Actor Creation
This page is your step-by-step guide to creating a new Actor to play in the game. The parent page already defines what are the Actor Elements, so we won't go over that again.
Choose Actor Sheet
Actor Sheet Elements
Here's your secret decoder ring for the terms on the sheet that we'll be filling out with the help of this page.
Actor Name– A unique name, or if the Actor is abstract, like a mountain, just put that
Player Hame–the real person who is role playing the Actor. For an NPC this is the GM.
Build Budget–how many
Build Points the Actor has to spend on Attributes.
Rank / Wildcards–what the calculated Rank of the Actor is based on their Build Budget. PC Actors also get
Wildcards incrementally as they advance in Rank.
TTS–Total Trine Score. The sum of all 3 Trine Scores (Mind TS + Body TS +Spirit TS)
Experience Points (XP)–a running total of the XP currency that Actors earn by winning Hands (see
Advancement)
Aspects & Attributes–the core stats that define and Actor (see
The Trine)
Concept–what is the Actor? A human, a dwarf, an alien, a spaceship, a city, a mountain, a stuck door, a computer, a race track, et al.
Inherits (2 fields)– ignore for PC Actors. For NPC Abstract Actors, like a Ruin, they may inherit the Actor sheet of the Swamp they are in, and the Ghost Actor who haunts it (see
Abstract Actors).
Type–what sub-type of the Actor's core Concept are you? If the Actor is a Human, are you Male or Female type? If the Actor is a spaceship, are they a Merchant or Warship type? Etc.
Size–if the Actor is a sentient being, this is usually their height. If they are an Abstract Actor, like a planet, this may be some other measurement, like diameter.
Mass–how much does the Actor weigh?
Appearance–this is just a place were you can put some notes about what the Actor looks like.
Philosophy–is your Actor religious? If so, what is their deity? If they have some other outlook on life, this is where you record that.
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Abilities–a Rule
Extension that allows Actors to spend their Build Budget on alternatives to the Action Cards of the Core Rules. Ignore if you are playing Core Rules.
Injuries–a Rule
Extension that allows for damaging Attributes below zero. Ignore if you are playing only Core Rules.
Conditions–a Rule
Extension that allows for temporary effects on Actors, like Poisoned, Invisible, Darkness, Flying, etc. Ignore if you are playing only Core Rules.
Disadvantages–a Rule
Extension that allows Actors to earn additional Build Points by buying Disadvantages (permanent Conditions that adversely effect the Actor).
Equipment–a Rule
Extension that allows Actors to play Equipment Cards instead of Action Cards from the Core Rules.
Backstory–a place to put information about your Actor, their origin, motivations, etc.
Notes–a place to put notes from the game sessions (clues, evidence, people, etc.)
Encumbrance–a Rule
Extension that puts limits on how much an Actor can carry.
Assign Build Budget (GM)
The Game Master must assign an appropriate amount of Build Points from which the Actor will be created. Build Points assigned toward creating an Actor become their Build Budget, and provide a numerical way to evaluate how powerful one Actor is compared to any other. See Rank & Wildcards from the Actor Definition page. Build Budget=27 is common for an average human villager, or a 1st level character in a game like Dungeons & Dragons. Build Budget=900 is the maximum allowed in the game, and is not used in practical terms, except perhaps to describe a supreme being in a monotheistic universe.
Assign Attribute Values
Actors have 9 Attributes that may range in Attribute Value (AV) from 0-100. All Actor Attributes begin at 0 and each Build Point spent increases an AV by one, so an equally distributed 27 point build would have 3 on every AV, which represents an average adult human.
A “—” listed for an Attribute signifies that Actor doesn't actually have that Attribute at all, like an industrial robot with no Spirit Attributes (Willpower, Presence, Intuition).
0 signifies an Actor who is disabled or wounded. When an Attribute is reduced to 0, that Actor may not take any actions that rely on that Attribute (see
Damage).
1 on an Attribute signifies a level approximately equivalent to that of a human child.
2 signifies a level roughly equivalent to a human teenager.
3 is the level of most Attributes for an average adult human
4+ signify Attributes that are above average on a human scale
10+ signify Attributes that would be considered supernatural or super-human.
Write Down Actor Stats
If playing only the Core Rules, once you've spend your Build Budget on Attributes, you're done! Extensions add other Actor elements, like Abilities, Disadvantages, etc. that you may see referred to on Actor Sheets, but for now let's ignore those.
Derived Stats
Some Actor Stats in the Core Rules are calculated from the steps just described above, and those each play a role in determining the outcome of Actions. The Derived Stats are:
Rank–analogous to character level in other game systems. Calculated as Build Budget 27 = Rank1.
Wildcards–are equal to Rank for Player Actors and are an
Edge over Non-Player Actors controlled by the GM, who generally do not have Wildcards.
Trine Score (TS)–is the average of all three Attributes of one Aspect (dropping fractions). Each Actor has 3 Trine Scores, one for each Aspect (Mind, Body, Spirit). Our average human example above has 3 on all three TS. TS sets the limit of AV chips an Actor may bid on an Action, meaning that if an Actor had Body TS=3, and STR=4,FIT=3,AGI=2, even though they have 4 STR, they may only bid 3 on an Action that depends on Strength; the remaining points are a reserve pool that allows them to bid on more Strength Actions in a conflict.
Total Trine Score (TTS)–the sum of adding all three TS together, so our average human example has a TTS=9. This is unimportant in the Core Rules, because Rank is also a measure of overall Actor power, but TTS becomes important when the Abilities Extension is used, allowing Actors to spend BP on Abilities instead of Attributes, and so you may have Actors with low TTS, but many Abilities, or vice versa.
Stat Blocks
A standardized Stat Block format is used to simplify the job of the GM, so they can look at a string of numbers and quickly gauge how powerful an Actor is, and develop ideas of how to play that Actor in the game. That serial number format is broken down below using our average human example:
Mr. Generico, the quintessential average human:
R1/1(27/0)-M3(3/3/3)-B3(3/3/3)-S3(3/3/3)
R1/1–means they are Rank1 and have 1 Wildcard, from which the GM can tell they are a PC
(27/0)–they have a 27 point Build Budget, and spent 0 on Abilities (Extension)
M3–Their Mind TS is 3
M3(3/3/3)–Their Reason (REA), Knowledge (KNO), and Quickness (QUI) are all 3
B3–Their Body TS is 3
B3(3/3/3)–Their Strength (STR), Fitness (FIT), and Agility (AGI) are all 3
S3–Their Spirit TS is 3
S3(3/3/3)–Their Willpower (WIL), Presence (PRE), and Intuition (INT) are all 3