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Traits and Passives

Traits are the defining attributes of a Character and express the degree of natural talent they have when using their abilities. The number of ranks a Character has in a given Trait dictates how many dice a Character rolls when making tests related to that Trait. More dice means better odds for bonuses, more bonuses means better performance.

Passives represent the Character's specific attributes, such as how fast they are or how much weight they can carry. The number of ranks a Character has in each Passive will determine their ability in that area: more ranks in Speed lets them move further; more ranks in Strength lets them carry more. Not only do Passives contribute heavily to a Character's playstyle, but they are especially important to get right because they are very difficult to change after Character creation.

Traits and Passives are arranged in groups of three; one Trait, with two Passives beneath it:


  • The Focus Trait increases the number of dice rolled for mental tests.
    • The Focus Passive, Acuity allows the Character to use more advanced technology.
    • The Focus Passive, Will increases the Character's Stamina, allowing them to use Augs, such as Grit, more frequently for super-human feats.
  • The Instinct Trait increases the number of dice rolled for awareness, stealth and social tests.
    • The Instinct Passive, Grit increases the Action Points, or AP, gained when activating the Grit Aug. Bonus AP improve the Character's performance in any Skill test.
    • The Instinct Passive, Initiative grants bonuses to the Character's Initiative tests, which determine the order in which Characters take their turns in combat. A higher score means the Character can act sooner. Additionally, Inititive grants bonus Action Points during the Character's first round of combat, so not only can the Character act sooner, but also with greater potency when combat begins.
  • The Physique Trait increases the number of dice rolled for Physical tests, such as making attacks.
    • The Physique Passive, Strength increases the maximum mass a Character can carry and allows them to wield more potent Gear, such as heavier weapons and armor.
    • The Physique Passive, Speed increases the distance a Character can move each round during combat and grants bonuses to Speed tests, which are made when attempting to outrun something.
  • The Vigor Trait increases the number of dice rolled for resistance and talent tests.
    • The Vigor Passive, Health increases the number of Hit Points, or HP, the Character has, allowing them to endure more damage before they die.
    • The Vigor Passive, Toughness increases the number of Natural Armor points the Character has, increasing the amount of damage they can absorb each turn of combat before losing any Health.



Building Traits

Each Trait is assigned a fixed number of ranks; 5, 7, 9 or 11, at the Player's discretion. Each value may only be used for one Trait and all values must be used. No others are valid. Remember that a Character's strengths and weaknesses depend on the ranks in their Traits; make sure they have the highest ranks in Traits most important to their role.

  • For example, a Character could have:
    • Focus 7
    • Instinct 11
    • Physique 5
    • Vigor 9
  • A Character could also have:
    • Focus 5
    • Instinct 9
    • Physique 11
    • Vigor 7


  • A Character could NOT have:
    • Focus 11
    • Instinct 9
    • Physique 11
    • Vigor 7
  • A Character also could NOT have:
    • Focus 12
    • Instinct 9
    • Physique 7
    • Vigor 4


The rank in each Trait also determines the number of ranks available to the Passives beneath it. If a Trait has 7 ranks, then its two Passives must share a total of 7 ranks between them.

  • For example, look at the Trait list above. If a Character has 7 ranks in the Vigor Trait, then the Health and Toughness Passives beneath it must share 7 ranks between them.
  • This means the Character could have:
    • Health 0 with Toughness 7
    • Health 4 with Toughness 3
    • Any other combination that totals 7 ranks.

The only rule is thatthe total number of ranks between them cannot exceed the rank of their Trait. This means that the higher the rank of the Trait, the more ranks will be available to its Passives as well.


When taking a test, the Player rolls dice for a chance to improve the results. Each die “scores” on any even-numbered result, giving a 50/50 chance of scoring. Each die that scores grants a +2 Action Point (AP) bonus for the test. The number of dice rolled for a given test depends the Character's rank in the Trait used for that test. Each Trait represents a different area of the Character's performance:

  • Focus represents the Character's intelligence and determination. Mental tests roll Focus dice.
  • Instinct represents the Character's awareness and intuition. Perception, social and Stealth tests roll Instinct dice.
  • Physique represents the Character's strength and agility. Physical tests roll Physique dice.
  • Vigor represents the Character's resilience and energy. Survival and Talent tests roll Physique dice.

These factors make Traits valuable, as they will determine how many dice -and therefore how many chances for a bonus- a Character gets in each area of their performance.

For example, when making an attack -a physical test- the Character rolls a number of dice equal to their Physique rank. This means Characters with strong Physique have better odds of getting bonuses in combat, since they roll more dice for physical tests, like attacking.

When building a new Character, the Player is granted points to allocate in their Character's Traits. Each Trait will be given a value of 5, 7, 9 or 11 points. This means every Character will have one Trait with 5 points, another with 7, a third with 9 and the last with 11: each value is only used once. The decision of where to allocate the Character's greatest and least number of points should depend on the strengths which are most important to the Character's concept; a combat-oriented Character should have more points in Physique, while a hacker or medic would benefit more from points in Focus.

The default point allocations for a starting Character are:

5, 7, 9, 11

For example the Trait build for a new Character could look like this:

PHYS 5 - VIG 9 - FOC 7 - INS 11

Note that in the example above, sets of points can be assigned in any configuration, but points cannot be allocated individually and as mentioned before, it is best to choose based on which Traits are the most important to the Character concept. The Character above would be effective with Awareness, Stealth and Social tests, due to high Instinct and would be quite durable with the strong Vigor value. Their weaknesses would be weak rolls for attacks and below-average mental performance. If the Character concept is a Stealthy, smooth-talking infiltrator who can take a few hits if things get violent, the above Trait build is fine. On the other hand, if the Player wanted a Character who mows down enemies with heavy weapons or supports their team with hacking and healing, the above Trait build is less than ideal.

Once all Trait points have been allocated, ranks can be applied to Passives. Whatever the rank of a given Trait is, the same number of ranks is divided between the two Passives beneath it. Passives have a minimum rank of zero and a maximum rank of 10, so keep in mind what Passive ranks are desired when assigning Trait points.

For example, see the Trait Map below. If 7 points are assigned to the Physique Trait, this means the Character will have 7 points to divide between the Carry and Speed Passives. This can appear as 7 in one and 0 in the other, 3 in one and 4 in the other, or any other configuration, but The rank of a Trait must always be equal to the total ranks in the two Passives beneath it. For a Character interested in wielding heavy weapons, a high Carry rank is important, along with strong dice rolls for making attacks. This makes Physique a good choice for the largest point allocation, along with a specialization in the Carry Passive. If the Character doesn't also need strong Speed however, it may be possible for the Character to get all the ranks they need in Carry without taking the largest point allocation in Physique. Consider where else the points could be spent to get the most possible benefit.

Trait Map


FOCUS The character's intelligence and determination

Acuity

Acuity


  • Acuity increases a Character's ability to interface with advanced technology.
  • Each Aug, Device and piece of Gear has its own Acuity requirement, see the Armory for details on specific requirements.

Will

Will


  • Will increases the Character's Stamina, enabling them to perform more high-energy feats, such as Sprinting, using Grit or activating Augs. Each ability has its own Stamina cost. See the Armory for details on specific Stamina costs.
  • Stamina points for Endurance ranks zero-ten: 10, 20, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 70, 80
  • Additionally regenerate Stamina points equal to Endurance rank every 4 hours of sleep.



INSTINCT The character's alertness and intuition

Grit

Grit


  • Grit allows the Character to make a quick burst of intense action through sheer force of will.
  • Activating Grit costs Stamina and generates instant AP for any use.
  • The Stamina cost is equal to the Character's rank in Grit. For example a Character with Grit 3 would spend 3 Stamina and gain +5AP. (See the Chart below for AP bonus values)
  • Can be activated at any time during the Character's turn, even if the Character has less than 1AP.
  • If the Character is fully disabled, for example, unconscious or in a Death Coma, Grit cannot be used.
  • Grit may be used to boost the AP result of any test, at the Director's discretion.
  • Grit may be used once per turn in combat, or once every 4 hours while out of combat. This also means Grit may be used for every roll of a Sustained Action, in which one roll is made every 4 hours.
  • Bonus AP for Grit ranks zero-ten: +0, +2, +4, +5, +6, +7, +8, +9, +10, +12, +15

Initiative

Initiative


  • Initiative enhances the Character's ability to react quickly when a combat situation arises.
  • This Passive grants bonus AP to the Character's Initiative tests. These tests determine the order in which Characters and NPCs take their turn in combat and are performed when combat begins.
  • Each rank in Initiative grants bonus AP to Initiative tests, so a Character with Initiative 3 would gain a +5AP bonus, as detailed in the chart below. Remember that each scoring die also awards +2AP, so a Character rolling 2 scoring dice with Initiative 3 would end with (2 + 2 + 5 = 9AP).
  • Additionally, the Character receives +1 Turn AP during their first round of combat for each rank in Initiative. The default Turn AP is 15, so a Character with Initiative 3 would gain +3AP, for a total of 18 Turn AP in their first round of combat. After the first round, Turn AP returns to the default 15.
  • Initiative test bonus from ranks zero-ten: +0, +2, +4, +5, +6, +7, +8, +9, +10, +12, +15
  • Bonus Turn AP for first round from Initiative ranks zero-ten: +0, +1, +2, +3, +4, +5, +6, +7, +8, +9, +10



PHYSIQUE A character's physical strength and agility.

Carry

Carry


  • Carry dictates the mass a Character can wield effectively, the weapon recoil they can handle and the overall weight they can carry. Each piece of Gear, Aug and Device has its own requirement; check the Armory for details on specific requirements.
  • Maximum carried mass (Kg) for Carry ranks zero-ten: 15, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 80

Speed

Speed


  • Speed determines the distance a Character can move each round in combat.
  • If the Character is attempting to outrun an enemy or moving object, a Speed test may be required. In this case the Character rolls Physique dice and adds their ranks in Speed to the AP result. For example, if a Character with Speed 3 makes a Speed test, they would add +3AP to the result of the dice roll. Each scoring die also adds 2AP, so with 2 scoring dice and 3 Speed the total would be (2 + 2 + 3 = 7AP)
  • Movement comes in three forms; walking, running and Sprinting. Each of these grants a different move range in exchange for a given AP cost. Walking has the shortest movement range, but can be performed without an AP cost. Running costs 5AP, but extends the Character's move range considerably. Sprinting increases the move range even further, but requires 10AP in addition to 5 Stamina each round it is used.
  • Movement can only be performed once per round, so the Player should select the movement type appropriate for the distance they want to go during each round.
  • Walk range per round (meters) for ranks zero-ten: 5, 7, 7.5, 8, 8.5, 9, 9.5, 10, 10.5, 11, 12
  • Run range (meters) for ranks zero-ten: 10, 14, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 34, 38
  • Sprint range (meters) for ranks zero-ten: 15, 22, 30, 34, 38, 42, 46, 50, 54, 62, 70



VIGOR The measure of a Character's resiliance

Health

Health


  • Health is the raw durability of a Character, measured in Hit Points or HP
  • HP from Health ranks zero-ten: 90, 120, 150, 165, 180, 195, 210, 225, 240, 270, 300

Toughness

Toughness


  • Toughness increases the Character's Natural Armor, enhancing their ability to absorb damage each turn without suffering harm.
  • Natural Armor from Toughness ranks zero-ten: 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100
  • Natural armor points refresh without cost each turn while in combat, unlike worn armor, which requires Stamina to refresh.