This is a distilled form of the full rules for easier consumption on a mobile device.
This is what your character looks like after a lop-sided street fight. The damage isn't lethal and it wonít affect your characterís performance, but it lets him know that heís taken a wrong turn somewhere.
Bloodied (B) Trauma breaks skin, but Wounded (W) Trauma reaches all the way down to the white of the bone. The damage isnít immediately life-threatening, but the pain is crippling; thus the Storyteller might require you to Push harder than usual.
Not necessarily unconscious, but certainly out of action. At this point, the damage has worked its way past the bones and into some organs, resulting in the slow shutdown of essential functions. Itís a bad place to be, but not the worst.
The damage is so bad that your characterís comrades might pass out. Sheíll need immediate and invasive medical aid for any real chance of survival óand if that seems bleak to you, itís because sheís dying.
Just like it says. At the very least thereís still a body left, unlike...
If thereís anything left to burn, the mortician would still want to pack the urn with sawdust to make the whole effort worthwhile
This is what your character picked up by reading a whole lot of books and paying attention in class. Sheís got a healthy mix of the classics, history, math, and science.
In a pinch, a character's Academics trait can also serve as a general measure of her intelligence ó although her actions are probably a better gauge.
Running, jumping, swimming, and everything else your character did as a college athlete. Itís generic, but useful. Saving the world isn't exactly a sedentary activity.
Balance is the sum of a character's agility, coordination, and flexibility. Your character's ability to ìsafelyî juggle chainsaws, walk a burning tightrope, or squeeze into a suitcase relies on her Aptitude with this Trait.
The bigger, louder brother of the Firearms Trait, Big Guns lets a character handle the weapons with the best killing to weight ratio, like machine guns, grenade launchers, and mortars.
To put it simply, this is your character's raw strength; the amount of weight your character can carry or lift is determined by this Trait. Don't be too concerned about the exact numbers; just start lifting things and the Storyteller will let you know when you need to start Pushing.
She knows people. Who know people. Who can do things. Connections determine your characterís ability to find and cultivate human resources. Why bother getting your own hands dirty?
While connections are useful, theyíre not a characterís friends. These guys might be friendly, but itís all business.
Don't expect any charity or loyalty, because the only thing keeping this relationship together is Andrew Jackson and Benjamin Franklin.
The art of fiery explosions. Not only is the character handy at putting together a bomb, she knows where to place it for maximum effect and how to take it apart without losing fingers.
Driving lets your character drive any conventional land vehicle, i.e., cars, trucks, and even motorcycles! Of course any yokel can drive; this trait lets a character kill herself performing crazy stunts and impossible maneuvers. Whee!
People do a lot of talking without ever opening their mouths. Empathy allows a character to read (or hide) the unconscious cues found in the nervous twitch of a liar or the exasperated furrowed brow of an innocent man.
The Trait doesnít reach very far beyond their unconscious ó knowing when someone is lying isnít the same as knowing the truth, but it can help.
And the other three senses. This Trait deals with a charac- terís ability to notice the things that threaten to strike her dead, like the almond smell of cyanide or the glint of a sniper's scope.
On a less eventful night, a character could also use it to find clues; like a bloody glove, or a stoned surfer.
The modern art of killing. This trait lets a character shoot and maintain any type of small arm; from the Derringer she nipped off a dead pimp, to the sniper rifle sheís calibrating for the Donís big party.
When your character is tied to a chair and the bad guys pull out the knife, this Trait determines how much it will take to get an answer from you. Grit is the depth of a characterís courage, willpower, and stubborn chutzpah.
A characterís manual dexterity relies on the deftness of her Hands. Her ability to pull coins out of thin air, palm a card from her sleeve, or lift a bulging wallet from a stranger's pocket is dictated by the Hands Trait.
The Health Trait measures a characterís physical resistance to adverse conditions. The trait will help a Storyteller figure out how badly your character reacts to poison, heat, cold, and blood loss.
It's important to note that the Health trait doesn't do anything to reduce trauma; it just helps your character deal with the aftermath. Even a character with Incredible Health canít stop a bullet from eating up her insides, but it can make the recovery process a lot more enjoyable.
The Investment trait represents a characterís ability to make money and find a good bargain. The better a characterís Investment, the easier it is for her to make big purchases or hock her Third World wares.
Anytime your character needs to spend a lot of money, the Storyteller will look to this trait to determine whether she can muster the funds, or if she'll need to do some extra ìfavors.î You can Push for a better offer, but try not to piss off the creditors in the process.
The only weird trait in the bunch. Picking up an extra language (with literacy) only costs one point, but you get one language for free; itís probably best to pick a language everyone else speaks.
What makes this weird is that you don't keep track of a Language aptitude ó you either know the language or you don't. And the difference is just 1 point. Thatís probably oversimplifying things, but then again, itís just a game.
Computers are neat, but the world still moves on the cold, steel muscles of a machine. Your character has the skills to keep that machine running smooth, or bring it to its knees.
Your characterís ability to fix people is represented by this trait. This isn't just keeping blood and organs inside ó the character can diagnose ailments, and decide which drugs to use on which problem.
The Medieval trait describes a characterís skill with the most brutal forms of murder; swords, flails, spears, and other ancient methods of mangling the human form. Weíre going to call it murder because no one ever died of an ìaccidentalî ax discharge to the face.
Melee covers all aspects of hand-to-hand combat. Thereís a lot of killiní your character can do with just her bare hands. Sheíll also be able to handle small hand weapons like nightsticks, knives, or nunchaku ó anything that's smaller than a machete.
This is everything your character needs to know about functioning, and surviving in the upper echelons of polite society. From using the correct silverware, to blackmail, to ass-kissing, to media control. She knows how to turn a dead hooker into a successful Presidential election.
Itís just like it sounds: the speed in which your character reacts is governed by this Trait. If some cocky punk tries to pull a gun on her, this is the trait thatíll let her draw first. This will also let her get to cover when his friends open up with automatic fire.
Your character knows how to get a person to talk ó either with honey or vinegar. This trait covers all the tools of the trade from the disarming and honest smile to the surgical use of rusty pliers. Solicitation lets your character extract the truth right out of a personís head ó sometimes with the teeth still attached!
There are millions of locks out there, and this is how to open them. The Security Trait lets your character bypass (or setup) any kind of security system; from the deadbolts on the front door to the laser fields in the black vault.
The best policy is not to be seen in the first place. Sneaking lets your character move like a ninja or hide in plain sight. It also helps her smuggle people or other contraband when sheís trying to cross an international border.
The character has a knack for fast-talking, spinning, omitting, and outright lying. Itís not stopping any wars (or helping out the human race), but it can get you into the VIP room, or make a grown man cry.
Your character wonít always be treading on safe ground. When she finds herself in the less-than-wholesome parts of the world surrounded by people who didn't grow up in Mr. Rogers' neighborhood, the Underground Trait is what keeps her alive. Culture, etiquette, and social strategies; this is Politics for the street.
Either too stupid to know, or too stubborn to care, your character isn't phased by pain. This doesnít let a character ignore the physiology of the matter ó an Incapacitated (I) character is still incapacitated. But she does not suffer any penalties due to pain up until that point. This doesn't mean a character canít be tortured for information, but the interrogator might need to rely on much more extreme measures.
Your character is absolutely gorgeous. Itís generally a good thing to have, but itís not always that useful. Your character can generally persuade people with looks alone, but thereís only so far a person will go for sex. Looks never stopped anyone from being executed for treason, or changed the course of a war.
The exact opposite of Irresistible ó no one ever notices your character walking into the room. Her appearance is so average, her demeanor is so meek, that people simply overlook her presence. This doesnít mean that she can walk into a room with both guns blazing, but even people looking for your character tend to lose her in a crowd. These characters generally had a tough time in high school.
Doesn't stop, never surrenders. Your character is the one with a knife sticking out her back, choking her assassin to death with a can feel it tearing holes in her anatomy, but she doesn't let something as trivial as internal bleeding stop her fun. The character suffers Trauma as normal, but she can ignore any penalty from Trauma, and can function normally even if she's supposed to be Incapacitated (I) or Dying (X). A person must literally KILL HER ON HER FEET to even hope to stop her fury. And that might not even be enough to stop her from squeezing off just a few more rounds.
Also, she's also effectively immune to physical torture
Your character is carved from stone and unstoppable. Any Trauma that the character suffers is reduced by one level. This doesnít stop a character from getting killed or experiencing the effects of Trauma, it just makes the whole process a little slower. It also means that it will take more than a couple body shots to bring down this monster.
Whatever frightening childhood your character endured produced a monster. In spite of the nightmares she must endure night after night, and the years of therapy and medication, she has retained the knack for killing the life out of any poor soul that gets in her way. Add one level of Trauma to any attack that lands on target, and that includes punches, kicks, and explosives.
Real beauty isn't something thatís found in silicone or Botox. Your character is the constant object of desire to everyone in the room, but their attentions are not (necessarily) driven by lust. There is something innate and uniquely attractive about the character, which is impossible to describe but completely intoxicating. People really like your character, and they tend to do stupid things when she walks into the room.
Whatever Fates conspire against everyone else, smile upon your character. Luck allows you can change the suit of any Minor Arcana you play to any suit you desire. You can only do this once per game, for each point you spend on Luck, so three points gives you three chances to switch. A character's Luck is restored at the beginning of every game when the Storyteller hands out the first round of cards.
For your character, thatís all it takes. Anytime your character is throwing punches at an ass with too much pride, tell the Storyteller, ìOne Punch.î She'll know what you mean. As long as you can Push your character's Melee Trait to Peerless, the punch will Incapacitate (I) the other guy. She usually only gets one chance per scene to pull this off, so before you ask, make sure you have the cards.
A character with photographic memory simply remembers everything, sometimes with just a glance. Most people use it to entertain at parties, but your character might use it to watch a guy open a combination lock, or glance over at a credit card. Best of all, she never forgets a name, or face, or phone number, or the first 300 digits of pi.
Your character always knows when to shoot, and when to hold, and when the time comes she always manages to shoot first regardless of her Reaction aptitude. This doesn't make her any better at getting out of harmís way, but getting to shoot first is a decided advantage.
Your character always knows when to dive out of the way. She always manages to act first, as long as that action is diving/rolling/jumping out of the way. This doesn't make her any better at returning fire, but getting out of harms way is a decided advantage.
Itís more important than all the bullets in the world. If your character has Respect, she has power. Thereís no specific advantage for having respect, but it gives a character a distinct edge in her interactions with other people. Even her enemies will have to think hard about their attitude toward the character.
The amount of Respect a character garners determines the value of the perk. At 1 point, the character is a known figure and her reputation is never in question, but sheís still a minor player. With 2 points, her experiences allow her to command a hush over a room. At 3 points she's a legend. No one questions her accomplishments, and they whisper her name like little kids around a campfire. She can stop a fight with just a word, or have a man killed for an insulting glance. You don't need money or guns if you've got Respect.
However, Respect is something that has to be guarded. People become jealous of a person that exerts too much power, and it only takes one humiliating defeat to chip away a characterís prestige. Keeping oneís respect requires restraint and the courage to stand up to a challenge.
Allies are different from contacts in one critical aspect: allies are friends, contacts are associates. A contact might buy you a round of drinks, but an ally is the guy sitting next to you in a firefight.
The tradeoff is in their respective capabilities. An ally will willingly help you with any problem, but that doesn't guarantee that the extra help will solve your problems. Meanwhile, a contact will probably always come through, if youíre willing to front the cash.
Allies are also rather irreplaceable; pissing off an ally or leaving him to die puts your 3-point investment down the drain. The value of an ally depends on her capabilities. She starts out with 5 points to spend on traits, and gets 1 extra point for each point you spend; a 3-point ally has 8 points to spend in traits (or perks).
Though an ally will be there by your side 100 percent itís still a supporting character, which means that the Storyteller handles the role of your ally.
Sometimes, you can substitute a badge for respect. Your character is in a position of official authority, and whether sheís abusing or upholding her responsibilities is entirely irrelevant. The amount of authority a character possesses is based on the number of points she spends. One point gives her a Detectiveís badge and a concealed weapons permit courtesy of the local police. Two points gives her an office suite at the Federal Bureau of Investigations with full government benefits (and we're not just talkin' dental). Three points gives you an encrypted satellite phone that connects you to Langley and a credit card that's backed by the world's largest military-industrial complex. Unfortunately, what's included with all this authority is a big pink elephant. Whatever you decide to do with your powers, always remember that there will always be someone back at the office who will be counting receipts and asking questions. If you stray too far from the objectives of your handlers, donít be surprised if you find yourself on the other side of a badge.
There are people for whom your character cares deeply. Itís a relationship thatís syrupy sweet and sappy, but thereís a reason why this is worth 3 points.
Your character will do anything ó anything ó- to keep her loved ones out of harmís way. And if, by some act of chance, her loved ones are placed in the line of fire, she'll pay any price to pull them out of harmís way even if the means sacrificing herself or her allies. Itís not so sappy when mommy is covered in the blood of her enemies.
There is a special variant to this flaw: Loved One. This is just a single individual for whom your character is willing to make any sacrifice, but the flaw is otherwise unchanged. This variant of the flaw is only worth 1 point if the individual is a normal, capable adult. If the loved one is a helpless child, the Storyteller might be willing to bargain up the value to 2 points.
Neuroses form a large category of mental disorders that can cause distress, but do actually affect a character's capability for rational thought. Examples of neuroses are depression, anxiety, panic, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, or phobias.
The problem with a Neurosis is that while a character is still capable of rational thought, she can be totally paralyzed by the stress brought on by a Neurosis. A character has a fear of bunnies knows absolutely that bunnies are totally harmless, but is still paralyzed with fear when one hops into the room.
The value of this flaw is based on the frequency of a characterís neuroses and the weight of her distress. A claustrophobic urbanite gets 1 point A character that has to take pills just to walk down a hallway earns 2 points. A character that has to be sedated just to walk around the city gets 3 points.
These characters are a poor judge of their own abilities. Your character believes that she can do anything, and to Hell with anyone that tries to prove her wrong. She'll go to some extreme lengths to make sure everyone knows that sheís the top dog. And even in the face of failure she'll place the blame on anything but herself óanything to keep the illusion that she's invincible.
Psychoses are a class of dangerous mental disorders that cause a character to lose touch with reality: classic Hollywood crazy. These characters might suffer from severe hallucinations, schizophrenia, and manic depression. Whatever the problem, the character must be heavily medicated to even function in modern society ó no amount of Grit helps a person with a fractured reality.
While on medication, the character can function as normal, but treatments aren't cheap and they have to be taken daily. If she starts missing doses, it only takes about a week for the full-blown symptoms to return. What makes falling off the wagon even worse is that she has to take her treatments for a month, or more, before reality starts returning calls; if she even has the mental stability to remember to take those pills. A Psychosis is an extremely difficult mental disease and is easily fatal if left untreated.
If you select this flaw, you must specify the symptoms of the Psychosis that grips your character. You don't have to specify a name, but itís a really nice detail to know. Remember, the common thread of all psychoses is that the character has lost touch with reality. She can still be rational, but she is rational in terms of her own reality. She may fully understand that murder is immoral, but the screaming voices that she thinks are real and normal may eventually drive her to actually commit the act ó or end her own life.
Your character is hiding something that sheíll go to great lengths to protect. Murder and blackmail are not out of the question. Fortunately, itís something thatís been buried deep in a characterís past; but like any secret worth this much trouble, a characterís past isnít always deep enough. The value of the flaw is based on the consequences of its revelation. Losing all that youíve known and loved is only worth 1 point. A total and permanent change in identity is worth 2 points. Men in dark suits relentlessly hunting you for all time is worth 3 points. As you can guess, this secret isnít something as mundane as stealing purses from the MegaMart or peeing on your neighborís dog, and itís up to you and the Storyteller to figure out the lie on which your character has built a life.
Outdated and obsolete in the face of flexible morals and loose justice common in modern civility, your character stubbornly clings to a strict code of honor. She follows her principals to the letter, even under the threat of death. These are not simply idle promises ó this is a way of life.
The more restrictive the code, the more itís worth. An oath of honesty or poverty would only net you 1 point ó the truth is easy to speak if you've led an honest life, and money is really just a crutch for the decadent. An oath of pacifism, however, is worth all 3 points, because itís not easy to stay your hand when youíre at war, though Ghandhi seemed to do pretty good job dying for his cause.
The important thing to remember is that this is a way of life ó breaking this oath is the most awful, shameful, and terrible thing you can do with your life. Nuns tossed themselves over cliffs and Samurai plunged swords into their bellies because of this kind of Code.
Your character leads a life of relative comfort, but it came with a price. Generally speaking, a debt is monetary in nature, but that is not always the case. She may owe dark favors, have significant responsibilities to another person, or is living on borrowed time. Whatever the case, her creditors are not usually the kind of people that show restraint or mercy.
The worth of this flaw is based on the size of the debt and the ruthlessness of her lenders. Generally, any loan from a bank is only worth 1 point (unless itís an obscene amount of money) since murder is not generally part of banking procedure.
Generally, your character is supposed to win enemies through the course of her adventures. In this case, your character starts with someone waiting in the shadows, ready to slit her throat. Any enemy you select is dangerous (see the Trauma section to see why), but they arenít always going to be a consistent threat. A 1-point Enemy is someone whoís very willing and far too obsessive, but also busy with everyday survival. Two points puts you on the hit list of a professional who has a personal grudge and a special bullet for the job, but is occasionally distracted by the Business. Collecting the full 3 points gives you an Enemy who has the resources to hire a full-time professional whose only job is to find your character and throw her into a wood chipper ó at any cost. This kind of enemy has the money to spend, so donít expect them to quit after the first failed attempt.
Hemophilia is a genetic disease that adversely affects a personís ability to maintain and form blood clots; wounds bleed longer and heal slower. If your character is a hemophiliac, sheíll probably want to stay out of the fight. Any Trauma she suffers gets raised to the next rung and it takes one extra Push to pass a Health Check (but you still get your discount). Also, there is no known cure for hemophilia; so if sheís got it, she'll have to deal with it for the rest of her life
Your character had some skeletons in the closet, but they made a public debut and left her with some un-admiring fans. Your past has drawn an undesired amount of attention and it makes it hard for you to deal with regular folk. Even though your character has paid her penance, it's still hard for the people to forgive and to forget.
The value of this flaw depends on her exploits and the number of people it continues to piss off. At 1 point, your character is known nationally as a humiliated pop icon who did something really stupid. Two points makes your character a minor celebrity who draws crowds because people like to throw trash at her. At the very top of this scale, are the legends. No one will ever forgive or forget your characteró who probably loves Commie Hitler and worships the Satan while eating babies.
The only bonus to this flaw is the fact that she is famous, and any legal obligations to society have been long paid
Your character has a terrible addiction. Whenever the object of her dark desire becomes available, she must always indulge. The worth of this flaw depends on the risks associated with her vice. Debilitating alcoholism is usually worth 1 point; powerful prescription drugs rank at 2 points; while Heroin is worth about 3 points.
Substance abuse is a common choice, but it isn't your only option. An addiction to a sensation, or an idea, can be just as debilitating but harder to define. When you get into this gray area of amorphous addiction, you might consider giving your character a Neurosis instead, but feel free to discuss your problems with the Storyteller.
Your character has an allergic reaction to a specific substance. Reactions from this flaw are at the very least extremely uncomfortable and incapacitating; and at worst, painfully, painfully, fatal. The more inconvenient and debilitating an allergy is for your character, the more points you receive.
It is an absolute miracle that your character has made it this far. She has no long-term goals, no concept of the future, and a poor understanding of consequences. If she has no interest in a scene, she'll wander off to find her own party. This type of character is fully capable of mastering skills for which she is passionate, but it'll be hard to hold her attention long enough to get through a tactical planning session.
This character is the one who kicks down the door and starts shooting, and then wonders why everyone is pissed that the plan got blown to shit.
It might be a lisp, a stutter, or even a mangled accent. To put it simply, your character has a hard time communicating with other people. Now this might not sound too bad until you realize that this is a role-playing game. Anytime you speak as your character, you must adopt the peculiarities of your characterís speech. This makes it a bear to try and communicate with the other players, but then youíll realize why this counts as a Flaw.
Your character got caught, but instead of doing time she vanished off the grid and started running. Now, itís not inconceivable that sheís innocent of this crime, but itís also as likely that she really did kill a man just to watch him die (respects to Johnny Cash). You get to decide the crime, but it has to be serious enough that it made your character bolt.
This means that the character has to be exceedingly careful in her interactions with other people. Realtors, employers, insurance agents, hospitals, and (some) gun dealers do background checks. And while many will simply refuse service, some (some) might be the kind of upstanding citizen that will call the police. Thereís also the worry of wanted posters, television appearances, and bounty hunters