II. STATS

There are four primary stats: Strength, Dexterity, Will, and Intelligence.

These are the most fundamental attributes of a character. They affect a character's proficiency with skills, combat ability, talent at sorcery, and overall performance as an adventurer.

Strength is a measure of physical power. The mass and muscle of the individual, the amount of weight he can carry, and the amount of damage he can inflict are all determined by strength. A character can lift 100 pounds for each level of strength.

Dexterity is a measure of physical speed. Quickness, perception, balance, and coordination are all facets of dexterity. It affects both how easily an individual can hit others in physical combat and how difficult it is for enemies to hit him.

Willpower is a measure of the strength of the mind. Courage, patience, and self-control are facets of will. It allows a character to resist interrogation, torture, and fear, and determines the amount of supernatural energy that a sorcerer can channel.

Intelligence is a measure of quickness of thought. Memory, IQ, and cleverness are facets of intelligence. It allows a character to learn quickly and to apply knowledge in useful ways. It allows a sorcerer to cast spells more effectively.

Average humans have levels ranging between 1 and 3 in each of the four main stats. Small children, frail elders, and diseased individuals may have physical stats lower than one, while fools and madmen may have mental stats lower than one. Mythic heroes and villains may have stats of five, six, or even higher. Monsters and horrors may have stats of ten, twenty, or beyond.

Stats have a cubic growth curve -- the higher your stat, the more difficult it is to make it better. The amount of character points necessary to achieve a particular level of a stat is given by the following formula:

points = level * level * level

So, if a starting character wants a strength of 3, it will cost him 27 character points (3 * 3 * 3). If that same character later gains some experience and wishes to raise his strength to 4, he will need to spend an additional 37 points (4 * 4 * 4, minus the 27 points already spent to achieve level 3). Fractions are rounded down, so if the character spent only 30 additional points on strength, he would see no benefit until he spent the final 7 points to raise all the way to level 4.

Stat levels are open-ended. There is no hard limit to how high a normal human character can raise his stats, only the limitation of cost in experience points.

stat level      cost            description

1               1               feeble
2               8               average
3               27              good
4               64              great
5               125             heroic
6               216
7               343
8               512
9               729
10              1000            mythic
...             ...
L               L*L*L

There are four secondary stats: Constitution, Initiative, Stamina and Health. These stats are not bought with character points, but are calculated from the character's primary stats.

Constitution represents a the overall toughness of a character, both physical toughness and the will to live.

Constitution = Strength + Willpower

Initiative represents a character's reflexes and reaction time.

Initiative = Dexterity + Intelligence

Stamina represents how much punishment a character can take before falling unconscious.

Health represents how much punishment a character can take before dying.

The stamina and health of a character are equal to his constitution multiplied by twenty.

Stamina = Health = Constitution * 20