Character Design
The PowerQuest character design system is relatively simple, in that it does not require rolling of dice, nor consultation with the Game Master. A truly vast variety of characters can be implemented using this system, and the characters can be far closer to what is actually desired by the player than in most other systems.
There are 25 Traits, including 10 Primary, and 15 Secondary Traits, as follows:
Primary Traits
Name: The character's full name, and any nicknames.
Race: The character's race of origin, such as Human, Sidhe, Elven, Dwarven, Drow, Pixy, etc.
Gender: The character's gender.
Age: The character's biological age.
Size: The character's height, and other applicable size measurements.
Weight: The character's weight, in pounds.
Eye Color: The character's eye color.
Hair Color: The character's hair color.
Surface Color: The skin/scale/fur color(s) of the character.
Appearance: A highly detailed description of the character's appearance.
Secondary Traits
Strength (STR): The maximum lifting/carrying capacity of the character. For every point of STR, a character may lift an additional 15 pounds.
Constitution (CON): A measure of how vitally alive the character is, affecting its ability to survive physical shocks, and recover from physical damage or Power drains. For every point of CON, an additional 1 point is restored to CHP and CPP status Traits, during a 24 hour recovery period.
Agility (AGL): The total agility/dexterity of the character, affecting the Success Range in dice rolls related to agility/dexterity- based actions.
Speed (SPD): A measure of the character's speed in movement and actions. A character may run, swim, climb, or fly an additional 1' per second, for every point of SPD possessed. May also be used to determine the order of Turns in a Round giving an advantage to higher speed characters.
Will Power (WIL): A character's Will Power determines how easily the character is influenced by fear, desire, temptation, intimidation, and Power Wielding attacks, and in turn, how successful the character is in Power Wielding against other targets, if a Wielding talent is possessed. Acts as a modifier to Success Range on related task dice rolls.
Intelligence (INT): The character's intelligence factor. This determines how easily mental tasks are performed, such as translating ancient runes, or evaluating the value of a gemstone, among others. Acts as a Success Range modifier on related task dice rolls.
Adaptability (ADP): A measure of how adaptable the character's mind is to new situations and experiences. A character with low ADP may go insane with fear upon seeing an undead skeleton for the first time; a character with high ADP may not even be bewildered or disturbed upon being transformed into a large purple toad. Acts as a Success Range modifier on related task dice rolls.
Psychological Impact (PSY): The total psychological impact force the character has on other lifeforms/beings upon being observed or otherwise interacted with. A character with an extremely low PSY Trait might find it impossible to intimidate an attacker, even if holding a broadsword confidently; a character with an extremely high PSY Trait might be capable of persuading an enemy to sit down to tea, due to a greater ability to charm and persuade. Acts as a Success Range modifier on related task dice rolls.
Comeliness (COM): A measure of how physically attractive, handsome, and beautiful a character is. The higher the value, the greater the attractiveness. Acts in combination with PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT, and VOICE (see below) to modify Success Ranges in related task dice rolls.
Voice (VOC): A measure of how attractive a character's voice is. The higher the value, the more pleasant and attractive the voice is to hear. Acts in combination with COMELINESS and PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT (see above) in related task dice rolls.
Maximum Health Points (MHP): The maximum number of Health Points (HPs) a character may have at once. This is the value that CHP (see below) recovers toward after physical damage has occurred.
Maximum Power Points (MPP): The maximum number of Power Points (PPs) a character may have at once. This is the value that CPP (see below) recovers toward after Power has been drained by external influences, or expended in Power Wielding.
Natural Arming Factor (NAF): This is the amount of Damage Potential shielded against by the character's own skin/scales/fur or other surface covering, without the assistance of armoring or Power shielding. It is a natural resistance to damage. Thus, if a character has NAF equal to 20, and is struck by a Fireball with damage potential of 30 HP, CHP will only be decreased by 10; 20 points worth of the damage potential was ineffective.
Current Health Points (CHP): The current number of Health Points (HPs) the character possesses. This is decreased when injury occurs, and recovers at a rate determined by CONSTITUTION (see above), which is equal to 1 HP/day for every point of CON. CHP may also be restored by Power Wielding, or a potion. When CHP is equal to MHP, the character is at full health. If CHP drops to 0, the character is unconscious. If damage occurs after that point, the character dies.
Current Power Points (CPP): The current number of Power Points (PPs) the character possesses. This is decreased when drained by external forces, or expended during Power Wielding, and recovers at a rate determined by CONSTITUTION (see above) which is equal to 1 PP/day for every point of CON. When CPP is equal to MPP, the character is at full Power. If CPP drops to 0, all Power Wielding must cease. If Wielding continues after that point, or more Power is drained than the CPP reservoir can provide, then MPP is permanently drained at a rate of 1 point MPP per 5 Power Points the character attempts to use in a Wielding.
Total Character Value (TCV)
This is the total Character Point value of the character, including all points spent to initially design it, and all spent to enhance it afterward.
Character Points (CP)
Character Points are the building blocks from which PowerQuest characters are designed, and later enhanced. Every player receives 200 CP at the beginning of character creation, with which to design a character. All points must be used in this initial design phase. During game play, the Game Master awards Character Points for various accomplishments and quality role playing in the game. These CPs may be retained and accumulated as desired, for later purchase of Trait points, Talents, and other enhancements. All CPs spent must be added to the TOTAL CHARACTER VALUE listing. Accurate records are vital.
The character's NAME, RACE, GENDER, AGE, SIZE, WEIGHT, EYE COLOR, HAIR COLOR, SURFACE COLOR, and APPEARANCE may all be specified without cost in CPs, as desired.
STR, CON, AGL, SPD, WIL, INT, ADP, PSY, COM, VOC, MHP, MPP, and NAF all cost 1 CP per Trait Point. Thus, to attain STR of 10, you must spend 10 CP.
CHP and CPP are Status Traits. This means that when the character is first created, CHP and CPP equal MHP and MPP, respectively. The points contained within them act in a reservoir-like manner, and need not be initially purchased.
TCV and CP are Secondary Status Traits, changing only occasionally. At the time of character creation, TCV begins at 0, and CP begins at 150. As CPs are spent toward building the character's Traits and Talents, the CPs expended are recorded in TCV. During game play, when the Game Master awards CPs (refer to the CP Award Chart) for good role playing, and game accomplishments, newly acquired character points must be recorded in the CP status trait until used.
