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 On a lower result, it is an outdated clunkerbarely competitive on the spacewaysoften relying on obsolete, temperamental, or dangerously antiquated interstellar travel systems.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: Commoner - Commoner/Not of a Noble Line
Birth Legitimacy: Illegitimate - Illegitimate Birth
Family Members: Two Parents - Two Parents
Siblings & Birth Order: 9 - second of 10
Home World: Racial Homeworld - Racial Homeworld
Home World Types: Volcanic world. - Volcanic world. Active volcanism everywhere.
Place of Birth: Foreign Land - The character is born far from their familys homeland, culture, or species place of origin. See below for where in the foreign land.
Place of Birth: Tenement/Arcology Block - Born in crowded urban housing, surrounded by noise, poverty, or dense community.
Unusual Events at Birth: 1 event
Unusual Births Events: Character's is born immediately after a Tragedy Roleplay: Superstitious folk often associate one event with another. Others who know of this occurrence might easily believe the character's birth was related to the tragedy.
Tragedies : A favorite, possibly valuable, possession vanishes. It was stolen.
Parents/Family Details: Head of household has one primary occupation which is performed full time and a secondary occupation which is performed on a part-time basis.
Parent 1
Appearances: Rebellious Style - The character dresses in a way that signals cultural, political, or social opposition.
Occupations Selection: A hobby practiced as an occupation.
Hobbies: Type of Hobby: Hobbycraft: Knifemaking
Hobbies: Degree of Interest: Sporadic and Variable. Interest runs in spurts, intense at times, totally ignored at others. Character will easily spend 1% of his total income on this hobby.
Hobbies Hobby Proficiency: Devoted:
Noteworthy Items of Parents/NPCs: NPC is very religious and constantly seeks to evangelize others to join his religion, faith, or cult.
Religion: Religions: Splinter faith. This religion believes in the same God as Universal Monotheists, but disagrees with the way that God is worshipped.
Religion: How it Begins: Curiosity. The character hears stories of the religion and goes to personally investigate.
Religion: Religious Events: Character makes a pilgrammage to an important but distant shrine of the religion, possibly on another planet.
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. The working out of a personality trait. - Lightside Trait
Personality Traits: Lightside: Patient - Able to wait with calmness.
Parent 2
Occupations Selection: Occupation Group - Blue Collar & Moderate Income Jobs
Blue Collar & Moderate Income Occupations: Engineer: Manufacturing
Noteworthy Items of Parents/NPCs: NPC is noted for or hesitant to speak of something that occured in his past. NPC is persecuted or villainized for the occurance of an event.
Significant Adulthood Events: Something Wonderful - A genuinely positive and life-changing event occurs.
Something Wonderful: A miracle (the only possible explanation) gives the character a favorable modification.
Talents, Mutations & Alien Abilities: Adaptive Metabolism - The characters body rapidly adapts to new diets and environments, reducing penalties from unfamiliar food, gravity, or atmospheres.
Noteworthy Items of Parents/NPCs: NPC's relationship with his family involves one of the following. NPC is particularly loving towards family.
Sibling 1
Occupations Selection: Occupation Group - Low Income Jobs
Low Income Occupations: Tavern or Bar Employee: Server
Noteworthy Items of Parents/NPCs: NPC was originally from a different culture.
Tech Level: Mixed technology, one aspect higher - A key aspect of the culture's technology is more typical of a higher Tech Level (such as Transmatter being used by a Federation starship to beam crew planetside).
Sibling 2
Occupations Selection: Occupation Group - Low Income Jobs
Low Income Occupations: Household servant: Chauffeur
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. The working out of a personality trait. - Neutral Trait
Personality Traits: Neutral: Dreamy - Dreamy: a distant daydreamer.
Noteworthy Items of Parents/NPCs: NPC untimely dies during adulthood.
Death Situations: Victim was driven to suicide by someone's actions.
Death Situations: Special Circumstances: No special circumstances surround this death
Noteworthy Items of Parents/NPCs: NPC had a companion. If the character searches long enough, the old companion can be found.
Companions. Who?: An alien. See Aliens.
Aliens: Multiple - Roll two results on this table and combine them to create a hybrid or unusual alien body plan.
Aliens: Human-Like - These beings closely resemble humans, differing only in a few distinctive physical features such as skin tone, eye shape, ridges, or minor anatomical variations.
Aliens, Biology: Radially Symmetrical - Beings with body plans arranged around a central axis, similar to starfish or sea anemones.
Talents, Mutations & Alien Abilities: Albinism - The character has pale skin and hair with pink or light eyes. They suffer 1d3 damage per hour of unprotected exposure to strong sunlight.
Aliens: Human-Like - These beings closely resemble humans, differing only in a few distinctive physical features such as skin tone, eye shape, ridges, or minor anatomical variations.
Aliens, Biology: Aerial - Flying beings adapted for sustained flight. They may possess wings, gas bladders, anti-gravity organs, or other flight mechanisms.
Talents, Mutations & Alien Abilities: Rapid Healing - The character heals at twice the normal rate.
Aliens, Biology: Aerial - Flying beings adapted for sustained flight. They may possess wings, gas bladders, anti-gravity organs, or other flight mechanisms.
Talents, Mutations & Alien Abilities: Attribute Variance - Reduce one attribute and increase another by the same amount.
Attribute Bonus/Penalty: Charisma - Charisma Penalty
Companions: Why?: Mysterious voices and feelings told the Companion to seek out the character and join him.
Companions: What?: Loyal Friend: Companion might lay down his life for the character. Will support the character in all he does.
Companions. Who?: A robot or computer. See Artificial Persons.
Artificial Persons: Primary Function: Agricultural Robot.
Artificial Persons: Intelligence Level: Flexible. Can make logic decisions based on information outside its original programming.
Artificial Persons: Body Type: Alienoid. Like the humanoid robot, but designed to mimic the shape of its alien creators.
Companions: Why?: GM Specials - Companion has an alterior motive that has yet to be revealed
Companions: What?: Loyal Friend: Companion might lay down his life for the character. Will support the character in all he does.
Companions. Who?: A total stranger. See Others.
Others: Several others together.
Others: A noble.
Nobles: Noble Notes: Baron (Baroness): Rules a barony, smallest sized fiefdom.
Nobles: Sphere of Influence: Local: influence limited to a country and its neighbors, either by control or reknown (fame).
Others: A soldier
Military Duties: Branch of Service: Army - Gunnery.
Military Skills: Combat Skills: Improve an existing military skill (bonus GM's discretion)
Military Skills: Special Survival Skills: Pathfinding, Finding one's way in the wilderness.
Military Rank: Sergeant major/Master Chief
Others: An outcast. A beggar, hermit, leper, or prositute.
Companions: Why?: They share the same enemy. See Rivals.
Rivals: Who?: A former friend.
Rivals: Why?: Their parents were rivals.
Rivals: What?: Friendly: Rival and character can still be friends. Rival enjoys competing against the character. Rival may even remain a good friend.
Companions: What?: Bumbling Buddy: A buffoon who tries to be a hero, and may inadvertently succeed more often than he fails. Give him comical quirks. Intensely loyal to the character, but not much help in a fight. May have an inferiority complex.
Companions. Who?: Sibling (older).
Companions. Who?: Sibling (younger).
Companions: Why?: Parents were Companions in adventure.
Companions: What?: Grim Ally: Doesn't talk much. Does what must be done to the best of his ability. Dislikes frivolity, especially in the face of danger. Quite sure of himself at all times.
Sibling 3
Occupations Selection: Occupation Group - High Income Jobs
High Income Occupations: Attorney: deals in the finer points of the law and defending the innocent against unjust prosecution. On the other hand he may spend most of his time going for the "deep pocket" of insurance companies in civil liabilities cases.
Noteworthy Items of Parents/NPCs: Accomplishing a future event.
Significant Adulthood Events: Broken Betrothal Tragedy - Following a whirlwind romance, a fateful event (or circumstances resulting from it) ends that romance on the day the character was to be married. A Tragedy Occurs.
Tragedies : Something terrible happens to the character's lover/best friend. Lover/best friend is killed by lover/best friend's own jealous former lover/best friend.
Noteworthy Items of Parents/NPCs: A relationship with someone.
Others: A professional adventurer.
Sibling 4
Occupations Selection: Occupation Group - Special Income Jobs
Special Income Occupations: Professional Athlete: plays a sport professionally.
Noteworthy Items of Parents/NPCs: NPC has a Rival. The Rival seeks out the character.
Rivals: Who?: Sibling (older).
Rivals: Why?: They love the same person.
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.
Noteworthy Items of Parents/NPCs: The accomplishment of a motivation. Work out the Motivation with the GM
Sibling 5
Occupations Selection: Occupation Group - High Income Jobs
High Income Occupations: Dentist: fixes teeth that need repair.
Noteworthy Items of Parents/NPCs: NPC is noted for his appearance.
Appearances: Stooped Posture - Poor posture causes the character to hunch or slouch habitually.
Sibling 6
Occupations Selection: Occupation Group - Low Income Jobs
Low Income Occupations: Household servant: Gardener
Noteworthy Items of Parents/NPCs: The accomplishment of a motivation. Work out the Motivation with the GM
Noteworthy Items of Parents/NPCs: NPC is noted for an outstanding aspect of his personality. Noted for a Lightside personality trait.
Personality Traits: Lightside: Organized - Everything has a place.
Sibling 7
Occupations Selection: A hobby practiced as an occupation.
Hobbies: Type of Hobby: Cinematography (film making and appreciation).
Hobbies: Degree of Interest: Casual. Easy to put aside when necessary. Spending money on this hobby is a rare occurance.
Hobbies Hobby Proficiency: Consuming Passion:
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: Hobby Acquired - The character develops a personal hobby.
Hobbies: Type of Hobby: Flying: Prop planes
Hobbies: Degree of Interest: Sporadic and Variable. Interest runs in spurts, intense at times, totally ignored at others. Character will easily spend 1% of his total income on this hobby.
Hobbies Hobby Proficiency: Sporadic and Variable:
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. The working out of a personality trait. - Neutral Trait
Personality Traits: Neutral: Even-tempered - Even-tempered: rarely angry or over toyo us.
Noteworthy Items of Parents/NPCs: NPC is noted for an unusual ability or physical feature.
Talents, Mutations & Alien Abilities: Blame Magnet - The character is frequently blamed for crimes or disasters occurring nearby, regardless of guilt.
Sibling 8
Occupations Selection: Occupation Group - High Income Jobs
High Income Occupations: Landlord: owns property, rents it to others. Roll {1d10} for the number of properties owned.
Noteworthy Items of Parents/NPCs: NPC is noted for his extremely unusual personality. Link the Exotic Personality Traits together in some fashion. Collectively, they should make the NPC character even stranger, possibly a real weirdo.
Exotic Personality Traits: Categories: Sexual Disorder - Sexual Disorder
Exotic Personality Traits: Sexual Disorders: Voyeurism. A "Peeping Tom" who is sexually excited by watching others perform sexual acts.
Exotic Personality Traits: Categories: Behavior Tag - Behavior Tag
Exotic Personality Traits: Behavior Tags: Figures of Speech - Constantly fills his conversations and pronouncements with colorful phrases, often based on homey sayings, like "Dance 'til the cows come home," or "Thick`ern spice fleas on a Denevian skwawbak."
Exotic Personality Traits: Categories: Allergy - Allergy
Exotic Personality Traits: Allergies: Medicine - Common (perhaps stim-dose or med-packs)
Sibling 9
Occupations Selection: Occupation Group - High Income Jobs
High Income Occupations: Research Scientist: Biology
Noteworthy Items of Parents/NPCs: NPC is a military veteran.
Military Duties: Branch of Service: Aquatic Navy - Marines. Shipboard soldiers.
Military Skills: Combat Skills: Survival Sense - an instinct about combat, and how to cause the most damage (bonus GM's discretion)
Military Skills: Combat Skills: First Aid Training
Military Skills: Special Survival Skills: Find water (know it Its drinkable).
Military Skills: Special Survival Skills: Improve an existing military skill
Military Rank: Platoon Sergeant/Chief
Military Experience: Character is trained to become an officer of minimum rank (or promoted one rank if already an officer). (See Military Service Skills)
Military Skills: Service Skills: Vehicle Skills
Military Skills: Vehicle Skills: Drive other vehicle (one not used by unit).
Noteworthy Items of Parents/NPCs: Preventing a future event.
Significant Adulthood Events: Protected by Reputation - A faction intervenes on the characters behalf due to past actions or perceived value.
Other Groups - Factions: Underworld Information Brokers - Dealers in secrets, rumors, data, and identity manipulation.
Noteworthy Items of Parents/NPCs: NPC was originally of a different Social Status.
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: Viscount (Viscountess): Rules over one or more counts.
Nobles: Sphere of Influence: Local: influence limited to a country and its neighbors, either by control or reknown (fame).
Exotic Personality Traits: Categories: Allergy - Allergy
Exotic Personality Traits: Allergies: Food - an unusual food like caviar, algae antipasto, jalapeno pepper soda, synthetic pizza, etc.
Significant Childhood Events:
Something bad happens to the character. Character is sexually molested by an adult.
Others: A criminal.
Crimes: Crimes and Criminal Type: Ideological Crime (Religious) - The character practiced or promoted forbidden religious beliefs or heresies.Penalty: Varies widely by culture and regime.
Significant Childhood Events: Character serves a Patron.
In the Service of - Who is the Patron: The character's employer.
In the Service of - Why a Patron: The patron needs all the friends he can get.
In the Service of - What happened: The character leaves the patron's entourage after {1d6} years. Gains gift of years x 1,000 credits.
Significant Childhood Events: A change or upheaval occurs in the characters family. This changes the Character's Social Status to his current. The old Social Status is below.
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: Commoner - Commoner/Not of a Noble Line
Significant Childhood Events: Rivals force the characters family to move to a new locale, probably on another world, or face reprisals.
Significant Childhood Events: Character runs away from home ... but returns after {1d6} years.
Special Childhood Events: The character wins a trip to a resort planet after mailing in the labels from {1d100} pouches of `Megacrunch` the yummy synthetic breakfast substitute. The whole family gets to go too. In addition to a fun week at the Mega-land amusement mall. The character and a friend discover a secret hiding place near his home. The hiding place remains undiscovered and undisturbed at least until he becomes an adult when the friend's body Is found mysteriously dead in the hide out.
Otherworld Events: Other Worlds: Water world. Mostly oceans and small islands.
Otherworld Events: Reasons for Being Here: Stowaway. The character hides on board a ship and is "ejected" on this planet.
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 is excommunicated for some sin, real or imagined.
Significant Adolescence Events: Alien Reward - A mysterious but benevolent alien rewards the character for a selfless act with partial plans for a marvelous device.
Techno-Wonders: Self-aware electronics. This is a machine that possesses all the requirements for sentient life, possibly even a soul. Could be a computer, a robot or another device Techno wonder device.
Artificial Persons: Primary Function: Maintenance/Repair Robot.
Artificial Persons: Intelligence Level: Self-Aware. The machine knows it exists and desires to maintain its own existence. Capable of creative problem-solving.
Artificial Persons: Body Type: Bestiold. Designed to mimic the shape of an animal, often one whose function it also duplicates, such as a robot dog, horse, bird, etc.
Significant Adolescence Events: Witness to Group Violence - The character witnesses a violent act carried out by an organized group, leaving a lasting impression.
Other Groups - Factions: Exploration/Survey Corps - Groups dedicated to charting unknown systems, ruins, and jump routes.
Significant Adolescence Events: Jaded Tastes - The character develops a taste for exotic, rare, or expensive pleasures at an early age.
Exotic Personality Traits: Addictions: Steroids
Education : Outstanding Education.
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
Occupations Selection: Occupation Group - High Income Jobs
High Income Occupations: Philosopher: a thinker, a sage, or even a theologian probably associated with either a religious institution or a school of higher learning.
Significant Adulthood Events: Special - Special Events of Adolescence.
Special Adolescence Events: A Fateful event occurs. A Tragedy Occurs.
Significant Adulthood Events: Career Collapse - Unable to earn a living in their chosen profession, the character is forced to learn a new occupation.
Low Income Occupations: Commercial ground vehicle driver. Trucker, cabbie, chauffeur.
Personality Traits: Neutral: Liberal - Liberal: tolerant of others, open to change.
Personality Traits: Neutral: Hedonist - Hedonist: pleasure Is the most important thing.
Personality Traits: Neutral: Precise - Precise: always exacting.
Personality Traits: Darkside: Liar - Hardly ever tells the truth.
Personality Traits: Darkside: Irreverent - Mocks religion and the gods.
Personality Traits: Lightside: Calm - Difficult to anger, a peaceful spirit.
Personality Traits: Darkside: Liar - Hardly ever tells the truth.
Personality Traits: Darkside: Angry - Spirit always unsettled, never at peace.
Personality Traits: Neutral: Romantic - Romantic: given to feelings of romance.
Personality Traits: Neutral: Leader - Leader: takes initiative, can take command.
Personality Traits: Lightside: Peacemaker - Attempts to calm others.
Personality Traits: Neutral: Mysterious - Mysterious: has an air of mystery about him,