Table 1.1: Ability Modifiers

Table 1.1: Ability Modifiers

Score / Mod / Base HtH Dam.
1 / -5 / 1d3
2-3 / -4 / 1D3
4-5 / -3 / 1D3
6-7 / -2 / 1D3
8-9 / -1 / 1D3
10-11 / 0 / 1D3
12-13 / +1 / 1D3
14 / +2 / 1D3
15 / +2 / 1D6
16-17 / +3 / 1D6
18-19 / +4 / 1D
20-21 / +5 / 2D6
22-23 / +6 / 2D6
24 / +7 / 2D6
25 / +7 / 3D6
26-27 / +8 / 3D6
28-29 / +9 / 3D6
30-31 / +10 / 4D6
32-33 / +11 / 4D6
34 / +12 / 4D6

Bigger and Smaller Creatures: The figures on Table 9.1: Carrying Capacity are for Medium-size creatures. Larger creatures can carry more weight depending on size category: Large ( x 2), Huge ( x 4), Gargantuan ( x 8), and Colossal ( x 16). Smaller creatures can carry less weight depending on size category: Small (3/4), Tiny (1/2), Diminutive (1/4), and Fine (1/8). Thus, a human with a Strength score magically boosted to equal that of a giant would still have a harder time lifting, say, a horse or a boulder than a giant would.

Tremendous Strength: For Strength scores not listed, determine the carrying capacity this way. Find the Strength score between 20 and 29 that has the same ones digit as the creature’s Strength score. Multiply the figures by four if the creature’s Strength is in the 30s, 16 if it’s in the 40s, 64 if it’s in the 50s, and so on. For example, a cloud giant with a 35 Strength can carry four times what a creature with a 25 Strength can carry, or 3,200 pounds, multiplied by eight because the cloud giant is Gargantuan, for a grand total of 25,600 pounds.

Table 9.1: Carrying Capacity

LightMediumHeavy

LoadLoadLoad

1 Strup to3 lb.6 lb.10 lb.

2 Strup to6 lb.13 lb.20 lb.

3 Strup to10 lb.20 lb.30 lb.

4 Strup to13 lb.26 lb.40 lb.

5 Strup to16 lb.33 lb.50 lb.

6 Strup to20 lb.40 lb.60 lb.

7 Strup to23 lb.46 lb.70 lb.

8 Strup to26 lb.53 lb.80 lb.

9 Strup to30 lb.60 lb.90 lb.

10 Strup to33 lb.66 lb.100 lb.

11 Strup to38 lb.76 lb.115 lb.

12 Strup to43 lb.86 lb.130 lb.

13 Strup to50 lb.100 lb.150 lb.

14 Strup to58 lb.116 lb.175 lb.

15 Strup to66 lb.133 lb.200 lb.

16 Strup to76 lb.153 lb.230 lb.

17 Strup to86 lb.173 lb.260 lb.

18 Strup to100 lb.200 lb.300 lb.

19 Strup to116 lb.233 lb.350 lb.

20 Strup to133 lb.266 lb.400 lb.

21 Strup to153 lb.306 lb.460 lb.

22 Strup to173 lb.346 lb.520 lb.

23 Strup to200 lb.400 lb.600 lb.

24 Strup to233 lb.466 lb.700 lb.

25 Strup to266 lb.533 lb.800 lb.

26 Strup to306 lb.613 lb.920 lb.

27 Strup to346 lb.693 lb.1,040 lb.

28 Strup to400 lb.800 lb.1,200 lb.

29 Strup to466 lb.933 lb.1,400 lb.

30 Strup to53210641600

31 Strup to61212241840

32 Strup to69213842080

33 Strup to80016002400

34 Strup to93218642800

35 Strup to106421323200

36 Strup to122424523680

37 Strup to138427724160

38 Strup to160032004800

39 Strup to186437325600

40 Strup to212842566400

41 Strup to244848967360

42 Strup to276855368320

43 Strup to320064009600

44 Strup to3728745611200

45 Strup to4256852812800

46 Strup to4896980814720

47 Strup to55361108816640

48 Strup to64001280019200

49 Strup to74561492822400

50 Strup to85121702425600

51 Strup to97921958429440

52 Strup to110722214433280

53 Strup to128002560038400

54 Strup to149122982444800

55 Strup to170243411251200

56 Strup to195843923258880

57 Strup to221444435266560

58 Strup to256005120076800

59 Strup to298245971289600

60 Strup to3404868096102400

61 Strup to3916878336117760

62 Strup to4428888576133120

63 Strup to51200102400153600

64 Strup to59648119296179200

65 Strup to68096136448204800

66 Strup to78336156928235520

67 Strup to88576177408266240

68 Strup to102400204800307200

69 Strup to119296238848358400

70 Strup to136192272384409600

71 Strup to156672313344471040

72 Strup to177152354304532480

73 Strup to204800409600614400

74 Strup to238592477184716800

75 Strup to272384545792819200

76 Strup to313344627712942080

77 Strup to3543047096321064960

78 Strup to4096008192001228800

79 Strup to4771849553921433600

80 Strup to54476810895361638400

+10 Str x 4x 4x 4

Table 9.2: Carrying Loads

Max Check ... Speed ...

Load Dex Penalty Run

Medium+3 -3 2/3x4

Heavy+1 -6 2/3x3

Before you can play any role playing game you must create a character, in this case a superhero, to be your fantasy counterpart. Character creation is divided into five steps. First, you will roll dice to determine your character's physical and mental abilities. These are such things as Strength, Intelligence, Dexterity, etc. Second, you will roll dice to determine your character's super powers. Can he or she fly, walk through walls, or hurl lightning bolts? This is the "super" part of being a superhero. Third you will choose your character class and profession. Fourth, you will choose what skills your character needs to survive and advance. Fifth, and last, you will roll dice to determine how much money your character has to buy equipment with.

Abilities

Ability scores describe your character's relative physical and mental talents and characteristics. The basic ability scores for most people will range between 3 (feeble) and 18 (exceptional).

Exceptional individuals can raise one or more of these scores higher than this range, but most people will average 10 or 11 on any given score. Most of your character's basic abilities are rolled on 4D6 with the lowest die dropped.

Strength: Strength determines your characters raw muscle power, it determines how much you can lift, and how much damage you do. Your Strength modifier is used for such things as swimming and climbing. The character will do 1 D6 of damage in unarmed combat for every five points of Strength the character has above 10. If the characters Strength is below 15, they will do 1D3 of damage. In addition the Strength modifier is added to hand to hand damage. Strength is usually abbreviated as "STR", and is rolled on 4D6 dropping the lowest die.

Will: Will power is patience, perseverance, self control, the ability to concentrate under fire, and to some extent wisdom. It helps you to resist being stunned in combat, and to resist mind affecting powers. Will is seldom abbreviated, and is rolled on 4D6 with the lowest die dropped.

Intelligence: Intelligence will help your character solve problems, spot traps, learn skills, and notice important details. It often plays the best if your character's Intelligence is close to your own, since it is you, the player, who must do the thinking anyway. The character's Intelligence may be chosen, rather than rolled. Intelligence is usually abbreviated as "INT", and is rolled on 4D6 with the lowest die dropped.

Constitution: Constitution is your character's general physical toughness. A higher Constitution helps you resist injuries, helps you continue to function when injured, and survive injuries that would kill a lesser mortal (For details see "Injury and Death", Page 24). Constitution is usually abbreviated as "CON", and is rolled on 4D6 with the lowest die dropped.

Personality: This is strength of Personality and sense of self, it helps your character achieve fame, fortune, and make his or her presence felt. It is what gets your character noticed and listened to, not necessarily how much you are liked or admired. Personality is sometimes abbreviated as "PERS" (but not very often). It is rolled on 4D6 with the lowest die dropped.

Dexterity: Dexterity affects speed of movement, as well as reflexes and initiative in combat. Dexterity is often abbreviated as "DEX", and is rolled on 4D6 with the lowest die dropped.

Vitality: Vitality is the one exception, when it comes to rolling ability scores, see your character class for information on rolling vitality. This represents your character's physical and mental energy. Vitality is what super powers run on, and reflects just how much damage a character can take and remain conscious. Vitality will go up with levels, so don't worry if yours seems low. Vitality is sometimes abbreviated as "VIT".

Specialty: The Specialty roll is an additional bonus that you can add to your character's ability scores. This allows you to customize your character a bit, and give him or her some areas of strength (after all, he or she is supposed to be superhuman). The Specialty is rolled with 2 D10 for a “Heroic” character, 5 D12 for a “Larger than Life” character, or 4 D20 plus 1 D10 for an “Epic” scale character. You may spread the resulting points around among the 7 basic ability scores in anyway you choose.

Movement: Your characters base movement rate is 30, this may be modified by race or powers.

Option: Some people like a larger variation in running speeds. Your base movement rate is (Dex/3) * 5.

Option: As an alternative to rolling dice for your character ’s abilities, consider using the following system: Instead of rolling 4D6 for each Ability score, start with 67 points and distribute them among those same scores. This is the average number of points you would get by rolling the dice for Strength, Intelligence, Will, Dexterity, Constitution, and Personality. No score can be less than 3, of course.

At this point you may decide whether to create a Heroic character, a “Larger than Life” character, or an “Epic” scale character.

Players who roll dice for their characters get a Specialty roll, which yields points to add to any ability score, or spread among the ability scores in any way that they choose. You will get a generous slice of this as well, though just how generous is up to the Referee. Heroic characters will get 17 extra “Specialty” points. “Larger than Life” characters get 32 Specialty points. “Epic” scale superhero’s get 47 “Specialty” points. These bring your total points up to 84, 99, and 114, respectively.

Powers

The next step in creating your character is to determine what your character's Powers are. On the next page there are several lists of Powers. Roll 1D100 once for Offense, Defense, Transportation, and Special powers, and note which Powers you rolled. Some Referees allow players to simply pick the powers they want for their characters, and that's all right as long as the players don't get too ridiculous.

If, when rolling, you get an Offense Power which has an asterisk (*) next to it, it means that you may choose the defense that matches it, instead of rolling on the Defense power table. The matching defense is the one just to the right of the offense that you rolled. For example, if you rolled 39 on the Offense Power table, which is Magnetic Attack, you could choose Magnetic Defense instead of rolling for a Defense. This does help generate consistent characters, if that's what you want (of course, strange characters can be fun too...). See "Powers" on Page 31 for power descriptions.

Free Powers: One of the tables that appears on the next page is titled Free powers. These are powers that are a mixed blessing, that include disadvantages to balance out the advantages the powers give. Characters may have any of these powers that they want. Read them carefully before you take them though.

Minor Powers/Enhancements: These are powers that can be gained, and added to, as your character advances, individually they are not as powerful as full powers but several together can be. At character creation you may trade in one of your normal powers for three Minor powers or Enhancements, if you choose.

Notes on Powers: Many times you will have a preconceived idea about the character you want to play, and random selection of powers isn't going to be satisfactory. In cases like this there is no reason that you can't pick the powers you want for your character. Just remember that the Referee has to approve the result

INSERT TABLE OF POWERS

Character Classes: Heroes and Villains

Character Classes are general groups that a character may belong too. Every character in the game will belong to one of these groups. Players may choose the class their own character starts in. The Referee may change this class during play based on the character's behavior, or at the player’s request. Non-Player Characters (NPCs) will have a class too, although it will not always be obvious to the players just which class a particular person is. The following sections will explain the character classes of this game and what they mean.

Heroes: These are the good guys, usually belonging to one of the players, though they could be NPCs Heroes will work to maintain law and order, preserve human life, protect the public safety, and oppose criminals. In repayment for these services, Heroes will frequently receive rewards, inexpensive (or free) medical care, and public praise. (For details on rewards, seethe section on "Money Matters", on Page 17). Heroes who perform villainous acts will become Fallen Heroes (see "Fallen Heroes", which follows).

Game Rule Information

Heroes have the following game statistics

Hit Die: D8

Starting Vitality: The Hero starts with 30 (fit) + 4D8 + Con Modifier * 4 Vitality points

Feats: A Hero gains a feat at levels 1, 3, and every 3 levels thereafter.

Class Skills: The Heroes Class skills are determined by their profession. Choose a profession from the packages listed under the skill section, or create your own.

Skill Points at first level (4+Int Modifier) * 4

Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4 + Int Modifier

TABLE: The Hero

Base Fort Ref Will

Level Attack Bonus Save Save Save Special*

------

1+0 +2+2+2Bonus power

2+1 +3+3+3Bonus power

3+2 +3+3+3

4+3 +4+4+4Bonus power

5+3 +4+4+4

6+4+5+5+5Bonus power

7 +5+5+5+5

8 +6+6+6+6Bonus power

9 +6+6+6+6

10 +7+7+7+7Bonus power

11 +8+7+7+7

12 +9+8+8+8Bonus power

13 +9+8+8+8

14 +10+9+9+9Bonus power

15 +11+9+9+9

16 +12+10+10+10Bonus power

17 +12+10+10+10

18 +13+11+11+11Bonus power

19 +14+11+11+11

20 +15+12+12+12Bonus power

• This Bonus Power can be either a Minor Power or an Enhancment

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Hero.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The Hero is proficient in simple weapons.

Powers: A Hero normally starts with four powers and one limitation.

Bonus: A Hero gains an additional +3 inherent bonus to hit at 1st level.

Skills

The fourth step in character creation is to select Skills. Skills are expert abilities available to anyone with the time and patience to learn them. Every character in the game starts with a number of skills based on their class and Int modifier and will be able to learn more when they have gained some experience: Every level gained gives the character more skills to spend as listed in the character class. Note: The maximum skill points you can have in a Class Skill is Level +3, the maximum in a Cross Class Skill is (Level /2) + 2. Unless otherwise specified everyone is considered to speak their native language and to be literate.

Skill List: Animal Empathy (PERS), Appraise (INT), Balance (DEX), Bluff (PERS), Climb (STR), Concentration (CON), Connections (Pers), Craft (INT), Demolitions (Wis), Detect Weakness (Int), Detective Work (Int), Diplomacy (PERS), Disable Device (INT), Disguise (PERS), Element Control (Pers), Escape Artist (DEX), Forgery (INT), Foresight (Int), Gather Information (PERS), Handle Animal (PERS), Heal (WIS), Hide (DEX), Intimidate (PERS), Intuit Direction (WIS), Jump (STR), Knowledge (INT), Listen (WIS), Move Silently (DEX), Open Lock (DEX), Perform (PERS), Pick Pocket (DEX), Profession (WIS), Read Lips (INT), Ride (DEX), Search (INT) Security Systems (Int), Sense Motive (WIS), Speak Language (Int), Spellcraft (INT), Spot (WIS), Surveillance (Wis), Swim (STR), Tumble (DEX), Unarmed Combat, Use Rope (DEX), Vehicle Operation (Dex, Trained Only), Wilderness Lore (WIS).

For more detailed descriptions of skills see the Skill section.

Money

The final step in creating your character is to find out how rich or poor your character is: Money can't buy everything, but poverty can't buy anything. Roll D100, and consult the table below to learn how much money your character has. It is possible to get extra money in your character's "Savings" by borrowing money. This will increase your savings by the amount you originally got from the table, but will lower your character's income bracket by one full category until the loan is paid back. The loss of income reflects the interest payments on the loan. The loan must be paid back separately by the character. Similarly, investments in stocks, business or career training can raise income, so higher income brackets can be "bought" by paying the "Savings" amount of the next higher bracket from the one you are in.

Dice Total Weekly Annual

Roll Savings Income Annual

01-05 $0 $60- $150 $7,500

06-10 $0 $150- $260 $13,100

11-20 $750 $260- $420 $23,000

21-30 $2,250 $420- $525 $25,000

31-49 $3,000 $525- $650 $34,000

50-66 $7,500 $650- $750 $37,500

67-76 $15,000 $750- $1,000 $50,000

77-86 $22,500 $1,000- $1,200 $60,000

87-92 $30,000 $1,200- $1,500 $75,000

93-96 $37,500 $1,500- $2,250 $100,000

97-99 $45,000 $2,250- $3,000 $150,000

100 $50,000 $3000- $250,000-

Equipment

Equipment

Now that you have some money, what do you spend it on? The answer is: Anything you want. Anything available in the real world is available in the game world, at about the same prices.

However, to simplify your life a bit, here is a list of uncommon

items that you might find useful.

Equipment List

Body Armor: Body Armor is padding worn to cut damage caused by heavy impacts. It's bulky and restrictive, and is not bulletproof. Body Armor costs $15 per point of damage reduction, and reduces any bonus you may get from DEX or Martial Defense by one for every 5 points of body armor worn (ie. 10 points of armor is -1, 20 is -2). This adjustment is rounded normally. Body armor cuts collision vitality damage done by collisions in half, but never reduces it by more than your Constitution, or than it has armor points. It weighs 1/4 pound per point and is considered to have an AR of 1.

Bulletproof Uniform: Bulletproof clothing is made of a special Kevlar™ fabric, and comes in two thicknesses. It works by absorbing some or all of the bonus CON damage done by bullets The heavy form is stiff, resembling light leather. It will absorb up to 2 points of CON damage per attack. It costs $50 a square foot, and reduces your Dex modifier 2. This has an AR of 1

The lighter form resembles heavy silk, and is much preferred by nimbler characters, since it doesn't interfere with movement at all. It is a bit more expensive, and will subtract up to 1 point of CON damage. This form costs $75 a square foot. Both forms can be made fireproof for double the cost. (Fireproof clothing cuts damage caused by incidental contact with fire by 50%. It does not help against Flame Attacks). This has an AR of 1

Crash Helmet: A Crash Helmet is simply body armor for the head. Instead of reducing Dex or martial defense bonuses with it's bulk, it inter-feres with hearing and peripheral vision. In other words for every 5 points of Armor it reduces your spot and listen checks by 1. This has an AR of 1.

First Aid Kit: This is a small case containing bandages, sterile dressings, and medications used for cuts, burns, and other injuries: No hero should be without one.

Flak Vest:A Flak Vest, also called a bulletproof vest, is a heavily padded suit that covers the main torso and hip areas. It will absorb up to 4 points of bonus CON damage per attack. It also acts as ten point body armor. Note that you can still be shot in the head or legs, and that the suit does hinder movement, just like any other body armor does (see "Body Armor", above).

Floodlight: Floodlights can come in many different sizes, from hand held flashlights to ones that mount on a car and will blister paint at ten paces. They are useful for signalling people, blinding opponents, or even (gasp) lighting a room. Only the biggest ones will be able to dazzle people ($75 and up).

Guns: Most of the guns used in this game are handguns, and all of the prices noted reflect this. For the most part, super types don't need or use guns, which is just as well, since it is very hard to get a permit without giving your true name. Referee's should actively discourage the casual use of guns by player characters. Using a gun requires proficiency in guns or heavy guns (depending on type). Using one without proficiency incurs a five point attack penalty. Note that while shotguns do immense damage at close range, this damage is cut in half for each 10 yards the target is from the gun. See Weapons, Page 26.