Dexterity
Dexterity is your Character’s skill in using his hands and body, the degree of control he has over his physical self, or his ability to deflect a Physical Attack.DEX = 0
You may be an infant. You may be a tree (rooted). You may have had the wind knocked out of you so hard that you’re stunned. You may be pinned down by a Grapple attack, or Web, or something. But you’re more than just stunted in your mobility; you’re essentially not moving around under your own impulse at all. Most people in hospital beds are likely to have a DEX of zero, whether awake or not.
DEX = 1Your agility is on the low end of “normal human”. Maybe you’re a klutz, maybe you’re physically disabled enough to need a wheelchair or a walker, maybe you have Parkinson’s or you’re missing some of your musculature. Maybe you’re just a teenager going through The Awkward Phase. Maybe you took a strong dose of sedative or tranquilizer about half an hour ago. Exercise caution when operating heavy or delicate equipment.
DEX = 2Welcome to normalville! You can perform the usual activities associated with daily living. Maybe you type five words a minute, maybe fifty; you can drive safely in traffic even when that jerk in the next lane is weaving back and forth through gaps just smaller than his actual vehicle. Hey, that jerk has a DEX of 2 also, which is why he’s going to feature prominently in an accident if the cops don’t get him first. You eat reasonably neatly but keep it over your plate just in case of drips anyway; you can climb a tree if you have the need, or a fence, or crawl under a display booth to get the thing that cutie in the spandex dropped.
DEX = 3-4You’re unusually agile for the average populace. You might be a highly-ranked fencer in the SCA, a pickpocket at Mardi Gras, a contortionist in training for the Cirque du Soleil, a police officer, or Dancing With The Stars. You can tie your shoes one-handed, travel the Rooftop Express without hesitation, and probably duck a boulder thrown by Killer Croc.
DEX = 5-6A lot of skill-heavy supers wind up in this range! You’ve got the agility of a well-honed athlete, such as a competitive gymnast, a stunt man, a typical Special Forces soldier, the B-string of active performers at Cirque du Soleil, the Harlem Globetrotters, or highly regarded professional marksmen such as Destro or Shaft.
DEX = 7-8You might be an Olympic gymnast with a very good shot at the gold. You might be that girl born with no arms who types, drives, and manages her contacts with her feet. You might be one of the star performers at Cirque du Soleil. You might be Robin! Or one of the elite mission operatives of the Hammer Empire! You walk wires without needing a balancing pole, hit what you’re aiming at even when your driver is doing his best to dodge Jeep-seeking missiles, and you just might be Beth Riesgraf.
DEX = 9-10Quite simply, you have the best agility humanly possible. If you competed in the Olympics, you would win a Gold easily, and then people would come howling from all sides that you must be tested for drugs, mutagens, and other cheats. You figure you might be able to dodge bullets if push came to shove. If only he weren’t a fictional character, you’d in fact dare to tug on Superman’s cape.
DEX = 11-12You are superhumanly agile. You still have to put some effort into dodging gunfire when it’s aimed directly at you, but it has become a reasonable expectation that you can succeed. You can support all of your weight without wobbling in a one-handed handstand. You can pick one grain of rice off the side of a pile without disturbing the pile. Batman actually pays direct attention to the combat if he decides to punch you out.
DEX = 13-15You can dodge lasers, and might even catch those pesky slow-moving projectiles, like arrows and bullets. Dr. Doom is going to be designing your death trap to make you prove that you are clever enough with your hands to unscramble an egg. Seriously, you have the potential to defeat the speed of light (in atmosphere, granted). Carl Sagan finds you highly improbable!
DEX = 16-18The only way this could even happen involves existing as a computer construct, or having some variation of Superspeed, or maybe being an amorphous being of some sort. When talking about hurricane winds driving a piece of straw through a solid wall, we’re talking about effective DEXTERITY scores in this general range. Bones and musculature of endoskeletal beings simply cannot move that way, according to the ordinary laws of physics.
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