Substats

Common Substats

Prowess

Dexterity

Fine motor control skills. A surgeon, locksmith, or typist has a higher dexterity score than their base prowess. Roll this for anything they do not have a professional Skill in that requires fine motor control or use of the hands.

Primary Melee Weapon

A warrior or other combat-oriented occupation will have a slightly higher score in their primary melee weapon than their base PRO. Ranged weapons combine PRO, STR, and AWA, and thus are professional Skills.

Reaction

A warrior or other combat-oriented occupation will have their Reaction score, used for Initiative in battle, under PRO if their PRO is higher than AWA, reflecting their battle-honed or trained battle reflexes.

Proprioception / Hand-Eye Coordination

Athletes who use their hands and people with practice acting in the dark or without sight might have a higher proprioception score than base PRO. Roll this if they try to do something with their hands without looking, such as catching something without looking, writing without eyesight, or feeling their way through something. This may also fall under AWA.

Athleticism

Speed

Speed is related to Movement, but it is what is rolled for short-range races. This is running speed, not Reaction. In a race between two people, the GM may elect to just have them roll Speed vs. Speed. Or they may roll for Reaction at the start of the race to give a bonus to the winner of the Reaction roll. If the race is long-range, they may roll Speed and Endurance, or just one or the other, as per GM's preference (lean into what the PC is better at). Roll Speed when two or more people are attempting to reach the same location or goal in a short period of time. Runners, especially sprinters, will have higher speed than their base ATH.

Movement

Movement is calculated based on Speed or base ATH. If the character has another form of Movement (see below), that is its own Movement score for that type of Movement (i.e., they will have Movement and Flight Movement).

In combat or similarly timed activities (i.e., if Initiative is rolled), a character with average ATH (8-10) can move 30' walking. Anything more than 10, their movement increases 5' per point. Below 8, their movement is 15' between 5 and 7. At 4, their movement is 10', at 3 it is 5', and at 2, they move less than a foot without assistance. At a 1, they cannot move at all without assistance. Flight is double if unimpeded in air; swimming or climbing is a third if unimpeded in water. All scores are rounded up if .5 or more. However, certain species are adapted to swimming or climbing and this is reversed. Dashing, running, or jumping increases movement but requires an ATH roll (failure means tiring out or missing the mark on a jump). Some species can tunnel or dig to move, and the movement rules for that should be discussed with the GM.

Rough Terrain can reduce movement by at least half, perhaps more depending on the nature of the terrain and the character moving through it.

Climb

Some species or occupations may be better suited to climbing than others. If they have the Good Climber Edge, their Climb Movement calculated as base Movement. If not, their Climb Movement is calculated at a third of what their Movement would be, based on Climb score. If Climb score is the same as base ATH, it's just a third of Movement based on base ATH.

In other words, if they have a 10 ATH and a 14 Climb, but no Good Climber Edge, they will have a Movement of 30' and a Climb Movement of 17'. If they have an ATH of 10 and no Climb substat, their Movement is 30' and their Climb Movement is 10'. If they have the Good Climber Edge, their 10 ATH with no Climb substat means a Movement and Climb Movement of 30', and their 10 ATH with 14 Climb substat means Movement of 30' and Climb Movement of 50'.

Bad climbing conditions operate the same as Rough Terrain, reducing Climb Movement speeds by half or more.

Swim

Swimming operates much like Climbing, but there are multiple Edges that might effect Swim Movement. Good Swimmer acts like Good Climber, but for swimming. Hydrodynamic Edge makes the swimmer able to ignore certain Rough Terrain conditions in water and lets them calculate Swim Movement at 1.5x their base Movement calculation. Buoyant Edge increases speed when near the surface of water by 1.25x, helps them reach the surface faster and safer, and slows them by 1.25x in deeper waters. Meanwhile, the Sinker Edge is the opposite of Buoyant.

Jump

Flight

Endurance

Endurance and long-range runners or anyone whose occupation involves long-range movement (messengers, couriers, riders) may have a higher Endurance score than their base ATH.

Balance

Strength

Constitution

Constitution is the body's physical ability to resist poison, disease, or certain physical maladies or conditions. It reflects the body's health, but it is not necessarily a one-to-one relationship with all indicators of health. A character may have a good constitution and a bad heart, for example, or a bad constitution despite being otherwise athletic if they are immune-compromised. One might have a good digestive system and a bad immune system. Players and GMs may divide this substat more thoroughly if they think it fits the character, or include Edges that reflect the diversity of mortal bodies, such as Immune Compromised, Slow or Fast Metabolism, etc. Or they may have separate scores for Poison Resistance and Disease Resistance. Or they can just fold it all into base STR either to make things simpler or if it fits their character.

Because Shem has many species without human or even animal bodies, there may be Edges or qualifiers to Constitution for those that do not fit those standard models, or it might simply be filtered through a different lens, so to speak. A plant person may still get diseases or poisoned, but from different substances or with different presentation than a human might. Beings made of metal, crystal, stone, mud, sand, energy, clouds, water, etc. may operate differently as well, or they may have their immunities if the GM chooses. If the GM decides they are not immune, it is on the GM to work with the player to determine how and why the living metal or crystal folk is afflicted with a disease, how it manifests, and how it relates to human bodies. Some examples may be included in the text in other sections.

Physical Resistance

Other physical resistances may not default to Constitution. Heat or cold, electrical, radiation, or other forms of damage may have a different modifier. Some beings, like ka'ar, are weak to water or cold and strong or immune to fire and heat. Some, like merfolk, might be more susceptible to electricity. Some might be immune to radiation if they live in outer space or low-density atmospheres. Most of these will be noted in descriptions of species, but if the GM determines it is needed or justified, they may include it even if it is not, and players may always make a case to the GM if they think it fits their character. See the Damage section for different damage types and circumstances.

Toughness

Toughness is physical resistance to external attacks. It is STR+armor bonus (if any). If someone hits your character with a sword, you roll Toughness against their STR+/-weapon modifier (if any) twice - once for Stun, once for Wound. See Damage section for more details. A character with natural toughness may have higher Toughness than base STR, such as beings made of stone or metal or tree people, or certain armored or thick-skinned animal people.

Lift, Push, or Pull

Some characters may have a higher substat in Lifting, Pushing, or Pulling if it is relevant to their species or occupation. Weight lifters are the obvious example, but a worker who pushes a cart all day may be working those muscles more than average while neglecting others. Certain species, like centaurs, may have a body type that makes them suited to pulling. Sailors may be better at pulling because they pull on ropes and rigging all day. If a character has a specific occupation that works or doesn't work different parts of themselves, the player may take more or less in those specific muscles or uses of muscles for flavor or to have a little bonus in certain situations. Conversely, if the character has a bad back (like the GM) or knees, they may be worse at lifting but still capable of other feats of STR. If a player wants this much detail, the GM should find ways to incorporate it, but most players will likely keep STR simple.

Grapple and Grip

Intimidation

If the character is very strong, they may include intimidation under STR instead of PRS or WIL. If the character has Intimidation under PRS or WIL but has just done some impressive feat of STR, they may temporarily be granted use of STR or high die on their PRS or WIL roll for Intimidation.

Physical Resilience

Physical resilience is the character's ability to recover from Stun or Wounds.

Awareness

Perception

Perception is the ability of the character to notice things. This is a mixture of their base senses and how much they pay attention. If they are more attentive, they may have a higher Perception or they may even have an Attention substat, which may also be placed under WIL if it is a matter of focus rather than perception. Perception may also be broken down into various senses. Sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch can all be higher or lower depending on the character's species, occupation, and abilities. They may also have other senses higher or lower, such as nociception (sensing pain), spatial awareness, proprioception, or certain internal senses like hunger or thirst. They may have rarer senses non-humans have, such as the ability to sense electromagnetism, echolocation, moisture levels, movement, kinesthetics, etc. Or they may have magical senses, such as emotion sense (empathy), magic sense, or farsight, and they may have the ability to see on spectrums unavailable to humans, like ultraviolet or infrared.

Inspection

Memory

Reaction

Calculation

Reasoning

Will Power

Focus

Discipline

Determination

Mental Resistance

Intimidation

Mental Resilience

Presence

Persuasion

Deception

Command

Charm

Intimidation

Confidence

Expression

Personality Type

Anxious, Abrasive, Dominant, Reserved, Confident, Nervous, Pensive, Boisterous, Energetic, Amusing,

Stealth

Sleight-of-Hand

Subtlety

Stillness

Quiet

Essence

Favor

Metaphysical Resilience

Magical Power

Magical Finesse

Magical Resistance