EON Core Rules

Preface

"And what have you got, at the end of the day?

What have you got, to take away?

A bottle of whiskey and a new set of lies.

Blinds on the window and a pain behind the eyes.."

-Dire Straits, Private Investigations

Welcome to another attempt to create a better roleplaying game system. This is not to say EON is perfect, on the contrary, but rather it is an attempt to solve things I found lacking in other systems. In the end it doesn't matter what system you use, just as long as it works for you. Comments are always welcome, provided I can use them to improve this project.

EON is set up in the following, sequential, manner intended to guide you into EON roleplaying without serious traumatic experiences:

1.	Roleplaying, what is it about and what you might run into.

2.	Characters, how to describe a person in EON game statistics.

3.	System, to deal with challenges that characters face in a consistent, unbiased way.

In the other two volumes you will find material to outfit your setting. The Compendium holds equipment, vehicles, magic, creatures and rules to go with them - reference material for you and your players. The Guidebook contains two settings that you can use to start playing immediately. These volumes are still under construction, but this one is how I think it should be.

EON is designed to be modular. Some parts, such as psychological tests, can be omitted from play. They were designed to give more detail to a group of players who want this from their RPG. EON was also designed to be used with different settings. You can take the material you like into you own setting and leave out the rest. Also remember that this is a work of fiction and does not necessarily depict the views of the authors. It tries to capture fictive worlds in dice systems. All similarities to actual persons, living or dead are coincidental and any metaphysical conclusions should in no way be taken as criticism directed at other people's (or our own) beliefs or religions. Be real, it's just a game.

A few words of thanks are in order, mostly to my brother for his (usually) constructive criticism, my mother and friends who all contributed with opinions or advice and to other RPG writers who often came up with solutions better than the ones I initially thought of. Without infringing on their trademarks or rights, I should say I have benefited from a few thoughts from the West End's Star Wars, White Wolf's Mage: the Ascension, Chaosium's Call of Cthulu, Fasa's Shadowrun, Steve Jackson Games' GURPS Cyberpunk, TSR's Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Target Games' Kult and the authors of Exile. As Newton once said, "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants." Further thanks go to Friedrich Nietzsche, as his works helped me realize what a roleplaying game is about: a chance to make a world you want and live in it the way you see fit. If only it was this convenient in real life..

I would like to dedicate this game to my brother, Casper. He introduced me to this hobby, contributed greatly to this game and has also been a the best friend a man can have through many hard times.

Table of contents

Preface	I

Table of contents	II

Roleplaying	1

Genesis of a role playing game system	1

The group	2

Separating characters and players	2

Styles of play(ers)	3

The Setting	3

Stories and plots	4

Presentation tips	5

Freedom of action	6

Characters	8

Attribute and skill ratings	8

Character creation	9

Attributes	9

Skills	10

Master list	11

Skill specializations	11

Traits	12

Breathing life into the character	13

Status	13

Wealth	13

Lifestyle	14

Appearance	14

Equipment	15

Changing characters	15

Change by story causes	15

Training	15

Experience	16

Systems	18

Skill tests	18

Variations	19

First times and neglect (optional)	20

Willpower	20

Psychological tests	21

Trauma and sanity	21

Time and movement	22

Chases	23

Fatigue	23

Combat	24

Declaration and initiative	24

Attack and evasion	25

Cover, shielding and size	26

Vision, hearing and range	27

Damage	28

Weapons	28

Falling and collisions	28

Fire and heat	28

Explosions	29

Electricity	29

Drugs and poisons	29

Deprivation	30

Cold	30

Armour	31

Stun damage	31

Wounds	31

Healing	32

Damaged objects	33

Damaged vehicles	33

An example: Thessia's story	35

Appendix A: Alternative settings	37

Appendix B: Story-writing help	38

Appendix C: Character sheet	40

Appendix D: Character job suggestions	42

Appendix E: Skill descriptions	43

Appendix F: Trait descriptions	50

Physical	50

Social	51

Mental	53

Supernatural	56

Roleplaying

If you are reading this, you might be familiar with roleplaying games (RPGs) and why there are such thick tomes out there that you supposedly need to play a game that is all in your head. I will immediately agree that some RPGs are more like studies in mathematics than like a game and that playing them is like taking high school finals in terms of remembering text. Nevertheless, even the good games fill up quite a few pages. To illustrate why, the following depicts the evolution of an RPG. The experienced can skip it and move to the Characters chapter (page 8) . The sections Stories and plots, Presentation tips and Freedom of action (page 4 and onwards in this chapter) are intended as inspiration for the (aspirant) referee.

Genesis of a role playing game system

A group of people get together and want to make a story out of their imaginations. They probably won't write it down for posterity, the fun is in the telling and coming up with a good tale. The tale is just beginning and no one really has a good idea of what is going to happen. They divide the parts between them. After a main cast has been decided, one of them takes the role of all the extras (also called non-player characters, or NPCs). This same person also gets to describe the setting and the world around them. This poor, overworked person is usually experienced at this kind of game and thinks he or she can handle the work that comes with it.

As the tale is being told there is a need to compare how good certain characters are at what they do. So the player make list of their characters' skills and rate these. One of them is very strong and another is more seductive, another one went through medical school and so on. To make sure that a single character doesn't dominate the others, they set a limit on the number of points every player can assign to his character's skill ratings. This makes them fairly equal in all, but allows them to specialize in a certain field. The one who was coming up with the world around them takes these characteristics and the personalities of the character's into account and comes up with some scenes in which the characters have to interact with others, overcome difficulties or fight foes. Depending on the outcome, the story will evolve into any number of directions, which make for new scenes that must be put together.

To keep things more exciting, the player don't want their character's to succeed or not by simply saying 'it works'. In order to let luck have a say they decide to roll a die and compare that to the skill rating to see if the character succeeds at his or her task. As they do this more often, the die roll evolves into an often complex system for comparing skills and equipment in any circumstance. To resolve rules disputes the appoint an arbiter or referee. This is going to be the same person as the one who also managed extras and the rest of the world. This may look like too much, but this person has a better perspective on the story as the others tend to think from their character's point of view. Also, any strange things that happen are then much more easily incorporated in the story. This, now heavily overworked, person is given the title of Game Master or Storyteller or something and is now the supreme Higher Power in this world. Still, the fun is in having the world interact with the characters and in making a story together, so a good referee will only use his power sparingly and consistently.

As more people play this kind of game, many systems evolve and everyone finds a favourite which matches their own particular taste in games. Still, the essential elements of 'Cops and Robbers', 'Cowboys and Indians', or 'playing house' from childhood are still in there. Disputes have been handed over to a legal system with an arbiter. This leaves people free to focus on the story (as long as the system is not overly restrictive and well balanced). The advantage of writing down characters and record keeping is that the game can be extended over many sessions or even stories and turn into a long campaign or chronicle, potentially giving the players long and lasting enjoyment.

Historically, role playing games started as a tool in psychotherapy. Fantasy RPGs developed from simulation wargames in the 1970s. Into these tactical simulations were introduced leaders with limited situational information and independent goals that not necessarily conflicted with those of other commanders. The fantasy elements from the Lord of the Rings sparked the rest.

The group

Roleplaying is a group activity. It centres around the characters the players have made and how they interact with the world as presented by the referee. It also centres around the personality of the players and the referee and how these interact. This often goes hand in hand, as the former is not separate from the latter.

Out of character, your group is ideally from four to eight people, depending on the referee and how much he or she can handle in terms of workload and authority. Having more people broadens the scope for interaction, but too many people means a scene can take a long time and this may cause some to lose interest and get sidetracked. It can also overwork the referee as he or she tries to keep it all together and be one step ahead of everyone. There are also restrictions from a more psychological perspective. Because the character you roleplay, and the actions you let them take are a reflection of your own personality, it is a good idea to play with people you feel comfortable with. As with any window into your soul, you do not want the wrong people to look into it. The alternative, keeping on guard continuously, will detract from your roleplaying.

It is perfectly acceptable that characters don't get along (some of the time). However, there is the potential that a player whose favourite character is on the receiving end of the stick will feel frustrated and hurt. Especially if you have been playing a character for a long time, an RPG character is someone you put a lot of yourself in and you may not like seeing it get hurt. It can also happen when the referee has a story that legitimately targets the character for nastiness. If this happens, the hurt player(s) should be allowed to calm down. If possible, communicate the reasons behind this out-of-character so that there are no hard feelings between the players and the referee involved. The feud may still tear apart the in-game proceedings but that need not be a bad thing.

On the other hand, any issues between the players, or worse, the players and the referee, may lead to mistrust and tend to influence the game. All too often, players accuse each other of having their characters backstabbing them over an out-of character issue. This also happens that the players and the referee have it out. Unless the players dispute the referee's final authority (which is what usually happens) the characters cannot win. The remedy is to stop, cool off and have a long talk about what happened.

Above all, an RPG is a social game and it is about a having fun. In the long run, no one is right and nobody wins completely so you might as well not worry about it.

Separating characters and players

It is implicitly understood in a roleplaying game that the character has different values, knowledge and abilities than the player. This goes beyond religion, ethics, magical powers and skill at sword fighting or making laser guns. First of all, every RPG player must be aware that the his own value systems are not necessarily a good standard to meet the actions of an RPG character by. If slavery is a common thing in the world around him, your character probably accepts it, unless he has specific ethical or religious qualms about it. But these should come from somewhere, not just out of the value system of the player. The best approach to take is that of a traveller. When you travel to another country, you are a guest and abide by local rules. 'When in Rome, do as the Romans.' This is the mindset you should have when getting into the skin of your character.

Similarly, a player must not allow his own knowledge to get in the way. Just because a player happens to have read the descriptions of monsters or vehicles or taken a peek in the referee's notes doesn't mean the character should suddenly know what it's strengths and weaknesses are or how to solve the puzzle that is at hand. The temptation, especially for the munchkin style of player, is obvious and it happens. Apart from remembering the incident as bad roleplaying and taking that into account when the rewards are given out, there is nothing a referee can do about this. It is up to the players to discipline their thinking. The same goes in reverse. The characters run by the referee do not know everything about the characters' habits, tactics, abilities and weaknesses unless they did some diligent research. More information on constructing characters is presented in the chapter on characters (see page 8).

Styles of play(ers)

Just as there are well known types of stories, there are well known types of play, pretty much connected to the personality of the player. An overview:

•	The roleplayer: the player who quotes Shakespeare to describe his character's actions and is likely to portray them physically. The real roleplayer has a tendency to get swept up in the story and form a great attachment to their character. They approach the game as an actor.

•	The munchkin: the player who spends most of his time to get his character the best advantages. They play to win and to do this they spend hours on calculating the perfect use for their character's limited resources and cutting corners with the rules that limit them in doing this. Muchkins cannot take defeat and never blame themselves when it happens. The munchkin approaches the game as an immature tax advisor.

•	The rules lawyer: the player wants everyone to follow the rules to the letter. Otherwise plays like any other style player but when a dispute appears he quotes the rules and follows up with his own strict interpretation. He approaches the game as a judge.

•	The detective: the player looks to find and solve the riddles and puzzles in the game. He likes nothing better than a stiff intellectual challenge and derives pleasure from putting clues together. A detective approaches the game as a scientist.

•	The man: this player wants to look macho, and needs to have his character to be on top. He doesn't mind to suffer, but needs to win at the end of each story. He (M/F) approaches the game as an athlete.

•	The woman: this player wants the game to be a rewarding learning experience for both characters and players. She is very focussed on the process of playing and the long term outcomes and relations between characters. She (F/M) approaches the game as a mother.

It should be obvious that the above styles are caricatures and everyone brings in a mix. It is important for the referee to recognize this and recognize what are the strongest styles in each player. Any good story will have to tap into the motivations and personalities of each player. It is easier to make a story for a homogeneous group, but these are boring to outsiders. To make a story that delights all sorts of players is very difficult. It is important to a group that the style of the referee lies somewhere in the middle of the styles of the players or those at the opposite ends may become frustrated. Many groups have at least one battle per session to keep the fight-lovers (munchkins) happy but this is entirely optional.

Worth noting is that there is a common tendency with new players and referees to put a gimmick into their character. These have the advantage of making a character interesting at first sight. This may seem fun at first, but this temptation should be resisted. Gimmicks quickly get stale and very quickly get in the way of developing the character as a multi-faceted personality, both in the creation phase and in play.

The Setting

This is where and when your characters exist. The setting forms the background of the roleplaying, as would the stage in a play. A great number of settings have been prepared over the years and many more could be lifted straight out of films or books, both fiction and non-fiction. Among the more famous ones that have been turned into commercial RPG settings are: Lucas' Star Wars, Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and Lovecraft's Call of Cthulu. Others have developed a setting especially for their roleplaying game. In the end it doesn't matter where you play, as long as it is a world all players share an interest in and are comfortable with. If you do not like horror, taking a setting based on Clive Barker novels or on Nightmare on Elm Street is a bad idea. Similarly, if you don't care much for laser weapons, don't look to much into a science fiction setting. For inspiration refer to appendix A: Alternative settings (see page 37)

The second requirement of a setting is that it is recognizable. In role playing games, all players and especially the referee must convey not only what is being said, but also how it looks and feels in words. The advantage of a setting taken from a film is clear: the imagery is readily available. The same is possible with a well written book. If you develop something for yourself, make clear and detailed descriptions about what everything looks and feels and acts like. If you are good at drawing, make a picture of it. Try to create a 'shared hallucination'. Among other things, your referee depends heavily on a detailed background for coming up with (side) plots. Designing a setting is not something that is just for the referee. Though he may wish to keep some secrets, players can be helpful in filling in a city or a country, especially one that isn't to be used in the very near future. The referee can always change a few things.

The third major constraint is that your world should be internally consistent. Under normal conditions, you need to have a really good reason for a pyramid to stand upside down. If someone gets crushed by a 16 ton weight from hell they die (unless you are playing in a cartoon setting). Dead people do not come to life all of a sudden (without a good explanation). A population of 5,000 farmers and craftsmen in medieval conditions cannot sustain an army of 10,000 knights in the field (this mistake is made surprisingly often). A land with hungry dragons nesting in every other hill will not have herds of cattle roaming about. They would have been eaten long ago (another frequent mistake). A character needs to eat and rest have a horse or two to carry 500 kg of gold pieces through the wilderness. A capital city cannot be built in a day.

On the other hand, if your world allows for sentient, space faring amoeba, or a demon with a nine-
bladed flaming sword in its tentacle, so be it. You must decide on this in advance, however, and the rest of the setting must be built so that these are part of the reality and do not stick out like a sore thumb. A setting may be completely inconsistent with our real world but as long as it is consistent with itself, all is fine. Ignoring this constraint will lead to disbelief on part of the rest of the group (see Presentation tips, page 5).

Stories and plots

They only have six plots, but they swap them around a bit.

- George Orwell, ? in 1984

In the course of RPG history, many types of stories have been played. The most famous type is the epic, which centres around a quest. A quest can be summarized in the following (for further reading, look at 'The Hero of a Thousand Faces', by Joseph Campbell): A character is torn from his normal surroundings by a strange event and is sent forth to find a fix. He then passes through a series of ordeals, in which he usually gains a mentor, who is later taken away from him. After these experiences, he must face his great fear. Once he overcomes it, he will receive his reward and takes it home to fix whatever is wrong. However, the hero has changed. He has saved his realm for others but is no longer part of it. Examples of epic stories are: Star Wars, the Arthurian legends, Lord of the Rings or The Matrix.

Stories in RPGs usually involve elements of an epic story, though more lyrical and dramatic or comedic parts can and should be woven in. Not everyone is attracted to epics. Below is a list of classic plot threads. The first two are terribly overused and easily recognized.

•	Bug hunt: the characters are sent to harass/kill some creature.

•	Recovery: the characters go out to acquire/retrieve some item or someone.

•	Protection: the characters escort, protect, or defend someone or some item.

•	Mystery: the characters go out to find information and solve puzzles.

•	Revenge: the character go after someone for a personal reason.

•	Escape: the characters or something they hold dear are trapped or assailed and seek to extract themselves from their predicament.

•	Pleasure: the characters get away from hard work for some fun or to pursue a love interest

The above are plot types, they come in many guises. For instance, in a bug hunt, the characters may be requested/ordered/forced/blackmailed/tricked by locals/officials/the king/clergy/a mysterious stranger to go into a dungeon/fortress/cave/forest/sewer system to slay/rob/evict/capture a nest of goblins/dragon/demon/group of bandits that is threatening their patrons' lives/wallets/power base/peace of mind (circle the ones that apply).

Furthermore, most of these can be mixed with each other, played simultaneously, or in sequence. Recovering an item is usually accompanied with solving a number of puzzles that provide the characters wit the whereabouts and details on the item in question. After escaping from an attack, the character may seek revenge on the attacker. Keeping plot threads running and non-player characters reappearing in several stories will instill a sense of continuity and familiarity. The one thing characters usually do not do is normal stuff, like a 9 to 5 job, or going to the bathroom. If the RPG is to be interesting, most of the story should be filled with the sort of thing the players do not experience every day. Again, this should not be overly enforced. An occasional bit of soap opera or sitcom never hurt a story. Some hints for what elements to include are given in appendix B: Story-writing hints (page 38).

One deadly thing to avoid here is to stick to the plot too tightly. If a referee plans a story ahead of time and the characters do not comply with the script, he or she should let them go! Resist the temptation of bluntly forbidding a course of action or putting in a deus ex machina to fix it. Go along with the new line and try to adapt. If the opportunity comes up for more subtly manipulation, stick it in and see if it will get the characters back on track. The brave and resourceful referee may just let things develop without setting up a great plan. This is daunting, but not as hard as it seems at first. It just requires some wits and for you to know your source material in detail. In any case, keep a few side plots and tidbits on hand to mix in if things go weird. Take them from a novel or film and change them. A few lines will do, and you may find that not concentrating on keeping control of the story makes it that much more interesting and enjoyable.

Presentation tips

Roleplaying hinges on what is called 'suspension of disbelief'. As long as a player is so engrossed in the story that he forgets it is not real you have achieved your aim. The moment a player or referee loses that spark and disbelieves, he or she will be get distracted, stop roleplaying and just be an actor or manager for their character. To keep your friends interested, any story contribution should not be told in a dull, repetitive, monotonous voice listing events chronologically with a minimum of details. In fact, just the opposite is what you want. A variety of techniques can be used to spike the imagination of your players.

The first thing is to break monotony. Though non-live roleplaying is a sit down affair, you can still make things more lively by using your voice and mimicry to portray characters. Try to pull a face like the character. Use hand gestures and modulate your voice. For instance, an person just scared to death (almost) by a vampire comes in with a voice that stutters and switches tone and big shaky hand gestures. Act them out! A big thug may face off against the characters with a smug grin and an inner city accent. Act like one. Also, in some cases, it might be a good thing to stand up and move around. Think of the baseball bat in the restaurant scene in Scarface. That wouldn't have worked if he just sat down. Address specific characters through their players instead of talking blindly into the room (but refrain from the use of baseball bats).

Second is detail. When describing a room, do not say a small blue room with modern furniture. Say instead: a room about to size of your office, painted in pastel blues with light wooden beams on the ceiling and filled with black and white and blank wood IKEA furniture. A matte glass lamp hangs from the ceiling and halogen spots illuminate a copy of Van Gogh's Irises. The first description doesn't tell you much. The second should clue you in about the personality of the one who decorated it. The same goes for people: You see a 40 year old man of arabic descent with brown eyes and dark hair. He is dressed in the clothes of the desert nomads. He speaks in a dry voice... Now try this: Before you stands a slim, middle aged man with a brown, weathered face, etched by years of burning sun and water shortage. His eyes are a dark brown and his hair is even darker. His blue robes and turban remind you of the Tuareg people who roam the desert. He starts speaking with a voice that somehow reminds you of sandpaper... It's not much more, but it works. Use metaphors when you can to relate to something well known. In some cases, however, it is better to leave something to the imagination of the players. This is especially true when trying to evoke fear or horror. The unknown is much more frightening than the known. A brilliant example of this technique is the film The Blair Witch Project.

The third thing is not to be repetitive. Give every character their own appearance or mannerism. This is especially important for antagonists. The last thing you want to face is your players forgetting which villain they are facing. Also give them their own motives. Go a bit deeper in that. A villain who is just eeevil and gets his kicks stealing sweets from young children is only believable once or twice. Real world people have motivations and so should non-player characters. Most villains do not go out of their way to hurt people. They just don't care much for those in the way of their ambitions. Figure out what the villain wants which makes him run over others. The truly psychopathic are rare (thankfully). The same goes for protagonists. People usually aren't 'just' nice or friendly, they have a cause or other motivation.

On the other hand, you may wish to emphasize that some of the non-player characters are expendable and interchangeable. In Star Wars, Imperial Stormtroopers are designed to be completely alike. Likewise, members of a large gang or cult may be brainwashed by (peer) pressure. A last category is formed by civil servants in an aloof bureaucracy. They all have in common that they display no original thoughts and function as gears in a big machine with many redundant systems. This applies in time as well as between characters. Some non-player characters will have changed when the players meet them later. Others will be quite the same as last time.

The tempo and means of presentation are also important. Especially outside combat, keeping the play as freeform as possible helps characters to come out. Game mats with hexes, decors, props and/or miniatures (LEGO can be very useful) help shape a common perception of the scene. A final trick to try out is to have a flashback in the middle of the story, possibly with completely different characters, that feeds necessary information into your main story instead of just telling it. This will give the players a chance to broaden their experience without having to set up a new campaign.

Freedom of action

One of the basic issues that is difficult to manage in RPGs is the freedom of action player and characters have. In theory, characters are free to do as they please. In practice they are constrained by the situation. Sometimes a referee prepares an adventure and uses plot devices to push the character down the road of the story, putting obstacles in their way if they digress. As mentioned in the section on plots this must be avoided if possible. Players generally do not like seeing their characters played for them. They will either try to rebel or lose interest. Either way, suspension of disbelief is broken and the game suffers.

On the other side, the player should not stop his or her character from venturing where it is logical that the character would go. An idealistic doctor will tend to wounded at some personal risk. A soldier is expected to go into combat. If this happens, the referee can warn the player that this does not seem proper and he is behaving out of character. Again this must be done only in case of blatant breaches of role playing, or the player will still feel his character is being played for them. The player has every right to persist, but then the referee is perfectly within his or her right to impose an in-game sanction on the character. Taking the examples above, the reticent doctor may feel guilty or be reassigned so he misses out on a great opportunity and the mutinous soldier will get a court-martial.

As with everything, apply moderation. The referee can push the characters along occasionally and a player may behave a little quirky now and them. Just don't overdo it. A roleplaying game is like a film in many ways but there is a fundamental difference: it has a very open ending. This is what makes it exciting.

Characters

"Just because you are a character

doesn't mean you have a character"

- The Wolf, in Pulp Fiction

A character is a person in the game world. These can vary in nature from young girls to old men, from computer nerds to action heroes, from the grey face on the street to a demon prince of Hell. All are described in the same way in words and numbers. The purpose of this is not to reduce a person to a set of statistics, but to enable the players and referee to compare them using a single system.

Making a character requires more than writing down a set of figures on a piece of paper. It requires thought and attention to give it a life and a personality of its own. Only with a character that actually has a character can roleplaying be about playing roles, rather than dice games. Appendix C: Character sheet (see page 50) has a host of questions that can help you flesh out your character, while Appendix D: Character job suggestions (see page 42) contains some sample professions well suited to RPG characters.

Having said that, let us take a look at how one can capture at least some of a person's characteristics on paper in EON. We will call these statistics attributes, for characteristics that are basic and inherent to all creatures and skills, for abilities that characters learn in their lifetime. After that we will look forward to some optional characteristics and equipment.

Attribute and skill ratings

To create a character, a player gets a set number of points to divide among the first six attributes (see blow), and a number of points to invest into skills. These numbers depend on the kind of game you are running. In a true superhero campaign, the player characters should have attribute scores significantly higher than the average man or woman. In another setting, the characters may just be normal people caught in unusual circumstances.

In most games, the characters will have scores that are slightly higher than the average person, simply because they are extraordinary people and should be capable of things that most people cannot do. Below is a list of ratings and a one word description for each rating to indicate relative levels.

Rating	Skill level	Attribute rating*
0	none	hopeless
1	novice	abysmal
2	beginner	poor
3	dabbler	low
4	amateur	average
5	practised	good
6	student	exceptional
7	competent	superior
8	professional	outstanding
9	expert	awesome
10	master
11	elite
12+	unique

* For Humans, the first six attributes may range from one to eight. Even then, humans with one or eight in an attribute appear only once in a million individuals. Other races may have attributes beyond this range. Animals and fantastic monsters may have attributes well beyond this range.

Character creation

Character generation takes about eight well defined steps:

1.	find a concept, describe the character in a single sentence.

2.	assign the attribute scores your character should have.

3.	calculate the free skills the character gets from his attributes.

4.	spend skill points to buy the skills your character should have.

5.	select traits, figure out the surplus or deficit in creation points (this step is optional).

6.	use your remaining creation points to buy extra skills and attributes you think appropriate.

7.	write down your character's history in accordance with the above.

8.	equip your character and define his appearance and look.

For a sample character, I recommend 26 points are given to be spread among the first six attributes. To buy skills, another 32 points may be distributed. This generally ends up with a character that has started out well. Wealth and equipment must be decided on according to setting. To reflect that these are starting characters, the referee should impose a restriction that no character can start play with a skill level over 9, including specializations (an 8 point maximum generally). To customize beyond this, each player receives 10 creation points which can used to buy skill points at a rate of 1:1, attribute points at a rate of 5:1 and traits as indicated on page 12.

These guidelines are useful in developing a character, but sometimes you have to come up with a character on the fly, especially if you are burdened with the ungrateful task of being the referee. Just assign skills as befits the story in these cases.

Attributes

These statistics measure certain built in aspects of any (human) character. The six on the left are advantages: the higher, the better, as these define your character's strong points. A set number of points, determined by your referee, may be divided among these abilities. The next two define both strong points and weak points in the character's psychological make up. The player may choose a score, though a high one may be as destructive as a low one. Willpower is derived from these two psychological scores and can be used to push the character beyond his normal limits. EON can be played without the psychological scores, but it would still be good to consider these during character creation as they can help in designing a character's personality.

Body

This measures physical strength, endurance and resistance to hardship and illness. If a character must lift something heavy, run a long time or survive without food for two weeks, he had best have a high Body score.

Dexterity (Dex)

This measures muscle control, hand-eye coordination, balance and reflexes. To shoot a bow and split an arrow on a tree fifty yards away, to scale a velvet-like smooth cliff, or just to catch a can of beer that is thrown as your attention is called, Dexterity is the key.

Knowledge (Know)

This measures a character's education, general knowledge and skill at Trivial Pursuit™. Knowledge stands at the basis of many skills, especially academic skills, but it is also useful as a broad body of knowledge that your character may someday need.

Presence (Pre)

This measures composure, body language, charisma and looks. To seduce a Member of Parliament, win at poker, or hide your fear in front of two thugs armed with nasty sub-machine guns, keeping up appearances can do a lot for you. Presence is not purely a measure of physical beauty.

Savoir Faire (Savvy)

This measures persuasiveness, leadership, and social aptitude. If a character has to set up an appointment with a crime lord or talk two cavemen out of caving her skull in, she needs a good deal of Savoir Faire.

Wits

A measure of perception, speed of thought, the ability to collect information, process it and come up with a viable solution in a certain amount of time, crank out a good joke to loosen a tense situation, or just put one and one together and solve the murder. A knife-edged Wit can keep a character alive for a long time. It should be noted, however, that Wits is not a measure of reasoning power or academic skill - this is covered by a combination of the character's skills and cleverness of the player.

Ego

Measures the character's pride, self control and self esteem. It may be as low as two, meaning the character is a slave to his whims and emotions and suffers from a self image problem. It might be as high as twelve, meaning the character is proud, in control and probably regarded as the most arrogant prick in the world by the people around him. A character with a high ego score will not readily be mind-controlled or fast-talked, but one with a lower ego score will have considerably less trouble finding someone to come to his aid.

Ethics (Eth)

Measures moral fibre, caring, enlightenment and integrity. A rating of two means the character is a psychotic barbarian, incapable of any act of altruism and completely self-centred. A rating of twelve means the character is selfless, enlightened and probably happily abused by other people who want something done and haven't the time or the money to do it themselves. A character with a high ethics score is generally a likeable and well respected member of a community and easily able to commit himself to a greater cause, but one with a low ethics score is more able to make a hard decision and do what must be done even if that means someone is going to get hurt or killed.

Willpower (Will)

Willpower can be regarded as the character's reserve to put herself beyond her own limits. Willpower points can be used to succeed at things that would normally be difficult or impossible. They are recovered through rest and success. Therefore, a character's willpower rating fluctuates throughout the game. The starting and the maximum Willpower a character can have equals twice his combined Ego and Ethics scores, divided by seven (Ego+Eth)*(2÷7).

Skills

Skills are a measure of what a character has learned in life. Unlike attributes not every character has a rating in a given skill. Also, the available skills and their precise contents depend on the game setting. The skills listed below cover the skills common to most settings. Several skills may be omitted in certain settings. For instance, the Programming skill is only available in settings that have computers.

Skills depend on a specific attribute for a base rating but may be improved separately. For instance, a character with basically weak stamina can outrun someone in peak physical condition, given enough training. To get a good rating in a skill requires practise and motivation, though everyone has some aptitude in most skills. When a character has a rating of zero in a given skill, he may not attempt a task associated with the skill. For instance, there is no way that someone who has no skill in chemistry can prepare a synthetic drug.

Noted in (parenthesis) is the attribute on which the skill is based and the number to be subtracted from it when the character is first created. If the result is positive, the character has a free skill rating. If the result is negative or zero, the default rating is zero and the character must buy these skills from the ground up in the next step with skill points or creation points. Below is a master list of skills, refer to appendix E: Skill descriptions on page 43 and onward for full descriptions. This list contains skills common to most conceivable settings. A player may divide a set number of points among skills when creating a character (see Character Creation, above).

As a referee you can define skills specific to the campaign setting you are using. As such, they are of limited use and may be fleshed out by the referee when needed. Here are a few possibilities: photography, forensics, cooking, cryptography, lip reading, diving, parachuting, fortune telling, gambling, hypnotism, brewing, escapology, skiing, heraldry, A/V production, gem cutting, astrogation or Battlemech piloting. Depending on the complexity and broadness of the skill, the referee may decide to give some of these skills for a reduced or increased cost.

Master list

Acting	pre-3
Agriculture	know-4
Animal care	pre-3
Archery	dex-3
Artillery	wits-4
Biomedicine	know-4
Brawl	body-3
Business	know-3
Charm	savvy-3
Concentration	will-4
Construction	know-4
Crafts*	dex-3
Cultures*†	savvy-3/4/5
Driver	wits-3
Earth Sciences	know-4
Engineering	know-3
Expression	pre-3
Fencing	dex-4
Firearms	dex-3
Grace	dex-3
Humanities	know-4
Intrigue	savvy-4
Legerdemain	dex-4
Martial Arts	dex-4
Management	pre-4
Motion	dex-3
Music	pre-3
Natural Sciences	know-5
Observation	wits-4
Occult	know-5
Pilot	wits-5
Seamanship	wits-4
Slashing	body-4
Social Sciences	know-4
Software	know-5
Sports	body-3
Survival*†	know-4
* There are multiple distinctive Crafts, Cultures and Survival skills, which must be taken separately. Refer to the full descriptions in appendix E, page 43.

† Most characters receive two additional free Culture ratings and one additional Survival skill rating. Refer to the full descriptions in appendix E, page 43.

Skill specializations

Skills are presented with examples of specializations (see appendix E: Skill descriptions). When a character first spends creation points on a skill or receives an experience die (see Experience, page 16), she may select a specialization. A character receives a +1 bonus on the skill rating for that sub-
discipline. A character may also choose to have a +2 specialization bonus, but in that case all the other fields are treated as if the character was of one skill level lower (1 point penalty). Alternatively, the character may choose two 1 point specializations and receive a 1 point penalty on the remaining fields.

When a character wishes to change specializations, he must wait until he reaches the next skill level (see Training, page 15). In case of switching a +2 specialization, the character first gains a +1 on his new and his old specialization and finally a +2 on the new specialization at the next opportunity. Specializations should be written down on the character document (in parenthesis) behind the general skill they belong to.

Traits

These describe specific peculiarities your character has. Traits cover things that aren't determined by ability or skill scores, such as ambidexterity and favours. Even when they are not used in game terms they may be useful as inspiration.

Traits have a point cost indicated. This indicates the number of Creation points that must be used to buy the trait when the character is first created. In case of a negative number, the character gains extra creation points to spend on other things. Positive traits generally confer advantages and negative ones give disadvantages. The number of creation points or the range (lowest to highest) of creation points that a trait requires or confers is noted behind the traits.

During play, a character may acquire traits through roleplaying but this does not involve creation points. If the referee allows, a trait can be bought (or bought off, in case of flaws) during play. Every point should be multiplied by five to calculate the rough cost of a trait in study points. This may or may not be accompanied by other requirements. Experience is often used to help buy traits because it must be story-driven.

Mental traits deal with mental and emotional oddities, physical ones with the body and social traits with social interactions. Supernatural traits deal with magic and spirits. A master list of the available traits is below, the full descriptions can be found in appendix F: Trait descriptions (see page 50).

Physical
Allergy	-1 to -4
Ambidextrous	+1
Asthma	-1
Bad sight	-2
Blind	-5
Cyber rejection	-2
Deaf	-4
Hard of hearing	-1
Looks	-2 to +1
Mute	-4
Perfect health	+2
Paralysed	-6
Social
Ally	+1 to +5
Alternate identity	+3
Cultural flexibility	+2
Dark secret	-1 to -6
Enemy	-1 to -5
Favour owed/held	-4 to +4
(Computer) Literacy	+2
Persecuted	-3
Primitive background	-3
Ties	+1 to +5
Under custody	-3
Ward	-3
Zeroed (no records)	+2
Mental
Addiction	-1 to -4
Amnesia	-1 to -4
Compulsions	-1 to -3
Delusion	-2
Eidetic memory	+1
Fast learner	+3
Higher purpose	+1
Multiple personalities	-4
Nightmares	-1 to -3
Obsession	-2
Phobia	-1 to -3
Psychosis	-2
Short fuse	-2
True Love	+1
Vow	0
Supernatural
Animal friendship	+1
Auspex	+5
Bad luck	-3
Charmed/lucky	+3
Cursed	-1 to -5
Forbidden knowledge	-2
Past life memories	-5 to +5
Spirit magnet	-5 to +5
Breathing life into the character

Your character needs a lifestyle in accordance with the character's concept and skills. Spend a few words on it and also think about the financial consequences. Having a certain status and reputation has its cost which will have to be reflected by the character's wealth and resources. After your character enters play, his or her lifestyle and fortunes may change. If lucky, the character ends up higher on the chart. Others are left in poverty.

Status

Status is an indication of the character's social standing, creditworthiness and general respect in the community. A test can be called for in any social situation where class distinction is an issue. The difference between two opponent's status scores is applied to relevant social tests. Status affects a character in both their home region and native social scene. As in real life characters' Status can fluctuate as they find themselves rewarded with titles, membership of exclusive societies or political office or threatened by scandals and undermined by enemies. No experience or study points can be used to improve status. The referee is encouraged to evaluate and update Status regularly to reflect the current situation. In some cases, Status will demand a certain lifestyle to maintain it and therefore a resource base (assets) to afford it.

If the character moves to another region, status and social traits eventually catch up. There is 10% chance every week or month (depending on the distance between home and the new location as well as lines of communication) that status and public social traits become known among the character's own social environment in his new location. This can be avoided by travelling in secrecy and not calling attention to oneself. It can be achieved automatically by making a grand public entry and announcing oneself. Note that positive and negative traits catch up together. Only after some time (up to several years in a large city) does Status become known among the general population in a new location. This process is faster for individuals with high status.

Wealth

Money makes the world go around and characters go around in it. Cash and other forms of wealth such as goats, koku, seashells, jewellery, treasury bonds, a farm or good employment are important tools in an RPG world. The wealth attribute indicates how much financial resources a character has and can mobilise if needed. This entails everything beyond some petty cash and the personal equipment received in the character generation process. These resources are used both to uphold a character's regular lifestyle (assumed to be automatic if the character has a regular source of income) and to fuel incidental expenses made in the course of any adventuring.

Normal practice assumes that the wealth is not just coins stuffed in an old sock, but largely fixed as farmland, stock or a house, and producing more wealth. Income from employment is also included in the attribute. From these steady flows of income, the character receives a monthly amount of loose spending money. If the character needs significantly more money, some assets can be liquidated but this will reduce the character's wealth attribute for future situations. Wealth can be acquired in play through finding treasure or employment or lost through theft or mistakes. No experience or study points can be used to improve Wealth. As with the Status attribute, the referee is encouraged to evaluate and update Wealth regularly to reflect the current situation.

Lifestyle

Status and Wealth determine a character's options for a lifestyle, both in the maximum achievable as well as what is needed to be taken seriously by his or her chosen social environment. For example, your income can be much higher than your expenses but few will treat you like it without the appropriate lifestyle. Increases in lifestyle translate into more security and more amenities.

Following is a list that should help your description. Ratings are given for comparative status, wealth and lifestyle. Note that maintaining a lifestyle at any given level requires about 80-90% of the income received from the corresponding level of wealth. Above rating 3, the monthly cost reflects the cost in Western Europe at the end of the 20th century for comparison. The Referee sets a basic initial level of free status and wealth for a given chronicle. This can be raised by spending creation points. A Referee may occasionally allow one point of either to be traded in for extra creation points.

Rating	Status	Wealth	Income /m.	Lifestyle examples
0	Outcast	Destitute	0	beggar / vagrant††
1	Slave	Very poor	50	sweatshop worker†
2	Serf	Poor	220	tenant farmer
3	Commoner	Lower class	700	student, soldier, labourer
4	Citizen	Middle class	1,500	factory or office worker, policeman
5	Upstanding citizen	Well-off	3000	line manager, knight, entrepreneur
6	Respected citizen	Affluent	7000	trader, manager, baron, professor, bishop
7	High official / celebrity	Wealthy	16000	plantation owner, count, MP, pop starlet*
8	Noble / star / statesman	Rich	40000	top corporate officer, duke, cardinal*
9	Emperor	Filthy rich	100,000+	galactic Emperor, multiplanetary CEO**

†† Life is bad, get out of this ASAP. A character in this lifestyle has a 40% of contracting a serious illness and a 60% of being robbed, beaten up or arrested every month.

† While less insecure, a character in this lifestyle still has a 10% chance of contracting a serious illness each month and a 20% chance of being harassed by criminals or corrupt officials.

* This is the Life. The character is probably quite famous and doesn't need to look after most of his/her own affairs. Any missteps or secrets are quite likely to become public.

** Only a handful of people ever attain this. Legions of people wait on your desires, but your life is scrutinized to the point of it being like living in glass house.

Appearance

This part includes height, weight, eye colour, skin colour, facial characteristics, dress style, hairstyle, etc. Apart from all the mechanics related stuff, your character needs to have a look, even if it is a bland look. For one thing, the referee and your fellow players will need to know what you look like to predict how other characters will initially react to you. Fill in at least a word or two for the items above initially and refine the character's appearance during play. Remember to discuss your appearance with the referee. Some dress or hair styles might be inappropriate in your settings, or even dangerous. Also remember that some clothing may fall under special equipment and require that character to spend starting funds. All characters are assumed to have at least one set of clothes they would wear at work (if any) and one they would wear at home.

Equipment

Most characters cannot survive with just the clothes on their back. They need the tools of their trade: food, raw materials, tools, beasts of burden, vehicles, papers, weapons, money, etc. can provide a character with things he or she needs for survival. When creating a new character, assume the he/she/it has all the equipment needed to carry out regular duties or profession related tasks. A warrior has a weapon, a lawyer a stack of legal textbooks and a carpenter will have carpentry tools. Anything out of the ordinary or not directly related to the character's daily work should be discussed and probably paid for in one form or another.

Equipment also adds colour to the campaign setting. For system purposes, the player should have at least the following information for every noteworthy piece of equipment: what it looks like, what it does and does not do, whence it came from and where it is now. The nature, cost and availability of items usually depend on the setting and will be decided on by your referee. For a general idea, some sample items are be described in the EON Compendium.

Changing characters

The thing that makes a roleplaying game fun in itself is seeing a character grow, learning new things, meeting new people, etc. This often translates into a change in the character's statistics. There are three ways in which a character may change in statistics. Through story causes, through spending the points the player gets awarded for (role)playing and through losing skills due to neglect and time.

Change by story causes

Often, circumstances change a person. Usually these changes are temporary, not always. In most of these cases attributes and traits are affected. Diseases and wounds may lower a character's Body or Dexterity scores, and dementia is a common cause of loss of Wits among the elderly. In some cases, traits are gained or lost, especially social and psychological traits. Surgery may restore bad sight or deafness, and ties to the local church may be severed when a friendly priest passes away.

If a character suffers from setbacks over a long time, this might adversely affect his maximum willpower. In this case, the player should select one psychological ability score and lower it by one point, to reflect the character has lost a part of his spirits. On the other hand, a character who finds a new love or finds new strength in adversity may add a point to one of his psychological scores.

Training

Normally, a character needs a lot of time to improve his skills or attributes. He also requires the appropriate facilities, such as a gym for Sports, a shooting range for Firearms and a library and laboratory for Natural Sciences. For this game the average time spent on training is assumed to be seven hours a day for five days a week with one skill being improved at a time. This is what most people with an active social life spend on learning skills. The amount of studying and training a character does in one such week is called a training point. In the case of skills, the character must spend the square of his current rating in training points to improve it to the next level (current² training points). Also see the table below. At the referee's discretion, work experience may also be used as training time at a rate of two weeks to one study point.

If need be, a character can spend twice this time (seventy hours per week) and earn two training point per week. However, considering the time demands of eating and sleeping, the character's social life will degrade into nothing. This is also a way for a dedicated but poor student who needs to make a living besides his studies. If a character wants to improve multiple skills at the same time, the player must divide the training points among the different skills that are studied.

A teacher can shorten the amount of time needed to develop a new skill. The teacher must be of higher ability than the student and must make an Expression (Instruction) test (refer to Skill tests, page 18). The degree of success is subtracted from the number of training points required to attain the next skill level. The teacher must be present for at least half of the period of training and the teacher may negate up to half the training points required. This is of great use at lower levels, but as the skill levels progress it saves relatively little time. Experience aids in a character's development because it can be used instead of training points, as explained below.

Attribute improvement is much more expensive. It takes three times as many training points. The advantage is that any associated skills and specializations are also effectively improved, unless the skill rating is equal to or higher than it would be when calculated from the new attribute rating.

Apart from the study points earned in this manner, every character should receive at least one free study point each month to spend on social abilities, provided the character takes some part in normal society (e.g. does not spend double time on his studies or do full time work and study side by side).

Current level	Training points required for next level	Cumulative training points needed to reach this level
0	1	-
1	1	1
2	4 (1 month)	2
3	9 (2 months)	6
4	16 (4 months)	15 (3½ months)
5	25 (6 months)	31 (7 months)
6	36 (8 months)	56 (12½ months)
7	49 (11 months)	92 (20 months)
8	64 (14 months)	141 (31 months, 2½ years)
9	81 (18 months)	205 (46 months, 4 years)
10	100 (22 months)	286 (64 months, 5½ years)
11	121 (27 months)	386 (86 months, 7 years)
12	144 (32 months)	507 (113 months, 9½ years)

Experience

After a story the referee will need to reward the player and the character for his actions, or at least give him the opportunity to learn from his mistakes. This learning is measured in the forms of experience dice. Experience dice should be granted for good roleplaying on the player's behalf, good ideas from the player, and in general for making the game a fun thing to play. But even a character which doesn't benefit from an involved player learns from his mistakes and successes. To help avoid envy among the players, the character of the least involved player should receive at least half the experience benefits of the most involved player. Nevertheless, experience is the clearest way to reward those who play well.

Experience dice are assigned to specific skills or attributes which were used during the story and which the character learnt something new about. A story that took place on land will not give the character any experience on his Seamanship skill. An experienced hunter who caught a rabbit will not get an experience die on his hunting skill but a young wizard who casts a great spell for the first time will get to roll for his magic skill. For each die awarded, roll one six-sided die and add the result to the current training points for that skill.

For a story of average duration (three full evening sessions or something), between one and four dice should be awarded to each character. For longer and shorter adventures, give correspondingly more or fewer experience dice. The referee can award these at the end of the story, in the middle if the story is very long and a significant lull in the action occurs. The number of rolls the referee should give to each character depend on many things:

•	The story - how challenging was it, how varied were the challenges and did the characters succeed at their objectives?

•	Player interaction - did the players (not necessarily characters) cooperate, was the player inventive and did he or she make the game enjoyable for the others?

•	Roleplaying - did the player accurately portray the character?

Systems

Now that we have seen how to describe a character in statistics, let us put these to use and do something. The reason for having a dice system is to introduce an element of randomness to the outcome of the game, without becoming arbitrary. The system must aim to be objective without being restrictive.

EON follows a pragmatic approach. There is no reason to describe the entire world in die systems if half of these are never used. EON was designed to be modular. For instance, your group could decide not to worry about psychological tests. The game will function nicely without these rules and a backup system was provided that uses a simple die roll. Some other things, like skill tests are quite central to the system, but shouldn't be too hard to learn.

Skill tests

Whenever a risky situation comes up in an RPG, and it's not clear what will happen, there are two options: Either the player and referee work out a mutually satisfactory solution through roleplaying or fair judgement, or the game's dice system is used. This requires that the description includes some measurement of how well the character can handle the situation. This usually comes down to a rating in a relevant skill. Even then the referee can simply rule that the character will pass or fail a test and go on without the need for dice. If this is not the case and to keep things from going into a rules mess, there is one standard way to solve a skill test in EON:

The player rolls a ten-sided die and adds this to the player's skill rating (this will be referred to to as a skill roll from now on). He then compares this to a difficulty, as assigned by the referee. If the skill roll exceeds the difficulty, the character passes the test. If it is lower, he fails. In many cases this system is complicated slightly by the equipment a character uses which can make passing a test more or less difficult. A straightforward test is something competent characters could do most of the time.

Difficulty	Test would be described as
5-	laughable
6-8	simple
9-10	easy
11	straightforward
12-13	challenging
14-16	hard
17-18	severe
19+	heroic

How well the character succeeds can be told from the difference between the skill roll and the difficulty. The character's measure of success is defined as the character's (modified) skill roll minus the difficulty of the test. This only applies when the character actually succeeded. The character's failure is defined is the difficulty minus the (modified) skill roll. Again, this only applies when the character failed in the first place. If player makes the roll exactly (no difference) is, he barely succeeds, and the referee may rule his attempt is only partially effective. This system can be used, for instance, when a character is searching through a library and the amount of information he finds depends on how much the skill exceeds the die roll.

Character's success is	Result
8 or better	it could not be done any better than this.
6 or 7	exceptional success.
5 or 4	you got what you wanted and more.
3 or 2	you got what you wanted.
1 or 0	you got the basics, hopefully it is enough.

Character's failure is	Result
1 or 2	you came a little short, but not catastrophically.
3 or 4	maybe you should have left this to someone else.
5 or worse	your referee is starting to chuckle.

An example:

Miage is flying her starfighter through an asteroid field. The referee calls for a Pilot (starfighter) test. Because she's flying very fast the referee rules she has a difficulty of 19. Fortunately, Miage is an elite pilot (she has a rating 11 in the starfighter piloting skill) and flying a top of the line starfighter which give her an extra 2 points of skill. This means there is a good chance she's not going to make the run through the asteroid field. Her player rolls and gets a 8. She makes it, while her enemies give up after two smashed into the swirling rocks.

If the player had rolled a 6, Miage would have cleared the asteroid, but probably with one or two enemy fighters still on her tail. If Miage would have failed the roll things would have looked grim. If she had failed by just one point she might have lost a stabiliser, making it impossible to go further and leaving her waiting to be captured by the enemy. If she had missed by five points she would have ended up fusing with an asteroid in a brilliant flash of light. Of course, failing a die roll shouldn't always lead to life threatening situations. Sometimes failing a die roll can have unexpected, but very happy side effects.

Finally out of danger, Miage looks at the pendant around her neck. She remembers how she met her husband Aaron, five years ago. She had tried to make herself something for dinner, but she'd always been too preoccupied with flying to learn how to cook a decent meal. The dish she'd toiled so hard on had burnt to charcoal in the oven, so she phoned a restaurant to hold a table. When she got there, the Maitre D' had messed up and put a young man at the table that would have been hers. Tired and hungry, she agreed to join him at that table for what was going to a evening to remember..

In this example, in system terms, Miage met her future husband only because she'd failed a cooking skill test.

Variations

Another option to resolve a skill test is that the referee states a minimum success and allows the character(s) to achieve these in multiple rolls, adding the difference of every new roll to the others. In this case, the number of die rolls required measures the time and or money it takes for the character to achieve his goal. On a failure, the character is thrown off the track and only gets as far as his current successes take him. If two characters are opposing each other, both roll a skill test and the one with the higher success wins. The degree of success is figured by subtracting the loser's success result from the winner's. This is called the test difference.

One of the Three Little Pigs is running away from the Big Bad Wolf after playing a rather nasty practical joke on him. He runs into a room and closes the door behind him. The Wolf follows suit and tries to push the door open. Both use their Body attribute in this case. The referee sets the difficulty at 11 for both. The pig has a Body of 4 and rolls a 10 (lucky pork chops). As the wolf hasn't had a proper meal in weeks, he only has a Body of 5 and rolls a 7. The little pig wins by 3 points to 1, a comfortable 2 points. The door stays shut and he even gets in a few laughs at the wolf. The wolf takes a few steps back and starts huffing and puffing...

Without the necessary tools these it becomes nigh impossible to succeed at a given task. For instance, cutting though a steel rod without a saw is difficult unless you have really strong teeth. Sometimes the referee will allow a character to rig something. Improvised tools can range from practically worthless to almost as good as the original. A tool can have a skill modifier listed to the skill, so that different models can be compared. This modifier represents the quality of the toolkit. As mentioned, tools, weapons, and other equipment are included in the sections on setting material.

Occasionally, a character wants to do something complex that involves more than one skill. For quick resolution, the referee should ask for a single test using the average of the relevant skill ratings. If such a task is carried out by two people and they let each other do what they do best, use the higher of the two characters' ratings to calculate the average. If several people combine on the same task (provided that such a thing is possible - throwing a tennis ball is a single person task), add one point to the highest skill rating in the group for each contributor that has a skill rating of at least half the rating of the 'leader'. For groups tasks beyond 5 people, the leader must make a Management (leadership) test to coordinate the efforts. The referee may limit the number of people that can work together on a task. Taking extra time to prepare can also help in a task; by taking double the required the time, with a minimum of one combat round, a character can receive a 1 point bonus to his or her skill rating. A the referee's discretion this may also require some extra resources.

First times and neglect (optional)

Whenever a character uses a skill, weapon or vehicle or other piece of equipment for the first time, the referee may rule that he suffers a penalty due to unfamiliarity. This should be applied especially when a character has been granted a free skill rating due to a high attribute rating, but has never actually used it. It should also apply to new models of a familiar item or tool. When this is the case, give the character a -3 penalty to his skill the first time, a -2 the second time and a -1 the third time he tries. After this, the character should be acquainted enough to use his basic skill without hindrance. Any character who raised a skill with creation, study or experience points is considered to have some practise in his specialization.

Whenever a skill is not used for a long time, the character also suffer penalties on the first uses as he or she tries to 'remember how it went'. Anyone who has tried to play a musical instrument after a year knows the finger magic can get rusty and a little practice is required to regain the old control and smoothness of playing. For every 8 months divided by the current rating that the skill is not used, the referee may impose a cumulative -1 penalty, which is reduced with every new attempt as described above. In exceptional cases, the referee may require a character to spend training time (see Training, page 15) to regain fluency in a skill.

Willpower

Before rolling the die for most skill or attribute tests, the player may choose to spend a willpower point on it. If this is done, the player rolls two six-sided dice instead of the normal ten-sided. This allows the character a better chance at something that would normally be hard to pull off. Miage's asteroid flight from the previous examples would be a very good time to spend a willpower point. One other use for willpower is to negate any exhaustion (see Fatigue, page 23) and wound penalties for one minute. Only one point of willpower may be expended per round, and if the task takes much longer, the referee may call for multiple points to be expended. A character may only use willpower on one action at a time and no willpower points can be spent on a willpower test. Note that willpower tests are usually made against the maximum (permanent) rating. If the temporary rating is used this will be noted.

Willpower is regained whenever a character rests or does something that improves his self esteem and spirit. A character could conceivably regain a point immediately if the action it was spent on results in a brilliant and significant success, lifting the character's spirit. One example is Luke Skywalker destroying the Death Star at the end of the first Star Wars movie. In this case, the willpower point does not return until the scene ends and the character has had some time to rest (no longer suffering from any fatigue or stun). Normally, a good night's sleep brings a character's Willpower score up by one point until it equals the maximum score. Players are advised not to spend their willpower frivolously. The referee may rule that characters who have spent a large number of willpower points lose their edge and suffer penalties on skill or resistance tests.

Luke Skywalker is flying through a narrow chasm on the Empire's first Death Star. As the main reactor's exhaust port comes into view, he summons a deep reserve, takes aim and fires his proton torpedos. As both torpedos enter the exhaust port, he pulls out of the chasm and rejoins the few remaining rebel fighters. Mere seconds before the Alliance base is destroyed, the Death Star's main reactor core reaches critical mass and explodes.

Psychological tests

In roleplaying games, players tend to have their characters do things they might not want to do. For instance, a player might have no qualms about sending his character through a pit of spiders, because he looked at the referee's notes and knows they're not poisonous, even though his character is seriously arachnophobic. In this case, the referee should ask the player to make a psychological test. This means the player rolls two six-sided dice and compares the result to his Ego or Ethics score. In the above example, the character might have to roll under his Ego score to see if he can keep his fear under control. The effects of a failed psychological test on the character may be overruled for a single round by spending a willpower point. Note that, depending on the circumstances, the player should roll either above (called a high psychological test) or below (called a low psychological test) his psychological attribute score.

A referee can also use the psychological scores to determine the responses of other characters in the game. In general, nice people are treated better than sociopaths, and wimps are stepped on a lot more often than very confident people. That, is if someone would strike up a conversation with the personification of arrogance in the first place. If you decide not to use this system, let the player make a willpower test with difficulty depending on the situation.

Use the Ego score when dealing with instinctive emotions such of fear, anger and lust. Examples would be phobias, intimidation and seductions. Use the Ethics score when dealing with 'higher' emotions such as love, hatred and guilt. Examples of this would be issues of loyalty or when the character is committing violent acts.

Roleplaying games tend to be casual about killing but real people who tried this apparently found it harder than it looks in action movies. Therefore, those characters without prior experience should have to succeed at a high ethics test with a two point penalty (roll 2 points higher than their ethics score) when their player decides to kill someone.

Trauma and sanity

RPG characters tend to lead lives to most of us would consider stressful, to say the least. Regardless of your interest in dealing with mental problems, nearly all veteran characters would realistically be suffering from some kind of post traumatic stress disorder. For example, barbecue parties tend to lose their appeal after you see your friend roasted alive by a dragon. Every experienced gamer will have his own grizzly stories to tell. Whenever the referee feels that the character has witnessed or experienced something particularly gruesome, a psychological test should be called for.

The following events may trigger an Ego test:

•	First meeting a frightening creature such as an alien, an undead, a demon, a dragon or a god.

•	Witnessing or experiencing a natural disaster.

•	Witnessing or experiencing particularly savage combat.

The events below would trigger an Ethics test:

•	Witnessing, experiencing or committing violent abuse, torture, rape or murder.

•	Witnessing or experiencing (the author hopes players will refrain from doing these things themselves) ritual human sacrifice, cruel medical experiments or genocide.

The referee may set a penalty for especially impressive events. If the test succeeds, the character is not seriously affected. If the test fails, the character could be more profoundly affected. The player must roll a Willpower test with straightforward difficulty modified again by the seriousness of the event. If the latter succeeds, the character suffers an immediate physical response. Depending on previous mental history and the situation, the character may faint, throw up, run away, freeze, go berserk, laugh or scream hysterically or otherwise lose control temporarily. This lasts for 1d6 minutes after which the player regains nominal control over the character's actions.

If the character fails the willpower test, he or she will suffer from a long term mental trauma. Consult the Social Traits section on page 51 and onward and choose a suitable mental flaw together with your referee. Apply the changes as soon as the character has had a good rest. The character's survival instincts will let him or her carry on comparatively normally until then, though the character has his or her permanent Willpower rating effectively lowered by one until the mental disability takes effect. If the willpower test fails by 5 or more, the character loses 1 point from the relevant psychological score in addition to a mental trauma. Take away one temporary willpower point immediately and calculate if the maximum score should be lowered using the formula from page 10: (Ego+Eth)*(2÷7).

Time and movement

Even though there are many ways to measure time, speed and distances, keeping it simple will save you a great deal of headache. For this purpose we use metric units as base units of distance and time. For combat, chases and other time dependent activities, time is best measured in rounds of about five seconds. This not an absolute interval, but rather about enough time for every character to get in a quick action. In one round a character can run at his top speed and cover about 30 metres, aim and shoot a gun, strike with a sword, and/or walk about 5 metres. For longer times, hours and kilometres are more practical. A character's movement rate is the distance he covers in a single round (largely depending on his mode of transportation). Metres per second convert into kilometres per hour at the following rate: 1 m/s= 3.6 km/h. Below is a list of earthly modes of transportation and their speeds per round, minute, hour and for a full 24 hour day. The latter two columns are averaged and include rest periods.

Type of transport	Round	Minute	Hour	Day*
walking	7 m	90 m	5 km	40 km (sneaking is at one-third speed)
running	30 m	350 m	18 km	60 km
swimming	2.5 m	40 m	2 km*	12 km
crawling / climb	2 m	25 m	1 km	8 km
horseback (trot)	20 m	240 m	15 km	120 km (also for casual biking)
horse (gallop)	50 m	60 m	36 km	200 km (also used for fast biking)
car or bus	125 m	1.5 km	90 km	1200 km
normal train	140 m	1.4 km	80 km	1500 km (can be as slow as half this speed)
high speed train	400 m	5 km	300 km	no such long tracks, theoretically ±7000 km
conventional ship	35 m	850 m	50 km	1200 km
high speed ship	100 m	1.5 km	90 km	2100 km
airliner	1 km	13 km	800 km	anywhere across Earth
* a safe place to rest regularly or sufficient fuel is a precondition to last this long.

Chases

It is a time-honoured tradition in roleplaying games to have people running to or from people (or things). In EON, characters, creatures and vehicles of all kinds can use the same system. The following rule is only applicable when turning and dodging has something to do with a chase. If the distance between the two parties is greater than the distance the fastest party can cover in one round, just let the faster catch up or move out the difference in speed. In a space setting, only relative speeds are important and acceleration is used instead of speed and speed instead of distance. The fastest party in space is therefore the one with the best acceleration. If no thrust is applied, a starship will keep going at the same speed until it meets something to slow it down.

When both parties are suitably close, the chased and the chaser roll their manoeuverability in an opposed test. The tests must also be passed to see if the character does not trip or lose control of his vehicle. Use Sports (athletics) when running in open land, while on other terrain, Sports (swimming) or even Motion (climbing) may be called for. Vehicle drivers and pilots use their respective driver or piloting skills plus the vehicle's manoeuverability rating.

If one of the parties fail their test, the other gains his full speed in distance. If both fail, nothing changes. If both succeed on the manoeuverability test, the one with the higher success gains ten percent of his own movement rate this round multiplied by the test difference. If no distance is left, the chased party is caught. Otherwise the chase lasts until one of the two parties gives up. Actually grabbing or hitting the chased at the end of a chase requires an attack roll (see below). If the attack fails, the distance between hunter and prey is expanded to the difference of what they can cover in a single round.

Gilbert is running from a gang of psychotic satanists through a cattle field. Unfortunately, he is on foot, while his opponents are driving a Chevy. His maximum running speed is about 20 km/h or 30 metres per round. The car has a maximum speed of about 180 km/h but the referee feels that the field is not a proper terrain for such speeds and limits the satanists' speed to 50 km/h or 80 metres per round. Gilbert's Sports (athletics) is 6, his difficulty is 8. The lead Satanist's Driver (car) + manoeuverability is 7 and his difficulty is 11. In the first round, the satanists strip his head start. In the second round the Satanist roll a 3 and Gilbert's player rolls a 9. Gilbert moves out a bit as the satanists take a wrong turn. In the third round Gilbert gets a 3 and the satanists get an 8. The satanists gain (80÷10)x3=24 metres. Gilbert starts sweating even worse. The next round, the satanists roll another 8, but Gilbert's player rolls a 9. Gilbert moves out (30÷10)*3=9 metres. The next round Gilbert fails his check, and the satanists do not. As the satanists gain more than the remaining distance between Gilbert and the car, Gilbert is about to be run down and killed. His player decides to have Gilbert dodge the attacking car. Gilbert makes the dodge and continues to head for the light forest at the edge of the field.

Fatigue

Characters can do a lot of things but they cannot do them forever. Whenever a character is engaged in strenuous action or tries to do something for a very long time, the referee may call for a Body test. The Body test is made after a certain period of sustained strenuous activity has passed. The difficulty is usually 10 and Willpower can be spent on these tests. The following circumstances warrant a Body test after the stated time:

Activity	Time between tests
melee combat	10 rounds
missile combat	20 rounds (or two minutes)
running or swimming	5 minutes
stone quarrying	30 minutes
programming	1 hour
walking	1 hour
reading	2 hours

If the test succeeds, the character can continue as usual. If the Body test is failed two things can happen. The referee may decide to subtract the failure from the next Body test or physical skill test the character faces or have the character suffer from fatigue penalties. The fatigue penalties are as follows:

On a failure of 1 or 2, the character suffers the effects of a normal stun wound.

On a failure of 3 or 4, the character loses his action for the next round and suffers a -1 penalty for another 10 combat rounds or 1 minute

On a failure of 5 or more the character cannot act for one minute and suffers a -1 penalty for 15 minutes.

A character can carry a number of kilograms equals to four times his Body attribute for a whole day without significant impairment. Beyond this, a character can carry up to 8 times his Body rating, moving at half speed, with a 1 point penalty to all Dexterity and related skill tests and making fatigue tests at double frequency. In a pinch, a character can lift up to 15 times his Body rating for a few minutes at best. Needless to say, the character will want to a chance to catch his breath after that.

Combat

"If you kill me a thousand will rise to take my place"

"Yes," said Cohen the Barbarian in a reasonable tone of voice,

"but that isn't the point is it? The point is, you'll be dead."

- Terry Pratchett, The Light Fantastic

Every once in a while in almost every roleplaying game, someone is going to want to kill (or at least injure) someone else. Usually, the victim is not particularly happy with the prospect of spending the next few months in a hospital or worse, and reciprocates. Though a battle is the nearest thing to absolute chaos in real life (and, incidentally, some RPG sessions), it can save a lot of anguish to conduct combat in a structured and orderly fashion as far as game mechanics are concerned. For this reason it is convenient to adopt the following order of business in a combat situation:

1 - determine order of declarations

2 - declare intentions

3 - determine order of actions

Do the following for each combatant:

4 - resolve actions

5 - determine damage after each action and determine

if this affects any action that is still to come.

6 - discontinue combat or return to step 1

Declaration and initiative

The order of declaration is usually determined by comparing the characters' Wits attribute. The combatant with the lowest Wits attribute (the one who is least observant and the slowest thinker), declares his intentions first. Then the one with the next higher Wits declares his action, all the way to the character with the highest Wits, who declares last. If two characters have the same Wits score, the one who acted last in the previous round must declare first. If this cannot determine who should declare first just decide on another condition. Remember, often someone will declare an action regardless of another's intentions, so the order of declaration doesn't really matter.

The referee has final say on what actions may be carried out. For instance, attacking someone at 10 metres with a sword is out of the question. When in melee combat and if the defender is using a much larger melee weapon, the attacker can only attack after making a dodge against the weapon (this represents getting inside the defender's reach).

The order of actions is determined by how fast a character can complete his intended move. Weapons have a delay listed, which measures how long it takes to get them into a position. Bare hands or natural weapons, like claws, have a delay of 10. If no indication is listed, the delay is up to the referee. Vehicles may subtract their manoeuverability ratings from this number. Creatures may subtract their Dexterity ratings in case they are taking a physical action (such as using a weapon, or biting). All involved act in order of the lowest to the highest delay. If two people have the same delay their actions take effect simultaneously, and whatever one of them does cannot prevent the other from completing his action. In any case, a character may choose to wait at any time for someone else to complete their action (but in doing so, loses the opportunity to interfere).

After all actions have been declared, a character may decide to drop his intended action and simply try to stay out of harm's way. This action is called declaring a dodge. The downside is that any time spent in preparation for the original action is lost when switching to a dodge.

Not everything a character can do in a round counts as an action. Screaming in pain, cursing bad luck, calling for surrender or dropping an item from your hands can all be done without interfering with an attack or dodge or any other move that requires concentration. A character can also move his normal walking movement rate (5 metres for a human) while taking a different action. A character who just wants to run like hell can cover a distance equal to his full running movement rate in a round. A character making a dodge is allowed to go half his running movement rate in that round.

Wild Bill and the sheriff are facing off on main street. A dry and dusty wind is blowing in the town, which isn't big enough for the both of them. The sheriff has the highest Wits, so Wild Bill must declare first. As expected, Bill half closes his eyelids and moves his right hand to the holster at his hip. Noticing the hand movement, the sheriff also moves to draw his peacemaker.

When it is clear who is going to do what and when, it is time to resolve the intended actions. If it becomes impossible for a character to do his intended action in a round, by getting hurt or something else, the character must wait for the next round to try again or to declare a new action. This round is wasted. Many things in combat can be resolved by normal skill tests. If someone attacks another character he must make an attack test, which is basically an opposed skill test.

Attack and evasion

The attack is resolved by making an attack skill test and the opposed dodge/parry test if applicable. When a character has not declared a dodge and is engaging in melee combat, he can choose to parry. This requires some instrument to parry with. Parrying does not require the character to drop his intended action but it holds a risk as a failed parry leads to a 2 point penalty for the next attack made by the character, regardless of the attacker's test result and in addition to penalties from wounds. It also cancels any preparations for actions. A player need not declare a parry at the beginning of a round, but must do so before the attack roll is made.

Every weapon in the equipment list has the skill that is used for it and a base difficulty listed next to it that is used for both attack and parry tests. The difficulty of a dodge test is 10. If successful, the dodge or parry success is subtracted from the attacker's success as in any opposed skill test. If the target does not attempt to dodge or parry or fails to do so, an attack test is made and the result is applied directly. If the attack result is positive, the target is hit and damage is determined (see Damage, page 28). If the result is negative, the attack missed and nothing happens to the target. A bad miss may cause collateral damage.

Wild Bill and the sheriff both use the same weapon, and are about equally quick at drawing their guns. The referee rules that Wild Bill may shoot first, as the sheriff moved to draw only after he had seen Bill going for his gun.

Wild Bill aims and pulls the trigger. He has a Firearms (revolver) rating of 7. His weapon's difficulty is 11 and there are no extra modifiers. The sheriff stands firm and Wild Bill's player rolls a 3. Wild Bill sends a slug all the way down the deserted main street.

Now the sheriff fires his weapon. He is slightly less experienced, but has a greater aptitude, with an equal revolver rating of 7. Unfortunately, the sheriff talent and luck were greater than Bill had anticipated. The sheriff rolls a 7, with a difficulty of 11. The sheriff's attack success is three points. As he dives away, Bill is shot in his right arm.

The referee may judge an attack to be impossible if it is grossly out of scale or if the target is moving too fast, such as using a B-52 strategic bomber to knock off a butterfly. On the other hand it is equally futile to use a Walther PPK on a WW2 battleship. In general there are two scales in EON: character scale, which handles things like handguns and melee weapons and capital scale which deals with weapons like siege rams, tank shells, air to air missiles and bombs. It is almost impossible to target someone on character scale with a capital scale weapon but if it hits, the target is most likely destroyed. On the other hand, it is easy to hit a big target with a small weapon but it will hardly do any damage. Often, a capital scale target has weak spots that are up to scale with the weapon (such as the captain of the battleship or other vital crew).

Special attack forms may require other skill or attribute rolls. For instance using artillery effectively requires an Artillery (artillery cannons) test with the difficulty increased by vague target coordinates and misinformation. Hitting with a starfighter's on board (axial) laser cannons requires Pilot (starfighter). A turret mounted weapon requires the Artillery skill. Running someone down in a car, as poor Gilbert experienced in the chase example, calls for Driving (car) + manoeuverability. Evasion in a vehicle usually uses the character's handling skill for the vehicle in question. Modifiers to the attacker's skill may be imposed for range, visibility, targeting gear and such and are listed in the table below:

Situation	Modifier
ranged weapon firing at short range (within half the listed range)	+1
ranged weapon firing at long range (beyond the listed range)	-2
attacker prepared / took aim during previous round	+1
attacker is stunned	-1
attacker failed a parry just before this attack	-2
using a ranged weapon with a laser sight or similar targeting aid	+2
attacker or target is running	-3
target is shielded, covered or different size than attacker	see below
weather and lighting	see below

Cover, shielding and size

Keeping under cover is good practice whenever people get hurt. In combat, cover functions to reduce the size of the target, making it harder to hit. The attack modifiers are listed in the table below. Keep in mind that an attacker can often easily get around cover when fighting in melee. When dealing with an area effect, such as fire or an explosion, use the modifiers below as damage modifiers instead of skill modifiers.

Shields function in one of two ways: they either add 1 point to the character's weapon skill for purposes of parrying or they function as cover. In general, a small shield, such as a buckler which is worn on the forearm and does not significantly impair full use of that arm and hand, would be considered a parry device. Bigger, up to body-sized shields function as cover. This has the advantage that it is always in place, even if the character does not parry, unless he is attacked from the rear. The disadvantage is that the character has only limited use of his shield arm. The skill modifiers for the attacker are listed in the table below.

Situation	Modifier
target is twice as large as attacker	+2
target is up to one and a half the size of the attacker	+1
target area is two-thirds the size of the attacker	-1
target area is half as large as the attacker	-2
target uses full cover in melee combat	-3
target hides behind full cover in ranged combat or is less than one tenth as large as the attacker	-4

If the attack normally would have hit (without the shield or the cover), it is considered to have hit the shield or cover and has been absorbed. In some cases, the referee may rule that the shield or cover setup is damaged and will function less against subsequent attacks. The size ratio of attacker to target also applies when attempting to hit non-human targets. A human shooting a mouse would have a -4 on his attack skill. A Dwarf hitting an 8-foot Ogre receives a +2 skill modifier. The modifiers also apply for area attacks against different target sizes.

Vision, hearing and range

Though it is possible to see for miles on a clear day, it is sort of difficult to make out anything at long ranges. In bad weather the visibility drastically decreases. Hearing ranges depend on the background noise. Below are tables that indicate visual and hearing ranges for an average human. The ranges are for human sized objects. A car would be visible at double the range and a large truck at three times the listed range.

•	Pinpoint range means the character can identify faces or see through camouflage

•	At identify range the character can read road signs and identify by clothing

•	At shape range the character sees what kind of thing there, such as a car or a truck

•	At movement range a character can see something moving but not what it is.

Visual conditions	pinpoint	identify	shape	movement
clear day	15 m	80 m	600 m	2500 m (2.5 km)
light fog or rain*	8 m	40 m	150 m	800 m
twilight or storm	5 m	10 m	50 m	100 m
dense fog or near darkness	1 m	2 m	5 m	20 m
* this includes smog conditions that habitually occur in contemporary large cities.

Hearing conditions	conversation	shout	gunshot	bomb
silence	3 m	50 m	1 km	5 km
urban (traffic, shouts)	1 m	20 m	400 m	2 km
loud (waterfall, concert)	close contact	5 m	100 m	500 m

Bad visual conditions will also make ranged combat more difficult. In general, ranged weapons have a range listed with them. Anything beyond this range is considered long range and attacking it comes with a -2 skill penalty. Anything that is within half this distance from the attacker is considered to be in short range, giving the attacker a +1 skill bonus. On less than clear days, however, additional penalties are given. In any given visual condition, a -1 skill modifier is given for a target beyond the identify range in the table below and a -2 modifier (non-cumulative) for a target beyond shape range in the table. Imaging gear can negate these penalties.

Damage

Eventually, the result of combat is that someone gets hurt. Damage may also come from sources outside combat, such as falling, having things fall on you, accidentally picking up a wire that carries a 3000 Volt current, taking a wrong turn on a skiing trip, being run down by a Chevy full of satanists, etc. Fire and poison are also obvious ways of getting hurt. Suffocation, exposure, hunger and thirst may not wound character a greatly, but can make life very uncomfortable.

If a character scale target is hit by a weapon of capital scale, such as a man being hit by artillery fire, damage is treated the same way but multiplied by five. The other way around, the damage is divided by four. Especially in applying damage the referee should use sound judgement. If a character's hand is trapped in a flaming box, it might be pointless to roll for damage. Instead the referee could assign a penalty until the hand is healed or replaced.

Weapons

To calculate damage from weapons, look up the weapon's damage code. Fractions (such as 5 + ½ Body) are always rounded up. To this number the attacker may add the attack test success or the test difference if a dodge or parry was made. In story terms, if the total of the attacker was much higher than the total of the defender, the attacker increases his chances of hitting a vital organ or crucial components instead of causing just a flesh wound or a dent. Bare handed humans (fists and feet) have a damage code of 3 + ½ Body, type C (Crushing, see Armour, page 31). Claws typically have a damage code of 4 + ½ Body, type I (Impaling, ibid.).

Falling and collisions

The damage resulting from hitting things comes from the immense acceleration or deceleration the character or object experiences. Armour is useless against this kind of damage but special precautions may be taken to cushion the blow. In one case a man jumped from a damaged aeroplane at an altitude of 6000 metres, fell through a bunch of tree branches and landed with just a broken elbow. In case of a crash or collision, the damage is 1 point per 3 kilometres per hour speed or 1 point per metre per second speed. This formula could also be used when someone is hit by a vehicle, assuming the character is much lighter than the vehicle and can be swept away by it. If the unfortunate victim is pushed into an obstacle, the referee is free to come up with supplementary damage. In case of a fall, damage is 3 points plus 3 points of damage for every two metres the character has fallen. Maximum falling damage is about 60 points for a free-falling character. If a character is inside a vehicle that smashes into an obstacle, the vehicle suffers full damage, but the damage the occupants suffer is lowered by the Structure rating (see Damaged objects, page 33) of the vehicle. Lighter and smaller objects cause correspondingly less damage on impact.

Fire and heat

Damage from heat is slightly different than other damage. Although the damage is calculated normally, damage is applied every round the character to subjected to the heat. The damage depends on the temperature the target is subjected to:

Boiling water (100°C, liquid) or the inside of an oven (200 °C, air) causes 8 points of damage.

A household fire (±600 °C) causes 11 points of damage

A chemical fire (±1400 °C) causes 14 points of damage

A plasma fire (±3000 °C), as resulting from nuclear reactions or very powerful chemical reactions, causes 17 points of damage.

Also, if only about half the body is subjected, reduce the damage by two points. If only a single body part (except the head) is affected, halve damage. If the heat is not from a gas or fire but from a solid or a liquid, increase damage by 3 points due to the much higher heat content.

Explosions

Explosions cause the listed number of damage points only when very close to the explosion. Reduce damage by two points for every metre of distance between the target and the blast point. If an explosion takes place in an enclosed space, the blast will bounce off the wall and add to the original. Calculate the distance from the explosion to nearest wall and then to the character, subtract twice this distance in metres from the original damage and add this to the primary blast damage. Apply the total as a single blast. The effect of cover and shielding is dealt with in the section Cover, shields and size on page 26.

Electricity

Electricity does not, as in popularly believed, cause damage by voltage alone. The damage is determined by the amount of energy that passes through the body per second. A common household current of 220V and about 16 Ampere causes about 8 points of damage, increasing by one per consecutive round of exposure. To avoid heart failure, the victim must make a body check every round, starting with a +2 bonus, lowered by 1 point per consecutive round of exposure (turning into a -1 penalty on the fourth round). Failure means the victim's heart stops and resuscitation is in order. Anything short of a stunning success means the character will feel sick for a number of minutes or hours. Note that household and office current is usually running through a fuse box or earth leak switch which will short out after one or two rounds. Lower the damage by two if the character is very well isolated and add two points if he is standing in a pool of salt water.

Drugs and poisons

There are many types of toxins that work in many ways, but a distinction is made between temporarily effects on the biochemistry and permanent degradation of the body parts that the toxin affects. Most narcotics are very strong in the first and try not to do the second. Unfortunately, after prolonged exposure, almost every toxin has a residual, permanently debilitating effect. Others, including the digestive venoms found in snakes and spiders, do as much of both as possible. In EON, poisons are characterized by their effects, onset time and potency. The speed, or onset time refers to the time it takes for the poison to take full effect. This time also reflects the vector by which it is commonly delivered. The potency listed is the difficulty for a Body test made to see if the character can resist the effects of poison or the drug. Below are tables listing the potency, time frames and effects of common 20th century poisons and drugs.

Drug type	Potency	Speed	Immediate effects	Long term effects
Alcohol	9	15 min.	drunkenness, delirium	liver damage, diabetes
Opiates	11 - 14	1 minute	euphoria, sedateness	nervous system dam.
Mickey fins	14	1 to 3 min.	unconsciousness	not applicable
Hashish	10	5 min.	sedateness, apathy	nervous system dam.
LSD	12	10 - 30 min.	hallucinations, delusions	nervous system dam.
XTC	11	10 - 20 min.	hyperactivity, hallucinations	depressions
Amphetamines	13	10 - 20 min.	euphoria, psychosis	depressions
Cocaine	14	1 min.	euphoria, psychosis	nose and brain damage
Sleeping pills	9	10 - 30 min	unconsciousness, coma	sleeping disorder

Poison type	Potency	Speed	Immediate effects	Long term effects
Arsenic	12	½ - 24 hours	pain, vomiting, diarrhea	resistance (!)
Curare	15	1 round	paralysis, lung failure	-
Cyanide	14	1 - 15 min.	dizziness, asphyxiation	-
Belladonna	13	2 h. - 2 days	heart tremors, convulsions	-
Snake venom	10 - 14*	15 - 60 min.	convulsions, (heart) cramps	ruined limb
Scorpion or spider	8 - 12*	2- 12 hours	pain, nausea, haemorrhaging
Strychnine	14	10 - 20 min.	violent spasms, asphyxiation
Tear gas	12	2 rounds	running eyes, temp. blindness	blindness
* Depends on the species of snake or arachnid

If the poison can be removed before the onset time has passed, the character suffers no ill effects. If an antidote can be administered, treat the poisoning as if the body test result was one category better.

Deprivation

Characters are not only hurt by doing something or by having something done to them. Occasionally they find themselves in unpleasant environments. The first problem is deprivation of food or water. After 1 day without water or three days without food, the character must roll a Body test. Willpower cannot be used to augment this test. Failure means the character's Body score is lowered by one point. For every point the character's body score is reduced, one other attribute score of the player's choice must also be lowered. Should any score reach zero, the character dies. This reduction remains until the character consumes at least one and a half times a minimal ration, at which point the character regains the lost attribute points at a rate of one point per day for every score.

Suffocation works quicker. The character must make a body test for every 30 seconds without air with a cumulative -1 point penalty per minute (two tests). If the character fails, she suffers a -1 on her attempts in the next 30 seconds to reach breathable air. After that she loses consciousness and only external aid will save her.

Cold

Cold can also severely affect a character. When exposed to temperatures lower than 10 °C without sufficient protective clothing, the character must make a body test every 60 minutes, this interval being reduced by 10 minutes for every 2 degrees below 10 °C. Halve the time if the character is in cold water instead of air. Failure means the character loses a point of Body. This is repeated until the character loses all Body points and dies of hypothermia or is taken to proper warm surroundings. Lost Body points return at a rate of 1 point per 30 minutes if the character is brought into a warm environment. If a character is insulated properly she will no longer lose Body points but will recover them only at a rate of one point every two hours. Extreme cold, such as that caused by having liquid nitrogen poured over you is treated like heat damage. Apply 4 points plus 1 point per 20 degrees below 0 °C. As liquid nitrogen is about -196°C, being dipped into it is quite harmful.

Armour

Armour is useful for characters who don't feel confident their bodies or equipment can take the abuse their players are going to guide them into. It comes in three basic variants: Crushing (C), Impaling (I) and Energy (E). Crushing armour protects against bludgeoning weapons, crushing blows, explosions and other shockwaves that affect a sizeable portion of the body. Impaling armour protects against sharp, thin weapons that concentrate the impact energy on a very small surface, such as bullets, arrows and piercing blades such as daggers and florets. Energy armour protects against fire, lightning bolts and other energy attacks. Other kinds of armour may be defined that protect from more specific forms of attack. Before damage is applied, subtract the appropriate armour rating from the damage. In effect, armour adds to the character's Body or object's Structure in reducing physical damage. If more than one kind of armour is present, the best rating counts for the different categories. The amount of damage that was negated is absorbed by the armour. The referee may rule that armour becomes less effective after it absorbs a lot of damage. In this case, some damage may pass through the barrier (see Damaged objects, page 33).

Stun damage

This form of damage is applied like normal damage for the initial effects (knockout and penalties on the current round). By contrast, the resulting wound level (see below) and resulting longer term penalties are one category less severe than normal damage. Stun damage can be caused by crushing and energy attacks, not by impaling attacks and armour is applied normally. Some weapons and spells are designed to cause this form of damage.

Wounds

If there is anything left after the defender subtracted his armour from the damage code, two more operations are performed. First, someone rolls a six-sided die and adds this to the leftover damage. Then the poor subject subtracts his Body rating from this new total. The wounds received depend on how much of the damage still remains, as can be seen in the table below:

Damage left	Resulting wound level
1 to 6 points	Stunned
7 to 10 points	Wounded
11 to 13 points	Incapacitated
14 to 16 points	Mortally wounded
17 or more points	Character dies immediately

A Stunned character has a -1 penalty to all his actions for this round and the next. This means any skills and attributes are used as if they were one point lower. The character also makes the next fatigue test at a difficulty one point higher than normal. Multiple stun wounds do not give cumulative penalties on skill and attribute tests, but the duration of the stun and the fatigue penalty are cumulative.

Wounded characters fall prone and can take no actions or dodge for the remainder of the round. They also suffer a -1 skill and attribute modifier to all actions until healed, as if they were constantly stunned. Wounded characters must also make an immediate fatigue test. Failure means the character is knocked unconsciousness. If the character is Wounded again he or she becomes Incapacitated.

Incapacitated characters fall prone and are knocked unconscious for D10 x 3 minutes. After that they are incapable of taking any strenuous action until they are healed to at least Wounded level. This requires professional medical aid and some medical facilities. All other actions are carried out at a -2 skill level. Incapacitated characters wake up severely exhausted, and being Wounded or Incapacitated again renders them mortally wounded.

Mortally wounded characters fall prone and are knocked out. They can take no actions until healed to at least Incapacitated. A mortally wounded character will die in D6 + Body minutes if no emergency medical treatment can be provided. Even if the characters does receive treatment, his condition remains dangerously unstable. The characters needs to be treated at a medical facility or the character will die anyway some time over the next 24 hours. A mortally wounded character who is Incapacitated or Mortally wounded again dies instantly.

The sheriff rolls for damage and gets a 2. Bill is not particularly healthy, having only a Body of 3. Because effective impaling armour was not available in the Wild West, Bill is not wearing any armour. The damage code for a revolver is 7, leaving 7 points of damage. Bill is wounded and falls on the ground from the pain of the scorched tissue and the broken bone in his right arm.

Penalties from wounds are not cumulative: the highest one counts. When a character should be killed outright by a wound inflicted by another character, the attacker may choose to reduce the injury to Mortally wounded and maim the character instead, destroying an organ or body part in the process.

Healing

After combat or injury, players will want to know how soon their character are ready for another bout of life-threatening activities. For equipment, this is simple. It stays broken until repaired (unless otherwise stated). Living creatures heal naturally. Every wound level has a basic time to heal. To actually make the recovery, the character must pass a Body test after the stated time period. If successful, the character is healed after again that stated period. If not, he may try again after an extra period of the stated time has passed. So after one failure and one success, the character is healed after three times the basic period of time. Healing times may be shortened by the circumstances in which the character is treated. Fire, acid, cold, electrical damage and other types of burns take twice as long to heal. A physician succeeding at a Biomedicine test gives the wounded character a +2 bonus to the Body test to heal.

An unconscious character will wake up in due course or may be awakened by a successful Biomedicine (first aid) test using some herbs, an injection or volatile salt.

A Wounded character needs two days of rest to attempt a Body test at difficulty 10. An attending physician must pass a straightforward Biomedicine (first aid or surgery) test.

An Incapacitated character needs about two weeks of rest to be allowed a Body test at difficulty 12. The attending physician makes a challenging Biomedicine (surgery) test. The referee may rule a minor permanent injury is sustained unless the character is treated in an emergency facility.

A Mortally wounded character needs a month of rest to be allowed a Body test with difficulty 14. The attending physician can attempt a hard Biomedicine (surgery) test. If the surgeon fails, the character dies regardless of Body tests. A minor success will return the character to Incapacitated level only. The character must be treated in a minor hospital and if the character is not treated in a major facility the referee may rule a major permanent injury is sustained.

Wounds can also get infected. To avoid this, the character must succeed at a Body test when the wound is inflicted and every week he is still wounded thereafter. A very successful operation on the wound will considerably lower the risk of infection. Others modifiers depend on the surroundings. A clean office building or hospital may result in difficulty 8. A rainforest or sewer may result in difficulty 14. If antibiotics are applied they will add a +4 modifier to the character's Body score for the purposes of infection tests only (unless the bacteria are resistant, at the referee's discretion). When the character fails, all further healing is impossible until the infection is cured. The character must make a straightforward Body test every week with a modifier depending on the circumstances as above. If the character the succeeds by more than three points, he is cured. If he fails by more than four, he dies. Anything in between means the character just stays infected. The time between tests may be shortened by the circumstances the character is treated in as with healing.

The following modifiers for facilities are recommended:

•	no sterile instruments, disinfectants or bandages whatsoever: double time to heal, receive -2 on any body test dealing with infection, -2 to Biomedicine tests.

•	a decent medical kit: base time to heal, no modifiers.

•	emergency facility (family doctor's practice or a modern ambulance): divide healing time by 2, receive +1 on any body test dealing with infection.

•	minor hospital (MASH unit or small rural hospital): divide healing time by 3, receive +2 on any body test dealing with infection.

•	major facility, (hospital connected to a medical university): divide healing time by 4, +3 on a body test dealing with infection, +2 on Biomedicine tests.

Damaged objects

The system for damage to inanimate objects is analogous to the system for damage to living creatures. To resist damage an object uses its Structure rating, which is a measure of general ruggedness and reliability and the equivalent of the Body attribute. It has an armour rating in case it is specifically protected against something. If an object is used as protection, as in someone hiding behind a wall, it is possible that the object will break and the things behind it still suffer damage. If the protective object suffers a Mortally Wounded or worse hit, subtract the Structure rating of the object from the original damage before applying it to whatever is behind the object. If the barrier suffers lighter damage, no damage gets through.

On a stun result, the object has a scratch, maybe a busted paint job and will experience a glitch - a computer screen flashes momentarily, a CD skips a track.

On a wounded result, the object has a minor dent or small crack in the exterior, but will still hold together. Function is somewhat impaired. A TV set may suffer from bad reception or a distorted image. This lasts until repaired.

An incapacitated object functions only at its most rudimentary level and requires repair before it is anything close to fully functional.

A mortally wounded object is broken and ceases to function completely. If the object holds data, nearly of it will be lost. Required repairs are extensive, and in some case may exceed the cost of replacement.

An object that suffer from a killed result is broken beyond repair. Maybe something can be salvaged but this is up to the referee.

Damaged vehicles

Use the following substitutes for wound levels when determining damage to vehicles. The effects last until repaired unless otherwise stated

On a stun result the vehicle loses a manoeuverability point for the remainder of the round.

On a wounded result, the pilot must make a pilot, driving or seamanship test (whichever is appropriate) to retain control. Firing on board weapons or using built in-equipment is at -1 skill for the remainder of the round. Roll a D6:

Die result	Effect on now 'wounded' vehicle
1 or 2	vehicle loses 10% of it's speed.
3 or 4	vehicle loses a point of manoeuverability
5	vehicle loses a point of armour
6	vehicle loses a function, such as a single weapon, a sensor or just the car stereo

On an incapacitated result, the pilot must make a control test at -2 skill. Any functions are used at -2 skill for the remainder of the round. Roll a D6:

Die result	Effect on now 'incapacitated' vehicle
1	vehicle loses 20% of it's speed
2	vehicle loses 2 points of manoeuverability
3 or 4	the vehicle loses 2 points of armour
5	vehicle loses an entire system, such as weapons, shields, navigation, propulsion or sensors
6	one of the vehicle's propulsion systems shuts down. It is not permanently damaged and can be restarted from the next round*
*All effects last until repaired, except for the "6" result.

On a mortally wounded result, the vehicle loses power and stops. If the vehicle would crash, the pilot must make a skill check at -3 skill to avoid serious damage. The vehicle loses 1 point of armour automatically. Roll a D6:

Die result	Effect on now 'mortally wounded' vehicle
1	vehicle loses 50% of it's speed.
2	all propulsion goes down
3	vehicle loses 2 systems as described above
4	vehicle's controls are dead and the vehicle must continue straight on, without any manoeuverability
5	vehicle breaks up and starts to disintegrate. All passengers must either get out or get into survival gear
6	vehicle's engine systems overload, threatening to explode in two rounds unless shut down. The vehicle will probably catch fire as well

On a killed result the vehicle, and presumably everyone in it, are more or less instantly destroyed.

An example: Thessia's story

To illustrate the use of the preceding rules, consider the following scene, and the game analogy that follows.

Thessia the Inestimable, professional redistributress of wealth, is sneaking into a noble's house. She manages to climb on the balcony without being spotted, and walks to the bedroom door. Only after much meddling and poking, she succeeds at picking the lock but as she opens the door, she finds herself facing the resident noble. The huge man quickly overcomes his surprise and bellows: "Well well.. What have we got here? A street urchin preying on those who earn an honest living? We'll have none of that here, lass."

The noble reaches for his longsword, and Thessia pulls her dagger. She hasn't got much room to move, and realizes she will have to disable the noble to escape. She will stab the man with her dagger, with any luck wounding the noble before he can slash her in two. With her light dagger, Thessia lunges for the noble before he can complete his swing. The blade sinks through the leather armour into the man's abdomen, who staggers back and falls prone, screaming for the guards. Thessia decides her fencing skills are not up to facing a whole squad of guards and flees the house.

Jumping down from the balcony she lands badly and bruises her ankle. To matters worse, she is spotted by two of the city watch. Cursing her bad luck, she runs into another street, with two watchmen on her tail. After a few streets of vaulting obstacles and evading attentive citizens she is running out of breath. Fortunately for her, the guards are also slowing down. Forcing her legs into a final burst of speed, she rounds a corner and dives into a deserted alley, covering herself with a discarded rug.

The guards spread out and one of them enter the alley. Thessia holds her breath and prays the guard won't find her. The guard walks right past her and looks at the wall for a second. Then he surveys the pile of rubbish and kicks a box right beside Thessia. Disappointed by a lack of response, the guards leaves to join the rest of his squad. Thessia waits for a few minutes and then creeps out from under the rug. She tries to walk casually to an alley a few blocks in the opposite direction and sits down to nurse her ankle and come up with another plan.

Out of character, and from the player's perspective, this scene translates into the following system uses:

In order to climb the balcony, Thessia must pass a mountaineering test, rolling against her Motion (climbing). She is not a very experienced climber, but very agile, so has a rating of 7 in climbing. The pillars of the house are smooth, but the grooves provide some hold, and the referee sets a difficulty of 13. Thessia's player rolls a 8, meaning she climbs up without problem. The referee waives the fatigue test. After that Thessia sets to work on the lock. She isn't much of an engineer, but locks are her big specialty, giving her a rating of 5 in Engineering (security). Furthermore, the referee rules this is a rather bad lock, giving her a difficulty of 8. She rolls a 3 and the lock gives out.

She opens the door and meets the noble. Thessia is obviously the faster of the two, so the noble declares first. He will try to slash at Thessia. Her player wants to get rid of the man and reciprocates. A dagger is a faster weapon than a longsword, so Thessia can get a blow in before her opponent hits. Having lived among less scrupulous elements for most of her life, Thessia is an experienced fencer. She has 8 points in Fencing (dagger) and the dagger has a difficulty of 9. The noble fails at parrying. Thessia's player rolls a 7, and Thessia sinks her dagger deep into a vital organ. The damage code for the blade is 5 + ½Body. Thessia has a Body score of three, bringing the damage code to 8. Thessia's player rolls a 3 for damage. Together with the attack difference of 6, this totals to 17 points. Leather armour absorbs two points of it, and the noble's Body reduces damage by another five points. This leaves 10 points of damage and leaves the noble wounded. The noble would have slashed at Thessia at this point, but the wound caused him to lose his action for the round. The referee decides he will scream for help. Because the duel is so short, the referee waives the fatigue test for combat.

Thessia jumps off the balcony. She rolls her Grace (gymnastics) skill of 8. It's about three metres down and she is not being very careful, so the referee assigns a 14 point difficulty. Thessia rolls a 3, dropping to the ground in a rather uncontrolled manner. She rolls for damage, getting a 2. The referee rules the damage is increased by every point beyond the first she missed her test by. She missed her test by three (skill 8, die roll of 3 makes 11, a difficulty of 14 points, 14-11=3) so the damage is increased by two. Her Body of three is not enough to soak up all the damage and she walks off in a stun. Unfortunately, she is not in a position to rest. She runs from the city watch through a crowded street filled with obstacles, noting that a fatigue test is needed every five minutes. The watchmen are still fresh but their armour hinders their movements, and the referee decides they must make a fatigue test more often.

After a few minutes of chase, Thessia is fails her fatigue test her player figures she can't go much further. He asks the referee if she can spot a place to hide and rest for a few minutes. Thessia passes an Observation test by 3 points and spots an alley in the corner of her eye. She spends a willpower point to negate the speed penalty she incurred from stun and exhaustion for a short minute.

Hidden under the rug, Thessia can do nothing but wait and be quiet. Thessia's Concentration skill is only 3 but the referee decides the rug hides some of her breathing sounds and motion and assigns a difficulty of 9. With a die result of 8 she passes by 2 points. Next, the referee rolls an Observation test for the guard. Since he is a professional at this, his skill is 8 but the referee raises the difficulty to 13 because of Thessia's effort to keep quiet. The referee rolls an 8, which would mean Thessia is caught. However, her player decides to use her Charmed trait and asks the referee to reroll. Normally, Charmed only works for die rolls made by the player, but the referee agrees this would be a good opportunity for luck. In the second attempt, the referee rolls a 4. Too bad for the guard, but Thessia has eluded him. After a short description of how close he got, her player has Thessia finding a safer location to rest and think for a bit.

Appendix A: Alternative settings

Roman fantasy 200 B.C.

This setting features Greek-, Roman-, Egyptian- and Persian-like civilizations and hordes of Celts, Germanics and Africans. Programming and Piloting are not available. Culture centres on religion and customs in case of geographical borders and etiquette and politics in case of social borders. Archery is limited to bows. Civilized groups should get Cultures or Business at reduced cost, while barbarians should get Survival at low cost. In the classic Greek model of the world, the world was divided into "normal" areas and lands of magic and fantastic creatures. Remote places such as Hades, Olympos, or just those referred to as "far away places" were the domains of Gods, Cyclopes, Hydras, spirits and other terrors. Sometimes these would venture into the normal world but more often a young hero would go on a quest to the other side and meet them at home. Magic is important and a great number of magical creatures exist. Lore skills should be divided into spheres of influence of the plentiful and very troublesome Gods. Inspiration for this kind of setting can be found in Greek mythology, and films such as Anthony and Cleopatra, Quo Vadis, Caligula, Spartacus, Gladiator and Ben Hur. Also see the TV series I, Claudius and any of a hundred documentaries on the Discovery Channel.

Medieval fantasy 1200 A.D.

This setting features Judea-Christian civilization with trade expeditions and crusades into an Arabic civilization on the border. Piloting, Programming, and Natural Sciences are not available (though the latter may be replaced by Alchemy). Archery is limited to bows and crossbows. Religion is mostly comparable throughout the game world, but customs and languages differ. Magic is mostly hermetic in nature with secret societies and brotherhoods galore. A few magical creatures exist, mostly ghosts with a few angels and demons mixed in.

American fantasy 1400 A.D.

This setting focuses on diverse hunter-gatherer tribes with rich traditions and highly developed Middle-
American empires. Interestingly, the wheel had not been invented on the American continent. It was introduced by the Europeans after 1492. Artillery, Piloting and Programming were not available. Construction and Engineering were limited to stone and simple metalworking. Religion was shamanic among the hunter-gatherers, with animals totems granting magical power. Among the empires, more abstract gods were revered, generally with bloody sacrifice.

Oriental fantasy 1700 A.D.

This setting hangs in the picture most people have of old China and Japan, as described in the Shogun game, the book of the same name, and many of the oriental myth martial arts films. Honour, swordplay, complex political relations, powerful temples, cults, hermits and the like make up the landscape along with rice paddies and seemingly endless mountainous regions. Inspiration can be found in Oriental literature as well as popular western books like Shogun and Taipan, the Legend of the Five Rings RPG and (again) documentaries on TV.

Post-Renaissance Europe 1700 A.D.

This period predates any form of industrialization. However, important inventions such as the printing press, galleons and good muskets are in larger scale production. The British still control the Americas and Louis XIV is enjoying his last days in his Versailles palace. Opportunities for revolution and "free trade" abound. For inspiration look to The Four musketeers or The name of the Rose.

Machine world 2100 A.D.

This setting is a mixture of the world presented in the films The Matrix and Terminator. Humanity has been largely overrun by machines. Though programmed to take care of humans, the Artificially Intelligent computers perverted these instructions and keep 'organics' 'enslaved for their own good'. Humanity struggles for survival, hiding and battling the machines either by combat in the real world or in the Matrix. In both locations they are hounded by machines with superhuman performance. Some have found safe havens in places that are inaccessible or useless to the machines. Those humans under care of the machines will either be suffering in concentration camps or hushed in a virtual reality where they experience the rebellion as X-files happening around them.

Appendix B: Story-writing help

This appendix attempts to provide some structural tools for writing a story. An entire campaign can be built in he same way, but beware of laying out a path that the characters must follow very strictly, because they never do.

The beginning of every story is a concept. There is no set help for this. Look in real life or other fiction for inspiration if you have none. Once you have the seeds of a story you can start elaborating. A story is basically built in four big blocks. These include the following:

•	Introduction. This gives the characters a hook and motivation. The following are commonly used introductions:

Action. Blunt introduction leading to a direct involvement

Hints. Subtle clues which require time to build

Rumours. Mystery to intrigue the characters

Mission. Orders from an outsider or friend

•	Main plot. This involves every character and drives the story.

•	Side plots. These can be specific to one character and serve to enhance and/or distract from the main storyline. Side plots can run for independently from the main plot or be set up to tie in at some stages.

•	The End. This is where everything comes together. The end comes in two basic varieties, both of which can be used if more than one objective is present:

Climax. The story builds to a big action scene and resolves the plot line.

Anticlimax + loose ends for continuation. The story may or may not end in a big scene but the characters miss out and may have to return to the plot line another time.

The main storyline should have a synopsis, which includes at least a brief description, a map showing the links between various scenes and a motivation for each character to be involved. Side plots need to be defined for the affected or targeted characters and include a note if and how these tie in to the main plot. Working within a traditional writing format, such as a subdivision between acts and scenes used in classic plays, can be helpful in providing structure if a story is getting too complicated.

In order to keep a story manageable, divide each story into chapters. There is at least one introduction and one ending, and possibly more. The rest is made up of chapter that further the main or side plots. These chapters are like acts in a play and must have a unity of location and/or time to provide for a good subdivision of the story. The synopsis should include the following elements for each one:

•	Place and function in the main story

•	Timeline of the chapter and of the chapter in the main story

•	Situational description (location and mood)

•	Characters that are of importance (agents)

•	Likely and possible actions or outcomes

Locations should include the following descriptive elements:

•	A paragraph of description (physically and atmosphere)

•	A precise map (view from above)

•	Impressions from other angles

•	Any significant characters and objects that are present

•	Possible interactions for the characters

•	Links to the scenes that are played out in the location

Depending on their function in the scene and the larger story, non player characters should have the following descriptions:

•	Antagonists / opponents

Demeanor

Quirks and memorable characteristics

Motivation / drive

Other activities (besides harassing the characters)

Resources and assets

•	Protagonists / benefactors

Demeanor

Reasoning / motivation for support

Nature of support

•	Other stakeholders / interested parties

Agenda and connection to the characters' situation

Resources and assets

Position among the other stakeholders

•	Extras / plot dummies

Demeanor

Function

Appendix C: Character sheet

Section A: Formal details

1.	Your full name?

2.	Occupation?

3.	Current residence?

4.	Date and place of birth?

Section B: Background

1.	What sort of area did your character grow up in?

2.	What are the full names of your parents and/or possible legal guardian, brothers and sisters?

3.	What are the occupations of these parents/guardian, brothers and sisters

4.	How is your relationship with those above and other family members.

5.	What education did you get (schools, university, mentors, etc.)?

6.	Did you serve in the army? What work or volunteer experience do you have?

7.	What did you do in your spare time (sports, arts, music, outdoors, etc.)?

8.	Who were your closest friends when you were young?

9.	Who were your worst enemies when you were young?

10.	What was the most significant event in your youth?

Section C: Current life

1.	What made you choose your present occupation?

2.	What do you do to relax? What hobbies do you have?

3.	Who is your best friend? Who is your worst enemy and why?

4.	What do you want to do in the next year?

5.	What do you want to be in 20 years?

6.	What do your friends and relatives think of your occupation?

7.	What religion do you subscribe to? How fanatic are you?

8.	Do you have any pets? If so, describe them.

9.	Do you have an amorous or intimate relationship? Describe other person and relationship .

10.	What is your financial state? What do you spend most of your money on?

Section D: Psychology

1.	What do you think you do best?

2.	What would you like to do most of all?

3.	What do you fear most?

4.	What would you refuse to do at any cost?

5.	What is most important to you?

6.	Which prejudices do you hold?

7.	How do you usually express yourself?

8.	What traits do you like and dislike most in other people?

9.	How attractive do you consider yourself to the opposite sex?

10.	How do you react to a (blunt) offer of physical intimacy?

Section E: Miscellaneous

1.	What is your favourite food/drink/colour/music/film/play/painting/book?

2.	What is your favourite animal, and what do you appreciate in it?

3.	What is your most unusual habit?

4.	What do you think should be banned tomorrow?

5.	What would your ideal mate look like?

6.	How would you dress if money was no object?

7.	What is your most valuable physical asset?

8.	How do you feel about travelling? Do you get motion sickness?

9.	What steps would you take before travelling far away?

10.	If your features were destroyed beyond recognition, is there a way to identify you (scars, birthmarks, tattoos)?

EON Character sheet: General	Features
Name	Ethnicity	Sex
Player Chronicle	Height	Hair
Concept Lifestyle	Weight	Skin
Appearance	Age	Eyes

Attribute scores	Trait or Skill (specifics)	Level / Training
Body	Dex
Know	Wits
Pre	Savy
Ego	Ethics
Willpower
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Wounds
OK ST WO IN MW
Cash and assets

Wealth	Status	Education
Notes and equipment
Notes and equipment
Residence(s)
Employment (history)
Close family, friends, lover(s)

Appendix D: Character job suggestions

The following is a list of jobs that are reasonably suitable for adventuring characters. These are jobs that can be unpredictable and tend to bring encounters with different kinds of people. Other jobs are possible, but tend to be more bound to a specific location. This list below is, obviously, not exhaustive.

Acrobat / circus artist

Activist (social/environmental/..)

Actor

Anthropologist

Antique dealer

Author / writer

Bounty hunter

Craftsman

Con man / gambler

Diplomat

Ecologist / geologist (earth sciences)

Gangster

Herdsman

Hobo / bum

Hunter -gatherer

Journalist / correspondent

Knight / samurai

Landless knight / ronin

Law enforcement official (special investigator)

Mercenary

Merchant / trader

Musician

Outdoor sportsman / extreme sports practitioner

Photographer / painter

Physician / medic

Pilot / aviator

Pirate / robber

Priest / clergy

Private investigator

Sailor / seaman

Salesman

Smuggler / contraband dealer

Soldier

Spy

Student

Talent scout

Thief

Tomb raider / treasure hunter

Woodsman / ranger

Appendix E: Skill descriptions

As mentioned in chapter one: Characters, this section contains information on the commonly available skills. Ask your referee if a specific skill is available in his campaign or if you want your character to know something that is not on the list.

Acting	presence-3
specializations:	acting, mime, impersonation, con
This deals with trying to come across like someone you are not and convey an idea by means other than words. It is both used for performance and for conning people in real life.
>sample difficulties and examples

Agriculture	knowledge-4
specializations:	outdoor crops, indoor crops, flowers, fish farming, fungi farming, forest harvesting
This skill has everything to do with food. It is a practical skill that involves growing crops in all its forms. Thus it includes corn fields, growing oysters for pearls and hydroponic fungus farms. Sustaining livestock is dealt with by the Animal Care skill.
>sample difficulties and examples

Animal Care	presence-3
specializations:	veterinary medicine, training, riding, habits
This skill deals with animal behaviour, training and riding, feeding requirements, elementary veterinary medicine and other things that someone with pets and riding animals may want to know. It also helps a character in understanding wilder animals
>sample difficulties and examples

Archery	dexterity-3
specializations:	bows, crossbows, diving harpoons, anti-tank rockets, gauss dart guns, slingshot
This skill deals with the use and maintenance of handheld missile weapons such as bows, crossbows and more moderns varieties such as light anti-tank weapons. It excludes guided weapons, which fall under the Artillery skill and guns, which fall under the Firearms skill.
>sample difficulties and examples

Artillery	wits-4
specializations:	guided missiles, artillery cannons, catapults, tactical deployment
This skill represents the character's ability to deploy and operate artillery, siege engines and other large scale weapons. It is both a knack for small scale tactics, knowing the weapon's advantages and disadvantages, and knowing how to get one to fire and actually hit the intended target. It ranges from ballista and catapults to starship laser batteries. It excludes fixed co-axial weapons on vehicles, which require a vehicle piloting test.
>sample difficulties and examples

Biomedicine	knowledge-4
specializations:	herbal medication, pharmaceuticals, biochemistry, surgery, first aid, neurology, diagnosis
This skill deals with diseases, DNA engineering, physical development, surgery, pharmacy, toxicology and a whole range of other fields of research. It represents knowledge of how living systems work, how to repair them, and how to destroy them. In Fantasy settings this skills would appear as "Herbs and Healing."
>sample difficulties and examples

Brawl	body-3
specializations:	closed spaces, sharp weapons, blunt weapons, punches, wrestling
This is any character's skill at down and out brawling. In bars, on the streets, or in melee, Brawl covers the use of punches, simple blunt and sharp objects and a limited array of dirty tricks. When using Brawl to parry an attack, the defender suffer a -2 modifier to his skill. Opponents defending against an attacker who uses Brawl have a +2 bonus on the parry test. This combat skill is the most versatile as it allows a character to fight (albeit in a limited way) with any melee weapon at hand.
>sample difficulties and examples

Business	knowledge-3
specializations:	trade law, economics, accounting, marketing, appraising
This deals with trade law, economics and accounting. It also covers knowledge of things such as appraisal and knowing what is for sale, where to get it and where and to sell it. It does not cover negotiations, which fall under the Management skill.
>sample difficulties and examples

Charm	savoir faire-3
specializations:	fast-talking, seduction, charm
Charm is used to have your way with people by working on their ego. Flattery, wit and (faked) kindness and sincerity are the tools mostly used to charm people into what you want.
>sample difficulties and examples

Concentration	willpower-4
specializations:	disturbances, pain resistance, food deprivation, puzzle solving, meditation
This skill allows the character to focus on a certain task. It helps a character to block out interference from around him, in mental battles, focussing on puzzles, and in resisting pain and hardship. This skill usually involves an array of meditation techniques and exercises. A concentration test is sometimes required when attempting difficult Martial Arts moves or to use any sort of mental skill in an area with a lot of noise, lights, people pushing around or talking or other distractions.
>sample difficulties and examples

Construction	knowledge-4
specializations:	buildings, bridges, demolition, vehicles, materials sciences
As the name implies, this technical skill teaches it's students how to design and build lasting structures, such as houses, offices, mines, bridges the like. It includes knowledge of materials and the forces that structures must endure over time. It also teaches how to break these structures down in a quick and efficient manner (including demolition through the use of explosives). Some knowledge of Construction is also required to design a weapons or vehicles from scratch.
>sample difficulties and examples

Crafts	dexterity-3 (multiple skills)
options:	woodworking, stone cutting, metalworking, glass blowing, painting, sewing and weaving, leathers and furs
specializations:	repairs, artwork, tools and gadgets
These skills represents the character's ability to fashion with his hands what he sees in his mind's eye. Woodcarving, sculpture and painting are examples of different crafts, as are painting, preparing disguises and making clothes. These skills also used in crafting simple tools. More complicated tools require knowledge of the Engineering skill. This skill must be selected separately for every type of material.
>sample difficulties and examples

Cultures	variable (multiple skills)
options:	defined by geographical or social borders, see below.
specializations:	language, literature, etiquette, origins
This skill contains broad knowledge of a specific culture. Knowledge of the everyday aspects of society (such as common cultural references) that are studied by Social Sciences and Humanities all fall under these skills. It is of great use in normal, casual dealings in today's societies. Cultures may be defined by physical borders (oceans, mountain ranges, deserts), as nations or regions are, or they may be defined by social borders (street culture, showbiz, corporate, clan). This skill must be selected separately for every culture. Each of the aforementioned regions has it's own, mostly unrelated, culture skill.

Every character starts with a free culture skill for his geographic region equal to his Knowledge attribute, and a free culture skill for his social environment equal to his Savoir Faire. Characters receive other culture skills depending on their Savoir Faire and cultural proximity. Bordering nations' cultures come at Savvy-3, while very distant cultures come at savvy-5.

When in a foreign social environment and having failed a culture test, a character has a -2 penalty on negotiations, persuasion and other social dealings. This includes most aspects of the Expression, Management, Intrigue and Business skills. At the referee's discretion a Humanity or Social Sciences test can be made to lower this penalty.
>sample difficulties and examples

Driver	wits-3
specializations:	standard cars, off-road cars, motorcycles, tracked vehicles, maintenance and construction
This skill deals with ground vehicles. At low levels it deals with keeping yourself on the road, but at higher levels it also confers knowledge of the vehicle's workings. It covers cars, motorcycles, off-
road vehicles and even tanks. Designing your own ground vehicle also requires knowledge of Construction.
>sample difficulties and examples

Earth Sciences	knowledge-4
specializations:	ecology, physical geography, meteorology, geology
This skill covers climate science, meteorology, ecology, physical geography, and geology. In other words, the large scale processes that happen over, on and underneath a planet.
>sample difficulties and examples

Engineering	knowledge-3
specializations:	robotics, computers, security, power generators, locksmithing
This skill deals with electronics and mechanics. The design and repair of robots and computers, security systems, engines and the like all fall under this category. Those very skilled in Engineering will also have a strong math background. In medieval settings this skill would be of limited use, except for things as windmills, elaborate traps, locksmithing, etc. The skill assumes tools and parts are available. Making these from scratch requires a relevant Crafts skill.
>sample difficulties and examples

Expression	presence-3
specializations:	books, composition, rhetoric ,speeches, instruction, poetry, pamphlets
This skill allows one to bring across an idea in an understandable and convincing matter. This may be done written or oral. It allows one to be a writer or enthral people with rhetoric. It is also used when trying to present an interesting class to students.
>sample difficulties and examples

Fencing	dexterity-4
specializations:	light swords, fencing blades, staff, spears, lightsaber
This skill deals with the proper use of sleek blades and other light, generally one-handed weapons that rely on piercing attacks and not on bulk. This class includes the dagger, rapier, spear and stun baton. When using light weapons, this skill is more useful than the Brawl skill, as Fencing allows one to perform a parry without additional modifiers.
>sample difficulties and examples

Firearms	dexterity-3
specializations:	handguns, muskets and rifles, laser weapons, gauss needle rifles, particle guns
This skill deals with the use and maintenance of handheld guns (from any era), laser pistols, gauss rifles, particle guns and any other weapons that fire high-velocity, small caliber projectiles or beams. It excludes guided weapons, which fall under the Artillery skill and larger handheld missiles that fall under the Archery skill.
>sample difficulties and examples

Grace	dexterity-3
specializations:	modern dance, ballet, acrobatics, dodge, skate board tricks
Grace measures the talent and skill a person has in sports and tricks that depend mostly on balance, coordination and flexibility. Dancing, gymnastics and acrobatics, and less performance oriented activities such as dodging are covered by this skill.
>sample difficulties and examples

Humanities	knowledge-4
specializations:	history, theology, anthropology, philosophy, general arts
This discipline includes anthropology, history, theology and philosophy. This skill may be used to derive insight into the cultural background of a society and analyse the significance of a custom or activity in a broader social context. A character can reduce the cost (required number of training points) for the next level of a Cultures skill by one by passing a Humanities test.
>sample difficulties and examples

Intrigue	savoir faire-4
specializations:	subterfuge, interrogation, lie detection
This skill is the art of prying secrets from those who have them and a character's ability to see through other people's motives.
>sample difficulties and examples

Legerdemain	dexterity-4
specializations:	magic tricks, picking pockets, juggling, distractions
This art deals with minute distractions and sleight of hand. Card tricks, snatching keys unnoticed, picking pockets, juggling and the like all fall in the field of legerdemain. It can also be used tests where nimblefingeredness in general is required.
>sample difficulties and examples

Management	presence-4
specializations:	leadership, bureaucracy, negotiation, intimidation
Management is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do by force of personality and credibility. It is most useful in business situations.
>sample difficulties and examples

Martial Arts	dexterity-4
specializations:	Capeora, Jiu-Jitsu, Aikido, Savate, Kempo, Kung-Fu, Karate, Tae Kwon Do
The combat aspect of Martial Arts specialties, such as Capoera or Judo, is covered by this skill. In EON, Martial arts do not cover the use of any weapons other than the human body. Other skills deal with these. When not using weapons, this skill is more useful than the Brawl skill as Martial arts allow one to parry without additional modifiers. Note that some extreme manoeuvres may require the character to succeed at a Concentration test beforehand.
>sample difficulties and examples

Motion	dexterity-3
specializations:	climbing, stealth, tightrope walking, 0-G manoeuvring
This skill deals with climbing, tightrope walking, imperceptibly sneaking around and similar things that depend on muscle control and balance and calculated movements.
>sample difficulties and examples

Music	presence-3
specializations:	any instrument or any music style such as jazz, rock or dance, etc
This deals with the use of musical instruments. It covers the basics of musical script, sense of rhythm, how to fashion pleasantly sounding songs, symphonies and theory of composition. The skill level measures both the number of instruments the character can use and the quality of his musicianship.
>sample difficulties and examples

Natural Sciences	knowledge-5
specializations:	industrial chemistry, theoretical chemistry, applied physics, particle physics, astronomy, etc.
This skills deals with math, physics and chemistry. It includes such fields as astronomy, quantum mechanics, industrial synthesis and combinatorial mathematics. It can be used to classify or determine the mechanism behind reactions and forces. Characters with high ratings in Natural Sciences will also have a strong math background.
>sample difficulties and examples

Observation	wits-4
specializations:	details, body language, hidden clues, supernatural activity, sensory deprivations
This deals represents the notion the character takes of her surroundings. Most people go through life with their eyes half closed, missing a lot of what goes on around them. Those with high ratings in Observation pay attention to the world around them. Specialty fields include reading body language, signs of supernatural activity, paying attention to small but significant details, and general alertness to sudden changes. The skill is useful in Agatha Christie style detective work and forensics. It is also useful when a character is blinded or deafened.
>sample difficulties and examples

Occult	knowledge-5
specializations:	spirit characteristics, other planes, magic theory, rituals
Occult deals with knowledge of the supernatural. It deals with magic, spirit denizens and other planes and dimensions and their characteristics. Obviously, this skill is only available if there are supernatural aspects to the campaign setting. Note that this skill confers real knowledge, not the distorted and faulty stuff that gets handed down to everyone in legend and myths (covered by the Cultures skills). A failed Occult test usually causes the character to accept such myths for truth.
>sample difficulties and examples

Pilot	wits-5
specializations:	fighters, transport planes, helicopters, gliders, small propellor craft, maintenance and construction, navigation
This skill is about the same for aeroplanes as Driver is for ground vehicles, but the difficulty for piloting aeroplanes and specifically helicopters is higher than for cars or ships. This skill is used when piloting spacecraft in atmospheric or tactical situations. It also covers navigational aspects.
>sample difficulties and examples

Seamanship	wits-4
specializations:	sailing, speed boats, cargo ships, submarines, hovercrafts, repair and construction, navigation
The same as with Pilot, except it covers for sea-going vessels. It covers wind-propelled boats, coasters, mammoth tankers, hydrofoils, speed boats, hovercrafts, and basically anything that glides on water or land.
>sample difficulties and examples

Slashing	body-4
specializations:	heavy swords, axes, hammer, polearms, clubs, chainsaw
This skill deals with heavy, often two handed weapons, such as clubs, hammers, axes, broadswords, most polearms and exotic things as vibroaxes and chainsaws. It is centred on keeping these heavy crushing weapons under control and move them like you want to. Using Slashing with heavy weapons confers the same advantages over Brawl as Fencing with light weapons.
>sample difficulties and examples

Social Sciences	knowledge-4
specializations:	psychology, political sciences, communication sciences, civil law, sociology
This is a field of study about societies. It deals with people and the structure and workings of societies in general. It contains psychology, civil law, political sciences, communication science and sociology. It can be used to analyse the connection and dependencies in and between people and social groups. A character can reduce the cost (required number of training points) for the next level of a Cultures skill by one by passing a Social sciences test.
>sample difficulties and examples

Software	knowledge-5
specializations:	hacking, cyberspace operation, operating systems, application programming, interfaces
This skill deals with making computers do what you want. It ranges from configuring your PC to run a new game to tricking the pentagon computer into allowing you access to certain 'Top Secret' files. It also covers making your own software. Common end-user skills fall under the 'Computer Literacy' trait described in appendix F: Traits, page 50. If available, Computer Literacy is required to take this skill.
>sample difficulties and examples

Sports	body-3
specializations:	specific sport, such as a ball game, throwing, swimming, athletics or cycling
This skill covers sports based on strength, endurance and technique. Examples are running, ice hockey, soccer, discus and swimming. It also includes throwing items such as grenades and spears. A successful Sports test can be used to put off fatigue tests for endurance sports. The interval between tests is multiplied by the character's success.
>sample difficulties and examples

Survival	knowledge-4 (multiple skills)
options:	jungle or forest, plains and savannah, urban, desert and salt flats, any other plane or dimension
specializations:	tracking, food and water, flora, fauna, navigation, natural hazards, specific terrain
Survival is a must for anyone who is stranded in any hostile environment without food, water or shelter. It can supply any of these, an indication of the dangers posed by local flora and fauna and terrain features, and tracking and navigation skills. Fundamentally different terrains have a seperate Survival skill, which must be taken separately. A character has survival for his native terrain at a level equal to his Knowledge attribute.
>sample difficulties and examples

Appendix F: Trait descriptions

As mentioned in chapter one: Characters, this section contains information on all the available traits. Ask your referee if a specific trait is available in his campaign.

Physical

Allergy

When the character comes into contact with certain substances or creatures he suffers from a negative physical reaction. If the element is rare or the reaction is not more than a mild urge to scratch yourself, count it as only a one point allergy. If the element is everywhere and the reaction is very violent count it as a four point allergy. In game terms the character must make a Body test with a degree of success equal to the allergy rating or act as though stunned.

Ambidextrous

The character can use both hands with ease. Most others can only use their right or left. This can be very handy when one of your hands is wounded or when hanging from a bridge while trying to use scissors to disarm a bomb with the wrong hand.

Asthma

Unless the character is in a fairly clean environment (referee's discretion) the character must make fatigue tests that must usually be taken after a number of rounds or minutes at double the normal frequency. This represents the character's limited high-strain endurance. Activities that require a test with hourly or lower frequency are not affected. Note that the average late twentieth century large city represents a polluted environment. Inhalers can be used to suppress this effect but take some time and concentration to apply.

Bad sight

This trait gives a -2 modifier to all visual Observation tests and a -2 to Driver, Pilot and Seamanship tests. This is a physical defect that cannot be cured through easily available means. In our age it therefore excludes such things as minor near- or farsightedness which can be fixed through the use of glasses or contact lenses.

Blind

This character cannot see. The character fails all visual Observation tests, but usually has a +1 on tests with other senses. The character will automatically fail Driver, Pilot and Seamanship tests, and be severely impaired with almost every other skill which involves looking at something to get information, such as Biomedicine, Survival, Firearms or Agriculture. Unless especially facilitated the character must spend 10% more time to learn new skills which involve reading and looking at things.

Cyber rejection

A character with this trait can never have cybernetic or other non-biological implants. These will cause immediate and chronic infection in the character until the implant is removed. Biological implants must be tailored to the character's genetic structure, or have a 50% chance of being rejected as well. This also counts for donor organs that may be implanted after injuries. This 50% rejection chance is in addition to any normal chances of rejection.

Deaf

This character cannot hear. The character fails all auditive Observation tests, but usually has a 1 point bonus on tests with other senses. The character will automatically fail spoken Expression, Culture and Intrigue tests. In addition, the character must use lip reading or sign language to communicate without writing and cannot be warned quickly without visual contact. This means the character is severely impaired with skills which require interactions with society. Unless especially facilitated the character must spend 10% more time to learn new skills which involve listening (to teachers, for instance) and conversation.

Hard of hearing

This character has a -2 modifier on auditive Observation tests and a -2 modifier on Culture, Intrigue and sound based Expression tests. The character can hear only with great difficulty and in good circumstances what a healthy individual can hear normally. This also makes it more difficult to keep proper pronunciation and learn to speak new languages.

Looks

This trait gives a modifier equal to the trait to every social test with people that don't know about the character's reputation (Status) and know him superficially at best.

Mute

The character cannot speak, giving him a 1 point penalty on all social interactions. He must communicate through sign language or writing. Other characters must make an Observation test to be able to determine what the character means. The trait is best played out by having the player try to mime his intentions and assign a modifier based on his performance.

Paralysed

This character has lost the use of his legs and possibly his arms. This makes him incapable of using the Grace, Fencing, Motion and Slashing skills. He can make only limited use of Animal Care, Agriculture, Archery, Biomedicine, Driver, Engineering, Firearms, Legerdemain, Pilot, Seamanship, Sports, Brawl and Survival. The character must have someone to push him along in a wheelchair, have an automated one or just be carried around to move.

Perfect health

A character with this trait is hardly ever sick, never suffers from infections and always makes his Body test required for natural healing. Androids and other creatures with bodies that cannot heal by themselves cannot take this trait.

Social

Ally

The character has a friend whom he can call upon in need, and who is a significant person is his/her own right. The ally may come to call upon the character to return the friendship if he is in need of help. The cost of the ally depends on the power and services the ally can provide. An ally with few resources and ties may cost only one point (a street vagrant), while a retired intelligence agent would sell for no less than five points.

Alternate identity

The character is a fugitive under a witness protection program, an intelligence agent, a criminal or has otherwise acquired a second passport, social security number, credit card and other (computer) registrations that allow him to successfully pose as someone else. If a character has his identity researched, there is a fifty-fifty chance that either identity will matched to the character. If the search is exhaustive there is a 25% chance that the other identity will also surface. This means the second identity is blown. The player and the referee decide what the character's other identity is, who already knows of and who finds out about the double life the character leads or used to lead.

Cultural flexibility

This character has a feeling for new people and customs. The character does not suffer die penalties from dealing with foreigners, and automatically gains a single point in the local culture skill after the first week in a new area.

Dark secret

The character has a secret of an unsavoury nature which would hurt him severely if it ever came out. It could for instance be a double life, past crimes or sexual indiscretions. A single point secret would alienate him from a few of his friends and cause him to be passed over for promotion. A six point secret would ruin the character financially, alienate him from all but one or two of his friends and make him a hunted man all but everywhere. This is equivalent to someone who is hiding and was once known as dr. Mengele, the Nazi concentration camp doctor who committed horrible experiments on inmates. If the secret comes out, the character must subtract the cost of this flaw from his Status. Should this result in a negative number, the character also acquires the trait, Persecuted. Additionally, the character must subtract a number of points equal to the cost of this flaw from his combined Wealth attribute and Ties traits. The player may decide how this is distributed. At the time this trait is taken, the nature of the secret and (some of) the ways it might come out are set down. The character may need to spend time and resources to keep the lid on his secret.

Enemy

Somewhere along the line you made someone very angry with you. The size of this trait indicates the power and resources of your enemy. One point means a local bouncer with a few friends has a dislike of you. Five means a head of state or elder vampire is striving for your demise. Note that enemies usually spend only a fraction of their time on ruining you. For a completely obsessed foe, more points may be granted. Enemies may have friends or employees that are also on the lookout for you.

Favour

Some time ago, you did someone a service or received one. A positive trait means that a designated NPC owes the character a debt. A negative means the character owes a favour. Favours can range from having provided some inside stock information to having saved the other's life.

(Computer) (Il)literacy

This merit is used in world settings where only a privileged few can read or write. In a contemporary society, where almost everyone can read and write, this merit is unavailable. In such a society a character may take the trait "Illiterate" which costs -2 points. In societies where computers exist but are not ubiquitous, characters may take the digital version of this trait. It represents near fluency in using everyday applications such as a word processor, web browser or whatever else is applicable to a character's life. It does not confer any skill in installation or programming or more complex tasks, which fall under the Software skill. In settings where computer are all around but not capable of reading thoughts, a 'Digital Illiteracy' is available at -2 points.

Persecuted

The system in general is after you. You could be wanted by the police for crimes or inappropriate political, religious or ideological convictions. In stranger cases, you might be hunted by intelligence agencies, religious fractions or other groups. The persecutors have a long reach and should be able to get at you in at least half the campaign setting area. Fortunately for you, they also have others to worry about and can spend only a small part of their resources on getting at you.

Primitive background

This character is from a backwater region, perhaps even raised by wolves or apes, and does not have the familiarity with technology that others have. Running water from a faucet is an act of god. Light bulbs are great magic. At least initially. After some time, the character will be able to buy off this trait, but until then he must make a wits check every time he wants to use a piece of technology. The character may have no technological skills (such as Software) at all until this trait is bought off. This trait may only be taken in a setting with about 1920s technology or (preferably) later. It is normally taken together with Computer Illiteracy if that trait is available.

Ties

Some characters have connections in the world around them. You might hold an office, have a noble title, be a lobby tycoon, be a member of the mafia or just an impressive and well-connected person. Whatever the case, your words can have an effect on affairs of others. Your control over events is limited and subject to circumstances. The different categories of ties include: politics, media, high society, entertainment and arts, church/religious, agriculture, industry, science, judiciary, civil bureaucracy, finance, organized crime, military, medicine, emergency services and street. Some overlap may occur. The size of this trait denotes how wide your network stretches. One point means you are held in high esteem in your neighbourhood. Five means you could be a ranking senator with an impact on national politics. An average policeman will have two points of ties due to the formal powers derived from his job and his connections on the force.

Whenever you try to affect something within your sphere of influence, your ties rating is added to the relevant skill rating. You also receive news about your sphere of influence and have an easy time arranging meetings with other players in your field. Outsiders may come to you for assistance. Your ties work through contacts, that act as central nodes in your network and conduits for your activities. To help define your specialties and limits, at least one contact person must be described per two points of Ties (like allies, but only social aspects are important). The referee uses these to determine what your ties can and cannot learn and do for you. This trait requires continued investment of time and energy to keep it at the current level, proportional to the size of the trait.

Under custody

A character with this trait has only limited freedom of decision making. Others are responsible for her and her actions. This trait applies, among others, to children, slaves and prison inmates. This condition leads other people to consider her irrelevant in most serious affairs, and few take notice of her opinions. In all these situations the character suffers a -2 modifier to his social tests. They are also limited to at most two points of Ties. The guardian, warden or owner may be purchased as an Ally.

Ward

The character has a young friend or a child he must look after. The NPC takes up time and resources and might be a way for the character's enemies to get at him. The exact nature of the protégée is up to the player. In some cases a wife or friend may be considered for this trait, but only if the NPC is very limited in her way to fend for herself and thrive in the campaign world.

Zeroed

The character was somehow erased or never registered in the society's administrative system. He has no nationality, no social security number and no formal address. Quite simply put, no records of the character exist. This makes it extremely difficult for law enforcement and more shady institutions to find the character. The character does have a false passport, so movement is hardly restricted. There is a chance, however, that a law enforcement agency decides to correct this problem and attempts to bring the character in for questioning. Of course, a search warrant for John or Jane Doe does not do very much. The downside to this is that you cannot receive social security and background checks automatically fail.

Mental

Note that any reference to a psychological test is to be rolled with 2d6 instead of 1d10, as described in the `Psychological Tests' section.

Addiction

The character is addicted to a legal or illegal substance. Lack of this substance will make the character nervous, irritable or depressed. This ranges from one point for a heavy cigarette addiction to four points for an angel dust lover. If the character does not get his substance he must make a willpower test with a degree of success equal to the Addiction strength or suffer from a predetermined temporary psychosis. This trait may also require a lot of resources to maintain and can involve substances which are illegal.

Amnesia

The character has no memories of a certain period of time. This may be just one month or the character's entire life. This does not affect skills, but the character may not know he is proficient in certain skills. Events from his past may come to haunt him without warning or any apparent reason (to the character). This trait may be countered by therapy or other effects. In the case of traumatic experiences, being confronted with the trauma may trigger a psychosis.

Compulsion

The character has a subconscious habit to repeat certain behaviour. This includes insatiable curiosity, kleptomania, pyromania, bulimia nervosa, and pathological lying or gambling. It can also be a habit of making a horrid screeching noise with your fingernails on the table. Note that the character may not even be able to identify his own behaviour. A character with a death wish may take insane risks without realising he is trying to kill himself. To avoid the effect of a compulsion the player must roll under his character's Ego with a degree of success equal to Compulsion's rating.

Delusion

This character suffers from a mistaken identity or hallucinations. In general, he or she believes something the world is something it is not. This trait includes schizophrenia, various cultural behavioural syndromes, anorexia nervosa, hypochondriasis, megalomania and narcissism. Effects differ, but the referee should feel free to impose a -2 penalty to any social interaction that touches on the delusion.

Eidetic memory

A character with this merit remembers everything ever said or done to him. Friends will know him to be extremely reliable in his quotes and he can often remind people of things they had been trying very hard to forget. The character also remembers almost everything he reads with near perfect accuracy. For game purposes, there is a 90% chance that the character remembers it, whatever it is, unless it is connected to a repressed traumatic event.

Fast learner

A character with this merit needs to spend 10% less time (fewer training points) to learn new skills.

Higher purpose

The character believes he is made for some greater purpose. In pursuit of this goal, he is adamant in his resolve and never wavers. All Willpower checks related to tasks in direct pursuit of this goal automatically succeed (though the character may want to roll to see by how much).

Multiple personalities

For some reason, most probably a traumatic experience, your character has developed one or several alternate personalities. In situations where the character is confronted with psychological pressure, any of these personalities may surface and take control of the character. These alternate personalities behave very differently from the normal personality. They often have a built-in mental disorder, but this does not confer any extra points. The character's normal personality often remembers little of these episodes and probably doesn't remember what event caused the other personality to come into being. Multiple personalities are a defence mechanism of the brain to cope with extreme stress without becoming non-functional. In any stressful situation, the character must succeed at an Ego test or switch to the most appropriate personality (referee's choice). As soon as the stress subsides, the player my attempt another Ego test every five minutes to return to normal. Use a separate character sheet for each personality. Skills and knowledge are available to all personalities, except where these relate to the source of the multiple personalities.

Nightmares

For some reason, this character suffers from dreams that disturb his sleep and stay with him by day. These might be premonitions, based on traumatic experiences or imagination going wild. On any given night, roll 1d10. If you roll equal or lower than the trait rating, you suffer a -1 modifier to all die rolls during the day. You will also feel bad, tired and find it hard to concentrate.

Obsession

The character has an uncontrollable desire to display a certain behaviour. This is usually rationalized as being completely normal by the character. Sample obsession may include an oath of vengeance or a sexual neurosis. This obsession is always in effect to some degree and the character must make a willpower test to temporarily avoid the effects. Unlike a compulsion the character knows about his behaviour, but is either too obsessed to do anything about it or blames his behaviour on something else. Unlike a delusion the character has a reasonably accurate perception of reality.

Phobia

This character has had a previous experience or some other reason to be absolutely terrified of some event, object or creature. Whenever the character is confronted by the object of his phobia, he must roll under his Ego rating on 2d6 by the rating of the phobia (Ego test). If the test is failed, the character has a 50% on either fleeing in fear or freezing up. No willpower can be spent on actions against the object of the phobia. The character may try to pass an ego test every minute to recover and shake off the effects.

Psychosis

This character has a psychological condition that effects his behaviour in obvious ways. Sample psychosis include being aggressive, hysteric, paranoid, or rationalist. In this game, character may take borderline psychoses only. Usually they are quite normal, but the psychosis will take effect if the character is tired, under stress or otherwise psychologically weakened. Psychoses are often caused by repressed traumatic experiences. The psychosis is triggered by external events and the referee and the player must lay down the conditions that might trigger the psychosis.

When these conditions are met, the character must attempt an Ego test. If this fails, the psychosis is activated. An aggressive person will seek to destroy everything around him and especially anything connected with the psychosis. An hysteric will start screaming, sobbing or shaking uncontrollably or fall catatonic. A paranoid person immediately suffers from a -2 modifier on all social interactions and may seek to isolate himself. A depressive will suffer a -2 on social checks an a -1 on all other skill tests. A rationalist may go blank or start to devise semi-logical and pseudo-rational explanations for irrational things. A character under influence of the psychosis may attempt an Ego test every ten minutes to revert to normal

Short fuse

The character is rather quickly agitated. At every occasion where arguments start, people get offensive, the character is ignored or has to wait too long, the player must roll under his Ethics score to keep his cool. Failing this, the character will quickly start venting his anger and frustration on the cause of his misfortune or, failing that, on his general surroundings.

True love

A character with this merit has found a soulmate whose presence can help him or her through even the greatest of troubles. Whenever the character is with the True Love, willpower is regained at twice the normal speed. The character is also less likely to acquire new negative mental traits.

Vow

This merit only applies if the vow actually has meaning for the character. In the circumstances stipulated by the vow, such as a lady in distress, the character uses Ethics and Ego scores at a rating two points higher than usual and also adds one point to his Willpower attribute. This lasts until the circumstances wear off. Common vows are chivalry, protective of (own) children, loyalty to friends, et cetera. If the vow is broken, the referee should devise a story-justified sanction against the character.

Supernatural

Animal friendship

A character with this trait is inoffensive to animals. The character has a 1 point bonus in tests involving interactions with animals and an animal must make reverse Ethics test to take any hostile action towards the character. This trait has no effect on sentients, except very young children and babies.

Auspex

A character with this trait can see metaphysical patterns. A character must learn the Auspex trait before being able to freely create magical effects. A minimum rating of 9 in either Ego or Ethics is required to learn this trait. More information on this trait can be found in the EON Compendium. A character with Auspex can authoritatively detect magic use within line of sight on a successful Observation (supernatural activity) test.

Bad luck

A character with this trait seems to be cursed with a bad case of die fatigue. During every single adventure, the referee may reroll up to three die rolls made by the character in an attempt to frustrate his intentions.

Charmed

This character has the opposite of bad luck. The player may reroll up to three die rolls in the course of a single adventure.

Cursed

The character has a curse laid on her. She may have bad luck in affairs of the heart, always lose at gambling, lose all children before she dies herself or any other manner of nasty effect. The curse can be lifted, but only with difficulty, usually involving atonement or a service to the one(s) that laid the curse on the character in the first place.

Forbidden Knowledge

This character knows something best kept under lock and key. This may include secrets about statesmen's private lives, occult rituals, proof of alien abductions, a global conspiracy or something else that may cause the character to become hunted. If found out by others connected to this knowledge, they may try to hunt the character down. Thrillseekers may try to pry the secret out of the character. The knowledge should be useful in some way, but as player characters have a habit of accidentally picking up things that weren't meant for them it may only be good for blackmail purposes.

Past life memories

The character has memories of the (distant) past. If positive, this the memories may be helpful. This trait may sometimes confer limited ratings in skills the character possessed in past lives (up to 3 points) and negate cultural penalties when dealing with a culture the character has lived in. If negative, the character tends to have disturbing flashbacks which may foil the character's concentration or otherwise disturb him at inopportune times. No skill ratings can be conferred from such flashbacks. The level of the trait determines the amount and clarity of the flashbacks and memories. The referee and the player should decide roughly on the past lives the character has led.

One point gives a handful of dreamy images from the last life

Two points give a handful of clear images from the last life and two or three vague ones from earlier lives.

Three points give a good number of clear images from the last life and a handful from previous lives

Four points give recollections of a few scenes from the last life and a good number of images from earlier ones, getting more vague as the lives are more distant

Fives points give recollections of a good number of scenes from the last few lives and a number of images from many before.

Spirit Magnet

The character attracts spirits of various kinds. A positive trait means they are helpful and kind, a negative trait means they are unfriendly, uncooperative and sometimes dangerous. The level of the trait determines the power and number of spirits that come to visit you. A single point brings an occasional visit by the spirit equivalent of a poodle, while five points bring a number of demons to your doorstep every other week or an archangel with helpful tips. Note that this trait does not allow you to communicate to the spirits so attracted. If you have no way to contact them and they choose not to manifest physically, the character will know of their presence by omens, uneasy or peaceful feelings and cold drafts.