Solving the Problem of Lopsided Attributes

We could probably solve this by enforcing a rule that required all Attributes in one category to be within one dot of another attribute.

For instance, if you had Dexterity 4 you could have Stamina 5 and Strength 3 but not Strength 2. This would answer the problem of people with olympic-level Dexterity not having at least above average Strength (because they do) and massive Stamina.

Though at this point it would be simpler mechanically to just charge the character to one rating for each Attribute category and let them decide themselves on what their Specialty and Weakness is. It would even allow you to expand the list beyond three traits and give you a selection of possible ones which would allow for more customization while keeping things relatively mechanically simple.

The only questionable part is Social because Appearance 1 Charisma/Manipulation 5 people are very common in fiction. My answer would be to remove Appearance entirely from the Social Attributes and replace it with a proper defensive Attribute like Composure or Resolve. Then you can assign Appearance to a Background/Merit, since it’s a lot like Breeding in that it’s the kind of thing that you either have or need supernatural assistance to increase.

And hey, having Appearance as a Background at 5 finally makes Helen of Troy possible because “Launching 1000 ships” is a lot more in balance with Influence 5 or Backing 5 than it is with Charisma 5.

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