Capabilities


For quick and dirty definitions, click here.

Attributes

Attributes are basic abilities. Think of them of what the character's capabilities would be if he/she were suffering profound amnesia. There are nine attributes in ForeSight (a carefully chosen minimum):

Attribute

Description

ST

Strength

Ability to exert muscular force

EN

Endurance

Constitutional fortitude

DX

Dexterity

Manual and digital dexterity

AG

Agility

Overall coordination and balance

IN

Intelligence

Academic talent, especially memory

PC

Perception

Alertness and ability to observe the significant

EM

Empathy

Ability to understand others

WP

Willpower

Strength of will and determination

AP

Appearance

Sexual attractiveness to others of same species

A character has two scores for each of his/her attribute, called inherent and trained.

Inherent Attributes. These represent the character's basic unhoned ability. For humans, inherent attributes range from 5 to 12.

Trained Attributes. These represent a character's current ability with an attribute. Trained attributes start out equal to inherent, and can be trained up to a maximum of four above the inherent value (using GPs and EPs). Circumstances may also cause them to fall, but exceptional circumstances, such as injury or privation, are required to reduce them below inherent.

References to attributes (in formulae, etc.) are to the trained attribute score. E.g. skill PCSs are calculated based on a character's trained attributes, as are maximum skill levels, and attribute PCSs.

Attribute PCS. Attributes sometimes need to be used as skills, and for this purpose they are converted to a PCS by doubling them. PCSs above 20 are treated as 20 + (the excess/3 rounded down).

Attribute

Trained x 2

PCS

0..22

The same (0..20)

23..25

20+1

26..28

20+2

29..31

20+3

32..35

20+4

Secondary Attributes

These are miscellaneous capabilities that are derived from a character's attributes. They should be calculated and recorded for convenience, but are purely a consequence of a character's attributes (i.e. they are not trained separately, and may vary as a result of trained attribute scores changing).

UCDC. Unarmed Combat Damage Class is derived from Strength and represents the amount of damage a character does with his/her bare hands. It is used as the basis for determining the amount of damage the character can inflict with any kind of muscle-powered weapon.

UCDC Table

Strength

UCDC

1-2

-2

3-4

-1

5-6

0

7-8

1

9-12

2

13-14

3

15-16

4

17-18

5

n > 18

n/2 - 4 (rounded up)

Carrying Capacity. How much a character can easily carry, lug with difficulty, lift in a pinch, or drag in desperation, is determined by the character's strength.

Carrying Capacity Table

Strength

Carry

Lug

Hump

Lift

Shift

1

1

2

4

8

16

2

2

4

8

16

32

3

3

6

12

24

48

4-5

4

8

16

32

64

6-7

6

12

24

48

96 

8-9

8

16

32

64

128

10-11

12

24

48

96

192

12-13

16

32

64

128

256

14-15

24

48

96

192

384

16-17

32

64

128

256

512

You can extend this table indefinitely by doubling every second row (i.e. to get a given row, double the values from the row before last.

Fatigue. How long a character can sustain a level of physical exertion or withstand environmental adversity, and the shape he/she will be in afterwards, is determined by fatigue. In general, the fatigue rules can be ignored and referred to only when endurance in adverse conditions is important, or relative endurance is an important factor (e.g. an extended chase on foot).

Characters have three fatigue scores:

Puff. This is EN/3 (rounded off). This is the fatigue value the character will be restored to (assuming his/her fatigue was lower) with "a few minutes" of rest.

Recovered. This is equal to (EN + WP)/2 (rounded off). This is the amount of fatigue a character will recover to after "about an hour" of rest. Beyond this value, fatigue is recovered at the rate of Puff points per additional hour of rest or reasonable meal consumed.

Rested. This is equal to EN + WP. This is the absolute maximum amount of fatigue the character can get, e.g. the amount he/she will typically have after "a good night's sleep".

Speed. How quickly and decisively a character can act in combat and similarly stressful conditions is governed by speed. (This is not a measure of how fast the character can run.) Speed is determined by AG (agility).

Agility

Speed

1

-2 + G

2..5

-1 + G

6..9

0 + G

10..13

1 + G

14..17

2 + G

Skills

Skills represent gradually honed abilities.

Fields of Knowledge

Fields of Knowledge represent bodies of knowledge assimilated by the character.

Familiarities

Familiarities represent a character's familiarity with a situation or object. The most important and often used familiarities are Environment and Gravity familiarites. (A third type of familiarity - Temperature - has been omitted from this edition; it was hardly ever used in play-testing.)

Gravity and temperature familiarities are woven into BEFs (as E and G), so that a character's actual BEF is calculated based on the most relevant familiarity given his/her current situation.

Long Term Familiarities (LTFs) are used to handle objects and situations that a character "knows like the back of his/her hand". In order to obtain an LTF with a given situation of object, the GM must agree that the character has the necessary experience with the object/situation, and the character must spend the requisite GPs or EPs.

Designer's Note: LTFs assigned to objects, such as (this is a sad but typical examples) swords are not transferrable other than to an essentially identical item, which will be very hard to find pre-mass-production.

Non-Familiarity Modifiers (NFMs) are used to handle unfamiliar objects (e.g. a pilot trying to fly a new type of plane) or situations (e.g. a guidance counsellor trying to perform a hostage negotiation). The GM should apply an NFM in such cases, and gradually ease it off as the character grows accustomed to the unfamiliar thing.

Talents

Talents are intrinsic talents possessed by a character allowing him/her access to special skills or fields of knowledge not available to "normal" folk.