The Throne War:Abilities

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Ego

Ego is an ability that governs a character’s psychic will and degree of omniscience. A normal mortal has little power in this respect, with only a few manifesting some mild empathy or psychic sensitivity. Particularly heroic individuals possess a strong willpower.

The Importance of Ego is that many of the powers of the immortals are governed by this ability. A character with a high class in Ego can use divine powers to greater effect. Even without powers, Ego can be used to probe minds or dominate the wills of lesser beings, as well as mentally attack or have silent telepathic conversations with them. It can also be used to protect oneself from psychic assault, domination, and interference.

Ego’s Benefits: A character with a high class in Ego can easily read the mind of mortals, or even magical or immortal beings who have a low class in this ability. Certain powers can make this easier, but even without any powers, a character with a good Ego ability can contact another being’s mind by physically touching them or making prolonged eye-contact.

Might

Might is the ability that measures a character’s physical strength. Someone with a high class in this ability is vastly stronger than a regular mortal. Might governs everything related to lifting, pushing, breaking objects, or any other application of brute force. It also determines how effective a character’s physical damage is, along with the degree of damage that can be dealt with a physical attack.

The Importance of Might is that it represents the power of a character’s bare hands. It is something that is almost always available, even when other powers or abilities are not. It is the most reliable of abilities in that sense, so long as a character can rely on brute force to deal with a problem. Might is not an elegant ability, but there are lots of situations in the game that can call for reliable, vulgar solutions.

Might’s Benefits: A character with a high class in Might is able to defeat any mortal in a test of strength or hand-to-hand combat. He is also able to lift large objects easily or tear a large tree out by its roots. An exceptionally-high class means being able to throw a tree like a spear or punch a hole into a metal wall.

Fortitude

Fortitude is the ability that measures a character’s endurance, resistance, and healing. While a normal human can never regrow a lost arm, someone with moderate class in Fortitude can eventually recover the arm over the course of years, and a character with exceptional class regains any lost limb in mere weeks.

The Importance of Fortitude is that it determines the magnitude and duration of powers. Those with the blood of the gods in their veins can fight much longer than mortals, survive horrific injuries, or even recover from wounds that would normally be fatal. Fortitude also regulates how long a character can keep going before collapsing from exhaustion. In many situations, a character with superior Fortitude has a significant advantage if matched against someone of similar Might.

Fortitude’s Benefits: A character with a high class in Fortitude can continue to fight, run, and generally engage in strenuous activity for hours or days on end. He requires less sleep and less recovery time from wounds or exhaustion. Immortals can also regenerate from injuries or even regrow lost limbs; a character with a high class in Fortitude can accomplish this healing faster than others, even without shapeshifting powers.

Prowess

Prowess is the ability that represents a character’s dexterity, skill at arms, and strategic thinking. It governs any situation involving armed combat, leading troops in battle, and playing games of strategy. It can even apply to most tasks that require organizational thinking, such as performing choreography for a dance troupe.

The Importance of Prowess is that it reflects a character’s combat ability. As in most roleplaying games, it is assumed that combat is a fairly regular occurrence. Not only does Prowess measure how good a character is with a sword, spear, gun, shield, or other kind of weapon, it also gauges his ability to maneuver a vehicle, lead a force in battle, and perform general strategic and organizational tasks. In short, Prowess reflects talent.

Prowess’ Benefits: Prowess helps anticipate ambushes, lead forces to victory, and master weapons that are formerly unknown. A moderate class in Prowess means stopping a large number of mortal assailants, while a high class can be used to single-handedly fight off small armies.

From Lords of Olympus, page 6

Some Examples

• Ego: The Elves of the Lord of the Rings movies are a great example of Olympian class Egos. Think about the way Galadriel could carry on simultaneous conversations out loud and in mens' minds with eye contact, or could know a person's history just by locking gazes with them.
• Might: Heracles is the classic example of Might. 'nuff said.
• Fortitude: Most action movie heroes would have a high Fortitude. Their ability to keep pushing on, despite all their injuries and exhaustion, is a perfect example.
• Prowess: Think about how in classic kung fu movies, those who are masters at kung fu also tend to be skilled at everything they do. Prowess tends to work like that.

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