This page describes the Elements and Everway element scores as they are used in Cyberway. Some of this material was developed by Jim Henley for the Amberway II game, and some comes from House of Cards.
Earth represents endurance, resistance to disease and wounds, and tirelessness.
In Cyberway, a character with a high Earth score will be able to interface with computers and bio-cyber devices for extended periods of time without taking damage or becoming tired. Characters with low Earth scores will be exhausted after jacking in or performing similar endeavors, and may suffer side-effects.
Water represents sensitivity, feelings, wisdom, and intuition.
A character with a high Water score has an intuitive feel for interfaces. She can often infer something about a designer from the design, and she senses patterns that may not be obvious. A character with low Water is more likely to have to follow standard operating procedures, rather than hunches, to get things done.
A character with a high Air score will be able to understand complex code and has a good chance of being able to hack even very secure systems. He knows the ins and outs of cryptography and can puzzle out new technologies. A character with low Air might be a capable User, but he will never be a great Hacker.
Fire represents forcefulness, energy, daring, charisma, and physical prowess.
A character with high Fire quickly gains fine control over new interfaces: he's a fast typist, a whiz with the joystick, a champion Virtual Golfer, and master of his Avatar in cyberspace. A character with low Fire, in addition to lacking the drive needed to get ahead, may take a while to master the physical interfaces of new technologies.
| Everway Scale |
Fire | Earth | Air | Water |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | weak | sickly | limited | closed-off |
| 2 | lethargic | unhealthy | dim | insensitive |
| 3 | average | average | average | average |
| 4 | energetic | robust | bright | sensitive |
| 5 | boisterous | tough | brilliant | sens to strong energies |
| 6 | powerful | enduring | genius | empathic |
| 7 | superhuman | superhuman | superhuman | superhuman |
| 8 | vital | indefatigable | mighty genius | sens to weak energies |
| 9 | overflowing w/ energy |
filled w/ vital power |
phenomenal | selfless |
| 10 | unstoppable | immune to adversity |
super-genius | cosmic |
Your character has four elements: Air, Earth, Fire, and Water. Values for the elements start at a minimum of 1 and go to a maximum of 10. The score values double for each increase, so a character with a 4 Air is twice as airy (observant, quick-witted, etc.) as one with a 3 Air. Every character has a specialty in each element, which is an area where the character is effectively at +1.
Starting characters have a maximum value of 6 in any element. Starting Avatars have a maximum value of 7 in any element.
The chart on this page, adapted from the Everway rulebook, gives an idea what the numbers mean in real-world terms. A 6 in any Element represents "world-class" ability: a top-ranked athlete, a world-renowned scientific innovator, the leader of a powerful nation. Any real-world character with an Element score of 7 or higher is an alien, a god, or technologically enhanced in ways that are foreign to the PCs. Such characters, in other words, ain't right. Approach at your own peril.