Traits

Character Traits allow players to create their custom character, one piece at a time. While all characters share from the same group of skills, character traits make each character unique. Below is a step-by-step process to determining your character's traits and starting skill allocation, while at the same time determining his history and goals.

The Basics
After choosing a race, it's time to decide your character's name, age, and what they look like. Keep in mind that physical appearance may have an impact on how other characters treat your character. These basics for your character are not necessarily represented with modifiers to your character's stats.

Backstory
After the basics are decided, it's time to think about the character's backstory. Think about possible motivations your character might have in life, and what lead them to that point. Also think about where they were born, and what skills they learned early in life. Perhaps your character's father was a blacksmith, and that skill has been passed on to him. Or, maybe your character was brought up in a monastery, and has significant religious knowledge.

To represent a character's backstory, distribute 5 points among any General and Professional skills as you see fit. Remember that these represent your character's early life. You will receive more points to spend later, to represent what your character is doing currently.

Additionally, select a General or Professional skill that your character is especially talented in. You do not necessarily need to assign points into this skill; as the talent could be latent and has yet to be discovered. Your special talent allows one full reroll, per day, of the selected skill.

Next, decide if your character was born with a natural talent for magic. You may place 1 point into your magic skill of choice. Alternatively, if your character has not yet discovered if they have an aptitude for magic, place 1 point in any weapon skill, or 2 points in the brawling skill, to represent their more physical approach to problem solving.

Goals
Every character should have a reason to live; something they want to accomplish in life. Maybe they desire to be wealthy, or seek fame and glory as a dragon slayer. Yet, these objectives may feel empty without giving your character a proper motivation. Do they want to be wealthy to serve themselves, or is it for a more noble cause, such as bringing prosperity to their home village? Why does your character lust for dragon blood? Maybe their family was killed by a rampaging Rikothri, and they have sworn revenge. The possibilities are endless.

To represent your character's goals, distribute either an additional 5 points into General and Professional skills, or 2 points among Magic and Weapon skills.

Next, using the list below, choose a positive trait that best describes your character, or that best enables him to achieve his goals. This is his virtue, an ability that describes him at his best.

Courageous: Your character stands up to opposition, even when the odds are against him. During combat, you never never lose action points from the effects of fear or intimidation.

Fair: Your character has a strong sense of justice. No criminal should go unpunished, and no good deed should go unrewarded. Outside of combat, you gain a +1 bonus to all rolls related to your pursuit of justice.

Confident: Your character is aware of his own abilities, and makes no error to hesitation. When using General or Professional skills during a combat situation, you may roll your full skill at the cost of only 1 action point. This can only be done once per round.

Relationships
Now it's time to decide how your character handles relationships. You may take into account his Presence score, but he is not necessarily limited by it. This is also the time to think about the character's family and friends prior to the current adventure.

Challenges
Every character has obstacles to overcome, both in their personality and in order to achieve their goals. Think of a time in your character's life that he either overcame a difficult obstacle, or a time where he failed to achieve his goals. What were those consequences of those actions? Does he boast about a great accomplishment? Does he lament and regret his failings?