## Step 0: Concepts * Characters are all young teens from the same rural community, they know each other well, so no secrets, vices and deviances. * Although dislike is possible (different runes, affinities, opinions, etc.), don’t make a character that could/would be come antagonistic to someone else in the party. For example, don’t plan to become a Red Goddess priest or something of the kind. Also have a look at the [[General Principles]]. ## Step 1: Homeland **Cultural Stereotype**: The Sartarites are quarrelsome, reckless, and fiercely independent. Men are emotional, often violently passionate, with swiftly shifting opinions and feelings. Women are cunning, practical, and vengeful. The Sartarites are devoted to Orlanth and Ernalda, and hate the Lunar Empire with a burning passion. **Common Cults**: Orlanth, Ernalda, Babeester Gor, Chalana Arroy, Eurmal, Humakt, Issaries, Lhankor Mhy, Maran Gor, Storm Bull, Yelmalio. **Base Passions**: Love (Family) 60%, Loyalty (Svarthjort) 60%, and Loyalty (Colymar) 60%. ## Step 2: Family History **Influential Grandparent and Parent**: Have to be Svarthjort, knowing that a child is automatically born into the clan of the parent with the *higher* status. But this does not mean that you cannot be of mixed descent, from another Tribe or Clan, or even from further away (Prax, Tarsh or Old Tarsh, Esrolia, Grazeland, or even a Telmori - but beware if the potentially inherited werewolf curse that manifests on its own without initiation). **Descent System = Mixed**: In a mixed descent system (common in Sartar, Tarsh, and most Praxian tribes), you belong to your higher status parent’s clan. Which means that if you are of mixed descent at some point in time, it would not be with a high ranking stranger, like a par Ian nomad khan. **Family**: Don’t make a complicated family tree with many uncles/aunts/cousins/siblings, etc. It’s hard to keep track of and not really the focus of the campaign. It does not need that everyone needs to be an only child, but keep it simple. **Family History** : Might look similar between characters because of similar rolls on members of one clan of one culture, don't hesitate to suggest differences and introduce anecdotes. **Part of the Vale Born into**: Were you born into one of the single-family cottar cottages, the larger multi-family carl steads, the thane rank families of the Village, or are you a noble in the chieftain’s immediate family? Take a look at the Standard of Living of occupation of the parent you chose; Destitute equals cottar status, Poor equals carl status, Free equals thane status, and Noble means you belong to the chieftain’s family. It’s perfectly fine to select one of the characters named in the previous chapter as a parent; if you want to be a noble, go ahead and pick Gordangar as your father. If you want your father to be the redsmith, go ahead and pick Harvarr. <u>For Svarthjort:</u> **Suggested Occupations**: Crafter, Farmer, Forager (new occupation), Herder, Hunter, Noble, Priest, Warrior. **Possible Occupations** (only one in the group, if any): Assistant Shaman, Entertainer, Healer, Merchant **Problematic Occupations** (discuss with me): Bandit, Chariot Driver, Fisher, Philosopher, Scribe, Thief Occupation is a choice for grandparent ONLY (see below). Occupations tend to be hereditary, so if your adventurer’s grandparent was a farmer but you then decide that your parent was a warrior, you should explain why or how they went against social expectations. Since your adventurer starts young (but gifted), his initial skill set is what he has learned from his significant parent, and his occupation has to be the same as his parent, and of course it has to be proper for a Svarthjort. **Standards of Living**: * Destitute (Cottar): Bandit * Poor (Carl): Assistant Chaman, Fisher, Herder, Hunter, Thief * Free (Thane): Chariot Driver, Crafter, Entertainer, Farmer, Healer, Merchant, Philosopher, Scribe, Warrior * Noble (Chieftain): Noble, Priest **Random Generation** | d20 | Occupation | Orlanthi Status\* | | --- | ---------- | ---------------- | | 1 | Assistant Shaman | Carl | | 2 | Bandit Outlaw | (Cottar) | | 3 | Forager | Cottar | | 4 | Crafter: in stead\*\* | Carl | | 5 | Crafter: in village\*\*\* | Thane | | 6 | Entertainer | Thane | | 7-9 | Farmer | Carl | | 10-11 | Herder: Sheep | Cottar | | 12-13 | Herder: Cattle | Carl | | 14 | Healer | Thane | | 15 | Hunter | Cottar | | 16 | Merchant | Thane | | 17 | Noble | Noble | | 18 | Priest | Noble | | 19 | Scribe | Thane | | 20 | Warrior | Thane | \* *Add Reputation: Thane +5%, Noble +10%* \** *eg. Spinner, Weaver, Tanner, Carpenter, Cobbler, Fletcher* \*** *eg. Jeweller, Brewer, Redsmith, Potter, Armourer, Bowyer* **Roll once on the Childhood Event Table**: ![[CG - Childhood Event.png]] ## Step 3: Rune Affinities **Runes are the DNA of the World...** Please read about the 8th Stat, [[Will|Will (WILL)]]. ![[CG - Rules Snippets - Elemental Runes.png]] ![[CG - Rules Snippets - Runes and Cults.png|450]] ![[CG - Rules Snippets - Power and Form Runes.png|450]] Svarthjort must have Air, Earth, or Darkness as one of their Elemental Runes. Most men will have Air, most women will have Earth. Choose three Elemental Runes to be your primary, secondary, and tertiary Rune affinities. The primary Rune starts at a 60% affinity, the second at 40%, and the third at 20%. The other three Elemental Runes start at 0%, unless otherwise raised. **Sartar: Air Rune +10%** From the Power and Form Runes, choose two affinities to start with a value of 75 (with their opposing Runes starting at 25). The other pairs all start with values of 50/50. You may now distribute 50 points among any of your adventurer’s Rune affinities. Remember that if a Power or Form Rune affinity is raised, the value of its opposing affinity must be reduced so that the total equals 100. #### Choosing your Runes Choosing Runes is a complex decision as it influences a lot of things, just be aware that almost all things **flow back down into the personality and roleplay of the character**. For example the Runes are extremely important for casting Rune Spells, but the Rune Spells that you get will be those of your Cult and therefore cast with Runes of that Cult. So if you choose the wrong Runes for your Cult, you will have trouble with your Rune Magic. But a Cult is also made of the people, and they tend to be at least a bit stereotypical (although most cults have at least multiple stereotypes and non-conformists, for example some Ernalda cultists are more Earth and others more Fertility). And they are stereotypical because they mostly share the same Runes, so if you don't share them, you will have trouble being accepted by the community, and higher level Rune Magic and Heroquesting is a lot about community. So sharing personality traits and perspective is also important. It's the same with augments, they are appropriate only if they match the roleplay of the Rune. For example Air is associated with violence and passion, and is appropriate to augment skills in those situations, because your personality is violent and passionate. If you play someone who is more intellectual, thoughtful and wise, you will have trouble with the roleplay needed to get an augment from your Air Rune. All of this to say that **it's more important to get Runes because of personality and intents of roleplaying**, as it will lead into the rightful areas for Cults, Rune Spells, Augments, Community, Heroquesting, etc. than just the Stat bonus. | Rune | Stat | Trait | |:----------------------------:|:----:| ----- | | ![[PK-Rune-Orange-Darkness.png]] | SIZ *or* CHA | Cold, Hungry, Cruel, Patient, Secretive | | ![[PK-Rune-Orange-Water.png]] | DEX *or* CHA | Mercurial, Changeable, Quick, Capricious, Mutable | | ![[PK-Rune-Orange-Earth.png]] | CON *or* CHA | Pragmatic, Practical, Sturdy, Prudent, Worldly, Sensual | | ![[PK-Rune-Orange-Fire.png]] | INT *or* CHA | Pure, Chaste, Intellectual, Idealistic, Perceptive | | ![[PK-Rune-Orange-Air.png]] | STR *or* CHA | Passionate, Violent, Proud, Strong, Unpredictable | | ![[PK-Rune-Orange-Moon_Full.png]] | POW *or* CHA | Liberated, Mystical, Magical, Visionary, Dreamy | | ![[PK-Rune-Orange-Harmony.png]] | INT *or* STR | Social, Cooperative, Empathetic | | ![[PK-Rune-Orange-Disorder.png]] | DEX *or* WILL | Anti-social, Self-centered, Destructive | | ![[PK-Rune-Orange-Stasis.png]] | SIZ *or* POW | Stubborn, Conservative, Traditional | | ![[PK-Rune-Orange-Movement.png]] | POW *or* DEX | Restless, Easily Bored, Adventurous | | ![[PK-Rune-Orange-Truth.png]] | WILL *or* CHA | Honest, Loyal, Disciplined, Inquisitive | | ![[PK-Rune-Orange-Illusion.png]] | CHA *or* INT | Dishonest, Deceptive, Manipulative | | ![[PK-Rune-Orange-Fertility.png]] | CON *or* SIZ | Sexual, Nurturing, Warm | | ![[PK-Rune-Orange-Death.png]] | STR *or* CON | Cold, Stoic, Restrained, Ascetic | | ![[PK-Rune-Orange-Man.png]] | INT *or* WILL | Civilized, Thoughtful, Rational | | ![[PK-Rune-Orange-Beast.png]] | CON *or* SIZ | Instinctual, Wild, Physical | %% | ![[PK-Rune-Orange-Chaos.png]] | - | Malevolent, Corrupt, Corrupting | | ![[PK-Rune-Orange-Dragonewt.png]] | - | Enigmatic, Vague, Seemingly Erratic | | ![[PK-Rune-Orange-Law.png]] | - | Rigid, Inflexible, Judgemental | | ![[PK-Rune-Orange-Spirit.png]] | - | Otherworldly, Deep, Intuitive | | ![[PK-Rune-Orange-Mastery.png]] | - | Commanding, Inspirational. Persuasive | | ![[PK-Rune-Orange-Magic.png]] | - | Cunning, Far-Sighted, Wise | | ![[PK-Rune-Orange-Plant.png]] | - | Quiet, Healthy, Grounded | %% ## Step 4: Characteristics ![[CG - GridFlip RQ - 3d6.png]] Use GridFlip to generate Str, Con, Siz, Dex, Int, Pow, Cha and [[Will]]. And you may allocate 3 additional points to your characteristics, as desired. No human characteristic can total more than 18 after you have allocated these extra points. If you want to test GridFlip for RQ, you can use [this tool](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1UkNzsqdZe3T9MFHZO4_tS-SPv5lypfJixlHltWHmwE0/edit?usp=sharing). **Remember the [[Growing Size]] House Rule for adolescent PCs.** ### Rune Modifiers for the Characteristics ##### 1. Elemental Runes (As per RG:Q) The Runes themselves influence an adventurer’s characteristics, influencing behaviour and development physically, intellectually, spiritually, and even socially. Because of this, each adventurer gets Rune Modifier bonuses to the characteristics corresponding to their primary (highest) and secondary (second-highest) Elemental Rune affinities: * ![[PK-Rune-Orange-Darkness.png]] **Darkness**: SIZ *or* CHA * ![[PK-Rune-Orange-Water.png]] **Water**: DEX *or* CHA * ![[PK-Rune-Orange-Earth.png]] **Earth**: CON *or* CHA * ![[PK-Rune-Orange-Air.png]] **Air**: STR *or* CHA * ![[PK-Rune-Orange-Fire.png]] **Fire/Sky**: INT *or* CHA * ![[PK-Rune-Orange-Moon_Full.png]] **Moon**: POW *or* CHA **Primary Elemental Rune**: +2 to the corresponding characteristic. **Secondary Elemental Rune**: +1 to the corresponding characteristic. Charisma may only be chosen once for a bonus. If there are two Elemental Runes tied as highest, then pick one as primary, and one as secondary. If there are two Elemental Runes tied as second highest, pick one as secondary, and the other has no Rune Modifier. These Rune Modifiers can result in a characteristic above 18. If the primary or secondary Elemental Rune affinity changes, so does the characteristic affected by the bonus. Rune Modifiers to characteristics are only applied during the adventurer creation process: changes to Rune ratings after play begins do not affect characteristics. ##### 2. Power & Form Runes * ![[PK-Rune-Orange-Harmony.png]] **Harmony**: INT *or* STR * ![[PK-Rune-Orange-Disorder.png]] **Disorder**: DEX *or* WILL * ![[PK-Rune-Orange-Stasis.png]] **Stasis**: SIZ *or* POW * ![[PK-Rune-Orange-Movement.png]] **Movement**: POW *or* DEX * ![[PK-Rune-Orange-Truth.png]] **Truth**: WILL *or* CHA * ![[PK-Rune-Orange-Illusion.png]] **Illusion**: CHA *or* INT * ![[PK-Rune-Orange-Fertility.png]] **Fertility**: CON *or* SIZ * ![[PK-Rune-Orange-Death.png]] **Death**: STR *or* CON * ![[PK-Rune-Orange-Man.png]] **Man**: INT *or* WILL * ![[PK-Rune-Orange-Beast.png]] **Beast**: CON *or* SIZ **Each Power or Form Rune Chosen at 75%**: +1 to the corresponding characteristic. This is only after initial allocation, not after the 50 additional points. Any characteristic can only be affected once by a bonus, whether from an Elemental or a Power/Form Rune. If a Power/Form Rune bonus can only affect two characteristics already affected by Elemental Runes, then it is simply not applied. These Rune Modifiers can result in a characteristic above 18. If the primary or secondary Power/Form Rune affinity changes, so does the characteristic affected by the bonus. Rune Modifiers to characteristics are only applied during the adventurer creation process: changes to Rune ratings after play begins do not affect characteristics. ### Skill Base Chance ![[CG - Cultural Skills & Weapons.png]] ## Step 5: Occupation As per the occupation chosen in Step 2. Note that only the **skills**, **standard of living** (from the family) and **passions** are relevant, youngsters have no personal income, no cult (yet) as they are not initiated into any cult, no ransom and no personal equipment. ## Step 6: Cult Skipped. Don’t feel pressure about choosing it early, maybe roleplay in the first sequences will help you decide and we can always backtrack (a bit) on previous choices as long as they did not critically impact the story so far. ## Step 7: Personal Skill Bonuses Skipped. ## Step 8: Other Information Using the information gathered in the prior steps, it’s time to personalize your adventurer, bringing them to life. ### Gender Gloranthans have a range of concepts regarding gender identity. The Orlanthi recognize four sexes (biological male, biological female, neither, and both) and six genders (male roles, female roles, females in male roles, males in female roles, both roles, neither roles). They recognize at least seven types of marriage. There are several polyandrous traditions and polygamy is not unknown. Many Orlanthi heroes married to Ernalda priestesses also have had male lovers (often of the same sex and gender). Their only serious taboo on sexuality involves those that have not been initiated as adults. Nonetheless, some cults are restricted by sex and/or gender. ### Distinctive features or Distinguishing Characteristic ![[CG - Distinctive Features.png]] ###### Alternatively Every character ought to have some Distinguishing Characteristic – a distinctive physical feature that helps describe (or at least distinguish) the character. A Distinguishing Characteristic can be an Ability or Flaw if appropriate. The following list contains examples, but you should feel free to create more: * General: aquiline nose, beetle brow, big ears, big feet, black eyes, blonde hair, bow-legged, braided hair, brown eyes, bulging eyes, bushy eyebrows, calming voice, chiselled features, curly hair, extremely graceful, freckles, full lips, grey eyes, grey hair, green eyes, long hair, loud voice, musical voice, olive skin, one eyebrow, orange eyes, pale skin, piercing glare, radiant hair, raspy voice, raven hair, red hair, rough hands, shifty eyes, short legs, small nose, smiling, straight teeth, weather-beaten skin. * Male: bald, barrel-chested, braided beard, bulging biceps, cannot grow a beard, forked beard, long beard, long moustache, very hairy. * Female: apple faced, buxom, creamy skin, enigmatic smile, extremely long hair, hourglass figure, red mouth. * Flawed Features: brittle-bones (“boneless”), bruises easily, dour, fat, foul breath, hunch back, harsh voice, impotent/infertile, lame, lisp, mottled skin, mousy, pot-bellied, prone to flatulence, slight frame, sneering, stutters, ugly, unusual body odour. ### Name #### Descriptor It's useful to have a general descriptor for tour character, such as "The Vengeful Hunter", "The Winter-born Warrior", "The Fearless Healer", "The Honourable Thane", "The hard-bitten Cattle Raider" or "The Laughing Mercenary" for everyone (you included) to grasp what is essential in the character. ![[CG - Orlanthi Sex and Marriage.png|right]] #### Orlanthi Names Many Orlanthi names combine prefixes and suffixes as per below; the prefixes and suffixes usually relate to the names of gods or ancestors. Use them to create your name or pick a finished name from the lists. Orlanthi identify themselves by the name of a well-known parent (stated with a -son or -dottir). Names often alliterate (start with the same sound) or share a prefixes or suffix from parent to child (Eringulf son of Brolarulf, Harmast son of Hardrinor, Saronil son of Sartar) or from sibling to sibling (Orgar and Orstandel, Fingmanar and Finganvar). #### Males * Prefixes: Andrin, Andror, Avent, Bar(n), Ber(es/ en), Bro, Dar, Der, Des(tor), Din, Enjos, Erin, Fin, Gar(in), Hantra, Har(an), Hed(kor), Hend, Jar(star), Kor(l), Korol, Kul, Lon(d), O(r), Orl, Orst, Orvan, Rasta, Ros, Sar(o), Sen(ren), (S)tark, V(a/e)n, Varan. * Suffixes: ‑alor. ‑(al)des, ‑and, ‑angian, ‑arl, ‑aventus, ‑brast, ‑dath, ‑daral, ‑dovar, ‑drinor, ‑dros, ‑durev, ‑en, ‑estan, ‑fin, ‑gandi, ‑ganvar, ‑gor, ‑gradus, ‑harl, ‑kar, ‑kos, ‑(l/v)anth, ‑lakar, ‑larant, ‑(l)or, ‑makt, ‑manar, ‑(m)arl, ‑mast, ‑niskis, ‑onil, ‑orth, ‑rik, ‑rolar, ‑serian, ‑staval, ‑tand, ‑tar, ‑(g/l)ulf, ‑veste, ‑venos, ‑vil. * Male Names: Andrin, Argrath, Aslandar, Ashart, Broyan, Dorasor, Farnan, Harmast, Gringle, Jarstakos, Kalf, Maniski, Ortossi, Robasart, Saronil, Sarotar, Tarkalor, Venharl. It is common for men to take the name of gods or heroes (Barntar, Durev, Elmal, Harmast, Hendrik, Heort, Orlanth, Silkinister, etc), great kings (Hofstaring, Saronil, Tarkalor) or of ancestors (Garan, Korlmar, Ulanin, Straval, etc) as a prefix or suffix. #### Females * Prefixes: A(r), Dara, Ent, Erin, Ernal(da), Esra, Esrol, Har, Ivarn, Jareen, Jarnarn, Jen, Kall, Ken, Leika, Lon(d), Mern, Natal, Ondur, Onel, Oran, Sen(ren), Yan, Yerest. * Suffixes: ‑a, ‑ala, ‑ale, ‑arios, ‑(er)landa, ‑(d)essa, ‑(d)estra, ‑(d)inna, ‑(d)rella, ‑(d)urisa, ‑(i/y)r, ‑ran(d)a, ‑renava, ‑sin, ‑sulva, ‑vale * Names: Beneva, Berra, Dorasa, Dushi, Erissa, Erynn, Insterid, Ivarne, Jareen, Kallyr, Leika, Lismelder, Morganeth, Onelisen, Sora, Yanioth. It is common for women to take the name of goddesses or heroes (Ernalda, Ivarne, Kev, Uralda, Voria, etc) or of ancestors (Orgorvale, Serias, Vestene, etc) as a prefix or suffix. #### Nicknames It is common for Heortlings to have nicknames too. Some nicknames are poetic, others are prosaic. Some are badges of honor, others of mockery and ridicule. A nickname should reflect an ability or a past event that you choose for your player character. A Distinguishing Characteristic is a good source of a nickname and should be put on your character sheet. Examples: Bald, Barefoot, Belly-Laugh, Dour, Glum, Greybeard, Handsome, Hairy, Long-nose, Lucky, Many-Kin, Red, Raven-Tresses, Restless, Short, Strong, Sure-handed, Swift, Swimmer, Tall, Troublesome Poet, Unadvised, Ugly, Wideread. ### Appearance The Orlanthi are a hardy people with black, brown, or reddish hair, and olive skin. Their eyes are green, brown, grey or orange. Men and women grow their hair long; men often grow beards and moustaches. Women’s hair is usually uncovered and can be worn loose, braided or tied up in a bun. Women, and to a lesser extent men, use kohl and other pigments to outline their eyes and lips. Both genders are tattooed with markings of clan, cult initiation and other symbols of magical importance. ### Age, and Year Born Your adventurer is assumed to be 14 or 15 years old, born in 1602. To determine the specific season, week, and day of birth, you can follow this procedure: * Season: The highest rated Elemental Rune is your season of birth. If Moon is the highest rated, use the season that corresponds to your second-highest rated Elemental Rune. * Week: Your highest rated Power Rune corresponds to the week within that season. If you have two equally high Power Runes, pick one. * Day: Roll 1D8 to determine what the day of the week your adventurer was born: |D8|Day| |---|---| |1|Freezeday| |2|Waterday| |3|Clayday| |4|Windsday| |5|Fireday| |6|Wildday| |7|Godsday| |8|Roll again or pick a day| ### Handedness All adventurers are assumed to be right-handed unless the player chooses for them to be left-handed. Left-handedness is associated with dragons (dragonewts are all left-handed) and considered unlucky. ### Scars Some background results yield one or more impressive scars. You can pick the location and nature of these scars, based on their origin, or the gamemaster might make suitable suggestions. If in doubt, use the hit location table to determine where the scar is located on your adventurer’s body. ### Family You should choose names from the Homeland list for your adventurer’s father’s name and for your adventurer’s mother’s name. You can do the same with any siblings or other kin created in Step 2, or just wait until later to name them. #### Village or Stead or Cottar ? Your character may come from the village (important family), be a cottar (if low born), or from one of the 12 steads of the valley: 1. **Vale Gate**, named for its proximity to the Palisade at the entrance of the Vale. While all clan militia can be assigned to the Palisade, by tradition the youths and vingans of Vale Gate always have guard duty there. 2. **Twin Stones**, named for a pair of nearly identical standing stones about 15 meters from the stead. Legend says these were a pair of twin brothers who bickered and quarrelled so often they were turned to stone by their furious mother, an Earth priestess. Mothers bring their children here to show them the stones and tell them the story if they argue with their siblings too much. 3. **Bear Fallen**, named for Dordath Bear Fallen, an Odalyan hunter who spent years pursuing an elusive brown bear that terrorized the Vale. When he caught the bear, the legend goes, she assumed human form and he was smitten. He built the stead for her, married her, and thereafter she terrorized only him. Throughout the Vale, “the bear got him” is slang for “he has gotten married.” 4. **Red Rock,** named for the curious reddish stain that covers the sheer cliff face of Kagradus behind the stead. This stain is 100 meters high and 30-40 wide. Legend has it that it was the blood of a giant slain there. Young men and vingans sometimes chip a piece of this stone away and carry the “red rock” for courage. 5. **Cliff Shield**, named for a massive (150m diameter) round depression in the foot of Quivin behind the stead. It looks like a titanic shield was carved and removed from the stone. 6. **Riddle Watch.** It is generally assumed this stead was named as it watches over the Riddle and protects it. If the real reason was ever different, by the Third Age the reason for the name has passed from memory of all save the Earth priestesses. 7. **Hill Base,** named for its position at the foot of Stag Hill. It is one of the largest and wealthiest steads in the Vale, with the most cattle and hides. 8. **River Bend,** named for obvious reasons this is the only other stead that can contend with Hill Base for land, cattle, and wealth. A (mostly) friendly rivalry has existed between the two for centuries. 9. **White Bark,** named for the woods that cover the mountain slopes behind it. While most of the surrounding forests are pine, spruce, maple, and ash, only here is the entire wood white birch. 10. **Twice Blessed,** while there is no specific story how the stead got its name, the soil at Twice Blessed is inexplicably the richest and most bountiful every harvest, leading other steads to grumble how they are “twice blessed” there. 11. **Glass Cave,** named for the Glass Cave just about 250 meters away up the slopes of Kagradus. This small cavern has to be crawled into on hands and feet, but the entry opens into a geode some 10m in diameter. It is said if you bring a lamp and spend the night, any dream you dream in the Glass Cave is a true one. 12. **High Water,** named for its proximity to High Deer. From the stead, the sound of the falls can be heard year round, save Dark Season when the falls occasionally freeze. ### Tribe, City, and Clan All characters are members of the Svarthjort Clan of the Colymar Tribe. ### Faction Your clan politics is personal and factional. The factions are not organized groupings with regular meetings or memberships but are alliances of like-minded people. Their leaders might be members of the ring, but sometimes hold no other position and qualify only by their passion for the cause and willingness to cajole and persuade their neighbours. Clan-folk do not use these names, they know their kin’s political viewpoints. The labels are provided solely as a player convenience. At the beginning of the campaign, the player characters are not really a member of a faction as they are not even yet adults, it just reflects their burgeoning views. * The **Free Sartar** faction keeps the flame of Sartar alive. Their numbers include supporters of the rebellion and guerrilla fighters against the Empire. Many are loyal to Kallyr Starbrow and fervent in opposition to the Empire. They seek to punish the Moon Winds, and liberate Sartar. * The **Eye of the Hurricane** faction is isolationist, believing that involvement in the politics of the kingdom only leads to suffering. Though the tempest blows all around, they know all storms eventually blow out. They are the faction that refuses to talk of the Hero Wars and keep the troubles of the world outside. They want to raise families and cattle in peace and seek a peaceful accommodation with the Empire. * The **Conquering Storm** dreams of settling old scores. They are angry at the tradition of Svarthjort payment of tribute to the Colymar, and demand that the clan continue to refuse to pay it. They want to keep the Colymar split and weak. This faction has long memories for old feuds and slights and contains many of the clan’s traditionalists. * The **Wolfskinners** hate and fear the Telmori above all else. They do not trust Kallyr Starbrow, as they fear that Kallyr would give the werewolves official land, in return for their support in the Hero Wars. They worry that the Telmori would exploit conflict with the Empire to fall upon the tribes in the valley. With every decision the question for this group is, does it help us in the struggle with the Telmori? * The **Moon Winds** faction has converted to worship of the Red Goddess, usually through the Seven Mothers. They seek closer ties to the Empire pointing to the material and cultural benefits coming from embracing the Lunar Way. ### Family Heirloom Each beginning adventurer may roll once on the Family Heirlooms table to find one additional valuable and colourful possession. Make up the where and why of this if necessary. If you decide you don’t want the item provided, ignore it, or you can try to sell it once play begins (if appropriate). ![[CG - Family Heirloom.webp]] ### Initial Equipment None, you usually take what you need from your stead for your daily activities, but you might have something that you specifically inherited from a grandparent or parent, like a healer’s satchel or even a weapon. ### Finishing Touches Background is often an important part of a character, but this is the least quantifiable in game rules. Try to come up with elements of experience or identity that drive your character, asking some simple questions such as any of the following: * What tragedies and successes have they experienced? * Where did they grow up? * Who was the most influential person in their life? * Who are their family? Are their parents still alive? * Are they in love? Are or were they married? Children? * Are they happy in life? * Do they have many friends? * How about enemies? * What do they want to achieve? You can examine your character sheet and reflect on the choices you’ve made during character creation. Perhaps some of the skills indicate a personality type, such as studious, eclectic, violent, or some other such adjective. You might try to find the character’s ‘voice’, or some other means of expression that makes them come alive at the gaming table. Not everyone wants to be a method actor, though, and don’t feel that you need to come to the table with an in-depth personality and back-story for your character. Some of that will come during the roleplaying experience, and some of it will come naturally as your character is faced with adventure and adversity. The hard part is over—now the fun can begin! # References [[BARFLIP.pdf]] / [[GRIDFLIP.pdf]] #RQ