How to build a character

To create a DragonCrest Accelerated character answer each of the following questions in any order. Note that you do not have to answer all the questions right away or in any specific order.

Define your Aspects.

What is your High Concept?

This should flow naturally from Ancestry, Style and Skills including essential characteristics of your character. This is normally where you start a character, but some people may not have a clear idea, so it can wait until after the basic choices are defined.   Examples: Kelnor Juggernaut, Avarien Sky Mage, Jann Scholar

What is your Trouble?

Troubles are aspects that complicate your character’s life. They can represent personality traits, fate, destiny, providence, past experiences, or future aspirations. The best Troubles are things that can be called upon both as a complication and a benefit.   Examples: Drummed out of the Legion. My road is paved with good intentions. I am the Guild’s man\woman. Snakes, I hate those things! Magic can solve everything. I see Green Fires everywhere.   Good wording allows for multiple interpretations. Since this is one of the easiest ways for you to gather Fate Points during a session, it is best to have a broad view when defining this aspect.   Example: I am a wallflower, used for a character who is both shy and likes to climb things. I am not a rat! Used for a character who is a mouse changeling (often mistaken for a rat) and will not give up information about his cohorts.  

What is your Background/Profession/Culture Aspect? 

If you wish, you may assign an Aspect (using 1 Minor Milestone) to this type of Aspect.  This may reflect some attributes that are important to you as well as the flavor of how those skills are applied to everyday life. All Aspects are true and can be used to represent things that skills are ill equipped to do on their own. For instance, do you need to take a Lore skill to be familiar with military procedures? Not if you are a current or former Legionnaire. Do you need a Harvest skill to work on a farm? Not if you are a farmer.   Examples: Bog farmer of the Reach, Granddaughter of the Vales, Wing runner Extraordinaire, Tenth Generation Legionnaire, Kine Outcast of Rhahael, Mindori crystal merchant, Ordan dowser, Haran Seafarer, or Darkadian mercenary.  

What Faction are you affiliated with?

 If you wish, you may assign an Aspect (using 1 Minor Milestone) to this type of Aspect.  This represents a current or former organization that helps define your character. This is not necessary to take if your character no longer ascribes to the organization’s credo or its impact on the character’s life is at an end and the player does not wish it.   Examples: Goodmyn of the House of the Healing Heart in Eldersmill, Scout of the Coldstream Cohort in the Haelan Legion, Warrior of the Tribe of the Howling Moon, Herald of Lochnar (Imperial Entertainers), Red Surge of Bryn’Var, or Minstrel of the Alodo the Hare.  Please note that additional Ranks are Campaign Skills.

What is your Virtue?

 If you wish, you may assign an Aspect (using 1 Minor Milestone) to this type of Aspect.  Much like a Trouble, a Virtue is an Aspect that can be called upon as both a complication and a benefit. This is more intended to be something that the player can invoke to define guiding forces of their character.   Examples: My word is my bond, Blood before all, I exist to serve , Hope fills my heart, I am unyielding.  

Note

A character cannot have more than 3 total Aspects (not including Trouble, Attunement and High Concept).  If you do not use them as Aspects for your character, you may use them later by adding Expansions to skills.

What is your Ancestry?

You gain all the ancestral abilities listed that do not have a Milestone Cost or indicate a choice for free.  Now is a good time to make any optional selections for your Ancestry.

What is your starting Approach?

• Choose one level (Skilled) of one Approach for free.

What is your starting Style?

• All characters must choose a starting Style that does not count against the starting Milestones. No more than 6 Milestones can be allocated to Styles. This Style is a Skilled level.

Free Disciplines

• All Heroic Characters possess a Skilled rank in the Discipline of Defense and the Discipline of Damage.
• These do not count against the starting Milestones.

Choose your remaining Skills using unspent Milestones.

• All characters start with 10 Standard Milestones and 3 Minor Milestones. When purchasing skills, upgrading starting Styles or Approaches each rank or level of a skill requires a Milestone expenditure. For example, if you wish to purchase the Master level of the Discipline of Armor, it will cost 3 Standard Milestones.