Primary and Secondary Abilities

As its very name implies, the Costumed Adventurer Simulation Engine is designed to let its players vicariously act out the lives of, well, costumed adventurers. Whether they be good, evil, or somewhere in-between, these folks stand apart from others by donning some manner of conspicuous ensemble or another, all the while engaging in activities that ostensibly involve exceptional, if not super-human, abilities. CASE players cannot do so, however, without a basic understanding of just what these costumed adventurers are capable of.

And the essential traits of every character, no matter how strong or weak, can be described by their ability scores.

Standard Abilities

Just about every character in the CASE is represented by eleven distinct ability scores. These primary statistics include a character's Fighting, Agility, Strength, Endurance, Reason, Intuition, Psyche, Resources, Popularity, Health, and Karma. The capabilities of CASE characters can be even more granular, however, in that the game allows its players to 'split' each primary ability score into two secondary abilities if they so choose - both different, but combining to represent the same net value of that primary ability score.

All eleven ability scores are described here, with generalized benchmarks provided to give one an idea what each rank in each ability score means to a character.

Fighting (Ftg): "You must not fight too often with one enemy, or you will teach him all your art of war."
- Napoleon Bonaparte

Fighting is a hybrid ability, an amalgamation of physical and mental prowess in the field of battle. It is meant to describe both natural and trained ability in a scrap. One can certainly have more of one than the other depending on their story, but either way the sum of these two qualities can be used to describe someone's net skill in battle. Fighting as an ability score is used to resolve melee, or hand-to-hand combat, and is also used to determine how many actions a character may attempt each turn.

The Fighting ability can be divided into two separate, secondary ability scores: Offensive Fighting and Defensive Fighting. Offensive Fighting, abbreviated Ftg (off), is primarily used when one character attempts some manner of hand-to-hand assault against another, whether this involves a punch, kick, bite, or smashing a body upside the head with a chair. Offensive Fighting is also invoked when one attempts multiple direct actions in a given turn, whether they are of a combat or a non-combat nature (or a mix of the two, as the case may be).

Defensive Fighting on the other hand, shortened to Ftg (def), comes into play when a character is trying to avoid melee. This most often involves an evade or weave maneuver attempt, but other situations and powers may make use of Ftg (def). Aside from aversive movements, this secondary ability is also put to work when it becomes necessary to attempt multiple defensive maneuvers in a combat turn. If more than one Weave becomes desirable, one's Ftg (def) rank determines how many aversive attempts may be tried without penalty.

 

Agility (Agy): "There's no secret to balance. You just have to feel the waves"
- Frank Herbert

While Fighting is a measure of a character's inherent combat prowess, Agility is instead a means of defining that character's coordination and nimbleness. It exemplifies grace, if not grace under fire, and is used whenever a character is attempting to resolve actions at a distance (whether in an offensive or defensive capacity), not to mention while operating complex machinery or catching thrown objects. Agility is also important when piloting all manner of vehicles.

The Agility score of a character can be divided into two useful secondary abilities: Dexterity and Balance. Dexterity, abbreviated Agy (dex), is the portion of one's Agility that is dedicated to manual dexterity. Dexterity is invoked when characters attempt delicate or exacting tasks of finesse, such as firing a handgun or bow, engaging in sleight of hand, flinging thrown weapons, or carving the likeness of a person or object out of stone (or wood, or clay, or whatever). In other words, Dexterity is an active ability score.

Balance (Agy (bal)), on the other hand, is a reactive secondary ability. Players make use of a character's balance score when attempting to avoid bow or gun fire (typically with a dodge or feint maneuver), climbing up walls or other, trickier vertical surfaces, juggling, driving a car or plane or train, and the like. Used to help define equilibrium, Balance can also be referred to when checking whether or not a character falls down when they become dizzy or disoriented - very important when chasing some villain on the city's rooftops!

 

Strength (Str): "Perhaps I am stronger than I think."
- Thomas Merton

A measure of the power inherent to a person's body, Strength defines one of the single most important aspects of a character's physicality. Strength, as the chart below indicates, is primarily measured by how much weight a character can lift. Furthermore, Strength is referred to when determining the amount of raw damage one can inflict in melee combat, whether they are punching, kicking, or even biting one's foes, making it a natural complement to their Fighting rank.

The Strength ability can be divided into two closely related secondary ability scores: Might and Vigor. Might, or Str (mgt), is a quantification of the brute force available to a character, how much energy they can apply to other people or objects. It determines the base damage one inflicts with their bare hands, with melee implements, or even with thrown weapons. Most applications of Str (mgt) are, when you get down to it, combat related - they mainly represent 'burst power'.

Vigor, or Str (vgr), on the other hand, is primarily concerned with longer applications of one's physical prowess. It is used to describe how fast a character can run over distances both short or long, how quickly they can propel themselves through a liquid medium (swimming), and how much weight a character may carry on their person without being slowed down by it. Finally, it shows how much actual weight a character can lift, and by proxy how much they can successfully press.

 

Endurance (End): "A fight is not won by one punch or kick. Either learn to endure or hire a bodyguard."
- Bruce Lee

This ability is a gauge of physical toughness and fortitude. Endurance describes how long a character can continue strenuous physical activity, how resistant to killing blows and metabolic attacks they are, and how quickly they can heal actual damage inflicted upon their person. Endurance closely ties into Strength for movement purposes. While Strength shows how fast one can move and with how much weight, Endurance details just how long he or she can do so before collapsing in a sweaty heap.

Endurance can be divided into two equally important secondary abilities: Resistance and Stamina. Resistance, abbreviated End (res), shows just how well a character can resist the effects of disease, toxins, radiation, and other metabolic attack forms (most often specialized super-human abilities). Furthermore, it denotes how well one overcomes the effects of Slam, Stun, and Kill results rolled against them in combat. This is handy for those who aren't all that good at avoiding enemy attacks.

While End (res) is a handy descriptor of one's hardiness, Stamina, abbreviated End (sta), showcases one's overall staying power, both in and out of combat. End (sta) is referenced when determining the amount of time one can maintain strenuous physical activity, whether it be running, swimming, heavy lifting, or grappling. The results of fatigue are checked against this ability score when enough has been built up to matter when engaging in the previous activities. Additionally, End (sta) is used to determine a character's base healing and recovery rates over time.

 

Reason (Rsn): "Let every man judge according to his own standards, by what he has himself read, not by what others tell him." - Albert Einstein

In loose terms, a character's Reason score is an indicator of his or her IQ - itself a measure of intelligence and the capacity for logical thought. It describes their ability to create items either from scratch or from the spare parts and salvage of others, as well as their ability to understand and operate equipment from the simple to the arcane. Furthermore, Reason shows how well your character can learn and retain knowledge, which comes in handy when trying to solve a crime or graduate from college.

Reason is split between two secondary abilities: Logic and Memory. Logic, often shortened to Rsn (log), denotes raw cerebral capability. It is an indicator of a character's ability to learn and create, not to mention the ability to think in multiple languages; logic helps when learning either geometry or German. The vast majority of knowledge-based talents (such as Law, Medicine and their ilk) will refer to Logic, as they are based on years of study on top of practical experience both in school and 'on the job'.

Memory, abbreviated Rsn (mem), dictates a character's ability to recall their past experiences, including facets of both short and long-term memory. This is utilized for remembering the features of a person's face, specific details of an encounter, or even the schematics of a device someone invented after some villain makes off with them. Memory also comes into play with psionic and matter control powers, and can determine both how many of the former can be maintained simultaneously, and how versatile the latter can be.

 

Intuition (Int): "Those with the greatest awareness have the greatest nightmares."
- Mahatma Gandhi

Intuition is the sum of a person's wisdom, common sense, and that sense of self that (most) people possess. A counterpart of sorts to Reason, Intuition tends to rely upon inspirational leaps and bounds as opposed to logical deductions - a fine distinction, but an important one. It also helps to gauge a person's awareness of their surroundings, showing just how in tune with the multiverse they really are (or aren't). Furthermore, a person's base Intuition score determines their initiative modifier in combat.

Intuition is divided into two equally important secondary abilities: Alertness and Awareness. Alertness (Int (alt)) measures sensory acuity. In other words, it shows how easily one can detect potential sensory cues, in addition to how well they can distinguish any one sensory input from many. Spotting that spent bullet casing in the ash tray, focusing on one voice in a crowd, or even determining the vintage of a fine wine one is be sipping. Furthermore, Int (alt) is often a base score for many enhanced sensory abilities.

Awareness (Int (awr)), meanwhile, treads on trickier ground. While Alertness covers the things a character's senses tell them directly, Awareness instead relies upon 'gut feelings' and an ability to 'read between the lines'. A measure of how well one is in tune with their surroundings and the universe as a whole, Awareness sometimes lets a body pick up on things that are not readily apparent, allowing them greater empathy towards other beings (or a good idea what they're feeling) as well as what some might term the 'zeitgeist', the mood of the crowd/people/whatever.

 

Psyche (Psc): "He who gains a victory over other men is strong; but he who gains a victory over himself is all powerful." - Lao Tzu

Somewhat similar in function to the Endurance ability, Psyche is a gauge of one's mental fortitude. It is an excellent descriptor of the sheer strength of will and personality one has, detailing such elusive quantities as mental presence and a sense of focus. While all mental abilities are used in psychic battle to some extent, one's Psyche determines a large component of their success in such arenas, making it vital to anyone making use of mental powers, regardless of their origins.

Psyche is subdivided into two secondary abilities: Willpower and Presence. Willpower, often shortened to Psc (will), is a body's mental core, how intent and focused they can be in the face of distraction and adversity. Willpower comes into play when fending off efforts to bend a body's will, such as mind control, hypnosis, and sometimes even drugging. Those with a lesser Willpower score are easily swayed by the dogmas and manipulations of others, while those with greater Willpower walk their own path.

Presence, abbreviated Psc (pre), denotes how well a character can exert his or her personality upon others. It describes how persuasive one can be, either by using leadership skills, intimidation techniques, or both, and describes how hard said character has to work to get what they want from others. It also comes into play when teaching others or training animals, manipulating others subtly, and in various other tactics used on the job by policemen, lawyers, and politicians to control their environment.

 

Resources (Res): "A penny saved is a penny earned."
- Ben Franklin

A measure of personal wealth, Resources describes all of the assets currently at a character's disposal. While this is mostly used to showcase the material wealth an individual has access to in the day-to-day functions of the game, it can also be used to detail additional resources available to them through an organization they are a member of. Bank accounts, furniture in storage, a perfectly preserved comic book collection, that old cave filled with high tech gadgets. All these and more contribute to the Resources score.

For the sake of organization, Resources is broken down into two secondary abilities: Materials and Cash. Materials (Res (mat)) is a description of how much ... stuff a character has. That pristine comic book collection, one's late parents' house they haven't sold yet, any furniture, and, naturally, all that high tech super-heroic doo-dad-ery. This is that which is accumulated over time, so may include various items of up to (and possibly beyond) this rank in raw price (things like houses, vast tracts of land, or secret lairs).

Cash (Res ($)), meanwhile, describes the liquid assets a character has access to, such as currency (in a bank, squirreled away under a mattress or in a freezer), stocks, bonds, gold coins, and other financial entities that can easily change hands. It is often hard for characters to maintain a high 'cash' rank, as buying nifty new toys tends to shift those assets from this ability to the Materials score. This is usually not the case for governments and large corporations, however, who tend to have plenty of liquidity on hand for most any contingency.

 

Popularity (Pop): "Avoid popularity if you would have peace."
- Abraham Lincoln

A quirky statistic, this primary ability measures the public acknowledgment or approval people have in their normal environment. Popularity, then, is used to modify the reaction result characters receive when they interact with others (when such results are not determined in the course of regular role-play). Popularity does not 'split' like the previous ability scores, however, in that such mostly comes into play only if a character maintains more than one identity to speak of.

If one does so, they can use two Popularity scores instead of just the one: Primary and Secondary Popularity. Primary Popularity (Pop (pri)) describes how well one is regarded by their peers and the world at large in their costumed identity - in other words, this ability score isn't about the person so much as the heroic (or villainous) persona he or she shows to the world. Most often, this secondary ability will be the greater of the two - hey, super-powers are pretty flashy - but not always; this depends on the character's place in society.

Secondary Popularity (Pop (sec)), meanwhile, covers the character's secret identity. While the former may involve super-powered theatrics in front of the masses, this role is most often the quiet, mundane existence maintained for the benefits of down time, making money, or the protection of one's relatives. Pop (sec) is normally lower than Pop (pri), but this may not be the case if the character is a notable figure such as an actor, politician, captain of industry, wanted felon, or the like. In fact, a character may be reviled in one identity and loved in the other!

 

Health (Hpts): "Health is worth more than learning."
- Thomas Jefferson

Health is a descriptor of the amount of damage a character can sustain before losing consciousness, and possibly their life as well. Instead of being represented with ranks as are most primary abilities, a character's Health is instead determined by adding together the rank numbers of their Fighting, Agility, Strength, and Endurance ability scores. One can further expand the role of Health in a character by making use of Health's secondary abilities, which are negative health and mental health.

Negative health (abbreviated NH) is not a negative number, so much as a portrayal of the damage an unconscious character can 'soak' up before they automatically die. Negative health is determined by adding the successive rank numbers of a character's Endurance score together. This means that the rank numbers of all power ranks up to (and including) the character's Endurance score are all added together to determine one's NH. For example, Bob's new hero has a Good (10) ranked Endurance, so his negative health would add up to 22 (the sum of all the successive rank numbers for Good (10) rank is 2 (Fe (2)) + 4 (Pr (4)) + 6 (Typical (6)) + 10 (Good (10)) = 22).

Mental health (abbreviated MH), meanwhile, shows the amount of damage a character's mind can withstand before collapsing. It is determined in the same fashion as is negative health, but uses a character's Psyche rank as a base, instead. This can be useful in a campaign that sees a lot of psionic attack powers (regardless of their origin), or possibly as a means to measure one's sanity in the face of baffling and incomprehensible horror. For convenience, a table of NH and MH sums is provided for ease of use during character generation.

Further details on Health in the game are explained later on.

 

Karma (Kpts): "Like gravity, karma is so basic we often don't even notice it."
- Sakyong Mipham

Karma is essentially a measure of a person's placement in the universal scheme of things. Though all characters begin play with a little bit of Karma (an amount which is equal to the sum of their Reason, Intuition, and Psyche rank numbers), additional Karma can be obtained by performing acts that fit specific characters' ethos. Being a sum as is the Health score, one can see that Karma comes in a 'point' form, so players may ask what they can do with their characters' Karma points. A good question!

Karma may be spent to influence ACTIONs and to improve oneself in a variety of ways. To this end, Karma is often dedicated to specialized pools once earned, each of which is noted as a secondary ability of Karma. A team pool is a special sum of Karma that binds one character to several others, one which they may donate to and withdraw from as is needed in the course of an adventure. While this can be advantageous, it does have limitations in that actions of pool members can have ramifications for the entire team's Karma totals.

As such, membership in a team pool is purely optional.

An advancement pool is just that, Karma one sets aside for personal advancement, whether it involves improving an existing ability or power rank, buying new powers, talents, or contacts, or possibly 'buying off' character limitations or quirks. In this capacity, an advancement pool functions as 'experience' does in other games, though once you spend it (as is the case with one's regular and team pool), it is gone forever. But, at the very least, you'll have something new to show for it.

As is Health, Karma is expanded upon greatly later on.

Special Abilities

Each character, in addition to the standard eleven attributes that are used to describe their basic capabilities, may also be quantified in terms of special abilities. These are traits that are not common to every single entity in the game, and may in fact be unique to a specific character. There are five types of special abilities, including talents, contacts, and quirks, limitations/enhancements, and powers.

Talents: talents are skills that may be learned by virtually anyone, whether they be super-human or not. Instead of having a rank, almost all talents offer a boost to ability or power scores in the form of a beneficial Column Shift applied to the standard rank on all talent ACTIONs, making the character far more proficient in that area than someone who does not have that talent.

Contacts: a contact is a person or an organization that a body can rely upon when needed, for either information, resources, or whatever else may be required. Contacts are automatically considered friendly to a character for the purpose of NPC reaction rolls. A character's contacts may help to shape his or her origin, and are useful when crafting background information.

Quirks: quirks are modifications added to a character towards the end of its creation. They are oddities that contribute to the uniqueness of a character, potentially adding or subtracting a Column Shift to certain rolls, or merely making their life a little more interesting. Whether beneficial or an impediment, they will typically come into play at least once in a given adventure.

Limitations and Enhancements: a limitation is a mechanical constraint on a character and/or one or more of their powers, while an enhancement is a mechanical feature that bolsters the effectiveness of a character and/or one or more of their powers. Limitations and enhancements come in four levels of difficulty, each of which greatly multiplies the effect they have on their bearers.

Powers: powers are what make super-humans super, as opposed to being 'just' a random bystander. Most PCs have at least one power, whether it takes the form of an inborn ability, a sample of high tech equipment, or studied equivalents such as spells or psionics. Just like primary abilities, almost all powers are gauged by ranks, though some are instead quantified with Column Shifts.

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