Abilities #

Characters have 12 Abilities that can be grouped into 4 different domains (Physical, Social, Intellectual & Wise):

Abilities may be used actively as characters strive to accomplish tasks, or reactively to counteract enemy actions or evade environmental dangers.

Physical Abilities relate to a character’s bodily aptitude and physical prowess, encompassing their strength, dexterity, agility and endurance. These attributes not only determine their combat effectiveness but also play a vital role in athletic challenges:

• Strength represents a character’s muscle mass, their capacity to lift, carry or move heavy loads, as well as their effectiveness in melee combat. It is used for close-range attacks, breaking things or lifting heavy weights. It is associated with imposing characters, and can play a role in their aptitude to intimidate others. It is the primary attribute for bodyguards, mercenaries and warriors.

• Dexterity symbolizes a character’s quick reflexes and precision, measuring their capacity to perform tasks with sleight, hit accurately in combat, detect things, perform quick movements or manipulate objects and devices. It also determines reaction time against surprise attacks or sudden events. It is the primary attribute for sharpshooters, assassins and thieves.

Social Abilities relate to a character’s social skills and capacity to interact with others, encompassing their charm, eloquence, agility and creativity. These attributes are used for navigating social situations and concealing intentions, giving opportunities for information gathering, persuasion or deception:

• Charm expresses a character’s allure, attractiveness and likability. It measures their aptitude to draw people’s attention and gain favors through their looks. It plays a role in first impressions and may determine a character’s artistic taste, demeanor or dressing style. It is the primary attribute for performers, entertainers, actors or courtesans.

• Eloquence illustrates a character’s affability, way of expression and aptitude to communicate. It measures their capacity to speak in a clear and compelling manner, as well as their prowess in rhetoric and argumentation (even for writing letters or poems). It is the primary attribute for bards, writers, diplomats or politicians.

Intellectual Abilities represent a character’s mental acuity and problem-solving capabilities, encompassing their knowledge, reasoning, creativity and insight. These play a crucial role when building and repairing things, deciphering complex information or making decisions based on critical thinking:

• Knowledge characterizes the accumulation and recollection of information, reflecting a character’s aptitude to recall details about history, science or literature. It is used when identifying or discerning relevant facts or pieces of information, and is the primary attribute for researchers, loremasters, historians or scholars.

• Reasoning represents a character’s ability to think rationally, understand things and make sound assessments. It plays an important role when solving problems through logic; and is used in analysis, computing or deduction. It is the primary attribute for technicians, craftsmen, administrators or cartographers.

Wise Abilities represent a character’s shrewdness and mental strength, reflecting their humility, composure, endurance and insight. These traits enable them to navigate hardships with discernment, provide guidance or maintain a steady presence in the face of adversity:

• Humility expresses a character’s ability to consider the feelings of others, be tolerant or act with care and compassion. It illustrates their aptitude to relate to people, provide support and make decisions that benefit not only themselves but also those around them. It is the primary attribute for social activists, healers and teachers.

• Composure represents a character’s capacity to remain level headed in the face of adversity. It determines how well they handle unfavorable impulses like temptation, disappointment or fear, and is used in situations that require self-control or discipline. It is the primary attribute for ascetics, monks, hermits and priests.

Dual Domain Abilities are part of two domains simultaneously, encompassing endurance, agility, creativity and insight. Due to their nature, these attributes provide synergistic advantages, enabling characters to blend their talents and adapt to a variety of situations:

• Agility (Social & Physical) symbolizes a character’s movement capabilities, encompassing their speed, body coordination and overall nimbleness. It measures their prowess in scaling, jumping, swimming or dodging attacks. It is the main attribute for martial artists, acrobats, dancers and swashbucklers.

• Creativity (Intellectual & Social) represents a character’s aptitude to think outside the box, generate new ideas or come up with innovative solutions. It is used when designing devices, producing original pieces of art, coming up with lies or improvising. It is the primary attribute for inventors, visionaries and artists.

• Insight (Wise & Intellectual) represents a character’s maturity and understanding of the world through firsthand experience. It shows their aptitude in making astute observations or remaining skeptical in suspicious situations. It is used for detecting lies, perceiving underlying motives or evaluating the value of goods and services. It is the primary attribute for philosophers, explorers and merchants.

• Endurance (Physical & Wise) embodies a character’s toughness and capacity to withstand injuries or pressure, reflecting their overall vitality and mental fortitude. It illustrates their aptitude to survive in harsh environments, navigate through uneven terrain and is the primary attribute for scouts, athletes, soldiers and hunters.

Ability Scores #

Each Ability has a score ranging from 1 to 5 and each score is assigned with a dice class:

Character Setup #

- Assessing Categories #

Abilities are grouped into one of three categories (proficient, crippled or standard), depending on the player’s choices:

• Proficient Abilities are those that a character has an affinity with, allowing for quicker training and development compared to others. They start with a score of 3 .

• Crippled Abilities are those that a character struggles with, holding them back as they cannot be leveled. They always have a score of 1.

• Finally, Standard Abilities are those that don’t fall into any of the other two categories. They start with a score of 2.

When creating a new character, a player must pick two Proficient Abilities and four Crippled Abilities for them:

• For Proficient Abilities, the choice should be based on the character’s Archetypes. Champions may only pick between physical Abilities, icons between social Abilities, genius between intellectual Abilities and sages between wise Abilities.

• For Crippled Abilities, the choice is free as long as the character doesn’t have more than one Crippled Ability aligned with an Archetype. For instance, champions cannot have more than one crippled physical Ability, icons cannot have more than one crippled social Ability, genius cannot have more than one crippled intellectual Ability, and sages cannot have more than one crippled wise Ability.

- Assessing Total Health #

Each character has a maximum Health pool value, representing their capacity to withstand physical wounds and remain conscious. This is how it’s calculated (starting at 0):

- Assessing Emotional Thresholds #

Emotions represent a characters’ psychological vulnerabilities, influencing their behavior and responses to adversity. Each Emotion is assigned with a threshold, which determines how much of that Emotion a character can hold before entering a Breakdown state. This is how these values are established:

• First, each Emotion is associated with an Ability and an Archetype :

• Second, based on the character’s Ability score associated with the Emotion, and if they’ve picked the associated Archetype, a value is assessed:

During a game, Ability scores may increase and character Archetypes may change. Once a scenario is over, players should recalibrate their total Health and Emotional thresholds to reflect these changes (if any).

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