Your character is your avatar in the game world. They are the protagonist of the story you are telling. This chapter will walk you through the process of building your character from scratch. Every character is mechanically broken down into a series of traits and notes on a piece of paper. Each of these traits interacts with the rules of the game in some way.

Your character's concept should be the broad strokes of their existence. Jot down a few descriptive sentences. They don't need to be super detailed, just a few words to give you a general idea of who your character is, why they adventure, and where they come from.

• How would you describe their role in the world?
• What motivates them to adventure?
• Do they have any long-term goals?
• Where do they come from, and what was their childhood like?

Your character's Heritage represents their parentage and ancestors. They gain some inherent gifts from their heritage that are only available to other characters with similar parentage.

Your character's Attributes represent their inherent physical and mental abilities. Attributes can be viewed as your character's raw talent. Attribute ratings range between 3 (abysmal) and 18 (mortal maximum).

Roll 4d6 and add the three highest dice together. Write that sum down for one of your Attributes and repeat the process until all six Attributes have a score.

Alternatively, your GM may want to use our Array to set everyone on an equal playing field. If that's the case, take the numbers below and assign them to your Attributes in any order you want.

Each attribute has a Base Talent that is used for Skill Ratings and Secondary Traits, as well as a Talent Die that is used for various aspects as well.

There are several traits that are derived from your Attributes. Anytime an Attribute changes, the linked Secondary Trait should change as well. Each secondary trait is represented by a pool of points that can be reduced by an offensive effect or spent by the character for some kind of bonus.

• Hit Points (HP): Equal to your CON Score.
• Death Clock: Equal to your CON Talent Score.
• Willpower Points (WP): Equal to your RES Score.
• Damage Bonus: Calculated based on STR or AGI Talent Die for melee/ranged attacks.
• Strain: Equal to your RES Talent Score
• Leverage Points: Equal to your POI Score
• Composure: Equal to your POI Base Talent

Your character begins with a base movement rate of 10 meters per round.

Skills represent your character's training and education. Skills are rated from 0 (completely untrained) to 10 (Grand Master). There are 20 General skills, 12 Combat skills and 8 Sorcery available to every character. There are a few Secondary Skills that require specialized training as well.

Each skill is combined with an Attribute Talent to determine the Skill Rating you need to roll under whenever you use a skill.

Select 6 General Skills and 2 Combat Skills to mark as Trained. Each Trained Skill starts with a +5 Training bonus to its Skill Rating.

Knacks are specialized training or talents that your character possesses. Each knack grants a unique benefit and could add a whole new subsystem to your character.

Every character starts with 1 knack at creation.

Your character's equipment is everything they own and carry on them at any given time. This will change throughout the story as you find new gear, sell old gear, and change your inventory in general.

Your Carrying Capacity is equal to one-half your STR score. This can be modified by certain Edges and some equipment that allows you to carry items more efficiently.

At the end of each session, for each of the following questions you can answer “yes” to, mark down an Advancement Point.

• Did you participate in the game?
• Did you explore a new location?
• Did you defeat a powerful adversary?
• Did you overcome an obstacle without violence?
• Did you meaningfully roleplay your character?

During downtime, between sessions or adventures, you may spend your advancement points to increase your skill rating or buy new Edges.

Untrained Skills cost a number of Advancement Points equal to twice the new Training Bonus. Trained skills cost a number of Advancement Points equal to the new Training Bonus. You may only increase a skill's Training Bonus by one point per week of downtime. Finding a qualified teacher, someone with the correct Training Bonus at least 3 points higher than yours, reduces this time to 1 point per day of downtime.

New Knacks cost 10 Advancement Points and require a week of downtime to learn.