Attributes

Attributes describe basic capability. Competency ratings describe learned ability. Together they produce the rolls and fixed scores used throughout play.

Attributes describe a hero’s basic physical and mental capabilities. A score of 0 is ordinary, positive scores indicate increasing capability, and negative scores indicate a limitation.

Choosing Attributes

All six Attributes begin at 0. Divide 6 points among them, with no starting score above 3. A negative score returns points that may be assigned elsewhere, although scores below –2 should represent a serious and intentional limitation.

Attribute	Measures
Brawn	Physical force, leverage, lifting, and the power behind a melee attack.
Agility	Coordination, balance, precision, reaction, and speed of movement.
Vigor	Endurance, bodily resilience, resistance to injury, and sustained exertion.
Intellect	Reasoning, memory, learning, analysis, and technical understanding.
Spirit	Willpower, intuition, awareness, courage, and command of the self.
Presence	Personality, empathy, persuasion, authority, and personal force.

Attribute Rolls

Use an Attribute roll when a hero attempts something uncertain that is not covered by a Skill, attack, or damage roll. It also resists an impersonal hazard when no character is actively causing the danger. Roll 3d6, add the relevant Attribute, and compare the result to the Difficulty.

Attribute roll = 3d6 + relevant Attribute

The direction of the action does not create another kind of roll. Lifting a gate and bracing against a flood may both use Brawn; recalling a fact and making sense of impossible geometry may both use Intellect.

Competency Ratings

Skills use four fixed ratings. They do not rise automatically with experience: improvement is a deliberate character choice.

Rating	Bonus	Meaning
Untrained	0	Natural ability without dependable instruction.
Trained	2	Reliable professional or adventuring competence.
Expert	4	Exceptional ability recognized by capable peers.
Master	6	Rare command worthy of renown.

Derived Scores

Several commonly used values are calculated from Attributes, competency ratings, and equipment. Record the final totals on the character sheet so they do not need to be reconstructed during play.

Score	Calculation or source
Initiative	Agility plus situational modifiers.
Defense	11 + Combat rating + Agility, plus the best applicable increase.
Damage Resistance	Vigor + Protection.
Harm	Wounds + Fatigue, to a maximum of 4.
Attribute Resistance	11 + relevant Attribute.
Skill Resistance	11 + relevant Attribute + Skill rating, when training directly opposes the action.
Speed	6 squares, modified by armor or unusual movement.
Skill rating	The fixed score for the hero’s competency in that Skill.

Attacks and Defense

Combat is a Skill. Add Brawn for forceful melee attacks and Agility for Finesse or ranged attacks. Everyone has a Defense score based on Agility; this is the target number for attacks unless a specific combat move changes it.

An area attack uses one attack roll, compared with the Defense of every target in the area. If it deals damage, make one damage roll and compare that result with each target’s Damage Resistance.

Defense increases do not stack. If a shield, weapon, Talent, or other rule would grant more than one increase to Defense against the same attack, use the single best increase. Replacing Agility through Parry or Canny Defense changes the calculation and may still be used with that increase.

Use	Calculation
Forceful melee attack	3d6 + Combat rating + Brawn
Finesse or ranged attack	3d6 + Combat rating + Agility
Defense	11 + Combat rating + Agility
Parry score	11 + Combat rating + Brawn

Resistance

When one character intentionally acts upon another, the acting character rolls. Compare the result with 11 plus the Attribute that best resists the action. Include a Skill rating only when that training directly provides the opposition, such as Insight against Guile. The defender does not also roll.

Resistance = 11 + relevant Attribute + relevant Skill, if any

Attribute	Resists
Brawn	Forced movement, restraint, crushing pressure, and contests of raw physical control.
Agility	Explosions, sudden traps, collapsing structures, area attacks, and hazards avoided by reaction.
Vigor	Poison, disease, exhaustion, physical transformation, and other assaults on the body.
Intellect	Illusion, cognitive interference, impossible information, and attacks on memory or reason.
Spirit	Fear, coercion, psychic intrusion, confusion, and effects that compromise self-command.
Presence	Possession, identity erosion, imposed personality, and supernatural domination.

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