=== Combat skills ===
[[Combat skills]] are grouped into subcategories and reflect your character's level of skill and proficiency with the corresponding type of weapon. In total, there are '''2930''' combat skills grouped into three subcategories: '''Firearms''' (11 skills), '''Heavy weapons''' (4 skills), and '''Melee/Other weapons''' (14 15 skills).
'''Firearms'''
* Thrown weapons
* Martial arts
'''Shields'''
* Shields
=== Non-combat skills ===
You start out at Level 1 (Unskilled) in every skill, and you must reach a certain amount of Skill Points to increase your skill level. Every skill has five levels, in order from level 1 to level 5: Unskilled, Basic, Skilled, Expert, and Master.
All combat skills (except [[Shields]]) have the same thresholds: 10 SP to reach Basic, 25 SP to reach Skilled, 50 SP to reach Expert, and 100 SP to reach Master.* [[Shields]] work differently due to being both useful as combat and non-combat tools: 50 SP to reach Basic, 100 SP to reach Skilled, 200 SP to reach Expert, 400 SP to reach Master.
Non-combat skills have different requirements and thresholds.
When spending skill creation points on combat skills, you will obtain Training Points (TP) for them in return. 10 Training Points are worth 1 Skill Point. Training Points are normally earned through training exercises in the game, and you cannot get more than 250 TP per combat skill - just enough to reach Skilled, and no more. There is only so much experience your character can get by training; you must be on the field to progress any further.
* If you are purchasing Training Points for the [[Shields]] skill, the maximum number of Training Points is '''1000'''. For each '''1 skill creation point''' spent, you get '''125 TP'''.
When spending skill creation points on non-combat skills, you will be buying a certain skill level directly. If your GM has locked certain non-combat skills, your character will be Level 0 (Unaware) in these skills, and you cannot progress at all to Level 1 until you buy access to the skill (if your GM allows it) or unlock the skill during a session. The recommended cost of unlocking a locked skill is 1 point.
Unless the campaign is supposed to start with them naked and defenseless, every character should have at least a few pieces of gear in their starting inventory.
At the very least, [[clothing and armor]], some [[load-bearing equipment]], and at least one or two [[weapons]] (preferably weapons that match your character'sskills), plus [[weapon accessory|accessories]] and [[ammunition]] as needed. Extra stuff, such as [[food]], [[meds]], or items necessary for non-combat skills (e.g. [[Crafting items|lockpicking kits]]), should also be considered.
The recommended method of equipment attribution is for the GM to set a monetary budget, and let the players peruse this very wiki to pick and choose their starting gear themselves. Any left-over or unused money should be turned into cash for the character to carry, or added to the character's bank account. Specific restrictions on types of items should also be introduced, in order to avoid min-maxing for the best equipment right from the beginning, and generally to prevent starting characters from getting 'too good' gear.
* GMs can take out the "choice" part entirely and simply assign new characters standard-issue equipment. Ideal for military or police-themed campaigns.
* The sky is the limit! If you have other ideas entirely, run with it!
= Building the character sheet =