The Basics: Steps

In it's simplest form, The Stair is exactly what it claims to be, a game engine. It is not as free form and unbounded as certain games (i.e. one of my favorite games, The Window) nor is it as rules intensive as such games as Shadowrun, GURPS, or Deadlands. It is instead a very fluid system, easily modeled to whatever genre is required. The most basic and necessary part of The Stair is the Step (ala Earthdawn™© from FASA). The Step is an easy method to rate the level of an Attribute or Skill that a character, creature, object, or situation possesses. A Step is always an integer (whole number). A Step also directly corresponds to one or more dice. There is no practical upper limit to Steps (other than good taste and GM exhaustion). The formula (I promise, this is the most complex piece of The Stair you will have to deal with) is simply:

(Step + 1) x 2 = Number and Type of Dice

Interpreting the resulting value is easy. If the result is 4 - 12, then you simply role that type of die (i.e. a 4 indicates you roll 1d4, a 8 indicates you role 1d8; you should never calculate an odd number, if you do, you did something wrong - remember a Step is always an integer). If the result is above 12, then it is still easy to interpret. The first number (tens digit) is the number of d10's you roll. The second number (ones digit) is the other die you roll.

Example: The Step is 8. (8 + 1) x 2 = 18. The tens digit is 1, so you roll 1d10. The ones digit is 8, so you roll 1d8. Therefore, you roll a 1d10 + 1d8 and add them together to get your result.

The only time this differs is if the second digit is a 2. In this case you substitute a 1d12 for one of the indicated 1d10's.

Example: The Step is 10. (10 + 1) x 2 = 22. The tens digit is 2 so you would normally use 2d10's. But the ones digit is a 2, so instead, you use 1d10 and 1d12. You roll these dice and add them together to get your result.

That is the basic component of The Stair. It forms the underpinning of the rest of the system. However, it is not necessary to memorize it or use a calculator. Provided below is a Step/Dice conversion table to solve all your woes. Simply print it out and refer to it whenever you need to. But I find that in no time at all, I simply have memorized the most frequently used Steps and don't even do the math anymore. Whichever method you find easiest, employ it and enjoy the rest of the system.

Step  Dice  Step  Dice 
1 1d4 11 2d10 + 1d4
2 1d6 12 2d10 + 1d6
3 1d8 13 2d10 + 1d8
4 1d10 14 3d10
5 1d12 15 2d10 + 1d12
6 1d10 + 1d4 16 3d10 + 1d4
7 1d10 + 1d6 17 3d10 + 1d6
8 1d10 + 1d8 18 3d10 + 1d8
9 2d10 19 4d10
10 1d10 + 1d12 20 3d10 + 1d12

{To download this table, go to the Downloads Section}


The Basics: Character Creation

Attributes

The Game Mechanics are based around character creation. So let us examine that first of all. A character is created upon the skeleton provided by a series of Attributes. These define the natural physical, mental, and subjective or metaphysical power of a character. They are the raw and unfinished talents that the character has. The Attributes are not pre-defined. I provide here a list of Attributes I find useful to use. But depending upon the genre and GM's preference, any list of Attributes may be used. I suggest that all characters share some or all of the same Attributes, but it is conceivable that everyone could have subtly different ways of describing a character. The Attributes I use are:

Attribute  Description 
Physique
(Physical)		 This is a measure of your muscle, your mass, your vitality, your stamina, and your frame. It indicates how much damages you do unaided and how easily you resist punishment, disease, and poison.
Coordination
(Physical)		 This is a measure of your manual dexterity. It affects how well you can strike and parry, as well as how skilled you are with actions like lock picking, pick pocketing, and sneaking.
Reflexes
(Physical)		 This is a measure of your physical agility and reaction time. It affects when you act in combat, how easily you are surprised, your balance, and how effective you are at unarmed combat.
Senses
(Physical)		 This is a measure of the sharpness of your five (or six) senses as well as your judgment relating to them. It affects your ability to notice things, how effective you are at searching and tracking, and gauging distances with ranged weapons.
Knowledge
(Mental)		 This is a measure of your experience and study. It indicates how much you know in general and your ability to recall things you have learned. It is considered rote learning, not general intelligence.
Insight
(Mental)		 This is a measure of your mental agility. It indicates how logical, intuitive, and smart you are. It affects any skills which require reasoning, the application of information in a new way, and natural genius.
Will
(Mental)		 This is a measure of the strength of your persona. It affects how easily influenced you are, your ability to resist personal magical attacks, your inner discipline, and your sanity.
Charm
(Mental)		 This is a measure of your social aptitude. It affects both how charismatic you appear to others (people and animals) and how easily you can get them to do your bidding. It also indicates your ability for empathy and understanding of human and animal nature.

A player has 3 x the number of Attributes to spend in Steps on their character's Attributes. I usually specify a minimum and maximum value for a normal Attribute. This insures that no creates an unplayable character or one that is too powerful (hopefully). To understand the rating of each Step in an Attribute, see the table below.

Attribute Step  Descriptive Rating 
1 Child-like
2 Low Average
3 High Average
4 Impressive
5 Remarkable
6 Amazing
7 Incredible
8 Legendary

Generally, I state that the minimum a normal human has in any Attribute is a Step 2. Lower than that is essentially equal to a Child of 6 or so. Any normal adult with a Physique of 1 would have to have an explanation for why they were so weak (maybe they are old and infirm, or suffer from consumption). And an Insight of 1 would indicate the Adult was mentally deficient or had brain damage (both are possible and feasible, just not generally considered average or normal). By the same token, it is unlikely that a normal human could ever throw a truck or compute factors faster than a high-speed computer. Therefore I tend to limit starting Attributes to 6, unless the players has a reasonable justification for it (bionic implants or natural mathematical genius).

Example: Tom (player) decides to create a character named Moduraan the Thief. Using the Attributes listed above, he determines that he has (8 x 3) = 24 Steps to spend for Attributes. He decides he wants to emphasize Coordination and Reflexes without being too weak in anything else. He decides to put 4 Steps into Coordination and 4 Steps into Reflexes. He then puts 3 Steps into Senses (a thief has to be alert), Insight (a thief has to be smart), Will (Moduraan is a determined bastard), and Charm (Moduraan can Con as well as Steal). He has only 4 Steps left and decides that Moduraan doesn't have to be that tough, so he puts 2 into Physique. He also decides that Moduraan doesn't have much respect for book learning, so hasn't studied much. Tom puts the last two points into Knowledge to complete his character's Attributes.

Physical      Mental   
Physique 2   Knowledge 2
Coordination 4   Insight 3
Reflexes 4   Will 3
Senses 3   Charm 3

Although Move isn't an Attribute, I list it here because it is calculated from a character's Attributes. Move is a measure of how many yards a character can move in a round (it's generalization, not a draconian limitation). Move is simply a character's Physique Step + Reflexes Step + 6. So Moduraan in the example above has a Move of (Phys 2 + Rflx 4 + 6 = 12) 12 yards per round. Note that this measure is solely for humans (i.e. the +6 modifier). Other races will have different modifiers (i.e. dwarves are Phys + Rflx + 4).


Skills

Skills are the talents and aptitudes that a character has sharpened through practice and training. They flesh out the character, showing where his interests and his background are. A barbarian would not likely possess advanced knowledge of mathematics, but he might know how to wield a weapons and which plants are good to eat (at least around his village). Skill use is simple. All skills have a Step value that describes how knowledgeable or practiced a character is with the skill. This Step is added to the appropriate Attribute Step to determine the number and type of dice a player rolls when using that skill. This total is called the Skill Pool.

Example: Tala is a trained warrior and knows the ways of blades and spears (Step 3). In combat, she uses this training to vanquish her foes. When in melee combat and wielding a sword, Tala adds her Sword Step of 3 to her Coordination Step of 4. Therefore, when wielding a Sword, Tala has a Step Pool of 7 (the pool or total of her natural ability combined with rigorous training). Therefore, she rolls a ([7 x 2] +2 = 16) 1d10 + 1d6 when she attacks with her sword.

Skills generally are associated with a specific Attribute for most cases. However, under certain circumstances, they can "float" and be used with alternate Attributes. These cases are determined by the GM, generally when he feels it is necessary or when a player asks for consideration of a novel situation.

Example: Tala is in the market, looking for a new sword to replace her broken blade. She spots a weapons dealer and looks at his wares. Tala has some money, but doesn't want to buy a poorly fashioned weapon. Therefore, Tala's player asks the GM if her experience with swords can help her determine a good blade from a bad one. The GM allows the player to make a Knowledge + Sword roll to see if she can evaluate the weapon quality accurately. Tala adds her Sword Step of 3 to her Knowledge Step of 2 for a Step pool of 5. Tala's player then rolls ([5x2] +2 = 12) 1d12 to determine how sharp her knowledge of blades is.

Generally, a character starts with 20 Steps to put into skills. As a general rule, for starting characters I do not allow a skill higher than 2. This prevents players from creating unreasonably unbalanced characters which lack crucial skills that everyone else possesses. The GM is free to give any number of starting skill Steps and set any limit they wish. For lists of Skills by Genre, see the Settings Section.

Skill Step  Descriptive Rating 
1 Apprentice
2 Journeyman
3 Average Practitioner
4 Experienced Practitioner
5 Guildsman
6 Master Guildsman
7 Guild Leader
8 Grandmaster

Example: Tom has 20 Steps to put into the skills he wants to buy for Moduraan. Tom wants to capitalize on Moduraan's high Coordination and Reflexes, and compensate for his weak strength. Additionally, there are several skills that a thief will obviously need to be successful. With that in mind, Tom chooses the following skills: Pick Pockets(2); Pick Locks(2); Climbing(2); Stealth(2); Dagger(2); Dodge(2); Throw(1); Swim(1); Area Knowledge- City(1); Language- Thieves Signs(1); Con(1); Persuade(1); Haggle(1); Shadowing(1)

And that is that. Your character is essentially finished. You may, at GM's discretion, buy Advantages, choose Disadvantages, buy Magic or Faith abilities, or purchase Equipment. For rules on these choices and for creating more advanced and experience characters, see the Options Section.




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