Can you learn Empathy?

[Kromm]

Yeah, Body Language rarely works at full skill unless you always meet people naked under bright lights. Clothes, darkness, a strategically held briefcase, etc. are all it takes for the skill to become merely so-so. In my secret-agent game, Detect Lies – nearly always at +3 for Empathy and with Smooth Operator bonuses – is the overwhelming favorite not just for the bonuses, but for the lack of penalties. And setting aside the bonus/penalty issue, spies listen to conversations via wiretaps and bugs all the time, and often talk to mysterious tipsters on the phone . . .