Character Creation Examples

This section walks you through two examples of people creating new characters. The first is Josie creating a martial artist for her GM's fantasy game, and the second is Ray creating an explorer for his GM's science fiction game. Each of these examples has lots of notes in the margins telling you where to look up more information about everything mentioned in the walkthrough.

Fantasy Character Creation Example

Josie wants to create a character for her GM's fantasy campaign. She decides that her character is a martial artist, more likely to fight than talk.

All core characters start with 8 in each of their three stat Pools: Might, Speed, and Intellect. A core character gets an additional 6 points to add to their Pools. Josie wants her character to be strong and agile, so she puts 2 points into her Might Pool and 4 into her Speed Pool; her stat Pools are now Might 10, Speed 12, and Intellect 8.

As a core character, her Might Edge, Speed Edge, and Intellect Edge are all 0.

A core character can take three minor wounds, three moderate wounds, and three major wounds.

For her core character's two starting skills she chooses athletics and healing—she's a very physical character and knows how to treat injuries from brawls and battles. She decides to take intimidation as a third skill, and in exchange for that she chooses an inability in persuasion; her character is the strong, silent type, good at looking tough but not much for pleasant conversation.

As a core character, her Effort is 1.

A core character can have two cyphers. The GM could give them to Josie right now, but decides to wait until Josie is done creating her character before doing so.

Josie's starting equipment is clothing (a comfortable set of durable clothes for traveling and a nicer outfit in case she has to talk to someone important) plus enough money to buy a moderately expensive item. (In addition to any further equipment the GM might give her, such as torches and strong rope, Josie has the option to exchange this starting equipment with an equipment bundle for her type.)

At this point, Josie has finished everything she needs to do for a core character. But because her GM is running a fantasy game, she gets to add a type, descriptor, and focus.

The GM is running a dungeon fantasy game, so Josie looks at the dungeon fantasy types in the fantasy genre chapter and decides she wants to play a Monk, a person skilled in unarmed combat. The Monk type increases the number of minor wounds she can take by three (for a total of six) and moderate wounds by one (for a total of four). It also gives her +2 to her Might Pool (for a total of 12) and Speed Pool (for a total of 14). She gets +1 Edge in one Pool and chooses Speed (increasing her Speed Edge from 0 as a core character to 1).

A Monk doesn't add to what weapons and armor a core character can freely use. Josie decides she doesn't care much about physical possessions, so she saves time by taking the suggested Monk equipment bundle. A Monk starts with the abilities Flurry, Nimble, and No Need For Weapons.

While she's looking at the fantasy chapter, Josie double-checks the Fantasy Skills list to make sure the ones she picked as a core character are on the list. They are, so she can move on to the next step. (If her core character skills weren't appropriate for the list, she could swap them for different ones.)

Josie looks at the descriptors and decides her character is Fast—she's quick on her feet and quick with a punch. The Fast descriptor adds +2 to her Speed Pool (for a total of 16) and gives her training in initiative.

Finally, Josie checks with the GM to see what foci are available, and the GM says that anything on the list of suggested foci for a dungeon fantasy game is allowed. Josie wants to go all in on unarmed combat, so she chooses the Fights Unarmed focus. She can choose two tier 1 abilities from that focus and picks Brawler and Resilience. Both of her focus abilities permanently improve some other part of her character, so she makes note of that in the appropriate places on her character sheet (in the Attacks and Wounds sections).

Josie looks at her abilities again and sees that two of them cost Speed points to activate, and the rest don't cost any points at all. She has a high Speed Pool and her best Edge is in Speed, so she's happy with how she's set up her character and doesn't want to change her Pools or Edge.

Now that Josie has chosen a type, descriptor, and focus, the GM gives her two cyphers. The first is retaliation—she can immediately deal damage to someone who just attacked her, even though it's not her turn. The second one is perfect moment—she can treat any one action as if she had rolled a natural 20 (a result of "20" on the d20).

Now all Josie has to do is pick a character name, come up with some background details (like why she became a martial artist and if she developed her skills on her own or by studying with a mentor), and she's ready to play.

Science Fiction Character Creation Example

Ray wants to create a character for his GM's science fiction campaign. He decides that the character is a traveler who likes exploring alien planets.

All core characters start with 8 in each of their three stat Pools: Might, Speed, and Intellect. A core character gets an additional 6 points to add to their Pools. Ray wants his character to be tough enough to handle a lot of overland travel, but also be smart and resourceful to avoid dangerous hazards, so he puts 3 points into his Might Pool and 3 into his Intellect Pool; his stat Pools are now Might 11, Speed 8, and Intellect 11.

As a core character, his Might Edge, Speed Edge, and Intellect Edge are all 0.

A core character can take three minor wounds, three moderate wounds, and three major wounds.

For his core character's two starting skills, he chooses navigation and perception—as an explorer, he needs to be able to find his way around and spot problems. He decides not to take a third skill because he'd have to take an inability in a fourth skill.

As a core character, his Effort is 1.

A core character can have two cyphers. The GM could give them to Ray right now, but decides to wait until Ray is done creating his character before doing so.

Ray's starting equipment is clothing (a comfortable set of hiking gear and regular clothes for when he's in a city) plus enough money to buy a moderately expensive item. (In addition to any further equipment the GM might give him, such as a backpack and utility knife, Ray has the option to exchange this starting equipment with an equipment bundle for his type.)

At this point, Ray has finished everything he needs to do for a core character. But because his GM is running a sci-fi game, he gets to add a type, descriptor, and focus.

The GM is running a space opera sci-fi game, so Ray looks at the space opera types in the science fiction genre chapter and decides he wants to play a Scoundrel, someone who is on the wrong side of the law now and then. The Scoundrel type increases the number of minor wounds he can take by two (for a total of five) and moderate wounds by one (for a total of four). It also gives him +2 to his Speed Pool (for a total of 10) and Intellect Pool (for a total of 13). He gets +1 Edge in one Pool and chooses Intellect (increasing his Intellect Edge from 0 as a core character to 1).

A Scoundrel can freely use light and medium weapons, and freely use light armor. The type also gives him a weapon of his choice, and instead of picking individual items Ray decides to take the suggested Scoundrel equipment bundle (which includes the weapon a Scoundrel gets). A Scoundrel starts with the abilities Desperate Defense, Fast Talk, and Hand to Eye.

While he's looking at the science fiction chapter, Ray double-checks the Science Fiction Skills list to make sure the ones he picked as a core character are on the list. They are, so he can move on to the next step. (If his core character skills weren't appropriate for the list, he could swap them for different ones.)

Ray looks at the descriptors and decides his character is Charming—he may be a scoundrel, but he's a likeable scoundrel. The Charming descriptor adds +2 to his Intellect Pool (for a total of 15) and gives him training in persuasion.

Ray checks with the GM about what foci are available, and the GM says that anything on the list of suggested foci for a space opera game is allowed. Ray wants his character to have a couple of tricks up his sleeve, so he chooses the Masters Telekinesis focus. He can choose two tier 1 abilities from that focus, and picks Steady Hand and Telekinesis.

Ray looks at his abilities again and sees that none of them cost Might points, one of them costs Speed points (Speed or Intellect, actually), and three of them cost Intellect points. Ray decides his character doesn't need as much Might as he thought he was going to, and he'll rely on Intellect for a lot of abilities, so he moves 2 points from his Might Pool to his Intellect Pool, and his stats are now Might 9, Speed 10, and Intellect 17.

Now that Ray has chosen a type, descriptor, and focus, the GM gives him two cyphers. The first one is an equipment cache—at any time, he can find a useful piece of equipment of his choice (such as a spare blaster or a vacuum suit), probably an item that someone stashed nearby for an emergency. The GM decides his second cypher is a big bonus to one dodge task—useful in case someone unexpectedly tries to shoot him in a bar.

Now all Ray has to do is pick a character name, come up with some background details (such as if he has any enemies and what his goals are), and he's ready to play.