Making Characters

Information and discussion for players of the game. No spoilers here please!
Slimcreeper
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Making Characters

Post by Slimcreeper » Fri Aug 11, 2017 11:23 pm

Okay, I am just straight-up confused by this.

Prof. Free 1
R/W Lang Free 1 if English is the Native Tongue (?)
S Lang Free 1 (but if you are Swedish, you have to spend an additional rank to communicate with your party?)
Know Free 2
Prof, Core, Opt skills +10 ranks
Know, Lang, General +5

6 slots for Core/Opt skills
4 slots for Know/Gen skills
2 slots for Lang skills

So you can only pick 6 core and optional skills? And only 4 slots for free knowledge or General skills combined? And if you are not British you are penalized at least 1 skill point in order to communicate in English? I can't get any of the sample characters to line up with any understanding I can come to of the rules.
Last edited by Slimcreeper on Sun Aug 13, 2017 5:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Andrew1879
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Re: Starting Skills

Post by Andrew1879 » Sat Aug 12, 2017 11:25 pm

You start with eight Core/Optional Skill slots, not six, but must take a minimum of six Core/Optional Skills, and then have ten Ranks to distribute to them and your Professional Skill, which gets a free Rank. You get two Knowledge Skills and two General Skills as Free Skills, and then have five ranks to distribute to your Free Skills, which includes Knowledge, General, and Language. Yes, there's a penalty for not being a native English speaker; this reflects the dominance of the British Empire and the impact of British colonialism. You can of course disregard this rule if you are playing in a non English speaking milieu, such as playing an Asia based campaign or a Saurids campaign.

I can see that we're going to have to add this to the Errata. The text on p72 did not get revised to bring it into line with the mechanics we used to build the sample characters. So: Eight slots available for Core/Optional, you must pick at least six but can take seven or eight, and then ten Ranks to distribute to them and your Professional Skill.

Slimcreeper
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Re: Starting Skills

Post by Slimcreeper » Sun Aug 13, 2017 12:16 am

Okay, that helps.

Slimcreeper
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Re: Making Characters

Post by Slimcreeper » Sun Aug 13, 2017 9:51 pm

What is included in the lifestyle costs on p. 160? Keeping up with fashion as required, I assume. Feed and stabling for the mounts included the starting equipment? Housing? Servants? Typical meals and entertaining?

I almost want a household to have a character sheet.

And how to decide where they sit in the peerage? I mean, a Duke just is more powerful than a Baron. Wouldn't everyone want to be a Duke? But then, would a Duke be in a position to adventure? I really picture most adventuring aristocrats as being younger sons and daughters. And you can't really advance in rank under normal circumstances. At any rate, with their SL and income,

Is it reflective of Low, Moderate, or Well-off income? I think I'd want everyone to start at the bottom of their income category to give them something to work for. Or maybe random? At any rate the expenses have to be high in order to keep them resource-hungry.

Also, I see that the various SLs require various languages, which makes sense, but would have been nice to see in the character creation area.

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Andrew1879
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Re: Making Characters

Post by Andrew1879 » Mon Aug 14, 2017 11:19 am

We're doing an expansion of the Social Level system in the Companions that will address a lot of this. Lifestyle costs are just for personal stuff - food, clothing, accessorizing. If you have mounts, they have to be paid for separately. Servants likewise. Parties? You need a whole new budget sheet. My wife's character in Earthdawn is a noble, and does in fact have an org chart and tracking sheet for his household. I'd suggest adventuring aristocrats start out no higher than a marquess or the heir to a barony. Note that people of adventuring age normally aren't going to be the title holders - their parents may very well still be around and running the peerage seat, while son or daughter gallivants about hopefully not being a mohock. Your point about the expenses being high to keep them seeking additional funds is a good one and in keeping with historical precedent.

Ah, first edition, oh the many little errors and problems that you went out with. Errata exist for so many reasons.

Slimcreeper
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Re: Making Characters

Post by Slimcreeper » Sat Aug 26, 2017 9:20 pm

Questions about the Saurids:

Do all three types get the tail attack?

Where are the rules for the gliding Saurids?

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Andrew1879
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Re: Making Characters

Post by Andrew1879 » Sun Aug 27, 2017 5:06 pm

All three Saurid types get Tail Attack, yes.

Kistalmi use double their ground Movement Rate to glide instead of walking or running. For every two hexes they glide horizontally, they may move up or down one hex vertically without affecting their total Movement Rate. They can only glide for 15 minutes before they must rest for the remainder of the hour.

Slimcreeper
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Re: Making Characters

Post by Slimcreeper » Tue Aug 29, 2017 12:19 am

1) Does rest mean laying back with an umbrella drink or just no gliding?

2) Unrelated: I'm confused by the slots gained chart on 266. Do they gain new slots at the intermediate ranks when they are not going up a tier? It seems to say in several spots that they don't, but they sure do according to the chart. Also, Initiate characters can't have more than 4 free ranks, even if they want to learn a new skill after character creation, correct?

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Andrew1879
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Re: Making Characters

Post by Andrew1879 » Tue Aug 29, 2017 10:39 am

1. Walking but not running, riding, or chilling, as required for a Recovery Test.
2.
a. Slots are gained at each advancement in Professional Rank (= Circle), and at Tier Advancement (=Circle+Tier).
b. Semi-correct, Initiates start with no available Free slots, and thus cannot learn new Free Skills until they advance to Professional Rank 2 and gain 2 Free Slots. However, Initiates can have more than 4 Ranks in Free Skills - they only get 4 Ranks to spend at character build but can advance their Free Skills as they like. The goal here is for the Initiate to focus on their Profession, and constrain the character a bit until they've got some experience in their chosen field. "Ye've just learnt to be a Brassman, quit harin' off after Airships until ye've got the knack for clockwork down better!"

Slimcreeper
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Re: Making Characters

Post by Slimcreeper » Tue Aug 29, 2017 12:23 pm

Ah, I misspoke, I meant 4 free skills slots, not skill ranks.

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