Making a Character
Creating a character in Root and Stem takes about ten minutes. You decide who your hero is, spend a small, precious budget of points, and the sheet adds every derived number from there.
The six Root Stats
Everything you do flows from six Root Stats — the roots of who you are:
| Stat | Governs |
|---|---|
| STR | raw power: lifting, grappling, breaking, climbing |
| DEX | precision and agility: leaping, dodging, stealth, lockpicking |
| CON | endurance and vitality: resisting poison, surviving, holding out |
| INT | logic, memory, and learning: runes, lore, crafting, magic |
| WIS | intuition and awareness: reading people, noticing, survival |
| CHA | presence and force of will: persuading, intimidating, performing |
You start with 15 points to distribute across them, and each stat begins between 0 and 6. A stat's modifier is:
Modifier = floor((Score − 5) / 2)
So a score of 5–6 is +0, 7–8 is +1, 9–10 is +2, and a low 2–4 drifts negative. Those modifiers feed your rolls; the scores feed your Stem Modifiers (the PHYS, PSY, RSV, MGC, and GUI totals that shape your odds — see the Rolling the Dice chapter).
Who are you?
Pick a species and a background that fits the world your GM is running. Species grant stat adjustments and talents to your liking, so your concept is where you start and the numbers follow the fiction.
There are no rigid classes. Instead of being locked into a class, every character operates in the Core Proficiency expression — the generalist who can flex into other disciplines based on their Stat Level and paid points. As you grow you choose how to specialize: a Melee fighter leans on CON and DEX, a Ranged marksman on DEX and perception, and a Magic user on INT and WIS (plus their elemental attunement). You are never forced down one road.
Your resources
- Health starts at
20 + (CON × 5) + (Level × 5). - If you want to cast, becoming a Vessel unlocks a Mana Pool of
(INT + WIS) × 3. - Grace is your dynamic Creation–Entropy meter, hovering at 0 and shifting with the scene.
- Everyone holds a latent Magicule pool — the First Primal Element present in all things.
Your Growth
You don't spend a lump of starter points on a feat list. Growth is XP-driven: on success, XP splits 50% into the Root Stat you used, 30% into a chosen Stem Modifier, and 20% into a skill. XP to your next level is your current level × 100, and the hard cap is level 300. Choose the specialties that tell your hero's story, let the XP flow where the adventuring goes, and don't overthink the early steps — the road is long and every success feeds growth.
Make a person you want to meet a dragon as. The math will take care of itself.