What if Abilities Had Flavor Text?

[Kitbashed]

Yeah yeah everyone likes big damage numbers, but what do Steele's chosen abilities say about their character/personality?



Heavily inspired by Starsector's skill flavor text, I decided to go ahead and write/compile a fun mix of jokes, lore nuggets, and power-fantasy quotes to add a bit of roleplaying texture to the various class abilities. Now, this isn't a serious suggestion for TiTS, as that would require a whole lot more consideration for new players (e.g. some of my flavor text gets kinda spoiler-y). This was more of a 'just for fun' personal micro-project.

Anyways, here's what I have for the simple-but-effective Mercenary:

Mercenary (Specials)​

​

1	Headbutt (Starter Ability)	A physique-based attack that does not factor in weapon damage but has a chance of stunning your target. "My father always tells me to 'use my head out there.' Honestly? Pretty solid advice." — unattributed
2	Bloodthirsty	Melee attacks restore a few points of energy. "I'm not a huge fan of the term 'bloodlust.' Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good brawl same as anybody, but it doesn't get me going in that kind of way, y'know?" — Benjamin "Big T" Tee, planetary governor of New Texas
2	Armor Piercing	Ranged attacks ignore the first few points of enemy defense. "The good ol' ZK rifle. Accurate enough out of the box, but more importantly, it uses an integrated rail accelerator to send a heavy round down range with enough force to punch through even light vehicle armor." — Dr. Anno Erane Dorna, Steele Tech researcher¹
3	Power Strike	Grants the ability to perform a single melee attack for 200% normal damage "The thing about energy shields: they’re great at blocking bullets, but not so much with fists." — Kaede Artemis Entara, independent freighter captain¹
3	Rapid Fire	Grants the ability to perform a ranged attack with two extra, reduced-accuracy shots. "Accuracy? Hah! Leave the sharpshooting to the nerds and their ballistic calculators. The only accuracy I care about is accuracy by volume." — unattributed
4	Riposte	Grants +15% evasion after any melee attack made for the remainder of the combat round. "Looks like it's just you and me. Let's dance, bitch." — Khorgan Brytheck, pirate captain
4	Take Cover	Grants the ability to avoid nearly all incoming ranged attacks for 3 combat rounds. "A standard-issue laser carbine will pop your shields in three seconds flat. But against a few sandbags? Man, you could sit there all day." — Lieutenant Commander Valden, J.A.F.
5	Carpet Grenades	Grants the ability to toss out a handful of micro-grenades, damaging everything in a large area. Hits all enemies. To whom it may concern: — message scrawled on an improvised explosive, confiscated at a Gildenmere checkpoint
5	Detonation Charge	Grants the ability to throw a focused detonation charge at an enemy for very high Burning damage. Focusing the charge restricts the blast radius to a single target. "Tam, I swear to god if you set the disarm code to eight-oh-oh-eight-five again I will actually fuck you into next week. Shit, that's probably what you wanted anyways." — Kassa Beamfury, first mate to pirate captain Khorgan Brytheck
6	Heavy Weapons	Increases damage from physical, non-energy-based ranged weapons by 20%. "The only thing I'm compensating for is the recoil on this bad boy." — unattributed
6	Low Tech Solutions	Increases damage from physical, non-energy-based melee weapons by 20%. "A soldier must be proficient with each and every weapon at their disposal. A six-inch combat knife will never win a gunfight, but it will also never jam, run out of ammo, or need a recharge." — T.S.C. marine handbook.
7	Cleave	Grants an extra, low-accuracy swing when fighting groups of enemies or "plural" type foes. "I paid for a whole plasma battleaxe, you bet I'm going to use the whole plasma battleaxe." — unattributed
7	Concentrate Fire	Allows consecutive ranged attacks to gain a bonus to damage. "PLAP PLAP PLAP PLAP..." — Horsecock Hell 2, hyperporn film by Nivas Oxonef
8	Second Attack	Allows you to make a second, low-accuracy attack whenever you perform a melee attack. Can stack with "Cleave". "A lot of people think an extra set of arms will give them an edge in a fight, and it will. But our brains aren’t meant to control that many limbs. The ability to independently coordinate four or more arms exists in one thousandth of the population of two-armed races. You’re looking at one of them." — Dane, personal bodyguard of Jack Steele¹
8	Second Shot	Allows you to make a second, low-accuracy attack whenever you shoot a ranged weapon. "In very rare circumstances, the TamaniCorp Dong Designer™ may cause sudden penile bifurcation. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience, and appreciate your patience while we address this minor issue." — recall notice for the TamaniCorp Dong Designer
9	Rending Attacks	Allows your "Power Strike" to apply Sunder (reducing armor by 50%) and your "Rapid Fire" to Stagger your opponents (reducing physique, reflexes, aim, and intelligence by 10%). "Feeling lightheaded? Weak in the knees? Well, I can't say I'm surprised, darling. It's a common reaction." — Minuet, legendary thief, spy, and femme fatale
9	Giant Slayer	Grants +5% chance to critical strike foes who are 7 feet or taller. "Some knuckleheads think that being eight feet tall will help them in a gunfight. All it does is make them a bigger target." — Evening, freelance mercenary
10	Lunge	Grants the ability to target most flying enemies with melee attacks and a low chance to stagger ground-bound foes. "Don't worry rookie. The green brutes can't reach us up here." — final transmission from 54th airborne division, T.S.C. Expeditionary Force, 228 A.C.
10	Bigger Guns	You can use Heavy weapons without needing to meet the physique requirements. "It ain't a gun if it don't weigh at least one hundred kilos!" — Hoxxian combat-miner²
11	Sturm And Drang	Grants the ability to make one melee strike that procs a volley of ranged attacks like 'Rapid Fire' ability with enhanced accuracy and critical chance. Sturm und Drang (noun) 1. an ancient pre-coalition Terran artistic movement characterized by its focus on individualism, emotion, and dramatic action 2. chaos, upheaval — official U.G.C. English dictionary²
11	Vaulting Strike	Grants the ability to make a high damage melee attack that does +50% bonus damage to flying or tripped targets. One round cooldown. "Like swatting a fly." — unidentified Khaleen insurgent, 3064 A.C.
12	Specialized Combatant	Your bonus flurry attack for ranged or melee is upgraded to have full accuracy. "I fear not the slut who has sucked 10,000 dicks once, but I fear the slut who has sucked one dick 10,000 times." — Ancient proverb²
12	Second Striker	Allows you to become comfortable making bonus flurry attacks with melee AND ranged attacks. "People often ask if I have a type. Now, don't get me wrong; I love me some bombshell Ausar babes or some cute kaithrit boys, but I really don't play favorites. Variety is the spice of life." — Victor Steele, billionaire playboy and founder of Steele Tech
13	Blood Frenzy	You enter a Blood Frenzy for 3 turns, and then make a melee strike against every enemy. While in the Frenzy, each melee hit you land deals bonus damage and restores Health based on damage dealt. "Saurmorians aren’t people of complex feelings or relationships. Saurmorians don’t feel these things — not the same way you do, at least. I need to know why I feel this way, and the only way I can do that is through what I do best." — Chaurmine, Saurmorian bounty hunter¹
13	Tracer Rounds	Load tracer ammunition that lasts for three turns, then make a full ranged attack. Grants a large increase to accuracy and additional burning damage while active. "I frankly don't give a shit if these tracers give away our position. When I said we were going in 'guns blazing,' I fucking meant it." — unattributed

Mercenary (Perks)​

2	Critical Blows	Your strikes and shots gain a 10% chance of inflicting double damage on normal melee and ranged attacks. "Fight hard. Drink hard. Fuck hard. That's the life of a merc, newbie." — unattributed
3	Tough	Resistance to Kinetic damage increased by 10%. "Come on!! I survived a grenade, fuck me HARDER!" — Verusha, freelance mercenary¹
4	Juggernaut	Grants a 25% chance to overcome any paralysis, stun or stagger effect every combat round. "I got stabbed a few times for my trouble; they were just flesh wounds, so I still managed to fend the lunatics off until peace-keepers arrived. As the saying goes, once a marine, always a marine." — Ciaran Eildean, New Texan game warden¹
5	Second Wind	Grants the ability to recover half of your maximum HP and Energy once per combat encounter. "Am I down for another round? Are you kidding me? Fuck yeah I am!" — unattributed
6	Tough 2	Increases Kinetic damage resistance provided by ‘Tough’ to 15% (+5%). "I’M CAPTAIN KHORGAN BRYTHECK OF THE TARASQUE, AND I’M IN CHARGE HERE. YOU’VE GOT A LOT OF BALLS FOR A GIRL. I’M ALMOST IMPRESSED." — Captain Khorgan Brytheck of the Tarasque¹
7	Iron Will	Allows your physical fortitude to contribute slightly to your willpower, granting one point of willpower for every five points of physique. "We were in the shit back on Khaleen, cut off and surrounded... we only made it out because Valden kept his cool, led us through fire and fury like you wouldn’t believe." — Syri Dorna, former J.A.F. combat engineer¹
8	Heroic Reserves	Raises your maximum energy reserves by 33, allowing you to use more special attacks before tiring. A Potion guaranteed to double your pep! (Only while cold) — JoyCo Power Potion slogan¹
9	Heavily Armored	Reduces the effectiveness of Sunder (and Sunder-like effects) on you by 50%. "What? You said to make the armor 'impregnable.' How the fuck was I susposed to know that you meant the other kind of 'impregnable?' " — exit interview of a disgruntled Reaper Armaments employee
10	Single Minded	Increases willpower to maximum when your HP is below 50%. "Apparently I lost consciousness in the cold, sitting in a warehouse out in the open for half a day. Nearly died before somebody heard me shivering in a crate and crowbarred it. I was lucky I didn’t lose my baby, not to mention a few extremities." — Shade Irons, Stormguard bounty hunter¹
11	Helldiver	Increases resistance to burning damage by 10%. Service guarantees citizenship! Enlist today! — Scarlet Federation propaganda poster²
12	Boundless Reserves	Your base Energy increases to 150. "The allegations that JoyCo Power Potions™ contain undisclosed mutagens are completely unfounded. Our energy beverages certainly will keep you firing on all cylinders, but they do not literally 'give you wings.' " — public statement by a JoyCo representative, preserved as evidence in a pending class action lawsuit
13	Second Skin	When wearing power armor, +2 evasion and +1 resolve. "From the moment I understood the weakness of my flesh, it disgusted me. I craved the strength and certainty of steel. The detachable cock is also a nice bonus." — unidentified Mechanus League member²

¹ Quoted directly from the in-game text or other canon content
² Reference to outside source

If you like this kind of thing, do let me know! I would be happy to do one of these for all of the classes, provided people are interested. Also, I couldn't come up with sources for some of them (hence the abundance of 'unattributed' quotes). Feel free to give me suggestions if you have any ideas for quotes/sources!