noticing a poison.

Extra Success on a Perception check may be spent to reveal additional details. Perhaps the character recognized the speaker’s accent, the flash-burns from a certain kind of blast, or the number of attackers lying in ambush.

An Advantage may be spent to recall additional information associated with the object noticed. Perhaps a passing familiarity with a field of study represents the reason why the character initially realized that something was out of place. A Triumph may be spent to notice details that could be useful later, allowing characters can gain a Boost on future interactions with the noticed element.

Threat resulting from a Perception check may be spent by the GM to conceal a vital detail about the situation or environment from the character. A Despair may be spent to cause the character to obtain false information about his surroundings or the target in question.