Character Creation

**Character Creation** is a series of screens and menus in which a new player of Empirical can customise and design their Commander Avatar. With a great deal of depth, players can make their persona as detailed as they wish, and it includes a **Biography** box for **Roleplaying** users to fill out if desired.

The process is comprised of several stages and culminates in naming their Commander, with a compilation of period appropriate names on hand for assistance.

## Appearance

The main factors to be considered in the Appearance Screen are:

* What does your Commander look like?
* Hair Colour
* Hairstyle
* Facial Structure
* Body Type
* Uniform Style
* Formal Wear
* Casual Wear
* Colours

Some, such as **Hairstyle**, can be changed later, whereas **Facial Structure** is mostly set in stone.

A Commander's Colours represents their family or personal **Icon**.

Note that your Commander's sex must match that of the player, as a general rule.

Additional **Wardrobe Items** can be purchased from **NPC Retailers** or from Players creating content on the **Community Asset Market**. This allows for very broad scope in character, ranging from a smart military uniform to rugged winter clothing, or even militia style practical outfits. **Uniform Style** is the standard dress for players, whereas **Formal Wear** is used for certain functions such as **Parades** or **Ballrooms**. **Casual Wear** can be worn in **Camp** or when out on campaign.

## Specialisation

The starting options for Specialisation include, but are not limited to:

* Line Infantry
* Grenadier
* Light Cavalry
* Heavy Cavalry
* Dragoon
* Logistics
* Scout
* Marine
* Ship's Captain
* Merchant
* Banker/Stocks
* Mercenary
* Politician
* Ranger
* Manager
* Explorer
* Noble
* Farmer
* Engineer
* Industrialist
* Doctor
* Bandit
* Scientist
* Priest
* Humble
* Scholar
* Musician
* Custom

The starting specialisation merely gives a free boost to various relevant skills, in addition to bonus starting equipment and possibly a trait.

## Experience

The starting experience for a Commander is set at **zero**, but a brief screen informs the player the purpose of the various **Tracking Scales.**

## Skills

The Skills which govern a Commander's effectiveness in various aspects are:

* Command
* Authority
* Knowledge
* Perception
* Physique
* Finesse
* Diplomacy
* Finances
* Spirit
* Logistics

Players are given a certain number of **Skill Points** with which to distribute amongst these categories, with minimum and maximum values that can be put into each at this time. It is more efficient to have a wider spread of Skills, but some Commanders do choose to use many Skill Points to max out one or two.

There is a seperate list of **Sub-Skills** that are dependent on their parent Skill, but can later be advanced on their own. Some **Items** or **Retinue NPC**s can affect Skills whilst you have them active.

## Traits

During Character Creation, only one Trait can be created for a new Commander, and is used almost totally for roleplay purposes rather than for mechanical use.

To create a Trait, a player writes down the category of personality aspect they are trying to cover and the powerful **Trait Archive** will suggest relevant options. If the player prefers, they can browse the Trait Archive themselves or use the search feature.

## Background

The available background options list is fairly succinct, but does contain a "Custom" option for more varied Roleplaying:

* Officer Academy
* Promoted Soldier
* Courtier
* Merchant Company
* University
* \*Custom

Officer Academy or Promoted Soldier are by far the most common backgrounds, with it widely accepted in the canon of the game world that Military Academy education is extremely prodigious and prolific.

There is a box for a dedicated or casual roleplayer to fill out a short biography or description for other Commander's to read upon **Inspection**.

A further optional box is for a definitive **Trait** to sum up the character's personality.

## Inventory

Depending on your background, your avatar will start with a different amount of a relevant **Currency**. This does create a slight offset which is balanced by skills or other factors. Investing highly in the **Finances** skill will lead to a higher starting **Wealth**.

You get a chance to spend your Currency as part of Character Creation prior to appearing in Empirical, on various categories of expenditure including **Default Wardrobe Items**, **Home and Estate Items**, **Family Items**, **Military Forces**, and many more. It is wise to stock up on a good amount of **Logistical Items** at this stage.

## Roster

The Roster stage of Character Creation is where the player is able to choose the starting units for their force, selecting from the Military Forces list. Some units are provided for free depending on the Commander's Specialisation.