Infamous Supplementary: Dexterity

 Dexterity is the ability used for determining the character's hand-eye coordination, as well as agility, depth perception, acrobatic ability, and reflex accuracy and speed. These abilities all come together to form the character's dodging and parrying ability, ranged accuracy, and even adjustments to Thief tables. 

Dexterity rolls are often made to determine who can move faster when two creatures are in pursuit of one another. When creatures of similar movement speed are in chase, a dexterity roll may be made in order to determine which of the creatures is moving the quickest. This does not directly translate to movement speed, as this roll accounts for the character's ability to move over little imperfections in terrain, moving efficiently around corners, over roots, etc. Creatures who roll further under on dexterity are assumed to be moving faster, and will thus either escape, or pursue their opponent. dexterity rolls are also often made when a character attempts to wriggle his or her way out of a restrained position. A roll of 10 points under might allow the character to effortlessly slip out from the bindings of a rope, or easily escape the grip of another. Characters with a high dexterity are slippery little jerks!

Another benefit to a character having a high dexterity is also the ability to make greater use of fast weapons. With regard to Speed Factor, characters with greater than 19 dexterity have an adjustment that makes their weapons even faster.

Dexterity Score	Reaction/Attacking Adjustment	Defensive Adjustment	Speed Factor Adjustment
3	-3	+4	-
4	-2	+3	-
5	-1	+2	-
6	0	+1	-
7	0	0	-
8	0	0	-
9	0	0	-
10	0	0	-
11	0	0-	-
12	0	0	-
13	0	0	-
14	0	0	-
15	0	-1	-
16	+1	-2	-
17	+2	-3	-
18	+3	-4	-
19	+3	-4	-
20	+3	-4	-1
21	+4	-5	-1
22	+4	-5	-1
23	+4	-5	-1
24	+5	-6	-2
25	+5	-6	-2

The Reaction/Attacking Adjustment refers to two things. Firstly, reacting to reflex based saving throws. The character may attempt to dodge to avoid the deadly needle of a poison trap (save vs. poison), or perhaps avoid the deathly breath weapon of a dragon. Secondly, it applies to the character's attack roll involving 

The Defensive Adjustment refers to the affect a high Dexterity has on a character's Armor Class. Having a high Dexterity will reduce your armor class below what it otherwise would be. For example, suppose a Fighter is wearing plate mail and a shield. The character with 3 Dexterity in this instance will have the armor class modified by +4, resulting in a total armor class of 6. That's roughly the equivalent of basic scale mail, making it clear to see how having a low Dexterity is an undesirable trait for a character. Consequently, a Fighter with an 18 Dexterity, while wearing plate mail and using a shield, will be reduced down to an AC of -2, thanks to the character's impressive ability in dodging and parrying attacks. Note that in order for this bonus to apply, the character must be strong enough to effectively use the plate mail in the first place, making both a high strength and high dexterity desirable when wearing plate mail.

Thief Table Adjustments

In addition to the heavily combat-oriented bonuses granted by a character's Dexterity, note that characters other than Fighters make exceptionally good use of a high Dexterity. Thieves are granted bonuses to their Thief Table percentages, the adjustments for which can be found on the following table:

Dexterity Score	Pick Pockets	Open Locks	Find/Remove Traps	Move Silently	Hide in Shadows
3	-30%	-25%	-25%	-40%	-30%
4	-30%	-25%	-25%	-35%	-30%
5	-30%	-25%	-25%	-35%	-25%
6	-25%	-20%	-20%	-30%	-20%
7	-25%	-20%	-20%	-30%	-15%
8	-20%	-15%	-15%	-25%	-10%
9	-15%	-10%	-10%	-20%	-10%
10	-10%	-05%	-10%	-15%	-05%
11	-05%	0	-05%	-10%	0
12	0	0	0	-05%	0
13	0	0	0	0	0
14	0	0	0	0	0
15	0	0	0	0	0
16	0	+05%	0	0	0
17	+05%	+10%	0	+05%	+05%
18	+10%	+15%	+05%	+10%	+10%
19	+15%	+20%	+10%	+12%	+12%
20	+20%	+25%	+15%	+15%	+15%
21	+25%	+30%	+20%	+18%	+18%
22	+30%	+35%	+25%	+20%	+20%
23	+35%	+40%	+30%	+23%	+23%
24	+40%	+45%	+35%	+25%	+25%
25	+45%	+50%	+40%	+30%	+30%

Dexterity Rolls

In Infamous, Dexterity rolls are often made to determine whether the character can or cannot perform certain feats of gymnastics in many regards. Simply making a Dexterity roll allows the character to dive for cover if it is less than 1" away, and is also capable of jumping over a 10' pit. A roll of 5 points under is required should the character attempt to walk a tight rope, while making a Dexterity roll of 10 points under allows the character to safely leap from a height of 20' or greater. 15 points under results in the character being able to leap from a height of 30' or greater. Rolling a total of 20 points under Dexterity, while it may seem difficult, allows the character to essentially run across the surface of water at top speed, or across anything else.

Dexterity Proficiencies

Proficiencies relating to Dexterity are often overlooked, as many of them have limited uses. Bowyer can potentially be useful when the character intends to play an archer class, as bows can often sell for a reasonably high price given the right circumstances. Fletcher is also of use to archer characters. Among the useful Dexterity-based proficiencies for Thieves, Magician can easily be a useful skill for Thieves who wish to cover up their potential pickpocketing mistakes with "magic." Mechanic is another useful skill, as it allows a character to create and set the traps and mechanisms used in dungeons. Riding (Land) is another highly useful skill, as it allows the character to control war mounts in battle. Throwing is also highly useful for Thieves who wish to throw their daggers farther, or throw vials of oil at their enemies. Optionally, throwing might allow the character to throw weapons such as longswords at longer ranges, though the overall range is not especially great.

Other than basic proficiencies, characters with a high Dexterity are capable of using combat skills, or "martial arts" with great effect. Many of these have an element of Dexterity involved, so having a high Dexterity is desirable for these. Florentine Combat is an especially useful one.