Rules - Stats
A Statistic (or Stat) is a number associated with a character that measures their ability in a certain area of application.
Primary Stats cannot be derived from anything else, being the source of all other Statistics. That is in contrast to Derived Stats, which are calculated via formulae from Primary Stats.
The Primary Stats in the D12 System form a ternary tree featuring a trickle down mechanism, and starting with your Level as the root statistic. Your Level then divides into 3 Realms: Body, Mind and Soul; and they combined branch to the 9 Attributes (STR, DEX, CON, INT, WIS, CHA, DIV, FOW, LCK). Finally, the 9 Attributes branch into 27 Skills.
Primary Stat Tree
Level : The root statistic that represents your character's overall power and experience.
Body : The realm of physical capabilities, representing your character's bodily strength, agility, and endurance.
STR :
Strength is a measure of the power of the
Body. Think punch hard, big muscles, heavy lifting.
Muscles : Raw power you can impact in a short burst, e.g. pulling a stuck lever, breaking down an inanimate object, smashing a mug on your hands
Stance : How hard it is to move or push you around, how well you can keep your stance, resist being pushed back.
Lift : How much weight you can lift and carry for short periods of times, including yourself (climbing, using ropes, etc)
DEX :
Dexterity is a measure of speed of the
Body. Think reflexes, quickness, agility, precision.
Finesse : Aim, quick fingers, sleight of hand, precise hand movement; stealth and delicate body movements.
Evasiveness : Evasion, acrobatics, escapism; precise body movement.
Agility : Speed, quickness; how fast one can move and do things.
CON :
Constitution is a measure of the resilience of the
Body. Think how much it can take, both from external sources or self-exhaustion.
Stamina : Breath, how much exert yourself in a short period of time; your ability to sustain athleticism.
Resilience : Resistance to sickness, poison and disease.
Mind : The realm of mental capabilities, representing your character's intelligence, wisdom, and social skills.
INT :
Intelligence is a measure of the
Mind's ability to learn, reason, and understand. Think logic, reasoning, and knowledge.
IQ : Ability to learn new information, apply logic
Knowledge : Consolidated knowledge and lore about the world
Memory : Short-term memory, ability to recall details
WIS :
Wisdom is a measure of the
Mind's ability to perceive and interpret the world around you. Think perception, awareness, and intuition.
Perception : Active perception, seeing, hearing, sensing, feeling
Awareness : Alertness, passive perception, attention to details when not paying attention
Intuition : Common Sense, "Street Smarts", cunning, eg Survival or Animal Handling would be base Intuition (plus any aspect specific bonuses)
CHA :
Charisma is a measure of the
Mind's ability to influence, persuade, and connect with others. Think empathy, charm, and also physical attractiveness.
Speechcraft : Rhetoric, speech, ability to persuade, inspire or deceit with language
Charm : Natural panache, beguilingness, body language
Appearance : Physical attractiveness, ability to dress and present well, body odor
Soul : The realm of spiritual capabilities, representing your character's divine connection, willpower, and luck.
DIV :
Divinity is a measure of the
Soul's ability to connect with the Aether. It determines the conviction of your faith and how well you can attune to Imbued items.
Faith : Strength of your belief your deity [must have one], knowledge about your faith, effectiveness of your Prayers
Attunement : Your general attunement to the Aether, how well you can let divine forces flow through you
Devotion : Your personal connection to your specific Deity [must have one]
FOW :
Force of Will is a measure of the
Soul's ability to resist temptations, vices, and instant gratification. Think willpower, determination, and resilience.
Discipline : Ability to resist urges and temptations, vices and instant gratification
Tenacity : Concentration, ability to ignore pain or hardship or being disturbed and keep going
Resolve : Resistance to mind control, social manipulation, deceit, charm; fortitude of the mind; insight
LCK :
Luck is a measure of the
Soul's connection with forces beyond the Aether, measuring a person's unexplainable connection with Luck itself.
Gambling : Specifically for when you are gambling
Fortune : Your personal luck for your own actions, mainly used for the Luck Die mechanic
Serendipity : Expectations for the external world, also used for the Write History mechanic
The way the trickle down works is, for every point you earn on a node past the first, you get to propagate that point to one of the three children. So at Level 1, every single adventurer has the same attributes (bar racial, class and feat bonuses of course). But when they level up to 2, they get to propagate to the Body/Mind/Soul tier, and thus make their first attribute choice. On Level 3, you can propagate to the same node as before, doubling down on one of the 3 realms, and getting to propagate again, or you can generalize and pick a second realm to focus on.
The way modifiers work is that you always roll the most specific check you can, normally a Skill check for skills or a Basic Attribute for core game actions (such as attacks); your modifier on each node is based on its value and the values of the parents. Use the built-in character sheet editor to easily fill up your tree.
Note that you shall very rarely need to use modifiers for nodes other than Attributes and Skills. The final value of a node is also subject to a Level cap: the final node modifier (before applying any external modifiers) is capped at your current level. That means there are diminishing returns to over-specializing, and players are encouraged to have at least a minimal level of spread.
Derived Stats
Derived Stats are based on formulae over the primary stats.
You have 5 Resource Points that are derived from your stats:
- Heroism Point : Represents a character's heroic potential in the narrative. Each character has a maximum number of Heroism Points equal to their Level value.
- Action Point : Represents the amount of effort a character can expend in a given turn. Each character has 4 AP per round, refilled at the end of their turn, which can be used to perform different Actions.
- Vitality Point : Represents a character's physical ability to keep going during intense situations. They are analogous to Health in other games, but in the D12 System, you only take real damage after you are Incapacitated. A character has a maximum VP equal to 4 + Body modifier.
- Focus Point : Represents a character's mental vigor and ability to focus during intense situations. They are analogous to Mana in other games for Arcane casters, but they are also used by any characters to power special abilities that require focus, mental acuity and concentration. A character has a maximum FP equal to 4 + Mind modifier.
- Spirit Point : Represents a character's morale and spiritual strength. They are a different form of Mana (for non-Arcane powers) or a form of mental stress or morale in other games, but they are also used by any characters to power special abilities. A character has a maximum SP equal to 4 + Soul modifier.
Other derived stats include:
- Initiative = Awareness + Agility, used to determine order in combat via an Initiative Check
- Movement = [3 (humanoid base) + Size Modifier + (Agility / 4) (rounded down)] hexes / turn