Characters

Every player character is familiar with all of the various feats of skulduggery represented by the actions of the game. They're all able to Skirmish in a knife-fight, Prowl in the shadows, Attune to strange energy, Consort with contacts for information, and so on.

Of course, you'll also have your specializations and skills, the qualities that make your character uniquely effective. You might want the ability to compel obedience from ghosts and channel arcane energy through your body, or maybe you want to manipulate the network of the underworld to your advantage and see danger before it strikes, or maybe you just want to be the deadliest fighter with a blade. In this chapter, you'll learn how to create your own unique scoundrel and choose the abilities that suit the style of play you prefer.

Character creation

Create playbooks

A playbook is what we call the sheet with all the specific rules to play a certain character type in a Blades-powered game. For example, you might create a playbook called a Soldier, with special abilities related to battle, or a playbook called a Medic, with special abilities related to field medicine.

When you choose a playbook, you're choosing a set of special abilities (which give your character ways to break the rules in various ways) and a set of xp triggers (which determine how you earn experience for character advancement). But every playbook represents a scoundrel at heart. The Cutter has special abilities related to combat, but that doesn't mean they're "the fighter" of the game. Any character type can fight well. Think of your playbook as an area of focus and preference, but not a unique skill set.

This is why we call them "playbooks" rather than "character classes" or "archetypes." You're selecting the set of initial action ratings and special abilities that your character has access to—but you're not defining their immutable essence or true nature. Your character will grow and change over time; who they become is part of the fun of playing the game.

Once you've chosen your playbook, follow the steps below to complete your character.

Choose a heritage

Your character's heritage describes where their family line is from. When you choose a heritage, write a detail about your family life on the line above.

Choose a background

Your character's background describes what they did before they joined the crew. Choose a background and then write a detail about it that's specific to your character.

Assign four action dots

Your playbook begins with three action dots already placed. You get to add four more dots (so you'll have seven total). At the start of the game, no action rating may have more than two dots (unless a special ability tells you otherwise). Assign your four dots like this:

Put one dot in any action that you feel reflects your character's heritage.
Put one dot in any action that you feel reflects your character's background.
Assign two more dots anywhere you please (max rating is 2, remember).

Choose a special ability

Take a look at the special abilities for your playbook and choose one. If you can't decide which one to pick, go with the first one on the list—it's placed there as a good default choice.

Special Armor

Some special abilities refer to your special armor. Each character sheet has a set of three boxes to track usage of armor (standard, heavy, and special). If you have any abilities that use your special armor, tick its box when you activate one of them. If you don't have any special abilities that use special armor, then you can't use that armor box at all.

Choose one close friend and one rival

Each playbook has a list of NPCs that your character knows. Choose one from the list who is a close relationship (a good friend, a lover, a family relation, etc.). Mark the upward-pointing triangle next to their name. Then choose another NPC on the list who's your rival or enemy. Mark the downward-pointing triangle next to their name.

Choose your vice

Every character is in thrall to some vice or another, which they indulge to deal with stress. Choose a vice from the list, and describe it on the line above with the specific details and the name and location of your vice purveyor.

Faith: You're dedicated to an unseen power, forgotten god, ancestor, etc.
Gambling: You crave games of chance, betting on sporting events, etc.
Luxury: Expensive or ostentatious displays of opulence.
Obligation: You're devoted to a family, a cause, an organization, a charity, etc.
Pleasure: Gratification from lovers, food, drink, drugs, art, theater, etc.
Stupor: You seek oblivion in the abuse of drugs, drinking to excess, getting beaten to a pulp in the fighting pits, etc.
Weird: You experiment with strange essences, consort with rogue spirits, observe bizarre rituals or taboos, etc.

Record your name, alias, & look

Choose a name for your character from the sample list, or create your own. If your character uses an alias or nickname in the underworld, make a note of it. Record a few evocative words that describe your character's look.

Review your details

Take a look at the details on your character sheet, especially the experience triggers for your playbook (like "Earn xp when you address a challenge with knowledge or arcane power," for example) and the special items available to a character of your type (like the Whisper's spirit mask, for example). You begin with access to all of the items on your sheet, so don't worry about picking specific things—you'll decide what your character is carrying later on, when you're on the job.

That's it! Your character is ready for play. When you start the first session, the GM will ask you some questions about who you are, your outlook, or some past events. If you don't know the answers, make some up. Or ask the other players for ideas.

Character creation summary

Choose a playbook. Your playbook represents your character's reputation, their special abilities, and how they advance.
Choose a heritage. Detail your choice with a note about your family life. For example, Ore miners, now war refugees.
Choose a background. Detail your choice with your specific history. For example, Labor: Hunter, mutineer.
Assign four action dots. No action may begin with a rating higher than 2 during character creation. (After creation, action ratings may advance up to 3. When you unlock the Mastery advance for your crew, you can advance actions up to rating 4.)
Choose a special ability. They're in the gray column in the middle of the character sheet. If you can't decide, choose the first ability on the list. It's placed there as a good first option.
Choose a close friend and a rival. Mark the one who is a close friend, long-time ally, family relation, or lover (the upward-pointing triangle). Mark one who is a rival, enemy, scorned lover, betrayed partner, etc. (the downward-pointing triangle).
Choose your vice. Pick your preferred type of vice, detail it with a short description and indicate the name and location of your vice purveyor.
Record your name, alias, and look. Choose a name, an alias (if you use one), and jot down a few words to describe your look.

Character playbook

Short Descriptor of Character

Medium length description of the character here. Include what kind of activities they normally partake in.

Include the XP triggers for the characters here. At the end of a session mark XP if you addressed a challenge with: insert a short list of methods or actions here. Examples could include: violence, coersion, knowledge, charm, audacity, calculation, deception, influence, stealth, evasion, technical skill, mayham, tracking, or occult powers.

@TODO tables 51

Friends, rivals

A list of five possible friends or rivals go here, along with descriptions of each. Some possibilities include: A spy, a bounty hunte, a pugalist, a cold killer, an extortionist, a physicker, an assassin, a sentinel, an apothocary, a priestess, a noble, a city clerk, an officer, an inspector, a beggar, a locksmith, a gang leader, a drug dealer, a tavern owner, a porstitue, a jail-bird, an information broker, a servant, an archivist, or a supernatural entitity.

Questions can inlclue how you know the friend, what they've done for you, what you do for them, and what kind of relationship you have.

Advancement

PC Advancement

Each player keeps track of the experience points (xp) that their character earns.

During the game session, mark xp:

When you make a desperate action roll. Mark 1 xp in the attribute for the action you rolled. For example, if you roll a desperate Skirmish action, you mark xp in Prowess. When you roll in a group action that's desperate, you also mark xp.

At the end of the session, review the xp triggers on your character sheet. For each one, mark 1 xp if it happened at all, or mark 2 xp if it happened a lot during the session. The xp triggers are:

Your playbook-specific xp trigger. For example, the Cutter's is "Address a challenge with violence or coercion." To "address a challenge," your character should attempt to overcome a tough obstacle or threat. It doesn't matter if the action is successful or not. You get xp either way.
You expressed your beliefs, drives, heritage, or background. Your character's beliefs and drives are yours to define, session to session. Feel free to tell the group about them when you mark xp.
You struggled with issues from your vice or traumas. Mark xp for this if your vice tempted you to some bad action or if a trauma condition caused you trouble. Simply indulging your vice doesn't count as struggling with it (unless you overindulge).

You may mark end-of-session xp on any xp tracks you want (any attribute or your playbook xp track).

When you fill an xp track, clear all the marks and take an advance. When you take an advance from your playbook track, you may choose an additional special ability. When you take an advance from an attribute, you may add an additional action dot to one of the actions under that attribute.

Nadja is playing a Hound. At the end of the session, she reviews her xp triggers and tells the group how much xp she's getting. She rolled two desperate Hunt actions during the session, so she marked 2 xp on her Insight xp track. She addressed several challenges with tracking or violence, so she marks 2 xp for that. She expressed her Iruvian heritage many times when dealing with the Red Sashes, so she takes 2 xp for that. She also showcased her character's beliefs, but 2 xp is the maximum for that category, so she doesn't get any more. She didn't struggle with her vice or traumas, so no xp there. That's 4 xp at the end of the session. She decides to put it all in her Insight xp track. This fills the track, so she adds a new action dot in Hunt.

You can also earn xp by training during downtime. When you train, mark xp in one of your attributes or in your playbook. A given xp track can be trained only once per downtime phase.

Crew Advancement

At the end of the session, review the crew xp triggers and mark 1 crew xp for each item that occurred during the session. If an item occurred multiple times or in a major way, mark 2 crew xp for it. The crew xp triggers are:

Your crew-specific xp trigger. For example, the Smugglers' is "Execute a smuggling operation or acquire new clients or contraband sources." If the crew successfully completed an operation from this trigger, mark xp.
Contend with challenges above your current station. If you tangled with higher Tiers or more dangerous opposition, mark xp for this.
Bolster your crew's reputation or develop a new one. Review your crew's reputation. Did you do anything to promote it? Also mark xp if you developed a new reputation for the crew.
Express the goals, drives, inner conflict, or essential nature of the crew. This one is very broad! Essentially, did anything happen that highlighted the specific elements that make your crew unique?

When you fill your crew advancement tracker, clear the marks and take a new **special ability **or mark two crew upgrade boxes.

For example, when a crew of Assassins earns a crew advance, they could take a new special ability, like Predators. Or they could mark two upgrades, like Ironhook Contacts and Resolve Training.

Say how you've obtained this new ability or upgrades for the crew. Where did it come from? How does it become a new part of the crew?

Profits

Every time the crew advances, each PC gets stash** equal to the crew Tier+2, to represent profits generated by the crew as they've been operating.