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Unless otherwise specifically
altered or contradicted in these house rule pages, the rules found in
the 5th Edition Hero System apply at all times.
Creating
New Characters
Often, when new
campaigns are about to begin, the GM becomes excited about all
of the possibilities: new monsters, new places, new magic items,
new villains, and often, new player characters. The campaign goes
well until halfway into the first adventure, when it becomes
evident that many of the Player Characters have no motivation or
desire to travel with one another, and the first scenario
quickly grinds to a halt. Before too long, the GM's carefully
created efforts are thrown aside as he tries to invent
reasons/plots/desires for all of the characters to travel
together in a somewhat peaceful manner. Meanwhile, the players
that are "on-track" are sitting on the sidelines, waiting to get
back to the "real" game.
Thus, it is far
better for the players to create the reasons) that they
travel/work/adventure together, and invent why they keep each
other's company when the game begins. Then the GM can spend his
time on the real campaign, with less negative group dynamics to
worry about.
When you are
creating new player characters, consider trying the following:
1. Make a personal
tie with one or more of the other PC:
Contact other players for tea, and discuss each of your
character's past. Are you from the same village? Did you fight
in the Goblin Wars together? Are you related? Are you partners?
Do you share a religion? Do you have a common enemy or hatred?
Or, are you simply good friends? You probably get the idea.
Ideally, this will increase your enjoyment of the game, and will
make you inclusive to the party.
2. Invent a story or
reason that you that you travel with your party, and why you
will continue with this party. In gaming, it is important
to keep the group together, and sharing some common goals. It
might be good to get together with the other players and talk
about what this "great goal" might be. It doesn't have to be an
earth shattering quest, or driving force in the character's
lives. It just needs to explain how/why everyone travels
together.
Does the party wish
to make loads of money? Does the group want to discover why the
Bleak Forest is haunted? Does your group wish to become the most
famous in the Young Kingdoms? Do you want to free your old
hometown village from the vile overlord? Are you all hunted by
the same common enemy? Do you wish carve out a kingdom for
yourselves? Is it just safer to stick together? Are you all
members of a circus/island guard/guild/house/kingdom? Do you all
work for the same Guild master? Are you all "wanted men"? Do you
share ownership in the same small, nearly bankrupt, rundown pub?
Keep in mind that
this goal could evolve over time. Try to make new goals based
upon conversation with the entire group of players. Perhaps
before or after each adventure.
A good GM will
certainly help create some new "hooks," but it is good to know
what your group's (long term/short term) goal might be, and why
you travel together.
3. Create some
character flaws/faults. Great, interesting characters are
really defined most by their weaknesses, rather than their
strengths. No one is really interested in the all-powerful
knight, who is the strongest in the kingdom with the greatest
magical blade, and the toughest guy around who has slain 35
dragons, etc. This is just been done so much, that it has become
tired cliché. Instead, create a character who is an
exceptionally talented swordsman, but is afflicted by self-doubt
or acute shyness. Perhaps he doesn't really like to kill that
much, since he accidentally killed his brother in a childhood
accident. To kill now only reminds him of what he did to his
brother, pulling up deep-rooted pain and remorse.
Faults and
weaknesses also leave room for character development. Perhaps
our remorseful bladesman may overcome his sorrow by finally
freeing his family from a chronic poorness, and/or defeating his
long-time foe. (But he just hasn't, yet.)
4. Give your
character a past. Where is she from? Who are her parents?
What is her culture like? Is she a hick, or a sophisticated city
dweller? Who are her friends/enemies? When did she leave her
homeland, and why? What event has most colored your character's
life? What is the greatest victory/and failure of your
character? What has your character been good at/bad at?
How do all of these detail effect your character's current
personality? Does this history give your character suitable room
for growth and development? Is there some unfinished business in
the character's past? A family tree might be interesting to do
as well, complete with brothers, sisters, and heroic or vile
ancestors. Remember that great characters are a journey.
5. Give your
character some sub-goals. Sub-goals are individual goals
that tend to be compatible with group play, and don't
necessarily require your characters undivided, relentless
attention. If you make a character with such burning desire,
you'd best build it with the other characters involved so that
you all share the same goal, or that they understand and will
wish to participate in.
If this isn't
likely, than create sub-goals. Does your character wish to
become a renowned hero? A great axe maiden? A leader of men? A
simple farmer? Or does your character wish to learn something
about himself, his amulet, or his real family history? Does you
character wish to regain her social status, or just remove her
family curse? Many, many sub-goals are possible. Vengeance is a
sub-goal that can be utilized, but it requires some care. It
tends to be rather heavy-handed, and it implies relentless drive
to really be believable. It may actually be too strong to use as
a suitable sub-goal.
6. Give your
character a quote. Distill your character's personality
into a flavorful quote. You don't have to use the quote in every
sentence or adventure, or really ever. The idea is to get the
spirit of your character down, so that you can remember her in
just a moment, and easily speak like her.
7. Document your
findings. After all of this work, it is really helpful to
document what you've created. It does little good if your
character has all of this detail, but you don't remember very
much about it. I'm not talking about writing a novella, a short
story or even a report. (Though it would be interesting) Make a
list of your characters traits, goals, enemies, past, faults,
goals, etc. This shouldn't take too long, and can be understood
at a glance. Fill out the entire character sheet so that you can
refer to these details whenever you'd like.
8. Keep a journal.
Soon after each game session, document your adventures, making
and keeping lists of people, places, vessels, friends, foes, and
even defeated foes. All of these experiences and adventures,
along with your character's past, weaves a tapestry of what
ultimately becomes your character's personality.
A character log,
that is from the character's point of view, is also a terrific
way to document your character. Opinion is paramount here.
Everything should be tainted by your character's personality and
experiences. They don't have to be parallel to your own, either.
It is fascinating to read though the logs, and get a real flavor
for the character, and the world that he/she lives in.
Starting
Points
Most campaigns begin with player
characters that are at the beginning of their adventuring
careers. This is the standard starting point for all
campaigns. However, with approval an individual GM may run
a campaign in which characters begin with more experience under
their belts. The limitations given below are for brand
new, starting characters:
- Starting
Point Totals: All new characters start with 75 Character
Points to spend, and up to an additional 75 points in Character
Disadvantages for a total of 150 points maximum.
- Skill
Maxima: Maximum skill level for beginning characters,
including the base Characteristic roll and any Overall levels, is
14 or less.
Character Race and Culture
Currently, characters may be a Dwarf,
Halfling, Half-Orc, Human, or Orc. Specific campaigns may place
restrictions on which specific races are allowed for player characters.
Skill packages for each race may be found on the Packages house rules page. In
addition to race, players must decide if their characters are part of
the Imperial culture or a member of one of the barbarian races.
The character's culture determines its native language and Everyman
Skills.
The
Imperial Races:
The Imperial Races are
all of those who currently live in those areas once ruled by the
Empire, and in the Young Kingdoms specifically. As can be
ascertained by the name, the Imperial Races are made up of
several different peoples.
The language of the
Empire, Auld Taoric, is spoken throughout the Young Kingdoms, and is
still the native tongue of most people born in the Young
Kingdoms. Of course, because of the size of the empire and
the number of societies that were conquered by the Empire,
dialects are common, and accents can vary widely. A Choyen
and a Barind, though both fluent speakers of Auld Taoric, can easily
find each other totally incomprehensible.
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Aateni:
The Aateni are native to the forested islands of
the EasterSea Coast between Last Port and Calafia. The
Empire invaded and assimilated those Aateni living on the
islands of Tan Aaten, Tan Dimor, and Tan Prado. Aateni
living on the other Aaten islands remain barbarians. Aateni are of medium
height, averaging 5'7" to 5'9. Their skin is deeply tan;
their hair ranges from light brown to blonde, with the
occasional redhead. Black hair is almost never seen.
Aateni eyes are either blue, green, or violet. Never
anything else.
Barind:
The coloration ranges of
the Barind's is perhaps the most limited of all the races of
human. A typical Barind has brown hair, brown eyes, and
fair skin. Black hair and eyes is also sometimes seen,
but redheads, blondes, and any other eye color is unknown
among them. They tend to be shorter and slighter than
the other humans as well, with both sexes being within 5' even
to 5'5 inches in height. The Barindian
language is still spoken in some of the more rural villages of
the northern EasterSea Coast. Indeed, some secluded
Barind villages were bypassed by the Empire and never felt the
touch of Taoric rule.
Choyen:
The Choyen are a
tall, handsome people with dry black hair, dark eyes, and
yellowish-brown skin. The average height of a Choyen is
6'. They tend to have high foreheads and narrow faces,
making them look slightly feral. The Choyen are native
to the plains and forests lying along the north of the
Ravenwood, and between the Ravenwood and the
Great Mother River. When initially discovered by the
Taoric armies, they were still living as semi-nomadic
hunter-gatherers, using flint- and bone-tipped weapons.
Their conquest by the Empire brought them modern technology,
true cities, and agriculture. The Choyen still tend to
shun metal armor, preferring instead to wear reinforced
leather.
Durindan: The Imperial
dwarves differ greatly from their barbarian cousins. The
dwarves, when first conquered by the Taors, were a rebellious
people determined to keep their way of life. In reaction
to this, the Empire forcibly relocated and separated the
dwarven clans. They were forbidden to practice their own
religions and customs, and were required to adhere to the
religion and customs of their human conquerors. After
three thousand years of this, the Imperial dwarves are quite
assimilated, and are happy to be so. They show as much
pride at being the descendents of Imperial citizens as any
human would. Like all dwarves, the
Imperial Durindan stand between 4' and 5' tall, are broad across
the shoulders, and are thickly built. Despite his
height, a male dwarf often weighs as much as a full grown
human. Their hair color runs toward the darker shades of
brown, gray, and black, with red sometimes occurring.
The yellowish blonde hair found among humans and halflings
simply never occurs. Durindan skin ranges in tone from tan
to dark brown. Eye color is almost always brown, black,
amber, or gray. It should be noted that Durindan follow
standard Imperial customs regarding beards. Durindan can
be found in nearly all of the Young Kingdoms.
Jaris:
More than any of the other
Imperial Races, the Jaris have managed to retain their
original native culture... or at least most of it. There
are some who speculate that this is because, as a race, they
tended to cooperate and collaborate with their Taoric
conquerors rather than resist them. The Jaris are a tall
people. They are broad-built, though not so much as the
Chayk, who remain the largest of all the human races.
Heights less than six feet are rare among the Jaris,
regardless of sex. The Jaris are most notable for their
skin color, which ranges from a deep umber to a bluish-black.
Hair is either dark red, dark brown, or black, and eye color
is similarly brown or black. Every now and again a Jaris
will be born with gray eyes and white hair (always in that
combination); custom says that such people are destined to
perform some great act on behalf of the gods. The Jaris
are native to the desert and scrub along the southern coast of
the Sea of Horses, as well as the multitudes of inhabited
islands found on that body of water.
Lemenari:
Lemenari have hair that ranges the spectrum, with the
exception of black, and their skin ranges from olive to dark
tan. They are as short as the Barinds, averaging between
5'3 and 5'6, but are built strongly. Eye color can be
blue or green, but is most common as a dark brown. The Lemenari speak
their own language amongst each other, reserving Taoric as a
way to communicate with other peoples. They are native
to the islands of the Lemenar Archipelago, southeast of the
Easter Sea coast. Lemenari begin
with the Lemenar and Taoric languages.
Ormuz: To those for whom the
Goblin Races are nothing more than inhuman monsters bent on
the destruction of the world, the Ormuz are something of an
enigma. They began as a small group of orcish villages
which got caught up in the sweep of the Imperial army.
Rather than being obliterated, they became just another
subject population; as subjects of the Empire, they thrived,
learned, and became civilized. The Ormuz stand
anywhere between six and seven feel tall, and tend to be
heavier than humans. Their skin is dark olive to dark
brown in color, though their eyes range the entire spectrum.
Hair color is always dark... meaning almost always black.
Most humans find them ugly, but since the Ormuz hold the same
opinion of humans, it evens out in the end. The Ormuz live
alongside humans in any community with more than a few hundred
people. They also live in their own villages, but have
no nation to call their own. Most Ormuz have never
learned to speak any of the native orcish languages.
Ostrali:
The Imperial halflings live up to the image most players have
of such people. They stand between 3' and 3'6" tall, and
are built to proportion. Their hair color is usually
dark, with brown being more common than either black or
auburn. Eye color ranges anywhere between blue and green
to brown, with black being very uncommon. The Ostrali can be
found living alongside any of the human races. They tend
to live in segregated areas within larger human communities,
rather than having their own separate towns and villages.
Ostrali begin play knowing how to speak Taoric, as well as
whatever human ethnic language is common to the culture in
which they are living.
Silde: The Silde tend to be thickly
built, and of medium height. It is rare that one find a
Silde, male or female, who is taller than 6' or shorter than
5'9". Hair is usually gray, pale blonde, or light brown,
while eye color runs to the darker shades of brown, gray, or
green. Their skin is the palest of all the human races,
looking almost as white as fine porcelain. The Silde, existing
as they did on the far western reaches of the Empire, knew the
rule of the Taors for a shorter time than all of the other
Imperial races. Their native culture is surprisingly
intact, to the point that most Silde do not even speak Taoric. The Rostok hold the
Silde in contempt as weakling city dwellers who gave up the
life of the open plains for the corrupt life offered by the
Empire. For their part, the Silde consider the Rostok to
be murderous animals not worthy to be called "human".
The truth is that both groups are the same people: the
only true difference is that the Rostok live as nomads,
ranging their herds across the Great Empty, while the Silde
are city builders.
Taors: Taors tend to have brown
hair, with occasional redheads and blondes occurring.
Their skin tends toward an olive complexion, and their eyes
are blue, brown, or hazel. Taors stand between 5'4 and
5'9, and tend toward slim builds. Once, it was
quite easy to tell the Taors from the non-Taors.
However, the spread of the Empire introduced Taoric blood to
the other Imperial races, so that in modern times there are
many a person who claim to be Taoric but who are of obviously
mixed heritage. The Taors originated along the northern
coast of the Sea of Horses, where that sea meets the EasterSea.
Vos: The Vos are a
semi-nomadic folk who travel go from place to place putting on
performances, trading wares, performing the odd service, and
basically ripping off everything they can get their hands on
when they think they can get away with it. They aren't always
well-liked, and have a general reputation for being a pack of
untrustworthy bandits who'd slit your throat if the price is
right... While this isn't entirely unfounded, its not totally
the truth, of course. A Vos would much rather use guile
and trickery to separate a mark from his money than resort to
banditry. Honor is important to the Vos, but its
conditional. Once their word is given, its as solid as a
rock... but until then you shouldn't trust them as far as you
can throw them. Once you are befriended by a Vos, he is your
friend forever, unless you do something that dishonors him or
betrays him in any way, in which case you've just bought
yourself a serious enemy. The Vos are a darkly colored
race, with skin the color of a penny and hair that ranges from
black through the various shades of brown to auburn, but never
really truly red). They're slimly built, but muscular,
and men and women both tend to average just over six feet
tall.
The
Barbarian Races:
While the Imperial Races share a
common culture, the barbarian races are distinct and separate.
They are referred to as barbarians by the Imperials, regardless
of their actual level of civilization.
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Chayk: The Chayk tribesmen
generally have blonde or red hair, with fair skin and blue or
green eyes. Among those Chayk who live close to the
Choyen, darker hair, eye, and skin shades are sometimes found.
Chayk are the largest of all the human races; a Chayk man who
stands less than 6'6" tall is considered a runt, and men of 7'
are commonplace. The Chayk barbarians
make their living as marauding seaman, boiling out of their
villages and towns on the Iceclaw Peninsula and the Ice
Islands in the far north of the EasterSea
Coast. Chayk men consider
beards a mark of adulthood, and within Chayk society, only
the very old may shave theirs without inviting
ridicule. The Chayk language
has a written component, though generally only heralds to the
tribal chiefs and the priests know how to utilize it, so most
Chayk are illiterate.
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Khazak: The dwarves of the
mountains and caves, this ancient people look as if they were
hewn from the rock they live in. Khazak stand between 4' and 5' tall, are broad across
the shoulders. Barbarian Khazak are darker in color than
their Imperial cousins, Imperial Durindan. Their hair is
black or burnt umber, while their skin is the same reddish
shade as cinnamon. A Khazak man are expected to grow a
beard. His beard is the mark of his honor; he braids
marks of his deeds into it in the form of gems, feathers,
beads, and other small trinkets. The loss of a beard is
a social punishment never willingly undertaken by a dwarf.
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Kuzko: For thousands of years,
the Kuzko did what seemed impossible: they avoided being
conquered by the Empire. They did this by living in the
high mountain valleys of Gallesgna and Soravia, keeping to
themselves and not drawing attention. Rarely did one
venture out into the greater world. With the fall of the
Empire, things changed. The Kuzko have skin
colors in various shades of reddish brown, and their hair
tends to be black, red or brown. Their eyes are almost
always gray, and when not are green. They favor bright
colors with stripes on clothing, and knee high boots on men.
Traditionally, an adult male Kuzko shaves his head, except for
two curled locks at each temple. This is combined with a
full moustache to make a truly impressive picture. Women tend to wear
wimples over their hair when they are in public, and favor
ankle-length skirts. Kuzko gain no special bonuses or
penalties.
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Nerulk: The wild halflings of the
Young Kingdoms are similar to their Ostrali cousins.
They rarely leave the safety of the deep forest, preferring to
live among the trees. It is in this way that they
remained free of Imperial domination despite living in the
heart of the Empire. Nerulk are of a darker cast than
the Ostrali; their eye color is almost always brown or black,
and when its not its gray. Hair color is always black.
Both genders of Nerulk average between 2' to 3' in height.
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Orcs:
Non-Imperial orcs fit the stereotypical view of the Goblin
races: savage, murderous barbarians that sweep out of
the mountains intent on the destruction of civilization.
Like Ormuz, barbarian orcs stand anywhere between six and
seven feel tall, and tend to be heavier than humans.
Their skin is dark olive to dark brown in color, though their
eyes range the entire spectrum. Hair color is always
dark... meaning almost always black. Most humans find
them ugly, but since orcs hold the same opinion of humans, it
evens out in the end.
-
Rostok: Like their cousins, the
Silde, the Rostok horsetribes are thickly built, and of medium
height. They share all of the Silde's physical
characteristics save skin color: the Rostok tend toward
a light tan in color. Rostok men do not grow beards, but
rather wear long, impressively kept handlebar moustaches. Rostok see most
city-dwellers as weaklings, but hold special contempt for the
Silde. Rostok begin with
the Silde language.
Magic
Players intending on building a
spell caster should read
the rules regarding magic before doing so.
Magic Items:
Starting characters may begin with magical items if the GM allows.
All such items are purchased with character points, and must be built
with the Independent limitation.
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