AI:L Character Creation
v.0.40
Character Rules
Characters or “heroes” are built around a collection of statistics, skills, traits, quirks and themes.
Character Creation Basics
The base of a character is their statistics and their skills. There are four stats, those being Senses, Physique, Intellect and Aether. Each stat is also linked to an “Exploit Pool,” which is equal to the value of the stat. The pool for Senses is Focus, the pool for Physique is Adrenaline, the pool for Intellect is Willpower, and the pool for Aether is Core Aether. These exploits are spent to activate various special abilities and fully refresh at the end of a combat or conflict.
There are several dozen skills which are rolled in conjunction with a single stat. While stats indicate a character’s natural talent, skills indicate their training and experience. Only Heroes can take stats or skills higher than 5.
Stats take their current level times 2 in Character Points to raise (minimum 2), while Skills take their current level times 1 to raise (minimum 1).
Cost to buy a stat or skill to the appropriate level at game start:
| Starting Level | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CP Cost to buy Stat | 2 | 4 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 32 | 44 | 58 | 74 | 92 |
| CP Cost to buy Skill | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 16 | 22 | 29 | 37 | 46 |
Traits are special character qualities that grant the character special abilities. Traits often allow a character to violate in whole or in part a particular game rule, or provide specific bonusses to a particular type of action. A character starts with five trait points, and gains an additional five every time they gain a level of Heroic Ascent. Most traits are restricted to characters with certain skill levels and/or hero levels.
Quirks are interesting aspects of a character’s appearance, nature, or personality and are what makes them unique. Quirks often reinforce certain behaviours by providing the character rewards if they act in a certain way. A character starts with three quirk points and gains more in game. A character can also choose to convert a trait point to a quirk point.
Themes are elements of the current narrative that are particularly important to a character. Themes are part of the metagame and allow the GM and other players to know what is important to each other. They also provide small bonuses to the character. Themes can be based on people, events, ideas or things. The GM picks the first theme, and then each player selects an additional theme for the adventure. Each player then states where their character stands in regard to the various themes in play.
Exploits
Natural Stats also govern the Exploits a character has access to. Exploits are special pools of expendable personal resources that a character can use to give themselves an advantage. Managing Exploits is key to success in the Ascension system, particularly in combat.
The four exploits are:
- Adrenaline (Primary Physique)
- Focus (Primary Senses)
- Willpower (Primary Intellect)
- Spirit/Core (Primary Aether)
The size of an exploit pool is equal to the size of the primary stat, however specific bonuses can raise it above this.
In some cases Exploits can also be granted by external equipment with its own unique pool. The most common of these is Ammunition for weapons. In this case the External Exploit pools must also be tracked. These External Pools tend to be both smaller and less flexible than the character’s own internal pools.
Exploits are spent to activate various traits and abilities. A character can also spend one exploit from each pool once per round to give themselves a +2 edge bonus to any one roll made using that Exploit’s primary stat.
Exploit pools naturally recover completely at the end of a scene or battle, unless additional effects interfere with this.
Heroic Ascent
A character gains Heroic Ascent based on the amount of CP spent on their character sheet. Every time a Hero gains another level of Heroic Ascent they gain one free Stat point. This free stat point does not count towards CP totals for either Heroic Ascent or Trait progression.
When playing a character-based game, trait points can be awarded incrementally during the gain of CP, before reaching the next Hero level.
- A character with 25 CP is a Mook. Mooks start with three trait points, including their ancestry trait, and unlike other characters have only one quirk. Mooks are the random cannon fodder or extras that fill most scenes, and their stats are usually specialized towards whatever immediate role they fill.
- A character with 50 CP is a Bit Character. Bit Characters star with four trait points. Bit Characters are random characters that may be encountered anywhere. They are a step up from Mooks and can be used to add additional challenge.
- A character with 75 CP is a Supporting Character. A Supporting Character starts with five trait points. Supporting Characters can be random characters intended to pose a little more challenge, or they can be recurring characters that don't quite meet the level required to be a true hero.
- A character with 100 CP is a Level 1 Hero or a Local Hero. Local Heroes gain five additional trait points, one Heroic skill, and one free stat point. Local heroes exist all over a nation, from the ace pilot of a squadron, to the best sniper of a commando outfit, to a jaded street thief, to a young magical prodigy.
- A character with 200 CP is a Level 2 Hero or a Rising Hero. Rising Heroes are characters that have made a name for themselves, and are on the way up to either further greatness or an early grave. Rising heroes gain five additional trait points, one Heroic skill, and one free stat point.
- A character with 400 CP is a Level 3 Hero or Famous Hero. National Heroes are characters whose exploits are known across their faction and are held up as ideas to follow, or notorious villains to shun and fear. National Heroes gain five additional trait points, one Heroic skill, and one free stat point.
- A character with 600 CP is a Level 4 Hero or Renowned Hero. Famous Heroes are known world-wide and beyond, and whose names and exploits will be remembered for centuries. Famous Heroes gain five additional trait points, one Heroic skill, and one free stat point.
- A character with 1,000 CP is a Level 5 Hero or Legendary Hero. The exploits of Legendary Heroes are already becoming myth in their lifetimes, and will be remembered for aeons down the ages. Legendary Heroes gain five additional trait points, one Heroic skill, and one free stat point.
Heroic Skills are those at which the character is particularly adept and unlikely to fail in. Each Heroic level a character can designate a new skill as "Heroic." When using a Heroic skill the character can spend one Exploit from the skills normal Exploit pool to roll 2d10 and take the best die, or can spend three Exploits to roll 2d10 and add them together. This is known as a Heroic Surge.
Heroic Surges are a good way to score fantastic successes, but there is also a certain power in being the target of an opponent's Heroic Surge and surviving. Each enemy Hero affected by a Heroic Surge and not killed or incapacitated gains, at the end of the current turn, one Exploit of their choice for every Exploit spent on the Surge or reduces their PS by five for every Exploit spent on the surge. Thus if you target an enemy Hero with a Heroic Surge it's a good idea to finish them off, lest you only re-invigorate them.
Distinguishing Features
A character starts with at least three distinguishing features, such as the way they look, dress, talk, or some other thing that makes them stand out. These distinguishing features can be related to any quirks the character may have, or they may be something else. Unless related to quirks or traits, distinguishing features have no immediate game effect, but they serve to help identify a character as an individual rather than just a collection of numbers.