System:Human Qualities
From DevilshireWiki
Every character on the grid is required to have qualities. Every Character Type has quality points that the character is permitted. Investigators may have up to 10 Quality Points while Heroes may have up to 20 Quality Points.
Contents |
Acute Sense
Congratulations, Nature has blessed you! Some part of your senses is particularly strong, much more so than the average human. This quality gets +3 to Perception rolls pertaining to its use. You buy each sense separately and can buy the following: sight, hearing, touch, taste/smell.
When using acute taste/smell, time and strength are factors. Penalties to the roll apply as follows:
- A strong substance, such as harsh chemicals, that has not been cleaned away: -1/day passed.
- A weak substance, such as personal body odors, that has not been cleaned away: -2/day passed.
- A strong substance, such as harsh chemicals, that has been cleaned away: -3/day passed.
- A weak substance, such as personal body odors, that has been cleaned away: -4/day passed.
Please also note that this is not Supernatural Senses: Standard. You want to smell/taste/hear someone is a vampire, you'll need to purchase that quality.
Also, don't go around trying to smell sex on people. It's super lame and creepy.
Cost: 2/sense
This quality is considered a Base Character Concept quality.
Attractiveness
This quality is one point per level and goes from 1 to 5. Characters with a 5 level are either supernaturally beautiful or have had plastic surgery done, and here are some loose outlines for the rest: 4 means a person is gorgeous, 3 means they're very pretty, 2 means they're cute, 1 means they're pleasant to look at. Please note that just cause you have Attractiveness 4 doesn't mean people have to fall all over you. They still might not like brown hair or whatever.
Cost
For being pretty
1/level
Contacts
This is a variable contact and should be taken if your character has some particular source of information that will reliably provide for them. This is variable depending on the quality of the aid will be provided and at what cost to the character. Please note this does not in any way give you some kind of army of NPCs or unlimited resources that an NPC will give you. Contacts is primarily a research based quality--you can use contacts to try to find a rare item, try to find information out on something, try to pull strings in the background for your PC, or point you in the right direction to buy something/figure something out. They are primarily there to help YOU solve the problem, not to solve the problem for you. In very extremely rare circumstances, an NPC Contact might show up to back you up, but you should not count on that when taking this quality. There are three different types of Contacts you can take: Supernatural, Criminal, and Local Government.
Cost:
1 (contact will probably provide information only and only if that involves no risk to them)
2 (contact will do small tasks OFF SCREEN or usually provides reliable information)
3 (contact will do whatever they can to help out but has limited resources. Ex: local hunter)
4 (contact will do whatever they can to help out and has moderate resources. Ex:local hunting group)
5 (contact will do whatever they can to help out and has good resources. Ex: large scale hunting group)
Empathy
Your character can see past the masks and read people's emotions. While your character might think this is some kind of psychic ability, it's really more like being able to read body language, having a strong woman's intuition, or just being a really great listener that picks up on cues other people miss. Think less Deanna Troi and more Dr. Katz. With a Perception + Notice check, your character can tell what someone nearby is feeling. One success gives you a person's surface emotion but multiple successes gives you a deeper reading. Empathy only works on humans, half-demons and werewolves in human form. Humans require one success to read. Half-demons and werewolves require three successes. Demons, vampires, and ghosts are too alien to read properly.
Cost: 2
This quality is considered a Base Character Concept quality and may not be bought after chargen.
Fast Reaction Time
And your mom said video games had no practical application in the real world. You've got more than fast reflexes, kid. Your brain soaks in the information and makes decisions in a split second, allowing you to react quickly to dangerous situations. Fast Reaction Time adds +5 to your initiative check. You also get +1 on Willpower tests to resist fear.
Cost: 2
Good Luck
Call it a guardian angel. Call it good karma. Call it plain old luck. For some reason you have a habit of coming up on top even when you shouldn't. Good Luck grants you a +1 bonus per level to die rolls. The advantage of good luck over drama points is that you can use good luck after the dice are rolled. Your good luck bonus can be split up. For example, if you have 5 points of luck you can use 3 points on one roll and 2 on another. You can only use your good luck pool once per scene. Once you've exhausted it you have to rely on skill like the rest of us. You can take up to 5 points of good luck.
Cost: 1/level
This quality is considered a Base Character Concept quality and may not be bought after chargen.
Hard to Kill
Characters with this trait are, you guessed it, hard to kill. Training, tenacity, and experience combine to give you resistance to getting hurt and shuffling off this mortal coil. Each level of hard to kill gives you 3 extra life points and +1 bonus to survival tests. Regular humans can take up to 5 points of Hard to Kill, while above average humans who have been altered by either science or the supernatural (Enhanced, Empowered Warrior, Slayer, etc.) can take up to 10 points. Monsters and demons cannot take Hard to Kill but instead use Increased Life Points.
Cost: 1/level
Lab
All the smarts in the world won't do much good without the tools to make use of it. Serious mechanics, scientists, inventors and engineers have a workshop or laboratory full of interesting tools, ingredients, parts and other such items.
Level 1
Your character has a full rack of basic tools, a simple home chemistry set or something similar. You must pick one specific scientific, engineering or mechanical area of specialization such as chemistry, robotics, blacksmithing, etc.. In that area the character gains a +1 on analysis and creation rolls when using the workshop/lab. Other areas of expertise gain no bonuses.
Level 2
Your character's collection is much more extensive and is akin to what one might find in a well stocked high school science lab or industrial arts workshop. Your character receives a +2 on analysis and creation rolls in one specific field and a +1 on analysis and creation rolls in fields that would be related (biology to chemistry, for example. Or engine design to robotics).
Level 3
This is a professional quality laboratory. Not bad, Ms. Science! Your character receives a +3 on analysis and creation rolls in one specific field, a +2 on such rolls in related fields and a +1 on rolls in fields which are not related.
Cost: 1/level
Martial Artist
You have spent a life-time studying the martial arts. As a result you understand not only the practical aspects of battle but the theory of fighting as well. When you take this quality pick five combat maneuvers from the following list: Choke, Disarm, Double Jump Kick, Groin Shot, Head Butt, Jump Kick, Kick, Knockout, Punch, Spin Kick, Sweep Kick, Takedown, Target Limb, Wall Slam, and Wrestling Hold. When performing the chosen five maneuvers you gain a +1 bonus to those rolls.
Cost: 5
This quality is considered a Base Character Concept quality and may not be bought after chargen.
Natural Toughness
Boxers develop this trait quick or they get out of the ring quick. Natural toughness is all about taking blunt force trauma and not breaking. Characters with this quality have 4 points of natural armor against all blunt attacks. They also receive a +2 to rolls versus knockouts and rolls to resist being knocked down by takedowns or massive damage.
Cost: 2
Nerves of Steel
Your character has seen a lot in their lifetime, enough that they aren't usually rattled by the sight of blood or gore. Or maybe they're just too stupid to know they ought to run away. Either way, your character is unlikely to flee or pee themselves when faced with something scary, as they get a +4 to all fear checks. Please note this does not mean you can never ever be afraid, it just means you are able to stifle that 'flight' instinct or that initial jolt of terror and stick around to fight the ugly, ugly faces of evil when they show themselves.
Cost: 3
Occult Library
Without a good library, you won't be able to identify what demon has spiny ridges along the back that drips blue ichor and you won't be able to find the ritual that will banish the Hac'ryth back to the seventh hell of hanging upside down. Levels of Occult Library:
Minimal
You have one book about the arcane, though it might be a thick one. It contains between 1 and 11 spells (determined by staff when you're approved). Because it is only one book you suffer a -3 penalty to identifying
demons and monsters (though this is better than not being able to identify them at all).
Cost: 1
Good
You have a nice little shelf full of books on various occult subjects. There are between 31 and 40 spells (determined by staff at chargen) and you get neither a bonus nor a penalty to monster research rolls. You get a +1 to spell research checks.
Cost: 2
Impressive
A whole bookshelf with a few rare tomes included. You get between 51 and 60 spells (determined by staff during chargen) and a +1 bonus to monster research checks. You get a +1 to spell research checks.
Cost: 3
Amazing
You've got the granddaddy of libraries. Shelves full of books, both common and rare, on a wide variety of topics. There's no limit on the spells that can be found and monster research rolls are at +2. You get a +1 to spell research checks. If you have this library you should have an Occultism skill of at least 3.
Cost: 5
Photographic Memory
You remember it all. Everything. You can quote entire books without missing a word. You remember what you had to eat three years ago on Tuesday. You get a +1 on Science and Knowledge checks and between a +1 and +3 bonus on checks involving remembering things.
Cost: 2
This quality is considered a Base Character Concept quality and may not be bought after chargen.
Polyglot
Some people have an astonishing knack for picking up new languages. They learn new tongues with astonishing speed and have an innate understanding on the commonalities of all languages. The polyglot quality gives the following benefits:
- The cost for the Languages skill remains 1 point for 1 rank up to rank 7 instead of the usual rank 5. After 7 the cost rises to 3 points per 1 rank.
- With the help of a good library, a polyglot may attempt to translate a written text even if it is in a language she doesn't know.
The following modifiers apply to the Intelligence/Languages roll:
- +1 if the language is related to one you know.
- -2 if the language is still in use today but fairly obscure (Aymara).
- -3 if the language is dead but well studied (Latin).
- -5 if the language is both dead and obscure (Elamite).
Trying such a translation without the Polyglot quality is possible but much harder (see Skills).
Cost: 2
This quality is considered a Base Character Concept quality and may not be bought after chargen.
Rank
Your character belongs to an organization that organized via an established hierarchy of rank. She is somewhere in the chain of command and has power based on her rank. People with Rank often take Obligation as well.
Cost:
0 (beat cop, corporal, personal assistant)
1 (agent, sergeant, low level management)
2 (detective, sergeant first class, senior low level management)
3 (agent in charge, senior detective, lieutenant, middle management)
4 (bureau chief, captain, project director)
5 (commissioner, major, division manager)
6 (lieutenant colonel, vice president)
7 (colonel, chief operations officer)
8 (major general, chief executive officer)
9 (general, chairman of the board)
Resistance
Your character can resist something that would affect them negatively. This could be poison, demonic powers, magic, pain, or something else entirely. The level of your resistance is either added to your roll (in the case of poison or mind altering demonic powers, for example) or subtracted from the aggressor's roll (in the case of magic, for example). The maximum value of this trait is 5.
Cost: 1/level
Resources
Money. You either have it or you don't. Resources gives a rough calculation on how much you earn and owe. It comes in the following varieties.
| Wealth | Description | Value |
| Okay | $15,000 in property; used car; decent apartment; $2,500/month income | 0 |
| Middle Class | $50,000 in property; car; good apartment or small house; $5,000/month income | 2 |
| Well-off | $300,000 in property; very nice car; house; $10,000/month income | 4 |
| Wealthy | $700,000 in property; multiple vehicles; very nice house; $40,000/month income | 6 |
| Rich | $2,000,000 in property; private plane; small mansion and vacation homes; $50,000/month income | 8 |
| Filthy Rich | $5,000,000 in property; any vehicle(s) you want; large mansion and vacation homes; $200,000/month income | 10 |
Situational Awareness
You're totally, completely aware of the world around you at all times. Some folks call you paranoid. You consider yourself hyper-alert. You get a +2 to Perception tests to sense danger or trouble. You also get a +2 to resist rolls made to sneak up on you.
Cost: 2
| Devilshire News File Topics | ||
| News Files | Building Guide • Copyright • Policy • Resources • Staff | |
| New Player Information | Application Procedure • Census • Character Types • Playing Villains • Restricted Concepts • Sample Character Background | |
| Game System | Attributes • Combat • Drama Points • Drawbacks • Fear • Global Commands • Experience Points • Human Qualities • Human Drawbacks • LP & Healing • Magic • Magic Spells A • Magic Spells B • Note • Package Qualities • Rolling • Skills • Supernatural Qualities • Supernatural Drawbacks • Superscience | |
| Setting and Theme | Overview • History • Folktales • Speech • The Four Families • Town • Conflict • Theme | |
| Characters | Casting • NPC Casting • The Devlin Family • The Harget Family • The Moore Family • The Swann Family | |
