Character Creation Steps 4-10
Step 4: Adjust Your Starting Ability (optional)
All Professions and their starting builds have a default starting ability. This is an ability or signature trick that is closely associated with that particular Profession or starting build. Remember, these starting abilities are not set in stone. If you don’t like the default starting ability—or your concept calls for a different one—pick a different one from the list in your chosen Profession. Remember, as it pertains to your character, this is a major step and building block of your legend—so make it count!
Step 5: Choose a background and motivation
Now, with background and motivation, here we get into the meat of your character. Background is where you’ve come from, while motivation is where you’re headed. But put them together and they explain why you took to the seas as a Privateer. Also, what keeps you in the fight when the Etherwave Arcana power rises and the cannon smoke clears.
Background
Your background is simple. Just write a few sentences or even a paragraph about where you’re from. For some help, try one of the following prompts, or even mix two and expand with your own details.
Motivations
As has been mentioned, motivations are looking forward. Where your character is going. These are simple goals, only a simple sentence that is basically your character’s “North Star”. You can write your own, or pick one of the following!
Step 6: Assign two additional action ratings
At this point, you should have dots in Actions from your Culture, Bloodline, and Profession. Now, you add two additional dots to any action of your choice. But there’s a catch! No character may begin play with an Action rating higher than 2 dots. So choose carefully! Look to your character’s background and motivation as a guide.
Step 7: Choose a close friend and a rival
It’s never safe to go alone, as the saying goes. Always take a friend along, because you’re bound to run into a rival out for your blood! Here is where you pick that close friend your character has known for some time, and that rival who would love to see your downfall. Select one friend and one rival from the lists provided under your character’s Profession. If none of those appeals to you, feel free to work with the GM and make up your own!
Step 8: Choose your Emotional Anchor and Quirk
Emotional Anchors
All Privateers have that moment when things become too much. When the cannons roared too often, Etherwave surged too close, or the guilt and ghosts of the past caught up to them. It’s when the stress is so high, the world seems to come unraveled. In those moments, a Privateer needs something they can turn to that will help ease their mind and spirit.
This is their Emotional Anchor. This could be a vice, ritual, or some other comfort that lets them center themselves and release that stress. Maybe it’s rum. It could be poetry. Perhaps it’s tinkering with a new clockwork device or brewing an elixir. It could even be shark fishing with your bare hands! Each Emotional Anchor reflects something your character can cling to when life gets too hard. During downtime, you can indulge in your Emotional Anchor to relieve Stress. Every character must have one. You can pick from the list below, or make your own! First, here’s a list of some common ones to think about.
Now again, the above is a short list of common Emotional Anchors. They cover a wide range of ideas and suggestions. But they also might not fit your character, and that’s quite all right! So, in case you want to make your own, just complete this sentence…
“When things get too heavy, I always turn to…”
Then simply add what your character turns to and with that, you’ll have your Emotional Anchor!
Mechanics of an Emotional Anchor
As it was said during Downtime a character may indulge in their Emotional Anchor to clear the Stress gained during an adventure. This represents your character leaning into what ritual, habit or more than helps them rest and recover. So during Downtime…
An Example of Indulging an Emotional Anchor
Navigator Mahala Toule of the ship, the Sea Rose, plans to use her Emotional Anchor, “Old Ghosts and Ink-Stained Regrets”. This is where Mahala finds comfort in quietly writing letters she’ll never send, addressed to the dead or missing. Her current Stress is 4.
Mahala to GM: “After we’ve dropped anchor in Kingston Bay, I’ll come up on deck with my half-full inkpot and weathered journal. That evening, while the crew is ashore in whatever tavern they find, I’ll write another letter to my sister. The one who was lost to the storm years ago. I’ll not send it anywhere, but it keeps me steady.”
GM to Mahala: “Sounds like a perfect way to handle your Emotional Anchor. Go ahead and roll that.”
Mahala rolls a 1d6: “I got a 4.”
GM to Mahala: “Great. That clears your stress. But also! After the ink dries and you close your journal, for a moment a shadow on the other side of the deck. Just a small motion near the rigging. Enough to get your attention. Almost as if someone had been watching you. Maybe it was a coincidence, or just a trick of your imagination. But perhaps they’ve been writing their own letters, too.”
Quirks
After all that, you might ask, “Wait, what are Quirks?” I’m glad you asked!
Quirks are habits, oddities, or even personality ticks that characters sometimes have that help define who they are. These don’t relieve Stress, but are intended to deepen roleplay, or flesh out a character’s personality. Quirks are also great for flashbacks and story hooks! But in the end, they are also optional. So if you don’t want to use one, you don’t have to bother. But if you do, here is a list of suggestions. If you aren’t interested in these, feel free to work with the GM to make your own!
Step 9: (optional) Choose an allied faction
This step is another optional step, but one that could really deepen a character’s background. Which means it could play into many things from flashbacks to downtime and more. Here you can choose an allied faction such as the Navigator’s Guild, Trade Guild Syndicate, Marquee Brotherhood, Liberty Alliance, the Kelstani and more. If you choose one, this doesn’t mean your character is a member of that faction. They could be, but they could also just be a longtime ally! So if you choose an allied faction, write that down, then select a second close friend from the list for that faction or organization. Remember, being an ally of a faction comes with its own complications. All the factions and organizations also have allies, but also enemies! Which means you might find yourself at the wrong end of a sword, not from anything you’ve done. Oh no, it could be because of the faction you’re allied with!
Step 10: Record your name, alias (if any), and look.
At last, we’ve hit the end. By the time we’ve reached step 10, you should have a good idea of who your Privateer is. Where they’re from, what they like or don’t like. Even in how they handle strain and stress in a tense moment. So now, write their name, any aliases they might have, and what they look like. Remember to look back at all your selections in the earlier steps for this last part.
Now, with that? We move to a quick overview of Equipment & Gear. Then comes creating your ship with your fellow Privateers!
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