Character Creation
Archetypes
Most characters in the Renewal campaign belong to one of four archetypes, broad character classes that unlock development paths for specialisation and more powerful skills. They’re described in more detail in the relevant sections, along with the more advanced archetype skills associated with them, some example characters, and some common paths for progression via research or training.
- Creator: Whether weavers or alchemists, blacksmiths or surgeons, tattooists or jewellers, creators are artists who make, repair and alter lasting things.
- Magician: Spellcasters, enchanters, summoners and necromancers, ritualists and oracles – magicians are scholars who channel magic and work miracles.
- Scout: From burglars, assassins and pickpockets, to sappers and siege engineers, to trackers and hunters, scouts rely on wits, skills and guile to survive.
- Warrior: Thugs and berserkers, duellists and tacticians, monster hunters and warleaders alike, warriors master all the arts and modes of warfare.
Archetypes are similar to “character classes” in tabletop or computer RPGs, but less rigidly defined, providing access to a range of skills rather than a set progression. The most powerful and specialised skills (i.e. those worth 11 points or more) represent the pinnacle of training, and no character may learn more than one such skill; other than that, they are free to learn as many skills within their archetype as they will – and a smaller number of skills from other archetypes – up to the Points Cap.
Each archetype in this chapter is presented with a list of archetype skills and some suggested study paths for further Research or Training. Characters may pursue up to three study paths, in any archetypes, and may develop one to the highest levels. Finally, each archetype offers some ready-made example characters for inspiration.
A character’s archetype doesn’t need to be chosen until they wish to learn their first archetype skill; but once chosen, their archetype is fixed (although see Changing Your Mind.
You can choose your archetype at character creation, but you don’t have to – you can get a feel for your character before choosing a path. You must, however, choose one before learning any archetype skills.
Archetype Skills
Archetype skills are the more advanced techniques known to accomplished experts in their fields.
Almost all archetype skills require prerequisites; most are organised into “skill trees” with multiple levels of branching prerequisites.
Examples
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Magic Points and Work Units
Characters with relevant magical or crafting skills may have either of the following resources:
- Magic Points: Fuel spells, rites, invocations and other sorcerous acts.
- Work Units: Drive crafting, surgery, alchemy and other actions that create or alter things.
These pools are shared between all relevant skills.
A creator has one pool of Work Units, which they may spend on any of their crafting skills, while a magician has one pool of Magic Points, which they may spend on any known spells. Characters cannot hold over Work Units or Magic Points from one day to the next; any unused points are lost at time out each day.
The base value of these pools depends on how many relevant skills your characters knows:
- Your first qualifying skill grants you 10 magic points or work units, and
- The second and third grant you 5 points each, for 20 points total in each pool.
- The Creator and Magician archetypes grant access to the skills Extra Work Units and Extra Magic Points respectively, increasing these pools to a maximum of 30 points.
| Example
Lellian of the Forge has the skills Artisan, Blacksmith, Armourer, Elemental Spellcasting and 5 levels of Extra Work Units, granting them 25 work units and 10 magic points per day. Both pools refresh to full every morning at time in. |
Cross-Archetype Skills
Not everyone fits neatly into these of course – you may wish to play a spellcasting warrior or a crafter trained in siege weaponry. This is fine! Any character can spend up to half as many points on archetype skills from other archetypes as you have on your main archetype.
| Example
Undead hunter Torian Gravearrow has the magician skills Greater Corporeal Spellcasting (8 points), Immune to Enthral (6 points) and Necromancy (8 points), worth a total of 22 points. This allows them to learn the warrior skill Greater Body Development (6 points) and the scout skill Tracking Proficiency (5 points), for a total of 11 points worth of cross-archetype skills. |
Skills
Your character starts with 20 character points to spend on general and archetype skills. You don’t have to spend all your points up front; unspent points may be held back for later use.
The following restrictions apply:
- Primary Archetype: You must choose a primary archetype (see above) before taking your first archetype skill, but once you have done so, you can choose whatever skills you like from your archetype’s list (provided you meet the prerequisites).
- Cross-Archetype Skills: You can learn some skills from other archetypes, but may learn skills worth a total of no more than half as many points in cross-archetype skills than you have learned in skills in your own primary archetype.
- Prerequisites: Most archetype skills have prerequisites, other skills that you have to know before you can learn them. Skills are listed in the Archetypes chapter (p. 00) below their prerequisites.
- Specialisation: The most advanced skills – those costing 11 or more character points – require absolute focus and dedication. No character may learn more than one such skill.
- Points Cap: There is a limit to mortals’ potential to learn. No normal mortal character can learn more than 90 character points worth of skills. Note that this limit doesn’t apply to abilities gained via magic or supernatural means.
- No Repeat Picks: All skills may be learned at most once each, unless they stipulate otherwise (i.e. Extra Magic Points, Extra Work Units, Income and Resources).
Some skills use Magic Points or Work Units.
Things That Aren’t Skills
You don’t need skills for everything! All characters in the Renewal campaign can use the following skills without having to buy them with your character points:
- Read and write,
- Count and perform arithmetic,
- Make and read maps, and
- Fight with a single small or one-handed weapon.
General Skills
General skills are available to everyone, both at character creation and via experience or through training, with no restrictions aside from their total point cap.
These skills provide the foundation of every progression path in the game, from core weapon training to the simplest crafting designs, for basic skulking and tracking techniques or the least powerful spells.
Combat Skills
| Skill | Points Cost |
|---|---|
| Light Armour | 2 |
| Long Weapons | 4 |
| Projectile Weapons | 6 |
| Shield | 4 |
| Thrown Weapons | 2 |
| Two Weapons | 3 |
Creation Skills
| Skill | Points Cost |
|---|---|
| Alchemist | 6 |
| Artisan | 6 |
| Blacksmith | 6 |
| Jeweller | 6 |
| Surgeon | 6 |
Lore Skills
| Skill | Points Cost |
|---|---|
| Evaluate | 5 |
| Foraging | 4 |
| Gathering | 4 |
| Ranger | 5 |
| Scholar | 5 |
| Scoundrel | 5 |
| Scrounging | 4 |
Magical Skills
| Skill | Points Cost |
|---|---|
| Charm Invocation | 5 |
| Corporeal Spellcasting | 6 |
| Elemental Spellcasting | 6 |
| Ritual Magic | 6 |
| Sense Magic | 5 |
| Spiritual Spellcasting | 6 |
Personal Skills
| Skill | Points Cost |
|---|---|
| Body Development | 6 |
| Fearlessness | 4 |
| Intuition | 5 |
| Income | 4+ |
| Iron Body | 5 |
| Iron Will | 6 |
| Resist Disease | 4 |
| Resist Magic | 6 |
| Resist Poison | 5 |
| Resources | 4+ |
Archetype Skills
Archetype skills are the more advanced techniques known to accomplished experts in their fields: a warrior’s trick moves and mighty blows, a creator’s complex processes and unique inventions, a scout’s treacherous knifework and knowledge of beasts, or a magician’s mighty sorceries and esoteric workings.
Archetype skills are listed in their respective sections in the Archetypes chapter.
Almost all archetype skills require prerequisites; most are organised into “skill trees” with multiple levels of branching prerequisites.
Magic Points and Work Units
Characters with relevant magical or crafting skills may have either of the following resources:
- Magic points fuel spells, rites, invocations and other sorcerous acts.
- Work units drive crafting, surgery, alchemy and other actions that create or alter things.
These pools are shared between all relevant skills
The base value of these pools depends on how many relevant skills your characters knows:
- Your first qualifying skill grants you '10 Magic Points or Work Units
- The second and third grant you 5 points each, for 20 points total in each pool.
The creator and magician archetypes grant access to the skills Extra Work Units and Extra Magic Points respectively, increasing these pools to a maximum of 30 points.
Both pools refresh to full every morning at time in.
| Examples:
A creator has one pool of work units, which they may spend on any of their crafting skills, while a magician has one pool of magic points, which they may spend on any known spells. Lellian of the Forge has the skills Artisan, Blacksmith, Master Blacksmith Elemental Spellcasting and 5 levels of Extra Work Units, granting them 25 work units and 10 magic points per day. |
Character Cards
All of your skills will be assigned to you on your character card. This card is given to you at the Games Organisation Desk and includes the following information:
- Your name
- Your character name
- Your faction
- The event details
- Your character skills
You must have your character card with you at all times during the event and it must be easily accessible in case of emergency. If your character dies or you choose to retire them during an event, the Game Organisation Desk will produce a new character card for you.
If you gain any skills during the game in addition to the permanent skills listed on your character card, you will be issued a Special Character Card. This will need to be carried with your character card during game time if you wish to use those skills.
Changing Your Mind
It’s entirely possible to find, after an event or two with a new character, that the archetype and skills you’ve chosen don’t seem to fit – or you want to go in a different direction, or you just don’t find the skills fun – even though you still want to keep playing the character.
Despair not! Any new character’s archetype or skills can be tweaked, or completely discarded and re-chosen, until you spend character points gained through experience after the character’s second event. Once you’ve spent those points, the character is fixed.
Changing your character’s skills after that point generally requires in character effort of some sort, including ritual transformation. If you wish to change for out of character reasons (such as no longer being able to take the battlefield), please contact the Game Organisation Desk to discuss.