Your Abilities represent five basic aspects of your character: Intelligence, Strength, Agility, Speed, and Durability. Or, in other words, how smart you are, how strong you are, how agile you are, how fast you run, and how tough you are. Your Ability Number is the number of red stones of energyEnergon you can allocate to that Ability. You'll use your Abilities in two ways.
1. As a Bonus for an appropriate Action. So, if you are performing an Action that your CAD(Character Action Display aka Character Sheet) says gets a Strength Bonus, then you can add your StrengthstonesEnergon to that Action. These stones from your Energy Reserve, and can also be re-allocated from your Action Box into your Defense Area. Some actions include Ability Bonuses in their costs, some recommend you buy them for an extra cost, and some prohibit you from having an Ability Bonus. No Action may have more than two Ability Bonuses.
2. If you are doing something that doesn't have an Action Box, then you can use the appropriate Ability as if it were an Action. So, if you were trying to figure out a trap, but didn't have a relevant Action such as Thieving or Technology, you could try using your Intelligencestonescubes to think it through.
For the most part, Abilities do not change over time unless something major happens. Characters can lose their abilities due to an accident or have their Abilities altered by an occurrence or the Actions of another character. Sometimes experimentation can have an impact on Abilities, for better or for worse. But usually, the Abilities you buy when you create your character are the Abilities you're stuck with.(PM about changing your abilities)
A good rule of thumb for beginning players is to spend half of your available points on your base Abilities.
Level vs Cost*
*Triple the Cost for Durability
So as an example if you built a character with all Abilities at a level of 5, it would cost (9 cost of each so 9x4=36 for Intelligence, Strength, Agility, and Speed, then 27 for Durability since that cost is tripled 9x3=27. 27+36= 63 points to build your base character. Remaining points are then used to purchase Actions, Modifiers, and Equipment.)
Intelligence: Intelligence is a measure of how smart your character is. You would use your Intelligence Number for solving problems, operating devices and machinery, learning new subjects, ect. Your Intelligence is an included Ability Bonus for Actions such as Technology, Inventing and Gambling. It is a recommended Bonus to buy for Master ofMagicVector Sigma. There is also a special rule that allows you to base your stones of energyEnergon on your Intelligence. (See the Special Intelligence-Energy Rule Below.
Strength: Strength is a measure of how much physical force your character is capable of generating. You would use your Strength Number for lifting, carrying, throwing, smashing, breaking, and leaping. Strength is most often used as an Ability Bonus for Actions such as Close Combat.
Agility: Agility is a measure of how fast your reflexes are, how coordinated you are, how deftly or dexterously you handle things and how well you move. You would use your Agility for physical activities you don't have an Action for, such as sports like football or basketball, dancing, climbing, or even playing a musical instrument like the piano or guitar. Agility is most often used as a Modifier for actions such as Close Combat, Thieving, Acrobatics, Wall-Crawling, and Slinging. Agility can also lessen the damage your character takes from falling. Subtract one cube of falling damage for every 3 cubes of your Agility Number, rounded down. Agility is also frequently used to determine the order in which player's actions are resolved. Special Transformers Adaption Rule: Agility also effects your transformation speed. A higher agility allows you to transform and attack, or run in one action, where as a lower agility causes transformation times to increase.
Speed: Speed is a measure of how fast your character runs. That's about it. You would use your Speed for running, moving quickly, or...running. Of course, when you need to get out of a building before it explodes, it can come in pretty handy. And there some attributes unique to high speed. At a Speed of 7 or more, your character could run up walls or across water. At a Speed of 10, you can create temporary cyclone-like gusts of up to 5 cubes. You may define your Actions such that Speed is the Bonus for them in which case might affect anything from Close Combat to Acrobatics. For an extra three points during character creation you may use your Speed instead of Agility for determining the order in which your Actions are resolved. Special Transformers Adaption Rule: Speed also determines the speed of your alternate mode.
Durability: Durability is a measure of stamina, physical health and how much damage your body can take. It is a very important Ability. Your Durability Number determines how many cubes of health you get, which in turn determines how many cubes of energon you get (Unless you have chosen the Special Intelligence rule, see below). You get 3 cubes of Energon in your Energon Reserve for every cube of health. Additionally, you regenerate 1 Energon Cube for every cube of health, so Durability also determines your regeneration rate. It is rare that you would use your Durability Number as an Action Number. It is also rare for you to define an Action with Durability as its Modifier, although there are some Actions that do that. Important Note: Because Durability is so important in determining other aspects of your character, Durability costs 3 times more to buy than the other abilities.
Special Intelligence-Energy Rule: You may choose to base your Energon on Intelligence rather than Durability. In this case, you will receive 2 cubes of Energon for every cube of Intelligence, and you will regenerate 1 Energon cube per cube of intelligence. You will still only get one cube of health per level of Durability, however and your Durability will still cost triple. If you chose this option, your Intelligence will now cost double the normal rate.
You may not have both your Intelligence and your Durability generate Energon Cubes; it is one or the other.
This rule is designed to model character that have low Durability, but high Intelligence. PM the Game Master about this rule before deciding to take it.
*This is not my own work, this an adaption of the 2003 Marvel Universe Role Playing Game.*
Source: The Marvel Universe Role Playing Game
1. As a Bonus for an appropriate Action. So, if you are performing an Action that your CAD(Character Action Display aka Character Sheet) says gets a Strength Bonus, then you can add your Strength
2. If you are doing something that doesn't have an Action Box, then you can use the appropriate Ability as if it were an Action. So, if you were trying to figure out a trap, but didn't have a relevant Action such as Thieving or Technology, you could try using your Intelligence
For the most part, Abilities do not change over time unless something major happens. Characters can lose their abilities due to an accident or have their Abilities altered by an occurrence or the Actions of another character. Sometimes experimentation can have an impact on Abilities, for better or for worse. But usually, the Abilities you buy when you create your character are the Abilities you're stuck with.(PM about changing your abilities)
A good rule of thumb for beginning players is to spend half of your available points on your base Abilities.
Level vs Cost*
| 1 | 1 |
| 2 | 2 |
| 3 | 3 |
| 4 | 6 |
| 5 | 9 |
| 6 | 12 |
| 7 | 18 |
| 8 | 27 |
| 9 | 36 |
| 10 | 45 |
| Each Level Above 10 | Add 15 |
So as an example if you built a character with all Abilities at a level of 5, it would cost (9 cost of each so 9x4=36 for Intelligence, Strength, Agility, and Speed, then 27 for Durability since that cost is tripled 9x3=27. 27+36= 63 points to build your base character. Remaining points are then used to purchase Actions, Modifiers, and Equipment.)
Intelligence: Intelligence is a measure of how smart your character is. You would use your Intelligence Number for solving problems, operating devices and machinery, learning new subjects, ect. Your Intelligence is an included Ability Bonus for Actions such as Technology, Inventing and Gambling. It is a recommended Bonus to buy for Master of
Strength: Strength is a measure of how much physical force your character is capable of generating. You would use your Strength Number for lifting, carrying, throwing, smashing, breaking, and leaping. Strength is most often used as an Ability Bonus for Actions such as Close Combat.
Agility: Agility is a measure of how fast your reflexes are, how coordinated you are, how deftly or dexterously you handle things and how well you move. You would use your Agility for physical activities you don't have an Action for, such as sports like football or basketball, dancing, climbing, or even playing a musical instrument like the piano or guitar. Agility is most often used as a Modifier for actions such as Close Combat, Thieving, Acrobatics, Wall-Crawling, and Slinging. Agility can also lessen the damage your character takes from falling. Subtract one cube of falling damage for every 3 cubes of your Agility Number, rounded down. Agility is also frequently used to determine the order in which player's actions are resolved. Special Transformers Adaption Rule: Agility also effects your transformation speed. A higher agility allows you to transform and attack, or run in one action, where as a lower agility causes transformation times to increase.
Speed: Speed is a measure of how fast your character runs. That's about it. You would use your Speed for running, moving quickly, or...running. Of course, when you need to get out of a building before it explodes, it can come in pretty handy. And there some attributes unique to high speed. At a Speed of 7 or more, your character could run up walls or across water. At a Speed of 10, you can create temporary cyclone-like gusts of up to 5 cubes. You may define your Actions such that Speed is the Bonus for them in which case might affect anything from Close Combat to Acrobatics. For an extra three points during character creation you may use your Speed instead of Agility for determining the order in which your Actions are resolved. Special Transformers Adaption Rule: Speed also determines the speed of your alternate mode.
Durability: Durability is a measure of stamina, physical health and how much damage your body can take. It is a very important Ability. Your Durability Number determines how many cubes of health you get, which in turn determines how many cubes of energon you get (Unless you have chosen the Special Intelligence rule, see below). You get 3 cubes of Energon in your Energon Reserve for every cube of health. Additionally, you regenerate 1 Energon Cube for every cube of health, so Durability also determines your regeneration rate. It is rare that you would use your Durability Number as an Action Number. It is also rare for you to define an Action with Durability as its Modifier, although there are some Actions that do that. Important Note: Because Durability is so important in determining other aspects of your character, Durability costs 3 times more to buy than the other abilities.
Special Intelligence-Energy Rule: You may choose to base your Energon on Intelligence rather than Durability. In this case, you will receive 2 cubes of Energon for every cube of Intelligence, and you will regenerate 1 Energon cube per cube of intelligence. You will still only get one cube of health per level of Durability, however and your Durability will still cost triple. If you chose this option, your Intelligence will now cost double the normal rate.
You may not have both your Intelligence and your Durability generate Energon Cubes; it is one or the other.
This rule is designed to model character that have low Durability, but high Intelligence. PM the Game Master about this rule before deciding to take it.
*This is not my own work, this an adaption of the 2003 Marvel Universe Role Playing Game.*
Source: The Marvel Universe Role Playing Game
