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.

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
   1. Attribute Value (AV)— the numerical value of each Trine Attribute
3. Build Budget — how many Build Points are used to create the Actor
4. Rank— a calculation of power level relative to other Actors that is derived from Build Budget
   1. 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 Aspect

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

BODY Aspect

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

SPIRIT Aspect

• 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. It is associated with the Action Card tags Analyze, Plan, Logic, Deduce, Diagnose.

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 Attributes. It is associated with the Action Card tags Recall, Craft, Technical, Protocol, Research, Lore.

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. It is associated with the Action Card tags React, Think Fast, Slight, Improvise.

Strength is a measure of an Actor's ability to exert physical force. It is associated with the Action Card tags Brute Force, Overpower, Lift/Carry, Break

Fitness measures how physically fit the Actor is. It is associated with the Action Card tags Endure, Long Push, Sustain, Recover, Brace/Hold

Agility measures how physically quick the Actor is, their reaction time speed, as well as their hand-eye coordination. It is associated with the Action Card tags Finesse, Evade, Maneuver, Balance, Precision

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. It is associated with the Action Card tags Resist, Focus, Courage, Spiritual Strength

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. It is associated with the Action Card tags Interpersonal, Command, Perform, Deceive/Bluff

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. It is associated with the Action Card tags Notice, Read Motives, Instinct, Sense Danger

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 have dashes all other Stats. Such creatures are immune to any effect that damages the missing stat, and may not play any Action card associated with missing stats.

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.

Stat Block—Because several numerical values actually describe an Actor, they are often described in a numerical “serial number” format shorthand. This allows the GM to read an NPC Actor's shorthand stat block and know at a glance how powerful they are, and how to play a Hand with them. It also keeps written Actor Stat Blocks brief in written materials.

Below is the standard format of a Stat Block:
R{R}/{WR}(BB[/AbSpent]) - M{TS}(REA/KNO/QUI) - B{TS}(STR/FIT/AGI) - S{TS}(WIL/PRE/INT)

• R stands for Rank, and {R} is their numerical Rank
• {WR} is the numerical value of their Wildcard Rank (if the don't have one it will be 0)
• BB is their Build Budget expressed as a number
• AbSpent is always 0 in the Core Rules. Extensions introduce Abilities and AbSpent tracks how many Build Points were spent on Abilities instead of Attributes.
• M{TS}, B{TS}, and S{TS} are their Mind/Body/Spirit Aspect Trine Scores, followed by the 3 Attributes that make up each Aspect in parentheses.
• The @ is used to represent an AV of 100 (extremely rare)

Example: average human villager Stat Block:
R1/1(27/0)-M3(3/3/3)-B3(3/3/3)-S3(3/3/3)

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