Future Genre Types: Imperial Space - Humanitys presence among the stars is no longer new. Space has been settled for centuriesperhaps even millenniaand vast interstellar empires dominate known space. These powerful states control hundreds or thousands of star systems, bound together by reliable and relatively economical faster-than-light travel. For governments, militaries, and commerce, interstellar travel is routine. For most civilians, however, life begins and ends on a single homeworld they will never leave. War is a constant feature of imperial life, though it rarely reaches civilian populations directly. Instead, its effects are felt through political upheaval, resource shortages, conscription, and shifting allegiancesoften more disruptive than invasion itself. Technological development may have plateaued or slipped into stagnation; innovation is rare, and new discoveries seldom change daily life. In some regions, ancient technologies persist long after their creators are forgotten, while critical knowledge slowly erodes. Interstellar conflict is frequent, fought between rival empires, against xenophobic alien powers, or by rebels and insurgents struggling to overthrow entrenched, authoritarian regimes. FeaturesBackgrounds:Characters come from many walks of life, though a large number of adventurers have military experience.Alien Presence:The role of alien races varies by setting. Some universes teem with countless species, others are largely human-centric, and some may lack sentient aliens entirely. Personal Spacecraft:When an encounter grants the character a personal spacecraft, roll {1d10}. On a result of 410, the ship is reasonably up to date with current technology. On a lower result, it is an outdated clunkerbarely competitive on the spacewaysoften relying on obsolete, temperamental, or dangerously antiquated interstellar travel systems.
Character Species: Human - Standard issue pure stain human being. This includes all it's faults and flaws humanity has been battling since the beginning.
Tech Level: Second Stellar Age - Most stellar colonies are independent of home planet. Faster-than-Light (FTL) drives now capable of rapid jumps between stars, crossing the gaps between stars in a matter of weeks. FTL communication allows information to travel between stars. Powerful non-laser energy weapons found on large ships and battle machines.
Home Culture: Dynamic - This is a culture marked by rapid growth, development and expansion. New lands or worlds are being discovered and claimed. Technology is advancing by leaps and bounds, often progressing a full Tech Level within a generation or less. However, the fast growth also outpaces the ethical application of the new discoveries, leaving the culture wide open for future disasters. Governments are similar to Developing cultures, but access to political power moves out of the grasp of common people. Class stratification still exists as fewer and fewer people profit from new discoveries. It is a time of "Humanistic" theology, imagining the people of the culture to be the apex of creation, the "gods" of their universe. Gameplay Benefits: {1d6}. On a result of 3-5, select one Neutral trait. On a result of 6, select {1d3} Neutral personality traits and one trait Darkside Trait. Roleplay: Dynamic cultures are often self-centered, caught up in the wonderfulness of themselves. In their eyes, they can do no wrong. It is a culture of great Ego, one that believes that great risk taking and great intellect should earn greatthem reward. Moral bankruptcy has begun. A character from such a culture might share those values. Emphasis is placed on Neutral values.Survival Skills: (additional skills, GMs Discretion).
Social Status: Comfortable - This is the middle class of any Culture, regardless of the Tech Level or average wealth of its citizens. These folk usually live in clean, nicely apportioned homes or apartments, often in better neighborhoods. They eat regularly and occasionally very well. Children are schooled and often go on to higher education. They usually own conservative forms of transport - a modest ground car or other inexpensive vehicle. Luxuries include travel vacations, good food, the ability to hire occasional menial services, nice clothing, and leisure devices. This class includes "impoverished" nobility, upper level office workers, professors and teachers, skilled craftsmen and technicians, highly-skilled laborers, lower govem ment officials, low-ranking military officers, lesser clergy, and shopkeepers. Folk from this Social Status are considered to represent the mainstream of their Culture's beliefs and attitudes.
Social Status: Nobility: Nobility - Nobility: The character is a member of a titled Noble family, the aristocracy of old. These folk have fancy titles, and are generally better off than their fellows. Follow the instructions below to select titles, lands and so on, then return here.Special Instructions: Determine the Noble title of the characters parents and other items of importance to Nobles. Gameplay Benefits: Literacy chance is +30% over the base Tech Level + Social Status chance. A Noble character has a 50% chance to have a strange personality quirk, see Exotic Personality Traits. Roleplay: Nobles, by definition, are supposed to be better than other men, born to lead their lesser brethren. Even a Destitute Noble will consider himself to be better than others. The importance and role of Nobility will vary with the Culture. They may be dynamic hereditary leaders, able to command men to their deaths, or pleasure-loving parasites, tolerated only out of tradition. Read the roleplay guidelines under Nobles for further help in roleplaying this character.
Nobles: Noble Notes: Knight ("Sir" or "Lady"): An earned title which cannot be inherited. Usually granted by a king.
Nobles: Sphere of Influence: Local: influence limited to a country and its neighbors, either by control or reknown (fame).
Exotic Personality Traits: Categories: Phobia - Phobia
Exotic Personality Traits: Phobia: Enclosed spaces (Claustrophobia)
Birth Legitimacy: Legitimate - Legitimate Birth
Family Members: Two Parents - Two Parents
Siblings & Birth Order: 5 - fourth of 6
Home World: Frontier World - Frontier World
Home World Types: Hostile world - This world is unsuited to supporting life.
Place of Birth: Combined Exotic Location - The character is born in a strange hybrid environment. See below for the two results from Exotic Places and merge them into a single location.
Exotic Birth Place: In Zero Gravity - Born in freefall or microgravity, with uncertain biological consequences.
Exotic Birth Place: Prison Cell - The character is born in a prison cell, possibly indicating that their mother was incarcerated at the time.
Unusual Events at Birth: None - Nothing unusual. Normal Birth
Parents/Family Details: Head of household has one occupation.
Parent 1
Appearances: Extremely Tall - The character towers over those normally considered tall.
Occupations Selection: Occupation Group - Blue Collar & Moderate Income Jobs
Blue Collar & Moderate Income Occupations: Construction Professional: Mason
Noteworthy Items of Parents/NPCs: Preventing a future event.
Significant Adulthood Events: Tragedy - Something terrible happens to the character. See Tragedy Events.
Tragedies : The character's world is destroyed by violence. The character escapes the destruction, but he and his family are refugees, reduced to Destitute social status
Noteworthy Items of Parents/NPCs: NPC untimely dies. If sibling, it occurs during childhood. If parent or guardian, it occurs in early adulthood
Death Situations: Victim was killed in a fit of blind passion. It is still murder, but the killing may be defensible.
Death Situations: Special Circumstances: No special circumstances surround this death
Parent 2
Occupations Selection: Occupation Group - High Income Jobs
High Income Occupations: Courtier/Courtesan: an attendant in the court of a Noble or Royal ruler sometimes nothing more than a fancy prostitute (particularly the female courtesan).
Noteworthy Items of Parents/NPCs: NPC has an obsession regarding something that had happened (or might happen), something that dominates the rest of his life. A significant event from the past.
Significant Adolescence Events: Inheritance Windfall - The character inherits a large sum of money, equal to ten times normal starting funds.
Noteworthy Items of Parents/NPCs: NPC is noted for his appearance.
Appearances: Hairless - The character has no hair on their head or anywhere else.
Noteworthy Items of Parents/NPCs: NPC possesses an unusual item.
Gifts & Legacies: An old, but functional, space ship.
Spacecraft: Ship Type: Small fighter craft. One or two pilots are all this small military ship can carry.
Spacecraft: Space Capabilities: Short range system ship. Travel to nearby planets & moons.
Spacecraft: Armament: Well-armed. Carries enough weaponry to make others think twice before attacking it. Has afair offensive strike capability.
Spacecraft: Special Features: None - None.
Spacecraft: Liabilities: Alien Manufacture - The ship was built for a non-human species. Seating is awkward, controls are poorly labeled or unreadable, and ergonomics are all wrong. The Ship has occasional misfires or misunderstood alerts
Sibling 1
Appearances: Unusual Hairstyle - The characters hairstyle is unconventional or striking.
Occupations Selection: Occupation Group - High Income Jobs
High Income Occupations: Craftsman
Crafts Table 3: Goldsmith: a crafter of gold for all uses.
Noteworthy Items of Parents/NPCs: NPC is noted for or hesitant to speak of something that occured in his past. NPC is famous for the occurance of a Significant Event, possibly even a hero.
Significant Adulthood Events: Owed a Favor - The character receives crucial help from a powerful group and now owes them a favor.
Other Groups - Factions: Planetary Government/Local Regime - A single-world ruling authority with direct control over local laws, security, and daily life.
Sibling 2
Occupations Selection: Occupation Group - Blue Collar & Moderate Income Jobs
Blue Collar & Moderate Income Occupations: Public Safety: Paramedic
Noteworthy Items of Parents/NPCs: NPC's relationship with his family involves one of the following. Is unfaithful to spouse.
Noteworthy Items of Parents/NPCs: NPC is noted for or hesitant to speak of something that occured in his past. NPC is famous for the occurance of a Significant Event, possibly even a hero.
Significant Adulthood Events: Wanderlust Merchant Spacer - For {1d6} years, the character signs on as a common spacer aboard a merchant freighter. Gain spacer-related skills (GM discretion).
Otherworld Events: Other Worlds: Water world. Mostly oceans and small islands.
Otherworld Events: Reasons for Being Here: Relocation. The characters job transfers him to this planet for an indefinite stay (this becomes the character's new home world).
Otherworld Events: Events: Fanatic followers of a local religion overthrow the government. Unbelievers (off-worlders) are rounded up and imprisoned in make-shift camps. The character is caught up in the fervor of this people's belief and willingly joins them. Using captured spacecraft, the true believers take their faith to the spaceways. After {1d3} years with the followers of the religion, the character finds himself isolated from other believers to fend for himself on a strange planet. The character was captured by relatives and "deprogrammed."
Noteworthy Items of Parents/NPCs: NPC has many close friends (Roll {1D12} for their number). These folks usually dwell in the NPC's home town. If the NPC is the character's parent or guardian, they are known as "uncle" or "auntie." Because they are like family, they may be relied on for aid in times of trouble. Determine backgrounds for these folks only as needed.
Sibling 3
Occupations Selection: Occupation Group - Low Income Jobs
Low Income Occupations: Soldier: for details in depth see Military Experience.
Military Duties: Branch of Service: Army - Gunnery.
Military Skills: Combat Skills: Survival Sense - an instinct about combat, and how to cause the most damage (bonus GM's discretion)
Military Skills: Special Survival Skills: Find water (know it Its drinkable).
Military Rank: Specialist/Seaman Specialist/Spaceman Specialist
Military Experience: A fierce war breaks out. The situation is grim. All Noncombat troops are put in the field as light infantry. The war is a war of succession to determine a new ruler.. The characters unit is in the thickest fighting for months and sees more action than most. The characters unit is in the thickest fighting for months and sees more action than most. Several battles occur. (See Battle Ready!)
War Time: The character's side is utterly destroyed. Character is demoted one Rank.
War Time: Regardless of the battle's outcome, the character is decorated for his heroism. If the character is an officer in the service of a Noble, the character is made a knight.
War Time: The Character's side suffers light casulties.
War Time: Additional Battle Ready Events
War Time: Character is captured and imprisoned. Military service ends with this event (Ignore any military events that follow).See Imprisoned! Below
Imprisoned!: Prison Type: Medium security work camp
Imprisoned!: Duration: 2d6 years
Imprisoned!: Prison Event: Character participates in a prison uprising. The character leads the revolt. It fail and the character is tortured and receives a grave, permanent injury. (See Serious Wounds.)
Serious Wounds/Injury: Focused Compensation - The injury forces extreme specialization. Increase one skill (GM discretion); all other skills are reduced (GM discretion).
Serious Injuries, About this Injury ...: Recurring Complications - The injury periodically worsens as old wounds reopen, infections return, or systems malfunction without warning.
Serious Wounds/Injury: Left Ear Maimed - The characters left ear is torn or severed. Permanent hearing loss may occur (GM discretion).
Serious Injuries, About this Injury ...: Psychological Trigger - Stress, fear, or reminders of the original injury can cause hesitation, distraction, or emotional instability.
War Time: Character is personally responsible forthe deaths of several of his comrades or followers.
War Time: Character was a coward in battle. Roll a {1d6}. The character is demoted {1d3} ranks for cowardice.
Noteworthy Items of Parents/NPCs: NPC is noted for an unusual ability or physical feature.
Talents, Mutations & Alien Abilities: Unusual Size Small - The character is 2060% smaller than the species norm.
Noteworthy Items of Parents/NPCs: NPC's relationship with his family involves one of the following. NPC is particularly loving towards family.
Noteworthy Items of Parents/NPCs: NPC won't speak of something that occurred in the past.
Sibling 4
Occupations Selection: Occupation Group - High Income Jobs
High Income Occupations: Marketing Specialist: knows how to promote and popularize people, consumer goods, corporations and so on
Noteworthy Items of Parents/NPCs: NPC was horribly wounded once.
Serious Wounds/Injury: Left Eye Lost - The characters left eye is destroyed. Depth perception is lost; reduce combat and visual perception skills (GM discretion).
Serious Injuries, About this Injury ...: No Lasting Effects - The injury healed cleanly and left no lingering physical, neurological, or psychological consequences.
Serious Wounds/Injury: Severed Right Foot - The character permanently loses their right foot. Movement speed is reduced to half unless an artificial limb is attached. Roll {d100} to determine the percentage of speed regained with the prosthetic.
Serious Injuries, About this Injury ...: No Lasting Effects - The injury healed cleanly and left no lingering physical, neurological, or psychological consequences.
Serious Wounds/Injury: Throat Injury - Damage to the throat affects speech. Roll {1d10} to determine severity, with 10 indicating total loss of the ability to speak.
Serious Injuries, About this Injury ...: Chronic Pain - The injury causes constant pain. Without painkillers or relief, the character must succeed on a check to perform actions requiring concentration.
Noteworthy Items of Parents/NPCs: NPC has a patron.
In the Service of - Who is the Patron: A local official. See Government Jobs.
Government Jobs: Soldier, enlisted
In the Service of - Why a Patron: The patron admires the characters skills.
In the Service of - What happened: Patron is outlawed. All those under his patronage are watched closely by secret police.
Noteworthy Items of Parents/NPCs: NPC is very religious and constantly seeks to evangelize others to join his religion, faith, or cult.
Religion: Religions: Multi-god pantheons. Like Greek or Norse gods, but can also include spirit and ancestor worship.
Religion: How it Begins: An inner need. The character feels he must seek out the believers of religion.
Religion: Religious Events: Character joins the religion. The character's strength of the characters devotion - Fervent Belief, seeks to spread the faith.
Sibling 5
Occupations Selection: Occupation Group - High Income Jobs
High Income Occupations: Merchant
Merchants: Jewelry Dealer: Trades in gemstones and jewelry.
Noteworthy Items of Parents/NPCs: NPC was originally from a different culture.
Tech Level: Renaissance - Learning is rediscovered with a vengeance. Gunpowder makes major changes in the waging of war, movable type printing speeds the spread of information. Equivalent to 1350-1800 in western Europe.
Noteworthy Items of Parents/NPCs: NPC has a Rival. The Rival seeks out the character.
Rivals: Who?: A professional rival, with the same occupation.
Rivals: Why?: Always trying to outdo each other in everything.
Rivals: What?: Deadly: This is a potentially fatal hatred. Severely Injuring the character in any way is the rival's goal. He plots and plans the character's downfall as a part of his own path to success. Given the chance, the rival will kill the character.
Noteworthy Items of Parents/NPCs: NPC has many enemies. The rivals seeks out the character.
Rivals: Who?: Sibling (younger).
Rivals: Why?: They are sporting event rivals.
Rivals: What?: Jealous: Rival dislikes the character, and takes secret pleasure in embarassing, thwarting or beating him. Physical injury is usually not intended, but if it happens, it happens. Rival may be appear to be a friend or ally.
Rivals: Who?: A former friend.
Rivals: Why?: Always trying to outdo each other in everything.
Rivals: What?: Deadly: This is a potentially fatal hatred. Severely Injuring the character in any way is the rival's goal. He plots and plans the character's downfall as a part of his own path to success. Given the chance, the rival will kill the character.
Rivals: Who?: A professional rival, with the same occupation.
Rivals: Why?: Rival is jealous of the character's looks.
Rivals: What?: Friendly: Rival and character can still be friends. Rival enjoys competing against the character. Rival may even remain a good friend.
Rivals: Who?: A former lover/best friend/love interest/crush.
Rivals: Why?: Their distant ancestor's were rivals.
Rivals: What?: Fierce: Rival hates the character bitterly. This is an unhealable grudge. This rivalry often clouds judgement and could lead to no-holds-barred conflict. The rival maximizes all opportunities to thwart the character, hoping to cause injury in so doing.
Significant Childhood Events:
Learn an Unusual Skill.
Unusual Skills: Off-Hand Weapon Use - Trained to wield a chosen weapon effectively with the non-dominant hand.
Significant Childhood Events: Family has the a certain attitudes towards the character. Character is loved by parents or guardians.
Significant Childhood Events: Family throws an extravagant birthday party for the character. Everyone who is anyone attends. When all the gifts are recorded, one unusual gift stands alone without a card to say where it came from.
Gifts & Legacies: A sealed cannister with an alien creature floating in it. The creature seems to be alive.
Significant Childhood Events: Family has the a certain attitudes towards the character. Father is distant and cold towards the character.
Significant Adolescence Events: Youth Recruitment Attempt - A group or organization quietly attempts to recruit the character due to perceived talent or usefulness.
Other Groups - Factions: Merchant Guild/Trade Combine - An organization controlling trade routes, tariffs, docking rights, and commercial access.
Other Groups - Factions, Merchant Guild: Helix Commerce Guild - Specialists in high-risk, high-margin goods including rare biotech and alien artifacts.
Significant Adolescence Events: Rescued During Unrest - During riots, strikes, or conflict, the character is rescued by members of an organized group.
Other Groups - Factions: Mega-Corporation - A corporate entity powerful enough to rival governments, often controlling entire industries or star systems.
Other Groups - Factions, MegaCorporations: Helios Dynamics - A dominant energy and power-generation conglomerate controlling fusion plants, stellar collectors, and reactor technology.
Significant Adolescence Events: Runaway & Never Returns - The character runs away from home and never returns.
Significant Adolescence Events: Gifted Spacecraft - The family gifts the character a personal spacecraft, no larger than a small yacht.
Spacecraft: Ship Type: Colony ship. Carries colonists to new planets.
Spacecraft: Space Capabilities: Long ranger interstellar. Travel to moderately distant stars in one trip.
Spacecraft: Armament: Well-armed. Carries enough weaponry to make others think twice before attacking it. Has afair offensive strike capability.
Spacecraft: Special Features: None - None.
Spacecraft: Liabilities: Unstable Power Grid - Power fluctuations are common. High-energy systems cannot all be used at once without risking shutdowns or brownouts.
Exotic Events: There is a terrible accident and the character is killed! Medical science returns the character's body to life. The death experience is also a religious experience and the character subsequently joins a popular religion.
Significant Adolescence Events: Cold Father - The characters father is distant and emotionally cold.