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¢ 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
at her enemies. The h1gherthe rating of these
powers, the faster she'll fly, and the more
intense will be her fire. Eventually she'll
develop the Ability to use all her energy in
one great explosion. This would probably
knock her unconscious, but would also do
terrific damage. That explosion would have a
rating of its own, and so be developed
independently.
¢ By physically touching another being, and
Ranking
repeating 'My thoughts are your thoughts,
my mind is your mind' and the like, the
character can achieve a mental contact with
another life form. That contact takes time to
establish, but will allow the sharing ofthoughts,
beliefs, and even emotions.
Both Skills and Abilities are Quantified Traits. The
Director may use whatever method is reasonable to
adjudicate what Skills and Abilities are possessed by a
character, and at what score, or 'Rank'. These methods
can range from a chat with each Actor about what they
want their roles to be like, to a clear rules system for
developing the Chronicle's personas.
Both Skills and Abilities are Scaled on the usual
Range of '0.0' to '10.0'. For Skills, here's what those
numbers mean ...
36 Theatrix - The Core Rules
Skill Ranks
1.0 Basic training. Anything less means a character is Unskilled
in the area.
2.0 Basic training level for a journeyman rn a Skill. This is the
Rank you need for competency.
3.0 The character is skilled in the area, and would be described
as very competent and well trained.
4.0 Excellent training and experience, leading to a highly trained
individual, capable of instructing others.
5.0 Years of experience, and natural aptitude, have allowed the
character to fully master the Skill.
6.0 The character Is capable of Extraordinary feats in the area,
even under pressure and time constraints. The character
possesses a brilliant command of the Skill.
7.0 The character is capable of Impossible feats In the area.
Others can only look on and admire.
8.0 The character makes the Impossible a regular enough
occurrence, that they could have their own television show.
9.0 The character may have doubts, but they're so good that
others don't doubt their capability to do anything with the
Skill. The Impossible is to be expected.
10.0 Nothing is Impossible. Nothing.
These descriptions are genre dependent. Exactly
what a character is capable of, at any particular Rank, will
vary with the Skill in question, the specific task, and most
of all, the Setting. For example, a master inventor (Skill
Rank '5.0') in a realistic modern day Setting, can be
capable of some ingenious work. But a master inventor
(also Skill Rank '5.0') in the Setting of four color superhero
comic books, can probably put stuff together with spare
parts that would put any inventor limited by real world
physics to shame.
The Ranking of Abilities is handled a bit differently.
Each Ability must be individually Scaled. Although in
some cases the learning curve for an Ability may closely
approximate that given above for Skill Ranks, a descrip­
tion of what each Ability is capable of, at each Rank, must
still be included. The Director must then assign the
character a specific Rank in that Ability, placing the
possessing role upon this new Scale. The Director may
use the above Skill Rank descriptions as an example to
aid in this assignment. It's possible for a role to start as a
novice in an Ability, or to be a master, near the height of
her power. The Director simultaneously adjudicates not
only the character's starting power level, but the growth
path for each Ability as well. We'll cover the topic of
Scaling individual Abilities in more depth, under the
'Setting' chapter, later in this book.
Skill and Ability Histories
Skill and Ability Rank descriptions simply give you
a feel for the extent of action these Ranks cover, and
provide a consistent framework upon which to develop