Standard Attributes
Characters are Actors that are playable either by players or the GM. Characters have their capabilities and limitations described through Attributes, Abilities, and Skills. Since actors are objects, the base capabilities of an actor are defined by Attributes. There are two types of attributes: Core and Derived.
Core Attributes are the fundamental building-blocks of actors. Each actor type has four core attributes.
Derived Attributes are derived from core attribute values using simple formulas. Below are the standard derived attributes, their descriptions, and default formulas or values. Actors of different types and species may have different applicable formulas which will be defined in their stats blocks. If a species does not explicitly declare a formula for a derived attribute, use these formulas.
While most characters will typically be biological, depending on the particular setting in play, characters may be based on any of the three actor types: biological, construct, or incorporeal. The core and derived attributes that apply to an actor are determined by this actor type. Biological and Construct actors share the same set of attributes. Incorporeal actors have a different set of attributes that represents their altered capabilities.
Core Attributes for Biological & Construct Actors
Prowess (PRW)
A measure of dexterity, agility, and other fine-motor and gross-motor physical capabilities.
Smarts (SMR)
A measure of intelligence, memory, awareness, & other mental capabilities.
Sociability (SOC)
A measure of personality, presence, & other social capabilities.
Toughness (TUF)
A measure of strength, toughness, damage resistance, & related physical capabilities.
Derived Attributes for Biological & Construct Actors
Action Dice (AD)
Action Dice (AD) provide a tangible measure of an actor's ability to take action.
AD = 3 + PRW
Connectedness (CN)
Connectedness (CN) measures the actor's social affinity and their ability to make and maintain social connections.
CN = SOC + AbsoluteValue(REP)
Health Points (HP)
Health Points (HP) indicate the overall health of the actor. HP is lost if the actor receives damage or disease. If HP is reduced to 0, the actor risks death or destruction. HP can be regained through the Sleep & Recover action, medical treatment, or repair.
HP = TUF × 5
Maximum Carry Weight (Max Carry)
An actor’s Maximum Carry Weight (Max Carry) is derived from their TUF attribute. This indicates the maximum amount of weight the character can consistently carry without incurring penalties to movement and agility.
Max Carry = TUF × 15
Overloading
While in practice, a human actor can lift an amount of weight up to Max Carry × 4, any attempt to lift or carry weight more than Max Carry × 2 will bind 1 action die to exhaustion per round the weight is lifted or carried. There is also a distinct difference between lifting a weight and carrying it for any significant amount of time.
Although an actor may carry weight in excess of their Max Carry, they incur a penalty of -1 PRW for each multiple of their Max Carry (or part thereof) over that limit. This penalty impacts all attributes derived from PRW, so an overburdened actor will have reduced action dice and not be able to move as quickly, attack, parry, or dodge as well, and will face limits on other PRW-based capabilities.
Movement (MV)
Movement (MV) provides the distance in meters per AD that an actor can move during Fast Action.
MV = 7m/AD
It may seem counterintuitive at first that the Movement attribute doesn’t go up with higher PRW. But remember that the movement attribute does not measure meters per second. It measures meters per Action Dice. AD increases with a higher Prowess. But more AD does not mean more time per round. All rounds are 5 seconds long. More AD means less time per action.
So even though MV doesn’t change in meters per AD as Prowess goes up, overall movement speed per 5-second turn increases. We can see this in action in the following table:
| PRW | AD | AD/second | MV (human) | m/second | Max m/Round |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 0.8 | 7m/AD | 5.6 | 28 |
| 2 | 5 | 1.0 | 7m/AD | 7.0 | 35 |
| 3 | 6 | 1.2 | 7m/AD | 8.4 | 42 |
| 4 | 7 | 1.4 | 7m/AD | 9.8 | 49 |
| 5 | 8 | 1.6 | 7m/AD | 11.2 | 56 |
Based on these numbers, an actor with typical (2) PRW has a very respectable (for a novice) 100m sprint time of about 14.3 seconds, while one with a superior (5) PRW has an absolutely record-shattering time of just under 9 seconds.
This also means that while a faster actor might spend the same or more AD to move a similar distance as a slower actor, their movement is more efficient.
Holden has a typical PRW of 2, while Croy has trained themself to an elite PRW of 4. Suppose they both need to run 10m, take a shot with a handgun, and then run another 10m to cover. While Holden's first AD spent will get him most of the way, he must spend a second AD to get to 10m. Knowing that he has to run another 10m after the shot, he only has time for a quick pot-shot (1AD).
Croy's MV is the same as Holden (7m/AD), so they also spend 2AD to run the first 10m, but because they have a total of 8AD, that leaves them plenty of time to line up a good shot with 4AD (or even to spread those 4AD across multiple shots) before spending their last 2AD to run to cover.
Reputation (REP)
An actor’s Reputation (REP) influences how they integrate into their society and how individuals interact with them.
Reputation is initially derived from the actor's Sociability, plus or minus any refinement dice the player chooses to allocate. If the player chooses to reduce their reputation at character creation time, the number of dice subtracted from its value are added to their allocatable refinement dice. The Reputation attribute cannot be increased above 5 or decreased below -5. Reputation may also be affected by an actor's archetype.
REP = SOC [+/- Alloc]
Unlike other derived attributes, Reputation exists on a scale from -5 to 5 and its derivation formula is only used at character creation time. Thereafter, adjustment to an actor's reputation is made by the GM during gameplay independently of the actor's attributes and based solely on their actions.
Social response to Reputation is context-dependent. An actor with a positive reputation will tend to receive positive reactions from NPCs who also have positive or neutral reputations. An actor with a negative reputation will tend to receive negative reactions from NPCs who have positive reputations, but may receive positive reactions from other NPCs with negative reputations. It's also important to recognize that not every character will benefit from the highest possible reputation. Having an especially high (or low) reputation will certainly open various doors for the character, but characters with more extreme reputations are also more constrained in their actions and are more carefully scrutinized than those with a more neutral reputation.
Some mechanics may reference the magnitude of an actor's Reputation, or its absolute value. This means using the numerical value of the reputation without the positive or negative sign. Both a Reputation of -3 and 3 have an absolute value of 3.
Skillfulness (SK)
Skillfulness (SK) indicates an actor’s maximum number of skills that can be allocated with refinement dice.
SK = SMR × 5
Wealth (WL)
An actor’s Wealth (WL) determines their starting money and influences how they integrate into their society and how social systems interact with and impose power upon their life.
At creation time, an actor's Wealth is equal to their Sociability attribute, plus or minus any refinement dice the player chooses to allocate. If the player chooses to reduce their wealth at character creation time, the number of dice subtracted from its value are added to their allocatable refinement dice. The Wealth attribute cannot be increased above 5 or decreased below 0. The character's archetype may also affect the actor's wealth.
WL = SOC [+/- Alloc]
Unlike other derived attributes, its derivation formula is only used at character creation time. Thereafter, an actor's wealth can be increased by directly allocating refinement dice to the Wealth attribute or may be adjusted by the GM due to extraordinary circumstance, but it does not change indirectly if components of its formula are changed.
See More About Wealth for more information on how the Wealth attribute functions.