1.0 Characters

Within the Backgrounds Appendix following this chapter are guidelines on how to customise the standard system for a variety of different backgrounds and character races. In a similar fashion, the GM should feel free to adjust any of the optional elements of the generation system to suit his own particular needs.

1.1 Character Statistics

1.11 Primary and Secondary Statistics

There are two types of statistic - Primary and Secondary.

These statistics may be generated in three different ways:

(i) Primary Statistics only

(ii) Secondary Statistics generated and Primary Statistics calculated as the average of the relevant Secondary

(iii) Primary Statistics Generated and the Secondary Statistics assigned by the player to aid in building an overall picture of the character. In this case the average of the assigned secondary's must still be equal to the primary and there must be a difference from the primary statistic of no more than ±4.

Where reference is made to a Secondary statistic, and the character in question has only been generated with Primary statistics, use the relevant Primary statistic in determining the result.

1.12 Generating Statistics

The range of statistics for a Human Character is 10 to 20 which gives an average of 15. This is calculated by rolling 2d6+8. Different statistic ranges are used for non-human characters, which is usually achieved by altering the modifier on the die roll. This alteration is at the GM's discretion but examples are given in the Background Appendix.

1.13 Derived Statistics

In addition to the Primary and Secondary Statistics, there are two derived statistics that must be calculated. These are Movement and Initiative.

1.14 Statistic Definitions

A definition is given below for each of the major and minor statistics. The major statistic is a composite of the minor ones it includes.

Strength
The overall power and size of the character.
Height
The physical height of the character. For humans (whose statistics normally go from 10 to 20), this ranges from approximately 4' to 7'.
Build
This is a measure of the body's mass and physique, although it must be read in conjunction with might. A high build and a high might would mean a large well muscled character. A high build and a low might would mean an obese character.
Might
The physical muscle power that can be applied by the character.

Co-ordination
The dexterity and speed of the character.
Right Hand & Left Hand
The dexterity of the hands, and a measure of the precision possible in detailed manipulations. The higher of the two statistics indicates the character's handedness. If both are equally high, the character may be ambidextrous.
Agility
The speed and reflexes of the body.

Constitution
The mental and physical health of the character.
Essence
The strength of the spirit or soul in a magical or astral sense.
Stamina
The endurance of the character and their ability to continue under physical exertion.
Health
The physical well-being and recuperative powers of the character, also resistance to disease, infection and poison.

Perception
The ability of the character to sense what is happening in the environment around them.
Sight
Visual acuity, the ability to see clearly at long and short distances.
Hearing
The sensitivity of the character's hearing.
Intuition
The influence of the subconscious, including creativity, insight and empathy.

Intellect
The mental strength and dexterity of the character.
Willpower
The strength of mind, determination and resolve of the character. Also includes courage in the face of danger, and resistance to pain and wounds.
Logic
The mental dexterity and reasoning ability. Also covers decision making capability and speed of mental processes.
Memory
The ability to recall information and experiences, and the speed of that recall. Also includes learning ability and ability of the mind to retain information.

Charisma
The appearance and personality of the character.
Beauty
The physical appearance and attractiveness of the body.
Voice
The volume and quality of the voice.
Presence
The outward personality of the character, including such things as demeanour, charm and leadership qualities.

There are also two derived statistics:

Movement

A measure (in hexes per round) of how fast the character can move in a tactical situation.

Initiative

A measure (as a relative ranking) of how swiftly a character can act in a tactical situation.

1.2 Disabilities

During character generation the GM may decide to include the following disabilities. It must be remembered that these are optional to the generation and must not be included where they may cause problems during game play. Remember that some disabilities may be discarded for certain races e.g.. an elf with Acrophobia is inappropriate. Also it may be that all characters within a setting have the same disability, for example Xenophobia.

Roll 1d100 on the table below to determine what if any disability the character possesses.

Once it is established that a character has a disability, the severity is then be determined by rolling d100. Each time a character is in a situation where the disability may be affected he must then roll above the severity to avoid it's affect. Alternatively, the GM may choose to ignore the roll and let the player role-play the situation as they see it.

1.3 Innate Talents

Occasionally an otherwise ordinary person shows a natural ability at a specific task. These people have an innate talent. For each major character generated a 1d100 roll should be made on the following table. This roll should be made by the GM and the results not known by the player until the effects of any innate talent becomes apparent to the character.

This occurrence table is given as a guideline only. The GM may wish these talents to appear more or less regularly than shown, depending on the circumstances and culture in which the game is set.

It is possible that, at the start of play, the character does not know that they possess an innate talent and may discover it during gameplay.

Examples of Innate Talents:

Handyman. This is the kind of character who can hit a malfunctioning machine in a random spot and it will start to work again. The effects of this talent will be entirely at the GM's whim unless and until the character develops their Handyman skill.

Artistic ability. The character has the potential to be an original artist. Anyone may learn the techniques of art at as skill, but only characters with this ability have the ability to do original and meaningful new work.

Musical ability. The character has the potential to be a musical virtuoso. Anyone may learn the technical side of music at as skill, but only characters with this ability have the ability to be original composers or great musicians.

Natural Tactician. The character has the ability to be a great military or political leader. Anyone can learn the principles of tactics, but only a Natural Tactician will apply them (often in an original way) at just the right time to have a dramatic effect on the outcome of a contest or battle.

Animal Empathy. The character has a particular talent and affinity with animals. Both the animal and the character will understand and respond to one another, and the animal may well perform to the character's benefit under extraordinary circumstances. The animal will respond very quickly to any training or instruction, and will remain devoted to the character.

Natural Psionic. The GM should roll one skill randomly on the Psionic career table, and make a note of this secretly. At the GM's whim, and particularly at times when the character is under stress, the characters natural ability in this skill may manifest itself. The effects of this are dependent on the situation. If the GM cannot think of an appropriate effect, then the talent simply isn't working today. The character may eventually discover their talent, and learn to control it by acquiring the appropriate skill. Once the character has discovered the talent, the GM may allow then to learn the skill though Study.

Natural Magician. The character has a guardian spirit. The GM should secretly roll randomly or decide the branch of magic to which the spirit belongs. The spirit should be or Faerie or Guardian level. The spirit will usually be in the vicinity of the character, but will remain in astral space and so will be invisible. The character will at first be unaware of the spirits existence, but the spirit may intervene in times of crisis, or whenever the GM feels it is appropriate, and so the character may come to learn of it. The character may eventually come to control the spirit by acquiring magical skills. If so, the character has a definite advantage over other magicians, because they may employ spells and enchantments using the guardian spirit without first having to perform a conjuring. Magic performed with spirits other than the guardian spirit still requires conjuring.

These are just examples of talents that can be used. It must be remembered that the GM can use any talent he wishes within the game setting or ignore them altogether. It is up to the GM to define what exact effects these talents will actually have in his game.

1.4 Colouring

Roll 1d6 on the following table to determine the character's Skin colour. Roll 1d6 twice more to determine Eye and Hair colour, applying the modifier from the Skin colour table.

1.5 Family Background

Roll 2d10 on the following table is used to determine the family background of the Character:

Descriptions of the professions shown in this table may be found in later in Section 1.10.1

If a result which is not appropriate for the GM's background is generated, it should be discarded and re-rolled.

It is between the player and GM to then determine exactly what the character's parental background is, based on the general categories above.

1.6 Family Status

The table below is used to determine the relative status of the character's family. The terms used in it are generic, and should be adjusted by the GM if the terminology is not appropriate to the background he is using, alternatively a new table can be created by the GM. More period specific tables are included later in the Backgrounds Appendix.

Family Background has already determined but it is also important that the status of the characters family is known. The family status will have bearing on parental health and the relative wealth of the character.

1.7 Age of Leaving Home

This is the age at which the character leaves home. It gives the age of the character before any professional training is received, and it should be noted at this point for the purpose of determining childhood education. A contemporary or future setting may pre-determine this, for example school leaving age.

1.8 Base Skills

The following table gives a character's base chance in the common skills.

1.9 Childhood Education

During a previous stage of generation, the age at which the character leaves home was determined. A character may train and/or study skills from the age of 15 up the age of leaving home as part of their childhood. For example, a character of age 17 may study and/or train in skills for a period of 2 years.

A decision must be made as to whether study or training may be taken in a particular skill. A general guideline for this is that if the skill falls within the category of the parental background then training may be taken, otherwise study must be used.

The above points are only guidelines and the GM is free to make alterations to the system in order to suit the background that the game will be played in.

1.10 Professions

1.10.1 Types of Profession

Below are descriptions of the types of profession available during generation, with some typical examples of specific careers:

Academic

The pursuit of scholarly or academic studies, teaching or research.

Examples: Lecturer, Scientist, Researcher, Teacher, Historian.

Commerce

The conduct of business, provision of a professional service, or running of organisations, businesses and governments.

Examples: Businessman, Trader, Accountant, Lawyer, Politician, Civil Servant

Craft

The skilled growing or crafting of a product or service for sale or barter.

Examples: Blacksmith, Farmer, Jeweller, Carpenter, Mason, Potter.

Entertainer

The entertainment others by performing, creating works of art, writing or speaking.

Examples: Musician, Artist, Actor, Writer, Sportsman, Author, Journalist, Media Presenter, Comedian.

Magician

The study, research and employment the arcane and magical arts.

Examples: Mage, Necromancer, Witch Doctor, Sorcerer, Wizard.

Medical

The research or practice of medicine, tending to the injured and preparation of curatives and drugs.

Examples: Doctor, Surgeon, Apothecary, Healer, Pharmacist, Nurse, Paramedic, Medical Researcher, Dentist.

Mystic

The study, research and employment of the spiritual or occult arts.

Examples: Spiritualist, Soothsayer, Entrail Diviner, Occultist, Fortune Teller, Medium.

Psionic

The study, research and employment of mental or psionic powers.

Examples: Faith Healer, Mind Reader, Clairvoyant.

Religious

The practice, teaching or administration of religion (of any type or denomination).

Examples: Priest, Hermit, Prophet, Lay Preacher, Curate, Theologian, Evangelist.

Security

The enforcement, preservation or destruction of laws, locations, nations, corporations, organisations or individuals.

Examples: Soldier, Policeman, Private Security, FBI Agent, Investigator, Spy, Assassin, Bodyguard, Terrorist, Knight.

Technical

The application of science and technology in building, designing, writing or discovering items.

Examples: Engineer, Computer Programmer, Technician, Architect, Designer, Scientist, Inventor.

Transport

The operation, control or maintenance of any form of transportation from horses to spacecraft.

Examples: Train Driver, Ship Captain, Airline Pilot, Wagon Driver, Animal Trainer, Trucker, Ship Crewman.

Underworld

The practice of activities outside of the law.

Examples: Criminal, Gang Member, Con Artist, Gangster, Black Marketeer, Fence, Forger, Thief

Wilderness

The survival, exploration or utilisation of the the natural environment.

Examples: Hunter, Mountain Climber, Gamekeeper, Explorer, Nomad, Cowboy, Prospector

1.10.2 Select a Profession

There are several of types of profession which have been described above. Depending on the game background, the character will either choose or be directed into a specific career. The GM should determine which type of profession the chosen career will fall into.

1.10.3 Initial Skills

Each profession has an Initial Skill. This is the skill which must first be learnt before the character may progress in that profession or learn any other skills.

1.11 Career Development

1.11.1 Ranks and Skill Choice

The skills which a character may learn in his profession are usually dependant on rank. Ranks are represented by numbers, and range from 0 (the starting rank) to 8 (the highest rank). The rank which the character has reached determines the profession tables the character may acquire skills from. It is up to the GM to relate rank numbers to any specific ranks in his game background.

The character starts at Rank 0. The first year(s) spent in any profession are used to attempt to raise the Initial Skill to 40% or more. The character receives a years training in the Initial Skill (see section 1.10.3). If this first year of training does not result in the Initial Skill being 40% or more, the character must continue to spend subsequent years training in it until it does. At the conclusion of the year when the Initial Skill reaches 40%, character moves automatically from Rank 0 to Rank 1.

In each subsequent year, the character rolls or selects the skill in which they will train. The skill to be developed is determined by the characters rank and by rolling on the relevant profession table using the dice shown in the table below. On the profession tables, where the name of another table is shown in brackets, this is a referral, and the character must consult the specified table to determine the skill developed.

Once a character has achieved Rank 5 or greater, he may select the skill(s) he wishes to develop, providing that they can be reached by referring to them from other tables. Should the player wish to learn a skill to which he would not normally have access, or wishes to change profession, it is at the GM's discretion.

Once the player has gained sufficient rank to be able to choose which skill he wants to develop, he may decide to spend the years training on developing more than one skill. In this case, the player must decide what time will be spent developing each skill (e.g. the player decides to spend 6 months training on each of two skills)

If the character (with the GM's agreement) decides to change profession, they must start the process all over again. If they do not possess the Initial Skill at 40% or more, they revert to Rank 0. If they do have the Initial Skill at 40% or more, they begin at Rank 1. Depending on the nature of the career change, the character may, at the GM's discretion, start the new career at rank number greater than 1.

1.11.2 Profession Skill Tables

The following tables list the skills for the professions. Those skills shown in bold are Cascade Skills. Those entries shown in brackets are referrals to other tables.

1.11.3 Studying Skills

As part of the character's profession, they will receive Training in a number of skills. In each year that the character receives training, he also has the ability to Study other skills in his spare time. This studying of extra skills is not automatic and requires a Dedication Roll.

Training represents instruction and on the job training, from someone who is already competent in the skill, hence the profession that the character is in determines which skills are available to be trained in. Studying represents the character learning in their own time using reference works, practice, and observation of others, hence the range of skills which may be studied is much wider, and limited by the character's environment rather than his profession.

To benefit from a period of study, the character must make a Dedication roll. If successful, they may receive an increase by studying the skill. If the roll is failed, the character has not been sufficiently dedicated to study to receive an increase and the time is lost.

He may choose any skill which the GM decides is available for a character in his background. This may include further development of his professional skills, or the study of a completely different area. The GM is the final arbiter in deciding which skills a character may study.

1.11.4 Promotion

At the conclusion of each year, the character may make a promotion roll to determine whether they have been promoted to the next rank.

If successful, the character's rank number increases by one, which may allow access to different skills in the following year. If failed, the character remains the same rank. The GM may choose to apply unusual results if a particularly good (01-05) or bad (96-00) promotion roll is made.

The player may continue to develop the character's skills until the desired character age is reached or the GM stops generation because of the background.

1.12 Experience

1.12.1 Developing Skills

Skills are developed in two ways - either by training or study. Training represents the character being taught a skill by skilled instructor(s), and study represents the character teaching himself through observation, books and practice.

Both types of development are resolved in the same way. The character locates the column containing his current skill percentage on the Experience Table, selects the time he has spent either in training or study, then reads across to find the dice roll for increase that he receives. If a negative number results (due to a negative modifier) this is treated as zero.

1.12.2 Further Experience

The method of characters developing skills after generation is exactly the same as during generation. As part of game play, the GM should determine how much elapsed time is available for experience between game sessions.

Characters will generally be able to Train in skills related to their current profession for this period, and depending on the circumstances, may also attempt a Dedication Roll to Study during their free time over the same period. Characters may divide up their study time to cover more than one skill, however a separate Dedication Roll is required for each period of study if this is the case.

If the time for training or study is not sufficient for an increase (i.e. there is a space on the Experience Table), the character should note the amount of time spent in training or successfully studying for that skill on their character sheet. The next time in the game that they spend time on training or study for that skill, they may build on the time that they have already accumulated and resolve an increase based on the total time spend training or studying for the skill. Once a dice roll is made for the increase, the record of training or study should be removed from the character sheet.

Character may train other characters, however the character doing the training must have a skill of 75% or greater to do this.

If a character wishes to learn a specialisation of an existing skill or start one that is closely related to an existing skill, they may do so at a starting percentage equal to half of the skill on which it is based. E.g. a character has skills in Biology and Wildlife and wants to train in Marine Biology, in which case their initial percentage in Marine Biology is half their percentage in either of the other two skills. Once this initial percentage has been determined, the new skill is developed separately from the original skill, as described above.

1.12.3 Developing Stats

1.12.4 Experience Table