Mano a Mano:Developing Abilities

Developing Abilities through Training and Experience

Characters can gain extra CP from training or other experiences. These CP can improve a character's build or abilities (but not disabilities.) When a character gains extra ability CP, update the character's extra and total modifiers for that ability. (See Character Creation.)

For example, a character might be rewarded with 20 extra climbing CP for the experience of ascending the highest mountain in the world. If the character already had 10 extra CP of climbing ability, his climbing ability will now have 30 extra CP, his climbing ability's extra modifier will increase from 1 to 2 and it's total modifier will also increase by 1.

Developing New Abilities

A character can use extra CP to develop new abilities if the ability has no special CP or the character's template already has the ability. For example a character cannot develop flight ability if his template cannot fly, but a character with no template or extra running ability could get 10 extra CP for running ability, giving him a new running ability with extra and total modifiers of 1.

Developing Movement Abilities

When a character's running, swimming, flight or climbing ability increases, his stride, water, air or climbing movement may also change. For example, a character with a total running ability modifier of 2 and no lame disability has a stride of 6. (4 + 2 - 0 = 6.) If his total running ability modifier increases to 3, then his stride will be 7. (4 + 3 - 0 = 7.) (See Character Creation/Encumbrance and Movement.)

Developing Combat Abilities

When a character's combat abilities increase, his combat modifiers may also increase. If a character's marksmanship ability increases by 1, then his combat modifier for each of his guns will increase by 1.

Flexible CP and Abilities

An experience can give a character flexible extra CP which can be added to the extra CP of any ability. For example, a character might be awarded 10 flexible CP for completing an adventure that involved fighting monsters, outwitting villains, finding treasure and a variety of other experiences. The character's player can use these 10 CP to increase the extra CP of any of the character's abilities. The player can add all 10 CP to a single extra CP value or split it up between different extra CP values.

Training CP

1 CP can represent 10 hours of intense training with experts, or 30 hours of relaxed training on your own. For example a warrior might train with a fencing master for 2 hours a week for 10 years, for a total of about 100 extra CP of fencing ability. (2 hours a week multiplied by 50 weeks a year multiplied by 10 years divided by 10 hours per CP.) If the warrior also spends 12 hours training on his own each week for those 10 years, he will have an additional 200 extra CP. (12 hours a week multiplied by 50 weeks a year multiplied by 10 years divided by 30 hours per CP.)