Chapter 1 - Building your Hero

How to build your hero

This chapter is dedicated to illuminating the significance of the eight attributes and how they influence your hero's prowess.

A Hero's Attributes

The attributes for which scores are assigned are as follows:

    • PHYSICAL
    • Might (MGT)
    • Reflex (REF)
    • Fortitude (FRT)
    • MENTAL
    • Perception (PRC)
    • Intellect (INT)
    • SOCIAL
    • Personality (PER)
    • Appearance (APP)
    • MYSTICAL
    • Mana (MAN)

Physical Attributes


Might (MGT)

Your hero's MIGHT is a measure of your hero’s brute strength and athleticism. This attribute is important for those who want to wield weapons, break things, and cause damage.

Your hero’s MGT applies to:

  • Attack Rolls
  • Carrying capacity
  • General athleticism (pushing, dragging, lifting, climbing, swimming)

Reflex (REF)

Your hero's REFLEX is a measure of your hero’s hand-eye coordination, agility, dexterity, and balance.

You apply your hero’s REF to:

  • Base movement speed
  • Defense rolls
  • Reactions

Fortitude (FRT)

Your hero's FORTITUDE is a measure of your hero's physical endurance, resilience, stamina and health.

You apply your hero's Fortitude to:

  • DAMAGE rolls
  • Environmental endurance

Mental Attributes


Perception(PRC)

Perception is a measure of your hero's acuity, perspicacity, sagacity, and awareness.

You apply your hero’s Perception to:

  • Rolls made to perceive surroundings
  • Initiative rolls
  • Noticing things in periphery
  • Detecting changes in mood/demeanor

Intellect(INT)

Intellect determines your hero’s ability to learn and reason, as well as their capacity for knowledge.

You apply your hero’s Intellect to:

  • The number of languages your hero can know at creation
  • Mind-affecting defense rolls

Social Attributes


Personality(PER)

Personality is a measure of your hero’s likeability, charm, and leadership.

You apply your hero’s Personality to:

  • Interactions that involve diplomacy or suaveness.

Appearance(APP)

Appearance is your hero’s physical presence, and is less a measure of physical attractiveness, than your hero's ability to use their appearance to their advantage.

You apply your hero's Appearance to:

  • Interactions that involve intimidation or seduction.

Mystical Attribute


Mana(Man)

Mana is your hero's ability to channel and store mana, the base substance for producing magical effects. It is an "extra" ability, that represents your hero's connection to anything magic.

You apply your hero's Mana to:

  • The Mana aptitudes and actions (see Chapter 6: Magic for more information on the Mana aptitudes.

Spending points on Attributes and Aptitudes

In Open Hero Odyssey, attribute scores are determined by a point-buy system. At Hero Creation, players are given 32 upgrade points to purchase additional APTITUDES and/or ATTRIBUTE score increases. Each player starts with 1 in each score except MANA, which starts at 0.

From then on, ATTRIBUTE success points are gained by succeeding on Challenge Rolls, using your hero's ATTRIBUTE(s). Success points gained are categorized by category, and can then be spent to improve ATTRIBUTES and purchase APTITUDES in that ATTRIBUTE category. The accompanying table, 1-1, describes how to upgrade your hero in the various difficulty modes.

Table 1-1, Attribute and Aptitude cost by Difficulty

ATB/APT tier Easy COST Normal COST Hardcore COST Honour COST
=1= 4 8 16 32
=2= 8 16 32 64
=3= 16 32 64 128
=4= 32 64 128 256
=5= 64 128 256 512
=6= 128 256 512 1024
=7= 256 512 1024 2048
=8= 512 1024 2048 4096
=9= 1024 2048 4096 8192
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