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Scaling

At times you may wish to compare the relative scores of things that are vastly different in size. For example, how does a mouse's STR compare to the STR of an elephant? Is a mouse's LIF worth as much as the elephant's? Are small arms useless against battleships? What scale should we use for aerial combat?

Using these scaling rules, you can easily determine the relative scores of vastly different sized characters or objects.

The three basic scales used in the Core Rules are Micro Scale, Human Scale, and Mega Scale.

Human Scale is the default scale for the Core Rules. This is the scale that most games will use, whether the players realize it or not.

Annotating Scale

To indicate a score or statistic in Micro Scale, simply write "MS" after it, either in parenthesis or in superscript. To indicate a score or statistic in Mega Scale, simply write "MG" after it, either in parenthesis or in superscript.

For example, STR 5 (MS) or STR 5MS indicates a STR of 5 in Micro Scale. STR 5 (MG) or STR 5MG indicates a STR of 5 in Mega Scale

Attributes

Attributes in Human Scale have a value ten times greater than those in Micro Scale, and attributes in Mega Scale have a value ten times greater than those in Human Scale.

Primary Attributes

In Action! System, it is assumed that all living creatures have the six primary attributes that make up the Body and Mind Attribute Groups. That is, all living things have STR, REF, HLT, PRE, INT and WIL. They may have a score of 0 in one or more of the attributes, but for purposes of describing them, all creatures can be written to include all six attributes.

Of the primary attributes, only STR is scaled. That is, the relative values of all of the other attributes are on the same relative scale, regardless of the size of the creature. An elephant with a REF of 4 is roughly equal to a mouse that also has a REF of 4. The difference between the two comes in terms of their physical size, which is reflected in a DEF bonus for the mouse and a DEF penalty for the elephant (see the Combat Modifiers table in the Core Rules).

Strength (STR): Strength, on the other hand, is handled differently. STR is scaled in multiples of 10. For example, a mouse with a STR score of 5 in Micro Scale would have the equivalent of a STR of .5 in Human Scale. A human with a STR of 5 would have the equivalent of a STR of 50 in Micro Scale or a STR of .5 in Mega Scale. The Extended STR Table provides information for STR values ranging from .1 (1MS) to 120 (12MG).

Derived Attributes

Like primary attributes, all living creatures are assumed to have all of the basic Derived Attributes presented in the Core Rules -- Defensive Target Number (DEF), Initiative (INI), Toughness (TGH), Life (LIF), and Move (MOV). Of these, TGH and LIF are the only attributes that are affected by scaling.

Defensive Target Number (DEF): Differences between the DEF scores of creatures of different scales is handled by applying the DEF Modifier to each creature, based on its size (see Combat Modifiers).

Initiative (INI): Initiative remains the same.

Toughness (TGH): Toughness (TGH) may be scaled as for attributes. When calculating the TGH of a creature that has Mega Scale STR, convert the STR score to Human Scale and then calculate the TGH score normally. The resulting TGH score is still measured in Human Scale, however. GMs wishing to use a simplified Mega Scale TGH can simply divide the score by 10.

Creatures with Micro Scale STR should calculate their TGH as follows: (STRMS + WIL) /2.  The resulting TGH score is measured in Micro Scale. GMs wishing to convert it to Human Scale TGH can simply divide the score by 10. In most cases the result will be less than 1. We recommend that you allow even Micro Scale characters a minimum Human Scale TGH score of 1; even Micro Scale characters are supposed to be heroes, after all.

Life (LIF): Because LIF is derived from HLT and WIL, which are not themselves affected by scaling, a character's LIF score should be scaled. Each step up in scale represents a tenfold decrease in the relative value of the attribute, rounding up. For example, a mouse with a LIF score of 25 in Micro Scale would have the equivalent of a LIF of 3 (2.5 rounded up) in Human Scale. A human with a LIF of 30 would have the equivalent of a LIF of 300 in Micro Scale or a LIF of 3 in Mega Scale.

Move (MOV): This is perhaps the trickiest of attributes to deal with when it comes to scaling. Rather than assigning a straight conversion rule, we recommend using whichever scale is most convenient and dividing the score by the appropriate number. For example, in Human Scale, each hex on a map might represent 1 meter (the default measurement for a 1-inch scale map when using 25mm or 28mm figures). If you decide that during a scene in which the characters are participating in an aerial dogfight that each hex represents 100 meters, then you would simply divide the Human Scale MOV score by 100. So a human (let's say a superhero who can fly) with a flying MOV of 200 would have a scaled MOV of 2. Likewise, if in the same dogfight you decided that each hex on the map represents 200 meters, then an F-18 Hornet, which has a MOV of 1,800 in Human Scale, would have a scaled MOV of 9 when moving on the hex mat for the dogfight.

For the default (Human Scale) MOV values for various sample vehicles, see the Extended MOV Table below.

Extended MOV Table

M/Turn Kph Mph Example (based on max speeds)
1 1.2 0.7  
2 2.4 1.4 Leisurely walk
3 3.6 2.1  
4 4.8 2.8 Average walking speed
5 6.0 3.5 M113 APC (water speed)
6 7.2 4.2 Brisk walk
7 8.4 4.9 Power-walk
8 9.6 5.6 Jog
9 10.8 6.4 Running a 9-minute mile
10 12.0 7.1  
11 13.2 7.8  
12 14.4 8.5  
13 15.6 9.2  
14 16.8 9.9 Running a 6-minute mile
15 18.0 10.6  
16 19.2 11.3  
17 20.4 12.0 Running a 5-minute mile
18 21.6 12.7  
19 22.8 13.4  
20 24.0 14.1  
21 25.2 14.8  
22 26.4 15.5 Running a 4-minute mile
23 27.6 16.2  
24 28.8 16.9  
25 30.0 17.6  
26 31.2 18.4  
27 32.4 19.1  
28 33.6 19.8  
29 34.8 20.5  
30 36.0 21.2  
32 38.4 22.6  
34 40.8 24.0 Attack submarine
36 43.2 25.4  
38 45.6 26.8  
40 48.0 28.2 Fastest recorded human running
42 50.4 29.6  
44 52.8 31.1  
46 55.2 32.5 Trolley/cable-car
48 57.6 33.9 Cruiser (Ticonderoga class)
50 60 35.3 Aircraft carrier, Queen Mary
55 66 38.8 Destroyer, Ocean liner, M113 APC
60 72 42.4  
65 78 45.9 M1A1 Abrams (tank), M-2 Bradley AFV
70 84 49.4  
75 90 52.9 T-72 tank
80 96 56.5  
85 102 60.0 Highway driving speed
90 108 63.5  
95 114 67.1  
100 120 70.6 Max hwy. speed limit (U.S.)
105 126 74.1  
110 132 77.6  
115 138 81.2  
120 144 84.7 Economy car (max speed)
125 150 88.2 Passenger train
130 156 91.8 MLB fast-ball pitch
135 162 95.3  
140 168 98.8  
145 174 102  
150 180 106  
160 192 113  
170 204 120  
180 216 127 Police patrol car (max speed)
190 228 134  
200 240 141 Single-engine private plane
210 252 148  
220 264 155 Single-engine private plane (cruising speed)
230 276 162 AH64 Apache
240 288 169 F6F Hellcat cruise (max 380 mph)
250 300 177 CH-47 Chinook
260 312 184  
270 324 191  
280 336 198 Nascar Racing Car
290 348 205 A6M2 Zero (max 331mph)
300 360 212  
320 384 226  
340 408 240  
360 432 254  
380 456 268  
400 480 282  
450 540 318  
500 600 353  
600 720 424  
700 840 494 C-17 cargo jet, 757 (528 mph)
800 960 565 B-52
900 1,080 635  
1000 1,200 706 Sound barrier (approx. 742 mph)
1200 1,440 847 Land speed record
1400 1,680 988  
1600 1,920 1,129  
1800 2,160 1,270 F18 Hornet (1,318 max)
2000 2,400 1,412  
2200 2,640 1,553  
2400 2,880 1,694 F-15 Eagle (max)

Damage

Scaling damage is very simple. When converting randomly determined damage (i.e., when rolling damage dice), every 10 points of Micro Scale damage equals 1 point of Human Scale damage. Every 10 points of Human Scale damage equals 1 point of Mega Scale damage.

Be sure to apply damage to any TGH on the same scale. For example, if a tiny mouse warrior does 27 points of Micro Scale blunt damage to a human, be sure to convert that damage to Human Scale or convert the human's TGH to Micro Scale before subtracting the TGH from the damage.

Armor

All Armor Values for armor are given in Human Scale unless noted otherwise. Always convert armor to the same level as the damage that is applied to it, or vice versa.

Our tiny mouse warrior has 35 LIFMS (he's a stout little mouse!) and tree bark armor that affords him AV 10MS. But our brave mouse warrior has just been bitten by a dog for 4 points of Human Scale damage! Our hero's armor does not reduce the damage from the dog bite to 0. Instead, the bite is converted to Micro Scale damage (4 x 10 = 40 points!) and then the AV is subtracted from the damage. Our hero has taken 40 - 10 = 30 points of damage! Luckily he still has 5 LIF remaining, and an Action Point or two...

Skills

Skill scores are not scaled. A skill level of 4 for a Human Scale character has the same value as a skill level of 4 for a Mega Scale character.