Tumblr Evacuation

OK so I've finished backing up my MonBuilder content from Tumblr and I'll be moving it back here to it's ver2 home.
For those curious you can look even further back to its previous draft and get a feel for how much cleaner the current one is.
A big issue with the presentation of MonBuilder right now has to do with lack of art but not for lack of trying, just time = money is all.

The plan for a printed book and free .pdf is still in play and with 2019 seeing my health back on the upswing, I look forward to bringing this project back into focus. Hopefully Twitter can be of greater help than Tumblr...

Character - Giants (Concept) 

Giants are a a race of humanoids that typically grow to double the size of the typical human. They are longer lived and can survive a greater degree of deformity and mutation, which is prevalent from monarchial inbreeding. They live in discreet tribes and command some of the greatest strongholds in existence.

Their ability to coexist with smaller races is dependent more on resources and availability of food than temperament or politics. It can be very difficult to feed an entire giant tribe from the common stock plants and animals. A few tribes keep a small number of large herd animals, while many others make for some of the most productive deep water fishers ever. It is also not uncommon to find giants serving larger settlements of other races as defenders in exchange for sufficient food.

A giant’s size and strength are their most obvious advantages in combat and they use them very well. However their overwhelming size makes them easier targets for smaller enemies. But it also hampers their choice of arms and armor.

The materials that are required to fully equip a single giant could similarly equip an entire battalion or more. Many giants rely solely on their own fists and feet in battle, especially against their own kind. Commonly, naturally crafted weapons like clubs or spears made from large trees with slabs of stone attached are carried into battle along with  hurled stones and war machines with unsurpassed power and range.

It can be relatively easy for a giant to be swarmed, especially by mounted archers or heavy cavalry. Similarly a sufficiently nimble opponent may be able to outmaneuver a giant in the same fashion as a fly dodging a swatter. A single strike from any giant is devastating, but only if it lands. Experienced giant fighters wrap thick layers around their legs and head and use low sweeping attacks to mow down enemies in groups. There was a legendary giant pirate that would use a ships own anchor and chain as a devastating flail and grapple.

Mountain giants have been famous for mining and working raw iron into thick slab plate armor and rough hewn blades. Rarely, a giant allied with a wealthy or powerful city will receive the honor of a master crafted weapon or piece of armor, using tons of material and special forges. The military role of giants changed when a tribe of Fire Giants allied themselves with a Dwarven mine. The ingenious dwarves equipped them with ballistas that became as efficient as crossbows, turning giants into living artillery. This practice began to spread until the dwarf artificers designed special cannons for the giants, surpassing their previous war machines entirely. Since then every castle, keep, fortress and port takes great expense to keep at least one giant employed and armed.

Most giants travel solely by foot, but sometimes they can find and tame a large enough beast to ride. Mammoths, Dragons, Dinos even whales have borne giants into combat and drawn their massive wagons.

As mages, Giants are mostly spiritual or naturalists that use their power to boost their already impressive physical abilities or to heal their own wounds. Shamans prefer to use elemental spells symbolic to their tribe.

The Iron Giants of Black Mountain 
A clan of mountain giant raiders that clad themselves in rough iron armor. They launched a campaign of conquest to crush every other stronghold in the land. They were able to decimate 3 fortresses previously considered impregnable and destroyed a dozen villages. Eventually they were driven back into their own mountain stronghold where they have been contained.

The Honour of the Pillar
Distinguished city defenders receive master work equipment piece by piece. Most ‘Pillars’ only ever receive one or two, including a unique shoulder pad and favored weapon. However some legendary giants ‘Gilded Pillars’ have been in service so long or perform deeds so great that they amass a full set of armor. These enormous bulwarks are unique to the giant that earned them and reflect the total wealth and craftsmanship of the entire city. 
The armor of the first Guilded Pillar stands in the throne room of the King, mounted on an exact replica of the giant Halix carved from a single great stone of his homeland. It also serves as his grave marker, having earned the highest honors the Kingdom had to offer and more.

Giant Shooters
Longbows and crossbows when scaled up to suit a giant become frighteningly effective. A giant can reload a light ballista war machine as efficiently as a heavy crossbow and use oversized arrows similar to cavalry lances. 
Canoneers use large single or multi-barreled iron cannons designed to be carried by hand with specially made charges to fire heavy ball or scatter shot more quickly and accurately than any warmachine. These weapons are expensive to build and maintain and while valuable and impressive have never been able to replace mounted defense weapons.

Sea Giants
Giants that live on the beaches or on the deep water fish for their meals, producing some of the largest catches ever recorded. They build large rafts, anchored to the bottom to cast their nets. Rare giant fishing boats are constructed for deep water and large species catching. These vessels are massive platforms that can withstand incredible wind and waves compared to most sailing ships, but are horrendously slow. 
There was at least one giant pirate vessel known, called the 'Jormungandr’ (norse mythology, “huge monster”). This massive vessel is a floating fortress designed to be smaller and faster than a fishing barge, but still remain a thickly armored and heavily armed raiding vessel. The captain was able to raid entire merchant vessels, claiming their cargo and stripping their hulls for materials. They rarely ever strike land and are believed to be sailing all over the world, rather than predate upon a single area. as such very few who have seen the ship have lived to talk about it, or know where it is.

Stealth & Sneaking (Concept) 

Flat-Footed – Any character that is not aware of an enemy’s presence and not actively searching for them.  Prime targets for ambush. If an enemy can be neutralized silently then other enemies may not be alerted.

Sneaking – A character trying to avoid detection by moving quietly out of sight or under cover. Can only make 1 move action as their turn.

Hiding – A character attempting to avoid detection by not moving in a place out of sight.

Camouflage – A character uses clothing, patterns or pigmentation to match the colors and patterns of their surrounding.  Reduces chances of being spotted or hit even when in the open.

Invisibility – Either through magic, augment or technology a character becomes almost totally transparent. The character cannot be targeted unless an opponent has the ability to pierce the invisibility. Remaining invisible uses Energy. Attacking breaks.

Shapeshifting – Some creatures can change their shape into any number of things, making them nearly indistinguishable from their surroundings or other beings. Movement can reveal or hint at the creature’s true nature.

Illusion – A spell, psychic effect or technological trick that creates a sound or image to deceive a target. Caster places a token in the desired area and maintains the illusion by spending energy. Attacking the illusion or the caster dispels the effect. Can be used in a variety of ways to confuse, conceal or distract.

Disguise – A character wears clothing or adjusts their appearance to look like someone/thing else or appear to belong where they are. A perception or interrogation may foil the disguise.

Stealth – How difficult a character’s presence or actions are to detect.

Ninja Step – A defensive special ability. By spending Energy a character that is being attacked dodges damage and disappears. They reappear a number of spaces away, giving up their movement on their following turn.

Noise – A character makes noise when they move, so when sneaking while being actively pursued they must roll Stealth (based on their size and environment). A failed roll reveals that character’s current location, but they may attempt to sneak again on their next turn if they can

Vision – A character can only see as far as they can shoot/strike. If a character is within striking distance of an opponent they cannot attempt to conceal themselves.

Facing – The direction a character is facing on a grid/hex. MonBuilder does not use facing to determine things like side or back attacks. Tokens that occupy more than one space must specify orientation (wagon and horses, huge creatures, multi-part constructs, etc) but attacking the rear component does not grant any bonus by itself.

I’m having difficulty working these kinds of actions into the game in a practical sense. Ambushing players with hidden models or removing models that are out of sight by the GM is not so difficult, especially online. But when players attempt to sneak up on each other while their pieces remain clearly on the table, it’s hard to conceal them and move them about in a fashion the opponent cannot guess.

Some of the above ideas have some in-game or rather in-combat merit to trick and dodge opponents. Some work as abilities, spells or armor mods while others must be role-played as honestly as possible.

In ‘Thing’ Like situations where monsters are indistinguishable from heroes or NPCs and only appear when they attack, they can be devastating when controlled by the GM. However if controlled by an unknown player, depending on the number of players (minimum 3) can be difficult or even impossible to conceal.

Basic Mechanics 

Game Mechanics
MonBuilder uses very simple and casual rules designed to keep the pace steady and sensible while allowing players the flexibility they want and what logic they need.

Interactions
Any character interactions like conversation, bartering, threatening or any actions or events outside the game map are narrative elements that do not involve rolls or actions. If the GM finds the players are lagging or becoming too engrossed in chit chat, then it is the GMs responsibility to keep players on task in the most effective way they can find.

Turns and Actions
Gameplay is divided into rounds wherein each character on the map takes one turn. Each character can take up to 2 actions per turn, not including any free actions they may have available.

Turn order is determined first by character types, Monsters going first, heroes going second, NPCs going last when applicable. When there are multiple monster or hero players, they can decide amongst themselves what order they go in. Players controlling multiple allied characters or minions command each of their characters in whatever order they want.

All characters can take 2 normal actions per turn, usually moving and attacking. A ‘running’ character would use both of their actions to move while an ‘all-out’ attacker would use both their actions for attacking while a shooting character without mods will have to use 1 action to shoot and another action before they can shoot again. Some actions are labeled as ‘free actions’ which can be taken at any time, as many times as the player wants and does not count against the player’s 2 normal action limit. There are some conditions and effects that will reduce a character to only being allowed 1 action for their turn, like moving through difficult environments.

—–

General Actions
To determine success players roll 1d10 against a set of modifiers as pass/fail. By default all actions are 50/50. If rolling low that means any value equal to or less than the difficulty modifiers is a success with 1 being the best, making the numbers easier to use. Rolling high makes 10 the best and modifiers count down from 100%, meaning on 50% a 6 or higher is needed to succeed.

—–

Movement
A character can move up to a number of spaces in one action equal to their speed stat, which is based on their size and can be modified by traits. Some movement types may require special equipment or augments to accomplish but all characters by default move on the ground at normal speed.

Digging – The act of digging underneath the surface has the advantage of allowing a character to move without suffering attacks from other characters. While any character can dig, all they can do is make 1 action and only a move action until they come up to the surface. Monsters with the Scoops augment can make 2 actions in their turn but they can still only use move actions.

Swimming – In MonBuilder everyone knows how to swim. Swimming on the water’s surface can still be difficult for character’s not born to such a life. A character swimming on the water’s surface can only take one action per turn, either a move or an attack with a one-handed weapon. Diving and swimming under the water’s surface protects a character from attacks above the surface but not from characters also in the water with them. A normal character diving under the water can only make 1 action per turn and it has to be a move action. Monsters with the Fin augment can move and act normally while swimming or diving.

Flying – Moving through the air is a powerful ability and bypasses all other terrain. A normal character not born with wings can jump in a straight line a number of spaces that allows them to start and end their movement on another space of ground or water in a single move action. Only monsters with the wing augment or heroes with some form of flight capability can move through the air and act normally. Flight has the additional advantage of allowing a character to pass through (but not stop on) spaces occupied by other characters and do not need to jump or climb to scale vertical distances.

Vertical Movement and Falling
Jumping – The basic form of vertical movement where a character leaps to climb up the side of an adjacent space. This counts as a normal movement action and a character can jump a number of spaces equal to their size.

Climbing – If a character can find an object like a ladder, vine or other handhold they can scale greater heights than they could jump. When climbing a ladder characters can move a number of spaces up to their speed. A character climbing can only take move actions until they are back on solid ground

Falling – Any character that gets pushed off or jumps off an elevated space risks taking falling damage. If a character falls further than they can jump, they suffer damage equal to their size x the number of spaces fallen.

Empty Air – A space that is only air with no ground on the map (like a cliff or pit) means certain death for any character that enters it without the ability to fly. Unlike a void where no character can enter for any reason, empty air is a death trap for most, and a shortcut for those with wings.

Inclines – An incline is an elevated space that allows a character to move normally from one elevation to another without the need to jump or find a ladder. These stairs or ramps allow a character to move and act normally while moving higher and higher.

Entering & Activating

When there are interactive objects on a map like switches, doors or vehicles, It takes an action to climb in, pile out, kick open or switch on.

—–

Combat
In battle players roll 1d10 to determine whether or not they hit their target. Chances to hit a target is modified by the relative size difference between the attacker and the target as well as their traits, distance and any magical/environmental effects.

Critical Success/Failure
Critical successes in combat allows a character to make another attack WITH the weapon that they rolled the critical with (combination weapons can still switch profiles freely). Critical failures negate the attack from ever having occurred, like a weapons jam or broken blade. Bonus attacks from criticals may not be possible if there is no target in range of that weapon, if the weapon has to be reloaded or if the character has insufficient EP.

Damage
In its simplest terms damaging another character is a comparison of their Body stats. An attacker with a body stat equal to or less than the target’s body stat cannot damage them without weapons or abilities to help. Attack power and defense toughness can be increased with augments, weapons and armor.

Magical and psychic attacks differ in that they compare Mind stats instead of body stats.

Total damage from an attack is what ever value remains after the attackers body stat is added to their trait bonuses and penalties, then subtract the target’s body stat and relevant trait modifiers.

—–

Grappling

One character can attempt to physically hold another, which leads to several options as to what to do with the target.

To grapple – Target must be within arms (or tentacles) reach. The attacker spends 1 EP to attempt to grapple. The attacker rolls to hit as normal, taking into account difference in sizes and any bonuses/penalties to hit from traits. A character that is mounted on a vehicle or wearing ‘unbroken’ armor cannot be grappled. If a character succeeds in their grapple as their first action, they may take another action from the list below.

Hold – at the beginning of each turn the attacker maintains grip of the target, they must spend 1EP to hold on to them as their first action. Body vs body, attacker rolls 1d10 +/- the difference. If they fail their roll, the victim breaks loose and the attacker’s turn ends.

Release – an attacker may release its target at any time as a free action

Slam – A body slam is a damaging attack that can’t miss, but due to the awkward positioning, may not be as powerful as it could be. Body vs Body +/- any traits not from weapons or armor.

Throw – An attacker can throw the target a number of spaces equal to the attackers strength +/- their size difference, potentially dealing damage and moving the target into a hazardous area.

Rest – The attacker does nothing and gains 1EP

Hump – The attacker attempts to incapacitate the target in n ‘ero bout’. Body vs Body +/- any ero bonuses from traits, both players roll 1d10 and add those values to the result. Whoever has the highest total wins and the loser gains an Ero Point.

Ero Points – If a character gains ero points equal to their level, they are incapacitated and may suffer additional effects.

Break Free – On the target’s turn they may take only one action listed below. If they are dropped by their attacker, they may take their turn as normal for that round, even if they used their turn already to break free.

Struggle – The target attempts to break loose by spending 1EP, Body vs Body +/- size difference

Thrash – The target attempts to damage the attacker by spending 1EP (criticals apply), Body vs body without weapons or armor traits.

Hump – The target attempts to subdue their attacker at their own game. Body vs Body +/- Ero bonuses, both players roll 1d10 and the loser gets an ero point. This speeds up the ero bout which may or may not help the target

Jobs 

Fantasy Hero Jobs

Commoner
Peasant, Butcher, Baker, Farmer, Rancher, Potter, Painter, Tailor, Clothier, etc
No value in game terms, no useful training or combat skills. Most common NPCs

Elite
Librarian, Merchant, Noble, Royal
Has access to wealth and/or power. Can provide useful services to characters in-game

Specialists
Student/Teacher, Butler/Maid, Host/Waitress, Priest/Nun, Doctor/Nurse, Dancer/Musician
Has some special training or connections to useful people or places that can be used in game.

Adventurers
Strength - Warrior, Fighter, Samurai, Ronin, Archer, Ranger, Knight, Barbarian
Toughness - Paladin, Ninja, Thief, Guardsman, Amazon, Rogue
Mind - Wizard, Sorcerer, Illusionist, Alchemist
Will - Cleric, Druid, Summoner, Bard
Have special abilities usable in Combat, may include special connections or access.

—–

Common
Peasant, Craftsman (Blacksmith, Tailor, Woodsmith, Cobbler), Cook, Farmer/Rancher, Host/Hostess, Student/Teacher, Miner/Woodsman, Hunter

Uncommon
Butler/Maid, Doctor/Nurse, Priest/Nun, Shaman/Priestess, Librarian/Scholar, Musician/Dancer, Bounty Hunter

Rare
King/Queen, Prince/Princess, royalty/nobles, Merchant, Alchemist

Military
Watchman, Guardsman, Royal Guard, Bronze Knight, Silver Knight, Gold Knight, Platinum Knight, White Knight, Black Knight, Mercenary

Adventurer
Archer, Fighter, Warrior, Barbarian/Amazon, Martial Artist, Paladin, Soldier, Knight, Spy, Assassin, Ninja, Ronin, Thief, Rogue, Bandit, Ranger
Sorcerer, Wizard, Witch, Warlock, Summoner, Cleric, Druid, Bard

This is not an exhaustive list of job names for the fantasy setting. Since many names can overlap when identifying distinct professions the sum total of possible labels can create a massive collection. The final refined lists and definitions of Hero and NPC jobs will be usable at a glance, but since the fantasy setting has the most distinct job options compared to the Modern and Sci-Fi settings, now is a good time to gather up as many names and labels as possible.

Beasts 

Fantasy Beasts
This is a working list, creating a totally exhaustive critter list is not going to be a priority in MonBuilder. Rather a number of favorite or most appropriate entries will be selected and detailed. There is no end of sources of inspiration for creatures and it will be up to the players to devise them at length.

Plants
Alarune, Roper, Treant, Dryad, Nymph, Mandrake

Eternals
Angel, Devil, Demon, Oni, Imp, Djinn, Genie

Undead
Mummy, Dullahan, Ghost, Skeleton, Vampire, Zombie, Lich

Giant Bugs
Arachne, Jurogumo, Giant Snail, Giant Slug, King Hornet, Queen Bee, Scorpina

Water
Echidna, Scylla, Merfolk, Kappa

Air
Harpy, Siren, Tengu, Fairy

Constructs
Golem, Gargoyle, Mimic, Pot Monster

Elementals
Titans, Yukionna, Efreet

Humanoid
Cyclops, Giant, Goblin, Kobold

Animal
Sphinx, Centaur, Nightmare, Cockatrice, Lamia, Medusa, Kitsune, Lizardman, Holstaur, Minotaur, Tanuki, Vorpal Bunny, Werewolf

Slime
Ooze, Pudding, Slime

Reality and Fantasy of Size 

Fun facts applied to fiction and playing with numbers. Just jotting myself a note for MonBuilder

Tallest human on record = 8'11.1" (confirmed) 107.1
Shortest = 21.5" (confirmed) 
Math Avg 5.35’ 64.3 or more practically 5’~ 6’

So much of our life is affected by our height, our reach, our propensity for bumping our noggins on chandeliers. And of coarse these numbers can never cover the concept of ‘real’ averages or separation by gender and are assumed to all be mature adult measurements. And it is safe to presume that the further away one gets from average in either direction, the greater the impact on individual health and deformity.

BUT, fantasy, fiction! It is always more fun i think to imagine beyond the average or the typical, and entertain the extreme possibilities and skip arguments about probability. 

Pixie .5’~1.25-1.5~2.25’
Nekomata .5’~2-4~6’
Halfling 1’~2.5-3~4.5’
Dwarf 2’~3-4~5.5’ 
Human 2’~5-6~9’ 
Elf 3’~6-7~10’
Orc 4’~7-8~11’
Troll 5’~8-9~12’
Giant 4’~10-12~18’
Titan 8’~20-24~36’

Faeries the size of your hand and Titans bigger than a house, these are easy and commonly depicted as fantasy staples. BUt what about the dwarf that is a giant amongst their people or the giant shorter than an average human. Imagine what they could be like!

“Race” Statlines 

Statlines are a combination of three values: Body/Mind/Size. These determine the character’s primary functions and secondary stats: Life, Energy, Speed. Monster starting statlines are uniform based on their size. Adjusting a monster’s stats and level gives the player flexibility in creating an appropriately powerful character for their game.

0/6 Stats
The math used to generate different races leads to some exceptional anomalies. Characters with stats of 0 or 6 are not appropriate for player characters, instead they should be used strictly as special enemies or NPCs.

Monster stats
Tiny monster 1/1/1
Small Monster 2/2/2
Medium Monster 3/3/3
Large Monster 4/4/4
Huge Monster 5/5/5

Hero Stats Fantasy  “Races”

Ghost 0/4/1 The spirits of the departed, will-o-wisps or elemental sprites with no bodies of their own and therefore no way to attack or be attacked through physical means. If their energy can be drained they either fade away for a time or cease to exist.

Fairy 1/3/1 Tiny creatures that live close to nature. Their ability to fly and magic can make them useful as messengers and effective pranksters.

Brownie 2/2/1 Tiny tribal people that are aggressive beyond their stature and territorial beyond their reach. They attack travelers en masse and steal trinkets from homes of larger folk.

Pixie ¼/2 The largest form of fairy kin, they live close to nature, blending in with strong magic and fighting only when absolutely necessary.

Nekomata 3/2/2 Meaning “Cat monster” these are actually a collection of animal hybrid people. They can vary wildly in appearance and temperament.

Halfling 2/3/2 A race of people very similar to humans except in their size and generally pacifistic nature.

Dwarf 4/2/3 Shorter than humans but with superior strength and resilience. They are expert craftsman and miners but generally gruf and abraisive.

Human 3/3/3 The most numerous of intelligent races with average abilities. They have dominated the land through ingenuity, invention and breeding.

Elf 2/4/3 An ancient and long lived people that are close to nature. Physical frailty is of little concern compared to their superior skills and magical abilities.

Troll ¾/4 A monstrous race of intelligent humanoids that use tribal magic to enhance their resilience.

Orc 4/¾ Brutish creatures that live in clans as raiders and mercenaries. Their barbaric behavior belies their intelligence.

Giant 5/2/4 Intimidating humanoids that dwarf most intelligent races. Their superior strength and size allows them to live in the most inhospitable environments, but makes it difficult for them to get along with other races.

Golem 4/4/5 Constructs of legendary mechanical or magical power. They were made to be loyal warriors though some have degraded over the centuries. They have simple minds but bristle with energy.

Titan 5/3/5 The largest humanoids ever known, now ancient and nearly extinct, they keep to themselves in the ruins of their ancient keeps and temples.

Kaiju 6/2/5 The largest and strongest of the intelligent creature races. Dragons, leviathans, behemoths and other creatures worshipped as elemental gods or feared as demons of apocalypse. They are engines of destruction that are rarely seen and more rarely survived

Hero Stats ModernChildren 2/2/2 Not an appropriate player choice for MonBuilder, but for some NPCs a small human (or alien) can be very effective as objectives to defend or prisoners to rescue.

Adult Human 3/3/3 A student, a detective, a soldier or a scientist, adult humans are generally close in potential, being separated by their skills and access to resources. 

Superhero 3/3/3 A caped crusader or masked vigilante starts their day as an average human. What separates them from the citizenry is their powerful traits and custom equipment. 
[Super powers may be best represented by borrowing a trait or two from the monster list]

Hero Stats Sci-FiSmall Alien 2/4/2 Aliens that are decidedly small in stature still fit into universal society with strength of mind and finer skills.

Human 3/3/3 Including humans the universe has developed an average shape and society for intelligent species.

Large Alien 4/2/4 Large folk with super strength always have a place as warriors, laborers and peace keepers.

Cyborgs x/x/x Not a race but a character with traits that enhance their stats and integrate various upgrades.

Monster Traits 

These work just like the Hero Traits except these only apply to Monster Type characters.

Hard Body: Body Stat +1/+2, affects Life, attack power and toughness.

Strong Mind: Mind Stat +1/+2, affects Energy and special attacks.

Bigger: Size stat +1/+2, increases speed and chances of getting hit
[A monsters starting size may vary but a typical character should start at Small 2 or Medium 3.]

Life Runes: Life Points +2/+4

Soul Gem: Energy Points +2/+4

Extra Legs: Speed Up +2/+4

Wings: Can fly through the air at normal speed, ignoring terrain and other characters.

Fins: Can swim through and dive under the water at normal speed.

Scoops: Can dig under the ground at normal speed.

Sticky Feet: Character can climb surfaces at normal speed, allowing them to climb vertical surfaces

Extra Arms: Strike +1/+2 more time in an attack action.

Claws: Melee attack Power +1/+2

Tentacles: Melee attacks get Reach +1/+2

Extra Heads: Reduces attacker’s critical chance by -1/-2

Extra Eyes: Reduces attacker’s chance to hit by -1/-2

Horns: Uses EP to make a Headbutt attack, reach 1, power x2

Fangs: Adds Drain Attack in Grapple. Life or Energy drain

Tongue: Chance to Grapple +1/+2

Tough Hide: Temporary Life points Life x2/Life x3

Lungs: Makes character Resistant/Immune to one status effect (Poison, Stun, Blind)

Second Heart: Regeneration, concentrate for 1 action to regain 1 LP

Gullet: Character can move and attack normally while grappling smaller targets

Loins: Ero Value +1/+2

Tail: Uses EP Area attack reach 1 / 2, Power=Size

Breath Weapon: Uses EP Cone Attack reach 2 / 3, Power = Mind

Gaze: Uses EP Line Attack reach 3 / 4, Power = Mind

Venom: Melee attack modifier, adds status effect (Poison, Stun, Blind)

Disguise: Uses EP, Transformation into humanoid form (disguise form looses effects of all other traits)

Shifter: Uses EP, character cannot be targeted unless they move or attack

Elemental: Character has elemental resistance/immunity to one element. Also add that element to all attacks (Fire, Ice, Lightning) (Earth, Air, Water) (Light, dark)

Swarm: Applies to Tiny monsters, grouping up in clusters of 10x Level. A swarm combines their total strength into a single attack, dealing greater damage than one is able to. Damage dealt to the swarm eliminates one monster at a time, reducing their total attack power until they are dead or too weak to attack.
[Not appropriate for player characters but useful for NPCs]

Minion: Character has one or more allies based on their size and level.

—–

Minions
Some monsters create or gather minions to assist their hunts or protect their homes. The number of minions a monster can have is based on their size and minions are always identical. Minions only get 1 trait per level and have the same level as their owner. Minions that are killed are dead for the game/session.

A Monster can have up to 2 minions the same size they are with 2 Minion traits. However they can take more minions of smaller sizes. The bigger the monster, the more smaller minions they can potentially have.

[same size = 1, 1size smaller = 2, 2 smaller = 3, 3 smaller = 4, 4 smaller = 5]
[A Huge monster could max out with up to 10 swarms of Tiny minions]

Mods 

Some Traits like Weapons are improved by level by adding different abilities and bonuses. These are called Mods and function similar to Traits. A particular mod can only be taken up to twice.

Armor ModsDefense: Armor comes with Temporary Life Points equal to the character’s Life Stat. By taking the Defense mod the armor gets bigger and tougher granting 2x/3x Life in temporary Life Points.
[Body stat 3 = Life 3. Armor adds +3 TLife, Defense mod x2 adds = +6 TLife, Final total Life points =12]

Toughness: A character’s body stat reduces the damage they take from attacks. A toughness mod increases the value of the body stat for reducing damage by +1/+2. This bonus only applies to reducing damage.
[Body stat 3 vs Attack Power 5 = 2 damage. Body 3 + Toughness x2 vs Attack Power 5 = 0 damage]

Hardened: Reduces critical hit chance -1/-2

Resistance: Specialty Armor gives resistance/Immunity to status effects (poison, blind, stun)

Element: Enchanted Armour has an elemental alignment that affects bonus damage.

Spiked: Wicked armor that damages any enemy that hits it with a grapple or adjacent melee/unarmed attack. Deals ½ damage for each enemy attack and each turn that the character is being grappled.

Shield: A physical shield attached to one arm. Character can use 1 action to Block, reducing the character’s chance of being hit by -1/-2. Counts as a one-handed item, affecting weapon usage.

Counter: An experienced fighter uses skill as well as steel to defend themselves. If an adjacent enemy attacks the character and misses, they take that opportunity to strike back at the enemy. A character can counter 1 / 2 of a single enemy’s attacks.

Storage: Normally a hero comes with 2 pockets to store 1 item each. A suit of armor starts with 2 more pockets, but can be upgraded with +2/+4 more
[Character 2 pockets + Armor 2 pockets + Storage x2 = 8 pockets with 1 item each]

—–

Melee Weapon ModsPower: Melee weapons start with Power 1, and with mods can have Pow 2/Pow 3. This value is added to the character’s Body Stat to determine damage
[Body stat 3 + Pow 2 = Attack 5 vs enemy body 4 = damage 1]

Critical: On a natural To Hit roll of 10, a character gets to attack again with that weapon. A crit mod turns that roll of 10 into a 9/8 making it easier to get the bonus attack.
[a target with hardened armor reduces this value and may make it impossible to crit]

Reach: Some melee weapons can reach farther than others. Melee weapons by default have a reach of 1, only striking targets in an adjacent (non-diagonal) space. A longer weapon like a spear or whip can reach targets 2/3 spaces away

Dual-Wield: Character has a matched pair of weapons they use one in each hand. Weapons by default are counted as one-handed. A dual-wield weapon becomes two handed and can strike one more time per attack action.
[A dual-wielding character that goes all out strikes 4 times in a turn Body+Power=Attack 4 times]

Heavy: A heavy weapon is cumbersome but devastating. It counts as two-handed and deals attacks at x2 damage.
[A heavy weapon character can attack up to twice in a turn Body Stat + Weapon Power = Attack Value. Attack Value x2 x2 strikes]

Element: The weapon has an elemental alignment that affects bonus damage. Choose the element at creation.

Effect: Weapon causes a status effect. Choose the effect during creation.

Quick Draw: Normally readying a weapon or swapping between weapons costs 1 action. Quick Draw denotes super speed or a fast rig or some other quick access method that allows the character to draw/switch to the weapon as a free action.

Combination: This weapon profile is part of another weapon profile, making the two weapons 1 item. profiles can be swapped as a free action. This requires another weapon trait to be bound to.
[Think a rifle with a bayonet and/or grenade launcher, or a knife with a hidden gun]

Grapple: The weapon has hooks or flexible parts that allows a character to attempt a grapple without putting away their weapon or potentially without moving into an adjacent space if it has Reach.

Parry: A defensive mod, if an enemy strikes the character with a melee weapon and hits, the character may attempt to negate the strike by rolling to hit. Only applies to melee weapons, regardless of reach or number of strikes made.

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Ranged Weapon ModsPower: As above

Critical: As Above but weapons without Fast Reload, magazine or combination cannot take advantage of criticals as they cannot prepare another shot fast enough.

Range + : A ranged weapon can reach a number of spaces equal to the character’s size without penalty. Shooting at a target beyond that distance incurs a -1 penalty for each space away. A range mod makes the weapons effective range becomes Size x2 (medium)/Size x3 (long).
[At 50%, a level 1 short range medium sized weapon has a chance to hit a target 7 spaces away, with the ranged weapon skill that becomes a range of 8 but with a Range Mod that becomes 11 spaces] 
[Maximum range = Based on 50%, Size 5, Ranged Skill x2, Weapon Focus x2, Mod x2 = 15(6+4)=25 spaces]

Dual-Wield: As Above

Heavy: As Above but starts as a single shot

Quick Draw: As above

Fast Reload: All ranged weapons have to be reloaded or recharged eventually. By default all ranged weapons must be reloaded after each attack, which costs 1 action. A weapon with fast reload never has to take that reload action, though they may run out of ammunition. (Weapons made as Traits never run out of ammo, but weapon items do).  

Rapid-Fire: The weapon fires +1/+2 shots per attack, this does not affect reloading

Magazine: The weapon can fire +1/+2 shots/bursts before having to be reloaded. Weapons with fast reload gain no benefit from this. It will affect special ammo usage, and is most appropriate on item weapons.

Line: The weapon has powerful penetration ability, striking all targets in a straight line (cardinal directions only)

Cone: Weapon works like a flame thrower or shotgun, affecting an area of 1->3 spaces / 1->3->5 spaces

Area: Weapon is like an explosive, striking targets in a circle (imagine a + instead of a square on a grid map) from their impact point in an area of 1->3->1 spaces / 1->3->5->3->1 spaces

Status Effect: As Above

Element: As above

Combination: As above

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Vehicle Mods
All vehicles start of as a 1 seat Speed 1 Ground transport like a horse or motorcycle.

Amphibious: The vehicle also works normally on or under the water.

Flight: The vehicle flies over ground and water, ignoring terrain and other characters.

Speed: A vehicle by default is the same size as its rider and adds a speed boost of +1. A speed mod increases that bonus to +2/+4. Distance can also be increased by Harness Kits.

Seats: A vehicle starts with 1 seat but can be expanded to carry 2/3, which is useful for allies. Player characters may join forces to create even larger capacity vehicles.

Size: Vehicles start as the same size as their owner but can be increased in size, improving their survivability, armaments and speed.

Armaments: Vehicle has a melee or ranged weapon just like character traits above, but they count as Mounted Weapons for skills.

Defense: Vehicle has additional Life points like the armor trait above.

Charge Attack: Driver uses EP to use the vehicle as a weapon, damaging anything that gets in its path. Vehicle may be damaged too so be careful. 

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Kits
Kits are tools and items that a character uses to perform complex actions. They cannot use weapons or move in the same turn that they equip and/or use their kits.

Medic Kit: Character uses their EP to restore LP

Repair Kit: Character uses EP to restore durability of an item/object

Thief Kit: Character uses EP to open locks or steal items from another character’s pockets.

Harness: Character uses EP to better control their vehicle. Speed Boosts, Weapon boosts.