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 abilities. Each ability level is worth 5 CP. For example, a character might be rewarded with an extra level of climbing ability for the experience of ascending the highest mountain in the world. This would increase his total CP by 5.

Unless otherwise stated by a specific game, a character's total ability modifier cannot be more than 9 plus his template's ability modifier. For example, if a character's template has a swimming ability modifier of 2, the greatest total swimming modifier that character could ever have would be 11 (9 + 2 = 11). If the template has no unarmed combat ability, the maximum unarmed combat ability of a character using that template is 9 (9 + 0 = 9).

Developing New Abilities

A character can use CP to develop new abilities. A character with no template or extra running ability could use 10 CP for running ability, giving him a new running ability with a modifier of 2.

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 usually 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 attack modifiers and defense may also increase. If a character's marksmanship ability increases by 1, then his attack modifier for each of his guns will increase by 1. If a character's unarmed combat ability increases by 1, then his attack modifier and defense with each of his natural weapons will increase by 1. Update the character's melee defense when the defense of his striking weapons improves.

Flexible CP and Abilities

An experience can give a character flexible CP which can be used to improve 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 use all 10 CP to increase a single ability by 2, or split the CP and increase 2 abilities by 1.

Training CP

1 CP can represent 100 hours of intense training with experts, or 300 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 10 extra CP of fencing ability. (2 hours a week multiplied by 50 weeks a year multiplied by 10 years divided by 100 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 20 extra CP. (12 hours a week multiplied by 50 weeks a year multiplied by 10 years divided by 300 hours per CP.)