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Anime d20 — System Reference Document v1.0 A d20 System Licensed Product. This publication is designated as Open Game Content and is licensed for public use under the terms of the Open Game License v1.0. 'd20 System' and the 'd20 System' logo are Trademarks owned by Wizards of the Coast and are used according to the terms of the d20 System License version 1.0. A copy of this License can be found at www.wizards.com.

Chapter 6: Attributes

The six core Ability Scores represent your character’s basic abilities, but his or her more specific acquired or innate talents and abilities are known as Character Attributes. Any Character Points remaining after you have purchased your character’s Abilities, Race, and Class are available to acquire Attributes.

Character Points may be used to acquire Attributes, but since some represent exotic abilities (such as magical or superhuman powers or abilities innate to non-human races), the GM may choose to place certain restrictions on their availability in his or her particular game setting.

There are many different Character Attributes, each representing a particular talent or special ability. Each Attribute is rated with a Rank from 1-6 (or in a few cases, 1-10), but you can extend it beyond Rank 6 with GM permission. Acquiring an Attribute or increasing it in Rank requires the expenditure of one or more Character Points depending on the Attribute’s Character Point cost per Rank. The Attribute descriptions indicate the Character Point cost, its game effects and limitations, and the Ability most relevant to the Attribute’s use should a Ability check dice roll be needed.

The selection of Attributes is one of the most important steps during character creation. Through Attributes, you define your character’s unique capabilities compared to other individuals. Think carefully about the balance between a few high-rank Attributes and a large number of low-rank Attributes.

If you find yourself needing more Character Points than you have been assigned, consider burdening your character with one or more Character Defects. Each Defect can provide you with an additional Character Point or two, which can be used to acquire more Character Attributes or further increase your character’s Ability Scores.

Modifying Attributes and Adjusting Point Costs

Players may occasionally find that an Attribute does not exactly match their concept of how a particular power or capability should function. The GM (and, with GM permission, the players) may redefine the effects of existing Attributes to better suit particular character concepts. If the GM feels a changed effect makes the Attribute significantly more or less powerful, he or she may alter its Point cost to reflect this.

Additionally, the value of Attributes assumes the setting of the game gives them a good chance of actually being useful in play. If a character is given an Attribute that the GM decides is unlikely to have much, if any, utility in the campaign, he or she can reduce its Character Point Cost or even give the Attribute away for free. If circumstances change and the Attribute becomes useful on a regular basis, the character should pay for the Attribute with Character Points granted through Level progression.

Trading Experience Points for Character Points

In most other d20 System games, Character Points and Attributes do not exist. If you would like to add Anime d20 Attributes to your character from a different d20 System game, your Game Master may allow you to trade Experience Points (XP) for Character Points. Since the number of XP required to obtain the next Level is equal to your character’s current character Level multiplied by 1,000 XP, adding 1 Character Point to your character reduces his or her XP total by 100 x current character Level.

For example, if you want to add one Rank of the Regeneration Attribute (4 Points) to your 4th Level crafty spy character from another d20 System game, your character’s current Experience Point total would be reduced by 1,600 XP (4 Points x 100 x 4th Level = 1,600 XP). Similarly, adding one Rank of the Own A Big Mecha Attribute (8 Points) to your 10th Level ever-questing knight d20 character reduces his or her XP total by 8,000 XP (8 Points x 100 x 10th Level = 8,000 XP).

Of course, this Point exchange also applies for Defects. Each Defect Bonus Point added to your other d20 System character increases his or her XP total by 100 x current character Level.

Using this conversion guideline, any Anime d20 Attribute or Defect can be added to the d20 System game of your choice!

Table 6-1: Character Attributes

Adaptation Cost: 1 Point/Rank Relevant Ability: Constitution

Progression: The character is adapted to 1 environment/Rank

The character can adapt to survive in a number of environments hostile to ordinary humans equal to his or her Adaptation Rank. Examples of hostile environments include: acidic/basic liquids, extra dimensional, extreme pressure, intense cold, intense heat, noxious gases, radiation, underwater (the ability to “breathe” water), and vacuum (low pressure, not the absence of air). Adaptation does not apply to non-human characters whose natural environment is not the Earth’s atmosphere (such as a mermaid living in the ocean). In these cases, the character must assign Adaptation (Earth Atmosphere) to survive in normal human environments. Surviving in low- or no-oxygen environments is a Special Defence Attribute, not Adaptation.

The Attribute also provides 2 Points of Armour against environmental conditions and attacks similar to the adapted environment. For example, Adaptation (Heat) provides Armour while in the desert heat and against fiery blasts, while Adaptation (Pressure) provides Armour while deep-sea diving and against a crushing gravity attack. In most natural Earth environments, this Armour provides complete protection against the elements. Adaptation can thus be viewed as a very limited form of the Armour Attribute in many situations. A character with even Rank 1 Armour gains the benefits of Adaptation against normal environmental conditions. Armour does not protect against specific hostile environments that have less tangible damaging effects, such as extra dimensional, noxious gases, and underwater.

Alternate Form Costs: 2, 3 or 9 Points/Rank Relevant Ability: Constitution

Progression: The character’s alternate form is built from 10 Character Points/Rank

A character with Alternate Form can instantaneously transform into one other specific form that is determined during character creation and approved by the Game Master. Once selected, the form cannot be altered. Alternate Form allows the character to possess a radically different body shape than his or her normal human form, and exhibit exotic physical features as well.

If a character only has a single, permanent, non-human form, this Attribute should not be applied. Instead, the character must acquire the relevant Attributes and Defects that best represent the form’s capabilities. A character with several different Alternate Forms should assign this Attribute multiple times. The Attributes gained in the character’s Alternate Form obviously cannot be Dependent upon the Alternate Form Attribute. Different Alternate Forms can be built with different Attribute Ranks as well.

Partial-Powered Form (3 Points/Rank)

The form is built from 10 Character Points for each Alternate Form Rank, which can be used to acquire Abilities, Attributes, and Defects. The character’s Abilities all drop to zero and thus must be raised with the Alternate Form’s new Character Points; Calculated Values also must be recalculated. Additionally, the character’s regular Attributes, Skills, and Defects no longer function in the Alternate Form, though the GM may decide that some Attributes (such as Personal Gear, Flunkies, Organisational Ties, Wealth, and others) and some Defects still retain their effects. Defects can also be assigned to the new Form to provide additional Character Points. Unless the GM indicates otherwise, normal clothing becomes part of the Alternate Form as well.

Full-Powered Form (9 Points/Rank)

The form is built from 10 Character Points for each Alternate Form Rank, which can be used to acquire Attributes, and Defects. The character retains all the Abilities, Attribute Ranks, Skill Ranks, and Defect Bonus Points associated with his or her regular form. The newly acquired Attributes and Defects add to the character’s normal form. If the character’s Abilities are modified by the Enhanced [Ability] Attribute or Less Capable [Ability] Defect, the Calculated Values should be recalculated as necessary. Unless the GM indicates otherwise, normal clothing becomes part of the Alternate Form as well.

Cosmetic Changes (2 Points)

A “Rank 0” option of the Alternate Form Attribute is also available at the cost of 2 Character Points. This Rank allows a character to undergo cosmetic changes that confer no additional abilities on the target. This includes: a 10% size increase or decrease, change of gender, 50% age increase or decrease, colour changes (eye, skin, or hair), and minor physical changes (shape of ears, facial features, or bodily proportions).

d20 Monsters

If using other d20 source material containing monster write-ups, GMs may simply allow characters to adopt the form and abilities of a given monster using its Challenge Rating as a measure of its Character Point cost. Multiply the monster’s Challenge Rating by 10 and add 40 to determine the Character Point value of the given creature. For example, a CR 5 creature is roughly equal to 90 Points (5 x 10 = 50; 50 + 40 = 90). Thus, a character with Rank 9 Alternate Form could assume the form of a CR 5 creature. GMs must remember that Anime d20 and other d20 products are not 100% compatible and consequently some abilities must be translated to use other d20 source material for Anime d20 (such as natural armour bonuses for Armour Class).

Sample Alternate Forms

The examples herein suggest some Attributes that may be appropriate for the Alternate Forms, but the GM can modify them if desired. Other types of alternate forms can include electricity, radiation, light, emotion, data, dream, sound, and many others.

• Animal Forms

Many nature-based shapeshifters (and cursed martial artists) have one or more Partial-Powered animal forms. Suggested Attributes: any that are relevant to the specific animal form, such as Armour, Attack Combat Mastery, Damn Healthy!, Features, Flight, Heightened Senses, Jumping, Natural Weapons, Special Movement, Tunnelling, etc.

• Elemental/Chemical Forms

This option covers a wide range of possible forms, including: acid, base, gold, granite, ice, mercury, water, sulphur, synthetic drugs, etc. Suggested Attributes: Adaptation, Armour, Duplicate, Damn Healthy!, Elasticity, Enhanced [Ability], Extra Arms, Insubstantial, Massive Damage, Regeneration, Special Attack, Special Defence, Special Movement, Superstrength, Swarm, Water Speed.

• Flame Form

The character is composed of fire, and can ignite flammable objects on contact. Any person near the character may suffer burn damage as well. Suggested Attributes: Adaptation (Heat), Armour (Optimised to heat), Environmental Influence (Heat), Flight, Force Field, Special Attack (Aura).

• Gaseous Form

This form is less substantial than a liquid form. The character cannot pick up solid objects and can only exert the pushing force of a gentle wind. Suggested Attributes: Adaptation, Extra Attacks, Flight, Heightened Awareness, Invisibility, Insubstantial, Projection, Regeneration, Sixth Sense, Size Change, Special Attack, Special Defence, Speed.

• Incorporeal Form

An Incorporeal form is without physical substance (for example, a ghost or living shadow). The character can pass through walls, walk on air or water, and perform similar ghost-like feats. Suggested Attributes: Adaptation, Flight, Invisibility, Insubstantial, Special Defence.

• Melding Form

The character can meld into any inanimate object, and still perceive nearby events as though he or she is still human. Once merged, the character cannot be harmed unless the object is damaged. Suggested Attributes: Adaptation, Insubstantial, Teleport (Within melded object), Tunnelling.

• Two-Dimensional Form

A 2-D character has height and width, but not depth. He or she can squeeze through the spaces between atoms, and is completely invisible when viewed from the side. An entire new two-dimensional universe may be waiting to be explored by such a character. Suggested Attributes: Adaptation, Insubstantial, Pocket Dimension, Special Defence, Special Movement, Speed.

Animal Friendship Cost: 1 Point/Rank Relevant Ability: Charisma

Progression: Descriptive; see below

A character with this Attribute has an unusual, instinctive empathy towards animals. On a successful Charisma check, the character can befriend an otherwise hostile or even ferocious animal. For example, this would allow a character to get past a police dog or guard dog. Utilising this ability requires behaving in a calm and friendly manner; a friendship cannot be made if the character or his or her friends have already attacked the animal. An “animal” is defined as a natural creature with Intelligence of 1-2 that lacks the ability to communicate via a structured language (that is, it cannot speak).

The GM can apply difficulty penalties or bonuses to the Charisma check based on the character’s actions and the situation. For example, the dice roll modifier could be -4 if the animal is especially fierce or very loyal to its current owner, or +4 if the characters just saved the animal from some nasty fate. When befriending a pack of animals, a dice roll penalty of -2 is assigned for two animals, -4 for 3-4 animals, -6 for 5-8 animals, -8 for 9-16 animals, and higher penalties for larger packs. If the attempt fails, the animal(s) may attack, threaten the character, or slink away, depending on its nature. A second attempt is usually not possible within a short period of time. If an animal is befriended, it will let the character and companions approach it, and will not attack or act aggressively unless it or the members of its pack or family are threatened. At the GM’s option, it may be affectionate enough to want to follow behind the character or somehow assist him or her.

An animal that has been befriended simply likes the character. Actual training of the animal takes time and requires the application of Handle Animal Skill. The character’s Rank in this Attribute (round up) is added to his or her Handle Animal Skill.

Rank 1 +1 to the Handle Animal Skill.

Rank 2 An additional +1 modifier is applied to the Charisma check. +2 to the Handle Animal Skill.

Rank 3 An additional +2 modifier is applied to the Charisma check. +3 to the Handle Animal Skill.

Rank 4 An additional +3 modifier is applied to the Charisma check. +4 to the Handle Animal Skill.

Rank 5 An additional +4 modifier is applied to the Charisma check. +5 to the Handle Animal Skill.

Rank 6 An additional +5 modifier is applied to the Charisma check. +6 to the Handle Animal Skill.

Armour Cost: 2 or 4 Points/Rank Relevant Ability: Constitution

Progression: All attack damage the character receives is reduced by 4 points/Rank

The Armour Attribute represents actual armoured plates, or simply skin or clothing that is highly resistant to damage. It is most often found on combat vehicles, cyborgs, androids, giant monsters, and, powerful magical beings.

Armour reduces the damage that is inflicted on the character or structure. Armour reduces the damage of each attack by 4 Points per Rank. The base cost for Armour is 4 Points/Rank.

A number of options are available for the Armour Attribute, which alter the Attribute’s Point cost or modify the Armour’s effectiveness. The minimum Point cost of Armour, regardless of options, is 1 Character Point.

Partial

The Armour has a small thin area (half Armour value, -1 to Point cost) or an unarmoured area (no Armour value, -2 to Point cost) that can be targeted using a Called Shot. Point cost reductions apply to the total cost of Armour, not the cost per Rank.

Optimised Armour

The Armour is focused against a particular uncommon attack form. Eligible attack forms include electricity, cold, laser beams, fire/heat, energy blasts, etc. Armour cannot be optimised against broad categories such as blunt impacts or piercing weapons, however. Optimised Armour provides doubled protection against the chosen attack form only, and no protection against other forms. A character can acquire both Optimised Armour and ordinary Armour by assigning the Armour Attribute twice.

Shield Only

The Armour does not cover the character’s entire body. Instead, it is a shield that the user must deliberately interpose in front of a melee or unarmed attack using a Block Defence. The character must also possess the Combat Technique (Block Ranged Attacks) Attribute to use the shield in a Block Defence against ranged attacks. If the character successfully defends, the shield’s Armour can protect against damage associated with the Attribute Rank. This option reduces the cost of Armour to 2 Points/Rank (rather than 4 Points/Rank), and increases the protection provided from 4 Points/Rank to 8 Points/Rank.

Armour and Force Fields in other d20 Games

If converting an Anime d20 character to another d20 System game, or vice verse, Armour (and Force Fields) is handled very simply. In Anime d20, Armour is treated as Damage Reduction of an amount equal to the protective value of the Armour while the Rank divided by two indicates the type of weapon that can overcome the damage reduction. For example, a character with Rank 6 Armour, which provides protection against 24 damage, would have Damage Reduction 24/+3 in other d20 System games. In most cases, this system will also work in reverse. For example, a creature with Damage Reduction 8/+1 would have Rank 2 Armour in Anime d20.

Some portions of a character/creature’s Armour Class in other d20 System games factor into its Armour rating, rather than Armour Class, in Anime d20. If a creature gains a “natural,” “hide,” “armour,” or other naturally-occurring Armour Class bonus, that bonus is treated as protection provided via the Armour Attribute in Anime d20. For example, a creature from another d20 System game that has an AC of 28 (-2 size, +1 Dex, +19 natural) would, in Anime d20, have an Armour Class Modifier of -1 (28 less the +19 natural bonus minus the base of 10) but would have Armour that stops 19 damage (effectively equal to Rank 5 Armour with a 1 BP Restriction: -1 point of protection). Any attack that hit the creature would have its damage reduced by 19. Similarly, a character who was wearing chainmail armour, who had an Armour Class of 16 (+2 Dex, +4 armour) would have an Armour Class Modifier of +2 (16 - 4 for the chainmail armour - the base of 10) and 4 points of Armour in Anime d20.

Art of Distraction Cost: 1 Point/Rank Relevant Ability: Charisma

Progression: Descriptive; see below

Art of Distraction may represent oratorical ability, innate charisma, or even a beautiful or resonant voice. This Attribute allows a character to distract a number of people or animals at a critical moment, provided he or she has some method of communicating with them (for example, talking, dancing, television broadcast, illusionary image, written word, etc.) If the character is trying to directly distract a potentially hostile group, such as an angry mob or a group of security guards, his or her Rank dictates how many people are distracted. If the character has an audience that is already prepared to listen, the Rank determines the percentage of that audience that is distracted or moved enough to take action, whether that involves buying the character’s next CD, donating money to a charity, or voting for the character in an election.

If multiple people with this Attribute work as a team, the total number of people distracted is added together. Charisma is used both when distracting people physically (for example, with sex appeal) and when distracting someone through emotion, rhetoric, or force of personality.

Rank 1 The character can distract one individuals, or 5% of an audience will be motivated.

Rank 2 The character can distract up to two individuals, or 10% of an audience will be motivated.

Rank 3 The character can distract a small crowd (1-10 individuals), or 20% of an audience will be motivated.

Rank 4 The character can distract a medium crowd (11-50 individuals), or 50% of an audience will be motivated.

Rank 5 The character can distract a large crowd (50-200 individuals), or 75% of an audience will be motivated.

Rank 6 The character can distract a very large crowd (200-1000 individuals), or 95-100% of an audience will be motivated.

Attack Combat Mastery Cost: 3 Points/Rank Relevant Ability: None

Progression: The character’s Base Attack Bonus is increased by 1 Point/Rank

Combat Mastery denotes either an innate “killer instinct” or the character’s intimate knowledge of a wide range of offensive combat techniques covering all aspects of armed and unarmed encounters (including ranged weapons). Individual Combat Skills let a character specialise with particular weapons or specific styles, but Combat Mastery allows a character to pick up any weapon (or use none at all) and still be dangerously proficient.

Each Rank in this Attribute raises the character’s Base Attack Bonus by one. This may provide a character with additional, secondary attacks should it increase the character’s Base Attack Bonus above +5, +10, or +15.

Aura of Command Cost: 1 Point/Rank Relevant Ability: Charisma

Progression: Descriptive; see below

The character possesses a natural knack for leadership. This Attribute is similar to Art of Distraction, except it only works on allies or subordinates or possibly with leaderless individuals looking for guidance (such as ordinary people caught in an emergency). Instead of distracting them, the character is able to inspire allies or neutrals into following him or her into dangerous situations that they might otherwise avoid.

Simply because a character is in a position of authority over other people does not automatically imply that he or she possesses the Aura of Command Attribute. In a military structure, subordinates will usually follow most orders (even dangerous ones) without hesitation because it is part of their job. Aura of Command reflects a character’s almost unnatural ability to inspire others to engage in actions that few people would ever consider undertaking. Note that few leaders have an Aura of Command sufficient to inspire their entire force at once. Commanders usually concentrate on key individuals (such as immediate subordinates) and hope the actions of these people will encourage others to follow them.

Rank 1 The character can inspire one person.

Rank 2 The character can inspire up to two people.

Rank 3 The character can inspire a small team (1-10 people).

Rank 4 The character can inspire a medium team (11-50 people).

Rank 5 The character can inspire a large team (50-200 people).

Rank 6 The character can inspire a very large team (200-1000 people).

Combination Attack Cost: 3 Points/Rank Relevant Ability: None

Progression: The character can combine attacks with up to 2 other characters/Rank

With training, individual characters can learn to combine their Special Attack Attribute into awesome displays of power. In order to do this, all the characters must have both the Combination Attack Attribute and the Special Attack Attribute. The number of characters that can combine at once is dependant on the Rank of Combination Attack; a character can combine with up to 2 other characters for each Rank. There is also an Energy Point cost associated with Combination Attack: 2 Energy Points per person involved in the attack. Each character must pay this cost separately. For example, if four characters are combining, they each must pay 8 Energy Points.

The attack takes place on the Initiative of the character with the lowest Initiative and uses the character with the lowest attack modifier to determine if it hits. A single attack roll is made. The target has a defence penalty of -1 per character involved in the attack. If the attack succeeds, it inflicts double damage (for example, if two character combine, one with a 2d8 Special Attack and one with a 3d8 Special Attack, the total damage inflicted would be 10d8 — 5d8 doubled).

Characters with Combination Attack are not subject to the same restrictions as normal characters that perform a similar action.

Computer Scanning Cost: 2 Points/Rank Relevant Ability: Intelligence

Progression: Descriptive; see below

This Attribute allows a character to access, read, and understand data from all computers or “Silicon Age” technology in the Surrounding area. The DC for the check is determined by the complexity and security of the computer; most home computers are DC 10 while high-tech secure machines are DC 20 to 30. When trying to access a computer built as an Item of Power, the character suffers a penalty of -2 for each Rank of the Item of Power. The Attribute Rank determines the maximum distance in which scanning can take place. To read multiple computers over a network, the area must be sufficient to encompass the target computers. Since this Attribute can be a very powerful tool in a campaign, the GM and players should ensure it is used appropriately.

Rank 1 Scanning can happen at the range of 1 foot.

Rank 2 Scanning can happen at the range of 10 feet.

Rank 3 Scanning can happen at the range of 100 feet.

Rank 4 Scanning can happen at the range of 1 mile.

Rank 5 Scanning can happen at the range of 10 miles.

Rank 6 Scanning can happen at the range of 100 miles.

Contamination Cost: 2 or 4 Points/Rank Relevant Ability: None

Progression: Descriptive; see below

This Attribute represents the character’s ability to transform other people (or animals, or objects) into entities like him or herself. Frequently, this victim can then contaminate even more people. The method should be specified when the character is created. It might be similar to myths behind the vampire legend — the character’s blood carries a “plague” that, when ingested, mutates the person over a matter of hours or days. Alternatively, the character might lay an egg or seed (real or metaphorical) in the body of his or her prey, which will later hatch within the victim, killing him or her as a new monster is born. The character might even need to perform some special ritual that alters the victim. Whatever the case, the conditions under which the victim can become “contaminated” must be specified.

For 2 Points/Rank, contamination is “difficult” — the victim must be willing, unconscious, or restrained for deliberate contagion to occur, or the target must perform an unusual activity (such as eating a morsel of the character’s flesh).

For 4 Points/Rank contamination is “easy” — the contagion might be similar to a traditional werewolf attack, where a scratch or bite results in a victim becoming a werewolf. The GM can add special conditions, limitations, or effects to ensure that becoming a monster is a curse and not a blessing.

The higher the Rank of Contamination, the faster the transformation occurs. There should always be some means of curing or delaying the eventual mutation, however. Possible cures include the death of the creature that inflicted the contaminant, radical surgery, blood transfusion, or a successful mystical healing.

The GM will decide whether a player character who is turned into a monster remains in the player’s control or is reclassified as an NPC. Any retention (dreams, memories, etc.) of the victim’s former existence depends on the nature of the contamination and whether the victim has been “transformed,” “devoured,” or “reborn” in the process. A person who has been successfully contaminated will usually gain a certain number of Attributes “paid for” with the Bonus Points acquired by assigning new character Defects (often including Cursed, Ism, Marked, Permanent, and Owned, the last one representing servitude to his or her new master). Usually the mutation will result in a monstrous form similar to that of the character responsible. Thus, a spider alien that laid an egg in its victim may produce another spider alien, the victim of a vampire will grow fangs, etc. The GM should be wary of potentially undesirable possibilities such as a werewolf character infecting the entire group of characters, thereby creating an entire group of werewolves.

The Contamination Attribute usually allows the creator or mother some measure of control over the newly transformed character. In these instances, the Rank of Contamination is added as a favourable modifier to any Mind Control attempts performed against the subject.

A variation to Contamination inflicts the target with some sort of curse or disease, rather than transforming him or her into a different type of creature. Examples of these afflictions include rapid ageing, debilitating diseases, sensitivity to specific elements, etc.

Rank 1 The transformation occurs over several months.

Rank 2 The transformation occurs over several weeks.

Rank 3 The transformation occurs over several days.

Rank 4 The transformation occurs over several hours.

Rank 5 The transformation occurs over several minutes.

Rank 6 The transformation occurs over several rounds.

Damn Healthy! Cost: 2 Points/Rank Relevant Ability: None

Progression: The character’s Hit Points are increased by 1d8/Rank (plus Con modifiers)

Possessing this Attribute increases the Hit Points of the character, allowing him or her to withstand more damage in combat. Note that characters with high Constitution scores may be very healthy even without this Attribute. A character with Damn Healthy! cannot also possess the Not So Tough Defect.

Defence Combat Mastery

Cost: 2 Points/Rank

Relevant Ability: None

Progression: The character’s Armour Class is increased by 1/Rank

Defence Combat Mastery denotes either an innate “danger instinct,” or the character’s intimate knowledge of a wide range of defensive combat techniques covering all aspects of armed and unarmed encounters (including Special Attacks and ranged weapons). Individual defence combat Skills let a character specialise with particular weapons or specific styles, but Defence Combat Mastery allows character to defend him or herself proficiently at all times.

Divine Relationship

Cost: 1 Point/Rank

Relevant Ability: None

Progression: The player may re-roll a number of dice rolls each game session equal to 1/Rank

A character possessing a Divine Relationship may have powerful forces acting as his or her guardian, which can beneficially influence the outcome of important events. Alternatively, the character may be really lucky, have great karma, or can subtly influence his or her surroundings with thought alone. This relationship is represented through the re-rolling of undesirable dice rolls (this includes undesirable re-rolls as well). The player may choose to use the original roll, or any of the re-rolls, when determining the success of the action. The Rank dictates the number of times dice can be re-rolled in a single role-playing session, though the GM can alter this time frame as desired.

Duplicate

Cost: 6 or 8 Points/Rank

Relevant Stat: Constitution

Progression: The duplicate is built from 10 Character Points/Rank

A character with this ability can create one or more independent, self-aware duplicates of him or herself, each of which have a maximum number of Character Points dictated by the Attribute Rank. The duplicate is not under the character’s control, but will act in a manner consistent with the original character. Multiple duplicates can be in existence at any time, but creating a duplicate requires one non-combat action.

Duplicates only remain in existence for a limited time, usually for a single scene or long enough to complete a single task. Since this Attribute can have tremendous impact on a campaign if used too frequently, the GM should impose restrictions on its use as necessary. For example, the GM may limit the total number of simultaneously existing duplicates. The player should consider what consequences, if any, will arise should an enemy kill the duplicate.

There are two different types of Duplicate: Customised (8 Points/Rank) and Proportionate (6 Points/Rank).

Customised Duplicate

The character can assign the duplicate’s Character Points as desired when this Attribute is first acquired, provided the duplicate does not gain any Attributes or Defects the original character does not possess. Additionally, Attributes and Defects cannot be raised to Ranks that would exceed the original character’s Ranks. The GM may waive this restriction if it seems appropriate. Once the Character Points are allocated to the duplicate in a specific pattern during character creation, the distribution cannot be changed; all duplicates ever made will be identical.

Proportionate Duplicate

If the Duplicate Rank is not sufficiently high to create a duplicate with the exact same number of Character Points as the original, a less-powerful duplicate is created. In these cases, the reduced Character Points are distributed over the duplicate’s Abilities, Attributes, Skills, and Defects proportionately with the original character. The one exception to this rule involves the Duplicate Attribute; the character may decide that his or her twin does not have the Duplicate Attribute.

Dynamic Sorcery

Cost: 8 Points/Rank

Relevant Ability: Variable

Progression: Descriptive; see below

This is the ability to use the mystical forces of Nature to alter reality. In anime, this can represent either the ability to improvise magical spells at a moment’s notice or the reality-bending capabilities of powerful entities like gods, goddesses, or angels.

Dynamic Sorcery is a very powerful Attribute and should be discussed with the GM at length to determine the effects and limitations in his or her game. Proper use of Dynamic Sorcery will not unbalance the game but can provide many opportunities for character innovation.

A character with this Attribute has the potential to cast spells from a vast variety of magical disciplines. Limiting the character’s knowledge to just one discipline, however, reduces the Attribute cost to only 4 Points/Rank. Such specialisations can include protection spells, elemental spells, weather spells, charm spells, necromantic spells, spells involving animal spirits, etc., or spells restricted to one of the magical schools (abjuration, conjuration, divination, enchantment, evocation, illusion, necromancy, or transmutation). A common variation on Dynamic Sorcery is magic whose effects are restricted to a particular reality different from the main reality of the campaign, such as the world of dreams, a cyberspace, or another pocket dimension. Such a heavy restriction may only cost 2 Points/Rank; the effects normally disappear when their subject leaves that reality (jacks out, wakes up, etc.).

Casting a spell requires the character to draw upon the power of his or her soul to reach a new Balance with Nature. This link with the mystical world allows reality to be altered to accommodate the existence of the spell. Such spell creation is quite exhausting, however, drawing on the character’s Energy Points at a rate determined by the minimum Rank of the Attribute needed to produce a desired effect (whether the casting was a success or a failure). Should the spell effects target more than one person or object, the GM may choose to increase the effective Rank required by one if affecting two people, by two if affecting 3-6 people, by three if affecting 7-20 people, and by four if affecting 21-50 people. The GM will decide the Attribute Rank needed to cast a particular spell.

In addition, any spell that is an attack on another entity also requires an Attack dice roll to hit. If the spell inflicts direct damage, the target will normally be allowed a Defence roll to avoid its effects. If the spell is something that has a more indirect effect, an appropriate saving throw (usually Will or Fortitude) should be allowed to resist or see through the effects.

The Level of a spell is determined by its application, power, usefulness, and duration. The spell Levels 0 through 9 are equivalent to those given in the PHB and other d20 System products. A character can cast a spell from one of these other d20 System books, or can create their own spell effect with power approximating other spells at a similar Level. Thus, a character with Rank 3 Dynamic Sorcery could use Energy Points to cast any number of 0th, 1st, or 2nd Level spells in the PHB (or other d20 System book), or spells of similar power, provided the character has sufficient Energy Points remaining.

All characters gain 1d2 Energy Point each Level, but characters with the Dynamic Sorcery Attribute gain additional Energy Points as they increase their Attribute Rank as well. The die type that these characters use to determine their Energy Point gain each Level increases from 1d2 at Rank 1 to 3d10 at Rank 10.

Rank 1 The character can cast spells of no real power (0th Level d20 System spells or the equivalent). Spells cost 1 Energy Point to cast. The character rolls 1d2 to determine Energy Points gained each Level. Examples of 0th Level spells are Detect Magic, Know Direction, Light, Mending, and Open/Close.

Rank 2 The character can cast weak spells of little power (1st Level d20 System spells or the equivalent). Spells cost 4 Energy Points to cast. The character rolls 1d4 to determine Energy Points gained each Level. Examples of 1st Level spells are Change Self, Comprehend Languages, Endure Elements, Erase, and Sleep.

Rank 3 The character can cast spells of minor power (2nd Level d20 System spells or the equivalent). Spells cost 9 Energy Points to cast. The character rolls 1d6 to determine Energy Points gained each Level. Examples of 2nd Level spells are Darkness, Hold Person, Levitate, Speak with Animals, and Summon Swarm.

Rank 4 The character can cast spells of moderate power (3rd Level d20 System spells or the equivalent). Spells cost 16 Energy Points to cast. The character rolls 1d8 to determine Energy Points gained each Level. Examples of 3rd Level spells are Bestow Curse, Blink, Remove Disease, Speak with Plants, and Summon Nature’s Ally III (summons one black bear or wolverine or 2 - 5 badgers).

Rank 5 The character can cast spells of major power (4th Level d20 System spells or the equivalent). Spells cost 25 Energy Points to cast. The character rolls 1d10 to determine Energy Points gained each Level. Examples of 4th Level spells are Cure Critical Wounds, Improved Invisibility, Sleet Storm, and Stoneskin.

Rank 6 The character can cast spells of great power (5th Level d20 System spells or the equivalent). Spells cost 36 Energy Points to cast. The character rolls 1d12 to determine Energy Points gained each Level. Examples of 5th Level spells are Raise Dead, Summon Nature’s Ally V (summons one rhinoceros or tiger or 2 — 5 black bears), Teleport, and Wall of Stone.

Rank 7 The character can cast spells that are exceptionally powerful (6th Level d20 System spells or the equivalent). Spells cost 49 Energy Points to cast. The character rolls 2d8 to determine Energy Points gained each Level. Examples of 6th Level spells are Antilife Shell, Control Weather, Geas/Quest, and Heal.

Rank 8 The character can cast spells that are extraordinarily powerful (7th Level d20 System spells or the equivalent). Spells cost 64 Energy Points to cast. The character rolls 1d20 to determine Energy Points gained each Level. Examples of 7th Level spells are Greater Scrying, Resurrection, Reverse Gravity, and Summon Nature’s Ally VII (summons one elephant or 2 — 5 tigers).

Rank 9 The character can cast spells that are of primal power (8th Level d20 System spells or the equivalent). Spells cost 81 Energy Points to cast. The character rolls 2d12 to determine Energy Points gained each Level. Examples of 8th Level spells are Discern Location, Earthquake, Finger of Death, and Sunburst.

Rank 10 The character can cast spells that are of godlike power (9th Level spells or the equivalent). Spells cost 100 Energy Points to cast. The character rolls 3d10 to determine Energy Points gained each Level. Examples of 9th Level spells are Soul Bind, Summon Nature’s Ally IX (summons one elder elemental or 2 — 5 elephants), Time Stop, and True Resurrection.

Dynamic Sorcery Without Energy Points

The Game Master may allow players to assign an even more powerful version of the Dynamic Sorcery Attribute as well, at the cost of 20 Points/Rank. This variation is similar to the original one, except the character does not burn Energy Points when casting spells. Consequently, the character can cast any number of spells (as appropriate for his or her Rank) without growing tired or running out of Energy. GMs and players should understand that this alternative is very powerful, and should only use it if they believe it will not unbalance their game.

Elasticity

Cost: 2 Points/Rank

Relevant Ability: Constitution

Progression: Descriptive; see below

The character can stretch or contort his or her limbs and/or body to a superhuman degree. Increased Ranks not only provide greater flexibility, but also the control over fine manipulation (such as using a stretched finger to move specific tumbling mechanisms on a key lock). At high Ranks, characters can squeeze under doors and through small holes and cracks, as well as mimic crude shapes (an excellent way to represent a character who has a liquid-like form as well). While stretched, the character receives +1 Unarmed Attack/Defence (Grappling) Skill bonuses for each Rank of Elasticity. In anime, this is most appropriate for monsters (especially those with serpentine or tentacle limbs) or giant robots with extendable arms.

Rank 1 The character can stretch one body part up to 5x its regular dimensions and receives +1 to Unarmed Attack/Defence (Grappling) Skill checks.

Rank 2 The character can stretch two body parts up to 5x their regular dimensions and receives +2 to Unarmed Attack/Defence (Grappling) Skill checks.

Rank 3 The character can stretch three body parts up to 5x their regular dimensions and receives +3 to Unarmed Attack/Defence (Grappling) Skill checks.

Rank 4 The character can stretch his or her entire body up to 5x its regular dimensions and receives +4 to Unarmed Attack/Defence (Grappling) Skill checks.

Rank 5 The character can stretch his or her entire body up to 10x its regular dimensions and receives +5 to Unarmed Attack/Defence (Grappling) Skill checks.

Rank 6 The character can stretch his or her entire body up to 20x its regular dimensions and receives +6 to Unarmed Attack/Defence (Grappling) Skill checks.

Energy Bonus

Cost: 3 Points/Rank

Relevant Ability: None

Progression: The characters’ Energy Points are increased by 20 Points/Rank

Possessing this Attribute increases the Energy Points of the character, allowing him or her to draw on a greater pool of energy reserves in times of need. This Attribute is particularly important for characters with the Dynamic Sorcery or Magic Attributes.

Enhanced [Ability]

Cost: 1 Point/Rank

Relevant Stat: None

Progression: One of the character’s Ability Scores is increased by 2/Rank

This Attribute is useful when a character should have one or more high Ability Values, but the player wants to indicate that the elevated Abilities were gained after a supernatural event occurred (or during character advancement). In most instances, assigning Character Points to the Enhanced [Ability] Attribute or to the Ability directly results in the same benefit: a character with a Constitution of 18 or a Constitution of 10 with Enhanced [Constitution] at Level 4 both have a Constitution of 18.

Environmental Control

Cost: 1-2 Points/Rank

Relevant Ability: Wisdom

Progression: Descriptive; see below

The character can affect environmental conditions such as light, heat, darkness, or weather. This is most appropriate for characters with magical control over a particular element or facet of nature such as sorcerers, demons, and spirits, but it could also represent various technological devices. If a character wishes to perform multiple effects (for example, control light and darkness) he or she should acquire the Attribute multiple times.

• Light

The character can illuminate an area with light as bright as a sunny day on Earth. Light control costs 1 Point/Rank.

• Darkness

The character can summon smoke, fog, darkness, or the like to enshroud an area, blocking normal vision. Darkness control costs 2 Points/Rank if the character can create total darkness that completely obscures light sources, or 1 Point/Rank if the darkness is only partial.

• Silence

The character can block out sounds within the area of effect. It costs 1 Point/Rank to create a barrier that prevents anyone outside from hearing sounds coming from within or vice versa, or 2 Points/Rank to create a zone of silence where no sounds exists.

• Temperature

The character can alter temperatures in the area from arctic cold to desert heat. If the character wishes to produce heat or cold sufficient to start fires or instantly freeze someone solid, the player should assign the Special Attack Attribute instead. Temperature control costs 1 Point/Rank if the character is limited to either increasing or decreasing temperature, or 2 Points/Rank if he or she can do both.

• Weather

The character can alter the weather to create or still weather conditions of various sorts such as breezes, winds, rain, snow, fog, or storms. For weather that is reasonable for the local climate, the area affected depends on the character’s Level. For weather that is abnormal (rain in a desert, snow in a hot summer) or violent (lightning storm, blizzard, hurricane), the character’s Rank is treated as one less for purposes of area affected or two less if both violent and abnormal. If this would reduce the Rank below 1, the effect cannot be produced. For focused attacks, such as lightning bolts or tornadoes, use the Special Attack Attribute instead. To produce precise effects or keep abnormal or violent weather under control, the GM may require a Wisdom check with a penalty equal to the area Rank (for example, -4 if affecting a regional area) and a bonus equal to the character’s Attribute Rank (for example, +5 if the character has Rank 5). It will often take several rounds for weather to build up or disperse. Abnormal weather effects will return to normal soon after a character ceases to use this Attribute. Weather control costs 2 Points/Rank if general in nature, or 1 Point/Rank if very specific (such as, “rain making”).

Maintaining Environmental Control requires a slight amount of concentration: the character can perform other actions while doing so, but can only affect one area at any given time. The size of the environment the character can control is determined by the character’s Rank.

Rank 1 The character can affect a small area (like a room).

Rank 2 The character can affect a modest area (like a house).

Rank 3 The character can affect a local area (like a neighbourhood or village).

Rank 4 The character can affect a regional area (like an entire city).

Rank 5 The character can affect a large area (like an entire county).

Rank 6 The character can affect an entire region (like a state, province, or small country).

Exorcism

Cost: 1 Point/Rank

Relevant Ability: Wisdom

Progression: Descriptive; see below

A character with this Attribute knows how to perform or create rituals, charms, or spells capable of driving out, binding, or banishing demons (or possibly other supernatural entities). In anime, this ability is often possessed by Buddhist monks, Shinto priests or priestesses, and wandering mediums. Exactly what entities qualify will depend on the nature of the game world; in some settings, undead, such as zombies or ghosts, may be vulnerable to exorcism. Normal characters and creatures are not affected by Exorcism.

Each attempt at exorcism counts as an attack and requires a Wisdom check with a +1 bonus per Rank of the Attribute. A ritual action is also necessary in most cases, such as a chant or mystical gestures, or use of particular objects, such as holy water or spirit wards. During the exorcism attempt, the character is completely focused on the exorcism and cannot defend against other attacks. In addition, the target entity must fail a Will Save, with a penalty equal to the Rank of the Exorcism Attribute.

If the attack succeeds (the exorcist makes his or her Wisdom check and the entity fails his or her own Will save) the entity will be affected. It cannot attack the exorcist (and any companions sheltered behind him or her) for one round. In addition, the entity loses Energy Points equal to 5 Points times the attacker’s Exorcism Rank. Although prevented from attacking the exorcist for one round, the creature may choose to take other actions, such as taunting or threatening the exorcist, fleeing, or even vanishing.

Exorcism may be repeated each round with successes draining additional Energy from the target, and failures having no effect (and leaving the demon free to attack the character). If the entity is ever reduced to 0 or fewer Energy Points as a result of the spiritual attack, it is either banished to its own dimension (if normally extra-dimensional), turned to dust, or permanently “sealed” in an object or in a mystic location (an Item or Place of Power may be ideal) until a specific action is taken that breaks the seal (GM’s option).

Spiritual entities from other d20 System games that do not have Energy Points outlined in their description have, on average, 4 Energy Points times their Effective Character Level (ECL).

Rank 1 The exorcist’s Wisdom check is made at +1 bonus. The target’s Will save made at -1 penalty. Success drains 5 Energy Points from the target.

Rank 2 The exorcist’s Wisdom check is made at +2 bonus. The target’s Will save made at -2 penalty. Success drains 10 Energy Points from the target.

Rank 3 The exorcist’s Wisdom check is made at +3 bonus. The target’s Will save made at -3 penalty. Success drains 15 Energy Points from the target.

Rank 4 The exorcist’s Wisdom check is made at +4 bonus. The target’s Will save made at -4 penalty. Success drains 20 Energy Points from the target.

Rank 5 The exorcist’s Wisdom check is made at +5 bonus. The target’s Will save made at -5 penalty. Success drains 25 Energy Points from the target.

Rank 6 The exorcist’s Wisdom check is made at +6 bonus. The target’s Will save made at -6 penalty. Success drains 30 Energy Points from the target.

Extra Arms

Cost: 1 Point/Rank

Relevant Ability: None

Progression: Descriptive; see below

Unless indicated otherwise, all characters possess two arms (or similar appendages) and hands. By assigning this Attribute, the character can acquire more. In anime, robots, tentacled monsters and non-humans with prehensile tails often have Extra Arms. Some long-haired sorcerers or demons also make their hair “come alive” to work as an Extra Arm.

An “arm” is defined loosely as an appendage that can reach out and manipulate objects with some finesse. A trunk, tentacle, or prehensile tail is an arm; a limb that simply ends in a gun-barrel, melee weapon, or tool mount is not. Legs with paws or feet are not usually considered to be “arms” unless the character has good manipulation ability when using them (such as the way chimpanzees can use their feet to grasp objects). Extra arms are useful for holding onto several things at once, but do not give extra attacks (for that ability, see Extra Attacks Attribute). A tractor beam is a specialised “arm” best simulated by the Telekinesis Attribute.

Possessing only one arm or no arms is reflected by the Physical Impairment Defect.

Rank 1 The character possesses 1 extra arm.

Rank 2 The character possesses 2-3 extra arms.

Rank 3 The character possesses 4-8 extra arms.

Rank 4 The character possesses 9-15 extra arms.

Rank 5 The character possesses 16-25 extra arms.

Rank 6 The character possesses 26-50 extra arms.

Extra Attacks

Cost: 8 Points/Rank

Relevant Ability: None

Progression: The character gains 1 extra attack each round/Rank

This Attribute reflects the character’s ability to use every combat situation to his or her benefit. Each round, the character may make one or more additional offensive actions at the character’s maximum Base Attack Bonus, provided that the attacks are all similar in nature (for example, all hand-to-hand, all ranged, etc.) Also, unless two or more opponents are very close together, armed or unarmed hand-to-hand attacks must target the same person. The GM must decide when the character can use his or her extra attacks. The suggested method spreads the actions roughly evenly over the character’s Initiative range. For example, if a character had three attacks and rolled an Initiative of 18, he or she would attack on Initiative numbers 18, 12, and 6. If the enemy rolls an Initiative of 20 and has 5 attacks (Extra Attacks Rank 4), he or she can attack on Initiative numbers 20, 16, 12, 8, and 4. This option has the advantage that it spreads actions over the entire combat round, but it involves the player paying closer attention to the Initiative numbers. Alternatively, the attacks may be carried out at the same time during the character’s single Initiative.

Extra Defences

Cost: 3 Points/Rank

Relevant Ability: None

Progression: The character gains 1 extra defence each round/Rank

This Attribute reflects the character’s ability to use every defensive combat situation to his or her benefit. Each round, the character may make one or more additional defensive or non-combat actions. Additionally, penalties for performing more than one defensive action each round only apply after the extra defences are used. For example, a -2 penalty is applied to the fifth defence for a character with Rank 3 Extra Defences.

Features

Cost: 1 Point/Rank

Relevant Ability: None

Progression: The character has 1 feature/Rank

The character possesses one or more secondary abilities that grant useful but mundane, non-combat related advantages. Features are typically possessed by non-humans and reflect various, minor biological or technological advantages.

Examples of racial features include homing instinct, longevity, moulting ability, a pouch, scent glands, secondary eyelids, etc. Examples of technological features suitable for building into cyborgs, robots, or androids include diagnostic equipment, gyrocompass, modem, radio, self-cleaning mechanism, etc. A wide range of other Attributes cover other more useful features such as gills, wings, fangs, and enhanced senses.

Flight

Cost: 2, 3, or 4 Points/Rank

Relevant Ability: Dexterity

Progression: Descriptive; see below

A character with Flight can fly through an atmosphere or in space (in space, he or she would still need protection from the environment). This is a common ability for non-humans, mecha, and people with paranormal powers. The method used to achieve flight can vary greatly: wings, propellers, rotors, rockets, anti-gravity, hot air, psionic levitation, magic, or some other technique.

Depending on the speed at which the character is moving, opponents may suffer a penalty to hit the character. A fast-moving character may have an attack penalty as well.

Flight costs 4 Points/Rank if the character can hover and fly at variable speeds, take off and land vertically, or stop in mid-air. This is the most common type of flight possessed by characters.

Flight costs 3 Points/Rank if the flyer cannot hover, but instead flies like a normal airplane. Thus, the character needs a smooth surface for landing and take off, and must maintain a minimum speed (at least 1/10 of its maximum speed) once airborne to avoid crashing.

Flight costs 2 Point/Rank if the flyer is either a Skimmer/Hovercraft or a Glider.

• Skimmer / Hovercraft

The character is limited to skimming no more than a yard or two off the ground or water. He or she may be riding on a cushion of air, magnetic lines of force, or even travelling along magical lines.

• Glider

The flyer can only become airborne if he or she launches from a high place (like a tree or rooftop) or from a fast-moving vehicle. Additionally, he or she can only gain speed by diving, or gain altitude by riding thermals.

Rank 1 The character can fly at speeds up to 10 mph (approximately 18 feet/round).

Rank 2 The character can fly at speeds up to 50 mph (approximately 90 feet/round).

Rank 3 The character can fly at speeds up to 100 mph.

Rank 4 The character can fly at speeds up to 500 mph.

Rank 5 The character can fly at speeds up to 1,000 mph.

Rank 6 The character can fly at speeds up to 5,000 mph.

Flunkies

Cost: 1 or 2 Points/Rank

Relevant Ability: Charisma

Progression: Descriptive; see below

Flunkies hang around the character doing whatever he or she wants and never ask for anything in return. They can provide a character with more free time (“Got some more homework for you, my faithful friend....”), can keep the character safe from danger (“Quickly! Interpose yourself between me and that rabid wolf....”), or can simply make the character’s life easier (“My shoe is untied. Fix it!”) Flunkies aim to please, even at their own expense. They are also known as groupies, stooges, or toadies.

For 1 Point/Rank, the Flunkies are not warriors; they may get in the way of an enemy, or fight in self-defence, but will not attack. For 2 Points/Rank, the Flunkies will take up arms at the request of their master. For specific talented and loyal battle-ready followers, see the Servant Attribute. Mercenaries who the character hires for specific tasks are not Flunkies, since they have their own agenda and expect compensation.

Individual Flunkies are NPCs. A character’s Flunkies normally have identical Abilities and Attributes, although Skills may vary. A character may have Flunkies with varied Abilities or Attributes, but each one with a different set of Abilities or Attributes counts as two Flunkies. A Flunky should be built on 20 Character Points (plus any Defects) and (2 + Int Modifier) x4 Skills. All Skills are cross-class for a Flunky.

Rank 1 The character controls 1 flunky.

Rank 2 The character controls 2 flunkies.

Rank 3 The character controls 3 or 4 flunkies.

Rank 4 The character controls 5 to 7 flunkies.

Rank 5 The character controls 8 to 12 flunkies.

Rank 6 The character controls 13 to 20 flunkies.

Force Field

Cost: 2, 3, or 4 Points/Rank

Relevant Ability: Wisdom

Progression: The Force Field reduces damage by 10 Points/Rank

A Force Field is an energy field around the character that protects against incoming attacks. Force Fields can represent magical barriers, telekinetic shields, or technological “screens” that protect mecha.

A typical anime Force Field is different from Armour, since it can be battered down by a sufficiently powerful attack. A Force Field can be “up” or “down.” When down, it does not stop any damage. Unless the Detectable Defect is assigned, an up Force Field is invisible. Force Field status must be determined at the start of the character’s actions for the round and cannot be changed until his or her turn to act in the next round.

Attack damage is first applied to the Force Field, with any additional penetrating damage applied against Armour (if any). Thus, if a weapon hit successfully penetrates a Force Field, the Armour Attribute can still protect against it. A Force Field can be reduced or even knocked down by a sufficiently powerful attack. If an attack does more damage than the Force Field prevents (even if the rest of the damage is absorbed by Armour), the Force Field temporarily loses one Rank of effectiveness. The character can only regain Ranks if the field is down and regenerating, unless the Regenerating Ability is assigned. A Force Field recovers one Rank every round it is turned off and not in operation (“down”). A Force Field that is knocked down to zero Ranks automatically shuts off to regenerate.

The cost is 4 Points/Rank if it is an area Force Field that is extendable to protect others nearby, 3 Points/Rank if it only protects the character, or 2 Points/Rank if it is a two-dimensional wall (up to 100 square feet) or shield that acts as a barrier. A wall can be projected out to a distance of up to 15 feet away from the character.

An extendable Force Field can be assumed to cover a diameter out to about 25% more than the character’s longest dimension (for example, the Force Field of a six-foot human would be about eight feet across). A wall is assumed to be about 100 square feet (such as a 10’x10’ wall), while an ordinary Force Field is form-fitting. All Fields will block anyone who is not Insubstantial at Rank 6 from moving through it. If a character with an extended Force Field also has Flight or Hyperflight, the GM may allow the character to carry other people who are inside the Force Field with him or her while flying.

A Force Field can be given additional customised Abilities or Disabilities. Each Ability taken reduces the protection provided by the Field by 10 Points, but gives it some special capability. Each Disability taken increases the protection of the Field by 10 Points but adds some sort of weakness.

Force Field Abilities

• Air-Tight

The Field prevents the passage of gas molecules. While this is a beneficial defence against toxic gas attacks, a character in the Field will eventually deplete all breathable oxygen.

• Blocks Incorporeal

The Field prevents the passage of astral or extra dimensional characters through it. It also stops characters currently using Rank 6 Insubstantial.

• Blocks Teleport

A character cannot teleport into or out of the Field. This is mostly useful only for extendable Force Fields or those that protect mecha. It cannot be used with the Shield Only Disability.

• Field-Penetrating

The Force Field can be used to interpenetrate other Force Fields while making attacks (or moving through them). If the character’s Field is in direct contact with an enemy Force Field, and can stop more damage than the foe’s, the enemy’s Field is neutralised and offers no protection against the character’s attack, but is still up. In the case of an extended Field or wall, the character can actually move through the Field.

• Offensive

The Field delivers a powerful electric or energy shock to anyone who touches it, inflicting 1d6 damage for every 10 damage the Force Field currently blocks. Consequently, the damage delivered by an Offensive Force Field decreases as the Field becomes damaged and is knocked down in Ranks of effectiveness.

• Regenerating

If the character uses one non-combat action to regenerate the Force Field, it regains one lost Rank of effectiveness. A character with the Extra Attacks Attribute can regenerate multiples Ranks each round.

Force Field Disabilities

• Both Directions

The Force Field blocks attacks moving in any direction, both inwards and outwards, thereby virtually preventing the user from attacking when the Force Field is up. This means that when the Force Field is active and the user makes an attack, the Force Field will affect their attack as it would an outside attacker’s (reducing the damage inflicted and going down in Ranks if its protection value is exceeded). This Disability cannot be used with the Shield Only Disability.

• Internal

The field is only usable inside a specific mecha or other structure. This can be used to represent a Field that protects a vital part of a mecha’s interior such as the power plant or dungeon cells, or a character who draws his or her personal Force Field’s energy from some sort of power source inside his or her headquarters.

• Limited

The field has a major or minor limitation. An example of a minor limitation would be a Force Field that is effective against ranged attacks but not melee, one that offers full-strength frontal and rear protection but only half-strength protection from above, or one that requires one minute to reach full strength. An example of a major limitation would be a Force Field that prevents the character from making any attacks during operation, one that is unstable in certain types of environments (such as sub-zero temperatures or near water), or one that only works against a very specific type of weapon (such as lasers). A minor limitation counts as one Disability, a major limitation as two Disabilities.

• Shield Only

This type of Field is one of the 2 Points/Rank versions. The Field does not entirely surround the character. Instead, it is a shield (maximum of about 1 yard in diameter) that the user must deliberately interpose between an attack using a Block Defence. The character must also possess the Combat Technique (Block Ranged Attacks) Attribute to us the Field in a Block Defence against ranged attacks. If the character successfully defends, the Force Shield provides protection as normal. This Disability cannot be used with the Block Teleport Ability or Both Directions Disability. It counts as two Disabilities.

• Static

The character cannot move when generating the Field. He or she may still attack or otherwise act, but must stay in one place (or continue to drift if floating through space, continue to fall if falling, etc.)

• Uses Energy

The Force Field drains Energy Points from the character. Upon activation, the Field burns a number of the character’s Energy Points equal to half the total Point cost of the Attribute. The same number of Energy Points are consumed each minute the Field is up. This is not available for Force Fields acquired with the Magic Attribute since they ordinarily burn Energy Points.

Healing

Cost: 4 Points/Rank

Relevant Ability: Wisdom

Progression: The character can restore up to 10 Hit Points/Rank to a target

This Attribute allows a character to heal a target’s injuries (including him or herself; for continuous healing, see the Regeneration Attribute). In anime, characters with healing power include holy individuals, psychic healers, and sorcerers, while mecha may be equipped with high-tech medical bays with similar abilities.

The maximum number of Hit Points that a Healer can restore to a particular person in any single day equals 10 per Rank. This cannot be exceeded, even if multiple healers work on a subject; the combined Hit Points restored cannot exceed the maximum Hit Points that the character with the highest Rank could restore. The subject must have at least a full day’s rest before he or she can benefit from any additional healing. Hit Points are restored over a 10-minute period, rather than instantly.

A character with Healing Rank 4+ can cause a subject to regenerate lost body parts or organs, such as a severed hand. One with Rank 5+ can restore massive damage, such as putting a character together who was literally cut in half. No healer can repair someone who was blown to bits, disintegrated, or dead for more than a few minutes, however.

A subject must normally be alive to benefit from Healing. A character with Healing Rank 3+ may, however, revive someone who is “clinically” dead (serious injury, heart stopped) but not actually brain dead. A character is considered “dead” if his or her Hit Points are reduced to a bigger negative number than the characters maximum Hit Points. A healer can revive a mortally wounded character, however, if he or she can bring the subject’s Hit Points back up from beneath the negative threshold to a positive value quickly. This grace period can be extended indefinitely if the subject’s remains have been somehow placed in suspended animation.

Heightened Awareness

Cost: 1 Point/Rank

Relevant Ability: Wisdom

Progression: The character gains a +2 bonus/Rank to specific Ability/Skill checks

The character possesses a high degree of situational awareness. He or she is usually very alert and receives a bonus on Ability and Skill checks relevant to noticing otherwise hidden things, such as concealed objects, ambushes, or anything else related to sensory awareness. The bonuses of Heightened Awareness are cumulative with those of Heightened Senses.

Heightened Senses

Cost: 1 Point/Rank

Relevant Ability: Wisdom

Progression: The character gains one heightened sense or technique/Rank

A character with Heightened Senses has one or more senses that have been sharpened to a superhuman level of acuity. It can represent either the preternatural sharpening of a specific sense honed by special training (such as a blind person’s trained sense of touch) or the enhanced senses of a paranormal or technologically augmented character. Additionally, several Ranks of Heightened Senses reflect the capabilities of sensors built into spaceships and other commercial or military vehicles. For each Rank of the Heightened Senses Attribute, the character will either gain one enhanced sense (Type I), one sense technique (Type II), or a combination of Type I and Type II senses. The character must make a successful Wisdom or relevant Skill check against an appropriate DC to detect and pinpoint a specific target within a large area (for example, to listen to a specific conversation thought the background noise of the city).

Type I

One of the character’s five senses — hearing, smell, vision, taste, or touch — is enhanced, and can operate over an area of several city blocks. The character may take the same sense twice, which doubles the effect and extends the area of detection. A character using a Heightened Sense has a +4 bonus (+8 if the sense was heightened twice) on Ability and relevant Skill checks that relate to using that sense to perceive things that someone with human-level senses might conceivably notice.

Type II

The character has one Heightened Sense technique, which extends beyond human capabilities. Examples of techniques include: darkvision, electric current detection; infravision; magnetic field detection; microscopic vision; radar sense; radio reception; sonar detection; ultrasonic hearing; ultravision; vibration detection; X-ray vision. Most techniques only work at short range, often requiring line of sight.

The Heightened Awareness Attribute allows a lower Rank of enhancement for all of a character’s senses.

Highly Skilled

Cost: 1 Point/Rank

Relevant Ability: Variable

Progression: The character gains an additional 4 Skill Points/Rank

A character with this Attribute is more experienced or better trained than an ordinary person, and as a result has more Skill Points than an average adult. Extending this Attribute beyond Rank 6 provides 4 additional Skill Points per Rank (for example, Rank 11 would provide a total of 44 Skill Points). Acquiring several Ranks of the Highly Skilled Attribute is the ideal method for creating a versatile character.

Hyperflight

Cost: 1 Points/Rank

Relevant Ability: Constitution

Progression: Descriptive; see below

This Attribute is intended for use in star-spanning campaigns, involving travel between solar systems or galaxies (or even planets at low Ranks). A character with Hyperflight can fly in the vacuum of space (but not in an atmosphere) between planets, starts, asteroids, solar systems, and galaxies, at speeds equal to or exceeding the speed of light. The player can determine whether this Attribute represents warp technology, jump point formation, or the breaking of known physical laws. The Flight Attribute is required to escape from the atmosphere and gravity of a planet similar to Earth. Without Flight, the character can only achieve Hyperflight speeds by taking off when already in space.

Rank 1 The character can travel at the speed of light.

Rank 2 The character can travel at 10 times the speed of light.

Rank 3 The character can travel at 100 times the speed of light.

Rank 4 The character can travel at 1,000 times the speed of light.

Rank 5 The character can travel at 10,000 times the speed of light.

Rank 6 The character can travel at 100,000 times the speed of light.

Immunity

Cost: 10 Points/Rank

Relevant Ability: Constitution

Progression: Descriptive; see below

With this Attribute, the character is completely immune to damage and adverse effects that stem from a particular weapon, element, application, or event. For example, a character with Rank 1 Immunity to silver cannot be hurt by silver weapons and will not feel pain if clubbed with a sack of silver dollars. Similarly, a character with Rank 4 Immunity to fire/heat could walk into the most intensive firestorm possible and emerge unscathed.

Rank 1 The Immunity plays a small role in the game. Typical examples include: weapons made from a rare substance (such as gold, silver, or adamantine); attacks from a specific opponent (such as a brother, single animal type, or oneself); under specific conditions (such as in water, one hour during the day, or at home).

Rank 2 The Immunity plays a moderate role in the game. Typical examples include: weapons made from an uncommon substance (such as wood, bronze, or iron); attacks from a broad opponent group (such as blood relatives, demons, or animals); under broad conditions (such as during the night, on weekends, or in holy places).

Rank 3 The Immunity plays a large role in the game. Typical examples include: electricity; cold; a specific weapon type (such as daggers, arrows, or rapiers).

Rank 4 The Immunity plays a major role in the game. Typical examples include: fire/heat; a broad weapon type (such as swords or clubs); mental attacks.

Rank 5 The Immunity plays an extreme role in the game. Typical examples include: gunfire (including forms of artillery); bladed weapons; unarmed attacks.

Rank 6 The Immunity plays a primal role in the game. Typical examples include: weapons; energy; blunt trauma.

Insubstantial

Cost: 3 Points/Rank

Relevant Ability: None

Progression: Descriptive; see below

Each Rank of this Attribute reduces a character’s density so much that he or she can pass through certain types of objects (including weapons) as though insubstantial. If a specific substance is not listed in Rank progression, the GM should use the entry that it most closely resembles. The density of the human body, for example, falls approximately at Rank 2 (water); consequently, a punch from an enemy would harmlessly pass through a character with Rank 3 Insubstantial. Characters with Rank 6 Insubstantial are effectively incorporeal and can pass through virtually anything, including most forms of energy.

Rank 1 The character can pass through paper and cloth.

Rank 2 The character can pass through wood and water.

Rank 3 The character can pass through concrete and earth.

Rank 4 The character can pass through iron and steel.

Rank 5 The character can pass through lead and gold .

Rank 6 The character can pass through energy.

Invisibility

Cost: 3 Points/Rank

Relevant Ability: None

Progression: The character is invisible to one sense or technique/Rank

This Attribute will completely hide the character from one or more senses or detection methods. The character may possess a supernatural concealment ability or a technological cloaking device, or have a psychic or magical talent that causes observers to overlook him or her. To represent partially invisibility, see the Sensory Block Attribute.

For each Invisibility Rank, the player selects one sense or technique to which the character is “invisible.” Senses include the human range for sight, hearing, taste, touch, or smell. Detection techniques include: astral; ethereal; infrared; mental; radar; radiation; sonar; spiritual; ultraviolet; vibration. The GM may decide that the most common forms of Invisibility — often sight and hearing — cost 2 Attribute slots rather than only 1.

While the character may not be detected using specific methods, indirect evidence can still reveal the character’s presence. For example, a character who is invisible to sight will still leave footprints in muddy ground. Similarly, a vase that is knocked from a table by a character who is invisible to sound will still make noise as it smashes on the floor.

In normal combat situations involving human or nearly human opponents, a character who is invisible to sight has a great advantage. Once the invisible character gives away his or her general position (for example, by firing a gun, attacking with a sword, or shouting) he or she can be attacked, but there is a -4 penalty for anyone within melee range and -8 for anyone at a greater distance. Heightened Awareness and Heightened Senses can reduce this penalty, as can the Blind-Fight or Blind-Shoot Feats. This penalty is halved if using an Area or Spreading Special Attack on the invisible character.

Item of Power

Cost: 3-4 Points/Rank

Relevant Ability: Usually none, but sometimes Wisdom

Progression: The item is built using 5 Character Points/Rank

This Attribute describes any exotic, portable item that directly enhances a character in some way (perhaps by conferring Attributes). An Item of Power represents advanced technology or a relic with paranormal powers. More ordinary but useful items (such as a sword or a medical kit) are covered by the Personal Gear Attribute. Special weapons that others can use are often designed with Item of Power, with Points allocated to the Special Attack Attribute.

Each item is built using up to 5 Character Points per Rank of the Item of Power Attribute, which can be used to assign other Attributes. For some character concepts, Items of Power above Rank 6 are not unreasonable. Assigning Defects to the item earns Bonus Points, which are used to acquire additional Attributes for the item. Defects that cannot usually be assigned include: Conditional Ownership, Ism, Marked, Nemesis, Owned, Red Tape, Significant Other, Skeleton in the Closet, and Wanted. Players selecting this Attribute must have a discussion with the GM to determine what abilities the Item of Power possesses and how it works. The player, with GM approval, may also create specific abilities for Items of Power using the Unique Attribute. An Item of Power may be combined with a mundane, minor, or major Gadget (such as a car that can fly, or a sword that can teleport people).

The item costs 4 Points/Rank if it is difficult for the character to misplace or for an enemy to steal/knock away, or it is almost always with the character. Examples include jewellery, frequently worn clothing, or equipment the character carries with them always. The item costs 3 Points/Rank if it is easier for the character to misplace or for an enemy to steal/knock away, or it is often distant from the character. Examples include thrown weapons, armour that is stored when not in use, and vehicles or equipment that stay at the character’s home until needed.

Additionally, the total Point cost (not cost per Rank) for the Item is increased by 1 if it can only be used by a small subset of individuals (Restricted Use). For example: only characters with a Strength above 18, only magicians, only members of a specific religion, or only goddesses. The total Point cost is increased by 2 if the Item can only be used by the character (Personal Use); this restriction cannot be reconfigured by someone with the Mechanical Genius Attribute.

Items that cannot be lost or stolen, such as objects that are implanted in or fused to the character’s body (often true for cyborgs), are not Items of Power. In these cases, the items are considered part of the character and thus the player should use Points to acquire the Attributes directly. If a character requires a specific object, or group of objects, to act as a focus when using one or more of his or her innate Attributes, the Special Requirement Defect applies instead of Item of Power.

Jumping

Cost: 1 Point/Rank

Relevant Ability: Strength

Progression: The character adds 20 to his or her Jump Skill each Rank

With this Attribute, the character can make very high, unaided vertical jumps but cannot actually fly. This ability is very appropriate for anime martial artists, bouncy non-human races like cat-people, and agile or jump-jet equipped robots or powered suits.

Magic

Cost: 4 Points/Rank

Relevant Ability: Intelligence

Progression: The character receives 10 Magic Points/Rank to acquire magical powers

This Attribute is rarely used in campaigns that also use the Dynamic Sorcery Attribute. Additionally, Magic does not compliment the traditional spell casting rules in most other d20 System games. If Anime d20 is being used with another d20 game, GMs may consider restricting access to the Magic Attribute.

A character with the Magic Attribute has the ability to manipulate arcane energies to produce a specific set of effects that seemingly defy physical laws. The player should define the character’s magical ability and establish a consistent theme for his or her powers. Themes that are common in anime include:

• Elemental magic such as mastery over traditional elements like wind, water, or fire, or less traditional “elements” like darkness, the moon, or even love.

• Spells or powers that involve contacting or controlling natural spirits (shamanism) or the dead (necromancy).

• Black magic, involving destructive forces or evil or negative energies.

• Magical powers with an exotic or whimsical theme such as a set of abilities whose “special effects” all relate to tarot cards, flowers, cats (“nekomancy”), or pretty much anything else.

• Psionic abilities that produce psychic effects such as Telepathy, Telekinesis, or Precognition; psi powers are normally assumed to be talents with which the character was born, although they may have required special training to awaken.

• Ki-based magic, where the character focuses his or her inner spirit through martial arts training to produce various exotic attacks and abilities.

• Divine powers granted by a deity to a priest, priestess or other holy individual.

• Legendary powers innate to a magical entity such as a fox spirit’s ability to change shape or possess people or the myriad powers of a vampire.

The GM may rule that only certain types of magic exist within his or her campaign setting and that all characters with a Magic Attribute should conform to them. For example, in a game aimed at simulating a particular “magical girl” show, any character with the Magic Attribute may be expected to emulate the way the magical powers work in the show. It is perfectly reasonable for a character to take the Magic Attribute multiple times to represent a character who has two or more different types of magic.

A character with the Magic Attribute receives 10 Magic Points per Rank of this Attribute. Magic Points may be used like Character Points to acquire individual Attributes. Attributes acquired using Magic Points are designated “Magical Powers” and represent the extent of the character’s magic. A Magical Power is used just like an ordinary Attribute, except each time the character uses it he or she must perform an invocation and expend Energy Points. This can represent casting a spell, concentrating on his or her inner ki, focusing a psychic power, etc.

Characters can acquire almost any Attributes as Magical Powers using their Magic Points with these exceptions: Dynamic Sorcery, Energy Bonus, Magic/Psionics, and perhaps Own a Big Mecha. The GM should exercise caution in allowing characters to acquire Highly Skilled or Organisational Ties, since either can be inappropriate or unbalancing. In addition, each Magical Power should be given its own descriptive name or special effects. Thus, while a Magical Power may be acquired as “Special Attack Rank 2,” on a character sheet it should be written down as “Lightning Bolt: Weapon Attack Rank 2,” etc.

An invocation normally involves a short verbal incantation or magic phrase combined with gestures, which should take one action; the character must be able to speak and have his or her hands free to perform it. (For ways to get around this, see Magic Options). If the power is an offensive one (such as Mind Control or Special Attack), the character can make his or her attack as part of the invocation.

Each invocation normally drains Energy Points from the character equal to one half (round up) the Magic Points that were spent to acquire that Rank of the Attribute. For example, acquiring the Elasticity Attribute at Rank 5 as a Magical Power, costs 10 Magic Points. Invoking the Elasticity Magical Power at Rank 5 drains 5 Energy Points from the character (10 ÷ 2 = 5). A character can choose to use a Magical Power as if it were acquired at a lower Rank to conserve Energy Points, however. Continuing the example, the character can use Elasticity at Rank 2 instead (even though it can be used at a maximum of Rank 5), which only drains 2 Energy Points.

If the Magical Power is an Attribute with instantaneous effects, such as Exorcism, Teleportation or Weapon Attack, the character must invoke the power anew (and spend Energy Points) each time he or she wishes to make use of it. If it has continuing effects (as in the case for most other Attributes), these effects will last for one minute; the character can maintain it for a greater duration by spending additional Energy Points equal to the Magic Point cost every minute. The Game Master can adjust this time up or down as necessary for his or her campaign. Maintaining a Magical Power requires no special concentration, but if the Power is not maintained it will cease to function and need to be invoked all over again in order to reactivate it.

Magic Options

A specific Magical Power may be further customised by assigning it one or more of the following Magic Options when the character’s powers are being designed. Note that a character may assign different Magic Options to each of his or her Magical Powers. All effects are cumulative.

• Focus

In order to invoke a Magical Power that was given the Focus option, the character requires a special tool. This may be a talisman, magic wand, or other device, or a set of exotic “spell components” such as the traditional eye of newt and wing of bat. A Magical Power that requires a Focus costs half as many Energy Points to invoke (round down). The Energy Points required to maintain the Magical Power are unaffected.

• Ritual

Invoking a Magical Power that has this option requires a special ceremony taking several minutes to several hours to perform (GM’s option), however, the Energy Points required to invoke the power and maintain it are halved (round down). If the character is interrupted during the Ritual or does anything other than concentrate on it, the Ritual fails and the character must begin again if he or she wishes to invoke the power. If a Ritual is interrupted at the last minute (when nearly complete) the GM may optionally have it go out of control, producing an undesirable or disastrous effect rather than simply fail. The GM may allow the magic-using character a Concentration Skill Check to avoid this. The magnitude of the disaster will depend on how powerful the Magical Power is and will usually be somehow related to what the character was trying to achieve.

• Silent

A Magical Power that has this option does not require magic words. A Silent Power costs twice as many Energy Points to invoke (but regular cost to maintain). This option is very common for innate or psychic powers.

• Still

A Magical Power that has this option does not require any gestures or motions. A Still Power costs twice as many Energy Points to invoke (but regular cost to maintain). Again, this option is very common for innate or psychic powers.

Massive Damage

Cost: 2 or 5 Points/Rank

Relevant Ability: None

Progression: Damage the character delivers is increased by 2 Points.

A character with the Massive Damage Attribute knows precisely how and where to hit any opponent in order to inflict incredible amounts of damage.

For 2 Points/Rank, additional damage is only inflicted when the character uses one specific weapon type, Special Attack, or method of attack; this attack is defined during character creation. For example, it might represent a special talent with a weapon (such as guns, blades, blunt weapons), knowledge of a particular martial arts technique, or ability with a specific Special Attack.

For 5 Points/Rank, this knowledge can be applied to all forms of physical combat including armed, unarmed, martial arts, and ranged weapons, as well as Special Attacks such as energy blasts, magical spells that inflict damage, or vehicle weapons.

Naturally, the character’s attack must be successful to inflict any damage. Physical strength is not the key to delivering massive damage in an attack; the ability to sense a weakness is far more important. The capacity of Massive Damage to augment any kind of attack makes it a very useful Attribute for a combat-oriented character.

Mechanical Genius

Cost: 2 Points/Rank

Relevant Ability: Intelligence

Progression: Descriptive; see below

The character has an innate knack for creating, modifying, and working with complex machines. Unlike someone who is merely well trained in a particular technical skill, a Mechanical Genius is a natural and is able to flip through a tech manual for an advanced technology in 30 seconds and figure out a way to repair the machine in an hour or so. Such characters often have high Ranks in Electronics and Mechanical Skills as well.

A character with this Attribute can also build new and modify existing gadgets at an astonishing rate, provided he or she has appropriate parts and facilities. In game terms, this means he or she can modify existing Personal Gear or technology-based Items of Power by exchanging Attributes and Defects, as long as the overall Point total is unchanged. A Mechanical Genius can also build Gear and Items of Power, but their creation requires the character to allocate the appropriate number of Character Points.

Alternatively, the GM may describe this Attribute as “Magical Genius,” that allows a character to modify magical Items of Power by exchanging Attributes and Defects.

Rank 1 The character can build/repair machines at 2 times normal speed.

Rank 2 The character can build/repair machines at 5 times normal speed.

Rank 3 The character can build/repair machines at 10 times normal speed.

Rank 4 The character can build/repair machines at 20 times normal speed.

Rank 5 The character can build/repair machines at 50 times normal speed.

Rank 6 The character can build/repair machines at 100 times normal speed.

Metamorphosis

Cost: 5 Points/Rank

Relevant Ability: None

Progression: Descriptive; see below

Physical transformations are a major part of Japanese folklore, and a common ability for supernatural anime creatures or individuals labouring under a curse. Technological transformations are also possible, such as the robot who can shed its human guise and sprout weapons pods and rocket engines. Sorcerers, witches, or demons may also know how to transform others, usually through powerful magic.

The Metamorphosis Attribute allows a character to transform a target into alternate forms by adding Attributes to, or adding/removing Defects from, the target character. The maximum duration of this change is dictated by the Attribute Rank. If the target character successfully makes a Fortitude save (DC 14 + Rank of Metamorphosis), the Metamorphosis attempt does not work. The GM may rule that Metamorphosis automatically fails if the subject’s new form could not survive in the present environment. Consequently, a character could turn an enemy into a goldfish, but the attempt would only work if the target was currently in water. This prevents this ability from being used as a quick way to instantly kill an opponent. Again, GMs may waive this restriction where appropriate (such as for a villain in a supernatural horror campaign). In order to transform him or herself, the character needs the Alternate Form Attribute.

For each Rank of Metamorphosis, the character can assign 1 Character Point to a target’s Attributes. This can either raise the target’s current Attribute Rank, or result in the target gaining a new power. Alternatively, for each Rank the character can add 3 Defect Bonus Points to, or remove 3 Defect Bonus Points from, a target. Cosmetic changes that confer no additional abilities on the target, but do not fall under the Marked Defect, are considered a 1 Bonus Point change total (for all changes). This includes: change of sex, 50% apparent age increase or decrease, colour changes (eye, skin, or hair), and minor physical changes (shape of ears, facial features, or bodily proportions).

Unless the GM indicates otherwise, Character Points gained through Metamorphosis can only be used to add Ranks to the following Attributes: Adaptation, Armour, Elasticity, Extra Arms, Features, Flight, Heightened Senses, Insubstantial, Jumping, Natural Weapons, Regeneration, Special Defence, Special Movement, Speed, Superstrength, Tunnelling, and Water Speed. Additionally, only the following Defects can be changed: Awkward Size, Diminutive, Ism, Less Capable, Marked, Not So Tough, Physical Impairment, Sensory Impairment, and Unappealing. Metamorphosis is not intended for transforming people into stone or other forms where they would be effectively immobilised. In order to do that, use the Special Attack Attribute with the Incapacitating Ability.

Rank 1 The character may change up to 1 Character Point or 3 Defect Points. The Metamorphosis lasts for 1 minute.

Rank 2 The character may change up to 2 Character Points or 6 Defect Points. The Metamorphosis lasts for 2 minutes.

Rank 3 The character may change up to 3 Character Points or 9 Defect Points. The Metamorphosis lasts for 5 minutes.

Rank 4 The character may change up to 4 Character Points or 12 Defect Points. The Metamorphosis lasts for 10 minutes.

Rank 5 The character may change up to 5 Character Points or 15 Defect Points. The Metamorphosis lasts for 30 minutes.

Rank 6 The character may change up to 6 Character Points or 18 Defect Points. The Metamorphosis lasts for 1 hour.

Mimic

Cost: 7 or 10 Points/Rank

Relevant Ability: Intelligence

Progression: Descriptive; see below

Upon a successful Power Usage: Mimic Skill check against a DC of 15 plus the Rank of the target Attribute or Skill, the character can temporarily mimic any Attribute or Skill Rank of any single target character within range. The Rank of Mimic equals the maximum Attribute Rank that can be mimicked (doubled to determine the maximum Skill Rank). The Rank of a mimicked Attribute/Skill only replaces the character’s corresponding Rank (if applicable) if it is higher; the character’s Attribute/Skill Rank cannot decrease through Mimic unless a specific Restriction is assigned.

Alternatively, upon a successful Power Usage: Mimic Skill check against a DC equal to the target Ability Score, the character can temporarily mimic any Ability Score of any single target character within range.

For 7 Points/Rank the character can only mimic one Attribute/Ability/Skill at any single time. For 10 Points/Rank, the character can mimic as many Attributes/Abilities/Skills simultaneously at the appropriate Ranks (as indicated) as he or she desires (each mimicked Attribute/Ability/Skill must be copied separately, each requiring a separate Skill check).

Rank 1 The character can mimic up to Rank 1 Attributes or Rank 2 Skills, at a range of 15 feet and a duration of 5 rounds.

Rank 2 The character can mimic up to Rank 2 Attributes or Rank 4 Skills, at a range of 30 feet and a duration of 1 minutes.

Rank 3 The character can mimic up to Rank 3 Attributes or Rank 6 Skills, at a range of 45 feet and a duration of 2 minutes.

Rank 4 The character can mimic up to Rank 4 Attributes or Rank 8 Skills, at a range of 60 feet and a duration of 4 minutes.

Rank 5 The character can mimic up to Rank 5 Attributes or Rank 10 Skills, at a range of 75 feet and a duration of 8 minutes.

Rank 6 The character can mimic up to Rank 6 Attributes or Rank 12 Skills, at a range of 90 feet and a duration of 16 minutes.

Mind Control

Cost: 3-6 Points/Rank

Relevant Ability: Wisdom

Progression: Descriptive; see below

This Attribute allows the character to mentally dominate other individuals. Sorcerers, some psionic adepts, and creatures with hypnotic Powers (such as many demons or vampires) are among those likely to have Mind Control.

Mind Control costs 6 Points/Rank if it can be used on any human or alien with an Intelligence of 3 or higher (animals are excluded). It costs 5 Points/Rank if it works on broad categories of humans (“any Japanese” or “any male,” for example). It costs 4 Points/Rank if the category is more specific and less useful (“Shinto priestesses” or “people obsessed with beauty”). Finally, it costs 3 Points/Rank if the category is very specific (members of the character’s family, or members of a specific military unit). The effects of Mind Control should be role-played. If necessary, the GM can take over the character, although it is more fun if the player (with GM guidance) continues to play the character.

Initiating Mind Control requires a full round. The character must successfully make a Power Usage: Mind Control Skill check (if attacking multiple targets, roll only once) against DC 10 plus the Intelligence modifier of the target (use the highest modifier if targeting multiple people). At Ranks 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9, the character receives a +1 bonus to his or her attempt to Mind Control a target. If the check is successful, the target must make a Willpower save against DC 10 plus the attacker’s Wisdom modifier plus the attacker’s Rank in Power Usage: Mind Control. When controlling a large number of people, an average Will save for the entire group could be used. At Ranks 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10, the target also receives a -1 penalty when attempting to defend against Mind Control (or when trying to break established contact). At Rank 7, for instance, the character gains a +4 bonus while the target suffers a -3 penalty. A character needs to defeat an opponent in Mind Combat to toy with the target’s emotions (for example, giving the opponent new fears or a prejudice).

Once Mind Control is established, it remains in effect until the dominating character willingly relinquishes control, or until the target breaks free from the control. A target may attempt to break control under two circumstances: whenever he or she is given a command that conflicts with the nature of the character, and whenever the GM deems it appropriate for dramatic effect. To sever the connection, the target must make a successful Willpower save against DC 10 plus the attacker’s Intelligence modifier and Power Usage: Mind Control Skill Rank plus the modifiers based on the controller’s Mind Control Rank.

Against Target’s Nature

If a Mind Controlled target is commanded to perform an action that he or she would not willingly do under normal circumstances, the target can attempt to break control. Additionally, the target may receive a bonus if the action goes against his or her nature. The more distasteful the target finds the command, the greater the bonus. For mildly distasteful actions (such as licking an enemy’s boots), no bonus is given. For highly distasteful or undesirable actions (such as stealing from an ally), a +4 bonus is given. Finally, for exceptionally distasteful or undesirable actions (such as attacking an ally), a +8 bonus is given. Note that these bonuses are cumulative with penalties associated with the controlling character’s Mind Control Rank.

When the GM Deems Appropriate

If the character commands his or her target to perform a number of mundane activities (clean the house, fetching a drink of water, etc.), the GM may decide the target does not receive an opportunity to break established control. Even a seemingly inoffensive command such as “sit in the closet” or “go to sleep,” however, may have a drastic impact on the lives of others if a bomb is about to explode in the shrine or the target is piloting a mecha at the time. In these instances, the GM may give the target a chance to break free of the Mind Control even if the target does not regard a command as dangerous or distasteful (which would present an opportunity to end the control). This option puts the GM in direct control of the situation, which will benefit the campaign. Naturally, the GM can also apply modifiers to the save attempt that are cumulative with penalties associated with the controlling character’s Mind Control Rank.

A character need not control every thought and action of his or her victims but can allow them to live normal lives until they are needed; these targets are known as “sleepers.” Additionally, people who have been Mind Controlled will not usually remember events that occurred during the time period they are controlled and will have a gap in their memories.

The GM may allow a character to temporarily boost his or her Mind Control Attribute by one or two Ranks against a single individual who is his or her captive by “working” on the subject for a day or more. This bonus can represent concentrated brainwashing techniques or dedicated study of a subject.

Player Characters should only be placed under Mind Control for extended periods of time in exceptional circumstances.

Rank 1 The character can control the mind of 1 target for a duration of several minutes.

Rank 2 The character can control the minds of 2-3 targets for a duration of several hours.

Rank 3 The character can control the minds of 4-8 targets for a duration of several days.

Rank 4 The character can control the minds of 9-15 targets for a duration of several weeks.

Rank 5 The character can control the minds of 16-25 targets for a duration of several months.

Rank 6 The character can control the minds of 26-50 targets for a duration of several years.

Mind Shield

Cost: 1 Point/Rank

Relevant Ability: Wisdom

Progression: The character gains a +2/Rank for Willpower saves involving mind invasion

A character with Mind Shield is protected against psychic intrusion. This may be a reflection of his or her own psychic abilities, a protective spell, special training, or some innate ability. A character with Mind Shield can detect and block attempts to read his or her mind by a character with Telepathy of equal or lower Rank to the Mind Shield. The character may also add the twice the Rank of Mind Shield to his or her Will save (as appropriate) when defending against a Mind Control attempt, telepathic Mind Combat, or a Special Attack with the Mind or Soul Attack Ability.

Natural Weapons

Cost: 1 Point/Rank

Relevant Ability: None

Progression: The character gains 1 Natural Weapon/Rank

The character has one or more relatively mundane natural weapons, such as sharp teeth, claws, tentacles, etc. Natural weapons are normally possessed by animals, monsters, and similar characters, but could also represent technological capabilities that mimic such abilities such as an android or cyborg with retractable claws. More powerful Natural Weapons can be designed using the Special Attack Attribute, with the Melee Disability.

The character possesses one such attack form per Rank. Possessing more than one such natural weapon gives the character a wider variety of attack forms.

Hands, feet, a heavy tail, ordinary teeth, or hooves are not normally counted as Natural Weapons since they are (relatively) blunt; and thus inflict usual Unarmed damage.

• Claws or Spikes

The character possesses sharp talons or spikes on his or her fingers, paws, or feet. In addition to regular damage, the claws inflict 1d4 additional damage when used in melee combat. This attack uses the Unarmed Attack (Strikes) Skill.

• Fangs, Beak, or Mandibles

The character has very sharp teeth, or alternatively, a beak or insect-like mandibles. This natural weapon inflicts only 2 damage above normal damage in melee combat, but a successful strike that penetrates Armour gives the character the option to maintain a biting grip and continue to inflict equivalent damage in subsequent rounds. These additional attacks are automatically successful, but the opponent can break the hold with a successful Strength check. While the attacker is maintaining a biting grip, his or her own ability to defend is impeded: the attacker cannot use weapons to defend, and suffers a -4 AC penalty against any attack. This attack uses the Unarmed Attack (Bites) Skill.

• Horns

These are large horns for butting or stabbing. Horns add 2 extra damage to normal damage in melee combat but are exceptionally effective if the character charges into battle. If the character wins Initiative against an opponent and has room for a running start, he or she can lower his or her head and charge. A successful attack will deliver normal attack damage, plus 1d6 (rather than the normal +2). If a charge fails to connect, the charging character will be off balance and suffers a -2 penalty to his or her AC for the remainder of the round and a -4 Initiative roll penalty on the following combat round. This attack uses the Unarmed Attack (Strikes) Skill.

• Spines

The character is covered in nasty spikes, quills, or sharp scales. Anyone who wrestles with the character automatically suffers 2 damage each round. This damage is in addition to any attack damage delivered. During these struggles, the opponent’s clothes will also be ripped and shredded unless they are armoured.

• Tail Striker

If the character has a combat-ready tail, it can be equipped with spikes, a stinger, or other similarly nasty weapon. The attack inflicts an additional 2 damage (in addition to normal damage). Upon a successful attack, the target must make a Dexterity check or suffer a -4 Initiative penalty the following combat round (the target is off balance). This attack uses the Unarmed Attack (Strikes) Skill.

• Tentacles

One or more of the character’s limbs — or possibly his or her hair — are actually tentacles. A character with tentacles gains a +2 bonus to his or her Unarmed Attack and Unarmed Defence Skill Rank when engaged in a wrestling attack or defending against one. Tentacles are also difficult to avoid in combat (opponent suffers a -1 AC penalty).

Organisational Ties

Cost: 1-3 Points/Rank

Relevant Ability: Charisma

Progression: Descriptive; see below

Organisational Ties represents a character’s close relationship with a hierarchy of some sort that grants him or her access to respect and privileges. Monetary advantages are usually covered by the Wealth Attribute, while access to special equipment may be represented by the Personal Gear Attribute. Examples of organisations include the feudal system, powerful corporations, organised crime rings, secret guilds and societies, governmental positions, military organisations, and some religions. For campaigns in which all players belong to the same organised group, the GM may decide that Organisational Ties are not required. Consequently, this Attribute is optional; the GM may prefer to treat organisation membership as a background detail instead.

The value of Organisational Ties depends on its importance in the setting. An organisation that exerts moderate power within the setting is worth 1 Point/Rank, one that has significant power costs 2 Points/Rank, and one that has great power in the setting costs 3 Points/Rank. Players should not assign this Attribute to represent organisations that have very little power. The GM determines the extent of the organisation’s influence. In a high school comedy campaign, the school’s autocratic Student Council might wield “significant power,” while in most other settings it would be completely trivial and not worth any Points. Similarly, a criminal organisation like the Mafia or Yakuza might count as “great power” (3 Points/Rank) in a traditional low-powered game set in modern times, but merely as “moderate power” (1 Point/Rank) in a high-powered magical girl campaign.

Normal organisations should be limited to a geopolitical area, such as a single country. Global organisations, or those that span multiple geopolitical areas, function at 1 Rank lower. Multi-planetary organisations function at 2 Ranks lower, while multi-galaxy organisations function at 3 Ranks lower. For example, the president of a global megacorporation needs to assign Rank 6 to gain access to the Controlling Rank category (1 Rank lower). Similarly, a character who has Senior Rank in a universe-wide military organisation should have Rank 7 Organisational Ties (3 Ranks lower). Some organisations may be ostensibly limited to a single country, but the higher ranks still have global or multi-planetary influence. For example, the President of the United States is a Controlling Rank (Rank 6). Since the US has great influence across the world, however, the position would be Rank 7 (as if it was a global organisation).

These far-ranging organisation positions are only relevant, however, if the character can actually gain access to the resources of all branches of the group. If an Earth character is Connected to a multi-planetary police organisation, for instance, but can only interact with and be influenced by the Earth chapter of the organisation, the group is only considered to be a global organisation (1 Rank lower) for that character. The group is not categorised as multi-planetary (2 Rank lower), since the extensive resource benefits normally associated with an organisation that size are not available to the character.

Rank 1 The character is connected to the organisation and can rely on it for occasional support and favours (and expect to be called on in return).

Rank 2 The character has respected status in an organisation such as a landed knight in the feudal system, a junior executive in a corporation, a city council member, or a Mafia “Wise Guy” in an organised crime family. The organisation brings the character status and some wealth.

Rank 3 The character has middle rank in an organisation such as a corporate vice president in charge of a department, a lesser feudal lord with a castle and lands, or a Mafia “captain” who runs a neighbourhood, or a junior congressman or member of parliament.

Rank 4 The character has senior rank in an organisation, such as the senior vice-president of a large corporation, a high-ranking officer in the JSDF, or a US senator.

Rank 5 The character has controlling rank in an organisation, such as the president of a megacorp, the boss of a large crime family, or a US state governor.

Rank 6 The character has a controlling rank that spans multiple organisations, such as the ruler of a small nation, or “boss of bosses” of many different crime families.

Own a Big Mecha (OBM)

Cost: 8 Points/Rank

Relevant Ability: None

Progression: Descriptive; see below

A mecha is a vehicle or construct of some sort such as a giant robot, spaceship, tank, submarine, sports car, motorcycle, helicopter, powered armour suit. Piloting is usually done from a cockpit inside the mecha, though lower-technology or “retro” mecha may be operated from the outside or via remote control. The mecha’s aptitude for combat is determined by the pilot character’s ability.

Mecha often appear in modern or future settings, but they can also be pre-modern such as sailing ships or science-fantasy gear like magical clockwork golems. “Mecha” that characters do not ride, pilot, occupy, or wear, such as robot companions, are best acquired through the Flunkies or Servant Attributes.

The basic capabilities of the mecha are outlined in the Rank progression chart. The exact details regarding the mecha’s form, function, storage, and design are up to the player. With GM permission, a player can modify his or her character’s mecha from this baseline by assigning Attributes and Defects to the mecha rather than the character. The Character Points associated with Attributes, and Bonus Points associated with Defects, assigned in this way are divided by two to determine the actual cost. For example, adding a Force Field (4 Points/Rank) to the mecha would cost only 2 Points/Rank. Similarly, adding a 2 Bonus Point Defect to the mecha would only return 1 Bonus Point to the character. The GM has final approval over all mecha modifications.

Rank 1 The character owns a weak mecha with: 2d8 Hit Points, 4 Armour, 2 arms, top speed of 30 mph, 2d6 damage in unarmed melee combat, and Rank 1 Special Attack.

Rank 2 The character owns a average mecha with: 4d8 Hit Points, 8 Armour, 2 arms, top speed of 60 mph, 4d6 damage in unarmed melee combat, and Rank 2 Special Attack.

Rank 3 The character owns a strong mecha with: 6d8 Hit Points, 12 Armour, 2 arms, top speed of 100 mph, 6d6 damage in unarmed melee combat, and Rank 3 Special Attack.

Rank 4 The character owns a powerful mecha with: 8d8 Hit Points, 16 Armour, 2 arms, top speed of 300 mph, 8d6 damage in unarmed melee combat, and Rank 4 Special Attack.

Rank 5 The character owns a very powerful mecha with: 10d8 Hit Points, 20 Armour, 2 arms, top speed of 600 mph, 10d6 damage in unarmed melee combat, and Rank 5 Special Attack.

Rank 6 The character owns a extraordinarily powerful mecha with: 12d8 Hit Points, 24 Armour, 2 arms, top speed of 1000 mph, 12d6 damage in unarmed melee combat, and Rank 6 Special Attack.

Anime d20 and d20 Mecha

If you want an even more detailed and customisable version of Own a Big Mecha, our d20 Mecha (#02-601) book is exactly what you are looking for. Each rank of Own a Big Mecha gives you 400 Mecha Points with which you can build your machine.

Personal Gear

Cost: 2 Points/Rank

Relevant Ability: None

Progression: The character gains 1 major and 4 minor items of Personal Gear/Rank

The Personal Gear Attribute represents a character’s access to useful equipment. Characters do not need to spend Character Points for items that are legal, inexpensive, and mundane in the campaign setting (such as clothing, a backpack, a knife, or consumer goods). GMs may require players to allot Points to this Attribute, however, if their characters will begin the game with numerous pieces of equipment to which the average person might not have easy access such as weapons, body armour, or specialised professional equipment. The GM may give starting players a weapon of choice and a few other inexpensive items for free.

Personal Gear cannot include magic items, secret prototypes, or technology more advanced than what is standard in the setting. It can include common civilian vehicles appropriate to the setting (for example, a car, truck, light airplane, or motorbike in the present day; perhaps a horse for fantasy campaigns). For less common or more expensive mecha, see Own a Big Mecha Attribute. The GM always has the final say on whether or not an item is available to the characters. Some examples of Personal Gear can be found in Chapter 12: Combat; the GM can create the statistics of other items.

Although characters may have items that are owned by the organisations to which they belong, they still must acquire these items as Personal Gear if they will make regular use of them (though the Conditional Ownership Defect may apply). Thus, a police officer would use Gear for a pistol, police car, or handcuffs, although these items are property of the police department. This rule is intended mainly for play balance and, naturally, the GM has final say on this issue.

Each Rank in this Attribute permits the character to take one major and four minor items. Alternatively, the character can exchange one major item for four minor items, or vice versa. Use these guidelines to differentiate between major and minor items:

• Minor

The item is somewhat hard to get, or rather expensive. It is something available in a shop or store or from a skilled artisan, but it costs as much as an average person’s monthly wage. Alternatively, the Gear can be less expensive but needs a license or black market contact to acquire. Non-standard items that modify or improve other items of Gear, but are not functional by themselves (for example, a scope for a rifle, silencer for a pistol, or supercharged engine for an automobile) are also minor items of Gear.

Modern examples of minor items include weapon and vehicle modifications, handguns, premium medical kits, night vision goggles, full camping gear, burglary tools, expensive tool kits, and personal computers. Ancient or medieval examples include swords, longbows, crossbows, shields, lightweight armour (such as leather or a light mail shirt), lock picks, poisons, or a mule. Gear must be appropriate to the world setting — a pistol is a minor item in a modern-day or future setting, but an Item of Power in a medieval fantasy game!

• Major

The gear is usually illegal for civilians, but it may be issued to an elite law enforcement agency, an average soldier, or a government spy may be issued. Modern-day examples of major items include machine guns, tactical armour, and grenade launchers. Major gear items can also include quite expensive but commercially available equipment such as a science lab, workshop, car, or motorbike. The GM can rule that an occasional, very expensive item (for example, an airplane or semi truck) counts as two or more major items of Gear. Ancient or medieval examples of major items include a full suit of chain or plate armour, a cavalry horse, a smith’s forge, an alchemist’s lab, or a wagon and team of draft animals.

• Mundane

Items that are easy to acquire, legal, and inexpensive count as “mundane items” and do not count as Personal Gear unless taken in quantity (GM’s option). For example, “a complete tool box” would be a single a minor item; a single wrench is mundane.

Pet Monster

Cost: 6 Points/Rank

Relevant Ability: None

Progression: The character owns one or more pet monsters, constructed from 20 Character Points plus 20/Rank

A Pet Monster is the ultimate friend and servant, ready to perform nearly any task for its master. Unlike a Servant, Pet Monsters have few desires beyond pleasing their master and rarely disobey orders. Frequently, Pet Monsters fight in gladiatorial combats for their owners’ glory since they eager to please (and are usually more powerful than their owners as well). For other types of companions, see the Servant Attribute.

A Pet Monster is a 1st Level Adventurer, created with his or her own Ability Scores, Attributes, Defects, and Skills as normal but with only 20 Discretionary Character Points. Each Rank of the Pet Monster Attribute also gives the player 20 additional Character Points to add to the Pet Monster (for example, 40 Points at Rank 1, 60 Points at Rank 2, etc.). Pet Monsters do not gain Experience Points themselves and never progress in class beyond Level 1, though; instead, a Pet Monster gets more powerful when its owner advances in Rank in the Pet Monster Attribute and gives his or her pet more Character Points (to acquire Feats, Attributes, Skills, etc.). The Pet Monster may not have the Pet Monster Attributes, and some relationship-based Defects should not be assigned due to its innate role as a character’s pet. Thus, it is inappropriate for a Pet Monster to have the following Defects: Owned, Red Tape, or Significant Other.

If creating more than one monster (for populating a monster farm or ranch), the character can divide the Pet Monster Points amongst them in any way he or she desires. Each new Pet Monster added is created as a 1st Level Adventurer as normal with 20 Discretionary Character Points. If the GM wishes to encourage players to own multiple Pet Monsters instead of just one, the Rank Progression could be changed from “+20 Character Points/Rank” to “+15 Points/Rank +5 Points added to each Pet Monster.” For example, if a character with six Pet Monsters increases from Rank 3 to Rank 4 in this Attribute, each Pet Monster gains an additional 5 Points and the player has 15 more Points to divide amongst the six pets as he or she sees fit.

In addition to Character Point assignment, players should consider the following five aspects for his or her character’s Pet Monster:

• What is its name? Make sure it’s a cute name.

• What does the Pet Monster look like? Make sure it’s cute.

• What species is it? Common species types include: aquatic, beast, bird, bug, dragon/reptile, eyeball, gerbil/rodent, golem, metamorph, slime, spirit, and veggie.

• From what elemental force does the Pet Monster derive its powers? Common elements include: celestial, darkness, death, earth, electricity, fire, gas, ice, light, metal, psionics, sonic, water, and wind.

• How is the Pet Monster stored when not in use? All Pet Monsters come with their own device for free, which may include an electronic toy, a magical pocket ball, or an extra dimensional gadget. When the owner needs the Pet Monster, he or she summons them from the device, most commonly with a command phrase.

Experience Point Pet Monster Advancement

Rather than increasing the Pet Monster’s point total to reflect advancement, players and GMs may wish to advance pet monsters as Adventurers.

The Pet Monster begins play as a 1st Level Adventurer and gains Experience Points at the same pace as the character. If a character has multiple Pet Monsters, the XP award is divided amongst the monsters (assigning the most XP to those monsters that saw the most action in the adventure).

If the character increases his or her Rank in the Pet Monster Attribute, the Monster gains the additional points as normal, reflecting additional power, not additional experience. Using this method, however, player’s should ignore the “Pet Monster +1” gained from character advancement for the Pet Monster Trainer class — the XP advancement gained through adventuring reflects the increased ability of the monsters.

Place of Power

Cost: 1 Point/Rank

Relevant Ability: None

Progression: Descriptive; see below

A Place of Power is a home base or lair that is infused with magical or holy energies. It might be a shrine, magical circle, a sacrificial altar, a ring of standing stones or something less traditional. The place usually radiates good or evil energy, and a nearby character with an appropriate Sixth Sense can detect its presence.

While within his or her Place of Power, the character alone can perform activities using either Dynamic Sorcery or Magic more easily. The Place of Power has a pool of 10 Energy Points for each Rank of this Attribute. While the character is standing somewhere within the Place of Power, he or she can draw on these Energy Points as if they were the character’s own. Once used, the Energy Points replenish at a rate of 1 Energy Point for each Rank of the Place of Power Attribute per hour.

Several characters may share the same Place of Power. While this option does not reduce the Attribute’s cost, it can provide greater convenience. Each character sharing the Power has his or her own source of additional Energy Points.

At the GM’s discretion, a Place of Power may also offer additional advantages. In particular, one usually exerts a subtle, long-term, emotional influence on people who live in or near it, which may be positive if the owner of the Place of Power is a good person or negative if he or she is an evil one. In addition, individuals born or raised in a Place of Power are more likely to develop supernatural abilities.

Rank 1 The Place of Power is the size of a small rug and provides 10 Energy Points.

Rank 2 The Place of Power is the size of a small room and provides 20 Energy Points.

Rank 3 The Place of Power is the size of a large room and provides 30 Energy Points.

Rank 4 The Place of Power is the size of a house and provides 40 Energy Points.

Rank 5 The Place of Power is the size of a city block and provides 50 Energy Points

Rank 6 The Place of Power is the size of several city blocks and provides 60 Energy Points.

Pocket Dimension

Cost: 2, 3 or 4 Points/Rank

Relevant Ability: Wisdom

Progression: Descriptive; see below

This Attribute allows the opening of a hole or doorway — a portal — into another dimension. In anime, this power is sometimes possessed by demons or even vampires, or, in Western myth, by fairies. Mages often create dimensional portals leading from closets or doors into other places. In less serious games, Pocket Dimension can also represent the ability some characters have to suddenly produce big items (like huge hammers or swords) seemingly out of nowhere. A Pocket Dimension could also represent an object that is simply bigger on the inside than on the outside.

The Rank of Pocket Dimension determines the maximum size of the dimension. The environment and furnishings of the dimension are up to the player within the GM’s limitations; extensive furnishings should be acquired as Personal Gear. A dimension could even be partially unexplored or dangerous territory, providing adventuring opportunities to the characters.

The cost of Pocket Dimension is 2 Points/Rank if it is limited to a single fixed portal (such as a house closet), 3 Points/Rank if the portal is in a mobile location (such as inside a vehicle, or attached to an item), or 4 Points/Rank if the character can use a particular class of objects as a portal (such as “any mirror” or “any pool of water”).

A character with this ability at 2 or 3 Points/Rank cannot create new portals leading out of the dimension; he or she may only leave by the one that was entered. A character can usually only have a single portal opened to his or her dimension at a time, but additional apertures to the same dimension may be possessed for 1 extra Character Point each. At the 4 Points/Rank version, the character can leave the Pocket Dimension through any other appropriate exit within 1 mile times the Rank (for example, within a 6 mile radius for Rank 6); the character is not required to leave through the same one he or she entered.

Once opened, a portal can stay open for as long as the creator is in the dimension. The creator may also be able to “leave the door open” if he or she wishes to allow individuals to enter or leave while the creator is not present within the dimensional pocket.

Pocket Dimensions may optionally be designated as only one-way, restricting access in or out until the character or machine maintaining them is destroyed, or some other condition is fulfilled. This Attribute may be taken multiple times to give access to multiple different dimensions. If so, it may be taken at different Ranks for each individual dimension.

Using Pocket Dimension Offensively

Some characters may have the exotic ability of being able to suck or warp unwilling targets into their alternate dimension (at the 3 or 4 Points/Rank version only). To indicate this, assign the Pocket Dimension Attribute and think acquire the Special Attack Attribute with the Linked (Pocket Dimension) Ability.

Characters who have an ability to travel between dimensions should possess the Dimension Hop Special Movement Attribute.

Rank 1 The dimension can be as large as a closet.

Rank 2 The dimension can be as large as a room.

Rank 3 The dimension can be as large as a house.

Rank 4 The dimension can be as large as a city block.

Rank 5 The dimension can be the size of an entire village.

Rank 6 The dimension can be the size of an entire city (or even larger).

Power Defence

Cost: 1 Point/Rank

Relevant Ability: Variable

Progression: The character reduces the DC of saving throws related to the defensive use of an Attribute by 1/Rank

Power Defence is acquired in conjunction with another Attribute not normally used for defence (Attribute must be defined when Power Defence is assigned). Power Defence allows a character to use the other Attribute to defend against attacks, possibly avoiding all damage entirely. The character must make a save (as appropriate for the situation or Attribute) with a bonus of +1 per Power Defence Rank against a DC equal to the attacker’s final to hit roll result. If successful, the character activates his or her Attribute in time to defend against the attack and avoids all damage (and effects) from the attack. The player should consult with the Game Master to determine which Attributes are appropriate for a Power Defence.

A character may only attempt one Power Defence each round unless he or she also possesses the Extra Defences Attribute, in which case he or she may sacrifice one extra defence to attempt an additionally Power Defence (the two may not be used in conjunction, through).

Characters must assign this Attribute once for each Attribute they wish to use defensively.

Projection

Cost: 1 to 4 Points/Rank

Relevant Ability: Intelligence

Progression: Descriptive; see below

The character can projected images that fools one or more senses. The Projection cannot be touched because it is not substantial. Closer inspection will usually reveal the Projection for what it is, which may cause it to disappear (GM’s discretion). The GM may require a Will save to “see through” a Projection against a DC equal to: 10 plus the projector’s Wisdom modifier plus the projector’s Rank in Power Usage: Projection.

A Projection may be of a particular object or entity, or of a complete scene (such as a furnished room or crowd). It may also be thrown over an existing person, scene, or object to make it appear different than it really is. A Projection that is untended is normally static, either remaining in one place or (if created over something) moving as the underlying object or entity moves. To give a Projection the semblance of independent activity (such as a projected image of a person who moves and speaks), the character must actively concentrate on manipulating the Projection, and perform no other actions.

For 1 Point/Rank the character can create Projections that can be detected by one sense, usually sight (sense must be determined during character creation). For 2 Points/Rank the Projections can be detected by two senses, usually sight and hearing. For 3 Points/Rank the Projections can be detected by three senses. For 4 Points/Rank the Projections can be detected by all senses. No matter how realistic the Projections, however, they can never cause physical sensations intense enough to inflict pain or damage. An image of a roaring fire may feel hot, and a character may believe that he or she is burning, but the fire cannot actually deliver damage. To create Projections capable of injuring targets, the character should possess a Special Attack Attribute which is tied to the Illusion Attribute through the Dependent Defect.

A character can normally maintain only a single Projection at a time. To be able to maintain multiple Projections at once costs the character an extra 1 Point for every distinct Projection the character can sustain simultaneously after the first. Thus, “Projection Rank 3 (one sense, four Projections)” would cost six Points: three Points for Rank 3 (one sense) and three more Points for being able to sustain four Projections at a time. The GM can assume that a group of objects or entities in close proximity, such as a furnished room, a swarm of insects, or a horde of charging warriors, counts as a single Projection rather than several. If a character is already sustaining his or her maximum number of Projections and wishes to create another one, an existing Projection must first be dispelled.

In order for the character to create a convincing Projections of something complex, the GM may require a Power Usage: Projection Skill check against an appropriate DC. The GM can adjust the DC depending on how familiar or unfamiliar the character is with the scene that is being simulated. The GM may also give the character a +1 bonus for every Rank he or she has in excess of the minimum Rank needed to create the Projection. For example, if a character with Projection Rank 5 decides to create a merely human-sized Projection (which needs only Rank 1), a +4 bonus applies. If the roll fails, the character’s Projection has some subtle flaw in it; the character creating it may not be aware of this until someone else points it out, however.

Rank 1 The character can an create small illusions, about the size of a single person.

Rank 2 The character can create medium illusions, large enough for an entire room, or a large object like a car or elephant.

Rank 3 The character can create large illusions that can cover a house-sized area.

Rank 4 The character can create very large illusions that can cover an entire neighbourhood (or a few hundred square yards).

Rank 5 The character can create huge illusions that cover a village-sized area.

Rank 6 The character can create great illusions that can cover a town-sized area.

Regeneration

Cost: 4 Points/Rank

Relevant Ability: None

Progression: The character can regenerate 1 Hit Point each round/Rank

Characters with this Attribute automatically heal their own injuries, whether the characters are awake, asleep, or unconscious. The character’s Hit Points cannot exceed their original total. At higher Healing Ranks, the character’s body will revive itself if “clinically” dead but not actually brain-dead (Rank 3+), repair massive trauma such as lost limbs or organs (Rank 6+), or restore the character if cut into several pieces (Rank 6+). The body cannot repair itself if it is blown to bits or disintegrated, however.

Reincarnation

Cost: 2 or 4 Points/Rank

Relevant Ability: None

Progression: Descriptive; see below

If the character is destroyed, some of his or her essence may still survive. This may be in spiritual or digital form, or it may be something that must be retrieved from the corpse. A robot whose memory can be copied or uploaded, a creature that leaves an egg in its body upon death, or an undead monster that will reform a few minutes, hours, or days after its apparent death are all examples of this. If this remnant can be salvaged or otherwise recovered, in a matter of days or weeks and with proper care, it will develop a new body similar to the original. A reincarnated character usually starts with 1 Hit Point.

Reincarnation can be prevented in some way. This may be as simple as burning, blowing up, or dismembering a body, or as obscure as requiring a special ritual. For 2 Points/Rank, the Reincarnation is easy to stop; for 4 Points/Rank, the Reincarnation is difficult to stop. The GM and player must work together to determine the parameters involved in preventing the rebirth.

Rank 1 The reincarnation occurs within a few weeks.

Rank 2 The reincarnation occurs within a few days.

Rank 3 The reincarnation occurs within a single day.

Rank 4 The reincarnation occurs within a few hours.

Rank 5 The reincarnation occurs within a single hour.

Rank 6 The reincarnation occurs within a few minutes.

Rejuvenation

Cost: 1 Point/Rank

Relevant Ability: Wisdom

Progression: Under specific conditions, the character instantly regain 5 Hit Points or Energy Points/Rank

Characters with this Attribute can focus on their adrenaline rush and internal reserves to restore lost Hit Points or Energy Points. Rejuvenation can only take place under certain circumstances (like a crowd getting behind a wrestler, a sound that triggers a certain memory or the presence of a master, or a dashing knight inspiring a magical girl) and can happen only once in a scene. The GM and player should work together to determine when Rejuvenation can occur. Rejuvenation requires one combat round, during which the character can only dodge or avoid attacks. Neither Hit Points nor Energy Points can be raised above their maximum.

Sensory Block

Cost: 1 Point/Rank

Relevant Ability: Intelligence

Progression: Descriptive; see below

A character with Sensory Block can cover an area (size is determined by the Rank) with a field that partially blocks specific senses or detection techniques. This can represent a magical ability, technological enhancement, or paranormal effect. Each time this Attribute is assigned, the character can either block one sense or enhanced sense (Type I) or one detection technique (Type II), which is determined during character creation. The GM may allow multiple assignments to the same sense or technique, which results in cumulative penalties. To fully block a detection technique, see the Invisibility Attribute.

Type I

One of the five senses — hearing, smell, vision, taste, or touch — is partially blocked. This may mean that individuals within the area covered cannot see well (vision), cannot hear well (hearing), etc. Checks made by these individuals when pertaining to the specific senses suffer a -4 penalty, which is cumulative with any Heightened Senses bonus.

Type II

A detection technique is partially blocked. Examples of techniques include: darkvision, electric current detection; homing weapons; infravision; magnetic field detection; microscopic vision; radar detection; radio reception; sonar detection; a specific Sixth Sense technique; ultrasonic hearing; ultravision; vibration detection; X-ray vision. Ability or Skill checks relating to these detection techniques suffer a -4 penalty.

Rank 1 The Sensory block covers up to 100 ft radius.

Rank 2 The Sensory block covers up to 500 ft radius.

Rank 3 The Sensory block covers up to 1 mile radius.

Rank 4 The Sensory block covers up to 5 mile radius.

Rank 5 The Sensory block covers up to 50 mile radius.

Rank 6 The Sensory block covers up to 500 mile radius.

Servant

Cost: 2 or 5 Points/Rank

Relevant Ability: None

Progression: The servant is constructed from 10 Character Points plus 10/Rank

The character has a servant or companion entity. It serves as a familiar, pet, companion, or bodyguard. Examples of Servants could include: a magical girl’s talking animal companion, a pet robot, a sorcerer’s apprentice, a fierce wolf, a bound demon or ghost, a mage’s familiar cat, or a vampire’s enslaved servants. For a more powerful pet monster servant (usually associated with gladiatorial combat), see the Pet Monster Attribute. Servants are NPCs controlled by the GM, but they will normally work toward the character’s best interests. Nevertheless, they should have their own personalities and may occasionally get into trouble of their own.

A Servant is assumed to be around “all the time.” To create a servant that the character summons for a brief period of time, acquire the Attribute as a Magical Power — this will result in the servant only remaining around as long as the character spends appropriate Energy Points.

This Attribute costs 2 Point/Rank if the character is limited to one particular Servant. If the character can dismiss the Servant and replace it with a different one between adventures or during an adventure with suitable effort (GM’s option such as casting a summoning spell or taming a new animal), then the Attribute costs 5 Points/Rank. A character can take the Attribute several times to have multiple Servants.

A Servant is a 1st Level Adventurer, created with his or her own Ability Scores, Attributes, Defects, and Skills as normal but with only 10 Discretionary Character Points. Each Rank of the Servant Attribute also gives the player 10 additional Character Points to add to the Servant (for example, 20 Points at Rank 1, 30 Points at Rank 2, etc.). The Servant may not have the Servant or Own a Big Mecha Attributes, and some relationship-based Defects should not be assigned due to its innate role as a character’s Servant. Thus, it is inappropriate for a Servant to have the following Defects: Owned, Red Tape, or Significant Other.

Sixth Sense

Cost: 1 Point/Rank

Relevant Ability: Wisdom

Progression: The character gains 1 Sixth Sense/Rank

Some characters have the ability to detect things that are hidden to normal senses or technological sensors, while others have affinities for specific objects or people. Sixth Sense typically represents psychic or magical ability, but can also reflect trained and acute senses or divine intervention.

The character may sense one particular category of phenomena per Rank. The player should define the category with the GM’s approval (Sixth Sense is very much a GM-defined ability). As a guideline, the character is automatically alerted when something his or her Sixth Sense detects is in close proximity (roughly 20 foot radius area). The GM may require a Wisdom check to do this, with difficulty modifiers depending on the strength of the source of whatever emanations the character can sense. In some cases, the GM may allow detection at greater distances if the source is very strong. The GM should give a bonus (+2 modifier or more) if the character is touching the source.

A character who specifically concentrates on using his or her Sixth Sense may gain more precise information on a successful Wisdom Check. The exact content of this information is up to the GM. If the check succeeds, the GM may provide the character with a few extra clues about the source such as “the magic is coming from those buildings over there” or “you sense the evil presence feels otherworldly... and hungry.” If the check fails, the character will not gain any additional information unless something happens, such as the phenomena becoming stronger, or coming much closer. The GM should always try to use Sixth Sense to plant clues that make a story more exciting, but not allow it to short-circuit the process of discovery in a mystery plot.

Examples of phenomena to which the character may be sensitive include astral/ethereal beings, danger, Pocket Dimensions, electricity, elements, emotions, evil, illusions, interpersonal dynamics, magic, magnetics, paranormal nexus points, particular objects, places of power, psionics, spirits, telepathy, truth, virtue, or the use of specific Attributes or Defects.

Precognition and Postcognition

Alternatively, Sixth Sense can be assigned to represent precognition and postcognition — the ability to access visions of past and future events. This option is a GM-defined Attribute, however, which allows him or her limit its application and scope within the campaign. For precognition and postcognition, the Attribute’s Rank reflects the maximum time difference between the present situation and a perceived future or past event (the higher the Rank, the longer the time difference). Low-Ranking character may only perceive events within minutes or hours of the current time; high-Ranking characters can extend this time to hundreds or even thousands of years.

Size Change

Cost: 1, 5, or 6 Points/Rank

Relevant Ability: Constitution

Progression: Descriptive; see below

This Attribute reflects the ability to increase or decrease the stature of the character. A character may have the ability to both shrink and grow for 6 Points/Rank. Alternatively, the character can choose to shrink only at a cost of 1 Point/Rank or to grow only at a cost of 5 Points/Rank; this restricts the character to changing size in one direction (with the ability to return to his or her normal size). For example, a character with Size Change (Shrinking Only) Rank 2 could shrink to half size and once shrunk could grow back, but he or she could never increase his or her height beyond normal.

It takes one round for a character to change size. Size Change is normally designed to affect only the user, but it can be specified as usable on others instead. If so, it only affects a single willing subject, whom the user must touch. For it to be used as an attack against unwilling persons or over a distance, the character must also acquire the Special Attack Attribute with the Linked (Size Change) Ability.

Rank 1 The character’s size can increase or decrease one size category (a Medium character can either grow to Large or shrink to Small).

Rank 2 The character’s size can increase or decrease two size categories (a Medium character can either grow to Huge or shrink to Tiny).

Rank 3 The character’s size can increase or decrease three size categories (a Medium character can either grow to Gargantuan or shrink to Diminutive).

Rank 4 The character’s size can increase or decrease four size categories (a Medium character can either grow to Colossal or shrink to Fine).

Rank 5 The character’s size can increase or decrease five size categories (a Small character can grow to Colossal; a Large character could shrink to Fine).

Rank 6 The character’s size can increase or decrease six size categories (a Tiny character can grow to Colossal; a Huge character could shrink to Fine).

Special Attack

Cost: 1 or 4 Points/Rank

Relevant Ability: None

Progression: The character possesses an attack that delivers 1d8 damage/Rank

Anime characters sometimes wield powerful offensive energies, such as electric zaps, magical fireballs, ki-powered martial arts strikes, or energy swords. Some characters, such as cyborgs or robots, as well as mecha, may have guns, missiles, or beam weapons built into their bodies.

Special Attack costs 4 Points/Rank, and delivers 1d8 damage per Rank.

Special Attacks may be further customised by assigning one or more attack Abilities. Each attack Ability taken reduces the damage by 1d8 but adds an additional capability. Attacks may also be assigned one or more attack Disabilities. Each attack Disability increases the damage by 1d8 but reduces the attack’s utility by imposing some form of limitation.

The player must assign Abilities and Disabilities when the Special Attack is designed. On the player’s character sheet, they are listed in parentheses following the attack’s modified damage. He or she may assign a combination of Abilities and Disabilities that would reduce its damage to a minimum of 1d8. To create a “zero damage” Special Attack, one would select the No Damage Disability. For example, suppose a character has a Special Attack at Rank 2. He or she would only be able to purchase one Ability, which would reduced the attack’s damage from 2d8 to 1d8. If the character wanted to purchase a second Ability, he or she must first assign a Disability, which would raise the attack’s damage back to 2d8. The character could then purchase a second Ability, reducing the damage back to 1d8.

A Weapon Attack should always be given a descriptive name such as “90mm Auto-Cannon” or “Raging Thunder Dragon Fist.” When designing the attack, the player (with GM input) should determine what Skill and Specialisation is appropriate for its use. For most magical or superpowered ranged attacks, it will be Special Ranged Attacks. For mecha Attacks, it is usually Heavy Weapons (Gunnery). For ranged weapons designed as Personal Gear, it is usually Guns or Thrown Weapon with an appropriate Specialisation depending on the description. Any weapon with the Melee Disability uses the Melee Attack or Unarmed Attack Skills depending on its description. For example, Melee Attack (Sword) is appropriate to an energy sword, while Unarmed Attack (Striking) would be suitable for a wraith that drained energy by its touch or a ki-energised martial arts strike.

• Alternate Attacks

Although a character or mecha often uses his or her highest-Rank “primary” weapon, alternate or backup ones may also be possessed. The Point cost of these additional “secondary” attacks are one quarter the cost of the primary attack at 1 Point/Rank. The primary attack — the attack with the highest Rank — is the only one that costs the standard 4 Points/Rank. Secondary attacks may each possess different damages, Abilities and Disabilities. If acquiring alternate attacks as Magical Powers the secondary attacks drain the regular 4 Energy Points/Rank, not 1 Energy Point/Rank.

• Mecha Weapon Attacks and Different Gunners

If a mecha has the Special Attack Ability, each armament is normally designed for use by whomever is controlling the mecha. An operator can only fire one of the weapons each round, unless he or she possesses the Extra Attacks Attribute and the Special Attack has the Flurry Ability. If the mecha carries multiple people, however, it may be designed with many independently operated weapons, each manned by a different character, which allows simultaneous attacks. If a weapon is created from this category, it should be noted as requiring a “Different Gunner” and purchased at an additional flat cost of 2 Points each (this is the half-cost discounted version).

Special Attacks in Other d20 System Games

If importing an Anime d20 character into another d20 System game, or vice versa, treat Special Attacks as if they possessed an enchantment bonus equal to one half the Rank of the attack (round down). For example, a Rank 6 Special Attack is treated as a +3 weapon in other d20 games. Do not increase the damage of the attack nor the character’s ability to hit with it — this is purely for determining whether or not the Special Attack can overcome a target’s Damage Reduction or other similar abilities.

Special Effects

The special effects of Area Effect, Drain (Any), Flare, Incapacitating, Irritant, Spreading, and Tangle are determined by the Rank of the Special Attack only. Massive Damage, Superstrength, and critical hit multipliers are not included in the calculation. Additionally, Armour and Force Fields do not normally protect against Drain (Any), Flare, Incapacitating, Irritant, or Tangle. Before making an attack, a character can choose to inflict less damage than the normal 1d8/Rank, or reduce the power of their special effects.

Effects Based on Damage Inflicted

The scope of the special effects for attacks with the Area Effect, Drain (Any), Flare, Incapacitating, Irritant, Linked, Spreading, or Tangle Abilities depend on the rank of the Special Attack. For example, Drain (Mind) reduced the target’s Intelligence Score by 2 for every Special Attack Rank; similarly, Tangle creates restraints that have 4 Health Points for every Special Attack Rank. To introduce randomness into these special effects, their scopes could instead be based on every 5 damage that the attack inflicts (or would have inflicted in the case of attacks with the No Damage Disability). For the examples, Drain (Mind) would reduce a target’s Intelligence Score by 2 for every 5 damage, and Tangle would create restraints that have 4 Health Points for every 5 damage. If this alternate rule is used, damage must be rolled for all attacks — including ones with the No Damage Disability — to determine the special effect scope.

Special Attack Abilities

The following Abilities may be assigned to a Special Attack. The GM may disallow any combination of Abilities that seems inappropriate.

Table 6-2: Weapon Abilities

• Accurate

The attack is unusually accurate giving a +4 bonus to Attack rolls (or Ability checks if the attack has the Mind or Soul Attack Ability). This Ability can be assigned two or three times for a +8 or +12 bonus, but may not be combined with the Linked (Attack) Ability.

• Affects Incorporeal

This attack will affect characters who are currently Astral or Incorporeal as if they were solid.

• Area Effect

This is an attack, like an explosive blast, that affects not only the direct target, but also anyone in the immediate area. All affected characters are allowed a Reflex Save (diving for cover, swerving out of the way) for half damage. Characters and mecha that can shield themselves with very solid objects or terrain in the vicinity may avoid damage completely (GM’s discretion) on a successful Reflex save. This represents the character ducking or moving behind cover. The GM will decide whether an object or person is within the area of effect, and may assume the area radius is equivalent to 5 feet for every Special Attack Rank. Area Effect can be assigned multiple times; each Ability doubles the area radius.

• Aura

Rather than having to make an actual attack, the character instead automatically damages anyone who touches his or her body. An example might be a character who was sheathed in flame or electrified. If this Ability is combined with the Area Effect Ability, it automatically damages anyone in the designated area around the character. Aura counts as two Abilities.

• Auto-Fire

The attack consists of a burst of multiple shots like a machine gun or rapid sequence of energy bolts. Instead of scoring one hit when an attack is successful, the attacker scores hits (minimum of one, maximum of five) equal to the difference between his or her final to hit roll (including all modifiers) and the target’s defence roll (including all modifiers) divided by five, rounded down. For example, if a character (with a final hit roll result of 27) attempts to hit a target who rolls a final defence value of 16, he or she would score 2 hits (27 - 16 = 11; 11 ÷ 5 = 2.2; round down to 2). Each hit delivers separate damage (important when considering Armour and Force Fields). Bonuses from Massive Damage, Superstrength, and critical hit multipliers are only applied to the first hit in an Auto-Fire burst — all others only inflict the normal damage of the Special Attack. The Game Master may increase the maximum number of hits scored to 10 to reflect more potentially damaging attacks. Auto-Fire counts as three Abilities.

• Burning

This represents acid, flaming liquid, or similar attacks that deliver continuing damage over several rounds. If the initial attack damage penetrates the opponent’s Armour, the target will suffer an additional 1 damage/Rank of the Special Attack each round for 5 rounds or until the effect is somehow neutralised (GM’s discretion; it should depend on the type of attack, and may require several rounds for full neutralisation). Armour does not protect against the extra burning damage in subsequent rounds. Alternatively, Burning can be defined as a “hourly burn,” in which case the damage is 2 per Rank rather than 1 but is applied on a daily basis (rather than round-by-round). Finally, a “slow burn” inflicts 4 damage/Rank inflicted daily (rather than round-by-round). This Ability may best represent a disease or slow poison attack. Unlike a regular Burning attack, the hourly burn and slow burn damage will continue until the victim is dead or makes a successful Fortitude save against a DC or 15 + the Rank of the Special Attack (made on an hourly or daily basis).

• Concealable

This option is only available for Hand-Held weapons, mecha weapons, or personal gear. Such weapons are normally assumed to be visible — a weapon built into a mecha has obvious barrels or gun ports, for example. A Concealable weapon is not so obvious; it may extend out from the mecha or be disguised as something else. If built as a Hand-Held Weapon or Personal Gear, this means it is small enough to be used with one hand and concealed under clothing. Most pistol-sized or knife-sized weapons are Concealable. For more cinematic games, larger weapons such as swords and machine guns can be designed as Concealable as well.

• Contagious

Some or all of the attack’s damage or other effects will be passed on to others who touch (or otherwise contact) a victim. If mildly contagious, not everyone will be infected; a prospective victim must fail a Fortitude save versus a DC 15 + Rank of Special Attack to be affected. If taken twice, it is highly contagious; someone must fail the Save at a -4 penalty in order to be affected. Alternatively, the contagion may be automated under some circumstances. The save is normally a Fortitude save, but some contagion may require a Will save. The GM should adjudicate Effects and countermeasures. The Ability is usually combined with the Toxic Disability. Contagious counts as two Abilities if mildly contagious or four Abilities if highly contagious.

• Drain Body

The attack causes the victim to suffer weakness and/or loss of co-ordination. The victim’s Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution (chosen when the attack is designed) is reduced by 2 per Rank of the attack. The Ability drain is in addition to any Hit Point losses from the attack. To design an attack that only drains the chosen Ability, but inflicts no other punishment, the No Damage Disability must also be assigned. If a target’s Constitution is drained to 0, he or she is rendered unconscious but does not die as normal. Lost Ability Score Points are recovered at two Points per hour of rest.

• Drain Energy

The attack drains away the victim’s personal energy supply, causing him or her to become fatigued and/or despondent. In addition to the damage delivered to the victim’s Hit Points, the attack causes the same loss of Energy Points. To design an attack that only drains Energy Points, the No Damage Disability must also be assigned. Lost Energy Points recover at their normal rate.

• Drain Mind

The attack causes the victim to lose his or her mind. The attack may be a psionic attack, a tranquilliser or similar drug, or another form of attack. The victim’s Intelligence is reduced by 2 multiplied by the Special Attack Rank. This Intelligence drain is in addition to any Hit Point losses from the attack. To design an attack that only drains Intelligence, the No Damage Disability must also be assigned. The drained Points return at the rate of two every hour.

• Drain Soul

The Attack affects the victim’s spirit. This attack may be a wave of fear, despair, or some other willpower-destroying emotion. The victim’s Wisdom or Charisma (chosen when the attack is designed) is reduced by 2 multiplied by the Special Attack Rank. This drainage is in addition to any Hit Point losses from the attack. To design an attack that only drains the chosen Ability, the No Damage Disability must also be assigned. The drained Points return at the rate of two every hour.

• Enduring

Enduring can only be assigned in conjunction with Area Effect. The attack remains active within the affected area over multiple rounds. Examples of this type of attack include chemical clouds, sheets of fire, electrical charges, or supercooled vapours. Anyone entering or remaining in the area is immediately subject to the attack; defence checks are outlined under Area Effect. Each time Enduring is assigned, the Area Effect attack remains active for 1 additional round.

• Flare

If the target is hit (or in the radius of an Area Effect weapon attack) the defending character may be blinded. Every target looking at the attack must roll a Fortitude save against DC 10 + 2 per Rank of the Special Attack. If a target character fails his or her Fortitude save, he or she is blinded for a number of combat rounds equal to the amount by which the save was failed. Characters with appropriate Special Defences will not be blinded. Flare may be taken multiple times; each time it is taken, add an extra 2 to the DC of the Fortitude save. Flare can also be generalised to cover other sense-overloading attacks. For example, the attack might cause deafness.

• Flexible

This Ability represents long, flexible, or extendible attacks such as a prehensile whip, energy-lash, razor-ribbon, or similar attack mode. The target’s defence rolls are at a -2 penalty. If the attacker is strong enough to physically lift the target, a successful attack can trip or disarm an opponent (snagging a hand-held weapon) in lieu of delivering damage. Such non-damaging attack stunts are made at a -4 penalty to the attack roll since they require great talent to execute accurately.

• Flurry

This Ability allows a character to use his or her Special Attack multiple times in a round if that character has multiple attacks — one extra use per round each time it is assigned, in addition to the first regular use. Normally, a Special Attack can only be used once each round. The second attack would be made using the characters second Base Attack Bonus, the third using the third Base Attack Bonus, and the fourth using the fourth Base Attack Bonus. For example, if a character had a Base Attack of +17/+12/+7 and had this Ability twice, he or she would make three Weapon Attacks at +17/+12/+7. If he or she only had it once, the character would be able to attack twice at +17/+12.

• Homing

The attack or weapon fires a projectile or energy bolt that can track and follow its target. The character receives a +4 bonus to his or her attack roll, and if the attack misses or the target successfully defends, the weapon will return to try again (only one more time) in the next combat round. A Homing attack is vulnerable to Sensory Block, however. In a setting where electronic Sensory Block is not common (such as ancient Japan), Homing counts as two Abilities.

• Incapacitating

This represents any form of attack that can instantly incapacitate a foe even if it does not inflict actual damage. This includes putting an opponent to sleep or turning him or her to stone. Regardless of whether the attack does physical damage, the victim must make a saving throw (either Fortitude or Will — decide when the attack is designed) against DC 10 + 2 per Special Attack Rank to avoid being completely incapacitated. When designing the attack, specify the form the incapacitation takes: asleep, awake but paralysed, turned to stone, transformed into an inert doll, etc. The effects will wear off in several minutes, unless the Incurable Ability is also taken. To design an attack that only incapacitates the target, the No Damage Disability must also be assigned. Incapacitating counts as three Abilities.

• Incurable

The attack produces wounds or other effects that do not heal naturally, and are incurable by normal methods. Rather than recovering at a normal rate or being amenable to standard medical treatment, recovery cannot take place until some exotic event or treatment has occurred. This requirement must be specified when the attack is designed, subject to GM approval. Incurable counts as four Abilities.

• Indirect

The weapon can fire shots in a high ballistic arc. Examples include grenade launchers and artillery guns. This allows the attacker to shoot at targets hidden behind buildings, hills, or other obstacles (or even shoot over the horizon, if the Long Range Ability is also assigned). Indirect fire is tricky, however. To effectively fire at an indirect location, the attacker must be able to “see” the target (sensors can be used), or someone else must spot the target and relay its position to the attacker. Indirect fire results in a -2 penalty to the attack roll with an additional -6 penalty if the target cannot be physically seen by the attacker (for a total of -8). A weapon with the Indirect Ability can be used under normal medium and short ranges without any penalty.

• Irritant

This represents pepper spray, a skunk’s musk, an itching spell, or similar effect. Whether or not damage penetrated Armour, the subject must make a Fortitude save against DC 10 + 2 per Special Attack Rank. If the target fails, the character is partially blinded and distracted (-2 penalty on all rolls to do anything) for a number of rounds equal to the amount by which he or she failed the save. Irritant is usually taken in conjunction with the Toxic Disability to simulate an attack against which a gas mask or the like offers protection.

• Linked (Attack)

An attack with this Ability is “attached” to another (or “master”) attack. The master attack may be an ordinary weapon (such as an item of Personal Gear, like a sword or gun), a Natural Weapon or unarmed attack, or a different Special Attack. If that master attack is successful, this linked attack automatically hits as well (no defence allowed), but if it misses or fails to penetrate the target’s defences (Armour, Force Fields, etc.), the linked attack automatically fails too (with full Energy Point cost, if applicable). If the master attack hits and delivered enough damage to successfully penetrate Armour, then the Armour does not protect at all against the damage of the second linked attack. Damage bonuses from Massive Damage, Superstrength, and critical hit multipliers only apply to the master attack, not to each attack. An attack with the Linked Ability may not be given the Accurate or Long Range Abilities or the Inaccurate, Low Penetration, Melee, or Short Range Disabilities; its range and accuracy are dependent on the attack to which it is linked. The attack can only be used in conjunction with the master attack; it cannot be used separately, on its own. Unless the GM indicates otherwise, only one Special Attack can be attached to each master attack. Linked (Attack) counts as two Abilities.

• Linked (Attribute)

An attack with this Ability is attached to one of the following Attributes, which the character must also possess: Dimensional Portal, Insubstantiality, Metamorphosis, Shape Change, Size Change, or Teleport. If the attack hits, a living subject will be affected by that Attribute provided he or she fails a Fortitude save to resist against DC 10 + 2 per Special Attack Rank.

• Long Range

An ordinary attack is assumed to have an effective range of about 500 feet (2 miles in space). This Ability extends the range to 1 mile (20 miles in space). Long Range weapons are typical of beam cannons on spaceships, guided missiles, or the guns of tanks or mecha. It can be assigned multiple times: each time it is taken after the first doubles the actual range. Since the Earth’s horizon limits line-of-sight for characters standing on the ground, multiple Long Range Abilities are often combined with the Indirect Ability. This Ability is incompatible with the Melee and Short Range Disabilities.

• Mind or Soul Attack

The attack is not a physical attack but rather is a mental assault (Mind Attack) or contest of spirit or will (Soul Attack). During creation, the player must specify either Mind or Soul as the focus of the Ability. Instead of using the character’s base attack bonus to hit, the character must roll a successful Intelligence (Mind Attack) or Wisdom (Soul Attack) check for his or her character (though appropriate Skills can modify this). Furthermore, instead of a normal defence roll, the subject makes a Will save plus any bonuses for the Mind Shield Attribute (DC is the attacker’s Intelligence or Wisdom check total). Soul Attack ignores Armour and Force Fields, and affects Insubstantial or Astral characters normally. Both versions count as five Abilities.

• Muscle-Powered

This ability normally is only appropriate for melee or thrown weapons. The character adds any damage modifier due to Strength to the attack’s base damage.

• No Regeneration

This is a lesser form of Incurable. The damage from the attack cannot be restored using the Healing or Regeneration Attributes but can otherwise recover or be repaired normally.

• Penetrating (Armour)

Armour does not stop damage from these attacks as efficiently as usual. Each time Penetrating (Armour) is assigned, Armour stops 10 less damage than normal from the attack (up to the Armour’s maximum rating).

• Penetrating (Force Field)

The Force Field Attribute does not stop damage from these attacks as efficiently as usual. Each time Penetrating (Force Field) is assigned, the Force Field stops 10 less damage than normal from the attack (up to the Field’s maximum rating).

• Quake

This attack causes a linear shock wave in the ground, causing rumbling and fractures. The quake “fault” will only be large enough for one person to fall into its depths unless it is combined with the Area Effect Ability. A victim may fall into the crevasse if he or she fails a Reflex save (DC 15 + Special Attack Rank). The fissure will be approximately 3 feet deep for the first 5 damage (including bonuses for Strength and Massive Damage) and is doubled for every additional 5 damage the attack inflicts. Thus a quake that delivers a total of 15 damage creates a fissure 12 feet deep, while one that delivers 30 damage creates a crevice 96 feet deep. Quake can only be used on a solid surface (which may be earth, sand, cement, or asphalt), and may not be combined with the Aura Ability or No Damage Disability.

• Spreading

This type of attack spreads to cover an expanding area like a cone of energy or a spray of projectiles or energy bolts. The defender receives a -1 penalty to his or her Defence roll. Multiple adjacent targets in the attack path may also receive damage if they are lined up or in a dense formation, up to a maximum of one extra target for every Special Attack Rank. The Spreading Ability can be acquired multiple times; each one further penalises the target’s Defence roll by -1 and doubles the number of possible adjacent targets. Spreading is often assigned in conjunction with the Short Range Disability.

• Stun

An attack with this Ability inflicts temporary damage such as an electric shock that shorts out electronics and renders people unconscious. Lost Hit Points are recovered or repaired at one Point every minute rather than at the normal rate. Stun damage cannot kill. Although the attack only inflicts temporary damage (compared to the real damage of a regular attack), it has the advantage that it may be used to incapacitate a foe without the risk of killing him or her.

• Tangle

Attacks that can entangle the victim may include a spray that freezes the target in ice, or traps him or her in the branches of an animated plant, simple webbing, etc. The entanglement has 4 Hit Points for every Special Attack Rank. If a target does not successfully defend a Tangle attack, he or she is trapped until sufficient damage is delivered to the entanglement to reduce its Hit Points to zero or lower (at this point it is destroyed). A trapped character has restricted movement and attacks physically at a -4 penalty, cannot defend (ignore Dexterity bonuses for AC), and cannot perform actions that require complex gestures. A character is usually able to speak, however. A victim who has partially destroyed an entanglement may regain additional body movement (GM’s discretion). A Tangle attack also inflicts damage as normal unless the No Damage Disability is also assigned to the attack. An “Incurable” entanglement can only be damaged by some special means (such as fire or water) defined when the Tangle attack is created. Tangle counts as two Abilities.

• Targeted

The attack inflicts double damage to a specific group of targets and normal or no damage to everyone else. Thus, an attack could be good energy (double damage to evil creatures), chaos energy (double damage to lawful creatures), life energy (double damage to undead creatures), or detrimental to a specific race. Targeted counts as one Ability if no damage is delivered to non-Targeted opponents, or two Abilities if normal damage is delivered.

• Trap

The attack lays a mine, booby trap, or some other similar device, which “sits and waits” until someone triggers it. A successful Spot Skill check (DC 10 + Special Attack Rank) will reveal the trap’s presence. The Trap Ability can be paired with the Melee Disability to simulate a booby trap that must be carefully planted. Without the Melee Disability, the trap can be deployed at a range; a successful attack roll indicates that the Trap was fired or tossed into the correct area.

• Undetectable

Most Special Attacks have a visible component that makes it easy for targets to determine who is attacking them. An attack with the Undetectable Ability does not provide any indication that it is about to strike and cannot be traced back to the attacker using normal methods. This may result in the attacker gaining surprise (target is flat-footed). If the target knows he or she is under attack, he or she may still defend but does not gain his or her Dexterity bonus to AC. This Ability is most often associated with non-physical attacks such as ones with the Drain (Any), or Mind or Soul Attack Abilities. Undetectable counts as four Abilities.

• Unique Ability

The attack has some other unspecified Ability that is not listed, and is subject to GM approval. Examples can include an attack that alters the target’s memories, one that affects the appearance of the target, and many more. The number of Ability slots is determined by the GM based on the benefit the Unique Ability provides.

• Vampiric

This Ability can be added to any attack that causes normal damage or one that drains Ability Score values. Upon a successful attack, the lost Hit Points or Ability Scores are transferred to the attacker. Vampiric counts as two Abilities if the attack can only restore lost Points or Ranks (thus, the character could heal him or herself). It counts as three Abilities if the attack can increase the character’s Hit Points above their normal maximum value (no more than twice normal, however). Finally, it counts as four Abilities if it can increase the character’s Ability Scores above their normal maximum value). Any values or Points in excess of the user’s normal Rank fade at a rate of 10 Hit Points or two Ability Score values per hour. This Ability may not be combined with the Area Effect or Spreading Abilities. Vampiric costs 2, 3, or 4 Ability slots.

Attack Disabilities

Some, none, or many of these Disabilities may be assigned to a Special Attack. The GM may disallow any combination that seems inappropriate.

Table 6-3: Attack Disabilities

• Backblast

The attack produces some sort of backblast or other side effect that affects anyone or anything standing directly behind the attacker (within 5 feet). An example is a rocket launcher that produces a hazardous backblast to anyone standing behind the gunner, but some spells or other abilities might have similar risks. The damage of the backblast is normally one quarter the damage of the actual attack. If this Disability is taken twice, it affects everyone in a 5-foot radius around it, including the attacking character (unless he or she also has Immunity to one’s own attacks). Backblast cannot be combined with the Area Effect and Aura Abilities at the same time.

• Drop Shields

This Disability can only be taken if the character also has a Force Field. It requires the character to turn off all Force Fields before using the attack, and they must remain down until the character’s turn to act on the following round.

• Extra Energy

This is only appropriate for characters acquiring the attack as a Magical Power. The attack costs twice as many Energy Points as normal. Extra Energy can be taken multiple times, with each time doubling the Energy Points requirement.

• Inaccurate

The attack is not as accurate as normal ones, and imposes a -4 penalty to all attack rolls. This Disability can be taken two or three times for a -8 or -12 penalty.

• Internal

The attack is only usable inside a specific mecha or other structure. This may represent a mecha’s built-in internal security systems or an attack for which the character draws power from a mechanism inside and channels it through his or her body.

• Limited Shots

The attack is only usable for a few combat rounds, after which it either runs out of ammunition or power, or simply burns out. Assigning this Disability once means it can make up to six attacks; if taken twice, up to three attacks; if taken three times, only one attack. If the attack also has the Auto-Fire Ability, one “attack” means a single Auto-Fire burst.

The base number of Disability slots are for attacks that take several minutes or more to “reload.” If the attack can be “reloaded” with one action, the number of Disability slots is reduced by 1 (minimum of 1 slot). If the attack can be “reloaded” instantly (an ammunition source is still required), the Disability is worth two fewer slots (minimum of 1 slot).

• Low Penetration

The attack has an inferior ability to penetrate Armour and Force Fields relative to its damage. Examples include shotgun blasts, hollow-point bullets, or phased plasma guns. Any Armour or Force Field Attribute stops an additional 10 damage. This Disability is incompatible with either of the two Penetrating Abilities. GMs must approve Special Attacks with multiple assignments of Low Penetration.

• Melee

The attack is only usable against adjacent opponents and may require physical contact. An example of a Melee attack is a physical or energy sword or a touch that inflicts debilitating effects. Of course, many Melee weapons can be thrown as well in desperate situation, but the attack suffers a -4 attack penalty and the damage is divided in half. The Melee Disability cannot be combined with the Long Range Ability or Short Range Disability. It is sufficiently limiting that it is equivalent to two Disabilities.

• No Damage

The attack does not deliver ordinary physical damage. This Disability is usually only taken if combined with Abilities such as Drain (Any), Flare, Incapacitating, Irritant, Linked (Attribute), or Tangle that produce effects that do not rely on physical damage. The damage value of the attack is used only to rate the effectiveness of these special abilities — the greater the damage value, the more effective the attack. Characters that use Special Attacks with the No Damage Disability may still need to roll to determined the effectiveness of some attack Abilities, however.

• Only In (Environment)

The attack or weapon can only target objects that are on or in a particular limited environment, for example, “only in water” (representing a torpedo) or “only in space” (representing a powerful weapon that requires a vacuum to work). The environment should not be one that is ubiquitous in the campaign (for example, “only in air” is not valid unless a lot of the game action will take place in airless environments). If the environment is very rare in the campaign, the GM may allow this to count as two Disabilities.

• Self-Destruct

Use of this attack destroys the weapon (characters obviously assign this Disability to themselves very rarely). This Disability is usually combined with Melee and Area-Effect to represent an explosive self-destruct system. It may not be combined with Limited Uses. It counts as four Disability slots.

• Short Range

This attack is only usable at fairly close range (effective range of about 50 feet). The Short Range Disability cannot be combined with the Long Range Ability or the Melee Disability.

• Slow

The attacker must use one combat action to aim, charge, chant an incantation, load the weapon, or perform some other necessary activity before each attack. Someone with the Extra Attacks Attribute can use one of his or her extra actions to prepare the attack rather than wasting the entire round. The Slow Disability can be taken more than once to represent an attack that takes even longer to initiate. Assigning it twice increases the time to three rounds; three assignments increases the time to 10 rounds (about a minute); four increases the time to two-six hours; five increases the preparation to days. This Disability may not be used with the Linked (Attack) Ability.

• Static

The attack cannot be used while the character is moving (or if a mecha weapon, while the mecha is moving under its own power). This could be due to a need for precise aim or total concentration. The weapon might also require all power to be diverted to its energy supply, or might be static because of recoil, or another reason. The character is considered flat-footed while preparing to fire the attack. Static is worth two Disabilities.

• Stoppable

The attack fires a projectile or energy bolt that is massive or slow enough to be shot down and does not reach the target until Initiative zero. Consequently, the attack can be stopped in mid-flight. A cannon shell would probably not qualify, but a missile or plasma-ball might. Anyone with an unused combat attack action during the same round may make a ranged attack against the projectile. To stop the attack, a successful hit (or hits) must deliver at least 3 damage for every 1d8 of damage of the attack. Stoppable may not be combined with the Melee Disability. Stoppable may be purchased more than once to reflect an attack that takes even longer to reach the target. Assigning Stoppable twice increases the time to reach the target to two rounds; each further assignment doubles the transit time. Slow moving missiles and plasma bolts are examples of attacks that might have Stoppable two or three times.

• Toxic

The attack is a gas, toxin, biological weapon, sound, radiation, or other harmful effect that only damages living things. Non-living material (such as most mecha) or characters who have the appropriate Adaptation or Special Defence Attributes are immune to its effects.

• Unique Disability

The attack has some other unspecified limitation, which is subject to GM approval. Examples could include a weapon that fires in a random direction, one that is extremely costly to operate, an attack that drains Hit Points from the user, etc.

• Unreliable

Any time this attack is used and the attack roll is an unmodified (or “natural”) 1, the attack fails to take place and the weapon or ability either burns out, jams, overheats, or otherwise malfunctions. The Special Attack will not work again until some condition is fulfilled. For example, repairing a mecha weapon requires a skilled individual to make a successful Intelligence check (one attempt each round), and while the character is making repairs, he or she cannot carry out other activities. The same could apply to a magical attack with a Intelligence check needed to remember the correct words. Other remedies might be appropriate for recovering different attacks (for example, a dragon whose breath weapon has “burned out” might have to eat a hearty meal first).

• Uses Energy

The attack draws upon the user’s personal energy, each attack draining 5 Energy Points. This Disability can be taken twice, and, if so, it uses 5 Energy Points per Rank. This Disability is not available for Magical Powers, which automatically use energy (see the Extra Energy Disability instead).

Special Defence

Cost: 1 Point/Rank

Relevant Ability: None

Progression: The character gains 1 Special Defence slot/Rank

A character with this Attribute is resistant or completely immune to a specific type of uncommon ailment or injury, normally one whose effects are otherwise insidious in nature. Special Defence can be acquired multiple times to represent a character who is resistant or immune to different kinds of attacks/events.

If a category is assigned one slot, the character is partially resistant; for two slots, the character has complete or enhanced resistance. For ability to survive under harsh physical conditions, see the Adaptation Attribute. Several examples of Special Defences and their effects are shown. The GM and players are encouraged to develop their own as well.

Table 6-4: Special Defence

Special Movement

Cost: 1 Point/Rank

Relevant Ability: Dexterity

Progression: The character gains 1 type of movement/Rank

This Attribute is appropriate for characters such as non-humans, super martial artists or super ninja who may possess exotic ki-based abilities that let them perform unusual stunts like running over water, etc. The character may select one special movement ability for every Rank of this Attribute. GMs may also develop a selection of other special movement abilities.

• Cat-Like

The character will take half damage (round down) from most falls and always lands on his or her feet.

• Dimension Hop

Upon a successful Wisdom check against DC 10, the character can instantly travel between his or her home dimension to one other dimension, such as Asgard, Heaven, Hell, alternate Earth, the astral plane (the body is left behind), etc. Each time this method is assigned, the character can travel to another single dimension. The GM will determine if Dimension Hop is appropriate for his or her campaign.

• Light-Footed

The character can skim over sand, snow, or ice at full speed.

• Slithering

The character can slither along the ground at normal walking/running speeds. This allows a character to move quickly while maintaining a very low profile.

• Swinging/Brachiating

The character can swing through forests and cities (areas with natural or artificial structures above swinging height) using vines/ropes/webbing or simply his or her arms.

• Untrackable

The character never leaves footprints, tracks, or a scent when he or she walks or runs.

• Wall-Bouncing

The character can move at regular walking speed without touching the ground by bounding back and forth between nearby vertical surfaces (walls). For example, he or she can proceed down hallways or climb an alleyway between two buildings (bouncing from wall to wall).

• Wall-Crawling

The character can cling to walls or ceilings as though they were on the ground or floor. This counts as two Special Movement abilities.

• Water-Walking

The character can run over water as if he or she were on land. This counts as two Special Movement abilities.

• Zen Direction

When the character opens his or her mind to the natural world, he or she will always move in the “right” direction. The “right” direction is not always the desired direction, however.

Speed

Cost: 2 Points/Rank

Relevant Ability: Dexterity

Progression: Descriptive; see below

A character with Speed can move much faster than a normal character, as well as perceive the world at an increased pace. In an anime game, a fast-moving character can still interact with the world. This means that the character will not run into buildings along city streets because he or she can perceive them early enough and make sharp turns to avoid them. Fast characters can also read books quickly, write at incredible speeds, and perform normal chores and activities at enhanced rates. In addition to gaining +2 Initiative at each Rank, the character is harder to hit when moving quickly due to the incredible speed at which the character is moving.

Many characters with Speed will also possess one or more Ranks in the following Attributes: Combat Technique (Lightning Reflexes), Extra Attacks, Extra Defences, Heightened Awareness, Massive Damage, Regeneration, Special Movement.

Rank 1 The character can move at speeds up to 50 mph, and gains +2 Initiative.

Rank 2 The character can move at speeds up to 100 mph, and gains +4 Initiative.

Rank 3 The character can move at speeds up to 200 mph, and gains +6 Initiative.

Rank 4 The character can move at speeds up to 400 mph, and gains +8 Initiative.

Rank 5 The character can move at speeds up to 800 mph, and gains +10 Initiative.

Rank 6 The character can move at speeds up to 1,600 mph, and gains +12 Initiative.

Spirit Ward

Cost: 1 Point/Rank

Relevant Ability: Wisdom

Progression: The character’s Spirit Ward inflicts 1d8 damage/Rank; targets suffer a -1 Will save penalty/Rank.

A character with this Attribute can create potent spirit wards against demons, ghosts, or other supernatural spirits. This might only be possible at an appropriate holy place such as a shrine, temple, or church; this is up to the GM. A supernatural entity cannot pass through a doorway, window, or other portal with a ward on it unless the entity expends great effort (spending 5 Energy Points per Rank of the ward and making a successful Will Save against DC 15 plus the Rank of the ward). Repeated attempts are possible as long as the creature still has Energy Points to spend. If the entity does pass through, the spirit ward might burst into flame or otherwise vanish, its power overcome by the intruder.

If a supernatural entity is struck with a spirit ward (this requires a successful attack in combat), it suffers 1d8 damage per Rank of the ward for every round the ward is in contact with it. If a Spirit Ward is placed on a person who is possessed by or under the Mind Control of a supernatural entity, the controlled character receives a chance to break free.

Superstrength

Cost: 4 Points/Rank

Relevant Ability: Strength

Progression: The character’s Strength is increased by 8/Rank

While Enhanced [Ability] allows players to increase their character’s Ability Scores, it is somewhat limiting to superstrong characters and mecha. Anime heroes and giant monsters are will known for possessing strength well beyond mortal limits. Such characters possess the Superstrength Attribute.

Swarm

Cost: 2 Points/Rank

Relevant Ability: Constitution

Progression: The character can transform into 1 critter/Rank for every current Hit Point

A character with this Attribute can transform into a swarm of small creatures: rats, bats, wasps, crows or other creatures or things (such as tiny attack robots). Anime vampires or demons most often possess this dramatic ability.

The type of swarm must be determined during character creation. The character can create one critter from his or her body for every current Hit Point multiplied by the Rank in this Attribute. Thus, a character with 50 current Hit Points who has Swarm at Rank 4 could transform into a mass of 200 creatures (50 x 4 = 200).

When transformed into a swarm, the character cannot use any of his or her existing Attributes or Skills. The actions of the swarm are basically limited to three options: move, observe, and attack. Additionally, all the critters of the swarm must remain within close proximity of each other (within a radius of 10 feet per Rank).

A swarm’s Base Attack Bonus is equal to its Attribute Rank + 4. It inflicts 1 damage for every 10 critters (round up; minimum one damage) in the swarm. A swarm has zero Energy Points, but does not fall unconscious as a normal character would. In many instances, the Armour and Force Field Attributes will protect the target character from all damage, since the Attributes stop sufficient damage from each critter attack. Against some critters, even regular clothing may be enough to stop some or all damage. Each situation will be different; the GM must determine how much damage, if any, will penetrate the target’s defences.

A swarm can be attacked normally, and each creature in it dies if it is hit (no Defence roll is allowed). Unless an opponent is using an attack with the Area Effect or Spreading Abilities, however, only a single member of the swarm can be killed per attack (GM’s discretion). Consequently, a swarm of 200 creatures requires 200 attacks to be completely destroyed. Attacks with the Spreading Ability can affect multiple critters at time, while attacks with the Area Effect Ability can be devastating to the swarm.

A character who dissolved into a swarm may choose to use an action to revert into normal form. To accomplish this, all available critters in the swarm (those not killed or trapped) must join together. Transforming back to normal form requires a character’s action for that round, but does not cost any Energy Points. The character will return to normal form with Hit Points equal to the number of critters that recombined divided by the Swarm Attribute Rank (round down). For example, if a character with 50 current Hit Points and Swarm at Rank 4 divided into 200 creatures, and after a battle, recombined with only 130 available critters, the character would then have a current total of 32 Hit Points (130 ÷ 4=32).

Telekinesis

Cost: 1-2 Points/Rank

Relevant Ability: Intelligence

Progression: Descriptive; see below

The character can concentrate on an object and move it without physically touching it. Telekinesis may represent psionic ability, magic, or some form of tractor beam. Characters with the ability to magically control a particular element (Earth, Water, etc.) may also use Telekinesis to represent their particular ability.

A character using Telekinesis can lift an object or group of adjacent objects and move it at walking speed (30 feet/round) or manipulate it with the dexterity of a human hand. Telekinesis works over a close distance (up to about 15 feet) at full strength; effective strength declines by one Rank if used within a short range (up to 50 feet), or by two Ranks if used at medium range (up to 500 feet). Ranges multiply by 1,000 in space. The weight that a character can lift depends on his or her Rank, as does the degree of fine motor control.

The character can also levitate an object (or group of objects) and have it strike another person as if it were a short-ranged thrown weapon. The weight Telekinesis can lift is reduced by a factor of 10 when throwing an object hard enough to inflict damage. For example, a character with Rank 5 could lift up to 10 tons but could only throw objects weighing up to 1 ton. This is treated as a normal attack and thus can be negated by a successful defence roll. Damage depends on the weight of the object hurled: 1d4 damage for an object weighing up to 2 pounds, 1d8 damage for up to 20 pounds, 2d8 damage for one up to 200 pounds, 3d8 damage for one up to one ton, and so on. The same damage applies to the object being hurled. If Telekinesis is used to directly crush or constrict a target, damage delivered equals 2 Points/Rank.

A character who uses Telekinesis to grab another person and throw him or her uses the same procedure, but this requires a successful Power Usage: Telekinesis Skill check against a DC equal to the target’s defence roll. Accurately tossing an opponent so that he or she hits another target requires a successful to hit roll. If attempting to disarm a character with Telekinesis, the subject should be allowed a Strength check against DC 10 + 1 per Telekinesis Rank to retain the weapon. If a character wishes to fly at speed exceeding 30 feet/round, he or she needs Flight rather than Telekinesis.

Ordinary Telekinesis (capable of lifting anything physical, but not forms of energy) costs 4 Points/Rank. At a cost of only 2 Point/Rank, the character may have a more focused Telekinesis. This restricts the character to telekinetically moving (or sculpting) a particular type of matter. Some examples are provided.

• Air

The character can only move air (or other gases). A cubic yard of air weighs about 2.1 pounds. Enough air to fill a roughly 10’ x 10’ x 10’ room weighs 75 pounds.

• Earth

The character can only move dirt, rock, stone, sand, etc. He or she cannot affect treated metals. A cubic yard of packed dirt masses about 2 tons; the same mass of concrete weighs about 2.5 tons, while a cubic yard of solid granite weights about 2.7 tons.

• Fire

The character can only affect flames of an existing fire, or can possibly start them with his or her mind as well (GM’s discretion). Since fire does not have mass, the Rank indicates the size of the flames that can be controlled and manipulated: small fires at Rank 1 (like a candle or match flame), up to raging infernos that cover several city blocks at Rank 6.

• Metal

The character’s Telekinesis only works on metal. This may be a mystical limitation, or it may be the character’s power is actually based on magnetic. A cubic yard of steel weighs about 8 tons.

• Water

The character can lift and move water. A cubic yard of water weights about 1700 lbs. (close to a ton). A gallon of water weights about 8 pounds.

• Wood

The character’s power only works on wood (living or dead). This ability is usually mystical in nature and common to nature priests and spirits. A cubic yard of wood weighs less than a ton.

Rank 1 The character can lift up to 2 lbs.

Rank 2 The character can lift up to 20 lbs.

Rank 3 The character can lift up to 200 lbs. (a person).

Rank 4 The character can lift up to 1 ton (a car).

Rank 5 The character can lift up to 10 tons (a large truck).

Rank 6 The character can lift up to 100 tons (a small spaceship or house).

Telepathy

Cost: 1-3 Points/Rank

Relevant Ability: Intelligence

Progression: Descriptive; see below

Telepathy is the classic psionic ability, and anime characters with ESP will often possess it. Versions of telepathy may also represent other magical capabilities; demons who can tempt their victims often possess Telepathy, for example.

Telepathy costs 1 Point/Rank if its utility is quite restricted (for example, “only works with canines” or “only with close friends”). It costs 2 Points/Rank if its utility is somewhat restricted (for example, “only with humans” or “only with beasts”). It costs 3 Points/Rank if it has universal utility.

This Attribute allows the character to read and transmit thoughts, and at higher Ranks, to actually “invade” a person’s mind and probe their memories or alter their thoughts. Telepathy normally works only if a subject is in sight, or can be otherwise perceived (touched, heard, etc.). If the subject is beyond normal perceptions, mental invasion is impossible, while transmitting thoughts, reading surface thoughts or sharing the subject’s sensory impressions only works if that particular subject is someone the character is close to, such as a parent, sibling, long-term co-worker, close friend, or lover.

A subject cannot detect a telepath reading thoughts or sensory impressions unless he or she has the Telepathy or Mind Shield Attribute at an equal or higher Rank. If so, he or she can choose to block the telepath (or attempt to block it with the Mind Shield), in which case the only way to get through is via mental invasion. A subject will always be aware of a mental invasion (although a non-telepath may not understand exactly what is going on).

Rank 1 The character can, by concentrating, use mind reading to pick up the “loud” surface thoughts of a particular subject. A “loud” thought is something about which the subject is thinking hard or that has a very strong emotional content. The character can also transmit a single feeling, such as “fear” or “love” to another person.

Rank 2 The character can, by concentrating, use mind reading to pick up the ordinary surface thoughts of a particular subject. The character can only read what a person is actually thinking at the time. Two telepaths can communicate with one another at conversational speeds by reading each other’s thoughts. The character can also transmit a word, simple image, or simple concept (like “flower” or a person’s face) to a non-telepath on which he or she concentrates. It requires an entire round of concentration to convey one concept, which makes telepath to non-telepath communication slow.

Rank 3 The character can, by concentrating, pick up a single subject’s surface thoughts and sensory impressions (i.e., see through a subject’s eyes, feel what he or she feels, etc.). The character can choose to edit out some senses if desired. Alternatively, the character can concentrate and read “loud” surface thoughts from 2-6 people. The character can transmit sub-vocalised speech to a single non-telepath at normal conversational speeds or send a single powerful image or word to 2-6 people.

Rank 4 The character has the same capabilities as at Rank 3 Telepathy. In addition, he or she can invade another person’s mind. This counts as an attack, and if the subject is unwilling or unaware, the character will enter Mind Combat with him or her. If the subject is willing or loses the mental combat, the telepath can probe his or her memory for information he or she needs. The character will also instinctively read “loud” surface thoughts of anyone he or she touches (unless deliberately blocking the ability) without any need for concentration. The character can transmit thoughts at conversational speeds to 2-6 people at a time, simultaneously.

Rank 5 The character has the same capabilities as Rank 4 Telepathy, except that he or she can read “loud” surface thoughts of anyone in the general vicinity without any need for concentration, unless deliberately blocking the ability. A successful mental invasion can even probe memories that the subject can no longer consciously remember. The character can transmit thoughts at conversational speeds to 7-20 people at a time, simultaneously.

Rank 6 The character has the same capabilities as Rank 5 Telepathy. He or she automatically reads the surface thoughts of everyone in the vicinity and automatically shares the sensory experiences of anyone he or she is actually touching without any need for concentration, unless he or she deliberately tries to block this ability. The character can transmit thoughts at conversational speeds to 21-50 people at a time, simultaneously. If the character succeeds with a mental invasion, he or she may not only probe memories but may also alter them, deleting existing memories or giving the subject false ones.

Teleport Cost: 5 Points/Rank Relevant Ability: Intelligence

Progression: Descriptive; see below

Teleport enables the character to transport him or herself instantly from place to place without crossing the intervening space. It is a common ability for psionic anime characters and not unusual for sorcerers and various superhumans.

Teleporting is only possible if the character has visited the intended destination or can clearly see or otherwise sense the destination (possibly through the Heightened Senses or Sixth Sense Attributes). The GM may allow characters to teleport to unknown destinations (such as “100 yards up” or “to the other side of the door”), perhaps for an additional 1 or 2 Character Points total. Accidentally teleporting into a solid object may be fatal or simply cause a failed teleport at the GM’s option. A character can carry anything while teleporting that he or she could normally carry.

Teleporting is much quicker than any other means of travel (Flight, Space Flight, etc.), however, it is often risky. A Power Usage: Teleport Skill check against DC 15 should be required to perform a teleport beyond a “safe” distance. Failure means the character ends up in the wrong place (GM option) and his or her power “burns out” or “malfunctions” for hours or days.

When Teleport is first assigned, the GM may ask the player to decide if velocity (speed and direction) is conserved during travel. Alternatively, the character might adapt velocity to each Teleport individually. In many campaigns, the effects of velocity will simply be ignored.

Rank 1 The maximum teleportation distance is 1 miles, while the safe distance is 30 feet.

Rank 2 The maximum teleportation distance is 10 miles, while the safe distance is 300 feet.

Rank 3 The maximum teleportation distance is 1,000 miles, while the safe distance is 1 mile.

Rank 4 The maximum teleportation distance is 10,000 miles, while the safe distance is 10 miles.

Rank 5 The maximum teleportation distance is 100,000 miles, while the safe distance is 100 miles.

Rank 6 The maximum teleportation distance is 1,000,000 miles, while the safe distance is 1,000 miles.

Train a Cute Monster

Cost: 1 Point/Rank Relevant Ability: Wisdom

Progression: The character gains 1 trainer technique/Rank

A character with Train a Cute Monster is experienced in the arts and sciences of pet monster instruction and fighting. Through painful experience, mostly on the part of the pets, the trainer learned to effectively control the creatures in battle and to properly care for their needs in daily life. Only characters with the Pet Monster Attribute may take Train a Cute Monster. Each Rank of Train a Cute Monster gives the character one trainer technique.

• Analyse Monster

The character can identify all commonly known species of pet monster. He or she also receives a +2 bonus to any Intelligence check (DC 20 to 25) required to identify rare types or newly evolved versions of existing species. He or she can judge another monster’s Base Attack Bonus, remaining Hit Points and elemental association from its size, species, attitude, apparent health, and even posture, without seeing it actually fight.

• Battle Motto

The character has mastered the hideous rhyming battle motto. If chanted within listening range of an opposing trainer just prior to a duel, it fills the motto-using character with pride while simultaneously revolting, boring and/or irritating his or her enemy. The opposing trainer loses 4 Energy Points, which are immediately transferred to the motto-using character for the duration of the encounter. Note that if two trainers have mottoes, the effects cancel each other out; a motto can only be used once in a particular encounter.

• Breed Monster

This is the ability to breed two monsters together that do not normally mate, and have them produce viable offspring. The GM may require a Wisdom check, with a DC determined by the strangeness of the combination (usually 15 to 20). On a successful roll, the union of the two monsters is a positive, viable hybrid. On a very bad roll something goes hideously wrong — they start fighting each other, or they mate, but the resulting offspring is a horrifying menace.

• Feed Monster

The character knows exactly what to feed his or her monsters to ensure they have a properly balanced diet. As long as the character can supervise his or her monster’s nutrition (which takes a half-hour per creature per day) the monsters will be healthier and happier. They will not catch diseases and will recover lost Hit Points and Energy Points twice as fast as normal. The GM can require characters to devote time to finding special food, vitamins, or ingredients.

• Inspire Monster

The trainer is especially good at inspiring his or her monster in combat through shouts of encouragement, cheerleading, yelling “banzai!” and other energetic techniques. At the start of any combat round the trainer can spend 4 of his or her own Energy Points. This either adds a temporary +2 to the monster’s Base Attack Bonus and a +2 bonus to defence checks (this lasts for one round) or restores the monster’s lost Hit Points. The character can repeat the expenditure every round, to continue giving the monster a bonus.

• Instil Discipline

The character is especially good at making his or her monsters obey orders and resist their natural urges. Instilling discipline takes a one-hour training session and costs the trainer and monster 4 Energy Points each. The effects last for 24 hours, minus one hour times the Wisdom of the disciplined monster (24-[1hr x Wisdom] = hours). A disciplined pet will be cautious during fighting, and will not lose control or expose itself recklessly. It receives a +1 defence check bonus.

• Instil Ferocity

The trainer can instil the fighting spirit in his or her monster and teach it to go for the jugular. This technique takes a one-hour training session and costs the trainer and monster 4 Energy Points each. The effects last for (4 + the monster’s Wisdom) hours. A ferocious monster receives a +1 bonus to its Base Attack Bonus. It is also likely to be bad tempered, and may snap at or otherwise harass anyone nearby. A trainer can Instil Ferocity against a specific opponent (such as type of monster) — this requires appropriate training aids (such as a picture or look-alike doll). This doubles the normal bonus, but only against that target; the monster does not gain an attack bonus against any other opponent. This option is useful if the trainer has a good idea who his or her monster will face.

• Monster Tactics

The character has carefully studied cute monsters in battle. He or she understands which attack to use for the greatest effect, when to order a finishing blow at the right moment, and when to sound the retreat. The trouble is, it is the monster fighting, not the character. If the character is supervising the duel, however, and is in a position to shout orders, then his or her monsters receives a +4 bonus on their Initiative rolls through the battle. This can be used in conjunction with Inspire Monster.

• Nurse Monster

The character is a natural monster physician. As long as the monster is under his or her tender care, it heals Hit Points three times faster then it would otherwise. If the character also has Feed Monster, the monster heals five times as quickly as it would otherwise.

• Stat Master

The character possesses an encyclopaedic knowledge of other trainers, as well as teams and monster dojo (if they exist). The character keeps track of who they are, how they Rank in any league or organisation, and what pet monsters they possess. The GM may require a Intelligence check (DC 20) to see if the trainer knows anything about someone specifically.

Transmutation Cost: 3-5 Points/Rank Relevant Ability: Intelligence

Progression: Descriptive; see below

This Attribute allows a character to transmute one non-living object (or set of connected objects) into another, or even create them an object from nothing. Transmutation costs 5 Points/Rank if the character can transmute any object into another (within the limits of his or her Rank). It costs 4 Points/Rank if the character can only transmute (to or from) a general class of objects such as “metal,” “weapons,” “clothing,” or “food.” It also costs 4 Points/Rank if the character can only transmute one object to another of similar mass; the types of objects are unrestricted. The cost is 3 Points/Rank if the character is limited to a transmutation within a specific category and of similar mass, such as “regular clothes to battle costume,” “lead to gold,” or “spoiled food to edible food.” Finally, if the character can only create objects in one of the categories, but not transmute one object to another, the cost is reduced by 1 Point/Rank. The GM may restrict any categories that seem overly broad or too powerful.

The character cannot transmute material into new objects outside the character’s experience. The character could transmute a weapon into a book, painting or videotape, but the content must be something with which he or she was already familiar. Likewise, a character who had no familiarity with computers could not transmute a television into one using Transmutation. The GM may choose to require a Intelligence Ability check (or relevant Skill check) if the character attempts a particularly complex transmutation. Failure may indicate the new object does not function properly; this is especially applicable when creating complex technological devices. Unless the GM decides otherwise, Transmutation is only able to make objects that could be classified as Personal Gear; it cannot create Items of Power. When attempting to transmute an Item of Power, the character suffers a penalty to the Intelligence Ability check of -2 for each Rank of the Item of Power.

Rank 1 The character can transmutate objects weighing up to 1 lb.

Rank 2 The character can transmutate objects weighing up to 5 lbs.

Rank 3 The character can transmutate objects weighing up to 10 lbs.

Rank 4 The character can transmutate objects weighing up to 50 lbs

Rank 5 The character can transmutate objects weighing up to 100 lbs.

Rank 6 The character can transmutate objects weighing up to 500 lbs.

Tunnelling Cost: 2 Points/Rank Relevant Ability: None

Progression: Descriptive; see below

The Tunnelling Attribute allows a character to move earth and/or burrow underground. Tunnelling assumes that the character is going through sand or packed earth; boring through solid rock is one Rank slower. The tunnel the character leaves behind will either be permanent or will collapse immediately (must be specified during creation of each tunnel).

Rank 1 The character tunnels very slowly, similar to the tunnelling speed of ten men with shovels.

Rank 2 The character tunnels slowly, similar to the tunnelling speed of a bulldozer.

Rank 3 The character tunnels at a snail’s pace (up to 60 feet per minute).

Rank 4 The character tunnels at a walking speed (up to 10 mph).

Rank 5 The character tunnels at slow vehicle speeds (up to 50 mph).

Rank 6 The character tunnels at fast vehicle speeds (up to 100 mph).

Unique Attribute Cost: 1-5 Points/Rank Relevant Ability: Varies

Progression: Descriptive; see below

This Attribute covers any abilities not detailed in the rules. Often a single Point is sufficient to give the character “flavour,” but more Points can be allocated to enhance the effects on game play and must be added if the Attribute would be of considerable benefit. Discuss the Attribute with the GM to determine what specific game effects the Attribute possesses.

The GM should assign a Point cost per Rank based on how the Attribute compares to other Attributes and how useful it is. In general, an Attribute that is somewhat useful in the game should cost 1 Point/Rank, one that is very useful should cost 2-3 Points/Rank, and one that is extremely useful should cost 4-5 Points/Rank (or more).

Rank 1 The Attribute has little character or game effect.

Rank 2 The Attribute has a moderate character or game effect.

Rank 3 The Attribute has a large character or game effect.

Rank 4 The Attribute has a major character or game effect.

Rank 5 The Attribute has an extreme effect on the character or game.

Rank 6 The Attribute has a primal effect on the character or game.

Unknown Superhuman Power Cost: Variable Relevant Ability: Variable

Progression: Variable

In some campaigns, the characters may be unaware of their superhuman abilities until they manifest at crucial moments. To represent this, the player can allocate some Points to Unknown Superhuman Power when creating the character. The player does not purchase Ranks in this Attribute — he or she simply spends a selected amount of Character Points. The GM takes those Points and adds a bonus of 50% (rounding up) and uses them to assign other Attributes to the character. The GM does not tell the player which Attributes have been assigned; they are revealed to the player (and character) as the game unfolds and the powers manifest. GMs are encouraged to reveal the character’s powers slowly and when it is appropriate for the campaign’s story. The GM should never feel pressured to tell the player what his or her character’s unknown Attributes are before the time is right.

Water Speed Cost: 2 Points/Rank Relevant Ability: None

Progression: Descriptive; see below

A character with Water Speed can float and travel on or under water. The character can swim on the surface at high speeds and dive underwater for brief periods by holding his or her breath, or indefinitely if he or she has the Adaptation (Underwater) Attribute. To survive the pressure associated with deep diving, the Adaptation (Pressure) Attribute must also be assigned. Also, depending on the speed at which the character is moving, opponents may suffer a penalty to hit the character. A character without Water Speed can still swim but much more slowly (about 2 mph).

Rank 1 The character is as fast as a slow fish or rowboat (up to 10 mph).

Rank 2 The character is as fast as a swift fish or yacht (up to 20 mph).

Rank 3 The character is as fast as a modern steamship (up to 40 mph).

Rank 4 The character is as fast as a speedboat (up to 80 mph).

Rank 5 The character is as fast as a hydrofoil (up to 160 mph).

Rank 6 The character is faster than any fish or watercraft (to 320 mph).

Wealth Cost: 3 Points/Rank Relevant Ability: None

Progression: Descriptive; see below

The character is more financially stable (“liquid”) than an average person. This will allow him or her to easily acquire commercially available goods, and bribe or hire people. Note that hirelings that are intensely loyal to the character should still be acquired through Flunkies or the Servant Attributes. The character can be assumed to have non-liquid assets (like houses or real estate) commensurate with his or her wealth. In order to have access to things that are difficult to acquire without special licenses, or which are illegal, he or she should still take Organisational Ties, Own a Big Mecha, or Personal Gear Attributes.

Rank 1 The character is well off. In a modern-day setting, he or she has assets totalling about $500,000.

Rank 2 The character is wealthy. In a modern day setting, he or she has assets totalling about $1,000,000.

Rank 3 The character is rich. In a modern day setting, he or she has assets totalling a about $10 million.

Rank 4 The character is very rich. In a modern day setting, he or she has assets totalling about $100 million.

Rank 5 The character is extremely rich. In a modern day setting, he or she has assets totalling about $1 billion.

Rank 6 The character is fantastically rich. In a modern day setting, he or she has assets totalling $10 billion or More

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