Character Origins is a completely optional part of character creation that helps you to develop a background for your character. This should be seen as a skeleton of sorts to aide you with developing your own background story for your character. It is the first step in developing your character as it will allow you to determine your character's profession.
1) How to Use Character Origins
There are four sections in the Character Origins process: Lineage, Childhood, Psychology, and Profession. Each section has a set of charts.
1.1) Rolling for each chart
You leave the fate of your character in dice rolls. With this method, you roll for each chart a set of percentile dice and find the range in the chart that your roll matches. You then record any of the listed benefits and penalties for that roll and move on to the next chart. Once you have rolled for all of the charts in that section you move on to the next section until all sections are complete.
1.2) The Purpose
Remember that this only provides a basic skeleton to help you create your own character's back story. For that reason it uses vague results such as being a wealthy family. You would use that (or your GM would use that) to help decide just who your family was and fit it with the current campaign setting. Just because the chart says you descend from royalty it might not mean actual royalty but something similar to royalty for the setting that you are playing in. Just like the Kennedy's are considered American Royalty even though the US doesn't have actual royalty, your character's family might be considered with the same status despite the fact that royalty doesn't exist for your story's setting. Basically this is simply a guide to help you create your own backstory and give you the benefits and penalties that would apply. You still have to use it to come up with a story that fits.
Back to top2) 2. Section One: Lineage
This section deals with your character's family and ancestors and how they might affect your character.
2.1) 2.1. Table One: Ancestors
Dice Roll | Result | Benefit | Penalty |
1 | You descend from Royalty or the most influential family in the region |
| N/A |
2 to 20 | You come from a long line of nobles or "old money" |
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21 to 40 | Your family was always pretty wealthy |
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41 to 60 | Typical Blue Collar |
| -1 to Influence and Charm |
61 to 80 | Your family was never special | N/A | N/A |
81 to 90 | Your family has always been poor |
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91 to 100 | You never knew your family - doesn't mean you don't have one, you just don't know about them | skip to Growing Up section |
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2.2) 2.2. Table Two: Parental Influence
Dice Roll | Result | Benefit | Penalty |
1 | Very influential in their current class. King/Queen, Duke, Chancellor, Head Potato farmer, etc. |
| N/A |
2 to 20 | Fairly influential. A noble, a Captain of the guard, Manager at a factory, etc |
| N/A |
21 to 40 | Somewhat influential. They walk in the same circles as the Fairly Influential. |
| N/A |
41 to 60 | Not very influential, but they know a guy who knows a guy. |
| N/A |
61 to 80 | No influence in the community at all | N/A | -1 to Influence |
81 to 99 | Downtrodden, and dejected. | +1 to Endure |
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100 | Hated. Reviled by the community |
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2.3) 2.3. Table Three: Siblings
Dice Roll | Result | Benefit | Penalty |
1 | Player Choice! | Pick the result you would like out of any roll in this chart | N/A |
2 to 20 | Only Child |
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21 to 40 | One Sibling | Spread the wealth! +1 roll during the currency chart | N/A |
41 to 60 | 1d3 Siblings | The more the merrier! No monetary gain but having more siblings builds character. +1 roll to point pool creation | N/A |
61 to 80 | 1d6+1 Siblings |
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81 to 99 | 1d8+2 Siblings | The sheer amount of kids in your family causes too much stress on your family. +2 to Endure |
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100 | You don't know. GM rolls a second time in this chart for you and keeps the number hidden for plot reasons. You have always been alone as far as you know. | GM will determine whether this is a benefit or a detriment to your character | GM will determine whether this is a benefit or a detriment to your character |
2.4) 2.4. Table Four: Estate
Dice Roll | Result | Benefit | Penalty |
1 | For your social class your family has a vast amount of riches and land. This could mean a vast castle, or a Luxurious suite in the slums. |
| N/A |
2 to 20 | For your social class your family home is considered extavagant. |
| N/A |
21 to 40 | For your social class your home is considered to be spacious | +1 Influence | N/A |
41 to 60 | For your social class your home is considered to be average | N/A | N/A |
61 to 80 | You live in what you would consider "tight conditions" |
| N/A |
81 to 99 | Your home is considered to be "run down" by your peers. | +1 to Endure and Survival | -1 to influence |
100 | It could have been due to a recent tragic event or maybe it's just been this way your whole life… but you are homeless. |
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3) 3. Section Two: Growing Up
This section has to deal with your character's childhood and how it might affect your character. If in the Lineage section it was determined that you don't know about your ancestry then your GM can determine that you should not roll in this chart.
3.1) 3.1. Table One: Parents
Dice Roll | Result | Benefit | Penalty |
1 to 15 | Both your parents are alive! All is well with them |
| N/A |
16 to 30 | Both your parents are alive! But some form of tragedy/pain has driven them apart | +1 roll to point pool creation. Tragedy builds character | N/A |
31 to 45 | One of your parents is no longer in this world. The other has moved on in life trying to make the best of things. | +1 roll to point pool creation. Tragedy builds character | N/A |
46 to 60 | One of your parents is no longer in this world. The other has been scarred by this loss and has difficulty moving on. | +2 to Mental Balance and Endure. You have had to make due on your own. This has strengthened your resolve. | -10% Currency per game week used to help care for the grief-stricken parent. |
61 to 75 | Both of your parents are confirmed/believed to be dead. They died as heroes in a great war, saving someone's life, or in some other great and noble way. |
| N/A |
76 to 90 | Both of your parents are confirmed/believed to be dead. They died a traitor's death, were banished into exile or suffered some other tragic fate. |
| -2 to Influence because it is hard to be influential when people view you as the spawn of traitors. |
91 to 100 | The fate of your parents is unknown to you. The GM may roll again for you in this chart and may reveal the result later. | +1 to Endure | -2 to Mental Balance due to the strain of not knowing the fate of your parents and clinging to any news and rumors of their fate. |
3.2) 3.2. Table Two: Childhood Events
Dice Roll | Result | Benefit | Penalty |
1 | You found a treasure! | Consult with the GM to start with a relic. | N/A |
2 to 20 | You gained an inheritance/found a valuable item worth money! |
| N/A |
21 to 40 | You saved someone's life! | +1 roll to Point Pool Creation | N/A |
41 to 60 | You led an uneventful childhood | N/A | N/A |
61 to 80 | You suffered a terrible emotional loss | +2 to Endure and Suvival |
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81 to 95 | You suffered an injury in an accident | Roll in chart A below | Roll in chart A below |
96 to 100 | You suffered a major injury in an accident | Roll in chart B below | Roll in chart B below |
3.2.1) 3.2.1. Table Two A: Childhood Events Sub-Chart A
This chart will determine the result from an 81 to 99 roll in the above chart. If your roll in the above chart was 80 or less than you may disregard this chart.
Dice Roll (roll 1d6) | Result | Benefit | Penalty |
1 or 2 | You lost a toe! | N/A | Battle and Area movement rates suffer a -1 penalty, -1 to Brace |
3 or 4 | You lost a finger! | N/A | Can’t Dual Wield |
5 or 6 | You lost an eye! | N/A | -2 to Perceive |
3.2.2) 3.2.2. Table Two B: Childhood Events Sub-Chart B
This chart will determine the result from a 100 roll in the above chart. If your roll in the above chart was 80 or less than you may disregard this chart.
Dice Roll (roll 1d6) | Result | Benefit | Penalty |
1 or 2 | You lost a limb! our GM will roll 1d8 to determine what limb you lose. 1-2 right arm. 3-4 left arm. 5-6 left leg. 7-8 right leg. Substitutions may be made if your race has a tail. | N/A |
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3 or 4 | You became horribly disfigured! | N/A | Your influence and Charm suffers a -2 penalty. Attempts to use character skills that involve direct visible interaction suffer a -2 penalty as well. All skills or checks or actions dealing with persuading or charming are immediately hard checks or greater. |
5 or 6 | You suffered a head wound! | N/A |
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3.3) 3.3. Table Three: Friends & Enemies
Dice Roll | Result | Benefit | Penalty |
1 | You have a very influential friend |
| N/A |
2 to 20 | You have a trusted mentor |
| N/A |
21 to 40 | You have a group of loyal friends | +2 to Influence. +3 if you are within your home town. | N/A |
41 to 60 | You have one very loyal friend/Business parter/Lover | Small favor: Your friend can be called upon for the occasional small favor: a place to stay, loan some money etc. | N/A |
61 to 80 | You have a Rival/Enemy | Luck Chance in a life or death situation that your rival might actually intervene to save you. After all, challenging you is what your rival lives for. | Occasional Challenge: Your rival/enemy will occasionally appear to get in your way, challenge you to a one on one duel etc. |
81 to 99 | You made an enemy of a group/gang | N/A |
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100 | You made a very powerful person very angry with you. | N/A | Called Hit: At some point in the campaign the GM may put a foe in the groups path that specifically has it out for you. This may happen multiple times depending on the plot, until your resolve whatever grudge your enemy has against you. |
4) 4. Section Three: Psychology
This section deals with your character's view points and way of thinking.
4.1) 4.1. Table One: Personality
You can purchase or roll for one or two of the following
Dice Roll | Result | Benefit | Penalty |
1 to 10 | Quiet / Shy | +1 insight | -1 influence |
11 to 20 | Easy Going | +1 luck | -1 react |
21 to 30 | Adventurous | +1 survival | -1 stealth |
31 to 40 | Obsessive | +1 intimidate | -1 charm |
41 to 50 | Prim and Proper | +1 Influence | -1 endure |
51 to 60 | Impulsive | +1 react | -1 luck |
61 to 70 | Aloof | +1 arcana | -1 critical |
71 to 80 | Paranoid | +1 perceive | -1 mental balance |
81 t0 90 | Short Tempered | +1 critical | -1 perform |
91 to 100 | Coward | +1 initiative | -1 athletics |
4.2) 4.2. Table Two: Philosophy on Life
Dice Roll | Result | Benefit | Penalty |
1 to 15 | Every single person has value/serves a purpose | +5 Light Moral Points | N/A |
16 to 30 | People all have the capacity to do good |
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31 to 45 | You're born, you live, you die | +1 Vitality Save | -1 to React |
46 to 60 | Respect is earned | +1 to Influence | N/A |
61 to 75 | No one in this world tells me what to do | +1 to Persuade | -1 to Charm |
76 to 90 | People are sheep, born to be led |
| N/A |
91 to 100 | People are scum, evil and untrustworthy |
| N/A |
5) 5. Section Four: Profession
This section has to deal with any past training your character might have had as well as your character's current profession.
5.1) 5.1. Table One: Skill-Set
This is the skill-set your character has developed naturally. In other words, this shows your character's natural strengths as they relate to professions.
Dice Roll | Result | Benefit | Penalty |
1 to 10 | Fighter | Deals 20% more melee damage | N/A |
11 to 20 | Magician | Magic Spells are 20% more effective (healing or damaging values) | N/A |
21 to 30 | Laborer | Weight Limit is increased by 20%, Power costs reduced by 20% | N/A |
31 to 40 | Ranger | Projectile or thrown damages increased by 20%, +1 to Perceive | N/A |
41 to 50 | Archeologist | Automatically starts with the Translate skill, gain 5 x History stat check worth of EXP when making successful history checks | N/A |
51 to 60 | Guard | Armor defense increased by 20%, +1d4 to Vitality Gen Dice | N/A |
61 to 70 | Alchemist | potions are 10% more effective, +1 to Medicine | N/A |
71 to 80 | Bard | entertainer skills are 10% more effective, +1 to Perform | N/A |
81 to 90 | Shaman | Familiar stats increased by 10% | N/A |
91 to 100 | Evangelical | +1 to Influence and Persuade, +2 to Mental Balance and Spiritual Balance | N/A |
5.2) 5.2. Table Two: Current Profession
Rolling for this table is optional. You could roll for this table or you would pick a profession that most interest you. You cannot spend origin points to pick out a profession. This table will show you the list of professions with links to their pages, and what skill set from table 5.1 is best for them. You will also need to reference the profession in the Professions page in Character Growth, as the profession you choose here will affect how you learn skills and your equipment.
Dice Roll | Profession | Basic Information |
1 to 9 | Warrior | Uses any melee weapon, wears any armor, specializes in offensive skills |
10to 19 | Guard | Wears any armor, specializes in defensive skills |
20 to 29 | Ranger | Uses projectile or thrown weapons, wears light armor, specializes in long range skills and tracking |
30 to 39 | Monk | Wears light armor and specializes in unarmed combat |
40 to 49 | Thief | Wears light armor, uses knives and daggers, specializes in keeping hidden and moving quickly |
50 to 59 | Runic Mage | Wears light armor, uses staffs, specializes in magic |
60 to 69 | Artificer | Specializes in making things, including weapons and armor |
70 to 79 | Entertainer | Wears light armor, specializes in powerful dances and songs |
80 to 89 | Cleric | Wears light armor, specializes in dealing with the divine and spirits |
90 to 100 | Adventurer | Wears light armor, specializes in exploration |
5.3) 5.3. Table Three: Aspirations and Goals
This table deals with your character's life goals. Your GM could allow you to choose one or make you roll for it.
Dice Roll | Result | Benefit | Penalty |
1 to 10 | Gain a higher rank |
| N/A |
11 to 20 | Become more skilled |
| N/A |
21 to 30 | Take on more responsibility | +25 stat points to be used for character creation | N/A |
31 to 40 | Become an adventurer, see the world | Start with Translate and Linguistic skills at Level 1 mastery | N/A |
41 to 50 | Retire Early | automatically decrease your currency by 10% each game week, that 10% goes into a special pool for your character that your character can’t touch except for once a month and that pool increases by 10% each week from interest | N/A |
51 to 60 | Invest all my money for future generations of my family to enjoy | automatically decrease your currency by 10% each game week, that 10% goes into a special pool for your character that your character can’t touch to be given to your next character | N/A |
61 to 70 | Seek Vengeance | Double Damage vs one creature type, selected at character creation | N/A |
71 to 80 | Become Famous | +2 to Influence, everyone knows your character | N/A |
81 to 90 | Become Infamous |
| N/A |
91 to 100 | Player Choice | You set your own goal but gain no rewards for it. | N/A |