RPM:Rules/Character Creation/Examples/Aspects

Examples of Aspects

Evan decides that he wants to play a middle-aged sage in the service of the Royal Pride of Musketeers who as a young child was an apprentice to a Sorcier wizard for a few short months before his parents rescued him the night the revolution came for his master. This left Evan’s character with a little knowledge of magic and a deep curiosity. He wants to learn more but that is a dangerous path in today’s political waters. The first thing that Evan does is write down “Sage for the Royal Pride of Musketeers” for a high concept. The GM and Evan chat and decide to make the character a bit more active and rename the high concept to "Journeyman Soldier of the Sorcier Library”. This gives him the tie to a Sorcier font of knowledge and gives him room to grow from Journeyman to Master. Both Evan and the GM are fuzzy on the details but agree to discover it in play.

Now Evan has to figure out a trouble concept and for this aspect he decides that his character’s probing for magical knowledge has led to him being intertwined with the local thieve's guild against his will. Perhaps they have incriminating information and are blackmailing him? Evan leaves the specifics up to future gaming and writes down “Blackmailed into the Ombre Gang”. He isn’t sure who the "Ombre Gang” is, but that’ll flesh out in play.

Evan now has the following aspects:

• Journeyman Soldier of the Sorcier Library
• Blackmailed into the Ombre Gang

Now that Evan has a few aspects, he is ready to start writing up example invokes and compels.

Journeyman Soldier of the Sorcier Library

Invoke: While in combat with a Singing Witch, Evan wants to make his defense roll better by saying that “I’ve read up on this style of singing magic and I make myself less vulnerable to it by dancing in time with music, which helps reduce the potency of the magic.” The GM agrees and takes Evan’s fate point, giving him a +2 to his roll.

Compel: While in the noblewoman’s manor the GM holds up a fate point and says, “I know that you and the group have a timely objective, but you just can’t help yourself from investigating the library along the way…”. Evan agrees and gets a fate point as his character meanders off in search of the library.

Blackmailed into the Ombre Gang

Invoke: You are trying to enter the noblewoman’s house quietly and you recall the last time that you were here. You were a masked man sending the head of the house a message from the gang. You fear getting caught but you already know the main layout of the house, gaining a +2 to your Stealth check.

Compel: You’ve cornered the Sorcier thug your group is after and you feel proud until he uses the Ombre Gang safeword. Now you're obligated to help him evade capture from your friends.