ATHLETICS (BRAWN)
Player Characters lead dramatic lives, filled with con-
stant physical confrontations. Often that confronta-
tion comes from an enemy with a blaster, but some-
times it may be a mountain to be scaled, a river to be
swum, or a chasm that must be leapt. The Athletics
skill governs these actions. It serves as a measure of
the character's overall fitness and physical condition-
ing. Those who actively engage in a regimen of physi-
cal training such as survivalists or professional ath-
letes are most likely to have a high rank of Athletics.- Any aspects of climbing—including rappelling or
swinging on a line—fall under the purview of the
Athletics skill. The difficulty of these tasks is cal-
culated by the surface and weather conditions
during the attempts. - Characters who attempt to swim in difficult con-
ditions must check their Athletics. Water condi-
tions—particularly waves, current, and tides—dic-
tate the overall challenge of any efforts to swim. - A character's vertical and horizontal jump are
both determined through use of an Athletics
check. Gravitational conditions and the distance
required factor into the difficulty. - Any character can run, but sprinting or running
for an extended time may fall under the purview
of an Athletics check.
Additional # on an Athletics check can either re-
duce the time required to make the check or increase
the distance traveled with that check.
O O on an Athletics check may be used to grant the
character an additional maneuver during the course of
his turn that can only be taken to move or perform
some sort of physical activity. See page 200 for more
information, and remember characters can only take a
maximum of two maneuvers in their turn. Advantage
can also generate bonus • on other physical checks
performed by allies that turn, or on physical checks the
character performs later.($) results on successful checks should allow the
character to perform the check with truly impressive
results—instead of heaving a boulder aside, he can hurl
it bodily into the air, and instead of grabbing onto the
edge of a hovering platform, the character could use
his momentum to flip atop it. landing on his feet.
As Athletics is usually used to perform physical ac-
tions, <§> and ^ results should most often result in
physical penalties. Small amounts of (§) may cause
the character to suffer strain, while larger amounts of
<§> may cause the character to fall prone, or even suf-
fer a wound from sprains and bruises. ^ could even
inflict a Critical Injury, chosen by the GM to be the-
matic or rolled randomly.CHARM (PRESENCE)
The difficulty of an Athletics check is set by the sever-
ity of the task and the conditions. Attempting to perform
a routine task under normal conditions should never re-
quire a check. A more challenging task—jumping more
than a person's body length or staying afloat for hours-
should require 4} equal to the equivalent difficulty of the
task. Adverse conditions—extreme rain, rough winds,
or aggressive pursuit—could impose one or more • A
combination of these elements can make a check sig-
nificantly more difficult. Extremely adverse conditions-
hurricane force winds or a surface covered in oil—and
superhuman feats may introduce one or more #.For a character with a kind smile and a silver tongue, it
may be possible to travel the galaxy depending upon
the kindness of others. An individual with this knack
is capable of giving just the right compliment to his
target—often by deciphering the subject's social and
cultural background. Note that the use of the Charm
skill requires the acting character to maintain a degree
of sincerity in his statements. A character who is fla-
grantly flattering with no basis in reality may be bet-
ter suited to using the Deception skill. See Social Skill
Interactions on page 113
k for more information. Poli-
P ticians, salesmen, and con
artists are all renowned
^fev for their Charm