AN INTRODUCTION FOR DUMMIES

The Hero
 Race – Depending on the setting, you may choose from a variety of races or even
design one. Each race has slightly different statistics or abilities. Humans are the
most common race, starting with one extra Edge.
 Traits – The Hero’s Attributes and Skills are called ‘Traits’. All Traits are ranked by
die type: d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d12+1, d12+2, d12+3 etc.
 Attributes – your basic ability scores. A Hero starts with a d4 in each attribute,
and has 5 points to spend to raise them (1 point per die):
 Agility (Dexterity) – Reflects nimbleness and quickness of the character.
 Smarts (intelligence) – Reflects knowledge and speed of thought of the character.
 Spirit (~Wisdom) – Reflects the character’s willpower and force of personality.
 Vigor (Constitution) – Reflects the character’s endurance and stamina.
 Strength (duh) – Reflects the character’s physical power and fitness.

 Skills – The Hero’s learned abilities (fighting, tracking, investigation, etc.). Each
skill is linked to some attribute. You have 12 points to spend on skills.
 Core Skills – There are 5 core skills start at d4: Athletics, Common Knowledge,
Notice, Persuasion, Stealth.
The Hero (continued)
 Derived Statistics – The following statistics are derived from certain Traits
(or abilities):
 Pace – Your Hero’s speed during combat. Generally 6” per round + an additional
1d6 if you run (1” = ~2 yards/meters).
 Parry – Your ability to block attacks. This is the Target Number (TN) to successfully
hit a target in melee combat. It’s equal to:
2 + half your Fighting skill (d4=1, d6=2, d8=3 etc.).
 Toughness – Your Hero’s damage threshold (i.e. only if the damage taken surpasses
your toughness, the hit has an effect). It’s equal to: 2+ half your Vigor attribute.

 List of Skills (Summary on SWADE p.58):

Linked
Agility Smarts Spirit Strength Vigor
Attribute
Athletics Academics Occult Faith
Boating Battle Psionics Focus
Driving Common Knowledge Repair Intimidation
Fighting Electronics Research Performance
Skill Piloting Gambling Science Persuasion
Name Riding Hacking Spellcasting
Shooting Healing Survival
Stealth Language Taunt
Thievery Notice Weird Science
The Hero (continued)
 Edges & Hindrances – Heroes have gifts and special powers beyond their
basic Traits which are called Edges (SWADE p.59-63). They also have certain flaws
called Hindrances (SWADE p.56-57). Hindrances can be minor (worth 1 pt.) or
major (worth 2 pts.).
 When you create your hero, you may take up to 4 points worth of Hindrances
(any combination) to receive 4 additional points to spend on Edges, Skills,
Attributes
For 2 pointsetc.:
you can (Either): Raise an Attribute 1 die type (d4->d6, d6->d8 etc).
Choose an Edge from list
For 1 point you can (Either): Gain or Raise a Skill one point (starting at d4)
Gain additional money equal to 2 X starting funds (1000$)

 Raising a Skill die above its’ linked Attribute die costs 2 points instead of 1. For
example: if you have Agility d6, and you want to raise your fighting skill from d6 to
d8, it’ll cost 2 points.

 Gear – Depending on the setting, you either start with predefined gear, or
with 500$ to spend on gear. Standard gear is listed on chapter 2 of SWADE.
Game Mechanics
 “Wild Cards” vs. “Extras” – Different types of characters have slightly
different rules and game mechanics. Heroes and major villains are called
“Wild Cards”. They have a better chance in succeeding in doing things and
are tougher than other NPCs which are called “Extras”.
 Wild Cards – Wild Cards (WC) have the following features:
 When making a Trait Roll, a WC rolls an additional 1d6 to called a Wild Die, and
takes the better of the two dice.
 WCs can suffer multiple wounds before going down (generally 3 wounds).
Extras can suffer only one wound.
 Certain Edges are available only to Wild Cards. Task Difficulty Modifier
Easy +2
 Trait Rolls – When using a Skill or Attribute make a Difficult -2
Trait Roll by rolling the appropriate dice. The Very Difficult -4
Target Number (TN) for any Trait Test is generally 4,
subject to modifiers such as general difficulty, range, cover etc. (determined
by the GM).
 Critical Failures – “Snake-Eyes”. Cannot be rerolled (even with Bennies).
 If an Extra rolls a 1, roll a 1d6 to check if it is a critical fail. On a 1, it’s a critical fail.
Game Mechanics (continued)
 Aces – Trait Rolls and Damage Rolls are open-ended. When you roll the
highest result on the die (6 on a d6 etc.), you roll the die again and add it to
the total. This is an “Ace”. Modifiers apply to the total.
 Raises – With certain rolls, such as attack rolls, it is important to know just
how successful the roll actually was. For every 4 points over the TN you need
to reach to be successful at a task, you receive a “Raise”. Examples of usage:
 A raise on an Attack roll gains you a 1d6 to damage (max 1 raise per attack).
 A raise on a Damage roll inflicts an additional wound to your opponent (max 4).
 A raise on a Soak roll to negate wounds, following a hit, reduces 1 wound per raise.

 Unskilled Tests – A Hero who lacks the skill to perform a task may attempt to
perform it unskilled. In that case, he rolls a d4 (and his Wild Die) and subtracts
2 from the result. Some tasks are impossible to perform untrained.
 Opposed Rolls – If 2 characters compete on a task (e.g. wrestle for control of
an item), both make a roll and compare results. The acting character must
reach at least a TN4 or fail. The defender must meet or exceed actors’ result.
Game Mechanics (continued)
 Support – In some cases characters may cooperate to help one another with
a task. One character takes the lead, and the others roll a relevant skill to
support the lead. A success adds +1 to the leads’ roll, a raise adds +2.
 A critical failure (Snake Eyes) on a support roll subtracts 2 from the leads’ total.

 Test – The opposite of a support roll. Lets a character make things difficult for
foes (e.g. intimidate, distract etc.). Roll relevant Skill vs. appropriate Attribute.
 Group Rolls – Applies to Extras. Instead of making an individual roll for each
Extra, roll one Trait roll and 1 Wild Die and take the better result.
Bennies
 At the beginning of a session, each player gets 3 tokens called “Bennies”.
Bennies are discarded at the end of the session. Use them or lose them!
 GMs receive Bennies too! One for each player character. GM Wild Cards get 2
Bennies each. Alternatively, GMs start with no Bennies, and receive a Benny each
time a player uses a benny.
 Awarding Bennies - Bennies are awarded in two ways:
 GM awards – The GM may reward players for clever actions, roleplaying hindrances,
acts of heroism etc.
 Joker’s Wild – During combat, if a player draws a joker, all players receive a Benny.
 Using Bennies - You may use a Benny to:
 Reroll a Trait - Make entire roll from scratch. You can reroll same roll as long as you
have Bennies left. Take the best result you got. No reroll on critical failure.
 Recover from Shaken – This is instant and can be done at any time.
 Soak rolls – Used to prevents wounds and recover from being Shaken (SWADE p.96).
 Draw new Action Card – On Initiative spend Benny to draw additional card (GM too).
 Reroll Damage - You MAY spend a Benny to reroll Damage. Applies to ALL dice.
 Regain Power Points – Characters with Arcane backgrounds can spend to regain 5 PP.
 Influence Story – At GMs’ discretion. Spend to find clues, a needed item etc.
Combat Rules
 Combat is handled in Rounds. 1 round = 6 seconds.
 On your turn you can Move up to your Pace and perform 1 regular Action.
 Moving is measured by inches (1”~=2m). It’s considered a ‘free action’ and
may consist of the following:
• Crawling – Can move 2”/turn;
• Crouching – Move at ½ Pace, -1 on ranged attacks against you;
• Going Prone – Getting up costs 2”;
• Difficult Ground – Every 1” counts as 2” when moving;
• Jumping – 1” from dead stop, 2” with run and go, +1” on a successful STR roll).

 Running is an Action. It adds 1d6” to your movement. You may perform other
actions while running but you suffer a -2 penalty to them (Multi-Action).
 Multi-Action: Players can perform up to 3 actions per turn. Each additional
action beyond the 1st inflicts a -2 penalty to ALL actions performed. Actions
must be declared at start of turn.
 Off-Hand attack – Fighting, Shooting etc. with off-hand inflict -2 on action.