Character Creation- Abilities

Ability Basic Definition

Strength Character’s physical prowess
Resilience Character’s endurance and physical tolerance for
pain and or exertion
Dexterity Character’s hand-eye coordination
Agility Character’s reflexes and nimbleness
Intelligence Character’s knowledge, based on academic
learning
Wisdom Character’s personal intuition, common sense,
and street smarts
Charisma Character’s strength of personality and
attractiveness

Each ability score is generated with three six-sided dice (3d6) either in order or as a pool of scores that
can be assigned as desired. This is the official method, however the GM may decide to implement one of
the following methods.

1. Roll as above but with and additional d6 (4d6) and discard the lowest die: This method will
result in overall higher scores, but they will remain in the 3-18 range.
2. Point buy: Characters start out with a base of 8 in each ability score and have a pool of 25 points
to allocate to their abilities as they wish. However, no score may be raised above 18. Players
may elect to raise a low number of scores to higher numbers or raise all scores to average scores
(between 10-12)
3. Roll 3d6 twice for each ability score and discard the lower score: This will generally lead to
higher overall scores, but can potentially lead to weak scores as well, depending on your luck.
4. GM’s choice: The Game Master may use any method not listed that is used in other game
systems that they prefer.
Character Creation- Abilities

Strength
Strength (Str) is an indication of a character’s muscular strength. This is the primary ability of
characters of the warrior class as they rely on their physical prowess for success in battle. Strength also
allows characters to wear heavier armors and weapons without penalties. The average professional
man-at-arms in the realms will have a score of 10, which is the result of hard labor and training. The
average peasant or serf will have a strength 8, which is the result of physical labor from farm-work. On
the other end of the spectrum, a knight of the realms will likely have around a 13 or 14 due to their
constant training for battle in heavy armors with large weapons.

Attack Bonus: The bonus or penalty added to or subtracted from the character’s 1d20 roll to attack with
a melee weapon.

Damage Bonus: The bonus or penalty added to or subtracted from the character’s roll to damage with a
melee weapon.

Carrying Capacity: The weight, in pounds, that the character may carry on his/her person without
penalty to strength-based actions, such as attacks with a melee weapon or climbing up a hanging rope.
Every ten (10) pounds over the character’s carrying capacity causes a -1 penalty to strength checks.

Ability Score Attack Bonus Damage Bonus Carrying Capacity

1 -4 -5 1
2 -3 -5 2
3 -3 -4 5
4 -2 -4 10
5 -2 -3 15
6 -1 -2 20
7 -1 -1 25
8 0 0 30
9 0 0 35
10 +1 +1 45
11 +1 +1 55
12 +2 +1 70
13 +2 +2 85
14 +3 +2 100
15 +3 +2 115
16 +4 +3 130
17 +4 +3 150
18 +5 +4 175
Character Creation- Abilities

Resilience
Resilience (Res) is an indication of a character’s physical health and fortitude. This is a very
important ability of all characters that will see combat or hardship as they rely on their physical
toughness for surviving wounds, both taking them as well as recovering from them. The character’s
resilience score is the basis of their hit points, as well as a bonus to shrug off damage in the form of
vitality points. Resilience allows characters to physically exert themselves for long periods of time, as
exhaustion can cause the death of even the most skilled swordsman. Resilience also applies to the
character’s ability to resist sickness. The average professional man-at-arms in the realms will have a
score of 10, which is the result of hard labor, exposure to disease, and training. The average peasant or
serf will have a score of 8, which is the result of constant exposure to disease as well as malnutrition. On
the other end of the spectrum, a knight of the realms will likely have around a 12 or 13 due to their
more nutritious diets and exercise.

Vitality Point Bonus: The bonus or penalty added to or subtracted from the character’s roll for vitality
points per level.

Maximum Duration of Exertion: The length of time, in rounds, that the character can perform tasks that
require large amounts of physical endurance, such as melee combat, swimming in metal armor, and
sprinting. Exceeding this duration means the character is exhausted.

Resistance to Sickness and Poison: The bonus or penalty added to or subtracted from the character’s
1d20 roll to resist contracting a disease or to recover from one they are suffering from.

Ability Score Vitality Point Bonus Maximum Duration of Exertion Resistance to Sickness and Poison
1 -3 1 -3
2 -2 2 -3
3 -2 3 -2
4 -1 4 -2
5 -1 6 -2
6 0 8 -1
7 0 10 -1
8 0 12 -1
9 0 14 0
10 +1 16 0
11 +1 18 0
12 +1 20 +1
13 +2 22 +1
14 +2 24 +1
15 +2 26 +2
16 +3 28 +2
17 +4 30 +2
18 +5 32 +3
Character Creation- Abilities

Dexterity
Dexterity (Dex) is an indication of a character’s hand-eye coordination. This is the primary ability
for players who wish to create characters that specialize in ranged combat. The character’s Dexterity
score affects the aim of a character throwing or firing a ranged weapon. Dexterity is the ability that is
used for tying knots, playing an instrument, catching an item, or picking a lock. The average sailor in the
realms will have a score of 10, which is the result of practice working with advanced knots. The average
peasant or serf will have a score of 8, which is the result of the need to work with basic knots and
working with livestock bridling. On the other end of the spectrum, a typical thief will likely have around a
12 or 13 due to their constant practice lifting valuables from coin purses and picking locks.

Ranged Attack Bonus: The bonus or penalty added to or subtracted from the character’s 1d20 roll to
attack with a ranged weapon.

Skill Bonus: The bonus or penalty added to or subtracted from the character’s 1d20 roll to use a
Dexterity based skill.

Ability Score Ranged Attack Bonus Skill Bonus

1 -4 -5
2 -3 -4
3 -3 -3
4 -2 -3
5 -2 -2
6 -1 -2
7 -1 -1
8 0 -1
9 0 0
10 +1 0
11 +1 +1
12 +2 +1
13 +2 +2
14 +3 +2
15 +3 +3
16 +4 +3
17 +4 +4
18 +5 +4
Character Creation- Abilities

Agility
Agility (Agl) is an indication of a character’s reflexes and nimbleness. This is a very important
ability of all characters that wish to survive combat or who rely on acrobatic type skills, such as climbing
or tumbling. The character’s Agility score affects their ability to avoid deadly attacks or turning what
would be a staggering blow into a glancing hit or a near miss. Agility is the ability that is used for
parrying, jumping, performing gymnastics, or riding. The average sailor in the realms will have a score of
10, which is the result of living on a ship and climbing up the rigging. The average peasant or serf will
have a score of 6, which is the result of their generally slow-paced and tedious lifestyle. On the other
end of the spectrum, a typical acrobat at a carnaeval will likely have around a 13 or 14 due to their
constant practice tumbling, and walking tightropes.

Defense Bonus: The bonus or penalty added to or subtracted from the character’s Defense Value (DV).

Skill Bonus: The bonus or penalty added to or subtracted from the character’s 1d20 roll to use an Agility
based skill.

Ability Score Defense Bonus Skill Bonus

1 -4 -5
2 -3 -4
3 -3 -3
4 -2 -3
5 -2 -2
6 -1 -2
7 -1 -1
8 0 -1
9 0 0
10 +1 0
11 +1 +1
12 +2 +1
13 +2 +2
14 +3 +2
15 +3 +3
16 +4 +3
17 +4 +4
18 +5 +4
Character Creation- Abilities

Intelligence
Intelligence (Int) is an indication of a character’s knowledge base, memory, reasoning, and
learning ability. This is a very important ability of all characters that use knowledge based skills, such as
history, religion, engineering, and navigation. Intelligence also applies to a character’s ability to read,
write, and speak more than one language. The average noble in the realms will have a score of 10, which
is the result of a basic education, but not all nobles took their schooling seriously and many are not
literate. The average peasant or serf will have a score of 6, which is the result of their superstitions, lack
of formal education and sheltered lifestyle, a literate peasant is extremely rare. On the other end of the
spectrum, a skilled merchant or tradesman will be literate and will likely have around a 13 or 14 due to
their constant use of mathematics and contracts.

Literacy: The percentage chance that the character is literate. It is determined by rolling a d100 and a
d10. Literacy may be learned over time by characters with an Intelligence score of 8 or higher. However,
the player must have a mentor that is literate, be it PC or NPC, and they must clearly devote time during
their rest or travel in order to learn it. Every day spent on learning their letters give the character a +5%
chance of becoming literate. After 20 days, they have gained the ability to read and write. An illiterate
character can be an interesting roleplaying opportunity if the player is mature.

Number of Languages: The maximum number of languages that the character can learn beside their
native tongue.

Skill Bonus: The bonus or penalty added to or subtracted from the character’s 1d20 roll to use an
Intelligence based skill.

Ability Score Literacy Number of Languages Skill Bonus

1 No 0 -5
2 No 0 -4
3 No 0 -3
4 No 0 -3
5 No 0 -2
6 No 0 -2
7 No 0 -1
8 No 1 -1
9 No 1 0
10 50% 1 0
11 50% 2 +1
12 50% 2 +1
13 75% 2 +2
14 75% 3 +2
15 75% 3 +3
16 100% 3 +3
17 100% 4 +4
Character Creation- Abilities

18 100% 4 +4
Wisdom
Wisdom (Wis) is an indication of a character’s common sense, enlightenment, and willpower.
This is a very important ability of all characters that use Wisdom based skills, such as perception,
intrigue, healing, and survival. The average professional man-at-arms in the realms will have a score of
10, which is the result of a dangerous lifestyle that requires guard duty, but their benefits are also
curbed due to the fact that soldiering is a dirty life, full of nasty smells. The average peasant or serf will
have a score of 8, which is the result of their naivety and sheltered lifestyle. On the other end of the
spectrum, a successful diplomat will likely have around a 13 or 14 due to their constant scheming.

Skill Bonus: The bonus or penalty added to or subtracted from the character’s 1d20 roll to use an
Wisdom based skill.

Ability Score Skill Bonus

1 -5
2 -4
3 -3
4 -3
5 -2
6 -2
7 -1
8 -1
9 0
10 0
11 +1
12 +1
13 +2
14 +2
15 +3
16 +3
17 +4
18 +4
Character Creation- Abilities

Charisma
Charisma (Cha) is an indication of a character’s attractiveness, leadership ability, and strength of
personality. This is a very important ability of all characters that use Charisma based skills, such as bluff,
diplomacy, music, and leadership. The average noble in the realms will have a score of 10, which is the
result of their political power and tendency to be leaders. The average peasant or serf will have a score
of 8, which is the result of being malnourished and not possessing strong interpersonal skills. On the
other end of the spectrum, a great leader, such as a marshal or well-loved king will likely have around a
13 or 14 due to their strength of personality and magnetism.

Follower Loyalty: The base loyalty of the character’s NPC followers, including mercenaries.

Skill Bonus: The bonus or penalty added to or subtracted from the character’s 1d20 roll to use a
Charisma based skill.

Ability Score Follower Loyalty Skill Bonus

1 -8 -5
2 -7 -4
3 -6 -3
4 -5 -3
5 -4 -2
6 -3 -2
7 -2 -1
8 -1 -1
9 0 0
10 0 0
11 +1 +1
12 +2 +1
13 +3 +2
14 +4 +2
15 +5 +3
16 +6 +3
17 +7 +4
18 +8 +4