Making a Character

Your character is a person with a way of making a living, a reason to leave home, and something they want badly enough to risk trouble. The app can walk you through this step by step in the character creator: name, species, background (including your gear choice), profession, stats, and a desire. This chapter explains what each step means.

Build in this order: species, background, profession, stats, and desire.

1. Choose a species

Species describes what kind of being your character is. It is not a fixed personality or a bonus to every roll. Each species grants one useful fictional permission — its racial ability — and often comes with a complication the world remembers.

The species of this world are:

• <@ashen.species> — ash-grey folk of the old cities
• <@canid.species> — pack-hunting hounds of the field and kennel
• <@carchar.species> — sharp-toothed hunters of the tide and the river
• <@cervan.species> — antlered walkers of the deep woods
• <@dagonite.species> — scaled people of the drowned places
• <@enkidu.species> — wild-born folk of the clay and the first stories
• <@exulan.species> — exiles with a debt to the road
• <@imp.species> — small, sharp, and harder to keep out than in
• <@kitsune.species> — long-tailed tricksters of the lantern districts
• <@korvid.species> — black-feathered collectors of bright things
• <@naga.species> — serpent-folk of the old courts
• <@pitborn.species> — born of the foundry and the deep fire

Tap a species to read what it grants. A species helps the GM offer situations; it does not replace a good plan.

2. Choose a background

Your background is what you did before the first scene, and it determines what you start with: your status, your starting coin, your home, and your starting gear. Some backgrounds also offer a choice — pick one item from that list; the rest of your kit is yours automatically.

Background	Status	Coin	You begin with	Common trouble
<@gutter-trash.background>	destitute	0	Nothing at all	You found something in the gutter somebody wants back
<@craftsman.background>	poor	8	One crafting kit of your choice	Tools unpaid for; the shop squeezing you
<@struggling-farmer.background>	poor	8	A mortgaged farm (deed) and farm tools	Mortgage due; harvest thin
<@thief.background>	poor	8	Lockpicks + one weapon: dagger, stiletto, whip, or sling	A fence knows your face; a mark remembers it
<@street-mage.background>	poor	8	One street staff: ember, frost, shock, or shadow	Constables know your face
<@artisan.background>	working	20	One crafting kit of your choice	Guild wants dues; a commission went wrong
<@mercenary.background>	working	15	Shortbow, quiver, leather armor + one ranged weapon	A contract's terms have a hole
<@trader.background>	comfortable	100	Writing kit, trade goods, dagger, materials package, a shop (deed) + one crafting kit	A supplier's books don't match yours
<@mafioso.background>	comfortable	25	Collection ledger, fine coat, studded leather, stiletto + one weapon	A payment short; a rival crew interested
<@politician.background>	comfortable	100	Fine coat, writing kit, and a nice house (deed)	A rival digging into your records
<@travelling-wizard.background>	comfortable	150	Lots of gold, leather armor + one street staff	A town remembers a spell you cast
<@house-knight.background>	wealthy	150	Rapier, chain mail, fine coat + one weapon	The house's honor has a price
<@vassal.background>	wealthy	150	A moldering manor (farm deed), chain mail + one weapon	Your liege is calling in the oath
<@priest.background>	wealthy	150	Enchanter's and Alchemist's tools, candles, a church roof	Something in the sanctuary

Your status comes from your background. Your property — the possessions, home, and assets you carry into play — is set by your background together with your status. A deed granted by a background appears among your starting gear; treat it as owned property, and note it on your Properties when you set up your sheet. Your home field starts as your background's typical dwelling. A background can make an easy task automatic or establish a helpful contact; it does not grant a permanent numerical bonus.

3. Choose a profession

A profession is your current calling, and it determines your class abilities. Choose one of these eight, or work with the GM to make a close variation. Each profession has its own file and grants four core abilities to a character who chooses it. Tap an ability name to read its narrative and mechanical implications. Abilities change what your character can attempt and give the GM material for complications; they do not replace checks when the outcome is uncertain.

Mechanist — a tinkerer of Wits and Strength who builds steampunk gadgets and works the forge. <@mechanist.profession>

• <@engineering.ability> — design and build permanent equipment — never under pressure.
• <@forge.ability> — shape metal and repair armor and weapons at the anvil.
• <@jury-rig.ability> — throw a working fix or gadget together under pressure from whatever is at hand.
• <@overclock.ability> — push a machine past its limits for a burst of power.

Arcanist — a spellcaster who bends the arcane to harm, protect, and perceive. <@arcanist.profession>

• <@cantrip.ability> — cast a small, reliable spell with a moment of focus.
• <@arcane-bolt.ability> — hurl a bolt of force, flame, or frost at a foe.
• <@ward.ability> — weave a barrier that turns aside one blow or hazard.
• <@read-the-weave.ability> — perceive lingering magic and trace it to its source.

Occultist — a ritualist of Wits and Charm who works component-based magic and binds power into familiars, staves, and rites. <@occultist.profession>

• <@familiar.ability> — summon a spirit bound to a small animal form that watches, scouts, and serves you.
• <@craft-staff.ability> — bind a rite into a staff, rod, or wand so it carries a charge of power.
• <@ritual-crafting.ability> — work component-based rituals with powerful effects — slow, costly, and never usable in combat.
• <@occult-lore.ability> — read rites, recognize spirits and sigils, and know what a ritual requires.

Criminal — a charm-and-reflex specialist of stealth, deception, and quick hands. <@criminal.profession>

• <@thievery.ability> — lift purses, pick locks, and take what is not yours.
• <@ambush.ability> — strike first from surprise and end a fight before it starts.
• <@criminal-underworld.ability> — know the underworld, its people, and how to call in a favor.
• <@getaway.ability> — escape trouble — slip out, talk your way past, or vanish.

Brute — a strength-based fighter who smashes through obstacles and enemies. <@brute.profession>

• <@smash.ability> — break doors, walls, and whatever else is in the way.
• <@intimidate.ability> — use raw strength in place of Charm to make someone understand what happens next.
• <@endure.ability> — take hits, pain, and exhaustion — and keep going.
• <@feat-of-strength.ability> — lift, carry, tear, throw, and hold things no one should be able to.

Hunter — a wilderness survivor who tracks, hunts, and endures the wild. <@hunter.profession>

• <@instinct.ability> — survive the wild on feel — weather, shelter, food, and the prickle that says leave.
• <@track.ability> — read sign, scent, and broken ground — and follow anything that moves.
• <@hunt.ability> — turn a shaky ranged shot into a clean, true hit.
• <@stalk.ability> — move unseen and unheard — close enough to touch before they know you are there.

Scion — a charming operator who deals, deceives, and climbs — con man, politico, diplomat, or noble. <@scion.profession>

• <@dealmaking.ability> — cut deals where both sides walk away thinking they won.
• <@rumors.ability> — plant a story and let it do your work for you.
• <@punch-above.ability> — bluff your way into circles above your station.
• <@presence.ability> — walk in and own the room.

Merchant — a Wits-and-Charm operator who turns opportunity into profit — from shopkeeper to crime boss. <@merchant.profession>

• <@appraise.ability> — judge what things are worth — value, quality, and whether it's real.
• <@business.ability> — run a business — books, stock, prices, and the long game of profit.
• <@negotiation.ability> — get the best price and close the deal.
• <@contracts.ability> — make the paper mean something — write the deal, find the loophole.

4. Your status

Status is your wealth and standing: how much property you start with and how people treat you. It comes from your background and lives on your sheet.

Status	How people treat you
Destitute	Doors close, prices rise, blame finds you first.
Poor	Useful, but never trusted with much. Debt is always near.
Working	Ordinary and mostly invisible.
Comfortable	Doors open with a nod. You can buy time and second chances.
Wealthy	People come to you for favors. Envy follows.
Noble	Bows and deference — and schemes.

Status sets your weekly cost of living (destitute 0 · poor 3 · working 8 · comfortable 20 · wealthy 50 · noble 120). Full rules for how status shifts during play are in Health and Status.

5. Assign your stats

Assign the numbers 4, 3, 2, and 1 among Reflexes, Strength, Charm, and Wits. Each stat is the number of d6 you roll for that kind of check; a 3 is the balanced baseline. You may describe the lowest stat as a vulnerability that creates interesting trouble rather than as a reason to avoid play.

6. Choose possessions and a desire

Take the gear your background grants, including your one chosen item, and add a few items that fit your profession and status — you can always spend starting coin at the market. Name one possession you would hate to lose. Then write one immediate desire and one person, place, or obligation that can complicate it.

The game is about both adventure and life. A job, household, romance, rivalry, or craft project is as valid a starting point as a dungeon. Tell the GM what you want to see and what kinds of trouble you are willing to invite.

Making things

If you want to craft, forge, sew, build, or invent, see Crafting and Making Things. Crafting is fiction-first: describe the item, gather or buy the materials, secure the tools, and roll when the work is uncertain. Every item you make becomes a real part of your inventory and your reputation.