The term Actor replaces “Character” from other RPGs. This is because in TnT, anything that can take an Action and interact with another Actor is considered to be an Actor. Players create Actors that they play throughout the game, but the GM also creates, or uses source material that contains Actors. Obvious Actors are things like sentient creatures, like human Player Characters (PCs), or monsters or aliens that the the GM controls as Non-Player Characters (NPCs). But unlike other games, the GM in TnT will also use Actors to describe abstract things that interact with the PC Actors. This gives the GM a consistent way to quantify the powers and abilities of those entities.

For example, if the PCs entered a city, the GM might have a thief NPC Actor who tries to pickpocket on of the PC Actors, and there may also be a merchant in that city selling expensive gear the players are interested in. Actor Sheets, if they exist, describe the powers and abilities of the thief and the merchant of course, and how difficult it might be to avoid being robbed or swindled, but in TnT, the city itself is also an Actor, albeit an abstract one, which can take actions like “pickpocket,” and “swindle.” This abstraction allows the GM to have an Actor Sheet for the city itself, and know it's abilities and their difficulty quickly when the PCs enter it, even without any other NPCs generated. Abstract Actors can be anything, a Swamp that causes the Foggy Condition, a Spaceship that uses its lasers to attack and its AGI score to evade attacks, A mountain that “attacks” using an Avalanche, etc.

Actor Sheets—Each Actor has a “character sheet” called an Actor Sheet. This can be a simple piece of paper that is filled out, but is more commonly a blank formatted template. Their Sheet tracks the persistent state of an Actor that will remain the same unless they gain or lose power through gameplay.

Actor Deck—because this is a card game, each Actor also has a Deck of cards and a Stack of tokens that represent their current state. Their current state may change based on the outcome of hands. They may gain or lose cards and tokens, but only those changes that persist are recorded on the Actor Sheet. The Actor Deck and Token Stacks track everything else.

Every Actor is created using these elements:

1. The Trine — all of their 3 main Aspects: Mind, Body & Spirit
   1. Trine Aspect (TA)— one of the 3 Aspects, Mind, Body or Spirit
   2. Trine Score (TS)— calculated by averaging all 3 Trine Attributes of an Aspect
   3. Total Trine Score (TTS)— the sum of all three Trine Scores
2. Attributes (AT) — each Aspect is further broken down into 3 Attributes
3. Attribute Value— the numerical value of each Trine Attribute
4. Build Budget — how many Build Points are used to create the Actor
5. Rank— a calculation of power level relative to other Actors that is derived from Build Budget
6. Wildcard Rank— an Edge PC Actors have over NPC Actors derived from Rank

The Trine Attributes of all Actors may range in power from 0— 100. An average adult human has Attribute Value 3 on all Attributes. The most powerful Actor that can be created in the game has 100 AV on all ATs.

Build Points are used to increase Actor AVs above 0, so the average adult human mentioned above has a Build Budget of 27 Build Points: (9 AT) x (3 AV) = 27. The most powerful Actor that can be created would have a Build Budget of 900 (9 AT) x (100 AV) = 900.

Rank describes how powerful an Actor is based on their Build Budget. A 27 Build Point Actor, like the average human example, is Rank 1. For every 9 additional Build Points an Actor has, their Rank increases by 1.

Wildcards are special Tokens that only PC actors receive that give them an Edge over NPCs. The Ranks when a PC Actor gains a Wildcard are underlined in the Rank table below following this formula:

Wildcard Rank progression:
WR = 1 + floor((R − 1) / 2)
So WR increases at R3, R5, R7, R9…

Examples: R1–2 → WR1, R3–4 → WR2, R5–6 → WR3, R7–8 → WR4

All Actors have three Aspects called the Trine. Those three Trine Aspects (TAs) are: Body, Mind and Spirit.

Each TA is further broken down into 3 Attributes (ATs) described below.

Throughout these rules, the nine ATs of The Trine are written either spelled out, abbreviated to three capital letters, or abbreviated to just one capital letter. They are also always displayed in this canonical order:

MIND

• Reason - REA - R
• Knowledge - KNO - K
• Quickness - QUI - Q

BODY

• Strength - STR - S
• Fitness - FIT - F
• Agility - AGI - A

SPIRIT

• Willpower - WIL - W
• Presence - PRE - P
• Intuition - INT - I

Reason is a measure an Actor's is ability to problem-solve, their grasp of logic, as well as a measure of how fast they are able to learn.

Quickness is the speed of thought, the ability to make a witty comeback with a joke, draw a fast conclusion to a problem, and decisiveness.

Knowledge this represents the sheer volume of data retained by the Actor, although it may be gathered through life experience or formal education. A historian who remembers vast swaths of ancient legends, a scientist who has memorized the periodic table of elements, or even a game show contestant who knows endless pop culture trivia, are all examples of Actors with a high knowledge stat.

Strength is a measure of an Actor's physical strength, i.e. the ability to lift heavy objects, have big muscles, etc. Strength points can be added to any double-blind contest where being strong has an effect on the outcome: melee combat, a Task Check to bash down a door, etc. This is one of the three stats that adds to how many Hit Points an Actor has.

Agility measures how physically quick the Actor is, their reaction time speed, as well as their hand-eye coordination. Agility points can be added to any Double-Blind Contest where being coordinated or quick has an effect on the outcome: missile combat, a Task Check to cross a river on a log, etc.

Fitness measures how physically fit the Actor is. This stat is is analogous to Constitution, or in other rule systems, Endurance. It plays a similar role in the rule system for physical perseverence as Willpower does for Spirit contests. Fitness points can be added to any Double-Blind Contest where being healthy has an effect on the outcome: a Task Check to force march with an army overnight, or to survive the effects of poison, for example.

Fitness also has the important role in determining how long an Actor can participate in combat without suffering penalties. See the Combat articles for more detail. This is one of the three stats that adds to how many Hit Points an Actor has.

Willpower is a measure of the Actor's determination, discipline and perseverance. This stat effects their ability to resist torture or similar hardship, their conviction to their goals, and represents their self confidence. Will points can be added to any Double-Blind Contest where the strength of one's spirit has an effect on the outcome: casting a spell, trying to intimidate NPC Actor, trying to resist being possessed by a ghost, etc.

Intuition is a measure of how accurately the Actor guesses things correctly, feels the right answer without knowing why, or avoids acting foolish. It also determines how aware an Actor is of their circumstances, their ability to notice things that aren't obvious, spot someone hiding nearby, etc. Intuition points can be added to any Double-Blind Contest where being able to feel what's right or detect something hidden has an effect on the outcome: trying to sense the mood of an NPC Actor, trying to determine the Difficulty of an Action in advance, etc.

Presence measures the Actor's charisma, force of personality, their leadership ability and determines how willing others are to be influenced by them. Presence can take many forms, but whether an Actor is a successful charlatan, a famous performer, a terrifying ogre, or a beloved king, this trait is immediately recognizable to all who witness it.
In the case of Environmental Actors, PRE is a measure of the object's quality of craftsmanship, or impressiveness, in the case of places.

Some Actors in the game will have a dash (-) listed next to a Stat. For example, a magical talking door, or a zombie, might list FIT: - , or an avalanche might be listed with only STR and AGI stats, but be missing a definition of all other Stats. Any missing stat in an Actor definition should be considered to also be a dash (-), meaning that the Stat is not applicable to that Actor; they simply don't possess that stat. Such creatures are immune to any effect that damages that stat, as well as any action that is opposed by that stat. For example, a zombie with FIT: - is immune to fatigue, since it reduces that Stat. Similarly, a mindless avalanche may not be effected by a mind-effecting spell, since it has no Mind Stats.

Actors missing Stats, or with a dash (-) listed next to a Stat ignore any ante required to take actions dependent on that stat, meaning that although a zombie has no FIT stat, it is still able to make physical attacks in combat, because it may ignore the 1 FIT ante to do so.

The articles under this page go into detail about how Actors are defined in the Core Rules, and how to create them: