Every standard identity substitutes for at least one ability, by default, or more if taken as an additional feature. It’s only for taking actions that the ability it subs for ordinarily covers.
An identity does not sub for that ability for the purposes of coercing a shock meter or making a stress check, unless it has the Resists Shock or Coerces feature respectively.
I am a Postal Services Worker, of course I can keep crazy sleep patterns, do bureaucracy, be a jobsworth, know where you live and your morning routine, get the neighbourhood gossip, blend into the street scene.
Substitutes for: Fitness.
Feature: Protects Isolation.
Feature: Substitute for Notice.
Two versions of the I Have Scary Problems Identity are included. One’s mystic. One’s just the outcome of living a life of incipient terror.
I Have Scary Problems.
Supernatural: Specific Inform (for whatever those oranges and pencils and people in
crowds have in common).
Feature: Use Gutter Magick.
Feature: Casts Rituals.
I Have Scary Problems, of course I can maintain a poker face, be ready to flee at all times, awaken at the slightest noise.
Substitutes for: Pursuit.
Feature: Substitutes for Dodge.
Feature: Substitutes for Notice.
I’m Obsessed with UFOS, of course I can attempt geometry and trigonometry, spot the tells of CGI, process video frame-by-frame.
Substitutes for: Knowledge.
Feature: Substitutes for Notice.
Feature: Substitutes for Pursuit.
I Came Out of Foster Care, of course I can yell, nitpick the legality of certain tense social
interactions, instinctively hide of everything of value.
Substitutes for: Notice.
Feature: Substitutes for Dodge.
Feature: Coerces Violence.
The Insomniac has, in fact, taken five Fails in Helplessness and is now subject to hallucinations. Usually, there’s no bonus Identity for this poor bastard. He’s just screwed.
On the other hand …
I Can’t Resist a Mystery, of course I can bond with you over your favorite crime show, figure out ciphers and notice acrostics, spot inconsistencies.
Substitutes for: Knowledge.
Feature: Substitutes for Notice.
Feature: Substitutes for Connect.
I’m Burnt Out, of course I can find a meth dealer, sleep rough, tell you which dumpster has the freshest baked goods.
Substitutes for: Notice.
Feature: Protects Isolation.
Feature: Coerces Isolation.
I’m a Detective, of course I can run a plate, conduct surveillance, spy on your personal electronics.
Substitutes for: Notice.
Feature: Substitutes for Secrecy.
Feature: Substitutes for Pursuit.
I’m a Mystic Seeker, of course I can discuss Tarot and alchemy, recognize the commonest ways to fake having magick,
tell mystic inspiration from drug-abuse babble.
Substitutes for: Notice.
Feature: Protects Unnatural.
Feature: Substitutes for Pursuit.
I’m a Weather Forecaster, of course I can introduce you to everyone at the local news station, identify cloud types, ridicule climate change deniers.
Substitutes for: Knowledge.
Feature: Substitutes for Notice.
Feature: Substitutes for Status.
