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Copyright 1999
Stephen Fuelleman

Character Creation Tips

When creating a new character, there are a few fine points to consider. Knowing these things will help your character survive, and succeed in the game world.

First, look at the numbers that you rolled and decide what kind of character you want to make. Some people like to use the Specialty points to shore up their character's weaknesses, others like to concentrate on improving their strengths. Whichever you choose, be aware that there are "break points" for different abilities: That is, point thresholds needed to improve one function or another of an ability score.

Strength break points occur every 5 points, since you get 1 D6 of hand to hand damage for each 5 points of Strength. Strength of 14 really does no more damage than Strength of 10, although some Referee's allow a D4 of extra damage for Strength more than half way to the next D6.

If, when you create a character, you decide that you want a hand-to-hand expert but have a low Strength, don't worry about it. Any attack power can be linked to your fist, adding its damage to your normal Strength damage. The price of doing this is that you give up the ability to use it any other way.

Intelligence is an often overlooked ability score, and has no ability break points. High Intelligence scores can get you information that makes other abilities less important. Skill degrees in Detective Work can help this by occasionally adding to the Save, but basic brains are important.

Will is a fairly important ability. Although it has no break points, as such, a high Will lets you avoid being Stunned easily in combat, and doesn't go down during the battle (unlike Constitution). It also helps you resist drugs, and overcome some Limitations. If you can't be tough, be stubborn.

Dexterity break points for Combat Bonus occur at 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, etc.: Every 3 points starting at 12. Each of these break points gives you an extra bonus point for use in combat. Dexterity break points for multiple attacks occur at 3, 8, 13, 18, etc: Every 5 points of DEX (rounded off) entitles you to one attack in combat.

Taken together, these suggest a few ideas as to good Dexterity scores. If you have a low DEX to start with, try to raise it to at least 15. This gives you up to 3 attacks a round, and gives you 2 Combat bonus points. 18 DEX gives you 3 bonus points, and 4 attacks as well. 21 is very popular (4 bonus, 4 attacks) , and 24 runs a close second (5 bonus, 5 attacks). If your DEX is much higher than this, then you are making Dexterity your strongest suit. There isn't anything wrong with this, but you may want to consider saving a few Specialty points for something else.

Constitution is one of your most important abilities, and has break points every five points, starting at three: Vitality is recovered at a rate of one fifth (1/5) your CON, with fractions rounding normally. This means that CON scores ending in 3 or 8 are good ones. Like Will, CON helps you resist being Stunned in a fight, and can actually prevent injuries: The higher your CON, the less likely it is that a single attack will do more than your CON in damage. If they don't beat your CON, you take no CON damage, and you can't be stunned. Also, a high CON adds to your Vitality score as you go up in levels.

Personality is the ability everyone overlooks. If your game is all combat, then go ahead and overlook it. If, on the other hand, you also role play the times between fights, then a high personality can be a lot of fun. It is what gets your Hero (or Mercenary) in the papers a lot, lets him talk his way out of tight spots, and land good TV commercials.

Vitality is the exception: There is little or no reason to spend Specialty points raising it, unless it is ridiculously low to start with, in which case the Specialty points won't make much difference anyway. Better to spend them on CON, where they will boost your Vitality every level, instead of the one-shot increase you can get now.

Generally, Saving Throws are made by rolling 3 or 4 D6 against an ability. In combat, CON and Will are the most common saves. Out of combat, Intelligence and DEX, and to a lesser extent, Personality, are the most common Saves. The average roll on 4 D6 is 14. If your ability scores are much lower than this, then you will fail that Save more often than not. Consider adding Skills to help some of these Saving throws, such as Detective Work or Concentration. Ability scores of less than 10 will make the Save so seldom that you should seriously avoid situations that call for it. Scores higher than 14 will make the Saves very frequently, and scores of 18 or more need have little fear of such saves. Remember though, that everybody misses Saves eventually, no matter what their scores.

While these ideas may help you "Min/Max" your character, I advise you not to overdo it. Perfectly optimized characters all look more or less alike, and aren't much fun to play. Be smart with your points, but don't be obsessive.

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