Date: Sat, 9 May 1998 23:57:03 -0400
From: ikelley@sas.upenn.edu (Ian Kelley)


Star Ocean Skills FAQ v 1.0

One of the coolest things about Star Ocean is its great skill system. 
It's kind of complicated though, so I hope this FAQ can kind of clear 
that up.

How the Skills system works:

There are 4 types of Skills: Chishiki Kanren
, (Knowlege-related) 
Kankaku Kanren, (Feeling/Sensation-related) Gijutsu Kanren, 
(Technical-related) and Sentou Kanren (Battle-related.)  Each type of 
skills have 3 levels.  Whenever you buy a level of a skill type, you 
get access to all the skills in
 that level.  Each character can spend his 
or her skill points on any skill available.  You gain Skill points every 
time you gain an experience level, and you also gain bonus points for 
acquiring a new Talent. (More on this later)  You can gain up to l
evel 
10 in any given skill, then you have mastered that skill.

Talents:
Talents are innate skills that each character has, and what character 
has which talents is determined randomly at the beginning of the 
game.  It is possible to gain new Talents th
roughout the game, but 
this is rather difficult.  By trying to use Tokugi (abilities) that require 
Talents you don't have, you can often gain the talent needed to make 
that Tokugi work effectively.

Example: If your character doesn't have the skill of 
"Design Sense," 
yet continually practices the Tokugi "Art," he or she may develop 
Design Sense.

Every time you gain a new talent, you get a bonus award of 50 Skill 
points.


Tokugi:
By learning different combinations of skills, you can learn Tokugi, a
bilities.  Tokugis can be anything from creating new items to 
playing music that has effects on your party.  In order to use a 
Tokugi, you must learn all the component Skills.  For example, if you 
want to learn the skill to temper your weapons, you nee
d to learn 
metal-casting ability and mineral/ore knowledge before you can use 
it.  Most Tokugis require at least one Talent to be work effectively, 
for example you need Design Sense to be an effective artist.  The 
more skilled you are at a Tokugi, the
 more likely it is to work.  The 
proficiency level of your Tokugi will be the average of the 
proficiency levels of the Skills required to use that Tokugi.


The Skills:

CHISHIKI KANREN LEVEL 1:

Yakusougaku: (Study of Medicinal Herbs)
Knowledge of medi
cinal herbs and other plants.  When a character 
skilled in Yakusougaku uses items that regenerate HP or MP, their 
effectiveness is increased by 2% times the Yakusougaku Skill level.

Koubutsugaku: (Study of Minerals)
Knowledge of minerals, metals, gems,
 and other such items.

Recipe:
Knowledge of various recipes for different kinds of foods.


CHISHIKI KANREN LEVEL 2:

Dougu Chishiki: (Knowledge of Items)
Knowledge of Items, weapons, armor, and the like.

Otamajakushi: (What language IS this?)
Various m
usical knowledge.

Seibutsugaku: (Study of living beings)
Knowledge of the structure and functioning of living beings.  A 
character skilled in Seibutsugaku will have their maximum HP 
increased in increments of (Skill level x 20) -10 per Skill level rais
ed. 
I.e 10 point HP increment from level 0 to 1, 30 point increment from 
level 1 to 2, etc.


CHISHIKI KANREN LEVEL 3:

Youseiron (Theory on Sprites, Fairies, etc...)
Knowledge of Sprites and Homunculuses; on beings connected with 
the origins of life.

Seishingaku (Spiritual Knowledge)
Knowledge of spiritual and mystical powers.   A character skilled in 
Seibutsugaku will have their maximum MP increased by (Skill level x 
2) -1. I.e 1 point MP increment from level 0 to 1, 3 point increment 
from level 1
 to 2, etc.

Piety
A deep devotion, and a knowledge of how to connect with higher 
powers.  A character skilled in Piety will receive a Skill level + 2 
intelligence bonus.


KANKAKU KANREN LEVEL 1:

Mekiki ("Effective Eyes," literally)
The ability to sel
ect good ingredients when cooking.

Bitekikankaku (Aesthetic sense)
A love of beautiful things, and a good eye for aesthetic beauty.

Nintai (Endurance)
A strong willpower to endure pain and sadness. A character skilled 
in Nintai will get a Skill level x
 2 Constitution bonus.


KANKAKU KANREN LEVEL 2:

Kikenkanchi (Sense of feeling danger)
The ability to sense danger in the surroundings, and a heightened 
awareness.  A character with Kikenkanchi gets a Skill level x 4% 
lower chance of getting a surprise
 attack. 

Asobikokoro (Playing spirit, literally)
A good imagination, basically; the ability to imagine supernatural-
type things and the like.

Konjou (Willpower)
A strong willpower giving one the ability to stand up to anything.  A 
character skilled i
n Konjou gets a Skill Level x 3 Guts bonus.


KANKAKU KANREN LEVEL 3:

Kinoubi ("Functional Beauty")
There's no way I can translate the name of this skill well, but it's 
basically the ability to sense a balance between beauty and 
functionality.

Denpa (
Dissimination)
The ability to sense and call forth the unknown.

Doryouku (Effort)
The ability to stick to a task and get it done no matter what the cost.  
The character skilled in Doryouku gets a reduction in the Skill point 
cost to increase your skill
s, equal to the Doryouku skill level.  In 
other words, if you have a Doryouku skill level of 3, all other skills 
will take 3 fewer skill points to advance to the next level.


GIJUTSU KANREN LEVEL 1

Dash
The ability to run really fast without getting t
ired.  A character 
skilled in Dash gets a Skill level x 4 bonus to their Stamina

Houchou (Kitchen Knife)
Why they picked such a weird name for this skill is beyond me, but 
basically it is skill with kitchen knives like a true cook.  A character 
skille
d in Houchou gets a Skill level x 2 bonus to their Strength.  
(BTW I am not making this up, this is the exact description in the 
game when you put your pointer on Houchou, and the Kanji is for 
Kitchen Knife so I am not mistranslating. ^_^)

Dessin (Fre
nch for "Draw")
The ability to draw and make accurate reproductions of things on 
paper.

Kuchibue (Whistle)
The ability to stick your fingers in your mouth and blow a really loud 
whistle.


GIJUTSU KANREN LEVEL 2:

Craft
Craftsmanship, the ability to wo
rk items with your hands and create 
something with it.  A character with Craft ability gets a Skill level x 2 
Bonus to their Agility.

Bunpitsu (Writing)
The ability to write literature and to do research.  A character skilled 
in Bunpitsu gets a Skill 
level x 4 bonus to their agility.

Choukyou (Train--as in animal training)
The ability to train animals and make them do things for you.


GIJUTSU KANREN LEVEL 3:

Kagaku gijutsu (Scientific Ability)
The ability to work with chemicals and do various types
 of 
experiments.

Ensou (Musical Performance)
The ability to play musical instruments.

Cast
The metallurgical ability to cast metals.


SENTOU KANREN LEVEL 1:

Shougekiha (Attack wave)
A character with Shougekiha has a percentage chance of attacking an 

enemy and making a critical attack; in that attack, the damage taken 
is as if the enemy's defense power was much lower than it is.

Shinkuha (Vacuum Wave)
The ability to attack an enemy and knock him far away with the 
force of the blow.

Mekuri (Turnov
er attack)
A character with Mekuri will often dash behind an enemy and attack 
him from behind, making it impossible for him to block the blow 
with a shield or similar object.


SENTOU KANREN LEVEL 2:

Hangeki (Counterattack)
A character with Hangeki wil
l often immediately counterattack an 
enemy after being hit.

Feint
A character with Feint has a chance proportional to their skill level to 
make attacks that have 100% of making their mark.

Renki (Continuous Spirit, literally)
A character with Renki ha
s a chance proportional to their skill level 
of making attacks with increased attack power.


SENTOU KANREN LEVEL 3:

Original Link Combo (Link Combo)
A character skilled in Link Combo can perform from 2-4 consecutive 
Hissatsuwaza in one attack. (Specia
l attack)  You can choose from 
among each character's techniques which techniques to use and what 
order you'd like them to attack in.

Hayakuchi (Fast Talking)
A spellcaster skilled in Hayakuchi can reduce the time needed to 
prepare and cast a spell.  
The higher the skill level, the less time it 
takes to cast a spell.  At skill level 10, there is no lag time at all 
between starting to cast a spell, and casting it.

TALENTS

Originality:
Originality is originality; the ability to think up and make new
 things.

Mikaku: (Gourmet sense)
A special appreciation for food; the ability to judge and evaluate 
various tastes.

Kiyou na Yubisaki: (Skilled fingertips)
Good manual dexterity; the ability to work with your hands and 
perform difficult tasks that req
uire precise movement.

Design Sense:
An artistic ability to draw, design, and create things.

Bunsai:  (Literary ability)
The ability to put one's thoughts in words and put it on paper.

Rythm Kan: (Rythm Sense)
A comprehension and grasp of musical rythm