trol. Characters with a high Agility have a good sense
of balance, flexibility, and deft hands. Agility is used
for a number of physical skills such as Coordination,
and is key to ranged combat skills such as Ranged
(Light) and Ranged (Heavy).
BRAWN
A character's Brawn represents a blend of a charac-
ter's brute power, strength, and overall toughness, as
well as the ability to apply those attributes as need-
ed. Characters with a high Brawn are physically fit
and hardy, tend not to get sick often, and have strong
constitutions. Brawn is used for a number of physical
skills such as Athletics and Brawl. Brawn is also used
to determine a character's starting wound threshold.
CUNNING
Cunning reflects how crafty, devious, clever, and cre-
ative a character can be. Characters with a high Cunning
are savvy, quickly pick up on social and environmental
clues, and can more readily come up with short-term
plans and tactics. Cunning is used for a number of men-
tal skills, such as Deception, Perception, and Survival.
INTELLECT
The Intellect characteristic
measures a character's
intelligence, education,
mental acuity, and
ability to reason and
rationalize. Charac-
ters with a high Intel-
lect can extrapolate
or interpolate data,
can recall details and
draw from previous ex-
perience, and can think
of long-term strategies
and envision the rami-
fications of present ac-
tions. Intellect is used
for a number of men-
tal skills, such as
Astrogation, Com-
puters, and all the
Knowledge skills,
such as Lore and
Xenology.PRESENCE
A character's Presence characteristic is a measure of
his moxie, charisma, confidence, and force of person-
ality. Characters with a high Presence make natural
leaders, draw attention when they enter a room, can
easily strike up a conversation with nearly anyone,
and are quick to adapt to social situations. Presence
is the key characteristic for interpersonal skills such as
Charm and Leadership.WILLPOWER
The Willpower characteristic reflects a character's dis-
cipline, self-control, mental fortitude, and faith. Char-
acters with a high Willpower can withstand stress and
fatigue, remain composed during chaotic situations,
and exert influence over the weaker-willed. Willpower
is used for a number of skills, such as Coercion and
Vigilance. Willpower is also used to determine a char-
acter's starting strain threshold.CHARACTERISTICS IN PLAYDifferent careers and professions rely on different
characteristics more than others. Characteristics also
influence skills, a wide variety of character abilities,
and some derived statistics. For example, in addi-
tion to being used for Athletics and Melee combat
skill checks, Brawn is used to determine a character's
starting wound threshold and forms the basis of a
character's soak value.As mentioned previously, characteristics are one of
the three determining factors when a player creates a
dice pool to perform a check (the other factors being
skill training and task difficulty). See page 15 for
more information about dice pools.SKILLS & TRAINING
While characteristics are extremely important and
create the foundation of a character's abilities, skills
and specialized training are also key components of a
character's makeup. Skills represent the character's
training or experience in performing specific tasks
and actions. Although a character can attempt almost
anything without the proper training or skill, he will
be far more effective and capable if he is skilled at
performing the task at hand.Skills represent specific training, hands-on experi-
ence, or focused knowledge in a certain area. Each
skill is linked to a specific characteristic, the default
ability a character uses when performing a task with
that skill. For example, the Athletics skill is based on
Brawn, Deception relies on Cunning, and Lore uses In-
tellect. The proper skill training can compensate for a
low characteristic rating. However, the most proficient
characters are those who have both the proper train-
ing and a strong linked characteristic.