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View Full Version : Player Help What exactly makes a character agile?



jato
2014-07-12, 11:51 PM
So, I do some homebrew and of course as a player and rarely a GM, I will design characters. This question always comes up for me, so I wanted to post it and get the opinions of some people who have had the experience to answer it or at least throw in their two cents.

What make a character, an otherwise numerically driven pile of stats, agile? It is raw dexterity? Does it boil down to something else, like feats, or class abilities, or play style? I just kind of see this natural disconnect between concept and realization.

In the interest of the keeping this thread relevant to the forum category it's posted in, a player came to you can said "I want to make a really agile, quick character, what advise would you give them? I realize this may very from system to system, but again, I guess I'm more looking for overall themes here. If plenty of system base things like reflexes and speed on DEX, then by all means, extoll on that point.

Hopefully people find this thread at least mildly interesting, I thought it was an interesting question in regards to tabletop. Thanks in advance!

Esprit15
2014-07-13, 12:40 PM
One portion of that is DEX, or whatever speed/evasion stat your system of choice has. Also important are the related abilities: sneaking around unnoticed, your ability to roll with uncertain situations by wits and ability. The classic agile character is the rogue, or whatever equivalent your system has. Agile by the dictionary is speed and finesse (basically), but in gameplay it tends to be, or rather require, a lot more.

Example: Roguey McSneaky is scoping out a building for his allies to break into. It's pretty well guarded, but he watches and sees their patterns, so that when his bulky meat shield of a friend comes in, his lack of stealth won't be an issue because Roguey already knows that there won't be any guards there. Despite his best efforts though, there's too many guards and he's forced to hide. How to get out... Ah! Perfect, an extra set of guard armor. Not a perfect fit, but it will do. If a guard stops him on his way out, he can pass himself off as a new recruit (and has the bluffing ability to do so). Roguey makes it out unscathed save for being delayed slightly.

Sure, you can be agile in combat and terrible at sneaking, but then you have to find something else to do out of combat. Agile characters in many systems tend to have a lot of different skills because they need all of them to pull off their role.

jaydubs
2014-07-13, 02:44 PM
In the interest of the keeping this thread relevant to the forum category it's posted in, a player came to you can said "I want to make a really agile, quick character?" what advise would you give them?

Have some combination of the following characteristics:
1. Fast movement.
2. Hard to hit.
3. Good balance, climbing, and jumping skills. Essentially, the types of skills a circus acrobat would have.
4. Fast reaction times.
5. Good accuracy with some sort of attack, though whether it is unarmed, melee, or ranged doesn't really matter.

As to what to do out of combat, it really depends on the system. I've seen them end up as pilots/driver, the classic stealth guy, social characters, and a number of other things too numerous to get into here.

Tengu_temp
2014-07-13, 02:46 PM
High dexterity is an obvious thing, but that's not the end of it. What's also important are skills, and feats/powers/talents/whatevers that show how agile the character is. One guy might have high dexterity, but another guy has high dexterity and evasion and can easily pull off acrobatic stunts, even incorporate them into his attacks. The second character is more agile.

JusticeZero
2014-07-13, 03:23 PM
People who are "Agile" have balance, proprioception, body control, raw strength, and spatial awareness. People who are "Strong" have raw strength, speed, size, and coordinated movements to brace against the ground well. People who are "Tough" have raw strength, size, cardiovascular fitness, will, and knowledge of how to mitigate abuse.

veti
2014-07-13, 04:47 PM
Agility is about balance, precision and control. It's the ability to bend your body into whatever shape you need to, without falling over or otherwise embarrassing yourself. Contortionists, acrobats and dancers have it in spades.

Some systems (e.g. Rolemaster) have "Agility" as a base stat. In that context, it's almost synonymous with what D&D calls "dexterity". However, in the case of Rolemaster, there's a separate, quite independent stat called "Quickness", which makes it clear that "Agility" does not include speed and reflexes.

In the Elder Scrolls system (pre-Skyrim), also, 'Agility' and 'Speed' were separate stats.

Fantasy Hero had "Dexterity" as a base stat, and "Speed" as a derived stat based on dex (and augmented by more points independently). I believe that's been dropped in the most recent version of the Hero system, so that now speed is independent of dex, but I'm not sure about that.

To your question: I think there's no question that "agility" is as much a numerical stat as anything else about the character. In D&D it's subsumed into "dexterity". I have a feeling there's some systems out there that actually separate "agility" (what you can do with your body) from "dexterity" (which, properly speaking, is specifically what you can do with your hands), but I can't call any to mind right now.

Slipperychicken
2014-07-13, 08:22 PM
Have some combination of the following characteristics:
1. Fast movement.
2. Hard to hit.
3. Good balance, climbing, and jumping skills. Essentially, the types of skills a circus acrobat would have.
4. Fast reaction times.
5. Good accuracy with some sort of attack, though whether it is unarmed, melee, or ranged doesn't really matter.

Aside from the accuracy bit, this just about sums up my opinion. Accuracy can be exchanged for attack speed (that is, the fequency with which the character can attack or perform other actions).

Also, being able to complete tasks faster than other people can help portray agility.

jato
2014-07-14, 05:53 PM
Thanks for the great replies everyone. Some interesting points raised. High Dex seems to fit in pretty well, but from seeing this, I think action economy fits in pretty well too. For example, a wizard who could quicken a spell might be considered an agile spellcaster, as opposed to one who could empower a spell. Kind of veering away from the realm of the physical, as this would probably be more of a mental agility, but I think it kind of helps put things into perspective for me.

Vitruviansquid
2014-07-14, 06:12 PM
If we're talking about a tactical combat board game, like DnD 4e, then agility is often expressed by a character's ability to break movement and turn order rules.

If every character has to stop moving when they're adjacent to an enemy or trigger an attack of opportunity, the agile character might have a mechanic to let him ignore that rule. If every character is assigned a turn order, the agile character might be able to delay or accelerate his turn, or simply be more likely to have an earlier turn. Agile characters might simply be able to move farther than other characters also.