Anatomy of a Character

Characters are mechanically comprised of the following:

Abilities are the character's potential for interacting with the world in certain ways, and includes Body, Mind, and Spirit.


 * Body (also known as Physical) is a measure of bodily fitness and vigor, and governs all forms of physical action.


 * Mind is a measure of willpower and intellect and covers intellectual matters such as memory, logic, and magical prowess.


 * Sprit represents your personal presence and attunement to the world around you, and governs things such as social interaction, art, music, and perception.

Attributes are a refinement of one's abilities, outlining exactly how one uses their body, mind, and spirit to accomplish tasks. Attributes consist of Power, Finesse, and Fortitude.


 * Power represents raw, well, power. It's generally used for things that are aggressive, imposing, and straightforward.


 * Finesse represents fine control, manipulation, and being refined, analytical, and discerning.


 * Grit represents courage and resolve, and acts as a sort of balance between Power and Finesse as well as being a measure of fortitude.

Skills are different fields of discipline or study that a character can have experience in. There are quite a few of them, and they have their own section, right over here.

All abilities, attributes, and skills have a score ranging from 1 to 5:


 * 1 is below average, and denotes a deficiency or, in the case of skills, a passing knowledge or apprenticeship.


 * 2 is average, what your everyday person is capable of, and denotes a normal amount of training or a definite knack.


 * 3 is above average. Fate or hard work has bestowed you with a level of aptitude that outdoes your piers.


 * 4 is masterful. You're capable of things that most people only dream of doing, and your feats are met with awe and envy.


 * 5 is heroic. Your deeds are the stuff of great stories and might even be passed on as such in the years to come.

Scores above five are possible but usually not for characters of any mortal capacity. Such scores are considered legendary, and are generally reserved for the world's more powerful and terrifying creatures. However, the rare person does manage to cross the threshold and accomplish things that truly stretch belief.

Mass determines how heavy and/or bulky a character is, and is determined by race and armor. Mass affects movement speed, sinking and/or swimming, and resiting forced movement. Characters usually range from 2-5, though notable exceptions do exist. Mass categories are Negligible (0), Light (1-2), Medium (3-4), Heavy (5-6), and Massive (7+). Creatures in a given category gain a bonus or penalty of one kept die for each level above or below Medium (respectively) for Physical Power checks made to lift or carry heavy objects. The movement imposed by forced movement actions also increases or decreases by 1 for each category lighter or heavier the moved creature is in relation to the mover (again, respectively).

Speed determines how quickly a character can move. With a grid, a character's speed translates directly to the number of squares or hexagons that they can move in an action. Without a grid, one point translates roughly to a meter in distance.

Life is measured in hearts. You have a number of hearts equal to 2 plus your Body score at creation, and can upgrade it in-game through items or by further upgrading your Body score.

Magic is measured in points. You have a number of magic points equal to 6 times your Mind score at creation and can upgrade it in-game through items or by further upgrading Mind.

Fate is an abstract score that can be used to do extraordinary things. They have two primary uses: Making sixes explode and surviving lethal damage.

After rolling a test, a player can spend a fate point to make every six rolled "Explode"- A new die is rolled for each six that was rolled. If a six is rolled in this new batch, roll another die for it! This continues until no more sixes are rolled, and all successes are added to the user's pool.

Fate can also be spent by a character to live despite taking damage that would normally kill them. They might be battered, broken, left for dead, and just barely holding on, but they aren't dead, and that's better than nothing. This is used within reason, of course: Someone who fell into a vat of molten iron probably isn't going to get a second chance in most circumstances.

Fate is very powerful and just as rare: Every character gets one point on creation, and more are given out in situations of the GM's choosing, usually as a reward for exceptional roleplaying or as part of a milestone in a campaign. Spending a fate point is a permanent endeavor: Once you use it, it's gone until you get another.

Talents are techniques and passive abilities that give your character a bit of further development, and can be anything from a particularly fancy sword move to a wealth of knowledge on a particular subject.