Concrete quantities like strength and mass and speed and destructive force are, for our purposes, measured on different scales depending on how great the quantity is, each scale being enough larger that the previous ones are insignificant on it. For example, compared to Super Speed, even the fastest Normal Speed is practically standing still, and Hyper Speed blows right past any Super Speed. In any contest between quantities on different scales, the quantity on the higher scale automatically wins. The GM may call for a roll to see if the victory was only overwhelming or actually spectacular, but there is no question which side wins.
If the two quantities are on the same scale, the outcome is more in doubt. Within a scale, quantities are rated as "Low", "Medium", or "High", and although a High is quite likely to beat a Low it's not guaranteed. Each side rolls a number of dice according to their ranking: 1 for Low, 2 for Medium, 3 for High. If both sides roll exactly the same, it's a tie; otherwise the higher roll wins. In general, the greater the difference in rolls, the more overwhelming the victory; the exact effects depend on what sort of contest it is.
| Scale | Size / Strength | Speed | Distance / Area | Damage | Toughness |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pathetic | Bug Cat Infant | Snail, Student heading to class Turtle Wheelchair | Closet, Inside of a car, Your bedroom | Papercut, Stubbed toe | Styrofoam, Paper, Heirloom china |
| Normal | Dog Person Small Motorcycle |
Strolling person Running Person Athlete, dog |
Classroom, Gymnasium | Punch by a normal person, Baseball bat, Sword | Normal person or animal, Sheetrock wall, Expensive furniture |
| Super | Motorcycle, Small Car Sedan Truck, Helicopter |
Racehorse Car, Cheetah Lamborghini, Helicopter |
Entire high-school, city block | Gun, Blaster, Slow-moving car | Sturdy furniture, Wooden telephone poles, Armored person |
| Mega | Airliner, Small building | Airplane, Shuttle | Town, City | Big blaster, Artillery | Mega-Battle Armor, Tank |
| Giga | Skyscraper, Space destroyer | Spaceship | Major urban area, State, Small country | Starship spinal mount, Nuke | Space destroyer |
| Hyper | City, Space Dreadnaught | Starship in hyperspace | Continent, Planet | Death Star | Space Dreadnaught |
Less well-defined or more variable abilities, such as good looks, good luck, or skill with a blaster, are not divided into scales (or are all on the same scale, depending on how you look at it), and are rated solely by how many dice the user rolls to determine success. As with quantities, each side in a contest makes their roll, and whoever has the higher total wins.
Anyone who can perform the action in question with normal human aptitude and some clue as to what they're doing can roll 2d6. Only the completely clueless or talentless are limited to 1d6. There is no real limit to how high training and talent can raise this total, but more than 7d6 is unlikely for PCs.
Although qualities don't usually directly increase quantities, they can make their application more useful: no amount of Fencing skill will make your sword sharp enough to cut through the Structural Polydiamondoid of Mega-Battle Armor's plastron, but it might let you strike the weaker joint, where you have some hope of piercing. Likewise, Driving won't make your car go faster (that's what Mechanics is for), but if you can keep your slow car moving toward the finish line while the fast car spins out of control to flaming doom, you may win the race anyway.
This file was last modified at 1025 on 22Aug00 by trip@idiom.com.