Character creation and advancement is accomplished through the use of Experience Points, or XP.
Standard character creation is a five step process. It is necessary to go through these steps in the correct order, and it is recommended you read through this list before moving on in order to inform your future decisions. When you actually start building the character, write down the details from each step on a character sheet as you go along so you don’t lose track of things.
Step 1: Race
During this step you will choose your character’s race. In addition to the core playable races from the video games, we have also provided various races from the lore in this book. You should ask your GM which era the game is taking place in and which races are allowed for the campaign before you choose one for your character. Each race comes with their own characteristic baseline used to generate characteristics for members of that race, and many races have bonus powers, starting Skills, or Traits.
Step 2: Generate Characteristics
During this step you will get to choose your character’s favored characteristics and generate your characteristic scores using dice and the characteristic baseline appropriate to your choice of race in the previous step.
Step 3: Determine Birthsign
Next, you determine your character’s Birthsign, choosing the charge of the Warrior, Mage, or Thief and then rolling on the appropriate table. There is a chance during this step that the character will receive the Star-Cursed version of a sign instead, reflecting the threatening presence of the Serpent sign at the time of their birth.
Step 4: Spend XP & Purchase Items
Next, you spend your remaining XP on any character advancements that you desire. Any XP remaining after this process is over is kept after character creation.
Step 5: Finishing Touches
Finally, calculate your character’s attributes and finalize any remaining aspects of the character sheet. Characters also start with a budget of drakes which can be used in this step to purchase equipment and other items that the character will begin the game with. Once you’ve fleshed out your character and chosen your character’s bonds, you’re good to go!
Step 6: (Optional) Choose Character Traits
Your GM may instruct you to choose Character Traits from the section in this chapter of the same name. Here, you will choose positive and/or negative traits using a budget defined by the book/your GM.