OC³

Table of Contents

OC³ contains all the information you'll need to create human or non-human characters (including character traits, trait levels, defined lists of Gifts and Faults, and an Objective system for allocating them).

Trait: anything that describes a character. A trait can be an attribute, skill, inherited gift, fault, supernormal power, or any other feature that might describe a character. The GM is the ultimate authority on what is an attribute and what is a skill, gift, etc.

Rank: most traits are described by one of seven adjectives. These even descriptive words represent levels a trait may be at. In addition, character creation grants the player free levels, and asks he keep track of them. In this case, one level is required to raise a trait to the next better adjective.

Attribute: any trait that everyone has, in some degree or other. See Attributes, for a list of attributes. On a scale of Terrible...Fair...Superb, the average character will have an attribute at Fair.

Skill: any trait that isn't an attribute, but can be improved through practice. The default for an unlisted skill is usually Poor, though that can vary up or down a little depending on the skill.

Gift: any trait that isn't an attribute or skill, but is something positive for the character. Some GMs will define a certain trait as a gift, while others will define the same trait as an attribute. In general, if the trait doesn't easily fit the Terrible...Fair...Superb scale, it's probably a gift.

Fault: any trait that limits a character's actions, or earns him a bad reaction from other people.

OC³ uses the default FUDGE trait descriptors to rank the various traits of a character. From best to worst:

• Superb
• Great
• Good
• Fair
• Mediocre
• Poor
• Terrible

These levels should be written on each character sheet for easy reference. Any example character sheet can be found here.

There is an additional level that can be used which is not listed above: Legendary, which is beyond Superb. Those with Legendary Strength, for example, are in the 99.9th percentile, and their names can be found in any book of world records.

IMPORTANT NOTE: not every GM will allow PCs to become Legendary. Even in games that do include the Legendary level, it is not recommended that any character be allowed to start the game as Legendary. Superb represents the 98th to 99.9th percentile of any given trait, which should be enough for any beginning PC! Of course, if a player character gets a bit overconfident, meeting an NPC Legendary swordswoman can be a grounding experience. . .

If someone really has to begin play as a Legendary swordsman, strong man, etc., doing the GM's laundry for half a year or so (in advance) should be sufficient bribe to be allowed to start at that level. Of course, working towards Legendary makes a great campaign goal, and so PCs may rise to that height, given enough playing time and a generous GM.

Traits are divided into Attributes, Skills, Gifts, Faults and Supernormal Powers. Not every GM will have all five types of traits in her game. These traits are defined in Section 2.1, Character Creation Terms.

Each character possesses ranks in nine Attributes.  Of these 9, three (Body, Mind, and Soul) are referred to as 'Master Attributes'.  Master Attributes serve serveral functions, most notably, they denote the amount of damage a character can sustain of a specific type. (For example, the character's Body attribute defines the amount of physical damage they can sustain.)  Each Master Attribute 'governs' two sub-attributes; the character's rank in any Master Attribute must be equal or higher than the attributes which is governs. 

Body

Muscle

Agility

Mind

Memory

Reasoning

Soul

Intuition

Will

All attributes are considered to be Fair until the player raises or lowers them. The (total) rank cost of raising or lowering an attribute is

+3 Superb
+2 Great
+1 Good
0 Fair
-1 Mediocre
-2 Poor
-3 Terrible

Thus, a player may raise his Strength attribute (which is Fair by default) to Good by spending one free attribute rank. He could then spend another free level to raise Strength again to Great. The player has 5 ranks to distribute among attributes. 

When the free attribute levels have been exhausted, an attribute can be raised further only by lowering another attribute an equal amount. (See also Trading Traits.)

Taking Damage

Just how much punishment can one person take?  Your characters Mind, Body, and Soul attributes tell you how much you can withstand in Mental, Physical, or Spiritual damage, how long you can keep up physical activity or go without rest before burning out (see Fatigue).

Mind/Body/Soul Rank	Scratch	Hurt	Very Hurt	Incapacitated	Near Death
Superb	OOOO	OO	OO	O	O
Great	OOOO	OO	O	O	O
Good	OOOO	O	O	O	O
Fair	OOO	O	O	O	O
Mediocre	OO	O	O	O	O
Poor	OO		O	O	O

Skills

Most skills have a default value of Poor unless the player raises or lowers them. (Easy default to Mediocre unless altered, and very hard ones default to Terrible.)

     Cost of Skills:
     ----------------------------------------------
                  | Easy | Most | Hard | VH
     Terrible ..  |  -2  |  -1  |   0  |  1
     Poor ......  |  -1  |   0  |   1  |  2
     Mediocre ..  |   0  |   1  |   2  |  3
     Fair ......  |   1  |   2  |   3  |  4
     Good ......  |   2  |   3  |   4  |  5
     Great .....  |   3  |   4  |   5  |  6
     Superb ....  |   4  |   5  |   6  |  7

     Easy = Cost of GM-Determined Easy Skills
     Most = Cost of Average Skill
     Hard = Cost of GM-Determined Hard Skills
     VH   = Cost of GM-Determined Very Hard Skills (usually
            related to Supernormal Powers)

Once the free levels are used up, a skill must be dropped one level (from the default Poor to Terrible) to raise another skill one level. (See also Trading Traits.) All choices are subject to GM veto, of course.

The following brief list of skill examples is not in any way intended to be comprehensive or official: it is merely to help those not used to skill-based systems think of some skills for their characters. By all means change the names or create new ones, delete or expand as necessary. 

• If the character's opt for 'Very Broad' skill definitions, use the Bold skills listed below, and give the character 15 ranks to buy skills with. Skill points will 'trade' for Gifts at a 2 to 1 ratio, instead of 6 to 1.
• If the character is using more Detailed skill descriptions, use the non-bold skill lists, and give the character 45 ranks to buy skills with. 
• The player can 'mix and match' Broad and Detailed skills easily:  
  • Give the character 45 ranks to buy skills with
  • All Broad skills cost 3 ranks to purchase at the Default level, and 3 ranks to raise 1 rank
  • Detailed skills cost 1 rank to purchase and raise.

Animal skills:

Animal Care (specific), Animal Training, Herding, Riding, Teamster, Veterinarian, etc.

Artistic skills:

Aesthetics, Cosmetology, Culinary Arts, Literary Arts, Performing Arts (music, theater, storytelling, jester, dance, etc., and such skills as Choreography, Composition, Costuming, etc.), Visual Arts (painting, drawing, sculpting, etc.), and so on

Athletic skills:

Acrobatics, Aerial Acrobatics, Balance Skills, Boating, Climbing, Jumping, Pole-vaulting, Running, Swimming, Throwing, Various Sports, Zero-G Maneuvering, etc.

Combat skills:

Ambush, Demolitions, Dodge, Quick-Draw, Shield, Tactics, Throwing, numerous Weapon and Unarmed Combat skills

Covert skills:

Acting, Breaking & Entering, Detect Traps, Deactivate Traps, Disguise, Forgery, Infiltrate, Intrigue, Lockpicking, Pickpocketing, Poisoning, Shadowing, Shady Contacts, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, etc.

Craft skills:

Armory, Basket Making, Bowyer/Fletcher, Carpenter, Cooking, Knots, Leatherworking, Masonry, Pottery, Smith, Tailor, Weaving - many others

Knowledge skills:

Alchemy, Alien Customs, Arcane Lore, Criminology, Cultures, Detective Fiction, Folklore, Geography, History, Literature, Occultism, Political Situations, Psychology, TV SitCom Episodes, Sciences (lots of these), etc.

Language skills:

Each individual language, Pantomime, Pick Up Languages, etc.

Manipulative skills:

Bamboozle, Bluff, Boot-licking, Bribery, Con, Exhort, Fast-talk, Flattery, Interrogate, Intimidate, Lying, Oratory, Persuade, Seduction, Street Gossip, etc.

Medical skills:

Anatomy, Antidotes, Diagnosis, Doctoring, First Aid, Herb Preparation, Medicine, Nursing, Surgery, etc.

Merchant skills:

Bargain, Barter, Business Sense, Evaluate Goods, Haggle, Innkeeping, Marketing, Salesmanship, Shopkeeping, etc.

Professional skills:

Accounting, Begging, Bureaucracy, Farming, Gambling, Law, Photography, Seamanship - many others

Social skills (Fellowship):

Camaraderie, Carouse, Choosing just the right gift, Control Libido, Etiquette - Informal (be specific), Flirting, Game Playing, Hold your liquor, Make Amusing Faces or Noises, Tall Tales, Uplift Spirits, Witty Insults, etc.

Social skills (Formal):

Courtly Ways, Detect Lies, Diplomacy, Etiquette - Formal, Interviewing, Parley, Repartee, Rituals, Savoir-Faire, Servant, etc.

Spiritual skills:

Communing with nature, Fasting, Giving comfort, Listening deeply, Meditation, Patience, Theology, etc.

Supernormal Power skills:

Spell Casting, Use Mind Control, Use Superpower, etc.

Survival skills:

Camouflage, Camping, Fishing, Forage, Herb Lore, Hide Traces, Hunting, Mimic Animal Noises, Nature Lore, Navigation, Survival (Wilderness, Urban, etc), Tracking, Wildcraft, Woodcraft, 

Technical skills:

Computer Build/Repair, Computer Programming, Computer Use, Driving, Electronics, Engineer, Mechanic, Piloting, Repair Scoutship Systems, Research, Shiphandling, etc.

A gift is a positive trait that doesn't fit the Ranking Scale that attributes and skills fall into. This will vary from GM to GM: a photographic memory might be a gift to one GM, while it will be a Superb Memory attribute to another. A selection of Gifts follow. For ranked Gifts, the first rank = Poor.  Players begin with Four Gifts, and can buy extra Faults to get more.

Ally
This character has a person or persons who will offer information or aid if character asks for it. Every once and a while, they might come to the character for help. The GM should work with the player to outline where and in what circumstances the ally can offer aid. Ranks might be possible with this Gift, might rely on the Character's rank in Intuition minus 2, or have no rank.   Possible rank Benefits:

Armor (1 Gift/Rank)
This character has natural armor, either obvious or hidden.

Astral Projection
Someone with this power has the ability to leave their body in a death-like trance, while their consciousness moves about outside of it. No longer bound by their physical form, they can travel anywhere they can see or anyplace they have been before instantly; they exist wherever their attention is. They can also fix their location to a specific person. They cannot, however, communicate with other people while in astral form unless they or the person they wish to communicate with has Telepathy. They cannot interact with the physical world unless they have Telekinesis.

Bookish
Buffy: "If you're up for it, we're going into deep research mode."
Willow: "I'd be offended if you hadn't already counted me in."
        —from "The Zeppo"

You love books or computers (pick one). Research in said medium is your thing, and you are good at it. What’s more, you enjoy it. Any rolls involving research have their result raised by one level.

Clairvoyance
The ability to use your senses at a range, and see or hear things that are happening in other places. Usually it requires a focus, such as a person you know being at the place to be observed, or touching an object that is connected somehow to the person or thing you wish to observe—a photograph of the person will do fine, or some personal posession of theirs. Clairvoyance is rolled using one's Intuition with a difficulty of Great. While sensing what is happening in other places, you cannot see things where your body is. You also cannot affect the events you are witnessing in any way, you may only observe. 

Combat Master
This Gift reflects the character's intimate knowledge of a wide range of offensive and defensive combat techniques, covering all aspects of armed and unarmed encounters (including ranged weapons).  The character receives a +1 to all Attack and Damage Rolls. This Gift may be purchased more than once with the GM's permission. A Terrible Rank (-1 to all attack and damage rolls) is a Fault.

Companion (1 Gift/Rank)
You have in your possession a loyal faithful companion that will go anywhere with you. The abilities of the companion are dependant on the Rank of the Companion.

Common Sense
You are uncommonly pragmatic.  Whenever you are about to do something that defies practicality, the GM should warn you (out of character), citing why your character can't or shouldn't do what you had intended.  

Empathy
An Empath can "see" the emotions of others. They can choose a specific target, or scan a general area searching for someone who feels a specific emotion. If the person being read knows what is happening, they can attempt to mask their emotions with a successful Will roll, the difficuty of which is equal to the Empath's Intuition. Please note that the Empath only reads the target's emotions, they do not actually feel them.

If the player spends two Gifts on this power, they will gain the ability to induce emotions on others. With a successful Opposed Intuition roll against the target's Will, the Empath can suggest whatever emotion they wish, from confusion to fear, to love or hate or trust.

Extra Stamina
Possessing this Power allows the character to deal with Fatigue Effects better than might otherwise be indicated. The character's Body attribute is considered 4 Ranks higher than normal for the purposes of Fatigue (determining the number of Taxing tasks they may undertake, and as a bonus on Exhausting tasks).

Extra Attack (1 Gift for 1 Rank. 2 Gifts for 2 ranks, 3 Gifts for 3 ranks, etc.)
This Attribute reflects the character's ability to use every combat situation to his or her benefit. Each round, the character may take one action, provided that the actions are all somewhat similar in nature.

Flight (1 Gift/Rank)
The ability to levitate above the ground. The ability may be the result of Powers, Wings or cybernetics.

To use the ability, the character must by the 'Piloting (Self)' Skill, which is a 'hard' skill that defaults to no ranks (The first rank starts the character out at 'Terrible'.) 

To achieve greater speeds, the character should purchase the 'Speed' Gift in conjunction with Flight.

Flunkies/Minions (1 Gift/Rank)
Flunkies hang around the character doing whatever he or she wants, and never ask for anything in return.  Ranks in this Gift might be applicable, or not, as the GM decrees.

Gadgeteer
The ability to build anything out of anything. Requires the technical skills be purchased, but allows for 'super science' or 'weird science' applications.

Heightened Senses
A character with Heightened Senses will have an acute perception of taste, touch, sight, smell and hearing compared to those of an average human adult. In addition, consider the Scale on the Characters Intuition +1.

Immortality (2 Gifts)
Unlike other people, the character is capable of living for ever. As an Immortal, the character never ages and will eventually heal from whatever wounds she sustains, provided it is not the sort of wound that would kill the character. (Thought should be given as to what sorts of damage can bring on permanent death.)  When created, the player should explain how the character became immortal and why.

Irresistible
Members of the opposite sex react well to you.

1 Rank: Only one or a small group of people find you irresistible. (+1 to any interaction vs. the target group)

Katana Space
The ability to keep small items in a small pocket dimension where they can be stored and used by the character whenever needed. The item returns to the 'dimension' automatically when not used, but not if taken, stolen or given away.  The items must be specifically chosen and can only be changed with permission by the GM.

(Called Katana space because swords and weapons are the most common items, but the item can be anything the player chooses. I.e.: Mulder and Scully from the X-Files would have "Flashlight" and "Cell Phone" Space. )

Lucky
A Lucky character has powerful forces acting as his or her Guardian, which can beneficially influence the outcome of important events. This relationship is represented through the re-rolling of undesirable dice rolls. The character may act as though they spent a Fudge Point twice per session, without spending one.

Magic Aptitude
You seem to have a natural affinity for magic.  All difficulties for rolls involving magic of any kind are reduced by 1.

Natural Weapon (1 Gift/Rank)
The character is unusual in that he has several weapons "built" into him by means that should be decided by the player. These include such standards as claws or fangs as well as hidden weapons that pop out of the character's body, usually the arm. Players also have the option of taking a more powerful version of an earlier weapon. For example, a character with a Fair Natural Weapon upgraded to Good could have installed a set of vibro-forearm blades that do more damage, replacing the boring plain old blades that used to be there, or their naturally-occuring elbow spikes could get rougher.

Photographic Memory
With a successful Memory roll at a difficulty of your Memory +1, you can recall anything you have seen, heard, or read with perfect clarity and detail.  If you succeed on the roll, the GM will describe to you exactly what you need to remember.  

Pyrokinesis
The character can create heat and fire by sheer force of will. How much damage is done is determined by the 'Use Pyrokynesis' skill check of the character. Use Pyrokynesis is a 'very hard' skill (starts at Terrible).

Regeneration
The character regains recovers from Fatigue and heals faster than normal.

Shapeshift
Shapeshifting is Tiring and can Cause Fatigue.  Each Rank of Shapeshift is two Gifts. Uncontrolled Lycanthropy is a Fault, despite the arguable benefits.