Stats

Stats measure how good a character is at something on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the peak of ability. A perfectly average person would have a 5 in all of their stats. Blockade Runner uses three types of stats, Body, your physical ability, Mind, your mental capacity, and Social, your ability to interact with other characters. You can also think of these as your health, skill, and resources. These three can be divided up into a power stat (how much you are able to do with the stat) a resistance stat (how you can stand against that stat being used on you) and a finesse stat (how skilled you are with that stat). These make up the nine stats explained below.

Body-Power:
Strength. How much physical power your character can exert. A character with a Body-Power of 1 may not even be able to stand without help, while a character with a Power of 10 may be able to, with effort, pick up that 800 pound cannon and carry it on a shoulder a little ways. Power affects things like how hard you can hit, what you can lift or carry, and what you can move around you.

Things that use Body-Power: hitting something, breaking things, swinging a sword, hammer or club, lifting  and throwing heavy objects.

Body-Resistance:
Fortitude. What your character's body can stand up to. Afraid of freezing to death? Make a Resist roll. Think you can stop a cannon ball with your stomach? Resist check, and hope its high. Fighting through that poison in your system to get to your assassination target? Resistance roll, please, or puke your guts out. A character with a Body-Resist of 1 might be laid up in bed to recover from a paper-cut, while a character with a resistance of 10 might just be able to take that cannon ball to the stomach.

Things that use Body-Resist: Standing up to damage, resisting poison, bracing for a hit you can see coming.

Body-Finesse:
Dexterity. How quickly and smoothly your character can move their body. Finesse can affect a diverse range of things, from sneaking through back alleys, picking locks, to dodging unexpected gunfire, to simply running for your life. A character with a Body-Finesse of 1 may be an exceptionally clumsy sit-com character, while a gold medal gymnast may approach a Finesse of 10.

Things that use Body-Finesse: Speed, aiming guns or cannon, dodging, reacting to sudden movement, Initiative.

Mind-Power:
How deeply your character understands things, and their ability to remember. Intelligence. Mind-Power helps you remember complex spells, understand machinery, and figure out the mysteries of the world around you. A character with a Mind-Power of 10 may solve a great mystery, invent a new NewTech machine, or memorize a library while a character with a Power of 1 is still trying to figure out the difference between an orange and a cat.

Things that use Mind-Power: “wizardly” magic, such as a'Shari, occultic or Haidani rituals or Zhan He magic, memorizing or remembering. Mechanics.

Mind-Resistance:
How much belief your chracter has in themself, or their lack of belief in others. Their stubbornness. Mind-Resistance is your resistance to being told you're wrong, and your certainty that you are right. Mental Resistance helps you push into unspeakable danger without batting an eye, disbelieve falsehoods, and keep yourself focused on what you believe in. A character with a Mind-Resist of 1 would give up their last scrap of food, having been told to, while a character with a Resist of 10 would immediately recognize the lie that a pass is safe, or failing that, (and lacking the Mind-Power score to make a better decision) die of frostbite before admitting they were wrong.

Things that use Mind-Resist: “sorcerous” magic requiring concentration or faith, such as Kalín spirit healing, Pischan runework, or Nialli prayers, resisting being convinced of something, resisting spells targeted on you, pushing your body past its limits.

Mind-Finesse:
How quickly your character can think on their feet, make connections, and notice things around them. Wit. If Mind-Power is how deeply you can think, Mind-Finesse is how fast you can dive. A character with a Mind-Finesse of 1 may need hours, or even days to deliberate on lunch even if there is only a single roll, while a character with a Finesse of 10 could think up twenty new ways to prepare lunch, in the time it takes you to eat that roll. Mental Finesse is what you rely on to get you out of sticky jams, out think your opponent, and is often seen as related to humor.

Things that use Mind-Finesse: noticing sounds or tracks quickly, reacting to a sudden change in enemies, defusing a bomb before it goes off, making connections between disparate events

Social-Power:
How strongly your character can intimidate, manipulate or be noticed when they want to. Your Social-Power is your ability to stand out and be taken seriously, and to get your point across. A character with a Social-Power of 10 could turn all heads by just stepping onto the dance floor, or leave the enemy paralyzed in fear with only a mean look. However ,the author doesn't remember meeting anyone with a  Social-Power of only 1.

Things that use Social-Power: intimidating an enemy, impressing people at a ball, making a presentation.

Social-Resistance:
How stable your character's emotions are, and how resistant they are to social manipulation. Composure. Social-Resistance is your ability to think things through before acting on social pressure. Just insulted by a customer? Roll your Social-Resist please. Nervous at a grand ball? Resistance check. Going to finally stand up to that thug that kneecapped your brother? Roll for Resistance to keep your nerve. A character with a Social-Resist of 10 would give a Buddha a run for his zen, while a character with a Resist of 1 probably became irrationally angry while reading this description.

Things that use Social-Resist: keeping your temper, not breaking under stress, resisting emotional manipulation.

Social-Finesse:
How well your character understands other people’s wants and needs, and how to manipulate them unnoticed. Subtlety. Trying to trick someone is a classic Social-Finesse roll, as well as posing as someone you're not, trying to go unseen, or making insinuations for some to get and others to miss. A character with a Social-Finesse of 1 would be a loud, brash and tactless fool, while a character with a finesse of 10 would be more of a master spy than James Bond.

Things that use Social-Finesse: lying, manipulating, making people do what you want without being noticed, disguises.

Hit Points:
The total of a characters three Body stats, Hit points are how much damage a character can take before being incapacitated. Hit points represent how strong your body is, how resistant to damage, and how quickly you react to damage.

Skill Points:
The total of a characters three Mind stats, Skill points are the currency used to buy Skills. Mental points represent how quickly you learn things, how well you retain them, and how much you know.

Resources:
The total of a characters three social stats, Resources are how much people owe the character or the character owns. Resources represent how much power you have over others, how well you stand up for yourself, and how skilled you are in dealings. Total Resources (resources x 100) is how much you are worth in Crowns, though not necessarily in bankable money.