Characters
Characters are the main participants in the game's narrative, serving as a player's avatar within the game world, equipment, or non-player characters controlled by the Game Host.
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Characters are the main participants in the game's narrative, serving as a player's avatar within the game world, equipment, or non-player characters controlled by the Game Host.
Last updated
Characters can be people, spirits, beasts, or monsters. Complex machines are also modeled as characters including vehicles, industrial equipment, or advanced computer systems.
Players are responsible for creating the characters that will act as their persona in the game world. The Game Host is responsible for creating non-player characters to fill the game world with the people and things players interact with during gameplay.
MANAGING CHARACTERS
There are a variety of tools you can use to create and manage characters. You can use software to make your character digitally, use paper index cards or graph paper, or use our PDF printable and form-fillable Character Sheets.
The same character elements are used for defining player and non-player characters including equipment and vehicles, so the creation process is similar for both players and the Game Host.
ASSETS: The core characteristics and capabilities of each character that are leveraged when performing actions.
CONDITIONS: Narrative tags that capture and describe the status of a character's health, well-being, and social standing in the game world.
FEATURES: The distinctive characteristics or capabilities that make characters special and unique such as innate talents, advanced technology, or extraordinary powers.
RESOURCES: Dynamic elements that characters earn and spend, collect and consume, or risk and sacrifice to achieve their goals.
All characters are assigned a Character Tier, a rating using polyhedral dice from D4 through to D12.
A Character Tier is a generalized indication of a character's ability level relative to common or average individuals in the game setting. An individual with average skills, knowledge, and abilities is rated at D4. A D12 represents an individual with the highest level of exceptional and extraordinary abilities.
A character's tier provides the basis for several character elements including:
MAXIMUM STRESS: Stress is a generic and universal measurement of a character's well-being. The Character Tier defines the maximum amount of Stress, measured in points, that a character can suffer before they are incapacitated. A character with a rating of D8 has a maximum level of 8 Stress Points.
SOCIAL STANDING: A character's Social Standing is a confluence of their renown, reputation, and financial health, and measures their overall influence in the game world. A character's starting Tier establishes a general baseline for
A character's Social Standing can be impacted by social-related Conditions acquired during gameplay.
STARTING CAPITAL: Capital is a generic and universal measure of value that encompasses money, time, and materials invested in creating characters. Each player starts with an amount of Capital based on the tier set by the Game Host at the start of an adventure or campaign.
Characters are divided into the following five tiers. Player characters are rated between D4 and D10, with D12 being reserved for non-player characters created by the Game Host.
Average (D4)
4 points
28 points
Capable (D6)
6 points
50 points
Exceptional (D8)
8 points
96 points
Elite (D10)
10 points
152 points
Characters are built with Capital awarded by the Game Host using a Point-Buy system. Players can spend their Capital to add and improve Assets or add Features to their characters. Assets rated at Common (D4) are free.
Asset upgrade from D4 to D6
2 points
Asset upgrade from D6 to D8
4 points
Asset upgrade from D8 to D10
6 points
Asset upgrade from D10 to D12
8 points
Add a Feature
8 points
CUSTOMIZING CHARACTER CREATION
The Game Host is responsible for defining the starting Capital to fit the story themes and tone, the setting, and the type of adventure. Use the Starting Capital for a Character Tier as a recommendation that can be customized.
As an alternative to using the Point Buy method, the Game Host can alternatively choose to define character creation rules that define a specific number and rating for Assets and the number of Features available to players.
By default, when creating a new character, players are capped at upgrading an Asset to one dice rating higher than their Character Tier. For example, a new character with a tier rating of D6 can only have an Asset rating up to D8.
The following is an example of allocating Capital to build characters for each tier:
Average
Starting assets can only be upgraded to D6. 6 Assets (D6), 2 Features
Capable
Starting assets can only be upgraded to D8. 4 Assets (D6), 3 Assets (D8), 3 Features
Exceptional
Starting assets can only be upgraded to D10. 4 Assets (D6), 4 Assets (D8), 2 Assets (D10), 5 Features
Elite
Starting assets can only be upgraded to D12. 3 Assets (D6), 3 Assets (D8), 2 Assets (D10), 2 Assets (D12), 8 Features
CHARACTER EXAMPLES
For inspiration, check out the Archetypes characters found in the Toolkit section.
