Character Creation - Step by Step

We wanted to give you some information on the way to build a character in order to play in Broken Sky. Below you will see the method to create a primary vs. a secondary character. You are limited to TWO Garou characters and you may have ONE kinfolk character. Now, you can play your kinfolk as a primary character if you want but this will be a Garou focused game and may not always be safe to bring your kinfolk along. That being said, I am writing the rest as if you have selected your Garou as your primary character so keep that in mind. You may only have one primary character, all others are secondary.


After your character has been approved for play you will have two additional weeks in which you may make changes to your sheet. This should allow enough time for you to get used to the character and to make small changes as necessary. Once the two weeks of approved play has passed you will not be able to make any further changes to your sheet.


Primary Character:
This PC will be your -main- character, the one you love the idea of playing and will likely spend most of your time on. This character is meant to be that character you have history with and want to see further develop and I would love to help you create engaging, enlightening, and fun story as your character moves down the path of self discovery. There are some limitations, however, on what you may play since some characters are wholly damaging to the story that is Broken Sky. When you look over the approvals list please keep in mind that you will see various approval levels in order to get something into play. If there are ever any questions please speak with an Op for approval on odd character types, rare stats and the like.

Secondary Character:
This will be the character that you make for when you aren't in the mood to play your main character or perhaps your main character is stuck in a plotline. Perhaps you had a cool idea for a character and want to try it out, maybe you want something different or just a backup character for when shit hits the fan. In any of those cases you would make that character off of the following rules. Please keep in mind that secondary characters are NOT immune to growth and often will receive more opportunities to become engaged in plot both in short term and in epic level endeavors. Secondary characters will likely receive a higher experience point award per week of play as opposed to primary characters. This is to illustrate the wider array of things available for a secondary to learn and experience. Whereas a primary character has likely "been there" and "done that", a secondary has likely only just begun their road to personal story.




Step 1 - Name:

Naming your character is typically the first but most commonly overlooked and commonly abused derivation of character design. This is not a fantasy game, this is World of Darkness. It takes place in the real world and behind the scenes, therefore your names should be real world names applicable to anyone. You, me, Joe sitting next to you on the bus. Try to use names proper for where your character was born. John Smith is not a common name in Germany, but at the same time, Krull the Phantom is not a name anyone has. Deed names require why you have earned it and are known by that name to the Garou nation. Galliards have the authority, if you fail to live up to your deed name, to strip it from you, as well as award new ones.

Step 2 - Concept:

This defines your character as a whole. It will motivate their every action and the points you place on your sheet should reflect what the concept states. A properly written concept is 3-5 words, normally entirely consisting of adjectives (I.E. Thoughtful, colorful, Introspective). This should be very vague, but it should also define the general outline of your character, like a title on a properly written A grade essay.



Step 3 - Breed, Auspice and Tribe:

These three things, more than any amount of points you can spend, or more than any amount of background you could write define the flavor of your character. If you already are making concessions at this point away from your concept, it’s time to rethink the character as a whole. Please read over what you want to play carefully and make sure the combination of these three factors will fit the character you are trying to portray. Also please remember, these write ups are guidelines to help you RP along the lines. How you chose to portray them is up to you. If you will, think of it as being handed a coloring book. You can make the pictures any color you want, as long as you color inside the lines.


CURRENT RESRICTED LISTING:

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[*]Cyber Wolves/Dogs - The Book of the Weaver should be considered to have a soft ban in the setting, and will be considered a resource book for Storytellers.

[*]Fera/Changing Breeds - We are currently accepting Garou and Kinfolk characters only.
[/ul]

Step 4 - Rank:





Step 5 - Attributes:

These represent those core skills everyone has. Every man woman and child has these core abilities within them. The break down for point allocation at creation is 7 primary; 5 secondary; 3 tertiary. 7/5/3. Primary means it’s what you’re naturally good at. You were born and excel in these skills. Secondary, you’re not half bad at them, but could use some. Tertiary means you are very blasé about these innate abilities. (IE Who needs to throw a football? I can quote LOTR trivia!)

At level 4 in any attribute, you get an attribute specialization for free. You may only have 1 specialization per attribute and each one correlates to a broad range of skills and situations but not all. You may take as many of these as you have level 4 or 5 attributes.

Step 6 - Abilities:

These represent what you know how to do. Are you good at sports? Are you good with computers? Have you studied law? Politics? Are you an actor? All those different flavors are represented here. The break down for point allocation at creation is 13 primary; 9 secondary; 5 tertiary. 13/9/5. These are normally paired with the primaries and secondaries from attributes, but not always. The maximum ANY skill can be at creation is 3 (The only exception is making Arden or above characters). This means you should not have ANY skill specialties at creation. Keep in mind that if you are making an Arden level character, ability specialties are NOT free, even at creation. They cost the same as an additional dot. The reason for this is that it is a concession for the +2 die pool bonus it gives you to the majority of the time using that skill.

Step 7 - Merits and Flaws:

These add much needed flavor and context to the character. Many of them add enormous benefits and the flaws make the characters much less Susy and John Q public. Flaws are also used by the ST team to involve your character in certain story lines, or let us know where your character has a weak spot, so we can create ways for those characters to grow. No characters will be approved without merits or flaws. Up to 7 points of drawbacks add to your freebie points. You may always take more flaws then 7 points worth, but only 7 points will count for freebies.


Step 8 - Backgrounds:


These are what your character has with them, or is special about them. Resources, allies, contacts, mentors, and more fall into this category. Please check your tribe, many backgrounds must be taken to be part of a tribe or many others may never be taken by a tribe. Please closely adhere to these policies. Fetish items and spirit companions also fall into this category, but before you can take any of these on your sheet you must go through the approval ST and get per-approval before it can be added to the sheet. Failure to do this will result in delay of approval while it is discussed. 5 points are allotted here.

Fetish: All fetishes listed in the W20 core book are open to players, though keep in mind that sufficiently high rank or powerful fetishes may be coveted by other players, and can be lost in honorable challenges. Any custom fetishes will require submission with the character sheet, and will undergo review before being approved.


Step 9 - Gifts:

Gift are the powers granted to Garou by the spirits. They allow the Garou to do their duties as given by Gaia. As such, Players can lose access to their gifts if the spirits feel they are abusing their power. Each character starts with One(1) Rank 1 Breed Gift, One(1) Auspice Gift, and One(1) Tribal Gift. Others may be bought with freebie points at the freebie point costs.

Special Note on Tribal Gifts: Tribal Gifts are secrets held by those tribes, and are rarely taught without those tribal elders knowing. A player must have ST approval to have a tribal gift not of their tribe. These gifts will be closely monitored and the Tribal Elders can petition the spirits to redress wrongs caused by these gifts.


Step 10 - Renown and Traits:

As Noted in Step 4, you will be awarded the base renown for your starting rank.



As previous discussed in the ranks section, the freebie points given are dependent on your rank. Please see the rank section about for what this means for you. New characters at the Cliath ranks are allowed 15 freebie points, plus the 7 from flaws, if you took 7 points worth of flaws for a total of 22. These may be spent anywhere across your sheet. The values below show how much each of these cost:

Freebie Point Costs (At Character Creation Only)

Primary characters will be created as a Cliath with the base 15 freebie points until approved.

If you keep your character at Cliath rank after approval you will get an additional 40 freebie points.

If you decide to fast track to Fostern rank after approval you will get an additional 30 freebie points to spend (not including the 40 at Cliath).

Merits and Flaws are limited to a total of 7 points on either side.


Step 12 - Gear:

This is the section where you will place the character’s belongings that they start with. If you have any weapons, fetish items, place them and describe them here. This does not need to include simple things like clothing, but anything bigger than and cell phone needs to be noted here, otherwise your character is assumed not to have it and must obtain it IC.


Step 13 - Age, Description and background:

No character under the age of 18 will be approved for this game. The core material of Werewolf the Apocalypse indicates that most Garou go through their first change at puberty, however, we will be adjusting this part of the lore to adhere to our 18+ policy. With this in mind, your Garou likely went through their First Change no earlier than 16-17, or even older depending on your concept and time spent training as a Cub.

The description portion should be detailed enough that you would use it as a real text based introduction to your character to someone who knows nothing about it. It should be as descriptive as possible. Eye color, hair color, height, build, weight, normal clothing, visible weapons, hair style, visible tattoos. Anything we need to know about the description of how you want your character presented.

Background:

Your background is the defining thing of the entire sheet. it tells us why your character is set up the way there are. Am I expecting a novella? No, but I am expecting some key points to be touched on. Those points are as follows:

Childhood and upbringing, Normal? Abnormal? How so?