Genome Transcendence: The System (Stats)

GT is based in the near future, around 2030 to 2040, depending on the specific campaign. The world is simply an imaginative version of what our future may be like, so has all the history that we know in real life. Anything that exists today could still be around in GT, such as corporations, people, and technology.

20 years ago, we never thought that everyone would have their own hand phones. Now we all have smartphones. In that sense, any amount of events could have occurred between now and the time of GT.

A little background.

Originally, I had created this game during my college days as an assignment with the goal of "stimulating creative thinking in people", so the mechanism and overall system is not very complicated. It relies heavily on the GM and players' imagination, as well as try to keep a sense of reality intact as much as possible.

While many paper & pen RPGs utilize fixed skills for characters to perform certain tasks, I think that's both restrictive and unrealistic. Anyone should be able to try tasks without specifically having that skill, although success is a complete different story.

I also believe that many of the traditional skills that allow for detection of oddities in others' emotions and actions are a hindrance to real roleplaying. If two players were conversing with each other in character, then the detection should be done in the conversation itself, and not through dice rolls.

Stats

As with most games, GT has stats -- physical and mental traits of your characters that show the pure natural aptitude they have for certain things.

PHYSICAL

Strength (STR)
How strong you are. Bending an iron bar would require STR. Note that this will determine your muscle mass, which means if you want to look small, you can't have a high STR and vice versa.

Dexterity (DEX)
How skillful you are in performing tasks that involve coordination, especially with your hands. Tasks like putting a thread through a needle requires dexterity.

Agility (AGI)
How graceful and nimble you move. How quick on your feet your are. Dodging behind a tree from an oncoming motorcycle would require AGI.

Stamina (STA)
The ability to sustain prolonged physical and mental effort. Note that mental stamina is also part of this stat. Running and studying for long periods of time both require STA.

Fortitude (FOR)
How much physical and mental pain and damage you can take. Enduring getting kicked in the gut and verbal abuse requires FOR.

Comeliness (COM)
How physically attractive you are. Useful for obvious reasons.


MENTAL

Intelligence (INT)
How well you acquire and apply knowledge and skills. Memory is also part of INT. How fast you can learn a language and how well you learn about a foreign culture requires INT.

Wisdom (WIS)
How much experience, knowledge, and good judgment you have. As opposed to INT being a stat for learning and understanding, WIS is the information you already have and how you utilize it. Deciding what to say to a foreigner to persuade him based on what you know of their culture requires WIS.

Perception (PER)
How alert, aware, and how well you notice things. PER is also a measure of your senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch). Seeing something move behind a tree out of the corner of your eye requires PER.

Charisma (CHA)
How attractive, charming, and inspiring you are. While a high COM does not have to accompany CHA, it usually works even better as a set. Persuading someone to take your suggestion requires CHA.

Willpower (WIL)
How determined and focused you are. Being able to finish 100 push-ups even though you want to give up requires WIL.

Psyche (PSY)
How much psychic energy you have. This is mostly mysterious but has to deal with certain mystical aspects of this world. It also determines how much cybernetic enhancement you can receive without losing your humanity.