Character

Stats

Characters in Against the Darkmaster are defined by a set of six Stats, which measure their intrinsic capabilities and basic strengths or flaws.

Each Stat has an associated Stat Value, which can be positive or negative, and tells you how good a character is in a particular field. A high value will give the character an advantage in all Skills governed by that Stat. A low or negative value means the character will have to work harder to achieve excellence in that area.

Brawn (BRN)

Measures a character's muscular strength and physical power. A character with a high BRN Stat will generally have a good aptitude with melee weapons, and will tend to be good in activities like running, climbing, or lifting heavy weights.

Swiftness (SWI)

Measures a character's dexterity, speed, coordination, balance, and general agility. Characters with a high SWI Stat will evade attacks more often, will find hitting their mark with ranged and light weapons easier, and be good at tasks like moving without being heard or jumping over obstacles.

Fortitude (FOR)

Measures a character's resistance and vigor. Characters with a high FOR Stat will be better able to endure the effects of fatigue, pain, poison, and disease, and will be more difficult to knock out. Fortitude also forms the base of a character's Toughness Save Roll (TSR) Bonus.

Wits (WIT)

Measures a character's reasoning, cleverness, mnemonic ability, and mental agility. Characters with a high WIT Stat will tend to excel in academic subjects or at tasks requiring ingeniousness and quick thinking, and will find it easier to outsmart or trick their enemies.

Wits also modifies the number of Magic Points a Wizard character gains at each Level.

Wisdom (WSD)

Measures a character's empathy, intuition, willpower, awareness, and attention to detail. Characters with a high WSD Stat will usually be more perceptive and will more often resist the effects of fear and evil magic. Wisdom also forms the base of a character's Willpower Save Roll (WSR) Bonus.

Wisdom also modifies the number of Magic Points an Animist character gains at each Level.

Bearing (BEA)

Measures a character's presence, charisma, and social influence. Characters with a high BEA Stat will find it easier to impose their will on others, influence someone else's opinion, or captivate an audience with their words.

Bearing also modifies the number of Magic Points characters that are neither Animists nor Wizards gain at each Level.

Generating Stats

There are two methods for generating a character's Stats: Random Stat Roll or Point Buy. The group must choose one method before the game begins and use it for all characters.

Random Stat Roll

Players roll a d100 six times and consult the table below to find the Stat Value for each roll, then assign one result to each of their six Stats as they see fit. Characters generated this way will have Stat Values ranging from -20 to +35.

Best of Twelve (variant): For a more powerful but riskier game, roll a d100 twelve times, keep six results of your choice, and arrange them as you see fit. This method can produce characters with very high Stat Values, but also with negative Values in some Stats.

Point Buy

Distribute 50 points among the six Stats, in slots of 5 points each. No Stat may be given a starting value higher than +25 or lower than +0.

Some example arrays generated with this method:

• +20, +15, +10, +5, +0, +0
• +25, +20, +5, +0, +0, +0
• +10, +10, +10, +10, +5, +5

Any of these pre-built arrays may be used directly instead of distributing points manually. This method tends to produce well-balanced characters, though it can also lead to highly optimised, one-dimensional builds if players focus too narrowly.