Description
Empathy is a character’s ability to read and understand others’ feelings and motivations.
- It can represent careful observation of body language, tone, and other cues, or it could be an instinctive sense of which the character isn’t even entirely aware.
- It can help the character detect deception or uncertainty, as well as discern her target’s mood
- It does not inherently mean she is agreeing with or even behaving in a friendly fashion towards her target
- The Empathy Skill is simply the ability to understand and work with the emotions that someone is feeling
Examples
Sample Actions
- Determine intentions (Wits + Empathy)
- Sense Deception (Wits + Empathy)
- Soothe nerves (Manipulation + Empathy)
Sample Specialties
- Buried Feelings
- Calming
- Emotions
- Lies
- Motives
Sample Contacts
- Shoulder to Cry On
- Police Profiler
- Psych Student
Levels
Examples and descriptions of someone at each level
Novice (1 dot)
- A character at this rank in Empathy regularly gets a “vibe” from people
- They are often the source of stability or advice for her friends
Professional (2 dot)
- The character might actually be a therapist or social worker
- He can always tell when friends are keeping secrets or when something is bothering them, and excels at figuring out what it is
Experienced (3 dot)
- With three dots in Empathy, a character can gain profound insights into another person’s feelings and behaviour, even strangers
Expert (4 dot)
- This character can draw out even the most guarded people
- Even tiny details of behaviour can be the clue to figuring out what someone wants
Master (5 dot)
- Human behaviour is open book to this character
- People often accuse her of being a mind reader