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Attributes

 

            Attributes are the most basic defining trait of a character.  They show how strong, how smart, or how pretty someone (or something) is.  There are nine attributes divided into 4 categories:  social (Appearance, Personality, & Grace); mental (Knowledge, Wits, & Willpower); physical (Strength, Agility, & Stamina); and lastly the miscellaneous category (Awareness, Speed, and Common Sense). 

            When rolling for attributes the rule of “from one—many” applies.  This means that each time you roll a “1” you add another dice.  Example:  if you rolled:  1, 1, 6, 5, on 4D6 then you add 2 more D6’s (one dice for each “1” rolled) to the existing total of 13; you continue to do this as long as you roll ones.  No “roll & keep the highest,” or “re-roll ones & twos,” none of that crap; you get what you roll, but there are plenty of opportunities to increase your attributes during character creation.  For now, let the dice fall where they may.  This rule does allow for unlimited attribute scores at character creation; however, you will have to get there a point at a time. 

            You can increase your attributes much in the same manner as you increase your skills.  The ‘free’ increase is to add 1 to one attribute of your choice every 3 levels.  You may petition the Game Master for additional increases through exercise, education, etc.  Attribute points may also be gained (and lost) due to bonuses from your class or during play.  The charts go up to 25, but the ratings are open-ended and unlimited (just extrapolate from the charts to find higher bonuses), and social attributes can go below 0 into negative numbers. 

 

                   Social Attributes

 

            Appearance is how good you look, personality is verbal interaction, and grace is the more subtle factors such as how you move or act.  The sad reality of the world (as in reality) is that people make their first impressions of someone primarily on appearance.  Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder—that is your effective appearance is based on your race and theirs (see the Comparative Appearance chart in the Interaction chapter).  Reputation is affected only by the base rating, not effective level.  Personality affects many skills that involve communication and can be used to sway in favour or against, depending on the skills selected.  Personality isn’t necessarily how nice or likeable you are, but how strong your personality is.  Someone with a powerful personality will dominate a conversation regardless of whether or not anyone likes her or agrees with her.  Grace is a highly desirable trait amongst the upper classes in the Kingdom of Formour with their frequent masked balls, as well as with the elves who allow only the most graceful to become BladeDancers.  Social retests allow the listed numbers of re-rolls to social skill use per encounter.  Social attributes can fall below 0 into negative numbers. 

 

            “It’s no coincidence that beauty, charm, and wealth often go hand-in-hand; it’s all a matter of superior breeding.”

                                    ----Duchess Camille of Possen just before her death during a peasant uprising

 

 

 

                   Knowledge

 

            Knowledge is much like I.Q.  It is a broad overview of how much you know rather than specific skills and measures memory and starting skills as well as being the attribute used most often for skills.  This attribute may also be used as a default “trivia skill” for when your character might know something that you as a player wouldn’t—as always, attribute checks such as these are made by rolling the rating or lower on 2D20.  Each free upgrade either adds +1 to the level of a proficiency-type skill, or moves an apprenticeship up to journeyman level or journeyman to master.  The free upgrade or bonus Prodigy trait allows you to exceed the normal maximums (journeyman or proficiency level III) for a starting character.  Some apprentice skills count as 2 skill selections for determining starting skills.  Chance to Learn is the percentage chance that the character has to successfully learn a new skill.  See the Learning Skills section of the Character Development chapter.

 

            “What you know IS what you are.”

                                    --–-Neprita Farroamming, Human loremistress

 

 

 

 

 

                   Wits

 

            Wits is how fast your brain works.  Being quick-witted keeps you on your toes in social situations as well as alive in combat.  This is used for skills that require you to think fast and adds to initiative rolls in combat.  Normally the defender wins ties in combat—unless the attacker has a sufficiently high Wits score, in which case he or she successfully attacks in the event of a tie.  This doesn’t apply if the defender also has a Wits of 14 or higher, in which case the two Wins Defence Ties benefits cancel each other and the defender again wins the tie.  Interrupts can be used even if the character was surprised or otherwise would lose initiative.

 

            “Take charge of the situation.  If you can’t talk your way out of something—get in the first shot.”

                                    --–-Chellew the glib, Human bard (deceased)

 

 

 

 

                   Willpower

 

            Willpower is the strength of the character’s will.  It involves concentration and maintaining a strong sense of self, making it a useful trait for those seeking the more mystical occupations.  This affects your ability to resist mind-affecting assaults (save vs. mental), attacks of the nervous system (save vs. paralysis), major modifications to the body (save vs. shapeshift/petrification), as well as affecting the will to live (Life Point bonus).  Note that someone with a 0 will has no true will of their own and simply reacts to outside stimulus and always fails system shock rolls; examples include zombies or automata.  Life Points of a living thing never fall below 1 no matter what the attribute scores. 

 

            “I’m not gonna, and you can’t make me!”

                                    ----any given 3-year-old

 

 

 

 

                    Strength

 

            This is the measure of how hard and how heavy (how hard you hit & how heavy a weight you can lift—get your mind out of the gutter).  Damage is added to non-mechanical weapon damage rolls.  Normal lift is the amount in pounds that a person can lift with moderate effort.  To increase the amount lifted, roll strength or under on a 2D20 roll, and add the amount the roll is made by to the listed normal lift as well as the feat-of-strength dice.  Lifting an excessive amount in this way is stressful—take one fatigue point per round.  The encumbrance modifier reflects carrying capacity; i.e. if the character has on heavy armour, but has a 16 strength, then the armour only counts as moderate encumbrance. 

 

            “Ug strong.  Ug smash.”

                                    ----Ug

 

 

 

 

                   Agility

 

            Agility is how quick and skilful a character is.  It is coordination and dexterity.  The attack number is added to the roll to strike in both close-quarters and ranged combat.  Armour Class adds to the armour class—this makes you harder to hit by increasing your reflexes.  Dodge & parry add to those manoeuvres.  Initiative is an important modifier as it helps you attack first.  

 

            “I can hit you, but you’ll never hit me.”

                                    ----Durskan the nimble

 

 

 

 

                   Stamina

 

            This represents how tough someone is. This is how long you last and how hard you are to kill (I know the obvious jokes about ‘long & hard’).  Stamina measures how many Life Points you start out with, how fast you heal, how difficult it is to take you down with a special attack (saving throws and shock), as well as how close to death you can be and still function.  The saving throws that stamina helps with are:  chemicals/poisons, environmental (fire & cold), and crushing blows.

 

            “If you are the only one left standing, then you’re the obvious winner.”

                                    ---–last surviving (and quite wealthy) member of a Dwarven adventuring party who wishes to remain anonymous