Character Mechanics

03jun22: This page finalized and active; proposed future changes are noted below

Character Abilities
All character abilities are measured by the number of dice which they add to your roll.

Item abilities are also measured in dice, and most items will use a single die count for all its abilities. (Should swords get a +1 bonus if higher than wielder's attack roll?)

Attributes
Normal human Attributes range from 1 to 7 dice with 3 dice as the human average.


 * Muscles (aka STR) contributes strength and toughness to a die pool. Muscles is like strength and parts of constitution in other games.
 * Nerves (aka DEX) contributes agility, awareness and hand/eye coordination to a die pool. Nerves is like dexterity and parts of wisdom in other games.
 * Spirit (SPI) contributes intuition and luck to a die pool. SPI is used for magic and the supernatural.
 * Hit Points (HP) = STR + DEX + SPI.

NPC’s have 3 additional Attributes: Intelligence, Morale, and Reaction. For social contests the player gets dice based on actions and roleplaying, and the NPC uses these Attributes to defend.

This document refers to STR and DEX to save space, but the meaning is Muscles and Nerves, not the strength and dexterity of other games.

General Skills
General Skills are Melee, Missiles, Athletics, Awareness (which includes both stealth and perception), and Magic. Each applies to a broad array of actions. Normal human General Skills range from 1 to 9 dice. Do not confuse the General Skills of Athletics and Awareness with the die rolls for Athletics and Awareness.

Melee, Missiles, and Magic are normally used together with a Narrow-Skill. Athletics and Awareness are more often used for their respective rolls. All 5 are used in Derived Values.

Derived Values
These 8 values are used frequently and do not change (except to subtract for damage and encumbrance), so players will find it valuable to keep them handy.


 * Speed: 5 feet times (5 + the median of STR, DEX, and Athletics)
 * Dodging Roll and Reflex Save: DEX + SPI + Athletics (quickness, intuition and training)
 * Athletics Roll roll: STR + DEX + Athletics (muscles, quickness and training); use for running, climbing, jumping, etc.
 * Awareness Roll roll: DEX + SPI + Awareness (quickness, intuition and training); use for attempts to see, hear, etc. (perception) or to remain unseen, unheard, etc. (stealth)


 * Fortitude Save: STR + STR + SPI (mostly the body, but requires some will.)
 * Will Save: STR + SPI + SPI (mostly the spirit, but requires some stamina)
 * Magic Save: 'Hit Points + SPI - Magic (Hit Points with a bonus for SPI > Magic)
 * Strength Test: 3 times STR

Narrow-Skills
For most actions Bob doesn't really need a Narrow Skill; he can roll using just the appropriate Attribute and General Skill dice. Narrow Skills represent additional specialized training. A few actions (eg. spells) are difficult or impossible without this specialized training. Normal human Narrow Skills can range from 0 to 12 dice. Melee weapon skills are used both for attacks and for parries.

Weapon Skills
 * Brawling: Unarmed combat. May use gauntlet or brass knuckles to increase damage.
 * Dagger/Knife: a short, light, sharp blade.
 * Club/Mace: Includes all blunt weapons except short weapons.
 * Sword: Includes all 1-handed blades larger than a dagger.
 * Axe: Includes all 1 handed chopping weapons.
 * Spear/Polearm (Melee): Includes both 1 and 2-handed pole-arms and lances.
 * 2-Handed Weapons: Individual Narrow Skills for Greatsword, Battle Axe, and Staff.
 * Throwing: Includes rocks, throwing daggers, hatchets, javelins, and bombs.
 * Missiles: Individual Narrow Skills for Sling, Crossbow, Bow, and Firearms.

Other Narrow Skills
 * Individual Narrow Skills for magical spells or similar powers.
 * Individual Narrow Skills for Disguise, Lock Picking, Tracking (includes Hunting), [more?]

Bonus-Skills
Bonus Skills also represent specialized training, but they grant dice which are in addition to the basic die pool. In most other respects they are like Narrow Skills.


 * Martial Arts is a bonus to unarmed attacks: roll STR + Melee + Brawling + Martial Arts. It also allows a bare-handed parry and riposte with a roll DEX + Melee + Martial Arts (Brawling is not included in this parry). Martial Arts dice cannot exceed Brawling dice.
 * Riding: Riding dice are added as a bonus to actions performed from horseback, but only when those actions would logically be more likely to succeed from horseback (eg. melee combat with an appropriate weapon). They can also be used with STR and DEX to save against mishaps while on horseback.
 * Swimming: Anyone can try to swim by making an Athletics roll, but Swimming adds a bonus to that roll.

None of these any longer require a Second-Roll or an ability check in addition to the main roll, so total rolls are reduced.

The Basic Die Pool
Bob's Basic Die Pool consists of dice from 3 abilities (ie. 3 of Bob's Attributes, General Skills, or Narrow Skills, but not Bob's Bonus Skills). Use whichever abilities are most appropriate to your action. Bob's final die pool may also include dice for such things as as armor, spell effects, Bonus Skills and environmental factors. Action and Defense Rolls get a minimum of 3 dice in their final die pool; thus you always have enough dice to take an action. Characters who are unconscious, bound, etc. cannot act, but still get 3 dice if for some reason a roll is needed.

The concepts Basic Die Pool and-Standard Action are explained to help you both remember the standard rolls and improvise appropriate ad-hoc rolls.

Basic Die Pools For Standard Actions
If an appropriate General Skill and an appropriate Narrow Skill exist for an action, then it is a Standard Action. Add the most appropriate Attribute and you have the formula for Bob's roll. Examples are:


 * Melee attack: STR + Melee + Narrow Skill dice for weapon used.
 * Parry: DEX + Melee + Narrow Skill for weapon used.
 * Missile attack: DEX + Missiles + Narrow Skill for dice weapon used.
 * Magic spell: SPI + Missiles + Narrow Skill dice for the spell being cast.

Basic-Die-Pools For Other Actions
Attributes and Skills can be combined in other ways, if that better represents the situation being resolved. However, Bob may never use more than 3 of his abilities (Attributes, General Skills and Narrow Skills) to form his Basic Die Pool for an Action or Defense Roll, nor more than 2 for a Second-Roll.
 * Lock-picking: DEX + SPI + Lock Picking

Damage and Recovery
Like abilities, Damage is measured in dice. Damage is the total of the below 4 values and is subtracted from all Action and Defense Rolls (but not from Second Rolls). The main difference between these different types of Damage is how rapidly they can be healed. Also, Wounds and LTD require a Healing Roll to be made.


 * Stun is momentary disorientation. All Stun is removed immediately after Action Rolls are made.
 * Fatigue is reduced by 1 die after each Turn (10 minutes) of rest or 3 Turns (30 minutes) of very light activity (eg. unburdened walking).
 * Wounds gets a Healing Roll each dawn. All LTD (and any Coma) must be healed before any Wounds can be healed.
 * Long-Term-Damage (LTD) gets a Healing Roll each week. Healing LTD requires rest in town or equivalent.

Healing Roll
The Healing Roll is [Hit Points - (Wounds + LTD)] vs. [Wounds + LTD]. Success heals 1 Damage, 4 or more Victories heal 2 Damage.

First Aid
First Aid reduces the chance of infection. It can also change Wounds to Fatigue if a Healing or Herb Lore roll is successful. This roll is reduced by one die for each full hour since the wound was taken. First Aid requires Healing Kit (and successful Healing roll) or Doctor's Ingredients (and successful Herb Lore roll). Under normal conditions (bandages, clean water, etc.) 1 turn (10 minutes) is required to give First Aid to the whole party. Add another turn if hostiles or locals are also being treated.

Yes, it's not realistic for 1 party member and 1 hostile to need 20 minutes, while 7 party members need only 10 minutes, but this pattern works well for most situations and avoids the need to spend time on math about how many need healing and how much time it will take. If a situation is too extreme, ignore this pattern and substitute some other result.

Conditions Needed for Healing
Recovery of Wounds and LTD require requires attention to injuries (fresh bandages, clean water, etc.), restful days, and ample food and sleep. Don’t count any day which includes combat, strenuous exercise, or damage taken. LTD recovery requires rest in town or equivalent.

Unconsciousness and Coma
Recovery from unconsciousness is rolled once per hour, beginning after all Fatigue is healed. Recovery from coma is rolled each dawn, beginning after all LTD is healed and before any Wounds are healed.

System Shock, Automatic Death
System Shock occurs when total Damage exceeds Hit Points; Bob falls unconscious immediately and must make a System Shock roll on the table below at the end of the combat. Automatic death results when Wounds + LTD >= Hit Points.

''Proposed Changes (22jun22) Make system shock roll immediately, don't wait for end of combat. (28jun22) We could also add a "Does not go down" result to the chart below. (02jul22) Alternatively, make spell which triggers system shock immediately and thus may wake character. ''

The System Shock roll is [Hit Points - (Wounds + LTD)] vs. [Wounds taken in this combat].

Increasing Abilities
Proposed Change (18jul22) Double all Experience point values, both costs and awards, so that awards can be more finely-tuned.

To increase an ability Bob must pick his field of study before each session of play. At the end of that session he will receive experience points in that ability. When Bob has earned enough experience points in an ability, he gets a permanent increase of 1 die. Narrow Skill cost is based on the number of dice to which the skill is being raised. Attribute and General Skill cost is based on the total value of all Bob's Attributes or all Bob's General Skills.