RPM:Rules/Character Creation and Advancement

WIP

Epilogue Session: Defining the World

To start the campaign we'll be doing some world-building by playing the game Microscope

Session 0: Building your Characters

Building characters is play as we define how they know each other and interact with the world.

• Aspects
• Skills
• Stunts

Aspects

Each player will be writing up a list of possible aspects. Will be using the Non-Player Cards to seed aspects. From that list we'll trim it down to five.

• High concept (required)
• Trouble (required)
• Profession
• Trait
• Quirk
• Secret
• A relationship aspect with each other character

Skills

Each player will get to choose three modes from the following list: Combat, Intrigue, Banter, Aristocrat, Naturalist, Sage, Acolyte, Commoner. More details at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DkfbhrOtJBtFYYaZiLt8Z7gsYBo8FxKsS5YIEcVlHPw/edit?usp=sharing

After modes are selected each player can spend 7 points to improve skills.

Each player may choose one bonus ability from any of their selected skill modes.

Combat

Wounded (lasting): Combatants have an extra lasting condition that they can use to absorb four shifts of physical injury. When you’re Wounded, death is on the table when you’re taken out, as with the Doomed condition. To begin recovery, another character who is capable of seeing to your injury must overcome an obstacle of Great (+4) or higher, in quiet and ideal conditions (as in, not in the field). You recover fully at the end of the next session.

Intrigue

Wanted (sticky): The heat track has five check boxes. When you have Wanted, you’re in some amount of trouble with the law. The more boxes you have checked off, the more trouble you’re in; if you only have one or two checked off, you might get hauled in for questioning if you get taken out of a scene. With four or five checked, you might be arrested instead. In addition, any law enforcement agents looking for you get +1 to their rolls for each box of heat checked.

Every scene you spend not getting in trouble with the law (and not generating more heat) allows you to clear one check box.

People know who you are. They might even be a little afraid of you. You can use that to your advantage. When you trade on your reputation to convince someone to do something for you, you may check off boxes of Heat for a bonus on the roll, +1 per box checked.

Banter

Center of Attention: When you check this box, you are the star of the show. You gain a situationally appropriate aspect to reflect this in the scene for free.

Talk Our Way Out of It: When you are the Center of Attention, you may expend the aspect for a +2 bonus to any roll (including allies) as long as it makes sense.

Aristocrat

Favors (sticky): You gain a Favor track that has three boxes. You may call in favors at any time, gaining +2 for each favor on any roll which would reasonably apply. (Yes, you can stack them all on one roll.) As you trade more and more favors you are drawn into the web of your connections and this will complicate your life. The only way to uncheck a favor box is to do a favor in return. Sometimes these favors are simple and only require an Overcome roll (+2, +4, or +6) to repay but from time to time there may be in game ramifications to repay the favors.

Naturalist

At home in nature: You can survive only in nature for any length of time comfortably.

Quarry: When you check this box, write down the target of your quarry. You need to have time to examine or consider your quarry. This can be a single creature or a small band of creatures. Until you declare a new quarry you gain +2 on Overcome and Create Advantage rolls to find or set a trap for them.

Sage

Preparedness is Key: Any time that you create an aspect from researching a solution, gain an extra free invoke on that aspect.

Obsessed: Check this box to gain a +2 to any research roll while also gaining an aspect to represent what you gave up to get that knowledge.

Acolyte

Grace: gain three stress boxes. You may call upon the power of your faith at any time, gaining a +2 to any roll that is related to furthering your faith.

Stunts

Each player gets three free stunts and three refresh, which can also be spent on stunts provided that the player has at least one refresh.