Athletics
Athletics refers to a character's overall physical power. While some may be tempted to simply call this strength, it's also a lot more than that. A character with a high athletics score will be good at:
- Sprinting and jumping
- Lifting and throwing heavy objects
- Standing firm against a blast of wind
- Withstanding physical attacks
What Do The Scores Mean?
| Score | Rarity | Lifting Strength | Typical Appearance* |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Only common for children and the elderly. | <50 lbs. | Very small or emaciated, may have difficulty with basic tasks. |
| 2 | Below average or out-of-shape. | 100-150 lbs. | No muscle definition, no callousing. |
| 3 | Average, moderately active person. | 150-300 lbs. | Minimal muscle definition, may have slight hand callousing. |
| 4 | Somewhat common, athletic person. | 300-500 lbs. | Clear muscle definition, usually around the core and arms. |
| 5 | Uncommon, about one in a hundred. | 500-700 lbs. | Athletic build with well defined muscle across the body. |
| 6 | Rare, about one in a thousand. | 700-900 lbs. | Notably taller or broader than average, heavily calloused hands and feet. |
| 7 | Very rare, about one in ten thousand. | 900-1100 lbs. | Extremely muscular even at a glance, likely cannot hide it. |
| 8 | Exceptional, maybe one in a city. | 1100-1300 lbs. | Overbearing frame, often very broad and very tall. |
*These features are given as as a general trend, rather than a checklist for exactly how your character must look. However, a front-line soldier with a score of 6 in athletics will always look different from a scrappy young researcher with a score of 2.
If your athletics score is reduced to 0, you become nearly immobile. You cannot walk or use weapons, but you might be able to limp or crawl with some assistance.
If your athletics score reaches a negative number, this means that you are completely immobile and your muscles have begun to rapidly wither away. Every round, you will take damage equal to the negative number.
Using Athletics
Athletics is most relevant as the stat that determines damage for most non-projectile weapons. It is also used to determine your maximum health pool, alongside Endurance.
Carrying Weight
The lifting strength column on the table above gives the approximate maximum weight that a character with the corresponding Athletics score can deadlift; that is to say, how much can be lifted from the ground to an overhead position. A character can slightly lift an object 1.5 times heavier than this, can drag or push an object 2 times heavier than this over normal ground, and can move an object up to 4 times heavier than this with the aid of a wheeled cart.
In general, a character may carry one-half of the lower bound of weight as a marching load without suffering any penalties on exhaustion rolls. For example, a character with a 3 in Athletics may travel with up to 75 pounds of gear and armor without worry. A character with only a 2 in Athletics, however, would only be able to comfortably travel with 25 pounds of gear.