Character Creation Part 3: Skills (cont.)

What follows is a list of the skills present in A Song in the Dark. Each skill is presented as a name, followed by the base formula for calculating starting skill level, and then a short description of what it covers and any important special rules.

Unarmed Combat [(STR + AGI) x2 +10]: This skill covers a character's abilities at unarmed combat: striking people with the fists or feet, or grappling them. Characters receive a bonus to their unarmed damage of 1 for every 10% over 70% they have in the Unarmed Combat skill.

Melee Combat [(STR + AGI) x 2]: This covers skill in use of close combat weapons, from clubs to bats to swords to axes. Any handheld weapon meant to strike and kill or maim another living target.

Archaic Weapons [(STR + DEX) x 2]: Archaic weapons refers to primitive, muscle powered projectile weapons, either thrown or mechanical, such as javelins, bows, or crossbows.

Small Arms [(PER + DEX) x2]: Covers the use of small personal firearms, such as pistols, SMGs, and rifles.

Heavy Weapons [(PER + DEX)]: Covers the use of heavy weapons, such as heavy machine guns, rocket launchers, and similar high powered weaponry, both single man, and crew loaded. Such weapons are generally very rare in the wastelands, but have been known to be salvaged, particularly from abandoned military bases.

Alien Weapons [(INT + PER + DEX) /2]: Weaponry is occasionally salvaged from Aralia patrols out outposts, and this skill covers the ability of characters to puzzle out their use, as Aralia technology and weaponry often works in strange ways or utilizes unusual technologies unfamiliar to the free human settlements.

First Aid [(INT x 3)]: First Aid measures the sum total of a character's medical knowledge, and is important in stabilizing wounds taken. Medical knowledge is largely primitive amongst most survivors in the wastes, with only basic knowledge of bandaging and the importance of sterilization, though in some rare villages, primitive surgery may be performed.

Maintenance [(INT + DEX)]: This covers the ability of a character to repair various mechanical and electrical devices scavenged from ruins, as well as basic weaponry like hand guns and rifles. As professional knowledge is scarce, this skill tends to represent an experimental instinct. A character with a 70% skill or higher in Maintenance recieves a +10% bonus to all Tech Lore rolls.

Tech Lore [(INT + PER) x 2]: The ruins of civilization are littered with all manner of technological and mechanical devices, most of them useless, some of them potentially vital to the survival of one's village. Being able to spot which is which is an important skill for those who roam the wastes, and this skill is what measure's a character's ability to identify an item, what it does, and how to use it.

Stealth [(PER + AGI) x 2]: Stealth is the ability to not be noticed, walking silently, and finding places and shadows to hide in. Whenever a character wants to hide, or get through an area or into an area without being seen, he rolls on this skill with a standard penalty equal to 2 times the PER of the individual one is trying to avoid being spotted by.

Cooking [(INT + PER + DEX) ]: Cooking is the knowledge of food and food preparation. It is most vital in the wastes, as knowing how to identify edible food, and even how to make otherwise inedible food edible, is vital to survival. With this skill, a character may rummage food stores to spot preserved foods and spices that are still usable, spot animals and fungus that can be consumed, and cook food so that it is safe to consume and even tasty with enough skill.

Navigation [(INT + PER)]: Finding your way around the wastes is a combination of instinct, intuition, and learning how to spot even the subtlest of differences in terrain and surroundings, drawing mental landmarks where most simply wouldn't see anything but more dead trees. With the sky blacked out, not even the stars or the sun can offer clear indication of direction, so often a navigators route may wind up being downright convoluted, as he follows what landmarks he can recall on the way between one place and another. This skill represents that difficult talent, and is important any time a character msut find their way from one place to another in the wastes.

Tactics [(INT + CHA)]: Tactics is the skill of being able to direct warriors to maximum effect in combat. A good leader improves the fighting ability of all those who fight with him. In game terms, this manifests as a bonus applied to all combat rolls on a successful check. The character with the highest Tactics skill makes a check at the beginning of a fight, and on a successful check, him and all his compatriots receive an additional +20% bonus to all combat rolls.

Tracking [(INT + PER) x 2)]: Tracking is the art of finding other creatures in the wastes, whether it's a single target, or just a general type of target. It can be used to track the whereabouts of an oncoming Aralia patrol, an escaping bandit, or to hunt for wildlife to feed the village, or even just the party.

Animal Handling [(CHA + WIL)]: With the primitive state of human society, the use of animals to serve man has become much more important, from beasts of burden used to ride or pull a load, to beasts trained to guard and kill. Animal Handling covers the ability to tame and control these animals. This can be a very dangerous skill however, especially when dealing with the changed and dangerous creatures that roam the wilds. The difficulty of taming a beast is generated by the GM during the creation of the creature, or listed with the rest of its statistics if it is a pregenerated monster.

Diplomacy [(CHA + PER + INT)]: Diplomacy is the skill of skillful conversation, being able to find out the information one desires, or convince an individual of an idea or conclusion. As a skill, this primarily takes the form of a single check at the beginning of an important conversation, modified by the opponent's CHA (or an average thereof if multiple targets need convincing). If the character succeeds, the GM may give him one clue as to what words might sway them to his way of thinking.

Bartering [(CHA + INT) x2]: Bartering is the skill of negotiating goods and services, and is the cornerstone of what passes for an economy among the free villages. If a successful Bartering check is made before a trade, the player bartering receives a 1% discount for every 5% the roll succeeds by.

Beast Lore [(INT + PER)]: Beast lore is the knowledge of the beasts and monsters that stalk the wilderness. It can be used to identify a creature, or at least the creature it evolved from, and possibly any important habits or behaviors. In combat, a successful Beast Lore check can be made to gain a knowledge of it's weak point, giving all party members an additional +5 to damage rolls against the creature if they succeed at a called shot.

Lockpicking [(PER + DEX)]: The skill of opening locked doors and containers without the appropriate key or combination, everything from safes, to door locks, to cash registers. This is an important skill for looting, as often the most valuable items, and especially guns and money, were kept behind lock and key in pre-Nightfall times.

Character Creation Part 2: Derived Stats

Derived stats are so named because they are directly calculated based on your character's main attribute scores. They cover such things as how much your character can lift, how much damage he can take, and other specific capabilities.

Damage
The amount of damage a character can take is measured with three stats: Stamina, Wounds, and Wound Threshold.

Stamina covers the overall amount of damage a body can sustain before it finally collapses. Damage taken is first subtracted from this value, and if it reaches 0, the character has collapsed, and will die at the end of the fight if a successful First Aid roll is not made.

A character has an amount of Stamina equal to his STR plus his CON.

Wounds measures the number of critical injuries the character can sustain before he dies. Wounds are checked off as they are taken during combat, with each wound taken incurring a cumulative -10% penalty to all skill and attribute rolls. Each time a character takes a Wound, he must make a CON attribute check, or become unconscious. Once all a character's wounds have been checked off, he is dead. A character with even a single Wound must be stabilized at the end of a fight with a First Aid check, with a penalty of -5% per Wound to the roll. A failure results in the character dropping to 0 Stamina, and the character must make a CON attribute check or die.

A character has a number of Wounds equal to his CON divided by 4, rounded up.

Wound Threshold measures the amount of Stamina damage a character must take in a single blow in order to suffer a critical Wound. For every multiple of the character's Wound Threshold he takes in damage from a single attack, he takes a Wound.

A character's Wound Threshold is equal to his CON divided by 2.

Healing
Every character has a Healing Rate, which is equal to his number of Wounds. A character's Healing Rate determines the number of Stamina points per day he may recover, provided he receives an adequate amount of rest (at least 8 hours sleep, and at least one meal). Additionally, it also determines the minimum number of days before which a character may recover from a Wound. After this period has passed, the character makes a CON attribute check. A success removes one wound, while a failure simply means the wound refuses to heal. The character continues to make CON checks as this time requirement comes up until his wounds heal completely.

Carrying Limit
A character has a Carrying Limit equal to his STR x 5. This is the maximum amount of weight in pounds that the character can carry in gear on his person and still be able to move about during combat, and travel normally while incurring a normal amount of fatigue.

A character can dead lift or move an object up to STR x 15.

Defense and Armor
A character has a base Defense stat equal to his AGI plus PER. This total acts as a penalty to all attack rolls made against the character. This amount may also be further increased by wearing armor. Armor provides a Defense Bonus which adds to the character's base Defense.

Sequence
A character's Sequence stat is equal to the average of his AGI and PER (AGI + PER / 2). Sequence determines the order in which combatants in a fight take their actions, with higher Sequence numbers acting before lower ones.

Movement Rate
A character has a Movement Rate equal to his AGI times 3. This is the number of feet he may move in a single combat turn.

Melee Damage
A character's Base Melee Damage is equal to his STR divided by 3, rounded down. This is the has amount he can inflict on an unarmed strike, and is also the bonus applied to damage from melee weapons.

Spirit
Every character starts with 3 Spirit Points. Spirit Points are essentially a representation of human determination, and are expended to allow the character to push the limits of his abilities to do great things. A player may declare before making any percentile roll that he will spend a Spirit Point on it, giving him a +30% bonus to the roll.

The GM may also at times offer characters the possibility of expending Spirit Points for other exceptional feats as may seem appropriate, such as lifting or moving an object heavier than his normal limit, or jumping farther than his normal ability.

Spirit Points are awarded by the GM whenever a character does something to aid the survival of his family or his village. The human spirit is all about survival at all costs.

Humans are the only species that gain Spirit Points. Aralia, mutant species, and animals do not.

Character Creation Part 1: Attributes

Attributes define a characters abilities in the broadest sense, measuring the raw capability and talent present in a character. They also serve as the basis for determining a number of important secondary characteristics, as well as affecting the default values of the various skills which characters may train in. They may also be rolled against by themselves in circumstances where no specific skill applies to an action.

The eight attributes and the capabilities they cover in ASID are as follows:

Strength (STR): A character's raw muscle power and build
Agility (AGI): Gross motor control and movement ability
Constitution (CON): Endurance and durability
Dexterity (DEX): Fine motor control and hand eye coordination
Perception (PER): Sensory ability and awareness
Willpower (WIL): Strength of mental will and bravery
Intellect (INT): Intelligence and reason
Charisma (CHA): Skill at interpersonal relations and general magnetism

Normal human attribute scores range from 2-20. A 1 indicates effective non-ability in that particular attribute. An animal for instance, will generally have a 1 in Intellect. 20 is the theoretical limit of human ability, but some superhuman creatures, or enhanced mechanical devices such as powered armor, may exceed 20.

Attribute checks are made by subtracting 1 from the attribute score, and multiplying the result by 5 in order to find the number the player must roll under in order to succeed. The GM may apply bonuses or negatives to modify the difficulty of a check.

Players may choose from two methods for generating their character's attributes: Point buy, or random rolling.

In point buy, the character is given 90 points to assign across all 8 attributes. No attribute may go lower than 2, nor higher than 20.

In random rolling, the player rolls 2d10 9 times, and then assigns the resulting numbers to his attributes as desired. Alternately, if a player is looking for a more unpredictable result, he can simply roll 2d10 for each attribute in turn, applying whatever result should come up on the dice.