Player Characters

Creating a Player character

Player characters are created randomly, but feel free to discuss with the GM if you wish to change some details. You can follow the process below step by step or use the online Character Generator.

Abilities. Roll on the Starting ability scores table to determine an array of three scores and assign them randomly to the three abilities.
1. Roll a d3 to assign the highest score: 1) STR; 2) AGI; 3) WIT.
2. Roll a d2 to assign the middle score to one of the remaining abilities, skipping over the one which was already assigned.
3. Finally, assign the lowest score to the last remaining ability.
Career. Determine your past career by rolling on the Careers table. Check its description in the Careers chapter. Re-roll if you get the same career as another Player.
Skills. You start with two skills granted by your career. Check their description in the Skills, Traits, & Conditions chapter.
Assets. You start with 4ʂ, plus the items, money, and followers granted by your career, plus the items and money you get by rolling on the Starting items table. If you start with sacred or profane power scrolls, roll on the Sacred powers or Profane powers tables respectively to determine what power they hold. Re-roll if you get the same result as another Player on any table.
Secondary properties. You start with health equal to your STR (plus 3 if you have the tough skill), 0 corruption, 0 mana, and 2 omens (plus 1 for each of the faith and lucky skills). Your armour value depends on your starting items.
Name and description. Name and portray your character using words, drawings, or a combination of the two, as you prefer. You can roll on the Masculine first names, Feminine first names, Last names, Appearance, Personality, and Reasons to adventure tables if you need inspiration.

After all Player characters have been created, describe how they know each other. Go around the table and define a relationship for each pair of Players sitting next to each other, excluding the last pair. You can roll on the Relationships table for inspiration.

Example

David is creating a new character.

He rolls 7 on a d12 for the abilities scores: 11, 7, and 6. He rolls a d3 to assign the highest score (11) and gets a 2 (AGI). Furthermore, he rolls a d2 to assign the middle score (7) and gets a 2 again (WIT in this case, skipping over AGI). His character’s starting abilities are therefore: STR 6, AGI 11, WIT 7.
He rolls a 1 on a d4 and an 11 on a d12 for the career: soldier.
His career grants him the skilled blow and skilled shot skills.
He starts with the following assets:
- His career provides clothes and a martial great weapon.
- He rolls 2 on a d3 and 9 on a d12 for his starting item: one dose of flash powder.
- He has a total of 8ʂ (base of 4ʂ, plus 4ʂ for the career, and no extra money from the starting item roll).
He notes down his secondary properties: health is 6 (equal to STR), corruption is 0, omens are 2, mana is 0, and armour value is 0.
He finally describes and names his character.

Character advancement

During a campaign, the GM may grant the Player characters an advancement when they achieve significant progress, for example at the end of a scenario or when certain milestones or objectives are reached.

At odd advancements (1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, etc.), characters permanently increase their abilities by a total of 2 points. Remember that no ability can exceed 15 for humans, or 19 in general.
At even advancements (2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, etc.), characters gain a new skill of their choice. They must be able to reasonably explain how they have learnt it (a mentor, past experiences, etc.).
Characters with the sorcery skill can increase their mana by 1 instead of taking the standard advancement (ability increase or skill). Mana can’t exceed 6.

Starting ability scores

D12	Scores	D12	Scores	D12	Scores
1	8, 8, 8	2	9, 8, 7	3	9, 9, 6
4	10, 7, 7	5	10, 8, 6	6	10, 9, 5
7	11, 7, 6	8	11, 8, 5	9	12, 6, 6
10	12, 7, 5	11	13, 6, 5	12	14, 5, 5

Careers

D12\D4	1	2	3	4
1	Acrobat	Agitator	Apothecary	Artisan
2	Assassin	Barber-surgeon	Beast tamer	Beggar
3	Berserker	Boatman	Bodyguard	Bone-picker
4	Bounty hunter	Brawler	Burglar	Charlatan
5	Coach driver	Cutpurse	Duellist	Fire eater
6	Footpad	Gambler	Hunter	Jester
7	Knight	Labourer	Lawyer	Messenger
8	Miner	Noble	Peasant	Pedlar
9	Physician	Pit fighter	Priest	Raconteur
10	Rat catcher	Scholar	Sharpshooter	Slayer
11	Soldier	Soothsayer	Thug	Tomb robber
12	Witch hunter	Wizard	Woodsman	Zealot

Starting items

D12\D3	1	2	3
1	Field kitchen	Navigation tools	Medicine box
2	Antidote	Cure	Scorpion oil
3	Butterfly sting	Reaper's spice	Beastman blood
4	Darkroot, 4ʂ	Madcap mushrooms, 4ʂ	Pipe & pipe-weed, 7ʂ
5	Bear trap	Caltrops	Smoke bomb
6	Grappling hook, 6ʂ	Rope ladder, 6ʂ	Climbing gear
7	Chess set	Marbles, 6ʂ	Animal trophy (wolf pelt)
8	Lucky charm (cornicello)	Mirror	Perfume
9	Acid vial, 6ʂ	Flash powder	Oil lamp, 6ʂ
10	Silver jewel (family heirloom)	Simple hand weapon (hatchet)	Simple great weapon (scythe)
11	Martial hand weapon (battle axe)	Martial great weapon (rusty zweihänder, fragile)	Missile hand weapon (javelins)
12	Missile great weapon (makeshift bow, fragile)	Handgun (pistol)	Long gun (old blunderbuss, fragile)

Sacred powers

D6\D2	1	2
1	Rite of bane	Rite of blessing
2	Rite of courage	Rite of healing
3	Rite of judgement	Rite of martyrdom
4	Rite of preservation	Rite of protection
5	Rite of purging	Rite of purification
6	Rite of restoration	Rite of warding

Profane powers

D6\D4	1	2	3	4
1	Animal shape	Arcane lock	Bewitch	Burning vengeance
2	Eldritch blast	False death	Fiery taste	Flawed resurrection
3	Gift of speech	Hold secret	Illusion	Joyous appearance
4	Levitation	Miasma of chaos	Occult consultation	Plague vessel
5	Purifying flame	Radiant honesty	Reanimate corpse	Silence
6	Star sign	Summon demon	Water breathing	Wood shape

Masculine first names

D20\D4	1	2	3	4
1	Adalbert	Allwin	Alard	Aaldred
2	Alexander	Alured	Amaury	Amairic
3	Anselm	Arnald	Baldric	Baldwin
4	Balthasar	Bertram	Blackwin	Colin
5	Constantine	David	Edwin	Elias
6	Helyas	Engeram	Ernald	Eustace
7	Fabian	Fordwin	Fulk	Gamel
8	Geoffrey	Gerard	Gervase	Gilbert
9	Giles	Gladwin	Godwin	Grimald
10	Guy	Hamo	Hamond	Harding
11	Henry	Herlewin	Hervey	Hugh
12	James	Jocelin	John	Lawrence
13	Leofwin	Martin	Maurice	Meginhard
14	Michael	Nigel	Norman	Nicholas
15	Odo	Osbert	Peter	Pippin
16	Philip	Ralf	Ranulf	Richard
17	Robert	Samer	Savaric	Simon
18	Stephan	Terric	Theobald	Thomas
19	Thurstan	Umfrey	Waleran	Warin
20	Werinbert	William	Wilmarc	Ymbert

Feminine first names

D20\D4	1	2	3	4
1	Ada	Adallinda	Adaltrude	Agnes
2	Albreda	Aldith	Aldusa	Alice
3	Alina	Amanda	Amiria	Annabel
4	Annora	Avelina	Avice	Beatrice
5	Basilea	Bela	Berta	Bertrada
6	Carlotta	Celestria	Cecilia	Clarice
7	Constance	Desdemona	Dionisia	Edith
8	Eleanor	Elizabeth	Estrilda	Isabel
9	Felicia	Fina	Gersvinda	Gisela
10	Golda	Gundred	Haunild	Hawisa
11	Helena	Helewise	Hildegarde	Ida
12	Ingrid	Ireena	Isolda	Joan
13	Juliana	Katherine	Laetitia	Liecia
14	Linota	Lora	Lucretia	Lucia
15	Mabel	Malota	Margaret	Margery
16	Marsilia	Mary	Mathilda	Mazelina
17	Millicent	Muriel	Nesta	Ophelia
18	Philippa	Petronilla	Primeveire	Richenda
19	Roesia	Rothaide	Sabina	Sarah
20	Serena	Susanna	Sybilla	Theodelinda

Last names

D20\D4	1	2	3	4
1	Albon	Alder	Applebottom	Atterberry
2	Ayers	Barnes	Bigelow	Blacklock
3	Charker	Coppard	Crask	Crathorne
4	Daintith	Deane	Dodd	Duguid
5	Easterbrook	Elwood	Fairclough	Fayne
6	Fitt	Freeman	Goodacre	Gorsuch
7	Gowing	Graves	Griswold	Grosseteste
8	Hackett	Hawthorne	Hogben	Holdman
9	Holmes	Horscroft	Inglett	Jepson
10	Kidner	Knowles	Laidler	Laverick
11	Limmer	Luffman	Mabey	Marsh
12	Mawdesley	Millerchip	Mincer	Moore
13	Mowell	Muckle	Myres	Naldrett
14	Nesmith	Newby	Nigh	Nottage
15	Odom	Paine	Palfrey	Pedler
16	Pettengill	Pickerill	Porteous	Postle
17	Provan	Quinnel	Rattue	Reep
18	Rountree	Sadd	Scroggs	Sisley
19	Smitherman	Tamblyn	Thew	Thorburn
20	Thurgood	Waghorn	Wanless	Woods

Appearance

D20\D2	1	2
1	Quite short, you get mad when someone points it.	Very tall, you often bump your head.
2	Worryingly thin, sickly and emaciated.	Corpulent, your belly shakes when you run or laugh.
3	Ugly, but confident.	Good looking, hopelessly vain.
4	Filthy, your stench fills the room.	Very clean, you try to wash yourself every day.
5	Rotten teeth, bad breath.	Beautiful teeth, constantly smiling.
6	Plain features, your face is hard to remember.	Exotic features, your ancestors hail from a distant land.
7	Conventional clothing, you feel the need to conform.	Unorthodox clothing, in a foreign fashion.
8	Bad posture, slouching and hunching.	Perfect posture, straight and proud.
9	Glabrous, not a single hair grows on your body or face.	Very hairy, they call you the Bear.
10	Perfect diction, no accent.	Strong accent, people struggle to understand you.
11	Rough skin, callous and scarred.	Oily skin, punctuated with boils and pustules.
12	Perfect skin, smooth as silk.	Large birthmark, surely proof of noble ancestry.
13	Large tattoo, representing something important to you.	Numerous piercings, your face looks like a jewellery store.
14	Bald, either by choice or by necessity.	Long and luscious hair, your pride and joy.
15	Dyed hair, in a flashy colour.	Unusual hairstyle, sure to attract attention.
16	Pox scars, all over your body and face.	Blade scar, you lost a fight but were spared.
17	Claw marks, you have nightmares about it.	Burn scar, your home was once put to the torch.
18	Noose mark, you escaped the gallows.	Ritual scars, self-inflicted.
19	Missing finger, memory of a past misadventure.	Missing toe, you walk with a slight limp.
20	Missing ear, a punishment for a past deed.	Missing tooth, lost in a brawl.

Personality

D20\D2	1	2
1	Arrogant, you think you are always right.	Humble, you don't give yourself enough credit.
2	Craven, you sweat profusely when afraid.	Brave, you are convinced you can't be defeated.
3	Cautious, you are never at the front when danger lurks.	Impulsive, you have come close to death more than once.
4	Decadent, you can't resist wordly pleasures.	Stoic, you refuse any form of luxury.
5	Misanthrope, you have no qualms hurting fellow humans.	Altruist, you can't help but look after others.
6	Solitary, you only feel at ease by yourself.	Sociable, you definitely speak too much.
7	Deceitful, you lie even when unnecessary.	Honest, or at least more honest than most.
8	Lazy, hard work is for losers.	Energetic, you can't stay still.
9	Condescending, everyone is dumber than you.	Respectful, you try to avoid conflict when possible.
10	Competitive, you throw a tantrum when you lose.	Apathetic, you just go through the motions.
11	Submissive, it's easier to just follow others.	Bossy, you constantly order people around.
12	Superstitious, you hoard useless trinkets.	Sceptical, it's hard to persuade you.
13	Naive, you are convinced there is good in everyone.	Experienced, you have learnt from past misadventures.
14	Wicked, nothing is wrong as long as it benefits you.	Righteous, you can't stand to see a wrong go unpunished.
15	Irreverent, constantly badmouthing the authorities.	Pious, frequently muttering prayers.
16	Sarcastic, you laugh at your own jokes.	Stern, nobody remembers seeing you smiling.
17	Reserved, the less people know about you, the better.	Braggart, always talking loudly about your exploits.
18	Tactful, sometimes almost too subtle.	Blunt, you just say what you think.
19	Silent, you only say what's essential.	Chatty, you can talk for hours without interruption.
20	Pragmatic, the end result is all that matters.	Idealistic, you have principles and stand by them.

Reasons to adventure

D10\D2	1	2
1	You couldn't stand your tedious and repetitive existence.	You want to learn more about the world.
2	Being on the road will keep you away from your past.	You answered the calling of the Church.
3	You want to make the world a better place.	You want minstrels to tell your tale for centuries to come.
4	You seek redemption from your sins.	You want money, a lot of money.
5	You were awful at your past occupation.	You seek vengeance on someone who ruined your existence.
6	You want to follow in the footsteps of one of your relatives.	You think you would make a decent adventurer.
7	You seek the thrill of adventure.	You want to improve yourself.
8	You want to prove you can handle yourself.	You have a duty to uphold.
9	You seek a honourable death.	You have lost everything and want to start over.
10	You want to save the Kingdom.	Events out of your control forced you to.

Relationships

D10\D2	1	2
1	Met in prison, spent a few years there together.	Fought a war together, they share terrible memories.
2	Met in a tavern, became friends after a few drinks.	Served the same person in the past.
3	Have been travelling together for safety.	Are childhood friends and grew up together. Good memories.
4	Are relatives, they can't stand each other but they still care.	Have a common acquaintance who introduced them to each other.
5	Studied under the same mentor.	Are the sole survivors of a previous company.
6	Are the sole survivors of a ravaged village.	Were accomplices in crime, were never caught.
7	Are mentor and pupil.	Are master and servant.
8	Just met the other day, but get along surprisingly well.	Come from the same village, but barely talked before.
9	Worked together in the past, they have stories to share.	Come from two families with close ties.
10	Have both witnessed something weird, nobody else believes them.	Share a common secret, they don't talk about it.

Core Rules Careers