Attributes Explained

Physical

These Traits describe how strong, dextrous, and sturdy a character is, and are the primary traits of an action-oriented character. Physical Traits concern only the strengths and weaknesses of the body.

Strength
This is a measure of your mean physical strength - your ability to lift, carry, and cause physical harm. A person with a high strength rating is usually larger than someone with a lower rating. Of course, there are always exceptions.

Strength is used when you attempt to lift, carry, push, heave, or break something. In melee combat, it is added to your damage Dice Pool. Strength is also used when you attempt to make any sort of jump or leap.

Specialties might include:Strong Grip, Massive, Husky, Able-Bodied, Broad-Shouldered, Hearty, Powerful, Bulging Biceps, Wiry, Large

	Poor	You can bench press 40 lbs.
	Average	You can bench press 100 lbs.
	Good	You can bench press 250 lbs.
	Exceptional	You can bench press 400 lbs.
	Outstanding	You can bench press 650 lbs.

Dexterity
This Trait is a measure of your general physical prowess - speed, quickness, and agility. It indicates the capacity for moving with agility and manipulating objects with accuracy and grace. Dexterity includes eye-hand coordination, fine motor manipulation , reaction speed, reflexes, and bodily grace.

Specialties might include:Smooth-Motioned, Lithe, Steady, Deft, Graceful, Nimble, Athletic, Catlike Reflexes, Swift, Sure-Footed, Fleet-Footed, Light Touch.

	Poor	Ummm, don't use a chainsaw.
	Average	You can breathe and walk at the same time.
	Good	You have excellent raw athletic potential.
	Exceptional	You can juggle 5 knives.
	Outstanding	You can juggle 5 knives while blindfolded.

Stamina
Stamina is a measure of general health and resistance to pain; it indicates how long you can continue to exert yourself as well as how much physical punishment you can sustain. Stamina is your staying power, both physically and mentally, and one of its mo st important elements is the will to live.

Specialties might include:Tireless, Enduring, Tough, Determined, Aggressive, Tenacious, Stalwart, Durable, Forceful, Dedicated.

	Poor	You are frail in constitution and may be sickly.
	Average	You are moderately healthy.
	Good	You are in good shape, the result of regular exercise.
	Exceptional	You could run a marathon.
	Outstanding	You are tough enough to survive almost anything.

Social

Your Social Traits describe your appearance, charm, and familiarity with the human mind. Your Social Traits are vital in determining first impressions, leadership ability, and the nature of your interactions with others.

Charisma
Charisma is a measure of your aptitude for enticing and fascinating others. You use Charisma to win others over to you emotionally and to get them to trust you. This Trait is more a facet of charismatic personality than it is an overt manipulation of othe rs. It is a sum of the character's bearing, charm, and power of influence. Charisma reflects your power to convince others to put their faith in you.

Specialties might include:Smooth, Eloquent, Outgoing, Captivating, Charming, Regal, Genial, Well-Mannered, Urbane, Sophisticated, Rustic, Gracious.

	Poor	Others avoid being around you.
	Average	You are likeable.
	Good	People trust and confide in you.
	Exceptional	Something draws people to you.
	Outstanding	You could lead a nation.

Manipulation
This Trait measures your aptitude for active self-expression, such as when you want to get someone else to do something. It is important when you attempt to influence or manipulate another person directly. You use Manipulation to trick, fool, bluff, outma nuever, and out-talk another. While you may be effective at manipulating people whom you have just met, those who already know you are rarely fooled.

Manipulation is used in all rolls where you are attempting to influence or convince another person overtly. Whether they like you or not is of no consequence (though it can affect the difficulty of what you are trying.)

If you fail a Manipulation action and the other person realizes what you were trying to do (you botch, for instance), she may well be angered. People are manipulated all the time and usually they ignore it. However, if it is brought to their attention, it can be a very disturbing thought. Manipulation can net great results, but it is risky to perform openly. Characters with high Manipulation are not well-trusted by those who know them best.

Specialties might include:Glib, Expressive, Cunning, Persuasive, Smooth, Silver-Tongued, Bravado, Ingratiating, Eloquent, Blarney, Double-Talker, Sophist, Witty.

	Poor	You express yourself in as few words as possible.
	Average	Others might believe you.
	Good	You'd make a good lawyer.
	Exceptional	You should run for office.
	Outstanding	You could sell ice to an Eskimo.

Appearance
This Trait describes your Appearance in terms of your attractiveness and force of presence. You do not necessarily need beauty to have a high Appearance, you only need looks that somehow attract others to you. Appearance is not just your static, model bea uty, it's the appeal of the way you move and talk, your animation and expressiveness. It is a measure of how interesting and attractive you seem to others.

Appearance is vital in any social situation where words are not exchanged. It is more important than you might think offhand; the impressions you get of another are heavily affected by that person's looks, no matter how open-minded you are. You may not li ke to admit it, but it's true.

More than simply being a Trait you use to make rolls, Appearance is often used by a Storyteller to roughly judge how others usually react to you when you first meet. Thus it can affect all other Social rolls you make with that person (in some cases, your rating determines the maximum number of successes from a Social action that can actually be applied, making it impossible for an ugly person to achieve anything other than minimal success).

Specialties might include:Bold Demeanor, Alluring, Captivating, Sexy, Luminous, Honest Face, Imposing, Dignified, Pleasing, Handsome, Beautiful, Gorgeous, Look of the Eagles.

	Poor	You tend to attract the hostility of others.
	Average	You are easily ignored, you fit in so well with the crowd.
	Good	You have a pleasing appearance and people treat you well.
	Exceptional	You could be a model, and are given respect and attention because of it.
	Outstanding	First reactions are either that of awe, intense jealousy, or complete so licitude.

Social

The Mental Traits represent your character's total mental capacity, including such things as memory, perception, and the abilitiy to learn and think.

Perception
This Trait indicates how aware you are of the environmenr around you. While sometimes this is a conscious action, such as when you are searching for something, it more often works intuitively - you simply notice something. At base, Perception is a sensiti vity to the world, an open-eyed quality common among children (for whom the world is a boundless and mysterious place) and seldom present among the most jaded.

Perception is used to see if you have the insight to understand or be aware of a certain fact or concept. It can help indicate how alert you are to ambushes, the subtext of a politician's speech, and the subtleties of color in a painting.

Specialties might include:Insightful, Attentive, Patient, Probing, Keen-Eyed, Intuitive, Visionary, Astute, Apprehensive.

	Poor	You are blind to anything but the obvious.
	Average	You are unaware of the subtler interactions that occur around you.
	Good	You are aware of moods and textures.
	Exceptional	You are constantly alert to the nuances of life.
	Outstanding	You can see a needle in a haystack.

Intelligence
Your Intelligence represents both your memory and your ability to learn and think. It is important for Abilities that require complex thought processes. Some describe it as a person's quickness of mind or judgment, but it is more than that - it is the fac ility for understanding, and the capacity for reasoning and evaluation. Intelligence is a rating of an individual's depth and flexibility of thought.

Common sense, street savvy, and wisdom are not components of the Intelligence Attribute; these are facets of a character that are portrayed by the player. However, low Intelligence can indicate a character who lacks the capacity to understand complicated thoughts, and who is a very slow learner - he might simply see things in terms of black and white, and won't understand that things are really in shades of gray.

Characters with high Intelligence, on the other hand, are sophisticated thinkers capable of decoding many different levels of an argument or a problem. They have a discerning judgment and are well able to tell the truth from lies, at least when they have the time to think things over. Intelligence caters to carefully thought-out judgements rather than snap decisions, which is the realm of Wits.

Specialties might include:Discerning, Creative, Knowledgeable, Pragmatic, Astute, Brilliant, Bookworm, Clear-Thinker.

	Poor	IQ 80
	Average	IQ 100
	Good	IQ 120
	Exceptional	IQ 140
	Outstanding	IQ 160

Wits
The Wits Attribute describes your ability to react quickly anc correctly to new situations, as well as your overall sharpness of mind and cleverness. In the simplest of terms, it is a measure of how quickly you think. A more complex view understands Wits as shrewdness, sagacity, and capacity for understanding problems in the most basic terms.

Those with low Wits are occasionally unable to take appropriate action because of surprise (like a deer caught in the headlights). A low Wits can indicate that you are more easily tricked and fooled than most people, for you are a gullible and unsophistic ated student of human nature. If you have high Wits, you are able to react quickly to new situations and are seldom caught off guard by sudden changes in events. Whatever else happens, you are able to keep your Wits about you.

Specialties might include:Clever, Sharp, Shrewd, Practical, Wily, Level-Headed, Creative.

	Poor	You send money to televangelists.
	Average	You know when to bet or fold in poker.
	Good	You are capable of handling LA rush hours (without shooting anyone.)
	Exceptional	You could be a stand-up comic.
	Outstanding	You have a supercomputer for a brain. It's fast.