Building a home character creation

Character Creation

There are three types of character in this game, Heroes, Experts and Servants.

Heroes are powerful characters with a number of powerful abilities and capable of defeating many normal people by themselves. A powerful mage, an important noble or a powerful general would all be examples of heroes.

Experts while not as powerful as Heroes and still well about the average person, each expert has one very powerful ability even beyond the level of the more generalist heroes, although these special abilities are considered to be skills they edge into supernatural abilities. A powerful warrior, a wily merchant or skilful miner would all be experts.

Servants are much less powerful than heroes and experts although still above the power of the average person. They often have low level command roles and work for a more powerful expert or hero. An experienced Sargent, an apprentice alchemist or trained craftsman would all be types of Servants.

Each player creates a single hero, a single expert and two servants. The Hero and expert will only be played by the player who created them but the servants will be placed on a pool which may be played by any player based upon need.

Each character has 7 main stats as well as a number of skills and some further figures based on stats and equipment chosen.

Stats Each stat is based on a score from 1-10 with 1 being poor and 10 god like, an average individual will have a stat of 2-3. Each type of character has a different maximum stat during character creation. The exception if luck which has no maximum. The stats are: -

Strength This represents a characters physical strength as well as their skills with close combat weapons. This stat effects the chance of you hitting to close combat a the amount of damage done.

Dexterity This represents a characters hand to eye coordination as well as their ability to avoid incoming blows and skill with ranged weapons. This stat affects the chance of you hitting at range and of someone hitting you.

Constitution This represents how tough and physically resistant a character is. This stat affects the number of hit points a character has and the number of magic points sorcerers receive.

Intelligence This represents the general theoretical knowledge that an individual has and their education. This stat affects the ability of mages to cast magic.

Wisdom This represents the practical experience and skills a character has as well as their ability to perceive the real world. This stat affects the amount of magic power a mage or priest receives.

Charisma This represents the social skills and strength of personality a character has. This stat affects the ability of priests and sorcerer to cast their spells.

Luck This represents how lucky the character is and provides a number of rerolls.

Skills Each type of character has several skills at various levels. Each skill represents certain things that the characters are better or worse at than the average individual. When attempting to carry out certain actions the skill level (or part of the skill level if the skill is not entirely appropriate) is added to the stat in question to find out if the action is carried out or not. There are two type of skills, pure skills and stat modifiers: -

Pure skills – Pure skills have no direct effect on a derived stat but represent certain training or knowledge a character has. There is no specific list of pure skills and are all made up by the player, each skill normally covers a range of abilities rather than a specific subject i.e. mining rather than gold mining.

Stat skills – These skills alter a derived stat (see below) in some way. They normally have an effect equal to half of the skill level (rounded down) so that only skills of level 2 or higher can be taken in this way. Below is a list of the possible stat skills: -

Close combat Adds half the skill level to the close combat ability Ranged combat Adds half the skill level to the Ranged combat ability Armour Class Adds half the skill level to the Armour class Soak Adds half the skill level to your soak Damage (ranged) Adds half the skill level to all ranged damage rolls Damage (close) Adds half the skill level to all ranged damage rolls HP Adds the full skill level to each dice rolled for magic points MP Adds the full level to each dice rolled for magic points Imitative Adds the full skill level to the initiative Defensive fighting Adds your full skill level to your dexterity when fighting defensively Overcasting This allows the penalty for overcasting to be reduced by the level of the skill.

Derived stats Once the main stats have been decided additional stats are derived from them: -

Hit points These control how much damage an individual can take before they die. A D10 is rolled for each point of constitution.

Magic points These control how much magic an individual can take before they die. A D10 is rolled for each point of the relevant stat.

Armour class This is how hard it is for an opponent to land a blow on you. This is calculated as 5+ your dexterity stat modified by any armour you might be wearing

Ranged combat This is how well you use ranged weapons, it is your dexterity

Close Combat This is how well you use close combat weapons, it is your strength

Soak This is how well you can absorb damage without serious injury. It is based on your armour

Damage (close) This is how well you can use close combat weapons. This is based on the type of weapon you use plus half your strength stat

Damage (ranged) This is how well you use ranged weapons. This is based on the type of weapon you use plus half your dexterity stat

Initiative This is how quickly you can think and act, it is the average of your dexterity and wisdom rounded down.

Classes Hero Creation points : 35 Magic: Costs 5 creation points + loss of +4 skill. See magic section for more details. Maximum stat:8 Luck: 1+1 per 2 creation points HP/MP: d10 per point, reroll each dice <4 once Skills: +4, +2, +1, -1, -2, -3 Items: 2 magic items (can be true items)

Expert Creation points : 30 Magic: Costs 5 creation points + loss of +6 skill. See magic section for more details. Maximum stat:7 Luck: 2+1 per 2 creation points HP/MP: d10 per point, reroll each dice <2 once Skills: +6, +2, +2, -2, -1, -1 Items: 1 item (crafted item only)

Servant Creation points : 25 Magic: N/A Maximum stat:6 Luck: 4+1 per 1 creation points HP/MP: d10 per point, minimum of 10 points. Skills: +2, +1, -1, -2 Items: N/A

Magic

Building a home takes place in a very magical world although few people can actively manipulate magic most people can unconsciously use magic is a way that allows then to do things that would be impossible in the real world. Experts can be so good at a skill that the skill is supernatural such that an expert miner can small gold and the walls of tunnels are magically secured around him. There are certain rare individuals who can consciously manipulate magic these individuals are categorised into three groups, Mages, Sorcerers and Clerics. Although magic user can use their powers to produce almost any effect there are some limits on the types of spells they can use .

Almost all magic users are feared by the general populous to some level or another. Sorcerers are most feared as they are believed to be the offspring of demons and rarely have fill control of their powers. Mages are less feared due to their greater control and more official position where as Priests are feared the least as it is believed that their powers come from the Gods.

Mages

These magic users have trained to be able to control their magic powers. Their abilities are split into a number of schools, each individual specialises in a single school and will have greater power at using those schools and school relates to their speciality but will be unable to use spells in unrelated schools. The schools are: 1) Abjuration – Spells to protect casters and others such as shields and powers that counter other spells. 2) Transmutation – The power of converting materials from one type to another. 3) Conjuration – Spells involved in the creation of materials from nothings and teleporting individuals and things from one location to another. 4) Demonology – An illegal school of magic which involves summoning creatures from other dimensions. 5) Divination – Spells involved in seeing things in other time periods and places used for spying and telling the future. 6) Necromancy – An illegal school of magic based on the creation of undead and draining of life energy. 7) Illusion – Spells that create empherical copies of individuals and things used to fool on lookers. 8) Enchantment – Spells that control and alter the minds of other individuals.

Each mage selects a single school to specialise using this class of spells has no default penalty. Depending on the type of character they are they can also use other schools. Experts can use schools with numbers one higher or lower with a penalty of -2 to their cast stat. Heroes can use schools with numbers one higher or lower with a penalty of -2 to their cast stat and schools with a number two higher or lower with a penalty of -4 to their case stat. For these purposes 8 is considered lower than 1 and 1 higher than 8. For example a hero whose speciality is Illusion (number 7) could use Abjuration (number 1) with a -4 penalty and Necromancy spells (number 6) with a -2 penalty.

The number of spell point a mage has is based on their Wisdom stat were as they make casting rolls based on their intelligence stat.

Sorcerers

Sorcerers are magic users who can instinctively use their powers to create elemental effects. Sorcerers are normally untrained and may not fully control their powers often leading to them causing destruction where ever they do. For this they are feared by the general populous and may be lynched.

Each Sorcerer specialises on a particular element but powerful sorcerers may be able to use more than one element. A sorcerer’s personality often controls what element they can work with and vica versa.

The elements are: -

Earth – Earth sorcerers can use and manipulate rock, metal and dirt. They can for instance break weapons, create stone walls, tunnel through the earth and throw rock missiles. Earth sorcerers are often very tough but often slow and deliberate. Air – Air sorcerers can manipulate air and wind. They can use their powers to fly, blow arrows off course and suffocate people. Air sorcerers are often quick witted but quite flighty changing their moods quickly. Fire – Fire sorcerers can create and manipulate fire and heat. They can use their powers to cause things to catch fire, heat food and put out fires. Fire sorcerers are often short tempered but often good friends as well. Water – Water Sorcerers can create and manipulate water. They can use their powers to create rain, breath underwater and create tidal waves. Water sorcerers tend to be the most intellectual of sorcerers and are slow to anger although once angry they tend to hold a grudge.

Each Sorcerer has a single main element that they cast spells from without penalty, expert sorcerers can only cast using this element whereas hero sorcerers can use the non-opposing elements with a -4 penalty to their cast stat so a hero fire sorcerer could cast spells using Fire without penalty and Air and Earth with a -4 penalty.

The number of spell point a sorcerer has is based on their Constitution stat were as they make casting rolls based on their Charisma stat.

Clerics

Clerics are magic users who believe that their powers come from the god, most serve as priests but only a small proportion of priests have the magical powers of a cleric. Most clerics follow the whole pantheon of gods although some follow a small group of or even a single god. Compared to other magic users Clerics are the most limited but also the most trusted of the magic users. Each Cleric has a specific word given to them by the gods which defines his powers, these words can be almost anything but below are the most common, some more powerful clerics have access to several words.

Animal – Powers allowing the control of animals and shape changing into animals Death – Powers which injure and kill and destroy unliving Destruction – Powers which cause damage to inanimate objects Healing – Powers which cure disease and injury Knowledge – Powers which aid in increasing your knowledge Luck – Powers which effect chance. Magic – Powers which affect other magic’s Plant - Powers allowing the control of plants and shape changing into plants Protection – Powers which protect the caster and others from danger Strength – Powers which effect the strength of the caster and others Travel – Powers which increase the speed of and aid traveling Trickery – Powers which fool and trick others. War – Powers which aid in combat.

Expert clerics may choose a single word to base their powers on they can only use spells which relate to this word. Hero clerics can choose either two primary words or a primary and two secondary words, there is no default penalty for primary words but a -1 penalty for secondary words.

The number of spell point a cleric has is based on their Wisdom stat were as they make casting rolls based on their charisma stat. Magic items

There are three types of items available, crafted items, created items and true magic items.

Crafted items are items made from magical materials such as bows made of dragon bones, armour made of meteoric iron or healing potions made from magical herbs. These items have a certain fixed bonus normally a point or two to a damage row, soak row or similar. Although still rare these are the most common of the magic items and can be to a limited extent mass produced so that certain elite units may all hold the same crafted magic items. Extraordinarily made non-magical items can also act in this way although such items are often made by experts whose skill borders on the supernatural anyway.

Created items are made by magic users who donate some of their power to permanently add a spell or effect to an item. These items are rare and expensive as the magic user permanently loses some of their power crafting the item. The creator can choose to destroy the item at any point and regain the power making such items potentially short lived. The item remains upon the casters death but the power is slowly lost over the following years. Such items often increase the stats of a character for a certain roll or cast some sort of protective spell on the user.

True magic items are not created as such. Normally they start their life as standard equipment and at some point they are used to carry out some monumental task of such importance that its effect becomes embedded in the item itself. Thus the boots worn by an assassin as he sneaks past a king’s guard may make the wearer supernaturally silent or the sword used to slay an orc chiefdom and thus stop an invasion may cause fear in orcs or do extra damage to them. The powers of such items can normally only be used by the hero who created them or a relative. The powers retain in the item after the original holders death (and may in some cases only be created upon the users death) and may be used by future heroes who have some form of connection to the creator either by blood or outlook. Such items are always unique and normally provide some bonus to a skill or unique magical effect. Each true magic item would have its own story behind it.