Character Creation

### **Level**

A measurement of your character's personal power and overall potency in the world. Note that this potency is not restricted or limited to ability in combat, but is an indication of power across the martial, skilled and social domains.

### **Archetype**

An archetype forms the most basic description of your character framework and concept. This can help you decide upon a progression for your character and form a loose guide for where to spend Spark points.

#### **The Fighter**

A capable warrior proficient in military-style combat. Spark points focused upon Feats.

#### **The Knight**

A religious disciple possessing skill at arms. Spark points spread between Arcana and Feats.

#### **The Mystic**

An esoteric thaumaturge practising spiritual pursuits. Spark points focused upon Arcana.

#### **The Outsider**

A cunning warrior hailing from wild lands. Spark points spread between Feats and Talents.

#### **The Specialist**

An accomplished master of unusually broad expertise. Spark points focused upon Talents.

#### **The Tinkerer**

An inquisitive dabbler asserting their will. Spark points spread between Arcana and Talents.

#### **The Wanderer**

A travelling generalist and jack-of-all-trades. Spark points spread between Arcana, Feats and Talents.

### **Soul Colours**

Soul Colours allow you to paint a detailed psychological profile for your character, allowing you to immerse yourself in personality traits perhaps quite different from your own. Choose one Colour for Heart, Mind and Instinct, and place them in order of psychological prominence, assigning a primary, secondary and tertiary Colour to your character, which define the three most prominent and distinguishable psychological traits present within them.

### **Alignment**

Alignment allows you to immerse yourself in moral outlooks which may differ considerably from your own. Choose an alignment category which your character occupies at creation. During play, the GM may decide that your alignment has shifted if your character's moral nature changes due to experiences they have in the world. It should be remembered that alignment is not a straight-jacket. Once play starts you do not role-play strictly within your alignment, but rather you role-play the character as you see fit and alignment is assigned after the fact by the GM based upon the actions and attitudes they take. There are nine alignments, and at character creation you are permitted to choose any of them except for Law or Chaos. Remember to note your initial Sanity and calculate your initial Corruption by taking this number from 15. Also note your character's initial Polarity, which represents the degree of their involvement in the grand conflict of Law against Chaos, their knowledge of good and evil and their distance from preoccupation with merely mundane affairs - in other words, their distance from the Neutral alignment which is that of most within Thaelis-Y'Aada.

#### **Sanity and Corruption**

Sanity represents your character's pull towards good and the Truth of Law. Corruption represents their pull towards evil and the Void of Oblivion. As such, as a character's Sanity increases their Corruption decreases, and the total of Sanity and Corruption must always come to 15. The more sane a character is, the more gracious, altruistic and clear-minded they become, whereas the accumulation of Corruption leads the character to become increasingly bitter, cruel and vengeful towards the world and those in it. During the course of play, a character's moral choices should raise or lower their Sanity and Corruption stats if their arc calls for it. These changes should be role-played, of course, not merely changed on the sheet. However, there are certain circumstances (exposure to powerful magic, demons, angels etc.) that call for a forced Sanity or Corruption check, which is 2d8 + Sanity or Corruption, respectively against a set target difficulty of some kind, in order to avoid gaining or losing points of Sanity (and therefore Corruption). Also, certain Sparks and other abilities allow you to make use of your Sanity and Corruption scores for other purposes such as a substitute for Skill Grades, a bonus to other rolls etc.

#### **Polarity**

I, LG, G and NG characters gain their Polarity as a bonus to resistance rolls against attacks which utilise Dark energy, and O, CE, E and NE characters suffer their polarity as a penalty to such rolls. However, all characters with a Polarity score apply it as Armour Rating against Dark damage. Heroes possess the guardianship of light spirits, and villain's soul is familiar with demonic forces whether they know it or not. The Dark preys upon those whose naivety and spiritual blindness render them unprepared for the touch of chaos.

I, LG, G and NG characters gain their polarity as a bonus to any rolls made to heal them with Light energy, and O, CE E and NE characters suffer a penalty to such rolls. The exalted deities bless the upright, but cannot as readily influence those whose souls are suffused in darkness.

When choosing an alignment, refer to the Soul Colour section later in this book in order to see how your character's core make-up will express itself as that moral level.

### **Flaws**

Flaws are your character's greatest psychological and weaknesses, as listed under the Colours you assigned to them above. Write your primary, secondary and tertiary flaws here and remember to role-play them to generate drama and story hooks during play.

### **Species**

The species of your character. Some common species are detailed within this book.

### **Personality**

A more detailed psychological portrait of your character, built upon their Colours, alignment and flaws. With their emotional core established and firmly laid down, it is time to detail backstory, quirks, preferences, precise likes and dislikes etc. You know what kinds of motivations your character is driven by, but what unique pathos shapes their expression? You have a broad estimation as to your character's moral outlook and nature, but now think about how their views came to be as they are. Go as deep with this portrait as you can, as characters which have richer psychologies are more fun to play and will likely earn more experience points.

### **Image**

Detail here what your character looks like. This includes height, weight, hair and eye colour, and any other distinguishing features.

### **Venerated Deities**

Write here any deities which the character reveres, but does not necessarily devote their mortal existence to. The deity to which a cleric devotes himself is to be detailed under Religion, below. To illustrate the concept of veneration in relation to religion, a cleric of Tormnthur from the tundras of Sifland is a dedicated servant of this one god, but may well offer obeisance and tribute to deities such as Tes'Ssyk, Nyshor and Anguta when occasion calls for it.

### **Religion (Clerics and Magi only)**

Write here the deity to which your character has devoted themselves through dedicated worship. Think about how their psychological makeup and Colours would complement or contradict the edicts of their religion. Also, is you character a art of a splinter sect or heresy within their church? Such elements of consideration can generate great opportunities for immersive role-playing.

### **Birth Date**

The day, chain and cycle your character was born on, e.g. 6th of Frost's Fall (The Day of Starvation), 4E c.1064. Remember that there are nine days in every chain, and a total of eleven chains in every cycle. The calendar at the end of this book contains details of each specific day.

### **Gender**

Your character's gender. The obvious choices here are male and female, but within Thaelis-Y'Aada, your nature might be something entirely different.

## **Statistics**

### **Attributes**

There are six attributes that a character possesses, listed below.

#### **Strength (STR)**

This attribute indicates the raw explosive power of the character, and is a measure of how much force it can exert when lifting objects, landing blows etc.

#### **Dexterity (DEX)**

This attribute indicates the agility of a character, and is a measure of how adept they are at rapidly coordinating movements when dodging, attacking others etc.

#### **Vigour (VIG)**

This attribute indicates the constitutional quality of a character, and is a measure of how resilient they are to environmental hazards, damaging impacts etc.

#### **Intelligence (INT)**

This attribute indicates the cognitive processing power of a creature, and is a measure of how adept they are at recalling information, solving complex problems etc.

#### **Discernment (DIS)**

This attribute indicates the environmental awareness of a creature, and is a measure of how accurately they can assess evolving situations, the intentions of others etc.

#### **Presence (PRE)**

This attribute indicates the social clout of a character, and is a measure of how effectively they can elicit intended emotions in others, intimidate foes, inspire allies etc.

#### **Assigning Attributes: Point Buy**

Characters receive 50 stat points to spread between their six attributes at creation. At this stage, no attribute may be allocated a score of less than 5 or greater than 12 (for purposes of a reader's understanding, an attribute of 8 would be considered an average score for a human). After these 50 points have been allocated, the character's species- and primary colour-based modifiers are applied to their attributes and either set of these modifiers are permitted to break the caps imposed during initial point allocation. Once the final attribute scores have been calculated, attribute Ratings should be determined. Attribute Ratings are determined by subtracting 8 from an attribute, and can be in the negative values. If you have a DEX score of 10, then your DEX Rating will be +2 (10-8). If you have a PRE score of 7, your PRE Rating will be -1 (7-8). An attribute Rating is added to every skill roll you make.

For example, suppose a player is creating a solfar character and has decided the character's primary colour will be that of the Thinker. First, they share 50 points between the six attributes as follows: STR 7, DEX 7, VIG 8, INT 11, DIS 9, PRE 8 (note that no score is at this stage less than 5 or greater than 12). With this done, they apply the solfar species-based attribute modifiers (+1 DEX, -1 VIG, +1 PRE), adjusting the scores thus: STR 7, DEX 8, VIG 7, INT 11, DIS 9, PRE 9. Next, the Thinker-based attribute modifiers (+2 INT, +1 DIS, -1 STR, DEX or VIG) are applied, leaving the final attribute scores as follows (with Ratings in brackets): STR 7 (-1), DEX 7 (-1), VIG 7 (-1), INT 13 (+5), DIS 10 (+2) and PRE 9 (+1) (notice that the INT score of 13 exceeds 12, which is now permitted.)

### **Other Statistics**

As detailed above, the rest of a character's statistics are calculated using their attributes and attribute Ratings.

#### **Health Gauge (HG)**

Is calculated by adding your character's total VIG score + STR Rating + Conditioning + Talent in Health Gauge (if applicable) + 1 per 10 Levels + Species (most species do not have a Species-Granted HG bonus). This is the measure of how much damage your character can sustain.

#### **Reaction**

This trait is calculated by adding your ENL Rating + Insight (Reaction) + Species-Granted Bonus (if any) - (Weapon Speed Factor - DEX Rating [min. 1]) (if wielding a weapon) to your roll. Reaction is rolled at the beginning of each combat. When Reaction is rolled, the numbers of each combatant are written down by one of the players. The highest score acts first each round and the lowest acts last.

#### **Defence**

This trait is calculated by adding your DEX Rating + Evade + Shield Bonus – Armour Skill Penalty + Size bonus or penalty to this roll. You roll this trait when you are attacked. Your attacker’s roll must be higher than your Defence roll in order for them to hit you. Only characters, important creatures and important NPCs have Defence rolls; Extras have static Defences which are detailed under the Extras section. This is how well you are able to avoid attacks by means at your disposal.

#### **Defence Capacity**

This trait is 3 + ENL Rating. Your Defence Capacity is the amount of times you can roll Defence in any round. If you are attacked more times than your Defence Capacity, your attacker only needs to exceed your static Defence. This means they only need to roll higher than your static Defence. A character’s static Defence is simply their DEX Rating + Evade + Shield Bonus – Armour Skill Penalty, but without the accompanying roll. Additionally, if you have not already used the move portion of your action, you may sacrifice your move to gain an additional Defence Capacity.

#### **Armour Rating**

This trait is calculated by adding your Hide Rating, which is a bonus is granted from thick, hard or otherwise protective skin, to the bonus provided by any armour worn. The details of this are discussed in the armour section of this book.

#### **Attack**

This is calculated by adding your DEX Rating + your skill Grades in the weapon + any attack bonuses from Feats benefiting your weapon. This is discussed further in the weapons section.

#### **Speed**

This trait is calculated by adding your total DEX + VIG Rating + Athletics (Running) + species bonus + size bonus or penalty - Armour Skill Penalty. This total is multiplied by 5 to give speed in feet.

#### **Sparks**

You gain 5 Spark points at character creation and additional points at each new Level. Additionally, you can gain as many as five additional Spark points at character creation by taking Cinders, which are detailed later in this book.

#### **Skills**

You gain a number of Skill points equal to 4 times your total INT score. At each new Level, you gain a number of Skill points equal to one-tenth your INT score (see the Levelling tables provided later in this book for easy calculations concerning gain of Skill points). Your maximum Grades in any skill are a cap of 5 at character creation, but these caps increase by 1 at every tenth Level you gain (the Skill Grade cap is 6 at Level 10, 7 at Level 20, and rest at 15 at Level 100). You also receive up to 3 Talents (and/or Feats, for Weapon Skills) at character creation.

#### **Opulence**

This trait ranges from 0 to 15. The higher it is, the greater your holdings. This wealth may take any form as decided by your background and what has happened in the Saga. This may include businesses, livestock, textiles, precious metals or any other form of resources. You receive 1 point of Opulence during character creation. This Rating is meant to streamline the game and prevent the GM and players from having to keep track of lists of coins, trade goods and other items. This number should be adjusted up and down, by the GM, based on the character’s spending and how your investments and businesses are doing.

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#### **Possessions**

These are the sum total of what your character owns. In many cases it is not necessary to have exhaustive lists. However, it is important to have a concrete understanding of important items. This is accomplished by the “do what is reasonable” rule. This means your character starts with an amount of possessions that make since to the GM and the nature of the Saga at character creation. To determine this, your Sparks, Skills, Cinders and background should be taken into account. For example, a fledgling character who does not have several levels of the Wealth Spark should not start out with plate mail. A character with the Advanced Armour Spark, some Grades in Blacksmith and a background as a soldier might be allowed to start with a breast plate. If this same character did not have the Wealth Spark, while the GM may decide to allow him to have a breast plate, they may decide the former solider is down to his last bit of money and has long since sold his sword and spear. Remember that, as with attributes and every other statistic, possessions should be used to help you tell a story – the story of how you got to where you were when the game begins. As in the above description, less can actually be more. While this character does not have the ideal standard weapon, he has something more important in its place: a story as to why he does not have it. This can be built on or expanded in many ways. Possessions, regardless whether you start with them or acquire them during the Saga, are only tools and are only truly valuable if they add to the tale being told. At times, the loss of a possession can actually be used to help create an even more interesting situation. Do not worry: you cannot take any of it home, anyway. Regardless, there are times when the Saga will culminate in the acquisition of wondrous possessions. There are no lists of mundane items in this book - they can be extrapolated from the Skills detailed later.