PINNACLE STYLE GUIDE

Thanks for taking time to read Pinnacle’s style guide. Style Sheets Our goal is to make it easier for writers both novice and Use Body Text for the body of your work, Chapter established to craft and submit Savage Tales and books Header for chapter headers, and Header01 for the start for publication. of major sections. Use Header02 to begin subsections For insight into the content and structure of within a given section. a thrilling and well-crafted adventure, the best If you need a further breakdown, place a sources are Pinnacle’s Plot Point Campaigns descriptor in bold with a colon, like this: and adventures, and our friendly online forums, The Merchant: Silas is polite and responsive, both accessible at www.peginc.com. but knows nothing pertinent to this adventure. The following guide tells you everything you need to know about Pinnacle’s house Setting Up Your Document style—the nuts and bolts of our grammar You can download our style template preferences and writing nuances. This in Microsoft Word format at www.peginc. information applies to all our Savage com. But if you need to set up your own Settings, except where the source material template, here’s how it’s done: supersedes it. • Always indent the first line in a The trail awaits...let’s ride, amigo! paragraph. Do not do this by using a tab. Instead, set your Body Text Style to give WRITING FOR PINNACLE you an automatic, first line indentation (.03″ If you’re planning to write professionally, is good). start by picking up a guide to general • Do not put an extra paragraph (¶) grammar rules and style. between paragraphs to space it out on the We recommend William Strunk Jr. page—adjust your paragraph settings to and E. B. White’s The Elements of Style. automatically put 10-pt space after each one It’s cheap, succinct, and indispensable instead. for any writer. • Use only one space after sentences, or after a quote, colon, etc. Using two spaces is Beyond that book and this guide, a holdover from the typewriter. the current edition of Savage Worlds • Use chapter numbers. Spell out is your most valuable reference for numbers one through nine, then use style queries. numerals if needed (but we typically keep it under 10 chapters).

Savage Worlds, East Texas University, Deadlands, all unique characters, creatures, and locations, artwork, logos, and the Pinnacle logo are © 2019 Great White Games, LLC; DBA Pinnacle Entertainment Group. 1 Pinnacle Style Guide

Present Tense, Not Future Authors tend to think of an adventure as TO N E happening in the future because no one is playing it yet. It’s a longstanding tradition in RPG writing, we This one's important! Pinnacle keeps things PG-13. studiously avoid it. Think of your adventure as happening in the present. We don't do graphic sex or violence. We also don't glorify If you use the word “will,“ you’re probably wrong. smoking, and in general try to avoid it all together (yes, Don’t say: even in Deadlands Noir). Harming or killing children is “The adventurers will see a shiny object nearby.“ also something we tend to avoid. There are exceptions to Instead, use the present tense: “As they enter the chamber, the adventurers see a every rule, but if it's not critical to your story, please shiny object nearby.“ adhere to our rules. Try to avoid writing in terms of the theoretical future or past, which is typified by some forms of “be“ (may Avoid statements that refer to real-world politics be/maybe, was being, had been, have been, might be, and religions. If it's important to the story and we should be, could be, will be). • Do a Find for the words “will,“ “being,“ “should,“ approved your outline, it's probably fine. If you're “could,“ and “may“ when you’re done writing. slipping in a dig at someone or something, please don't Don't forget contractions like “he’ll.“ Usually, they can be removed or changed to present tense. use our products to do it. Present Participle and Indirect Phrasing Although fine if used sparingly and for variety, try to avoid the –ing form of verbs (the present participle STYLE GUIDE or gerund). Doing so helps make your writing direct, Following are the top changes we have to make with vibrant, and easier to read. new writers. We tend to reject manuscripts that commit too many of these errors. And even in an accepted piece, For example, these issues can be very time consuming to correct. “The wolves surround the villagers.“ Please check for them before submitting your draft! is simpler and more direct than Active Voice, Not Passive “The wolves are surrounding the villagers.“ Use an active voice to make your writing more This change of tense doesn’t change how it plays vibrant and exciting to read. A passive voice is less out—the villagers or heroes still have to fight their way direct, sounds hesitant, and makes it difficult for the through savage wolves—but the first sentence gets to reader to determine who’s doing something. When the point faster. used sparingly it can be effective, but when overused Also, try to avoid constructions that involve it causes writing to drag. characters preparing to act. For example, Here’s a handy device to help recognize passive “The enemy soldiers fire their rifles.“ voice: If you need to insert “by zombies“ at the end to understand who’s taking the action, the sentence is is more direct than probably passive. “The enemy soldiers begin to fire their rifles.“ Here are a few examples of passive voice: Again, it’s the same result but the first example gets “The newspapers are delivered.“ (by zombies?) the reader there faster. Making these changes across “The car is driven.“ (by zombies?) an entire document can reduce your word count “The brains are eaten.“ (by zombies!) substantially and strengthen your writing. Here are the same examples, but written in an active voice: Shorter. Easier. Stronger. Shorter paragraphs and sentences are easier on the “Billy delivers the newspapers.“ eyes and thus more likely to be read. Add subheaders “My mother drives the car.“ to break up long passages of text and provide content “Zombies eat the brains.“ cues for the reader.

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“That” and “Who” That’s incorrect. If you want the Notice roll to Take care not to confuse these terms: “That” refers essentially be at –4, then just say so. to objects and “who“ refers to people. So this should read: “The man who saved my life...“ “The heroes make Notice rolls at –4. With a success they detect a small sound down a nearby corridor.“ “The truck that crashed into the harbor...“ If you want to add a raise effect, tack it on afterward: But do not overuse the word “that“—unless it’s Success detects a small sound, but a raise pinpoints it crucial to understanding the sentence, you can usually as an alarm for unauthorized access. delete “that.“ Foe References Referring to Characters At the end of any scene or section in which the heroes We don’t use the term “PCs.“ If it’s important to encounter nonplayer characters and/or creatures, distinguish between PCs and NPCs, you can spell out include a bulleted list of entries for all NPCs—even “player characters.“ those expected to be noncombatants. But readers get tired of reading the same pronouns • List each character’s name or type (with a [WC] over and over, so try to add variety to your references. before each Wild Card, so we know to put an icon Player characters can be referred to as “the party,“ there) and the number appearing in parentheses, “characters,“ “team,“ “heroes,“ “investigators,“ and followed by a colon, and finally the page or book so on. Certain settings have additional options, such in which the character or creature can be found. as “gumshoes“ for Deadlands Noir, “wanderers“ for • Wild Cards (which have a setting-specific icon Solomon Kane, “posse“ for Deadlands: The Weird West, or instead of a bullet) are listed first in alphabetical “students“ for East Texas University. order, followed by any Extras in alphabetical You can also use situational pronouns. For example, order. if the group is entering a strange new land, you could • Insert a brief qualifier for characters or monsters call them “strangers,“ “invaders,“ “explorers,“ or that vary only slightly from their published “interlopers“ on occasion. versions (e.g., “Use the Thug profile, but they For NPCs, we sometimes write it out if it’s important have Strength d10 and are armed with clubs.“) as “nonplayer characters,“ or use the term “Extras.“ • Unique, named Wild Cards don’t require an Usually, you should refer to the group itself, as in: amount in parentheses after the name. “The heroes can bring their followers along, should Example: A scene in a science fiction game. Brave they choose.“ space explorers battle the diabolical Zandrax Oon, her lieutenant Lightning Mahoney, and a teeming mob of Note that it doesn’t require the insertion of “NPC“ slime wraith accomplices. A JumpCorp security team or “nonplayer character“ before followers. is on hand to aid the heroes, while a ravenous a-pex Using “You:” Characters and Players threatens everyone on the field of battle. There are only two ways “you“ is appropriate: At the end of the scene, just before the following header, foe references should read: • When we’re actually talking to you the reader, as in, “You roll the dice.“ D A-Pex (1): See The Last Parsec: Leviathan. • When it’s colloquial, as in, “You can’t make an D Lightning Mahoney: See page @@. omelet without breaking a few eggs, partner!“ D Zandrax Oon: See page @@. • JumpCorp Security (1, plus 1 per hero): See The Keep the difference between players and characters Last Parsec: Core. clear. Players roll dice. Characters or players can make • Slime Wraiths (4 per hero): Use the Zombie Trait checks. Characters have Edges and Hindrances. profile in Savage Worlds, but they have Pace 8. Edges and Hindrances are where this pops up the most—but watch for “you“ throughout. GENERAL GUIDELINES Please use American English spelling and grammar. Success and Raise A roll doesn’t require a “raise“ to be successful. Book Titles Success is successful. A raise should give the player more. • Do not refer to specific editions of Savage Worlds For example: core rules (like Deluxe or Adventure Edition) in “print.“ Simply use Savage Worlds, or Savage “The heroes make Notice rolls—a raise lets them Worlds core rules. Note Savage Worlds is always detect a small sound down a nearby corridor.“ italicized when speaking of the game system or core rulebook.

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• Abbreviate book titles after the first instance. For Tasks in Savage Worlds,” or “If the heroes win, example, Savage Worlds Super Powers Companion go to Aftermath on page @@.” This typically can be shortened to Super Powers Companion after applies to HEADER 01 sections and above. Do the first use in text. not bold references to entries (a particular Setting • Never refer to page numbers in other books. Rule, Hazard, Situational Rule, Edge, power, or Editions and printings frequently change them. monster); e.g. “See the Bestiary in Savage Worlds,” Just say “See Hazards in Savage Worlds,“ for but also, “See Drowning in Savage Worlds.” example, rather than listing the page number. Capitalized Game Terms Italicized Terms • Ace (open-ended die mechanic and Edge) • Named things like ships and newspapers (not • Action Card saloons or other business names, like The Salty • Advance, Advancement Dog Cafe)—Black Revenge, Greensboro News & • Ammo states—Very High, High, Low, or Out Record. • Arcane Skill • Titles of Pinnacle’s Savage Settings:Deadlands: The • Armor (with a value only. Examples: “+4 Armor“ Weird West, The Last Parsec, 50 Fathoms. and “He’s wearing armor“ are correct.) • Titles of Plot Point Campaigns: Red Harvest in • attribute names—Agility, Smarts, Spirit, Strength, Deadlands Noir. and Vigor • The first use of a word in a foreign language. • Battle Roll • Lowercase and italicize power names (armor, bolt) • Benny, Bennies except for mechanics-related words like Trait and • Bound Power Points (boost/lower Trait, drain Power Points) • Bumps & Bruises or for the first power in a list Powers:( Bolt, fly). • Called Shot • Card names (for those with names) and suit Boldface Terms names—Ace of Spades, Five of Diamonds, Two • Savage Tales/Plot Point adventure names. of Clubs, Joker, etc. • Table names in text (Special Encounters Table). • Cover—Light, Medium, Heavy, Near Total • Direct reference to a named section of a book (the • Chase, Chase Card section being read or another), e.g., “See Dramatic • Command Range 4 Pinnacle Style Guide

• Critical Failure • Panicked • Critical Hit • Poison type—Fatal, Knockout, Mild, Lethal, • Derived or additional statistic names, including Paralysis those that are setting-specific—Pace, Toughness, • Power Modifier; the term itself and the Power Status, Favors, Academics, etc. Modifiers: e.g., Armor Piercing, Lingering • Derived Trait Damage • Difficult Ground • Power Points • Disease type—Chronic, Debilitating, Lethal • Quick Encounters • Distracted • Range and Range brackets—Short, Medium, • Dramatic Task Long, Extreme • Duration • Rank and the Ranks themselves, and Rank when • Edge names—Filthy Rich, Soul Drain, etc. used as an Edge title (mostly in some military • Edge types—Social Edges, Legendary Edges, settings such as Weird War II and Tour of Duty)— Combat Edges, etc. Novice, Seasoned, Veteran, Heroic, Legendary, • Encumbered the Rank Edge, etc. • Entangled • Rate of Fire (RoF) • Exhausted • Reach • Extra, Extras • Recoil • Fast! Furious! Fun! • Requirements • Fatigue, Fatigued • Rules referred to by title similarly to Edges or • Fear when referring to the Fear rules but not to Hindrances (Breaking Things, The Drop, Innocent the power—The fear spell can force you to make Bystanders). A quick and dirty guide: Any rule a Fear check. listed in the Situational Rules or Hazards • Game Master or similar setting-specific title— sections of Savage Worlds is capitalized, but only Marshal, Dean, etc. when referring to the rule itself. • Heavy Armor • Setting Rules; the term itself and any Setting Rules • Heavy Weapon that are known by specific names: e.g., Conviction, • Hindrances—Yellow, Overconfident, Young, etc. Fast Healing, Way of the Brave, Recurring Roles, • Hold and The Drop (but not “on“). E.g., you can Inherent Power. go on Hold by keeping your initiative card and • Shaken (and the sporadic Unshaken—If you then get The Drop on them. are Shaken and become Shaken again by a • Illumination levels—Dim, Dark, Pitch Darkness nondamaging source (such as a Test), you do not • Incapacitated when referring to the damage become Wounded. condition, but not when referring to something • Size and Scale names—Small, Large, Huge, etc. else (which you should avoid)—He became (Refer to the Size Chart in Savage Worlds.) Incapacitated in the same mysterious explosion • Skill names—Intimidation, Shooting, Fighting that incapacitated the city’s power grid. • Soak, in reference to the Soak roll mechanics • Interlude • Social Conflict • Knockout Blow • Starting Funds • Mass Battles • Stunned • Minor or Major with regard to Hindrances— • Support, when it refers to the Situational Rule Major Hindrances, Minor Hindrances, Vengeful • Target Number (TN) (Major), Greedy (Minor), etc. When describing • Template Names—Large Blast Template (LBT), a type of Hindrance, use an em-dash and short Medium Blast Template (MBT), Small Blast lowercase phrase: Obligation (Major—to their Template (SMT), Cone Template (Cone). country or firm). • Test, when it refers to the Situational Rule • Minor or Major with regard to sins, but not the • Three-Round Burst word “sin“ itself—I lied (a Minor sin) about • token types: Force Token, Influence Token, Task killing that wagonload of puppies (a Major sin) Token (but not “token,” on its own) to the preacher before I burnt him alive in the • Trait, when it refers to attributes and skills consecrated church (a Mortal sin). • Trappings • Multi-Action penalty • Vulnerable • Networking • Wild Card • New Powers Edge when referring to the Edge • Wild Die itself, but not when used without such reference— • Wound, Wounds, Wounded My hero picked up two new powers by selecting the New Powers Edge.

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Lowercase Game Terms • gear names and items Although these terms aren’t capitalized in body text, • group rolls they may be capitalized in certain situations, such as • initiative or initiative card stat block entries or headers. • maneuvering skill • natural healing • action • opposed rolls • all Arcane Background types, when referred to as • power (when used alone to refer to supernatural archetypes separate from the AB title. Examples: powers) templar, junker, bibliopath, mage, wizard, witch • power names (similar to the way we don’t cap monsters’ names • race (unless as a Special Ability in a stat block) in text). Capitalize them when you refer to a • raise member of the organization (as you would with • roll Lutheran or Rotarian)—Librarian, Templar. • round (as a unit of game time) • allies • Setting Rules not referred to by a specific name: • attribute (attribute names like Agility and Spirit the gambling rules from Deadlands: The Weird are capitalized, but the word “attribute“ is not) West, the rules for breathing in space from the • check (check or roll are acceptable—use the one Science Fiction Companion, etc. that sounds best in context) • skill (skill names like Athletics and Survival are • control roll capitalized, but the word “skill“ is not) • core skills • success • creature types (goblins, street thugs, belly-button • trait when it does not refer to attributes and skills lint elementals) Exception: For a specific creature’s • turn stat entry in encounter notations, capitalize the • walking wounded creature name (Lint Sentries (4): Use the Belly- Button Lint Elemental profile on page @@.). Numbers vs. Numerals • free action, free attack • In general, for numbers one through nine, spell them out. For numbers 10 or higher or lower than one, use digits instead. • Always express points, die rolls, and numerical bonuses or penalties as a number: 4 Hindrance points, 2 points of Wound penalties, Target Number 4, 5 points of damage, if the die roll is less than 1, adds +2 to Notice rolls. • Express an amount of something (one through nine) as a numeral: two yards, three feet, two Wound levels, one die type. • Spell out card numerals: Five of Diamonds, Two of Clubs, any card less than a Five. • Never start a sentence with a digit; in that case, spell out the word instead. Specific Formatting • Edge Requirements: Arrange from most general to most specific. 1. Wild Card or not, 2. Rank, 3. attribute, 4. Edge (or Hindrance), 5. skill • Use “@@” as a page-number placeholder. • Our licensed settings require a Trademark (ALT+0153) or Registered Trademark (ALT+0174) symbol whenever the title is mentioned: Rifts® for Savage Worlds, Flash Gordon™, Fear Agent™, and The Goon™. • We use the serial comma, also known as an Oxford comma: apples, oranges, and kiwis. • If a direct quotation is interrupted mid-sentence, do not capitalize the second part of the quotation. “I didn’t see an actual alien being,“ Mr. Johnson said, “but I sure wish I had.“ • No spaces around an ellipsis (…) 6 Pinnacle Style Guide

Dashes Weapons • Please use any of them sparingly. If a word does See the sample Weapon Table below for the order not need a hyphen, don’t use it (roleplaying, and content of entries. tabletop, etc.). • The hyphen is used for hyphenation, word Vehicles compounding (mother-in-law), and adjectival • Generally, vehicles appear in tables (see sample phrases (slicked-back hair). Vehicle Table below). • The en-dash is used for the minus sign for all • When vehicle stats are included with a character numbers (–3) and to indicate ranges, especially profile (such as for an Archetype), summarize as of dates (I expect 4,000–5,000 visitors in the June– you would a weapon, e.g., “compact car (Size 4, August timeframe). Handling +1, Top Speed 120, Toughness 10 (2), • The em-dash is used to indicate a break—or Crew 1+3, Used Car Glitch (Slick Tires))” perhaps a parenthetical pause—in a sentence. Use • When presenting one or two new vehicles in a em dashes when writing Hindrance descriptions: Savage Tale or other adventure, use the following Obligation (Major—to their country or firm). text format sparingly: • In our house style, em-dashes are also used to denote a null entry in a table or stat block (such M-12 Stuart as for flyers who have no natural Pace). EXFOR’s primary armored fighting vehicle, the M-12 • The en-dash and em-dash can be found in most combines the versatility of an infantry fighting vehicle programs’ special characters features or can be with the punch of a light tank. It’s lightly armored, generated on a PC by holding down the ALT key but all that’s usually needed on Banshee against and entering 0150 or 0151 (respectively) on the anouks, rebels, and the occasional band of Reapers or keypad (and only on the keypad, not the top row other outlaws. of number keys). M-12 Stuart: Size 6 (Large), Handling –1, Top Speed 50 GEAR & VEHICLE FORMATTING MPH, Toughness 24 (8), Crew 3 (+8), Cost $3M Present gear, weapons, and vehicles in tables. Do not Notes: Fusion, 12× Heavy Armor (Frontal), Crew Space, format tables (weapon or otherwise) beyond bold text Sensor Suite, Targeting System separated by one tab each. If there are Notes for the Weapons: weapon, insert them after two spaces (or set tabs). • 125mm Cannon • Light Laser Cannon (Fixed, front) Sample Gear Table • Light Laser Cannon (Turret) Item Cost Weight • Light Laser Cannon (Turret, pintle mount) Button Camera 50 — Notes: 12 hours of continuous use.

SAMPLE WEAPON TABLE: REVOLVERS MIN TYPE RANGE DAMAGE AP ROF SHOTS STR. WEIGHT COST REVOLVERS Revolvers typically have six chambers that must be reloaded one bullet at a time, though separate cylinders called “speed loaders” are also available for more modern firearms for about 10% of the weapon’s cost. Derringer (.41) 3/6/12 2d4 — 1 2 d4 1 100 Notes: −2 to be Noticed if hidden Police Revolver (.38) 10/20/40 2d6 — 1 6 d4 2 150 Colt Peacemaker (.45) 12/24/48 2d6+1 1 1 6 d4 4 200 Smith & Wesson (.357) 12/24/48 2d6+1 1 1 6 d4 5 250 SAMPLE VEHICLE TABLE: CIVILIAN VEHICLES TOP SPEED VEHICLE SIZE HANDLING (MPH) TOUGHNESS CREW COST CIVILIAN VEHICLES Compact Car 4 (Large) +1 120 10 (2) 1+3 5–14K Notes: Honda Civic or similar vehicle. Mid-Sized Car 4 (Large) 0 120 11 (2) 1+4 30K Notes: Air bags, luxury features. 7 Pinnacle Style Guide

WEAPON FORMATTING 2d6). Melee weapons have damage based on the wielder’s Strength die plus another die, as listed Game Terms under individual weapon entries. A dagger, for Terms marked with an asterisk are always included instance, inflicts Str+d4 damage. in integrated weapon entries (see Weapon Stats in Text • HW (Heavy Weapon): The weapon can affect and Weapons in Stat Blocks, below). vehicles or other targets with Heavy Armor. • Area Effect: Any attack that uses a template • Min Str (Minimum Strength): Each die type to determine targets affected. Designate only difference between the character’s Strength and the type of template used in the weapon or the item’s Minimum Strength inflicts a −1 penalty ammunition’s notes: SBT (Small Blast Template), to Pace (minimum of 1), Agility, and Agility- MBT (Medium Blast Template), LBT (Large Blast related skill rolls. A melee weapon’s damage die Template), or Cone (Cone Template). is limited to the user’s Strength die. • *AP (Armor Piercing): The weapon or round • *Range: This lists the weapon’s Short, Medium, ignores this many points of Armor. A weapon and Long Range. Ranges are listed in inches. with an AP value of 4, for instance, ignores 4 Weapon ranges are “effective“ ranges for the points of Armor. Excess AP is simply lost. tabletop. If you need to know the real-world range • Caliber: The number listed after a firearm is the of a weapon (for battles that don’t take place on caliber of bullet it fires. Use this when figuring the tabletop, for instance), multiply each range ammunition costs or trying to figure out if the bracket by 2.5. A tank round with a Long Range of ammo from one weapon fits in another. Do some 300, for example, has a “real world“ long range of research as some weapons of the same caliber use 750“, or 1,500 yards. That’s a rough estimate. In all very different ammunition. cases, consider game use first and base range off • *Damage: Damage is listed in terms of dice. comparisons to other weapons of a similar type. Projectile weapons have fixed damage (such as • *RoF (Rate of Fire): This is the maximum number of shots that may be taken by this weapon per

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action. The user can make a number of attacks as • Remember that most skill names end in -ing. It’s a single action up to the weapon’s Rate of Fire Healing, not Heal. There are a few exceptions, (rather than always using its full Rate of Fire). such as Intimidation (not Intimidate). Two or more shots with such weapons always • Commonly misspelled Edges and Hindrances: incur the –2 Recoil penalty. Fleet-Footed, Jack-of-All-Trades, Level Headed, • Snapfire: Certain weapons, such as sniper rifles, Quick Draw, Strong Willed, Two-Fisted are very inaccurate if fired “from the hip“ rather • Don’t specify Hindrances as Major or Minor than using their excellent sights or scopes. If the unless those options are available. For example, character moves in the action he fires, he suffers Greedy (Major) or Greedy (Minor) should be a –2 penalty. specified, but Bad Luck should never have Major • Three-Round Burst: A weapon with this ability or Minor specified as there’s no option between has RoF 1 in that mode, but fires three bullets at the two. once and adds +1 to Shooting and damage rolls. • Parenthetical clarifiers for Edges, Hindrances, and skills should start with a capital, then only Weapon Stats in Text capitalized as normal language requires. For Melee Weapons: example, Outsider (Space alien). The bandits carry longswords (Str+d6). • Check Derived Traits—Pace, Parry, Toughness, and any that are setting-specific—against any The bandits carry power swords (Str+d6+d6, Edges or Hindrances that may adjust them (like Special). (Assuming you’ve repeated the power Acrobat, Brawny, or Fleet-Footed). info in the Science Fiction Companion or referred • Factor weapons into Parry as necessary; e.g., readers there somewhere in the table.) Fighting d8 with a spear would read, Parry: 6 or Ranged Weapons: 7 (spear). Factor all Armor into Toughness. • Note the colons after and semicolons between The bandits carry .45 revolvers (Range 12/24/48, Pace, Parry, and Toughness entries. Damage 2d6+1, RoF 1, AP 1). Stat blocks or profiles (either term is acceptable) The bandits carry pump-action shotguns (Range are arranged differently for nonplayer characters 12/24/48, Damage 1–3d6, RoF 1). and creatures: Note that we don’t list Shots or other stats here. • Wild Cards and Extras always have entries for Note also the lack of colons or semicolons, and the Derived Traits, Hindrances, Edges, and Gear period at the end. (with an em-dash for “none“ as applicable). • Characters with an Arcane Background Edge have Weapons in Stat Blocks Powers and Power Points entries (see example). Gear: Knife (Str+d4), .45 pistol (Range 12/24/48, Include the associated arcane skill and the Edge Damage 2d6+1, RoF 1, AP 1). in the appropriate sections. Note the lack of colons and semicolons, and the • Wild Cards and Extras should meet all Edge period at the end. Requirements except those dependent on Rank. • Most creatures don’t have Hindrances; they may Include only Range, Damage, RoF, AP, and HW— have a Weakness instead, listed under Special no other gear reminders are typically included. Abilities. • List a character or creature’s Special Abilities STAT BLOCK FORMATTING alphabetically in a bulleted list. We tend toward We’ll start with a list of general principles, then complete sentences in Special Abilities, but make provide specific examples. exceptions for longer entries, such as Construct or • Denote a Wild Card by placing “[WC]“ and a Undead (see example). space before the character or creature’s name. • Creatures may have Edges and Special Abilities. If • Alphabetize attributes, skills, Hindrances, Edges, a creature has a Special Ability that is exactly the powers, and Special Abilities in stat blocks. Under same as an Edge (e.g., Frenzy, Fleet-Footed), give Edges, note the enhanced version, if applicable, in it the Edge instead. (Exception: For a creature with parentheses after the Edge name as “(Imp)”—e.g., an Arcane Background, list it as a Special Ability Block (Imp), Frenzy (Imp), etc. by type as shown in the sample below.) • Core Skills: Generally, give all playable characters (e.g., pregens and allies) the core skills. Sentient foes should have them, unless there’s a reason they don’t. Most creatures have Fighting, Notice, and Stealth.

9 Pinnacle Style Guide

SAMPLE CHARACTER PROFILES • Undead: +2 Toughness; +2 to recover from being Shaken; no additional damage from Called Shots; Hacker ignores 1 point of Wound penalties; doesn’t breathe; These tech-savvy types hack into computer immune to disease and poison. databases to steal information, override systems, or solve mysteries. [WC] Dragon of Doom This ancient, spellcasting wyrm rains flame and Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d6, Strength despair on villages for miles around its desolate lair. d6, Vigor d6 Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d10, Strength Skills: Athletics d4, Common Knowledge d8, Driving d12+9, Vigor d12 d6, Electronics d8, Fighting d4, Hacking d8, Notice d6, Persuasion d4, Repair d6, Research d8, Stealth d6 Skills: Athletics d10, Fighting d10, Intimidation d12, Notice d12, Spellcasting d8 Pace: 6; Parry: 4; Toughness: 5 Pace: 8; Parry: 7; Toughness: 22 (4) Hindrances: — Edges: Frenzy (Imp), Level Headed Edges: Investigator, Streetwise Special Abilities: Gear: Laptop computer, overcoat, sunglasses. • Armor +4: Scaly hide. [WC] Irina “The Sorcerer“ Gregorovna • Claws/Bite: Str+d8. Irina is a Russian mob enforcer whose magical • Fear (–2): A dragon spurs a Fear check at –2. powers are only rivaled by her capacity for revenge. • Fiery Breath: Dragons breathe fire using the Cone Template. Every target within this cone may make Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, Strength d6, an Agility roll at –2 to avoid the attack. Those who Vigor d6 fail suffer 2d10 damage and must check to see if Skills: Athletics d4, Common Knowledge d4, they catch fire. A dragon may not attack with its Driving d4, Fighting d8, Intimidation d6, Language claws or bite in the round it breathes fire. (English d6), Language (Russian d8), Notice d6, • Flight: Pace 16”. Persuasion d8, Research d6, Shooting d8, Spellcasting • Hardy: The creature does not suffer a Wound from d8, Stealth d8, Taunt d8, Thievery d6 being Shaken twice. Pace: 6; Parry: 8; Toughness: 5 • Powers: Bolt, deflection, teleport. Power Points: 20 • Size 10 (Huge): Dragons are massive creatures. Hindrances: Loyal (To family and friends), Outsider This version is 75 feet long from nose to tail, and (Russian), Vengeful (Minor) weighs well over 30,000 pounds. The dragon has Edges: Arcane Background (Magic), Block (Imp), two additional Wounds due to its Size. Combat Reflexes, Strong Willed, Streetwise • Tail Lash: Str+d4. The creature may make a free Powers: Bolt, deflection, quickness. Power Points: 10 attack against up to two foes to its side or rear at Gear: 9mm pistol (Range 12/24/48, Damage 2d6, RoF 1, no penalty. AP 1), 2 extra clips, switchblade. • Weakness (Underbelly): Attacks that target the dragon's belly ignore its Armor. SAMPLE CREATURE PROFILES Skeleton The skin has already rotted from these risen dead, leaving them slightly quicker than their flesh-laden zombie counterparts. Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d4, Strength d6, Vigor d6 Skills: Athletics d6, Fighting d6, Intimidation d6, Notice d4, Shooting d6 Pace: 7; Parry: 5; Toughness: 7 Edges: — Gear: Varies. Special Abilities: • Bony Claws: Str+d4. • Fearless: Skeletons are immune to Fear and Intimidation.

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