Basic abilities represent common tasks like moving around, attacking, and helping others. As such, every creature can use basic abilities except in some extreme circumstances, and many of those actions are used very frequently. Most notably, you'll use Interact and Strike a great deal.
Many feats, techniques, and other abilities call upon you to use one of these basic abilities or modify them to produce different effects. For example, a more complex ability might let you move up to twice your speed, and a large number of activities include a Strike. An ability might also modify a basic ability, such as having you move up to half your speed.
All basic abilities are listed below in alphabetical order. Left-click on an ability to reveal its details.
In addition to the abilities in this section, the abilities for casting magic can be found here, and the abilities for using magic items appear here.
As long as you can act, you can also speak. You don't need to spend any type of action to speak, but because a round represents 6 seconds of time, you can usually speak at most a single sentence or so per round.
Special uses of speech, such as attempting a Deception skill check to Lie, require spending actions and follow their own rules. All speech has the auditory trait. If you communicate in some way other than speech, other rules might apply. For instance, using sign language is visual instead of auditory.
Uncommon abilities