Character Mechanics

Attributes and Skills
All character abilities are measured by the number of dice which they add to your roll.

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


 * STR contributes strength and toughness to a die pool. STR includes parts of CON.
 * DEX contributes agility, awareness and hand/eye coordination to a die pool. DEX includes parts of WIS.
 * SPI (Spirit) contributes intuition and luck to a die pool. SPI is used for magic and the supernatural.
 * Hit-Points = STR + DEX + SPI.

General-Skills
General-Skills are Melee, Missiles, Athletics, Stealth (which includes 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 Stealth with the die rolls for Athletics and Stealth.

Melee, Missiles, and Magic are normally used together with a Narrow-Skill. Athletics and Stealth are normally used for their respective rolls.

Derived-Values
-- 05-04-22 -- Speed value has been added, formula for Reflex Save has changed. These used to be called "Simple Actions" with the implication that there could be many more than those listed here. I have capped them at 8 values and made "Dodge" and "Reflex Save" the same for one less thing to remember.

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


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


 * 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: STR + STR + STR (all STR)

Narrow-Skills
-- 08-May-22 -- Began adding individual skill descriptions; moved Dagger to Bonus Skills.

For most actions you don't really need a Narrow-Skill; you 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: Includes unarmed, short light weapons, and short blunt weapons (but not improvised weapons).
 * Club: Includes all blunt weapons except short weapons.
 * Sword: Includes all 1-handed blades larger than a dagger.
 * Spear: (Melee): Includes pole-arms and lances.
 * Axe: Includes all 1 handed chopping weapons.
 * 2-Handed Weapons: Individual Narrow-Skills for Greatsword, Battle Axe, and Staff.
 * Throwing: Includes rocks, daggers, hatchets, bombs, etc.
 * Individual Narrow-Skills for Sling, Crossbow, Short 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
-- 08-May-22 -- Included staff in Martial Arts bonus; changed how Martial Arts, Riding and Swimming work

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 normal Brawling and Staff attacks and parries. It also allows a bare-handed parry and riposte with a roll of two-thirds of (DEX + Melee + Brawling + Martial Arts).
 * 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). 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.
 * Dagger: Can no longer be increased, but existing values can be added to DEX (because a dagger is a light, sharp weapon) + Melee + Brawling, or to DEX + Missiles + Throwing.

Mostly because characters already had these skills and I wanted to make them worthwhile without eliminating the "never use more than 3 of your abilities" rule. Also, 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
The Basic-Die-Pool consists of dice from 3 abilities (ie. Attributes, General-Skills, and Narrow-Skills. Use whichever abilities are most appropriate to your action. Your final die pool may also include dice for such things as as armor, spell effects, 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 your roll. Examples are:


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

Basic-Die-Pools For Other Actions
-- 05-04-22 -- New lock-picking die pool Attributes and skills can be combined in other ways, if that better represents the situation being resolved. However, you may never use more than 3 of your abilities (Attributes, General Skills and Narrow Skills) to form your 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
-- 08-May-22 -- Increased times to heal Fatigue Like abilities, Damage is measured in dice. Damage is the total of the below 4 values and is subtracted from 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 20 minutes of rest or 60 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
-- 13-Mar-22 The Healing-Roll is Hit-Points reduced by [Wounds+LTD] vs. [Wounds+LTD]. Success heals 1 Damage, 4 or more Victories heal 2 Damage.

First Aid
-- 01-May-22 -- Time for First Aid to be effective was changed from 1 hour to -1 die for each full hour.

First Aid prevents infection. It can also change Wounds to Fatigue if a Healing Roll is successful. This Healing Roll is reduced by one die for each full hour since the wound was taken. First Aid requires Healing Kit or successful use of Doctor's Ingredients (see Potions). Under normal conditions (bandages, clean water, etc.) total time for combat and First Aid is 10 minutes.

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.

Save vs. Death, Automatic Death
-- 13-Mar-22 System-Shock occurs when total Damage exceeds Hit-Points; you fall 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.

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

Increasing Abilities
To increase an ability a character 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 a character 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 your Attributes or all your General-Skills.