Creating a character

Each persona or character is defined by a number of physical and mental attributes called statistics. These define the body to which is added training in skills and inherent foibles or abilities.

All adventurers are better than the average bod as it is more fun to play a character who is strong, fast or super brainy than any average bod.

The statistics are

Strength
Intelligence
Willpower
Constitution
Dexterity
Alertness

An average human has an attribute value of 0 (zero), each additional 3 points represents a doubling in prowess (strength, intelligence...). Humans generally have an attribute range of -2 to +3, any attribute outside this range is considered exceptional.

When creating a new character there are many points that have to be considered. Some of these will depend upon the campaign and some upon the local circumstances. As characters can be created at any level it is necessary to have a system that reflects the growing up of a character rather than one which tries to produce a fully experienced 30 year old master swordsman in one go.

By starting with a youngster and applying skills gradually this approach enables a character at any stage in their career to be produced.

Creating the youngster

Firstly a player needs to decide if they wish to create a specific type of character or whether they will accept a body and apply the training that seems to fit best. After the initial attributes for the character have been generated the character has to progress through life to gain the additional skills.

Players may design their own character or roll one up. Designing a character involves distributing a number of points across the statistics exactly as you like whereas rolling up a charater means you are at the whim of the dice for the distribution but the average statistic will be slightly higher. The choice depends upon whether you wish to play a character specifically designed for a role or whether you prefer a sub-optimised character for your chosen profession but who is more like a real life person or one who choses their profession depending upon the body they end up with.

Generation

Design

Use 6 attribute points to buy attributes
Choose a race and add racial modifiers.
Add traits, at least one asset and one complication. A Major = 2 Minors, A Minor = 2 Free. (Maximum of 5 assets or complications)
If you have taken more points in complications than assets each additional Major complication (or 2 Minors) will grant you one additional attribute point to spend.
Add one more free asset
Select a gender.
Choose 10 points of skills.

Attributes

Initial Generation

All races have the same spread of attributes (-2 to +3) around their racial mean, that racial mean however will differ for each rach. After creating the initial values the racial adjustments are added.

Each character has 6 attribute points to play with, the cost for buying an attribute increase rises the futher you are away from the norm.

Attribute	Cost
+3	6
+2	3
+1	1
0	0
-1	-1
-2	-3

For example a character could buy one attribute at +3 or two attributes at +2 or all 6 attributes at +1.

Racial Modifiers

Select a race and add on the racial adjustments.

Racial Attributes
Race
Barbarian
Dwarf
Elf	- Grey
	- High
	- Sylvan
Gnome
Hobbit
Human

Racial Attribute Modifier
Str	Int	Will	Con	Dex	Alt

+1	-1	-1	0	-1	+1
+1	-1	0	+1	-2	0
-1	+1	0	-2	0	+1
-1	0	0	-2	+1	+1
-1	-1	+1	-1	0	+1
-2	+1	-1	+1	+1	-1
-3	-1	+1	0	+1	+1
0	0	0	0	0	0

Adding a life

Starting experience

A character gets an initial number of Hero Points to put into skills, stamina, spell/prayer points

Characters start with 10 hero points to use in initial training. These may be distributed amongst the skills as if training with the proviso that no skill may be greater than +2.

A benefit of initial skills is that the normal double cost penalty of training up in the first level of a skill is waived. This favours well rounded characters and reflects the variety of training most characters will have received.

Health

All characters start with stamina (excluding Breather Points) = 1/2 wounds (round up) and 5 breather points. All additional stamina points must be purchased. Characters should have between 5 and 10 stamina and hero points depending upon whether they are frontline troops or not.

Magic / Prayers

Characters start with zero spell/prayer points. Any points required must be bought from the initial allocation of Hero Points.

Mages

A wizard will have 3 free categories of spell at first level. Additional categories may be trained in as normal with Hero Points as long as the Master knows those catagories.

Starting mages will know two spells for every level of ability in a spell category. The actual spells available will depend upon the individual mage training the apprentice wizard.

Priests

Starting priests will know 5 prayers plus for one for each willpower point.

Getting older

Distribute the total number of Hero Points amongst the skills up to the current time in the characters life. These are then applied in batches similar to the way that points are gained throughout adventuring. Difficulties arise in that fighting characters use more points during an adventure than a sedentary one such as a mage.

During adventuring many more points are gained than will be given to the character as a substantial number of an adventurers will have been used in the course of the adventures. Actual increases above the adventuring minimum will normally be in the range of 1-10 points less any additional lost because of fighting.

Roll 2d6 and take off the characters maximum weapon proficiency, then use these to increase the characters abilities. Keep rolling and applying the points until all your allocated points have been used. Reduce the number available at each training session by the original number rolled, the rest were lost

Characters may elect to borrow points from the next adventure but this gives them a 1% chance of dying between adventures for each borrowed point.

e.g.

A character has 10 points to apply for his life to date and has dagger at + 4, longsword at + 3.

Rolling 2d6 he gets a 10 less the 4 points for dagger leaves him 6 points to play with. These he assigns to longsword giving him longsword at +4 and carries two forward to next time.

On the next adventure he has 10 - 6 = 4 points to play with. Rolling 6 less the 4 points for longsword or dagger he has 2 to play with plus 2 carried over equals 4. Borrowing one from next time he increases longsword to +5. He then has a 1% chance of dying in the next adventure which he successfully avoids.

Next adventure he rolls a 5 but only has 1 point to allocate as one has already been borrowed. This he saves and takes into the adventure with him giving him a starting total of 11.