recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
CC Reason to Enlist

## Reason To Enlist

Without any prior military experience, the motivation that pushed you to join the military has the greatest impact on your bearing once in the army. The commitment to enlist in the armed forces is a serious one due to the very real threat of facing battle, and so every person who signs up does so as a result of a personal, overriding reason for it.

### Selection Methods

There are three methods of picking a reason for signing up for the military:

* **Intentional**: Choose one.
* **Creative**: Make one of your own following the listed Effects (get GM approval).
* **Random**: Roll a d12.
* **Special**: Sea Hounds roll a d4. For 1-3, take that result. On a 4, roll a d12 and consult the table as normal.

### Effects

Increase two Vitalities by 1 and three Skills by 1.
CC H Reason to Enlist

As you were not subjected to conscription, you joined the army voluntarily to help defend your nation against the looming threat of war. You did so before hostilities officially began, responding to the growing tension created by the crisis in Seruiani.

## Reason To Enlist

Without any prior military experience, the motivation that pushed you to join the military has the greatest impact on your bearing once in the army. The commitment to enlist in the armed forces is a serious one due to the very real threat of facing battle, and so every person who signs up does so as a result of a personal, overriding reason for it.

### Selection Methods

There are three methods of picking a reason for signing up for the military:

* **Intentional**: Choose one.
* **Creative**: Make one of your own following the listed Effects (get GM approval).
* **Random**: Roll a d12.

### Effects

Increase one Vitality by 1 and three Skills by 1.

## Next Step

At this point, refer back to the option you chose for your Magical Predisposition. This predisposition was found during enlistment screening, and you were sent off for special training as a result.

If you chose Paranatural Ability, move on to **Imperial War Mage Academy**.

If you chose Heavenly Gift, move on to **Ministry Corps Training**.
CC Region Class

## Social Class

While a Race's historical relationship to civilization plays the most significant part in determining an individual member of that Race's position in society, specific regional differences are also very influential.

Roll a d20 and consult the column below that matches your Region of birth to find your Social Class. Go back to the previous page to consult the description and effects of your Class.

## Next Step

With your Social Class now selected and your Class influences added to your base stats, go back to the previous page and scroll down to the bottom to find the next step.
CC CiB Traits

## Traits

Although City Burrowers are born of ambient Essence generated within houses populated by Human families, and as such do not have parents from whom to inherit genes, they still stand out as individuals due to an unknown means of differentiating them from the baseline. This is believed to be related to the nature of the house they inhabit, or perhaps is effected by the character of the family living in said house.

Regardless of what causes them, Traits are noticeable quirks or qualities about you, and can be either physical or behavioral in nature.

### Selection Methods

There are three methods to determine your Traits, and they can be mixed and matched as desired:

* **Intentional**: Choose your two Traits
* **Random**: Roll a d50 (or a d100 and divide by 2, rounding up) twice
* **Creative**: Create your own Trait(s) following the listed Effects below, pending GM approval

### Effects

Two separate increases of two Attributes by 1 or one Attribute by 2, and two Skills by 1.

A single Attribute **may not be increased by more than 2** through Traits. If the effects of both Traits would apply more than 2 to a single Attribute, instead divert those bonuses onto another Attribute of your choosing.

## Next Step

With your Traits selected and the effects of your personal quirks added to your stats, move on to **Early Existence**.
CC Crow Male Region

## Region

Most Night Ravens enlisted in the Grienzen Imperial Army are from one of the Grienzen states but there are a couple of exceptions. A small number of male Night Ravens who had caught a ship to Amerrisque to start a new life have sailed back due to the rising tensions and inevitability of the upcoming war. Additionally some of the Night Ravens who are citizens of Alemannia have enrolled in the Grienzen military as the only way to act on their desire to defend their kin in Grienzland against the Ascendancy of Man.

Night Ravens are the most mobile of the races, often engaging in periodic migrations to enjoy a change in surroundings. However, they do have a single Region where they were born and view as their home, sharing characteristics in common with other Night Ravens in that area. Knowledge is freely exchanged during travel and as such, your Region only imparts an increase to two Skills.

### Selection Methods

There are two methods to determine your Region:

* **Intentional**: Choose your Region
* **Random**: Roll a d100

### Effects

Increase two Skills by 1 or one Skill by 1 and take one Talent.

## Next Step

With your Region selected and your regional characteristic differences added to your base stats, move on to **Social Class**.
CC Human Female Region

## Region

Although soldiers in the Grienzen Imperial Army are overwhelmingly male, some Grienzen states have a more meritocratic view regarding specialist positions, while others emphasize legacy membership based on excellence in historical familial participation. As a result, the ranks of War Mages and Battle Chaplains have a number of female human members, though these have not fully earned the respect of everyone within these institutions. This tends to select for women of greater determination, as those with weaker wills are weeded out through the training process.

Most humans enlisted in the Grienzen Imperial Army are from one of the Grienzen states but there are a few notable exceptions. Many Grienzen colonists in Ifrania remain there to defend their homesteads, but plenty returned to defend the Fatherland. Likewise, a small number of female Grienzen citizens who took a ship to Amerrisque to start a new life have sailed back due to the rising tensions and inevitability of the upcoming war. And finally, some of the ethnically and linguistically Grienzen citizens of Alemannia have enrolled in the Grienzen military due to the official neutral stance taken by the Alemannian government.

While the majority of people live within the same region where they were born, recent advances in transportation technology have facilitated more relocation now than ever before. As a general rule, the region you select in this stage is the one where you were born, raised, and lived until enlisting in the army. The primary exceptions to this are if your Social Class is Transients (though even then, most simply move about within their birth region) or if you undergo Relocation during the **Hardship**.

### Selection Methods

There are two methods to determine your Region:

* **Intentional**: Choose your Region
* **Random**: Roll a d100

### Effects

Increase three Attributes by 1, and either three Skills by 1 or two Skills by 1 and a Talent.

## Next Step

With your Region selected and your regional characteristic differences added to your base stats, move on to **Magical Predisposition**.
CC Relationship

## Most Impactful Relationship

No one goes through their upbringing entirely alone, and if forced to consider it, you have to admit that there has been a single individual who has had the most impact on your development. This might constitute a single, resonant encounter that changed your worldview or life for good, or the influence of a long-term relationship drawn out over many years to help you grow into the person you became.

### Selection Methods

There are four methods of picking a pastime:

* **Intentional**: Choose one.
* **Creative**: Make one of your own following the listed Effects (get GM approval).
* **Comprehensive**: If your Social Class was that of Lower or Upper Nobility, roll a d10. If your Hardship was Crisis of Faith and you Overcame, roll a d12 with 10-12 being reduced to 9. If your Hardship was Crisis of Faith and you Surrendered or Survived, roll a d8. Otherwise, roll a d9.
* **Random**: Roll a d10.

### Effects

Increase one Vitality by +1, and gain a Talent in one of the listed Skills.

## Companion

You gain a loyal (though with a sense of self-preservation and an individual will) guardian companion NPC to be designed in collaboration with the GM and played by the GM.

## Next Step

With your Most Impactful Relationship selected and the effects of this important person added to your stats, move on to **Recruitment**.
CC NR Surrendered

## Hardship Result: Surrendered

If you scored a **Failure** (not enough Steps for a Dilemma, i.e. two or fewer Steps than Difficulty) or a **Disaster** (a Failure and a **Stumble**) on your Hardship Test, then you were defeated by the challenges that life laid upon your shoulders. You gave in to temptation, you failed to rise to the challenge, and your life suffered significantly as a result. The only upside is that you learned some very hard lessons as a result of what you had to go through.

### Effects

First select one of the two presented outcomes, **A** or **B**, whichever is more to your liking. Decrease one Attribute by 1, increase one Attribute by 1. Choose one of the three listed Skills to increase by 2, and increase the other two Skills by 1. And finally, gain a Talent in the Skill you chose to increase by 2.

## Night Raven Magic

If an improvement says "Gain Shade/Lift or +1 Shade/Lift (if owned)" this refers back to your Night Raven Heritage, If you took a Heritage which gave you access to the appropriate magical attribute, then increase that attribute by +1 when calculating it at the end of character creation. If not, you may now use it and calculate it as normal.

## Next Step

With your Hardship resolved and its effects added to your stats, move on to **Further Education**.
CC Religion

## **Religion**

Nearly every single person in Grienzland — regardless of Race, sex, state, class, or other classifying factors — believes in the existence of the Living God, an afterlife, theological truth, perfect good and enticing evil, and so on. The overwhelming majority of people subscribe to Ortueism, but there are three major (and one minor) branches therein and allegiance to one of those denominations is influenced by geographical and Racial demographics.

The following are general trends that can be used when selecting what branch of Ortueism your parents passed on to you. Most people stay within the branch they were raised under unless they go through a Hardship (the next step) that changes their worldview or social circumstances, or are heavily influenced by a friend, spouse, or religious authority from another denomination.

### Selection Methods

There are two methods to determine your Religion:

* **Intentional**: Choose your Religion
* **Random**: Roll a d100. If you receive a result of "Region-Specific," click on the link to that page.

### Effects

Increase one **Vitality** by 1, increase one Skill by 1, and gain a Conviction.

 **Tundra Wolfen** | 1-14
 **Half-Horse** | 1-75

### Religion Details

**Synenolicism**: +1 Nerve. +1 Investigation. Conviction: **Guardian Paragon**.

**Church of Unity**: +1 Breath. +1 Rapport. Conviction: **Favorite Holy Scripture**.

**Heavenly Tree**: +1 Fire. +1 Awareness. Conviction: **Prayer Symbol**.

**Austericism**: +1 Nerve. +1 Discipline. Conviction: **Guardian Paragon**.

## Next Step

With your Religion selected and your Conviction chosen on the appropriate page, move on to **Hardship**.
CC H Hardship

## **Hardship**

Every single person has had to face difficulty, trauma, dangers, or obstacles in their life, at some point. These Hardships shape who the person grows up to be in an indelible manner, for better or for worse.

### Selection Methods

There are four methods of determining which Hardship that you faced in your early life:

* **Intentional**: Choose a Hardship (get GM approval by having a good reason).
* **Creative**: Add one of your own (work with the GM to establish the Skill Test options, outcomes, and Effects before rolling the Test).
* **Comprehensive**: Divide Parents' Social Class by 3 (round down) and add a d10 roll. If greater than 12, treat as 12.
* **Random**: Roll a d12.

Regardless of which Hardship you face, no one gets to choose whether they managed to rise to occasion and beat whatever Hardship confronted them, or collapsed under the pressure. As such, you must select one of the two Skill Test options listed with your Hardship, and make a Skill Test with a Difficulty of 5 using the Attributes and Skills accumulated up to this point.

## How to make a Skill Test

Roll a number of dice equal to your Attribute, of size equal to your Skill. You count any dice that roll 6 or higher as an "Advance." Then roll the Luck Die, or a roll of d7-4, and add or subtract the result from the number of Advances you rolled. Finally, compare the total number of Advances to the Difficulty of the Test, which in this case is 5, to find the Outcome.

Because the Difficulty is 5, if you score 5 Advances (a Success) or 6 or more Advances (a Victory) on your Skill test, you achieve the result of Overcame.

If you fall just short of the Difficulty (by only scoring 4 Advances) on your Skill test, this is called a Dilemma, and you achieve the Survived result.

If you miss the Difficulty (in this case by scoring 3 or fewer Advances) on your Skill test, this is a Failure (or a Disaster in the case of 0 or fewer Advances), and you achieve the Surrendered result.

Use the result from this Skill Test to discover the result of your Hardship, and incorporate the entire ordeal in your Background Summary. Keep in mind that you are more than welcome to reinterpret the nature of the Hardship and the resulting Outcome in whatever way you would like. The provided terms and explanations are just suggestions, not at all set in stone.

## Next Step

Go to the appropriate page based on the result of your Skill Test:

**Overcame**

**Survived**

**Surrendered**
CC CaB Class

## Social Class

The industrialization of the world has not erased the previous class distinctions of feudalism, but it has lead to the development of more classes to deal with the changing face of socioeconomic conditions. While there is considerable class mobility, many follow in their parents’ footsteps, and the opportunities a child is presented with later in life are heavily influenced by the means available to their parents to provide for them.

### Selection Methods

There are two methods to determine your Social Class:

* **Intentional**: Choose your Social Class. If you choose Lower or Upper Nobility, you must clear your character concept with the Game Master.
* **Random**: Roll a d100. If you receive a result of "Region-Specific," click on the link to that page.

### Effects

Increase one Attribute by 1. Social Class also confers the Early Education dice pool which can be used during that phase of character creation, so make a note of them.

## Next Step

With your Social Class selected and your Class influences added to your base stats, move on to **Jewel Heart**.
CC Conscription

## Conscription Term

Conscripts in the Imperial Grienzen Army have the option of two different conscription terms, depending on their circumstances. Most citizens fulfill their duty by serving for two years for which they are compensated after completion, referred to as Compulsory Army Service. But those of higher means from more affluent backgrounds with sufficient academic achievement have the option of signing up for a one year period without payment, referred to as Voluntary Army Service due to its more select nature.

## 1-Year Voluntary Army Service

Those of higher classes with wealthier backgrounds or with degrees from more prestigious secondary schools have the opportunity of serving only one year, but they are not paid for their service. Additionally they must provision all of their required gear and equipment, and pay for their own food and lodging during this period. However, exemplary performance while completing the 1-year voluntary conscription is often a fast track to being offered a place in an officer cadet program.

You can (but do not have to) choose to have gone through the 1-Year Voluntary Army Service under one of two cases:

* You are from a Social Class of Lower or Upper Nobility.
* You are from a Social Class of Professional, Academic, or Military, and attended 9-Year Preparatory School or Studied Abroad during Further Education.

### Next Step

If you meet either of these criteria and want to take the offer, go on to **Voluntary Army Service**.

## 2-Year Compulsory Army Service

The majority of conscripts will serve a two year period of training, drill, instruction, and labor in the various skills needed to fight in wartime. Those who fulfill their conscription duty are paid for their work and are given a certificate of the skills mastered and their performance during their service, which potential employers greatly respect.

### Next Step

If you are not eligible for or do not wish to join the Voluntary Army Service, you must serve the **Compulsory Army Service**.
CC MB Early Education

## Early Education

Due to their small size and spiritual nature, Burrowers have been slow to join in traditional educational systems. Much of the knowledge they use to conduct their chosen professions appears to come to them naturally as if by instinct, especially for Meadow Burrowers. But some of them are taught by older Meadow Burrowers in more densely populated forests, and more and more of them are taking part in small town life to interact with Humans and the other races. This includes participating in the normal education system enjoyed by the rest of the country.

### Selection Methods

There are four methods to determine the nature of your Early Education:

* **Default**: Choose Taught By Mother
* **Intentional**: Choose your Early Education
* **Creative**: Make one of your own following the listed Effects (get GM approval)
* **Comprehensive**: Roll Early Education dice pool from Social Class. Count each dice that rolls a 6 or higher as a Step, and find the row that matches the number of Steps rolled

### Effects

Increase three Attributes by 1 and either increase five Skills by 1 or increase four Skills by 1 and gain a Talent.

## Next Step

With your Early Education selected and your childhood's effects added to your base stats, move on to **Religion**.
CC RC Eye Color

## Eye Color

Fey Cats inherit their eye color from their parents, with their left eye being determined by their father's left eye, and their right eye being determined by their mother's right eye. These eye colors are viewed as matrimonial with the right eye being the more important of the two for tracking lineage, but both together have an impact upon the overall development of the Fey Cat.

Among Royal Cats, eye colors are mainly limited to gold, red, and teal. Gold is viewed as the most regal of the colors, and indicates wisdom and the drive to accomplish goals. Red was found in the most ruthless of individuals, and the sight of it inspires a fear of dangerous devotion to goals among onlookers. Teal was seen as the most cunning and most rare of colors, shifting as it was between blue and green both.

### Selection Methods

There are two methods to determine your Eye Color:

* **Intentional**: Choose your Eye Color
* **Random**: Roll a d100

### Effects

Increase two Attributes by 1. and two Skills by 1.

## Next Step

With your Eye Color selected and your separate lineage effects added to your stats, move on to **Traits**.
CC Region Religion

## **Religion**

Religion is heavily determined by Race, but regional differences still play a large role in determining which branch of Ortueism a person practices.

After rolling "Region-Specific" on the Religion page, roll a d100 and consult the column below that matches your Region of birth to find your Religion. Go back to the previous page to consult the description and effects of your Religion.

## Next Step

With your branch of Ortueism selected and your Conviction chosen on the appropriate page, go back to the previous page and scroll down to the bottom to find the next step.
CC SH Surfacing

## Surfacing

Every Sea Hound who joins the Grienzen Imperial Army does so only after having moved in-land at some prior point in life, even if recent. Sea Hounds who still live underwater are treated as allies rather than Grienzen soldiers, and as such they are outside of the scope of possible options.

But the circumstances of when and why an individual Sharkfolk did come ashore are extremely important in understanding formative experiences that laid the foundation of that Sea Hound's perception of the world above the waves. The event of first stepping foot onto dry land and standing entirely free of buoyancy of the saltwater imprints an intense memory upon the Sea Hounds who undertake it. This moment is referred to as a Sea Hound's "Surfacing," akin to a baptism into the dry expanse.

## Surfacing Age

The first aspect of your Surfacing to determine is how old you were when it occurred. Most Sea Hounds are at least children when they step foot onto land, giving them an understanding of both the world underwater and the one above, and expanding their perspective as a result. Some have only come ashore later in life, free of any parental pressure to do so, and this is an indicator of a strong drive or motivation. But a few are actually born on land, or else born underwater and brought on land soon after. Those few are better able to perceive the surface world around them, having grown up on land and developed to sense it more accurately.

### Selection Methods

There are two methods to determine your Surfacing Age:

* **Intentional**: Choose your Surfacing Age
* **Random**: Roll a d6

### Effects

Increase one Attribute by 1. Surfacing Age also confers the Early Education dice pool which can be used during that phase of character creation, so make a note of them.

 3-5
 6

## Surfacing Reason

After finding out how old you were when first stepping foot onto land, it's time to find out why. If you were an adult at your Surfacing, this will be your personal motivation for it. But if you were a child and especially if you were born on land, this will refer to your parents' motivation for bringing you into the overworld. Either way, the reason for your Surfacing imparts a worldview onto you that transcends experiences once on land.

### Selection Methods

There are two methods to determine your Surfacing Reason:

* **Intentional**: Choose your Surfacing Reason
* **Random**: Roll a d7

### Effects

Increase one Attribute by 1. Increase two Skills by 1.

## Next Step

With the nature of your Surfacing selected and your age and reason's influences added to your stats, move on to **Traits**.
CC Raven Male Region

## Region

Most Night Ravens enlisted in the Grienzen Imperial Army are from one of the Grienzen states but there are a couple of exceptions. A small number of male Night Ravens who had caught a ship to Amerrisque to start a new life have sailed back due to the rising tensions and inevitability of the upcoming war. Additionally some of the Night Ravens who are citizens of Alemannia have enrolled in the Grienzen military as the only way to act on their desire to defend their kin in Grienzland against the Ascendancy of Man.

Night Ravens are the most mobile of the races, often engaging in periodic migrations to enjoy a change in surroundings. However, they do have a single Region where they were born and view as their home, sharing characteristics in common with other Night Ravens in that area. Knowledge is freely exchanged during travel and as such, your Region only imparts an increase to two Skills.

### Selection Methods

There are two methods to determine your Region:

* **Intentional**: Choose your Region
* **Random**: Roll a d100

### Effects

Increase two Skills by 1 or one Skill by 1 and take one Talent.

## Next Step

With your Region selected and your regional characteristic differences added to your base stats, move on to **Social Class**.
CC H Recruitment

## Recruitment

It is at this point that you will determine when and how you entered the Grienzen military.

## Subject to Conscription

At age 20, every male citizen of Grienzland who is of sound mind and healthy body is required by law to serve his conscription duty within the Grienzen army. Only those from one of the core Grienzen States (so not from an Ifranian Colony, Amerrisque, Alemannia, Karpania, or Ledzianie) are conscripted. If you are from a Grienzen State and are one of the following, you were conscripted into the military at age 20:

* Male Human with Fitness of 10 or higher.
* Male Wolfen with Fitness of 10 or higher.
* Male Night Raven with Fitness of 8 or higher.
* Male Half-Horse with Fitness of 13 or higher.

### Next Step

If you meet these criteria, go on to determine the nature of your **Conscription Period**.

### Insufficient Fitness

If you are from one of these categories but are incapable of meeting the Fitness requirement, then you will have received a health exemption and been relegated to the People's Militia and enlisted later as a Volunteer (see below). This is considered a mark of shame and has negative social impacts later in life, though many take it as motivation to better themselves in ways that take advantage of their actual abilities.

* **Effects**: If you have any increases in Leadership, lower Leadership by 1 and increase one Skill by +1 in whatever your highest Attribute is. If your Leadership is still at d6, do not gain anything.

## Volunteer

If you were too young to be conscripted or did not meet the Fitness requirements, then you joined the army voluntarily as a result of the impending war.

### Next Step

Go on to decide your **Reason to Enlist**.
CC Post-Conscription Status

## Post-Conscription Status

After completing your conscription duty, you have two options on where to go next, depending on whether you wanted to enlist in the military as a professional soldier after your conscription period or not. If you go on to join the Army Reserves after your conscription period, you remain there until age 27, at which point you transfer to the Fatherland Guard until you are 35.

#### Selection Methods

There are two methods of deciding whether you enlisted as a professional soldier:

* **Intentional**: Decide for yourself.
* **Random**: Roll d20.

 2-17
 18-20

## Professional Soldier

You decided to enlist in the army after your conscription period, staying on for additional four-year terms, usually lasting 12 years. Such "Long-Term Volunteers" take on the role of instructors and staff overseeing the administration and training of new conscripts.

### Next Step

Move on to **Military Training**. Being a Long-Term Volunteer gives you the option to select Support Personnel: Command as your Combat Arm and Detail.

## Army Reservist

You did not stay on as a professional soldier and instead rejoined the labor force and resumed your civilian life. While in the Reserves, you have been called back in to conduct two to three weeks of military training per year, maintaining the skills learned during your conscription period.

## Fatherland Guardsman

After you turned 27, you graduated the Reserves and went on to join the Fatherland Guard, a second line military reserve force with reduced training requirements. As a Guardsmen, you are only required to do one week of drill every other year until you turn 35. At that point, you would transfer to the People's Militia and no longer be required to do training.

As a second line reservist, you were not required to immediately go to war, but you volunteered to be assigned to active duty so as to jump right into the fight.
CC NR Religion

## **Religion**

Nearly every single person in Grienzland — regardless of Race, sex, state, class, or other classifying factors — believes in the existence of the Living God, an afterlife, theological truth, perfect good and enticing evil, and so on. The overwhelming majority of people subscribe to Ortueism, but there are three major (and one minor) branches therein and allegiance to one of those denominations is influenced by geographical and Racial demographics.

The following are general trends that can be used when selecting what branch of Ortueism your parents passed on to you. Most people stay within the branch they were raised under unless they go through a Hardship (the next step) that changes their worldview or social circumstances, or are heavily influenced by a friend, spouse, or religious authority from another denomination.

### Selection Methods

There are two methods to determine your Religion:

* **Intentional**: Choose your Religion
* **Random**: Roll a d100. If you receive a result of "Region-Specific," click on the link to that page.

### Effects

Increase one **Vitality** by 1, increase one Skill by 1, and gain a Conviction.

 **Magpie** | 1-45
 **Crow** | 1-13
 **Jackdaw** | 1-24

### Religion Details

**Synenolicism**: +1 Nerve. +1 Investigation. Conviction: **Guardian Paragon**.

**Church of Unity**: +1 Breath. +1 Rapport. Conviction: **Favorite Holy Scripture**.

**Heavenly Tree**: +1 Fire. +1 Awareness. Conviction: **Prayer Symbol**.

**Austericism**: +1 Nerve. +1 Discipline. Conviction: **Guardian Paragon**.

## Next Step

With your Religion selected and your Conviction chosen on the appropriate page, move on to **Hardship**.
CC HYF Relationship

## Most Impactful Relationship

No one goes through their life alone, and there is one person who's had the most impact on your upbringing. This might constitute a single, resonant encounter that changed your worldview or life for good, or the influence of a long-term relationship drawn out over many years to help you grow into the person you became.

### Selection Methods

There are four methods of picking a relationship:

* **Intentional**: Choose one.
* **Creative**: Make one of your own following the listed Effects (get GM approval).
* **Comprehensive**: Roll d30. For 28-30, consult the Background-specific table below.
* **Random**: Roll a d10 and take the entry corresponding to that number (i.e. Parent is 1, Sibling is 2, etc.).

### Effects

Increase one Vitality by +1, and gain a Talent in one of the listed Skills.

## Companion

You gain a loyal (though with a sense of self-preservation and an individual will) guardian companion NPC to be designed in collaboration with the GM and played by the GM.

## Next Step

With your Most Impactful Relationship selected and the effects of this important person added to your stats, move on to **Reason to Enlist**.
CC Pastime

## Favorite Pastime

Everyone has a hobby, idle pursuit, or creative endeavor to relax or express themselves outside of work and responsibilities. These pastimes often teach lessons that can be applied in other tasks as well.

### Selection Methods

There are four methods of picking a pastime:

* **Intentional**: Choose one.
* **Creative**: Make one of your own following the listed Effects (get GM approval).
* **Comprehensive**: Roll d12, then add the numbers from Social Class, Early Education, and Further Education. Add 3 if Overcame during Hardship or subtract 3 if Surrendered during Hardship.
* **Random**: Roll 2d20 and subtract 1.

### Effects

To determine the Effects of your Pastime, take your Intellect and double it, then add your Willpower. Take this total and consult the table below to determine the Effect of your Pastime:

 20-23
 24-27
 28-31
 32-35
 36-39
 40 or higher

These effects can be applied to whichever of the four listed Skills per Pastime in whatever order that you desire.

## Next Step

With your Pastime selected and your hobby's effects added to your stats, move on to **Most Important Relationship**.
CC B Religion

## **Religion**

Nearly every single person in Grienzland — regardless of Race, sex, state, class, or other classifying factors — believes in the existence of the Living God, an afterlife, theological truth, perfect good and enticing evil, and so on. The overwhelming majority of Cave and Meadow Burrowers kneel before the roots of the Heavenly Tree, as it aligns with their more primal spiritual perspective. But City Burrowers are more connected to Human civilization, and as such most of them submit to the authority of the man who runs the household where they live. Accordingly, most City Burrowers follow the same branch of Ortueism as the Humans in their house.

Ever since the Edict of Unification a considerable amount of effort has been undertaken to teach Cave and Meadow Burrowers the nature of the other branches of Ortueism as well, leading to some adopting the more rigid structure of other Human denominations. This is especially true when they are heavily influenced by a friend or religious authority from another denomination.

### Selection Methods

There are two methods to determine your Religion:

* **Intentional**: Choose your Religion
* **Random**: Roll a d100. If you receive a result of "Region-Specific," click on the link to that page.

### Effects

Increase one Skill by 1, and gain a Conviction.

 **Meadow Burrower** | 1-90
 **City Burrower** | 1-8

### Religion Details

**Synenolicism**: +1 Investigation. Conviction: **Guardian Paragon**.

**Church of Unity**: +1 Rapport. Conviction: **Favorite Holy Scripture**.

**Heavenly Tree**: +1 Awareness. Conviction: **Prayer Symbol**.

**Austericism**: +1 Discipline. Conviction: **Guardian Paragon**.

## Next Step

With your Religion selected and your Conviction chosen on the appropriate page, move on to **Hardship**.
CC FC Traits

## Traits

Although just recently discovered within the past 25 years, the existence of genes has played a major role in understanding why children taken after their parents so reliably. As such, not only are you shaped by your Race and your Heritage, you have also inherited specific Traits from your parents, which play a role in determining how you develop in life. These Traits are noticeable quirks or qualities about you, and are often to some degree both physical and behavioral in nature.

### Selection Methods

There are three methods to determine your Traits, and they can be mixed and matched as desired:

* **Intentional**: Choose your two Traits
* **Random**: Roll a d50 (or a d100 and divide by 2, rounding up) twice
* **Creative**: Create your own Trait(s) following the listed Effects below, pending GM approval

### Effects

Two separate increases of two Attributes by 1 or one Attribute by 2, and two Skills by 1.

A single Attribute **may not be increased by more than 2** through Traits. If the effects of both Traits would apply more than 2 to a single Attribute, instead divert those bonuses onto another Attribute of your choosing.

## Next Step

With your Traits selected and the effects of your genetic quirks added to your stats, move on to **Early Education**.
CC SH Early Education

## Early Education

The overwhelming majority of Sea Hounds are still born and raised underwater and live there all their lives. There, the ones who are raised in the traditional Sharkfolk manner immediately join sex-segregated infant schools where they learn how to survive in the unforgiving underwater environment. But of the ones on the surface at the outbreak of the Great War, many were raised on land, having to take long saltwater baths daily to avoid drying out. Because of this physiological limitation, some were raised just off the coast, visiting the shore from time to time. Others were given a split education, half in the water and half on dry land. Still others went the full distance and were taught in entirely dry (though humidified) Sea Hound-run enclaves within coastal cities, and a very small number were actually integrated into the regular Human schools.

### Selection Methods

There are four methods to determine the nature of your Early Education:

* **Intentional**: Choose your Early Education.
* **Creative**: Make one of your own following the listed Effects (get GM approval).
* **Random**: Roll a d6 and subtract 1.
* **Comprehensive**: Roll Early Education dice pool from Surfacing. Count each dice that rolls a 6 or higher as an "Advance," and find the row that matches the number of Advances rolled.

### Effects

Increase three Attributes by 1 and either increase five Skills by 1 or increase four Skills by 1 and gain a Talent.

## Next Step

With your Early Education selected and your childhood's effects added to your base stats, move on to **Religion**.
CC SH Religion

## **Religion**

Nearly every single person in Grienzland — regardless of Race, sex, state, class, or other classifying factors — believes in the existence of the Living God, an afterlife, theological truth, perfect good and enticing evil, and so on. The overwhelming majority of people subscribe to Ortueism, though Sea Hounds did not know Him by that name until they reunited with the surface dwellers and caught up on what they had missed. After the Plunge, the Sea Hounds were saved by the Heavenly Father who they took to calling the God of Life, for he changed their bodies and helped them breathe underwater, giving them a chance once more at life.

Upon coming ashore, many Sea Hounds find that they gravitate naturally toward the less organized, more primal nature of the **Heavenly Tree** branch of Ortueism. But some have taken to local congregations and joined in with their Human neighbors in the regional belief systems. Most Sea Hounds stay within the branch they decide to join, unless they go through a Hardship (the next step) that changes their worldview or social circumstances, or are heavily influenced by a friend from another denomination.

### Selection Methods

There are two methods to determine your Religion:

* **Intentional**: Choose your Religion
* **Random**: Roll a d100. If you receive a result of "Region-Specific," click on the link to that page.

### Effects

Increase one **Vitality** by 1, increase one Skill by 1, and gain a Conviction.

### Religion Details

**Synenolicism**: +1 Nerve. +1 Investigation. Conviction: **Guardian Paragon**.

**Church of Unity**: +1 Breath. +1 Rapport. Conviction: **Favorite Holy Scripture**.

**Heavenly Tree**: +1 Fire. +1 Awareness. Conviction: **Prayer Symbol**.

**Austericism**: +1 Nerve. +1 Discipline. Conviction: **Guardian Paragon**.

## Next Step

With your Religion selected and your Conviction chosen on the appropriate page, move on to **Hardship**.
CC Jackdaw Male Region

## Region

Most Night Ravens enlisted in the Grienzen Imperial Army are from one of the Grienzen states but there are a couple of exceptions. A small number of male Night Ravens who had caught a ship to Amerrisque to start a new life have sailed back due to the rising tensions and inevitability of the upcoming war. Additionally some of the Night Ravens who are citizens of Alemannia have enrolled in the Grienzen military as the only way to act on their desire to defend their kin in Grienzland against the Ascendancy of Man.

Night Ravens are the most mobile of the races, often engaging in periodic migrations to enjoy a change in surroundings. However, they do have a single Region where they were born and view as their home, sharing characteristics in common with other Night Ravens in that area. Knowledge is freely exchanged during travel and as such, your Region only imparts an increase to two Skills.

### Selection Methods

There are two methods to determine your Region:

* **Intentional**: Choose your Region
* **Random**: Roll a d100

### Effects

Increase two Skills by 1 or one Skill by 1 and take one Talent.

## Next Step

With your Region selected and your regional characteristic differences added to your base stats, move on to **Social Class**.
CC B Hardship

## **Hardship**

Although there are now more Burrowers traveling throughout Human lands than ever before, many still never leave the area that gives rise to their consciousness, and their Jewel Heart. But you did leave that place behind, even if only recently. One of the primary reasons why a Burrower might abandon her stationary lifestyle is due to the imposition of some form of danger, trauma, or obstacle in her life. Though it is not always out of shame or defeat that one might run away. Sometimes, out of the greatest tragedies, new opportunities are born.

It is now time to determine what Hardship you met which drove you to leave the confines of your birth place for the greater world.

### Selection Methods

There are four methods of determining which Hardship that you faced in your early life:

* **Intentional**: Choose a Hardship (get GM approval by having a good reason).
* **Creative**: Add one of your own (work with the GM to establish the Skill Test, outcomes and Effects before rolling the test).
* **Comprehensive**: Divide Social Class by 2 (round down), subtract 1, and add a d9 roll. If less than 1 or greater than 12, treat as 1 or 12 respectively.
* **Random**: Roll a d12.

Regardless of which Hardship you face, no one gets to choose whether they managed to rise to occasion and beat whatever Hardship confronted them, or collapsed under the pressure. As such, you must select one of the two Skill Test options listed with your Hardship, and make a Skill Test with a Difficulty 5 using the Attributes and Skills accumulated up to this point.

## How to make a Skill Test

Roll a number of dice equal to your Attribute, of size equal to your Skill. You count any dice that roll 6 or higher as a "Step" and compare the total number of Steps to the Difficulty.

Because the Difficulty is 5, if you score 5 Steps (a **Success**) or 6 or more Steps (a **Victory**) on your Skill test, you achieve the result of **Overcame**.

If you fall just short of the Difficulty (by only scoring 4 Steps) on your Skill test, this is called a **Dilemma**, and you achieve the **Survived** result.

If you miss the Difficulty (in this case by scoring 3, 2, 1, or 0 Steps) on your Skill test, this is a **Failure**, and you achieve the **Surrendered** result.

Use the result from this Skill Test to discover the outcome and incorporate the entire ordeal in your Background Summary. Keep in mind that you are more than welcome to reinterpret the nature of the Hardship and the resulting Outcome in whatever way you would like. The provided terms and explanations are just suggestions, not at all set in stone.

## Next Step

Go to the appropriate page based on the result of your Skill Test:

**Overcame**

**Survived**

**Surrendered**
CC Dark Cat Female Region

## Region

The overwhelming majority of Dark Cats who have joined the Grienzen Imperial Army have done so as to prevent the Ascendancy of Man from interrupting their efforts by its invasion of Grienzland. As a result, they are overwhelmingly citizens of one of the Grienzen States, with the rare exception of citizens of Alemannia have enrolled in the Grienzen military as the only way to act on their desire to stand with their kin so that further persecution does not spread to their neutral state.

Fey Cats have no particular connection to the Regions in which they live at the moment aside from connections made in practicing their trades. Even still, there isn't a significant motivation to relocate to a new Region after emigrating to Grienzland outside of occasional opportunities in invitations to join aristocratic courts. Due to their ancient civilizational momentum, Fey Cats are not changed by what Region they live in, but they do pick up knowledge based on where they live now. As such, their Region gives them 1 Skill or Talent.

### Selection Methods

There are two methods to determine your Region:

* **Intentional**: Choose your Region
* **Random**: Roll a d100

### Effects

Increase one Skill by 1 or take a Talent.

## Next Step

With your Region selected and your regional characteristic differences added to your base stats, move on to **Social Class**.
CC NR Survived

## Hardship Result: Survived

If you scored a **Dilemma** (one Step less than the Difficulty) on your Hardship Test, then you managed to muddle through the challenges that you encountered growing up. You did not exactly excel, but neither did you flounder your life circumstances.

### Effects

Increase one Attribute by 1, and increase three Skills by 1.

## Night Raven Magic

If an improvement says "Gain Shade/Lift or +1 Shade/Lift (if owned)" this refers back to your Night Raven Heritage, If you took a Heritage which gave you access to the appropriate magical attribute, then increase that attribute by +1 when calculating it at the end of character creation. If not, you may now use it and calculate it as normal.

## Next Step

With your Hardship resolved and its effects added to your stats, move on to **Further Education**.
Polaris 116

*You may be looking for the trinary star system Polaris*.
**Polaris 116** was a planetoid, it was the location of the David Chilcott Memorial colony. It had solid magnetic poles. (*NT* Two: "The Edification of Anastasia Black")

The planetoid prior to colonisation had no signs of aboveground water, however lots of vegetation and branches everywhere There were no animals, birdlife and no visible insects. (*NT* Two: "The Edification of Anastasia Black")

20 years after stage 2 colonisation the colony's fast food industry collapsed, leading to a galaxy-wide revolution in marginally fresher foodstuffs. (*NT* Two: "The Edification of Anastasia Black")
CC Half-Horse Female Region

## Region

Most Lovaszi **Half-Horses** live in **Karpania** and fight within the Karpanian army, but there are some that live within the Grienzen borders. Those Half-Horses are very welcome in the Grienzen army due to their ability to carry considerable amounts of gear and cover terrain as easily as horses might. What's more, the Half-Horse capability of **hyper-alertness** makes them excellent machine-gunners and marksman, despite modern weaponry being more advanced than their traditional emphasis on archery.

### Selection Methods

There are two methods to determine your Region:

* **Intentional**: Choose your Region
* **Random**: Roll a d100

### Effects

Increase two Skills by 1 or one Skill by 1 and take one Talent.

 23-87
 88-92
 93-97
 98-99
 100

## Next Step

With your Region selected and your regional characteristic differences added to your base stats, move on to **Ancestral Clan**.
The Devolved

## Population

> *One of the **dangerous races**.*
>
>

Stooped spines, warped muscles, hungry eyes, wicked claws. The Devolved were Humans once, but have not been so for millennia. Thousands of years of degeneration due to exposure to terrible, necromantic magics have left the tribes of **Ifrania** twisted into inhuman monsters which were first called "ghouls" or "wretches" when discovered by Uropan explorers in the 15th century.

## History

In antiquity, several Uropan nations ventured into the treacherous interior of Ifrania, where they encountered grand hordes of murderous, cannibalistic monsters. The opportunity to retrieve hidden treasures from abandoned ruins proved too enticing to give up on expeditions into the baked wastelands of the North Ifranian deserts. But every single one ended in disastrous defeat at one point or another, with caravans of corpses left to rot in the sun and be consumed by the Devolved.

In early modernity, entrepreneuring **Hispalian** explorers ventured to Ifrania in search of natural goods to export, and wound up engaging in a series of wars with the Devolved, which they called Malvados. These went poorly, until they hired a mysterious benefactor known only as Liebman to assist in their efforts. He is purported to have employed magical powers in the defense of the Hispalian sailors, and to their surprise, this caused the Devolved to surrender after some of their number had been slain by Liebman's powers. Once sufficiently cowed, the Devolved allowed themselves to be chained and controlled, and it was this discovery which began the practice of using them for dangerous or taxing labor.

Across the years, the Devolved were put to use in Ifrania and abroad, replacing Uropan laborers by doing their crude work quicker and for no pay aside from meat and the corpses of fallen workers. The natural readiness with which the Wretches take to menial tasks has lead to an investigation as to their history, which many Ifranian scholars now firmly believed is tied to that of the **Fey Cats**.