The following steps will guide you in creating a starting character in tier 1 with 20 exp. If your character starts with more exp or at a higher tier, consult Table – Character Advancement and complement accordingly as you follow these steps.
Step 1 – Spend exp on kin and talents
Before you start: This game presents a wide variety of character options but not all of them will be compatible with every story; therefore, consult with your GM the particularities of the setting so that you can create a character that fits in it. For example, some games might not have goblins as kin, gunpowder, artificery or even magic.
Your character is composed of a kin (what they are) and a combination of talents (what they are good at), and you have 20 exp to customize both your character’s kin and talents as long as you fulfill the requirements and exp cost of each of your choices.
For example, your character’s kin can be dwarf and you can choose talents from the entertainer, thief and martial combat sections, but all these choices cannot exceed 20 exp.
Also, all player characters start with the following free talents:
- Native Language (Passive): You know how to speak the language from the place in which you grew up.
- Light Armor Proficiency (Passive): You become proficient with light armor.
- Hero of Countless Stories (Passive): You gain 1 hero point at the beginning of each session.
Hero Point
When spent, hero points allow a player to benefit from one of the following options:
- Reroll as many dice as they want from any dice roll.
- Regain 1 determination point.
- Gain 1 extra action until the end of their turn (unique bonus).
- Reduce a damage source received by 2d6. The total is added and the roll cannot be modified.
Player characters gain 1 hero point at the beginning of each session and all unspent hero points are lost at the end of the session.
If you do not know where to start looking for talents, we recommend you to first have a look at the Skill and Expertise section because the Training passive is a common requirement among early talents. After that, you can browse the different areas of the Character section depending on your interests.
Because some talents require or work better with a specific attribute value, you can start drafting your attributes (see step below) as you choose your kin and talents.
Important note on spending exp: Spending exp is a simple way to indicate that you are taking exp and assigning it to unlock options for your character, but this exp is not lost. Having said this, whenever you spend exp, do not erase it; instead, keep track of the amount of exp that you haven’t spent and the one that you have spent to avoid confusions.
Step 2 – Distribute your attributes
You have 8 attribute points to distribute among your strength, agility, mind and presence. In tier I the maximum score you can have in an attribute is 3 and the minimum is 1.
Step 3 – Set your traits
Your character starts with 3 traits that mark their most distinctive qualities.
Examples of Traits
| Adventurous, altruistic, ambitious, bitter, boisterous, calm, cute, compassionate, competitive, courageous, decisive, disagreeable, discerning, discreet, dreamy, emotional, enduring, extravagant, flexible, formal, friendly, gracious, greedy, hesitant, humble, imaginative, impulsive, integrous, jubilant, just, kind, kingly, lazy, logical, loud, loving, methodical, mindful, narrow, neat, narcissistic, observant, old-fashioned, open-minded, pretentious, proud, prudent, quiet, quirky, reckless, reserved, serious, sharp, silent, superstitious, tasteless, tolerant, untrustworthy, vague, virtuous, wise, witty, zany, zealous. |
Step 4 – Answer your fundamentals
Answer your fundamentals: who are you?, what do you believe in?, and what do you want?
Step 5 – Fill in the remaining details
- Your hit points are equal to (Strength × 2) + 6
- You threshold is equal to (Strength + 3) × -1
- Your recovery points are equal to your Strength
- Your determination points are equal to your Mind + Presence
- Your carrying capacity is equal to Character Size + Strength, where character size is 6 for small characters, 8 for medium characters and 10 for large characters.
Step 6 – Determine your starting items
Your character starts with:
- Clothing, a pouch [U], 10 silver and a waterskin [R].
- Two options of your choice from Table – Starting Equipment A. They can be repeated.
- Two options of your choice from Table – Starting Equipment B. They can be repeated.
- One option of your choice from Table – Starting Bag
- One rolled trinket from Table – Trinkets. Reroll if repeated among the members of your group.
Note: The following tables specify each of the items’ loads—or the amount of slots an item occupies—next to them, and these are: regular [R] (which occupy one item slot), superlight [⅓] (where every 3 superlight items occupy one item slot), bulky [B] (that occupy two item slots) and unencumbering [U] (that do not occupy item slots and are limited by common sense).
Note: Every 100 silver coins have a [R] load and quivers [R] can hold up to 20 arrows or bolts.
| Table – Starting Equipment A | ||
| 50 silver coins | Nothing | Donkey Bridle [U] 6 silver coins |
| Heavy melee weapon [B] | Medium melee weapon [B] Medium melee weapon [B] | Light melee weapon [R] Light melee weapon [R] 20 silver coins |
| Bow (medium) [B] | Shortbow [R] Quiver [R] 10 arrows | Medium armor [B] |
| Hand crossbow [R] Quiver [R] 10 bolts | Light crossbow [R] Quiver [R] 7 bolts 1 silver coin | Light armor [R] 30 silver coins |
| Cooking utensils [U] Bag of salt [U] Bag of spices [U] Tinderbox [⅓] 2 silver coins | Smith’s tools [B] Portable anvil [4] Apron [U] 7 silver coins | Thief’s tools [R] Crowbar [R] 12 silver coins |
| Herbalist’s kit [B] Apron [U] Special herbs (6 uses) [U] 2 silver coins | Physician’s tools [B] Apron [U] Bandage (1 use) [U] x 5 Bottle of spirits [⅓] 11 silver coins | Alchemist’s kit [B] Alchemical supplies (1 use) [⅓] |
| Lesser healing potion [⅓] Lesser healing potion [⅓] | PENDING | Spell scroll of detect magic [U] |
| Table – Starting Equipment B | ||
| 25 silver coins | Nothing | Pair of saddlebags [4] 1 silver coin |
| Medium melee weapon [B] | Light melee weapon [R] 10 silver coins | Light armor [R] 5 silver coins |
| Quiver [R] 10 arrows | Lyre [R] Drum [R] | Lute [R] |
| Lesser Healing Potion [⅓] | Rations [R] x 5 | Tent (personal) [3] 5 silver coins |
| Bedroll [R] Blanket [U] Set of cutlery [U] Tankard [U] Ration [R] | Rope (50 paces) [R] Grappling hook [R] Pole (10 paces) [R] | Small mirror [U] Bearings (10) [⅓] Chalk (3 pieces) [U] |
| Medium torch [R] Torch fuel and cloth (1 use) [⅓] x 5 Fire Striker [U] 5 silver coins | Oil lantern (filled with oil) [R] Tinderbox [⅓] 4 silver coins | Candle [U] x 5 Parchment (6 pieces) [U] Quill pen [U] Small ink bottle [U] |
| Table – Starting Bag | ||
| Slingbag [⅓] 7 silver coins | Sack [R] 9 silver coins | Knapsack [R] 4 silver coins |
| Backpack [B] | 10 silver coins | Nothing |
Note: slingbags have a carrying capacity of 3, sacks have 5 (but must be carried in one hand), knapsacks have 6, backpacks have 10 and a pair of saddlebags have 24 (but these are intended for mounts and pack animals).
| Table – Trinkets | |
| 1 | You found 4d6 silver coins inside an old and forgotten garment of yours. |
| 2 | An eight-sided die with the phases of the moon. |
| 3 | A torn page from the diary of a failed expedition. |
| 4 | A figurine of a soldier made of marble. |
| 5 | A coral necklace. |
| 6 | A luck pendant that is blue on one side and red on the other. |
| 7 | A 100-year-old bottle of cheap spirits. |
| 8 | A key that opens an unknown door. |
| 9 | A realistic bronze sculpture of a heart the size of a coin. |
| 10 | A green ball of thread that is extremely flammable. |
| 11 | A small, elegant but empty birdcage. |
| 12 | A very passionate love letter. |
| 13 | A stinky yet effective ointment that alleviates back pain. |
| 14 | An extravagant hat. |
| 15 | A very large aquamarine feather. |
| 16 | A jar with a beetle inside. |
| 17 | A sea turtle brooch. |
| 18 | A fake beard. |
| 19 | A small bottle with a sweet, unique perfume. |
| 20 | An ox’s horn with a silver-gilt opening. |
| 21 | A scroll with a poem in an unknown language. |
| 22 | Roll twice on this table instead. Avoid this result if repeated. |
| 23 | A bronze kettle with festive reliefs. |
| 24 | A poster with a wanted character. |
| 25 | A tome on decadent disciplines. |
| 26 | A vial with presumably giant’s blood. |
| 27 | A flask of mercury. |
| 28 | A hollow book. |
| 29 | A small, wooden box with very vibrant powders. |
| 30 | A statuette of a known god but with a different name in the inscription. |
| 31 | A coin with the same symbol on both the obverse and reverse. |
| 32 | A situla with floral motives. |
| 33 | A rusty ceremonial dagger. |
| 34 | The setting’s equivalent of a fortune cookie. |
| 35 | A miniature wooden crane. |
| 36 | A sheet music with a nostalgic song. |
| 37 | Debt: you owe 3d6 x 10 silver to a shady character. |
| 38 | 3d6 pieces of sea glass. |
| 39 | A ram’s headdress. |
| 40 | An armband with lion motives. |
| 41 | A rubber ball. |
| 42 | A 10-pases-long silk roll (1 load). |
| 43 | A pair of loaded dice. |
| 44 | A tonic that alleviates stomach ache (3 uses). |
| 45 | A bag with 2d4 pieces of delicious candy except for one that tastes horribly. |
| 46 | An old and rusty metal file. |
| 47 | A dreamcatcher. |
| 48 | A false bottom basket. |
| 49 | Mushroom that has high culinary demand (2 uses). |
| 50 | A sack with 2d6 off-season fruits (load). |
| 51 | A mysterious ointment that makes small animals go away (3 uses). |
| 52 | Only the head of a figurehead depicting a mad and forgotten sea god. # |
| 53 | A small mirror that casts a very sparkly reflection. |
| 54 | 2d4 rolls of incense. |
| 55 | 2d6 silver coins from a foreign land. |
| 56 | A perfectly carved wooden sphere that fits the FALTA !!!!! |
| 57 | An indigo stone. Someone told you it attracts spirits. |
| 58 | A hand bell that emits a weird sound. |
| 59 | A small, wooden rack with salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper powder. |
| 60 | A mosaic tile from the facade of a very important building. # |
| 61 | A fertilizer bag (2 loads). |
| 62 | An old-fashioned cloak. |
| 63 | A dowsing rod that seems to work when no one expects it. |
| 64 | A very old executioner’s hood. |
| 65 | A bar of fragrant soap made from roses. |
| 66 | A pouch with blue beans. |
| 67 | A particularly heavy rock that fits a palm (1 load). |
| 68 | An elephant-shaped amulet. |
| 69 | Banner from a prestigious mercenary order. |
| 70 | An insignia from a militaristic, foreign nation. |
| 71 | A pouch with 1d4+1 fake jewels. |
| 72 | A tankart that produces a lot of echo. |
| 73 | A theatrical mask with the shape of an imp. |
| 74 | A small bag with 1d6 fangs of unknown origin. |
| 75 | An iron goblet that emits a buttery smell. |
| 76 | A deck of cards that is missing a 7 of clubs but has an extra 7 of hearts instead. |
| 77 | A piece of bark covered in ambar. |
| 78 | A ceremonial whetstone stained with blood. |
| 79 | An earring made with a pale stone that glows in the dark. |
| 80 | A very effective straight razor. |
| 81 | A flask of nepenthe: makes the drinker forget the last hour (1 use). |
| 82 | A trick lock. Only you know how to open it. |
| 83 | A glass eye with two joined irises. |
| 84 | A kaleidoscopic wooden top. PENDING |
| 85 | An eyepatch decorated with the setting’s equivalent of a nazar amulet. |
| 86 | A whistle that only cats seem to hear. |
| 87 | A fresh clay tablet. |
| 88 | A lucky vest that indeed might be so. |
| 89 | A locket that depicts a beautiful character you have never seen before. |
| 90 | An abacus with dragon-shaped beads. |
| 91 | A bandana that looks really good on you. |
| 92 | A very comfortable portable chair (1 load). |
| 93 | A keg of beer (2 loads). |
| 94 | Bronze teapot …. with a grinning devil’s face PENDING |
| 95 | A smoke pipe with cloud motifs. |
| 96 | Wooden rod from a very (???) order. PENDING |
| 97 | A toad-shaped urn. |
| 98 | Tentacle-shaped candlestick made of bronze. |
| 99 | A treasure map made by a delirious cartographer. |
| 100 | You have been blessed by one of the Powers from Beyond. Good Luck. |