Character Creation

In Means and Measure you determine your character class from your choices, not the other way around. Your character develops over time, organically, the same way that your real-world skillset develops over time, the same way people move into and out of careers as their focus evolves and their experiences accumulate. There are some innate abilities, and you may be predisposed biologically towards one path or another, but you can overcome shortcomings and reject any kind of so-called destiny to forge your own path forward.

Abilities
At character creation, you start with 4 Abilities at rank 0, and 2 abilities at rank 1. The 6 Abilities are Brawn, Vigor, Agility, Intellect, Insight, Allure. Brawn is your physical strength. Vigor is your health and wellness. Agility is your fine motor control. Intellect is your ability to reason. Insight is your inherent common sense and accumulated wisdom. Allure is your force of personality. If you wanted to play a muscular sword swinging gladiator, you'd probably want to choose Brawn for one of your rank 1 Abilities. And, since you want to emphasize that your are generally healthier than the common man, you might want to increase your Vigor to rank 1.

Your rank in an ability determines the window size of your Measure (the number range you aim for when rolling to determine success or failure). At rank 0, Measures are usually 7. At rank 1: 6-7, rank 2: 6-8, etc. Means (skills you learn over time) can modify the Measure, as can physical location, gear, or physical and mental states you are affected by.

All characters start with 6 Points of Health, and 6 Points of Nerve. These represent the physical damage you can withstand before falling unconscious, and the sense of self and confidence you feel before the fight, flight, or freeze reaction takes over from your rational brain.

On top of your Health, which only regenerates at 1 point for every Overnight Rest, barring magical intervention, you may have two pools that regenerate each time you take a breather. These pools are Vitality and Armor. Vitality is determined by your Vigor rank, unless a Means says otherwise. If you have a Vigor rank of 0, you have a Vitality pool of 0. For every rank of Vigor, your Vitality pool increases by 1. Armor is determined by your Gear.

If you are hit in combat, unless a Means says otherwise, you first subtract from Armor, and then Vitality, before you start subtracting from Health.

On top of your Nerve, which only regenerates at 1 point for every Overnight Rest, you may have a pool known as Grit. Grit is determined by your Intellect, Insight, and Allure rank, unless a Means says otherwise. If you wanted to put all your ranks in those three Abilities, your Grit could grow pretty large, but you'd be particularly susceptible to physical attacks.

In any case, no Ability may have a rank higher than 2, unless a Means says otherwise.

Means
At character creation, you can choose three Means. You must meet any prerequisites (in italics) but there are otherwise no restrictions. A good rule of thumb is to take 2 Means in sequence from one tree, and 1 Means from another tree. Let's say you want to keep the sword-swinging gladiator from above. Maybe you choose Level 1 - Brawn Weapon Training, which lets you use your Brawn Ability rank to your attacks and damage with Brawn weapons, and Level 1 - Overpower, which means when you hit a target with your Brawn weapon, you not only injure them, but also knock them Off-Balance, making it easier for others to hit the target as well. Then, because you also want to wear some Armor without taking any penalties to your attacks, your spend your last Means on Level 1 - Armor Training.

Gear
Roll 2d6 to determine starting number of Gear.

Choose Gear that suits your character based upon your Abilities and Means. For instance, a gladiator would likely have a sword or axe and some leather or brigandine armor, maybe a small shield, some sort of rations and every day living items, and a method of carrying them.

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