Abilities#
Abilities represent a character’s overall aptitudes and capacities. There are 12 in total, grouped into 4 unique domains (physical, social, intellectual and spiritual):
Physical#
Physical Abilities relate to a character’s bodily aptitude and physical prowess. They determine combat effectiveness and proficiency in athletic challenges:
| Ability | Description | Usage | Vocation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strength | Force, muscle mass, physical power… | Breaking things, lifting charges, intimidating… | Bodyguard, mercenary, warrior… |
| Dexterity | Precision, sleight, reflexes… | Accuracy, reaction times, handling tools… | Sharpshooter, assassin, thief… |
| Agility | Nimbleness, speed, body coordination… | Running, swimming, dodging attacks… | Acrobat, martial artist, swashbuckler… |
Social#
Social Abilities relate to a character’s social skills and capacity to communicate. They determine the outcome of social situations and attempts at persuasion:
| Ability | Description | Usage | Vocation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charm | Demeanor, attractiveness, taste… | Performance, seduction, luring… | Bard, painter, courtesan… |
| Speech | Locution, extroversion, affability… | Rhetoric, argumentation, writing… | Actor, diplomat, politician… |
| Ingenuity | Improvisation, originality, creativity… | Lying, designing, composing… | Inventor, trickster, craftsman… |
Intellectual#
Intellectual Abilities relate to a character’s intelligence and mental acuity. They determine aptitude in tasks where deduction and logical thinking are needed:
| Ability | Description | Usage | Vocation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knowledge | Literacy, memory, erudition… | Understanding, identifying, recalling… | Savant, loremaster, scholar… |
| Reasoning | Logic, rationality, magic affinity… | Problem-solving, spellcasting, repairing… | Engineer, wizard, scientist… |
| Insight | Maturity, sharpness, experience… | Detecting lies, perceiving motives, evaluating goods… | Merchant, judge, philosopher… |
Spiritual#
Spiritual Abilities relate to a character’s wisdom and willpower. They determine their capacity to restraint themselves, withstand harm and provide guidance to others:
| Ability | Description | Usage | Vocation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Humility | Tolerance, altruism, selflessness… | Healing, helping, teaching… | Doctor, tutor, volunteer… |
| Composure | Discipline, restraint, assurance… | Controlling impulses, staying cool, resisting temptation… | Soldier, ascetic, monk… |
| Endurance | Toughness, stamina, resilience… | Withstanding harm, persevering, handling exertion… | Athlete, sailor, explorer… |
Dual Domain#
Some Abilities also share two domains simultaneously:
Agility counts as both physical and social.
Ingenuity counts as both social and intellectual.
Insight counts as both intellectual and spiritual.
Endurance counts as both spiritual and physical.
Dice Class#
During a scenario, Abilities are used actively to accomplish tasks, or reactively to counteract harm. To measure aptitude, each Ability is assigned with a specific Dice Class:
| Dice Class | Description |
|---|---|
| d4 | The character is extremely weak or inept. |
| d6 | The character is intermediate or has basic aptitude. |
| d8 | The character is above average or has good aptitude. |
| d10 | The character is very talented or highly capable. |
| d12 | The character is exceptionally accomplished or virtuosic. |
XP#
XP measures Ability development. Each Ability falls into one of three categories, setting the pace at which a character can train it:
- Proficient Abilities have a XP track of 6.
The character has an affinity with these, allowing for quicker training.
- Crippled Abilities have no XP track.
The character struggles with these, holding them back as they cannot be trained.
- Standard Abilities have a XP track of 9.
The character is neither proficient nor struggling with these, keeping a regular training rate.
Advancement#
Proficient and standard Abilities advance once their XP track is full. This improves their Dice Class by one level, and their XP track resets back to 0.