Generate the characteristics as normal - i.e. STR, CON, DEX, APP, POW on 3d6; SIZ on 2d5+6. Ditch INT as a characteristic, along with Idea, Luck and Know.
Hit points becomes SIZ + CON (don't divide by 2 any more). To compensate for this, double the damage of firearms (but not other weapons). Also note the Major Wound point, which is equal to CON, the Knockdown point which is equal to SIZ and the Unconscious point which is equal to one quarter hit points.
Each character has a series of traits in opposing pairs. Each pair of traits always adds up to 20. Roll 3d6 for the initial value in the first trait in each pair.
Trait pairs are:
Each character should have a 100 word essay which is a brief synopsis of the background and history of the character. From this the player and referee can determine the occupation, homeland and other interests of the character. This enables us to generate skills for the character.
Occupation skills are dependant on the occupation of the character and their level is dependant on the length of time that the character has spent in that occupation.
| Under 5 years | 5 - 10 years | 10 - 15 years | 15 - 20 years | 20 - 30 years | 30 or more years |
| 1 skill at 17, others at 15 | 2 skills at 17, others at 15 | 1 skill at 18, 2 skills at 17, others at 15 | 2 skills at 18, 2 skills at 17, others at 16 | 3 skills at 18, 2 skills at 17, others at 16 | 4 skills at 18, others at 17 |
Sanity is a measure of the character's mental well-being. It is marked similiarly to a skill, but can vary like a trait. If a character sees something that is literally incredible or very distrubing, it may affect his or her Sanity. Once a character reaches 0 SAN he or she is insane, although this is not necessarily raving lunacy.
Every time a SAN check is required, the character needs to roll d20 against his or her SAN. Simultaneously the referee will roll a d20 against the San Loss characteristic the the situation or encounter. The result is given in the table below:
| Referee Roll | ||||||
| Critical (1) | Sucess (under or equal San Loss) | Failure (over San Loss) | Fumble (20) | |||
| Player Roll | Critical (1) | No effect | Player gains 1 SAN | Player gains 1 SAN | Player gains 2 SAN and immunity$ | |
| Sucess (under or equal SAN) | Player loses 1 SAN | No effect or player loses 1 SAN* | No effect | No effect | ||
| Failure (over SAN) | Player loses 1 SAN | Player loses 1 SAN | No effect | No effect | ||
| Fumble (20) | Players loses 2 SAN | Player loses 1 SAN | No effect | No effect | ||
* If both sides suceed but the referee has rolled lower than the player, the referee has a marginal sucess and that player still loses a point of SAN.
$ If the referee fumbles and the player criticals, the player regains 2 points of SAN and gains immunity to SAN loss caused by the creature or place, so long as it is a discrete thing fear of which can be conquered. Note this on the character sheet.
If a player loses 2 SAN from an encounter, he or she will go temporarily insane. At this point the referee will start to use the character's traits to determine his actions.
Some creatures have such a profound effect that their San Loss characteristic is greater than 20. In this case their San Loss is recorded as 15/1 or 5/2. The number after the slash is the degree of terror that they inspire. Treat the number in front of the slash as their San Loss characteristic to roll against. The number after the slash is the used to modify the result. Each point after the slash can modify a Fumble to a Failure, a Failure to a Sucess or a Sucess to a Critical. Thus a creature with a San Loss of 5/3 rolls a 20, normally a fumble. The value of 3 after the slash however allows the Fumble to be modified to a Failure, then a Sucess, then a Critical. So a creature with a San Loss followed by a /3 is always going to score a Critical sucess - good luck!.
Sample SAN losses:
| Seeing an unexpected dead body | 5 |
Skill rolls are handled similarly to SAN rolls. The player rolls their skill and the referee either rolls an opposing skill or a difficulty rating. A similar table is used to determine the outcome.
| Referee Roll | ||||||
| Critical (1) | Sucess (under or equal skill) | Failure (over skill) | Fumble (20) | |||
| Player Roll | Critical (1) | No effect | Player Suceeds | Player does very well | Player does exceptionally well | |
| Sucess (under or equal SAN) | Player fails | No effect or player fails* | Player suceeds | Player does very well | ||
| Failure (over SAN) | Player fails badly | Player fails | No effect | No effect | ||
| Fumble (20) | Players fails very badly | Player fails badly | No effect | No effect | ||
* If both sides suceed but the referee has rolled lower than the player, the referee has a marginal sucess and that player still fails. If the player has rolled lower, the referee fails (if appropriate)
Skills that are over 20 wrap around and are listed as x/y, where x is the number between 1 and 20 and y is the number of degrees of mastery (in multiples of 20) that the character has. Thus a character with a skill of 15/2 actually has a skill of 55 in the skill. Each degree of mastery will turn a Fumble into a Failure, a Failure into a Sucess and a Sucess into a Critical. If the character still has unused degrees of Mastery at the end of this, i.e. their skill is already a Critical, they may then use these levels of Mastery to downgrade their opponents skill in the same manner, from Critical to Sucess to Failure to Fumble.
The exact outcome will depend on the skills being employed. Sample difficulties are given in skill descriptions and in the combat section.
Combat is fast and bloody. Each character rolls to hit with their preferred weapon. If the weapon is a hand-to-combat weapon, they roll against the weapon or other skill (such as Dodge or Martial Arts) of the person they are attacking. Sucess means they cause damage. Special sucess means that they will score double damage. Critical sucess means that they will score maximum possible damage.