In Generation, skills and items are enablers. They primarily define what you can do, and what talents you can rely upon when carrying out your plan. Assuming you have a “good enough” skill level, having a greater ability will not enhance the action. If you have questions about the feasibility of a plan, contact the GM team and we'll happily answer questions.

Conflict resolution will primarily be based on the quality of the plan(s) involved, unless neither side has any plan at all.

Each skill comes in three levels that must be purchased in order:

• Competent You have served a basic apprenticeship in the area and are capable of all basic operations involved.
• Expert You have worked in the area for several years and have gained the skill, knowledge and experience to reliably achieve success in more complex operations even under pressure.
• Specialist (free text) You have dedicated several years to mastering a particular aspect of your work, including the theory behind it. This places you foremost in your speciality on the ship. Given the right conditions and supplies, you can attempt the most difficult of tasks in your chosen subject. You may only ever take specialisms within one skill. However, for that skill you may have multiple specialisms.

With the explicit assistance of Computer you can act at the level of Competent even if you don't have the skill. This assistance is generally available if you are in a well connected part of the ship, are not on Computer's bad side, and are not attempting anything that might be construed by Computer as at all dodgy. Computer assistance takes the form of verbal advice or a vision overlay and as such is of limited use in time-critical situations such as combat.

The Academic skill represents your practical knowledge of how to conduct in-depth research into a topic. Unlike other skills it also represents your theoretical knowledge of how the world works; in particular an academic specialism represents theoretical rather than practical knowledge.

• A Competent academic is able to, with access to Computer, find specific answers from the vast databases maintained by Computer. They are additionally aware of the general principles of science and how the world works at a fundamental level, and can draw conclusions based on this knowledge. Well read lay-person.
• An Expert academic is able to, with access to Computer, find the best reference for a particular problem or definitive answer to a specific question. They also have developed the skill at reading large amounts of text requiring a much larger attention span than that of most ship inhabitants who are used to being fed bite-sized chunks of information by Computer. Professional librarian.
• An Academic Specialism is not a more advanced version of an ability present in an expert academic — instead it represents specific expertise in a theoretical area, such as Physics, Chemistry, or the History of the Null-Grav Football Leagues. It conveys no practical expertise in that subject.

Suggested specialisms: Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Anthropology, High Art, The History of the Null-Grav Football Leagues

The Agriculture skill represents your practical knowledge of the tending of such plants, animals, funghi and algae as exist on the ship. See also: Flora and Fauna.

• A Competent agriculturalist is able to, with access to suitable supplies and conditions, tend to common plants and animals required to sustain existence on the ship. Allotment owner.
• An Expert agriculturalist is able to, with access to suitable supplies and conditions, handle sick or ailing plants and animals. They understand more of the underlying principles behind ship-board cultivation and are thus able to reason out how to deal with any more uncommon plants or animals they come across. Farmer.
• An Agriculture Specialism may represent, for example, training as a veterinarian, expertise in breeding prize lizards, or the ability to cultivate unknown plants from seeds seized from a seed bank. Capability Brown.

Suggested specialisms: Hydroponics, Cross-breeding, Veterinarian

The Athletics skill represents your level of physical fitness and your confidence in your ability to perform various athletic feats.

• A Competent athlete has an above-average level of fitness. They are able to run for a while without getting out of breath, or quickly climb up pipes or through ducts. Regular jogger.
• An Expert athlete has trained themselves to a serious level. They can easily carry heavy loads, run long distances, and perform other feats of strength and endurance. Professional footballer.
• An Athletics Specialism represents a combination of natural talent and dedicated training, bringing yourself to the peak of human performance in one particular area. Usain Bolt.

Suggested specialisms: Powerlifting, Competitive sprinting, Extended breath control, Null-Grav Football maneuvers

The Combat skill represents your practical expertise in the use of lethal and non-lethal weapons and tactics. This has limited direct application in most areas of the ship as Computer will usually intervene to break up fights, but some crew of the Asimov train in this anyway.

Note: An effective ambush is likely to involve use of the Stealth skill.

• A Competent fighter can handle themselves in a fight - they may know how to throw a punch or find the safety on a weapon under pressure. Think someone who's had self-defense training, or a street thug.
• An Expert fighter will be capable in a fight and can confidently rely on their skills in most situations. They are likely to be good with weapons, have an effective grasp of small unit tactics, or have reached the level of a black belt in an unarmed martial art. Think soldier.
• A Combat Specialism may represent, for example, extensive training and mastery of a particular class of weapons. Alternatively it might represent more advanced tactics suitable for larger scale combat, or the use of special weapons and tactics for achieving more complicated aims that just taking down the opposition. Think master martial artist, hostage rescue or army general.

Suggested specialisms: Unarmed Combat Mastery, Pacification Devices, Zero-G Fighting, Improvised Weaponry

The Engineering skill represents your practical knowledge of how to maintain and fix parts of the ship's technology, essentially your ability to swap out, repair and combine ship standard components. More unusually your knowledge of parts and their connectors allows you to throw together one-off projects for specific purposes — with or without duct tape.

Note: To make whatever you produce look pretty will require the Artistic quirk.

• A Competent engineer is able to, with access to suitable supplies and conditions, disassemble, clean, reassemble, resolder and reweld ship parts in order to effect the repair, installation or reconfiguration of basic ship systems. Think jack of all trades plumber-electrician-builder.
• An Expert engineer is able to, with access to suitable supplies and conditions, configure, repair, install complex ship systems. With some amount of ingenuity they are also able to repurpose parts towards jobs for which they were not intended (say, that industrial mining laser looks like it could be adapted to provide a nice close shave!). Tuning of ship technology to achieve higher performance than normal is also possible. Think manufacturer's repairman.
• An Engineering Specialism may represent, for example, close familiarity with a particular type of ship system, or an understanding of the more difficult theories behind how Zero-G manufactories actually work internally. Some particular ship systems require specialist knowledge to be properly maintained or modified without it blowing up in your face (can you say radiation poisoning?). You are likely to be able to solve basic problems through application of a small amount of force to exactly the right location. Think McGyver (only believable), or Scotty (he clearly has multiple specialisms).

Suggested specialisms: Juryrigger, Scavenger, Electronic Engineer, Zero-G Engineer, Manufacturing Engineer

The Exploration skill represents your practical knowledge of how to explore the ship in a safe and repeatable fashion, as well as your understanding of principles of ship design that can guide you in unfamiliar territory.

• A Competent explorer is able to, with access to suitable supplies and conditions, avoid getting lost in the more confusing of sector layouts through application of the basic principles of ship board navigation. They can interpret most simple maps of the ship, and are aware of basic dangers that can be encountered when exploring less-used parts of the ship. Think your basic boy scout.
• An Expert explorer has a good general knowledge of the ship's main thoroughfares, knows the quickest and/or safest routes between places, and can pick decent shortcuts in unfamiliar areas of the ship. They are also good at guessing how an unexplored region might be laid out. Through experience they have learned to estimate how close the central axis they are from apparent gravity, and have developed a sense for which direction is spinwards. Given a map of how the ship was built they are able to extrapolate hidden areas of their current locality. They can identify and circumvent safely many common dangers found when exploring less used parts of the ship. Think a professional trek leader or surveyor.
• An Exploring Specialism may represent, for example, the ability to recall and draw detailed maps from memory, the ability to navigate a particular type of terrain well avoiding all dangers. or knowledge of where to seek supplies in unknown parts of the ship. Think Indiana Jones or Crocodile Hunter.

Suggested specialisms: Ductrunner, Cartographer, Mental map, Hidden Routes:Green Sector

The Hacking skill represents your practical knowledge of how to manipulate the regular, low-level computer systems on board ship into doing what you want.

Note: Attempting to directly hack or crack Computer (the ship AI) is likely to lead to bad things happening to you — it is smarter than you are, and controls the life support.

• A Competent hacker is able to, with suitable access and conditions, perform basic programming using standard routines (e.g. switch the lights on when I clap my hands) that affect the local compartment. Script kiddie.
• An Expert hacker is able to perform more advanced programming using some non-standard routines (e.g. perform several complex actions to make breakfast if X enters, and to poison it if Y is also present), and to impose this programming on multiple compartments from a remote location if a suitable setup has been arranged. Russian cracker.
• A Hacking Specialism may represent, for example, the ability to track another hacker who is interfering with their systems, or alternatively to conceal their interference with a particular system. Alternatively the ability to quickly and completely subvert a particular type of system, or to negotiate with Computer for special favours using knowledge of its behaviour. Trinity.

Suggested specialisms: Subversion, Programming, Stealth, Computer Diplomacy

The Larceny skill represents your practical knowledge of how to bypass physical and social protections often applied to prevent theft. The ability to pick locks, escape confinement, locate weak points and bypass alarm systems.

Note: To control rather than disconnect alarm systems, look also to the Hacking skill.

• A Competent thief is able to, with access to suitable supplies and conditions, palm a small object, find an open ventilation duct, spot obvious protections and have the timing required to steal relatively unprotected items. Think your average opportunist.
• An Expert thief might be able to lift a small item from a mark’s jacket, disconnect basic alarm systems, and break into most access panels without tripping any intrusion sensor. Think a professional burglar.
• A Larceny Specialism may represent, for example, your expertise in safe-cracking or picking the correct ventilation ducts to climb into a compartment without any of the occupants noticing. Thomas Crown.

Suggested specialisms: : Lock-picking, Bypassing alarms, Escaping confinement

The Medical skill represents your practical knowledge of the human body and how to fix (or break) it through the application of medicine.

• A Competent medic is able to, with access to suitable supplies and conditions, perform first aid for non-life threatening injuries, or recognize and treat common minor ailments. Similar to an advanced first aider.
  
• An Expert medic is able to treat many life-threatening injuries successfully given good supplies and sterile conditions in which to work. They are able to recognize and treat most ailments. Similar to a paramedic or pharmacist.
  
• A Medical Specialism may represent, for example, training in a surgical specialism, psychiatry or how to inflict the maximum amount of pain on the victim without killing them. Similar to a hospital consultant

Suggested specialisms: Trauma Surgeon, Psychologist, General Practitioner, Pain Technician

The Social skill represents your practical knowledge of how to interact with others and their likely response to an event.

Note: We can't make other players recognise your charisma — you'll have to dazzle them with your sparkling wit on your own. This skill primarily influences NPCs, and applies to downtime actions.

• A Competent socialite is able to, under suitable conditions, avoid many social faux pas through an understanding of common manners in various ship-based groups and a basic understanding of the psychology of social interaction. One of the cool kids.
• An Expert socialite is able to project a charismatic and confident outlook allowing them to convince or educate people in an effective fashion. Through careful study of a subject they are able to gain an insight into their motivation and spot tells if someone is lying. A professional manipulator.
• A Social Specialism may represent, for example, the ability to read a person's motivations and attitudes from subtle body language, to effectively impersonate someone, to lie in a truly convincing fashion or the understanding of what particular sector of society. A master statesman, a fantastic con-man.

Suggested specialisms: Teacher, Orator, Police Officer, Actor, Con-man, Anthropologist:Green Sector

The Stealth skill represents your practical knowledge of physical stealth. The ability to sneak past guards, to avoid being seen if you don't want to, to disguise yourself and to identify good ambush locations.

Note: Bypassing electronic sensors uses the Larceny skill.
Note: To gain significant tactical advantage from an ambush you will also need the Combat skill.

• A Competent sneak is able to, with access to suitable supplies and conditions, hide in shadows, find hiding places or hidden vantage points and to pick out a spot for a basic ambush. Think street urchin.
• An Expert sneak is able to, with access to suitable supplies and conditions, follow a person who isn't taking extreme measures, conduct good surveillance of a target location, and to escape successfully into a crowd. Think private investigator or professional thief.
• A Stealth Specialism may represent, for example, particular aptitude for hiding in different types of environment, impersonation, scouting out any sentry locations or finding good ambush hiding places for large groups of men. Think Sam Fisher, Solid Snake or one of the shinobi.

Suggested specialisms: Impersonation, Camouflage, Scouting, Ambush