Below you will find all the information you should need to guide you through the mechanics of the Character Generation (Chargen) Process. If you should have any questions while going through the process in-game and they’re not answered here, the best place to ask is on the “Newbie” Channel (Just type +n <Whatever you’d like to ask> in-game).
Please be sure to read this page thoroughly before/during your character generation process. We know it’s a lot of information, but if you take the time and effort to do so it will definitely make your approval process go much smoother than it otherwise might.
The Character Generation process is basically broken down into three phases:
- Finding a Concept - Coming up with a general overview of who your character is, what they do, and why they do it.
- Filling out your statistics and vital information - This is the process that you go through when moving through the character generation rooms on-game. When completed, you’ll have a filled out +sheet, +finger, and background, as well as some other pertinent information for playing your character in-game.
- Submitting for Approval - After you’ve been through the chargen rooms, you will submit your application for review by the staff, who may approve it or may ask for changes
Additionally, we have a Roster in-game of pre-existing characters that can be picked up. For information on how to claim one of these characters, see the "Rostered Characters" tab far below.
Finding a Concept
Need inspiration? Check out +roster in game, as well as the character concepts for wanted and available characters. As well as general character concept guidelines, what concepts are currently restricted or disallowed!
The more clear a picture you can have of the character you want to play before you start the character generation process, the easier it will be for you to finish. After all, having a good idea of your concept already starts you on the road to knowing which skills you should probably take and what some of your background will entail. Some important questions to consider when coming up with your concept are:
- Is your character a noble, petty noble or a commoner?
- Which area is your character from and where do they live now? Couviere? Rivana? Pacitta?
- What noble House or other organization is your character most strongly associated with?
- What occupation does your character have? Why did they end up on that path, and how did they learn the skills that allow them to pursue it?
- What does your character want out of life?
- What is your character’s greatest strength and greatest weakness?
- And as you continue to flesh out your character's background - What ways have recent events impacted your char? Which ones were they directly a part of?
As you answer those questions and add up the answers, do you feel this character should be an advanced or elite character? If so, see the information provided in the next section on how to apply for an advanced (or elite) character. If not, feel free to claim the character from the +roster, or contact a staff member to create a standard character bit in-game.
We have several characters who already exist in-setting on our +roster. The +roster generally represents some of the "most wanted" characters. To view the roster in-game, just type +roster.
Most characters on our roster have just a name, age, gender, and some basic information available. They are noted as not having completed chargen on the roster. For these characters (unless they are Elite), you can use the in-game +roster/claim <Name> command to get a password for these characters. After that, just follow the steps above, and make sure your background and stats are in keeping with the basic information that was already provided for the character.
You might also notice that some other characters are already completed…which is to say they have a full backstory and stats and are basically "done." In some cases these are characters that were previously played and in others they are staff-created PCs that often have specific ties to existing characters or houses. Additionally, some characters on the roster may be marked Elite. In these cases, you need to submit an email to moc.liamg|hsumegdesnoitaerc#moc.liamg|hsumegdesnoitaerc and answer the following questions:
1. What is it about this character that made you want to play them? What do you like most about them?
2. What do you like least about the character? If there was one thing you could change about this character, what would it be?
3. What is your favorite log or memoir that involves this character? (If the character has never been approved and played on-screen, just proceed to question 4).
4. What would your concept (as seen in +finger) for this character be? In other words, summarize your version of this character in a short paragraph/couple or three sentences.
5. If this character was previously approved - Do you wish to rewrite or revise this characters' background and/or concept? (If the character was not previously approved, you may omit this question).
If the staff has any further questions, they will reply via e-mail. If the answers are approved, they will inform you and you can then claim the character in-game.
Currently, players are limited to a maximum of 4 alts. This limit may change in time, but for now, 4 is the limit.
However, there are a few other rules in regards to alts:
- Players may only have one Elite Character.
- Players must wait at least two weeks between applying for alts. For Elite Characters, players must have been playing for at least three months and have been actively RPing before applying.
- Alts may not interact directly with one another, nor can they directly benefit from the actions of another alt. For example, you can’t have your Knight buy all his armor from your smith alt, even if he’s technically only dealing with the Smith’s assistants. No two alts should belong to the same specific group (Noble House, Knightly Order, Guild, Syndicate Family, etc…) but can be from the same nation or overarching body (Couviere, Rivana, Pacitta, Clergy, The Syndicate, etc as a whole).
- Alts may not directly oppose one another, either. It’s OK to play characters of opposing factions (an Couviere Knight and a Rivanaian Ranger, for example), but you can’t play the member of a specific noble house that’s feuding with the noble house one of your alts belongs to.
- Alts may be in the same scene with each other, provided they do not directly interact, and that there is logical reason for both alts to be in the same place at the same time (big IC social events that both characters would be likely to attend are always considered a logical reason). Though it is often easier simply to bring one alt and @emit the other character, which is also acceptable.
- Alts may not both be in the same +combat together without explicit permission from staff. Note that you CAN "run" the combat (and/or log) with one alt while participating with another, so long as the "combat runner/logger" is not ICly present for the battle.
Creating Your Sheet
Firstly, there are some guidelines to follow for starting attribute and skill levels depending on which of the character types your character is; standard, advanced or elite. It is important to note, that these are just starting points for a character as it is possible for standard characters to eventually receive all the same benefits that Advanced and Elite characters receive through RP, XP expenditures, and meeting certain other benchmarks, as described in the "Raising and Lowering Attributes" section below.
A normal character, requires no special steps to apply for. They receive 140 chargen points, may start with up to 5 skills at level 7 or higher, with a maximum of 8 in any single skill, or a maximum of 9 if they have a skill quirk for that skill. They may spend a maximum of 15 points on Attributes. They may advance up to 3 skills to level 12 (two from skill quirks, and one additional that make sense for the character, subject to staff approval).
Advanced Characters receive 170 points in chargen. They may start with up to 7 skills at level 7 or higher, with a maximum of 10 in any given skill, or 11 with the appropriate skill quirk. They may spend up to 16 points on attributes in chargen. They may advance up to 5 skills to level 12 (two from skill quirks, and three additional that make sense for the character, subject to staff approval).
Advanced characters are characters that by virtue of experience or talent are more skilled than many starting characters. Additionally advanced characters may have additional IC aspects that make them unusual or remarkable compared to others, such as knowledge of the supernatural, fame, wealth, or other unusual bits. While they start more powerful (stat-wise) than other characters, they do not receive any benefit that other players cannot eventually earn through XP and RP. Advanced characters require a strong background to be approved (see below). It is generally recommended that new players start with a Standard Character to get a feel for the game and the theme before apping an Advanced Character, but it is not mandatory.
Note : If you are apping an advanced character, you need to put in a +request at the start of your chargen process in order to be granted the additional points for chargen, and likewise to inform staff that the char will be an advanced character.
Same as Advanced Characters, but may take skill levels as high as 12.
Elite Characters occupy positions of great power or importance to the game world. To play an elite character, you must have been on the game and active with at least one alt for at least 3 months. Elite Characters have more stringent activity requirements due to their importance to the game world, be sure to check them out on the policies page (on the Activity and Idling out tab). If you want to apply for an Elite character, alert the app staff about your interest via a +request, include a basic description of the concept for the elite or if it is an elite from the +roster that you are wanting to claim, and they will discuss the possibility with you.
Note : Same as with an advanced character, if you are apping an elite character, you need to put in a +request at the start of your chargen process in order to be granted the additional points for chargen, and likewise to inform staff that the char will be an elite character.
Stats
These are the nuts and bolts of the chargen process. As you pass through the chargen rooms on-game, you’ll be guided through the steps to give your characters their stats. This is where you will fill out your character’s background, determine what their skills and quirks are and how good they are at the former, and add a bit of info on your characters personality, equipment, and some general info that helps other players know a bit about your character and how they might interact.
Most of the information needed to help you in this process is detailed below, including a full list of attributes, skills, and quirks. See the tabviews below for more information.
Attributes
Do not take the generalized descriptions of attribute levels above as "set in stone" descriptions. They are generalizations by design, and if you want your character to not precisely follow the guidelines for any given rating, it is permissible within reason. For example, a person with Presence 3 might be quite physically attractive but somewhat weak-willed (or vice versa could be strong-willed but not terribly attractive). A person with Body 4 might be very strong but still prone to illness or allergies, etc… There is room for roleplaying variation within the attributes, so long as they don’t dive outside the bounds of your rating.
Higher skill levels can often compensate for lower attributes, as well, so it's perfectly possible for someone with a Presence of 2 to be a good leader of soldiers with a high Leadership skill. They just won't be as good as someone with a Presence of 4 or 5 and the same skill level. That’s the difference between the naturally talented and those that have to work harder for their skills.
Attributes provide the "skeleton" of who your character is, numerically speaking. Attributes may have a rating of 1-5, and a maximum of 15 points may be spent upon them in Chargen (16 points if they are an Elite Character). An attribute of 1 generally means the character is deficient in some way where that attribute is concerned, and they should probably have a quirk justifying that handicap, as well as explaining it well in their background. Staff discourages "Min/Maxing" your attribute scores…for example an attribute spread of "5/5/4/1" for standard characters is normally not permitted (Or “5/5/5/1”.for Elites). Additionally, standard characters may only start with one attribute at rating 5. Elite characters may start with two attributes at level 5, however, this will need to be heavily justified by your concept and background.
The Four attributes and what each level means are described below.
Body: Your strength, durability, coordination, stamina, and endurance all rolled into one, as well as your general state of healthiness. Your overall physical fitness. People with a high body tend to be strong and healthy, and make excellent frontline warriors.
Body +rolls are generally used when tests of raw strength, health, or toughness are required.
1 - Frail: You are sickly, weak, and tire very easily. You'd have a hard time fighting a stiff breeze, much less another human being. Even stringing and drawing a bow requires tremendous effort and may not even be possible. Any significant wound or illness might end your life, and even if it doesn't you may well suffer long-lasting effects from it.
2 - Weak: You’re not as strong as most folks, You probably suffer a lot of minor illnesses, bruise easily, and run out of steam well before most of your peers. You can handle the rigors of day to day life, but much beyond that taxes you.
3 - Average: Exactly as described. The average level of health and fitness for the Edge. You get sick sometimes and particularly virulent diseases may well end your life. You can swing a sword or fire a bow or carry a spear, but you'll probably never distinguish yourself overmuch in the arts of combat and warfare.
4 - Conditioned: You've trained hard and have developed your strength and endurance to a degree beyond the average man. Generally the base threshold for Knights or members of any elite military organization. You have a decent chance of surviving many illnesses and toxins, and could become a warrior of decent repute, with time and training. You may well be the strongest person in your town/village.
5 - Exceptional: Between good genes and lots of training and experience, you have honed your body to the pinnacle of what humans are capable of. You can fight longer and harder than most others. You rarely fall ill from anything but the most serious of diseases, and might even be able to survive a poisoning attempt. You recover quickly from injuries with less chance of permanent disability. You can regularly perform impressive feats of strength and endurance, and occasionally truly amazing ones.
Reaction: Your reflexes, agility, speed, manual dexterity, and hand-eye coordination. A large component of any sort of ranged combat, as well as affecting how quickly you act in combat. People with a high reaction tend to be excellent ranged combatants who are quick on their feet and/or those with particularly deft hands, and are often well-suited to stealthy pursuits, whether as rangers or Syndicate members. They also lend themselves well to certain artistic pursuits.
Reaction +rolls are usually used to react to something surprising outside the realm of combat, or for untrained ranged combat attempts. Reaction also factors into your base Perception.
1 - Maladroit: You may suffer from a serious physical disability that makes it difficult to move. Your reflexes barely manage to kick in even when needed, and nobody will let you have ranged weapons, because you’re more likely to kill yourself than any foe. Your overall movement speed and coordination is extremely limited, and it may actually be painful for other people to watch.
2 - Clumsy: You drop things a lot and tend to trip over your own feet. You generally are just noticeably "klutzy." You don’t have any real talent for ranged weaponry, though you can usually manage to at least shoot in the right direction. You are generally slow to react to situations. Don’t expect to ever be made the pointman on a scouting team.
3 - Average: The average level of reaction for people of the Edge. You can shoot a bow and hit a target relatively consistently with training, though you won't get bulls-eye's very often. You can walk and run without tripping yourself up too often, but you’re not going to be wowing anyone with your acrobatic prowess anytime soon.
4 - Honed: You're a cut above the common man. You can fire a bow or other ranged weapon with considerable skill, so long as you have training in that weapon. You react quickly in combat situations, and your hands are relatively agile, able to perform fairly complicated tasks. Generally the average for dedicated archers and rangers. You’re likely flexible, agile, and have a good sense of balance.
5 - Exceptional: You may well be a deadeye with some form of ranged weapon. Even when surprised you react quickly to rapidly changing situations. Your hands are deft enough that you could be a master pickpocket. Your agility and balance are such that you could become a master acrobat if you set your mind to it.
Mind: Your intelligence, common sense, and clarity of thought. How fast you learn and how well you retain knowledge. Your ability to multitask, apply reason and logic, and accurately contemplate the consequences of your actions. People with a high mind can be genius academics and/or shrewd and cunning planners.
Mind +rolls are often used for general memory checks, or for piecing together various bits of information in a manner that's not covered by any particular skill. Mind also helps determine your starting Perception and Willpower.
1 - Addled: You have difficulties with simple arithmetic and are likely illiterate. You may be developmentally or learning disabled. You have difficulty concentrating on anything for very long and may well be prone to rash and irrational decisions.
2 - Slow-Witted: You’re not quick to catch on to things and often “don’t get” jokes. Subtlety is generally lost on you, and you have problems learning intellectual skills (including reading), though with hard work you can overcome that difficulty. You likely tend to make decisions without taking great effort to gather all the available information first, but you’re not outright irrational TOO often.
3 - Average: The normal level of brainpower for the Edge. You can focus enough to learn a trade and perform basic mathematics and literacy. You have enough common sense that you might manage to die of old age, though you may well have problems seeing "the big picture" at times or contemplating concepts outside your usual frame of reference.
4 - Bright: You learn quickly and retain knowledge well. You can remain focused on tasks for a long time, and generally tend to be a sensible individual. Generally a good benchmark for those in a position of any considerable authority, at least if they want to do a good job of exercising that authority.
5 - Ingenious: You are capable of juggling many different plots or formulae or other mental tasks at once in your head. Advanced mathematics and economics come easily to you if you choose to learn. You have an excellent memory and learn new academic skills quickly and easily.
Presence: Your strength of personality, both in terms of how others perceive you, and how "centered" you are. Innate confidence and charisma all rolled into one. People with a high presence tend to make an impression and/or tend to remain a beacon of calm even in a crisis. Others tend to be drawn towards people with a high presence. High presence can be an indicator of physical attractiveness, but the two are not inextricably linked.
Presence +rolls are generally used to make attempts to influence people without a specific skill at doing so. Presence also factors into your base Willpower.
1 - Ineffectual: You may be hideously ugly, socially disabled, or painfully shy and retiring. You probably frighten quite easily, and may be more susceptible than most to mental illness. People are likely to either completely ignore you or find you repellent. You have a difficult time imposing your will upon anyone for any reason.
2 - Awkward: You have a tendency to trip over your own words (and not in the cute and endearing way), are less attractive than normal, and tend to be rather dissolute. You have a hard time getting people to give you their full attention, and may have difficulty sticking with things in the long-term or resisting temptation.
3 - Average: You attract no more or less notice than most folks. You can boss around someone that's placed in a subordinate position to you in a workplace or military unit. You can generally hold a conversation without much trouble, though you probably aren't exactly wowing anyone with your wit and charm. On the plus side, you're probably not disgusting them with your boorishness, either. You can keep your nerve in a battle provided your comrades around you do too. You might be able to lead a group of townsfolk on a particular task.
4 - Noticeable: You have a reasonably strong personality, and could make a good military officer or mid-level ruler or manager of a moderately-sized business. You can engender loyalty in groups of up to several dozen or maybe even a couple hundred people or across an area the size of an average County. You tend to keep a cool head even in dangerous or frightening circumstances. A good general minimum for mid-high level nobles who manage Houses or lands, or those with aspirations of high military command.
5 - Magnetic: You are likely either quite intimidating, quite charming, commanding, or some mix of all three. You could lead a massive army or a Kingdom and inspire great loyalty in doing so. You tend to be resolute and have a well-balanced personality and sense of self. Your nerve is very hard to break, even by the most daunting of circumstances.
Generally speaking, Attributes are rarely raised or lowered, however, standard characters may spend 24XP to gain one attribute point (making them equal in attribute points to an Advanced/Elite Character) after their character has been active for 6 months. When they make this attribute boost, it also opens up the final “high-level skill” slot, allowing them to have up to 5 skills at level 12 rather than the 3 that most standard characters have. This will also make the character now seen as an Advanced character as well.
On very rare occasions, a character may gain a temporary attribute boost. This usually involves supernatural means (either through Alchemy or divine intervention) and therefore is only performed by staff members running plot scenes. If you receive such a bonus, you will be informed…don't ask for one, because you probably won't like what you get in return. The Gods (yes, even The One) can be fickle with their favors.
If you did not spend all of your allowable attribute points in Chargen, and have not taken a quirk or disability that makes you deficient in any specific attribute, then you may spend 24XP to raise one attribute by one point. You may do this until you reach the maximum number of attribute points allowable, though you must still have been playing at least 6 months for the final point. Submit a +request in order to notify staff that you wish to upgrade an attribute.
If you suffer a particularly debilitating injury or illness, you may suffer a loss of attribute points related to that injury. This is, however, largely consent-based, and most injuries, even critical ones, will not have permanent effects unless they were incurred in a "lethal" scene and the player either consents, or chooses to take a disability instead of the character dying from their injuries (if they were out of Luck to spend to avoid it).
If your character is above 45 years old, then every five years they may choose to shift one point from either Body or Reaction to Mind or Presence, unless or until Mind and Presence both reach the maximum of 5. However, you may not exceed the maximum number of “5s” allowable (2 total), and you may not lower your Reaction or Body below 2 without strong justification. As above, submit a +request to request this change on your +sheet. This is not mandatory. If you want your 65 year old knight to still be hanging with the young bucks, it might not be terribly realistic, but we're a fantasy game, and we can just chalk that up to a bit of that fantasy.
Skills
Skills are important, they help form the base of your character, the skeleton to start a background, or help support a background already in mind. They are what your character has learned to do in life, how well they do something, how good they are at their job, what hobbies they might have
Please note that while Background Skills and Quirks are freeform as far as the game system is concerned (IE you can type anything in there and as long as it’s not an attribute or action skill it’ll show up), we require that players choose their action skills, background skills and quirks from the list(s) provided on this page.
Below are some terms to help make sense of the information you’ll be seeing below:
Action Skill - Action Skills are those skills that are most often utilized in performing actions against or in aid of other players or NPCs (or in defense of the skills of others, examples: Weapon skills, Healing, Deception, Defense, Perception), the creation of items of practical use (examples: Blacksmithing, Alchemy) or skills that can affect large areas, organizations, or groups of people (examples: Command, Stewardship).
Background Skill - Skills that help flesh out a character's interests and training, but are generally not quite so advanced or generalized as most action skills. Background skills often represent focused study in a specialized area. Background skills are often but not always component skills of action skills. However, some background skills can be parent skills in and of themselves, with component skills representing a more focused specialization of that skill. For example: The Religion skill encompasses a broad knowledge of the One Faith. It includes Prayer, Hymns, Liturgies, and Rites. Someone that simply wanted to know a lot of Prayers could simply take the "Prayer" skill instead of the overall Religion skill.
Advanced Skill - Certain Action Skills are marked as "Advanced." Advanced skills are certain action skills that require a particularly intense focus to become truly proficient in (Alchemy, Healer), or encompass a broad range of sub-skills under one skill (Smithing). There are no restrictions on player characters applying for advanced skills up to level 4 in character generation, but above that level they must be well-justified in the characters' backgrounds, and are probably one of that characters' main foci in life. Basically, these skills are hard to "dabble" in and still maintain a high degree of skill. There are no restrictions on raising advanced skills with experience once chargen is complete.
Restricted Skill - Forbidden Lore is a "Restricted" skills, as is Gunsmithing, which basically means that very few people have knowledge of these skills. You must seek staff permission before taking any ranks in these skills in chargen. Likewise, you must seek staff permission before using XP to raise these skills once you have any of them. The secrets of the world do not surrender themselves easily. Advanced characters may select restricted skills freely so long as it makes sense for their background and concept.
Rare Skill - Rare Skills are those for which obtaining knowledge and training in is more difficult than most in most parts of the Edge. Generally speaking, Rare Skills are limited to a starting rating of 4 in chargen, but there is usually at least one in-world group that has more free access to the skill (allowing higher ratings). Such exceptions will be listed on the "Quirks" tab of the house in question. Likewise, certain quirks can give players greater access to rare skills. Unlike Restricted Skills, Rare skills may be raised normally with XP after approval.
Opposing Skill - A skill that usually opposes a given skill when players roll against each other. For example: Perception is the opposing skill for Deception. If a player is attempting to lie to another player (and the other player doesn't consent to have it auto-succeed) then they would roll their Deception vs the other player's Perception.
Supporting Skill - Many skills have other skills that can play into their chances of success or failure. This most often comes into play when undertaking complex tasks that require multiple roles. For example, a battlefield commander wants to get his men motivated to fight harder in the next battle. The main skill he would need to roll is Leadership, but if he (for example) threatened his men with a fate worse than death if they don’t perform, he would also roll Intimidation, or vice-versa if he tries to win them over with his winning personality, it would be Charm, or winning them over with logic and solid reasoning it would be Persuasion. It could even be a combination of multiple supporting skills. Note that the supporting skill entries are not all-inclusive. Sometimes there may be supporting rolls made using skills that fall outside the normal list (for example, when using Negotiation to bargain for the price of a new War-Horse, one might use Husbandry as a supporting skill to recognize minor qualities or deficiencies in the animal in question. It’s dependent upon the GM or Staffer in question who is running the scene, really.
Automatic Skill - Perception and Willpower are special skills that all players receive some points in for free. Players may spend chargen points to raise these skills after they calculate and set their base, up to a maximum of 8 for normal characters and 10 for Elite characters, or may raise them with XP as normal for skills once approved.
Below is a general overview of what the varying skill levels represent. Please note that the comments as to reputation are rough guidelines. It's perfectly possible for someone to attain a great degree of skill without being particularly noticed, especially if they are humble or secretive by nature.
1 - Neophyte: You have some very basic exposure to this skill.
2 - Fledgling: You have had at least a couple lessons in the skill.
3 - Novice: You have had a fair bit of formal training in the skill, but lack any practical experience.
4 - Apprentice: You are on the path to a professional degree of skill, and have put it to a degree of practical use, though likely with supervision.
5 - Senior Apprentice: You are skilled enough that you might be able to make a living at the skill, but you'd likely have a hard time doing particularly well at it.
6 - Journeyman: A professional level of skill. The average level of skill for anyone making a living off of this particular skill.
7 - Professional: You're a notch above most people when it comes to this skill. People from a couple villages over might have heard of you or come to you for advice or help with matters pertaining to this skill. You can make a slightly better-than-average living with this skill.
8 - Veteran: You have put this skill to good use many times. Your skills are likely in high demand, and few people in the world ever exceed this degree of skill.
9 - Expert: You likely have a formidable reputation for your skill in this area, unless you take pains to conceal it. Others probably seek you out for training and advice from as far away as other Duchies. A commoner with this level of skill can make a very comfortable living for himself.
10 - Master: You have achieved the highest degree of skill that training and experience can bring to all but those with a particular natural talent for this field. Your reputation has likely spread throughout the Kingdom you occupy, at least within your field if not beyond. People from all over the Kingdom practically beg to learn from you, and even being one of your students grants them a certain degree of prestige in this field.
11 - Grand Master: You have achieved that rare blend of training, experience, and inborn talent to become a contender for "best in the world" at this particular skill. You are quite possibly a household name within your Kingdom and likely even well-known beyond its' borders. You have truly mastered this skill.
12 - Legendary: You are not only arguably the best in the world at this skill, you are among the best that have ever lived or ever will. You push the boundaries of what is humanly possible with this skill, and are not only quite likely to be well-known throughout the Edge, but even beyond its' borders and you may well end up in the history books as one of the greatest exemplars of this skill. Bards might sing songs of your deeds (depending on the skill in question), and whether you do or do not end up in the history books, you may well end up inspiring myths and legends in generations far removed from your own.
For most skills, the maximum level allowed is 10. However, the system allows players to raise them above that, to a maximum of twelve. However, in the interest of fairness, balance, and variety over the long term, characters are strictly limited in the number of skills that they may advance to level 12, based on the following criteria:
All characters start with the potential for three skills that they can absolutely master (raise to 12). Two of these are determined by what Skill Quirks they have. So if you have the skill quirk for a skill, you can raise it to 12 (outside of character generation), no questions asked. The third skill should be derived in some way from your personality quirks. For example if you have a Quirk that gives you double luck points to a particular skill, that would be a valid choice for your third high-level skill. Or if you have something like "Ambitious" you could potentially use that to justify "Intrigue" as a third high-level skill. If in doubt, work with the staff and they can likely point you in the right direction. Either way, your third skill does need to be approved by staff, so submit your desired skill when the time comes (you don't need to choose until it's time to raise the skill past 10).
Elite Characters, and regular characters that have spent the XP to raise their total number of attribute points to 16 have the potential for an additional two skills they can master (for a total of five). However, when these skills are selected, they must make sense for your concept and character's history. Suddenly deciding that the character you applied to be a cowardly politician is going to have a 12 in Two-Handed Blades is not likely to fly. Just like deciding that a bold, honorable, and forthright Knight getting Intrigue 12 is similarly unlikely to be approved.
One thing to note: When you decide which skills beyond those you have the Skill Quirk for you're raising above level 10, you should send a short +request to staff informing them of your choice(s). Generally speaking, these choices cannot be changed once made, however you don't need to actually make the decision until the time comes to raise a skill above 10. If for some reason the choice is deemed inappropriate and you have already raised the skill, you will be refunded the XP and lose the point in your skill. You are of course, free to make another choice at that time.
Finally, Automatic Skills (Perception and Willpower) follow the same caps as all other skills. They max out at level 10 unless you have appropriate quirks or justification to choose them as higher-level skills.
If you believe there is a skill (whether Action Skill or Background Skill) that your character requires that isn’t covered by any of the listed skills (or possibly a combination of existing skills), submit a +request to staff with your justification and which skill category you feel it should fall under and they will determine if the skill should be added to the list.
Be sure to include the skill information by filling out a 'skill block' as seen below, for the skill and including it with the request. :
<Skill Name>
Ruling Attribute: <Attribute>
Opposing Skill: <Opposing Skill, possibly more than one if applicable, and Frequency ("Sometimes", "Always" or "Competitive")>
Supporting Skill: What skills are complimentary to this one, if any?
Description: A brief description of the Skill.
Sample Skill Block:
Deception
Ruling Attribute: Presence
Opposing Skill: Perception
Supporting Skills: Charm, Sleight-of-Hand, Persuasion
Description: The ability to conceal truth, motive, and emotion from onlookers and conversation partners. Someone skilled in deception is a capable liar. Does not include deception in warfare, nor long-term trickery in political maneuvering though might provide a bonus to such efforts with the GM's permission. Includes bluffing/lying, the ability to feign emotion, and the ability to use wordplay and skillful manipulation of truth and fiction to mislead others.
Action Skills
Actions skills are just that, the action. Not just the physical action, but also your social and political actions. A lot of tabs, a lot of skills but this is where a fair number of skill for the character are likely to be pulled from. There is a limit on the number of points that can be spent on Action skills, and do save some points to be spent on Background Skills.
Bows
Ruling Attribute: Reaction
Opposing Skill: Bows (Competitive)
Supporting Skill: Bowyer
Description: The ability to use bows.
Crossbows
Ruling Attribute: Reaction
Opposing Skill: Crossbows (Competitive)
Supporting Skill: Bowyer
Description: The ability to use crossbows and mechanical bows.
Artillery
Ruling Attribute: Reaction
Opposing Skill: None
Supporting Skill: Engineering
Description: Skill in the operation of Siege Engines such as catapults, ballista, heavy cannon, and scorpions.
Finesse Blades
Ruling Attribute: Reaction
Opposing Skill: None
Supporting Skill: None
Description: Skill in using light blades such as rapiers, cutlasses, and daggers or knives
One-Hand Blades
Ruling Attribute: Body
Opposing Skill: None
Supporting Skill: None
Description: Skill at using one handed blades, from the Gladius through the Broadsword
Two-Hand Blades
Ruling Attribute: Body
Opposing Skill: None
Supporting Skill: None
Description: Skill at using heavier blades, such as greatswords and bastards swords. Note: Bastard Swords can be wielded one handed, but are still governed by this skill.
One-hand Blunt
Ruling Attribute: Body
Opposing Skill: None
Supporting Skill: None
Description: Skill at using maces, clubs, cudgels, flails, and similar weapons. Includes hand-axes.
Two-hand Blunt
Ruling Attribute: Body
Opposing Skill: None
Supporting Skill: None
Description: Skill at using warhammers, greataxes,and other large, two-handed bludgeoning weapons of this variety.
Hand Cannon (Rare, Restricted - Advanced Characters)
Ruling Attribute: Reaction
Opposing Skill: Hand Cannon (Competitive)
Supporting Skill: Gunsmithing
Description: Skill at using hand cannons. Includes the ability to reload under pressure.
Leadership
Ruling Attribute: Presence
Opposing Skill: Leadership (Sometimes), Intimidation (Sometimes), Willpower (Sometimes)
Supporting Skills: Intimidation, Persuasion, Charm, Oratory
Description: Skill at motivating and inspiring those under your command or rule, as well as maintaining discipline and morale. Makes people more likely to do what you tell them (if you have authority over them, and sometimes even when you don’t). Not just for military usage! Can be used to rally a crowd of peasants just as easily as boosting the spirits of ones’ soldiers. Useful for anyone in a leadership position (imagine that!).
Long Cannon (Rare, Restricted - Advanced Characters)
Ruling Attribute: Reaction
Opposing Skill: Long Cannon (Competitive)
Supporting Skill: Gunsmithing
Description: Skill at using long cannons
Hands
Ruling Attribute: Body
Opposing Skill: None
Supporting Skill: Healer
Description: Skill at fighting unarmed. At rank 5 or higher, you may commit lethal damage while fighting unarmed (using the “Lethal Hands” weapon)..
Horsemanship
Ruling Attribute: Reaction
Opposing Skill: Horsemanship (Competitive)
Supporting Skill: Husbandry, Animal Handling
Description: Skill at riding horses. Includes knowledge of care and feeding.
Polearms
Ruling Attribute: Body
Opposing Skill: None
Supporting Skill: None
Description: The ability to utilize lances, pikes, halberds and similar long-hafted weapons skillfully.
Spears
Ruling Attribute: Body
Opposing Skill: None
Supporting Skill: None
Description: Skill at using shorter-hafted spears and javelins in melee. For throwing them, see “Throwing” below.
Staff
Ruling Attribute: Body
Opposing Skill: None
Supporting Skill: None
Description: The ability to wield a quarterstaff or longstaff.
Tactics
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: Tactics (Sometimes), Intrigue (Sometimes)
Supporting Skills: Military Lore, Political Lore, Stewardship
Description: The knowledge of military tactics and strategies, and more importantly the ability to devise and implement them yourself. Also includes the ability to manage the logistics of a military force. A must for any type military commander. Common for heads of house and heirs.
Throwing
Ruling Attribute: Reaction
Opposing Skill: Throwing (Competitive)
Supporting Skill: None
Description: Skill with using thrown weapons, usually knives, stones, javelins, or spears.
Alchemy (Advanced)
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: Alchemy (Competitive), Healer (Sometimes)
Supporting Skills: Apothecary, Forbidden Lore, Nature Lore, Healer
Description: The ability to craft alchemical items. See the Alchemy page for further information.
Apothecary
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: Apothecary (Competitive), Healer (Sometimes)
Supporting Skills: Nature Lore, Healer
Description: The ability to craft medicines, salives, tonics, and tinctures for the purpose of treating illnesses and injuries, or poisons, all derived from natural ingredients. Includes knowledge of herbology and natural remedies. Very common for healers. In the case of Healing, this skill allows you to make the items, the Healer skill allows you to use them properly.
Blacksmith (Advanced)
Ruling Attribute: Body
Opposing Skill: Blacksmith (Competitive)
Supporting Skills: Jeweler, Leatherworking
Description: The ability to craft items comprised mainly of metal. Includes metal weapons and armor, as well as more mundane items like horseshoes, yokes, and nails. Does not include fine detail work/decoration.
Bowyer
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: Bowyer (Competitive)
Supporting Skills: Nature Lore, Archery, Crossbows
Description: The ability to craft bows, crossbows, and arrows.
Engineering (Advanced)
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: Artillery (Sometimes), Tactics (Sometimes)
Supporting Skills: Tactics, Carpentry, Blacksmith, Bowyer
Description: The ability to design and craft siege weapons, as well as designing fortifications and overseeing their construction. Also includes maintenance on said fortifications and siege weapons.
Gunsmith (Advanced, Restricted - Advanced Characters)
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: Gunsmith (Competitive)
Supporting Skill: Blacksmith, Alchemy
Description: The ability to craft hand cannons, long cannons, and heavy cannons. Generally restricted to Venderosi NPCs.
Healer (Advanced)
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: Apothecary (Sometimes), Alchemy (Sometimes)
Supporting Skills: Apothecary, Nature Lore, Alchemy
Description: The ability to treat injury and illnesses. Includes knowledge of anatomy and common ailments and their treatments, as well as diagnosing more rare maladies. At higher levels includes the ability to perform surgeries. Also includes knowledge of the proper application of apothecary and alchemical products in the course of healing. A must for Knights Reliant, common among certain types of clergy. Many warriors pick up a couple of points reflecting “battlefield medicine” over the course of their career, as well.
Leatherworker
Ruling Attribute: Reaction
Opposing Skill: Leatherworker (Competitive)
Supporting Skills: Tailoring
Description: The ability to make items comprised primarily of leather, to include leather armors, saddles, backpacks and satchels, belts, and sheaths/scabbards.
Shipwright (Advanced)
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: Shipwright (Competitive)
Supporting Skills: Sea Lore, Carpentry, Engineering
Description: The ability to design and build waterborne vessels, whether for use on lakes/rivers or the open sea.
Charm
Ruling Attribute: Presence
Opposing Skill: Willpower (Always)
Supporting Skill: Etiquette, Streetwise, Various Lore Skills, Deception
Description: The ability to change a person’s impression of you towards the positive. Includes flattery, empathy, and flirtation. All but mandatory for Courtesans, and very useful for just about anyone, but particularly “courtly” nobles and anyone that fancies themselves a ladykiller/maneater (unless you want to play a character that does fancy themselves as such, but actually is terrible at it). A major component of any seduction attempt.
Deception
Ruling Attribute: Presence
Opposing Skill: Perception (Always)
Supporting Skills: Various Lore Skills, Disguise, Charm
Description: The ability to lie convincingly, conceal ones’ motives, or otherwise obscure or muddle truth via verbal communication. A must for underhanded nobles and criminals, and those that need to keep secrets.
Etiquette (Commoners Only)
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: None
Supporting Skills: Political Lore, Charm
Description: The ability for a Commoner to understand the protocols and courtesies expected to be followed in the presence of nobility. Useful for ingratiating oneself to nobles, or at the very least not making them angry. Also necessary if a commoner wants to pass for a Noble. A major part of the training of Courtesans and Hedge Knights.
Instruction
Ruling Attribute: Presence
Opposing Skill: None
Supporting Skills: All skills could be considered supporting skills of Instruction, if they’re the skills being taught!
Description: The ability to impart knowledge and skill to another. Does not inherently include knowledge of the skill being taught, but rather represents ones’ ability to clearly communicate the knowledge or skills they possess to others, and how well it tends to “stick” after it’s taught. Valuable for scholars, military trainers, and nobles who need to teach their heirs what’s what.
Interrogation
Ruling Attribute: Presence
Opposing Skill: Willpower (Always)
Supporting Skills: Perception, Torture, Intimidation, Charm, Negotiation, Deception
Description: The ability to gain knowledge from others, often against their will. Includes techniques for guiding the conversation, how to phrase questions for best results, and how to “read between the lines” of what’s being said. A must for investigative types such as Wardens and Inquisitors, and useful for some types of criminals.
Intimidation
Ruling Attribute: Presence
Opposing Skill: Willpower (Always)
Supporting Skills: Torture, Any Weapon Skill
Description: The ability to frighten other people into doing what you want. May involve minor “roughing up” but not outright torture. Based more on the threats than actions (though certainly one might back up their threats if they don’t get the desired result). Popular with bodyguards and criminals.
Negotiation
Ruling Attribute: Presence
Opposing Skill: Negotiation (Always)
Supporting Skills: Charm, Deception, Perception, Intimidation
Description: The art of bargaining to get what you want from someone else (in the form of tangible objects or political/business concessions…for information see Interrogation). Includes haggling, and crafting compromises in ways that benefit you. A necessity for diplomats and merchants.
Streetwise (Nobles Only)
Ruling Attribute: Presence
Opposing Skill: Perception
Supporting Skills: Various Lore Skills depending on one’s location, Charm, Deception.
Description: The ability for a noble to mingle among commoners without seeming awkward out of place.
Diplomacy
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: Intrigue (Sometimes), Diplomacy (Sometimes)
Supporting Skills: Negotiation, Various “Lore” Skills (depending on the faction being engaged, but Political Lore especially)
Description: The art of engaging politically with those of differing factions from you. Very useful for heads of house, and of course diplomats.
Intrigue
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: Investigation (Sometimes), Perception (Sometimes), Intrigue (Sometimes), Stewardship (Sometimes), Tactics (Sometimes)
Supporting Skills: Political Lore, Investigation, Deception, Infiltration
Description: Hearing and spreading rumors, keeping track of and initiating political plots.
Investigation
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: Intrigue (Sometimes),
Supporting Skills: Perception, Criminal Lore, Syndicate Lore, Political Lore, Forbidden Lore, Interrogation
Description: Finding out things from asking questions and careful observation
Stewardship
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: Intrigue (Sometimes)
Supporting Skills: Leadership, Intrigue, Diplomacy, Political Lore
Description: The ability to manage an organization (non-military) or fiefdom. Includes recognizing talent, ability to properly delegate tasks to subordinates, managing revenue (though not necessarily generating profit), and general awareness of the state of your fief or organization, as well as one’s ability to react swiftly and decisively to unexpected events within said fief or organization. Occasionally complimented by Leadership or Investigation.
Acrobatics
Ruling Attribute: Reaction
Opposing Skill: None
Supporting Skills: Climbing
Description: Skill at tumbling, leaping, flexibility, balancing, and utilizing techniques to minimize damage from falls. Includes medieval parkour, so to speak. Popular with certain performers, and roof-running burglars and assassins.
Animal Handling
Ruling Attribute: Presence
Opposing Skill: Animal Handling (Sometimes)
Supporting Skills: Husbandry, Nature Lore
Description: The ability to domesticate, train, and safely work with various animals.
Climbing
Ruling Attribute: Body
Opposing Skill: None
Supporting Skills: Acrobatics
Description: The ability to climb steep or vertical surfaces, with or without equipment.
Escape Artist
Ruling Attribute: Reaction
Opposing Skill: None
Supporting Skill: Acrobatics
Description: The ability to escape bonds, grapples, and manacles without tools.
Swimming
Ruling Attribute: Body
Opposing Skill:Swimming (Competitive)
Supporting Skill: None
Description: Exactly what it says: The ability to swim instead of sink.
Fishing
Ruling Attribute: Body
Opposing Skill: None
Supporting Skill: Nature Lore
Description: The ability to catch fish with rod and lure or nets, provided there are fish available to be caught.
Hawking
Ruling Attribute: Presence
Opposing Skill: Falconry/Hawking (sometimes)
Supporting Skills: Tracking, Hunting, Animal Handling
Description: Skill at the handling and use of raptors in hunting.
Hunting
Ruling Attribute: Body
Opposing Skill: None
Supporting Skill: Tracking, Nature Lore
Description: Finding and killing game.
Navigation
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: None.
Supporting Skill: Edge Lore
Description: Knowing directions and how to get from point A to point B
Sailing
Ruling Attribute: Body
Opposing Skill: None
Supporting Skill: Navigation, Sea Lore
Description: How to handle a ship.
Survival
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: Tracking (Sometimes)
Supporting Skill: All Wilderness Skills
Description: Skill at foraging, finding or building shelter, or starting a fire in a natural environment with minimal tools.
Tracking
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: None.
Supporting Skill: Hunting
Description: Following and finding tracks.
Disguise
Ruling Attribute: Presence
Opposing Skill: Perception (Always)
Supporting Skills: Deception, Acting
Description: The ability to alter ones’ physical appearance and mannerisms so as to appear to be something or someone they are not. Popular with spies, and stage actors.
Forgery
Ruling Attribute: Reaction
Opposing Skill: Perception (Always)
Supporting Skills: Scribe, Political Lore, Criminal Lore
Description: Imitating the handwriting of another person
Infiltration
Ruling Attribute: Reaction
Opposing Skill: Perception (Always)
Supporting Skill: Stealth, Disguise, Forgery, Deception
Description: Getting into places you’re not supposed to be.
Stealth
Ruling Attribute: Reaction
Opposing Skill: Perception (Always)
Supporting Skill: Acrobatics
Description: Not being seen or heard.
Sleight of Hand
Ruling Attribute: Reaction
Opposing Skill: Perception (Always)
Supporting Skill: Deception
Description: Pickpocketing or hiding or withdrawing something quickly.
Torture
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: Willpower (Always)
Supporting Skills: Intimidation, Interrogation
Description: The knowledge of how to creatively apply pain and discomfort to someone in order to help convince them to give you information you seek. Or just to sate your sadistic side by keeping them alive as long as possible in the most pain that can be inflicted upon them. Potentially dangerous/lethal to the recipient if the skill is not carefully applied.
Perception
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: Varies, most often Deception or Stealth
Description: Being aware of things.
Starting Calculation: 1 + (Average of Mind and Reaction) + (Bonuses from Quirks) up to a maximum total rating of of 8 for standard characters, or 10 for Elite Characters.
Willpower
Ruling Attribute: Presence
Opposing Skill: Varies. Most often Intimidation, Interrogation, or Charm
Description: Mental and spiritual fortitude
Starting Calculation: 1 + (Average of Mind and Presence) + (Bonuses from Quirks) up to a maximum total rating of 8 for standard characters, or 10 for Elite Characters.
CalcNote : Averages are rounded down to the nearest whole number.
Don't worry about calculating and spending points on these skills just yet, we'll come back to them after you get through selecting the rest of the skills and quirks for your character.
Background Skills
Background skills help provide a character with some hobbies in some cases, or in some cases, their primary skills, such as in the case of a bard or tradesman. This is also where the various Lore skills fall to give a character knowledge in a wide range of areas from Folklore to Military and Politics, so be certain to check out that tab as well as there is a little something for everyone there.
Each character will need to set at least 3 background skills.
Acting
Ruling Attribute: Presence
Opposing Skill: None
Supporting Skill: Disguise, Artistic Lore
Description: Playing a part.
Composing
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: None
Supporting Skill: Scribe, Artistic Lore, Musical Skill(s)
Description: Composing Music.
Drawing
Ruling Attribute: Reaction
Opposing Skill: None
Supporting Skill: Artistic Lore
Description: Making pictures with ink or charcoals.
Dancing
Ruling Attribute: Reaction
Opposing Skill: Dancing (Competitive)
Supporting Skills: Charm, Acrobatics
Description: The art of moving gracefully in time to musical accompaniment, with or without a partner. Includes knowledge of traditional and popular dances for your home region. Very common among nobles (of both genders) in general, and Rivanan Commoners.
Fashion
Ruling Attribute: Presence
Opposing Skill: None.
Supporting Skills: Tailoring, Leatherworking, Artistic Lore, Political Lore
Description: Designing clothes.
Horn Instruments
Ruling Attribute: Presence
Opposing Skill: None.
Supporting Skill: Artistic Lore
Description: How to handle wind instruments made of metal.
Jeweler
Ruling Attribute: Reaction
Opposing Skill: None.
Supporting Skill: Artistic Lore, Blacksmith
Description: Making jewelry or performing fine engraving
Mapmaking
Ruling Attribute: Reaction
Opposing Skill: None.
Supporting Skills: Various Lore Skills, Navigation
Description: Making maps.
Oratory
Ruling Attribute: Presence
Opposing Skill: None
Supporting Skills: Political Lore, Folklore
Description: Speaking skills.
Painting
Ruling Attribute: Reaction
Opposing Skill: None
Supporting Skill: Drawing, Artistic Lore
Description: Making pictures… with paint.
Pottery
Ruling Attribute: Reaction
Opposing Skill: None
Supporting Skill: Sculpting, Artistic Lore
Description: Forming vessels for containment out of clay.
Rhythm Instruments
Ruling Attribute: Presence
Opposing Skill: None.
Supporting Skill: Singing, Artistic Lore
Description: How to play drums and similar instruments.
Sculpting
Ruling Attribute: Reaction
Opposing Skill: None.
Supporting Skill: Artistic Lore
Description: How to carve things out of stone.
Scribe
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: None.
Supporting Skill: Writing
Description: How to write things nicely.
Singing
Ruling Attribute: Presence
Opposing Skill: None.
Supporting Skill: Artistic Lore
Description: Ability to sing well.
String Instruments
Ruling Attribute: Presence
Opposing Skill: None.
Supporting Skills: Singing, Artistic Lore
Description: How to play instruments with strings, like lutes.
Woodwinds
Ruling Attribute: Presence
Opposing Skill: None.
Supporting Skill: Artistic Lore
Description: How to use instruments that have a reed or are like flutes.
Woodcarving
Ruling Attribute: Reaction
Opposing Skill: None
Supporting Skill: Nature Lore
Description: Ability to carve things out of wood.
Writing
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: Writing (Competitive)
Supporting Skills: Various Lore Skills, Scribe
Description: The ability to translate ideas to written form clearly and effectively.
Strategy Games
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: Strategy Games (Always)
Supporting Skills: Deception, Charm, Tactics
Description: Skill at strategy games such as Go, Chess, etc… Usually pretty hard to cheat at, but you might be able to try Deception or Charm to distract your opponent.
Card Games
Ruling Attribute: Presence
Opposing Skill: Card Games (Always)
Supporting Skills: Deception, Sleight of Hand
Description: Skill at playing Card Games. If you want to cheat, Sleight of Hand can complement this skill.
Carousing
Ruling Attribute: Body
Opposing Skill: Carousing (Competitive)
Supporting Skills: None
Description: How well you hold your liquor. Allows you to consume more alcoholic beverages before they start hampering mind and reaction skills. Can compliment Charm or Persuasion in certain circumstances.
Dice Games
Ruling Attribute: Reaction
Opposing Skill: Dice Games (Always)
Supporting Skills: Deception, Sleight-of-Hand
Description: Skill at playing Dice Games. If you want to try cheating, Deception or Sleight-of-Hand can complement this skill depending on your approach..
Brewing
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: Brewing (Competitive)
Supporting Skills: Nature Lore (Finding ingredients), Stewardship
Description: How to make beer.
Carpentry
Ruling Attribute: Body
Opposing Skill: None.
Supporting Skill: Nature Lore
Description: How to make things out of wood.
Baking
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: Baking (Competitive)
Supporting Skills: Nature Lore, Cooking
Description: The ability to make delicious edibles such as breads, cakes, pastries, and pies. In other words the kinds of things that are normally cooked inside a hearth or oven. Includes both preparation and presentation skill.
Cooking
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: Cooking (Competitive)
Supporting Skills: Nature Lore (For Ingredients), Baking, Hunting, Apothecary (For Herbs and Spices)
Description: How to make appetizing food that is cooked over a heat source. Includes both preparation and presentation skill.
Distilling
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: None.
Supporting Skill: Nature Lore
Description: How to make spirits.
Husbandry
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: None.
Supporting Skills: Animal Handling, Nature Lore
Description: Understanding how to get the most out of one’s herds.
Tailoring
Ruling Attribute: Reaction
Opposing Skill: None
Supporting Skills: Artistic Lore, Leatherworking, Weaving
Description: How to make clothing, general sewing skills.
Weaving
Ruling Attribute: Reaction
Opposing Skill: None
Supporting Skills: Artistic Lore, Political Lore, Tailoring
Description: Weaving items like tapestries, blankets, wedding cloaks, and other such items.
Winemaking
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: None.
Description: How to make wine.
NOTE: Lore Skills are only supported by other Lore Skills, and only on a situational basis (GM Discretion).
Alhazred Lore (Rare)
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: None
Description: Knowledge of the customs, beliefs, history, and culture of the Alhazred Empire. Includes knowledge of the Faith of the Prophets and its’ differences with the Faith of the One God. Can support Command, investigation, interrogation, and diplomacy where people of Alhazred are concerned.
Artistic Lore
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: None
Description: Knowledge of famous or influential artists, artwork, songs, and current and historical trends in the arts within the Edge. Generally all-encompassing, but can be focused on a specific area (Ie Painters, writers, musicians, etc…). Can compliment charm or persuasion attempts on targets who have a fondness for the arts.
Brodlund Lore (Rare)
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: None
Description: Knowledge of the customs, beliefs, history, and culture of the barbarian peoples of Brodlund. Includes knowledge of the Brodiri Pantheon and the practices of that particular religion. Can compliment Command, investigation, interrogation, and diplomacy where Brodlundian peoples are concerned.
Criminal Lore (Rare)
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: None
Description: Knowledge of criminal organizations, how and where they tend to operate, and a general knowledge of how criminal operations tend to work. Does NOT include inner workings of the Syndicates, but may include knowledge of which families make up the Syndicates and what their specialties are. Can compliment investigation or deception in criminal matters. (Not considered a rare skill for criminals, syndicate members, and Wardens).
Edge Lore
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: None
Description: Knowledge of the history, customs, traditions, geography, and cultures of the Edge.
Folklore
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: None
Description: Knowledge of the legends, folk tales, and superstitions of the Edge. Does not include factual information about supernatural elements.
Forbidden Lore (Restricted - Advanced Characters)
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: None
Description: Knowledge of the secrets of the world, to include deep alchemy, witchcraft/sorcery, monsters, magical artifacts, Old Thing cults, and similar such things. Usually restricted to members of the Church of the One Faith and the Order of the Vigil. Heavily compliments folklore (in the sense of discerning myth from fact).
Heraldry
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: None
Description: The ability to recognize the sigils and emblems of individuals and organizations, as well as to decipher the meanings, history, and symbolism behind them based on the designs.
Imperial Lore (Rare)
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: None
Description: Knowledge of the history, traditions, culture, and customs of the Vir Sidus Empire. Generally does not include any specific knowledge of individuals within the current Empire. Includes some knowledge of the Eastern Faith and how it differs from the Faith of the One God as practiced in the Edge. Can compliment diplomacy, investigation, or deception in matters dealing with the Empire. (Not considered Rare for members of House l'Faust)
Many Lore (Rare)
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: None
Description: Knowledge of the faith of the Many Gods. Includes rites, prayers, customs, traditions, and the most highly worshipped of the Many within the Edge. Does not include the particular quirks of the religion practiced by the Tirians. Worshippers of the Many may raise this skill above 4 in Chargen or with XP.
Military Lore
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: None
Description: Knowledge of military history, including famous leaders and battles.
Nature Lore
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: None
Description: Knowledge of nature in general. Largely related to plant and animal identification, as well as general knowledge of what plants and animals exist in which terrain types. Often compliments hunting, survival, or apothecary skills.
Political Lore
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: None
Description: Knowledge of laws and legalities, influential political figures of the past and present, and current political factions and trends within the Edge. Does NOT include knowledge of clandestine political schemes nor allow for uncovering them, though it might compliment Investigation skills when trying to do so. Can compliment investigation, stewardship, diplomacy, or intrigue.
Religious Lore
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: None
Description: Knowledge of the Church of the One God, its’ practices, customs, traditions, and overall culture and organization. Includes some cursory knowledge of the variants of the Faith of the One God (The Eastern Faith and the Faith of the Prophets). Also includes knowledge of current prominent figures within the Church, and political, philosophical and doctrinal trends and factions within the Faith.
Sea Lore
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: None
Description: Knowledge of the geography, cultures, and legends of the high seas. Includes knowledge of major Pirate organizations and figures and where they tend to operate, as well as general knowledge of the various official navies of the Edge (what types of ships they use, roughly how large they are, etc…). Does not include knowledge of White Hall culture (see Barbarian Lore), but does include knowledge of areas where the White Hall Raiders are known to operate.
Syndicate Lore (Restricted)
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: None
Description: Detailed knowledge of the history, major players, traditions and practices of the Syndicates. Usually restricted to Syndicate members. Does not usually include knowledge of specific operations. Can compliment investigation, interrogation, deception, diplomacy, and negotiation in matters dealing with the Syndicate. (Not considered Restricted for Syndicate characters)
Tirian Lore (Rare)
Ruling Attribute: Mind
Opposing Skill: None
Description: Knowledge of the history, customs, traditions, geography, and culture of Tiria. Includes knowledge of the faith of the Many Gods as practiced within Tiria.
NOTE: Characters may only take up to their Mind rating in languages, during or after Chargen, unless they take the Polyglot Quirk.
Common - Like it says on the tin the common language of the Edge.
Imperial - The common language of the Empire.
High Imperial - The language of scholars and the church.
Tirian - Language of the northern tribes
Myrnesh - Language of the Myrned tribes
Brodspek - The Language of Brodlund.
Alhazri - Language of the Alhazred Empire
Arendran - Language of Arendra, all but a dead language in the Edge. (Rare but scholarly types would have access)
Kherzish - Language of the Kherzari tribesmen, spoken mainly in Normont.
Port Speak - A mixture of words taken from Common, Alhazri, Arendran and Brodspek, spoken by pirates and sea going traders, particularly on the pirate isles.
Sidhe Speak (Restricted) - The language of the Sidhe. A dead language known by very, very few.
Quirks
Last but not least, you'll need to choose between 7-8 Quirks for your character. These will help give added flavor to your character, giving them some potential bonuses and other perks.
You will need to choose 2 Skill Quirks, 2-3 Social Quirks, and 3 Personality Quirks from the following tabs.
As you select your quirks, make sure not to take ones that contradict each other. Or likewise, may be redundant.
Skill Quirks are quirks that indicate a character has a natural knack for a particular skill. Skill quirks make it easier to justify higher skill ratings at chargen, as described in the age/skill limits section, they also help determine some of your skills that have the potential to reach the maximum rating of 12. 2 Skill quirks are chosen at character generation and cannot be changed or gained afterwards. These represent the things your character is naturally inclined towards.
Avid Learner - You take to a particular scholarly topic like a fish to water. Skill quirk for one non-religious Lore skill of choice. May only apply to “Rare” Lore skills if the character otherwise qualifies for taking ranks higher than 4.
Born in the Saddle - You have a natural affinity for horses and took to riding them quite readily. Skill quirk for Horsemanship.
Deceptive - You're a talented liar. Skill Quirk for Deception
Earthy (Nobles Only) - You have a knack for shedding the "air" of nobility and relating to the common folk. Skill Quirk for Streetwise.
Gifted (Non-Combat Skill) - You have a knack for a particular non combat skill. Choose one single non-combat skill not covered by one of the other quirks below.
Head for Numbers - Mathematical calculations come easily to you. Skill Quirk for Stewardship.
Healing Hands - The arts of Healing come easily to you. Skill Quirk for Healer.
High Alcohol Tolerance - You can drink most people under the table. Skill Quirk for Carousing.
Military Genius - You grasp the ebb and flow of battles and campaigns easily, and have a knack for crafting effective combat plans. Skill Quirk for Tactics.
Natural Leader - You instinctively tend to take charge, and people instinctively tend to follow you. Skill Quirk for Leadership
Nimble - You have quick hands and quicker reflexes, and tend to be flexible to boot. Skill Quirk for Acrobatics OR Sleight of Hand (Pick one)..
Perceptive - Your senses are sharp and you know how to use them well. +3 to starting Perception, and functions as the Skill Quirk for Perception.
Persuasive - You're good at getting people to see things your way, one way or another. Skill Quirk for Negotiation
Polished (Commoners Only) - You have had extensive training in manners and protocol. Skill quirk for Etiquette
Polyglot - You may learn two more languages beyond your Mind rating.
Religious Education - Much of your education has been provided by the Church of the One God. Skill Quirk for Religious Lore.
Schemer - You have a real knack for political machinations. Skill Quirk for Intrigue.
Sea Legs - You’re quite accustomed to being on the water, and take naturally to the life of a sailor. Skill Quirk for Sailing.
Silver Tongued - You always know the right thing to say. Skill Quirk for Charm.
Stealthy - You're quite good at not being seen when you don't want to be. Skill Quirk for Stealth.
Swims Like a Fish - Exactly what it says: You’re a very good swimmer. Skill Quirk for Swimming
Talented (Weapon Skill) - You have a gift for using a particular type of weapon. Choose one weapon skill. This qualifies as the skill quirk for that weapon skill.
Well-Read - You have had access to a great deal of scholarly material. You may take up to level 5 in "Advanced" skills in Chargen without making them your primary focus.
Well-Traveled - You've seen more of the world than most. You may select up to two "Rare" Lore skills concerning geographic areas outside the Edge to raise above level 4 in Chargen (though you should justify them in your background), and add +1 to starting Perception.
Unbreakable - Your will surpasses most others around you. You are likely courageous, unflappable, or a mix of both. Your sense of self and confidence are extremely resilient. +3 to starting Willpower and functions as the Skill Quirk for Willpower.
Social Quirks are quirks that affect how you fit into society at large, and how that society views you. Of all the quirks, Social quirks are the easiest to gain and lose during play. If you think your character has qualified to either gain or lose a social quirk, submit a +request documenting your reasoning and justification and staff will determine if the change is warranted.
Affliction - You have a condition that may impact you socially. This includes such things as being known (or at least strongly rumored) to be barren or infertile/sterile, suffering from a mental illness or disability, or a chronic physical ailment that has no obvious cure. Staff has final call on if an illness qualifies and the condition may be kept secret but if a secret ailment is revealed it will cause considerable embarrassment or other negative social consequences. Note that this affliction may or may not affect how people interact with you personally, but is more of a difficulty when dealing with social standing. Note that in certain cases this may limit your maximum Mind or Presence score.
Bad Reputation - You’re not well-known throughout the Kingdom/The Edge (see “Infamous” below), but folks that have heard of you also tend to have heard bad things about you. Maybe you’re known as lecherous, or dishonorable, or deceitful. Maybe you made one mistake or got involved in one scandal that dogs you no matter how hard you try to work past it. Maybe you’re believed to have done some black deed but people think you “got away with it.” Maybe you don’t deserve this reputation at all, but perception is reality, and people think you do. Either way, you have to work harder to make people trust and respect you.
Black Sheep - You are known to be very different from stereotypical members of your House/Family. This is not necessarily inherently negative, depending on the opinions held about your house in general by those you are interacting with. You might be an agnostic and outgoing Gerrell. You might be a hedonistic and flighty Cassomir. You might be a crafty and underhanded political operator within House l’Corren, or an aspiring Knight within House l’Saigner. The bottom line is that you don’t fit the image that your House usually maintains, and tend to stand out because of it. This quirk may be mandated by appstaff if your character is judged a huge departure from the “norms” for your chosen family. It generally means that those that are naturally inclined to disfavor your house may well find you more tolerable than most of your ilk, but those that are normally favorably inclined towards your house might think you’re a discredit to them.
Disowned - You have been cut off from your family for some reason. If you are a noble, you receive only ¼ the normal monthly allowance for your rank. Generally speaking, many nobles will not be favorably inclined to you, though individual exceptions may exist (especially if they don’t like your head of house…see below). The reasons for your disownment are probably publicly known, but don’t necessarily mean you have a “bad reputation” or “infamy” as disownment is entirely at the discretion of the Head of House. So oddly, being disowned by an unpopular Head of House (or one with a poor reputation) can actually be a bit of a favorable thing for your own reputation. Note that being disowned does not strip you of nobility or titles, but it can cut you out of your inheritance.
Divested (Restricted - Staff Permission) - You have been stripped of titles, honors, and/or rank, and are no longer considered nobility. For many nobles, this is worse than a death sentence. Generally speaking you have to have committed (or be believed to have committed) acts considered crimes against the Crown to suffer this punishment. You are likely shunned by all within the Noble class, and may even be exiled from the Kingdom of your birth (and almost certainly the lands your family governs).
Enigma - You have an air of mystery about you. People tend to know of you, but know very little about you. Whether deliberately cultivated or accidentally achieved, you have a reputation for people not exactly knowing what your reputation should be. There may even be tales of strange and unusual things that you have done or are involved in, but with this quirk such tales are generally neutral ranging towards slightly positive (if in a puzzling way to most). It could be that you enjoy keeping people guessing, it could be that you’re intensely private, a little eccentric, or both. Or it could simply be that you’re actually quite shy and simply don’t talk much so other people have tried to “fill in the blanks.” How accurate the tales about you are will vary. People tend to be naturally curious about you, though, which can make for some annoyance. Note that this does not apply to characters that simply haven’t built much of a reputation yet, but rather characters that are known to quite a few within their respective social classes, yet have generally kept (accurate) information about themselves from spreading too far.
Fostered (Nobles Only) - You were basically raised from a quite young age (preteen) in the household of another family, and as such your outlook and attitude are likely far more in-tune with your foster family than your birth family. Additionally, this gives you immediate connections to that family which can make for considerable smoothing-over of diplomatic and political matters involving them. Note that if your attitudes remain strongly aligned with your birth family and/or your fostering did not ultimately go fairly smoothly, you do not need to take this quirk. This represents a fostering that ends with the parties entirely on good terms, and thus the ties of politics and friendship remain with the hosting family.
Friends in Dark Places - While you are not officially a member of any Syndicate, you have connections to people who are, and they are favorably inclined towards you. Obviously if this news became public, it would probably be damaging to your reputation and may even land you in trouble with the authorities if you can be connected to any crimes. Also, you can take up to Rank 4 in Syndicate Lore thanks to these ties. Also you have much more ready access to black-market goods and services. Note that actual Syndicate members do not need to take this quirk, and may take Syndicate Lore freely.
Full Recognition - Generally, the only true qualification for being a Recognized Bastard is that your noble parent acknowledges their part in your conception. However, it is more rare for such a bastard to actually be taken into their noble parents' household and treated as a member of the family. You are the latter. In many cases this effectively becomes similar to the "respected" quirk, in that you are able to mingle among the Nobility (and do not need to take the Etiquette skill), and hold a position of respect and possibly even some authority within the family of your noble parent. You're not quite noble…but you're about the next best thing, however, families beyond your own may or may not recognize this position, and could very well treat you as "just another bastard" and would be within their rights to do so.
Good Reputation - You may not be famous (for that see “Renowned” below), but those that do know of you tend to think highly of you, and your public image among your peers is generally favorable. Whether because you’re seen as honorable, wise, just, kind, courteous, charming, or some mix of all of the above (or are just very good at pretending to be some or all of these things), people of your same social class tend to listen to what you have to say, and rarely turn you away if you ask for hospitality. Can provide bonuses to diplomatic efforts and negotiations in certain circumstances.
Grudge - Your family has long-standing enmity with another house, and you carry those prejudices with you. They may be enemies from a war with another Kingdom, or they may be within the same Kingdom. You get along well with those that are also political enemies of the House in Question, but have a hard time getting anything done when dealing with that House or their allies. Can alternately provide bonuses or penalties to diplomatic efforts and negotiations in certain circumstances.
Handicapped (Restricted - Staff Permission) - You suffer from a serious physical disability. You may be blind, deaf, mute, missing a limb or limbs, partially paralyzed, or otherwise suffer from something that makes basic mobility, communication and/or dexterity very difficult in some fashion. The combination of your Body and Reaction attributes can be no higher than 4 total, and you are permitted to make either or both of them as low as 1. This quirk is restricted simply because of the inherent difficulties in accurately and consistently portraying these disabilities. Talk to staff before taking it and make sure your concept is sound and you are fully prepared to deal with the results of your handicap in roleplay. There are fewer medical or technological ways available to mitigate ones' handicaps in our setting than in the modern world. Note that complete paralysis is not an option (such individuals don't long survive such injuries in this setting). Obviously, your handicap should be described in your background and character notes.
Impoverished - You or your household have fallen upon hard times. On the table on the Economy page, find the occupation or social class that most closely matches your character (If more than one qualifies, choose whichever is highest). You receive 1/2 the normal monthly allowance for that occupation or rank, and probably have a hard time making ends meet. Advancing your fortunes (or that of your house) is probably a powerful motivator for you.
Information Sources - You have a number of contacts and sources feeding you information from a particular region (no larger than a major city), group, or house (Not including Syndicate families: For that see "Friends in Dark Places" above) This may give you a bonus on investigations and intrigues related to the group your sources belongs to (including areas/groups closely affiliated with them, GM's discretion). For the enhanced version of this quirk, see "Spy Network" below.
Local Hero - You're a hero! Well…at least to one relatively limited geographical area. Within that area, you're basically treated as though you have the "Renowned" and/or "Popular/Respected" quirks, but you might still be virtually a complete unknown outside of it. In short, you accomplished something that was very important to those particular people…but not so much the rest of the world. The area that you are a local hero for should be no larger than a County, and often is quite a bit smaller (all the way down to one particular small village. "Welcome to Jaynestown!").
Marked (Wo)Man (Commoner Only) - You are an official member of a Syndicate family, even though you do not share their blood. As far as that particular family is concerned, you're "one of them." Unfortunately that also goes for that particular family's enemies. You can freely take Syndicate Lore as a skill. Watch your back.
Obligation - You owe someone, and you owe them big. This may or may not simply be a monetary affair (though if it is, it's an amount not easily paid within anything short of several years), but could be as much as "You owe them your life." You may or may not intend to make good on this debt, but if you do not, then the person you owe must be in a position that gives them the power to MAKE you pay up to qualify for this quirk. If the person you are obligated to makes any reasonable request, you should fulfill it, or risk serious consequences. This can also become a source of potential blackmail material against you, if the person you are obligated to is a criminal, traitor, or otherwise bears a black reputation. You should detail your obligation in your background and character notes. Note that this quirk is far deeper than just "this person helped you once and now you'd like to return the favor." It should involve some potentially life-changing circumstance that they helped you out of. Think of this as the darker version of "Patron" below.
Patron - Someone more powerful than you has taken an interest in your career and/or education. If you are Noble, this individual should be at least one step up in Noble rank from the head of your house. You may have fostered with this Noble, or could have served as their squire or companion/lady-in-waiting or held some other position that had you personally working for them, and maintained friendly relations after you departed their service. If you are a commoner, then this noble took interest in your work and has helped fund your training and/or education to help further your skills, and may well have taken you directly into the service of their house. NOTE: If you are a commoner who is the bound consort of a Noble character, it is strongly suggested that you take this quirk.
Popular (Nobles Only) - You are adored by the common folk of your lands, and possibly even beyond. Whether because you have excellent PR or simply because you genuinely do care about their welfare and look out for them, you can expect most common folk of your fiefdom to be willing to gladly do just about anything you ask short of risking life, limb, and livelihood (and sometimes even then…). On the downside, getting mobbed by well-wishers can be quite an inconvenience at times. Popular and Renowned cannot be taken together.
Privileged Position (Nobles Only, Restricted - Elite Characters) - You hold a position of importance for the the Kingdom of your birth that is independent of your social rank and House. You may be the Royal Spymaster or Steward, or could be the Lord Marshal or Knight Marshal of the Kingdom's armies, or other similar positions. Generally speaking if you hold a duty beyond your normal noble obligations that involves you working directly with the rulers of your Kingdom, you likely qualify for this quirk. The biggest upside is that you basically can get an audience with the ruler of your nation at any time and possess executive authority in their name to carry out the duties of your position…just be careful not to waste it, or you may lose the position that grants you so much privilege. Note that if your ability to have the ear of your ruler is based more on a personal connection rather than a professional one, see "Well-Connected" below.
Renowned/Infamous (Restricted - Advanced Characters; Cannot be taken by Petty Nobles) - You are particularly well-known. Your reputation is positive if Renowned, and negative if Infamous. May add a circumstantial bonus on Persuasion and its' component skills. Might also get you free drinks at the tavern if you're renowned, or clear out a crowd if you're infamous. Also means you get recognized a lot, so traveling incognito is more difficult without a good disguise, and depending on what your reputation is for, you might have to deal with challengers, revenge-seekers, or would-be-students pestering you quite often. This can comprise the “advanced” version of several of the other social quirks (Good/Bad Reputation, Popular/Respected, Survivor, and Black Sheep particularly). So if you’re famous for Surviving something, you don’t need to take Renowned AND Survivor (this also includes Popular). You do, of course, need to thoroughly explain the source of your fame in your background and Chargen Notes.
Respected (Commoners Only) - Despite being a Commoner, you hold the respect and admiration of your noble rulers. Perhaps you performed a great service for them, or perhaps you are known to be an expert in your field. You may be a member of the Clergy, or maybe you're simply a servant or soldier that has grown close to your liege over time. In any case, you are generally permitted to speak freely among nobles of the family you serve without fear of serious repercussion, though you should still be careful about doing so with nobles of other families. You likely also enjoy a degree of favor and protection from your lieges that is considerably greater than the normal commoner. On the downside, your liege's enemies may find you an attractive target to strike at them indirectly, since chances are they can do so without serious direct repercussions.
Rival - You have an individual who is a social peer who competes with you at nearly every opportunity. This rivalry can be friendly, could be "just business," or it can be not-so-friendly, but generally speaking neither party wants the other outright killed. Maybe you're a Tourney Knight who has a frequent "nemesis" on the lists. Maybe you're a courtier whose political efforts are often opposed by a particular person, or perhaps you're a craftsman or artist trying to lure customers from another. Your rival should be mentioned in your background, and ideally should be of equal or better social rank and similar profession. If a Rivalry goes long enough, it might evolve into true enmity. Or conversely, some Rivals end up being friends in the long run.
Rough Around the Edges (Nobles Only) - You have a reputation for being a bit more earthy than other nobles. While this doesn't earn you censure, it may lead to some eye-rolling and a bit of scorn from your fellows all the same. Basically, for one reason or another you lack much of the etiquette of other nobles, but generally speaking people tend to find your manners more amusing or refreshing than offensive. The flipside being they probably think you're not very bright and have a harder time taking you seriously. This Social Quirk is often found in conjunction with "Up-Jumped" below, or with houses that tend to live in more remote areas. Also note, that if you're only pretending to act this way, that's a matter for Deception +rolls and probably doesn't actually qualify for this quirk.
Spy Network (Restricted - Elite Characters) - You have a web of information-gatherers and influence that spreads across the Edge. Operating and maintaining a spy network expends a lot of time, effort, and resources, and thus is rare to find outside of ducal-level families and up, or Syndicate heads. As a result of this quirk, you may treat all rumors posted, regardless of which Kingdom they occur on, as IC knowledge. You may also work with staff to investigate rumors outside your kingdom and attempt to learn the truth of them (normally you can only investigate rumors within your own Kingdom). Note that this quirk is for the actual head of the spy network. Characters may have access to information from a spy network at GM's discretion, especially if they are affiliated with the head of that network.
Superstitious - You hold a particular set of beliefs and/or customs that others likely find a bit odd if not outright backwards. This could be as simple as having a particular object that you believe brings you luck, or it could be a more codified set of beliefs and little rituals designed to stave off ill fortune and/or "black magic." The point is that you absolutely believe them to be necessary and true, and might even think others are imprudent for not believing/doing the same.
Survivor - You lived through a particularly harrowing event when many others (or perhaps no others) did not. Whether it was a particular battle, an infamous ambush, an assassination attempt, a natural disaster, or otherwise, people tend to look upon you with a mix of reverence and pity. Still, you are respected for what you have endured. You may also bear psychological scars from your ordeal. Note that any concept that involves being the sole survivor of a family or (especially) a House will be heavily scrutinized, and is generally discouraged (cliches have their place, but that's pretty much the oldest one in the book, so we'd like to limit its' use…plus it tends to rob a character of RP hooks beyond "brood" and "seek vengeance/justice").
Syndicato (Special) - You are a member of one of the ruling families of the Syndicates. Note that characters who are part of those families receive this quirk for "free" (not counting against their Social Quirk limit) unless they take the "Black Sheep" or "Disowned" quirks.
Targeted - Someone is hunting you. Perhaps they feel you wronged them in some fashion. Perhaps you have something they want. Perhaps they view you as an obstacle to their plans. The bottom line: Someone hates you, and wants you ruined or dead and is willing to expend not-insignificant resources to see it done. You may or may not know the identity of the person who's after you, and in fact may not even know that you have such an enemy at all! Despite that, your enemy and the reason for their hatred should be noted in your character's background. Note that this quirk is designed to reflect an abiding, personal stake in seeing harm done to you. For example: It would not be suitable to use it to reflect an assassin that is under a contract to kill you, but rather would reflect the person that hired them, who would also be willing to hire many more assassins to see the job done. It also refers to a specific individual, and not, for example, the general sort of danger that virtually any person of significant power and prestige tends to naturally have surrounding them.
True Friend - You have a deep and abiding bond with another person that is based on mutual respect, admiration, and affection (as opposed to any sort of political ties, though those may well result from your friendship if among nobles). Your friend is willing to offer significant resources and sacrifice of themselves to help you if you need it, and vice-versa. You must make a Willpower +roll at -5 to resist immediately going to your friend's aid if they call for it or are in danger (of course you don't have to make a +roll at all if you don't want to resist), and may receive bonuses to various +rolls when aiding your friend directly (GMs discretion). Note that this bond is strong enough that you will risk life and limb, and possibly even the fortunes of your House to help them if you're noble. While your friend is almost always willing to help you, they are not your pawn. If another player character is your true friend, be sure they've got a compatible player, because this person is more than just your best friend…they may as well be family. If you're looking for inspiration, think Robert Baratheon and Ned Stark from Game of Thrones, or Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee of Lord of the Rings.
True Love - You are deeply, truly in love with someone else. This could be a romantic love, or a familial love (or both if you're Jaime Lannister). On the upside, this gives you a powerful motivator. You can make a second attempt at a Body+Body roll to avoid death so long as your true love is still alive, and are likely to receive bonuses on +rolls when directly aiding your true love in some fashion (GM's Discretion). However, you must make a Willpower +roll at -10 (yes, you read that correctly) to avoid immediately going to your true love's aid if they require it, even at risk to your own life, reputation, or the fortunes of your House. Additionally, if your true love is dead (or you believe they are), then when making a Body+Body +roll to avoid death, you must +roll twice. If you fail either roll, you are dead. The only exception is if you are fighting a person who you know was responsible for your true love's demise, in which case you gain a free Luck point to +luck/hero and continue the fight. This only happens once though, and whether you fell your opponent or are again felled, you perish at the end of combat. The romance! The tragedy! Love's a bitch.
Note that this quirk can get very complicated very quickly if your True Love is not the person you are married to. Also note…your True Love is not obligated to take this quirk in return. Simply "being in love" does not necessarily qualify one for this quirk, and in fact your relationship might very well be more healthy if you don't have it. This is the all-consuming, borderline-obsessive type of love. But hey, you just might end up having songs written about it all after you're dead (or maybe even before!). Obviously your true love should figure prominently in your background, and no, no matter how awesome you are you can't have yourself as your True Love.
Unusual Appearance - You have distinctive traits that give you an odd, distinctive, or even outright frightening appearance. This could range from heterochromia (each eye a different color), albinism, facial birthmarks, moderate to extreme facial scarring and/or facial tattoos, or maybe a bad trip through a Faegate left you with purple hair or blood red eyes or something of the sort. Either way, reactions may vary from double-takes and mild surprise all the way to outright horror and revulsion. You need to specify in your character generation notes what the nature of your unusual appearance is. Note that extreme versions of this quirk may limit your maximum Presence score and provide significant penalties in certain social skills (though it may actually add bonuses to intimidation).
Up-Jumped (Cannot be taken by Petty Nobles) - Your family has only achieved its' noble status within the last generation or two (three at most). Many of the older noble families tend to view you and your family as ambitious social climbers (whether true or not), and not quite truly "one of them" (With the notable exception being whichever noble family yours is vassal to). Likewise, Common folk sometimes can be difficult to deal with, because even if they respect what your family has accomplished, they remember when you were "one of them" and have a hard time keeping the proper social division. On the plus side, you and your family have the favor of at the very least a Ducal-level noble, or perhaps even a member of the Royal House (who likely helped your family achieve their current position). This quirk may also apply to nobles that have recently risen in station beyond what they originally attained, however the stigma is generally far lesser in this case, as your family IS established nobility, and can be mitigated altogether (to the point that the quirk is unnecessary) depending on the circumstance of the promotion.
Vendetta - You have an enemy that you have a deep personal stake in seeing ruined, killed, or more charitably brought to justice for some wrong committed against you or your family. You may or may not actually know this person's identity, but you are aware of the acts they committed and believe them to be the guilty party. It is possible, however, that you have a case of mistaken identity or that there is more to the story than you realize. Or maybe there isn't. Regardless, you have a strong emotional investment in seeing this matter pursued, bordering on obsession. Your enemy and the reasons behind your animosity should be detailed in your character's background. Note that this reflects a particular animosity against a single individual, not an organization or group.
Vow - You have given your solemn oath on something and fully intend to keep it. Note that this vow should be something that is long-term, and not simply a transitory or easily accomplished task. You must make a Willpower roll at -5 if faced with any situation in which you have to choose between furthering or sticking to your vow or taking an alternative course of action. If you fail you must follow your vow. However, you receive a +3 bonus to Willpower rolls made while in pursuit of your vow, and may even receive other bonuses on tasks directly related to it besides (GM's discretion). You are willing to expend considerable resources and put yourself at risk of injury or even death to fulfill your vow. You should detail your vow in your background and character notes. Note that your vow must involve some degree of risk and sacrifice to your character, and not simply be purely self-serving. "I vow to get rich!" is not suitable. "I vow to destroy this particular group of very dangerous people" would, however. Or "I vow to protect this particular person for so long as we live." This quirk does not normally apply to "everyday" vows such as marriages or joining certain groups (IE Knighthood/Clergy/Syndicates), unless you decide that particular vow is absolutely central to your character and their outlook on life.
Wealthy (Restricted - Advanced Characters; Cannot be taken by Petty Nobles) - You have more money than those at your social level and/or occupation normally do. Find the occupation or social rank that best suits your character on the table on the Economy page (If you qualify for more than one category, pick whichever is highest). You receive two times (for most Commoners) or three times (for nobles or merchants) the monthly allowance of currency for that rank or occupation. If you are a Noble from a House that is designated as “wealthy” increase the multiplier to four times the usual amount.
Well-Connected (Cannot be taken by Petty Nobles) - For whatever reason, you have close relationships with or at least are known to many powerful people beyond what would normally come with your social standing. You have a much easier time getting "face time" with important personages (possibly even of other nations!), or might even be a personal friend of such folks. Some of these people might even be willing to do political favors for you, though often they are expected to be paid back in some fashion or another. Please note that generally speaking the higher the social rank of your character, the less necessary this quirk is.
Well-Equipped (Cannot be taken by Petty Nobles) - For one reason or another, you have better access to high-quality equipment than most of your peers. A character with this quirk can choose to start with one item of exceptional quality. Options include a Lightsilver weapon (Except for a Greatsword), Full Plate Armor, or a Heavy Charger Warhorse. Any mundane items you possess are of excellent craftsmanship and materials, as well. You should likely explain how you acquired your "big" item in your background. Note this quirk does not make you wealthy. It just means you can start with better equipment than your peers might.
Personality quirks are exactly what they sound like. Little (or big) things about your characters’ personality that help define who they are as a person. All characters should pick 3 personality quirks at character generation. Most House and organization pages have a list of suggested Quirks for their “stereotypical” members, but you are not limited to choosing from that list.
Agnostic - +1 Willpower, +1 Perception
Aggressive - +2 Willpower, -1 Perception. Luck points provide double their usual bonus on Willpower +rolls to resist Persuasion or Intimidation. However you must make a Willpower +roll at a -5 penalty to resist attempting to insult or intimidate them in response.
Alcoholic - Luck Points provide triple their usual bonus on Carousing +rolls, but all Willpower +rolls are at -5 if you haven’t had at least two drinks in the last 8 hours. You must make a Willpower +roll at -5 (regardless of how many drinks you’ve had) to turn down any offer of drink, unless you have strong reason to believe it may be poisoned.
Ambitious - +1 Willpower, +1 Perception
Analytical - +1 Perception, Luck points provide double their usual bonus to Investigation +rolls made to draw conclusions from available evidence (a separate +roll is likely required to gather said evidence, and does not receive this bonus).
Chaos-Touched (Restricted - Staff Permission) - You do not suffer from Gate Sickness. However, you are what folks would call “not right in the head.” How this manifests is up to the player (subject to staff approval), but for RP purposes they should be functional enough for basic social interaction (at least most of the time).
Charismatic - Luck Points provide double their usual bonus on Charm and Intimidation +rolls.
Code of Honor - +1 Willpower, Luck Points provide double their usual bonus on Willpower +rolls when resisting influences that would make you break your code of honor. (GM’s Discretion)
Compassionate - +1 Perception, Luck Points provide double their usual bonus on Perception checks to ascertain another’s emotional or physical state.
Cunning - +2 Perception
Devout - +1 Willpower, Luck Points provide double their usual bonus on Religious Lore (Or the lore that applies best to your Religion if not a follower of the One God) +rolls, and Charm or Negotiation +rolls against other characters with this quirk who follow the same religion.
Dignified - +1 Willpower, Luck Points provide double their usual bonus on Willpower +rolls to maintain your composure in difficult circumstances.
Down-to-Earth - +1 Willpower, +1 Perception
Driven - +2 Willpower
Duty Bound - +2 Willpower However, you must make a Willpower +roll at a -5 penalty to take any action that involves you doing something contrary to your sworn duties, however briefly. In case of conflicting duties or oaths, no roll need be made.
Empathic - You receive +2 on Perception checks to ascertain another person's emotional state or for basic intuition. However you take a -2 penalty on Perception checks for physical awareness, as your attention tends to be focused on those specific aspects of the world.
Fanatic - +2 Willpower, however you must make a Willpower +roll at a -5 penalty to avoid proselytizing to known heathens, or to aggressively confront any who disparage or openly question the tenets of your faith.
Fastidious - +2 Perception, -1 Willpower. If you are in a noticeably unclean environment for longer than five minutes, or have not bathed in more than 24 hours, then all your social and Willpower skill rolls are made at a -2 penalty due to your obvious discomfort.
Forward-Thinking - Luck points provide double their usual bonus on Stewardship or Intrigue checks involving long-term plans (plans that will take at least six months to bear fruit).
Frail - Your Body attribute cannot be higher than 2. You must spend 2 luck points to gain the benefit of one luck point on any Body related +rolls.
Hardy - Your Body may not be lower than 3. You gain double the benefit on luck points spent to resist the effects of poisons, drugs, or disease.
Hedonist - -1 Willpower, +2 Perception. Luck Points provide double their usual bonus on Charm and Carousing +rolls when pursuing your own personal pleasure and nothing else. (GM’s discretion)
High Pain Threshold - +1 Willpower, Luck Points provide double their usual bonus on Willpower checks to resist pain and torture.
Hot-Tempered - +2 Willpower, -1 Perception, However Willpower +rolls to keep your temper in check are made at a -5 penalty, which you can spend a luck point to negate.
Lecherous - -1 Willpower, Luck Points provide double their usual bonus on Charm +rolls to flirt with members of your preferred gender (or genders). However, you must make a Willpower +roll at -5 to resist flirting with any person your character would consider attractive unless they are immediate family members or flirting with them in the specific circumstance may result in imminent danger for your character (For instance, flirting with another man’s wife when he’s armed and armored beside her).
Loyal - +2 Willpower
Outgoing - +1 Perception, Luck Points provide double their usual bonus on Charm +rolls..
Proud - +2 Willpower, but must make a Willpower roll at -5 to avoid answering any perceived slights, snubs, and insults.
Recklessly Brave - +2 willpower for courage checks but a -5 penalty when rolling against 'wisdom' or 'better judgement' situations. You are courageous to the point of 'leaping before you look'. Your courage is often at the expense of your better judgement.
Ruthless - +1 Willpower, Luck Points provide double their usual bonus to Torture +rolls.
Scathing - +1 Perception. You have a keen eye for people's faults but a hard time keeping silent about them. You must make a Willpower roll at -5 to avoid making a cutting remark when faced with someone's faults. The penalty drops to -3 if the person in question is speaking directly to you and occupies a higher social standing, or -2 if doing so will put you or your House/family in immediate danger of serious repercussions.
Sensible - Luck Points provide double their usual bonus to Stewardship +rolls involving routine matters of running a House, Duchy, or business.
Sensitive - -1 Willpower, +2 Perception, Luck Points provide double their usual bonus on Artistic Skill rolls, but only if the skill is not being used with the intention of garnering fame or coin. (GM’s Discretion)
Shrewd - +1 Willpower, +1 Perception
Stern - +1 Willpower, Luck points provide double their bonus to Instruction rolls.
Stoic - +1 Willpower, Luck Points provide double their bonus to Deception or Willpower checks to conceal your emotional state. (GM’s Discretion)
Strong-Willed - +2 Willpower.
Tight-Knit - +2 Willpower, -1 Perception, Luck Points provide double their usual bonus when making any +roll that directly supports a member of your House or immediate family (but not any vassals your House may possess)…GM’s Discretion as to what constitutes “direct support.”
Worldly - +1 Perception, Luck Points provide double their usual bonus on Lore Skills when the knowledge sought does not involve religion or folklore (to include religions and folklore of other geographic areas). GM’s Discretion as to whether the quirk applies.
If you have an idea for a quirk that is not listed here that you want for your character, or even just think would be a fun addition for other players, then by all means send a +request to staff with a brief explanation of the Quirk and what you think it should do, as well as which category it falls in.. Staff will look at it and decide if it's something they want to add to the list of quirks.
Final Steps and Approval
- Calculating and Setting Automatic Skills
- Backgrounds Overview
- Strong Backgrounds
- Background Suggestions
- Equipment
- Approval
Now that you've chosen your quirks, you can calculate your starting rating for Perception and Willpower using the following formulas:
Willpower = 1 + (Average of Mind and Presence) + (Bonuses from Quirks). Up to a maximum of 8 for standard characters and 10 for Elite characters. (9 and 11 if they have the "Unbreakable" Quirk)
Perception = 1 + (Average of Mind and Reaction) + (Bonuses from Quirks). Up to a maximum of 8 for standard characters and 10 for Elite characters. (9 and 11 if they have the "Perceptive" Quirk)
Note : Averages should be rounded down to the nearest whole number.
Make sure to keep track of how many points total you have between your starting Perception and Starting Willpower. For instance, if you come out with 7 Willpower and 5 Perception, your total would be 12 points. You can "overspend" skill points in Chargen to an amount equal to this number. So basically if you're getting an error message that you've spent too many chargen points, as long as that number is beneath the sum of your starting Willpower and Perception, you're OK. Don't worry, if you've overspent beyond what you're allowed the staff will likely catch it in approval.
After you have calculated your starting Willpower and Perception, set them to the appropriate starting levels. If you wish to raise them beyond your starting levels, you may do so with chargen points, up to the limits described above, and within the usual limits on total number of high-level skills, etc….
Note : If setting your starting Willpower and Perception levels gives you a warning about spending to many Action Points. That is ok. However, you may not spend additional points to raise them further at this point.
Writing a background (BG) can often be one of the most involved parts of CG and one that ties all the other parts together. There’s a lot that goes into it, too much to cover here with any sort of brevity, but here are some important notes:
Apprenticeship, Squiring, Priestly Education: For those characters apping knights, serious craftspeople and ordained clergy of the One Faith, training begins at age eight. Knights become pages at this age and may or may not be fostered to an allied family at this time, at age twelve become squires and knights at around age twenty (some sooner and some later depending on skill and opportunity). Prospective priests and priestesses are usually sent to Sanctum for training at age eight and complete it and take their oaths at around age 20. Craftspeople are usually apprenticed to a master of the craft at age eight and finish around the same time as knights and priests, age 20. More can be found on the One Faith, Knighthood and Commoners pages. People can start such training later in life and sometimes at an accelerated rate (with the proper attributes) but, the is the exception and very much not the rule.
Main requirements of successful BG:
1) Where you fit into your family.
2) Major life events, knighthoods, honours, marriages, crippling injuries etc.
3) How you learned any advanced skills.
4) How you gained any quirks like bad reputation, survivor etc.
5) Ties to other players and the world as a whole.
For reference for world events in writing your BG please see your house page, as well as our Timeline, most player characters will have been born in the time during or since the Thirty Years War in 1818 during the Imperial Age , and it makes a great place to start reading.
Please note, that if your background includes other player characters in any significant fashion, you need to clear your usage of those characters with those players. While you should both work together to help make the background make sense for both characters, note that if there is an irreconcilable conflict between a previously existing player character and someone apping someone linked to them, the previously-established character's preferences will have precedence.
While ideally every character should have a strong background, it is mandatory for Advanced and Elite characters. Still, even if your character doesn’t require a strong background, it never hurts to write one, and meeting the below criteria will not only make it easier for your character to get involved in IC happenings, but will make them a more natural fit for our theme.
A Strong Background should include the following:
1. A reasonably complete accounting of the character’s life, from birth until present (obviously the earliest years can be glossed over unless something of particular importance to the character happened during that time). We don’t need every last detail, but we do need the story of how your character became who they are.
2. Is clearly written and properly formatted (multiple reasonable-length paragraphs, not a “wall-o-text”). Not to be nitpickers, but there are far too many options for spelling and grammar checking available out there, so failure to apply them when writing a background comes across as lazy. A couple typos are no big deal, happens to everyone…but failing to capitalize or punctuate throughout, or otherwise mangling the English language as you go along are likely to get the app kicked back.
3. References timeline events and conflicts that occur during the characters’ lifetime. Even if the character might not have directly been part of major events, it should be explained how these events and/or conflicts affected them. If they were adults during a major conflict in the area they live, there should be an explanation of how they supported (or perhaps didn’t support) the various factions they belong to during that conflict.
4. Clearly uses elements of the game’s overall theme to create a character that is truly part of it. If this character could basically just be dropped into any generic fantasy setting with just a few name-changes, it’s not really a strong background. This ties in strongly to point 3, above.
5. Contains RP hooks to at least 3 (and possibly more) specific characters (which can be PCs or NPCs, but see below). At least one of these characters must be a currently-played PC. Only one of these characters may be an immediate family member (which can and most often will overlap with “currently-played PC” above). You may certainly have (and probably should have) hooks to more than one immediate family member, but only one of them “counts” towards your minimum level of “hooks.” At least one of these characters must be a character from outside of the House that your character is initially part of. Please note that you can certainly include hooks to more than 3 characters if you wish and it makes sense, so long as the above criteria is met.
For example: Robert is apping an experienced Royal Lancer of Rivana. While writing his background, his player decides that he was particularly close to his younger brother growing up, and they had many misadventures during Robert’s pre-squire days, but during one of those adventures, the younger brother suffered a broken leg that left him with a permanent limp and barred him from knightly service. This led Robert to develop the protective instincts that would lean him towards the path of becoming a Lancer later on (and perhaps fostered either resentment or an even closer relationship between the siblings). Robert’s brother is a NPC, but could be apped in the future by someone else. Robert also decides that he squired for his still-living Uncle, who is also currently an appable NPC, and whom Robert saved the life of during a particular battle while still a squire, which was what earned him his knighthood. Since the Uncle is not an immediate family member, he can qualify for the second “hook.” Finally, Robert decides that during the Selection to become a Royal Lancer, he developed a strong rivalry with another of the candidates who happened to be from a different House, and while they were both selected, they still have a somewhat tense and hostile relationship to this day, thus fulfilling the “outside the house” requirement. At it happens this fellow lancer is also a currently-played PC, so also meets that requirement. At this point, Robert could include further hooks (perhaps to the Royal family member he’s most-often been assigned to guard, for example, or other family members), but his “minimum” requirements for character hooks have been met.
Background Length: There is no “minimum length” for backgrounds, even strong ones. If you can accomplish all the above criteria in just a few succinct but information-packed paragraphs, then that’s A-OK. If you need more space, that’s also fine. Obviously older characters are likely to have more background to cover, but we’re really not looking for novels. You don’t need to impress us with flowery prose (and in fact, an overabundance of such can make it take longer to review your application) or sesquipedalian loquaciousness (perfectly fine to be that way IC if it suits your character, but it can make BG-reading a chore). It’s fine to try writing something that’s entertaining to read, but just remember that tastes vary as to what might be “entertaining” and what might not.
The following applies to ALL backgrounds, not just “strong” backgrounds:
Be original. Recycling a favorite character of your own from another place is fine, as long as you tweak it enough to fit our theme well, but plagiarism/copying and pasting other peoples’ words is a no-no. This includes “barely reworded” work. Just changing a few words here and there doesn’t cut it.
Discuss RP hooks with other players before apping. Generally speaking, characters need permission to use other player characters in their BGs if they’re used in any specific way beyond the most basic of relationships (ie “Sarah is Robert’s younger sister.”) Note that this includes characters yours might be related to. While it’s fine to say that another character is your sibling/parent without getting any special permission, if you go beyond that and start including events that would have affected them as well as you, you should clear it with them first. In general, it’s all-but-mandatory that you coordinate with the players of characters yours would have strong ties to while apping. Because come on…why wouldn’t you do that? It helps give your character a stronger grounding in the setting and can help develop OOC communication between players as well.
You may use NPCs freely in your background, including staff NPCs, but be aware that staff may inform you that certain events or relationships might not be possible for varying reasons, and if you’re trying to achieve a very strong hook to a major staff NPC, it should be cleared in advance with staff. For example, Robert the Royal Lancer mentions in his background that he’s been assigned to Queen Alysande’s detail and often serves as one of her bodyguards. That would not require any special permission, as it is ultimately an “incidental” hook borne from Robert’s concept. Now if Robert mentioned in his background that he and Queen Alysande have secretly been lovers for years, he would need to get staff approval for such a thing ahead of time (and just as a note, it would probably be denied in that particular example). Also, pay attention to the lineage tabs on the House pages for the House you’re apping into. The family trees are generally “set” so just making up a family member whole cloth usually isn’t going to fly unless you can present a VERY convincing case for why they should and there’s enough wriggle-room in the family tree to place them there. If you need help determining family members that could be used for particular purposes (for example, someone for a prospective knight to squire to), you can always ask the staff.
Incorporate the theme. Our world may not be the most original thing in existence, and we may freely acknowledge that it’s a hodgepodge of many, many different influences and inspirations, but it is still a specific setting and theme. Writing a “generic” background that could be easily dropped into just about any even remotely similar setting with minimal changes or additions/subtractions doesn’t make for a very strong character, or one that’s going to have an easy time finding RP/getting involved in things. While you may be able to get away with it for a standard character, it’s very much not recommended to write BGs that minimize the unique aspects of the theme.
Pay attention to the timeline. The Timeline has all sorts of useful information on things that have happened during the lifetimes of most of our characters here. Your background should at least mention some of the world/his or her nation’s happenings during that time. There are very few living PCs in Rivana that were not affected in some way by the Succession War, for example, and virtually all currently playable characters were likely touched in some way by the even more recent events of the Cardinal’s Gambit.
Link to more than one character. Joe is apping a Noble Knight. Joe is good MU* friends with Jane, who is apping a Lady of suitable age, lineage, and social class to be a match for Joe. They decide to link their characters together in a long-standing romance. This is totally and completely OK…UNLESS that is effectively the only link to another currently-played character Joe and/or Jane will have. Your character should have more going for them than just their relationship with one other PC. Ask yourself: If the other player dropped their character tomorrow, would mine still have things to do? If the answer is “no” then you need some more hooks in your BG.
Think about what your character wants. All characters should have goals in life, both short-term and long-term.. While these don’t need to be directly spelled out in their background or personality (though it certainly helps!), if a staffer asks you “What does your character want?” at any given time, you should be able to answer, at least in a broad sense, but the more specific the better. It’s all well and good to say “Robert wants to serve his liege” but it’s a lot better to say “Robert wants to honor his house by becoming a Royal Lancer of Rivana.” Having specific dreams and goals for your character will allow the staff to craft plots that incorporate opportunities to advance them…or roadblocks to (temporarily) stymie them and include them in plots. This also means that when your character does achieve one or more of their goals, you should think about what they want after that. Everybody always wants something after all.
Think about what you, as a player, want. Every person has different kinds of RP that they prefer over others. Some people like high-risk adventure and combat. Some people like to get into political maneuvering. Some people like to get involved with major storylines and NPCs while others prefer smaller-scale plots with minimal NPCs. Some people want romance and relationship-building, and many people like a mix of all of the above. But basically, by having an idea of the kinds of RP you’re looking for, and communicating that to staff, we can help you craft a character that will be best-suited to achieving those kinds of RP. It can quickly lead to frustration if you end up applying for a character that isn’t really in a great place to achieve the types of RP you want, simply because you may not have fully realized the implications of the house/circumstances/concept (or combination of all of the above) you were apping into.
Equipment should just be a general list of what the character has at their disposable for regular use. It does not need to include full descriptions of the items, but it should cover some details. For example, if they have a sword, what type of sword is it? Long short, board sword, etc? Not sure of what types of armor or weapons might be used in game? Check out +gear/armor and +gear weapons.
Not sure of what your char should have? Go ahead and take a look at what other characters have done by using +sheet2 <character name> to get an idea and see examples of what staff is looking for.
Also for characters that will be tournament knights, you should make sure to take a look at the Tournaments page for an idea on equipment that is required for each of the tournament events as well as skills.
Once you have finished filling out everything in the chargen rooms, you can submit your character for approval by following the instructions provided in those rooms. Staff will then take a look at your character and work with you to determine whether or not any changes need to be made. After all the necessary revisions are made, your character will be approved and you’re free to begin their adventures in the Edge!
Please note that it requires a review and approval from two separate staffers to approve a character. Additionally, please allow at least 72 hours for the first round of reviews to arrive. We will always strive to get it to you much sooner if possible, but various factors may preclude us being able to immediately review your character, or possibly your character may have aspects that require discussion amongst the staff before they can be approved (or have alterations suggested). If you haven’t heard anything in 72 hours or more, than feel free to politely inquire as to the status of your application.
As a side note, passive-aggressively complaining about not being approved yet in the OOC lounge does not make the process any faster, especially if you haven’t even been on the approval list for longer than 24 hours.
Don’t be discouraged if you are asked to make revisions to your character. Nearly all characters do before they reach final approval, sometimes minor, sometimes major, and a lot of the time somewhere in-between.