THE PERFECT 20 ROLEPLAYING SYSTEM, 2005 EDITION

• Introduction
• Character
• Proficiencies & Skills
• Feats
• Gear
• Combat
• Hazards & Creatures

OPEN GAME LICENSE

VERSION 1.0A

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15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Open Game License v 1.0 Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
System Reference Document, Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc., Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.
Modern System Reference Document Copyright 2002-2004, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Bill Slavicsek, Jeff Grubb, Rich Redman, Charles Ryan, Eric Cagle, David Noonan, Stan!, Christopher Perkins, Rodney Thompson, and JD Wiker, based on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Richard Baker, Peter Adkison, Bruce R. Cordell, John Tynes, Andy Collins, and JD Wiker.
Advanced Player's Guide, Copyright 2004, White Wolf Publishing, Inc. Blue Rose, Copyright 2005, Green Ronin Publishing; Authors Jeremy Crawford, Dawn Elliot, Steve Kenson, and John Snead.
Creatures of Freeport, Copyright 2004, Green Ronin Publishing, LLC; Authors Graeme Davis and Keith Baker.
Mutants & Masterminds, Copyright 2002, Green Ronin Publishing; Author Steve Kenson.
True20 Adventure Roleplaying, Copyright 2005, Green Ronin Publishing; Author Steve Kenson.
Perfect20 Roleplaying System, Copyright 2005, Levi Kornelson.

The total contents of the Perfect 20 SRD are designated as Open Game Content.

INTRODUCTION

I'VE PLAYED D20 GAMES - WHAT'S DIFFERENT?

• d20 Only: No dice other than the d20 are used in these rules. It's entirely possible to play Perfect 20 with only one d20 for the group.
• General Simplicity: Many d20 systems have worked to simplify existing d20-based rules down to an easier and faster-play format. Perfect 20 continues this trend. While this also means that a significant amount of rules detail has also been removed, it was felt to be well worth the cost.
• Character Advancement: At creation, every character will be developed with their own "advancement traits". These traits will determine how that character will develop over their career, rather than any fixed system of classes.
• Fixed Health: Rather than having regularly advancing levels of health, characters in Perfect 20 have a fixed number of health levels, but have a regularly advancing resistance to damage.
• Modular Setting: These rules do not contain any form of setting, whether overt or implied, nor do they include a "magic system". Such elements are exempted in order to be covered in supplemental books.
• Fully Open Content: Other than the name of the Author, every single item in Perfect 20 is open for use under the Open Game License. While the author intends to expand on these rules with the addition of optional "Briefs", anyone else who wishes to do so as well is entirely free, and entirely welcome, to do so as well.

WHAT IS THIS?

This is a roleplaying game. All roleplaying games are about pretending to be someone you are not (a character) in a structured setting. The structure of game is provided by these rules, the setting, and your GM. No board or playing site is necessary for Tabletop play. Instead, the game is played verbally. Tabletop play is modeled on action and reaction through play.

     Despite the amount of information given in this section, which is enough to get going, there are many things which no part of this book can ever do. You can learn how a given mode of play works from these pages, but you can't learn how to do it perfectly. To learn such a thing, you must actually do it. Once you've tried out the different ways of using this book, you'll learn what comes easily, what you need to work on, and what you'd rather just avoid. But in the end, once you know the territory, this book becomes secondary.

VENUE

Tabletop play normally takes place at the home of a player or the GM, often around a table (hence the name), with from 3 to 7 players, including the GM. Some groups play at friendly coffee shops, in college club rooms, or wherever. Whenever playing outside of home, avoid any kind of action that will distress the residents or passers-by.

FREQUENCY OF PLAY

Tabletop games tend to be played once a week, once every two weeks, or once a month. Any more often than once a week tends to lead to severe scheduling problems for players (even once a week can be too often for some). Any less than once a month, and players and GM all begin to lose track of details, and the game world can slowly lose coherency for the group.

GMing

As GM, you begin the session by describing a scene or situation. The players react by describing the actions they wish to take. You react to their descriptions by deciding and announcing the outcomes of those actions. The players then react to the outcomes with new actions, and you react with still more outcomes. This process continues through the session and the entire length of the game. When necessary, systems are used to deal with those situations that require it.

DESCRIPTION

Since the action of tabletop takes place in the minds of the GM and of the players, description is one of the most important skills to master in this mode of play. Giving accurate and interesting descriptions is an important part of each person's job for a number of reasons, most of them obvious.

1. CHARACTER

STEP 1: Decide on a Concept:
Concepts don't require rules, but they do require an understanding of both setting and of some rules. To choose a concept, flip through these rules and the setting you're using, and get an idea of what you'd like to play.

STEP 2: Divide 6 points among Ability Scores:
You have six ability scores, and six points to distribute, though you can make the process a little more complex if you want your character to be very finely-tuned.

STEP 3: Choose 3 Origin Traits:
There are a great many different origin traits - innate talents your character may have. Choose up to 3, or forego 1 or more for other benefits. If there are nonhuman races in your setting, and you wish to be part of one, then you will often need to spend all of your origin traits in order to play a member of that race.

STEP 4: Raise 10 Advancement Traits:
Choose your character's advancement; these choices will determine many factors of how your character will develop over time. There are a total of nine "advancement traits" to choose from, each can be raised up to twice, and you have ten raises to spend.

STEP 5: Note your Fixed And Figured Traits:
Fixed and figured traits are either automatic, or are determined by means of the choices you've already made. You'll want to be familiar with all of these traits, as well as with Health, which is described in the same place.

STEP 6: Choose Proficiencies and Feats:
Depending on your earlier choices, you will have the ability to choose a number of proficiencies and feats for your character; each of these three has a chapter dedicated to it alone.

STEP 7: Get Your Gear:
Chapter Four describes all manner of gear that your character might possess, and describes the process of buying this gear and managing your wealth. This section mainly assumes the role of a "creation system" for equipment, though it also lists some sample equipment. For specific, fully defined items that match your setting, consult your setting.

STEP 8: Last Touches:
Set these things as desired, so long as your choices are reasonable:

• Looks & Gender: Choose your character's height, weight, gender, and describe their looks. Note that some other players and some GMs may ask that you play a character of the same gender as yourself, check with them before creating a character of a differing gender from your own.
• Name: Invent or choose a name that fits your character. Many settings have a specific or ethnic sound to their names, which may be helpful.
• Style: Your character may have a style all their own, whether as a result of dress, stance, coloration, body alteration, or whatever other means, and you can express this in their description. A memorable style is easier to visualize for other players and for the GM, brining you're the identity of your character across from the very beginning of play.
• History: Every character comes from somewhere, and your character is no exception. Work with your GM to create a vivid history for your character - and remember that often, the best histories are the ones that aren't complete, but inspire later additions as the story of the character goes on.

ABILITY SCORES

DETERMINING YOUR ABILITY SCORES

You have 6 points to divide among your hero's abilities, which all start at 0, neither a bonus nor a penalty. Each point put into a score raises by 1. You cannot put more than 5 points in a single ability score, even with bonus points, though scores can go higher than +5 through other factors. If you choose to have a negative value in an ability, you gain bonus points to assign to your other ability scores. For example, if you give your hero Strength -1, you have 1 more point to assign to another ability (such as Intelligence). If your hero has Strength -2, you have 2 bonus points, and so on. Heroes cannot have abilities lower than -2. A character has six Ability Scores, each of which is a "modifier"; a bonus or penalty that normally ranges from -2 (very bad) to +5 (incredibly good). Larger bonuses and penalties are possible, but this is the range for a 'regular' human being.

     Your ability score is added to or subtracted from die rolls when you do something related to that ability, and sometimes your score is used to calculate another value, such as your speed. Descriptions of the six scores, and some notes on things they are added to, are listed below on this page.

• Starting Ability Scores = 6 points divided between six abilities, giving nothing above +5, and nothing below -2.

STRENGTH measures brute force. It is important to anyone that expects to get up close to their foes, who intends to throw things around, or who wants carry more than minimal equipment and armor. A hero with a high strength might be described as athletic, brawny, powerful, or wiry.

• Strength modifies: The amounts you can lift and carry, and the penalties from it. Most close combat damage rolls, as well as attack rolls made with muscle-powered weapons.
• Strength-based skills: Climb, Swim, Jump.

DEXTERITY measures speed and agility, as well as coordination. It is important to anyone who wishes to dodge away from effects, to gain abilities based on speed, and for anyone using ranged weapons. A hero with high dexterity might be described as quick, nimble, or agile.

• Dexterity modifies: Your reflex saving throw, as well as any attack rolls you make with ranged weapons (including throwing items).
• Dexterity-based skills: Legerdemain, Ride & Pilot, Stealth, and Tumble.

CONSTITUTION measures a character's 'grit' and general health. The higher this score, the harder one is to knock out, kill, and the less likely to suffer from poison, disease, or fatigue. A hero with a high constitution score might be described as robust, tough, or indefatigable.

• Constitution modifies: Your Toughness, or innate damage resistance, and your Fortitude saving throw, which is used against poison, illness, etc.
• Constitution-based skills: None.

INTELLIGENCE measures a character's learning speed, knowledge, and memory. It is important to any character that intends to gain multiple skills at notable levels. A hero of high intelligence score might be described as knowledgeable, smart, or intellectual.

• Intelligence modifies: The number of proficiencies that you gain at first level.
• Intelligence-based skills: Crafts, Education, etc.

WISDOM measures how centered a character is, as well as how alert they are in general. It is important for noticing things quickly, and for resisting mental domination. A hero with a high wisdom score might be described as determined, grounded, alert, or cagey.

• Wisdom modifies: Your Will save, which is used to resist mental effects and in contests of magical skill and prowess.
• Wisdom-based skills: Awareness, Commerce, Heal, and Survival.

CHARISMA measures a character's looks, social graces, and force of personality. It is important for anyone wishing to get along well in social situations. A hero with a high charisma score might be described as witty, charming, good- looking, magnetic, or stylish.

• Charisma modifies: All checks to alter another character's attitude to your hero, whether with or without skills.
• Charisma skills: Beast Keeping, Deceit, Diplomacy, and Perform.

All the characters in this system are human, or close enough that they can pass for a variation on humanity. Many of the 'standard' fantastic races can be simulated with these traits.

• Origin Traits = 3; you may give up one trait for a feat, and may give up any number to gain two Proficiencies each.

You may choose up to three of these traits. You may choose to forego choosing as many as you wish, though. For each origin trait you give up, you may choose two additional Proficiencies or one added Feat; however, you cannot gain more than one added Feat in this way.

ORIGIN TRAITS

ACUTE SENSES

At all times, regardless of what else you may be doing, you are treating as being engaged in actively searching your environment. Whenever something that has a difficulty to be found of (5+ Your Wisdom Modifier + Your Awareness Ranks) or less, you notice it automatically.

AGE

Older characters, while well established and often quite skillful, also suffer serious drawbacks. This trait can be taken up to twice; for each copy of this taken, the character gains +1 to their Reputation, Wealth, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma, and one bonus proficiency. However, they also suffer -1 to Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution.

BROAD-SHOULDERED

Your frame is ideal, for whatever reason, for carrying large amounts of weight without concern. Most characters with this trait are comparatively wider than an average human, and many are shorter than average as well. Though the maximum weights you are able to carry and move do not change, so long as you are able to carry a given load, your encumbrance level is treated as one 'Step' closer to 'no Encumbrance'.

BIRTH TALENT

The effects of this origin very wildly by setting; it has been placed here as a reminder to both GM and player that in many settings, it is impossible to ever develop unusual, magical, or other special abilities without some form of inherent talent which the character must possess directly from their origins, bloodline, birth, or childhood. Ask your GM or consult your setting and any other optional rules being used in your game to determine if this is the case in your game.

COMMUNITY-MINDED

You are well-known in your community -- not just your name and face, but your general demeanor, deeds, and overall attitude. You have a permanent increase of 2 points to your reputation, and any attempt at altering your reputation or what it entails is made against a difficulty 10 higher than normal. Finally, you gain a +3 bonus when you are making a reputation check in order to recognize someone else. This trait can be taken, and the effects stack.

EMPATHY

You can instantly determine how one person feels about another, simply by observing one interaction between them. Whenever you interact with someone, or watch two other personas interact, you learn immediately what their actual attitude is to you, or the attitude that each of the two persons observed has toward the other. The feat False Front can block this ability.

FAMOUS

By whatever accident of birth or publicity, you are already extremely well-known to those around you. Your reputation score is permanently increased by 4 points.

GREAT TREASURE

You possess a single item of great value, which might be inherited, a gift, or simply the focus of your life's ambition in some way. Choose a single item with a purchase value of up to 14. You begin play with this item. If your setting has added rules for magical or unusual items that can be upgraded and improved over time, then this item should generally be such an item; otherwise, the value of this trait will slowly fade over time.

IMPERTURBABLE

You are an emotional rock, and difficulty to sway with words or appeals to emotion, whether natural, chemical, or supernatural. Whenever you are subjected to any effect that would alter your emotional state or feelings towards anyone, or which uses a charisma-based check to incur a penalty on you, you always get a will save (difficulty 20, if no difficulty is listed). If you would normally receive a saving throw other than will, you receive that saving throw, and a will save in addition to that one. On all will saves to resist such effects, you roll 2d20 and take the higher roll.

KINSHIP

You are related, whether through lineage, ritual practice, or other means, to a specific race or species of creature that reacts well to "it's kin". When you take this trait, choose a creature type from those your GM considers available as targets for this feat. Members of that group have a +10 bonus to reputation checks to recognize you as a member of their kinship group. If the creature type you are kin to does not normally make checks of this type, they may make such checks specifically to recognize you as their kin.

NIGHTSIGHT

You are able to see in low-light conditions more easily. You treat all "dim light" conditions as "good lighting", and also treat all "total darkness" as "dim light" so long as there is a light source at least as bright as a candle within 100 feet of the spot that you are looking at.

QUICK HEALING

You heal abnormally fast. For you, one "day" of bed rest is a mere eight hours, and you benefit fully from term care in that period. It is possible for you to incur the benefits of a full day of natural healing three times over the course of twenty-four hours, if you are well-tended in that period.

STATUS

You are from a higher-class or wealthier background than most heroes. This trait may be taken repeatedly; each copy adds 2 points each to starting reputation and wealth, and ensures that those who recognize you will recognize you as a high-status individual.

SUREFOOTED

Because you are well-balanced, you can move across broken or slippery ground without suffering any movement penalty or risking falling. In addition, you gain a bonus equal to your character level to resist all attempts to trip you or pull or push you about, because of your improved grip, and you reduce the falling distance of any fall by ten feet so long as you have deliberately jumped into the fall.

THICKSKINNED

You are especially tough of body, because of a somewhat scaly skin, an iron regimen of exercise, or for whatever other reason. Your base toughness, to which bonuses are added, is 6 rather than the normal 5.

WARMBODY

You are less bothered by more extreme temperatures than others. You treat all hot or cold climates as one 'Step' closer to 'normal'. This trait does not protect you from hot and cold energy damage.

KINSHIP GROUPS AND ABILITY SCORES

Depending on the scenario and the setting, the GM may wish to assign ability score modifiers to one or more of the kinship groups in their game. The "standard" set of changes is to add 1 to a single specified ability score and subtract one from a different score, as permanent changes, or to add two points to one score and subtract one each from two other scores. Determining what changes to ability scores are appropriate to the setting is best left for the GM and the setting to determine.

     In the case of kinship groups that don't generally recognize one another positively and treat each other better than they treat others, being part of such a group (including any relevant ability modifiers) may not require that origin trait to be taken, but will likely require that the character have at least two other specific origin traits.

ADVANCEMENT TRAITS

These traits determine how your character will progress as they grow as a hero. Unless they are altered (at fairly notable cost), they remain unchanged and dictate to some degree how your character will grow.

     There are nine advancement traits, and you have ten "raises" to spend on these traits. Each trait starts at a specific base level, and up to two raises may be spent to improve it from that level. In very basic terms, an advancement trait that is not raised will be considered very weak as the game progresses; a trait raised once will be something that the character is moderately good at, and a trait raised twice will be something that the character will excel at as they progress throughout their career.

• Starting Advancement Traits = The base level listed; distribute ten "raises" among these traits, putting no more than two raises into any one trait.

ABOUT FRACTIONS

Almost all advancement traits include fractions. For purposes of making selections and the like, these fractions are entirely ignored; however, they must be recorded on your sheet, as they will be increased to full points as your character advances in level.

PUTTING IT ON YOUR SHEET

After you have decided on where you raises will be spent, look at the master table at the bottom of this page. Find each item, and the level you possess it at (Base, one raise, two raise). There you'll find one number before the parentheses - that number is placed one the front of your character sheet in the appropriate place or places. You'll also find one number that is in parentheses; this number is recorded on the back or second page of your sheet, at the very bottom.

HOW GOOD IS THAT?

For players having any difficulty interpreting these numbers, think of a trait with no raises put into it as "poor", a trait with one raise as being "good", and a trait with two raises as being "very good" - remember that these traits dictate the future of the character more than their present.

1. ATTACK BONUS

Your attack bonus is added to all attack rolls that you make; as you progress in level, it becomes a more and more important factor in determining whether or not you can make attacks successfully. Muscle-powered melee weapons typically use Strength as an additional bonus on attack rolls, and ranged weapons typically use Dexterity, as follows:

• Attack Roll = 1d20 + Attack Bonus + Strength OR Dexterity Bonus + Any other Bonuses.

2. DEFENSE BONUS

Defense represents how hard it is for opponents to land a blow on a character (or object). It's the attack roll result that an opponent needs to achieve to hit a target. The average, unarmored civilian has a Defense of 10. Your Defense is equal to:

• 10 + Defense Bonus + Dexterity + Armor Bonus + Other Modifiers.

3. TOUGHNESS BONUS

Your Toughness score represents how hard it is for others to hurt you. Like Defense, it is a number that your attacker must meet or beat in order to hurt you. However, Toughness tends to be a lower number than Defense, and the amount by which they beat your Toughness on a 'roll to wound' is important. On a successful hit, the attacker then rolls "to wound". If the to-wound roll is made exactly, or by 1-4 points, it deals one wound, if it succeeds by 5-9 points, it deals two wounds; if the to-wound roll succeeds by 10-14 points, it deals three wounds; and so on. As a time-saving device, it is possible for the attacker to simply roll two different-colored dice for their roll, designating them ahead of time (for example, "The blue die is attack, and the red on is for damage").

• Total Toughness = 5 + Toughness Bonus + Constitution + Armor Bonus + Other Modifiers.
• To-Wound Roll = 1d20 + Weapon Bonus + other modifiers (often including Strength)

ADVANCEMENT TRAITS - MASTER TABLE

This table shows the level one bonuses and totals (with advancements each level after level one shown in parentheses), for all ten of the advancement traits, at base level, with one raise, and with two raises.

4, 5, 6. SAVING THROWS

Generally, when a hero is subject to an unusual or magical attack, he or she gets a saving throw to avoid or reduce the effect. The Difficulty Class for a save is determined by the attack. Like an attack roll, a saving throw is a 1d20 roll plus a bonus based on the hero's class and level (the hero's base save bonus) and an ability modifier. A natural 1 (the d20 comes up 1) on a saving throw is always a failure. A natural 20 (the d20 comes up 20) is always a success. The three different kinds of saving throws are:

• Fortitude: These saves measure the character's ability to stand up to massive physical punishment or attacks against his or her vitality such as poison and paralysis. Apply the character's Constitution modifier to his or her Fortitude saving throws.
• Reflex: These saves test the character's ability to dodge massive attacks such as explosions or car wrecks. (Often, when damage is inevitable, the character gets to make a Reflex save to take only half damage.) Apply the character's Dexterity modifier to his or her Reflex saving throws.
• Will: These saves reflect the character's resistance to mental influence and domination as well as to many magical effects. Apply the character's Wisdom modifier to his or her Will saving throws.

7. REPUTE

Reputation is used to determine whether a GM character recognizes you. Those who recognize and approve of you are more likely to help you or do what you ask, provided your reputation is positive to the character who recognizes you. The higher the bonus, the more likely recognition is. However, a high Reputation bonus also makes it difficult for you to mask your identity. The GM decides when your reputation is relevant. At the moment it becomes relevant, the GM makes a Reputation check for each GM character who might be influenced due to your fame or notoriety.

• REPUTATION CHECKS: Whenever the GM decides that a character's reputation can be a factor in an encounter, the GM makes a Reputation check (DC 25) for the GM character involved. A Reputation check is 1d20 + the hero's Reputation bonus + the GM character's Int modifer. Note that if the GM character has no possible way of recognizing a hero, then the check automatically fails. If the GM character succeeds at the Reputation check, he or she recognizes the hero. This provides either Fame bonuses or Infamy penalties, based on the character's reputation. Player characters may also attempt reputation checks to recognize others, but are not bound by the bonuses and penalties listed.
• FAME AND INFAMY: When your are recognized, the GM will determine whether the person doing the recognizing likes what they see. This will take the form of a possible modified starting attitude, as well as a +2 or -2 on all charisma-based checks to affect that character's attitude in future.

8. PROFICIENCIES

Proficiency points are spent, and once spent, cannot be recovered. However, as a character progresses through their career, they will gain more proficiency points to spend as they wish. Each proficiency point may be used to purchase one of the following:

• Gain a Language: Every character starts with the ability to speak a single language, and may or may not have the ability to read and write. Each added language that a character can speak costs them one added proficiency. If the setting doesn't allow characters to read and write as a basic ability, but reading and writing are the hallmarks of education, then a character may gain the ability to read and write all languages that they know as an additional proficiency.
• Gain or Improve a Skill: Skills are either "unknown" (the default state), known, or specialties. An unknown skill is one that the character has no added bonus in, and which they cannot use at all if the skill requires training. Known and specialty skills have a bonus, called a rank, that is added to all skill checks made with those skills. One proficiency will change an unknown skill into a known skill, or change a known skill into a specialty skill. This rank bonus varies in size based on the level of the character, as follows:
  • Known Skill: Rank bonus is equal to the level of the character, or +1, whichever is greater.
  • Specialty Skill: Rank bonus is equal to half the level of the character, or +3, whichever is greater.
• Item Proficiency: Each proficiency spent on item proficiency allows the spender to become fully versed in the use of a single, fully-defined (all numbers and features described) kind of weapon, armor, or shield. This expense removes penalties, rather than granting benefits. Also, note that based on setting, many Item proficiencies can also be acquired by means of feats, most notably the feat Martial Training.
  • Armor: A character wearing armor that they are not proficient with gains only the benefits of it's Toughness bonus, but not of it's Defense bonus.
  • Shield: A character carrying a shield that they are not proficient with must spend one move action 'readying' it in order to gain a defense bonus from it, and this bonus is cancelled in any combat round where they move more than five feet.
  • Weapon: When using a weapon that they are not proficient with, a character ignores the base bonus to attack rolls that they gain from Advancement.

9. FEATS

Feats are individual, special abilities that often grant your character the ability to perform extraordinary actions, or which improve on their abilities to do other things to a significant degree. Each 'point' of feats allows you to choose one feat - once chosen, they cannot be removed, but your character will continue to gain additional feats as they progress through their career.

OTHER TRAITS & HEALTH

WEALTH & STARTING GOODS

Wealth is covered in detail in the chapter on money and gear. A character may enter play with as many items as desired that have a purchase value equal to or less than their wealth score, unless the GM views their choices to be unreasonable in nature or in quantity. The goods available to your character will likely vary wildly according to the setting your character is in. At creation, your starting Wealth bonus is:

• 2+ Charisma bonus + Any bonus from Origins.

INITIATIVE

Initiative is not, in and itself, a figured trait, but does deserve mentioning at this point. When a combat begins, all combatants will normally be required to "roll Initiative" to determine who acts at what point in the combat round. This roll is:

• 1d20 + Wisdom Bonus + Any other Modifiers.

SPEED

A character can move faster the higher their Dexterity is; this number indicates how many feet they move in one action (about half of a combat round). A character that spends a full round running will move four times this speed, unless augmented or hampered. On many maps, distances are divided into 'squares' of five feet across, and most of the combat rules assume measurement in five-foot increments. Your starting speed is:

• 25 Feet + (Dex Modifier x5)

ENCUMBRANCE

A character can only carry so much without difficulty. Weight in this game is measured in "Bulk"; many items don't counts as having any notable weight, though large collections of such items do. Listed below are the various different categories of encumbrance used in this game. If a character qualifies as being in more than one of them, use the most severe. Each has amount; a character carrying bulk within that amount qualifies as being in that category. Each also names a penalty that the character faces; this penalty is applied to all skills that have the notation (Enc), and all attack rolls (though not to damage rolls). Finally, each notes any adjustments to the character's speed.

• NONE: Less than 3+ STR: No penalty, normal speed.
• LIGHT: 3+ STR or more: -1 penalty, -5 Ft speed.
• MEDIUM: 7+ STR or More: -2 penalty, -10 Ft speed.
• HEAVY: 12+ STR or More: -4 penalty, -20 Ft speed.
• EXTREME: 18+ STR to 25+ STR: -8 penalty, speed is 5 Ft .
• 25+ STR OR MORE: Character collapses under the load.

THE HEALTH TRACK

Every character sheet has a health track showing twelve boxes, divided into four rows of three boxes each:

• The first three wounds (1, 2, 3) that a character takes are "Light" wounds. If a character has any wounds at all, then they may be easier to harm. In any round where a character who is damaged takes a strenous action, they suffer a penalty to their Toughness equal to the number of wounds they have taken.
• The next three wounds (4, 5, 6) that a character takes are "Moderate" wounds. While a character is suffering from any moderate wounds, they can't run or charge, and lose any Dexterity bonus to defense. If they have a Dex penalty instead of a bonus, that penalty is doubled.
• The next three wounds (7, 8, 9) on the health track are "Serious" wounds. Each time a character takes a Serious wound, they lose one action the next round.
• The next three wounds (10, 11, 12) on the health track are "Incapacitating" wounds. While a character is suffering from any Incapacitating wounds, they are unconscious, helpless, and unable to take any actions.
• If a character takes a "thirteenth wound", they begin to die; they may attempt to stabilize once per hour, but have only ten hours to do so. Each wound after this point halves the time remaining before death, and "destabilizes" the character again.

HEALTH: Becoming Stable

Each hour after receiving their "thirteenth wound", a character makes a Fortitude save (DC 20) to become stable. If successful, their countdown to death halts, but is noted, and they may begin to work towards regaining consciousness. Until the character heals at least one wound however, a single point of injury restarts their countdown to death at the point where it left off, and each point beyond he first has the normal effect upon this remaining amount of time.

HEALTH: Regaining Consciousness

Each hour after being knocked out, a character makes a Fortitude save (DC 20) to regain consciousness. If successful, they become conscious but remain just as hurt as before. A character cannot attempt this save if they have taken a "thirteenth wound" and are not stable.

HEALTH: Natural Healing

A character recovers one point of health each day. Complete bed rest (24 hours) restores 2 points per day. A character that is being tended by someone who possesses the heal skill may recover faster than this.

LEVEL UP!

The GM will inform you when your character has gained a level - or when they are eligible to train towards their next level. When this occurs, each of your advancement traits will improve by an amount equal to the corresponding fraction you've bought with your raises, and your skills will generally improve naturally as well.

HOW OFTEN?

In very general terms, assuming that gameplay was fully productive, and that the characters are meeting and overcoming significant challenges (of whatever sorts) during play itself, leveling up tends to take place somewhere between once per six to twenty hours of gameplay.

CHALLENGES?

This system is largely balanced around combat effectiveness. For this reason, it is active, dangerous challenges which matter towards level-based advancement. For players that are spending their time meeting and dealing with the world in other ways, other rewards less covered by mechanics, such as added allies, equipment, and the like are generally more appropriate than additional levels.

TRAINING TIME

Depending on the style of play taking place, the GM may simply tell the players to level up their characters, or they may expect the characters to put in training time. In a highly-cinematic, training time takes about as many days as the new level that the characters are about to reach. In a more realistic game, this time amount may be stretched out to weeks or even months of slow improvement, creating natural breaks of "downtime" between adventures. At level 6 and beyond, even in highly cinematic games, when new skills are acquired or improved, it is recommended that the improved rank bonus appear slowly, requiring at least one day of regular use (whether in formal training or not) per point of improvement.

ABILITY INCREASES

Starting at level 4, and each four levels thereafter (8, 12, 16, 20, 24, and so on), a character may choose and permanently increase one of their ability modifiers. However, a character cannot increase any of their ability score to a benefit more than 7 points higher than any of their other scores in this way - for example, if your character possesses one ability modifier at +5, and one or more ability modifier at -2 or worse, then they cannot improve their +5 ability score until both the other scores have been improved to -1 or better.

HARD LIMITS

Note: This rule typically has no effect until Level 15, at the earliest, and often not until level 20. All of the different advancement bonuses have upper limits to their base value, and the lowest advancement trait also has a lower limit. When you gain a new level, if increases to the bonus that you gain from advancement would exceed this number - in the case of feats and proficiencies, count your total and apply the limit to that; feats and proficiencies gained by trading in origin traits are not counted. In the case of skills, this is if your rank bonus would go past this limit - then it is instead raised to the level of the limit, and stops. In the case of 1/4 advancement, which has a lower limit, if the bonus isn't sufficient to raise that trait to the lower limit, it is raised to that level automatically.

• +1/4 Advancement Trait: These traits have an upper limit of half of your character level, with no bonus. They have a lower limit of half your character level, minus 5.
• +1/2 Advancement Trait, Known Skills: These traits have an upper limit of half your character level, plus ten.
• +3/4 Advancement Traits: These traits have an upper limit of half your character level, plus 15.
• +1 Advancement Traits, Specialty Skills: These traits have an upper limit of half your character level, plus 20.

WHERE ARE THE EXPERIENCE POINTS?

Many d20 systems spend a fair amount of time computing and figuring experience points under complex systems of advancement. This system doesn't concern itself with such things; instead, dramatic necessity and actual progress over challenges as determined and monitored by the GM is used instead. So, to answer the question as directly as possible: There aren't any.

2. SKILLS

All skills are used by means of skill checks, as listed below. Skills can be used even if the character has no ranks in the skill (+0), unless stated otherwise by the description.

• Skill Checks Are: 1d20 + skill ranks + ability modifier + other modifiers = Difficulty Beaten
• Difficulty: A number set by the GM (using these rules as a guide) that a character must attain to succeed.
• Ability Modifier: A specific ability modifier, shown in the skill title, is added to all checks using that skill.
• Opposed Checks: These are checks against another character's skill check result; the highest result wins.
• Check Times: The time required to use a skill is given with the DC in parentheses with each use.
• Tools: Some skill applications require the use of tools. This will be mentioned in the skill description.
• Retries: Unless noted, you can try a skill check again if you fail, and can keep trying indefinitely.
• Encumbrance: Your Encumbrance penalty affects a skill if it has "ENC" in the title.
• Taking 10 & 20: When you are not in a rush and not being threatened or distracted, you may choose to take 10 (or even 20) times as long, and are treated as having rolled a 10 (or 20) on the d20.
• Teamwork: When characters are working as a team, one of them "leads" and makes a skill check; each helper makes a skill check against DC 10. Each helper who succeeds gives the leader a +2 bonus.

ATHLETICS (STR)

ATHLETICS measures the total capacity of a character to focus their strength on highly mobile physical activity.

     Athletics difficulties are modified by the conditions of the environment quite regularly, often by as much as ten points. Slippery surfaces, high winds, stormy waters, and many other factors can contribute to raising or lowering the difficulty of Athletics checks.

     Besides the three uses listed here, Athletics can also be used as the appropriate skill for any physical activity where strength is, overall, more important than agility and dexterity, though these added uses, as always, are left in the hands of the GM to create and build sensible rules.

• Climb: With each successful check, you can advance up, down, or across a slope or a wall or other steep incline (or even a ceiling with handholds), one-fourth of your speed. A slope is considered to be any incline of less than 60 degrees; a wall is any incline of 60 degrees or steeper. A failed Climb check means that you make no progress, and a check that fails by 5 or more means that you fall from whatever height you have attained. Climbing at one-half your speed is a full-round action. Moving half that far (one-fourth the character's speed) is a move action.
• Jump: This skill is used to jump up so you can grab things, to jump down from high places, and so on. The listed distances assume a ten-foot run up; without this, halve the distance jumped. If they have ranks in the Jump skill and succeed on a check, they land on their feet (when appropriate) and can move as far as their remaining movement allows. Distance moved by jumping is counted against maximum movement in a round. Characters can start a jump at the end of one turn and complete it at the beginning of the next.
• Swim: While swimming and attempting to move under your own power, (or just keep your head above water) make this check each round (you may make it twice as a full-round action). If you succeed, you may move up to five feet, and are under your own control. For each full point by which you beat the DC, you may move one additional foot (often broken into five-foot increments). If you fail, you go underwater and start to drown.

AWARENESS (WIS)

AWARENESS measures the total perceptive abilities of the character, and is used both reactively (to spot things when they move or make noise) and actively (when searching an area or attempting to determine distances and the like.

     As well as the uses listed here, Awareness may also be used as the general skill to use for detecting and perceiving

     The GM will often modify Awareness results based on distance, lighting, ambient noise, and on other environmental conditions, often by as much as ten points in either direction - in extreme situations (trying to find the proverbial needle in the haystack, or trying to hear a pin drop in a crowded room), difficulties may even be altered by twenty points or more.

• Listen: This is a check that is normally opposed by the Stealth check of someone or something . The GM may make the Listen check so that you don't know whether not hearing anything means that nothing is there, or that you rolled low. In the case of a group trying to be quiet, the worst result of the group is the one that you must defeat.
• Spot: Spot is used to detect characters or creatures who are easily missed or are hiding. Typically, Spot is opposed by the Stealth check of the creature trying not to be seen. Sometimes a creature isn't intentionally hiding but is still difficult to see, so a successful Spot check is necessary to notice it, at a difficulty set by the GM. As a full-round action, you may attempt to spot something that you failed to spot previously.
• Defeat Disguise: This check will allow you to determine if some- one is in disguise, and, if successful, allow you to make a normal reputation check to recognize them.
• Thorough Search: This check is made to search an area about the size of a room ten feet on a side, containing a moderate amount of furnishings and such, and find a small, unlabelled, out-of-the way object. Difficulty or time should be raised for larger areas, better- hidden items, or greater density of things to search among.
• Sense Enchantment: You can tell that someone's behavior is being influenced by any effect against which they received (and, generally, failed) a Will save, even if that person isn't aware of it herself.

BEASTKEEPING (CHA)

BEASTKEEPING measures the ability of the character to deal with animals. Given time, it can be used to change a wild animal under the control of the character into a domestic one, by "gentling" the animal in question. It can also be used (though with far greater difficulty) as "diplomacy for wild animals".

     The main uses of Beastkeeping, though, are to teach tricks to animals, and to be able to get an animal to perform those tricks (see "known trick"in the table) on command. When dealing with an animal that is gentled and is physically capable of performing a trick, but doesn't know it, this skill can also be used to "push" the animal into performing the trick, though this is somewhat harder.

• Attack (DC 20): The animal attacks apparent enemies. The character may direct the animal to a specific enemy.
• Come (DC 15): The animal comes to the hero, even if the animal normally would not do so.
• Defend (DC 20): The animal defends a location, person, or object
(or waits to defend the it if no threat is present).
• Fetch (DC 15): The animal goes and gets something. The character must point out a target, or else the animal fetches a random object.
• Heel (DC 15): The animal follows the character closely, even to places it normally wouldn't go.
• Perform (DC 15): The animal does various simple tricks such as sitting up, rolling over, and so on.
• Seek (DC 15): The animal moves into an area and searches for something of interest. It stops and indicates the first thing of interest it finds. What constitutes an item of interest to an animal varies, but animals almost always find other creatures interesting.
• Stay (DC 15): The animal stays, waiting for the hero. It does not challenge others, but it defends itself if it must.
• Track (DC 20): The animal tracks a scent presented to it.
• Work (DC 15): The animal pulls or pushes a medium or heavy load, or carries a burden or rider.

COMMERCE (WIS)

COMMERCE indicates an aptitude with professional activities, with marketplaces, and with practical economics.

     In addition to the two main uses listed here, commerce could be used to navigate the marketplace more easily, determine if items are being sold for a reduced price at any locations, avoid merchants which are overpricing goods in general, manage a business or workplace, and perform all of the other tasks involved in general business.

     Your commerce skill can receive bonuses or penalties when dealing in market structures that are foreign to you or when you are dealing with or selling goods that are foreign to the marketplace, as well as when commissioning or selling unique or extremely rare items of various sorts; the GM will assign these as if appropriate.

• Appraise: You can appraise the purchase value of items with this check; appraisal of any item with a purchase value of 10 or more requires a commerce toolkit (though you can determine if something has such a value through a normal roll). Failure of this roll means that you are incorrect in your appraisal by 1 point in either direction; failure by 5 or more means you are wrong by two points in either direction, failure by ten means you are wrong by up to three points, and so on. You can't retry this skill on the same object, regardless of success, and the GM will often make this roll for you.
• Haggling: By pointing out the flaws or talking up the merits of a given item, you can sell it for more than normal sale value, or buy it for less than normal purchase value. This is an opposed roll against the other party, who must be interested buying or selling in the item to begin with. In an area where prices are normally fixed, the GM may either assign bonuses or penalties to this roll, or may choose to disallow it entirely. This is an opposed roll; if you win this roll, the other party will sell the item at a value -1, or will buy it at the sale value +1. For each ten full points by which you defeat them in this roll, you adjust the price they will pay or accept by one further point. You cannot take ten or twenty on this roll, and may not retry the roll against the same person in regards to the same item. Each time you defeat a target in this manner, they gain +1 on all future checks to resist your haggling.

CRAFTS (INT)

This skill enables the character to create, repair, forge, and sabotage various items. You must choose one specialization - a kind of item that you can work with. Your ranks apply only to these items, though by spending one further proficiency, you may cause all your rank in crafts to apply to an additional specialization of your choosing. Specializations include, but are not limited to, the following. The GM decides what is and is not an appropriate specialization, and may modify this list:

• Melee Weapons, Ranged Weapons, Traps, Armor (includes shields), Tools, Visual Arts (Each of these, such as painting, drawing, sculpting, etc., it's own specialization).

Repairing and sabotaging items are, mechanically, very simple issues, and other than the difficulty and time listing given, are left to GM discretion. Crafting items, however, needs some fairly intensive rules. To make an item, follow these steps:

1. You must purchase raw materials; these have a purchase value equal to the value of the item, minus four (minimum 1).
2. Put in a full day's worth of work (eight hours), and then make a craft check; the difficulty of this check is 10+ (double the purchase value of the item to be built). When creating items with a value of seven or more, gaining assistance from others and possession of special tools are generally a necessity.
3. If the check succeeds, you have created one point of the item's value. Additionally, for each full five points that your check result beats the difficulty, you have built one more point of value. When the created value matches the actual value of the item, then the item is completed.

• Ruined Materials: If the check fails, some materials are ruined, and must be purchased again; replacement materials will have a cost equal to the value of the finished item, minus six (minimum 1).
• Spurious Goods: You can create spurious goods (such as false identification, or swords intended to pass as real but made of steel-covered tin). Raw materials cost the items cost, minus six, and have a lower creation difficulty. If someone examines them, they make an awareness check against the worst craft check rolled during creation to detect the falsity.

DECEIT (CHA)

DECEIT is used to lie convincingly, and otherwise give false or misleading information. In very general terms, when lying to a target that might not believe you, you contest your Deceit against the subject's Awareness to convince them. Success indicates that the target believes something that you want them to. Generally, a failure makes the target too suspicious try again in the same circumstances.

• Feinting: You can also use Deceit to mislead an opponent in combat so that he can't dodge your attack effectively. Doing so is a general action. If you are successful, the next attack you make against the target ignores their dexterity bonus. Against a creature of animal intelligence (Int 1 or 2), you must feint with either your Deceit or your Beastkeeping, whichever is lower.
• Innuendo: Characters can use Deceit to send one-phrase secret messages while seeming to speak about other things. Anyone hearing the speech containing the message can attempt an opposed Awareness check. If successful, the listener realizes that a secret message is contained in the communication. If the listener succeeds by 5 or more, they understand the secret message. Any failure by 5 or more bungles the message in some fashion.
• Disguise: Use this system to change your appearance or someone else's; the difficulties vary depending on who it is that you are disguising. The effort requires at least a few props. You can also impersonate people, either individuals or types, so that, for example, you might, with little or no actual disguise, make yourself seem like a traveler even if you're a local. The difficul- ties are the minimum result required; your check result also determines how good the disguise is, and it is opposed by the Awareness checks of anyone you draw attention from. The GM makes your check secretly so that you're not sure how good it is, and it lasts for the duration of the disguise.

DIPLOMACY (CHA)

DIPLOMACY allows the user to deal well with other people. In general terms, this almost always means changing the attitude of those people, as described to the right.

     In many cases, the GM will wish to "abridge" the work a character does with diplomacy. For example, spending an evening at the bar buying drinks and trying to quietly get people to tell you what they know about a local figure would entail a great many checks working to change neutral attitudes into friendly ones. This could be summed up by the GM into a single roll, the results of which are used by the GM to determine how much the character finds out.

*: You must have the feat Silver Tongue in order to change the attitude of a person more than one step towards helpful.

CHANGING ATTITUDES

You can change the attitude of any person or creature you are interacting with. The difficulties given in the accompanying table show what it takes to change someone's attitude with the use of the Diplomacy. The character doesn't declare a specific outcome he or she is trying for; instead, make the check and compare the result to the table. Generally, retries don't work. If the initial check succeeds, the other character can only be persuaded so far, and a retry may do more harm than good. If the initial check fails, the other character is more firmly committed to his position, and a retry is futile. The five most general attitudes are:

• Hostile: Will take risks to hurt or avoid you. May attack, interfere, berate, or flee from you.
• Rough: Wishes you ill. May mislead, avoid, watch suspiciously, insult, or gossip about you.
• Neutral: Doesn't much care about you. Will act as is socially expected of them.
• Friendly: Wishes you well. May chat, advise, offer limited help, or advocate on your behalf.
• Helpful: Will take risks to help you. Will protect, back up, heal, or aid you normally as asked, within reason.

EDUCATION (INT)

EDUCATION is used any time it is questionable whether or not a character knows a specific fact. You must choose one specialization - something you know about. Your ranks apply only to this knowledge, though by spending one further proficiency, you may cause all your rank in the skill to apply to an additional specialization of your choice. Specializations include, but are not limited to, the following list:

• Engineering (bridges, fortifications, etc.)
• Geography (lands, climate, customs, etc.)
• History (royalty, wars, migrations, dates, etc.)
• Local (legends, laws, traditions, etc.)
• Nature (plants, animals, seasons, weather, etc.)
• Nobility (families, customs, laws, etc.)
• Religion (gods, myths, faiths, symbols, etc.)

• When to roll: Education rolls are made when a specific subject comes up, and the GM isn't sure if the characters would know the information involved.
• Assistance: It is possible to make this roll with assistance, where characters pool what they know on the topic. A character that has attempted the check to know the information in question, and failed, may only assist if their failed check result was ten or higher. An Education roll using assistance requires a number of minutes equal to the total number of assistants, squared.
• Taking Ten or Twenty: It's only possible to take ten on this roll if at least one other character is successfully assisting you on your roll. It's only possible to take twenty if you have at least four successful assistants.
• Retries: It isn't possible to retry an education check without further study on a topic. This study can be 'covered' by gaining a level and increase of skill ranks, if training time is a factor. It can also be dealt with by means of research; this requires either an open source of information, or the purchase of a reference book on the topic and an hour of reading (typically, treat this as an education toolkit).
• Tools: Education "toolkits" take the form of books or other recorded media. Each toolkit will grant it's bonus only to one of the various specializations; to have bonuses available in all fields of knowledge usually requires a great many purchases, adding up to something resembling a research library.

HEAL (WIS)

HEAL is a fairly simple skill in terms of use; a character with this skill can treat illnesses and injuries. The uses listed here are supplemented by the medical feat group.

     Uses of this skill that do not require feats may also be expanded upon, at the discretion of the GM, but the GM should be careful not to add further uses that overlap with those feats.

     Modifiers to skill and difficulty are typically based on the rarity of the condition - while a healer in ancient Egypt might know how to heal a disease caught from certain rare scarabs, a modern-day character living in America would very likely be baffled by the increased difficulty of the task.

• Stabilize Other: With a heal toolkit, you can halt the 'countdown to death' another character is undergoing, allowing them to move towards consciousness and healing.
• Revive Other: With a heal toolkit, you can remove the dazed, stunned, or unconscious condition from a character. A successful check removes the dazed, stunned, or unconscious condition from an affected character. You can't revive a character that isn't stable.
• Term Care: With a heal toolkit, this application allows a patient to recover health at an advanced rate, and will recover one added wound per day of complete rest. A new check is made each day; on a failed check, recovery occurs at the normal rate for that day. You can tend up to as many patients as you have ranks in the skill. The patients need to spend all their time resting. The required hour of care may be broken up into segments, but must be applied that day.
• Treat Poison: To treat poison means to tend a single character who has been poisoned and is going to take more damage from the poison (or suffer some other effect). Every time the poisoned character makes a saving throw against the poison, you make a Heal check. The poisoned character uses your result in place of her saving throw if your Heal result is higher.
• Treat Disease: To treat a disease means to tend a diseased character. Every time the diseased character makes a saving throw against disease effects, you make a Heal check. The diseased character uses your result in place of his or her saving throw if your Heal result is higher.

LEGERDEMAIN (DEX)

LEGERDEMAIN is the defining skill of thieves, rogues, and charlatans. A character with ranks in this skill is flexible of body and quick of hand, with all benefits that entails.

     Beyond the uses listed here, Legerdemain might also be used to squeeze through or into tight spaces, "plant" items on others, poison a cup without onlookers noticing, and similar such tricks of body and hand.

     Legerdemain might easily be given added bonuses or penalties based on the environment, including lighting, condition, shape, and size of items it is used on, time pressure, and other such details. The GM will assess these bonuses and penalties as they see fit.

• Palming Items: You can cut or lift a purse and hide it on your person, palm an unattended object, or perform other tricks with an object no larger than a hat or a loaf of bread. When performing this skill under close observation, your skill check is also opposed by the observer's Awareness check. Their check doesn't prevent you from performing the action, just from doing it unnoticed.
• Pick A Pocket: If you try to take something from another creature, you must make a skill check. The opponent makes an Awareness check to detect the attempt. The opponent detects the attempt if their check result beats yours, whether or not you got the item.
• Pick Lock: You can pick padlocks, finesse combination locks, and so on. This requires a Legerdemain toolkits. Difficulty starts at 10
(improvised locks), and rises by 10 per level of "security" involved.
• Escape Bonds: Making a check to escape from being bound up by ropes, manacles, or other restraints requires 1 minute of work. Escaping from ropes is opposed by the binder's Crafts check. It's easier to tie someone up than to escape from being tied up, so the binder gets a +10 bonus on their check.
• Holdout: You can conceal item from search on your person. Spotting a concealed item is a opposed roll; detector's awareness against your check result. The searcher is at -5 if not specifically looking for a concealed item, and -2 if looking at a lot of people quickly as they walk by, but +5 with a pat-down search, and +20 with extreme search methods. Size and shape of the item may also grant the detector bonuses.

PERFORM (CHA)

PERFORM is used to gauge how entertainingly your character can perform. You must choose one specialization - something you know about. Your ranks apply only to this knowledge, though by spending one further proficiency, you may cause all your rank in the skill to apply to an additional specialization of your choice. Specializations include, but are not limited to, the following list. In truly realistic genres or settings, you may be required to choose a specialization that is even more specific than those listed here:

• Acting: Taking on dramatic roles.
• Dance: Rhythmic, patterned movements.
• Humor: In-person performances of comedy.
• Percussion: Drums, cymbals, tambourine, etc.
• Sing: Producing music with your voice.
• Strings: Guitar, harp, lute, sitar, violin, etc.
• Wind: Flute, bugle, trumpet, trombone, etc.

• Busking: This represents street performance, as opposed to performance in a tavern or similar locale. For each day of work (minimum one hour; +1 to the check per added hours) make a roll, and subtract 15. If this is higher than the character's current wealth score, then they are treated as if they have just sold some item with a sale value equal to this result. If the result would be a negative number, ignore it--the character earns nothing, and may suffer some form of ignominy (such as being pelted with rotten fruit, shouted off the street, or something similar). There is no penalty for trying again unless the audience doesn't change (in which case, each failure to gain money inflicts a cumulative -2 penalty). You can't take 10 or 20 on this roll without a feat that allows you to.
• Full Performance: A true performance, made with the consent of those observing, is used to alter the attitude of the audience up to one step. When you make the check, apply the results on the table shown under Diplomacy, but apply them to the entire group, and treat your check result as five less than it actually was -- it's harder to impress a group than it is to impress a single individual. Retries are allowed, but they don't negate previous reductions in attitude, and an audience that has been unimpressed in the past is going to be prejudiced against future performances - the five-point penalty grows by a further two points any time you fail to improve, or if you actually reduce, the attitude of the group towards you. You can't take ten or twenty on this roll without a feat that allows you to do so.

RIDE & PILOT (DEX)

You have learned to capably use one or more modes of transport. You must choose one specialization - something you know about. Your ranks apply only to this knowledge, though by spending a further proficiency, you may cause all your rank in the skill to apply to an additional specialization of your choice. Specializations include, but are not limited to, the following list:

• Airborne: Flight, with propellers or gasbags.
• Burrowers: Vehicles that dig through ground.
• Cycles: Motorcycles and hovercycles.
• Land Mounts: Horses and the like.
• Hovercraft: Vehicles aloft by fans or magic.
• Ships & Boats: Water vessels, some powered.
• Striders: Walking automatons.

• Basic Tasks: Basic tasks such as mounting, dismounting, and simple movement are opposed or required rolls only if you are dealing with a mount that doesn't want you to perform them, or with a vehicle that is out of control for some reason. Otherwise, no roll is required. If a roll is required, it may be a set difficulty based on speed, or an opposed roll against the mount.
• Mounted Reflex: While mounted, seated in, or strapped onto any form of transport, you must use either your total ride skill or your total Reflex save, whichever is worse, when you are required to make a Reflex save of any type. Vehicles large enough to allow free movement onboard, such as Airships or large trucks, do not possess this limitation.
• Fast Mount: You can mount or dismount as a free action. If you fail the check, mounting or dismounting is a move-equivalent action. You can't attempt a fast mount or dismount unless you can perform the mount or dismount as a move-equivalent action this round, and you must perform that action if you fail this roll.
• Chases: Vehicle and mount chases are opposed rolls if the speed of vehicles or mounts are very close, or if the terrain is complex enough that handling is more important that capability for speed (such as a chase through heavy and dangerous traffic). Bonuses, penalties, and minimum results required to avoid crashing are all common factors in good chases.

STEALTH (DEX, ENC)

STEALTH is the learned capacity to avoid notice and detection. Among many other uses, it is often used to scout possibly hostile areas before entering in force. Many uses of stealth will find the Scouting feat group to contain items that work well with their abilities.

     The GM may find that adding further uses to this skill will be helpful, but is warned to be careful not to cheapen or invalidate any feats being used as viable selections by doing so.

     Environment, lighting, and the like are all very important to uses of stealth. Possibly even more important, however, are ambient sounds and movements - it's harder to notice someone move quietly and out of sight if there is a great deal of other motion or sound around you. Users of stealth can expect regular bonuses and penalties from such conditions.

• Move silently: You may move without creating noise. This check is opposed by the Awareness of anyone who might hear you. You can move up to half your normal speed at no penalty. From half to full speed, you suffer a -5 penalty. It's very hard (-20 penalty) to move silently while running or charging.
• Hide: You can conceal yourself from sight. Your Hide check is opposed by the Awareness check of anyone who might see you. Larger and smaller creatures get size bonuses and size penalties on Hide checks. If people are observing you, even casually, you can't hide. You can run around a corner, etc. so that you're out of sight and then hide, but the others then know at least where you went. If your observers are momentarily distracted, though, you can attempt to hide. While the others turn their attention from you, you can attempt a check if you can get to a hiding place of some kind. (As a guideline, the hiding place has to be within 1 foot per rank you have in Hide.) This check is at -10 because you have to move fast.
• Shadowing : You can try to follow someone, making periodic checks to remain unseen. How often you need a check depends on the distance at which you follow. If you stay at least 60 feet away from your quarry, you can get by with a check once every 10 minutes, provided that your quarry doesn't suspect you're following and that you do nothing but maintain the tail. At distances of less than 60 feet, you must make a check each round. You still need appropriate concealment to succeed at checks while tailing, though people and crowds are often excellent for this purpose.

SURVIVAL (WIS)

SURVIVAL is used to live or travel in wilderness as comfortably as possible; it is also used for hunting and is essential to any journey into the deep wilds.

     In addition to the listed uses, survival could also be used to find good natural campsites, to forage for cooking ingredients or herbs, and similar such activities. Skill checks may be modified by extreme conditions or weather, but some degree of inclement weather is assumed, so such bonuses and penalties tend to be small.

     Characters with survival will often find the wilderness feat group to be useful and to work well with the capabilities granted by use of this skill. The tracking feat, in particular, notes a use of survival that any character can use to some extent, but which the feat allows full use of.

• Travel Wilderness: This allows you to move up to one-half your overland speed while hunting and foraging (no food or water supplies needed). You can provide food and water for one added person for each 2 points by which your result exceeds 10. The result of a check applies until the next check is made. In inhospitable terrain, increase the difficulty by 5; in hostile terrain (such as a desert), increase the difficulty by 10. A few form of terrain ....
• Hunt And Forage: You can gather foods and hunt animals to garner supplies; this involves moving about, but returning to the point of origin at the end of the working period. Success gathers enough food and water for one person for one day; each two added points by which you beat the difficulty is one added person-day of food and water.
• Scan The Sky: You can determine your position without the use of any equipment by checking constellations. You must have a clear view of the night sky to make this check.
• Predict Weather: By observing local weather, you may forecast future conditions. To forecast the weather for the next four hours, the difficulty is 10. To forecast the weather over the next 24 hours, the difficulty is 15. Each additional 24 hours of forecast increases the difficulty by a further five; if your forecast is for more than 24 hours, the GM makes your check secretly; on a check that fails by more than five, they give grossly false or misleading information. You may not make this check more than once per day.

TUMBLE (DEX, ENC)

TUMBLE measures the acrobatic skills of the character - their ability to roll, flip, balance, and similar such abilities. Beyond the listed uses, tumble is the general skill to use whenever the character is performing intensive physical activ- ity governed more strongly by their agility than by their strength.

• Shorten Fall: By succeeding at this check in mid-fall, you may treat a fall as if it was ten feet shorter. Also, for each full five points by which the DC is beaten, the fall is treated as a further ten feet shorter.
• Evasive Tumble: By tumbling, you move up to 20 feet; while doing so, you are not subject to (can't be the target of) held attacks. Move before you roll -- Failure means you tumble 20 feet but are subject to these actions normally. By increasing the difficulty on this check by ten, you may travel through enemy-occupied spaces while doing so.
• Balance: You can keep your balance while walking on a tightrope, a narrow beam, a ledge, or an uneven floor as a move action. A successful check lets you move at half your speed along the surface for 1 round. A failure means that you can't move for 1 round. A failure by 5 or more means that you fall. The difficulty varies with the surface. If the character takes damage while balancing, they must make a Reflex check against the damage roll to remain standing. You can try to move on a precarious surface more quickly than normal, up to full speed, but take a -5 penalty on your Balance check. (Moving twice in a round requires two checks, one for each move action). If in contact with a teetering platform or similarly mobile surface (such as on a balanced stone or floating raft) you may, as a move action, force an opposed check with an opponent. If either you or they lose by five or more, the loser falls from that surface.

3. FEATS

Feats are special abilities that your character gains as they advance in levels; you either have a feat or you do not (though some Feats can be taken more than once). Some Feats grant your character entirely new abilities, but most of them enhance the things your character can already do, or remove penalties for doing things that are difficult without training. Feats are gained from Advancement or by trading in Origin traits.

FEAT TREES

Each Feat group contains one of more "Trees". These are groups of feats organized showing a flow-chart like sequencing. The first feats in any tree are prerequisites for all other feats later on in the "tree" unless stated otherwise. Those in the same group, but outside the tree, require only the prerequisites listed in their description, if any. In very basic terms, if a feat doesn't have an arrow pointing to it, it has no prerequisites except those in it's description. If it has one or more arrows pointing to it from other feats, those feats must be taken before the one being pointed to.

DEFENSE FEATS

THESE FEATS affect the way that a character is generally defended from and resists attacks made upon them.

• Capable Defense: You do not alter your Dexterity modifier to defense when you take moderate wounds. Additionally, you may choose to add your Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma modifier to your defense in place of your Dexterity modifier if you wish to do so, though the maximum defense limit of armor applies to whichever you use.

CONTINUED FOCUS FEATS

All of these feats require that the character taking them first take the feat Capable Defense.

• Fratricide: You are capable of foregoing your defense in order to attack another more easily. When you are about to be attacked by any given foe in melee combat, you may state that you are making use of this feat, and name any number up to five. The character or creature about to attack you gains that amount as a bonus to hit and damage you, and you gain it as a bonus to hit and damage them on your next initiative.
• Resist Pain: The toughness penalty applied to you for undertaking strenuous actions while wounded is 3 points less than normal. Unless you have more wound boxes than standard, this means that you do not start taking a penalty for strenuous actions until you have received your first moderate wound.
• Roll With Blows: You are more generally aware of how to "take a hit" than others. You may choose to add your Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma modifier to your toughness in place of your Constitution modifier if you wish to do so.
• Stolid: You can simply take more damage than most characters. You have one additional "Light" wound box. This feat can be taken up to four times; the second copy grants an added "Moderate" wound box, the third an added "Serious" wound box, and the fourth grants an added "Incapacitated" wound box.

FOCUS FEATS

THESE FEATS affect the way that a character uses skills that they possess. When you gain a focus feat, you must specify a single skill. All focus feats can be taken repeatedly, specifying a different skill each time they are taken.

CONTINUED FOCUS FEATS

All of these feats require that the character taking them first take the feat Focus Skill. When you take one of these feats, you must specify a skill that is a Focus Skill for your character.

• Sure Skill: Anytime you are making use of the specified skill, and you roll less than a 5 on the d20 when making a skill check with the specified skill, treat the die result as being 5. Also, whenever you are called upon to make such a check, you may simply declare the die result to be 10 instead of rolling at all.
• Double-Skill: Whenever you are called upon to make a check with the specified skill, roll 2d20 instead of 1d20; use whichever of the two results is a higher number.
• Inspired Skill: Anytime you are making a skill check with the specified skill, and roll a natural 20 on your d20 (or on one of them, if you have the feat Double-Skill for this skill), you may roll an additional d20 and add the resulting number to your total result on the check. The Double-Skill feat does not allow you to roll 2d20 on this added roll.
• Team Skill: Anytime you are part of a group that is attempting to assist one another with use of the specified skill, whether you are leading the attempt or not, each character that succeeds in granting an assistance bonus grants a +3 bonus rather than the standard +2. If multiple characters involved in the attempt each have this feat for the same skill, the bonuses continue to improve by one point for each of them that has this feat for that skill.

INTERACTION FEATS

THESE FEATS affect the way that a character interacts with others, most notable by means of charisma checks and the diplomacy skill.

• Silver Tongue: The character can influence others far more thoroughly than is normally the case. When attempting to alter the attitude of any GM character with a charisma-based check, they are capable of altering that attitude by up to two steps instead of the normal limit of one step. This feat can be taken repeatedly; each time, the number of steps the character can improve such attitudes by increases by one more step.

CONTINUED INTERACTION FEATS

These feats require the user to have the feat Silver Tongue. Use of any of these feats requires that the user select a target, which must be a character that can hear and understand them, use a move action, and make a Diplomacy check (difficulty 15). Targets can resist these feats with a will save (difficulty of the users check result). Each of these feats may only be used against a target once per encounter.

• Fascinate: The target must listen to what the user says to them, and takes no actions except listening so long as the user does nothing but speak to them, and the target isn't attacked or threatened. The target may attempt to save against this feat each round.
• Inspire: The target of this feat gains a bonus on their next attack roll, skill check, or whatever check the user wishes, so long as that check happens before the user next takes another action. The bonus is equal to diplomacy check result, divided by five.
• Insult: The target is thrown off-balance when this feat is used on them, losing all ability bonuses to defense that they possess, or doubling ability penalties to defense. This lasts a number of rounds equal to the diplomacy check result, divided by five.
• Repute: Use of this feat requires a minute of speech praising or condemning another character, and targets as many listeners as the sum of the check result. All of the targets, for the next month, view the person spoken as having a bonus to reputation equal to the sum of the diplomacy check result, divided by five, and react to that character as appropriate to the praise or condemnation described.

MEDICAL FEATS

THESE FEATS affect the way that a character makes use of the checks listed for the heal skill. Possession of that skill, while not a prerequisite, is extremely useful.

• Spot Stitching: You are able to perform some relatively complex, but non-surgical, medical techniques. With ten minutes of work, a heal skill toolkit, and a successful heal check (difficulty 20), you can restore one lost box of health to another character. Once this occurs, that character cannot regain another lost health box from use of this feat until they are injured again.

CONTINUED MEDICAL FEATS

These feats require the user to have the feat Spot Stitching. Each of them expands the medical skills of the holder in new ways.

• Dull Pain: You are able to deaden the pain that other feel from their wounds to some degree. With ten minutes of work, a heal skill toolkit, and a heal check, you reduce the toughness penalty the subject takes from strenuous action by one point for every five full points you gained on your check result. This effect ends as soon as the subject takes any further injury, however.
• Fast Medic: The time required for you to make use of any function of the heal skill is halved, including the feats in this group.
• Practical Advice: You can give regular advice that leads to a state of greater health. This takes an hour of discussing diet, activity, and so on with a subject, who must not be injured, poisoned, or diseased, and a successful heal check (difficulty 20). If successful, the target will gain (at the end of the next day), one temporary added "light wound" health box. This box absorbs the first point of damage they take, and is then lost, or fades after one month if un- used. This effect doesn't stack with itself, but can be "refreshed" more often than once a month, and can be used on yourself.
• Surgery: This feat mimics the effects of Spot Stitching, except that it restores 2 lost health boxes, difficulty is 25, and time required is two hours. This feat heals only Serious and Incapacitating wounds - if a subject has only one serious wound, only that one wound can be healed with this feat.

MOTION FEATS

THESE FEATS affect the way that a character moves about, and grants them special abilities related to movement.

• Sprint: When running, you move five times normal speed instead of four times normal speed. If you makes a running jump, increase the distance or height cleared by one-fourth. In addition, you may make one "turn" of up to ninety degrees during a round of running - without this feat, you must always run in a straight line, and slow down to make turns.

CONTINUED MOTION FEATS

All of these feats require that the character taking them first take the feat Sprint.

• Diving Step: When you move, you may gain an additional ten feet of movement. If do so, this additional ten feet must continue in a straight line from the last five feet of your normal movement, and you end that movement in a Prone position.
• Rising Step: You may stand from a kneeling or prone position as you move. Rising from a kneeling position 'costs' you five feet of your movement, and rising from prone to standing 'costs' ten feet of your movement. Changing position in this way does not provoke attacks of opportunity.
• Striking Step: When you move, you may pause during your movement to take any other actions that you are entitled to, and then continue your movement normally; you could, for example, move part of your movement, attack, and then move the rest of your movement.
• Slow Fall: If you are falling within arm's reach of a surface such as a wall, you may slow your descent. This shortens the distance fallen by twenty feet per copy of this Feat. If you fail a Reflex save to avoid a fall by an amount equal to or less than the number of copies you have of this Feat, you may attempt a climb check for any surface in reach. If you succeed, you halt your fall by clinging to that surface, after falling 10 feet per point by which you failed the Reflex ave.

OBSERVATION FEATS

THESE FEATS affect the way that a character sees the world around them, and their knowledge of the tasks that are set before them.

• Analytic Eye: By spending a moment sizing up a task, you are able to determining just how hard that task would be. You may use a move action to determine the difficulty of any task, so long as you possess whatever skill is relevant to the task, if any. A task requiring more than one skill check cannot be analyzed in this way, nor can a task that is handled by checks other than skills (such as hitting or damaging a foe).

CONTINUED OBSERVATION FEATS

All of these feats require that the character taking them first take the feat Analytic Eye. Each of them expands on the perceptiveness of the holder especially in combat situations.

• Blind-Fight: You are adept at fighting without being able to see your enemies. Whenever you strike at a foe that gains the benefit of concealment from darkness, you may ignore the miss chance roll if the d20 result of your attack roll is higher than the number required to beat that miss chance.
• Capable Strike: You have trained in methods of attack that do not rely on innate talent or brute force. You may use either your Intelligence or Wisdom modifier in place of your Strength or Dexterity modifier, as applicable, when making attack rolls.
• Combat Analysis: With a single move action, you may determine any one of the following things about a target: Total defense, total toughness, current state of injury, total attack or damage bonus with one visible form of attack. If a given statistic has not yet been called into play, it cannot be determined (for example, if a target has never been struck, you don't have enough information to determine their toughness rating).
• Seize The Edge: You are especially adept at taking the initiative in combat. Whenever initiative rolls are being made at the start of a combat, you gain a +10 bonus on your initiative roll.

PROJECTILE FEATS

THESE FEATS affect the way that a character makes use of projectile weapons (whether thrown or ranged).

• Aim: By aiming at a target, you can make it easier to hit them. Spending a single move action negates either one point of defense bonus they gain from cover, or one point of penalty you take from range or environmental conditions. You may spend up to three actions aiming, and gain stacking benefits from each. This feat can be taken repeatedly, and increases the bonuses or penalties negated each action negates by a further point per copy.

CONTINUED PROJECTILE FEATS

All of these feats require that the character taking them first take the feat Aim. They allow the user to deal:

• Bypassing Shot: Whenever you are attacking with a ranged weapon from within fifty feet of a target, and your attack roll beats their defense by five or more, they lose all bonuses to Toughness that they would normally gain from armor. This feat can be taken repeatedly; add another fifty feet to the maximum range it possesses for each copy of it that is taken.
• Disruptive Shot: Whenever you hit and damage a target that has a readied action with a ranged attack, that target must make a will save with a difficulty equal to the total of your damage roll, or their readied action is lost.
• Precise Shot: When attacking with a ranged weapon from within fifty feet of a target, you ignore all concealment and all shields unless they provide total cover or complete concealment.
• Salvo: You are leading other in bow-firing. If you and one or more allies hold initiative to fire at the same time, then any of your allies within 30 feet can take your result on the d20 rolled to-hit in place of their own roll. This affect only the number that the charac- ters effectively rolled, not their attack bonus. If multiple characters with this feat are all within 30 feet of one another, they (and all their allies in the range) may all take the best d20 result among them.

SCOUTING FEATS

THESE FEATS allow a character to act as a front-line scout for a group, whether it is in combative situations or in certain kinds of espionage and social interaction.

• Infiltrate: You are constantly scouting around the path of travel that you and any of your companions are taking. Whenever a battle situation arises where you are not surprised, you may shift your starting location up to twice your speed in feet away from where you would normally be located, and may choose to be hidden, making a Stealth check, if you wish.

CONTINUED SCOUTING FEATS

All of these feats require that the character taking them first take the feat Infiltrate.

• Sneak Attack: When you attack and hit an opponent that was unaware of you at until the moment of attack, roll 2d20 on the damage roll, and take whichever result is better.
• Hide in the Open: You can use Stealth to fully conceal yourself in cover that would normally only be able to conceal a creature of half your actual size. Doing so does not penalize your Stealth checks.
• Lowbrow: With one minute of work adjusting your appearance in minor ways, and with no tools or special kit required, you are capable of temporarily reducing your own reputation score by up to ten points, making recognition of you far less likely without making yourself obviously incognito (you need not be disguised, veiled, or heavily hooded).
• False Front: When you are the subject of any ability, feat, or effect intended to gather information about you by examining you through whatever means, it is always possible for you to resist by means of a Will save, which the GM will normally make for you. If you succeed, the effect fails, and you will automatically become aware of the attempt. If you succeed by five or more, you are aware of the attempt, and the information it would normally gather, and may give any appropriate information in answer to these queries that you wish to.

UNARMED FEATS

THESE FEATS affect the ability of a character to fight without weapons of any sort, both offensively and defensively.

• Hard Hands: Your unarmed damage increases to +1 (without increases, unarmed damage is treated as a -1 weapon). This feat may be taken repeatedly; each added copy of it increases your unarmed damage by a further two points, though it can never be increased beyond (your character level, plus three) in this fashion.

CONTINUED UNARMED FEATS

All of these feats require that the character taking them first take the feat Focus Skill. When you take one of these feats, you must specify a skill that is a Focus Skill for your character.

• Deflect Attack: You must have at least one hand free (holding nothing) to use this feat. Once per round when the you would normally be hit with a weapon, you may make a Reflex saving throw against a Difficulty equal to the total result of the roll to damage you. If you succeed, you deflect the weapon. You must be aware of the attack. Attempting to deflect a weapon doesn't count as an action. Weapons can't be deflected.
• Knockdown: Once per round, when making a trip attack, you may add your unarmed damage bonus to the result of your strength check when rolling to trip your foe. If you have used this feat on your initiative, you cannot use Stunning Blow or Deflect Attack until your next initiative.
• Stunning Blow: Once per round, upon striking a foe with an unarmed attack, you may declare that you are attempting to stun them instead of damage them; you roll damage normally, and this is the difficulty of the Fortitude save they must make in order to avoid being stunned. If they fail, they are unable to act for one round, and drop what they are holding, though they still defend normally.
• Shattering Blow: Whenever you strike an item (including shields) unarmed, the damage bonus of your weapon is doubled.

WARFARE FEATS

THESE FEATS affect the way that a character makes use of fighting equipment, and help define the character's general fighting style.

• Martial Training: The effects of this feat vary somewhat by setting. Each copy of this feat (it may be taken repeatedly) grants you the effects of full proficiency with three very specific and fully-defined items (weapons, armors, or shields). Each setting will have one or more sets of martial equipment, and you must choose one of these sets of equipment - you cannot define your own set of martial equipment unless the GM deems this possible.

CONTINUED WARFARE FEATS

All of these feats require that the character taking them first take the feat Martial Training.

• Accurate Strike: Each round, before making attack rolls for a round, you may declare that you are subtracting any positive number up to five from all melee damage rolls and adding the same number to all melee attack rolls.
• Follow-Up: Once per round, if you deal a creature enough damage with a melee or unarmed attack to make it drop (whether it is unconscious or dead is unimportant) you get an immediate, extra attack against another in reach. The extra attack is with the same weapon and at the same bonus as the attack that dropped the previous creature.
• Power Strike: Each round, before making attack rolls for a round, you may declare that you are subtracting any positive number up to five from all melee attack rolls and adding the same number to all melee damage rolls.
• Rapid Strike: You can attack with exceptional speed. You can get one extra attack per round with any weapon you are proficient with; however, both of your attacks suffer a -2 penalty to all attack and damage rolls. You must use the full attack action to use this feat, and declare that you are using it before making any attack rolls in that round.

WILDERNESS FEATS

THESE FEATS affect the way that a character moves and acts in the wilderness.

• Track: You can find tracks and follow them for a mile with a Survival check. You must make another check every time the tracks become difficult to follow. You move half normal speed (or normal speed with a -5 penalty on the check). The difficulty depends on the surface and the prevailing conditions. If you fail a check, you can retry after 1 hour (outdoors) or 10 minutes (indoors) of searching. A character without this feat can only follow tracks if the difficulty is 10 or less.

CONTINUED WILDERNESS FEATS

All of these feats require that the character taking them first take the feat Tracking.

• Guide: You are capable of advising others on how to act under specific wilderness conditions. With five minutes of speaking, and a successful Survival check (difficulty 20), you grant up to five characters a temporary rank equal to half of your own on all survival-based checks. If this would lower the skill rank of any subject, your advice has no effect on them. This effect lasts for one day, or until a notable change in weather condition (such as rain) or the local environment (leaving a forest for a lakeside) takes place.
• Mimicry: Whenever you attempting to move quietly or invisibly in the wilderness, and are heard or spotted, you may immediately make a survival check. If this check result beats the awareness check that noted your presence, the spotter will have no reason to assume they have noticed anything but an animal of your size.
• Trackless Step: You leave few to no marks when you pass through the wild. The difficulty to track you is increased by an amount equal to (3, plus your rank in survival).
• Wildwalk: Your movement isn't hampered by traveling through wilderness terrain. If your movement through wilderness would normally be made impossible by a natural obstacle that can be overcome with athletics checks or other skill checks, you may use the survival skill in place of those skills.

4. GEAR

WEALTH

Heroes have a Wealth score, a trait reflecting their buying power, a composite of available cash, credit, and income. The Wealth score serves as the basis for Wealth checks, used to purchase goods and services. A hero's starting Wealth score is 2, plus the hero's Charisma score, plus any benefits from their Origin. Over the course of play, the hero's Wealth score may decrease as the hero purchases expensive items and increase as the hero gains levels. A hero's Wealth score can never fall below +0, but there is no limit to how high the Wealth score can increase. Since Wealth is an abstract concept, it's sometimes difficult to determine how financially well off a character is.

WEALTH CHECKS

Wealth checks are used to determine what you can afford and what goods and services you reasonably have access to. Wealth score reflects a hero's buying power. Every item has a purchase Difficulty, also called its cost. To purchase an item, make a Wealth check against the item's cost. A Wealth check is a d20 roll plus your current Wealth score. If your check result equals or exceeds the cost of an item, you successfully purchase it. If you fail, you can't afford it at this time. If your current Wealth score is equal to or greater than an item's cost, you automatically succeed. The cost is negligible for someone of your wealth. If your Wealth score is +0, you don't have the buying power to purchase anything with a cost of 10 or higher, and you can't take 10 or take 20 on Wealth checks because your cash flow is too unreliable. If you successfully purchase something with a cost greater than your current Wealth score, your Wealth score decreases.

• Shopping and Time. Buying less common objects generally takes a number of hours equal to the cost, reflecting the time needed to locate the desired item and close the deal.
• Taking 10 and Taking 20. You can usually take 10 or take 20 when making a Wealth check. Taking 20 requires 20 times as long as normal, meaning you're shopping around for the best deals.
• Try Again? You can try again if you fail a Wealth check, but not until you have spent an additional number of hours shopping equal to the cost of the item.
• Aid Another. One other character can make an aid another attempt to help someone else buy something
(see page 3). If the attempt is successful, you provide the other person with a bonus on the Wealth check to buy that item. If the item's cost is above your current Wealth score, you also reduce your Wealth score by 1 to reflect the financial assistance you've given.

LOSING WEALTH

Any time you purchase something with a cost greater than your current Wealth score or something with a cost of 15 or higher, your Wealth score decreases. How much the Wealth score is reduced depends on how expensive it is. Your Wealth score only goes down if you successfully buy something.

GAINING WEALTH

A hero typically gains Wealth either through working between episodes of action, or by sale of valuable items. A character who is working and whose wealth bonus is lower than whatever the GM determines to be the main skill of the job has that wealth bonus increase by one each week until it matches their.

     To sell something, determine its sale value. If it is undamaged and in working order, the sale value is equal to the item's purchase cost (bought new) minus 3. This increases your Wealth by the same amount as the Wealth loss you would experience if you purchased an object with a cost equal to the sale value. Regardless of your current Wealth score, your Wealth increases by 1 whenever you sell an object with a sale value of 15 or more. If you sell something with a sale value less than or equal to your current Wealth score, and the sale value is 14 or lower, you gain nothing. This takes a number of hours equal to the normal cost of the item.

GENERAL VALUES

The following descriptive lists are used to generate items. Some fully-defined sample items are found later in this chapter, all of which were generated according to these rules for figuring value.

Weaponry follows somewhat more complex rules for creation; those rules are given next page. A number of fully-defined weapons are also described later in this chapter, in the items lists.

ARMOR (Base Cost 2, Bulk 2)

Basic armor grants a +1 bonus to Toughness, and a +1 bonus to Defense, but limits the wearer's Dexterity, reducing it to +1 at most. It can be increased as shown to the right. Each increase to Toughness or Defense also raises Bulk by one point. When raising Toughness and Defense bonuses, the Toughness bonus can't be more than double the Defense bonus, and vice versa. Bulk can never be decreased below half of Toughness or Defense (whichever is higher).

Armor	Value
Per +2 Max Dex	+1
Per +1 Toughness	+2
Per +1 Defense	+2
Per -1 Bulk	+2

CLOTHING (Base Cost 1, Bulk 1)

Basic clothing is relatively simple, but a number of alterations can be made to a set of clothes. Most common is social display. Cold weather protection grants the wearer a +5 circumstance bonus to Fortitude saving throws against exposure to cold weather. Professional outfits grant +10 to reputation checks, but only for purposes of recognizing the wearer as a member of a specific profession.

LIFESTYLE (Base Cost 1, Bulk --)

Lifestyle includes housing, food, and so on, in "normal" life, and is purchased once per week. Just staying alive has a purchase value of 1. Security appropriate to your social class (whether simply locks on the doors or armed guards, as appropriate) modifies the price just as social display does. A healthy lifestyle is required to benefit from the medical feat Practical Advice.

SHIELDS (Base Cost 1, Bulk 1)

TOOLKITS (Base Cost 2, Bulk 2)

TRADE GOODS (Base Cost 1, Any Bulk)

A UNIVERSAL MODIFIER - SOCIAL DISPLAY

It's possible to make purchases partly for their 'display' value, and some items are instantly recognizable as such simply due to their cost. If a character is clothed in and using mainly items that display a social class that is higher than that of a person they are interacting with, they my gain a +1 bonus to all interactions for each class better than the other person that they appear to have. If the character appears to be of a lower social class, this bonus becomes a penalty instead. In some cases, where it is known, a character's lodgings and lifestyle will also need to "fit" the image in order to gain a bonus or avoid a penalty.

Social Class	Cost Increase
Impoverished	Free items have this quality.
Struggling	+0; Automatic with value 1 or more.
Middle Class	+1; Automatic with value 5 or more.
Affluent	+2; Automatic with value 11 or more.
Wealthy	+4; Automatic with value 16 or more.
Rich	+6; Automatic with value 21 or more.
Very Rich	+8; Automatic with value 31 or more.

MAKING WEAPONS

WEAPONS (Base Cost 0, Bulk 0)

MELEE FEATURES

These features may only be applied to melee weapons.

• Double Weapon: If a character has a weapon with this feature that counts as light or dominant to them, they may wield it in both hands, and may attack as if they possessed the Rapid Strike feat, even if they do not.
• Paired: If a character is holding two paired weapons, which must both count as light weapons, in either hand, they may attack as if they possessed the Rapid Strike feat, even if they do not.
• Reach: A weapon with reach extends the user's normal reach with melee attacks by five or ten more feet, as shown - a normal character has a reach of five feet, so a weapon with +5 feet reach would let them attack targets up to ten feet away.
• Finesse: These weapons allow the user to use their Dexterity modifier instead of their Strength modifier on rolls to hit (but not damage rolls), when making melee attacks.

RANGE FEATURES

A melee weapon may be thrown, but a weapon with the 'ranged' feature cannot have any melee features except for the feature paired.

• Thrown: These weapons may be used to make melee or ranged attacks. If used to make a ranged attack, they are considered to be in the target's square, at their feet, when the attack end (hit or miss). Such weapons have a "range increment" of ten feet, plus five times the user's strength score (minimum ten feet). You can't throw a weapon if is too bulky for you to use, or if it must be braced to use it.
• Ranged: A basic ranged weapon can simply be used to make attacks as shown. No ability modifier is added to damage with ranged weapons.
• NOTE: Range Increments: These are common to both thrown and ranged weapons. Up to the distance listed, attack and damage are as normal. From that point to twice that point, there is a -2 penalty to attack and damage rolls. This penalty doubles at each increment (-2, -4, -8, -16, -32); maximum range is five increments.

DRAWBACKS

These two drawbacks are automatically applied where a weapon is built that requires them.

• Double-Hands: A double-hands weapon may only be used in two hands, even if it would normally count as light or dominant. All Ranged weapons that are not thrown have this drawback unless an additional cost is paid (in some settings, where firearms, crossbow, and so on don't exist, this drawback can't be removed).
• Reload: Based on setting, some high-damage weapons, especially firearms and the like, will have a reload number - actions that must be spend loading the weapon each firing, or once for each specified number of shots.

HANDEDNESS AND BULK

Bulky weapons, naturally, are harder to wield. The greater the bulk of a weapon, the harder it is to use, as follows. The chart below shows Bulk values for the five different degrees a weapon may fall into for 'handedness'.

• Light: You can wield a light weapon in either hand.
• Dominant: You can only wield one dominant weapon at a time, in your dominant hand.
• 2-Handed: You cannot attack with a 2-handed weapon unless you wield it with both hands.
• Braced: In order to use a Braced weapon, you must use both hands, and must use a move action to brace yourself each time you wish to make an attack.
• Useless: A useless weapon is too bulky for you to use.

5. COMBAT

COMBAT BASICS

ATTACK ROLLS

An attack roll represents a character's attempts to strike an opponent on the character's turn in a round. When a character makes an attack roll, they roll 1d20 and adds his or her attack bonus. If the result equals or beats the target's Defense, the character hits and deals damage. A natural 1 (the d20 comes up 1) on the attack roll is always a miss. Some notes on attack bonus and it's components:

• Your Attack Bonus is: Base attack bonus + (either Strength or Dexterity modifier) + any other modifiers.
• Strength Modifier: Strength helps a character swing a weapon harder and faster, so a character's Strength modifier applies to melee attack rolls.
• Dexterity Modifier: Dexterity measures coordination and steadiness, so a character's Dexterity modifier applies when the character attacks with a ranged weapon.

DAMAGE ROLLS

When a character hits with a weapon, he or she deals damage, marked off on the target's health track.

• Damage Roll: 1d20 + Weapon Modifier + (Strength bonus, if making a melee or unarmed attack)

DEFENSE

A character's Defense shows how hard it is for opponents to land a solid, damaging blow on the character. It's the attack roll result that an opponent needs to achieve to hit the character. An average civilian has a Defense of 10.

• Your Defense is equal to: 10 + Dexterity modifier + advancement bonus + equipment bonus.
• Dexterity Modifier: If a character's Dexterity is high, he or she is particularly adept at dodging blows. If a character's Dexterity is low, he or she is particularly inept at it. Characters apply their Dexterity modifier to Defense. Sometimes a character can't use his or her Dexterity bonus. If a character can't react to a blow, that character can't use his or her Dexterity bonus to Defense.
• Advancement Bonus: A character's level grants the character an innate bonus to Defense. This bonus applies in all situations, even when flat-footed or when Dexterity bonuses do not apply.
• Equipment Bonus: If a character wears armor, it provides a bonus to Defense. This represents the armor's ability to protect the character from blows.
• Feats: Some feats give a bonus to a character's Defense.
• Dodge Bonuses: Some other Defense bonuses represent actively avoiding blows. These bonuses are called dodge bonuses. Any situation that denies a hero their Dexterity bonus also denies their dodge bonuses. Unlike most sorts of bonuses, dodge bonuses stack with each other.

TOUCH ATTACKS

Any attack that is designated as a Touch attack ignores the target's bonus to defense from armor (though not necessarily for shields).

THE COMBAT GRID

These rules assume that a grid is used to represent character movement and positioning. The standard scale equates 1 square's width (often, a 1 inch square on a combat map) to 5 feet in the game world. On such a grid, a human-sized being (medium-sized) occupies one square. If two creatures are in touching squares (or diagonally touching), they are treated as being five feet apart; this is normal melee range.

• I Don't Use A Map!: It isn't in any way necessary to use an actual map of the combat in order for it to be facilitated. These rules assume the existence of such a map, but the actual dimensions and measurements of a combat can just as easily be in the GMs mind, and described to the players. So long as the descriptions are clear enough for players to make valid judgments on what kind of actions they will take, and the potential outcomes and problems involved, this is not a matter of concern.

AWARENESS

When a combat starts, if a character was not aware of his or her enemies and they were aware of the character, that character is surprised. Likewise, a character can surprise his or her enemies if the character knows about them before they're aware of the character. Whether a character is aware or not, if it is in question, is usually determined with checks on the Awareness skill.

• The Surprise Round: If some but not all of the combatants are aware of their opponents, a surprise round happens before regular rounds begin. In normal initiative order, combatants who started the battle aware of their opponents each take an attack action or move action during the surprise round. If no one or everyone is surprised, a surprise round does not occur.
• Unaware Combatants: Combatants who are unaware at the start of battle do not get to act in any surprise round.

INITIATIVE

Every round, each combatant gets to do something. At the beginning of the first round in which a character may act, that character rolls Initiative (1d20 + Wis modifier + Any special Initiative bonuses). The combatants' initiative checks, from highest to lowest, determine the order in which they act, from first to last. At the start of a battle, each combatant makes a single initiative check. An initiative check is a Dexterity check. Each character applies his or her Dexterity modifier to the roll, and applies any relevant bonuses to the check. The GM finds out what order characters are acting in, counting down from highest result to lowest, and each character acts in turn. On all following rounds, the characters act in the same order (unless a character takes an action that results in his or her initiative changing). If two or more combatants have the same initiative check result, the combatants who are tied go in order of total initiative modifier (Wis modifier and other bonuses, if applicable). If there is still a tie, roll a die.

COMBAT TIME

Each round represents about 6 seconds in the game world. A round is an opportunity for each character involved in a combat to take an action. Anything a person could do in 6 seconds, a character can do in 1 round. Each round's activity begins with the character with the highest initiative result and then counts down from there. Each round uses the same initiative order. When a character's turn comes up, they perform their entire round's worth of actions (there are a few Free actions that are exceptions). A round can be a segment of game time starting with the first character to act and ending with the last, but it usually means a span of time from a certain round to the same initiative in the next round. Effects that last a set number of rounds end just before the same initiative count that they began on.

ACTION TYPES

The four types of actions are attack actions, move actions, full-round actions, and free actions. In a normal round, a character can perform an attack action and a move action (or two move actions; a character can always take a move action in place of an attack action), or a character can perform a full-round action. A character can also perform as many free actions as the GM allows. In some situations, a character may be limited to taking only a single action.

• Attack Action: An attack action allows a character to do something. A character can make an attack, use a skill or a feat (unless the skill or feat requires a full-round action to perform; see below), or perform other similar actions. During a round, a character can take an attack action and a move action, in whatever order they like.
• Move Action: A move action allows a character to move his or her speed or perform an action that takes a similar amount of time. A character can move his or her speed, climb one-quarter of his or her speed, draw or stow a weapon or other object, stand up, pick up an object, or perform some equivalent action. A character can always take an additional move action in the place of an attack action. If a character moves no distance in a round, they can take a 5-foot step before, during, or after the action.
• Full-Round Action: A full-round action consumes all a character's effort during a round. The only movement the character can take during a full-round action is a 5-foot step before, during, or after the action. Some full-round actions do not allow a character to take a 5-foot step. A character can also perform free actions as the GM allows.
• Free Action: Free actions consume a very small amount of time and effort, and over the span of the round, their impact is so minor that they are considered free. A character can perform one or more free actions while taking another action normally. The GM puts reasonable limits on what a character can really do for free. Dropping an object, dropping to a prone position, speaking a sentence or two, and ceasing to concentrate on a magic spell are all free actions.

SPECIAL-TIME ACTIONS

These two special conditions allow a character to alter the way that they take their actions, splitting them up or waiting to take them at a different point in the initiative order.

DELAY

By choosing to delay, the character takes no action and then acts normally at whatever point in the initiative count the character decides to act. When a character delays, he or she voluntarily reduces his or her own initiative result for the rest of the combat. When the character's new, lower initiative count comes up later in the same round, the character can act normally. The character can specify this new initiative result or just wait until some time later in the round and act then, thus fixing the character's new initiative count at that point. A character cannot interrupt anyone's action with a delayed action (as a character can with a readied action; see below). The longest a character can delay before taking an action is until after everyone else has acted in the round. At that point, the delaying character must act or else forfeit any action in that round. If multiple characters are delaying, the one with the highest initiative modifier decides who goes first.

READY

The ready action lets a character prepare to take an action later, to interrupt another character. Essentially, the character splits his or her action, taking the move action on the character's initiative count and the standard action, or a second move action, at a later point. On the character's turn, he or she prepares to take an action later, if a specific trigger is met. The character specifies the action he or she will take and the conditions under which the character will take it. Then, any time before the character's next action, the character may take the readied attack action in response to those conditions. The readied action occurs just before the event that triggers it. If the trigger is part of another character's actions, the readied action interrupts the other character. The other character continues his or her actions once the readied action is completed. Readying itself does not provoke an attack of opportunity, though the action readied may. A character who readies an action has their initiative count changed. For the rest of the encounter, it is the count on which the character took the readied action, and the character acts immediately ahead of the character whose action triggered the readied action. If the character comes to his or her next action and has not yet performed the readied action, the character doesn't get to take the readied action (though they can ready the same action again). If the character takes their readied action in the next round, before their regular turn comes up, the character's initiative count rises to that new point in the order of battle, and they do not get their regular action that round. are be move actions or full-round actions.

MOVE ACTIONS

With the exception of specific movement-related skills, most move actions don't require a check.

BASIC MOVEMENT

Where can a character move, how long it takes to get there, and whether he or she is vulnerable to attacks of opportunity while moving are key questions in combat.

• Speed: Base speed for most creatures is 30 feet. This can be altered by various abilities and by encumbrance.
• Movement in Combat: Generally, a character can move his or her speed as a move action. If a character uses his or her attack action as a move action, the character can move again (for a total movement of up to twice the character's normal speed). If the character spends the entire round to run all out, he or she can move up to four times his or her normal speed. If a character does something that requires a full round, he or she can only take a 5-foot step. Many nonstandard modes of movement are also covered under this category, including climbing and swimming (up to one-quarter the character's speed), crawling (up to 5 feet).
• Movement in Darkness: If a character moves when he or she can't see, such as in total darkness, his or her speed is limited to one-half normal.
• Passing Through: A character can always move through areas occupied by friendly characters at no penalty. To move through a square occupied by a resisting enemy, the character can attempt an overrun, or can attempt to tumble through (if the character has ranks in the Tumble skill; see the skill description). A character can move through an unfriendly characters' square as if they were friendly, if they don't resist, and anyone can move through an area occupied by a creature three size categories larger or smaller than it is, friendly or not.

MANIPULATING OBJECTS

In most cases, moving or manipulating an object is a move action. This includes drawing or holstering a weapon, retrieving or putting away a stored object, picking up an object, moving a heavy object, and opening a door. If the character has a base attack bonus of +1 or higher, he or she can draw a weapon as part of his or her normal movement.

STANDING UP

Standing up from a prone position requires a move action. It provokes an attack of opportunity from opponents who threaten the character.

START OR FINISH A FULL-ROUND ACTION

This action lets a character start undertaking a full-round action at the end of his or her turn, or complete one at the beginning of their turn in the following round. If the character starts a full-round action at the end of his or her turn, the next action that character takes must be to complete the full-round action.

STANDARD ACTIONS

Most common standard actions are described below. Standard actions generally include anything that a character must devote significant attention to doing, but which leave enough attention free for simple activities (move actions).

AID ANOTHER

MELEE ATTACK

With a normal melee weapon, a character can strike any enemy within 5 feet; this is a normal melee attack roll, as described earlier. A character capable of making more than one melee attack per round must a Full-Round Actions in order to make more than one attack.

RANGED ATTACKS

With a ranged weapon, a character can shoot or throw at any target that is within the ranged weapon's maximum range and in line of sight. The maximum range is five range increments (shown in the weapon's description). A character capable of making more than one ranged attack per round must use the full attack action to do so.

• Shooting or Throwing into a Melee: If a character shoots or throws a ranged weapon at a target that is engaged in melee with an ally, the target of the attack will likely gain partial cover from the attack, depending on the size of the creature and angle of attack.

TOTAL DEFENSE

Instead of attacking, a character can use his or her attack action simply to defend. This is called a total defense action. The character doesn't get to attack or perform any other activity, but does get a +4 dodge bonus to his or her Defense for 1 round.

TRIP

A character can try to trip an opponent, or otherwise knock him or her down, as an unarmed melee attack. A character can't trip a foe more than twice their own size. To do so, they make an unarmed melee touch attack against the target. If the attack succeeds, make a Strength check opposed by the target's Dexterity check or Strength check (whichever has the higher modifier). If the character and the target are different sizes, the larger combatant gets a bonus on the Strength check of +4 per difference in size category. Whichever of the two loses this opposed roll falls prone.

FULL-ROUND ACTIONS

A full-round action requires an entire round to complete. Many of these action can be combined with a 5-foot step.

CHARGE

Charging is a special full-round action that allows a character to move up to twice their speed and attack at the end of the action. However, there are very specific rules on how and when a character can charge.

• Movement during a Charge: The character must move before his or her attack, not after. The character must move at least 10 feet and may move up to twice his or her speed. All movement must be in a straight line, with no backing up allowed. The character must stop as soon as they are within striking range of the target (the character can't run past the target and attack from another direction). A character can't take a 5-foot step during the same round as a full charge. During the surprise round (or any other time a character is limited to taking no more than a single attack action on his or her turn) the character can still use the charge action, but he or she is only allowed to move up to his or her speed (instead of up to twice his or her speed).
• Attacking after a Charge: After moving, the character may make a single melee attack. The character gets a +2 bonus on the attack roll. The character also takes a -2 penalty to his or her Defense for 1 round (until the beginning of the character's turn in the following round). A character may attempt to push a foe rather than attacking normally.
• No Multiple Attacks: Even if a character has extra attacks, they only get to make one attack after a charge.
• Pushing instead of Attacking: When a character pushes instead of attacking, they attempt to shove an opponent straight back. A character can only push an opponent who is one size category larger than the character, the same size, or smaller. When doing so, the character moves into the target's square with their charge movement; doing this provokes an attack of opportunity from each foe that threatens the character, probably including the target. Then, the character and the target make opposed Strength checks (the character gets +1 for each full ten feet moved before impact). If the character beats the target's Strength check, they push the target back 5 feet. The character can push the target back an additional 5 feet for every 5 points by which the character exceeded the target's check result, provided the character moves with the target. A character can't exceed their normal movement for a charge. The target provokes attacks of opportunity if moved, as does the character if moving with the target. They don't provoke attacks of opportunity from each other as a result of this movement. If the character fails to win the opposed check, they move 5 feet back, to where they were before moving into the opponents square. If either party would be moved into an occupied or blocked square as part of the result of a push, they instead fall prone where they are, and the push ends.

FULL ATTACK

If a character gets more than one attack in a round, for whatever reason, the character must use the full attack action to get his or her additional attacks. The character does not need to specify the targets of their attacks ahead of time; they can see how earlier attacks turn out before assigning later ones. The only movement a character can take during a full attack is a 5-foot step, but the step may be taken before, after, or between attacks.

• Fighting Defensively: A character can fight defensively when taking a full attack action. If they do so, they take a -4 penalty on all attacks in a round to gain a +2 dodge bonus to Defense in the same round.
• Attacking with Two Weapons: If the character wields a second weapon in their off hand, they are treated as if they had the Weapon Tempest feat (if they do have it, they are treated as if they had an added copy). However, they must divide attacks as evenly as possible between the two weapons (if they have an odd number of attacks, the primary-hand weapon gets the remaining one).

FULL MOVE

A character can spend the entire round moving. This is usually for one of three reasons - to cover distance swiftly, to withdraw from combat entirely, or to trample over a foe.

• Running: When a character runs, he or she can move up to four times his or her speed in a straight line. The character loses any Dexterity bonus to Defense since he or she can't avoid attacks. However, the character gets a +2 bonus to Defense against ranged attacks while running. However, continuously running for more rounds than you Constitution can cause exhaustion; see the Adventuring chapter for rules on prolonged exertion.
• Withdrawal: When a character withdraws, they can move up to twice their speed. The square they starts from is not considered threatened for purposes of withdrawing, reducing the possibilities for Attacks of Opportunity. If the character moves through another threatened square while withdrawing, enemies get attacks of opportunity as normal. A character may not withdraw using a form of movement for which they must make a skill check.
• Trample: In this case, the character attempts to move through an foe's area, going over the foe. They may move up to double their speed in total while doing so, but may only pass through one square occupied by a foe. The targeted foe can't be more than one size category larger than the character, and the character must move at least 10 feet in a straight line into the foe's square (provoking attacks of opportunity normally). Upon entering the target's square, the character makes a normal trip attack against the foe. If they succeed, the target falls prone and the character may continue moving. If they fail, they fall prone in that square. If the character wins, and has at least ten feet of movement remaining, they may sacrifice five feet of it to deal damage as if they had hit with an unarmed attack.

CONDITIONS

PERSONAL CONDITIONS

Adverse conditions affect the way a character operates, as shown here. If more than one condition affects a character, apply both if possible. If not, apply the most severe.

• Ability Damaged: The character has lost 1 or more ability score points. The loss is temporary, and these points return at a rate of 1 per evening of rest. This differs from "effective" ability loss, which is an effect that goes away when the condition causing it goes away.
• Blinded: The hero can't see at all. Everything has total concealment to the character, and they have an effective Dexterity of -3, along with a -4 penalty on the use of Strength-based and Dexterity-based skills. This penalty also applies to Observation and any other checks the GM deems sight to be important for. They can't perform any activity (such as reading) that requires vision.
• Dazed: Unable to act, a dazed character can take no actions, but still gets the benefit of his or her normal Defense. This condition typically lasts 1 round.
• Deafened: The hero can't hear and takes a -4 penalty on initiative checks. The character can't make Listen checks. Heroes who are deafened long-term (from birth or early in life) grow accustomed to these drawbacks and can overcome some of them (at the GM's discretion).
• Exhausted: Heroes who are exhausted move at half speed and can't run or charge. Also, they take a -6 penalty to Strength and Dexterity. After 1 full hour of total rest, an exhausted character becomes fatigued.
• Fatigued: Characters who are fatigued can't run or charge and take a penalty of -2 to Strength and Dexterity. After 8 full hours of total rest, they cease to be fatigued.
• Helpless: Paralyzed, sleeping, or unconscious characters are helpless. A helpless character has an effective Defense of 5 + size modifier.
• Injured: There are several conditions caused by injury, which are detailed in the description of Health in Chapeter One.
• Paralyzed: Heroes who are paralyzed fall to the ground, unable to move (they have an effective, but not actual, Dexterity and Strength of 0). They are helpless.
• Stunned: A character who is stunned loses their Dexterity bonus to Defense and takes a -2 penalty to it. They drop what they are holding, and can take no actions.
• Unconscious: An unconscious character is unable to defend him or herself. The character is also helpless, and typically falls prone.

POSITIONAL CONDITIONS

These conditions indicate advantages or disadvantages incurred based on a character's placement and position in relation to others around them.

• Concealed: This includes any circumstance where nothing physically blocks a strike, but something interferes with accuracy. It is measured as to how well concealed the defender is. Concealment always depends on the point of view of the attacker, and gives the subject of a successful attack a chance that the attacker missed because of the concealment. If the attacker hits, the defender must make a miss chance roll on a d20 to avoid being struck. When multiple concealment conditions apply, use the one that produces the highest miss chance.

  1/4 Concealment: Light fog or foliage.	Miss on 1-2
  1/2 Concealment: Heavy shadows.	Miss on 1-4
  3/4 Concealment: Dense foliage.	Miss on 1-6
  9/10 Concealment: Near total darkness.	Miss on 1-8
  Full Concealment: Total darkness.	Miss on 1-10

• Covered: Cover provides a bonus to Defense. The more cover a character has, the bigger the bonus. In melee, cover is usually the same for both foes. With ranged weapons, it's easy to have better cover than the opponent. Cover is assessed in terms of protection gained; the GM makes this assessment. This is not strict mathematics, because a character gains more value from covering parts of the body most likely to be struck. If the bottom half of a character's body is covered, that only gives one-quarter cover, because most vital areas are exposed. If one side or the other of the body is covered, one-half cover is gained. The degrees of cover are listed below, with the defense bonus for each. All degrees of Cover grant a bonus to reflex saves equal to half the bonus they give to defense.

  1/4 Cover: Behind a 3-ft. high wall.	+2 Defense
  1/2 Cover: At an open window.	+4 Defense
  3/4 Cover: Peering around a corner.	+6 Defense
  9/10 Cover: Standing at an arrow slit.	+10 Defense
  Full Cover: Behind a wall.	Can't be attacked.

• Entangled: An entangled character takes a -2 penalty on attack rolls, and a -4 penalty to Dexterity. If the bonds are anchored to an immobile object, the hero can't move. They can move at half speed, but can't run or charge.
• Prone: An attacker who is prone (lying down) takes a -4 penalty on melee attack rolls and can't use bows or thrown ranged weapons. The character gains a +4 bonus to Defense against ranged attacks, but takes a -4 penalty to Defense against melee attacks.

6. HAZARDS & CREATURES

Heroes may encounter any number of dangerous environments and hazards in their travels -- adventures often lead to terrifying places and lead to confrontations with beasts and monstrous creatures of many sorts. This section looks at these hazards and how to handle them in game terms. Hazards are covered first, followed by a "quick and dirty" system for generating creature statistics.

COLD

An unprotected character in cold weather must make a Fortitude save (Difficulty 15, + 1 per previous check) or receive a level of fatigue. Additional failed saves cause further levels of fatigue. Once a character is unconscious, failed saves cause the character to become disabled, then dying. Characters may make Survival checks to receive a bonus on this saving throw (see the skill's description). Characters in cold weather (below 40° F) make a Fortitude save each hour. In conditions of severe cold or exposure (below 0° F), an unprotected character must make a Fortitude save once every 10 minutes. Characters in severe cold conditions wearing winter clothing only need check once per hour for cold damage. Extreme cold (below -20° F) deals +2 lethal damage per minute in addition to requiring a Fortitude save every minute. Winter clothing makes the damage non-lethal and reduces the Fortitude save to every 10 minutes.

INFECTION

When heroes come into contact with a disease, they must make a Fortitude saving throw against a Difficulty of 10 + the disease's virulence rank to avoid becoming infected. The method of infection depends on the disease. Some are airborne, while others require physical contact. If a hero becomes infected, there is a period of anywhere from a few hours to a week or more during which the disease lies dormant. Then the disease takes effect. The initial effect is typically a point or two of ability damage (usually Strength or Constitution or perhaps a point of each). After that, the victim makes another Fortitude save against the same Difficulty each day to fight off the disease. If that save fails, the character suffers the disease's effects again. If it succeeds, there is no effect that day. Two successful Fortitude saves in a row indicate the character has fought off the disease. In low-technology settings, any injury that is not tended to immediately is likely to expose the character to disease if exposed to any kind of dirty environment - what defines a 'dirty' environment is left to GM discretion, as there are some setting where any injury ought to lead to a check against infection, and other settings where such checks should be rare in the extreme.

DARKNESS & DIM LIGHT

Characters with normal vision can be rendered completely blind by putting out the lights. For purposes of the following points, a blinded creature is one who simply can't see through the surrounding darkness. See blinded in the summary of conditions. In dim light, everything is treated as having 1/4 concealment, granting it a miss chance - additionally, tasks requiring good light (such as reading small lettering) are impossible or extremely slowed.

FALLING

The basic rule for falling damaging is simple: +2 damage per 10 feet fallen, to a maximum of +40 (at 200 feet). If a character deliberately jumps instead of merely slipping or falling, the damage roll has a =2 penalty. A Difficulty 15 tumble or athletics check incurs an added -2 on the damage roll. Falls onto yielding surfaces (soft ground, mud) do 2 points less damage. This reduction is cumulative with Toughness save bonuses from deliberate falls and skill checks. Falls into water do 4 points less damage. Characters who deliberately dive into water take no damage on a successful Difficulty 15 Acrobatics or Swim check, so long as the water is at least 10 feet deep for every 30 feet fallen. However, the Difficulty of the check increases by 5 for every 50 feet of the dive. A failed check results in normal falling damage.

FALLING OBJECTS

Just as characters take damage when they fall more than 10 feet, they also take damage when hit by falling objects. Objects that fall upon characters deal damage based on their weight and the distance they have fallen. For each 100 pounds of an object's weight, the object deals +1 damage, provided it falls at least 10 feet. Distance also comes into play, adding an additional +2 damage for every 10-foot increment it falls beyond the first (to a maximum of +40 damage). Objects smaller than 100 pounds also deal damage when dropped, but they must fall farther to deal the same damage. For every halving of weight, the object must fall for an additional 10 feet to cause +1 damage. So a 25 lb. object must fall 30 feet to inflict damage. Objects weighing less than 1 pound do not deal damage to those they land upon, no matter how far they have fallen.

HEAT

An unprotected character in hot weather must make a Fortitude save (Difficulty 15, + 1 per previous check) or receive a level of damage. Additional failed saves cause further levels of damage. In very hot conditions (above 90° F), the save is once per hour. In severe heat (above 110° F), a character must make a Fortitude save once every 10 minutes. Breathing air in these temperatures deals +2 lethal damage per minute. In addition, a character must make a Fortitude save against heat every 5 minutes. Boiling water deals +2 scalding damage, unless the character is immersed, in which case it deals +20 damage per round.

CATCHING FIRE

Characters touching a fire source might find their clothes, hair, or equipment on fire. Those at risk of catching fire are allowed a Difficulty 15 Reflex save to avoid this fate. If a character's clothes or hair catch fire, he takes +2 damage immediately. In each subsequent round, the burning character must make another Reflex saving throw. Failure means he takes another +2 damage that round. Success means the fire has gone out. A character on fire may automatically extinguish the flames by jumping into enough water to douse himself. If no body of water is at hand, rolling on the ground or smothering the fire with cloaks or the like permits the character another save with a +4 bonus. Those unlucky enough to have their clothes or equipment catch fire must make Difficulty 15 Reflex saves for each item, using the character's Reflex save bonus. Failing the save means the item takes the same amount of damage as the character.

SMOKE

A character breathing heavy smoke must make a Fortitude save each round (Difficulty 15, +1 per previous check) or spend that round choking and coughing. A character who chokes for 2 consecutive rounds is winded. If accumulated fatigue renders the character unconscious, he may suffocate. Smoke obscures vision, giving concealment (20 percent miss chance) to characters in it.

STARVATION & DEHYDRATION

Characters might find themselves without food or water and with no means to obtain them. In normal climates, Medium characters need at least a gallon of fluids and about a pound of food per day to avoid starvation. (Small characters need half as much.) In very hot climates, characters need two or three times as much water to avoid dehydration. A character can go without water for 36 hours plus twice his Constitution score. After this time, the character must make a Constitution check each hour (Difficulty 10, +1 for each previous check) or receive a level of fatigue. Once unconscious from fatigue, the character is disabled if he fails another Constitution check, then dying. A character can go without food for 3 days, in growing discomfort. After this time, the character must make a Constitution check each day (Difficulty 10, +1 for each previous check) or become fatigued. Once unconscious from fatigue, the character is disabled if he fails another Constitution check, then dying. Fatigue from thirst or starvation cannot be recovered until the character gets food or water.

SUFFOCATION

A character with no air to breathe can hold her breath for 2 minutes (20 rounds), plus or minus a number of rounds equal to her Constitution score times 4. So a Constitution +2 character can hold her breath for 28 rounds, while a Constitution -2 character can only hold her breath for 12 rounds. After this period of time, the character must make a Difficulty 10 Constitution check in order to continue holding her breath. The check must be repeated each round, with the Difficulty increasing by +1 for each previous success. When the character fails one of these Constitution checks, she begins to suffocate. In the first round, she falls unconscious. In the following round, she is dying. In the third round, she suffocates and dies.

WATER

Any character can wade in relatively calm water that isn't over his head, no check required. Swimming in calm water only requires skill checks with a Difficulty of 10. Trained swimmers can just take 10. (Remember, however, that armor or heavy gear makes any attempt at swimming much more difficult.) By contrast, fast-moving water is much more dangerous. On a successful Difficulty 15 Swim check, it deals +0 non-lethal damage per round. On a failed check, the character must make another check that round to avoid going under. Very deep water is not only generally pitch black, posing a navigational hazard, but worse, it deals +2 water pressure damage per minute for every 100 feet the character is below the surface. A successful Fortitude save (Difficulty 15, +1 for each previous check) means the diver takes no damage in that minute. Very cold water deals also deals cold damage. Air-breathers under water must hold their breath to avoid suffocation.

CREATURES

As should be very likely, actual creatures, be they animals, monsters, or the like, are common adversaries and hazards in many forms of adventure.

     Creatures that are mostly or nearly human can generally be build exactly as if they were standard characters, though the GM may be obliged to create additional Origin Traits for such creatures. Creatures that are distinctly bestial or inhuman, however, are built according to the rules here.

GENERATING A CREATURE (15 Raises)

Unlike a normal character, creating a creature does not require attribute selection. Instead, to build a creature, fifteen Raises are used on the advancement chart. In addition to all the normal advancement traits, one additional trait has been included - this is the Size trait, which determines many of the faculties of a creature. A creature may also purchase Origin traits; each traits they possess costs them one Raise. The creature Traits shown in the next column are purchased in the same way.

     Readers are encouraged to note that this system is not intended as a perfect guideline to building creatures of "correct" combat worthiness, only as a simple and rough guide that allows for quick creature creation.

READING THE CHARTS

The large set of charts shown next page contains a lot of information condensed very tightly. At the top is a duplicate of the advancement chart from character creation, placed for ease of reference, followed by the large size chart, which contains:

• Sizes: Each size is assigned both a numerical value, and a general description of size. For reference, an average human is about Size 11 on the chart.
• Standard Ability Scores: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma modifiers are all listed on the size chart as well.
• Standard Attack Damages: These bonuses are added to the strength bonus, and any other bonuses the creature gains from feats.
• Size Modifiers: Depending on their size, creatures can get bonuses or penalties to their defense, their attack rolls to hit, and any hide checks that they attempt to make.
• Average Measurements: These columns describe the average size, facing, and weight of the creature.

CREATURE TRAITS

• Blindsense: Using nonvisual senses, such as acute smell or hearing, a creature with blindsense notices things it cannot see. The creature usually does not need to make checks to pinpoint the location of a creature within range of its blindsense ability (usually, 15 feet), provided the creature does not have total cover. Any opponent the creature cannot see still has total concealment, and the creature still has the normal miss chance when attacking foes with concealment.
• Blindsight: Using nonvisual senses, such as sensitivity to vibrations, scent, acute hearing, or echolocation, the creature maneuvers and fights as well as a sighted creature. Invisibility and darkness are irrelevant to such a creature. The ability's range must be specified (usually, 30 feet). The creature does not need to make Awareness checks for creatures within range of its blindsight ability, it detects them automatically.
• Fast Healing: The creature makes recovery checks quite often, perhaps as often as once a minute (10 rounds). Fast healing stops working when a creature is dead. Except for speed, fast healing works just as natural healing.
• Flying: The creature is able to fly. Normally, a creature with this trait flies at it's full speed, but has a land speed of only half it's normal movement rate.
• Immunity: The creature is completely immune to some effect, suffering no harm or other effect from it. The creature always succeeds on its saving throws against that effect, regardless of the Difficulty. So a creature immune to cold never suffers damage from cold.
• Resistance to Energy: The creature has a bonus to Toughness saving throws against damage of the given energy type (acid, cold, electricity, fire, or sonic) each time the creature is subjected to such damage. Typically, this is a +5 bonus.
• Scent: This ability allows the creature to detect approaching enemies, sniff out hidden foes, and track by smell. Creatures with the scent ability can identify familiar odors, just as humans do familiar sights. The creature can detect opponents within 30 feet by smell. If the opponent is upwind, range increases to 60 feet; if downwind, it drops to 15 feet. Strong scents can be detected at twice the ranges noted above. Overpowering scents can be detected at triple normal range. When a creature detects a scent, the exact location is not revealed -- only its presence somewhere within range. The creature can take a move or standard action to note the direction of the scent. If it moves within 5 feet of the source, the creature can pinpoint that source. A creature with the scent ability can follow tracks by smell, making a Survival check to find or follow a track. The typical Difficulty for a fresh trail is 10 (no matter what kind of surface holds the scent). This Difficulty increases or decreases depending on the strength of the quarry's odor, the number of creatures being tracked, and the age of the trail.

CREATURE TABLES