Personality Traits

The personality traits used in Border Agent mode are influenced by the OCEAN model put forth by psychologists. The names of the traits themselves are Intellect, Dependability, Assertiveness, Sensitivity, and Confidence. The Acronym OCEAN stands for Openness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, and Neurotic-ism. The five traits all correlate to one of them.

The ratings determined for these traits don’t reflect how strong that trait is, rather it represents how strongly the character’s self image identifies with their position on that personality trait’s spectrum. The personality Traits have a rating between 1 and 5. At character creation, 12 points can be spent on these traits, with the maximum attainable at character creation being a 4. The rating determines the die added when building the dice pool for social tests. 1 = d4, 2 = d6, 3 = d8, 4 = d10, 5 = d12.

The Traits

Intellect represents Openness. The spectrum consists of inventive/curious on one side and consistent/cautious on the other.

Dependability represents Conscientiousness. The spectrum consists of efficient/organized on one side, and easygoing/careless on the other.

Assertiveness represents Extroversion. The spectrum consists of outgoing/energetic on one side, and solitary/reserved on the other.

Sensitivity represents Agreeableness. The spectrum consists of friendly/compassionate on one side, and analytical/detached on the other.

Confidence represents Neurotic-ism. The spectrum consists of nervous/self-conscious on one side, and secure/confident on the other.

When determining the ratings of each trait, emphasis should be placed on how important this part of their personality is to that character. It doesn’t matter which side of the spectrum the character’s personality trait resides. A character who is nervous could have the same rating as one who is confident.

The Finishing Touch

Lastly, for each of these traits, where the character sits on the spectrum should be described in a sentence that both describes the character, and their personality to both themselves and everyone else. Try to give the statement some zing too. For instance, a character who describes their sensitivity as simply “detached and analytical”, doesn’t convey as much information as a character who describes their sensitivity as “let me calculate your capabilities before we consider being allies” or even “I have no time for anyone who isn’t a Yo-bro”.

Character Growth

These traits and their statements describing them can and will change during gameplay, reflecting character growth. In the case where a contest is rolled and a certain personality trait would make sense for the contest, but the statement doesn’t fit or even sound like it would be beneficial at all, the player and character can challenge the personality trait so they can use the dice associated with it, on the condition that the defining statement be revised to reflect the character’s change and growth.