Talents and Advancement

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This chapter covers talents and the advancement rules for spending XP. Skills determine what your character can attempt; talents add specialized capabilities, techniques, and permissions on top of those skills.

Void Drifters uses two talent lists. The Universal Talents of the Exodus NDS Core Rules apply to every character regardless of setting. That book holds their full text; the universal-talent summary is in the Player Quick Reference, Chapter Sixteen. The talents in this chapter are Void Drifters talents: specific to the crew life, the technology, the factions, and the dangers of the Verge. Both lists are open to every character.

Some talents gate capabilities entirely. Unauthorized electronic intrusion requires the Electronic Access talent; see the Electronics and Hacking domain below.

Many pilot, gunnery, and engineering talents modify ship station actions. The Ship Station Actions reference at the end of this chapter defines each action and ship term these talents use.

Advancement and XP Costs

Characters earn Experience Points (XP) through play. After character creation, XP buys skill ranks and talents; characteristics rise only through the Growth and Greater Growth talents (see Universal Talents below). The costs for Void Drifters talents follow the standard Exodus NDS tier model.

Prerequisites are narrative and mechanical gates. A talent that requires another talent cannot be purchased until that prerequisite is owned. A talent that requires a skill rank cannot be purchased until that rank is held. The GM may impose additional in-fiction requirements for upper-tier talents, such as training, a contact who teaches the technique, or a meaningful event in the campaign.

Ranked talents may be purchased multiple times and stack as written. Choose One talents may be purchased multiple times; each purchase must apply to a different choice.

Void Drifters Talents

The following talents are organized by domain. Domains are not formal character classes or specializations: you may buy talents from any domain at any time, subject to prerequisites. Domain names exist only to make this chapter navigable.

Each talent lists its Tier (1-5) in its heading. A talent's tier sets both its XP cost (see the tier cost table above) and its availability: at character creation you gain one free Tier 1 talent and may purchase Tier 1 and Tier 2 talents; higher tiers are earned through play. As a general guide, Tier reflects power and prerequisite depth: foundational talents with no prerequisites tend to be Tier 1-2, while talents deep in a prerequisite chain or with once-per-session, scene-defining effects reach Tier 4-5.

Void and Spacer Talents

These talents reflect training, conditioning, and hard experience with the space environment: vacuum, microgravity, EVA work, and the specific dangers of operating outside a pressurized hull.

Zero-G Aptitude (Tier 1)

When making Athletics, Reflexes, or Melee checks in microgravity or zero-gravity environments, remove 1 Bane Die.

Void Acclimated (Tier 1)

When making Fortitude checks caused by vacuum exposure, rapid depressurization, or unshielded radiation, remove 1 Bane Die. You may function for twice as long as normal before suffering harm from oxygen depletion.

Space Legs (Tier 2)

You move without penalty in low gravity and microgravity environments. When making Reflexes checks to maintain footing, control movement, or arrest drift in zero-g, add 1 Boon Die.

EVA Specialist (Tier 2)

When operating outside a pressurized hull in an EVA suit, remove 1 Bane Die from all checks. When you generate 2 or more Boons on an EVA-related Athletics or Reflexes check, you may spend 2 Boons to move twice as far on a single Maneuver.

Hard Vacuum (Tier 3)

Requires Void Acclimated.

You can function in vacuum for up to one minute without protection before taking harm, and in a compromised suit for twice as long as normal. When making Fortitude checks caused by sudden vacuum exposure, remove all Bane Dice instead of only 1.

Pressure Sense (Tier 3)

Requires EVA Specialist.

Once per scene, when near a breached or compromised hull section, you automatically locate it and gauge its severity without a check. You may spend 2 Boons on any Perception check in a pressurized environment to detect micro-leaks, stress fractures, or seal failures before they become crises.

Pilot Talents

These talents cover advanced piloting: holding a debris-strewn corridor exit at emergence speed, threading a pursuit through a crowded port approach, and reading a Slipstream's behavior before the instruments catch up.

Smooth Operator (Tier 1)

Outside structured combat and chases, when making Pilot checks for standard maneuvers, docking, approach, or precision low-speed movement, remove 1 Bane Die caused by environmental hazards, tight clearances, or poor visibility.

Evasive Instinct (Tier 1)

Once per encounter, when your ship is targeted by a weapon attack or collision, add 1 Boon Die to a Pilot check made to evade, break contact, or reduce incoming damage.

Slipstream Reader (Tier 2)

Requires 2 or more ranks in Astrogation.

When navigating a Slipstream corridor, add 1 Boon Die to Astrogation checks made to plot course, identify hazards, or time entry and exit. When you generate 2 or more Boons on such a check, you may spend 2 Boons to reduce transit time or avoid a corridor hazard without a follow-up check.

Combat Pilot (Tier 3)

Requires Evasive Instinct.

During structured ship combat, when making a Pilot check for the Hard Turn, Evasive Maneuver, Disengage, or Ramming Helm Action, add 1 Boon Die.

Offset Mastery (Tier 3)

Requires Slipstream Reader.

When performing a corridor offset exit, emerging at a point other than the corridor's marked endpoint, reduce the difficulty of the Astrogation check by 1 (minimum Easy). When you generate 2 or more Boons, you place your emergence point with exceptional precision and gain a tactical positioning advantage the GM determines.

Reaction Pilot (Tier 3)

Once per encounter as a Reaction, when your ship suffers a hit, you may make a Pilot check at Average difficulty. On success, reduce the attack's damage by 2. On a check generating 3 or more Boons, reduce it by 4 instead.

Ghost Run (Tier 4)

Requires Reaction Pilot.

Once per session, declare a Ghost Run. Until the start of your next turn, Pilot checks for the Evasive Maneuver, Break, and Disengage Helm Actions add 2 Boon Dice. During a Ghost Run, the pilot cannot take the Advance or Ramming Helm Action.

Gunnery Talents

Ship weapons range from light point-defense cannons to heavy lance arrays that can crack hull plates in a single hit. These talents represent dedicated weapons training: targeting, power management, specialized weapon operation, and shot timing.

Fire Control (Tier 1)

On your first Gunnery check in a structured encounter, add 1 Boon Die.

Weapon Familiarity (Tier 1, Choose One)

Choose one ship weapon mount size: Light, Standard, Heavy, or Capital.

When making Gunnery checks with weapons of the chosen class, remove 1 Bane Die from range, tracking, or targeting penalties. May be purchased multiple times; each purchase applies to a different class.

Controlled Burst (Tier 2)

Requires Fire Control.

When making a Gunnery check and generating at least 1 net Boon but not hitting, you may spend 2 Boons to force your target to add 1 Bane Die to its next Pilot check before the end of your next turn.

This applies to ship-mounted weapons. For personal ranged weapons in corridor or boarding combat, this same talent allows you to lay suppressing fire that forces a target to spend a Maneuver to reposition or seek cover.

System Targeting (Tier 2)

Requires Fire Control.

Before rolling an Aimed Fire attack, name one ship system: weapons, engines, sensors, life support, power, or deflection. If the attack hits, you may spend 2 Boons to apply 1 System Damage to the named system in addition to the hit's normal damage.

Point Defense Mastery (Tier 3)

Requires Weapon Familiarity (Light).

When you make a Gunnery check with a Light weapon to intercept a torpedo through Point Defense Active, add 1 Boon Die. When you generate 3 or more Boons, you may spend 3 Boons to destroy one additional incoming torpedo without a further check.

Overcharge (Tier 3)

Requires System Targeting.

Once per encounter, before rolling an Aimed Fire attack, you may declare an Overcharge. The weapon generates 3 additional Heat. If the attack hits, add 2 to the weapon's damage for this attack. Overcharge and the engineer's Boost Weapons option of Boost Power cannot apply to the same attack. On a Calamity, the weapon suffers 1 System Damage in addition to the normal Calamity effect.

Dead Eye (Tier 4)

Requires Overcharge or Point Defense Mastery.

Once per session, when an Aimed Fire attack hits with at least 2 net Successes, you may declare a Dead Eye shot. The attack ignores the target's Deflection Screens (skip that step of damage resolution). If the hit deals at least 1 Hull Damage, you may also spend 3 Boons to inflict a Critical Hit, even if the weapon's Crit is higher than 3.

Engineering Talents

These talents cover shipboard engineering: repair under pressure, unsafe system overrides, damage control, and keeping a ship functional past its rated limits.

Tinkerer (Tier 1)

When making a Craft check to repair with scavenged, mismatched, or improvised components instead of the correct parts, remove 1 Bane Die caused by those components. With at least one hour and any plausible source of salvage, you may attempt a repair that would otherwise be impossible without a specific part you do not have.

Heat Sink (Tier 1)

When you take the Vent Heat action or otherwise reduce your ship's Heat through engineering effort, reduce Heat by 1 additional point.

Jury Rig (Tier 2)

When making Craft checks to repair, patch, or improvise solutions without proper tools, parts, or time, remove 1 Bane Die. Jury-rigged repairs hold until the next full rest or dry dock visit, after which they must be properly addressed or they fail.

Emergency Protocols (Tier 2)

Requires Jury Rig.

When taking the Emergency Repair action during structured combat, add 1 Boon Die. When you generate 2 or more Boons, choose one additional benefit: remove 1 System Damage from a second named system; remove 1 Hull Damage (an exception to Emergency Repair's normal limit); or reduce the ship's current Power Load by 1 until the end of the next round.

Power Optimizer (Tier 2)

Once per encounter, you may temporarily exceed your ship's Power Capacity by 2 for one round. At the end of that round, the ship generates 2 Heat. If the Heat Threshold is already exceeded when you trigger this, generate 3 Heat instead.

Stress Engineer (Tier 2)

When making Craft or Electronics checks under fire, during active system failures, or in crisis conditions, remove 1 Bane Die caused by time pressure, danger, noise, or distraction.

Damage Anticipation (Tier 3)

Requires Emergency Protocols.

Once per encounter, when your ship is about to take a hit and you are aware it is incoming, you may spend a Maneuver to brace systems. If the attack hits, reduce the damage by 2. If the attack misses, you add 1 Boon Die to your next Craft check this encounter.

System Override (Tier 4)

Requires Damage Anticipation.

Once per session, you may push your ship's systems to extremes. Choose one effect: increase Speed by 2, increase Handling by 2, remove up to 4 System Damage from named systems, or reduce current Heat by 4. At the end of the encounter or scene, the ship suffers 2 System Damage distributed among the systems involved. The GM may increase this cost if the push was extreme.

Living Ship (Tier 5)

Requires System Override.

You always know your ship's current Heat, Power Load, Hull Damage, and the System Damage on each named system, without a check.

Once per session, when an attack against your ship would inflict a Critical Hit, you may immediately make a Hard Craft check. On success, the Critical Hit is not inflicted; the attack's Hull Damage and System Damage still apply.

Electronics and Hacking Talents

This domain gates unauthorized intrusion entirely. Your Electronics skill covers legitimate electronic work: ship systems operation, sensor management, communications, device diagnosis and repair. Unauthorized access to a secured network requires Electronic Access at minimum. Without it, the attempt fails before it begins. Each step deeper into this domain opens capabilities that are impossible without it.

Debt and registry records. No talent in this domain clears a lender's transponder flag, a bounty posting, or a ship's registry record. Those records are held by the lender, the posting power, and every relay board that has copied the posting; altering one copy changes nothing at the next port. Paying the debt is the only way to clear a flag.

Electronic Access (Tier 1)

You can attempt unauthorized access to open, unprotected, or civilian-grade systems. You may make Electronics checks to access open data terminals, unlock civilian-spec electronic locks, or intercept unsecured transmissions. Civilian-grade systems are Average difficulty. Lightly secured systems are Hard.

Other talents in this domain require Electronic Access directly or through their prerequisites.

Signal Trace (Tier 1)

When you detect an electronic signal, you may make an Electronics check to follow it to its source. Civilian signals are Easy. Relayed or bounced signals range from Average to Hard. Military or encrypted routing is Severe and requires Deep Hack.

Transponder Mask (Tier 2)

Requires Electronic Access.

You can spoof your own ship's transponder using the Transponder Spoofing rules in the Vehicles Manual: an Average Electronics check for a basic registry change, or Hard for convincing false ownership and cargo history. The spoof lasts until your next full rest unless you maintain it. A routine port transponder check detects it on an Average Electronics check opposed by your result; a dedicated customs investigation or military cross-reference is Hard.

A spoofed transponder changes only the broadcast. Registry lookup at docking, relay-board silhouettes, and port and fuel records still identify the ship, and spoofing is illegal in every power's space.

System Intrusion (Tier 2)

Requires Electronic Access.

You can breach secured civilian systems: commercial databases, port authority records, private corporate networks, standard security locks, and basic automated defenses. The Electronics check is Average for commercial systems and Hard for port authority and corporate networks. If someone is actively monitoring the system, the check is instead opposed by that person's Electronics. Success allows access for a number of hours equal to your net Successes. A Calamity triggers an automated alert.

ECM Specialist (Tier 2)

Requires Electronic Access.

When you make an Electronics check for the Jam, Counter-Jam, or Sensor Ghost action, add 1 Boon Die. When you generate 2 or more Boons, you may extend the jamming effect by one additional round without a follow-up check.

Relay Ghost (Tier 2)

When sending a message through a relay network, you may make an Electronics check to strip the transmission's origin data. The message cannot be traced to your ship or relay node. Civilian relays are Easy. Directorate-monitored relays are Hard. This talent does not require Electronic Access and is available to anyone with Electronics ranks.

Deep Hack (Tier 3)

Requires System Intrusion.

You can breach military-grade systems, government databases, Directorate security nodes, shipwright proprietary networks, and hardened AI-adjacent systems. This typically requires 10 minutes outside combat and a Hard Electronics check. Success grants access for a number of scenes equal to your net Successes. A Calamity triggers a security lockdown and logs your ship's last known registry.

Counter-Intrusion (Tier 3)

Requires System Intrusion.

When someone attempts to hack your ship's systems or a network you are actively monitoring, you automatically detect the attempt. You may immediately make an Electronics check opposed by the attacker. On success, you repel the intrusion. Spend 2 Boons to also trace the attacker's originating relay node.

Silent Ghost (Tier 4)

Requires Deep Hack.

When you successfully complete any Electronics intrusion, you leave no trace by default: logs are scrubbed, access entries are cleared, the system registers no anomaly. A Calamity leaves a partial trace rather than a full record, giving investigators something to find but not enough to act on immediately.

System Domination (Tier 4)

Requires Deep Hack.

Once per session, when you have successfully hacked a target ship or station's systems, you may attempt to seize temporary control of one active system: weapons, engines, communications, external airlocks, or point defense. Make an Electronics check at Hard difficulty. On success, you control that system for a number of rounds equal to your net Successes. The target's crew may contest with their own Electronics check on their turn.

Zero Day (Tier 5)

Requires Silent Ghost.

Once per session, you may identify and exploit an unknown vulnerability in a target system. This works against networks that would otherwise be impenetrable, including hardened military cores, Directorate teleportation control nodes, and systems run by a directive intelligence. The intrusion succeeds automatically but requires 30 minutes of preparation outside combat, or the duration of a Pilot scene if integrated into an approach. Once exploited, the vulnerability closes: you cannot use Zero Day against the same network twice.

Astrogation Talents

Slipstream corridors shift, drift, and occasionally collapse. These talents cover the plotting, corridor reading, and emergency judgment that safe transit requires.

Corridor Memory (Tier 1)

When plotting a course through a Slipstream corridor you have personally navigated before, add 1 Boon Die to the Astrogation check. You retain this bonus for corridors you have traveled directly; charts and secondhand reports do not qualify.

Rapid Plot (Tier 1)

When plotting an FTL course under time pressure, remove 1 Bane Die from the Astrogation check. This does not apply to dark routes or uncharted space.

Seam Finder (Tier 2)

When searching for a Slipstream corridor access point in a system, you may make an Astrogation check. On success, you locate any known access point in the system with greater precision and reduce approach time by half. When you generate 2 or more Boons, you also detect whether the corridor is currently stable, distressed, or compromised.

Dark Route (Tier 2)

Requires Rapid Plot.

You can navigate through unsanctioned, unmapped, or relay-dark corridors. When making Astrogation checks for dark route navigation, remove 1 Bane Die. A route that would normally require a Severe check becomes Hard.

Emergency Routing (Tier 3)

Requires Dark Route.

When you need to plot a course while in combat, under fire, or in an actively dangerous environment, you may integrate the Astrogation check into another relevant action rather than taking it as a dedicated action. The difficulty increases by 1. The resulting course is less precise but functional.

Void Intuition (Tier 4)

Requires Emergency Routing or Seam Finder.

Once per session, the GM will tell you whether the corridor you are about to enter is safe, distressed, or compromised, without a check. Additionally, when an Astrogation check would generate a Calamity, you may spend 1 Fortune Point to treat it as a Failure with a minor complication instead.

Medical Talents

These talents represent advanced field medicine: cross-species training, working under fire, and keeping a bad injury from getting worse before proper treatment.

Field Stabilization (Tier 1)

When you give field treatment with improvised materials (no proper kit, no sterile environment, limited supplies) to end Bleeding or to satisfy a Critical Injury that calls for medical aid, such as a wound that inflicts Wounds every turn until treated, remove 1 Bane Die from the Medicine check. On success, the patient suffers no further Wounds from that effect until they take new harm.

Quiet Approach (Tier 1)

During structured combat, when you use a Maneuver to move Engaged with a wounded or incapacitated ally, attacks against you add 1 Bane Die until the start of your next turn, as long as you make no attack before then. You also add 1 Boon Die to Stealth checks made while moving to reach someone who needs care, as long as combat is ongoing.

Pain Management (Tier 2)

When a character you treat has Wounds but has not yet been incapacitated, you may use an Action to make an Average Medicine check to manage their pain. On success, they recover Strain equal to your uncancelled Successes, and until the end of the scene they add 1 Boon Die to Fortitude checks to resist pain, fatigue, or shock. This does not remove Wounds. A character may benefit from Pain Management once per scene.

Stimulant Use (Tier 2)

Requires Field Stabilization.

As a Maneuver, a character you treat recovers 2 Strain and adds 1 Boon Die to their next check. After that check resolves, they suffer 1 Strain. A character may benefit from Stimulant Use once per encounter.

Diagnostic Eye (Tier 2)

When you observe a person for a moment, you may make a Medicine or Perception check to read their physiological state without them speaking. On success, you learn whether they are injured, ill, physiologically frightened, or misrepresenting their physical condition. The check reads physical cues only. Characters with Thermal Sense or similar sensory extensions add 1 Boon Die to this check.

Xenomedicine (Tier 3)

When making Medicine checks on an Ossen, Hazren, Zosa, or Dhoran patient, or on other life whose physiology differs significantly from baseline human, add 1 Boon Die.

Battle Medic (Tier 3)

Requires Stimulant Use.

Once per encounter, use a Maneuver to make a Medicine check on an adjacent ally. On success, the ally recovers 1 Wound. Spend 2 Boons to recover 1 additional Wound.

Surgical Precision (Tier 3)

Requires Xenomedicine.

When you make a Medicine check to remove a Critical Injury, add 1 Boon Die. When you generate 3 or more Boons, you may spend 3 Boons to also remove a second Critical Injury of the same or lower severity from the same patient as part of this treatment.

Shipboard Combat Talents

These talents cover shipboard close-quarters combat: airlock assaults, corridor firefights in near-vacuum, boarding actions through hull breaches, and hand-to-hand combat in microgravity.

Boarding Ready (Tier 1)

You are trained for ship-to-ship assault operations. When making checks related to breaching, entering, or moving through hostile ships during boarding actions, remove 1 Bane Die.

Corridor Fighter (Tier 2)

You suffer no penalties for fighting in tight spaces, low headroom, cluttered corridors, or confined shipboard environments. When an enemy would gain a positional advantage from constricted terrain, reduce that advantage by 1 Bane Die against you.

Breach Tactics (Tier 2)

Requires Boarding Ready.

In the round immediately following a hull breach or forced entry you participated in creating, add 1 Boon Die to all combat checks. This bonus applies to the first round of contact inside the breached area only.

Zero-G Combat (Tier 3)

Requires Corridor Fighter or Zero-G Aptitude.

You fight effectively in microgravity and zero-gravity environments. Remove 1 Bane Die from all combat checks in zero-g. When you generate 2 or more Boons, you may spend 2 Boons to reposition without spending a Maneuver, using the environment: a push off a bulkhead, a grab-and-pivot, or a mag-boot anchor.

Station Brawler (Tier 4)

Requires Zero-G Combat.

Once per round, when fighting in a shipboard or station environment, you may spend 2 Boons on a Melee or Unarmed check to weaponize the environment: slamming an enemy into a bulkhead, venting a hatch into their face, fouling their footing with a conduit cable, releasing a held atmosphere charge. The GM determines the specific effect.

Boarding Champion (Tier 5)

Requires Breach Tactics and Station Brawler.

Once per encounter while engaged in a boarding action, you may make one additional Melee or Unarmed attack as a Maneuver. This Maneuver does not count toward your Maneuver limit and costs no Strain. This attack cannot generate Breakthroughs. If the boarding action succeeds in its objective this encounter, recover 2 Strain at its conclusion.

Social and Faction Talents

The Verge is highly political: five major powers, dozens of independent stations, and centuries of border disputes and trade monopolies. These talents cover reading a room, working a port authority, and leveraging faction contacts.

Border Savvy (Tier 1)

You know the inspection procedures, documentation requirements, common gaps, and pressure points of major power border enforcement. When making Deception, Negotiation, or Streetwise checks to pass through a checkpoint, avoid a customs search, or navigate bureaucratic scrutiny, remove 1 Bane Die.

Silver Words (Tier 2)

When you succeed on a Negotiation or Charm check and generate 2 or more Boons, you may spend those Boons to leave the target with a lasting positive impression. Until the NPC encounters a compelling reason to reconsider, they will not work against you without additional cause. The GM notes this as a social debt for future reference.

Quick Read (Tier 2)

Once per scene, you may make a Savvy + Streetwise or Savvy + Lore check to quickly assess an NPC's likely faction allegiance, political stance, and immediate agenda. On success, the GM gives you one accurate piece of information. For each 2 Boons generated, you learn one additional piece.

Controlled Presence (Tier 2)

You know how to manage the impression you create in tense social situations where your bearing, size, or reputation could escalate or destabilize a scene. When making Leadership or Negotiation checks where remaining calm under provocation matters, add 1 Boon Die. When an NPC attempts to bait, provoke, or rattle you socially, remove 1 Bane Die from Readiness or Willpower checks to resist that pressure.

Port Authority (Tier 2)

Requires Border Savvy.

You navigate official port procedures (docking permits, cargo manifests, registry verification, impound holds, transit visas) with practiced efficiency. When making Negotiation or Charm checks to resolve bureaucratic complications at a port or station, add 1 Boon Die. When you generate 3 or more Boons, you resolve the complication without a fee, delay, or follow-up inspection.

Deniable Operator (Tier 2)

When you make arrangements through intermediaries, cutouts, or proxies, Electronics or Streetwise checks to trace that arrangement back to you increase in difficulty by 1. This does not hide your ship's registry, its transponder flag, or a debt or bounty posted against you or your ship; lenders and hunters track the ship, not the intermediary.

Power Contact (Tier 2, Choose One)

Choose one major power: Irnan Directorate, Funtari Confederacy, Shoiyan Concord, Jaziri Caliphate, or Antaean League.

You have an established contact, low-level but reliable, within that power's bureaucratic or intelligence networks. Once per session, you may call on that contact for one of: a piece of information, a forged or expedited document, a clearance code, or a warning about something headed your way. The contact may ask for something in return at the GM's discretion.

May be purchased multiple times; each purchase names a different power.

Information Broker (Tier 3)

Requires Deniable Operator.

You have access to intelligence networks that move information for a price. Once per session, you may ask the GM for one piece of information about a person, organization, location, or ongoing situation that your character could reasonably obtain through back-channels. The GM answers honestly, though the information may be incomplete or require independent confirmation.

Name in the Verge (Tier 4)

Requires Information Broker or Port Authority combined with three or more purchases of Power Contact.

Your reputation precedes you, whether for skill, reliability, ruthlessness, or notoriety. Once per session, when you enter a social scene where your identity is known or revealed, choose one:

• An NPC who would otherwise oppose you pauses to weigh the cost before acting.
• An NPC who would otherwise dismiss you treats you as a peer worth engaging.
• An NPC who would otherwise report you considers the complication it would create for them.

The GM decides whether the effect holds based on your actual standing in that specific scene.

Tech and Science Talents

These talents cover technical analysis: identifying a weapon from its burn pattern, reading a directive intelligence fault state, operating an unfamiliar system, and working with technology from outside your design tradition.

Builder Recognition (Tier 1)

You can identify a ship or piece of equipment's manufacturer from visual inspection, part patterns, construction philosophy, and design language. When making Lore or Science checks to identify the origin of technology, add 1 Boon Die. On a success, you also know the approximate production era and quality tier.

Tech Assessment (Tier 1)

When examining unfamiliar technology, you may make an Electronics or Science check to quickly evaluate its function, condition, and approximate capability without extended study. On success, the GM gives you one accurate piece of information. For each 2 Boons generated, you learn one additional piece.

Technical Intuition (Tier 2)

Once per session, when you have at least one minute to examine a device, system, or piece of technology, you may ask the GM one question about it without a check: how it works, what it can do, what it cannot do, or the fastest way to disable or modify it. The question must be specific. The GM answers as accurately as your character's knowledge warrants. The answer describes the device; it does not grant access to a secured system, which still requires the Electronics and Hacking talents.

AI Diagnosis (Tier 2)

Requires Tech Assessment.

You can identify directive intelligence fault states: their source, severity, and probable behavior under pressure. When interacting with a directive intelligence that is not functioning normally, you automatically sense that something is wrong before the AI reveals it. A successful Electronics check tells you the general nature of the fault. Spend 2 Boons to also learn what triggered it.

Xenotech (Tier 3)

Requires Builder Recognition.

You can operate, repair, and analyze technology from unfamiliar, alien, or non-standard origins. When making Craft or Science checks involving technology outside your standard design tradition, add 1 Boon Die.

Prototype Operator (Tier 3)

Requires Xenotech or AI Diagnosis.

You can operate experimental, restricted, or military-grade technology. When making Pilot, Electronics, or Craft checks with prototype or restricted-access systems, remove 1 Bane Die. When you generate 2 or more Boons, you uncover one non-obvious capability or limitation of the system.

Species Extension Talents

Each species in the Verge has a base package of traits. These talents deepen and extend those traits, opening capabilities that go beyond what the base package offers. Species extension talents require you to be the specified species; they are not available to other characters regardless of circumstances.

Human Extensions

Adaptive Specialist (Tier 2)

Requires being Human. Requires 2 or more ranks in one skill.

Choose one skill in which you hold at least 2 ranks. Once per scene, when making a check with that skill, upgrade one Ability Die to a Mastery Die. If the pool has no Ability Die to upgrade, add 1 Boon Die instead.

Generalist Peak (Tier 3)

Requires being Human. Requires Adaptive Specialist.

Once per scene, when you assist another character on a check for which you have at least 1 rank in the relevant skill, upgrade one Ability Die in their pool to a Mastery Die in addition to the normal assisting dice. This upgrade does not count against the assisting-dice limit.

Ossen Extensions

Precision Reach (Tier 2)

Requires being Ossen.

Your fine motor precision extends to more complex applications. When making Electronics, Craft, or Medicine checks requiring exceptional delicacy (surgery, micro-assembly, precision calibration, or lock manipulation), add 1 Boon Die. When you generate 3 or more Boons, you achieve a result that would normally require specialized tools you do not have.

Analytical Combat (Tier 3)

Requires being Ossen. Requires Precision Reach.

Once per encounter, before making a Ranged or Melee check against a target you have observed for at least one full round, you may make a free Perception check. On success, add 1 Boon Die to the attack. On 2 or more Boons from the Perception check, also upgrade one Ability Die to a Mastery Die on the attack roll.

Hazren Extensions

Thermal Hunting (Tier 2)

Requires being Hazren.

Your thermal sense extends to active combat applications. Once per encounter, you may make any check against one target within Short range using your thermal sense rather than standard vision. This ignores darkness, smoke, most concealment, and light camouflage. Reflective or insulated suits reduce but do not eliminate this sense.

Patience (Tier 3)

Requires being Hazren. Requires Thermal Hunting.

When you spend at least one full round without taking an Action, add 1 Boon Die to your first check on the following round. This stacks with ambush, concealment, and positioning advantages established during the wait.

Zosa Extensions

Pack Coordination (Tier 2)

Requires being Zosa.

Once per encounter, when an ally succeeds on a check against a target or obstacle, you may add 1 Boon Die to your next check that directly follows up on that action (attacking the same target, exploiting the same opening, or finishing the same task) before the end of your next turn. The ally must be within Short range and able to see you, and the two of you must have agreed on the plan before the action; a glance or a nod is enough to agree.

Predatory Rush (Tier 3)

Requires being Zosa. Requires Pack Coordination.

Once per encounter, when you use a Maneuver to move from Short range to Engaged with a target on your turn, you may make one Melee or Unarmed attack against that target as a Maneuver instead of an Action. This follows the normal Maneuver limit: if it is your second Maneuver, it costs 2 Strain or your Action. This attack cannot generate Breakthroughs, but it generates Boons normally.

Dhoran Extensions

Dense Frame Leverage (Tier 2)

Requires being Dhoran.

Your physical density and mass give you social and physical weight. When making Intimidation checks where your size and bearing are visible factors, add 1 Boon Die. Additionally, when making Athletics checks to resist being moved, knocked back, thrown, or forced from a position, add 1 Boon Die.

Network Memory (Tier 3)

Requires being Dhoran. Requires Dense Frame Leverage.

Dhoran oath culture, trade houses, and labor organizations keep careful account of who owes what to whom. Once per session, you may ask the GM whether a specific NPC you have previously encountered owes you a social debt, has a known connection to someone in your network, or has a vulnerability in their reputation that you might know about. The GM answers honestly.

Universal Talents

The talents listed above are Void Drifters specific. Every character also has access to the universal talents from the Exodus NDS Core Rules, which hold the full text. The universal-talent summary is in the Player Quick Reference, Chapter Sixteen.

Universal talents work in the Verge exactly as written. A few notes on how they interact with VD systems:

Hardy and Steadfast function normally. Void Drifters does not change Wound or Strain thresholds.

Skilled and Specialist can apply to any Void Drifters skill, including Pilot, Astrogation, Electronics, and Gunnery.

Practical Expertise applies to Craft, Medicine, Science, Pilot, and Electronics. GMs may allow it for Astrogation at their discretion.

Defensive Operator (Tier 4) from the universal list applies to Pilot checks and carries the same effect as written. It covers every vehicle and every situation it names, in and out of combat; the Void Drifters pilot talents each cover a narrower case. Its Bane Die removal stacks with Combat Pilot and Evasive Instinct.

Growth and Greater Growth are available in Void Drifters:

• Growth (Tier 1, 5 XP): Raise one characteristic by 1, to a maximum of 4. You may take Growth once.
• Greater Growth (Tier 2, 10 XP, requires Growth): Raise one characteristic by 1, to a maximum of 4. You may take Greater Growth more than once; each purchase must raise a different characteristic.

Each purchase also costs the characteristic's normal XP cost for the new rating (Chapter Three: 20 XP to reach 2, 30 XP to reach 3, 40 XP to reach 4). Example: Using Growth to raise Might from 3 to 4 costs 5 + 40 = 45 XP. The GM confirms the in-fiction event, augmentation, or training arc that justifies each increase.

Ship Station Actions

The pilot, gunnery, engineering, and electronics talents in this chapter modify the ship combat actions below. Each line summarizes the Vehicles Manual (Chapter Fifteen, Ship Combat and Chases; Chapter Three for ship damage; Chapter Twelve for fuel and Supply Units), which holds the full procedure, Boon uses, and Bane costs. Each crew member at a station takes one Action and one Maneuver on the ship's turn.