Become who you were always meant to be.
Narrative
To make a character you must first come up with a concept that fits the story and world. The group should discuss what kind of story and themes they want the game to have. The GM then creates the world and plans the narrative, meanwhile the players can start to think of the sort of role they want to play in that story. Once the GM is done the players should read any materials that they are provided, and then discuss their ideas with the GM and rest of the group.Those ideas are workshopped until everyone is happy that it suits the world and story they want to play, and the player is happy to play that character.
Before creating your character sheet you should consider a few key details. First you should consider what sort of things you want your character to be able to do, and what role they will play in the group. Think about what makes your character unique: what unusual skills they have, what unusual characteristics make them noticable. And you should work out your character's place in the world: the story that has lead them to the start of this story. Where they come from, what has happened to them, and who they might know.
You can make a character using this site's character builder. However if you prefer to have a physical character sheet you can make your own using 2 sheets of A4 paper.
A character sheet has 6 sections: the Overview, Abilities and Talents, Defences, Actions, Skills, and Details. The Overview can be a short header at the top of the first sheet. The rest of the first sheet is split down the middle, on the left is the Abilities and Talents section, and to the right are the Defences and Actions. On the reverse of the first sheet is the Skills section. And the second sheet is used for the Details, and potentially either notes or backstory.
The first part of the Overview section is the character's name, and a short one-line summary. If you are struggling to come up with a character name talk to your GM and the rest of your group, they may have useful suggestions, or you can lookup online name generators for whatever genre you're trying to recreate. The summary should be able to serve as a brief reminder to yourself of what your character's core concept is, it can also be useful for the GM and group to have a surface level understanding of what your character will be doing in the story.
| Name | Summary |
|---|---|
| Silvia Lonestar | Elven assassin and seer who is obsessed with frogs. |
| Dr Keira Akamura | Terrifying doctor with a habit of sleeping with any alien that boards the ship. |
| Sanford Clack | Failed detective searching for any meaning in his meaningless cases. |
Also in the Overview section are Talent Points, XP, and Hits. Talent Points are spent to give your character Talents and Skills, each Talent or Ability level costs more than the last, and more powerful Skills cost more than less powerful ones. The maximum number of Talent Points you can spend on your character is set by their current XP.
Maximum Talent Points = 50 + 5 x XP
XP is earned throughout your character's story. Any time that group's characters' Faction achieves a Goal (system in progress) the characters all recieve an XP point, thus increasing the maximum Talent Points. To spend those extra Talent Points you must spend cooperative scenes training or improving additional Talents and Skills.
During the story your character may take wounds from dangerous situations or combat. These wounds are called Hits. The maximum Hits your character can take is defined by their Fortitude or Perseverance.
Maximum Hits Taken = Fortitude OR Perseverance / 2 (minimum of 1)
If your character's Fortitude is what drives their maximum Hits, then that represents them being physically tough, and being able to shrug off even severe wounds. However if Perseverence drives your character's maximum hits, then that represents them having the sheer willpower to fight through the pain of a wound, and keep going.
| Level | Dice | Point Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1d4 | 1 |
| 2 | 1d6 | 3 |
| 3 | 1d8 | 6 |
| 4 | 1d10 | 10 |
| 5 | 2d6 | 15 |
| 6 | 2d8 | 21 |
| 7 | 2d10 | 28 |
| 8 | 3d8 | 36 |
| 9 | 3d10 | 45 |
Your character has 3 core Abilities: Fortitude, Perseverance, and Nimbleness. These represent the basic strengths of your character. Unlike Talents they can only be used reactively. You cannot use an Ability for a Talent Roll, the only times you make an Ability Roll are when asked to by the GM when reacting to a Crisis Trigger, or when making a defence roll against a Decisive Attack.
Fortitude is the physical sturdiness and strength of your character. It is used when trying to resist immense forces or overcoming weakness.
Perseverance is your character's willpower and mental strength. You will make rolls with it when trying to resist social effects, avoid logical errors, and fight off psychic attacks.
Finally Nimbleness is how fast your character can react, and how dextrously they can do things. Nimbleness rolls are called for when the character needs to react quickly, must perform a feat of agility, or needs to maintain a high level of finesse or deftness.
Each Ability has a level from 0 to 9, which defines the dice you use when making an Ability Roll, you character's Max Hits and defences, as well as the maximum number of Talents they can have. The Ability level costs Talent Points according to the table on the right.
Next, you can give your character a set of unique Talents. Each Ability can have a number of Talents up to that Ability's level. A Talent is a freely named skill that can be used to make attacks and overcome obstacles. It has a level from 0 to 9, and associated dice, similar to Abilities. Your character's Talents are what distinguishes them from both other characters, as well as common folk. A Talent is a specifically trained skill that can be used in a variety of contexts and creative ways. It should not be too specific, as that would limit it's use unnecessarily, and it should not be too broad as that would make it harder to justify it's use on certain Talent Rolls. A Talent should refer to the means by which your character achieves something, rather than the goals. For example a Talent should not focus on simply being able to make an attack, instead it should focus on the skill that can be used to make that attack, but also could be applicable in non-combat scenarios. Finding the right be hard, so it is important to work with your GM and the rest of your group, so that everyone achieves the same balance.
A Talent requires a name, description, level, and limitations. The name should be clear and concise, although it doesn't have to cover everything. Most of the time a simple description with a plain verb will work best, however more stylised names, such as in character phrases, can add flavour to a character so long as everyone knows clearly what the name refers to. The description should cover the full context of the Talent. It must describe how the character uses their skill, what it looks like, and what effects it has. It can also describe how the character learned the Talent, and other characterful details. Ideally the description adds a couple of suggestions for how the Talent can be used creatively to solve problems that it can't solve directly. Some Talents may have many additional details that do not fit into the description. It can be a good idea to keep a seperate document for a full description of the exact ways complex Talents work, especially in the case of hard magic systems.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Rock Breaker | Dorgrun Ironjaw has spent most of his life as a Rock Breaker in the deep quarries of the Forge Fire Alliance. He has immense strength, especially with a hammer or pickaxe. Dorgrun can break most things with ease, even people. |
| Endless Hunter | Serene Nightclaw's stamina easily outlasts all of her prey. That's what makes her a peerless hunter. Once the chase has begun she does not give up. She can run, leap and climb with extraordinary speed. She can jump great distances, and climb immense heights, so long as her prey is in sight. Her stamina allows her to perform other feats of endurance as well, but only if she has the singular focus of the hunt. |
| Bear Strength | Roger Stevenson was a normal kid. Until one day he was possessed by the spirit of a bear. Now, whenever he feels under attack or in danger, that bear spirit erupts out, giving him monumental strength. He can lift huge weights, resist immense forces, and break almost anything. But as soon as he no longer feels scared, that strength vanishes. |
| XF-1 Exoskeleton | Piretta Linotti owns the XF-1 Exoskeleton. An industrial exoskeleton suit that imparts amazing strength and speed. It is corrusion resistant, but requires frequent maintanance. As it was designed for industrial purposes, it often lacks the dexterity required for delicate tasks. |
| The Vile Without Cannot Touch The Vile Within | Horgrin The Vile has such thick skin that it is like granite to the touch. Horgrin can withstand things that would melt most people's flesh. While it may eventually break through to the dark heart inside, fire, acid, and corruption barely effect him. This not only means that Horgrin is resilient, but can use fire, acid, and corruption as a tool or even weapon. |
| Narcomancy | Through their work in BioReal, Hans Silvaskin has gained access to the most cutting edge and experimental drugs known to humankind. Each time they take a dose they gain supernatural abilities, but at a deep cost to their body. It is only their remarkable constitution that allows them to keep doing this. |
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Grudgebearer | Dorgrun Ironjaw holds grudges more fiercely than even regular dwarves. When he has been wronged his memory is deep, and focus is sharp. Nothing gets in the way of Dorgrun settling his grudges. |
| The Inevitable Burning And Rebirth Of All Things | Pyriscene is one with the wildfire. She knows that for new things to grow, the old must burn. She can set sparks and conjur flames, but often has very little control once the inferno is raging. She can use it to harm enemies, or scare them. If she is careful she can use the wildfire in controlled ways, burning rope to cut it, creating light, or many other things. |
| Love Conquers All! | With the love of her friends, anything is possible for Laura Heartscar! When darkness rises, and it seems like evil will triumph, if her friends are with her, laura can summon immense strength and power to overcome any villian. |
| Roboticist | Piretta Linotti is an expert roboticist. She can tinker with a few motors and circuit boards and soon she'll have a little temporary drone that will do her bidding. She understands robots so that she can easily fix, or break them. |
| Balance Of The Four Keys | Zoran The Steady is a master of the Four Keys. They can access all of the Four Realms, and draw upon their power in varying amounts. By deciding the exact forces they wish and balancing them upon the Scales Of Time, and understanding the laws of the Keys, they can achieve the exact effects they want. The First Key accesses the Realms of order and light. The Second Key accesses the Realms of knowledge and darkness. The Third Key acceses the Realms of chaos and sickness. The Fourth Key accesses the Realms of passion and nature. |
| Heart Of The Storm | Szail Stormchaser is a daughter of the storm. She can draw on the chaos and destruction of the winds, rain, and thunder. She is barely able to control it,especially when her passions run high, but when she does manage to wield it she can use it in a variety of ways to make attacks, use the winds to solve problems, or maybe even fly. |
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Swift Draw | Serene Nightclaw is an expert archer who is able to loose arrows with extreme ease and speed. Her ability to remain steady enough to aim even in the highest intensity situations, is immense. She can maintain high levels of focus and finesse even when under extreme stress. |
| Tricky Fingers | Doran Twohands grew up on the mean streets of Zygotha. He can swipe coin purses and jewellery without their owners noticing for hours after. He is highly able to operate unnoticed, and manipulate objects with surgical accuracy. |
| Dancer | Ash Kolney was once a dancer, before the Decay. She can move with elegance and control. While there are very few opportunities to dance nowadays, she often finds that her lessons come in handy in a fight, or when navigating tricky terrain. |
| Master Of The Rooftops | Zoran The Steady learned to navigate the rooftop labyrinth of Zygotha while working as an Outer for the "Procurement" Guild. They know every route, and every shortcut. Leaping across the alleys and streets always seemed more freeing to him than walking the streets ever did. Jumping and climbing is an easy thing for them, even away from Zygotha. |
| Clockmaker | Before his husband's disappearance Silonno Scaramash was a clockmaker. He has increadibly steady hands, and can work to an increadibly fine scale. He can work with mechanisms other than clocks to fix or break them. |
| Ace Pilot | Santiaga Linotti is a daring Ace Pilot. She operates on pure instinct agility. Her reaction speed is insanely fast, and she seems to get more focussed the more stress she is under. |
Every Talent must have a set of limitations. When you want to make an action or attack you must describe what your character does, the GM must then determine if that action would violate either the physical and logical limitations of the world, or one of the limitations of the Talent. If the GM does determine that your description violates a limitation, they must tell you exactly what limitation you have violated (or be specific as to how it violates physical or logical constraints), and then you cannot attempt that action, although you may do a different action instead. On this the GM's word is final. As the GM is responsible for maintaining the consistance of the setting, they must be able to rule what is and is not allowed narratively. If the GM cannot name a specific limitation or physical or logical rule, but still feel that the action does not fit the narrative that the group is telling, then they should allow the action this time, but then establish a new limitation that disallows future similar events. However if the GM feels that the action would be so impossible to fit into the narrative that it cannot be allowed even once, but has no specific limitation or rule to at, then they can choose to spend Rising Tension to stop the action, they must still provide a limitation that would prevent this in the future. This final situation should be used very sparingly by the GM, as it can be very disatisfying to the players.
Each Talent should have around 3 limitations. Limitations should refer to either the context and methods in which the talent is used, or the effects it has. Limitations should not refer to any game mechanics. A Talent may be only usable on certain materials, or require the character to make certain movements. It might require access to an appropriate tool, or a specific item. The Talent could draw on limitted resources, such as ammunition, or mana (Weakness Skills can be used to mechanically model these things). A limitation should not require a specific kind of enemy, or make a Talent only able to overcome specific Obstacles. The limitations are meant to guide creative ways of using the Talent, rather than stop them.
An optional rule that a player can choose to use is to have the GM write the limitations for a Talent and then hide them. Then whenever their character attempts something that violates a rule, the GM should stop the action and reveal the exact limitation that prevented the action. This can be used for narratives around learning mysterious magic systems or technology.
| Talent | Limitations |
|---|---|
| Swift Draw |
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| Grudgebearer |
|
| Love Conquers All! |
|
| Narcomancy |
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| Balance Of The Four Keys * |
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* Complex sets of limitations, often used for hard-magic systems, should not be used to punish the player for not understanding them, rather their primary purpose is to make the player feel clever for using them correctly.
Your character has 3 defences: Resilience, Resolve, and Reactions. Each defence has three sections: Defence Ability, Resistance, and Protection. These sections each contribute to your character's defence against Regular and Decisive Attacks, the details of which can be read in the confilct rules.
The Resistance section is the most important, as such it is placed in the middle. It is made of 2 parts: the Resistance Value and the Resistance Dice. The Resistance Value, used to defend against Decisive attacks, is calculated as 20 + the combined level of the Abilities that contribute to the defence. Fortitude and Nimbleness for Resilience, Fortitude and Perseverance for Resolve, and Perseverance and Nimbleness for Reactions. Resistance Dice, used to defend against Regular Attacks, are calculated as a number of d6s equal to 4 - a quarter of the combined levels of the contributing Abilities.
The Defence column simply summarises the Abilities that contribute to that defence. The column should list the two Abilities and their Dice as this is used when defending against Decisive Attacks.
Finally the Protection column lists the Protection level for each defence: Armour for Resilience, Determination for Resolve, and Confidence for Reactions. Protection is increased through Skills. It is a level between 0 and 9, and adds dice to defence rolls against Decisive attacks that scale similarly to Ability and Talent levels.
The actions section summarises all the possible actions and attacks you can make. It lists each Talent and it's Dice as one action each, as well as all Advanced Actions, with a description of their efect, gained from Skills.
The Skills section contains a list of Skills for each Talent your character has. Each Skill must be selected from the Skill Reference list, and then some descriptive details can be added. Most Skills can only be taken once per Talent, unless it specifically states that it can be. If a Skill has requirements then they must be met before that Skill can be taken. Each Skill has a type, and a Talent Point cost. A Skill can be an Advanced Action, which is a special action that has a specific effect when used, or a modifier, which adds an effect or changes the way the Talent works when making an action or attack, or a strength, which makes the character stronger overall, or a weakness, which makes a Talent worse or harder to use in exchange for a negative cost. A Talent can have up to 2 x its level in advanced action, modifier, and strength skills, and up to 1 x its level in weaknesses.
The Skill's name is initially inherited from the Reference, however it can then be edited to be more specific and flavourful for your character. Similarly the description is inherited, this merely contains a few suggestions for what the Skill could entail, and should be overwritten.
Each Skill should list it's effect and requirments directly from the Reference. These cannot be editted as they specify the rules of the Skill.
Finally each skill has a section for limitations. These are similar to Talent Limitations but for specific Skills, except they are fully optional, and should only be used for flavour.
All modifiers and weaknesses must be used whenever a Talent Roll is made. Where modifiers and weaknesses affect your character's defence, they must always and only apply when the Skill's Talent's Ability contributes to that defence.
The details section is a place for you to describe your character's appearance and motivations. You can add as many descriptive sections as you want. Each description is comprised of a title and a larger text description. You should try to keep each section to one feature, and start a new section for each distinct part of your character's appearance and personality. The title should be a quick way to summarise that feature, with the description providing more details and context. There are 4 categories for details: Physical Features, the physical appearance of your character; Clothing & Equipment, the various clothing, tools, weapons, and stuff your character keeps on them; Fears & Hatreds, the things that your character never wants to encounter, anything that throws them off their focus, and the things that fill them with rage; and Beliefs & Goals, the guiding principles and morals that your character believes in, and the things they want to achieve. You should attempt to have a few sections in each category to fully flesh out your character.
After the details section, add a section for States. During the game you will gain and lose States and you can use this section to keep track of them.
You should write as much or as little backstory as you or your GM wants. There isn't a section for this on this site's character sheet so you should write it elsewhere. A backstory's primary uses are to build up and flesh out the character in your own mind, as well as to give the GM ways to hook the character into the story. Itcan also help in understanding the world and giving the GM a chance to correct any misconceptions you might have.
Once you have finished building your character sheet you should check it with your GM to make sure that there are no conflicts with their setting, as well as allowing them to understand your character better. Once you've done that you're ready to start playing! Have fun and tell good stories!
To tell a story with Inciting Incident you first need to know how to play.
When a fight breaks out and you want to use your character's abilities as best you can.
You have a cool concept for a character. Here's how to make that character in Inciting Incident.
Building a setting / GM guide (work in progress)