Darkbound RPG

Talents

Talents are a key feature in the Mutant: Year Zero system, granting characters unique abilities and advantages that help them navigate the wasteland, overcome challenges, and distinguish themselves in both roleplay and combat scenarios. Each talent reflects a character’s expertise and plays a vital role in defining their capabilities within the group.

In Darkbound, the core Mutant: Year Zero roles have been reimagined with new names and thematic adjustments to better fit the setting. Alongside the talents provided in the core rulebook, custom talents have been developed to enhance the gameplay experience and align with the unique tone of the world.

Understanding Talents

Talents are chosen during character creation and provide your character with a powerful ability tied to their role. As the game progresses, you can acquire additional talents by spending experience points (XP), unlocking new opportunities to grow and specialize.

Talents come into play in both roleplay and mechanical aspects of the game. They can:

  • ◈ Provide bonuses to specific rolls, such as combat or social interactions.
  • ◈ Allow for unique actions or abilities not available to others.
  • ◈ Help overcome obstacles that would otherwise hinder progress.

When a talent applies to a situation, it can modify your dice pool, grant rerolls, or provide unique narrative opportunities. A well-chosen talent can be the difference between success and failure in critical moments.

Talents by Role

Each role has a selection of talents that reflect their core strengths. Below is an overview of the talents available in Darkbound, including those from the core rulebook and the custom talents developed specifically for this setting.

◈ Warden (Core Role: Enforcer)

Wardens are combatants who excel in physical confrontations and the use of firearms. Their talents emphasize resilience, tactical awareness and combat precision.

Core Rulebook Talents:

  • ◈ Deny Pain: Ignore penalties from critical injuries for one round.
  • ◈ Sucker Punch: Deal additional damage with unarmed strikes.
  • ◈ Iron Fist: Your melee attacks ignore one point of enemy armor.

Custom Talents:

  • ◈ Suppressing Fire: Your ranged attacks can pin down enemies, forcing them to make a morale check or lose their next action.
  • ◈ Adrenaline Surge: Once per day, you can reroll a failed Strength or Agility-based combat roll.
  • ◈ Bulletproof Resolve: Gain +2 armor against the first attack made against you in combat each round.
  • ◈ Quickdraw Expert: Draw or switch weapons as a free action and gain +1 to your first attack roll when entering combat.

◈ Tinkerer (Core Role: Gearhead)

Tinkerers are engineers and builders, skilled in repairing, modifying, and crafting useful items.

Core Rulebook Talents:

  • ◈ Inventor: Create an item from scrap without a roll once per session.
  • ◈ Fixer: Repair gear with fewer resources than normal.
  • ◈ Motorhead: Gain bonuses when repairing or modifying vehicles.

Custom Talents:

  • ◈ Salvage Master: Gain additional usable materials when scavenging broken equipment or tech.
  • ◈ Jury-Rigged Genius: Create temporary devices or weapons from scrap that function for 1d6 hours before breaking.
  • ◈ Energy Saver: Reduce the power consumption of any device you repair or craft by 50%.
  • ◈ Trap Specialist: Craft traps that deal +2 damage or impose penalties on enemies who trigger them.

◈ Roamer (Core Role: Stalker)

Roamers are experts in navigating the wasteland, avoiding dangers, and finding hidden paths.

Core Rulebook Talents:

  • ◈ Walker: Travel through hazardous areas without suffering penalties.
  • ◈ Finder: Locate rare items more easily during scavenging.
  • ◈ Silent Hunter: Gain bonuses to stealth attacks in the wild.

Custom Talents:

  • ◈ Pathfinder: Reduce travel time through hazardous areas by half for your group.
  • ◈ Silent Step: Gain +1 to Move rolls when sneaking or avoiding detection.
  • ◈ Danger Sense: Once per day, you can ask the GM to reveal a hidden threat in your current area.
  • ◈ Cartographer: Create detailed maps of explored areas, granting your group +1 to Scout rolls when traveling through previously visited locations.

◈ Archivist (Core Role: Chronicler)

Archivists are storytellers and keepers of knowledge, inspiring others with their words and uncovering hidden truths.

Core Rulebook Talents:

  • ◈ Inspirational: Boost allies’ morale, granting bonuses to their next rolls.
  • ◈ Linguist: Understand and translate old-world languages.
  • ◈ Historian: Gain insights into old-world relics and artifacts.

Custom Talents:

  • ◈ Lorekeeper: Gain a bonus when recalling old-world knowledge, adding +1 to any Wits-based roll involving history or technology.
  • ◈ Inspiring Words: Once per day, you can inspire your group, granting them +1 to a roll of their choice.
  • ◈ Ancient Coder: You can decipher codes (such as programming languages) or help uncover the use of a program and how to use it without a roll.
  • ◈ Knowledge Is Power: Once per day, you can trade obscure information with an NPC for useful resources or favors.

◈ Trader (Core Role: Fixer)

Traders are smooth-talking dealmakers who excel at negotiation and finding creative solutions.

Core Rulebook Talents:

  • ◈ Wheeler-Dealer: Gain bonuses when bartering or trading.
  • ◈ Negotiator: Convince NPCs to provide better terms or favors.
  • ◈ Smuggler: Evade detection while transporting goods.

Custom Talents:

  • ◈ Silver Tongue: Gain +2 to Manipulate rolls when bartering or persuading NPCs.
  • ◈ Shady Dealings: Once per day, gain access to rare or restricted items through underground connections.
  • ◈ Wealth in Trash: Identify hidden value in seemingly useless junk, turning it into useful items or trade goods.
  • ◈ Smooth Exit: Convince hostile NPCs to allow your group to leave peacefully, provided no violence has started.

◈ Animal Handler (Core Role: Dog Handler)

Animal Handlers bond with loyal companions to scout, protect, and fight alongside them.

Core Rulebook Talents:

  • ◈ Animal Bond: Your companion gains additional hit points.
  • ◈ Beast Tracker: Use your animal to locate hidden paths or creatures.
  • ◈ Savage Bite: Your animal’s attacks deal increased damage.

Custom Talents:

  • ◈ Pack Tactics: Your animal companion gains +1 to combat rolls when attacking the same target as you.
  • ◈ Scout’s Companion: Send your animal to scout ahead, granting +2 to Scout rolls and revealing hidden dangers. As a mutant with a psychic link to your animal, you can see what it sees.
  • ◈ Unbreakable Bond: Your animal companion can absorb the damage of one attack meant for you per combat.
  • ◈ Beast Whisperer: Calm hostile creatures, forcing them to pass a Wits check or become neutral.

☆ Commander (Core Role: Boss)

Commanders are natural leaders who inspire and direct others, thriving in positions of authority.

Core Rulebook Talents:

  • ◈ Authority: Give direct orders to NPCs and expect compliance.
  • ◈ Protector: Grant allies bonuses to defensive rolls when they are near you.
  • ◈ War Planner: Develop strategies that provide tactical advantages in combat.

Custom Talents:

  • ◈ Battle Orders: Once per combat, grant your group +1 to attack rolls for one round of combat.
  • ◈ Hold the Line: Allies within close range gain +1 armor when following your commands.
  • ◈ Rallying Cry: Restore one point of Empathy to each ally who can hear you during a crisis.
  • ◈ Strategic Planner: Gain +2 to Wits rolls when devising plans for combat or analyzing enemy tactics.

◈ Slave (Core Role: Slave)

Slaves represent those trapped in captivity, whether by raiders, Harvesters, or other factions seeking to exploit them. Despite their grim circumstances, Slaves develop unique survival skills and often display incredible resilience and resourcefulness.

Core Rulebook Talents:

  • ◈ Endure the Lash: Gain bonuses to rolls involving physical endurance or resisting torture.
  • ◈ Shadow Servant: Move undetected when escaping captivity or attempting to free an ally.
  • ◈ Survivor’s Instinct: Sense immediate danger before it strikes, granting an automatic reroll for any failed Scout roll.

Custom Talents:

  • ◈ Defiant Will: Once per day, reroll a failed Wits or Empathy roll when resisting mental manipulation or intimidation.
  • ◈ Scavenger’s Eye: Spot hidden or valuable resources during scavenging missions, even in high-pressure situations.
  • ◈ Chain Breaker: When escaping restraints or traps, gain +2 to Strength or Agility rolls.
  • ◈ Hidden Resolve: When your health drops to half or lower, gain a +1 bonus to all rolls until the situation improves.

◈ Criminal (Custom Role)

Criminals are cunning survivors who thrive in deception, theft, and exploiting others for personal gain.

Custom Talents:

  • ◈ Pickpocket: Gain +2 to Sleight of Hand rolls when stealing from others without being noticed.
  • ◈ Shadow Walker: Gain +2 to Move rolls when sneaking or blending into a crowd.
  • ◈ Escape Artist: Once per day, automatically escape restraints or slip past a dangerous guarded area undetected.
  • ◈ Black Market Connections: Once per day, gain access to a secret source for rare or illicit goods.
  • ◈ Personal Vault: You can hide small items on your person in ways that are nearly impossible to detect. Gain +2 to rolls to smuggle or conceal items, even during thorough searches.
  • ◈ Underworld Whisperer: You have deep ties to the wasteland’s criminal underbelly. Once per session, you can call in a favor from an NPC connected to the underworld, gaining critical information or small resources or even an additional person on your team temporarily.
  • ◈ Snake Eyes: Once per day, you can reroll a failed Manipulate or Sleight of Hand check, representing your uncanny ability to turn bad luck into opportunity.

Why Talents?

Talents are what make each character unique, providing them with the tools to survive and thrive in Darkbound’s harsh world. Choose talents that reflect your character’s strengths and story, and don’t hesitate to experiment with new ones as your journey unfolds.