All Creation Character Creation

Character Creation rules for All Creation.

Merits and Flaws

Merits and Flaws are allowed within reason, with appropriate changes and restrictions:

• Merits and Flaws that force the ST's hand are banned
• Merits and Flaws with 1e-specific mechanics need updating
• Some Merits and Flaws require clarification.

• Banned Merits:
  • Destiny is not permitted. Characters forge their own, and all that.
  • Legendary Artifact is banned. Not that they won't come into play, but such things need to be agreed upon by all Storytellers.
• Banned Flaws (Major and Main characters only):
  • Dark Fate - banned for all
  • Dying

Flaws are 'public' knowledge, so that other players who end up running adventures may react to them normally.

• Clarified / Changed Merits
  • Driving Passion applies to your motivation (Duh) - making it stronger.
  • Eternal Vow needs to be worked out with another Player.
  • Jack of All Trades is already possessed by all Exalted, and they have no need to take it. Non-Exalted must take this merit in order to avoid the -2 die penalty for untrained abilities.
  • Mutations use the new Wyld Mutations as their base, naturally. Some of these will not be permitted.
  • True Paragon has nothing to do with the Paragon Nature, since they don't exist any longer.

Backgrounds

Backgrounds (see link for the Lieutenant background especially) from the Player's Guide on may be purchased when allowed, with the exception of Inheritance and Experienced.

Minor Characters

Players may make additional characters as Henchmen (heroic mortals), Retainers (normal mortals), or Followers (normal mortal extras). These may be allied with their main or major characters with the appropriate background, or simply built as general antagonists or scenery.

Such characters are expected to be treated appropriately. Those not allied with a main or major character should act that way.

Major Characters

The Lieutenant Background describes what qualifies as 'major' characters, who actually utilize experience points. Those not allied with a main character are expected to be played appropriately. Players are expected to diversify their free major characters in a chronicle appropriately.

4 and 5 dot characters ought to be unique individuals. Players are not to control more than one ●●●●○ Lieutenant of a given type per Chronicle, and no more than one ●●●●● character. This limitation does not apply to main characters that they have as lieutenants of another main character.

Major character purchases and developments must be approved like any other. They are expected to be played.

• Major characters get require a background and description. They don't need to be long - a few sentences describing history, goals, personality and appearance is fine.
• Major character information is public.

Main Characters

Players are initially permitted one Main Character (a Celestial Exalted) per Chronicle.

• No two main characters of a player may share a caste, nor may two PC characters share a caste within a Chronicle. Diversify!

Essence may only be raised once (to four) at character Creation. Characters may not begin with Sidereal Martial Arts.

• Character and anima descriptions are mandatory.
• XP will be awarded for backgrounds based on the length of time the game has been progressing, to give late characters a chance to catch up.

Callings

In addition, Main characters (but not, generally, NPCs) begin with a Calling. Calling Abilities function much like Caste or Favored Abilities - the cost of their respective Charms are reduced by 1 bonus point or 2 experience points, specialties for Calling Abilities are 1 point per 2, and the abilities themselves cost one point per dot to raise, and cost one less xp point when raising. This stacks with the cost-reductions of favored and caste abilities (3bp or 6 xp for Charms, etc). In the case of ability dots and specialties, ability dots are bought 2 for 1 (one bonus point buys 2 ability dots), and specialties are 1 bp for 4 specialties, and such specialties can be raised to +4 for such powerful abilities. (Note: These rules are slightly different than the Cult ones - I'm importing them to encourage diverse Charm purchasing).

Feel free to make your own calling, the following are some examples:

• Exemplar: Martial Arts, Resistance, Lore, Medicine, and Integrity
• Inquisitor: Martial Arts, Awareness, Bureaucracy, Investigation, and Larceny
• Itinerant: Martial Arts, Linguistics, Occult, Presence, and Survival

• Architect: Melee, Bureaucracy, Craft, Lore, and Socialize
• Deacon: Melee, Larceny, Ride, Stealth and Survival
• Paladin: Melee, War, Resistance, Performance and Presence

• Champion: Archery, Athletics, Dodge, Ride and War
• Prelate: Archery, Linguistics, Medicine, Occult and Performance
• Justiciar: Archery, Awareness, Integrity, Investigation and Stealth

• Lunars instead choose two attributes for their Calling. Calling Attributes have their costs reduced the same way favored attributes are.

Solars

• Begin with 10/8/6 for Attributes
• Begin with 35 ability dots, instead of 28
• May select one Favored Attribute (Costing 1 less bonus point to raise per rank and reducing the xp multiplier by 1, as Lunars)
• Begin with 5 background dots, instead of 7
• Begin with a twenty (20) Charms instead of 10, ten of which must be Favored, Caste, or Calling (see below)
• Begin with an Essence of three (3) instead of two
• Begin with 25 bonus points, instead of 15

Lunars

• Begin with 10/8/6 for Attributes
• Begin with 35 ability dots, instead of 25
• Begin with five (5) favored abilities, instead of two (including survival).
• Begin with 10 background dots, instead of 7
• Begin with a fourteen (14) Charms or Knacks instead of 8, seven of which must be Favored, Caste, or Knacks
• Begin with an Essence of three (3) instead of two
• Begin with 25 bonus points, instead of 15