Making a Character

You need a name, a class, a short background — and two full tag groups before the first scene.

Starting sheet

No ability scores. Rolls are tags, at most one item, and dice.

Build your two groups

Pick two facets of the character that will matter at the table — often one outward-facing (how you act on the world) and one that can cost you (where you're sharp and where you break).

1. Name the theme

One to three words that bundle what follows:

• Trail Craft
• Court Manner
• Brawler's Luck
• Archive Mind

2. Write two tags

Three words max (four as a stretch). Broad enough to fire often, sharp enough that everyone at the table knows when they don't apply.

• Reads the terrain
• Dead-eye shot
• Talks circles round you

3. Write the weakness

One line that pairs with the theme — the cost of doing business in that domain. It should be easy for the GM (or the fiction) to invoke honestly:

• Trail Craft → Fears open water
• Court Manner → Cannot abide a lie
• Brawler's Luck → Never checks the odds

Both starting groups are full: theme, two tags, weakness.

Example: Example Character

Trail Craft — Reads the terrain · Moves unseen — Fears open water The Longshot — Dead-eye shot · Holds the line — Slow to trust

<@example-character.character>

During play

• Call tags on every roll; you may put one inventory item to work (±1); invoke a weakness when it fits (−1, +1 improvement point).
• Bank improvement points through the scene; spend them at scene end.
• First spend after character creation, once both starting groups are full, opens a new group with a new theme + tag.
• Expended consumables (potions, salves, etc.) leave your inventory when used.