Sphere RPG Character Creation

Basics Character Generation

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Genetic Templates

Genetic templates are what you were born as or, less commonly, what you modified yourself to be and have little to do with pre-colonization 'racial identity', which is a social, not genetic construct. Pre-natal genetic modification has matured greatly and few people born today have not had their or their ancestors' genomes sequenced before conception. It is a relatively inexpensive and mundane procedure, often subsidized by governments and while not 100% successful when dealing with something as complex as the entire genome of a human, still gives eminently acceptable results. Retroviral techniques to conduct systemic changes to adults are almost as old but are far more complex and difficult; consequently they are both much more expensive and rare.
Origin is a general representation of where a given race can be expected to be found as well as what relative proportion of the population they are. Note that it doesn't take into account specific circumstances; for example ZOCU pilots will tend to be Alphas and other, similarly suited transgenic lineages.

Template bonuses modify the effective value of your stats; template modifiers do not increase (or decrease) the cost of a given stat. It is of course entirely possible for a baseline to be smarter or stronger than even Omoikanes; exceptional individuals occur everywhere. Note that depending on the campaign being run it may be entirely appropriate to provide cost breaks or cost elimination for transhuman templates; in the reality of Emergent Properties a transhuman is not penalized for being born superlative - they in fact have a huge leg up. While we encourage this to follow the themes of Emergent Properties we also acknowledge that it runs counter to game balance; GMs are advised to consider their party and player makeup first.

Sidebar: Yes, they really are superior

"Why are transgenic templates free? That's not very fair."

Emergent Properties is an unabashedly transhumanist setting. A fundamental element of the setting is that the human body and mind can and will be improved through the application of technology. Moreover, and more importantly, Emergent Properties does not take a position on the morality of human enhancement. Like any other technology human enhancement can be used to improve the lot of those affected, or be used to conduct repression on a grand scale.

What Emergent Properties does not make any apologies for is the simple position that transhumans are superior. That is, after all, the entire point of the multigenerational exercise that a substantial segment of the human population has been engaged in. Transhumans in all their myriad forms are improvements upon the 'normal' humans that we, the players and GMs, are familiar with. In Emergent Properties being a transhuman is not just an informed attribute; it is a very real thing .

Baselines

Often seen as a derogatory term, 'baselines' are those who have had no meaningful genework done. They are completely unchanged from humans before the genetic era - bad teeth, glasses and all. At the twilight of the 22nd century baselines fall into one of three categories; those who come from oppressively poor

Many baselines (particularly those with a religious opposition to genetic modifications) take a perverse pride in being 'normal'.

Baselines cost 0 points and have no modifiers.

Origin: Common on planets across known space

Classics

While many people reject transgenic modifications the barriers to 'upgrading' tends to blur at the edges when it comes to therapeutic 'fixes'. Starting in the late 20th century with screening for dangerous gene-linked diseases, the 21st century saw this expand to encompass more mundane ails. Classics have undergone various low-level modifications to reduce or eliminate problems such as bad vision, allergies, wisdom teeth, obesity, etc. Many also have customized features, such as 'mother's red hair' or 'grandfather's height.' Despite this tinkering, Classics do not really add or subtract anything, merely refining out some of the less desired elements of the human genome. As such it is functionally impossible to tell the difference between a Classic and a particularly lucky baseline.

Classics cost 0 points and have no modifiers.

Classics get some basic effects?

Origin: Common on planets across known space

Illicit Upgrade

The various stringent regulations surrounding human augmentation that have come about in the wake of the adoption of many Stauss-Kasserist philosophies has both regrettably and unsurprisingly created a black market for both prenatal and retroviral therapies in the 22nd century. Commonly attributed to the upwardly mobile who do not wish to emigrate to the more liberal colonies, illicit upgrades will typically alter an individual’s neurology to improve cognition and socialization. Subtle (and not-so-subtle) personality shifts and neuroses are a common side-effect of these grey market retrovirals.

Illicit prenatal upgrades are generally safer and, according to some metrics, substantially more common. Like illicit retrovirals they tend to shy clear of obvious physical changes or substantial cognitive upgrades. Reliable numbers for illicit upgrades are difficult to estimate, let along come by but it has been recognized as a social problem. Supporters of genetic freedoms cite them as reasons for loosening various over-strong regulations while opponents of genetic inequality decry those who cheat the system. Meanwhile, people from across the core continue to seek back-alley clinics or take medical vacations into the Verge to upgrade themselves.

Illicit Upgrades cost

Illicit Upgrades get a +1 to Intellect and +1 to Charisma

Origin: Core worlds

Alpha

Originally a popular genofixing template from the late 21st century, 'Alpha' has since became a broad term for a generalized blend of transhuman traits; 'Human-plus'. Alphas are considered transgenics mostly by default, as they engineer in favorable traits to produce someone who is colloquially 'peak human' as opposed to reengineering components of the human organism. This eased their adoption into mainstream society and Alphas (often in their fourth or fifth generation) now make up a substantial fraction of total population in the Verge.

Further improvements and cross-engineering have improved the Alpha, leading to the so-called 'Alpha-Plus'. These integrate traits from many of the different Alpha subtypes and improve essentially all aspects of the human body and mind. Some improvements come from other genetic templates, such as the tetrachromacy found in Ishtars and Omoikanes. This makes Alpha-Pluses true transgenics.

Alpha stat bonuses are +1 Physique, +1 Perception and +1 to any two other stats.

Origin: Verge (common), Rim (uncommon)

Alpha-Plus

Alpha-Plus stat bonuses are +1 to all.

Alpha-Plus skill bonuses are +1 to any two skills

Alpha-Pluses have a minimum unmodified requirement of 3 in all stats.

Origin: Verge (uncommon)

Ishtar

The Ishtar upgrade was intended to result in an individuals with exceptional warms and personality, in which it succeeded admirably. One of the second generation of transgenic upgrades from the early 22nd century, the Ishtar template substantially improves on the basic human ability for empathy and socialization, as well as short-term memory and perception. Standard upgrade techniques also improve their bodies, with Ishtars universally having leggy, perfectly-proportioned recruiting-poster builds and faces that merely start at 'attractive'. Consequently Ishtars have spread throughout the Verge and often form the social glue of groups and organizations. Ishtars also tend to have vivid, unnatural hair colors which contributes to their stereotype as flighty pop stars, no matter what their occupation or personality.

Fourth revision Ishtars further improve the neurology of the basic Ishtar template, increasing the innate Ishtaran social abilities as well as their learning and problem-solving abilities. While not capable of matching Omoikanes in the mental arena, they are decisively superior on on average to Classics and their intellect combined with their looks and social aptitude makes them an extremely popular choice for future children.

Ishtar stat bonuses are +1 Physique, +1 Perception, +1 Wits and +2 Charisma

Ishtar skill bonuses are +1 to Savoir-Faire, +1 to Ettiquete, +1 to any other Social skill and +1 to Savoir-Faire

Ishtars have a minimum unmodified requirement of 3 Charisma

Ishtars have the Graceful trait

Origin: Verge (common)

Ishtar (4th Revision)

Ishtar rev4 stat bonuses are +2 Charisma and +1 to all other stats

Ishtar rev4 skill bonuses are +1 to all social skills and +1 to Savoir-Faire

Ishtar rev4s have a minimum unmodified requirement of 3 Charisma

Ishtar rev4s have the Graceful trait

Origin: Verge (uncommon)

Omoikane

Like Ishtars, Omoikanes are second-generation upgrades, with a focus instead on intellectual abilitie. In this, they are supremely gifted. Capable of effortlessly grasping complex concepts and recalling vast amounts of information they find ready employment in any technical or intellectual field. Thanks to the advances in cognitive science by the 22nd century they are not socially crippled robots either, and while not as capable of demonstrating bottomless well of effortless social acumen as Ishtars they are still quite socially adept. One unique feature about Omoikanes is their neural processes are optimized for machine reading and neural interfaces work particularly well for them. Most Omoikanes have light silver or stark white hair, which is actually pigmented white (as opposed to the progressive loss of hair pigmentation over normal human aging) and is something of a visible trademark.

Post-breakdown standards revisions pioneered on Erebus have substantially improved the peak mental processing ability of Omoikanes as well as adding a neurochemical trigger allowing them to 'overclock' their mental processes. Many of those 7th revisions Omoikanes have further modified themselves with some form of enhanced thermoregulation system to dissipate the heat generated by this cranial overactivity, often in the form of headwings or other fanciful changes.

Omoikane stat bonuses are +2 to Intellect, +1 Perception, +1 Wits and +1 to Charisma

Omoikane skill bonuses are +1 Neural Interfacing and +1 to any two Intellect skills

Omoikanes have a minimum unmodified requirement of 3 Intellect

Origin: Verge (common)

Omoikane (7th Revision)

Omoikane rev7 stat bonuses are +2 to Intellect, +2 Wits, +1 Perception and +1 to Charisma

Omoikane rev7 skill bonuses are +1 Neural Interfacing, +1 Awareness and +1 to any two Intellect skills

Omoikane rev7s have a minimum unmodified requirement of 3 Intellect

Omoikane rev7s have the Overclock trait

Origin: Verge (uncommon)

Atlas

A popular (and some might say necessary) upgrade for heavy-gravity worlds, the Atlas template substantially upgrades the human body's musculature, skeleton and cardiovascular system. This greatly improves both instantaneous and sustained strength, near-necessities for worlds with gravities 50% higher than Earth's. Of course the Atlas upgrade lends itself well to soldierly pursuits and it is common to see them on the frontiers, clearing out nests of feral drones or local predators - or more human predators. Atlases are not unattractive by any means but look stocky and solid next to the supermodel looks of Ishtars and the willowy grace of Omoikanes.

Atlas stat bonuses are +3 Physique, +1 Perception and +1 Charisma

Atlases have a minimum unmodified requirement of 3 Physique

Atlases have +2 to Endurance

Atlases have the Gravity Tolerant trait

Origin: Verge (common)

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Outlier Superiors

Over the past century, the intermixing of bloodlines, technological improvements, quest for perfection and simple luck of the draw has resulted in the occasional birth of individuals who have truly exceptional genes. At the leading edge of the curve these superhuman individuals easily gravitate towards the peaks of power and responsibility. Attempts have been made to replicate the full range of their abilities but as so much relied upon the vaguarities of chance, these have had mixed results. Baroque breeding programs among the upper classes have become common, some ending up indistinguishable from dynastic marriages to seal agreements. In the Solar Federation these individuals recieve the coveted S-Type classification.

S-Type stat bonuses are +3 Physique and +1 to all other stats, as well as two +1s that can be assigned to any two non-Physique stats.

S-Type skill bonuses are +1 Endurance and +1 to any five other skills

S-Types have a minimum unmodified requirement of 3 in all stats

S-Types have the Graceful and Gravity Tolerant traits

S-Types may be Alephs, with no cap

Origin: Solar Federation (rare)

Seraph

One of the Seraphim Organization's purported goals and major successes has been the stabilization of a reproducible S-grade genetic template. First developed in the late 22nd century they were introduced to the public in 2210 where they have became extremely popular among those wealthy enough to afford the complex upgrade. A quirk of the specific genetic modifications makes them much easier apply to XX individuals as opposed to XY; consequently male Seraphs are much less common, making up less than 5% of the population of Seraphs. The flood of young standardized S-class transhumans and their gender disparity is already causing ripples in the Solar Federation.

Seraph stat bonuses are +3 Aleph, +2 Physique, +1 Intellect, +1 Wits and +1 Charisma

Seraph skill bonuses are +1 to any four Academic or Social skills

Seraphs have a minimum unmodified requirement of 3 Physique, 3 Intellect and 3 Charisma.

Seraphs have the Graceful trait

All Seraphs are Alephs, with no cap

Origin: Solar Federation (rare), Seraphim Organization (common)

Floaters

Floaters have lived out in space on orbiting platforms, asteroid cities and the like for generations. Some are the descendants of colonists who chose a life in space away from the heavily-controlled colony worlds. Others are ship or station crews from less well-off parts of explored space where sophisticated zero-gravity gene adaptations were unavailable. No matter the origin, Floaters tend to be physically weak, though with an almost instinctive feel for three-dimensional movement; the result of long-term and poorly mitigated microgravity upon the human body. The Solar Federation generally labels these F-types, though few are citizens of the Federation.

Floater suffer a stat penalty of -1 Physique

Floaters skill bonuses are +2 Zero-G skill and +1 Engineering

Origin: Solar Federation (rare), Verge (uncommon), Rim (common)

Icarus

Icarus upgrades are a 22nd century response to the needs of the expanding deep-space presence in what would become the Solar Federation. Applying increased understanding of long-term low and microgravity effects on the human body to common transhuman templates, the Icarus became popular among those who settled on the high frontier. In fact the introduction of the Icarus template is seen as one of the root causes of the spread of the Outbacker movement, to the point at which there are more Icarus upgrades in the Verge than in SolFed space. The Solar Federation classes these individuals as O-types.

Icarus Upgrade stat bonuses are +1 Intellect

Icarus Upgrade skill bonuses are +2 Zero-G skill and +1 Engineering

Icarus Upgrades have the Dextrous trait

Origin: Solar Federation (uncommon), Verge (common), Rim (uncommon)

Bioroids

The term 'bioroid' is a portmanteau of 'biological' and 'android'; the term is used for biological machines designed to mimic humans. The term is also heir to a muddy legal and moral heritage dating back to the middle of the 21st century when advances in genetics and cognition led to the ability to start 'programming' artificial brains with ingrained instincts. While this led to various further neuro-science developments and some minor commercial successes in the designer pet field, it remained a fairly obscure branch of neurology until the mid-60s when the world was turned upside-down by the introduction of interstellar travel and the promise of new, distant worlds. This led to a veritable overnight explosion of innovation surrounding anything remotely related to interstellar colonization. One such idea scooped out of scientific papers and specialist veterinary clinics was the bioroid.

For a completely self-sufficient colony that would have to manage limited labour assets as well as a limited industrial base, bioroids appeared to be an ideal solution. They could be force-grown and programmed with useful social instincts and thus provide a reservoir of unskilled labour for tasks such as child-rearing, cleaning, fetching and other simple domestic activities. Their meek personalities and submissive natures made then inoffensive to be around even in close quarters. Furthermore, unlike the domestic robots that were common on Earth by the middle of the 21st century, bioroids had the advantages of essentially being human from an engineering standpoint; they ate the same food, healed if hurt and were self-maintaining. Many could even reproduce.

While there were moral qualms over creating what was commonly characterized as a lobomized slave race, the fact that almost all bioroids were out of sight and out of mind on the far end of an Alcubierre transit kept the issue from landing-page headlines. It wasn't until the media picked up on stories of illegal bioroid bloodsports on Earth that the first stirrings of an abolishment movement began to coalesce. This was just one facet of the growing anti-transhuman movement of the middle and late 21st century and by the end of the 21st century international agreements, pressure tactics and social awareness brought in tough new regulations that essentially terminated the industry on Earth.

Tirol

A common bioroid design from the outer Verge.

Series VII Replicant

Standard-issue Magnate combat replicant.