Character Customization
While every effort has been made to produce a wide variety of powers and devices for use in the Quick Action Resolution Deck, ideally to cover every eventuality a player may conceive of when creating their own characters, the truth is that this is a wholly impossible task. Thus, room is left for players to customize their characters, to better actualize their motivating concept.
One may undergo this process for a variety of reasons. Perhaps a character generated normally doesn't line up precisely with what the player had in mind. Similarly, that player may want more than he or she can squeeze out of the conventional character generation process, and wants to alter things to get them 'perfect'. Both of these are valid reasons to make use of this process.
Whenever one is curtailing an existing ability in exchange for more power, they are adopting hindrances. Conversely, when one is dampening their raw power in exchange for more versatility, they are adding augmentations. This is a somewhat subjective process, undertaken with the Narrator's supervision, but the general guidelines detailed below should help players in this process.
No matter how many modifiers apply to a power, whether from hindrances, augmentations, or some mixture of the two, its intensity may only be changed by up to ten points in either direction, to a maximum of thirty (30) from hindrances, or to a minimum of one (1) from augmentations. After a certain point, any further alteration one way or another is going to get lost in the shuffle, and have no further effect.
Narrators are cautioned to carefully consider highly customized characters, for good or ill. It's one thing to tweak a character here and there to match a personal vision, it's another to game the system to make some weirdly constrained, yet overwhelmingly bolstered character using customization. The goal is for everyone present to have fun, after all, not for one person to consistently hog it all at everyone else's expense.
Hindrances
Hindrances are means by which a player can add to the intensity of a power, namely by accepting constraints on how that power, or the entire character, can function. A hindrance that applies to one or more, but not all, of a character's powers is considered a power hindrance. A hindrance that applies to all of a character's powers, and/or the character as a whole, is considered a character hindrance.Generally, the presence of hindrances on a character is up to the player. These are most often voluntary changes to a power, or the character overall, used to make their abilities more potent. However, certain abilities require that their wielder have one or more hindrances for purposes of game balance, and some character hindrances can be temporarily imposed on a character via specific powers.
When pondering hindrances, consider the power ceiling the Narrator has declared for their game. If you have a power at intensity 15 and that's their ceiling, extremely curtailing a power may not get you very far - while ruining your fun at the same time. If the Narrator allows one to exceed his or her cap via hindrances, however, they might be a great way to help your character to stand out amongst other super-humans!
Hindrance Strengths
Hindrances come in four basic strengths.
A weak hindrance is one that curtails the use of a power somewhat, though not overwhelmingly. As a general rule, a weak limitation affects the use of a power (or powers) half the time or less, offering a +1 to its intensity as a result. Examples of weak hindrances include the ability to function only during the day, or perhaps the inability to affect a common substance or items of a specific color.
A strong hindrance, on the other hand, more significantly affects the use of a power. For the most part, strong hindrances alter the use of a power (or powers) from one half to three quarters of the time, and bolster its intensity by +2. Hindrances of the strong sort might include only working at night, an inability to affect one form of matter (solid, gas, etc.), or only work on a specific species.
Hindrances of the very strong sort affect a power almost all the time. They offer a +3 to the intensity of a power, but will constrain most uses of the ability - anywhere from three quarters to seven eights of the time, give or take. Perhaps such a power only works one day per week or during the full moon and adjacent days, or only affects items of a given form of matter (liquid, gas, et cetera) or color, and so on.
Finally, extreme hindrances severely curtail the use of a power, almost overwhelmingly. They offer a +4 to the operation of an ascendant ability, but at the same time relegate its use to highly specialized situations. This can include voluntarily making a power hyper-exhaustive, allowing its use only one week per year, allowing it to work only on a specific substance or in specific, hostile environments, and the like.
In the random character generation method, these hindrance bonuses apply directly to the powers so limited. In rare circumstances, a Narrator may allow the bonus from a hindered power to apply to another ability altogether, though this is entirely up to him or her. One instance where this might occur is if the hindrance would boost the operating intensity of the power until it exceeds the ceiling for their campaign.
When using the point-based character generation system, a hindrance can either boost the intensity of the powers it will affect, or reduce the point cost of keeping that power at its current level. If the latter option is taken, the hindrance returns one point per step of curtailment, multiplied by the actual point cost per intensity of a power. A strong hindrance on time control, for instance, would offer a six point bonus.
Whether using the random or point-based character generation method, it is important to note that the maximum benefit a given power can receive from hindrances is ten steps, whether the bonuses in question come from power or character limitaitons. Any further hindrances levied against a power will grant no additional point reduction or power increase (usually not an issue, but happens with beings like vampires).
No matter how limited they are, though, all powers cost at least one point.
Power Hindrances
If a hindrance does not affect the character as a whole, or at the very least all of their powers, it is considered a power hindrance. Constraints of this variety only offer the bonus described to the power or powers it is applied to, special circumstances notwithstanding. This allows a player to boost only some of his or her ascendant abilities, as they see fit, instead of saddling all of their powers with a like constraint.
While the above offers general hints when applying hindrances to a power, there are a number of recurring power hindrances that appear throughout fiction. Some of these are expounded upon in the individual character generation books, others are general (or common) enough that they can apply to any character's powers. Some of these common power limitations include the following:
Gestalt Power: a gestalt power is one which is limited such that it cannot manifest unless two people combine their energies to produce its effect. Without the required physical contact, this power will remain dormant, unable to be activated whatsoever. The severity of such a hindrance, then, depends on just who the necessary person (or people) is to serve as a 'key' to allow this power's function.
If the possessor of a gestalt power can manifest it while in contact with anyone, it is considered to have a weak hindrance. If only a large, but specific group can activate it, the power is strongly hindered, while a very strong hindrance would be reducing this pool of people to eight or less. If, on the other hand, only one specific person can allow the gestalt power to function, the power is saddled with an extreme hindrance.
Initiative Penalties: powers limited in this fashion take longer to activate. Perhaps the process in the character's body which generates them is rather involved, or it might simply be 'slow'. Either way, an initiative penalty of five (making the power somewhat sluggish) can be considered a weak hindrance, while a penalty of ten (generally ensuring one acts last with it) is considered a strong hindrance.
If they wouldn't have any more of an effect on the character, greater initiative penalties on a power won't offer increased hindrance for them. To earn the benefit of a very strong (-15) hindrance, one must originally have an Intellect at least that high, while an extreme to (-20) requires that one have an Intellect score of 20 before it can be applied. Agility tiebreakers for powers so limited are modified similarly.
Range Reduction: one common form of power limitation involves reining in the range of a power. Each reduction in range category counts as one 'step' of limitation. For example, telescopic vision works at beyond visual distance range, and each step one moves back will enhance its intensity by +1. This is a double-edged sword, however, for while the power is more likely to work in most instances, its utility is greatly decreased.
Note that a power can be reduced in range below even the close combat range category. When a power is so limited, its range is dialed back to touch only, meaning one must connect with the target in melee for the power to work. At this range, powers curtailed in this manner may only activate as a contingent action, forcing the character wielding it to successfully strike with an easy difficulty Strength action first.
Character Hindrances
On the other hand, a hindrance which affects all of a character's powers, if not the very way that character is played, is considered a character hindrance. Hindrances that affect a character overall apply the bonus provided to all of their powers - even those acquired at a later date! Such constraints are a great foil for the Narrator to use against a character, but grant considerably more power in exchange.
Though some of the above power hindrances can be applied to a character's entire power roster under certain conditions, there are many character hindrances that aren't quite so simple. The severity of these can be somewhat complicated to determine, and may require some give and take between the player and the Narrator on edge cases.
Any character can adopt a character hindrance - not just those with super-powers! A non-powered character may accept character hindrances in exchange for five points per 'step' of such they accept, whether to greatly bolster their abilities, or when offsetting the cost of a character augmentation. For example, a very strong character hindrance would grant a skilled normal fifteen character points.
Common character hindrances include the following:
Alter Ego: the character with an alter ego has two distinct forms - the one with powers and the one without. These forms may or may not share the same personality, but the problem is that the character cannot control the conditions by which they will transform between the two. Thus, the severity of an alter ego for the purposes of hindrances depends on just how inconvenient the alter ego is for a character.
An alter ego can be applied to the character in two ways: either the form with powers or the form without can be the 'preferred' form for the character. Either way, the inconvenient form will manifest when triggered - usually for as long as the trigger stimulus is present. Anything from exposure to the full moon to a specific emotion or even the sight of blood can cause such a change of persona.
Clever players can use this hindrance to their advantage on occasion. Perhaps the character is a heavy hitter in one form and a highly skilled operative in another. Or even better, maybe nobody knows that the character actually changes form, thinking them two separate individuals. While its severity hampers this 'gaming the system' somewhat, an alter ego can definitely make for an interesting play experience.
Enervation: if one's Narrator is not using the fatigue rules for super-powered combat, players may nonetheless adopt them as a character hindrance. Similarly, one can increase the effects of fatigue as a hindrance if they are in effect, greatly shortening the amount of time one can engage in ascendant battle. The severity of such a hindrance depends on how much it constrains a player compared to others.
Having one level of fatigue above that which other players must endure as a general matter of course is considered a weak hindrance, two levels of fatigue beyond other players' constraint is a strong character hindrance, three levels of bonus fatigue would count as a very strong hindrane, and four levels of fatigue beyond other characters may be adopted as an extreme character hindrance.
Furthermore, if a character's Strength is low, this can be increased by one level (save for extreme extended fatigue). For example, in a campaign where optional fatigue rules are not in place, a character with doubled fatigue is normally considered a strongly hindered character, but if the applicable score would make this particularly harsh, bump them up a hindrance level.
Susceptibility: a susceptibility is something that bypasses the effects of one's powers, detrimentally affecting the character with impunity. If a character is susceptible to a substance or damage form, it will be upgraded to Armor Ignoring (AI) when applied to their person. Furthermore, the damage caused by this attack must equal a minimum of one quarter of the character's maximum Health with each exposure.
This minimum applies both to susceptibilities that cause damage and those which do not. Whether one is susceptible to fire (which normally causes damage) or sunlight (which normally does not), the exposure should cause a like minimum of damage. On the other hand, if a character's susceptibility inflicts damage normally, there's nothing stopping it from removing more than a quarter of a character's maximum Health.
If the stimuli is somewhat rare, a susceptibility to it will count as a weak hindrance - even if it can cause considerable damage to the character on contact. Strong susceptibilities are uncommon but found with little difficulty, very strong susceptibilities are readily available to those who want access to them, and an extreme susceptibility is something that commonly occurs in the environment.
Weakness: a weakness is something that acts to neutralize the threat a character poses. When exposed to the substance or phenomenon a character is weak against, he or she will find themselves unable to wield their ascendant powers at all, and their physical abilities are reduced to intensity 1 for most purposes. Both the duration and scarcity of a weakness' trigger combine to determine the effect of this hindrance.
A weakness that only affects the character while in physical contact with the phenomenon in question is considered a strong hindrance, while one that lasts as long as it is within line-of-sight is considered very strong in nature. Consider this basis with the scarcity guidelines of a susceptibility, above, to determine if a weakness should be considered even stronger or somewhat weaker in nature.
For example, a weakness that lasts as long as a rare isotope (weak) is within line-of-sight (very strong) should work out to a be strong character hindrance. Similarly, a weakness to a readily available energy (extreme) that lasts while it is in contact with a body (strong) would average out to a very strong character limitation - unless the stimuli involved causes damage, as well.
Augmentations
Augmentations, on the other hand, are a method by which a player may increase the functionality of a power - in exchange for a reduction in its intensity. An augmentation that applies to one or more, but not all, of a character's powers is known as a power augmentation. Alternately, that rare augmentation which applies to all of a character's powers, or even the character as a whole, is a character augmentation.
As with hindrances, the presence of an augmentation on a character is up to its player. These are entirely voluntary additions to a power or character for the most part, though a Narrator may insist one be taken to reduce a power to fit within his or her campaign's power ceiling on occasion (something like this might happen if a character generated for one campaign is migrated to another).
A power can be augmented in a variety of different fashions, but its intensity may not be reduced below 1 - this would essentially render it inoperable. If a character enhancement is applied and a new power would be reduced below this value as a result, it must be purchased with enough might to at least make it powerful enough that, after the enhancement is applied, it will operate at that minimum intensity.
Augmentations Strengths
Like hindrances, augmentations come in four basic strengths: weak, strong, very strong, and extreme.
Weak augmentations are those which reduce the intensity of a power by -1, in exchange for something of a minor perk in its operation that more than offsets the penalty. Perhaps a power has a heightened effect against a specific kind of enemy (say, vampires), either having a bonus to hit or to the damage inflicted. In other words, this sort of augmentation can act as a selective bonus - one which applies under special conditions.
An augmentation of the strong variety lowers the intensity of a power by -2, while granting a considerable benefit to the power's operation. This generally comes in the form of a bonus which applies about half of the time, or some other highly useful effect. Such effects include selective targeting, such that a power will never affect allies in the event of a misfire or area effect spread.
Very strong augmentations are those which curtail a power's intensity by -3, allowing it to operate in a much more efficient fashion. The benefit applied by a very strong augmentation should work on most applications of the power, with a few exceptions. Perhaps it is an accuracy bonus that applies globally (save for against one group), or maybe whatever perk is offered functions constantly - except on Mondays. And so on.
Finally, an augmentation of the extreme variety gives a character staggering versatility in the use of a power, at the cost of a -4 to its intensity. This sort of augmentation is something of a game changer where the power is concerned, often transforming it into something resembling another ability (or several abilities) entirely! And it should, considering how much it curtails a power's intensity (or how much it costs).
In the random character generation method, these penalties apply directly to the powers so boosted. In rare circumstances, a Narrator may allow the intensity reduction on an enhanced power to apply to another ability altogether, though this is entirely up to them. Such perks may be allowed when the augmentation applied would drop it below intensity 1... or the character has another power the Narrator dislikes more.
When using the point-based character generation system, an augmentation can either reduce the intensity of the powers it will affect, or increase the point cost required to keep that power at its current level. If the latter option is taken, the augmentation adds one point per step applied, multiplied by the actual point cost per rank of a power. Very strong augmentations to ultimate power, for example, cost fifteen points!
Power Augmentations
If an augmentation does not affect the character as a whole, or at the very least all of their powers, it is considered a power augmentation. Perks of this variety only reduce the intyensit of the power or powers they are applied to, special circumstances notwithstanding. This allows a player to bolster only some of his or her ascendant abilities, as they see fit, without reducing the operating intensity of them all.
Many power augmentations are quite generalized in nature, meaning that they can apply to a wide variety of super-human abilities. Some of these are detailed in the individual character generation books, while others are actually offered in specific power descriptions. A few of the more common, basic power augmentations include the following:
Force Multiplier: most powers are generous in what they allow a character to accomplish, but often a player wants even more out of a given ability. Perhaps someone with energy absorption wants a bigger 'tank' of energy for storage, or a matter generator wants to be able to concoct more designs from memory. Generally speaking, this can be handled with simple multipliers.
An enhancement of this type which adds fifty percent to a power's yield or function is considered a weak augmentation, while a double boost is a strong augmentation, a two hundred percent extension is a very strong augmentation, and a quadruple increase is an extreme augmentation. A Narrator may alter these general values on a case-by-case basis, depending on how versatile a given power is to start with.
Hindrance Removal: several powers in the Quick Action Resolution Deck have a number of built-in hindrances for game balance. Powers like luck and precognition in particular require one to take a hindrance - they're simply so useful that this is needed. However, one can remove such a requirement as a strong augmentation to the power. This is a serious reduction, but unshackles these powers significantly.
Alternately, a power can be modified such that a balancing mechanic a player does not like is scaled back or stripped entirely. The extent of such an augmentation depends on how much more 'dangerous' a modified power will be. The Narrator must make a ruling on this, depending on his or her feelings regarding the change(s) involved, so such modifications may vary in intensity from campaign to campaign.
Initiative Bonus: a power enhanced in this fashion operates much quicker in the hands of the character so enhanced, as compared to others who may possess it. Each +5 initiative modifier a power has acts as a step of augmentation; a +5 modifier is a weak augmentation, +10 would be a strong augmentation, +15 is a very strong augmentation, and +20 should be considered an extreme augmentation.
Note that these benefits are in addition to any other initiative modifiers the character already possesses. Bonuses from the Quick Draw skill, or those granted due to one's origin (such as those offered by the optional initiative rules in place for magic wielding characters) are directly added to an initiative benefit enhancement. If one always wants to go first on a given exchange, this is one way to do it.
Range Extension: as opposed to curtailing the range of a power, a player may instead decide to extend it. Each extension in range category counts as two 'steps' of enhancement. For example, most energy generation powers work at far missile distance. Boosting one such that it can operate at artillery distance would be a strong augmentation, while extending another to visual range would be an extreme augmentation.
Bear in mind that a power can be augmented to function beyond visual range. A power that functions in this capacity has an effectively Infinite range, allowing it to operate anywhere within the current space-time. This is just another 'step' of range enhancement, meaning that powers like telescopic vision or teleportation operating at infinite range would be considered strongly augmented.
A character augmentation is something which allows the character as a whole to function better. While a character's specific power roster may make it possible, it is usually difficult to make the basic sort of augmentations described above work as a character augmentation. Similarly, applying a specific character augmentation that doesn't outright ape other powers is somewhat tricky.
But this is possible. Some of these methods are described in the specific character generation books, such as the ability to maintain additional spells or psionics above and beyond what one's Intellect score should allow. A few character augmentations that aren't origin-specific are presented below, with the hope of giving players an idea what one can do with character augmentations.
An important thing to consider is that anyone can benefit from character augmentations - not just the super-powered. Unpowered characters may adopt a character augmentation for five points per 'step' of augmentation accepted, whether to greatly hamper their abilities, or when offsetting the cost of a character hindrance. For example, a very strong character augmentation would require a skilled normal to spend fifteen character points.
Potential character augmentations include the following:
Blessed: things have a tendency to generally work out in this character's favor. So much so, in fact, that it may appear they are truly watched over by some sort of higher power. The idea behind this character augmentation isn't that the character always 'wins' in whatever they do - they usually just come out better in a given set of circumstances than others who are not so blessed.
Say the blessed character is in a plane crash. Maybe they're the one person out of the hundreds onboard who survived, or perhaps out of those who survived this catastrophe, they're the one who was the least (if at all) injured. The blessed character can still be defeated in battle, and possibly even killed if things go poorly enough, but they will enjoy a life full of good fortune if they play their cards right.
Or even if they don't! Even a foolhardy or reckless character graced with the blessed augmentation will rarely suffer the full consequences of his or her actions, which is great when super-powers are involved. In game terms, the recommended level of augmentation that blessed entails is that it counts as one 'step' of such for each time it can beneficially affect the player during a given play session.
Once per game night is a weak character augmentation, twice per game is a strong character augmentation, and so on.
Consistent: highly consistent characters are those who have a sort of preternatural sameness about them - they don't appear to change all that much over time. Furthermore, when such changes are forced upon them, consistent characters seem to bounce back to their normal configuration quickly. This sounds like mere resistance to metabolic and/or warping attacks, but it's a little bit different.
You see, the morphic field of a consistently enhanced character is powerful... very powerful. So much so that it tends to trim back alterations to his or her core self faster than normal. Sure, the character does resist efforts to alter the function of his or her body at a reduced difficulty level for each level of enhancement taken, but the trick is that, upon failing such resistance, the character will revert much quicker.
A weakly consistent character, for instance, will divide the amount of time their mind or body can be transformed by half, while a strongly consistent character will divide the duration of such changes by four. Very strongly consistent characters can divide the amount of time they've been transformed by eight, and extremely consistent characters can reduce the duration of a transformation to 1/16th of its original value.
Indefatigable: if one's Narrator is using the fatigue rules for super-powered combat, a player can build a character resistant to them wielding character augmentations. This simulates a sort of super-human stamina on the part of a character, or perhaps the character in question is simply in very good shape, able to keep fighting long after those with similar capabilities have fallen flat.
Being indefatigable acts to extend the time required before card play is required, whether in combat or simply exerting oneself, depending on just indefatigable one is. The weakly indefatigable multiplies the number of exchanges a character can go before an exhaustion check by two, the strongly indefatigabble may multiply that number by four, and the very stronglly indefatigable may octulpe their basic exhaustion timer.
Characters who are extremely indefatigable are immune to fatigue, whether generated by running, activating powers, or doing anything else that would cause that state of being. Most characters would never face a situation where they would require this level of stamina, but with this augmentation a character could conceivably dish out punishment, to themselves or others, indefinitely!
Predator: whether due to heredity or dumb luck, something about the character makes him or her more effective against a certain kind of enemy. Everything they do causes this type of foe more damage, whether punching it or blasting it with eye beams. Similarly, anything the enemy does to him or her is less effective; resistances are either more potent against this foe, or their damage output is actually dampened somewhat.
Whether they like it or not, a natural nemesis makes for a great hunter of said enemy type, whether they're more powerful against vampires or dinosaurs or even normal humans. If such foes become aware that a 'super effective' nemesis is in their midst, they're likely to take steps to prevent this natural predator from rendering them extinct - usually with extreme prejudice.
Thus, this form of character augmentation can serve as something of a hindrance at times - much like a hindrance can be used to the player's advantage in certain situations. On the other hand, a player usually won't take this form of augmentation unless he or she has it out for the foe in question - though this sort of augmentation is great for creating a reluctant, dramatic hunter character type.
Uncontainable: maybe it's something about the character's physiology, or perhaps he or she is just that stubborn. But the truth is that it's hard to make an uncontainable character do something that they're not willing to. This translates, in game terms at least, into a reduction in the difficulty required of them when attempting to escape or avoid efforts - any efforts - to hold the character back.
But what falls under this heading, you ask? Actions to control a character's motions or thoughts, for the most part. This includes mind control, emotion control, grappling and binding attacks, and so on. The difficulty modifier represents a slipperiness of sorts on the part of the character so enhanced, applied before or after such an attack lands on them - enemies might initially hit, but such attacks rarely 'stick'.
For example, a strongly uncontainable character might reduce the difficulty of avoiing a foe's trick lasso by two steps - which might look effortless in combination with certain talents! However, failing that avoidance due to staggeringly bad luck, he or she will be granted a like reduction in the difficulty called for when subsequently attempting to wriggle out of said trick lasso.
Traits
Traits are minor modifications to a character intended to make them a bit more quirky, compared to individuals of otherwise like capability. A trait is a quality that won't always assist or waylay a player, but will typically crop up at least once per session. Traits count as either a character hindrance or augmentation, depending on whether they're hurtful or helpful, but only come in one strength: weak.
As they may with hindrances and augmentations, players may adopt traits as they see fit, within reason. Some traits may not apply to a given setting. Cyber-neurosis, for instance, wouldn't be at home in a medieval campaign - or anywhere else artificial implants aren't common. Narrators may override a trait choice if it absolutely wouldn't fit in his or her game, or otherwise wouldn't affect the player taking it.
A description of every trait follows. They are divided into beneficial and deleterious traits of a physical, mental, and role-play nature.
Advantageous Traits
Advantageous traits are weak character enhancements that provide a minor benefit to the character bearing them. (flavortown text)
3-D Sense: possession of a 3-D sense indicates the character has the ability to think in more than two dimensions. This comes in handy in the midst of situations such as aerial combat, or in any other condition where threats may come from any of the three standard axes. A 3-D sense can also benefit characters who deal with even higher dimensions as well, even if this doesn't apply very often.
Adrenal Surge: an adrenal surge is just that, a massive pulse of adrenaline that will give a body incredible Strength for a short period of time. When triggered, the character with this trait can reduce the difficulty of all Strength-based actions by one level for an aura duration. This boost can only be used once per day, and after it wears off this trait inflicts a like penalty to such actions for the rest of the encounter.
Alertness: alertness is a heightened awareness of one's surroundings. Characters with this trait are rarely surprised by the actions of others, whether or not super-human abilities are in play. In game terms, a highly alert character should receive a reduced difficulty on card play to avoid ambushes or surprise, and is such a light sleeper that any disturbance in his or her area wakes them on an average difficulty Willpower action.
Ally: somewhere in their past, this character managed to cultivate an ally. More than a mere contact (though they count as such), this ally is a true friend of the character, and will help them in any way they can. This ally can be a trusted right-hand person, a sidekick, or whatever else fits one's origins. This ally is created and played by the Narrator, and this trait provides an aide contact for 'free' when taken.
Ambidexterity: an ambidextrous character enjoys the benefit of being equally adept in the use of both their left and right appendages. They may use either their left or right hand without the normal one-step off hand penalty, whether writing, sculpting, or discharging a firearm. The advantage of ambidexterity can be a result of natural ability, or acquired through intense training - whether voluntary or otherwise.
Assistant: an assistant is related to an ally, in that he or she is a trusted confidante of some sort or another. This assistant could be a dedicated butler, secretary, or technician, or perhaps works for the character in some other quasi-servile role. This secondary character will aid their superior in any way they can, and like an ally, is a 'free' contact that must be created and played by the Narrator.
Attractive: whether it's something in one's appearance or some other subtle quality, the character with this trait is attractive. People who would be remotely interested in his or her gender and/or species find them particularly alluring, in fact. He or she should benefit from a reduced difficulty when attempting to influence those who think them so appealing in their favor.
Benefactor: when someone likes what a character is doing but doesn't want to directly participate in their actions, they will often serve as a benefactor to him or her. This usually involves financial assistance of some sort, but can take the form of equipment or special favors, and lasts as long as the character remains in the good graces of their benefactor. Unless crossed, benefactors behave as reliable contacts.
Charmed: a charmed person is a veritable fount of good luck for their allies. The charmed trait alters card play for the better for anyone affiliated with its possessor. Once per session, this trait allows charmed individuals the option of replacing the card an ally is currently playing with the Narrator draw, if doing so would resolve the action they are attempting in a more beneficial (for them) fashion.
Durable: a normal human character is assumed to have bones with a material strength of six (6). This trait increases that material strength to a small extent, which has a potent benefit. A character with more durable bones enjoys +1 protection against physial attacks, and may resolve actions called for to determine if one or more of their bones are broken at one difficulty level lower than would normally apply.
Fame: a famous character is one who is well-known to the public, either for good reasons or bad (the latter being better known as infamy). This character regularly appears in newspaper and magazine articles, entertainment television segments, and even has numerous web sites devoted to his or her activities. Fame improves reaction levels of those who adore the famous individual by one difficulty level.
Fan Club: occasionally accompanying fame, the fan club represents a gaggle of fan boys and girls who earnestly follow the character's career. The focus of a fan club can usually attempt actions to influence the behavior of their adoring fans at one difficulty level lower than would normally be required. But then, these people obsess over his or her every deed, and can be a great source of information or favors in a pinch.
Good Reputation: this character has a high standing within his or her community. While this may not involve people building fan sites dedicated to him or her, they know the character is someone they can turn to in a pinch. This gives them a one-step increase in the reaction level received on their home turf, though this can backfire if the character acts counter to whatever reputation they've been building.
Gravitic Flexibility: the character with gravitic flexibility can move and function more normally under the influence of unusual gravity conditions. He or she may reduce the difficulties applied to their actions or activities solely due to high, low, or no gravity by one difficulty level, and benefits from intensity 4, or +1, resistance to crushing damage caused by gravity or any other mechanism.
Hardy: a hardy character can take a lot more punishment than is readily apparent, as compared to someone else of similar body type. The character with hardiness may add a special card to their Health total, one which they cannot use to resolve actions. This extra card represents a hidden wellspring of resilience the hardy character possesses under assault, and can only be used when they suffer damage.
Heightened Sense: not quite a super sense, a heightened sense is nonetheless a sensory apparatus the character possesses that functions far more acutely than his or her others. Such heightened senses are so noted (heightened sense / smell, for example), and a character with one should make applicable Willpower actions at a reduced difficulty whenever the sense is referenced in play.
High Pain Threshold: this trait, as one might guess, makes the character bearing it highly resistant to physical, mental, or spiritual pain. It provides its possessor a reduction in the difficulty of any action required to resist agony, whether momentary, intermittent, or perpetual in duration, and regardless of whether the deleterious impulse is induced in the character by injury or powers.
Hypermobility: those rare characters 'gifted' with hypermobility benefit from being what is commonly known as double jointed. Such characters benefit from a +1 bonus on Agility actions called for regarding the joints in question, whether it just be one's fingers or their whole body, as well as applicable escape attempts. Unfortunately, hypermobility is sometimes accompanied by arthritis (lameness).
Likability: the likable character has a pleasant demeanor, or is otherwise charismatic somehow. When interacting with others, the likable character receives NPC reactions that are one step higher, unless said NPC is already actively hostile towards them. This bonus applies as long as the person or people the likable individual is interacting with simply despise bright, cheery people in their midst.
Lucky: like the charmed character, one who is lucky has the effect of altering cards actively being played in a beneficial manner. However, instead of doing so for one's allies, a lucky person may do this for themselves. Once per session, if using the Narrator draw to resolve one's current action would resolve it better than the one the lucky character's player is attempting to play, they may switch the two.
Tetrachromacy: tetrachromats possess four independent channels for conveying color information. As opposed to normal humans, who only have three, a tetrachromat can discern hues their trichromat counterparts can only imagine. Furthermore, they see better in dim lighting conditions and when observing computer screens, and may reduce the difficulty of vision-based actions by one level under these conditions.
(workin' on it)
Deleterious Traits
Deleterious traits are weak character enhancements that provide a minor benefit to the character bearing them. (flavortown text)
Abnormal Attribute: individuals with an abnormal attribute just 'aren't right'. Something about them is clearly weird in an obvious fashion - not so much as to grant them any sort of special power, but such an attribute may be a side effect of any powers the character has. This can range from really big ears to extra fingers to a vestigial tail to hair that grows, say, a quarter inch per day.
Ambisinistrality: the individual with ambisinistrality can use both their left and their right hands with equal skill. The problem is that skill is poor, because unlike most people, the ambisinistral have no dominant hand. Relatively weak and clumsy in the hands, the ambisinistral character suffers an increased difficulty when attempting to utilize hand-related fine motor skills, whether writing, soldering, or carving.
Addiction: (adapt/adopt normal Saga variation)
Albinism: the result of a congenital lack of certain pigments, albinism can express itself as either a lack of coloration in the eyes, or the eyes, hair, and skin. Either way, an albino is sensitive to bright light, resisting such at an increased difficulty. If one's skin is albinic, they are subject to a like penalty to resist ultraviolet radiation assaults, as well as being easily blinded by the light.
Allergy: an allergy is a heightened vulnerability to certain deleterious stimuli. Not quite a susceptibility, per se, an allergy inflicts an increased difficulty to card play called for when its bearer attempts to resist whatever the character is allergic to. If the stimuli in question normally inflicts damage, that damage affects the allergic individual as if its intensity were +4 higher in value.
Bad Reputation: a character with such a reputation has a poor standing in their community. While this most often doesn't involve torches and pitchforks, people where this individual come from know him or her on sight... and what they're capable of. A bad reputation increases the difficulty of interpersonal actions with straight-laced types, but can apply to their own people if they act 'out of character'.
Color Blind: color blindness is the inability to distinguish one or more colors. Usually this involves a lack of one type of color receptor, which causes one to see colors completely different than others. Severe cases can cause one to see in 'black and white', however, which is mostly a disadvantage save for in certain conditions (or when fighting someone with color control).
Dulled Sense: dulled senses function at a greatly diminished capacity compared to others possessed by its possessor. Such lesser senses are so noted (dulled sense / touch, for example), and actions reliant on the sense in question are resolved at one difficulty level higher than would otherwise be called for in that situation. This can sometimes be nullified by technology such as glasses or hearing aids, but not always.
Dwarfism: this trait does not refer to the axe-wielding dwarves of lore. It describes a condition wherein the character possessing this trait is disproportionately short. For game purposes, a dwarf usually ranges between three and a half and five feet tall, not being small enough to qualify for the shrinking power and yet being of a size where he or she must usually have all gear and clothing custom-fitted.
Epilepsy: an epileptic character is prone to sudden fits of uncontrollable shaking, which can be caused by anything from stress to injury. Epileptic characters feel a seizure coming on an aura duration early, and seizures last that long. An imminent seizure can be held off per exchange with a challenging difficulty action, and actions attempted mid-seizure are made at three difficulty levels higher than usual.
Foreigner: whether the character hails from another state or another universe, they observe a culture different from that active where he or she has decided to make their home. This can make critical misunderstandings during even the simplest social interactions, and generally gives the 'alien' character an increased difficulty on interpersonal actions where culture clashes are involved.
Fragile: a normal human character is assumed to have bones with a material strength of six (6). The fragile character is not so lucky, however, and suffers heightened damage in the face of crushing attacks. Any physical attack affecting the fragile individual inflicts +1 damage, and any card play required to determine whether or not they suffer broken bones is attemped at one difficulty level higher than usual.
Gigantism: the flip side of dwarfism, gigantism indicates a character who is not just tall, but is disproportionately so. Such an individual will usually range between seven and eight and a half feet tall, and must have all of his or her clothing and gear custom-made. A character suffering from this trait may also possess several related ailments, depending on the volume of their physique.
Gravitic Inflexibility: the gravity inflexible are those who are particularly attuned to gravitic conditions wherever they come from, and do not adapt well to conditions elsewhere. They suffer an increased difficulty on actions attempted if gravity is at all different from their usual, and crushing damage inflicted upon them is bolstered by +2, whether caused by gravity itself or any other mechanism in the environment.
Lame: lameness is not a state of being uncool, so much as having a vital part that functions at less than one hundred percent. This can be anything from a bum leg to to serious organ damage to an amputation! Lameness generally inflicts one increased level of difficulty on actions relying upon the lame component of the character, it may make related actions so difficult that they may very well seem impossible.
Low Pain Threshold: characters with a low pain threshold are much more likely to buckle under physical duress. They suffer an increased difficulty while attempting actions to resist the effects of pain (whether from physical damage, methodical torture, or pain induced via some other mechanism). This penalty applies regardless of whether the character suffers physical, mental, or spiritual pain.
Revolting: a revolting character does something that seems relatively normal to him or her, but that others usually find disgusting. Such a habit can include picking one's nose, chewing their toenails, constantly scratching in socially awkward locations, or even wearing Spandex ™ when one really, really shouldn't. Folks generally behave one step less friendly around others while they are in the process of being revolting.
Unattractive: whether it's one's physical appearance or some other ephemeral quality, there's something about the character that puts people off. Individuals who would otherwise find the character aesthetically pleasing (or at least neutral in their eyes) find the unattractive character unpleasant. As such they suffer a one-step increase in the difficulty of interpersonal reactions with those who reject their asthetic.
Unlucky: the unlucky have a very dim view of causality. This is because once per session, as the player of an unlucky character is attempting card play, the Narrator may sabotage their intended effort above and beyond their use of the Ruin pile. If using the current Narrator draw to resolve the action in question would resolve matters worse than the card the player intended to utilize, that's what happens.
Weirdness Magnet: folks with this trait - and everyone around them - tend to live on the far end of the probability curve. Strange and bizarre things happen around such a character constantly, and even stranger things happen to them directly. Perceptive individuals who recognize a weirdness magnet for what they are usually try to keep a healthy distance from them whenever possible.
Freak accidents, unexplained phenomena, and bizarre people cross a weirdness magnet's path with distressing frequency. The fallout of such usually affects anyone within the weirdness magnet's vicinity, which can be particularly bothersome for one's teammates. Of course, investigators of strange happenings may appreciate a weirdness magnet for the staggering opportunities with which he or she helps them do their job.
(workin' on it)
(Yes, we have no bananas, today. Well, I suppose we have a few, because I've finally forged my hindrances and augmentations system for the QARD, something I'd been banging my head against forever for some reason. All that I have left to produce for this document, then, is the bit on traits, which is something of a conversion of my whole Quirks thing for use in the QARD. I'll get to that eventually.)