CHARACTERS
Starting out in Thaeborn, all Player Characters (PCs) are what we think of as typical humans – though some may have already experienced Alterances from exposure to the Thae.
Info
In supplemental material already in development, playable Thaeborn (beings birthed completely out of human consciousness, dreams, nightmares, and fantasies) and Thae-touched character types are introduced as character creation options.
Characters are gamified by creating numeric representations of their capabilities, burdens, equipment, and other attributes. These numbers are captured on your Character Record Sheet (Character Sheet, Sheet) in advance of your group’s game play so that you have a quick reference and can avoid doing much math at the table.
DISCIPLINES
A character’s skill, training, and experience is represented by broad skillsets called Disciplines. The Disciplines are: Willpower, Prowess, Survival, Subterfuge, Intuition, and Ingenuity.
Disciplines typically have a value between 0 and 10, representing your Proficiency and training – sometimes referred to as a Proficiency Tier (Tier).
USING DISCIPLINES
In most cases, when asked to make a Check, e.g. “a Survival Check”, you simply provide the GM with that Discipline’s Proficiency value, then Cast Lots to see if fate interferes.
Alternative Disciplines
There may be circumstances that warrant Checks that do not clearly fall into a single Discipline. Medicine or First Aid is one example. People trained in Survival learn First Aid, triage, and how to handle common field injuries and trauma like splinting broken bones, performing tracheotomies, dealing with a collapses lung, and so much more. Many of those same skills are also often taught as part of weaponscraft and warfare. Sometimes it takes trusting your gut and using your Intuition, to successfully diagnose something.****
When a reasonable case can be made for the use of a different Discipline than what was originally asked for, it should be allowed.
Tip
In the case of any minor disagreement between a player and the GM regarding the use of alternative Disciplines, one compromise could be an average of the requested Discipline and the alternative one the player requested.
In all matters, we lean towards Player Agency (letting the player control the course of the game), but urge everyone at every table towards respect and kindness first, and when a compromise can’t be reached, the GM has final say.
WILLPOWER
Willpower is your force of self: your ability to focus, endure fear, command your emotions, and impose intent upon yourself and The Thae.
Use Willpower to concentrate under pressure, resist fear or temptation, withstand mental strain, push through pain or exhaustion, work The Thae, sense its presence, resist its influence, or hold a Working together when powerful feelings threaten to overwhelm it.
PROWESS
Prowess is your physical training and conditioning to move and act during conflict and danger, as well as your study of weaponscraft, warfare, and tactics. It covers fighting skill, strength, reflexes, balance, and the practiced control needed to act decisively under pressure.
Use Prowess to strike, shoot, parry, defend yourself, react quickly, avoid hazards, leap, tumble, balance, catch something, maintain your footing, hold a fighting position, assess an enemy’s combat style and capabilities, command in battle, or recognize weapons, armor, formations, and battlefield threats.
SURVIVAL
Survival is your ability to navigate and make sense of the natural world through observation, practical experience, and fieldcraft. Developing this Discipline also involves hardship, exposure, and physical strain that help you endure difficult conditions.
Use Survival to follow tracks, spot danger, search an area, read terrain, find shelter, forage, navigate, handle animals, bear burdens, set an ambush, or piece together what happened from physical clues.
SUBTERFUGE
Subterfuge is your skill at secrecy, concealment, misdirection, infiltration, espionage, and theft.
Use Subterfuge to move unseen, hide, shadow someone, pick pockets, create distractions, disguise your intent, deceive someone, smuggle items, escape bonds, bypass guards, slip through restricted places, spread rumors, or avoid leaving obvious signs of your passage.
INTUITION
Intuition is your instinctive sense of people, danger, hidden tension, and when something is not what it seems.
Use Intuition to read body language, sense motives, detect manipulation, judge sincerity, notice emotional shifts, recognize danger, feel when a situation is turning, or pick up on what someone is trying to hide.
INGENUITY
Ingenuity is your practical skill with tools, mechanisms, construction, repair, and solving problems through hands-on means.
Use Ingenuity to build, mend, disable, jury-rig, appraise, pick locks, set or disarm traps, operate strange devices, solve mechanical problems, improvise tools, or make something useful from limited materials.
STATS
METTLE
How much pain you can withstand, your endurance, and resilience are represented by your Mettle. Every part of your being contributes to your ability to press-on.
Your Mettle is equal to the sum of your Willpower, Prowess, and Survival Disciplines divided by two, rounded up. It’s total value normally ranges from 1 to 15.
CAPACITY
How much you can carry before suffering penalties is called your Capacity..
Your Capacity is equal to your Mettle plus any modifiers applied by your age or Alterances.
BULK
Bulk is an amalgam of weight, size, balance, and awkwardness. It is the standard unit of measure for the encumbrance of things worn or carried.
Most mundane items are not assigned a Bulk value and are not tracked. Armor and Kits are the most common items with trackable Bulk.
HINDRANCE
Once the Bulk you carry exceeds your Capacity, your ability to move and react begin to be negatively impacted. This penalty is known as Hindrance.
Your Hindrance equals the amount your Bulk exceeds your Capacity.
MOBILITY
Mobility is how quickly you are able to move and react after taking into consideration any Hindrance you have.
Your Mobility is equal to your Prowess minus your Hindrance.
CHARACTER PROFILE
PHYSICAL TRAITS
Examples are provided of each term below, but more complete lists and tables are provided in the Character Creation section or Appendices for your inspiration or direct use.
Resting Face
The look on your face when you think no one is paying attention and are left to your normal moment-to-moment thoughts is your Resting Face. This can go a long way towards how strangers perceive and receive you. Do you appear approachable, kind, or even jovial – or do you come across angry, annoyed, frustrated, or melancholy?
Name
You may choose any name you want, but should consider the other players, the tone of the game, and the setting presented by the GM. How quickly will your clever name get old and the joke worn out? Is the supposedly witty yet offensive name really worth it?
Age
In the setting presented in these core guidelines, the average lifespan is about 80 years if violence is removed from the causes of death – more like 35 to 50 in more war-torn regions. Children become adults in most cultures between the age of 13 and 18. The age you choose can effect how many Development Points you have for character creation, and can also impose penalties based on common age-related deterioration.
Alterances
Alterances are physiological, mental, and/or spiritual changes caused by exposure to the magic-like force that permeates these lands: The Thae. They can cause all manner of noticeable physical mutations.
You have the option to take two or more Alterances during Character Creation which could impact your Physical Description, Distinguishing Features, warCapacity, and much more.
Distinguishing Features
What do people notice about your body and your mannerisms? Do you have a scar, tattoos, a nervous tick, or a mutation caused by an Alterance? These are your Distinguishing Features.
Physical Description
A short descriptive phrase or paragraph about your character – your build, the noticeable changes of any Alterances, your Distinguishing Features, Resting Face, and Equipment.
This will come in handy when you meet new Player Characters or to work as fuel for roleplaying for your fellow players and GM.
BACKGROUND
Your characters Background is more than flavor and fodder for roleplaying. If you can relate why your Background is significantly relevant to a Check you’re making or information you’re trying to gather, you may invoke your Background with the GM to negotiate for a bonus or for additional information. It may also be useful when creating relationships, attempting to influence others, or in building your Reputation as well.
You may also attempt to invoke them while roleplaying for a chance to earn Story Points.
Tip
Never hesitate to remind your GM of the reason that you are acting a certain way, saying what you’re saying, or making the decisions you do when it relates to things like your Background. It’s okay to essentially ask for Story Points. Just be okay with being told, “No.”
Climate
Your Climate is the one you were brought-up in, such as: Extreme Cold, Cool, Warm, Hot.
When operating in the climate you were raised in, you may gain bonuses to some Checks – such as Survival for operating on climate-specific terrain like ice or quick sand. Ingenuity, and Subterfuge Checks are also often relevant.
Likewise, when trying to function in a Climate that is vastly different than the one you were raised in, you may suffer penalties for the first several days or even months until you acclimate.
Terrain
Your Terrain is the type of land features, flora and fauna, you were raised in, such as: coastal, forest, plains, desert, mountains, underground, etc.
When operating in the terrain you were raised in, you may gain bonuses to some Checks – such as Survival, Ingenuity, or Subterfuge.
Likewise, when trying to function in the terrain opposite of the one you were raised in, you may suffer penalties.
Community
The type and societal structure you were raised in is your Community. For example: an urban sprawl, small town, quaint hamlet, personal homestead, or a nomadic existence.
Different types of communities tend to have vastly different ways of interacting with each other. These differences may cause strain in social interactions. Knowing how to relate and being “one of them” could possibly be invoked to help you.
Caretakers
The people who raised you and were primarily responsible for what you experienced as a child are your Caretakers.
Livelihood
What you and/or your Caretakers or Community did as the primary source of provision is your Livelihood. Your Livelihood should already be reflected in the development of your Disciplines and therefore not provide a bonus to Checks. But, interacting with other characters who share the same career or way of living could be invoked for favor in those situations.
NOTE
Examples are provided of each term below, but more complete lists and tables are provided in the Character Creation section.
PERSONALITY TRAITS
Similar to your Background, Personality Traits are not just for flavor; they are opportunities for you to invoke them in order to gain Story Points from your GM.
Work these traits into your decision-making and roleplaying positively or negatively. You are not bound to them. They may evolve or devolve over time. Tap into that internal drama for a chance to earn Story Points.
GM Tip
Personality traits are great sources of inspiration for character-specific story hooks.
Motivations
What drives you forward and fuels your decisions? These are your Motivations.
Boundaries
What moral line will you never cross? These are your Limits.
Duties
What oaths have I sworn, debts do I owe, or obligations do I feel? These are your Duties.
Fears
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Desires
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Vices
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NOTE
Examples are provided of each term below, but more complete lists and tables are provided in the CHARACTER CREATION section or Appendices for your inspiration or direct use.
Fears, Desires, and Vices are particularly valuable hooks for your GM, since the Thae seems to enjoy manifesting them.