Easy: Teach domestic animals simple tricks, herd livestock, ride a pony, identify breed.
Average: Teach domestic animals moderate commands (attack, guard, hunt, fetch), ride a horse at full gallop, diagnose and treat ailments and treat, know creature traits and habits.
Hard: Teach difficult specific commands, ride at top speed, approach wild animals without fear.

Easy: Basic sketches, imitate a simple signature, estimate value of well known art.
Average: Produce marketable artwork, knowledge of art history movements, detect amature forgeries.
Hard: Create gallery/exhibition-worth artwork, authenticate obscure art, falsify documents/art.

Easy: 50 yard dash, knee high jump, dodge a slow-moving vehicle.
Average: 100 yard dash, chest high jump, balance on narrow ledge, dive clear of moving vehicle.
Hard: Lift 2x your weight, complex acrobatics, land a 15' fall safely, walk a tightrope, avoid vehicle (61-120 mph).

Easy: Hot wire ground transport, move without waking sleeping person, pick a drunk's pocket, hide in full cover.
Average: Pick common locks, deactivate normal home security, hide with partial cover, pick normal person's pocket, disable a mid-sized transport ship.
Hard: Open professional locks, defeat museum level security system, hide with limited cover.
Formidable: Disable state-of-the-art security, decipher multipad combinations, sneak into a maximum security prison, disable an Alliance cruiser.

Easy: Create a souvenir rain-stick or quilt; renovate a room in a modest house; tan leather; create a makeshift hammer.
Average: Make fresh bao; renovate a standard building; temper and forge steel; customize the exterior design of a sourcebox or datapad.
Hard: Forge a quality tool or weapon; cook a delicious four-course meal; rebuild a large structure; streamline a rifle or car; hand stitch a circus tent; create a hovering chandelier.

Easy: Study an interesting book in a quiet, welllit room; scare off an annoying child; question a cooperative witness.
Average: Keep fresh recruits in line after they only went through one day of training; memorize medical jargon with a full day to practice; resist spilling the beans under the threat of violence.
Hard: Interrogate a hardened mercenary; memorize a stream of numbers while in the middle of a noisy party; lead a group of green recruits into battle the first time.
Formidable: Crack jokes while being tortured; stare down a ruthless bounty hunter; keep up troops' spirits in the face of overwhelming defeat.

Easy: Recognize ammo for different kinds of guns; hit an unaware, stationary target (broad side of a barn, man with his back to you) at close range; find the safety on an unfamiliar weapon.
Average: Identify special ammo (armor piercing, "smart" bullets, etc.); hit a smallish, stationary target (garden gnome) at close range; clear a jammed weapon.
Hard: Adjust the sight or make small modifications to a weapon; hit a small, stationary target (such as a Blue Sun Cola can) at close range; reload an unfamiliar weapon quickly under stressful conditions.
Formidable: Shoot a tiny, stationary target (the button of a coat) at close range; make significant modifications to a weapon (collapsible components, adding laser targeting).

Easy: Hit the broad side of an Alliance cruiser 50 yards away; set and time simple explosives (a few sticks of dynamite).
Average: Hit a slow moving vehicle; gauge and set charges for routine demolitions (single building/ vehicle); make small modifications to heavy weapons or a ship's guns.
Hard: Hit a vehicle moving at fast speed; rig or disarm uncommon explosives; make considerable modifications to mounted weapons.
Formidable: Hit a vehicle moving at very fast speed; create or disable intricate explosive devices; make major alternations to mounted weapons.

Easy: Bluff landlubber yokels into thinking you'll blow a crater in their backwater moon when your transport ship has no guns; grease the right palms of local underworld or government; intimidate a child; seduce someone who's already smothering you in kisses.
Average: Administrate daily business for a small business or town; promote products from a major manufacturer; negotiate shuttle rentals; bribe crime boss or state official you once crossed; fool townsfolk into doing something they're not opposed to doing; book passengers on your ship; dig up the latest scuttlebutt on a high-ranking government official; intimidate a non-violent person.
Hard: Run daily business for a large corporation, province, or large colony; negotiate a large purchase (property, vehicle); convince someone to do you a big favor; intimidate a stubborn individual; seduce an honorable person who is in a committed relationship.
Formidable: Handle an administrative crisis for a government or corporation; keep two bloodthirsty rivals from killing each other; work deceptive, but iron-clad fine print into a contract; try to seduce a trained Companion.

Easy: Recognize names of important Alliance Parliament senators; know common information about major worlds like Londinum and locate them on a system map; remember facts that are in primary school textbooks.
Average: Recognize names of local celebrities/ legendary figures, and recount their deeds; know the origins and history of major artifacts or antiques; recall rules and etiquettes of culture in detail; quote popular scripture passages out of a major religious text ("The Lord is my shepherd…"); recall facts found in high-school textbooks.
Hard: Know the origins and recent past of minor artifacts/antiques; estimate the worth of a silk tapestry made in Sihnon; find Bathgate Abbey; recount the starting lineup for a champion sports team; remember information found in a college textbook (such as Mudder's Milk being similar to ancient Egypt's "liquid bread").
Formidable: Understand what the badges and sashes indicate for the nobility of Persephone; recall specific passages from scholarly papers written by distinguished professors.

Easy: Essential words and phrases for a seasoned traveler ("Food?" "Where restroom?" "How much?" "No!"); basic grammar; simple everyday greetings.
Average: Basic conversation ("How is the weather?" "What is your wife's name?"); interpret basic ideas of a literature or film; identity one language from another in a similar group (Danish from Norwegian, Turkish from Hungarian).
Hard: Fluent conversation ("You must give me that Neptune Colony recipe for the Crescent Sea Oyster Graparon!"); translate foreign literature or verbal communication in detail; identify one dialect from another in the same language (Cantonese from Taiwanese; Titan Colony from Newbury Port).
Formidable: Native conversation, including expressions and colloquialisms; translate old, historical version of a modern language (Medieval English); interpret basic meaning of text recorded in an ancient language (Latin, Hieroglyphics).

Easy: Set up pulleys, conveyors, axles, and other simple machines effectively; identify problems and make simple repairs to standard mechanical devices.
Average: Build an irrigation system; operate more complex mechanical devices such as a drill-press or laser-welder; disable standard machines and gadgets; fix moderate mechanical system damage; make standard modifications (install a vacuum pump system in an old engine).
Hard: Construct a Core ambulance from scrapheap parts; operate/disable complex mechanical devices such as a catalytic cracking unit in an oil refinery; repair severe mechanical system damage; create a non-standard use of existing machines (such as setting up a Crazy Ivan maneuver).
Formidable: Reverse-engineer a mechanical innovation; boost the performance of a mechanical device (such as giving a short speed-boost to a Firefly Class transport ship).

Easy: Give physical exam; use basic medical instruments (defibrillator, x-ray); administer treatment for common ailments and injuries (fever, broken ankle); perform CPR and handle minor emergencies (concussion, minor burns).
Average: Diagnose unusual ailments and injuries; recognize uncommon medicines and medical practices; use complex clinical instruments (CT scanner, respirator); handle most emergency injuries (bullet wounds, compound fractures, deep lacerations); graft a man's ear back on with a dermal mender; create a time-delayed drug dose.
Hard: Diagnose complex injuries and diseases; identify rare medicines; use specialized instruments (Neural Imager, Blood Gas Imager); treat lethal emergencies (bleeding out, toxic shock); reattach a limb.
Formidable: Treat unexpected, life-threatening complications; recall obscure medical theories and therapies; prescribe experimental treatment to alleviate "incurable" diseases; perform organ transplant and other intricate surgeries.

Easy: Know how to grip a rapier; use a butterfly knife; flail a pair of nunchaku slowly and without cracking your own skull; crack a whip impressively.
Average: Spank a novice fencer in the butt cheek with the flat of the blade; twirl open a butterfly knife; bat away an under-hand pitch; hit a slow moving target with a whip; gauge an opponent's Skill level with a given weapon.
Hard: Disarm a proficient fencer; deflect a quick, aimed strike; perform stunts and tricks (slice off the suspenders holding up an opponent's pants); feint; snuff out candle flame with a whip; identify exotic weapons; analyze opponent's fighting style with a given weapon.
Formidable: Disarm an excellent fencer; cut fruits tossed into the air into even pieces; hit a fly with a whip.

Easy: Solve low-grade vidshow mysteries; spot a roadside billboard; eavesdrop on a conversation at the next table; know when a little kid is lying to you; follow footprints in light snow; detect a gas leak by smell.
Average: Collect fingerprints and gather other evidence; read the numbers on a license plate of a fast car; see someone hiding behind a bush; follow a muddy track.
Hard: Spot inconspicuous clues; surmise a culprit's physical and mental stats (height, weight, gender, hair color, level of education, etc.) from available evidence; sense a hidden emotion; solve a well-written mystery novel before final chapter; determine the best places for an ambush; trace faint or fading chemical scent.
Formidable: See through the deceits of a trained Companion; discern well-concealed emotions; decipher whispers in the next room through a closed door.

Easy: Star in primary school stage plays; sing backup at the Abbey choir; strum basic guitar chords.
Average: Perform amateur productions and minstrel shows; sing lead vocal for a local band; win high school talent contests; write original songs; mask surface emotions.
Hard: Understudy in a professional production; write a film score or long orchestral piece; dance to 63 an unfamiliar number; emulate popular characters and recognizable voices on cue; disguise yourself as someone far older or younger than yourself.
Formidable: Headline a grand musical in a prestigious Core-world theater; receive critical acclaim for your performance in a major stage production; create a dead-on impression of any character; depict any emotion regardless of true feelings; disguise yourself as someone of a different racial background.

Easy: Takeoff/land a good craft under normal conditions (fair to shiny weather, state-of-the-art port) with excellent instructions; set a short, simple course; switch autopilot on or off.
Average: Fly a functional craft through moderate conditions (fog, sensor static, turbulence), takeoff/ land under typical condition (regular airfield, competent tower staff); plot a long, unusual course (one that avoids Alliance patrols, as an example); recognize specialized air and space vessels (Alliance gunship, medical ship).
Hard: Fly through harsh environment (deluge, dense asteroid cluster, high turbulence); takeoff/ land under crappy conditions (low visibility, under-serviced strip, incompetent tower staff); attempt an unusual maneuver (evasion, loop, maintaining altitude in howling wind); control craft under adverse conditions (ship damage, stellar electromagnetic phenomenon).
Formidable: Fly through very hazardous environment (electrical/ice storm, blizzard, restricted airspace) with a damaged craft; takeoff/ land under extreme conditions (no visibility, short field, low fuel); attempting risky maneuver (rabbit through asteroid cluster at high speed, hard banks through canyon, multiple loops); perform a highly unconventional maneuver ("Crazy Ivan").

Easy: Take the vehicle for a spin around town up to speed limit; parallel parking; fix a flat tire or broken rudder; use global positioning systems to find the shortest route.
Average: Control the transport at high speed (hard turn at 50% max speed) under difficult conditions (slick ground, hard rain, fog) or through rough 64 terrain (trees, gravel, choppy water); attempt tricks (sideswipe another vehicle); repair minor mechanical problems (replace timing belt, reconnect brakes, change lube).
Hard: Perform high-speed stunts (fast 90-degree turn, reverse); control the vehicle under adverse conditions (hail, snow); compensate for significant mechanical problems (failing breaks, reduced turning capability).
Formidable: Execute cinematic stunts (bootleg, ramp jump, drive in reverse through highway traffic; drive on two wheels); control the vehicle under hazardous conditions (pitch darkness, ice-coated roads, oil slick); compensate for major mechanical problems (flat tires, near-frozen steering).

Easy: Match ideal ammunition to the right kind of weapon; hit a large, stationary target (such as the broad side of a barn) at close range; keep a bow pulled and aimed for a short length of time.
Average: Hit a medium, stationary target (such as a person standing still) at close range; make small modifications (tauter bow string, sharper arrow tips); identify origins and models of common ranged weapons.
Hard: Arm explosive or poisoned tips properly; hit a small, stationary target (such as a Blue Sun Cola can) at close range; recognize exotic ranged weapons (atatl, boomerang) and historical ones (Chief Shiny Oak's throwing knife); create new ranged weapons (razor-edged playing cards).
Formidable: Create mastercraft bows and arrows; hit a tiny, stationary target (the button of a coat) at close range); make significant improvement to a ranged weapon (infrared targeting, homing arrows).

Easy: Know who runs what renowned research institutions; relate the Theory of Evolution; reenact famous experiments and discoveries; repeat common scientific formulae.
Average: Remember names of the foremost authorities on certain subjects and know where to find them; translate complex scientific jargon into common words; identify and operate advanced laboratory equipment.
Hard: Recall obscure discoveries and the parties responsible; explain the Theory of Relativity in detail and get it right; identify and operate specialized laboratory equipment; create complex chemical compounds in an inadequate facility; calculate advanced equations; teach advanced university classes.
Formidable: Recollect suppressed discoveries and who made them; produce complex chemical compounds in a makeshift facility; find and correct flaws in a popularly accepted equation.

Easy: Build a campfire; recognize prominent star constellations; forage for food and water supplies on camp ground.
Average: Start fire with tindersticks; hunt deer or other common wild game; identify signs of creatures living nearby; perform minor first aid; find water supply in most environments; identify poisonous plants; set snares for squirrels and similar small animals.
Hard: Hunt boar and other ferocious wild game; survive quicksand or flash flood; find food and water supplies in bad weather; bandage a serious wound; apply a tourniquet correctly; treat frostbite and other harsh environmental hazards; adapt to temperature changes in a desert; set traps for panthers or other large beasts.
Formidable: Hunt polar bears on a glacier; evade killer sharks in an ocean; treat hypothermia and other lethal environmental hazards; neutralize deadly venoms; adapt to an unpredicted, drastic climate/ temperature shift.

Easy: Repair a simple short-range wave comm; identify and fix standard electric and electronic devices; hook up a large computer network.
Average: Build a decent short-range wave comm; identify and operate advanced electric and electronic devices; override standard computer encryptions; reprogram a service drone or machine; repair moderate automated system damage; break into an unprotected computer system; pipe out comm static on all frequencies.
Hard: Build a functional long-range wave comm or a listening bug; identify and operate specialized electric and electronic devices; override security gate or airlock codes; repair heavy automated system damage; reconfigure a large computer network; identify hidden code embedded in a wave broadcast; implement advanced technical modifications such as photoelectric cells; hack into a small company's computer system.
Formidable: Build advanced technical devices; identify and operate innovative electric and electronic systems; override encryptions and codes of important government or corporate facilities; repair severe automated system damage; reconfigure a world-wide computer network; implement original technical modification; hack into a well-protected corporate security system.

Easy: Land a sucker punch; hit a head butt ("no one ever expects a head butt!"); kick to the groin; twist an arm; gouge eyes; elbow to the gut.
Average: Identify major martial art styles and techniques; hold average ranking (up to but not including black belt) in martial arts; fight for prize money in local contests, hold your own in a bar fight.
Hard: Analyze opponent's fighting style, judging whether or not he's a better fighter; recognize exotic martial arts; black belt in martial arts; fight for prize money in Core world casinos, know specialized kicks and punches that can quickly disable an opponent.
Formidable: Break five thick boards with one strike; know specialized techniques that can quickly and silently kill an opponent; win a major boxing championship; hold a third-degree black belt or higher; disarm, disable, or kill an attacking, armed opponent.