TEXT: Chapter One: What You Need to Know
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  49
  Welcome to Brave New World, a
  roleplaying game set in a modern-day
  America in which the history is not our
  own—which you should have figured
  out by now if you’ve read this far.
  This Is a Roleplaying Game
  In Brave New World, one person
  known as the Guide gathers together a
  bunch of players to create a story or an
  adventure.
  As a player, you play the role of a
  Brave New World hero you come up
  with. (That’s why it’s called
  “roleplaying,” Sherlock.) We’ll get to
  how you create a character in a
  moment.
  Of course, having a hero without a
  story means you’re all dressed up with
  no place to go. After all, what’s a hero
  without a plot to unravel?
  That’s where the Guide comes in.
  The Guide’s job is to come up with a
  story for the heroes to interact with.
  This means coming up with a plot,
  some settings, and all the other
  characters the heroes might encounters,
  anyone from earthshaking villains to
  grifters on the street.
  We could go on at length about the
  philosophical ramifications of
  roleplaying games and the wonderful
  kinds of vicarious experiences they can
  provide for those who really invest
  themselves in their heroes, but that’s all
  a load of crap—sorry: sophistry.
  It’s a game, and it’s all about fun.
  So let’s figure out how this thing
  works.
  The Gist of It
  You’ve roleplayed before. Anytime
  you made a gun out of your hand and
  chased your buddies around the yard,
  going “Bang! Bang!”, you were actually
  roleplaying. You took on the role of
  someone with a gun who was going to
  take down his foes, and so did your
  friends.
  The problem with those kinds of
  games is sometimes when you shot
  someone, she didn’t always fall down
  Chapter One:
  What You need
  to Know
  
  Chapter One: What You Need to Know
  50
  like she was supposed to. Sometimes
  she just stood there and shouted, “You
  missed!”
  This usually led to an argument that
  often fell into a vicious circle of “Did
  not!” and “Did too!”, which quickly
  took all the fun out of the whole thing.
  Hey, you’re there to pretend, not bicker
  with your little sister, right?
  Okay, you’re a bit older now, and
  we’ve got some ways for you to get
  around that frustration and keep the
  make-believe going. They’re called
  rules, and that’s what this part of the
  book’s all about.
  Now, instead of pointing your finger
  at someone and hoping she falls down
  when you shout “Bang!”, you tell the
  Guide, “I’m going to blast down that
  Dreadnaut with my lightning bolts!”
  (Of course, you’re not actually blasting
  anyone. You’re just speaking in your
  hero’s voice—“in character,” so to
  speak.)
  The Guide guesstimates about how
  hard he thinks it is for you to hit the
  Dreadnaut with your bolt, and he sets a
  number (called a Target Number) and
  hands you some dice. You roll the dice,
  and if you get that number or higher,
  you blast the Dreadnaut into next
  week. No arguing about it.
  The next question, of course, is how
  do you know how many dice to roll?
  After all, just how powerful is that
  lightning bolt? And if someone hits
  your hero, just how bad is it going to
  be?
  To answer all that, we’ve got to set
  your hero up with a set of statistics that
  tell us a bit more about who he is. Since
  he’s a make-believe hero, that’s the best
  way to get to know him and to keep
  track of him, to make sure he’s the
  same kind of character this week as he
  was last week.
  After all, it’s only fair.
  What You Need to Play
  To play Brave New World, you only
  need a few things.
  1) This book.
  2) A pencil.
  3) A fistful of dice.
  4) Some players.
  5) A wild imagination.
  Let’s go through these one by one.
  This Book
  Brave New World is a setting for a
  roleplaying game, but it’s more than
  that. It’s an idea that can take many
  forms. It can be a comic book, a TV
  show, a set of action figures, a card
  game, a miniatures battle game, a
  movie, a short story, a novel. It could be
  made into just about any form of
  entertainment.
  Of course, right now we’re talking
  about the roleplaying game, and for
  that, you need this book.
  How to Use this Book
  For the most part, you use it just like
  any other book. You read it from one
  end to the other. If you’re a player
  though, you should stop reading after
  Chapter Ten. The rest of the book
  makes up the Guide’s Handbook,
  which is off limits to players.
  If you’re the Guide, then you get to
  read this book cover to cover. Since
  you’re the heroes’ eyes and ears into
  Brave New World, we’re not holding
  anything back from you. Well, nothing
  that would stop you from running a
  good game, at least.
  As a rulebook, Brave New World’s not
  just for reading though. It’s also a
  reference book. When you’ve got a
  question about exactly how something
  
  Chapter One: What You Need to Know
  51
  works in the game, you need to be able
  to find the relevant rules right away. To
  that end, we’ve given you a good table
  of contents in the front of this book.
  There’s also an extensive index in the
  back.
  Brave New Secrets
  Brave New World isn’t a snapshot
  frozen in a moment in time. The story
  behind it all begins centuries, even
  millennia ago, and it continues to
  unfold every day. There are some
  secrets that we’re holding close to our
  collective chest for now, but we’ve
  sprinkled clues to some of them
  throughout this book.
  As the Brave New World story
  develops, we’ll reveal more and more
  about what’s going on behind the
  scenes. This will all culminate in a
  brand-new roleplaying game in which
  you can explore the tangential
  ramifications. All we can tell you right
  now is the title: Crossroads.
  The Road Goes Ever On
  As we’ve implied, this book you’re
  holding isn’t the end of the Brave New
  World story. It’s just the beginning.
  This rulebook has everything in it
  that you need to know to play the
  game, but the story is bigger than we
  could cram into a single book.
  For a good chunk of the rest of the
  saga, check out Ravaged Planet, the
  Brave New World player’s guide. Then
  keep your eye out for more Brave New
  World books and products from
  Pinnacle Entertainment Group on a
  regular basis.
  Finding Our Products
  The best place to find our products is
  your local game store. Not only should
  they have our complete line of books
  and accessories, but they can help you
  out with any questions you might have
  about our game, or about games in
  general. They can also tell you what’s
  going to be coming out soon.
  
  Chapter One: What You Need to Know
  52
  Some stores even have game clubs so
  they can introduce you to other people
  interested in playing the kinds of
  games you like. If you’re lucky, we
  might even have one of our team of
  Bounty Hunters running a
  demonstration of Brave New World or
  one of our other games in the store.
  We’re always happy to teach any of our
  games to anyone bold enough to step
  up to the gaming table.
  If you don’t have a game store in
  your area, you can always contact us
  directly. Check the front of the book for
  all the current information.
  If you’ve got access to the internet,
  stop by www.peginc.com. That’s where
  we post regular updates to our games,
  including new rules, characters, and
  gadgets, rules corrections, and even the
  occasional adventure. And it’s all
  absolutely free.
  At our website, you can also sign up
  for mailing lists so you can discuss
  your favorite games with other fans
  and get the latest rumors about where
  we’re headed. Plus, there’s even a
  secure online store where you can
  order your Pinnacle products directly
  from the source.
  Pencils
  When you create a hero to play in
  your Brave New World game, you
  determine a lot of things about him.
  These range from the color of his hair
  to how fast he can run circles around
  gun-toting gangers. When you get all
  of these things figured out, you write
  them down on a hero sheet.
  There’s a sample sheet on page 58
  that shows you how to do all this, and
  there’s a blank sheet on page 64 too,
  that you can photocopy to make blank
  sheets for your own use. Don’t worry
  about all that right now. We’ll get to it
  all in good time.
  We suggest you use a pencil to fill in
  all the details on the sheet. Some things
  on the sheet can change from time to
  time, and if you use a pencil, you can
  just erase the old details and write in
  the new ones.
  If you’re sure your hero’s never
  going to change, then go ahead and use
  a pen. Just let us tell you one thing:
  You’re wrong.
  Your hero’s going to get punched,
  shot at, beat up, and generally kicked
  around, probably on a regular basis.
  That’s a hero’s lot in life.
  And when you’re done with all of
  that, hopefully your hero will have
  learned something. To reflect how he
  can apply that to new situations, he can
  improve his abilities in the game,
  changing himself for the better. See?
  
  Chapter One: What You Need to Know
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  The Dice
  Let’s talk about the dice for a
  moment.
  You know what dice are. They’re the
  little, plastic cubes with pips or
  numbers on their sides. People use
  them in casinos and on dining room
  tables around the world. You’ve
  probably got a boatload of them in
  your house already, stashed inside an
  old copy of Monopoly or Yatzhee or any
  of the rest of those boardgames rotting
  in a stack in a closet.
  Some other roleplaying games use
  all sorts of strange-looking dice that
  come in lots of different shapes. Brave
  New World doesn’t bother with those.
  We stick with the old standard: the six-
  sided cube.
  When we say you’re going to need a
  fistful of dice, we’re not kidding. The
  more you have around the better. You
  can get by with a single die if you have
  to, but we recommend you have at
  least 10 dice close at hand.
  Dice Codes
  Most of the time when the Guide
  tells you to roll some dice, he says
  something like, “Roll five dice and add
  +4 to that.” That’s just fine, but it’s a
  pain to read something like that in a
  book every time it comes up.
  Instead, we use a code that’s pretty
  much standard for roleplaying games.
  It works like this.
  When we say, “Roll 5d6,” we mean,
  “Roll five six-sided (standard) dice.”
  Simple enough, right? Just count up the
  sides on one of those cubes, and you’ll
  see we’re dead on.
  Sometimes you might see, “Roll
  5d6+4.” That means, “Roll five dice and
  add +4 to your result.” There’s really
  nothing to it.
  Reading the Dice
  In Brave New World, we read the dice
  in a particular way that you might not
  be used to. In lots of games, you roll a
  bunch of dice and add all those results
  up together to get a final total. Not so
  in Brave New World.
  Instead, you roll all the dice and then
  pick the highest number you get. That’s
  your result.
  You might say to yourself that, with
  that kind of a method of dice reading, a
  6 is the highest result you can get. After
  all, that’s the highest you can roll on a
  single die, right?
  It’s not so. Dice rolls in Brave New
  World are what we call “open-ended.”
  This means that if you roll a 6 on any of
  your dice—the highest you can get on a
  regular, six-sided die—you can pick up
  that die, roll it again, and add it to what
  you’ve already got. If you get another
  6, you can roll the die again and keep
  going until you don’t roll another 6.
  The best part is that if you get more
  than one 6 at a time, you can pick up
  each of those dice and reroll them all.
  Keep track of each of those open-ended
  rolls separately. When you’re done
  rolling, the single die with the highest
  open-ended roll gives you your final
  result.
  Example: The Guide asks
  Marty to roll 5d6+4. Marty rolls
  five dice, and he gets 1, 3, 4, 6, and
  6. So far, his highest result is a 6.
  He picks up the two 6s and rolls
  them again, getting a 4 and
  another 6. His highest result is
  now 12.
  He picks up the 6 and rolls it
  again, getting a 4. His final highest
  die number is (6+6+4=) 16. To that
  he adds the +4, giving him a final
  total of (16+4=) 20.
  
  Chapter One: What You Need to Know
  54
  The Players
  Roleplaying games are social
  activities. They’re meant to be played
  with a group of people sitting in a
  room together, usually around a table.
  To do that, you’ve got to fill the game
  with warm bodies.
  You need at least two people to play:
  the Guide and one player. After that,
  you can add other people as you like.
  Most Guides find it’s easiest to work
  with three to six players. If you’re new
  to roleplaying games, start with a small
  group and work your way up. Every
  player demands a certain amount of
  attention during a game, and it’s
  always easier to juggle fewer people.
  Games with more than six players
  can be more challenging than many
  Guides care to bother with. If you want
  to give a bigger group a shot, though,
  more power to you. Just be sure you
  know what you’re doing, or your
  group may start shrinking all by itself,
  as players who don’t feel like they’re
  getting enough attention leave.
  A Wild Imagination
  Roleplaying is also a creative
  endeavor. It’s playtime, pal, and you’ve
  got to be ready to open up the box in
  your head and let all the toys spill out.
  If you’re a player, you’ve got to have
  an idea about what you want your hero
  to be like and what he wants to do in
  the game world. What are his dreams
  and goals? Who does he care about?
  Who wants him dead?
  Coming up with all this stuff
  requires a healthy imagination, but
  don’t worry too much about it. We’ve
  got lots of rules and examples to get
  you set on the right path to making the
  coolest Brave New World hero around.
  Guiding
  If you’re the Guide, you’ve bitten off
  a big chunk, baby. Be sure to chew
  thoroughly before you swallow.
  Guiding can be the most rewarding
  position in the game, but it’s also the
  most challenging. The players each
  only have to worry about their own
  single hero. You’ve got to handle a cast
  of thousands.
  The upside to this is that you don’t
  have to put as much work into each
  extra (that’s what we call the characters
  the Guide controls) as the players do
  into their heroes. If the heroes stop a
  mugging on the street, you don’t really
  need to know the life history of the
  mugger and his victim. All you need
  are a few salient details.
  We’ll tell you all about this in
  Chapter Eleven: Guiding the Game,
  plus we give you a few more ways to
  make your life easier. We appreciate
  what you’re doing, after all.
  The Guide can make or break the
  game. It’s up to you to make sure
  everyone else is having fun. Preparing
  for this can suck up a lot of your time,
  but we’re ready to help you out there
  too. Look for Power Shield, the Brave
  New World Guide’s kit. It comes
  complete with a cardboard screen and a
  48-page adventure to get your game
  rolling.
  The screen’s perfect for hiding all of
  your Guide-only secrets behind. There
  are lots of things in the game that the
  players don’t need to know right away.
  Their heroes will learn about them in
  the course of playing the game. After
  all, figuring things out is part of the
  fun.
  The screen’s also got all sorts of vital
  game information printed on it for easy
  reference. This makes Guiding easier
  
  Chapter One: What You Need to Know
  55
  for you, since you don’t have to be
  flipping through this book every time
  you need to know how much damage a
  certain weapon does, for instance.
  The adventure’s not only a great way
  to launch a Brave New World series of
  adventures. It’s also a perfect example
  of how a game should work. If after
  reading this book you’re still unclear
  on how to bring an adventure to life, be
  sure to pick up Power Shield too.
  Guide as Storyteller
  A roleplaying game’s got two
  elements to it, and the Guide has to
  balance them carefully. It’s both
  “roleplaying” and a “game.”
  For the roleplaying side of things,
  the Guide’s got to come up with a story
  that engages the players and makes the
  game exciting and fun. This can be
  difficult, and it requires a tremendous
  amount of imagination. We’ve got
  some hints to help you out with this in
  Chapter Eleven.
  Guide as Judge
  The Guide doesn’t just guide the
  story along. She also serves as a referee
  for any questions that come up in the
  game. Her biggest task here is to judge
  how difficult it is for the characters to
  perform actions, setting the Target
  Numbers for their action rolls.
  There’s a lot more to it than that
  though. A roleplaying game is meant to
  model life—or a strange version of it, at
  least. There’s no way that a set of rules
  could possibly cover every detail that’s
  going to crop up in the course of the
  game.
  That’s where the Guide comes in. It’s
  her job to fill in the gaps as best she
  can, making decisions on the fly to
  resolve any kind of situation her
  player’s might present her with.
  For this to work, the players must
  make a tacit agreement to abide by the
  Guide’s judgment. Let’s make this
  absolutely clear:
  In matters of the game, the Guide’s
  word is law.
  
  Chapter Two: What It Takes to Be a Hero
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  57
  Chapter Two:
  What It Takes
  to Be a Hero
  Here’s where we get down to it: how
  to make a delta of your own. Of course,
  if you want to you could just play a reg
  like a reporter or a street cop, but that’s
  not really the point here.
  Brave New World is about having
  powers that treat the laws of physics
  like a puppy treats a brand-new pair of
  shoes. It’s about having powers “far
  beyond those of mortal men” and then
  dealing with how that makes you
  different from most everyone else.
  It’s about power and how it’s used.
  Does it corrupt you, or do you use it
  responsibly? To struggle with those
  questions, your hero needs powers.
  The Hero Sheet
  You might know what kind of hero
  you want to play. Maybe he’s a cop
  during the day, but at night he wears a
  mask and bounces bullets off his chest.
  He fights crime as a Defiant because
  there are criminals beyond his reach as
  a cop, and he doesn’t want to join Delta
  Prime and be forced to leave his family.
  That’s great, but you need to be able
  to define the hero a bit more solidly.
  Just how big a bullet can he really
  bounce of his chest? And how good of
  a detective is he?
  If you were back on the playground,
  you could just say, “He’s the greatest,”
  but that’s not much fun for a character,
  is it? If the hero’s the next best thing to
  God, there aren’t going to be a whole
  lot of challenges for him, and challenge
  is the heart of adventure.
  To help you really pin down who
  your hero is in terms that mean
  something in the game, you need to
  describe him with a set of numbers that
  rank him against everyone else in the
  game. Collectively, these vital statistics
  are called the hero’s profile.
  Take a look at the hero sheet on the
  next page for an example of what we’re
  talking about. A lot of the details you
  can fill in on your own without any
  help from us: the player’s name (that’s
  you, pal), the hero’s name, code name,
  origin story, and so on. Then there’s the
  rest of it.
  
  Chapter Two: What It Takes to Be a Hero
  58
  The Profile
  A hero is defined by four different
  kinds of statistics: traits, skills, quirks,
  and powers.
  Traits
  Every character in the game has four
  basic traits: Smarts, Speed, Spirit, and
  Strength. These define the hero in
  broad strokes. They might seem pretty
  self-explanatory, but let’s go over them
  anyhow.
  Smarts tells you how brainy your
  hero is. This is his ability to learn things
  quickly, to call on knowledge he’s got,
  and to figure intellectual things out all
  by himself.
  Speed tells you just how fast your
  hero is. It also defines how well he can
  dodge attacks, fire a weapon, and drive
  a car.
  Spirit tells you how together your
  hero is. This says things about how
  brave he is and how good he is at
  influencing other people.
  Strength tells you how powerful your
  hero is, physically speaking. It’s his
  ability to lift things, toss things, and
  hurt things.
  Notice that there are two columns
  for numbers next to each trait: dice and
  bonus. Every character has a number in
  the dice column, but only exceptional
  heroes get anything listed in the bonus
  column.
  Each trait is defined by a number in
  the dice column, starting at 1 and going
  on up. The bigger the number, the
  better your hero is in that particular
  trait. When the hero is called upon to
  use the trait, he rolls that number of
  dice.
  The average number in each trait is
  2, and the normal human maximum is
  5, but deltas bust through that limit all
  the time. That means the person on the
  street has a 2 in each trait, while an
  Olympic athlete might have a Strength
  or Speed of 5.
  If the hero’s got a number listed in
  the bonus column, you just add that to
  the number you get after he rolls his
  trait dice.
  To help you know when we’re
  talking about an actual trait, all trait
  names are Capitalized and listed in
  italics.
  Diceless Traits
  There are also two traits that stand
  apart from the others since you don’t
  roll dice when they come into play.
  These are Pace and Size.
  martin forbeck
  john carter
  rebel
  it’s a long story--see back
  5
  9
  4
  4
  4
  2
  2
  area
  knowledge  2
  english       2
  computing   2
  security      2
  disguise      2
  acrobatics  2
  dodging      3
  shooting     5
  driving:pv   2
  bravery      2
  persuasion:
  scrutinize    1
  charm        2
  search        1
  fighting:
  barehanded  5
  climbing      2
  swimming     2
  throwing     3
  armor 5 -
  energy blast
  blast punch
  knockback
  superblast
  binoculars
  cell phone
  kevlar vest
  helmet
  harley-davidson
  delta, secret identity,
  unregistered, beautiful,
  destined for greatness,
  impulsive, alert, brave,
  code of honor, loyal,
  skeptical
  
  Chapter Two: What It Takes to Be a Hero
  59
  Pace tells you how far your hero can
  move in a round. This is figured by
  adding the number of the hero’s Speed
  dice to any flat Speed bonus he’s got,
  plus +5. That’s how many inches a
  figure of the hero can move across a
  tabletop in a single round. (If you’re
  not using miniatures, a tabletop inch
  translates to roughly two yards.)
  So a hero with a Speed of 4 has a Pace
  of (4+5=) 9. Simple.
  Size describes how big your hero is
  relative to other people. The bigger a
  person is, the easier he is to hit, but the
  harder he is to hurt. Most people have
  a Size of 5.
  Skills
  Traits give you an idea of a hero’s
  raw abilities, but abilities aren’t worth
  much if you don’t know how to do
  anything with them. That’s where skills
  come in.
  Each trait has a number of different
  skills listed under it, things like
  shooting, language, and bravery. Each
  skill then has a bonus number listed
  next to it.
  When your hero wants to use a skill,
  you gather together all the dice for the
  trait it’s under, and roll them. Then you
  add any trait or skill bonuses to the die
  roll. That total is your final result.
  Each of the skills is described in full
  in Chapter Four.
  Subskills
  Some skills are divided into
  subskills. Fighting, for instance, is
  broken down into barehanded, blade, and
  club. Each of these subskills is
  considered a separate skill. They are
  not related in any way other than
  name. The groupings are more for
  convenience than anything else.
  Trait Rolls
  Some situations call for a hero to
  make a raw trait roll. In this case, roll
  the dice for that trait normally, but
  don’t add any skill bonuses, just the
  trait bonus.
  Unskilled Rolls
  If the hero doesn’t have the skill he
  needs for a certain action roll, he can
  still give it the old college try. He just
  needs to get an extra success for the
  action to work. In other words, his first
  success—assuming he gets one—
  doesn’t even count. It’s the second
  success that gets things going.
  Quirks
  No one’s just a collection of
  numbers, not even a Brave New World
  hero. Everyone’s got something about
  her that makes her unique. These can
  be good things or even bad things.
  Collectively, they’re called quirks.
  Each of the quirks are described in
  full in Chapter Five.
  Powers
  Assuming the hero’s a delta, he’s got
  superpowers of some sort. These are
  listed here. In Brave New World, the
  powers all come in premade packages
  to make it easier for you to create a
  balanced hero. See Chapter Eight for
  these.
  Tricks
  Tricks are special things your hero
  knows how to do. She can activate
  these with extra successes. General
  tricks anyone can learn are covered in
  Chapter Seven, while Chapter Eight
  has some power-specific tricks.
  
  Chapter Two: What It Takes to Be a Hero
  60
  Creating a Hero
  Now that you know how a hero
  sheet works, let’s get to slapping a
  delta together for you.
  There are two ways to create your
  own hero. Going from the simplest to
  the most challenging, they are:
  1) Use an archetype.
  2) Make one from scratch.
  The Archetypes
  On pages 65–74, we’ve listed a
  number of typical kinds of heroes you
  might find in Brave New World. These
  deltas come complete with all the traits,
  skills, and powers they need, and
  they’re ready to play. All you’ve got to
  do is copy their statistics down on a
  blank hero sheet—you can photocopy
  the one in this book—and fill in all the
  missing details like name, origin story,
  and so on.
  If this is your first time playing in a
  roleplaying game, an archetype is
  really the way to go. All the work’s
  been done for you.
  Go ahead and look over the
  archetypes and pick one you like. Don’t
  worry about it if you don’t understand
  what all the skills and powers mean.
  We’ll get to that in good time.
  To make an archetype your own
  hero—as opposed to a generic, cookie-
  cutter character—you still want to
  spend some time thinking about who
  your hero is, how he got his powers,
  and why he’s decided to join the
  Defiance Movement.
  Filling in all the empty spaces on the
  hero sheet is a good start, but you
  should feel free to add as much more as
  you like. Use the back of your
  photocopied sheet and go wild.
  Creating Your
  Hero from Scratch
  Making a hero from scratch is more
  challenging than using an archetype,
  but it’s also more rewarding. If you’re
  not comfortable with taking on such a
  task quite yet, don’t sweat it. Try
  playing the game with an archetype or
  a packaged hero first, and then come
  back here when you’re ready to try it
  all again.
  To create a hero from scratch, just
  follow these simple steps:
  1) Assign your hero’s traits.
  2) Pick your hero’s skills.
  3) Pick your hero’s quirks.
  4) Pick your hero’s powers.
  5) Pick your hero’s tricks.
  6) Buy your hero’s gear.
  Assigning Traits
  Your hero has four different traits—
  Smarts, Speed, Spirit, and Strength—and
  you need to assign numbers to each of
  these. You have 12 Trait Points to
  divide up among these traits.
  That’s enough for your hero to have
  3 points in each trait, just above the
  average. These are heroes we’re talking
  about, after all, and even without their
  powers they’re a cut above normal.
  If you want to, you can put more
  points into any trait you like, but
  they’ve got to come from somewhere
  else, so your other traits will suffer.
  The most points a hero can have in
  any trait when starting out is 5, and the
  least he can have is 1. It’s possible to
  improve your traits as time passes in
  the game, but for now you should
  focus on the traits that are most
  important to your hero.
  
  Chapter Two: What It Takes to Be a Hero
  61
  Picking Skills
  Each trait has certain skills that are
  associated with it. For every point you
  have in that trait, you get 3 Skill Points
  to purchase skill bonuses with. See
  Chapter Four for a full list of skills and
  which traits they each go with. These
  points must be spent on skills.
  Every point you spend on a skill
  gives you a +1 bonus with that skill.
  When creating a hero, none of your
  skills can have a bonus of higher than
  +5. You can improve this later though.
  Picking Quirks
  Each quirk has a number listed next
  to it that’s either positive or negative.
  Positive quirks (like rich) cost you that
  many skill points, while negative
  quirks (like poor) give you extra skill
  points. When you take a negative
  quirk, you can add those points to your
  skills or pick up a positive quirk.
  Up to a point, taking negative quirks
  can add some realism and even
  heroism to your character. Overcoming
  these kinds of obstacles can add some
  meaning to your hero’s struggles.
  You can’t take more than 10 points of
  negative quirks. It’s good to have some
  quirks to surmount, but overdoing it
  can turn the game on its ear.
  Picking a Power Package
  This is where we finally get into the
  stuff that separates your hero from the
  people on the street: superpowers.
  Superpowers can sometimes be
  complicated, so we don’t just provide
  you with a list of possible powers and
  let you mix and match as you like.
  Instead, we provide you with power
  packages that knit your hero’s powers
  together into a seamless whole.
  Your hero gets to choose a single
  power package from those listed in
  Chapter Eight. This package cannot be
  added to or changed later, so choose
  carefully.
  Picking Tricks
  Each hero gets three tricks to start
  out with. You can choose these from the
  general list in Chapter Seven or pick
  ones from your hero’s power package
  in Chapter Eight.
  Buying Gear
  Unless your hero’s rich or poor, she
  gets $1,000 to buy gear with.
  (Otherwise she gets some more or a lot
  less.) We’re talking weapons, armor,
  cars, and the like here. For a list of
  available gear, turn to Chapter Nine.
  
  Creating a Hero
  Creating a
  hero’s simple, but
  to make it easier,
  we’ve collected all
  the information
  you need on these
  two pages. See the
  appropriate
  chapters for all the
  details on
  everything here.
  1. Assign traits
  You’ve got 12
  trait points to
  distribute among
  four traits: Smarts,
  Speed, Spirit, and
  Strength. You can’t
  start with more
  than 5 points or
  less than 1 point
  in any trait.
  Figure your
  diceless traits here
  too.
  Quirks or
  powers aside,
  heroes are Size 5.
  The hero’s Pace
  is his Speed+5, in
  inches.
  Again, quirks
  or powers aside,
  heroes start with 3
  Delta Points.
  2. Pick Skills
  For each point
  your hero’s got in
  a trait, he gets 3
  points worth of
  skills under that
  trait. You can start
  with up to 5
  points in a skill.
  Free Skills
  Area knowledge:
  hometown
  2
  Climbing
  1
  Language:
  native
  2
  Scrutinize
  1
  Search
  1
  Recommended Skills
  Bravery
  Fighting:
  barehanded
  Perception
  Persuasion: bluff
  Stealth
  Smarts Skills
  Academia:
  American
  culture,
  comparative
  literature,
  history, occult
  Artillery
  Area knowledge:
  City, county,
  state, region,
  country
  Bureaucratics
  Computing
  Criminology
  Demolition
  Disguise
  Etiquette
  Forgery
  Gambling
  Language: Any
  language
  Medicine
  Navigation
  Profession:
  Accounting,
  administration,
  architecture,
  business, clergy,
  finance, law,
  engineering
  Science: Biology,
  chemistry,
  geology,
  mathematics,
  physics
  Security
  Survival: City,
  desert, forest,
  mountain
  Tactics
  Tinkering
  Weaponsmith
  Speed Skills
  Acrobatics
  Archery
  Boating:
  Speedboat,
  sailboat
  Dodging
  Driving; Personal
  vehicle,
  commercial
  vehicle
  Escaping
  Flying
  Lockpicking:
  Electronic,
  mechanical
  Martial arts:
  Barehanded,
  club, blade
  Piloting: Airplane,
  helicopter
  Quick draw
  Riding
  Sleight of hand
  Shooting
  Speed-load
  Stealth
  Trade: Carpenter,
  electrician,
  machine
  operator,
  mechanic,
  plumber
  Spirit Skills
  Arts: Illustrating,
  music
  composition,
  painting,
  sculpting,
  writing
  Bravery
  Faith
  Leadership
  Mimic
  Perception
  Performing:
  Acting, public
  speaking,
  music, singing,
  storytelling
  Persuasion: Bluff,
  charm,
  interrogation,
  intimidation,
  seduction, taunt
  Scrounging
  Scrutinize
  Search
  Shadowing
  Streetwise
  Tracking
  Strength Skills
  Climbing
  Fighting:
  Barehanded,
  club, blade
  Running
  Sport: Baseball,
  basketball,
  deltaball,
  football,
  hockey, soccer
  Swimming
  Throwing
  3. Pick Quirks
  You can choose
  up to –10 points of
  negative quirks.
  You can use these
  points to buy
  positive quirks or
  more skills.
  Status Quirks
  Delta or reg
  Public identity or
  secret identity
  Registered or
  unregistered
  Hero Creation Quick Reference
  
  Positive Quirks
  Alert
  +3
  Ambidextrous +5
  Authority +1 to +5
  Beautiful
  +1
  Brave
  +1
  Brawny
  +3
  Contact
  +1 to +5
  Dark
  secret
  +1 to +5
  Destined for
  greatness
  +5
  Double-jointed +1
  Famous
  +2
  Favor owed
  +1
  Gear
  +1 to +5
  Iron jaw
  +3
  Light sleeper
  +1
  Lucky
  +3
  Ordained
  +1
  Patron
  +2 to +5
  Photographic
  memory
  +5
  Rich
  +1 to +5
  Self-confident
  +2
  Sense of
  direction
  +1
  Sense of time
  +1
  Sharp ears
  +1
  Sharp eyes
  +1
  Sidekick
  +5
  Tough
  +2
  Veteran
  ±0
  Voice
  +1
  Wise
  +3
  Negative Quirks
  Absentminded –3
  Addiction
  –1/–3
  Arrogant
  –3
  Bad habit –1 to –3
  Bigot
  –1 to –3
  Bloodthirsty
  –2
  Cautious
  –3
  Cheap
  –2
  Clumsy
  –3
  Code of honor
  –3
  Coward
  –3
  Crazy
  –1 to –5
  Curious
  –3
  Dark
  secret
  –1 to –5
  Death wish
  –5
  Dependent
  –1 to –5
  Disabled
  –3/–5
  Duty
  –1 to –5
  Enemy
  –1 to –5
  Frail
  –3
  Glass jaw
  –3
  Greedy
  –2
  Gullible
  –2
  Heavy sleeper
  –1
  Hefty
  –2/–3
  Heroic
  –5
  Honest
  –3
  Illness
  –1/–3/–5
  Illiterate
  –3
  Impulsive
  –3
  Loyal
  –3
  Lusty
  –1
  Mean
  –2
  Mute
  –3
  Obligation
  –1/–3
  Obvious
  –3/–5
  Old
  –3
  Pacifist
  –3/–5
  Poor
  –3
  Poor ears
  –2/–4
  Poor
  eyes
  –1/–3/–5
  Savage
  –3
  Self-righteous
  –2
  Skeptical
  –1
  Slow
  –2
  Slight
  –5
  Snobby
  –1
  Softhearted
  –1
  Stubborn
  –2
  Stutter
  –2
  Superstitious
  –2
  Squeamish
  –2
  Temper
  –2
  Ugly
  –2
  Unlucky
  –5
  Vengeful
  –2
  Vow
  –1 to –5
  Wanted
  –5
  Young
  –1
  4. Pick a Power
  Package
  Pick a single
  power package.
  The Packages
  Bouncer
  Bargainer
  Blaster
  Flyer
  Gadgeteer
  Goliath
  Gunner
  Healer
  Scrapper
  Speedster
  5. Pick Tricks
  Each hero then
  gets three free
  tricks from either
  the general list or
  his power
  package.
  General Tricks
  Brilliant idea
  Bull’s eye
  Entangling
  Extra damage
  Fast learner
  First move
  Grapple
  Knockback
  Knockdown
  Know the Streets
  Make an
  impression
  The natural
  New friend
  On a roll
  Pumped up
  Ricochet
  Bouncer
  Bounce attack
  Flip-toss
  Bargainer
  Jinx
  Make it look easy
  Blaster
  Blast punch
  Superblast
  Flyer
  Burst of speed
  Flying dodge
  Gadgeteer
  Fine tuning
  Smack it
  Goliath
  Rock your world
  Superjump
  Gunner
  Mercy
  Pierce armor
  Healer
  Healing disease
  Healing poison
  Scrapper
  Fast healer
  Dirty fighting
  Speedster
  Afterimages
  Burst of speed
  6. Select Gear
  Unless the
  hero’s rich or poor,
  he’s got $1,000 to
  spend on gear. See
  the lists on pages
  188–189 for prices.
  Hero Creation Quick Reference
  
  Archetypes
  66
  Blaster
  Profile
  Smarts: 3d6
  Area knowledge: Crescent City 2,
  computing 2, disguise 1, language:
  English 2, security 3
  Speed: 4d6
  Dodging 2, driving: personal
  vehicle 1, martial arts:
  barehanded 2, martial arts:
  blade 1, shooting 4, stealth 2
  Spirit: 3d6
  Bravery 1, perception
  2, persuasion:
  charm 2,
  scrutinize 2,
  search 3,
  shadowing 1
  Strength: 2d6
  Climbing 2,
  running 1,
  swimming 2,
  throwing 2
  Size: 5
  Pace: 9
  Delta Points: 3
  Quirks: Beautiful +1, curious
  –3, delta ±0, dependent –2:
  younger sister, iron jaw +3,
  rich +3, secret identity ±0,
  self-confident +2, sharp
  eyes +1, unregistered ±0,
  wanted –5
  Powers:
  Armor: 5/—
  Energy Blast
  Tricks: Blast punch, the
  natural, superblast
  Gear: Binoculars,
  cell phone with
  e-mail capability, collapsible grappling
  hook, good false ID papers, Chevy
  Corvette (financed), and $8,000.
  Personality
  Life as a delta’s not all bad. I make a
  pretty good living at it, after all. There’s
  always someone willing to hire on
  someone with my unique talents.
  How many people do you
  know who can walk the streets
  of Crescent City unarmed?
  Who needs bullets when
  your hands are living
  guns?
  If it
  wasn’t for
  those
  Delta
  Primers,
  my life
  would
  be fine. I
  can’t tell
  you how
  many
  times I’ve
  been
  stiffed by a
  client who
  called in the
  Primers when
  payment was due.
  These days, it’s cash up
  front.
  I look at helping with the
  Defiance as a kind of charity
  work. Everyone’s got to do
  their part, right?
  And if brings down that
  bastard in the White House, so
  much the better.
  Quote: Everything’s
  negotiable.
  Blaster
  
  Archetypes
  67
  Bouncer
  Personality
  Hey, look out! Get outta my way, old
  man!
  Sure, you’re only 30, but compared to
  me, you’re so far over the hill, I’d
  need the Hubble to see you. Time
  to make way for the new
  generation!
  I may not have been a
  delta for long, but I’ve
  already done more
  for the Defiance
  than most people
  twice my age.
  Do I hate
  being a delta?
  Are you on
  crack? It’s a
  flat-out blast.
  How
  many
  people you
  know who
  can bounce
  across the
  rooftops like
  me? Hey, if I can
  do some good for
  other deltas along
  the way, well, that’s
  just too fresh for me
  to pass up.
  Plus, I get to wear this
  way cool mask, and get this:
  People call me by a codename.
  It’s awesome.
  Quote: Try to keep up, old man!
  Profile
  Smarts: 2d6
  Area knowledge: Crescent City 2,
  computing 2, language: English 2,
  navigation 1, profession: student
  2, survival: city 1
  Speed: 4d6
  Acrobatics 2, dodging 4, driving:
  personal vehicle 1,
  martial arts:
  barehanded 3,
  stealth 2
  Spirit: 4d6
  Bravery 2,
  perception 1,
  persuasion:
  charm 3,
  scrutinize 2,
  search 2,
  shadowing
  2,
  streetwise 2
  Strength: 2d6+3
  Climbing 3, sport:
  skateboarding 1,
  swimming 1,
  throwing 2
  Size: 4
  Pace: 14
  Delta Points: 4
  Quirks: Delta ±0, destined
  for greatness +5,
  impulsive –3, lucky +3,
  secret identity ±0, self-confident
  +2, slight –5, softhearted –1,
  unregistered ±0, young –1
  Powers:
  Fast: +5 to dodge, Pace, and initiative
  rolls.
  Strong: +3 to Strength
  Tricks: First move, flip-toss, knockback
  Gear: BMX bike, skateboard, PC with
  limited internet connection and loads of
  computer games, and $50.
  Bouncer
  
  Chapter Three: The Basic Mechanic
  80
  
  81
  Brave New World centers around a
  single basic game mechanic. When you
  want your character to do something
  that might not work, the Guide sets a
  Target Number (TN) and asks you to
  roll a certain number of dice.
  This is called making an action roll.
  If your result is equal to or greater than
  the Target Number, your hero succeeds
  at whatever she was trying to do.
  Otherwise, she fails.
  Setting the Target Number can take
  some getting used to, but we make it
  easy with the following table. Once
  you’ve got this down, you’ve got a
  handle on most of the game. The table
  below has some examples.
  Target Numbers
  Difficulty
  Target Number
  Easy
  5
  Challenging
  10
  Difficult
  15
  Amazing
  20
  Incredible
  25
  Phenomenal
  30
  Setting a Target Number
  Setting a Target Number is simple.
  The Guide takes a look at the situation
  and figures out about how hard it
  should be for the hero to do what he
  wants to do. The higher the number,
  the harder the feat is to accomplish.
  If the player wants his hero to do
  something that’s flat-out impossible,
  the Guide can simply tell him that he’s
  out of luck. Weaklings trying to push
  over the Empire State Building are
  going to fail every time, no matter how
  well they might roll.
  Example: Marty’s hero, the
  Rebel, is chasing a thief across the
  rooftops of Crescent City. The thief
  leaps from one building to the next,
  and Marty wants the Rebel to
  follow him.
  The Guide thinks about it for a
  moment and sets the Target
  Number at 7. There’s about 12 feet
  between the rooftops, and this isn’t
  exactly a nicely groomed running
  track the Rebel’s on.
  Chapter Three:
  The Basic
  Mechanic
  
  Chapter Three: The Basic Mechanic
  82
  Opposed Rolls
  Sometimes your hero’s going to
  want to do something in direct
  opposition to someone else. In that
  case, you don’t have to worry about
  setting Target Numbers. Just have both
  of the characters roll. The character
  with the higher result wins.
  Example: The Rebel’s somehow
  got himself in an arm-wrestling
  match with Savannah’s hero, Jackie
  Savage. Marty rolls the Rebel’s
  Strength dice (4), while Savannah
  rolls Jackie’s (3). Marty gets a 5,
  and Savannah gets a 4. Marty
  wins, and the Rebel pins Jackie’s
  arm to the table.
  Of course, you can get extra
  successes with opposed rolls too. All
  you have to do is beat your opponent’s
  result by 5 or more. Each extra 5 points
  on the roll counts as another success.
  Example: Jackie and the Rebel
  go at it again. This time, Marty
  gets a 4, while Savannah gets a 10.
  Since Jackie won by (10–4=) 6, she
  gets two successes. She uses the
  first one to win the arm-wrestling
  match. With a grin, Savannah says
  that Jackie uses the other success to
  knock the Rebel out of his chair.
  Disasters
  Just as a hero can get a really great
  action roll, he can screw it up too. If a
  hero makes an action roll and gets 1s
  on the majority of the dice, something
  goes wrong. First off, she fails at
  whatever she’s doing, no matter what
  the result might be. Second, it’s up to
  the Guide to come up with something
  to put a crimp in the hero’s plans.
  Marty rolls a number of dice
  equal to the Rebel’s Strength: 4.
  They come up 1, 3, 5, and 6. Marty
  picks up the 6 and rolls it again. He
  gets a 4, giving him a total of
  (6+4=) 10.
  The Rebel lands neatly on the
  other roof and continues after the
  thief, not even breaking stride.
  Extra Successes & Tricks
  If you get a really great action roll
  result, you can rack up more than one
  success. For every 5 points over the
  Target Number, you get another
  success. You can use these successes to
  do tricks like knock an opponent down
  or ricochet an attack off a wall.
  Many actions have tricks associated
  with them. For every extra success you
  get, you can use a trick your hero
  knows that goes with the action he’s
  using. Better yet, you don’t have to
  choose the trick until after you roll.
  To use a general trick (those from
  Chapter Seven) properly, your hero has
  to know it. If he doesn’t, he can still
  pull it off, but it takes three extra
  successes instead of one.
  You might have more successes than
  you know what to do with. Unused
  successes are wasted, but you can pat
  yourself on the back for a heck of a roll.
  Example: The Rebel lets loose at
  a Delta Primer with an energy
  blast from his fist. The Target
  Number is 6, and he roll and gets
  an 11. Since that’s 5 more than the
  Target Number, he got an extra
  success. The first success slams the
  blast home into the Primer’s chest.
  Marty uses the extra success to
  activate Rebel’s knockback trick,
  slamming the Primer into a
  mailbox across the street.
  
  Chapter Three: The Basic Mechanic
  83
  Example: Let’s go back to the
  Rebel leaping across the rooftops.
  Say Marty rolls and gets 1, 1, 1,
  and 6. He’s got a disaster on his
  hands. He doesn’t even need to
  bother rerolling that 6, since the
  Rebel’s leap automatically fails.
  The Guide thinks about it for a
  moment, then says, “The Rebel
  makes a desperate leap, but just as
  his feet leave the rooftop, he trips.
  The Rebel’s 10 stories up, and it’s
  going to hurt when he hits the
  ground. A fatal kind of hurt.”
  Marty looks up at the Guide, his
  eyes pleading for one last chance.
  The Guide smiles and says,
  “There’s a clothesline crossing
  between the buildings at the sixth
  floor. A quick hero might be able to
  make a grab for it.”
  Automatic Successes
  Some things are so easy for a hero to
  do there’s no need to roll for them.
  People cross the street all the time, for
  instance, so rolling for that’s silly.
  If the hero’s lowest possible action
  roll is equal to or higher than the Target
  Number, the hero doesn’t have to
  bother rolling. She can still roll if she
  wants to—say, if she wants to get some
  extra successes—but if she does, she
  opens herself up to the chance of
  disaster too. Either way, it’s the
  player’s choice.
  Example: The Wall wants to
  pick up a desk. His Strength is
  5d6+5, so his lowest possible result
  is a 6. The Guide rules that picking
  up the desk has a Target Number of
  5. This means the Bruiser doesn’t
  have to bother with an action roll,
  since lifting something like a desk
  is so easy for him.
  Jargon
  There are some new words that we
  use in Brave New World that you might
  not recognize at first. Just to make
  things clear, here’s what they mean.
  Action Roll: When a player wants
  his hero to do something, this is the roll
  she makes to see whether or not she
  succeeds.
  Alpha: A particularly powerful kind
  of delta. Also the first letter of the
  Greek alphabet.
  Defiants: A group of deltas who
  refuse to register with the government.
  Delta: A person with superpowers.
  Also a Greek letter meaning “change.”
  The term covers all kinds of deltas,
  even alphas, although there are few
  alphas these days.
  Delta Prime (DP): A bureau of the
  Department of Justice. The best-known
  delta group in the US government.
  Extra Successes: A bonus for a great
  action roll. For every 5 points an action
  roll is higher than the Target Number
  the player was rolling against, the
  player gets an extra success.
  Extras: The characters controlled by
  the Guide. These can range from taxi
  drivers to major villains.
  Guide: The players’ eyes and ears
  into the Brave New World setting. The
  person who sets up the game, controls
  the plot, sets the Target Numbers, and
  makes rulings in the case of any
  questions.
  Primer: Slang for a member of Delta
  Prime.
  Reg: Regular. A person without any
  superpowers.
  Success: When a die roll meets or
  beats a target number, the player has a
  success.
  Target Number (TN): The number a
  player needs to roll equal to or greater
  than to succeed at an action.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Brave New World/Brave New World Corebook.pdf