Artie's Character Playbook

NAME: Arbitrum "Artie" Oliveira
NUTSHELL: He's basically Pirate Doctor Strange salted with a good dash of Brisco County, Jr.
 
Summary: Artie will stop at nothing to gain enough knowledge/power to stop anyone from separating Earth from Otherworld, which would be just as devastating as their crash together. He is an Engineer, not a Wizard, so his study of the Etherwave produces ideas for new inventions, not magical spells to cast. He bought a ship from his college professor and now needs a Captain, First Mate, maybe a Quartermaster, and definitely a good Chef.
 
STEP 1, CULTURE: European(Portuguese)
+1 dot favored action of your culture (Command or Sway?): Command
 
STEP 2, ANCESTRY: Human
Action Bonus +1 dot to any one Action of your choice: Remedy(to repair broken equipment)
Trait: Jack-of-All-Tides—Once per session, you may reroll one failed die from an Action roll, representing luck, grit, or sudden insight.
 
STEP 3, PROFESSION TEMPLATE: Practical Cosmologist (one who uses knowledge of the origins of the universe to solve practical problems). This is an amalgamation of Navigator(Strategist) and Arcane Engineer (Gearwright)
3 starting Action Points: Study, Craft, Channel
Choose 1 starting Special Ability from: Clockwork Muse, Miracle Worker
As a Practical Cosmologist (Navigator Engineer), you gain XP when you address challenges using your inventions or devices which harness the unpredictable power of the Etherwave such as a ship's Portal Platform.
 
TEMPLATE STARTING GEAR (3 starting items):
Multi-Tool - Choose your trademark utility tool of fine quality for offense, defense, and information. It might be a sonic screwdriver, rune-engraved magic wand, wrench-club, rune-etched spanner, or similar type of multi-use tool.
Communication Device - Choose a techno-arcane or mundane item to communicate with allies and acquaintances.
Information Source - Choose a map, tome, scroll, or similar item(s) containing information to study.
 
STEP 4, Adjust Your Starting Ability (optional): Clockwork Muse (2 ticks in downtime).
 
STEP 5, BACKGROUND: Olive Farm Equipment Designer / Manufacturer.
Artie studied at Oxford University in England and received a B.S. degree in Arcane Engineering and a Masters degree in Arcane Navigation.
 
STEP 5, MOTIVATION: (new) Power - Training new skills; Gaining new abilities, equipment, and allies, Learning useful knowledge.
 
STEP 6, Two actions on your own:
(1 starting action point in Pilot)
(1 starting action point in Skirmish)
 
STEP 7: FRIEND AND RIVAL:
MAJOR FRENEMY: his sister, Lucretia "Lucy" Oliveira MacEvil is becoming Moriarty.
MINOR ALLY: his father, a Mallard duck, Domingos Oliveira, occasionally provides odd information.
 
STEP 8: EMOTIONAL ANCHOR:
“When things get too heavy, I always turn to… LEVERAGE."
Knowing that some people and situations are beyond Artie's control is utterly unacceptable. His cloying jealousy is relieved when he finds some leverage to gain control should he ever need it. He might research spells, relics, laws of nature, and (especially) powerful magicians and how to take them down.
 
STEP 8: QUIRK:
IMPORTANT QUIRK: Artie's arcane inventions are activated by a spoken incant, usually in rhyming couplets. In a situation where he could not (or would not want to) speak, his use of magic would be very limited or nonexistent.
MINOR QUIRK: Artie talks to his future self when he thinks no one is listening.
 
STEP 9: ALLIED FACTION
Artie's college mentor, Grimling Archnavigator, Paag Yorsteam, (Tealioth Sept), tenured professor at Oxford University in England occasionally sends him on adventures. He insists that Artie assist the Stormchaser Guild should they ever call for help. Some day Professor Yorsteam expects Artie to help him design and build a custom portal platform for his new retirement yacht.
 
Step 10: Name, Alias, and Look. See "How I Came to Be", Artie's character history.
 
CHARACTER SHEET:
Attributes: (Total 7 Action Points (max 2 in any single action for a starting character).
WITS (3)
Channel (1)
Craft (1)
Study (1)
Track
Trade
GRIT (2)
Maneuver (finesse, dexterity)
Pilot (1)
Skirmish (1) (sword fighting, etc)
Stealth
Wreck (brute force)
WILLPOWER (2)
Command (1)
Consort (socialize)
Perform
Remedy (1)
Sway (to influence)
 
SPECIAL ABILITY:
Clockwork Muse - You are almost famous for your planning and insight as an Engineer. During downtime you get two ticks to distribute among long-term project clocks that involve innovative designs.
 
STARTING GEAR:
THE SWORD PRESTIGIOUS - (Acts as an Engraved Wand which increases arcane Potency. Zero Load) For his Bachelors' Degree in Arcane Engineering at Oxford, he created a rune-engraved magic wand with a sharp pointed end and cross-guard quillons on the other end. He has developed several incantations which can make this sword perform stunts for offense, defense, utility, and even information. On the Oxford fencing team he was of average skill.
 
"THIS SPELLBOOK BELONGS TO MARTY MACEVIL" Artie found Marty's lost spell book. It has the following spells {if approved by GM.} (Marty had learned them in prerequisites for Arcane Medical School and had used them for both legitimate and nefarious purposes. Artie does not cast spells, per se, but they inspire his arcane inventions.) (Zero Load):
(#1) Transform Writing. (It moves ink on a page permanently, but cannot add nor subtract the amount of ink.)
(#2) Named Object. (It enchants an object or device with minor telekinesis. A scalpel will float to it's owner's hand on command. A spinning wheel would operate on its own until commanded to stop or until the Etherwave demands recompense for the energy spent.)
(#3) Sympathetic Entanglement. (It allows energy to pass from one object to another no matter how far away. The objects are usually high-quality identical duplicates which must be touching when the spell is cast. Each casting of the spell affects only one type of energy, such as temperature, light, sound, magnetism, or kinetic energy.)
 
THE ENTANGELD JOURNALS - For his sister, Artie studied Marty's spell book (above) and produced this magical device. It is a pair of Moleskine-type leather-bound journals, (which he is certain will be popular in 200 years or so). When text is written on one journal it is copied onto the other no matter how far away. Artie keeps his on a chain at his belt. This seems to be one of the few magical devices Lucy is willing to use, as it keeps her in touch with her brother and his news of their parents. The first page says, "Left=Port, Right=Starboard." (Zero Load)
 
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General Playbook Notes: There are 3 Attributes/Saves, and 15 Actions. Start with Stress (0-10), Scars(0-4), Scar Conditions(None), Curse(0-10), Dark Marks(0-3), Dark Mark conditions(None).
 
XP TRIGGER:
As a Navigator Engineer, you gain XP when you address challenges using your inventions or devices which harness the unpredictable power of the Etherwave such as a ship's Portal Platform. Did you show expertise? If not, did you learn a new theory due to your results?
[Also, did you express your character’s beliefs, drives, heritage, or background?
Also, did you struggle with issues from your vice or traumas?
Also, 1XP for each Desperate Action Roll and Group Action Roll.
((When you fill an xp track, clear all the marks and take an advance. When you take an advance from your playbook track, you may choose an additional special ability. When you take an advance from an attribute, you may add an additional action dot to one of the actions under that attribute. You can also earn xp by training during downtime. When you train, mark xp in one of your attributes or in your playbook. A given xp track can be trained only once per downtime phase.))
 
Wish List of Inventions Someday:
The Charm Resounding - (It acts as a Ship's Wheel Pendant, which grants Potency when working with an Arcane Gate once for 1 scene) For his Masters' Degree in Arcane Navigation, he manufactured the Charm Resounding. It has a complex bonus feature: When one pulls the front and back faces apart, it accordions out into a simple concertina, a musical squeeze box. (They will be available commercially 100 years later. "It's the next big coming thing.")
Third Arm Belt - (The loose end of the belt can be controlled by dials on the belt buckle to twist and turn. It can hold hot test tubes and reach further than a man's arms. It has low strength.)
Back Alpaca - (When activated, this backpack's multiple straps become legs which allow it to follow its owner, carry Loads, and perform simple commands with animal-like intelligence.)
Entangled Earrings - (Any sound entering one ring comes out the other, no matter how far away they are. A message spoken into one earring can be heard by a person wearing the other.)