Spot (Action)

Spot is how aware you are of your surroundings, how quick you react to new dangers, and your ability to discern and analyze detail.

Unskilled Use

Impress skill defaults to Mind. Most Spot stunts can be done unskilled, but as it comes up so frequently, most characters will want at least a modest training in the skill.

Use in Action

Spot is used as a defense against traps and sneaking, to notice hidden clues and dangers, and to quickly gather and understand information. For humans sight is the most important (and cinematic) sense, but the skill covers all senses, including such things as muscle memory, balance, and intuition.

Knowledge

You are not only able to notice things, you also remember what you've seen and perceived. Want a visual image of a cathedral? How many spires has the Notre Dame? Or to know how many light poles there were along the road you just rode down? What was the registration number of the third red car or the shoe size of the custom's inspector on the photograph? What is the angle between the stars in Ursus Major? This is the kind of trivia and everyday observation you thrive on.

Some characters are not only skilled in Spot but also understand the theory behind how we perceive things, but that is covered more under the Know skill.

Contacts

Spot does not relate to profession, but it does give you an ability to remember faces. And if you can place many people, chances are one of them might pop up where they are useful to you. The chance that one of the technicians at the villain base were at the tech shop at the mall in the next town are actually pretty good, and while you might not be best buddies just because you saw him there, you at least have an opening line for a conversation.

Stunts

Many Spot stunts are reactive; you either notice danger in time to react or analyze a situation as it comes up.

Keep Watch

Trigger Action (Defense)

You get a +3 bonus to your Spot when it is used as the difficulty of an action. Keeping watch for an extended time takes quite a lot of attention; outside of action scenes you cannot initiate actions or stunts of your won while constantly keeping watch.

Recon

Basic Action

You look around, trying to spot hidden enemies and dangers. Make a Spot check against the Maneuver of an enemy trying to Sneak or against the difficulty of spotting a trap or other danger.