Untitled - Index of - Free

end, or be re-rolled if the scores are too low.
This method can give the flavor of fate, or
destiny in the character's creation. You might
even want to roll for each character's parent's
occupation, or social class, if these factors
are important to your Setting.
¢ Points -A point value cost may be assigned
to the various Traits. Point value costs may
be allocated to Skills, Attributes, Abilities,
and even Descriptors, depending upon their
desired starting Rank, and inherent
usefulness. Each Actor can then be allotted
a number of points with which to purchase
her role. The starting point allowance for a
role could even be increased by adding Flaws
to the character, for which the Actor would
gain bonus purchase points.
¢ Templates -
The Director may create
character Templates as described under
'Makeup and Costuming', which the Actors
may then customize and personalize to build
their roles. This method may be easily
combined with one of the systems described
above.
Feel free to mix and match, or invent your own
methods, in order to come up with a style that best fits your
Setting. Above all, we recommend that you listen to your
Actors' needs. If you have an Actor in your group who
can't roll dice to save her life, then consider limiting the
use of dice in role generation. If one of your Actors is
uncomfortable with her writing skills, then you should take
this into account as well. The important thing is that you
and your Actors have fun, and enjoy the roles that each
person develops.
LISTS
After you've hammered out a suitable method for
character creation, the next step is to generate a Skill,
Ability, and Descriptor list appropriate to your Setting. No
Skill, Ability, or Descriptor list can ever be totally com­
plete, nor do you need to strive for that. Don't worry about
getting every conceivable area of expertise, power, and
background covered. You can add the odd ones later as
you need. These lists need only be complete enough to
give the Actors a good feeling for the breadth of knowl­
edge, powers, and backgrounds available to them within
the Setting. Divide your Skills, Abilities, and Descriptors
up into Categories, in order to better represent them by
professional classification, or type of power, etc. These
Category divisions make it easier for your Actors to pick
out appropriate Skills, Abilities, and Descriptors, and act
120 Theat.-ix - The Core Rules
as a guide for the creation of well adapted Main and
Supporting Cast members.
Skills
Skills are areas of knowledge and expertise that
may be taught to anyone with time, patience, and a little
aptitude. Skills may be as complex as Nuclear Physics, or
as simple as Sewing. How much knowledge any one Skill
covers, and exactly what Skills are present to be learned,
varies greatly with the Setting.
Abilities
Some Settings have no Abilities, while others are
rife with them. Where there are few Abilities, you can
probably create an adequate list as a guide for your
Actors. With Settings that revolve around their multitudes
of Abilities, such as superhero comic book genres, you'll
only be able to come up with a sketchy outline of the
powers available. The rest you'll have to judge on a case
by case basis. Almost always, you'll have the chore of
individually Scaling each Ability as it's chosen by your
Actors. Fortunately, the Skill Rank descriptions corre­
spond closely to those used for most Abilities. Start as you
would for Attributes, and set both the high ('10.0', nothing
is Impossible) and the low ('0.0' totally unskilled) marks.
Remember again, that you're only covering the useful
Range of each Ability. The high '10.0' mark sets the limit
of power for that specific version of the Ability. Fill in the
rest of the Scale, referring to the Skill Rank descriptions
as a guide, ie. a '3.0' should possess a 'competent'
amount of power, a '6.0' should be capable of 'Extraordi­
nary' feats of power, etc. Lastly, place the character
somewhere upon this Scale. Repeat this process for each
Ability chosen.
For example, lets use a four color superhero Set­
ting, and the Ability to control fire, listed as an example in
'Makeup and Costuming'. We'll now completely Scale
this Ability as might be appropriate for such a genre. In
case you don't remember, what we wanted was ...
¢ A character who can ignite herself on fire,
sustaining no damage, fly through the sky at
the speed of a jet, and throw columns of fire
ather enemies. The higher the ratingofthese
powers, the faster she'll fly, and the more
intense will be her fire.
The Director discusses this Ability with the Actor in
question, and determines the maximum potential that will
be allowed for this Chronicle. This serves as the Ability's
'1 0.0' mark. The Director also decides that she'll start the
Actor out as a competent, but not masterful fire wielder,
so there will still be a lot of room for growth. The character