Character Creation
Character Creation in 6 Steps
- Choose Species — Default is human. Universes may provide species packages that modify starting characteristics, Wound/Strain Points, or grant special abilities. If a Universe provides no species packages, all characters use the baseline-human starting values regardless of their in-fiction species.
- Assign Starting Characteristics — All six core characteristics begin at 2. Before spending XP, you may raise one characteristic by +1 and lower a different characteristic by -1. No characteristic may begin below 1 or above 4.
- Choose Background and Career — These determine your profession skills. Profession skills are cheaper to purchase.
- Spend Starting XP and Gain Your Free Starting Talent — Spend 110 XP on characteristic increases, skill ranks, talents, and any additional options provided by the Universe. In addition to anything bought with XP, gain one free Tier 1 universal talent. The free talent must meet any normal requirements; a Universe may replace it with a Universe-specific starting talent, restrict the available list, or grant additional starting talents (see Starting Talent below).
- Calculate Derived Values and Starting Gear — Fill in Resistance, Wound Points, Strain Points, Defense, Initiative, and gear. Begin with basic clothing, profession-appropriate items, and resources as defined by the Universe.
- Name and Personal Details — Choose your character's name, appearance, age, motivation, and any ties to other player characters or to the world. The mechanical character is built; this step makes the character a person.
Starting Characteristics
A default human begins with all six core characteristics at 2:
Before spending XP, you may increase one characteristic by +1 if you reduce a different characteristic by -1. No characteristic may begin below 1 or above 4.
This free adjustment is always applied before XP spending.
| Characteristic | Starting Rating |
|---|---|
| Might | 2 |
| Agility | 2 |
| Intellect | 2 |
| Savvy | 2 |
| Willpower | 2 |
| Charisma | 2 |
Starting XP
Starting characters receive 110 XP.
This budget produces a competent professional, someone with a defined trade, useful capability across several skills, and one or two signature talents. A starting character is not a novice and is not yet a master.
Starting XP may be spent on any of the following:
- Characteristic increases during character creation (see Characteristic XP Costs below)
- Skill ranks in profession skills or out-of-profession skills (see Skill Advancement Costs below)
- Universal talents drawn from the Skills and Talents chapter
- Universe-specific talents offered by the Universe
- Any additional options the Universe makes available, such as supernatural abilities, cybernetics, magic, or species advancements
Unspent XP may be carried forward unless the Universe states otherwise.
Characteristic XP Costs
During character creation only, characteristics may be increased with XP. Costs are paid one rating at a time.
| New Rating | XP Cost |
|---|---|
| 2 | 20 XP |
| 3 | 30 XP |
| 4 | 40 XP |
Example: Raising a characteristic from 1 to 2 costs 20 XP. Raising a characteristic from 2 to 4 costs 70 XP total: 30 XP to reach 3, then 40 XP to reach 4.
No characteristic may begin above 4 during character creation.
After play begins, characteristics are not purchased directly with XP. They may only increase through talents such as Growth or Greater Growth, or through Universe-specific advancement rules.
Starting Talent
Starting characters gain one free Tier 1 universal talent.
This talent must meet any normal requirements. A Universe may replace this with a Universe-specific starting talent, restrict the available list, or grant additional starting talents.
At character creation, starting characters may purchase Tier 1 and Tier 2 talents with XP. Talents above Tier 2 require explicit Universe permission. Only the free starting talent is granted automatically; any further talents must be purchased with the 110 XP budget. A starter who skips characteristic increases and keeps skill ranks modest can afford several Tier 1 talents and one or two Tier 2 talents.
Backgrounds and Careers
Characters choose one Background and one Career.
Any skill that appears on either list is a profession skill. Profession skills are cheaper to purchase. Skills not on either list are out-of-profession skills.
Typical result: Most characters end up with 6-10 profession skills depending on overlap.
Backgrounds and Careers do not grant free skill ranks by default. They only determine which skills are cheaper. Universes may add free ranks or other bonuses if desired.
If a skill appears on both your Background list and Career list, it is still only a profession skill. The duplicate listing does not reduce its cost further unless the Universe says otherwise.
Universes may rename, replace, or expand these lists. The examples below are generic placeholders.
Generic Background Examples
| Background | Suggested Profession Skills |
|---|---|
| Laborer | Athletics, Fortitude, Craft, Survival |
| Professional | Lore, Science, Negotiation, Leadership |
| Criminal | Streetwise, Subterfuge, Deception, Stealth |
| Soldier | Ranged, Melee, Athletics, Readiness, Fortitude |
| Wanderer | Survival, Perception, Operate, Streetwise |
| Performer | Charm, Deception, Reflexes, Lore |
| Academic | Lore, Science, Medicine, Negotiation |
| Survivor | Fortitude, Survival, Perception, Readiness |
Generic Career Examples
| Career | Suggested Profession Skills |
|---|---|
| Combatant | Melee, Ranged, Unarmed, Athletics, Fortitude, Readiness |
| Specialist | Craft, Science, Subterfuge, Perception, Operate, Lore |
| Face | Charm, Deception, Negotiation, Leadership, Intimidation, Streetwise |
| Explorer | Survival, Perception, Athletics, Operate, Fortitude, Lore |
| Healer | Medicine, Lore, Science, Readiness, Charm, Survival |
| Operator | Operate, Reflexes, Craft, Perception, Ranged, Readiness |
Skill Advancement Costs
Skills are rated from 0 to 5.
A skill at rank 0 may still be attempted. The dice pool is built from the linked characteristic alone, with no upgrade from skill ranks. The character is untrained, not incapable.
During character creation, no skill may be purchased above rank 2 unless the Universe allows one profession skill to begin at rank 3. No starting character may begin with any skill at rank 4 or 5.
Costs are paid one rank at a time. The listed cost is the cost to buy the new rank, not the total cost of the skill.
Example: Buying a profession skill from rank 0 to rank 2 costs 15 XP total: 5 XP for rank 1, then 10 XP for rank 2.
Profession Skill Costs
| New Rank | XP Cost |
|---|---|
| 1 | 5 XP |
| 2 | 10 XP |
| 3 | 15 XP |
| 4 | 20 XP |
| 5 | 25 XP |
Out-of-Profession Skill Costs
Out-of-profession skills cost 5 XP more per rank:
| New Rank | XP Cost |
|---|---|
| 1 | 10 XP |
| 2 | 15 XP |
| 3 | 20 XP |
| 4 | 25 XP |
| 5 | 30 XP |
Derived Values
Resistance = half Might (rounded up) + armor or protection (minimum 0) Wound Points = 10 + Might Strain Points = 10 + Willpower
Melee Defense and Ranged Defense begin at 0 and are increased by equipment, talents, or situational effects. Initiative uses two common checks for the character sheet:
- On Watch / Prepared — Savvy + Perception
- Surprised / Under Sudden Pressure — Willpower + Readiness
The GM declares which Initiative check applies based on whether the characters had warning. On Watch / Prepared applies when the characters knew danger was coming, were actively keeping watch, or had time to ready themselves. Surprised / Under Sudden Pressure applies when the scene begins without warning, when ambushed, or when a peaceful moment violently changes character.
Resistance Design Note Using half Might (rounded up) gives physically tough characters a modest Resistance bump (+1 across the Might 1–5 range, scaling as 1, 1, 2, 2, 3) without letting Might dominate damage reduction. Most of the durability difference between characters comes from Wound Points (10 + Might), not Resistance, armor, equipment, and talents are the primary ways to push Resistance higher.
Languages and Literacy
Languages are defined by the active Universe. By default, every character knows the common tongue of the land they grew up in, fluently and literately. Additional languages, dialects, secret tongues, technical jargon, or trade cants are defined by the Universe and may be granted by Background, Career, species, or purchased with XP at a cost the Universe specifies.
If the Universe is silent on languages, assume one default language is universally spoken among the people the characters interact with, and treat language as flavor rather than a mechanical barrier. If the Universe specifies multiple languages or restricts literacy, those rules take precedence.
Starting Fortune Points
Fortune Points refresh at the start of every session, including the first; no starting allocation is recorded on the character sheet. The GM's Peril Pool and the rules for spending and refreshing Story Points are described in the Story Points chapter.
Recovery Summary
Chapter Twelve defines the full recovery rules. Use this summary during character creation and at the table.
Strain Recovery
- At the end of any structured encounter, recover Strain equal to Willpower.
- During a full rest, recover all Strain unless you were incapacitated by Strain.
- As a Maneuver once per encounter, any character with Strain Points may Catch Breath and recover 1 Strain. Minions and Elites do not have Strain Points and cannot Catch Breath.
- The Catch Breath talent improves this to 2 Strain once per encounter.
- Spend 1 Boon with no stronger use to recover 1 Strain.
Wound Recovery
- After a full night's rest or equivalent, recover Wounds equal to Might.
- If receiving medical care, the caregiver makes a Medicine check.
- Each net Success on the Medicine check restores 1 additional Wound.
- 2 Boons may restore 1 extra Wound, preserve supplies, or reduce recovery time.
- During structured play, urgent field treatment is an Action and uses Medicine.
Incapacitation
- Strain incapacitation: After a full rest, reduce current Strain to half your Strain Points, rounded down. This replaces the normal short-rest recovery of all Strain.
- Wound incapacitation: You are stable after the encounter unless the situation remains immediately lethal. You remain unconscious or helpless until current Wounds fall below your Wound Points.
Critical Injuries
- Critical Injuries are triggered when a Breakthrough is spent on an attack, when sufficient Boons are spent on an attack, or when an already incapacitated character is hit.
- Each existing Critical Injury adds +10 to future Critical Injury rolls.
- The +10 penalty remains until that specific Critical Injury is removed through medical treatment.
- The immediate effect of a Critical Injury may be temporary, but the injury itself remains until removed. See Chapter Twelve.
Post-Creation Advancement
After play begins, the GM awards XP at the end of each session (typically 10-25 XP).
Skills and talents are purchased using the same costs. Characteristics may only increase through talents such as Growth or Greater Growth, or through Universe advancement rules.
Open Decisions for Universes
The core rules deliberately leave the following open for Universes to define. If a Universe is silent on any of them, the defaults given elsewhere in this book apply.
- Whether one profession skill may begin at rank 3 at character creation
- Whether starting characters may purchase or be granted talents above Tier 2
- Whether Growth and Greater Growth are available, and at what cost
- Species packages, including any modifications to starting characteristics, Wound Points, or Strain Points
- Languages beyond the default common tongue, and any rules for literacy
- Starting gear packages, resources, currency, and wealth assumptions
- Starting Fortune Point allocation and the GM's starting Peril Pool
- The Critical Injury and Vehicle Critical Hit tables, and any expanded recovery rules
- Any additional starting options such as supernatural abilities, cybernetics, magic, mutations, psionics, or genre-specific systems
Quick Reference Checklist
Use this checklist while building a character. It recaps the 6-step process in checklist form.
- Begin with all six characteristics at 2.
- Apply the free +1 / -1 characteristic adjustment.
- Choose one Background and one Career.
- Spend 110 XP on characteristic increases, skill ranks, and talents.
- Gain one free Tier 1 universal talent.
- No skill may begin above rank 2 unless the Universe allows one profession skill to begin at rank 3. Skills may not begin at rank 4 or 5.
- Calculate derived values: Resistance, Wound Points, Strain Points, Defenses, Initiative.
- Choose starting gear from the Universe.
- Name your character and note appearance, age, motivation, and ties to other PCs and the world.
Character Creation Example
Rana is a human scout, courier, and part-time thief.
She begins with all six characteristics at 2. Before spending XP, she applies the free adjustment: Agility increases to 3 and Might decreases to 1.
Her starting characteristics are:
Rana chooses the Criminal Background and the Operator Career. Her profession skills are: Streetwise, Subterfuge, Deception, Stealth, Operate, Reflexes, Craft, Perception, Ranged, and Readiness. Her free Tier 1 universal talent is Specialist: Stealth in urban shadows. She spends starting XP as follows:
| Purchase | Cost |
|---|---|
| Raise Savvy to 3 | 30 XP |
| Subterfuge rank 1 | 5 XP |
| Subterfuge rank 2 | 10 XP |
| Stealth rank 1 | 5 XP |
| Stealth rank 2 | 10 XP |
| Operate rank 1 | 5 XP |
| Reflexes rank 1 | 5 XP |
| Streetwise rank 1 | 5 XP |
| Perception rank 1 | 5 XP |
| Ranged rank 1 | 5 XP |
| Low Profile | 10 XP |
| Total Spent | 95 XP |
Rana has 15 XP unspent and may carry it forward unless the Universe says otherwise.
Her Resulting characteristics are:
| Derived Value | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Resistance | half Might rounded up + armor | 1 + armor |
| Wound Points | 10 + Might | 11 |
| Strain Points | 10 + Willpower | 12 |
| Melee Defense | Starting value | 0 |
| Ranged Defense | Starting value | 0 |
Her Initiative checks are:
- On Watch / Prepared — Savvy + Perception
- Surprised / Under Sudden Pressure — Willpower + Readiness
For Step 6, Rana's player names her, sketches a quick appearance, wiry, dark-eyed, calluses on the fingertips, and writes a one-line motivation: "I owe the wrong people, and the only way out is through." That is enough to begin play.