Characteristics and Skills

The innate abilities or traits of characters are called characteristics. There are eight characteristics: Strength, Agility, Endurance, Speed, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma, and Willpower. Each characteristic is expressed as a number from zero to five, with zero being the absolute worst, and five being the absolute best.

When building your character for the first time, you have eight points to distribute among the eight characteristics as you see fit, so long as you do not put more than five points in a single characteristic. Looking at the character sheet, fill in any eight circles by the characteristics. Many of your characteristics might start at zero. This is perfectly fine. You can always raise them later. After you start earning renown, you can spend twenty renown to fill in another circle.

Strength represents the physical capabilities of the character. It affects the armor you can wear, the weapons you can use, and how much weight you can lift or carry. It can be used to attack with weapons, lift heavy objects, break down doors, and cause physical damage with you bare hands.

Intelligence represents the memory, knowledge, mental acuity, and “book smarts” of characters. It determines how well you solve problems, take tests, and make connections between different people and events. 

Endurance represents the overall toughness of the character. It determines how resistant you are to poison and disease, how much physical exertion you can tolerate, and how well easily you can be killed. It can be used to defend against physical and magical attacks.

Wisdom represents the intuition, insight, and “street smarts” of characters. It determines how well you understand people and animals, and how quickly you notice hidden or secret things in the environment.

Agility represents the manual dexterity of the character, as well as balance, grace, and poise. It determines your ability to dodge and get out of harm’s way. It can affect how well you attack and defend in physical combat, and how stealthy you are.

Charisma represents the charm, leadership, and “people skills” of characters. It determines how easily you influence others, intimidate enemies, and talk your way out of tricky situations.

Combat: Combat reflects your training in using your body, weapons, and improvised weapons to attack enemies, as well as your training to defend against such attacks. 

Sorcery: Sorcery is your ability to cast magical spells, activate magical artifacts, and manipulate magical energies. It’s also your ability to defend against magical spells and withstand magical energies. 

Stealth: Stealth is your ability to sneak around, hide in shadows, move silently, steal, pick pockets, and open locks. It’s also your ability to notice such things happening to you and around you.