Creating Your Character
One of the hallmarks of characters in ’Verses is their relative mechanical simplicity. Core attributes, Abilities, and Skills all use the same 1–5 rated value scale, and the rules governing their use all essentially boil down to the fundamentals which have been described earlier in these rules.
The rules of ’Verses regulate how interactions between actors and objects resolve, but are not concerned with how or why they interact. This is left to the players and GM. For this reason, no effort is given within these rules to describe moral or motivational frameworks.
While GMs and players (and expansions) are free to establish their own preferred mechanisms for describing these aspects of characters, ’Verses provides the following framework for character creation.
It is important to recognize that these rules exist without a particular setting or narrative background. These aspects of a game will be provided in a relevant expansion. As a “universe-agnostic” ttRPG system, the first step in character creation must be the identification of the game’s universe. With some exceptions (for example the adventures of a space-and-time-hopping bohemian professor and their companions), characters should exist within the tenor and mood—the terroir if you will—of their settings.
A Storytelling System for Character Creation
As a narrative game, it is fitting that individual stories form the basis for character creation and development. GMs and players are encouraged to begin their character creation journeys with a round of storytelling.
Who is your character? What motivates them? How do they (or do they?) fit into society? What are their personal strengths and quirks? What draws them to a life of adventure?
While some of a character’s story will be specific to a particular reality, and expansion authors or your GM may suggest prompts to answer, there are some universal experiences and moments that can reveal various dimensions of your character. Answering a few prompts from your character’s point of view can help to sketch out a story about who they are.
To use the following table, roll 1d6 to identify the table section, then roll 1d6 again to identify a row within that section. Repeat as desired.
Character Creation Prompts
| Die 1 | Die 2 | Prompt |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Describe a memorable event in your childhood. |
| 2 | How did you learn or develop a key skill or ability? | |
| 3 | List 3–5 core values. | |
| 4 | "When I wake up, the first thing I want to do is…" | |
| 5 | What do you have most/least in common with your closest friend? | |
| 6 | Describe your ideal day. | |
| 2 | 1 | Settling down for a rest, what thoughts come to mind as you stare out into the distance? |
| 2 | "If I had enough money, I would…" | |
| 3 | How far is too far to help a friend? A stranger? | |
| 4 | Describe your worst/darkest moment. | |
| 5 | What is your favorite food? | |
| 6 | Is there a story behind your name? | |
| 3 | 1 | What’s the furthest you’ve ever been from home? |
| 2 | Who is your role model? | |
| 3 | "One thing I find really interesting is…" | |
| 4 | Do you have any enemies? | |
| 5 | What do you have that is of great sentimental value? | |
| 6 | If you find yourself in a dark mood, what is the likely cause? | |
| 4 | 1 | What is your best character trait? |
| 2 | What would those who know you best write in your obituary? | |
| 3 | "When learning a new language, the first thing I want to know how to say is…" | |
| 4 | What is/was your relationship with your parents like? | |
| 5 | What are your hobbies? | |
| 6 | What are you afraid of? | |
| 5 | 1 | How many siblings do you have? |
| 2 | What are you most proud of? | |
| 3 | Do you get more angry at others, or at yourself? | |
| 4 | "The one thing I can’t stand is…" | |
| 5 | What is your core belief about people? | |
| 6 | How do you wish to be remembered? | |
| 6 | 1 | Do you follow the same beliefs you were raised in? |
| 2 | Have you ever been in love? | |
| 3 | What is your favorite time of day? | |
| 4 | Have you ever been accused of a crime? | |
| 5 | "Nothing puts me in a better mood than…" | |
| 6 | Do you prefer to have a plan, or to wing it? |
As a character narrative begins to take shape, your GM can help develop that story to fit it into the game world. How did your character meet the other player’s characters? What choices and actions put your character on the path to the upcoming adventure? The more of these questions you have answers to, the closer you are to finalizing your character.
A Traits System for Character Creation
Another method players and GMs can utilize, either instead of or in addition to the narrative approach, is to identify a number of descriptive traits that capture the presence and personality of your character. These traits have no functional gameplay effects, but rather they provide players with a supportive framework for role-playing their character and determining how their characters might act in response to various situations and in different contexts.
These tables have been designed to enable random selection of one trait in each category from both Group A and Group B without contradictions. Players can choose from these tables, roll randomly, or arrive at descriptive traits on their own.
Character Traits Group A
| 1d6 | Mental | Functional | Social | Physical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clever | Alert | Awkward | Bulky |
| 2 | Error-prone | Careful | Confident | Heavyset |
| 3 | Intellectual | Careless | Helpful | Lithe |
| 4 | Thoughtful | Clumsy | Mischievous | Stout |
| 5 | Whimsical | Deliberate | Outgoing | Willowy |
| 6 | Witty | Graceful | Shy | Wiry |
Character Traits Group B
| 1d6 | Mental | Functional | Social | Physical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Absent-minded | Anxious | Aloof | Disheveled |
| 2 | Bookish | Calm | Decorous | Imposing |
| 3 | Naive | Carefree | Fickle | Polished |
| 4 | Resourceful | Excitable | Friendly | Scarred |
| 5 | Sensible | Fidgety | Loyal | Striking |
| 6 | Single-minded | Serene | Quirky | Unremarkable |
Once you have identified eight traits, consider how these descriptors interact to reveal the nature of the character and their personality.
There are two major decisions that you’ll make as part of character creation: Choosing a species and an archetype. The more developed your character narrative, the clearer these two choices should become.
Choosing a Species
The word species is used in the context of these rules as a broad categorization of actor types. Choosing a species sets a baseline for core and derived attributes and abilities, and opens up specific capabilities and characteristics. You can think of your character’s species as determining what capabilities your character was born to.
When you choose a species, set the core attributes as specified. Players can choose to customize the species’ baseline core attribute ratings by shifting one die from one attribute to another, reducing one attribute by one and increasing another by one.
Next, note down the formulas for derived attributes. The standard ’Verses Character Sheet reserves a place to write down these formulas for each standard derived attribute.
Finally, make note of any intrinsic abilities and allocate any dice provided by the species.
These base rules provide the definition for the Human species below. Additional species definitions may be provided in expansions.
Human Species
The actor has 1 die allocated to any Language » * skill. Language » Common is recommended.
The actor has 1 die each allocated to any two Intrinsic Abilities. Adrenaline Rush and Multitasking are recommended.
The actor has 2 additional Refinement Dice to allocate.
Choosing an Archetype
Readers will notice a distinct lack of references to “character classes” in this section. That is intentional; There are no classes in ’Verses. Instead, players and GMs can utilize a mechanism called an archetype to aid in the structured elements of character creation. Archetypes are templates that capture a predefined starting point to set up a character that fits into the game world in a balanced and reasonable way.
While archetypes provide a set of “rails” to help you quickly set up a character, they do not constrain your character past that moment of creation. Archetypes are a starting point only. It’s always important for players and GMs to remember that archetypes are templates composed of suggested features.
GMs should feel free to create custom archetypes that they feel will fit better in their campaigns. Players should also feel free to diverge from the template provided by the archetype system if they feel strongly that their character has a good reason for a different set of capabilities.
It’s always good to check in with your GM before any radical re-imaginings to make sure that the resulting character won’t imbalance the game and can fit into the story the GM has planned.
Your character’s archetype helps determine what capabilities your character learned and developed as they became who they are.
An archetype helps you specialize a character’s capabilities, and represents the time and effort the character has spent in their life developing skills and abilities prior to the moment in which a player begins playing them. Archetypes provide suggestions on how capabilities should be allocated, a pool of dice to allocate, one or more programs of skills and abilities to choose from that align with the training that characters with that archetype might receive, and starting wealth and equipment.
As characters advance, archetypes also provide a suggested framework for directions in which the character can develop. But it is always important to remember that these are suggestions only.
No archetypes are provided in these core rules, because archetypes will always be specific to the game’s world and setting.