Admin represents competence with bureaucracy, institutional procedure, permits, records, procurement, official systems, and administrative processes.

Use KNW to recall regulations or procedures, EXP to navigate how an organization actually works, or PRE when status, confidence, or institutional interaction is central to the attempt.

Advocate represents professional competence with law, contracts, evidence, warrants, hearings, legal procedure, and questions of jurisdiction.

Use KNW for law and precedent, EXP for practical legal judgment, or PRE when presenting an argument, confronting an official, or addressing a tribunal.

Animals covers practical and technical work involving animals, including handling, training, riding, veterinary care, and farming.

Use AGI for riding or physical handling, EXP for practiced animal work, KNW for veterinary or biological understanding, or PRE when controlling or calming an animal depends on bearing.

Art covers creative performance, expression, composition, and production across a range of artistic forms.

Use AGI for precision performance, PRE for emotional impact or stage presence, EXP for practiced craft, or KNW for theory, history, technique, or formal composition.

Astrogation covers interplanetary navigation, orbital calculations, route analysis, and plotting travel through jump corridors.

Use KNW for calculations, charts, and navigation theory, or EXP when practical judgment, incomplete data, unusual conditions, or operational experience matter most.

Athletics represents trained physical movement, strength, coordination, conditioning, and sustained exertion.

Use STR when force or load is central, AGI for balance, speed, coordination, or precision movement, and GRT when the question is whether the character can keep going.

Battle Dress represents training in operating powered combat armour and its integrated movement, protection, sensor, and support systems.

Use STR for heavy physical control, AGI for movement and precision, EXP for practical operation, or KNW for system configuration and technical understanding.

Broker covers markets, valuation, commercial negotiation, cargo purchasing, sales, and recognizing advantageous or dangerous deals.

Use KNW for market information and valuation, EXP for practical commercial judgment, or PRE when negotiation depends primarily on personal influence.

Carouse covers informal social interaction, building rapport, finding rumors, navigating nightlife, and fitting into casual social environments.

Use PRE to make an impression or build rapport, EXP to read the social environment, or GRT when endurance, composure, or persistence becomes important.

Deception covers lying, disguise, impersonation, misdirection, concealment, and deliberately causing another person to accept a false impression.

Use PRE for convincing performance, EXP for constructing a plausible deception, or AGI when disguise, sleight, or physical concealment is central.

Diplomat covers formal negotiation, protocol, mediation, diplomatic procedure, and agreements between institutions or factions.

Use PRE for personal influence, KNW for protocol and political context, or EXP for practical negotiation and mediation judgment.

Drive covers the operation of ground vehicles under ordinary, hazardous, damaged, or high-performance conditions.

Use AGI for handling and rapid control, EXP for experienced operation and difficult judgment, or KNW for systems, regulations, and technical procedure.

Electronics covers communications, computers, remote systems, sensors, electronic security, diagnostics, and manipulation of electronic equipment.

Use AGI for delicate physical manipulation, KNW for technical principles, programming, and analysis, or EXP for diagnostics, troubleshooting, and practical field work.

Engineer represents professional competence in operating, diagnosing, maintaining, and repairing spacecraft systems.

Use KNW to understand specifications and theory, EXP to diagnose failures and improvise practical solutions, or AGI when precise physical work is the primary challenge.

Explosives covers identifying, constructing, placing, using, neutralizing, and safely handling explosive devices and materials.

Use AGI for precise manipulation, KNW for chemistry, design, and technical understanding, or EXP for practical disposal, placement, and field judgment.

Flyer covers operation of atmospheric flight vehicles and related aircraft.

Use AGI for active control and maneuvering, EXP for practical flight judgment, or KNW for procedures, systems, and flight theory.

Gambler covers games of chance, odds, wagers, bluffing, recognizing cheating, and understanding how people behave around risk.

Use EXP for reading play and recognizing patterns, PRE for bluffing, or KNW for probability and formal analysis.

Gun Combat represents training in using, handling, maintaining, and safely operating personal ranged weapons.

Use AGI for aim, timing, and weapon control, EXP for practical combat judgment, or KNW for maintenance, identification, and technical procedure.

Gunner covers operation of spacecraft weapons, fire-control systems, defensive systems, and related combat equipment.

Use AGI for precise or rapid control, EXP for tactical weapon operation, or KNW for fire-control systems, targeting theory, and technical procedure.

Heavy Weapons covers crew-served weapons, support weapons, artillery systems, launchers, and other weapons beyond ordinary personal arms.

Use STR for controlling or moving heavy systems, AGI for precise operation, EXP for field employment, or KNW for technical and ballistic understanding.

Investigate covers gathering and interpreting evidence, conducting interviews, reconstructing timelines, identifying contradictions, and applying forensic reasoning.

Use KNW for formal methods and evidence interpretation, EXP to recognize patterns or inconsistencies, or PRE when interviewing or eliciting information from people.

Jack of All Trades represents broad practical adaptability when attempting work outside the character's normal training.

Its function is most closely associated with EXP: practical judgment, improvisation, pattern recognition, and the ability to transfer experience from one field to another.

Language represents learned communication in a specific language, including vocabulary, grammar, interpretation, and relevant cultural context.

Use KNW for comprehension and translation, PRE for expressive communication, or EXP when practical cultural familiarity and idiom matter.

Leadership covers directing, coordinating, steadying, motivating, and organizing people during routine work or crisis.

Use PRE to command attention or inspire action, EXP to organize people effectively, or GRT when maintaining discipline or resolve under pressure.

Marine Operations covers operation of surface vessels, submarines, submersibles, sailing vessels, and specialized marine craft.

Use AGI for vessel handling, EXP for seamanship and operational judgment, or KNW for systems, navigation procedures, and technical understanding.

Mechanic covers inspection, maintenance, diagnosis, repair, modification, and practical operation of machinery, tools, weapons, and vehicles.

Use STR when force is required, AGI for precision work, EXP for troubleshooting and repair judgment, or KNW for technical principles and documentation.

Medic covers diagnosis, first aid, treatment, surgery, patient management, and professional medical care.

Use KNW for diagnosis and medical understanding, EXP for clinical judgment, AGI for delicate procedures, or GRT when continuing care under extreme pressure is the challenge.

Melee covers unarmed combat, natural attacks, and the trained use of close-combat weapons.

Use STR when power dominates, AGI for speed, timing, or precision, or EXP when practiced technique and combat judgment matter most.

Navigation covers determining position, direction, route, and travel planning across planetary, wilderness, maritime, and other surface environments.

Use KNW for charts, maps, calculations, and formal methods, or EXP when terrain reading, judgment, and accumulated travel experience are more important.

Persuade covers securing voluntary cooperation through argument, appeal, negotiation, pressure, explanation, or personal influence.

Use PRE when force of personality matters, EXP when reading the person or situation matters, or KNW when the argument depends on facts, evidence, or technical understanding.

Pilot covers operating small craft, spacecraft, and capital ships, including ordinary flight, docking, maneuvering, and emergency handling.

Use AGI for precision control, EXP for practical piloting judgment, or KNW for systems, procedures, and flight calculations.

Profession represents competence in a defined occupation, vocation, or trade not already covered by another RED-SHIFT Skill.

Use EXP for practical professional work, KNW for formal occupational knowledge, or PRE when professional interaction, authority, or client relations matter.

Rail Operations covers operation of conventional rail, high-speed rail, maglev, cable systems, industrial guideways, and launch-rail systems.

Use AGI for direct control, EXP for operating judgment and abnormal conditions, or KNW for procedures, signaling, systems, and technical requirements.

Recon covers observation, threat detection, surveillance, reconnaissance, situational awareness, and recognizing important details before they become immediate problems.

Use AGI for active movement and positioning, EXP to recognize what matters, KNW to identify what is observed, or GRT for prolonged concentration and watchkeeping.

Science represents formal scientific training, analysis, research methods, interpretation of evidence, and competence within a specific academic or scientific discipline.

Use KNW for theory, recall, research, and formal analysis, or EXP for field judgment, experimental practice, interpretation of imperfect evidence, and applied scientific work.

Seafarer covers practical operation and handling of surface vessels, sailing vessels, motorboats, ocean-going ships, and submarines.

Use AGI for vessel handling, EXP for seamanship and practical judgment, or KNW for procedures, navigation information, and systems.

Spaceflight covers practical spacecraft operations in normal space and through jump-corridor travel.

Use AGI for direct control, EXP for operational judgment, or KNW for procedures, systems, and technical understanding.

Stealth covers avoiding detection, hiding, concealment, quiet movement, and controlling how noticeable the character is.

Use AGI for careful movement, EXP for selecting routes, timing, and concealment, or PRE when avoiding attention depends on controlling behavior, expression, or social presence rather than physical hiding.

Steward covers passenger care, hospitality, shipboard service, welfare, scheduling, and the practical management of people being transported or housed.

Use PRE for passenger interaction, EXP for practical service management, or KNW for procedures, regulations, and specialized requirements.

Streetwise covers informal networks, criminal markets, local contacts, unofficial systems, and practical survival within complex urban or marginal communities.

Use EXP to understand how things really work, PRE to deal with people and establish credibility, or KNW for known groups, places, customs, or local information.

Survival covers securing shelter, water, and food, dealing with exposure, tracking, environmental hazards, and remaining functional in hostile or unsupported conditions.

Use EXP for practical fieldcraft, GRT for persistence through hardship, or KNW for environmental information, hazards, and known survival procedures.

Tactics covers planning, analyzing, and coordinating military, security, or naval action.

Use EXP for battlefield or operational judgment, KNW for doctrine and formal analysis, or PRE when effectively directing people is part of the tactical problem.