Actors

An actor is anything in the game world that owns things, does things, and has a sheet of its own. SoHL has four kinds, and they differ in what only that kind can do. Everything else — holding gear, carrying actions, taking effects, being placed on a scene as a token — every actor can do, and is described once in Understanding Sheets.

Choosing a kind

A Being is the one you will spend nearly all your time in: a single person or creature, with anatomy, attributes, skills, gear, wounds, and the ability to fight. It is by far the most detailed actor in the system, and every other kind is defined partly by what it leaves out.

A Cohort does not replace the Beings in it. Each member keeps their own sheet; what the Cohort adds is the roster — who belongs, who leads, and how the group as a whole is faring — plus a pooled view of the gear its members have shared.

A Structure and a Vehicle are both containers with a description, and the difference between them is a fact about the fiction rather than a mechanic: a Structure does not go anywhere, so it has no occupants; a Vehicle does, so it carries a list of who is aboard and in what capacity.

What every actor shares

• Sheets and tabs — the header, the tab strip, and the tabs common to all actors are described in Understanding Sheets.
• Creating one — Creating Actors and Items, and for a playable character Character Creation.
• Gear — every actor can own gear; see Working with Gear and Equipment.
• Actions — every actor can carry actions; see Actions.
• On a scene — every actor can be placed as a token; see Scene Setup and Tokens and Token.

Sections

• Being — a single person or creature, and the sheet you will use most
• Cohort — a named body of individuals, its roster and its shared gear
• Structure — a place that persists, and the goods kept in it
• Vehicle — a conveyance, and who is aboard it

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