Your Physical attribute handles things like strength, dexterity and stamina.

1 Poor: Weakling, Klutz, You catch colds as a matter of course.

2 Average: Average strength, You can dance without stepping on your partner's toes, You stay in moderate good health.

3 Good: Professional mover, You have a great deal of natural athletic potential, You seldom get sick and heal quickly.

4 Exceptional: Linebacker, You can juggle knives with flair, You are a marathon front-runner.

5 Superb: Olympic weight-lifter, Olympic gymnast, You shrug off a strong man's punch.

Your Mental attribute handles things like perception, raw intelligence and general awareness.

1 Poor: You misplace your keys routinely, You're not the sharpest knife in the drawer, You fall for "Pull my finger".

2 Average: You keep abreast of general goings on, You remember family birthdays, You know to quit while you are ahead.

3 Good: You pick up subtle subtext in books and conversation, Your friends describe you as 'bright', You keep your cool in a fire fight.

4 Exceptional: Your keen eye can pick out even the most minute of flaws, You're not just bright - you're downright brilliant, You always have the perfect comeback

5 Superb: Sherlock Holmes was an amateur compared to you, You're a Genius, You react almost before the other guy acts.

Your Social attribute handles things like your appearance, ability to manipulate others and charisma.

1 Poor: People suppress a cringe when they see you, You rarely get what you want, People drift away when you approach.

2 Average: You're another face in the crowd, You fool some of the people some of the time, You're likable enough.

3 Good: You turn heads when you enter a room, You'd make a good lawyer, You're the life of the party.

4 Exceptional: You could be a model - or maybe you are, Politicians envy your devious nature, Even your enemies respect you.

5 Superb: You are The It Girl/Guy of your generation, Machiavelli had nothing on you, You could lead a nation.

Other Traits describe who you are and what you do. Examples include: Aristocrat, Cat Burglar, Doctor, Military Background, Musician, Painter, Photographer, Private Investigator, Professor, Religious Charlatan, Scientist.

1 Novice: A basic grasp, suitable for hobbies.

2 Practiced: General familiarity, adequate professional training.

3 Competent: Detailed comprehension, skilled professional capacity.

4 Expert: Profound understanding, a peak talent in the field.

5 Master: Utter command, peerless mastery of the subject.

Flaws: Are just that. Weaknesses, Enemies, Dependent Grandmothers, and the Like. The good news: _You_ decide when they come into play. Why would you do such a thing? One reason: Because it makes for good story. Another reason: It's the only way to gain Hero Points if your Hero Point pool is at zero. More on Hero Points later.

Flaw Values: The greater the value of a Flaw, the more often it can grant a Hero Point. For example if you have a Flaw valued at 2, you can get a Hero Point back for invoking it if your current Hero Point value is less than 2. Some example Flaws include: Absent-Mindedness, Bipolar Personality, Being Subject to Delusions, Masochism, Unreasonable Phobias, Paranoia, Having a Split-Personality (the value here depends in part on who runs your _other_ personality and how that personality feels about the primary personality), Being an Airhead, Being Bad Tempered, Being a Coward, Being Obsessed with Someone or Something, Shyness, Stubborness, a Tendancy to go into Berserk Rages (the Flaw here tends to manifest itself in the aftermath as well as the actual rage), Being Unlucky, Being Particularly Old or Young, Suffering from Dyslexia, Having Epilepsy, Missing fingers or a limb, Reduced Hearing or Sight, Reduced Mobility, a Vocal Imparement, Being a Public Figure or Having a Bad Reputation, Being Broke, Being part of an Oppressed Social Group, Being Hunted or Watched by some enemy or group of enemies, Having a Code of Honor or Sense of Responsibility, Having a Vow to uphold, Having Dependent Friends or Relatives, Having an Addiction or Dependence, Being Fatally Honest, Impulsiveness, Intolerance, Jealousy, Kleptomania, Being Lecherous, etc.

How much is a Flaw worth? The Value of a Flaw is determined by two factors: Intensity and Importance. Choose the Intensity and Importance of the Flaw (or describe it and let the person running the game choose) and divide the listed Intensity value by the appropriate Importance value. (See the tables below.)

Intensity Value Guideline

Mild 3 Simple role-playing or a low difficulty roll can overcome it.

Strong 6 Role-playing and a medium difficulty roll to overcome it.

Severe 9 Good or extended role-playing and a hard difficulty roll to overcome it.

Extreme 12 Good extended role-playing and a very hard roll to overcome it.

Importance Value Guideline

Minor Divide by 3 Has a minor affect on combat, skills or world reaction

Major Divide by 2 Has serious affect on combat, skills or world reaction, Causes or increases damage in a minor way, Puts the character into danger

Extreme Divide by 1 Has extreme affect on combat, skills or world reaction, Causes or increases damage in a major way, Puts the character into extreme danger

Defining your Character:

STEP 1: Attributes and Traits

METHOD 1: Put a "1" in one of your Traits or Attributes. Put a "2" in one of the remaining four slots. Put a "3" in one of the remaining slots. Put a "4" in one of the last two slots. Put a "5" in the last slot. (Or start with 5, it's your choice. Basically you have the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 to distribute as you wish.)

METHOD 2: You have 15 points to distribute as you wish. However, only one character can have a "5" in any specific Trait or Attribute, only one character can have a "4" in any specific Trait or Attribute, only two characters can have a "3" in any specific Trait or Attribute, only three characters can have a "2" in any specific Trait or Attribute, and only five characters can have a "1" in any specific Trait or Attribute.

METHOD 3: Put however many points you want where ever you want them. If you choose this route, the person running the game chooses how many Hero Points everyone starts out with, and has the right to make the lives of 'tougher' characters miserable, or at the very least, much less pleasant.

STEP 2: Flaws

Define at least one flaw for your character. You can add and subtract from these flaws at any time, but you should always keep at least one - just in case you run out of hero points.

STEP 3: The Important Stuff

Define your character. Who are you? What do you look like? When were you born? Where do you live? How do you feel about the world around you? Why did you choose your professions? You get the picture. Consider taking some of Emode's personality quizzes "in character" to help fill in some the details.