The primary mechanic of WISH is the usage of various different shaped and topically relevant dice to form additive dice pools. Checks are almost always made as single aggregate rolls incorporating both advantaging and disadvantaging dice. A summary of the dice and their focus follows.

• Characteristic Dice: these blue 8 sided dice form the core of most dice pools and are effectively the base dice. Associated directly with Physical and Mental Characteristics (described elsewhere), these dice offer middle of the road probabilities weighted slightly more towards success than failure. (50% success ratio, but 75% chance of some beneficial effect).
  • 8: 1 success
  • 7: 1 success
  • 6: 1 success
  • 5: 1 success
  • 4: 1 boon
  • 3: 1 boon
  • 2: -
  • 1: -

• Offensive Dice: characters can adjust their "stance" (described elsewhere) towards a more offensive footing. For each "step" further into Offensive mode a character converts a Characteristic die into n red 10 sided Offensive die. Thus a character with Ag 3 who is two steps deep into Offensive would normally roll 3 Characteristic dice for an Agility check, but instead rolls two Offensive dice and 1 Characteristic dice thanks to their Offensive stance. Offensive dice feature high risk high reward probabilities, with the possibility of causing the character stress or fatigue as well. When Offensive dice come up, they come up big. Offensive dice favor taking long shots but it can be difficult to sustain an Offensive stance during long encounter. One must be willing to fail while daring greatly to make the most of it. Note: in WHFRP3 this concept is referred to as "Reckless"; it is being renamed here for genre purposes. (50% success ratio, but 20% chance for a double success; 60% chance of some beneficial effect, 40% chance for some negative effect).
  • 10: 2 successes
  • 9: 2 successes
  • 8: 1 success, 1 boon
  • 7: 2 boons
  • 6: 1 success, 1 stress / fatigue
  • 5: 1 success, 1 stress / fatigue
  • 4: 1 bane
  • 3: 1 bane
  • 2: -
  • 1: -

• Defensive Dice: characters can adjust their "stance" towards a more cautious, defensive footing. For each "step" further into Defensive mode a character converts a Characteristic die into a green 10 sided Defensive die. Thus a character with Ag 3 who is two steps deep into Defensive would normally roll 3 Characteristic dice for an Agility check, but instead rolls two Defensive dice and 1 Characteristic dice thanks to their Defensive stance. Defensive dice feature low risk predictable reward probabilities, with the possibility of slowing down the character's capacity to use their abilities in a timely fashion. Defensive dice are reliable and favor working within accepted limits. Note: in WHFRP3 this concept is referred to as "Conservative"; it is being renamed here for genre purposes. (70% success ratio, 90% beneficial ratio, 20% negative ratio (but very mild) ).
  • 10: 1 success, 1 boon
  • 9: 1 success
  • 8: 1 success
  • 7: 1 success
  • 6: 1 success
  • 5: 1 boon
  • 4: 1 boon
  • 3: 1 success, 1 recharge
  • 2: 1 success, 1 recharge
  • 1: -

• Challenge Dice: not all tasks are equivalently difficult; that's where the purple 8 sided Challenge dice come into the picture. Routine tasks will have one or none added to their pool, but more difficult tasks will have 2, 3, 4, 5, or higher as the GM sees fit to assign. Challenge dice have high failure probability, and also the chance for a calamity which might cause a failure to become a critical failure, or cause even a successful outcome to have some downside. Any check that accrues too many Challenge Dice is not only apt to fail, it's apt to fail in an alarming way. (50% failure ratio, 25% double failure, 87.5% negative ratio, 12.5% calamity ratio...this is bad mojo).
  • 8: -
  • 7: 1 bane
  • 6: 2 banes
  • 5: 1 failure
  • 4: 1 failure
  • 3: 2 failures
  • 2: 2 failures
  • 1: 1 calamity

• Expertise Dice: characters can train Skills, which are typically based off of the core Characteristic check mechanic whereby a given Skill is associated with a given Characteristic. Thus Observation (Int) is a skill tied to Intelligence and a character making an untrained Observation check would roll a number of blue or stance dice based dice equal to their Intelligence. However, in addition to being based on a Characteristic, Skills that are trained are far more likely to succeed; characters add one 6 sided yellow Expertise die to their pool per rank they have trained the corresponding Skill. Thus in our Observation example, a character that has trained Observation once would add an Expertise die to their Observation dice pool. Expertise dice are high-probability, and include a "lucky chain" effect leaving the upper end of successes theoretically unlimited, and the chance for an unexpected windfall or a stroke of luck. Adding even a single Expertise die to a dice pool gives a significant increase in the odds for success. Trained Skills are by far the most common source of Expertise dice, but some Stunts or other abilities may grant them for various circumstances. (33% success ratio, 16.6% chain ratio, 16.6% serendipity ratio, 83.3% benefit ratio; though technically a serendipity can be downgraded to a success if a player wishes, so it's actually a 50% success ratio with about a 8% chance of chaining for a 2nd success and a very small % chance of chaining for a third success).
  • 6: 1 serendipity
  • 5: 1 success, roll another
  • 4: 1 success
  • 3: 1 boon
  • 2: 1 boon
  • 1: -

• Fortune Dice: Mildly advantaging, these white 6 sided dice are freely added to dice pools to indicate beneficial circumstances or events contributing on behalf of the character. Fortune dice are always in the character's favor. Many abilities specifically add one or more dice to various endeavors. Success is a possibility on a Fortune die, but Boons are more likely. (33% success ratio, 50% benefit ratio).
  • 6: 1 success
  • 5: 1 success
  • 4: 1 boon
  • 3: -
  • 2: -
  • 1: -

• Misfortune Dice: Mildly disadvantaging, these black 6 sided dice are freely added to dice pools to indicate detrimental circumstances hindering the character. Many abilities specifically impose one or more dice to various endeavors. Failure is a possibility on a Fortune die, but Banes are more likely. (33% failure ratio, 50% negative ratio).
  • 6: 1 failure
  • 5: 1 failure
  • 4: 1 bane
  • 3: -
  • 2: -
  • 1: -

A core concept to WISH is the idea of a character's "stance". Stance indicates a character's relative Defensiveness or Offensiveness in a given moment. Note that these concepts are called Conservative and Reckless respectively in WHFRP

Characters that are being impetuous, action oriented, reckless, rushing, head first, or direct are being Offensive. This doesn't mean they are being stupid or have lost their sense of self preservation, it just means they are comfortable with the risks they are taking and are looking for short term immediate gain rather than thinking about long term consequences or sustainability.

Characters that are being cautious, considerate, conservative, controlled, testing the waters, or indirect are being Defensive. This doesn't mean they are being pacifistic or inactive or are turtleing up, it just means they are risk averse and are going for a more predictable slow and steady wins the race approach and are more concerned with sustainable, reliable results even if it takes longer to achieve them.

This is not a toggle state whereby a character is either one or the other; it is a spectrum and characters are individually somewhere on the spectrum in a given moment. Given two characters one might be acting more offensively or defensively than the other at this moment but that might change from turn to turn as each character adjusts their approach towards low-risk low-reward or high-risk high-reward.

Stance Meter

This spectrum is represented by the Stance Meter, which is a track of green and red stance steps separated by a single "neutral" step, where green represents Defensive steps and red represents Offensive steps. Characters will have different numbers of Defensive and Offensive steps based upon their Archetype and whether or not they have chosen to purchase additional steps for themselves as advances.

A character is not forced to pick one over the other; they can adjust their stance on their Stance Meter from turn to turn. By default characters start encounters in the neutral stance and may advance themselves one step in either direction on their Stance Meter at the beginning of their turn for free. A character can choose to suffer 1 stress and move themselves one additional step at this time as well.

Stance Depth

The number of steps deep a character is in the Defensive or Offensive stance is a meaningful number and drives certain game mechanics. If an effect or ability refers to the depth of a character's stance, it is referring to the number of steps deep the character currently is into Defensive or Offensive on their Stance Meter. Thus if a character is 4 steps over into Offensive any effect that cares how deep their stance is will use the value 4.

Some effects and Stunts manipulate or key off of a characters position on the stance meter. For instance, an Stunt may grant a numerical benefit based upon the number of steps deep a character currently is in the Defensive or Offensive stance, or indicate that as part of the Stunt's resolution the character position on their Stance Meter is moved. If an affect calls for a character's stance to be moved "towards" Defensive, Neutral, or Offensive it literally means to move the character's stance marker one or more steps towards the indicated direction. If a character is already at their maximum depth in the Defensive stance and an effect indicates they should be moved towards Defensive the directive is ignored as they can go no farther; and the same for Offensive respectively.

The primary mechanical effect of the Stance Depth is that when performing checks, characters convert a number of characteristic dice to Defensive or Offensive dice based upon their current stance depth. Thus if a character who has Strength 5 is 2 steps deep into the Offensive stance and is called upon to make a Strength based check, their initial dice pool will be , not .

Increasing Stance Depth

Stance steps can be increased, costing 1 creation point or advance each. Offensive and Defensive steps are purchased individually, not symmetrically. There is no upper limit to stance steps, but there is definitely a practical limit.

Though there are some effects that are driven by a character's stance depth the primary benefit of additional stance steps is to convert characteristic dice to the better stance dice, thus there is little practical benefit to having more steps in a stance than a character's highest characteristic. For instance, if a character's highest characteristic is a 5 then having a Stance Meter with 6 Defensive or Offensive steps has very little beneficial effect.

In WISH a series of related Statistics define a character's intrinsic capabilities.

Characteristics

Six characteristics help define and measure the capabilities of characters and creatures.

The three characteristics that define a character's physical capabilities are Strength, Agility, and Toughness.

The three characteristics that define a character's mental capabilities are Intelligence, Willpower, and Fellowship.

WISH is a characteristics based game; characteristics form the base of virtually all ability checks.

Characteristics range from 0 to 10, a normal starting value of 2, 3 is average, and 5 is the normal maxima.

Some effects may cause temporary modification of a characteristic value, but to raise a characteristic permanently requires in significant investment of advances. A character who currently has a characteristic rating of 0 cannot may checks based on that characteristic and is also vulnerable to being stressed or fatigued.

Physical

Physical characteristics collectively measure a character's strength, agility, and toughness.

Physical characteristics are affected by Fatigue, which is a measure of how tired a character is. If a character accrues too much fatigue their ability to take physical Actions is impaired.

• Strength: A measure of how much force your character can exert and how much they can lift. Strength is an important characteristic for many combat abilities. It is sometimes used as part of damage calculations. Abbreviated as (Str). Specializations include power lift, smash, resist, grip.
• Toughness: A measure of how physically durable your character is and how quickly they recover from physical damage. Starting Wounds is partially determined by Toughness. Toughness is part of the determination of how much damage your character Soaks. Abbreviated as (To). Specializations include relentless, stoicism, resist poison, resist disease, recover wounds.
• Agility: A measure of how dexterous, coordinated, and physically quick your character is. Agility is an important characteristic for many athletic endeavors and for many combat abilities. It is sometimes also used in damage calculations. Abbreviated as (Ag). Specializations include dexterous, fleet, nimble.

Mental

Mental characteristics collectively measure a character's intellect, personality, and strength of will.

Mental characteristics are affected by Stress, which is a measure of how mentally worn down a character is. If a character accrues too much stress their ability to take mental Actions is impaired.

• Intelligence: A measure of how smart your character is and how quickly they think and notice things. Intelligence is an important characteristic for many skills and has a great deal of relevance in story mode, but is only infrequently used for combat abilities. Abbreviated as (Int). Specializations include perceptive, quick witted, intuitive, mnemonic, analytical.
• Willpower: A measure of how mentally durable your character is, how much strength of will they have, and how quickly they recover from social and mental setbacks. Starting Grit is partially determined by Willpower. Willpower is part of the determination of how much mental and social damage your character's Psyche can withstand. Abbreviated as (WP). Specializations include stubborn, inscrutable, willful, resolute.
• Fellowship: A measure of how socially capable and savvy your character is. Fellowship is an important characteristic for many skills, and has extensive relevance in story mode, but is only infrequently used for combat abilities. Abbreviated as (Fel). Specializations include glib, cheerful, funny, compassionate, popular, magnetic.

Characteristic Dice

Characters roll a number of characteristic dice ( ) for checks based on that characteristic equal to its rating. Thus a character with Strength 5 rolls when a Strength check is required.

Improving Characteristics

It is possible to raise characteristics, though it is relatively expensive. As characteristics form the base of dice pools, it is generally worth it to have a solid footing in characteristics that are key to a given character and increasing characteristics has a measurable benefit on a character's ability to be successful. However, raising characteristics is a process of diminishing returns and eventually it will become more efficient to invest in other aspects of a character such as training skills, and acquiring Stunts that grant specific advantages to certain Actions.

Increasing a characteristic rating by one requires a number of creation points or advances equal to the new rating. Thus raising a 2 to a 3 costs 3 points or advances, 3 to a 4 costs 4 points or advances, a 4 to a 5 costs 5 points or advances, and so forth. The cumulative cost of raising a characteristics from its starting value of 2 up to the normal maxima of 5 costs 3+4+5 = 12 points or advances.

Raising a characteristic to superhuman levels can get prohibitively expensive. For example, a character that has raised a characteristic from 2 to 10 purely through creation points and advances has invested 3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10 = 52 points. They'll roll a lot of dice for checks based on that characteristic, but they had to give up on other aspects of development to reach such a lofty rating. When raising characteristics, remember to consider the opportunity cost. A rating of 7 or 8 in a key characteristic is sufficiently "superhuman" for most characters to be creditable.

Fortunately there are a couple of other ways characteristics can be raised. During character creation, characters must choose an Origin. Some Origins grant direct bonuses to characteristics and maxima which are simply added directly to a characteristic rather than buying the rating up in the normal fashion. If high characteristics are important to you, then select an Origin that grants such a bonus. Origin bonuses are applied to characteristics first before any creation points have been spent, not added to the top at the end of the creation process.

Next, after you have applied any direct characteristic bonuses from your Origin, you select your Archetype and add a flat +1 bonus to the starting value and maxima of the primary characteristics associated with your starting Archetype. This is a one-time bonus at character creation; you do not gain this bonus again later if you switch Archetypes or start another Tier within the same Archetype. Some Archetypes may list the same primary characteristic twice in which case you get two +1 bonuses to the same characteristic.

After you have determined the adjusted starting values and maxima by applying your Origin and Archetype, you can spend creation points to raise your characteristic ratings as previously described; each creation point is equivalent to an advance. Some Origins provide a flat number of bonus creation points which might also be a consideration if high characteristics is your goal.

A characteristic cannot be permanently raised beyond it's maxima, but can benefit from a bonus due to an effect or condition that adjusts its rating above maxima temporarily.

If you can't afford to raise a characteristic any further and are feeling stymied, you can also consider buying a specialization with a characteristic which is much less expensive and grants some of the same benefits.

Maxima

Maxima sets the maximum value allowed for a characteristic; in other words a ceiling. "Normal" characteristic maxima is 5 for all characteristics. However various Archetypes and Origins can modify this Maxima on a case by case, characteristic by characteristic basis. A characteristic value of 6 is borderline superhuman, 7+ is solidly superhuman, and 10 is the absolute maximum representing a capability so vast that it is pointless to even measure it further.

The maxima for a characteristic can be improved but only during character creation; it costs 1 creation point to increase the maxima of any characteristic by 1.

Increasing the maxima of a characteristic does not also raise that characteristic and vice versa, unless an ability specifically indicates that it does affect both. For instance, some Origins grant points specifically allocated towards increasing maxima only while others increase both base and maxima. There is a significant difference, so pay attention to the fine print.

Characteristic Specialization

You can have specializations with characteristics that allow your character to be better at a specific narrow usage of that characteristic. For each level of specialization, a character adds a fortune die ( ) to dice pools based on that characteristic when that specialization is relevant.

A character gains 2 specializations for 1 advance or creation point, which can be assigned to either a skill or a characteristic. Each characteristic lists a few specializations, and more esoteric once could be selected with GM permission.

Thus if a character who had Strength 7 and was specialized in Power Lifting wanted to lift a van over their head, their initial dice pool would be .

Other Attributes

In addition to characteristics, character's have a few other Attributes that measure their abilities and survivability.

Mitigation

Characters in superhero settings tend to be tougher, more elusive, and made of sterner stuff than is strictly realistic. Characters are able to purchase mitigation directly as an intrinsic aspect of themselves.

Mitigation attributes have a starting value of 0 and a maxima of 5. For the most part they can be raised and improved in the same fashion as Characteristics (including increasing maxima during character creation), but they do not have any dice associated with them and are not used for resolution checks of any kind. Thus raising Defense from 0 to 1 costs 1 creation point or advance, from 1 to 2 costs 2 creation points or advances, and so forth.

• Mitigation
  • Defense: A measure of how difficult your character is to hit in combat; this form of mitigation adds disadvantaging dice to the dice pools of incoming attacks. It is not a sure thing, but it can lessen the number of success an opponent gets (and thus avoid more severe option lines the effect may have that require extra successes to trigger) and even make an attack miss altogether. The explanation of why this is so can vary from character to character; a teleporter might pop in and out of existence, while a speedster might move too fast to hit, while a hard-boiled detective might duck and roll, a force field generator might have a protective bubble, and a rocky skinned brick might simply have effects bounce off their armored exterior (and thus "miss"). Be creative and come up with a rationale that fits your character concept. Each point of Defense adds 1 die to an attacker's dice pool. A GM might determine that a character who is unable to move or is unconscious does not benefit from Defense depending on how realistic they want their campaign to be, and some effects explicitly bypass Defense, but by and large Defense will help you survive. Abbreviated as DEF.
  • Soak: A measure of how resistant to damage your character is; this form of mitigation acts to protect a character's Wounds and thus avoid being knocked unconscious or killed due to physical damage. The explanation of why this is so can vary from character to character; a teleporter might have a displacement effect around them that deflects most of the force of attacks, while a speedster might roll with hits or be hardened to extremes of force and friction, while a hard-boiled detective might combine natural toughness and a good trench coat or cape, a force field generator might have a hard bubble that stops or slows attacks down, and a rocky skinned brick has a thick armored shell to rely on. Each point of Soak subtracts 1 point of physical damage, to a minimum of 1, from each attack. A GM might determine that Soak does not apply vs some effects if their sense of realism kicks in, and some effects explicitly bypass Soak, but for the most part Soak will make you reliably more survivable. Not abbreviated.
  • Psyche: A measure of how mentally and socially durable your character is and is analogous to Soak save that it protects your Grit which helps you avoid being worn down in mental and social confrontations. The explanation of why a character is more mentally and socially durable can vary by character; a teleporter might also be a strong willed rake, a speedster might have thoughts that move as quickly as their body, a hard-boiled detective might be obsessively dedicated and not give an inch on anything, a force field generator might have an abnormal sense of self confidence due their inability to be harmed, and a rocky skinned brick might be hardened to the japes and stares of others and are no longer impacted by anxiety. Each point of Psyche subtracts 1 point of non-physical damage, to a minimum of 1, from each attack. A GM might decide that Psyche doesn't apply to some effects, and some effects may explicitly bypass Psyche, but for the most part Psyche will help your character be effective against mental and social stressors. Not abbreviated.

Health

Character health is made up of both physical and mental concerns. A character who takes too much physical damage eventually becomes ineffective and requires rest and recovery to return to a physically sound state. Similarly a character who suffers too much mental duress eventually succumbs to burn out, depression, ennui, or even mental instability and becomes ineffective.

Health attributes have specific starting values calculated as a flat base plus a key characteristic. Health attributes can be raised; each additional point costs 1 creation point or advance. Health attributes have no upper limit, though individual Archetypes limit how many advances can be spent on them per Tier in that Archetype.

As a character takes physical or non-physical damage, their current Wounds or Grit is subtracted from. Wounds and Grit generally must be healed with time or medical care, but some characters have special abilities that allow them to self heal at a more rapid rate, or to heal others.

A character who is at 0 Wounds is unconscious and in danger of dying.

A character who is at 0 Grit may be unconscious or merely incoherent or catatonic, and is in danger of suffering permanent personality modification such as debilitating (unplayable) insanity.

• Health
  • Wounds: A threshold that indicates how many points of physical damage a character can take before becoming incapacitated. Wounds have a starting value of 10 + Toughness.
  • Grit: is a threshold that indicates how many points of mental or social damage (non-physical damage, collectively) a character can take before becoming incapacitated. Grit has a starting value of 10 + Willpower.

Some Wounds are life threatening; these are called criticals. Similarly some psychological trauma can lead to permanent instability; this is referred to as schisms.

Some abilities explicitly inflict criticals or schisms. Further, if a character is at 0 Wounds each additional Wound they suffer is a critical, and if a character is at 0 Grit each additional Grit they suffer is a schism.

If a character suffers greater than their Toughness rating in criticals, they die.

If a character suffers greater than their Willpower rating in schisms, they are permanently insane, catatonic, burnt out, or brain dead and are considered permanently unplayable.

Fortune

Some characters are more favored by fate than others and when all else is equal characters whom destiny has smiled upon have an edge. This is what Fortune measures.

All player characters have a starting value of Fortune 2, which represents the fact that they are special individuals and protagonists. Most normals, mooks, minions, and henchmen are not so lucky and have no Fortune points to fall back on (though they may have other assets), but significant villains may also be blessed by fate or have a destiny of their own to fulfill and have some number of Fortune points.

Fortune can be raised and has no upper limit, though Archetypes limit how many advances can be spent on Fortune points per Tier. Fortune points cost 1 creation point or advance each.

Characters can chose to expend a Fortune point to add a die to any of their own dice pool or to add a die to an opponents dice pool that targets or would harm them. A character can spend any number of Fortune points, up to their current total, on a single roll if they wish.

Fortune points officially should be spent prior to a roll being made, but to make Fortune even more significant a GM may prefer to allow Fortune points to be spent on an ad hoc basis after rolls have been made; this can add dramatic tension and favors the PC's over most of their opponents (though significant villains with Fortune points should be allowed to do the same as well if this style is adopted).

Fortune point can also be used to recharge cards more quickly or to keep ongoing effects going. During their End of Turn phase a character can spend as many Fortune points as they wish, up to their current total, to add or remove recharge tokens from their own Stunt cards.

Some effects where explicitly stated cost Fortune points, such as specific Stunts. Others might have a option line that allows a character to spend a Fortune point to trigger a specific effect.

Optionally, Fortune points can also be part of a negotiation or bartered deal with the GM. A character might offer to expend a certain number of Fortune points to influence the plot in some way or invoke a deus ex machina or to "buy a clue". Similarly a GM might flatly state "spend some number of fortune point(s) and I'll throw you a bone" and give players the choice to take the deal or pass; for instance if the entire group of PC's have all failed a key Observation roll or nearly missed an important opportunity due to bad luck or circumstance, the GM might allow an opportunity for "fate to take a hand". The extent to which this enhances a game and keeps things moving or breaks the fourth wall and detracts from the experience can vary from group to group.

Fortune comes and goes fairly freely. A character starts each session at their Fortune rating, and GM's are encouraged to allocate Fortune points during the game to characters that are engaging with the storyline or encounters and making things happen...fortune favors the bold after all. A character can never have more current Fortune points than their Fortune rating however, and Fortune points due not accrue, so there is little motivation for hoarding them.

Many abilities in WISH have descriptive words associated with them, which collectively are called Traits. In addition to serving as convenient organizational aids to group similar abilities up, they also act as hooks for rules interaction. One ability may hinder or help other abilities of a given Trait, for instance.

Traits have specific meanings, which are described below:

Classifying Traits

Classifying Traits group certain abilities together, and allow other effects to refer to anything that falls within them collectively

• Open: indicates an ability that any character can acquire (though the ability may have specific prerequisites).
• Melee: any ability with this Trait is usable while engaged with an opponent.
• Ranged: any ability with this Trait is usable at close or longer range.
• Mental: any ability with this Trait is usable at line of site or potentially longer range, and affects characters' minds.
• Social: any ability that is oriented towards non-combat social interaction.
• Movement: any ability that allows a character to move around, which are prevented from working by effects that prevent movement.
• Protection: any ability that allows a character to protect themselves or others.
• Utility: useful abilities that help solve problems or provide options.
• Teamwork: abilities that explicitly help allies.
• Push: any ability with this Trait moves a character one step towards Offensive when it is used.
• Delay: any ability with this Trait moves a character one step towards Defensive when it is used.

Timing Traits

• Passive: indicates an ability that is assumed to always be on unless directly noted to not be. Some passive abilities are literally always on 100% of the time, others are turned on deliberately but then stay on until turned off deliberately. Passive effects work even if a character is unconscious and perhaps even if they are dead, depending on the nature of the passive ability.
• React: an important Trait that indicates an ability that can be used at any time in response to events in play and the Actions of others; Reacts invariably stipulate the conditions that can trigger them and allow them to be used. Reacts are immediate in nature and interrupt the currently resolving Action or event that triggered the React. Once a React is finished resolving, the triggering Action or event resumes where it left off possibly modified by the React. Some Reacts can be used in response to another React; in all cases the most recently played React resolves first followed by the previous, until finally all Reacts, Actions, and game events have played out in stack order.
• DoT: an acronym for "Damage Over Time", this Trait indicates an effect that deals damage or triggers an effect beyond the turn or round in which it entered play. DoT effects will stipulate the target they affect and provide both a time frame defining how frequently it triggers and what effect it has when it does trigger. DoT's will also indicate when or under what conditions they expire either in terms of recharge tokens or a statement regarding how or when it terminates.
• Rally: a Trait that indicates an ability that can be used during Rally Steps. By default an ability with this Trait can be used normally like other abilities and also in Rally Steps as a kind of free Action, but some might indicate that they can only be used during Rally steps and at no other time.
• Ongoing: an ability that has a lasting effect that is considered to be "on" while its card is recharging. Ongoing effects usually don't require any further involvement to keep them going, but if they do require an additional cost or resource investment the ability text will indicate how to resolve it.
• Extended: a Trait that indicates an ability that requires more than 1 Action to complete. If an Extended Stunt also has a Recharge listed, it is indicating that the recharge process begins when the Extended time window is elapsed; thus a Persisted Stunt with Recharge 3 is indicating that when the character stops persisting the effect 3 recharge tokens are placed on the ability. Individual ability descriptions will stipulate specific varieties of Extended from the following list:
  • Toggle: unless an individual Stunt says otherwise, a Toggle Stunt requires a Maneuver to turn on or off, and thus can usually only be activated or deactivated in a character's own Turn; though some rare abilities grant maneuvers usable in other character's Turns. A Toggle Stunt toggles off automatically if the character becomes unconscious. Many Toggle Stunts incur various costs to keep them toggled on such as stress or fatigue, and many Toggle Stunts have recharge tokens placed on them when they are toggled off, but they vary in these details. Individual Stunts will self-describe their behavior.
  • X Turns: occupies 1 or more of a character's entire Turns, preventing them from altering their stance, taking any maneuvers at all, or taking their normal Action. The effect resolves during the character's End of Turn phase at the end of the allotted time frame. If anything interrupts the character or does damage to them, the effect automatically fails and any Actions expended on it thus far are wasted. For instance "3 Turns" would indicate an ability that requires 3 full uninterrupted Turns to take affect.
  • Lingering: akin to Ongoing, this indicates an ability that takes effect immediately when used and remains in effect as long as a character spends a maneuver each Turn to keep it on; as soon as a character is no longer able or willing to expend a maneuver to maintain the effect it ends during the End of Turn phase.
  • Invested: as Lingering, but a character must spend their Action each Round to keep the effect going. The character can take maneuvers and thus can move around a little, and can still use Reacts unless the GM rules otherwise on a case by case basis.
  • Persisted: as Invested and Lingering, but a character must spend their entire Turn each Round to keep the effect going. The character cannot take maneuvers and cannot use Reacts without terminating the effect.

Effect Traits

Effect traits modify or enhance the outcome of an effect resolution.

• Burst: An effect with the Blast trait can affect an entire engagement rather than a single target. Blast effects cannot be parried or deflected, but can be dodged.
• Deflect: An effect with the Deflect trait have the potential to nullify an attack either partially or completely.
• Pierce (#): An effect with the Pierce trait reduces the Soak of it's target, to a minimum of 0. Thus Pierce (3) is synonymous with -3 Soak.
• Unreliable (#): An effect with the Unreliable trait fails to resolve if the stated number of calamities is rolled in a related check, and becomes unusable for some duration of time. If the effect does not state a means to return itself to re-usability it should remain unusable for at least an Act, or require some significant action or effort to overcome. Thus if an effect were Unreliable (2) and two calamities were rolled in a related check the effect would fail and become unusable for a significant period of time.

SFX Traits

SFX themselves are described in more detail in the SFX section; SFX Traits on the other hand generally act as a restriction that indicates a character must have the appropriate SFX to purchase or advance an ability with the corresponding Trait at the normal price of 1 creation point or advance per Stunt Rating.

For instance, if a Stunt has the Fire Trait, it corresponds to the Fire SFX and means that a character must have the Fire SFX to purchase or advance that Stunt.

A variation on this is Stunts that have both the Open Trait and one or more SFX Traits; this indicates an ability that anyone can acquire but which has one or more options or enhanced effects usable by a character with the indicated SFX. For instance, any character that meets the requirements can acquire the Break Free Stunt, but a character that has the Might SFX has a better effect option when they use the ability.

Justifications

Stunts have Justifications that describe their source or genesis. Justifications are a special kind of Trait that have specific mechanical ramification that affect Stunts. In addition to any effects listed for a Justification, other abilities and Traits may explicitly interact with them in various ways.

By default all Stunts are assumed to be innate unless otherwise indicated. Some Archetypes specifically note that Stunts chosen from certain SFX have a particular Justification. For instance, all of a Mentalist's Stunts have the Psychic Justification, while all of an Arcanist's Stunts have the Arcane Justification.

Characters can also choose to apply a Justification to a Stunt, with GM's approval. Justifications that grant benefits also come with penalties and are considered to be self-contained and self-balanced.

Innate

Innate abilities are intrinsic to a character that has them and are usable at will (baring any other effect preventing their use, or a failure to meet prerequisites).

This is the default justification for Stunts.

Some innate abilities are powers or represent intrinsic physical attributes like Claws or enhanced vision. Others are the product of intensive training and are ingrained "skills" that a character has developed to the point that muscle memory takes over. Such abilities generally require active effort from the character, and are not usable when unconscious or incapacitated unless they have the Passive Trait.

Device

Some abilities are conferred by a device of some kind, which might be technological or magical in nature. Such a device can be taken away from a character or potentially even destroyed. Device based Stunts are more vulnerable than Innate Stunts, but are also often advantaged to compensate.

Detached Devices are separate from a character and are items or tools that are readied and used as objects. During combat Detached Devices can be temporarily lent to other characters or forcibly taken and be used by them (assuming any prerequisites are met).

Integrated Devices are worn or otherwise affixed to a character in a more secure fashion, like a helmet or a suit of armor. They may not be lent to other characters during combat.

Devices that are weapons like swords and guns are typically Detached, while Armor and most passive self-buffs are typically Integrated. However, there is very little mechanical difference between the two and a particular Device could be either as suits a given character's concept and is consistently enforced. For instance, if a character's Raygun is actually Integrated into their gauntlets rather than being a Detached "gun", that is acceptable as long as it doesn't suddenly switch back to being a "gun" when the character wants to lend it to another character.

Devices can be targeted directly and disarmed, or broken via damage. Where noted, some devices are more difficult to target than others or more durable, but the following modifiers are used by default:

• Characters targeting a Detached Device directly add to their dice pool.
• Characters targeting an Integrated Device directly add to their dice pool.

• Characters attempting to disarm a Detached Device add to their dice pool.
• Characters attempting to disarm an Integrated Device add to their dice pool.

• Detached Devices have (7 + SR) Soak and SR # of Wounds
• Integrated Devices have (5 + SR) Soak and (SR + 2) # of Wounds

• Devices do not take automatic Wounds; if they Soak all incoming damage they are unharmed.

If a single physical Device provides the justification for more than one Stunt, its Soak and Wounds is based on the highest rated Stunt in the Device, +1 Soak and +1 Wound per additional Stunt.

If a Device provides Soak to its user, it generally also provides an equal amount of additional Soak to itself.

All of the Stunts in the Gear SFX have the Device justification, as do various other Stunts in other SFX as noted.

Stunts that are not intrinsically Device based can be designated as being Devices when they are taken by a character with the Technologist, Natural, or Wielder Origins, or with the Technology, Science, or Engineering Skills trained, or with access to the Gear SFX. This is considered to be a 1 point Hindrance per Stunt

A Stunt that is intrinsically Device based can be made Innate as a 1 point Facilitator per Stunt.

If a Stunt appears to be granted by a device, but the putative device cannot actually be taken away or destroyed, then the Stunt is not truly Device based and it's merely a visual quirk of the Stunt. For instance if a character has a "magical mace" that appears to be the source of some or all of their powers, but the mace cannot actually be taken away or damaged, then its just a gimmick or cosmetic decision.

Arcane

Some abilities are the product of magical arts. Arcane abilities are undependable, but also sometimes work better than intended.

All Arcane Stunts add the following two option lines:

• !: +1 Stunt Rating; this option can be used many times
• ?: -1 Stunt Rating; this option can be used many times

If the Stunt Rating of an Arcane Stunt is reduced to 0 or less on a given check the Stunt fails to work at all that Turn and the Action is wasted; any costs are still paid and recharge tokens are still placed.

All of the non-Passive Stunts in the Magic SFX have the Arcane justification. Other Stunts can be designated as being Arcane when they are taken by a character with the Mystic Origin or the Arts Arcane Skill trained or access to the Magic SFX. This is assumed to balance and does not count as either a Hindrance or a Facilitator.

Psychic

Some abilities are the product of unusual psionic or mental powers. Psychic Stunts have the potential to causes mental feedback for good or ill.

All Psychic Stunts add the following two options:

• +: target suffers 1 stress
• -: character suffers 1 stress

All of the non-Passive Stunts in the Mind SFX have the Psychic justification. Other Stunts can be designated as being Psychic when they are taken by a character with access to the Mind SFX. This is assumed to balance and does not count as either a Hindrance or a Facilitator.

Karmic

Some abilities are driven by the character's karmic balance.

Karmic Stunts cannot be used while a character has less than 1 current fortune point.

All Karmic Stunts gain the following option lines:

• !: regain 1 fortune
• 1 fortune: add 1 success to your check result; you may use this ability more than once.
• ?: lose 1 fortune; if you have no fortune to lose suffer 1 Grit and 3 stress instead.

For the Savant Archetype, all of the non-Device, non-Passive Stunts chosen from the two offered SFX have the Karmic justification. Other Stunts can be designated as being Karmic when they are taken by a character with at least one Savant Tier, or the Cosmic or Natural Origins. This is assumed to balance and does not count as either a Hindrance or a Facilitator.

Temporary

Some abilities are not a permanent part of a character's Action Deck; they are usable for a limited time only. This Trait is typically applied by the GM to Stunts that are made available to a character but for a limited time or with a limited number of uses, as a story reward or element.

For instance, if a character is lent a special gizmo by a government agent to fight a dastardly super villain with there might by one or more Stunt cards associated with the gizmo and the usage of the gizmo is for a limited time only...or maybe it has a handful of shots before it is expended.

Not everything a character does is an action. There is an entire range of minor, incidental, and often automatic achievements. During Story Mode, maneuvers can usually be performed as often as required, and are generally assumed to occur as needed to advance the plot. During Encounter Mode when timing and the order in which things occur can become more important characters are limited in the number of maneuvers they can perform within a given amount of time.

A character can perform one free maneuver during his turn. This maneuver can be performed before or after an action card task, but not during the resolution of an action. Characters also have the option to perform additional maneuvers on their turn; each additional maneuver costs on fatigue. The character suffers fatigue first and then performs the additional maneuver. There are a number of predefined maneuvers to choose from, but GM's should encourage their players' creativity if they propose maneuvers not found in the official list.

Assist Maneuver

Performing the Assist maneuver allows an ally engaged with the assisting character to add to their next check. Several characters can use the assist maneuver to add more bonus fortune dice to the engaged ally's next check.

Character's cannot Assist an ally using an Advanced Skill unless they themselves have at least acquired the same Skill. For instance, a character could not assist a doctor using the Medicine Skill unless they themselves also had the Medicine skill.

A character cannot assist themselves.

Interact Maneuver

Often a single maneuver is required to interact with the environment around a character. Trivial tasks such as opening a door, getting in or out of a vehicle, roughly pushing or picking up an unattended object, ducking behind cover, finding a nearby light switch, opening a canister, answering a phone, drawing or loading a weapon, and so forth.

There is generally no need for a mechanical aspect for this sort of maneuver, and all characters are capable of performing them unless impeded or handicapped in some way.

Prepare Maneuver

Some actions require additional preparation to perform. Individual actions will note that they require this maneuver as part of their resolution. This is sometimes abbreviated as simply "Prepare".

Movement Maneuver

Movement in WISH is abstract, and movement maneuvers are used to accomplish moving around within the abstract range increments.

• Engagement Range is effectively 1 movement maneuver deep. It encompasses a distance of between 1 foot and touching. However, if a character is engaged with another character and that character is engaged with a third, then all three are abstractly considered to be engaged by any card that refers to "the same engagement" even though characters 1 and 3 are not technically engaged with each other. It requires a movement maneuver to both Engage and Disengage. As this range band effectively is close combat range, a disproportionate number of resolutions will occur in it and some actions interact with attempts to Engage or Disengage, or cause a character to become Engaged or Disengaged.
• Close Range is effectively 1 movement maneuver deep. It encompasses a distance of between 2 and 10 feet, and is effectively skirmishing range.
• Medium Range is effectively 2 movement maneuvers deep. It encompasses a distance of approximately 11 and 50 feet. This is pistol range; two characters at Medium range would have to talk loudly to hear each other and fine details are harder to make out. Observation checks gain at Medium range.
• Long Range is effectively 3 movement maneuvers deep. It encompasses a distance of approximately 51 to 300 feet. This is rifle range; two characters Long Range would have to yell and gesture broadly to communicated with each other. Observation checks gain at Long range.
• Extreme Range is effectively 4 movement maneuvers deep. It encompasses a distance of approximately 301 feet to 5000+ feet. This is sniper range. Two characters cannot communicate effectively at this range without use of special abilities or equipment. Observation checks gain at Extreme range.
• Plot Range is effectively infinite movement maneuvers deep. It encompasses a distance beyond 5000+ feet (approximately a mile). This is artillery and naval gunfire, over the horizon range. Two characters cannot communicate effectively at this range without use of special abilities or equipment. Events at this range are narrative in nature; it is basically the event horizon of Story Mode. Observation checks generally wont be possible at all, but even if they are they gain a minimum of at Plot range.

Each abstract range increment requires a certain number of movement maneuvers to cross, determined by their depth.

If two characters started off at the outer limit of Extreme Range and one character is moving toward the other, and the other character remains stationary, the acting character would need to take 4 maneuvers to cross Extreme Range, 3 maneuvers to cross Long Range, 2 maneuvers to cross Medium Range, 1 maneuver to cross Close Range, and 1 maneuver to Engage the second character for a grand total of 11 maneuvers.

If two characters were at Close Range, and the acting character wanted to Engage the other character, make a Melee Attack against them, disengage from the character and end their Turn again at Close Range it would require a total of 2 maneuvers to Engage and then Disengage.

If two characters were engaged and a third character at Close Range wanted to move up and engage them both it would take 2 maneuvers to Engage the first character and then Engage the second character.

At Medium Range and beyond, the exact number of maneuvers two characters are from each other may not be exact. For instance, given two characters at Medium Range from each other, they might be separated by 3 or 4 movement maneuvers depending on their exact distance; if the distance between them is approximately 25 feet or less it would be 3 maneuvers, otherwise 4 maneuvers. Apply common sense and remember that these are loose, abstract approximations rather than exactly precise measurements.

Skill Maneuver

Significant usage of a skill often requires a full action to perform, but most skills can be used for trivial tasks as a maneuver. For instance, scampering up on a short ledge would be a maneuver usage of Athletics, but climbing a wall would likely require the use of an action. Similarly quickly taking note of or confirming a specific detail would be a maneuver usage of Observation, but intently scanning an area taking in lots of details would be an action.

If a skill use is opposed or affects another character it requires an action.

If a skill use is required to use another maneuver correctly, it effectively incorporates that maneuver into itself...for instance normally movement is a maneuver, but if a Coordination check must be made to cross difficult terrain then the character uses one total maneuver to both make the Coordination check and if successful complete the movement.

Actions are the active core of WISH, the principle mechanism by which characters interact with and affect the game world, and differentiate themselves from one another.

Basic Actions

Basic Actions are relatively mundane abilities that all characters can attempt for free. Basic Actions don't have a rating, and have a single effect rather than stance specific effects.

Basic Actions are given full write ups, but a quick summary follows:

• Reacts: every character has some ability to defensively react when attacked
  • Brace: Toughness based attempt to suck it up and keep going; grants a mild Soak bonus but only works vs physical attacks.
  • Parry: Strength based attempt to actively knock an attack aside; only works vs opponents you are engaged with.
  • Dodge: Agility based attempt to avoid getting hit; works vs everything but cannot be used if encumbered or impeded.
  • Riposte: Agility based attempt played after being attacked to attempt a counter attack. Challenging.
• Delays:
  • Recover: Allows a character to catch their breath but leaves them slightly vulnerable; moves a character automatically one step closer to Defensive
  • Observe: Allows a character to make an Observation check with a mild bonus; moves a character automatically one step closer to Defensive
  • Ward: Allows a character to hunker down into a guarded crouch or position to protect themselves and nearby allies; moves a character automatically one step closer to Defensive
  • Pin: Allows a character to turn an Action card into a React by declaring a trigger event; if the event occurs before the character's next action they play the pinned Action as if it were a React, otherwise the Action is lost; moves a character automatically one step closer to Defensive
• Pushes:
  • Reposition: Allows a character to use their Action for an extra maneuver; moves a character automatically one step closer to Offensive
  • Shift: Allows a character to effectively expend an Action to move their initiative maker into the topmost position on the initiative tracker (it's available for use on the next Turn); moves a character automatically one step closer to Offensive
  • Dare: Allows a character to encourage opponents to attack them (rather than others); moves a character automatically one step closer to Offensive
  • Charge: Allows a character to take an extra maneuver to engage an opponent and then make a Melee Strike, though not without cost or difficulty; moves a character automatically one step closer to Offensive
• Standard:
  • Melee: Allows a character to make a basic Melee attack.
  • Ranged: Allows a character to make a basic Ranged attack.
  • Check: allows a character to use an Action for a standard Skill check.
  • Improvise: allows a character to apply a skill in an unusual way or attempt an activity not covered by a specific action card.

Stunts

Stunts are special abilities that represent the larger than life powers, tricks, gadgets, extreme skills, spells, and so forth that your character knows how to reliably use. They are represented by two-sided cards featuring an Offensive side and a Defensive side that correspond to your current Stance. Stunts are the creme de la creme of Actions, the larger than life abilities that separate superheroes from the masses.

The collection of Stunts that a character accumulates throughout their progression will determine the nature of that character and what they can do more than any other factor.

Stunts are purchased with creation points or advances. Normally Stunts cost 1 creation point or advance to acquire, though a premium is incurred for deviating from Archetype options.

Stunts can be made better and are Rated from 1 to 5 for a given character. A Stunt is purchased at Rating 1 and can be improved with further creation points or advances. Normally 1 creation point or advance will add a permanent +1 Stunt Rating. Again, a premium is incurred for training Stunts from SFX that are no longer available to a character.

Open Stunts

Open Stunts are baseline abilities that any character can purchase. The abilities granted by Open Stunts tend to be fairly mechanical in nature, and can be interpreted in different ways to suit the concept of a given character. Some Open Stunts have prerequisites which must be met to use them, but most do not. Some Open Stunts are just better replacements for Basic Actions, while others are distinct, but the key point is every character regardless of Origin or Archetype can purchase any Open Stunt.

SFX Stunts

Some Stunts are not Open however, and require a character to have a specific SFX Trait in order to purchase and use them. Characters have SFX Traits available to them based upon their current Archetype and potentially from their Origin, which serve to unlock which SFX Stunts they can purchase or advance.

Characters can purchase Stunts from outside their available SFX with GM permission, but it costs 2 additional creation points or advances to acquire Rating 1, and 1 additional creation point or advance each to raise the Rating by 1.

Similarly a character can advance a Stunt they already have from an SFX that is not granted by their current Archetype, but it costs 1 additional creation point or advance each to raise the Rating by 1.

Stunt Rating

All Stunts a character knows have a Rating representing it's relative potency. Ratings range from 1 to 5, though some abilities or dice results may modify this normal range as part of a check resolution or similar. Generally speaking, a Rating 5 Stunt is significantly more potent than a Rating 1 Stunt.

It costs 1 advance to acquire a new Rating 1 Stunt (though some unusual Stunts have a higher cost). It costs 1 additional advance to raise a Stunt's Rating by 1, up to the maximum of 5. Thus to acquire a new Stunt and raise its Rating to 5 would cost 5 total advances.

Ratings are very important and feature prominently in Stunt write ups. Depending on the nature of a given Stunt, the Rating might be part of damage calculations, dictate or modify a number of tokens associated with the Stunt, act as a throttle, or confer some other bonus or benefit.

A character's Rating with a given Stunt is abbreviated as a parenthetical number after the Stunt's name. For instance, Bash (3) indicates a character who has the Bash Stunt with a rating of 3 which among other things increases the damage inflicted when the character uses their Bash Stunt.

Within the body of a Stunt write up, Stunt Rating is abbreviated as SR. It is frequently used in the form of a multiple such as "SR x #", which literally would mean multiply the Rating by the number given. For instance, if a Stunt indicated that it inflicted "(SR x 4) + # of successes damage", then a character with that Stunt at Rating 3 would do 12 + # of successes damage. Similarly a Stunt that confers "SR " to a check would mean a character with Rating 5 adds to their dice pool while another character with the same Stunt at Rating 2 adds to theirs.

Stunt Rating is a very important concept that has a significant effect on a character's capabilities and offers multiple advancement strategies. It will often be a hard choice for a character to decide if they will take get an entirely new Stunt or advance the Rating of a Stunt they already have. Additionally while most Stunts offer the bulk of their benefits at Rating 1 and gain mild additional benefits at higher Ratings, some Stunts start off subpar at Rating 1 but get markedly better at higher Ratings.

Action Card Elements

Action Cards have some common elements, which are described here.

Action Name: A word or phrase. A flavorful label used for reference. There is no mechanical ramifications.

Traits: A comma delimited list of key words. Each Action has one or more Traits that describe and potentially restrict its usage. Traits are described in more detail in the Traits section.

Requirements: A sentence or paragraph. Some Actions have specific requirements on when they can or should be used.

Action Check: A mechanical expression. Most Actions require a skill or characteristic check, which may or may not be opposed. Examples include "Athletics (Str)" or "Melee Skill (Str) vs Target Defense". This indicates what check must be rolled to use the Action. If there is no check, the word "None" is used.

Action Modifier: A graphical representation of one or more dice. Some Actions modify the dice pool, in which case a graphical picture indicating which dice to add to the Action's check will be depicted. For instance an Action card depicting is directing a character to add a fortune die and a challenge die to the dice pool when making a check to perform the Action. Actions that have no check do not have Action Modifiers.

Cost: a mechanical expression naming a statistic and a number, or a combination of different statistics and numbers. Many Stunts exact a toll on a character, which is tracked as a cost. The most common costs are stress and fatigue, but some Stunts require 1 or more fortune points to use. Some Stunts even cost Wounds or Grit, which is even more significant. For instance "Stress: 1, Fitness: 1" would indicate a Stunt that require a character to suffer 1 stress and 1 fatigue to use the Stunt, while "Grit: 1" would require a character to lose 1 point of current Grit. The cost is paid up front, before a Stunt is put into play and before any checks are made. The costs of Stunts are the primary brake on the capabilities of characters, and requires resource management on the part of players to keep track of how tired, worn out, hapless, or injured their characters are.

Recharge Rating: A number or a special symbol. Some Actions cannot be used constantly or consecutively, in which case a Recharge Rating greater than 1 will be indicated. After an Action with a recharge rating has been performed, a number of recharge tokens equal to its rating are placed on the Action's card. Under normal circumstances, a character removes 1 recharge token from all of their recharging abilities during their End of Turn phase, but some other abilities modify this standard rate of recharge. The character cannot use an Action again until all recharge tokens have been removed from the card and the card has been returned to their Action deck. If a variable number of recharge tokens applies to a particular Action a "*" is displayed instead of a number, in which case the Action's description will provide instruction.

Instruction: A sentence or paragraph, perhaps containing mechanical expressions and / or graphical representation of one or more dice. Some Actions are more complex than others, in which case any special behavior, limitations, or mechanical modifications will be described. Any instructions given must be complied with to use the Action unless the words "may" or "optionally" are used in which case it is left to the discretion of the character using the Action on a case by case basis.

Effect: A list of option lines, usually associated with a leading number or symbol followed by a colon (such as "1: You hit for SR x 4 damage"), or a textual description of a flat effect.

Most Actions are primarily concerned with directions on how to interpret the check associated with the Action, or what effect using the Action has.

In the case of an Action that presents a flat effect, a simple description is given. This type of Action frequently has the Passive Trait and no Action check. For instance a Passive Resist Action with no check might simply state "You have +1 Soak per SR". This kind of Action is often put into play as a React, and usually stays in play thereafter for the duration of an encounter, but each Action will indicate its intended usage.

In the case of Actions that present a list of option lines, the acting character makes their check and then uses the dice roll outcome to trigger specific options for the listed effect(s). Each individual option effect can only be triggered once per Action resolution unless it specifically indicates that it is usable more than once per resolution. Multiple success lines are not cumulative; the acting character can choose any one success line they meet the requirements for (typically the one requiring the most successes). The acting character gets to choose any beneficial options, while the GM chooses detrimental options.

Successes are indicated by a positive whole number; thus "1: some effect" would mean that 1 success allows the selection of the associated effect, and "3: some better effect" indicates that 3 successes allows the use of the associated better effect.

Usually if a check has more failures than successes it just means the Action failed and there is no further outcome, but some Actions have consequences for failure represented as a negative whole number. Thus "-2: some bad effect" indicates that if the check had 2 failures the associated effect occurs.

Most Actions with effect options have at least one boon and or bane line. Boons are represented using the + symbol, while Banes are represented using the - symbol. Thus "++: some beneficial effect" indicates that two boons qualify for the associated effect, and "---: some bad effect" indicates that three banes qualify for the associated bad effect. Note that banes and boons cancel each other out, so in a given check a character would only have one or the other, never both results.

Some Actions with effect options have a serendipity and or calamity line. Serendipity is represented using the ! symbol, while calamity is represented using the ? symbol. Thus "!: some really good effect" indicates that a serendipity qualifies for the associated effect, and "?: some really bad effect" indicates that a calamity qualifies for the associated effect. Serendipity and calamity do not cancel and it is possible to have both results occur in the same check. Serendipity can be downgraded into a success on a 1:1 basis if the acting character wishes in which case it no longer counts as a serendipity. Note that no matter what, a calamity does not cancel or nullify a successful action; it's effects are in addition to whatever other effects the check qualifies for; however if the check also failed the GM is free to interpret a calamity as a "critical failure" with consequences to the acting character.

Face to face roleplaying is in many ways a form of improvisational theater, wherein the participants entertain each other by making stuff up on the fly and keeping the skit moving forward.

As part of this process each player is expected to do their part to help foster the shared entertainment and enrich the total experience of the entire group. Some players are better at this than others and will tend to fill the silence and carry more of the story load; and in moderation this is beneficial. However if a player hogs the limelight too much preventing other players from chipping in, they aren't giving other players their share of the "screen time" and this can be detrimental.

It can sometimes be difficult for some players to know when it is appropriate for them to "have a moment", and it can be difficult for more assertive players to know when they need to zip their lips and let their fellow players take an opportunity to shine.

That's where Grandstanding comes in. It is essentially a cue, letting a player know that a good opportunity has arisen for them to take the center stage, grab the spotlight, issue a challenge, utter a soliloquy, toss out a witty one liner, add some flourish to an otherwise routine resolution, or otherwise insert a memorable moment into the shared experience.

If an Action card explicitly notes that a Grandstand is appropriate, it is unambiguously asking the acting character's player to step up and deliver, and asking the GM and other players to shut up and let them.

Moderation

Some social actions implicitly entail a little Grandstanding, but almost any kind of action can be made more interesting with a little imagination. The trick is to not overdo it. If every power blast or jab is turned into a Broadway-worthy production it becomes just as tedious as if a player just says "I hit 'em" and rolls some dice.

Exercise moderation. If a character plays several actions consecutively that all involve a Grandstand it might represent an awesomely memorable build up towards a climactic finish, or it might just be crowding other characters out of the action. A player should be attentive to the mood at the table and sense how receptive the group is at the moment and scale their Grandstanding to match it.

The Grandstand Maneuver

Typically a Grandstand is combined with an action and is a roleplaying element which takes no additional time as it happens concurrently with an action. However sometimes a Grandstand is more elaborate and may require a maneuver before or after the action they are associated with, to account for the beyond-the-norm set up involved. This is equivalent to the Prepare maneuver.

In scenarios where a Grandstand does use an extra maneuver to complete, the acting character gains the Protected condition (opponents add to attack pools targeting the character) until their next Turn begins. The character has earned a brief allotment of plot protection for themselves with their antics.

The GM will indicate if a Grandstand requires a maneuver or not, and it is a judgment call left to their discretion.

Creation Workflow

• 0) Get a character sheet (a napkin or 3 x 5 card will serve in a pinch), and also a pencil. Write down all the stuff you are picking and choosing as you go. Make sure to "show your work" so that the point expenditures can be tracked.
• 1) Select a Origin
• 2) Apply Origin modifications (including characteristic modifications); select from granted options if indicated.
• 3) Select a starting Archetype
• 4) Select from Archetype granted options where indicated; apply Archetype Primary Characteristic bonuses
• 5) Take 1 or more hindrances if they are permitted and if you want too. Spend the hindrance points on more abilities.
• 6) Spend all creation points to raise characteristics, train and acquire skills, acquire and raise the rating of Stunts allowed by Origin and Archetype or acquire non-Archetype abilities, or facilitators, and so forth.
• 7) You need some kind of a character concept, ideally a brief background, a physical description, and most importantly of all a really cool superhero name. You probably fight crime! For justice! A cool costume is also a plus. You can also do this as the first step if you prefer, and select your abilities to model your concept; whichever inspires you.
• 8) Go over your character with the GM and make sure it is all legit.
• 9) Make any required changes (if any) and prepare to start play!

Points

WISH is fundamentally a point based game. Points are allocated and spent to buy character abilities. The more points a character has, the more powerful they are. To keep things balanced out a great deal of effort has been given towards keeping the system as flat as possible. For the most part every raise costs 1 point. The significant exception is characteristics, which have a cumulative diminishing returns model which is explained in detail in the characteristics section. The other exception is that raises taken outside of Archetype allowances have a built in penalty cost to discourage characters from just cherry picking all the best abilities regardless of concept.

There are several flavors of points used in WISH that are all similar at their root but have subtle nuances of difference.

Creation Points vs Hindrance Points vs Advances vs Experience Points can seem a little confusing. The main differentiating factor is how and when these points are gained, and whether they count towards Character Rank or Archetype Tiers.

Creation Points

Creation points are issued at character creation. Before a character enters play, creation points are what is used to purchase abilities, raise characteristics, and so forth. In practical terms, 1 creation point is equivalent to 1 advance.

Creation points do not count towards Character Rank, and they do not count towards Archetype Tier completion.

All creation points must be spent prior to a character entering play.

The campaign Power Level will determine how many creation points a character starts with. Note that as creation points don't count towards Character Rank or Archetype Tier completion, characters that start off at a lower Power Level and earn large amounts of experience have a mechanical edge over characters that start off with the same number of creations points as such a character has a higher Character Rank and is also more likely to have completed Archetype Tiers and gained one or more Tier completion bonuses.

Hindrance Points

Characters can optionally take Hindrances which are each worth some number of points.

A character may spend hindrance points in the same fashion as creation points and advances.

Hindrance points do not count towards Character Rank or Archetype Tier completion.

Hindrances can usually be overcome by paying back the hindrance points from them with advances.

Experience Points

After a character enters play, they will gain Experience Points for completing sessions and story events. Each Experience Point earned grants a character 1 advance.

Experience Points are not "spent" or allocated. They are a permanent running tally that is only ever added to.

Experience Points count towards Character Rank.

Advances

Advances are gained by gaining Experience Points, on a 1 for 1 basis. Advances are "spent" to "buy" new abilities and raise existing ones. Advances spend exactly the same as creation points.

Advances count towards Archetype Tier completion when they are spent on Archetype raises. Every 15 advances applied to an Archetype's set of allowed raises completes a Tier and offers a mechanical benefit, which varies by Archetype.

Power Levels

WISH scales to different power levels via the expedient of varying the number of creation points allocated to starting characters. The GM should decide what kind of campaign they want to run, or consult with the players and take a consensus, and then choose the number of starting points to suit.

Paranormal

For extremely low-powered play, characters start with 15 creation points and are "normals" with very mild extra-normal abilities. Origins are more important than Archetypes...in fact perhaps only the Hybrid Archetype is in use. This level of play can be a lot of fun, and pits characters against a much more mundane, but more visceral level of threat and challenge. This power level will allow for an extended campaign with significant character improvement over an extended time frame; but the first 15 advances will see dramatic advances in characters as they have so few points to begin with making the initial sessions enthralling.

Gritty

For gritty, low-powered street level supers, characters start with 30 creation points. Characters are basically "normals" with a few special abilities. Origins are very important to characters as the abilities (and potentially extra creation points!) gained from them represent about half of a character's capabilities. Characters should be able to very easily differentiate themselves as there is plenty of room for characters to not repeat any Stunts amongst themselves. Play at this level should generally be enjoyable, but Silver Age superhero feats are generally not doable...at least initially. This power level will allow for a very long campaign with major character improvement over an extended time frame.

Noobs

To portray a group of superheroes who are powerful but young and untested, characters start with 45 creation points. Origin is still important and roughly as important as the choice of Archetype for differentiating characters. Characters have the ability to "own" various shticks with little to no overlap, but there is also room for a little bit of overlap without feeling like two or more characters are stepping on each others concept. This is a great place to start if a long campaign is expected and the players don't mind starting off challenged or fighting less impressive opponents for a little while.

Classic

To play classic Stan Lee era style supers, characters start with 60 creation points. Origins are still important, but Archetype is much more significant. Characters can afford to be respectably competent at one or more abilities starting off. They should be ready to take on some serious threats from the word go, but there is still enough room for growth to maintain the feeling of getting more powerful and to encourage players to keep the campaign going.

Veteran

To play more modern era, experienced, hyper-competent supers with complex back stories and nuanced capabilities, characters start with 75 points. Origin does not matter as much as it only provides about a quarter of starting characters capabilities. Characters will be very powerful coming out of the gate, able to take on world shaking threats. The number of options presented by the game may not be sufficient to support the broad array of abilities starting characters have, offering limited advancement options and a inevitable overlap between characters. Checks will require a large number of dice to resolve. Advancement will offer less exciting opportunities as characters already have so many points invested that more advances are drops in the well. The system will start to show some flaws but should still function well most of the time; however thanks to the volume of dice in key checks fluky outcomes will sometimes occur.

Ultras

For high end mightiest heroes on Earth (and beyond!) level supers, characters start with 90, 105, or 120 creation points. All characters will be extremely capable, self-reliant, and very diverse...but also kind of the same. Every character will likely have a solid offense, defense, and a swiss army knife array of options. Overlap between characters is almost certain unless players are very careful to avoid it. Consequently it will be much more difficult for characters to differentiate themselves by abilities alone, but a good costume and shtick can overcome this. Absorbing the cost of non-Archetype advances is easy with the large number of creation points available, allowing characters to cherry pick key abilities from diverse SFX unless the GM simply says no. To make room at the top, the GM might consider raising the limits on maximum Stunt Rating up to as high as 10, and allow characteristics to go above 10. A lot of dice will be rolled at this level of play, and the system will become strained. High end power usage can level buildings and cause significant collateral damage. If played straight normals are simply not a threat to supers at this end of the scale without super-tech or overwhelming numbers; typically "normals" that are intended as antagonists are themselves much better and more competent than a true average joe and are only "normal" by comparison to the massively powered heroes. This is not a good starting option for campaigns that favor the RPG format of steady, regular advancement. This option is best for short-term campaigns, or for groups that want to model the source material closely and are ok with some occasionally wonky dice results, and don't mind a slowed down advancement. The GM will have to keep on their toes to interpret some of the extreme outcomes that can occur when a lot of dice are rolled.

Both during character creation and after play starts characters advance by improving abilities they already have and gaining new abilities. Each character starts off the same, with default values in their Stats, no Skills trained, no Stunts, no Facilitators or Hindrances, and some number of creation points to spend. After play starts characters gain experience points which grant advances on a 1:1 basis, which are spent just like creation points to further improve the character.

Character Ranks

Every 15 experience points earned raises a character's Rank; characters with 0-15 experience are Rank 1, characters with 16-30 experience are Rank 2 and so forth. Unlike most games, Rank does very little by itself, but does serve to limit how many times Skills can be trained and as a loose measurement of a character's general capabilities.

Character Rank
# of Experience Points	Rank
0-15	1
16-30	2
31-45	3
46-60	4
61-75	5

Tiers

Tiers measure progression within Archetypes and is a much more meaningful measurement than Rank.

Each Archetype describes raises that count towards completing a Tier of that Archetype, and every 15 advances spent on Archetype allowed raises indicates a completed Tier. A character in an Archetype with 0-15 Archetype allowed advances is Tier 1 within that Archetype, while a character with 16-30 allowed advances is Tier 2 within that Archetype. Tier completion grants significant benefits and rewards characters that stick to a concept over time.

Archetype Tier Annotation

Tier is indicated as a parenthetical number after an Archetype. For instance, a character with 2 Tiers of Blaster and 1 Tier of Brawler would be noted as Blaster(2) / Brawler (1).

The ordering is chronological, not alphabetical. Thus if there were three characters who each had 2 Tiers of Blaster and 1 Tier of Brawler, but one started as a Brawler, another started as a Blaster, and the third started as a Blaster then became a Brawler only to later switch back to Blaster their Archetype notation would be given as shown below:

• Brawler (1) / Blaster (2)
• Blaster (2) / Brawler (1)
• Blaster (1) / Brawler (1) / Blaster (1)

Archetype Precedence

If a character has two or more Archetypes, there is no difference in their relative equality to one another in theory.

However in practice a character's first Archetype and their current Archetype will tend to have the most bearing on the current nature of the character.

A character's current Archetype indicates the character's current focus. In addition to controlling what advances a character can economically pursue, it also resets their default stance meter to match the Archetype.

A character's starting Archetype grants starting Characteristic bonuses which is a very important consideration, but most significantly it drives the character creation process and provides a character's initial set of options on which to spend creation points. At character creation a character generally has more than 15 points available (unless the power level for the campaign has been set very low), and the Archetype advancement rules limiting each Tier to 15 proscribed advances doesn't apply as the character is spending creation points, not advances. The practical benefit of this is that a character can start play with a large number of points sunk into Skills, Characteristics, and Stunts allowed by their initial Archetype that would be problematic to accomplish within the Archetype Advancement restrictions that apply as a character gains experience points.

Put more simply, a character's first Archetype has a lot of impact on the original definition of that character. If a character grows in a different direction and switches Archetypes, the new Archetype's abilities will initially supplement the character's core abilities. Eventually with enough progression the character's new focus can supplant the earlier focus, but this can take a while...particularly in higher powered games where a character starts with many more than 15 points.

Archetype Precedence Example

As an example lets compare two characters, both Rank 2 with two completed Tiers.

Strong Dude starts off as a Brick but after play starts he completes the first Brick Tier then switches to the Brawler Archetype and completes a Brawler Tier.

Beef Monkey starts off as a Brawler but after play starts he completes the first Brawler Tier then switches to the Brick Archetype and completes a Brick Tier.

At a high level Strong Dude (Brick (1) / Brawler (1)), and Beef Monkey (Brawler (1) / Brick (1)) look kind of similar.

However, Beef Monkey has precisely 15 advances allocated to Brick raises in small measures; most notably he can't possibly have more than a handful or so of points spread amongst Brick SFX Skills and Stunts. Conversely Beef Monkey had free reign to allocate as many of his creation points as was economical into Brawler Skills and Stunts. So, it is likely that even though his current Archetype is Brick, Beef Monkey's abilities are still tilted towards Brawler. Similarly Strong Dude would likely have more Brick abilities than Brawler.

The more Tiers a character completes in their current Archetype, the less significant the initial impact of the starting Archetype becomes.

Archetype Advancement

As described in more detail in the Archetypes section, if a character completes 15 advances allowed to them by their current Archetype, they are considered to have completed a Tier of that Archetype and gain a completion bonus. Characters might also spend advances on non-Archetype advances but doing so does not count towards completion of their current Archetype's Tier.

Each Archetype indicates how many advances can be applied to various aspects of a character in that Archetype and counted towards Tier completion. The aspects designated in this way are described below:

• Stunt: how many Stunt raises a character can purchase in the Archetype per Tier; this covers both raising the Stunt Rating of an existing Stunt as well as getting a new Stunt. Furthermore, only Stunts of an Archetype SFX count towards Tier completion.
• Skill: how many skill raises a character can purchase in the Archetype per Tier (Character Rank limits how many raises a given Skill can have).
• Fortune: how many fortune points a character can purchase in the Archetype per Tier.
• Defensive: how many Defensive steps a character can purchase for their Stance Meter in the Archetype per Tier.
• Offensive: how many Offensive steps a character can purchase for their Stance Meter in the Archetype per Tier.
• Wounds: how many points of Wounds a character can purchase in the Archetype per Tier.
• Grit: how many points of Grit a character can purchase in the Archetype per Tier.
• Open: a number of advances that a character can apply to any of the other advancement categories over the stated maximum. Archetypes with a lot of Open advances are easier to complete and more flexible than Archetypes that offer fewer. For instance, if an Archetype allowed a maximum of 5 Stunt advances, 3 Skill advances, and 2 Open advances a character who had already hit the max on Stunts and Skills could apply their 2 Open advances to a 6th and 7th Stunt advance, or 4th and 5th Skill advance, or a 6th Stunt advance and a 4th Stunt advance, or for one of the other advancement categories that was also maxed out. If an Archetype offers special options, such as the ability to pay extra points to pick another Archetype Skill or SFX, Open points can also be allocated towards those options and count towards Tier completion.

Primary Characteristics

Characteristic raises are an exception to the structured limitations of advances per Tier.

Each Archetype has two Primary Characteristics associated with it. A character can raise each of their Archetype's Primary Characteristics once per Tier, and it counts towards Tier completion. For instance, a Brick can raise their Toughness rating by 1 and their Strength rating by 1 each Brick Tier and the advances allocated to this count towards Tier completion.

Once a character's ratings get too high to allow both Primary Characteristics to be raised within 15 points, they may raise one or the other per Tier. For instance if a Brick had 8 Strength and 7 Toughness, it would cost 9 points to raise Strength to 9 and 8 points to raise Toughness to 8, for a total of 17 points which exceeds the Tier's allocation of 15 points; the character could raise one of the characteristics this Tier and the other characteristic in their next Tier if they remain in the Brick Archetype or move into a new Archetype with a shared Primary Characteristic.

Why Complete Archetype Tiers?

In addition to helping a character maintain a thematic focus, completing Archetype Tiers grants completion bonuses, and Archetype abilities often get better the higher the character's Tier is. Characters who do not complete Archetype Tiers will still be capable and competent, but characters who do will have an edge.

Also, there is generally an extra point premium added to non-Archetype raises, which makes it more efficient to focus on Archetype advancement.

If you do not like being restricted in this way, you should consider taking the Hybrid Archetype which offers more latitude at the expense of a lack of Archetype abilities.

Switching Archetypes

A character can switch from one Archetype to another once they have completed 5, 10, or 15 advances in their current Archetype. It costs 3 advances, 2 advances, and 1 advance respectively to do so.

Costs to Switch Archetypes
# of Current Tier Raises	Cost To Leave Archetype
15	1
10-14	2
5-9	3
1-4	N/A

If a character wants to switch back to an Archetype they've previously had the same rules apply and they have to pay the advances to do so. Thus switching back and forth between careers is possible, but expensive and inefficient. If a character does have a focus but it requires some features from more than one Archetype to adhere to, the Hybrid Archetype is the recommended way to go about it.

Managing Archetype Tiers

Each Tier of each Archetype has a separate Advancement track with 15 slots, each corresponding to an advance spent on an Archetype permitted raise. When spending advances towards Archetype allowed raises, make sure to carefully note down each advance on the Archetype Tier's Advancement track.

If you have spent even 1 advance on an Archetype ability you are considered to have started a Tier of that Archetype, and the basic Archetype ability applies. Once you have spent 15 advances on Archetype allowed raises you are considered to have completed a Tier of that Archetype and the Tier completion ability becomes usable by you.

When you complete an Archetype Tier you can choose to switch to a different Archetype, or start a new Tier of your current Archetype.

If you switch to a new Archetype you will spend 1 advance (as you are leaving a completed Archetype), which does not count towards either the current or the new Archetype's Tier completion but does count towards Character Rank.

If you stay in your current Archetype it costs 0 advances and you start a fresh Advancement track with 15 new slots. As soon as you spend 1 advance in the new Tier you are committed to staying in the Archetype at least until you have spent 5 raises and are eligible to start a new Archetype again (at the high cost of 3 advances to switch prematurely).

If you leave a Tier uncompleted and switch Archetypes, but ultimately come back to the earlier Archetype you resume completing the Tier wherever you left off.

Every Superhuman has an origin story; the explanation of how they got their powers, discovered they were different, got stranded on the campaign setting's planet, learned the big family secret, or otherwise arrived at the present day with super heroic abilities, tights and a cape, or other trappings of superherodom.

During character creation, each character must choose one and only one Origin at the beginning of the process before any creation points are spent. It does not cost any creation points to select an Origin, and in fact some Origins grant bonus creation points.

Origins modify a starting character, adding permanent modifications that serve to differentiate characters with different Origins. Thus an Alien and a Robot are essentially different, even if they are both Blasters.

Each Origin indicates what modifications it makes on a character. Some grant characteristic bonuses, others increase characteristic maximas, most grant at least one special ability, one or more free skills or SFX, and some grant additional creation points that a character with that origin can use to pay for more starting abilities with.

Some Origins also have Hindrances that affect characters of that Origin. The point value of Origin Hindrances have already been spent to offset abilities granted by that Origin. Most Origin Hindrances can be overcome, but not all...some are intrinsic.

Some characters are simply unique, or have a back-story so odd that they are difficult to place in any one pigeonhole. The Freak Origin, which simply grants bonus creation points to be spent in the same way as other creation points, is provided for this sort of character. This may seem like a good deal on the surface, but in reality the other Origins get at least one special ability that is unique to them and not replicated by Stunts or Archetype abilities or else are offered significant selectable options and bonuses. The Freak may have a lot of flexibility, but they are giving something up in return. Choose wisely.

Characteristic Increases

All characteristic increases offered by Origins are applied first, before the starting Archetype bonus is added, and before creation points are spent. No exceptions.

Alien

Aliens might be from another planet, another dimension, or something more esoteric. They may have unusual abilities and appearance (though not necessarily!) compared to the locals of the campaign setting, but where they come from they are normal. If a setting has well established alien races the GM will likely have a set of predefined sub origins to choose from with specific abilities preselected, but otherwise a player can choose this Origin and "roll their own" alien race.

Aliens have the following modifiers:

• Alien Exposition: You must provide a name and a brief description of your alien race. GM approval is required.
• Alien Anatomy: Four +1 bonuses and one -1 penalty to apply to Physical and Mental characteristics and / or Mitigation attributes. These bonus points improve both starting and maxima ratings. Other characters of the same alien race will also benefit from these same bonuses (or perhaps have slight variability at the GM's discretion)
• Alien Traits: Choose any one SFX. This SFX is always considered to be an Archetype SFX for characters of this alien race.
• Alien Advantages: Spend 10 creation points to purchase any skill, or a Stunt from the Alien Traits SFX. Any Stunts or skill raises paid for with these points represent the abilities that are innate to the alien race, and other characters from the same race will gain the same benefits regardless of starting Archetype.
• Xeno (Hindrance): No matter how well they manage to fit in, an Alien is still ultimately an outsider, and also might have baggage from the place they came from spill over to affect them at unexpected times. The Alien suffers 3 Grit whenever they are reminded of their alien nature, have issues fitting in, or something from where they are from interjects itself upon their life in the campaign setting. This Hindrance can be overcome for 3 creation points or advances.

Anthropomorphic

Wolf-men, cat-girls, or some other humanoid animal, anthropomorphic characters have some of the qualities of humans and some animalistic qualities like sharp senses or claws or a nagging flea problem.

Anthropomorphics have the following modifiers:

• Animal Anatomy: 3 +1 bonuses to apply to Physical characteristics. These bonus points improve both starting and maxima ratings.
• Animal Magnetism: +1 Offensive step
• Animal Instincts: Trailsmarts, Observation, Intuition, and Animal Handling are always considered to be Archetype Skills. Train all 4 for free (and choose specializations) during character creation.
• Animal Recovery: Recover 1 Wound during the End of Turn phase.
• Animal Ferocity: The Feral SFX is always considered to be an Archetype SFX
• No Dogs Allowed (Hindrance): Anthropomorphics are fuzzy walking animals in a world of naked apes...er men. Add to all social checks made against "normals". This Hindrance can be overcome for 3 creation points or advances.

Cosmic

Cosmic characters have a tap on a boundless energy source and are above the kinds of restrictions that trammel less amazing people.

Cosmic characters have the following modifiers:

• Cosmic Capabilities: Characteristic maxima is 10 for Physical and Mental characteristics and Mitigation attributes.
• Cosmic Winds: Whenever a Cosmic character rolls a serendipity they have the following additional options available to them (they may choose any one effect):
  • If the check the serendipity resulted from is for a Stunt, treat the Stunt as having +1 Stunt Rating.
  • Remove all recharge tokens from one of your Stunts and return the card to your Action deck immediately after the current Action resolves.
  • Recover all Stress immediately after the current Action resolves.
  • Recover all Fatigue immediately after the current Action resolves.
  • Reset current Fortune points to Fortune rating immediately after the current Action resolves
• +5 creation points
• Cosmic Power: The Force SFX is always considered to be an Archetype SFX, and SFX Force is always considered to be an Archetype skill.
• Nexus (Hindrance): Cosmic characters are special and probably unique in some particular way. This might draw unwanted attention from potentially far more powerful characters and entities. This Hindrance can be overcome by giving up the Cosmic Winds ability.

Freak

Freaks are unique, no two are alike. Each has their own bizarre and unlikely origin story, often involving radiation or magic or a sequence of events so twisted and involved that no other Origin really covers it all.

Freak characters have the following modifiers:

• Superfreaky: +25 creation points. Go crazy with it you crazy freak you.

Mutant

Mutants are genetic anomalies gifted with unusual abilities by the power of Evolution! Each mutant is potentially unique, but powers sometimes run across family lines. Some mutants breed true, passing their powers onto their offspring, but its also just as likely that their children will be normal or themselves be mutants with completely different powers. Mendel's square doesn't really seem to cover the permutations, but its best if you just go with it and don't hurt your head thinking too much.

Mutant characters have the following modifiers:

• Mutant Superiority: 4 +1 bonuses to apply to Physical and Mental characteristics and / or Mitigation attributes. These bonus points improve both starting and maxima ratings.
• Mutant Powers: choose one of the following options. If the nature of the Stunt(s) is incongruous with it being an innate Mutant power, you are simply not being creative enough; try harder.
  • Select one Stunt from any SFX set; this Stunt is an innate mutant power. Apply three free raises to the Stunt to make it Rating 4.
  • Select two Stunts from any SFX set (but both must be from the same SFX set); these Stunts are innate mutant powers. Apply a free raise to both Stunts to make them each Rating 2.
• The SFX of the Stunt(s) chosen for the Mutant Power(s) modification is always considered to be an Archetype SFX. If a chosen Stunt(s) has more than one SFX, you must pick one of them for this ability.
• Mutant Brotherhood: Mutants might fight amongst themselves, but they still tend to cut each other a little more slack than usual or help one another out when ideological difference don't enter into the picture. Add to social encounters where both parties are aware of the other party's Mutant status.
• Dirty Mutie! (Hindrance): Even if there are other kinds of superhuman characters running around in a given setting, if there are Mutants they are especially feared and hated by the general public. Discrimination, and even predation are common reactions. At the GM's discretion all social encounters with close minded "normals" add . This Hindrance can be overcome with 3 creation points or advances.

Mystic

The Mystic Origin is extremely diverse and offers a lot of options. Mystic characters may or may not be spell casters, but there is something distinctly magical about the source of their power. Maybe they are a wizard or witch, but just as viably they might just be an innately magical creature, possessed by a daemon, have been cursed or blessed by a powerful Mystic or ancient god, or have a magical item that grants them their abilities.

Mystic characters have the following modifiers:

• Mystical Reality: The character may suffer 1 stress to force a re-roll of all fortune and misfortune dice in a dice pool or 1 fortune point and 1 stress to force a complete re-roll; the second roll stands. Any dice roll may be influenced in this fashion, not just the character's own.
• Mystical Advantage: +10 creation points
• Mystical Mystery: +1 Fortune point
• Mystical Talent: Choose one of the following options. Granted skills start trained and specialized, and are always an Archetype Skill. Granted SFX are always considered to be Archetype SFX.
  • Spellcaster:
    • Skills: Arts Arcane
    • SFX: Magic
  • Trickster:
    • Skills: Skulduggery and Guile
    • SFX: Beguile
  • Seer:
    • Skills: Detect Magic
    • SFX: Acuity
  • Fortunata:
    • Skills: Improvisation
    • SFX: Luck
  • Elemental: (Pick 1):
    • Fire:
      • Skills: Fire Mastery
      • SFX: Fire
    • Water:
      • Skills: Cold Mastery
      • SFX: Cold
    • Air:
      • Skills: Force Mastery
      • SFX: Force
    • Earth:
      • Skills: Stone Mastery
      • SFX: Stone
  • Primeval:
    • Four +1 bonuses to apply to Physical and Mental characteristics and / or Mitigation attributes. These bonus points improve both starting and maxima ratings. However, you do not get the "Mystical Advantage" bonus creation points.
  • Destined:
    • +5 Fortune points

Natural

Natural characters are all about skill and competency. They have no native powers; all of their abilities are either the product of hard work, natural talent, or a tool of some kind.

Natural characters have the following modifiers:

• Natural Competence: add to all checks.
• Natural Talent: Select any 5 Basic skills and train them (select specializations); these skills are always considered to be Archetype Skills
• Natural Grace: +1 Fortune
• Natural Advantage: +15 creation points

Robot

Though they may be as individual as any living creature, Robots are not biological constructs. Whether they are called an android, a bot, or possibly a full conversion cyborg, the Robot is machine not man.

Robots have the following modifiers:

• Robotic Design: 6 +1 bonuses to apply to Physical or Mental characteristics and / or Mitigation attributes. These bonus points improve both base and maxima ratings.
• Robotic Resistance: Soak +3; this raises both starting and maxima
• Robotic Mind: Psyche +3; this raises both starting and maxima
• Robotic Personality: -1 Fellowship; this applies to both base and maxima ratings.
• Robotic Fate: -1 Fortune.
• Robotic Gadgets: The Gear SFX is always considered to be an Archetype SFX for you.
• Robotic Systems: Immune to poison, immune to disease. No need to eat or breathe.
• Out of Warranty (Hindrance): Robots cannot heal damage, they must be be Repaired, though the effect is ultimately similar. Healing abilities do not work on a Robot unless they explicitly say that they do. This Hindrance can be partially overcome for 5 advances, which allows a character's own abilities to heal their Wounds normally, but still not benefit from healing from external sources; this might be used to represent a more advanced synthetic robot, cyborg, or self-repairing machine.
• Engineered Limits (Hindrances): Robots are tireless, but their operating tolerances are invariant. Accumulate fatigue and stress as normal but when a Robot would have a distressed characteristic rather than add misfortune dice to their dice pools a Robot suffers 1 Wound or Grit for each fatigue or stress token greater than the affected characteristic. This Hindrance can be overcome for 5 advances, which will prevent the Robot from suffering Wounds or Grit from being distressed. Effectively, if overcome this Hindrance becomes an advantage as the Robot still does not add misfortune dice to their dice pools for being distressed if this Hindrance is overcome.
• Critical Intolerance (Hindrance): Each time a Robot suffers a critical Wound it begins to break down and malfunction. The GM (or attacking player) chooses a Stunt the Robot has with a Stunt Rating equal to or less than the severity of the critical Wound inflicted; that Stunt becomes unusable until the critical Wound is repaired. Passive Stunts cannot be chosen unless they are the only Stunts remaining. This Hindrance can be overcome for 3 advances.

Technologist

As the name implies, Technologists rely on tech, gizmos, science, and intelligence. Whether they have a fancy power suit or a bunch of cool toys, or gave themselves powers via an experiment or gained them in an unlikely scientific accident, Technologists tend to be resourceful and competent. Many Technologists are gadgeteers, but by no means all. Science and Technology are flexible and can be bent to any purpose. Even a Technologist Arcanist isn't unheard of; the multidisciplinary scientist engineer who is also a sorcerer has more than one precedent in comics.

Technologists have the following modifiers:

• Tech Skills: Technology, Engineering, Science, and Repair are always considered to be Archetype Skills; train all 4 for free (and select specializations as normal).
• Tech Edge: remove from all Technology, Engineering, Science, and Repair checks.
• Tech Savvy: The Gear SFX is always considered to be an Archetype SFX for you.
• Tech Advantage: +15 Creation Points

Wielder

Wielders have one or more items of power that grant them unusual abilities beyond the norm. Without their items a Wielder might still be a competent normal (or not), but with their items Wielders are quite potent and mighty.

Wielders start off powerful, but can be eclipsed by characters of other origins at higher Ranks. A Wielder can be prone to losing their item of power as play goes on, and it often comes to be a regular plot occurrence as opponents correctly surmise the character's vulnerability.

Not all characters that rely on or use items are necessarily Wielders. A character of another Origin might use a gun or a hammer or have have one or more abilities that are justified as a device. The Wielder Origin is appropriate for characters who start off "normal", but somehow acquire a special item that grants them their spectacular abilities, and without which they return to normal.

Wielders have the following modifiers:

• Item of Power: A Wielder must have at least one well defined item of power. It might be a ring, a staff, an amulet, an armor suit, or a weapon. It might also be described as technological, mystical, alien, or something else as best suits the character's concept. The character's item of power is, ultimately, a device, but unlike normal devices they can't be broken permanently; a character will eventually get their item of power repaired or replaced. Unlike most devices though, other characters generally cannot use the item of power (though they might have their own similar or identical item of power). Items of Power have Soak equal to (15 + Character Rank), and (Character Rank x 5) Wounds. Attacks that directly target a Wielder's item of power add and Character Rank # of to their dice pools.
  • Wielded Abilities: A Wielder receives +40 points with which to purchase abilities that their item of power allows them to use. When a Wielder has their item of power readied or worn (depending on it's nature), they may use these abilities, otherwise they cannot.
    • NOTE: the +40 points granted by Wielded Abilities can be used to pay off either or both of the Limited Advancement and Limited Charges Hindrances.
• Limited Advancement (Hindrance): When a Wielder gains experience points and spends advances, all Archetype advances except "Open" advances are considered to be Wielded Abilities. Non-Archetype advances and "Open" Archetype advances are unaffected. This Hindrance costs 5 creation points or advances to overcome completely.
• Limited Charges (Hindrance): Items of Power have a finite power source and can only be used for (Character Rank x 25) Rounds per day. Any Round in which any Wielded ability is used counts towards this total. After this limit has been exceeded, none of the character's Wielded abilities can be used until the item of power has been recharged. Recharging an item of power is usually a story event, or requires some effort on the part of the Wielder, or occurs when it is dramatically appropriate rather than when it is convenient. This Hindrance can be overcome for 5 creation points or advances.

Archetypes describe the genre character concepts found so often in superheroic stories. The superstrong and tough Brick, the lightning quick Speedster, the energy projecting Blaster! Each Archetype offers a character opportunities to develop in different directions, and most significantly provides access to specific SFX abilities. Each Archetype also grants an ability, and a completion ability rewarding dedication to a concept for characters that invest 15 advances into the Archetype.

Characteristic Increases

During character creation a character must choose their starting Archetype. After the character has selected their Origin and applied any characteristic raises granted by it, and before any creation points are spent on raising characteristics, the character chooses their starting Archetype and gains a +1 bonus to each of the Archetype's associated Characteristics. If an Archetype lists the same Characteristic twice (or, in the case of the Hybrid Archetype you choose the same characteristic twice), it grants a +2 bonus to the indicated Characteristic.

The archetype characteristic bonus is applied to the character's starting rating in the affected characteristics, but not the maxima.

I.e., a character who selects Brick as their starting Archetype adds +1 Strength and +1 Toughness and a character who selects Speedster as their starting Archetype adds +2 Agility.

Archetype Tier

Archetypes are analogous to what would be called Classes, Professions, or Careers in some other games. Archetypes represent common genre concepts or tropes. Archetypes place limits on what kinds of advances are available to a character in that Archetype and in exchange grants one or more special abilities.

When characters start an Archetype they are considered to be progressing through Tier 1 of that Archetype.

If a character advances 15 raises within the same Archetype they are considered to have completed their current Tier in that Archetype and gain a special benefit for doing so which varies by Archetype. Tier completion bonuses tend to be pretty desirable abilities and reward a character for their dedication to the Archetype.

A character can switch from one Archetype to another after attaining 5, 10 or 15 advances in that Archetype; however it costs advances to do so. A character must pay 3 advances to switch Archetypes after taking 5 advances, 2 advances after taking 10 advances, or 1 advance after taking 15 advances.

However a character does not have to leave an Archetype if they don't want to. A character completing a Tier in an Archetype can choose to start a new Tier in that Archetype, starting at 0 advances applied with a new progression chart. All of the benefits of a previously completed Archetype Tier are retained. It costs 0 advances to start a new Tier in an Archetype a character has already completed a Tier in.

The Archetype Tier is primarily just a notation to ease bookkeeping and character tracking, but some abilities do specifically reference Archetype Tier.

Archetype Tier is abbreviated as a parenthetical number after an Archetype name. For instance, if a character had selected 15 advances in the Brick Archetype and opted to continue advancing as a Brick they would gain a new advancement tracker for the Brick Archetype. The character is considered to be a Tier 2 Brick; written as Brick (2).

Arcanist

Brick

Blaster

Booster

Brawler

Gadgeteer

Mentalist

Metamorph

Savant

Speedster

Hybrid

WISH is very skill oriented. Skills are based on Characteristics, and Actions are based on Skills. It is extremely common for an action to require a Skill check, and many Stunts require a specific Skill (or multiple Skills) to be trained to even use them.

Skills that anyone can use, even untrained, are called Basic. Skills that require special training and cannot be used untrained are called Advanced.

Skills are so intrinsic to WISH that usually when a characteristic check is required, a skill based on that characteristic will be referenced instead to allow a character that is particularly skilled in a given area to demonstrate their expertise. For instance, in the vast majority of cases Resilience (To) is used instead of a direct Toughness check, and similarly Athletics (Str) is proxied for Strength, Coordination (Ag) is proxied for Agility, Discipline (Wp) is proxied for Willpower, Charm (Fel) or Guile (Fel) are proxied for Fellowship, and Observation (Int) or Intuition (Int) are proxied for Intelligence.

Skill Specialization

Both basic and advanced skills benefit from focus and dedication; this is represented by skill specialization. Each skill lists sample specializations, and more are possible with GM approval.

Specializations allow a character to add an additional to checks with a given skill when that specializations is relevant.

When a character trains the first rank in a skill, they may choose a specialization with that skill for free; this represents the entry point for the character with that skill and should generally be relevant to the way that they have been using the skill. For instance, a runner who trains Athletics should choose a specialization applicable to running rather than weight lifting. However, technically a player can choose whatever they like, baring GM veto.

A character can spend an advance to choose two specializations which can be applied to any basic skill (even if untrained) or a characteristic. An advanced skill must be at least acquired to apply a specialization to it, but otherwise works the same. In some cases a GM might even award a specialization as a special story award.

Basic Skills

Basic skills represent the wide range of activities and focused characteristic use that anyone can attempt even without special training, and are available to every character. Characters that are trained will tend to perform better than someone without training but the skills can be attempted untrained.

When a skill is trained, a check mark is made next to the skill on the character sheet. For each training box checked off, the character adds one to characteristic checks when that skill is relevant. A character can train a skill once per Character Rank, up to a maximum of 5 ranks of training in a skill. When a character goes up a rank, they can spend future advances to gain further training in a skill.

Each level of training in a Basic Skill costs 1 advance.

Basic Skills are organized in functional groups for convenience sake.

Combat

• Ranged Skill (Ag): A combination of hand-eye coordination, accuracy, and training, this skill is used to make ranged attacks. NOTE: this is referred to as Ballistic Skill in WHFRPG. Specializations cover pistols, rifles, eyeblasts, powerbeams, grenades, thrown weapons, a specific range band (close, medium, long, extreme), sniper shot, and hurling scenery.
• Melee Skill (Str): This skill is used for fighting an opponent hand to hand, both barehanded and with hand held weapons such as knives and clubs. Though it is based on Strength by default, some Stunts allow Agility to be used instead and in general a character with a higher Agility than Strength can choose to base their melee attacks on Agility unless the GM rules otherwise based upon the specific type of attack and scenario; generally precision attacks rely on Agility while brute force or trauma attacks rely on Strength. NOTE: this is referred to as Weapon Skill in WHFRPG. Specializations cover barehanded, a specific kind of weapon (such as knives, swords, etc), weapons of opportunity, outnumbered, one on one.
• Mental Skill (Wp): This skill is used to fight opponents mind to mind. As characters do not have mental attacks by default, it is only useful if a character also has one or more Stunts that allow them to make mental attacks; however it is not an Advanced Skill and can be used untrained by a character with an applicable attack. Specializations cover ego whip, id insinuation, mind blast.

Physical

• Athletics (Str): A combination of fitness, training, and physical ability, this skill is used for running, jumping, swimming, climbing, and other active physical tasks. Specializations cover running, jumping, climbing, rowing, lifting, swimming, cardio, throwing, sports.
• Coordination (Ag): Manual dexterity, and nimbleness, this skill is used for feats of acrobatics, balance, escape artistry, and precision. Specializations cover acrobatics, balance, juggling, dance, manual dexterity, twitch reflexes.
• Skulduggery (Ag): A combination of illicit undertakings, underhanded dealings, and unsavory tricks, this skill covers diverse abilities such as picking locks, breaking and entering, picking pockets, and other acts of legerdemain, and general thievery. Specializations cover pick pockets, pick locks, traps, sleight of hand, auto theft, larceny.
• Stealth (Ag): The ability to avoid notice, this skill is used to move silently or hide. It is usually opposed by Observation. Performing maneuvers while using Stealth causes a character to suffer 1 stress in addition to any other cost. Specializations cover blend in, urban, wilderness, hold still, ambush, disappearing act.
• Resilience (Tough): A combination of vigor, fitness, and ability to bounce back quickly, this skill is used to shrug off ailments, wounds, and ill effects. Specializations cover resist disease, resist poison, resist starvation, recover fatigue.
• Ride (Ag): Though largely outdated in the modern era, this skill covers the riding and handling of living mounts. Specializations cover show riding, trick riding, long riding, mounted combat.

Social

• Charm (Fel): A combination of charisma and and presence, the ability to shmooze, and make good impressions, amiably get along with others, and generally be "cool". This skill can be used to sway people's points of view or even the mood of a crowd, to gossip effectively, and to fast talk a way out of tricky situations. Attempts to cajole people too much or too far are often opposed by Discipline. Specializations cover etiquette, gossip, diplomacy, haggling, seduction, making new friends, bar pals, quid pro quo.
• Guile (Fel): A combination of effective deception, misdirection, cunning, innuendo, manipulation, and outright lies. This skill can be very useful in social situations, but is generally opposed by Intuition or Discipline. Specializations cover bald face lying, blather, bunco, innuendo, rumormongery, false innocence.
• Intimidate (Fel): A combination of presence, threat, practical psychology, and force of will, this skill covers the ability to cow others and bend them to a character's will through fear or exploiting weakness. It is often resisted by Discipline, and has the chance to escalate into unpleasant situations but is nonetheless generally very effective in the short term. Specializations cover thuggery, interrogation, politics, insidious, extortion, leveraged.
• Leadership (Fel): A combination of a the ability to inspire, motivate, direct, and manage the actions of others. This skill helps a character coordinate efforts among groups of people towards a common goal, which includes understanding the capabilities of those directed and allocating available resources efficiently and well. When people are well lead, they often get things done faster and better than normal. When people are lead poorly or expected to do things they do not agree with they can become demoralized or even mutinous; attempts to get people to act against their nature via use of this skill is resisted by Discipline. Specializations cover military, captain of industry, logistics, politico, I've got a plan, crazy but charismatic.

Mental

• Intuition (Int): A combination of instincts, subconscious attention to subtle clues, tone, and posture, to understand subtle or inobvious things, and to read between the lines without having to be explicitly told things. This skill helps a character sense when they are being lied to, when things are not on the up and up, the general competency of others, avoid surprises, and to grasp the fundamentals of new ideas quickly without the need for laborious study. Specializations cover sense lie, sense motive, doesn't sound right, talent scout, reading between the lines, something is not right here.
• Observation (Int): A combination of the senses and perceptiveness, this skill allows a character to notice fine details, subtle clues, spot dangers, notice sounds and smells that slip by others, and generally not be oblivious to the world around them. Specializations cover eavesdropping, tracking, sharp eyes, sharp ears, sharp nose, attention to detail, situational awareness.
• Discipline (Wp): A combination of force of will, serenity, stick-to-it-ness, and the ability to force oneself to forgo short term pleasures in the pursuit of longer term goals. This skill allows a character to sustain themselves through mental rigors and hardships, maintain composure in the face of adversity, recover from stress quickly, and resist social manipulations. Specializations cover resist charm, resist guile, resist intimidation, resist fear, resist torture, recover stress, resist temptation.

Practical

• Drive (Int): This skill covers the ability to operate a vehicle. Unlike most skills, a character must select a specific vehicle when they take this skill, such as automobile, big rig, motorcycle, boat, heavy equipment, small fixed wing, helicopter, fighter, space ship, jumbo jet. Specializations include combat driving, commuting, racing, dog-fighting.
• First Aid (Int): A combination of immediate reaction medical training, general care and comfort, and compassion, this skill allows a character to tend wounds, ward off shock, help stabilize injured characters until longer term care can be administered, and also administer to recovering patients who are on the mend. Specializations cover combat triage, nursing, EMT, CPR.
• Repair (Wp): The ability to fix, refurbish, or otherwise improve the intended functionality of objects. Specializations cover specific categories of things such as automobiles, motorcycles, watercraft, airplanes, helicopters, handyman, computers, electronics, watches.

Smarts

• Booksmarts (Int): A combination of a broad education, memory for trivial detail, diverse reading, and general knowledge, the skill indicates how much academic information a character has picked up in their lifetime and can dredge back up at need. Though any character can attempt a untrained Booksmarts check in the modern era, the GM is encouraged to assign a higher than normal difficulty if a character seems unlikely to have been exposed to certain information in given their background. Similarly, a lower than normal difficulty should be assigned for information that should be "common knowledge" for a a given character...or waived altogether. Beware however for not everything that is written is true; a character might have been taught something that is incorrect or even a lie. Note that this is called Education in WHFRPG. Specializations cover specific fields of study, the classics, trivial pursuits, just enough to be dangerous, crypto-lore.
• Streetsmarts (Int): A combination of street ken, common sense, folksy wisdom, and just knowing the way it is. This skill is based on experience, hearing the word on the street, knowing the right lingo, and who to talk to. It is particularly useful in urban environments, but has application anywhere there are people and community. Note that this is called Folklore in WHFRPG. Specializations cover word up, way around the hoods, shout out to my peeps, I know a guy.
• Trailsmarts (Int) A combination of wilderness knowledge, survival tricks, and outdoorsy savvy, this skill allows a character to exist and even flourish outside of cities and towns, follow trail sign, hunt and fish, and wear plaid unselfconsciously. Note that this is called Nature Lore in WHFRPG. Specializations cover locate shelter, locate food, locate water, flora, fauna, tracking, sport hunting, man vs wild.
• Tradesmarts (Int): Unlike most skills, a character must choose a specific trade that they know when they pick this skill. Just about any profession can be selected (with GM approval), and allows a character to have a level of general knowledge and professional competence in that trade sufficient to make a living at it. For instance, Lawyer, Architect, Project Manager, Carpenter, Plumber, etc. If there is some overlap between a given profession and some other skill with a specific game effect, a character will generally want to take the more specific skill instead of or in addition to Tradesmarts; for instance a medical Doctor will need the Medicine skill to be effective, while a Mechanic would need the Repair skill. Tradesmarts is almost invariably based on Intelligence, but some professions may depend more on another characteristic; for instance entertainers may excel more by using their Fellowship than their Intelligence. Negotiate the appropriate characteristic to base your Tradesmarts on with the GM if Intelligence does not seem right for the selected profession. Note this is called Tradecraft in WHFRPG.
• Animalsmarts (Fel) The care and feeding of animals, this skill is somewhat outdated in the modern era but is appropriate to some backgrounds. If it involves dealing with a pet, guard dog, riding animal, beast of burden, or escaped zoo exhibit, this is the skill for that job. Any character can attempt an Animalsmarts roll untrained, but soothing savage beasts is obviously a lot harder than petting a pet cat without getting scratched; the GM is encouraged to assign appropriate difficulties. Note this is called Animal Handling in WHFRP. Specializations cover command, train, down boy, sense disposition.

Advanced Skills

Advanced skills represent abilities that require special training and cannot be attempted untrained. Advanced skills must be acquired before they can be trained; acquiring an advanced skill costs 1 advance. A character can attempt checks using a skill that has been acquired but not yet trained, but does not add any dice to their dice pool. This is exactly the same as when a character uses a basic skill that they are untrained in.

After a character has acquired an advanced skill they may train that skill in the normal fashion.

A character can both acquire and train an advanced skill during character creation; this counts as 2 skill raises.

Knowledge

• Medicine (Int): Knowledge of anatomy and physiology, surgery, amputation, trauma, pharmacology, and other wonders of modern medicine. This skill can be used to treat injuries (described elsewhere). Specializations include specific medical fields, critical wounds, poison, disease, surgery, long-term care.

• Science (Int): Knowledge and understanding of the wonders of Science! In addition to the practical real world uses of a solid grounding in real science, this skill more interestingly grants a character knowledge of the crazy comic book "science" typical of a superheroes setting. This is Omnidisciplinary Science at it's pulpy best; if a character has the Science skill trained and something scientific needs to be known, the character just might know it no matter how completely unrelated to any scientific field of study they have previously displayed knowledge of. Specializations cover specific fields of science (such as biology, theoretical physics, chemistry, genetics, etc), mad science, strange formulas, ersatz experiments, crossing the streams.

• Engineering (Int): Knowledge and application of engineering principles, the mechanics of how things work, principles of leverage and force, and practical physics. If something needs built, this is the skill for it. Awesome superhero base with holographic training simulator and hidden launch pad for the team superjet? Check. One of a kind blaster electric prod riot shotgun? A little esoteric, but sure, check. A spinning whirligig Nega-verse rover? Sure; check. Remember; if you build it they will come. Specializations cover various fields such as automotive engineering, civil engineering, mechanical engineering, rocketry, machinery, robotics, crazy inventions, super bases, weaponology

• Technology (Int): The ability to work with technology, such as electronics, computers, and devices, to accomplish diverse outcomes. Hack alien computers and infect them with viruses. Look at a bank of unmarked controls and push the right button to turn off the self destruct sequence. Hot-wire the killer robot and make it attack it's master. Monkey patch an MP3 player and turn it into a detonator. If something techie needs doing, this is the skill to do it with. Specializations cover various specific kinds of technology such as computer hardware, computer software, consumer electronics, industrial devices, audio / visual equipment, robots, cybernetics.

• Demolitions (Int): The ability to work with bombs, explosives, and incendiaries. Whether identifying them, building them, disarming them, or just talking about them Demolitions is the skill you need. Specializations include cut the blue wire, pipe bomb, mercury switches, magnitude recognition.

• Arts Arcane: (Int): Knowledge of the magical arts, and the base ability for many mystical Stunts. Arts Arcane is the base skill for a lot of Magic SFX Stunts, but the Magic SFX skill is still useful for "cantrip" type effects. Specializations include Mystical, Arcana, Hexes, Dimensional, Vitalogy, Elementalism, Alchemy.

Special

• Detect {var} (Int): Unlike most skills, when a character acquires this skill they must define a thing or SFX that they can detect. This skill functions identically to Observation save that it grants a character an additional sense that is separate from the normal five senses. Generally a Detect allows a character to sense the presence and relative magnitude of whatever the Detect is defined to work against. For instance, a character with Detect Heat can sense heat sources, while a character with Detect Magic can sense magic emanations. Specializations include 360 degrees, Through Walls, Gauge Magnitude, Pinpoint Location, Gauge Threat.

• Improvisation (Wp): Whether due to plucky spontaneity, good fortune, karmic teflon, or pure awesomeness, a character with this skill is able to pull things off far better than they ought to. When using the Improvise Action, a character with this skill adds their skill Rank to the Improvise dice pool. Note that the normal rules for usage of Improvise still apply. Specializations cover combat improvisation, social improvisation, and no one is looking anyway.

• SFX Mastery (var): Though some SFX rely on standard skills like Coordination or Ranged skill, many SFX require specialized mastery to use properly, as indicated by the following list. In addition to satisfying Stunt prerequisites and being used for some Stunt checks, a Mastery skill also helps a character to pull off cool tricks and do unusual things related to a particular SFX not worthy of being defined as a specific Stunt. Specializations include practical jokes, creature comforts, parlor tricks, combat tricks, bounced shots, suppression. Further some SFX require specific specializations to unlock subsets of Stunts; for instance the Morph SFX requires the Stretching specialization to unlock Stunts related to superhuman elasticity, and the Mind SFX requires the Telepathic specialization to unlock Stunts related to reading minds.
  • Augment Mastery (Fel): Used by the Augment SFX; casual usage of this skill allows minor benign conditions (severity 1) to be granted for 1 turn. Specializations include: Buffing, Hastening, Empathetic, Enhancing, Healing, Cloaking.
  • Bedevil Mastery: Used by the Bedevil SF; casual usage of this skill allows minor malign conditions (severity 1) to be granted for 1 turn. Specializations include: Debuff, Detracting, Diminishing, Suppressing, Emanating, Hectoring.
  • Cold Mastery (Wp): Used by the Cold SFX; casual usage of this skill allows parlor tricks involving ice and lowering temperatures.
  • Fire Mastery (Fel): used by the Fire SFX; casual usage of this skill allows various fire and heat based tricks.

Travel Skills

Movement in WISH is abstracted, as described in the Distance and Movement section of the rules.

Superhuman mechanisms of travel are very common in superhero settings. Though there are some Stunts that also grant unusual forms of movement or enhance existing forms, the more common types of superhuman travel are simply made available as Advanced Skills. A character may select which ever ones are suitable to their concept.

Travel skills are broken down into categories such as "Superflight" and "Superleap", and so forth, but each category has two or more "modes" that define variations on the basic theme of the Travel skill, which usually have slightly different mechanical benefits and drawbacks. This allows different characters to differentiate themselves and to better model a wider variety of concepts.

A character must pick a mode for their Travel Skill when they acquire the Skill. Two different modes of the same Travel skill are effectively two different skills. Though it isn't efficient, it is permissible for a character to have more than one Travel skill, or even to take the same Travel skill more than once for multiple modes (though there may not be a mechanical benefit for doing so).

Some Travel skill modes confer situational abilities that have a combat application similar to (but generally weaker than) a Stunt. For instance, perhaps a hard-boiled detective has a supermobile (for story mode travel) and also uses both a swing-line and a glider cape in combat for the mechanical benefits they offer.

Travel skills can have specializations; several are presented for each skill.

Individualized Modes

Though many modes are presented for each Travel skill, a GM can work with a player to define a custom mode if they like; care should be taken to maintain parity with other modes. Generally speaking, modes that grant a significant combat-applicable bonus are not as good at Story Mode travel, and vice versa. Other modes can be disrupted or interfered with by opponents making a character using that mode vulnerable in some way. Other modes can actually cause harm to the user. GM's discretion as to what is fair and balanced for their own campaign applies.

Superflight

Superflight (Ag): This skill allows a character to fly. Flying characters are not affected by difficult terrain, and can "hang in the air" between there Turns. Flying characters are affected by turbulence, which generally causes control checks. Flying characters must also take a movement maneuver each turn to either move or hover; if they do not do so they start to descend and lose 1 movement maneuver's worth of altitude and can potentially crash land.

Superflight checks should be made when diving, attempting to slow down, when turbulence is encountered, if knocked back, and if a character's ability to fly is interfered with. On any Superflight check two banes cause a character to suffer a fatigue and calamities generally indicate a loss of control and / or altitude. Specializations include ariel acrobatics, long distance, combat hovering, and bursts of speed.

A character must choose a Superflight mode when they take this skill:

• Up and away: it's not entirely apparent how you fly; you just can. No modifiers or special rules apply.

• Winged: you fly thanks to a pair of wings, and your Superflight is Strength based. You gain when diving and decelerating, but you must make a Superflight (Str) check with if you do not take at least one movement maneuver per Turn with failure indicating a loss of altitude or loss of fatigue. If your wings become fouled one or more are added to your Superflight dice pools, and if they or you become impeded you can't fly at all and will plummet if aloft.

• Levitation: you fly by will alone. Your Superflight is Willpower based, and you suffer stress rather than fatigue from flying; if your Willpower becomes distressed you cannot fly. Hovering does not cause stress loss and does not require a movement maneuver each Turn to maintain, but you add to Superflight (Wp) checks for distance.

• Energetic: you fly by projecting or manipulating some kind of energy; whether or not it's plausible is not your problem. You gain to checks for distance, but gain on all other Superflight (Ag) checks. If you are unable to project the energy that grants you flight, you can't fly.

• Rocket-man: you have a device that allows you to fly. If the device is taken away, broken, or lost you can't fly. You don't suffer stress or fatigue from Superflight (Ag) checks, but the device that grants you flight has Unreliable: 2, which means if you roll two calamities in the same check it breaks and stops working...so don't push your luck. The Rocket-man device has DEF equal to Character Rank, Soak equal to (10 + the # of times Superflight (Rocket-Man) has been trained), and Wounds equal to (5 + Character Rank).

• Gliding: You don't fly so much as glide. You add to all Superflight (Ag) checks made for distance or to ascend or to hover in place. You gain +1 movement maneuver automatically whenever you are descending. Gliding is arguably not as good as most other modes of Superflight, but you are immune to falling unless you are impeded, and you never suffer fatigue from Gliding.

Superleap

Superleap (Ag): This skill allows a character to make prodigious leaps.

Superleap checks should be made when distance matters, to ascend (such as leaping upwards), something unusual is being attempted, an excessive drop is involved, and so forth. On Superleap checks two banes cause a character to suffer 1 fatigue, and calamities should be interpreted as a botched landing, a miss, becoming fouled on something mid-leap, and so forth.

Generally a character will begin and end their turns on the ground when using Superleap, but particularly long leaps may require a character to spend two or more Turns in mid-leap; GM's discretion applies. Specializations include long distance hops, human pinball, ascending, descending, and concrete jungle.

A character must chose a Superleap mode when they take this skill:

• Strong Legs: you can superleap thanks to your massively strong legs; your Superleap is Strength based. You are best at making single long hops and gain on Superleap (Str) checks for that purpose. You gain for all other Superleap checks. If your legs are impeded or injured, your ability to leap is affected.

• Acrobatic: you have incredible acrobatic ability that allows you to bound, leap, flip, scamper, clamber, and cartwheel for prodigious effect. You add to Superleap (Ag) checks for distance and to all other Superleap checks. In addition to the normal usage of Superleap if you are not prone and would be knocked back or prone then as a React with Recharge (0) you may make a Superleap check vs Average (2d) difficulty and if successful you are not knocked back or prone and take no damage or other contingent effect.

• Elastic: thanks to an elastic body, or perhaps as a side effect of an unusual power, you bounce more than you leap. Though this form of movement may appear comical, it is actually pretty effective; in addition to the normal usage of Superleap if you are knocked back or prone then as a React with Recharge (1) you may make a Superleap check and if successful bounce away from the point of impact and also avoid any damage contingent to your impact; distance is determined by the check result.

• Swing-line: you don't leap so much as swing, but the end effect is basically the same. Your swing-line can be directly targeted and cut, causing you to fall; it has DEF and Soak equal to the number of times a character has trained Superleap (Swing-line), and a number of Wounds equal to Character Rank. Opponents can use the Pin action to wait until a character attempts to use their Swing-line and then target it directly, assuming they are within range. You also need tall structures or anchor points to make maximum use of your leaping; GM's discretion (and reality twitch) applies. In addition to the normal usage of Superleap if you happen to be falling then as a React with Recharge (1) you may attempt to use your Swing-line and if successful swing to safety; distance is determined by the check result.

• Spring: you use a spring, hydraulic assist, micro-rockets, jump-jets or equivalent to attain your Superleap. If the device is taken away, broken, or lost you can't Superleap. You don't suffer stress or fatigue from Superleap checks and gain when making checks for distance or to ascend, but the device that grants you Superleap has Unreliable: 2, which means if you roll two calamities in the same check it breaks and stops working...so don't push your luck. The Spring device has DEF equal to Character Rank, Soak equal to (10 + the # of times Superleap (Spring) has been trained), and Wounds equal to (5 + Character Rank).

Supercommuter

Supercommuter (Wp): This skill allows a character to have one or more special vehicles or mounts that get them from point a to point b, or a knack for using public transit, taxis, and so forth.

Checks are made in lieu of Riding, Driving, or Piloting skill checks and for similar reasons; combat driving situations, opposed checks when in a race or chasing someone, and so forth.

On Supercommuter checks two banes cause a character to suffer a stress, and calamities should be interpreted as a loss of control, sideswiping things, and other moving violations. Specializations include chicks dig the car, trusty steed, curb presence, got the horsepower, and better late than never.

A character must choose a Supercommuter mode when they take this skill:

• Supermobile: you've got a sweet ride...maybe several. You add to checks for distance and to deceleration checks. Your Supermobile has Unreliable: 2, which means if you roll two calamities in the same check it breaks and stops working, and also counts as a device with Soak equal to (12 + the # of times Supercommuter (Supermobile) has been trained) and Wounds equal to (5 + Character Rank), and thus can be attacked and impaired or broken. Your Supermobile may grant flight, ground speed, water speed, or possibly more than one kind of movement as dictated by concept and GM approval. Supermobiles have a tendency to not survive violent encounters intact, so it is often prudent to use them to get to an encounter and then park them someplace safe. The Supermobile can be Repaired.

• Supersteed: you have some kind of living mount that carries you around. Your Supercommuter check is Fellowship based. You gain on control checks, but on deceleration and distance checks. Your steed can be targeted similarly to a device with a DEF equal to Character Rank, Soak equal to (8 + the # of times Supercommuter (Supersteed) has been trained) and Wounds equal to (10 + Character Rank); a Supersteed can be healed.

• Happenstance: you actually just get rides as needed. You move at the speed of plot, basically. Calamities tend to indicate you can't find a ride or end up in the wrong place. There is no combat application of this skill, but out of combat you will somehow manage to get where you need to be...eventually.

• Underground: you move around under the ground and eventually arrive where you need to be...as long as it's accessible from the ground. You move at the speed of plot. This is generally used in Story mode, but in Combat mode if you are on the ground you can spend 1 fortune point to "Dirt Dive" as a React to leave the encounter entirely. If you do so, you cannot rejoin the encounter; this is an escape option, not a means for gaining a tactical advantage and also the GM may determine that the circumstances do not allow this ability to be used on a case by case basis.

• Swimming: you move around under the water and eventually arrive where you need to be...as long as it's accessible from a body of water. You move at the speed of plot. This is generally used in Story mode, but in Combat mode you can use movement maneuvers to travel through water. As a freebie, you can also breath underwater; I know, awesome, right?

Superrunning

Superrunning (Ag): This skill allows a character to run really fast.

Skill checks should be made when running through congested areas, over difficult terrain, attempting to run up walls or over bodies of water, to decelerate, when knocked back while running, and so forth.

On any Superrunning check two banes cause a character to suffer a fatigue and calamities generally indicate a loss of control or severe fatigue (suffer 3 fatigue). Specializations include back in a jiffy, long distance, combat dash, it's the shoes, and bursts of speed.

A character must choose a Superrunning mode when they take this skill:

• Fleet: you just run really fast, and that's all there is to it. You gain on checks for distance, and on all other Superrunning checks. If your legs are injured or impeded your ability to run is affected.

• Strider: you have a big and powerful stride that eats up ground at a steady pace. Your Superrunning is Strength based. You remove up to from all Superrunning checks. If your legs are injured or impeded your ability to run is affected. In addition to the normal usage of Superrunning if you are not prone and would be knocked back or prone then as a React with Recharge (0) you may make a Superrunning check vs Average (2d) difficulty and if successful you are not knocked back or prone and take no damage or other contingent effect.

• Sliding: due to a side effect of a power or ability you are able to slide around on some kind of a field, film, or substance just above a solid surface without making direct contact; you may or may not look like you are running depending on concept. Your Superrunning checks gain for distance and on deceleration checks. In addition to the normal usage of Superrunning as a React with Recharge (0) if you are shoved or knocked back you may take +1 movement maneuver as a free action and you gain +1 DEF until your next Beginning of Turn.

• Tesseract: you aren't really running fast, you're folding space and perhaps time...but as cool as that sounds it is pretty much indistinguishable from actual running to most people. Your Superrunning checks are Intelligence based. You gain on all Superrunning checks. Calamities often indicate a bad trip through hyperspace; a single calamity causes you to lose 1 Grit, a double calamity causes you to lose 3 Grit, a triple calamity causes you to lose 6 Grit, and so on.

• Skates: you actually use skates, roller-blades, or a skate board rather than running; which count as devices. Your Superrunning checks all gain . Calamities tend to indicate wipe outs and leave you prone; a single calamity causes you to lose 1 Wound, a double calamity causes you to lose 3 Wounds, a triple calamity causes you to lose 6 Wounds, and so on. If the device you use is taken away, broken, or lost or if your legs are impeded you can't use Superrunning. Your Skates device has a DEF and Soak equal to (the # of times Superrunning (Skates) has been trained) and Wounds equal to (5 + Character Rank)

• Spinning: you spin like a top at high speeds. Though it might look silly, you are very hard to grab onto. All of your Superrunning checks gain . Anyone attempting to grab or hold onto you while you are spinning adds to their dice pool, and if you are grappled or entangled you add to your dice pool to escape.

• Blur: you are able to cross short distances extremely quickly, blurring from one spot to another at extreme velocity. You can only use Superrunning (Blur) in Combat Mode. You don't make Superrunning checks; instead you are considered to have 1 automatic success for each time you have acquired or trained Superrunning (Blur); thus if you have acquired and trained Superrunning (Blur) once you have two automatic successes. In addition to this usage of Superrunning, if you are the target of an attack and are not impeded then as a React with Recharge (2) you may use your Superrunning (Blur) to relocate yourself to a location within Close range of your original position, and gain +1 DEF until your next Beginning of Turn phase. You may suffer 1 Wound or 3 fatigue (your choice) to use Blur and the basic Strike action together to bull-rush an opponent.

Teleportation

Teleportation (Int): This skill allows a character to move between two points without crossing the corresponding space. Movement maneuvers granted by Teleporation do not affect a character's Velocity and are always treated as being equal to 0; thus even if a character moved 10 movement maneuvers using Teleporation their Velocity would remain unchanged.

Skill checks should be made for distance, if the destination is not perceivable or is unknown, if there is dimensional turbulence or blockage, and so forth. Teleportation is good for moving long distances...but it is also risky.

On any Teleportation check two banes cause a character to suffer 1 stress and calamities differ by type of teleporation. Specializations include position shift, long distance, line of sight, and go home.

A character must choose a Teleporation mode when they take this skill:

• Dematerialization: you are physically discorporating, your molecules are traveling through the air invisibly, and you are being reconstituted at your destination. You may add a # of equal to the number of times you have trained Teleportation (Dematerialization to your checks, but for each you add you also add . Calamities can be very dangerous, representing a materialization problem at your destination; 1 calamity causes 1 Wound, 2 calamities causes 3 Wounds, 3 calamities causes 6 Wounds, 4 calamities causes 10 Wounds, and so on; Soak does not apply.

• Dimensional Hop: you travel through another dimension in the blink of an eye. Your Teleporation skill is Willpower based. You gain on all Teleportation checks. Two or more calamities might indicate you get stuck in the other dimension you travel through and have a little side adventure rather than taking damage.

• Gate: You open gates and go through them. It takes a full Turn to open a Gate, but other people can use them too. A Gate typically stays open for 1 Round (from your current End of Turn phase to your next End of Turn phase) but you can allocate boons or extra successes from your check on a 1:1 basis to put Recharge tokens on a Gate to keep it open longer. A Gate is typically big enough for 2 people to go through at a time, but you can allocate boons and extra successes on a 1:1 basis to double the size of a Gate. This is a very safe means of teleporting as there is no risk of emerging inside of something else; calamities only cause 1 stress each, rather than causing you damage.

• Tesseract: you aren't dematerializing or passing through another dimension, you are "simply" folding space and perhaps time. You gain on all your Teleporation checks. Calamities often indicate a bad trip through hyperspace; a single calamity causes you to lose 1 Grit, a double calamity causes you to lose 3 Grit, a triple calamity causes you to lose 6 Grit, and so on.

• Fluxipacitor: you have some kind of a device that lets you teleport. Your Teleporation checks all gain . Your Fluxipacitor has Unreliable: 2, meaning two or more calamities indicate the device is broken and cannot be used again until repaired; typically you have ended up somewhere other than where you intended. If the device you use is taken away, broken, or lost you can't Teleport. Your Teleporation device has a DEF and Soak equal to (the # of times Teleportation (Fluxipacitor) has been trained) and Wounds equal to (5 + Character Rank). You do not suffer stress from your Teleportation checks.

• Line of Sight: You are only able to teleport to a destination that you can see, but it is entirely safe. You can teleport to a position that you can see but not physically reach by normal means; you could teleport to the other side of a window, or across rooftops, or even into midair (though you will subsequently begin to fall if you do not have some means of preventing it). You can only use Teleporation (Line of Sight) in Combat Mode. You don't make Teleporation checks; instead you are considered to have 1 automatic success for each time you have acquired or trained Teleporation (Line of Sight); thus if you have acquired and trained Teleporation (Line of Sight) once you have two automatic successes. In addition to this usage of Teleportation, if you are the target of an attack then as a React with Recharge (3) you may suffer 1 stress to use your Line of Sight Teleportation to relocate yourself to a location you can see and gain +1 DEF until your next Beginning of Turn phase.

SFX is an important concept in WISH. Short for "Special Effects", SFX group conceptually similar or thematic Stunts into a single category.

Though some Origins and Archetypes are commonly associated with specific SFX (such as Bricks and Might, or Arcanists and Magic), SFX is not the same as an Origin or an Archetype and no SFX is exclusive to an Origin or Archetype. Two characters from different Origins and Archetypes might share a common SFX for their powers.

For instance the Might SFX groups abilities that pertain to being super strong and physically powerful, with Stunts like Haymaker and Dismantle. The Brick Archetype is focused on allowing characters that are unusually strong and tough; it grants the Might SFX outright. The Brawler Archetype is focused on allowing characters that fight in melee really well, but some Brawlers use super strength to accomplish this task; thus the Might SFX is an option for Brawlers as well.

Some Stunts are exclusive to a single SFX, while others are shared by two or more SFX. For instance the Fast Healing Stunt belongs to the Regen, Speed, and Fitness SFX. It is very common for such abilities that span SFX to have specific effects that are available to a character with a specific SFX; for instance though Fast Healing is indeed available to characters with the Speed and Fitness SFX, it has an enhanced effect if the character has the Regen SFX. If an ability has two or more SFX specific benefits, a character gains all the benefits they have the applicable SFX for.

Choosing SFX

Characters gain access to SFX primarily from their current Archetypes, and potentially from their Origin.

If an Origin grants an SFX, that SFX is always considered to be an Archetype SFX for a character of that Origin. For instance, the Technologist Origin grants the Gear SFX, thus a character with the Technologist Origin can always purchase new Stunts or raise the Stunt Rating of Stunts they already have from the Gear SFX, as an Archetype advance which counts towards Tier completion.

Archetypes define what SFX they grant access to. Most Archetypes grant access to one or two SFX sets, though there are exceptions to this rule of thumb. Some Archetypes have a static list of SFX they provide, while others allow a character to choose from a option list, or even to choose "any" SFX when they first enter the Archetype. However, once a character has chosen their SFX for an Archetype they are locked into their selection. Even if a character takes multiple Tiers in the same Archetype their originally selected SFX remain the same (with the exception of the Hybrid Archetype which allows a character to pick a new set of SFX for each Tier).

For example, the superhero Fist-First is entering the Brawler Archetype, which always provides access to the Brawl SFX and requires the selection of one other SFX. Fist-First chooses Regen. Thereafter, even if Fist-First completes a Brawler Tier and starts another, the Brawler SFX provides him with Brawl and Regen. Fist-First cannot later decide he really wanted the Resist SFX instead of Regen, or any other substitution.

Deferred SFX Selection

As an option, if an Archetype offers a selection of SFX the GM may allow a character to defer picking one or more of the open SFX when they enter the Archetype and instead choose later when they are ready to buy a new Stunt from one of the available SFX. This requires a little more bookkeeping to keep straight but allows indecisive players time to make a sound and reasoned decision that they can live with.

Expanding SFX Selection

As an option, the GM may allow a character to expand their SFX options by spending 3 creation points or advances to permanently add a SFX as a Facilitator. If this is allowed, SFX acquired in this fashion are always considered to be Archetype SFX for the character regardless of what Archetype they are currently in, the same as an SFX granted by an Origin. However, advances spent are non-Archetype advances and do not count towards Tier completion.

SFX Equality

Some SFX are relatively straightforward, and simply provide a list of abilities that anyone with access to that SFX may take. Some are broken down into subgroups that each require specific skill specializations; Magic for instance is broken down into subgroups such as Druidic and Elementalism. Various weapon-based sets such as Archery, Melee, and Ranged offer Stunts that represent one or more weapons, as well as Stunts that represent exceptional skill when using an applicable weapon. The Gear SFX is just a list of devices.

There are also six core SFX that are directly associated with a Physical or Mental characteristic and model a superhuman capacity with the associated characteristic. To make best use of these SFX a character should have a rating of 6 or higher for the associated characteristic.

• Might: Strength
• Speed: Agility
• Resist: Toughness
• Acuity: Intelligence
• Ego: Willpower
• Beguile: Fellowship

SFX vary in the number and diversity of abilities available. Some of the SFX are very focused on a particular niche and allow for a very nuanced, but narrow mastery of a particular area. Typically the abilities such an SFX offers that are within its core focus are the gold standard for that sort of ability.

For instance the Bedevil SFX offers many abilities that all fundamentally function the same way; they apply some kind of a detrimental effect to targets. If you specialize in Bedevil and go deep into it's offering you can hose enemies six ways from Sunday. Other SFX may allow you to apply some detrimental effects as part of their offering, but the Bedevil options are solidly better at it and more crippling to an opponent. However the Bedevil SFX doesn't offer any other kind of ability to supplement your overall capabilities with.

Other SFX are more utilitarian and offer a more shallow selection but across a wider gamut, cross cutting multiple concerns. Typically though, the abilities offered are slightly less good than an equivalent offered by a specialist set. For instance, The Stone SFX offers abilities that allow a character to be stronger and tougher, has numerous melee options, a couple of ranged options, and a couple of toolboxy options, but overall the SFX is not as deep in individual areas as the Might, Resist, Melee, or Ranged SFX.

The Fitness SFX is another example of this; it offers a cross section of milder abilities that improve all of your characteristics, particularly Strength, Toughness, Agility, and general survivability. It does not offer abilities that will make you as "strong" as Might does, or as "tough" as Resist does, or as "agile" as Speed does, but if you are looking for a more balanced approach, Fitness is the way to go.

Other sets have one or more features that provide them with a distinct or differentiating flair. For instance, the Feral SFX is heavily slanted towards the Offensive stance, and many of it's Stunts push a character using them deeper towards or into Offensive stance as a by-product of their usage. The Luck SFX has several Stunts that are essentially random or semi-random in nature. The Archery SFX has many unusual genre-appropriate effects modeling super archers found in some comics. Mind, Magic, Morph, Augment, and Bedevil all contain numerous subgroups of abilities with different slants, allowing for an extreme amount of specialization and diversity even within a single SFX.

As the different SFX vary in their breadth and depth, a character of an Origin & Archetype combo that only offers one SFX is wise to consider a multi-functional SFX that provides a solid cross section of options over a deep but narrow SFX that is too specialized to allow for a well-balanced character.

Ultimately a player should choose wisely which SFX are right for their character based upon both concept and practicality.

SFX List

Open

• Open: Stunts that any character can take, regardless of SFX traits. Most also appear in one or more SFX, often with extra SFX specific bonuses; if a character has more than one applicable SFX they gain the benefits of each SFX they have allowing for synergistic abilities.

SFX:

• Acuity: Stunts related to being super smart, perceptive, and aware.
• Archery: Stunts related to using bows and trick arrows effectively.
• Augment: Stunts that boost character abilities or heal damage.
• Bedevil: Stunts that suppress and impair character abilities.
• Beguile: Stunts that rely on charm or affecting the hearts and minds of others or tricking the senses.
• Brawl: Stunts related to unarmed hand to hand combat.
• Cold: Stunts related to manipulating and projecting ice and cold.
• Ego: Stunts related to superhuman willpower, and resisting mental affects.
• Electric: Stunts related to controlling and projecting electricity.
• Feral: Stunts related to having animalistic traits or capabilities.
• Force: Stunts related to the projection of pure force.
• Fire: Stunts related to controlling and projecting fire.
• Fitness: Stunts related to being athletic and fit.
• Gear: Stunts related to manipulating technology and using super tech devices.
• Grenadier: Stunts related to grenades, bombs, and similar devices.
• Luck: Stunts related to probability manipulation.
• Magic: Stunts related to magic; misc stereotypical abilities mostly.
• Melee: Stunts related to using hand to hand weapons such as swords, knives, or claws effectively.
• Might: Stunts related to being superhumanly strong.
• Mind: Stunts related to the mind, telepathy, domination, hallucinations, and other mental powers.
• Morph: Stunts related to changing size, shape and / or density.
• Radiation: Stunts related to controlling and projecting radiation.
• Ranged: Stunts related to using ranged weapons effectively.
• Regen: Stunts related to healing oneself quickly.
• Resist: Stunts related to being superhumanly tough.
• Shadow: Stunts related to suppressing light, manipulating shadows, and projecting dark energy.
• Screen: Stunts related to protective fields, bubbles, and screens.
• Stone: Stunts related to manipulating dirt and stone and taking on stone like attributes.
• Sonic: Stunts related to controlling and projecting sound.
• Speed: Stunts related to being superhumanly fast.
• TK: Stunts related to telekinesis.

Facilitators are benefits or advantages that make things a little easier for a character. They are effectively the opposite of hindrances. Some facilitators grant a flat bonus to a character, while others modify something else, such as a Stunt, in an advantageous way. Character's do not have to have any facilitators; they exist to help define edge cases or concepts.

Characters generally pay for facilitators with creation points during character creation, but can also gain new facilitators after play starts with advances. Facilitators always require GM's approval. Advances spent on facilitators are non-Archetype advances and do not count towards Tier completion.

Some sample facilitators are provided, but players and GM's are encouraged to be creative.

Example Facilitators

Wealthy: superheroes don't really buy much (their abilities, even "gear", are modeled as Stunts), but "money" is a useful pretext for various social encounters. Each 1 advance a character spends on the Wealth facilitator grants to any social situation where having or spending money would be helpful. A character can spend up to 5 creation points or advances on Wealth.

Base: some superheroes have a base to hang out in and call home. The more advances invested in a base the better it is. Characters on a team can pool any advances they have spent on a base together to collectively have a bigger base than they could support individually; characters can also choose to keep their own private cave...er...base if they prefer. Bases are primarily just a useful pretext and venue for roleplaying, but can have a larger role in the story if the players and GM prefer. A base can potentially grant a character dice bonuses on some checks wherever it seems appropriate; for instance a base with a fully stocked garage might grant a bonus on Repair or Tech checks, while a base with an infirmary might grant a bonus to Medicine or Recovery checks.

• 1 point: a small personal pad with basic amenities.
• 2 points: a larger and / or more furbished base; a very small superteam could coexist but it would be crowded. It has all the amenities to satisfy a character's typical needs. Security measures are limited if any.
• 3 points: spacious and respectably equipped base with room for one or two esoteric areas like a specialized lab, a super gym, an underground jet hanger, and other such niceties. It can have some reasonable super-defenses, but the characters who reside therein are still the real security. A staff of one or two is a possibility.
• 4 points: a well equipped base that is everything a 3 point base is, and more. It has multiple esoteric areas, posh living accommodations, a full scale "war room" or equivalent, and other such luxuries. It might be in an exotic locale. Security features are good enough to keep out the riff raff; only serious threats can make it through. A staff of 5 or even more is doable.
• 5+ points: each additional point dials the grandiosity up a notch. Better security. Alien hyper-technology. On an asteroid. At the bottom of the sea. On the far side of the moon, in the neighborhood with an oxygen based atmosphere. In another dimension. And so forth. This kind of base is almost always due to an aggregation of points from multiple characters on the same superteam, and also will tend to feature prominently in the campaign as a reoccurring plot element.

Privileged Position: a character might have a title, rank, special position, or other social artifact that grants them special privileges, though it may also come with some requirements as well. The more important the rank, the more advances it should be worth, but only if it actually advantages the character in some way. A player and GM can negotiate an appropriate cost and any associated benefits for a given rank.

Tireless: one of your Stunts is less tiring than normal. Pick one of your Stunts that has a Fatigue cost and decrease its cost by Fatigue: 1. This costs 1 creation point or advance. This facilitator can be taken multiple times, applied to a different Stunt each time.

Stress-less: one of your Stunts is less stress-full than normal. Pick one of your Stunts that has a stress cost and decrease its cost by Stress: 1. This costs 1 creation point or advance. This facilitator can be taken multiple times, applied to a different Stunt each time.

Frequent: One of your Stunts is available more often than normal. Pick one of your Stunts that has a Recharge time and decrease its Recharge by 1. This costs 1 creation point or advance. This facilitator can be taken multiple times, applied to a different Stunt each time.

Prolonged: One of your Stunts lasts long than normal. Pick one of your Stunts with the Ongoing Trait and increase its Recharge by 3. This costs 2 creation points or advances. This facilitator can be taken multiple times, applied to a different Stunt each time.

Effortless: one of your Stunts is a staple for you and can be counted upon. Pick one of your Stunts and decrease its cost by Fortune: 1. This costs 1 creation point or advance. This facilitator can be taken multiple times, applied to a different Stunt each time.

Easy: one of your Stunts is easier to use than normal. Pick one of your Stunts that has a check with additional difficulty and decrease its difficulty by . This costs 2 creation points or advances. This facilitator can be taken multiple times, applied to a different Stunt each time.

Reliable: One of your Stunts is regular as clock work. Pick one of your Stunts that requires a check. You gain to your dice pool with that Stunt. This costs 1 creation point or advance. This facilitator can be taken multiple times, applied to a different Stunt each time.

Just Wing It: Pick one of your Stunts that has the Prepare requirement; it no longer requires Prepare and you add to it's dice pool. This costs 1 creation point or advances. This facilitator can be taken multiple times, applied to a different Stunt each time.

Unpredictable: One of your stunts works in unpredictable ways. Pick one of your Stunts that has a check. You gain to your dice pool with that Stunt. This costs 1 creation point or advance. This facilitator can be taken multiple times, applied to a different Stunt each time.

Contemplative: One of your Stunts requires peace of mind and serenity to use. Select one of your Stunts; it cannot be used unless you are in a Defensive stance.You can convert a number of additional characteristic dice to Defensive dice equal to the Stunt's Rating, even beyond your maximum Defensive stance depth. Note that this does not add additional dice to the dice pool; it only allows more characteristic dice to be converted. For instance, a character with 6 Willpower currently at Defensive (2) using a Contemplative Stunt with a Rating of 3 based on Discipline (Wp) would normally start with based on their current stance. However, as the Stunt is Contemplative, the dice pool would instead be after three more characteristic dice are converted to defensive dice due to this facilitator. This costs 1 creation point or advances. This facilitator can be taken multiple times, applied to a different Stunt each time.

Impetuous: One of your Stunts requires boldness of action and acting in the moment without hesitation. Select one of your Stunts; it cannot be used unless you are in an Offensive stance. You convert a number of additional characteristic dice to Offensive dice equal to the Stunt's Rating, even beyond your maximum Offensive stance depth. Note that this does not add additional dice to the dice pool; it only allows more characteristic dice to be converted. For instance, a character with 6 Agility currently at Offensive (2) using a Impetuous Stunt with a Rating of 3 based on Coordination (Ag) would normally start with based on their current stance. However, as the Stunt is Offensive, the dice pool would instead be after three more characteristic dice are converted to offensive dice due to this facilitator. This costs 1 creation point or advances. This facilitator can be taken multiple times, applied to a different Stunt each time.

Sometimes what really defines a hero is the challenges they overcome to be heroic, more than the abilities or traits that make them stand out from the masses. A character has the option of taking one or more Hindrances that present problems to be overcome, or limitations which must be worked around, or a handicap to be endured.

Hindrances are optional, and all hindrances must be approved by the GM. Hindrances are generally taken during character creation, but events in play might provide story driven catalysts for new Hindrances.

In exchange for hampering a character in some way, hindrances are rated as being equivalent to a certain number of advances that a character may use to select other abilities when they take the Hindrance. Advances from hindrances can generally be used for anything, but are considered to be non-Archetype advances and do not count towards Archetype Tier completion. Advances from hindrances are also not experience points and do not count towards Character Rank.

Often, the hindrances a character has are such an integral part of what makes that character interesting that to overcome a hindrance would be detrimental to the character's appeal and distinctiveness. However, a character can later overcome a hindrance by paying back the advances they received from it. The GM should make this a story driven character development process that requires some in-game effort to accomplish or else Hindrances just become a sort of power up bank that grants advances on loan to be paid back later.

As all hindrances must be approved by the GM, it is entirely in the hands of the GM to ensure hindrances are used to further creative and interesting character creation and not as an opportunity for min maxing. In any event, a player character with more than 5 advances worth of hindrances should be looked at closely.

Some sample hindrances are provided, but players and GM's are encouraged to be creative.

Example Hindrances

Overconfident: you always underestimates the difficulties you face or overestimate your capabilities or both. Cautiousness and delay are not your style. Each defensive step you take on your Stance Meter costs you 1 stress. This grants 4 hindrance points and can be overcome with 4 advances.

Timid: you are not bold and have difficulty asserting yourself. You tend to see to your own protection first and foremost, and to hesitate before engaging. Each offensive step you take on your Stance Meter costs you 1 stress. This grants 4 hindrance points and can be overcome with 4 advances.

Obsessed with X: you are obsessed with something, which you must select when this Hindrance is taken. When in the presence of the object of your obsession you have a nearly uncontrollable urge to pursue, examine, or otherwise pay attention to it, to the exclusion of all else. You must spend 1 fortune point to resist this urge each scene, and even so it is a hard fought inner battle that causes you to suffer 1 stress per Turn until you are no longer in its presence. This grants 5 hindrance points and. The taking of stress can be overcome for 3 advances, and the entire Hindrance can be overcome for 5 advances.

Anathema: you have a critical weakness to a certain thing, which you must select when this Hindrance is taken. The thing can be rare, but not impossibly so, and the greater the rarity the more severe the affect of exposure should be. Exposure causes you to add some number of and / or to suffer some number of Wounds or Grit each Turn that you are exposed. This Hindrance grants 1 hindrance point per and 1 hindrance point per point of Wounds or Grit lost. Thus if you suffer and 3 Grit when exposed to your anathema, then it would grant 5 hindrance points. Exposure distance is Close range by default and you gain 1 additional hindrance point for each range category beyond Close exposure occurs for you; this if you are affected when you Anathema is within Long range then you gain 2 more hindrance points. This can be overcome for a number of advances equal to the number of hindrance points granted.

Bizarre Looking: You don't look normal. You add to all social encounters with "normals". This grants 1 hindrance point and can be overcome with 1 advance.

Scary Looking: Not only do you not look normal, you are actually frightening to look upon. You add to all social encounters with "normals" except for Intimidation with which you gain . This grants 2 hindrance points and can be overcome with 2 advances.

Monstrous Looking: You aren't just scary, you are simply monstrous. You add to all social encounters with "normals" except for Intimidation with which you gain . Furthermore, you gain +1 Psyche from your own feeling of disassociation. This grants 6 hindrance points and can be overcome with 6 advances.

Ogrish: You are permanently 10 to 15 feet tall and proportionately bigger and heavier. You gain +1 Strength, +1 Toughness, +1 Soak, -1 Agility, and opponents targeting you with Melee or Ranged Attacks add to their dice pool; characteristic modifications affect both your rating and your maxima and are applied after all other modifiers. You have problems fitting into a culture where things are sized for people much smaller than you, and suffer disadvantages inside buildings or other enclosed spaces that are too small for you. This grants 1 hindrance point and can be overcome with 1 advance, but you lose all bonuses as well as penalties.

Secret Id: You maintain a normal identity, which you keep a closely guarded secret both to afford yourself some anonymity and also to protect your loved ones from unscrupulous enemies. Keeping your identity a secret, maintaining your separate existence, and preventing those close to you from discovering you other life is a constant burden and complicating factor for you. This grants 3 hindrance point and can be overcome for 3 advances.

Alter Ego: You don't just maintain a Secret Identity, your heroic identity and your alternate identity actually have completely different forms and capabilities. Generally this is functionally equivalent to the Secret Id hindrance (though further complications might allow for a more significant hindrance). However, if your Alter Ego is under the GM's control this hindrance grants 6 hindrance points; there should be a trigger clause or two defined that will cause your character to switch back and forth between forms. It can be reduced back down to be functionally identical to Secret Id for 3 advances (you regain control of both the heroic identity and the alter ego), or overcome entirely for 6 advances. Note that while this well worn genre convention works well in print media, it may not play so well in an RPG format for all players and GM's. Choose wisely.

Dark Past You did something that you'd rather not have other people know about (or are accused of it). You've tried to put it behind you and cover up your tracks, but every now and then it threatens to become exposed, forcing you to take further action to keep it covered up. This grants 1 hindrance point and can be overcome for 1 advance.

Stuck On: One of your passive Stunts is stuck on. This can only be taken if you have a candidate passive Stunt that would inconvenience you in some way if it cannot be turned off. This grants 1 hindrance point and can be overcome for 1 advance. This hindrance can be taken multiple times, applied to a different Stunt each time.

Erratic: you have difficulties controlling your abilities. Pick one of your Stunts that requires a check. You always add to your dice pool with that Stunt. This grants 1 hindrance point and can be overcome with 1 advance. This hindrance can be taken multiple times, applied to a different Stunt each time.

Tiring: one of your Stunts tires you faster than normal. Pick one of your Stunts and increase its cost by Fatigue: 1. This grants 1 hindrance point and can be overcome with 1 advance. This hindrance can be taken multiple times, applied to a different Stunt each time.

Stressful: one of your Stunts wears you out faster than normal. Pick one of your Stunts and increase its cost by Stress: 1. This grants 1 hindrance point and can be overcome with 1 advance. This hindrance can be taken multiple times, applied to a different Stunt each time.

Infrequent: you take a little longer than usual to recover from one of your Stunts. Pick one of your Stunts and increase its Recharge by 1. This grants 1 hindrance point and can be overcome with 1 advance. This hindrance can be taken multiple times, applied to a different Stunt each time.

Occasional: one of your Stunts only works when everything is just so. Pick one of your Stunts and increase its cost by Fortune: 1. This grants 1 hindrance point and can be overcome with 1 advance. This hindrance can be taken multiple times, applied to a different Stunt each time.

Difficult: one of your Stunts is more difficult to use than normal. Pick one of your Stunts that has a check and increase its difficulty by . This grants 2 hindrance points and can be overcome with 2 advances. This hindrance can be taken multiple times, applied to a different Stunt each time.

Conditions are temporary modifiers or states that can affect characters. Most conditions are either malign or benign, but some are more complicated and are a mix of bad and good things.

Durations

The individual conditions describe what they do and how long they last...but not always; some conditions are longer lasting.

Brief

Brief conditions are temporary, and are rated with a numerical duration of counter tokens which are removed 1 per round in the same way that recharge tokens are removed from actions. When there are no more tokens on a Brief condition, the effect expires and the condition is removed.

By default, Brief conditions stack but do not aggregate. If a character has multiple brief conditions affecting them simultaneously, they all apply even if they have the same name. Unless otherwise directed to (such as for the Intoxicated / Drunk conditions), you do not just add the indicated number of new recharge tokens to an existing effect.

Instead put a tracker into play with the indicated number of recharge tokens for each new condition and remove a recharge token from each condition each round even if the character already has a condition of the same name. They all apply their stated effect.

For instance, if a character has the Exposed condition with 5 recharge tokens on it, and something adds the Exposed condition again with 3 recharge tokens, don't put 3 recharge tokens on the existing Exposed condition to make it last longer. Instead put a second Exposed condition into play with 3 recharge tokens on it. The effect of both Exposed conditions is applied to the character for three rounds, after which the second shorter duration condition expires and the original continues for two more rounds.

Occasionally an effect will grant a "Brief" condition, but describe something to turn it off rather than give a number of counter tokens. This indicates that a normally Brief condition is being escalated to be a Contingent or perhaps Encounter condition. For instance, an effect might grant the Exposed condition until a maneuver is spent to recover rather than lasting for a set number of rounds.

Encounter

Encounter conditions last for the remainder of an encounter, as the name indicates. In a combat encounter this is until combat ends or a Rally Step occurs, whichever comes first. In Story mode this is usually a Scene but might last for an Act or even potentially an entire Adventure.

Encounter conditions do not stack; if a character is affected by the same Encounter duration condition twice the second application has no effect and is ignored.

Note, this is called Lingering in WHFRP3, but this term has been reassigned as a timing trait.

Contingent

Contingent conditions define a state, trigger, stimuli, or circumstance that causes the listed effect to occur or be applied and typically a means to get rid of the condition. In some cases this is a cause and effect relationship; a character might contract a disease and thus suffer an ill effect which can be gotten rid of by "curing" the disease. An item might get broken which causes it to be problematic to use, which can be gotten rid of by repairing the item.

Rather than a specific duration contingent conditions have a severity and a narrative description that must be interpreted. Contingent conditions tend to be a little more complicated than other conditions and have sub classifications.

• Critical Wounds: when characters are severely injured they suffer critical wounds which are specific and have a description, a mechanical effect, and a severity that indicates how difficult it is to recover from or heal the critical wound. In addition to the mechanical effect, a critical wound effectively lowers a character's Wound Threshold by one until it is healed as it counts as a Wound. Thus if a character has 14 Wounds and currently has 2 critical wounds, they can only take 12 more Wounds before being reduced to 0 Wounds and knocked unconscious. Critical wounds also are what determines character death; if a character's current number of critical wounds exceeds their Toughness, they are dead.

• Schisms: when characters are severely troubled or exposed to things that their minds cannot deal with, they suffer schisms. Schisms are generally temporary, but can become a permanent insanity. Schisms have a description, mechanical effect, and a severity that indicates how difficult it is to recover from the schism. Additionally, a schism effectively lower a character's Grit threshold by one until it is recovered from. Thus if a character has 14 Grit and currently has 2 schisms, they can only lose 12 more Grit before being reduced to 0 Grit and rendered catatonic or otherwise unable to function. Schisms are also what determines character playability; if a character's current number of schisms exceeds their Willpower they are rendered demented and they fall under GM control.

• Illness: though it is unusual in a superheroic context, characters sometimes acquire illnesses. Illnesses have a description, a mechanical effect, and a severity that indicates how difficult it is to overcome or recover from illness. Illnesses are usually temporary, but a character is inconvenienced or worse while the illness persists. Some illnesses are diseases and are much more difficult to get rid of. Some illnesses count as a Critical Wound, where noted, and affect the survivability of a character in addition to their normal effect.

• Alteration: radiation accidents, serums, spells, random mutations...these things tend to happen in superheroic games. Of course, often times these form part of an origin story and are already represented as part of who a character is and why they are superheroic or part of their advancement as new and interesting powers are gained. Alteration conditions are not intrinsic, permanent parts of a character but simply some change that is applied to them temporarily. Alterations are often at least partially beneficial. Alterations have a description, a mechanical effect, and a severity that represents how powerful or significant the Alteration is. The severity of an Alteration can be added to a character's total point value when determining that character's over all power; a 60 point character with 10 points of Alterations is effectively a 70 point character until the Alteration condition is removed.

Brief Conditions (Malign)

The following table list sample malign brief conditions and a summary of their effects.

A column of percentile based random roll ranges is also provided in case a GM wishes to assign a random condition without using a deck of condition cards.

Brief Conditions (Malign)
Roll	Name	Summary	Severity
1-5	Demoralized	Add to skill checks.	1
6-10	Sluggish	Suffer 1 additional fatigue for each maneuver you perform during your turn.	1
11-15	Sickened	When you suffer fatigue suffer the listed amount of fatigue +1.	1
16-20	Susceptible	When you suffer 1 or more Wounds you suffer 1 stress.	1
21-25	Intoxicated	Add to all checks. If you gain this condition again, apply the Drunk condition (if it isn't already applied), and move all recharge tokens off of the Intoxicated conditions you suffer from onto the Drunk condition.	1
26-30	Hindered	When you perform a movement maneuver, you suffer +1 fatigue.	1
31-35	Exposed	Opponents add to their dice pools when attacking you.	1
36-30	Overwhelmed	Add to physical checks.	2
31-35	Perplexed	Add to mental checks.	2
36-40	Exhausted	You cannot recover fatigue. Add to physical checks.	2
41-45	Shocked	You cannot recover stress. Add to mental checks.	2
46-50	Slowed	Add 1 recharge token to all of your non-Ongoing recharging actions. You cannot spend fortune points to remove recharge tokens while this condition is in effect.	2
51-54	Frightened	When exposed to Fear based effects suffer an amount of stress and move a number of steps towards neutral stance equal to the Fear rating of the effect.	2
55-58	Deafened	You have been temporarily deafened. You add to any check that relies on hearing, which includes social checks based on communication. You will have difficulties coordinating with teammates, responding to audible cues, heeding warnings, and so forth.	2
59-60	Spiked	One of your Stunts is treated as having -1 SR while this condition lasts. If a Stunt is reduced to 0 or less it stops functioning. Passive Stunts cannot be reduced to less than SR1, and Gear Stunts are not affected by this condition.	2
61-62	Weakened	Add to all Strength based checks. Your Strength rating is considered to be it's current rating -1; i.e. if you have Strength 5 you have an effective Strength of 4 while this condition is in effect. If you are reduced to Strength 0 you cannot carry anything, cannot move more than 1 movement maneuver per Turn, and can barely even manipulate light weight objects. If you are reduced to less than 0 Strength you can't move at all and are considered to be impeded.	2
62-63	Depleted	Add to all Toughness based checks. Your Toughness rating is considered to be it's current rating -1; i.e. if you have Toughness 5 you have an effective Toughness of 4 while this condition is in effect. If you are reduced to Toughness 0 you cannot undertake strenuous activity, cannot move more than 1 movement maneuver per Turn, and when you suffer Wounds you also suffer 1 fatigue. If you are reduced to less than 0 Toughness you can't move at all and are considered to be impeded.	2
64-65	Impaired	Add to all Agility based checks. Your Agility rating is considered to be it's current rating -1; i.e. if you have Agility 5 you have an effective Agility of 4 while this condition is in effect. If you are reduced to Agility 0 you cannot manipulate anything more complex than a light switch, cannot move more than 1 movement maneuver per Turn, and bump into and knock things over. If you are reduced to less than Agility 0 you are reduced to crawling at such a low rate of speed that it's left to the GM's discretion how long it take you to get anywhere and you are considered to be impeded.	2
66-67	Baffled	Add to all Intelligence based checks. Your Intelligence rating is considered to be it's current rating -1; i.e. if you have Intelligence 5 you have an effective Intelligence of 4 while this condition is in effect. If you are reduced to Intelligence 0 you cannot manipulate anything more complex than a light switch, cannot move more than 1 movement maneuver per Turn as you forget where you were going, and bump into and knock things over, and are incapable of coherent thought or speech. If you are reduced to less than Intelligence 0 you sit or stand and do little more than drool, or bumble around in random directions and you are considered to be impeded.	2
68-69	Depressed	Add to all Willpower based checks. Your Willpower rating is considered to be it's current rating -1; i.e. if you have Willpower 5 you have an effective Willpower of 4 while this condition is in effect. If you are reduced to Willpower 0 you cannot undertake strenuous activity, resist social or mental attacks, cannot move more than 1 movement maneuver per Turn, and when you lose Grit you also suffer 1 stress. If you are reduced to less than 0 Willpower you can't move at all and are considered to be impeded.	2
70-71	Belittled	Add to all Fellowship based checks. Your Fellowship rating is considered to be it's current rating -1; i.e. if you have Fellowship 5 you have an effective Fellowship of 4 while this condition is in effect. If you are reduced to Fellowship 0 you cannot speak coherently, cannot make social overtures of any kind, and engender feelings of contempt and distaste in others. If you are reduced to less than 0 Fellowship you can't communicate at all or effectively interact with others and are considered to be impeded.	2
72-75	Imperiled	Opponents remove from their dice pools when attacking you.	2
76-77	Challenged	Add to all checks.	3
78-79	Delayed	While this condition is in effect, you must take the bottom most initiative tracker available for your superteam. During your End of Turn phase if the initiative tracker you used is not already at the Initiative 0 step on the Initiative Tracker, move it down one step.	3
80-81	Thunderstruck	When you assemble any dice pool while this condition is in effect, immediately prior to rolling remove one (if any are available to be removed). When you are dealt damage, you take +1 damage.	3
82-83	Ignited	You take damage immediately when this condition is applied and again each turn during your End of Turn phase equal to the number of recharge tokens remaining on this condition. Soak applies. Recharge tokens can be removed on a 1:1 basis with maneuvers both by yourself and by allies engaged with you.	3
84-85	Impeded	You cannot take movement maneuvers. Opponents remove from their dice pools when attacking you.	3
86-87	Staggered	Add 1 recharge token to all of your non-Ongoing recharging actions. Your stance is immediately reset to neutral. You cannot change your stance while this condition is in effect.	4
88-89	Held	You cannot take movement maneuvers or physical actions. DEF based upon being able to avoid attacks via dodging or blocking is not usable. Opponents remove from their dice pools when attacking you.	4
90-93	Lulled	You are conscious but cannot take any maneuvers or actions, including mental actions. DEF based upon being able to avoid attacks via dodging or blocking is not usable. Opponents remove from their dice pools when attacking you. Remove 1 recharge counter from this condition for each Wound you suffer or Grit you lose on a 1:1 basis.	4
94-95	Helpless	You are conscious but cannot take any maneuvers or actions, including mental actions. DEF based upon being able to avoid attacks via dodging or blocking is not usable. Opponents remove from their dice pools when attacking you. This is equivalent to being unconscious, but ends immediately once this condition is removed.	5
96	Drained	Add to all checks. Your Strength, Toughness, Dexterity, Intelligence, Willpower, and Fellowship ratings are considered to be their current rating -1.	5
97	Drunk	If you gain additional Drunk or Intoxicated conditions, rather than put them into play put all of their recharge tokens onto this condition and discard them. Add to all checks. If this condition gains recharge tokens and the number of recharge tokens is 10 or higher, roll randomly on the Brief Condition (Malign) chart and apply the indicated condition; leave 9 recharge tokens on this condition and move the remainder to the randomly rolled new condition.	5
98	Sapped	All of your Stunts are treated as having -1 SR while this condition lasts. If a Stunt is reduced to 0 or less it stops functioning. Passive Stunts cannot be reduced to less than SR1, and Gear Stunts are not affected by this condition.	5
99	Blinded	You have been temporarily blinded. You do not get the benefit of your innate DEF trait vs. attackers though other forms of DEF might apply if they don't rely on you seeing an incoming attack and getting out of its way. You add to any check that relies on sight, can't take deliberate movements (direction is randomized) without some kind of non-visual cue to follow, and are generally rendered combat ineffective. You can attempt to make a hearing based or touch based Observation check as a maneuver each Turn to reduce your dice pool penalty by , but the difficulty of this Observation check will vary based upon circumstances and what you are attempting to do.	5
100	Worse than you thought	Roll twice on this table

Brief Conditions (Benign)

The following table list sample benign brief conditions and a summary of their effects.

A column of percentile based random roll ranges is also provided in case a GM wishes to assign a random condition without using a deck of condition cards.

Brief Conditions (Benign)
Roll	Name	Summary	Severity
1-5	Invigorated	During your End of Turn phase you may remove 1 recharge token from one of your recharging non-Ongoing abilities.	1
6-10	Refreshed	During your Beginning of Turn phase you recover 1 stress and 1 fatigue.	1
11-15	Inspired	You add to all of your dice pools.	1
16-20	Energized	During your turn you may take +1 maneuver without suffering fatigue.	1
21-25	Honed	One your attacks inflicts +1 damage	1
26	Camouflaged	You are difficult to detect when stationary or moving carefully; all checks to detect you add . You can attempt to take a movement maneuver, or make small movements or adjustments such as readying a weapon or turning in place by making a Stealth (Ag) check vs Average 2d difficulty; if you fail or roll a calamity, remove all recharge tokens from this card and discard it. If you make a physical attack, remove all recharge tokens from this card and discard it.	2
27-29	Metabolized	During your End of Turn phase you regain 1 Wound.	2
30-32	Soothed	During your End of Turn phase you regain 1 Grit.	2
33-35	Favored	During your End of Turn phase you regain 1 Fortune.	2
36-38	Calmed	When you are in a Defensive stance, you add to all of your dice pools. When this condition is first applied to you if you are not in an Defensive stance, you may suffer 2 stress to stay in your current stance, or else you immediately move to 1 step deep into an Defensive stance.	2
39-41	Irritated	When you are in an Offensive stance, you add to all of your dice pools. When this condition is first applied to you if you are not in an Offensive stance, you may suffer 2 stress to stay in your current stance, or else you immediately move to 1 step deep into an Offensive stance.	2
42-44	Strengthened	You gain +1 Strength.	2
45-47	Toughened	You gain +1 Toughness.	2
48-50	Quickened	You gain +1 Agility.	2
51-53	Brightened	You gain +1 Intelligence.	2
54-56	Encouraged	You gain +1 Willpower.	2
57-59	Cheered	You gain +1 Fellowship.	2
60-62	Warded	You gain +1 DEF.	2
63-65	Shielded	You gain +1 Soak.	2
66-68	Prepped	You gain +1 Psyche.	2
69-71	Buffed	You gain +1 SR with one of your Stunts.	2
72-74	Accelerated	During your End of Turn phase, move the initiative marker you just used up one step; it is not usable again this Round.	2
75-77	Focused	You add to all of your dice pools.	3
78-80	Protected	Opponents targeting you add to their dice pool.	3
81	Hidden	You are difficult to detect. People generally wont notice you unless you draw attention or expose yourself (such as by strolling across a sunlit field while whistling Dixie), and all checks to detect you add , until you attack. If you attack, remove all recharge tokens from this card and discard it.	3
82-84	Renewed	During your End of Turn phase you regain 1 stress, 1 fatigue, 1 fortune	3
85-87	Regenerated	During your End of Turn phase you regain 1 Wound, 1 Grit	3
88-90	Enraged	All of your attacks inflict +1 damage. When this condition is first applied to you if you are not in an Offensive stance, you may suffer 2 stress to stay in your current stance, or else you immediately move to 1 step deep into an Offensive stance.	4
91	Cloaked	You are invisible, until you attack. If you attack, remove all recharge tokens from this card and discard it.	4
92-94	Enlivened	During your End of Turn phase you may remove 1 recharge token from all of your recharging non-Ongoing abilities.	4
95-96	Vitalized	During your End of Turn phase you regain 1 stress, 1 fatigue, 1 fortune, 1 Wound, 1 Grit.	4
97	Disappeared	You are invisible, even if you attack. Opponents that cannot sense you do not get the benefit of their innate DEF trait vs you though other forms of DEF might apply if they don't rely on seeing an incoming attack and getting out of its way (some force field or aura effects grant DEF via deflection vs dodging). Opponents add to attacks targeting you unless they can make a hearing or touch based Observation check or a relevant Detect check as a maneuver each Turn to reduce their dice pool penalty by .	5
98	Blurred	During your Turn you may take an additional action	5
99	Boosted	You gain +1 SR with all of your Stunts.	5
100	Better than it seemed	Roll twice on this table