Recon (Action)

Heroic Action Role-Play

Recon is your ability to unobtrusively gather information and sneak around. It gauges how aware you are of your surroundings and how quick you react to new dangers. Recon defaults to Reflexes and an outcome matching this attribute on a stunt directed against Recon will often result in a Setback.

Use in Action

The most common use of Recon is in and sneaking and spotting sneaking. It also gives some skill in survival and cross-country travel.

Knowledge

Recon gives knowledge of terrain, including urban areas. It allows you to recognize places from photos and film, to know terrain hazards, to know which routes are safe and which are not, how the terrain changes due to time (seasons, time of day) which in turn can determine when an intrusion is best performed.

If you are a military forward observer, spotter, or recon specialist, you know the latest gear, techniques, and operating methods. You can give amazingly quick reports on a target's location and nature in military jargon. If you are a hunter, outdoorsman, or barbarian you know about animals and their habits, what you can find in nature and eat safely, and in what kind of situations and setting you can remain unnoticed. If you are an urban survivor, whether homeless or post-apocalyptic, you know which areas are safe and which holds danger, where to safely find food, places to rest, and the population of gangs, rodents, and other survivors. If you are a bodyguard or security expert you know which situations are especially vulnerable to spies and snipers and you are an expert on surveillance devices. Some characters are not only skilled in Recon but also understand the theory behind how we perceive things, but that is covered more under the Know skill.

Contacts

You know teachers, students, and aficionados of your particular brand of sneakiness. You have met all kinds of observant and unobtrusive people and developed a mutual respect, from photographers to scouts, bird spotters, artillery observers, and snipers. You also know your fair share of criminals and officers of the law. Depending on your background, some of these will respect you while others will think you wasted your talent in pointless or destructive ways. You might have observed enough about a person to know how to best approach them, even if they have never noticed you.

Perception

You can spot those who sneak. Recon specialists are naturally discreet, but you learn to recognize others by their alert posture even when they are not sneaking. You can spot likely avenues of intrusion and the signs that they have been used. You are familiar with drones and other surveillance devices and can spot them. You have a good memory for faces and can recognize faces in a crowd.

Powers

Recon is linked to the forms of Darkness and Gifts.