Skill listing vs. Maneuver Listing

Some skills say in their skill listing that they can be used in certain circumstances for infection. Journalism is an example; it says it can be used for Assess, Flak, Go to Ground, Inundate, and Take Action. However, those actions only list Journalism under one phase. If I’m (for example), Flakking during phase one, and it turns out in play that my guys were doing lots of hard-hitting media expossees, does the skill description let me use Journalism, or do I have to use something else? Other skills, like Research, make no mention of their infection uses.

No. For Infection, you can only use the skills that are appropriate for the Phase you’re playing.

Journalism is the skill for the Usurpation Phase, because that’s when you want to make the big reveal.

Still, journalism is pretty useful in play. You can definitely use it to your advantage, even during the Infiltration or the Invasion. You just can’t use it for Infection rolls.

Can you use Journalism (or any other skill not listed as appropriate for the maneuver roll itself) for a Linked Test to the maneuver roll? Pg. 416 says explicitly that only the listed skills can be used for Helping Dice; I suspect that you can’t even do a Linked Test that affects the maneuver roll, since the maneuver roll is a stand-alone thing, but I want to be sure.

We’ve been doing linked tests tied in with Maneuver rolls as parts of building scenes in my game, and it doesn’t seem to break anything. So, if that’s wrong, I’d like to know why.

We haven’t done a linked test into a Maneuver yet, but only because we haven’t thought to try yet. Book doesn’t say you can or can’t. I’d suspect you can’t, although allowing it would give your side a greater sense of connection between the scenes and the Maneuver (just +1D but it would at least tangentially connect your centerpiece scene’s success/failure to the Maneuver – four turns in and my players still think the scene/Maneuver disconnect sucks).

p.

Page 299, under Linked Tests:

Actions and Maneuvers within the Infection, Duel of Wits and Firefight mechanics may not be linked.