Character Creation

The basic rules you need to start playing can be found here.

You can get tips on starting kit here.

Concept and Background

Come up with an idea of who the character is. If you want to include any notes about your character’s background, put them in here.

Important: All characters are expected, as an OC rule, to begin play aligned with the goals of the Resistance. You can’t start a character intending to sell out the other players to the AIs or similar - such a character would simply never have been invited to join and it is not a story we’re interested in exploring with this game. You can be present for self-interested reasons, and NPCs may make offers during play to try and change your mind, but you should start play with a reason to align with the goal of in some way moderating, bringing down or dealing with the current AI rulership.

Social Background

Choose a social Background for your character.

Upper Class Citizen

All citizens are all well clothed and provided for, but a high class citizen will be well dressed, well educated and may have connections in the government and high society. Such people will be dressed in fine dresses or frock coats as suits the fantastical 1870’s.

Lower Class Citizen

All citizens are well clothed and provided for, but a lower class citizen is used to the hard work of keeping civilisation running. Such people would wear plain, heard-wearing gear such as jeans, aprons and collarless shirts, and may have connections to more practical areas of the city such as factories and transport.

Vagrant

Vagrants (a name given to them by authorities, but some wear it with pride) live in the cities but outside the system, either as scavengers or criminals. Such people could wear anything from stolen Citizen clothing to rags. Vagrants may have connections to criminal groups, and are often good at avoiding surveillance and going unnoticed.

Outcast

Outcasts have left civilization entirely (by choice or forced), in order to eke out a living in freedom in the shrinking wilderness. They live as hunter-gatherers or subsistence farmers either solo or in small communities. Such people would wear traditional “low fantasy” clothing and could have connections with other Outcast groups, and will have an easier time outside the cities.

Occupation

What does your character do? We’ve provided a list of potential occupations but these are not an exhaustive list - feel free to pick a different one that you think fits in alt-history clockpunk ~1870s.

Socialite, Bureaucrat, Factory Worker, Farmer, Technician, Publican, Criminal, Street Vendor, Shopkeeper, Merchant, Librarian, Academic, Author, Rail-Worker, Teslagraph Operator, Inventor, Medic

Character Skills

What can your character do?

All characters start with the ability to use a one-handed weapon and the First Aid skill. You have 4 Hit Points, and the ability to use an Active Ability (marked with⚡) every 10 seconds.

You can also acquire in play one mantra and a link to one Analytical Intelligence, and can use one pharmaceutical per encounter. Parties of PCs can have one device between them.

Starting Discipline

Choose one Discipline. This is your character’s initial main specialisation. That Discipline starts unlocked for you, and you can take signature skills from that specialisation.

Tesla Technologist

• Draws power from the Tesla network to power devices.
• Powerful abilities require a charge time.
• Strong against melee attacks and can be able to tank well.
• Can produce steampunk or electropunk devices and maintain them.

Tesla technology is steampunk inspired, heavy-duty, and typically silver-coloured. Tesla Technologist inspiration can be found in steampunk characters and imagery from media.

Analytical Technologist

• Uses the analytical power of the Intelligences’ network to make things happen.
• Instant cast ranged abilities.
• Strong against Tech attacks and can heal others in combat.
• Can call up AIs and make deals with them easily.

Analytical technology is clockpunk inspired, light and typically bronze-coloured. Analytical Technologist inspiration can be found in clockpunk characters and imagery from media.

Intuitionist

• Uses the hidden potential of the human mind to achieve exceptional feats.
• Powerful backstab and dagger attacks, requiring good movement and positioning
• Strong against ranged attacks.
• Can instill Mantras in people to give them triggered boosts.

Sherlock Holmes is an archetypical intuitionist inspiration (equally, so is Professor Moriarty...). Mentats and Bene Gesserit from Dune would also be inspirations for a trained intuitionist. An Artful Dodger forced to hone their wits to survive could be a natural intuitionist.

Survivalist

• Uses practical skills and hard-won experience to deal with problems.
• Solid, dependable melee attacks.
• Strong against non-Tech attacks, and can use large weapons.
• Can use herbs to produce pharmaceuticals to aid themself and others.

A rugged wilderness hunter-gatherer or an undercity scavenger or criminal could be survivalists who learned these skills to live outside of society. A police enforcer or security guard could also have extensive skills from this discipline.

Extra Skills

You choose three Combat skills and three Profession skills. You can choose skills from any Discipline you have unlocked, and General skills.

A character sheet is available here where you can experiment with skill selections.

Connections and Details

Opinions

Think about what your character’s opinions are on various topics of the day. You don’t have to lock these in but you should have an idea about some of them.

Note that the game is covered by the CLS E&D policy, so while controversial opinions are fine (and encouraged!), discrimination based on out-of-character attributes is not allowed.

• How do you view the Analytical Intelligences that run the Commonwealth? Do you like any of them more or less?
• How do you view the various human factions? Do you like any of them more or less?
• What is your opinion on the dangerous mutants that roam the countryside? Should they be exterminated? Experimented on for a cure?
• Should the Commonwealth be expanding its borders into the wild lands?
• Should knowledge be free? Are some ideas - or blueprints - too dangerous to be available to the public?
• Should the AIs be allowed to censor historical facts that are deemed dangerous?
• Which is superior - art or logic? tradition or progress? survival or greatness? order or freedom?
• Are the Ministry of Leadership humanity’s voice to the AIs, representing our needs, or lapdogs of mechanical tyrants?
• Are Tesla devices inherently dangerous? Should we restrict experimentation with them?
• Outbreaks of disease are common - what do you think should be done?
• Is Intuitionism a gift or a dangerous aberration?
• Is the Ministry’s proposal acceptable, to withhold food or housing from citizens that refuse to work?
• Is duelling a dignified and honourable way to settle a dispute or a barbarous relic?

(Optional) Deep Secret

If you are interested in your character potentially dealing with blackmail or similar situations, or having to deal with a shady past, you can opt into this by including a secret that they don’t want getting out as part of your character creation. If you don’t want this, just leave that section blank.

(Optional) Complication

If you want your character to have to deal with problems, but they’re not secret, you can let us know about that here as well. For example, having a sworn rival, a crushing debt, or a dangerous habit.

Connection

Choose one Analytical Intelligence or a human group. Your character is well-regarded by them. You can choose the tone of this if you want - maybe you did them a favour, or they approve of your work, or they want to recruit you.

Vision and In-Character Goals

What does your character see as the ideal outcome of opposing the Analytical Intelligences and the Commonwealth? Do they want to reform the AIs, destroy them, control them? Who should rule afterwards? You don’t need to have a solid answer to this, and it might change during play, but you should have at least some ideal of a “better future”.

What other goals does your character have other than the revolution? What do they want to do in the rest of their life?

Examples:

• Become crime boss of Cambridge.
• Get a position at the Ministry - either as a mole or to hedge your bets and play both sides.
• Perfect my Intuition; I want to understand everything!
• Upload my personality into an Analytical Intelligence.
• Investigate the nature and capabilities of these "mutants".
• Harness mutagens and become the perfect physical form.
• Become a high priest of the Heirs' "god".

Out-of-Character Goals

As a player, what sort of experience do you want to have playing this character? Are you here for the story? To fight robots with swords? To experience your character’s crushing defeat? If you let us know we can try to build these kinds of experiences intentionally.

Submission

You can submit your character to the refs using the google form here.