The Base System

Chapter 1

Character Creation Basics

The following steps describe how to create a character for play in The Game. These steps are here for a general guide, and are not gospel. Your Gamemaster (GM) has the final say on how your character is created.

Several important specifics have been intentionally left out. Most notably missing are the Skills and Careers available to the character. More than anything else, Skills and Careers are the milieu-specific aspect of The Game. The Skills and Careers available to a character in a Fantasy world will be completely different from those available in a Space Opera. The GM will provide the character with the list of Skills and Careers that are available in his world.

Similarly, the descriptions of the many Character Attributes are kept short. For the detailed explanation of each of the concepts, refer to Chapter 2. Character Attributes.

Character Creation Summary

Every beginning character is comprised of 6 randomly generated Attributes, and 25 Character Creation Points (CCP). The player distributes these CCP to define the Skills of the character.

The first step in creating a character for The Game is to decide what kind of character the player wishes to play. A swashbuckling, roguish character with a flair for the dramatic; or a thoughtful magician who still finds time to seek out adventure; or a barbarian warrior-priestess who is being trained as the village wisewoman; or whatever. The imagination of the player is the only limit.

Once the nature of the character has been determined, the player needs to generate the character's Attributes: her Fitness, Dexterity, Intelligence, Judgment, Psyche, and Charisma. If the player decides that her character will be any other race than human, her choice could affect the character's Attributes. Character races other than human are available at the discretion of the GM.

The Alignment of the character and her Social Class are determined next. The character’s Alignment will often be a natural outgrowth of the chosen personality-type. Social Class is merely to determine an overall background.

Finally, the character's Career and Skills are chosen. Though the character's Attributes are determined by "nature," the direction of the character's training (her Skills) is determined entirely by the player. Any collection of Skills may be "purchased" using the 25 Character Creation Points.

Note that the Gamemaster is free to allow as many Character Creation Points as he feels is necessary. 25 CCP is recommended for beginning characters because it allows characters a variety of skills at levels 1, 2, & 3.

Character Personality

Before any Attributes are generated or any CCP are allocated to Skills, the player needs to have an idea of the type of character she wishes to play. A dominant trait and a name is a good place to start. Of course, either or both could change as the character is more fully developed, but they serve as a launching point.

The personality of the character will have an effect on how she is played. From a given set of circumstances, a young, boisterous youthful personality will be led in a different direction than an older, more thoughtful personality.

The name of the character can be important and should be chosen with at least a minor amount of forethought.

Character Attributes & Race

Character Attributes

There are 6 Attributes that describe the character:

Fitness -physical strength, constitution and toughness

Dexterity -physical coordination and speed

Intelligence -mental ability, IQ, memory

Judgment -common sense, wisdom, decision-making

Psyche - (sigh' key) spiritual perception and ability, willpower

Charisma -force of personality, self image

Each Attribute is measured on a 1 - 20 scale, with 1 being the lowest and 20 the highest. The Attributes are described fully in Chapter 2. Character Attributes. Most humans have Attribute Scores ranging from 8 to 12, with only a very few having 13 or higher on any Attribute. Beginning characters will have Attribute Scores ranging from 8 to 18 (13 average), representing that player characters are usually more "physically fit" and/or smarter than the average human.

The character's Attribute Scores are generated using the following steps:

1. Roll 2d6, adding 6 (2d6+6), six times (once for each Attribute).

2. Arrange the resulting values as seen appropriate to the character.

The GM will determine the exact method used to generate Attribute Scores.

The decisions involved in arranging the character's Attribute Scores are demonstrated in the following example: A character who is a warrior would favor her Fitness for both additional weapon damage and the higher Critical Hit Points. Her Dexterity Attribute would make her faster and better coordinated in combat, and add to her Stamina Hit Points. If she wished to become a military leader, her Intelligence and Judgment would make her a good leader; while her Psyche and Charisma would make her a woman others would follow.

Character Race

If alternate character races are allowed, the next step in Character Creation is selection of race. The character races available depend on the genre of the game and the GM’s approval. Popular medieval fantasy species are Dwarf, Elf, Gnome, Half-Elf, Halfling, and Human. Each race is unique, having different physical appearances and abilities.

The player determines the personality of the character, not pre-determined racial characteristics. For example, a short-tempered, magic-wielding Halfling can be played, though this may not be considered "normal" Halfling behavior.

Certain races have modifiers to their Attributes and senses. Consult the Racial Differences Summary Chart for your chosen race.

Character Alignment

The Alignment of the character is the basis for the personality of the character. There are two aspects to character Alignment: Lawfulness and Ethics. Each is assigned a value from 1 to 9. The higher the value, the more Lawful or Ethical. Refer to the Alignment Description Chart. Any combination of values, from (1,9) to (9,9) is possible. However, for a party to work together smoothly, it is suggested each character's Alignment Values be within 3-5 of the rest of the party.

Lawfulness is the measure of the character's concern for the existence and preservation of the structures and strictures of society. The lawful (7-9) character will attempt to remain within the limits imposed by society. The chaotic (1-3) character will attempt to remove all the limits of society, believing everyone is free to do exactly as they please. The neutral (4-6) character will freely live within the limits of society so long as they do not interfere with her purposes, at which point she will freely ignore them.

Ethics determines how the character will go about fulfilling her goals. The ethical (7-9) character would seek to advance herself through the advancement of those around her. The unethical (1-3) character believes "the end justifies the means." The neutral (4-6) character would fail to understand why it was anyone's business how she got where she was going.

Chart: Alignment Description

Value	Lawfulness Description	Ethics Description

Alignments (0,0), (0,10), (10,0), and (10,10) are Special Alignments. Though a character can attain these values, it is almost impossible to maintain them for more than a very short time. It is not recommended that any character attempt to begin with these Alignments.

Character Social Level & Renown

Social Level

Character Social Level is an optional rule. Your GM will decide if your character needs to determine her Social Level. If not, then all characters are considered Freemen (Social Level 3), or Middle Class. The amount of disposable cash, in whatever form is appropriate, is based on the character’s beginning Social Level.

If your Gamemaster is allowing beginning characters to have different Social Levels, then refer to the Social Level CCP Cost Chart. Notice that only birth status can be acquired, titled social rankings (i.e., Governor, Senator, Duke, and Earl) are unavailable. Titles must be earned, granted, or inherited.

Chart: Social Level CCP Cost

Social Level	Modern Description	Medieval Description	CCP Cost

Renown Level

A beginning character has no Renown, though she is free to choose an epithet (e.g., "The Red") for herself. Refer to Chapter 2. Character Attributes: Social Level & Renown for more information. It should be noted that the Gamemaster and other Player Characters are obligated to harass any characters who choose silly and/or pretentious epithets (no examples given, they are painfully obvious).

If the player is creating a higher-level character (i.e., using 50 CCP or more), the possibility exists that the character has achieved some level of renown. This is completely up to the Gamemaster.

Character Skills

Character Career

The Career of the character is normally the career of her parents, and, therefore, what she was taught as she grew up. Similarly, the profession of her parents often forms the outlook and approach to life of the character. This is not always the case, however. In modern societies, for instance, the child has many more options to pursue.

Character Careers represent a bundle of skills that would likely be learned simultaneously as the character grew up and was trained. Selecting a Career guarantees the character is a member of the Guilds or other Organizations that may be associated with the Career.

A character may choose only one Career, and must purchase the Career with the indicated number of Character Creation Points. Remaining CCP may be spent to increase the level of any skill within the Career, or to learn skills that were not part of the Career. The Skill Levels present in the Career definition are usually quite basic (Levels 1 to 3), serving only as a foundation of skills for the character on which the player will build.

The character need not choose a Career. The Careers are only included to make character creation simpler and quicker.

The Careers (and any associated Guilds or Organizations) available are determined by the Gamemaster.

Character Skills

Skills, representing the character's knowledge and ability, are more important in defining who the character is than are the randomly generated Attribute Scores. The skills a character chooses are a much clearer picture of her inner workings. Any woman may be genetically lucky enough to have a Dexterity Attribute of 18, but it takes determination and purpose to achieve any skill of level 5 or higher.

The skills available to characters range from the mundane (Cooking), to the questionable (Pickpocket), to the offensive (Rapier), to the magical (Physical/Material Magic), depending on the milieu of the GM’s world. Some skills require the character to know other skills (e.g., Doctor skill will likely require knowledge of Biology and Human Physiology).

All skills have 10 (ten) Levels. Level 1 in a skill means that the character has received rudimentary training, the “basics” of the skill. At Level 3, the character is recognized as a professional with the skill and is considered competent. Level 5 in the skill indicates a mastery of the skill. Levels 6 to 10 indicate finer and finer degrees of specialization and achievement.

All skills require the same number of Character Creation Points to learn and advance. Level 1 requires 1 CCP; Level 2 requires an additional 2 CCP; Level 3 an additional 3 CCP; and so on. Refer to the Skill CCP Cost Chart, below, for the full range of cost for Levels 1 - 10. There are two numbers listed for each level. The first number indicates how many CCP are required to advance to that level (advancing from Level 4 to Level 5 requires 5 CCP). The second number represents the total CCP investment in attaining that level (Level 5 = 1+2+3+4+5 = 15 CCP).

The skills available depend on the genre and milieu of the GM’s world. The GM will provide the complete list of skills available to the character. Any prerequisites and requirements are described in detail in the descriptions of the skills.

There is no limit to how high a level can be purchased by a beginning character. However, the GM may decide not to allow a beginning character to have a skill higher than Level 3. A well-balanced character is usually (personal experience shows) more fun to play and survives longer than a "specialist" character who is exceptionally good at only one or two skills. With 25 CCP, 25 skills at Level 1 can be purchased. A skill at Level 2 requires the same CCP as 3 Level 1 skills (3 CCP). A Level 3 skill requires enough CCP for 6 Level 1 skills (6 CCP). This is only a recommendation. The player is advised to play whatever character she wishes however she feels she should be played.

The Age Modifier column on the Skill CCP Cost Chart approximates how much time the character might have spent acquiring the indicated level. The Age Modifier for each skill is added to the beginning character’s base age (e.g., 12 for Humans in a Fantasy milieu). The Age Modifier is important only when creating the character, to assist in determining the character's age.

Chart: Skill CCP Cost

Level	Level CCP Cost (Total)	Age Modifier

Conclusion

The most important point the author wishes to make in this chapter is: The Game exists to assist the player in creating the character she wants to play, and to allow the player to play her character the way she believes she should be played.