EMERGENCE

Trait Range

Here, Range is a description of how generalized or specialized that ability is. Range can be used to see how well you might know a Related ability. A General skill might give you the basics of some related skill, but a Specific skill probably will not. You do not have to state how general an Ability is, unless there is some uncertainty in the Range, and it has to be declared by the Director. Use the first two or three letters to list a Range next to a Trait if necessary.

• General Covers many Broad areas which share the same basics ideas
  • Combat
  • Driving
  • Science
• Broad Covers some weakly related Narrow areas
  • Swords
  • Cars
  • Physics
• Narrow A group of Specific Areas with much in common
  • Long-swords
  • Sports-Cars
  • Quantum Mechanics
• Specific A specific experience, skill or concept
  • Parry
  • Hand-brake-turns
  • The Tunnelling Phenomena of Sub-atomic Particles Striking a Barrier of Finite Width and Height

Trait Levels

Learning & Forgetting

Some things are easier to learn or train in than others. Firstly, the more specific a Trait Range is, the more difficult it is to pick up initially, but then requires less to increase in (in general). Sometimes, you may require some sort of prerequisite before they can be picked up. (To run you first have to walk!) There may be other factors which make learning something difficult. To learn to walk you must first have legs! Often this can be assumed when a character is created, but if during the story, a number of steps may be required to pick up a certain ability. Obviously, the higher Levels of competency are harder to obtain. Some may be easier with some skilled teacher or trainer, or if a set of exercises are strictly practised. Others skills may only be learnt in certain circumstances. For instance, in a Fantasy Saga most people don't know magic because it is a secret art. To learn swimming as a child, you must have had at least a waterhole to swim in. You could not have wielded nun-chucks in Medieval Europe given the shortage of Ninja Masters at the time.

Of course, in a long running saga, unpractised abilities may be forgotten. To decide how hard it is to recall a lost ability, consider whether it is was Open or Closed, and how often it was practised.

• Open: These are active skills which are hard to forget once learned, just like riding a bike. Maybe you're not as good as you used to be, but you can still do it. You'd probably always maintain at least a Basic Trait Level even after many years. Often, these are skills which depend on a number of senses, and are adaptive rather than static.
• Closed: These are static skills, or memories, easy to forget if not practised often. Most knowledge is closed; You either know it or not. How much classroom French do you remember? (A lot if you speak French all the time, otherwise, not much!) At Specific Range, the most Traits will be closed.

Level Vs Range

The Levels and Ranges are guides only. There may be more specific versions of an already Specific Level Trait. In this case, the Level is based on similarity, but it is easier to increase your competency in the more specific area. For instance, the skill Parry-versus-Swords would be more effective than Just-Plain-Parry when it comes to swords, perhaps even when the Level is lower. But it only works if they pull it off properly. Say you have Advanced Long-Sword-Parry but to be more specific, only Effective Parry-vs-Swords. Automatically, because you have Advanced the more general Parry, you can parry most weapons without much effort, deflecting blows left, right and center. But, if you concentrate and succeed, you might pull off a special Parry-vs-Swords manoeuvre. This allows you not only to deflect the blow, but put your opponent off balance, and have a good chance to disarm or follow through with a set of attacks.

Related & Assumed Abilities

The Director has to decide from time to time whether a character has an Traits which is not listed on the Role Description Sheet. If the Trait in question is similar to one that is listed, you may assume one of the Basic Levels (Lacking, Basic, Effective) as long as it is less than the Listed Level. When the Listed Level is Advanced or Flawless, and the Trait in question is more Specific in Range, then an assumed Level of Honed would be reasonable. Very similar Traits could differ by only one Level, but if not so similar, make it two or three Levels lower. When there are no similar Traits listed, it may be reasonable to assume both the Level and Range of some skill.

A Character who "fought in many battles for the Glory of the Aludyr Kingdom" should know at least something of the history of the War involving that Kingdom, and about the King, and the Armies he served in. It can also be assumed he knows a little something about wounds, weapons and tactics even if it is not specified.

The same character has a Honed Long-Sword skill. We can assume he can use a Bastard-Sword (which is like a Long-Sword) in at at least a Limited way, but probably is already Effective with it given his long blood-drenched past. With other similar weapons we could assume he has a Lacking Level. He is Advanced with Battle-Ax, so from this we can assume he is honed with all the basic techniques like parry, over-head swing and swide-swing. But he would only have a Basic Level with other similar weapons because they are not more Specific.

Example

Experiences
• the evil that men do (Advanced)
• loneliness (Ad)
• hunger (Honed)
• rape victim (Flawless)
• gypsy life (Ho)
• witchcraft (Ho)
• live performance (Ho)
• the spirit world (Lacking)
Skills
• singing gypsy songs(Ho)
• gypsy dancing
• spells to control or dispel spirits
• basic cooking
Knowledges
• spell ingredients(Ho)
• a number of gypsy songs (Broad, Effective)
• roads around the kingdom (Basic)
• 3 languages
  • Mother Tongue (Ad)
  • Gypsie Tongue (Ba)
  • Aludyrish (La)
• names of dozens of spirits (Ho)
• uses of herbs and minerals

• Note that where there is no Level specified, assume Effective.