Attributes represent your character’s raw potential, but skills represent the experience and training she’s received throughout her life — both mortal and immortal. A character with high skills is well-educated or has a great deal of knowledge about the world. A character with low skills might be naive, sheltered, or uneducated.

Aside from the lack of automobiles, most of the skills detailed in (Mind's Eye Theatre) Vampire: The Masquerade are well-suited to the Victorian Era. While medical practices have certainly advanced over the years, a character with three dots of the Medicine skill is still a character with three dots of the Medicine skill regardless of which era she happens to be found it. Likewise, the Investigation skill functions in fundamentally the same manner as far as game mechanics go, regardless of what changes have been made to investigate techniques over the years.

Nonetheless, some changes are necessary to accurately reflect the realities of the Victorian age. For one thing, no character possesses the Drive skill, since automobiles at this point remain idle (and somewhat impractical) playthings of the rich. While the Drive skill is unavailable (see instead: Ride), other skills, meanwhile, see much more use. It is far less suspicious (or expensive) to practice the Melee skill. A great many people earn their livelihood through use of the Crafts skill, since the average worker is still cheaper to employ than many factory machines. Horses are everywhere in a Victorian city and require daily upkeep and trained operators to avoid mishaps.

Short-form theatrics, flirtatious dances and Gilbert and Sullivan operettas are some popular forms of Performance. Wax impressions of keys are a contemporary application of the Security skill. Dog and horse breeding is popular among the aristocracy and could make characters skilled in Animal Ken quite wealthy. The Computer skill is now the Enigmas skill. Most characters will not have such knowledge during this era. Those who do are most likely in the business of knowing things or are affiliated with a university.

While many people are capable of reading some common words and providing their signature when necessary, true, functional literacy by modern standards is not especially common in the Victorian world. Without a dot in Academics or the Literacy Merit, characters are illiterate. The organizational methods of colleges and universities currently implemented will last another century or more, but public school does not exist and would not be considered a useful venture by much of the upper class. Some poor or downtrodden souls may find education through charity, but that is unlikely. Most Victorian citizens are effectively illiterate and will die that way, around the age of 45.

Skills are more likely to be learned through apprenticeship or hands-on training. Lifelong careers are far more common, then, because experience is the most reliable means of developing skilled labourers.

Skill Descriptions
The following skills are available to your character.

Many items can be purchased as fields of study under one or more skills. For example, a character who is an architect might purchase Science: Architecture, Crafts: Architecture or even Occult: Architecture, depending on how the character was educated in that field, what she chose to pursue as an interest, or how she intends to apply her knowledge within the game.

Without a dot in Academics, characters are illiterate.

Education on academic topics comes from a variety of sources, from boarding schools and universities to private tutors and secret libraries. In addition to its obvious applications, Academics can be used socially in gentleman's clubs, parlours and salons and at university to impress audiences or win grants from the wealthy elite. The oldest Kindred possess dots in Academics because they were present for the events in question. This knowledge may be necessary to outmanoeuvre them in the Jyhad.

• Student: You are literate. You may be able to recite important passages from the classics you read in boarding school. Perhaps you read the Daily Telegraph.
• • College: You understand important passages from the classics, read books for leisure and subscribe to The Times.
• • • Masters: You understand artistic trends, both historical and modern, and keep up with the new social sciences. You could be published.
• • • • Doctorate: You may teach or lecture and are sometimes invited to university and museum social functions for intellectuals and poseurs.
• • • • • Scholar: You are recognised through out the Empire as one of civilisation's great minds.

Possessed by: Professors, Bohemians, Patrons, Elders, the Elite
Used in: Egyptology, the American Revolution, Comparative Mythology, the Pre-Raphaelites, Royal Geographic Expeditions

System: Once per night, a character with Academics may spend 10 minutes in study. Thereafter, she may retest a single static (non-combat) challenge without using Willpower. This retest must be relevant to one of the character’s specific Academics categories.

You know how to handle animals, and you understand their behaviour. You know how to calm an animal, care for it, and train it to perform certain tricks or obey commands. You also know how to panic or enrage an animal, when necessary. The Animal Ken skill also makes hunting animals much easier, allowing a vampire to temporarily hide the predatory aura of the Beast long enough to close in on unwitting prey.

System: Animals are instinctively afraid of vampires and react poorly when one is nearby. With knowledge of Animal Ken, the sight or smell of your character no longer stirs an animal’s fight or-flight instincts. Animals retain a healthy respect for the vampire’s predatory nature, but will not react unusually to her presence. Additionally, a character with the Animal Ken skill has knowledge of the Beast and is able to use it to alleviate other characters’ Beast traits. By talking to a character for 10 minutes, you may calm her Beast and remove a single Beast trait. No character can be targeted with more than one successful application of Animal Ken per game. Your character cannot use this skill on herself to remove her own Beast traits.

You have a knack for athletic endeavours. You are good at sports, and have often participated in physical competitions. This skill is useful when attempting physical activities or sports, when fighting with thrown weapons, or when using a bow.

System: Athletics allows a character to swim, climb, or jump as a simple action, rather than a standard action. Additionally, characters with the Athletics ability may use combat manoeuvres as appropriate when fighting with thrown weapons or when shooting a bow.

Your senses are keen, and you are trained to notice unusual things in your environment. You also have visceral reactions to the presence of the supernatural, such as a headache or a strange feeling in the pit of your stomach.

System: Awareness allows a character to have a chance to notice supernatural powers being used nearby (see Chapter Six: Core Systems, Noticing Attacks on page 281). Additionally, when a character with Awareness is in torpor, she may control her thoughts and use powers that only affect herself while in that state. Another character with Telepathy may communicate with this individual, as the mind is fully functional within the torpid form.

You have been trained to fight, and know how to use your body in hand-to-hand combat. You might have military training, you might have been trained in the martial arts, or maybe you grew up with a lot of rough-and-tumble siblings. Whatever the case, you know how to dish out damage with your fists and feet.

System: Characters with Brawl may use appropriate combat manoeuvres when engaging in unarmed combat. For information on combat manoeuvres see Chapter Six: Core Systems, page 280.

You are artistically talented and have the training or experience needed to create art or build items. You can create beautiful and expensive objects. When you choose the Crafts skill you must choose a specific field of study, such as clockwork, blacksmithing, calligraphy, poetry, or anything appropriate. Note that some artistic fields are better represented under the Performance skill. You may buy this skill multiple times, each with a different field of study.

System: A character with the Crafts skill may temporarily increase her Resources by spending 2 downtime actions (one to craft the item and one to sell the item). This increases the character’s Resources background by 1 for a month, even if the character does not have current dots in the Resources background, up to a maximum of 5. (For more information on downtimes, see Chapter Seven: Dramatic Systems, page 307.)

When trouble rears its ugly head, you know how to get out of its way. Quick reactions let you evade blows and shots, preventing injury. You can use Dodge to attempt to evade an attack that you’re aware of, such as diving for cover as someone fires a gun or twisting away from a sword.

System: Characters with the Dodge skill may choose to sacrifice their standard action to increase one Dodge test pool this round by +2. Additionally, if your character is caught in an area-effect attack (like an explosion) you may make a Dodge test (difficulty 8) to reduce the damage suffered by 1. For more information about Dodge test pools see Chapter Six: Core Systems, page 274.

A character trained in Empathy tends to be educated in fields such as psychology, anthropology, or other aspects of human interaction and culture. Such characters are sensitive to the moods, emotions, and motives of other people, and can identify when someone has mental problems, psychological weaknesses, or buried issues.

System: By speaking briefly with a subject, your character learns whether or not the subject has any derangements. If your character examines her target for a few minutes, she can determine which derangement(s) the target has. If your character is aware of a target’s derangement, she can spend a standard action to increase or decrease her Derangement traits by 1 (minimum 0, maximum 3) for an hour. Empathy cannot reduce a Malkavian’s Derangement traits below 1. You cannot use Empathy on yourself.

Useful to both scientists and academics, this knowledge skill represents a knack for answering riddles and puzzling out posers. The secrets of science and history must often be sorted out before their respective fields can rationally approach them. Dots in this skill indicate a character is capable of getting her head around complex concepts outside of any specific field. It is a measure of logical prowss used to make sense of forgotten languages, experimental forumulas and unfamiliar algorithms, whether intentionally disguised or heretofore unknown. Aptitude with Enigmas requires a flexible mind and great patience.

• Novice: You are good at the puzzles in newspapers.
•• Practiced: You can tackle large, complex puzzles with time.
••• Competent: You recognise, solve and explain riddles with ease.
•••• Expert: You identify and answer riddles that may have gone unnoticed for centuries.
••••• Master: You can find codes in gibberish and patterns in chaos.

Possessed by: Mystics, Doomsayers, Spies, Paranoids, Gamblers
Used in: Old English Riddle-Poems, Codebreaking, Punch Cards, Algorithms, Hieroglyphs

System: A character with Enigmas, may, once per hour, ask an ST for a clue that relates specifically to a riddle, puzzle, cryptic message, formula or algorithm that appears in an ST-driven plot. At the discretion of the players involved, this skill may also be used to ask for similar hints for riddles and cryptic messages created by players independent of the narrative ST plots.

You have been trained to handle a wide variety of firearms, from holdout pistols to heavy machine guns. You can clean, repair, recognize,  accurately fire most forms of simple modern weaponry.

System: Characters with the Firearms ability may use appropriate combat manoeuvres when engaging in ranged combat. For information on combat manoeuvres see Chapter Six: Core Systems, page 280.

You’re good at being fearsome and have often used this talent to terrify others or cow them to your will. Your tactics might be based on your physical size, fighting prowess, reputation, or just knowing how to push someone’s buttons and play on her fears.

System: A character with the Intimidation skill is extremely frightening. Stock NPCs (including Retainers) with a rating of 1 or 2 will not attack a character with the Intimidation skill. If your character acts aggressively towards a 1 or 2 point NPC, it will flee. This behaviour does not apply to mindless Stock NPCs, such as inanimate objects given life by magic or mindless zombies.

It takes a great deal of training to be a good investigator. You have that education and the experience to use it. You notice subtleties and can connect disparate pieces of information. With effort, you can set a jumbled mass of data into patterns,
 clues that others would have overlooked.

System: Use a standard action to visually scrutinize an individual within three steps, or use three standard actions to examine a room or small area. You automatically detect any carried weapons (even beneath clothing), explosives, or hidden objects. Items with the Concealable quality are automatically noticed only if you physically pat down or search the target.

Leadership is a combination of authority, strategic thinking, and the understanding of team dynamics. It combines the ability to motivate people with the resourcefulness to draft a successful plan. Even when you are among strangers, you can command attention and gain respect.

System: Stock NPCs who are following your character’s instruction receive a +2 to any action they are otherwise capable of doing. In addition, for each dot of Leadership your character possesses, you can learn the details of another vampire’s specific status trait, once per night. (For more information, see Chapter Seven: Dramatic Systems, Status and Vampire Society on page 310)

Most people have a fluent command of one language: their native tongue. If a character has no dots in Linguistics, then she can only communicate in her native language. Other individuals make a diligent effort to learn multiple languages, and through study, master quite a few.

System: For every dot of Linguistics that a character possesses (including the first), she is fluent in one language, in addition to her native tongue.

Choosing Skills
Choose the skills that best reflect your character’s education and experiences, and assign starting dots to those skills as follows:

Choose one skill and fill in the first 4 dots of that skill.
Choose two skills and fill in the first 3 dots of those skills.
Choose three skills and fill in the first 2 dots of those skills
Choose four skills and fill in the first dot of those skills.

• Novice: You have learned the fundamentals of
this field of knowledge.

• • Practiced: You have mastered the basics of this
area of study.

• • • Competent: You are good enough to earn a
professional living in this field.

• • • • Expert: You have surpassed the majority of your
peers and are considered an expert.

• • • • • Master: You are world-class at this activity and considered to be amongst the best in the field.

You can usually purchase up to 5 dots of each skill. Certain merits might lift this cap.

Fields of Study
You can purchase some skills multiple times to reflect a character’s background and interests. For example, skills such as Crafts, Performance, and Science are very broad, and encompass many different fields of study. When you choose one of these skills, you must also choose a more concentrated field of study within that skill. As in the real world, a field of study specifies in which craft, performance type, or scientific area the character has been trained. Examples might include Crafts: Calligraphy, Performance: Classical Guitar, or Science: Botany. Thus, a character could be skilled in multiple types of performance and therefore take the Performance skill several times (each with a different field of study).

In order to survive, a vampire quickly learns her own biology. She knows that she must feed on blood, she feels the drives of the Beast, and she quickly recognizes dangers such as sunlight and fire. After a short time as a vampire, she gains an understanding of vampiric society, such as the most prevalent clans in her setting, as well as common vampiric disciplines and powers. To know more about the supernatural world, a character must collect and study Lore. With several dots in Lore, the character is familiar with centuries of legends, understands the minute details of vampire existence, and may have even studied one or more pages of the Book of Nod.

System: For every dot of Lore that a character possesses, the player chooses one category in which to specialize. Whenever a character requires knowledge that may be available through this category, the player makes a static challenge (Mental + Lore) to gain specific and detailed insight from the perspective of that specific topic. Remember that Lore is not Academics; Lore involves knowledge of the supernatural world, where Academics is the study of more mundane topics. Your Storyteller will be the final arbiter of your character’s categories for the Lore skill. Potential categories in Lore might include the events of a specific period of vampiric history; a focus on one of the individual vampire clans; or a specialization in a type of non-vampiric creatures, such as werewolves, fae, or mages. If you fail a Lore challenge, you cannot attempt the test again until you acquire new information.

Example: Eric has 3 dots of the Lore skill. With his Storyteller’s approval, his categories are: Brujah clan, Mages, and Vampires of Ancient Constantinople.

You have a trained knowledge of human anatomy, including knowledge of medicines and the ability to treat wounds or diagnose diseases. For information on healing mortals with the Medicine skill, see Chapter Six: Core Systems, page 287.

System: By spending a downtime action studying the target’s blood, hair, skin, or remains (including ash) in a proper medical facility, you can determine a creature’s supernatural type (if any). Characters who are familiar with vampires can also determine clan and generation. With use of proper equipment, you can preserve blood (including vampiric blood) for up to one month per dot in the Medicine skill.

You are a dangerous combatant, especially when you are armed with any sort of weaponry. Melee represents your ability to use non-ranged weapons of all forms, from swords and spears, to esoteric martial-arts weaponry such as sai or nunchaku. This skill also includes training with vampire related weaponry, such as wooden stakes.

System: Characters with the Melee ability may use appropriate combat manoeuvres when using melee weapons. For information on combat maneuvers see Chapter Six: Core Systems, page 280.

The Occult sees something of a revival in the Victorian era thanks to the emergence of so many secret societies in major Western cities, from Masons and Hellfire clubs to the more obscure Enlightened Society of the Weeping Moon. You are familiar with occult topics such as mystic philosophy, superstition, or folklore. It does not imply a command of hard facts, but basic knowledge of rumour, myth, legend, and hearsay.

System: Use a standard action to visually scrutinize an individual within three steps. You automatically detect the telltale signs of active rituals on the person or magic items carried by that individual. This does not allow you to identify what these rituals or items do, nor to identify spells they can cast that are not active (nor to tell if the individual possesses Thaumaturgy or if the rituals were cast by another). Further, characters with the Occult skill may purchase the Occult advantage for their Haven background (for more information, see the Haven background on page 102). You cannot apply this advantage to a Haven that is not your own.

You have been trained in physical performance, and are comfortable entertaining a crowd. This skill represents your talent and technical ability, as well as the ability to enthrall an audience and keep them wanting more. When you choose the Performance skill, you must choose a specific field of study such as dance, comedy, acting, oratory, singing, or anything appropriate to the dramatic arts. You may buy this skill multiple times, each with a different field of study.

System: A character with the Performance skill may temporarily increase her Fame by spending 2 downtime actions (one to promote the upcoming performance, and one to perform). This increases the character’s Fame background by 1 for a month, even if the character does not have current dots in the Fame background, up to a maximum of 5. (For more information on downtimes, see Chapter Seven: Dramatic Systems, page 307).

This skill denotes at least a common understanding of horsemanship, from casual riding ability to knowledge of bridles, saddles and stables. Characters with dots in Ride may be able to estimate a horse's worth or wellness. With practice, riders can coerce tricks from a trained horse or even fight from horseback. This skill is also used to drive horse-drawn buggies and cabriolets. Anyone can ride on the back of a horse without this skill, but no control over the horse can be assumed. Note that if the character does not have the proper level of Animalism or at least a dot or two of the Animal Ken Ability, his horse will still be leery of having a dead thing riding it, making it prone to bucking or bolting at the slightest provocation.

• Novice: Anything but routine training and care strikes you as work.

•• Practiced: You can manage a gallop, a difficult turn or a small jump.

••• Competent: You ride in hunts and foul weather, perform splendid jumps and avoid saddle sores.

•••• Expert: You are as comfortable in the saddle as in the salon.

••••• Master: Dashing stunts and horseback swordplay are your raison d’être.

Possessed by: Huntsmen, Coachmen, Messengers, Soldiers, Rural Elite

Often Used In: Jumps, Races, Mounted Combat, Urban, Presentation

System: Without the Ride skill, your character must use their full attention to operate a horse. With the appropriate Ride skill, you may operate a horse using a simple action instead of a standard action.

Several "sciences" saw light during the late 19th century (phrenology, for example), many of which were accepted as entirely factual and empirical in nature despite their incredible inaccuracies by modern standards. Should a character wish to devote attention to this skill, consider many choices of "science" as a Hobby/Professional/Expert skill rather than the typical modern Science skill (which tends to reflect more reliable knowledge).

When you choose the Science skill, then, you may choose a specific field of study: Astronomy, Physiology, Anatomy, Paleontology, Botany, Chemistry, Phrenology, Physics, Psychology, Mathematics, Medicine and Public Health are all possibilities, though such a list is far from comprehensive. You may buy this skill multiple times, each with a different field of study.

System: A character with Science receives 1 additional downtime action, which can only be spent on a downtime relevant to that Science. A character receives 1 additional downtime action for each Science — but, again, can only spend these downtime actions on activities specifically relevant to the pursuit of each Science.

You may have been a dedicated security consultant or an incorrigible thief. No matter which side of the law you operated on, you learned a great deal about security techniques. You understand both the ins and outs of the technology and the structure of security organizations, and know how best to circumnavigate both. With a little time and effort, you can design comprehensive security protocols for a location or, conversely, defeat such measures.

System: You may pick a lock or palm a small item as a simple action instead of a standard action. Characters with the Security skill receive the Security advantage for their Haven background for free. This character can also use a downtime action to apply this advantage to another character’s Haven; this effect lasts for one calendar year (for more information, see the Haven background on page 102).

It takes a great deal of physical training to move silently, and a tremendous amount of mental dedication to remain unnoticed when others are attempting to find you. You know how to take advantage of surrounding cover, how to act nonchalant, and you understand the uses of timing and diversion. By taking the appropriate precautions and using your natural skill, you can blend into the crowd and remain unnoticed even without supernatural powers.

System: A character with Stealth is skilled at hiding among a crowd. So long as you have a few appropriate items, you can automatically pass yourself off as a specific type of person, convincing others that you are a policeman, or blending in with the dancers at a club. This does not make you unrecognisable and will not fool people who are already aware that it is you in disguise.

You’re a savvy individual, completely capable of taking care of yourself no matter how difficult the circumstances. The streets and the underbelly of urban areas hold no danger for you, and you know the local criminal organizations and how to contact – or avoid – them. You can recognize tagging and other territorial markers, and you know the signs, colours, and accoutrements that are used as identification by those who make their homes in those areas.

System: As long as your path leads through a densely populated urban area, it’s not possible to follow you without using supernatural powers specifically designed to track.

Lies, bluffs, and subtle games of manipulation are the purview of those who have studied the art of Subterfuge. An individual trained in this skill is capable of hiding her intentions and redirecting the attention of others in order to deceive them. You may be at your best with feats of “magical” misdirection, or you may be a con artist, making money playing three-card-Monte on the streets. You may use phraseology to confuse your listener, or you might be the sort to utilize small feats of hypnotism to confuse and distract. Like the old hucksters used to say, there’s a sucker born every minute.

System: Once per game, if your character is caught using a supernatural power, it instead seems as though another character of your choosing within three steps of you used the power, not you. This does not apply to powers that have an obvious source, such as Flame Bolt or Dread Gaze.

You know the ways of the wilderness and you feel at home in untamed environments. You know how to navigate a variety of terrains, find shelter, and survive in hostile habitats. You can control your responses and act with temperance and composure, having suffered numerous hardships with ease. Your survival instincts are rarely ignored, even under the direst provocation.

System: Once per hour when your character is suffering from a rage or hunger frenzy, she may alter her response and instead go into a fear frenzy, allowing her to run away without harming her friends (or innocent bystanders).