Tricks - Your Signature Moves
Where a Hook says what your character cares about, a Trick is what they do about it. It's a named, regular thing they fall back on. That's it.
Tricks don't generally change the rules, though they might bend them a little. When you define a Trick, it gives the GM an excuse for why they might interpret those rules just a little differently in certain situations, but generally it's just an example of how to apply rules-as-written that you reach for when it fits.
A gambler might always read the table before the cards turn. A gunfighter maybe always drifts to within two steps of cover. A doctor tries to always have the right compound already mixed. None of that is a new power. It's just who they are, written down so it runs smoothly at the table.
A Trick costs no Karma, because it grants nothing you don't already own. It only declares, in advance, how you tend to apply the tools already on your sheet: a free-action Boost you always get for a known habit in a certain situation, a Wager you habitually make, or maybe a common circumstance where two Roles would routinely combine. Naming that habit makes the character clearer in your own mind, gives the GM a handle to reward, and turns "what can I do here?" into "here's the thing I always do."
What a Trick Is - and Isn't
A Trick reorganizes what you can already do; it rarely adds to it. The advantage is almost always opportunity-specific, and is just your own EL - your roll, with a Boost you actually set up, points you actually Wagered, etc. The Trick is just a quick reference, a recorded excuse for the GM to allow a minor advantage in a fitting moment.
Like Hooks, Tricks are subject to the GM's approval. A good one is specific to a circumstance and uses only abilities the character actually has. If it would let you do something your Roles and Maneuvers can't justify, it isn't a Trick - it's a power, and a power costs Karma.
Tricks Don't Rank
A Trick carries no number of its own. Any bonus always comes from the character's own rolls. If it wants a rank of its own, it's a Maneuver.
The Three Marks of a Good Trick
- It comes from who you are. It reads as a personality trait, not a build choice. If you can't say it as a statement of behavior it isn't a Trick.
- It's situational. There's a clear, declared trigger. It applies when the moment fits, not always and everywhere. A constant behavior is a Hook. A Trick the Warrior uses in every fight becomes a reputation someone could also use to set him up for a Boost of their own...
- It names the mechanism. State the rule it invokes - a specific Boost, a Wager, a split, a free action, a cross-Role combination, etc. Good tricks often exist just to justify a GM call that bends the rules a little, explaining why this case warrants Synergy or a free-action Boost.
How Many, and What to Call Them
None are required. Two or three to start is typical, and more will surface in play as a character reveals who they are - the GM can allow them freely, because they cost nothing and break nothing. "Tricks" is only the default name; a setting or a single character is welcome to rename them to fit - a gunslinger's habits, a duelist's forms, a courtier's graces - the mechanic is the same either way.
Examples
Combat Tricks
Feint
Simple Boost - Success creates an opening; each point of success adds directly to EL on the next combat action against that opponent.
Power Attack
Attack made Contingent on an Athlete (Strength) Boost. If the Boost fails, the attack is forfeit.
Grapple
Wagered Persistent Boost - Set aside N points of EL; if remaining EL succeeds on the exchange, opponent is Grappled. The wagered dice count as a Boost that can be applied in whole or in part to subsequent attack and defense rolls until released, or the victim wins a roll to get free. (Note that a skilled Grappler can reverse such holds...)
Lock
Follows a successful Grapple - an attack that applies a Hindrance limiting the opponent's movement. With a Lock held, victim cannot escape until they win a roll specifically to get free - not just any success.
The Breaker
Wagered Injury to joints. Usable as a response to an opponent's attack, or when the PC already has a Lock.
The Pavement Was His Enemy
Brawling Wager that applies Injury on success. Doesn't require a Lock or an active attacker, but does require a wall, paving stones, or a suitable substitute to be present - environment as weapon.
General Examples
Test the Blade
Spend the first exchange of a fight reading the opposition's guard. Study their style as a Boost to the next attack. Caution worn as habit; better to learn a man than trade blows with him blind. This does no Harm, but does count as opposition. On a win, Wager the margin on the next roll for a Persistent Boost for the rest of the fight.
The Opener (Spellweaver - Release into a fast follow-up)
On the first round of a fight, Maerin Releases her bound Light as a free action: no improvisation, just the guaranteed 2, taken as a Complication or a Dazzled Hindrance. The Release consumes the spell and frees its Spellweaver rank, so the strike that follows lands at a higher EL. She casts Stone Shape on the spot, drawing a blade from any nearby stone and driving it home. The target may resist the Light for free; if the Dazzle sticks, it drags down their defense against what's coming. With luck there's no second exchange - and time afterward to re-bind the Light.
(On the deck of a ship, she might flip them just to boost the Light as her best option...)
I Recognize This!
Faced with something uncanny, Iris's first action is to spend an exchange to name it: this is a basic knowledge/deduction roll that, on success, allows PCs with relevant skills a free action roll for a Boost of their own against the thing, because now they know its vulnerability - salt, iron, whatever she can tell them. Truly obscure, alien, and/or unnameable horrors, or even those intelligent enough to know they should dissemble, can roll against her. An intelligent opposition might create a Boost of its own...
Genre Examples
Western: The Bounty Hunter
The Bead - within talking distance, she steps out with her rifle up and Wagers points of her EL as a persistent Aim Boost. Once established it adds to both the roll to make the target stand down and the shot itself if talk fails. When she has the chance, she'll use Sneak to Boost the Aim roll first.
Mercy Shot - to take a man alive, she Wagers up to her Sniper rank as dedicated Hindrance rather than possible Injury: a round through the arm or knee to stop him drawing or running. The points come off her EL first, so choosing "alive" genuinely costs her the surer shot - and a bullet is a poor tool for mercy, so it's never "safe."
Western: The Gunslinger
No Fear - a gunslinger holds his opponent's eyes with a smirk while the guns come out. His Intimidate rides along as a free-action Boost in the exchange, because the composure costs him no setup; it's simply his manner.
Showboat - the gunslinger stacks his Sniper, Performer, and Pistol Maneuver into one show of spinning irons; a display like this can even fold his Pistol Maneuver into an Intimidate roll (at the risk of getting shot for drawing.)
The Two-Step - always hoping to stay two steps ahead of an ambush, the gunfighter keeps within two steps of some kind of cover by habit. Unless completely surprised, he may roll a free-action Wager for a Cover Boost at the start of an ambush, getting something solid between himself and the guns unless there simply isn't anything available.
Sci-Fi: The Engineer
Cyber-HUD - On his own ship, every system has been custom-interfaced with known iconography, specific locations in his field of view, and macros for fast response on any problem he's had before. During any shipwide emergency, Taro can roll a free-action Boost on a response, even if he's not at a console. Note that it's not the equipment giving him the bonus, it's his work customizing. Bonuses from high-tech Gear with the assist rule would be in addition.