STREETWISE
Description: A character with this Talent is at home on the streets. He can fit in with rough crowds, knows who to ask for information, understands slang, and can buy and sell on the black market. The network of criminals, junkies, and lowlifes who live on the streets will turn on an outsider, but if he’s careful, a streetwise character can thrive there. With a high rating in Streetwise, the underworld is indisputably your home, and you know it well enough to where you likely either grew up on the streets, or have devoted your nightly existence to either terrorizing, policing, helping or preying on its various denizens.
Allowed Specialties: Black Market, Drug Trade, Flesh Trade, Gangs, Skip Tracing, Vagrancy, (Specific ‘Hood)
Rules: In addition to its limitless narrative potential, Streetwise can help you shadow someone in an urban environment, pick up rumors and make it harder for a con artist to fast-talk you. A character’s Stealth might be capped by their Streetwise in an urban environment if they lack an appropriate Stealth specialty.
Story Example: The new gang in town’s been awfully good at picking out Kindred-run operations to take over. Roll Charisma + Streetwise (difficulty 8) to see what people know about them. The more successes you get, the more information you receive, but the legwork will take an entire night regardless.
- The Black Market, Drug Trade, Flesh Trade and Gang specialties suggest that your character has a narratively relevant focus on those areas, where smuggling or illicit acquisition is involved. You are certain to get more detailed information when digging up rumors or gossip in regards to your specialty. A specialty related to a Specific ‘Hood, such as Skid Row, San Pedro or Watts will get an intense amount of leeway when it comes to making any streetwise rolls related to his own neighborhood.
- The Skip Tracing specialty means that you have training and experience with tracking down people, such as a bounty hunter. Any Streetwise rolls made in this context such as Shadowing or digging up information on a specific individual will benefit both from the specialty bonus and being rewarded with more detailed information by your Storyteller.
- The Vagrancy specialty covers everything involved with surviving and thriving on the streets of Los Angeles, no matter how destitute you might be. It will help you avoid trouble, find shelter and even something to eat, such as knowing the best places to panhandle or the nearest overpass to sleep under at night. This specialty is required for your character to be given any specific consideration for being at home when homeless on the streets, and is thus a favorite of certain creatures such as Bone Gnawers or Malkavians.