Character
Attributes
Character’s attributes are much like abilities, except that attributes define a
different
aspect of a character. Your physical health is an attribute, for example; it
varies
depending on how much injury a character sustains. These injuries can be healed
and, as such, the health of the character is increased.
You need only a few attributes in a game. Table 16.2 describes four attributes.
A character’s health is
measured in health points (HP), and mana is measured in
mana points (MP). A character needs MPs in order to cast spells. Each time a
spell is
cast, a set amount of MPs are taken away; if no mana remains, no spells can be
cast.
Experience and experience levels enable players to track the progress and
increase
the power of their characters. Dealing with experience relates to PCs only,
which is
discussed in the section “Increasing in Experience and Power”.
Status
Ailments in Characters
Abilities and attributes are a great way to determine the capabilities of a
character.
Of course, those abilities and attributes describe a character at his peak
performance.
Certain ailments can dog characters, causing them to weaken or strengthen.
Characters can be poisoned or inflicted with an ailment that causes them to
become
clumsy.
These status ailments are magical in nature and help turn the tide at critical
points.
Table 16.3 lists several status ailments used in many games and their
effect on the afflicted character.
