Panic

Ability Type: Focus Ability

Sometimes there's nothing for it but to have a good, old-fashioned panic. Panic is the basic manifestation of your fight-or-flight response and in return for spending 1 Willpower it provides you with +1 Dexterity, 1 point of Shock Resistance, +10% Movement (round up) and +2 Awareness. Unfortunately panicked people don't tend to be especially sound of judgement, and it also applies a -2 penalty to your Empathy and Intelligence (thus effectively cancelling out the Awareness bonus) and a -2 penalty to any actions that require fine manipulation - such as lock-picking. You may Panic at any time, with the effect lasting until the end of your next turn.

In addition to activating Panic deliberately, the GM may also require characters to make Resistance Skill Checks not to Panic involuntarily if they are startled or things start to go badly wrong. Characters with other Focus Abilities, such as Adrenal Focus or Burst of Speed, may choose to activate these instead if they fail such a check.