(character generation) Statistics

Statistics, or "stats" for short, are the first and most basic parts of the character. These define the most essential and fundamental parameters of the character's existence, and also how they interact with each other in the performance of various physical and mental feats.

First are the Primary Stats. These are rolled more or less randomly, although a character may either modify them indirectly through additional rolls, or directly with the Better Statistic attribute. These stats define how Strong, Healthy, Precise, Agile, Tall, Hefty, Smart, Stubborn, Charming, Canny, and Fortunate a Character is.

To explain further, STRENGTH is a measurement of how much mass your character can move without using his weight, or, to be less precise, how much sheer physical power you character can bring to bear on a task.

CONSTITUTION defines how generally healthy and robust a character is, and will effect things like how quickly she grows fatigued, how easily she becomes sick, or how fast her injuries heal.

DEXTERITY shows us just how well a character can perform precise maneuvers; it is a measure of how controlled a character's physical actions are or can be.

AGILITY, on the other hand, tells us how swiftly a character can move once he's decided to.

SIZE is a simple definition of how tall a character is, and FRAME tells us how wide, or solidly built, he is.

INTELLIGENCE gives us an idea of her native wit and learning ability, while WILLPOWER shows how likely she is to do something hard or unpleasant, like study a foreign language, resist temptation, or practice with her quarterstaff.

INTUITION defines how good a character's hunches are, or, to put it another way, how well he reasons with data he's not consciously aware of.

LUCK, fundamentally, is a measure of how much random chance favors this character, and its base rolled value should be used as a normal Primary Statistic. The DM will frequently require Luck Rolls to help determine the outcome of random occurrences. Luck also measures how many Luck Points a Player Character has to spend in each playing session. Luck Points are spent to directly modify, as desirable, either the next roll to be made by the player, or the last roll made by the player. When Luck Points are used to modify a roll that has not been made yet, one point is spent per +/- 1 that is desired on the result. When used to modify a roll after the result is known, 2 Luck Points per +1/-1 desired are necessary.

With the above explanations, secondary stats should be easy to understand. For example, SPEED is a combination of Dexterity and Agility. Reading the above definition, it should be simple to comprehend that this is a measure of how swiftly and precisely a controlled movement (like a dodge, or a dance step, or a cartwheel) can be performed.

Secondary Stats are very important because just about every skill a character learns has a rating that is based on one of these, along with just about every action or task a character might conceivably attempt.

Tertiary Stats are all those ones that don't fit in anywhere else, like Pain Resistance and Damage Resistance and Exhaustion Level and various others listed above These are also very important and yes, you have to figure all of them out, too.

Finally, there is one final thing to tell you about these Statistics: The Secondary Stat Fortune can also be used for a function called Guess. What Guess does is allow a character who is utterly perplexed to, well, guess at something. In order to do this, the player makes a roll off of the Character's base Fortune vs. 9. The DM does not tell the player the opposing result; the DM simply has the Character guess either right or wrong depending on whether they won or lost.

Below are the instructions for rolling a human. If not human, ask the DM for the sheet that corresponds to the race your character is.

Primary Statistics

Human (Male, Female)

Strength 2d10, 2d10-2
Constitution 2d10, 2d10+3
Agility 2d10, 2d10
Dexterity 2d10, 2d10
Size 2d10, 2d10-2
Frame 2d10, 2d10-2
Intelligence 2d10, 2d10
Willpower 2d10, 2d10+3
Charisma 2d10, 2d10
Intuition 2d10, 2d10+3
Luck 2d10, 2d10

Positive Attribute Points 2d10 + 10
Negative Attributes 2d8 + 8 (both rolled as One Statistic--i.e., 24/11--for purposes of Re-Rolls)

Secondary Statistics

All characters, human or not, have characteristics that are determined by the previously rolled characteristics. These characteristics are used mostly for figuring skill ratings and for making miscellaneous roll-offs (see the skills section). In many ways they are more important to have handy (on your character sheet where you can find them) than your primary characteristics. They are:

Reasoning (Intelligence + Willpower)/4
Presence (Willpower + Charisma)/4
Initiative (Intuition + Agility)/4
Acumen (Intuition + Willpower)/4
Insight (Intuition + Intelligence)/4
Fortune (Intuition + Luck)/4
Charm (Intuition + Charisma)/4
Might (Strength + { Weight/10 - 5} )/4
Coordination (Strength + Agility)/4
Manipulation (Strength + Dexterity)/4
Speed (Agility + Dexterity)/4
Fortitude (Constitution + Willpower)/4
Precision (Intelligence + Dexterity)/4
Eloquence (Intelligence + Charisma)/4

Tertiary Statistics (i.e., everything else)

Height(inches): 57 + Size
Weight(pounds): 28 + (Frame x 5) + (Size x 4) + (Str x 3)
Tactical Movement(yrds/rnd): (Strength + Agility + Height)/8
Exhaustion Level: Will/4 + Constitution/2 + Skill Level of Endurance
Starting Money: 10 x (Age/10 + [3x Willpower] +[ 4x Luck]) in local dollar equivalents
Birthday: d365 (d4 -1), if result is 0-2, (d100), if result is 3, (d65)
Age(years): 11 + 3d6
Starting Skill Points: [ (Age x Age/10) + + (IQ x 3) + (Wp x 4)]
Damage Resistance = [(Weight/5 + Con)/3 ] + 1
Pain Resistance = Fortitude + 2