As with career skills, players have 40 points to spend over a selection of skills. What skills they can choose, depends on what background they choose, eg:

Standard: Corporate Kid, Normal, Streetkid or Clansman.

Specialist: Highrider or Military.

All characters have access to the universal skill package. Skills from the specialist background can be bought by other background types, but their cost is triple(!).

Corporate brats, normals and highriders also have access to the education skill package as normal. Skills bought from here are at no extra cost, unlike the other backgrounds who must pay double.

In Dark Age just about everyone can read and write. Okay, so they might not have been taught in school, but the information age is still with us. Illiteracy is a two point flaw and means you cannot read anything.

Universal Skills Education Package
Athletics
Climbing (Type)
Computer Use
Dance
Fast Talk
First Aid
Hide
Language (Type)		 Perception
Play (instrument)
Running
Seduction
Sneak
Style
Swim
Throw
Biology
Botany
Chemistry
Genetics
Geology
Geography
History
Library Use		 Literary Study
Maths
Pharmacy
Physics
Programming
Teach
Writing
Zoology

NB: Pregenerated education packages are detailed below. These are standard skill packs that a typical person may have.

Remember: You can buy a skill that is not available in your skill package at double cost. However, if you buy it from highrider or military, it costs triple.

STANDARD BACKGROUNDS

Corporate Kid Normal Streetkid Clansman
Accounts
Contacts: Corporate
Culture: Corporate
Cycle
Drive (type)
Education package
Etiquette
Evaluate
Facilities (type)
Investment
Perform
Pilot (type)
Contacts (type)
Culture: Corp or Street
Cycle
Drive (type)
Education package
Electronics (type)
Electronics: Computer
Mechanic (type)
Pistol
Programming
Streetwise (type)
Unarmed Combat (type)
Computer Use
Culture: Street
Cycle
Drive (type)
Melee (type)
Pick Pocket
Pick Lock
Pistol
Resistance
SMG
Streetwise (type)
Unarmed Combat (type)
Contacts: Clan
Culture: Clan
Cycle
Drive (type)
Mechanic (type)
Melee (type)
Pistol
Rifle
Streetwise (type)
Survival (rural)
Unarmed Combat (type)
Weaponsmith (type)

SPECIALIST BACKGROUNDS

Highrider Military
Astrogation
Culture (Highrider)
Education package
Electronics (type)
EVA
Mechanic: Spacecraft
Melee (type)
Pilot Tug
Planetology
Survival: Space
Unarmed Combat (type)
Zerobatics		 Command
Contacts: Military
Drive (type)
Mechanic (type)
Melee (type)
Pilot (type)
Pistol
Rifle
SMG
Survival (type)
Unarmed Combat (type)
Weaponsmith (type)

These are sets of skills that a typical student may have. They have been grouped together so that you can quickly pick out an academic background.

School
(3 CP)
  • Science subject +2
  • Language (type) +2
College
(6 CP)
  • Computer Use +2
  • Library Use +1
  • Choose +3 from one of:
    Any science subject; History; Writing or Programming.
Graduate
(12 CP)
  • Writing +2
  • Library Use +1
  • Computer Use +2
  • Choose +5 in one of:
    Any science subject; Programming; Electronics (type); Mechanic (type); Law; Psychology; Criminology; Programming or Literary Study.

Valid science subjects include: Biology, biotech, botany, chemistry, geology, genetics, pharmacy, physics, zoology.

However, genetics or physiology are unlikely to be taught in schools to any serious degree.

Graduate characters may choose a different key skill not mentioned above (subject to Referee veto).