Hunters, their prey and nearly all other sentient beings in the World of Darkness have Attributes. These Traits determine your character's raw potential in several general categories. Most people have scores between 1 (poor) and 3 (above average), with 2 representing typical human potential. Rare gifted individuals may have an Attribute score of 4 (excellent) and a tiny percent of the population possesses scores of 5 (peak human capacity). These last are the people who break Olympic records, cure civilization-threatening diseases and end wars - or start them.

 

MENTAL
Mental Attributes describe the efficacy of the gray, spongy stuff between your character's ears. Not simply about your character's ability to learn and think critically, these Traits measure her capacity to interpret her surroundings and react to them quickly.

 

PERCEPTION
This Attribute represents your character's capacity to cull important details from her surroundings, sometimes consciously, often intuitively. A hunter with high Perception is sensitive to specific environmental stimuli, and may notice the razor concealed up the "sweet" little girl's sleeve long before his allies do.
Specialties: Insightful, High-Strung, Discerning, Detail-Oriented

 

O Poor: Something needs to bite you on the ass before you notice it.
O O Average: You can pick up on some small details.
O O O Good: You have a talent for sifting out the important minutiae of a situation.
O O O O Exceptional: You're intimately aware of your surroundings at all times.
O O O O O Outstanding: You never needed to use a microscope in Bio class.

 

INTELLIGENCE
The Intelligence Attribute measures several aspects of what makes a person appear smart in others' eyes: reasoning ability, memory, creative and critical thinking, and problem solving. Intelligence is no substitute for experience, though. The whiz kid with almost no common sense is a cliché. Likewise, there are kids who can't find Europe on a blank
map, but who can survive in the most dangerous neighbourhoods in town.
Specialties: Creative, Puzzle Fiend, Book-Smart, Elephant-like Memory

 

O Poor: Ain't got no use fer learnin' no-how (IQ 80).
O O Average: You do the newspaper crossword puzzle and word jumble every day (IQ 100).
O O O Good: Every team wants you on their side for Trivial Pursuit (1Q 120).
O O O O Exceptional: You can rise to the challenge of reading Ulysses (1Q 140).
O O O O O Outstanding: You consider James Joyce tolerable bathroom reading (1Q 160).

 

WITS
Intelligence refers to how deeply your character's consciousness runs; Wits measures how quickly it flows. A character with high Wits can understand and adapt quickly to changes, whereas one with low Wits might struggle to absorb everything. Characters with high Wits are also able to resist panic, even in dire situations.
Specialties: Unsurprisable, Sharp-Tongued, Level- Headed, Adaptable

 

O Poor: You have trouble getting knock-knock jokes.
O O Average: You make pointedly snide comments while watching bad movies.
O O O Good: You know the perfect put-down for every situation.
O O O O Exceptional: No one ever gets the jump on you.
O O O O O Outstanding: Your body has trouble keeping up with your mind