Before you can play the game you need to create a character. The Dice Master, or DM, will tell you what the game setting is and what he’ll be looking for in his campaign. He will then assign each player a number of Character Points with which to create their characters. Of course the DM will have final say in what will be allowed in his games. The number of points the DM will give each player is based upon the following scale:

EVERYDAY: The game setting is based upon the normal everyday world. There are no super humans or extraordinary equipment or technologies. None of the player characters will exceed the normal human standards in Attributes. Players will receive 8 +1d6 CPs.

HEROIC: The campaign setting involves exceptional characters, but still no super humans. The players will be highly trained individuals and very competent at what they do. Players will receive 16 +1d6 CPs.

SUPER HEROIC: The game allows actual super humans into the setting. Players will possess super powers or at least be able to compete with those that do. Players receive 18 +1d6 CPs.

MEGA HEROIC: The players will start out as very strong super powered beings. The players will receive whatever CPs the DM decides upon for the campaign.

ATTRIBUTES:

Each character has six Attributes, three physical and three mental. These are Strength, Agility, Stamina, Psi, Intelligence and Psyche. Each of these Attributes will be given a Power Factor, or PF, that indicates it’s relative level of ability or strength. PFs are on a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 being pitiful to 10 being phenomenally cosmic powered. Each level or Power Factor in an Attribute will cost the player 1 CP to purchase. Players will be limited in the maximum PFs they can purchase for their characters as dictated by the campaign setting and the DM. No normal human characters can purchase super human level Attributes, unless the DM is allowing this in his games.

As you can see, the three physical Attributes are mirrored by the three mental Attributes. Each ability in the physical world has and equal ability that does the same thing in the ‘mental’ world. The Power Factor tables that will follow later will help DMs and players to decide what PF levels the characters will possess in their Attributes.. Players should strive for balance and not try POWERMONGER their characters. The DM is the FINAL judge of what will be allowed. Keep in mind that some PF levels may seem appropriate for some characters, but are not when you really look at them. A character with an apparently high Agility might actually just have excellent Acrobatics and a lower PF level Agility.

SKILLS AND TALENTS:

After you have assigned the character’s Attributes, it is time to decide what skills and talents they possess. Skills are not rated in Power Factors as Attributes are, but in Modifiers. These Modifiers range from +0 to +5, with +0 representing a basic knowledge of a skill to +5 meaning complete and total mastery of the skill. Each +1 in a skill or talent costs 1 CP to purchase. +0 Modifiers represent any skills or talents the character possesses, that are related to his level of education and background. A character with Chemistry would obviously know the basic of mathematics and laboratory procedures. If he had a doctorate in Chemistry he would probably also be familiar with computers and advanced testing equipment. Most characters in a modern campaign setting know how to Drive and Read along with other common skills. All characters will also have at least one +0 skill in a profession. Can you say, ‘Do you want fries with that?’

Skills are broad based, but there are limits. A character can not take 'All Melee Weapons' or 'Ranged Weapons' as skills. They must specify a general group of weapons, like Swords, Automatic Weapons, US Infantry Weapons and the like. Any similar skills, or 'sub-skills', can then be purchased at a reduced cost of 1 CP or XP. If a character had Swords at +3 and decided to improve his Knives +0, it would cost him 1 point and he'd have Knives at +2. If he didn't have Knives, but wanted to purchase that skill, it would cost him 1 point for a +1 (and not +0).

MODIFIER / LEVEL OF EDUCATION IN SKILL

+0 The character has a basic knowledge and understanding of the skill.

+1 Some formal training or practice in the skill, equal to a two year education.

+2 Regular formal training, well practiced, a four-year education.

+3 Years of training and practice, masters degree level education.

+4 Many years of training and education as well as practice, a doctorate degree, Nobel level.

+5 The highest level of ability has been attained, you are a legend in your own time!

EXTRAS:

Some characters will have special abilities or additional benefits that other characters will not. Elves are Long Lived and dwarves have Infravision. A character might just have a natural knack for something, such as always knowing what time it is or being a light sleeper, or maybe they can perform complicated mathematics in their heads before someone else could with a computer! These abilities are called Extras. Extras do not add anything to Skills or Powers in and of themselves, but may aid a character in the performance of a Skill or Power as a Situational Modifier set by the DM. Powers that do not have a Power Factor rating are also counted as Extras. Each Extra will cost the player 1 CP apiece.

DISADS:

Not all Extras a character has will be beneficial, some are circumstances that hinder the character in his actions during an adventure. If a character is Fugly, he won’t be able to blend in well, will be recognized easier and couldn’t get a dog to play with him if he had a porkchop tied around his neck. The character might have complications in his life like a sickly aunt or a reporter out to uncover his secrets. Each Disad will gain the player back 1 CP. If the Disad is bad enough it might be worth 2 or 3 CPs back. Elves are distrusted and easily recognized, while dwarves are short, can’t ride horses and hate water.

POWERS:

Powers are anything that defies natural explanation. The ability to Fly or Control Fire are not natural human abilities. Players and DMs will have to work together to define what each Power can and can not do in the campaign. Players, make sure you understand what the DM decides before you are unpleasantly surprised in combat! Powers cost 1 CP per Power Factor level.

Powers can not be too broadly based. You can not say a character has Fire Control and expect him to be able to do anything he wants with it. Fire Control only allows a character to control existing fires or ones created by other Powers. A character might buy other powers based upon Fire Control to simulate other uses besides just his general control of flame. The character might be able to Fly and Blast based upon his flame powers. These other Powers are called 'sub-powers' and will cost a player half the CPs or XPs to purchase. No 'sub-power' can be of a higher Power Factor than the original Power from which it is derived.

Whenever Powers are limited, such as not always being available or coming from an item, then they will cost less CPs and XPs to purchase. If the limitation has a minor effect in play then it reduces the cost of the Power by 1. If the limitation has a major effect upon play then it reduces cost by 2. An example of a minor effect upon play would be an armored suit the character can bring along with him. A major effect upon play would be any power that is hard to use or is easily hampered.

 HTK:

Hits To Kill ( also Hits To Knock-out ) is the amount of health, skill and outright luck the character possesses that will keep him alive in combat. It is a measure of his durability just like in any other game. Each character starts with his Stamina number of HTK +1 for each level of experience they have. An additional +1 HTK can be purchased for 5 CPs or 5 XPs spent to purchase it.

LEVELS

Each time a character gains a certain number of Experience Points, XP, he raises a level. The character will raise a level whenever his total number of awarded XP is equal to the new level squared, such as 1 XP for 1st level, 4 XP for 2nd level, 9 XP for 3rd level, etc. All characters start at 0 level, unless otherwise stated by the DM, so they immediately gain 1st level after being awarded 1 XP. Raising a level grants the character +1 HTK and +1 Glory Point.

GLORY POINTS:

All characters start the game with 1 Glory Point, unless the DM allows the character to have more. As he raises in level he will gain more GPs. Glory Points and their uses are described in further detail in the ACTION ROLLS section. Each character starts each adventure with his full Glory Point total, but as he spends them he will not regain them until the start of the next adventure. If character A spends all his GPs during the 'Crisis at Antioch' adventure, he will not have anymore GPs to spend until his next adventure starts, at which point all of his GPs will be available once more. Players can purchase additional Glory Points at the rate of 1 GP for 5 CPs or 5 XPs.

EXPERIENCE POINTS:

Experience Points, or XP, are a way for characters to grow and change as they adventure. Through the use of XP a character can gain new Skills, Extras, Powers or even raise Attributes. Experience Points are the same thing as Character Points and are used in the same way. Each character gains 1 XP for each adventure they play an important part in. No XP are awarded for just popping in and saying, 'Hi'. The character must contribute to the success of the adventure. For extremely difficult adventures or severe sacrifices on the character's part the DM might award 2 or 3 XP.

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