Wine, Waves and War Character Creation Rules

There will be three factors to character creation: Age, Aspect and Relationships.

Dynast Characters

Dynast characters begin with:

• Attributes 7/6/4
• Abilities 35 (5 Aspect, 3 Favored)
• Ability Specialties: 4
• Backgrounds 12
  • Dynast characters have access to the following Backgrounds: Allies, Arsenal, Artifact (improved), Backing, Breeding (improved), Command, Connections, Familiar, Henchmen, Manse (improved), Mentor, Reputation, Resources, Retainers. Dynasts may not take the following Backgrounds: Contacts (use Connections), Cult, Followers (use Command, Henchmen or Retainers), Influence (use Connections)
• Charms 7 (4 must be Aspect or Favored; Immaculate martial artists begin with 5 Charms)
• Virtues 5
• Willpower 5
• Bonus Points 18

Ability Requirements

Dynast characters must have the following Abilities:

• Archery 1
• Lore 2
• Martial Arts 1
• Melee 1
• Performance 1
• Presence 1
• Ride 1
• Socialize 2
• War 1

Dynast characters who want to have graduated from one of the four Secondary Academies of the Empire (or one of the two schools for incorrigible Dynasts) must fulfill the following requirements in addition to the above:

• The Cloister of Wisdom: The religious academy intended to teach Dynasts self-control, respect for their status and piety. Must have Martial Arts 3, Integrity 2, Medicine 2, Resistance 2. Gain a free Martial Arts Specialty and a dot in Connections (Cloister of Wisdom) Background.
• The House of Bells: The martial academy that teaches its students the arts of war, both personal and on the battlefield. Must have War 3, Presence 3. Gain a free dot in Command and a dot in Connections (House of Bells) Background.
• The Heptagram: The foremost school of occult lore, thaumaturgy and sorcery in the Blessed Isle. Must have Occult 3, Lore 3, Linguistics 1 (Old Realm). Gain a free Occult specialty and a dot in Connections (Heptagram) Background.
• The Spiral Academy: An academy dedicated to teaching its students to be bureaucrats, ministers, magistrates and governors. Must have Bureaucracy 3, Investigation 1, Linguistics 3. Gain a free dot in Resources and a dot in Connections (Spiral Academy) Background.
• The House of Ancient Stone: An agricultural academy that is more akin to a work camp than a school. Must have Bureaucracy 2, Lore 2, Occult 1. Gain a free dot in Connections (House of Ancient Stone) Background.
• The Palace of the Tamed Storm: A place of casual cruelty and harsh punishment whose students learn that the only way to survive is to learn cunning and charm both, hiding their schemes behind smiles and polite facades. Must have Larceny 3, Socialize 2. Gain a free dot in Connections (Palace of the Tamed Storm) Background.

Background Requirements

• V'neef-born Dynasts must also have 3 dots in the Breeding Background.

Bonuses

All characters associated with House V'neef also gain 2 dots of Resources for free.

Outcaste Characters

Outcaste characters begin with:

• Attributes 7/6/4
• Abilities 25 (5 Aspect, 3 Favored)
• Ability Specialties: 4
• Backgrounds 7
  • Outcaste characters have access to the following Backgrounds: Allies, Artifact, Backing, Breeding, Contacts, Cult (rare), Familiar, Followers, Influence, Manse, Mentor, Resources.
• Charms 7 (4 must be Aspect or Favored; Immaculate martial artists begin with 5 Charms)
• Virtues 5
• Willpower 5
• Bonus Points 18. All characters associated with House V'neef also gain 2 dots of Resources for free.

Bonuses

All characters associated with House V'neef also gain 2 dots of Resources for free.

Age

Half of the PCs will be young Exalts of starting player character age, reflecting the younger children and grandchildren of V'neef.

• Older characters begin with more Experience, reflecting the older children of V'neef and their spouses. These characters have been Exalts for roughly 20 years, granting them:
  • 80 xp for use in buying Charms and Combos
  • 60 xp for purchasing Abilities, Specialties and Backgrounds
  • 40 xp for purchasing Attributes and Virtues
  • 20 xp for purchasing Essence and Willpower.

Aspect

Half of the PCs will be direct descendants of V'neef (and as such, Wood-aspected). The other half can be spouses or grandchildren with different Aspects.

Relationships

Relationships between the PCs should be established, as well. Ideally, I would like at least one set of each of these:

• Siblings
• Spouses
• Parent & Child

Why You're Here

Your character may be in any of the settlements of the Great Southern Hills, as detailed below. Here are some typical reasons why this might be so.

• Satrap: An Exalt of sufficient influence may occupy the position of Satrap of the Varang City-States. (Requires ratings in Backing, Command, Connections and Resources)
• Merchant Fleetsman: Others may be tied to the V'neef Merchant Fleet. (Requires ratings in Backing, Command, Connections and Resources)
• Vintner: Yet others of the House may be in the Threshold overseeing one of the many vast wineries owned by House V'neef. (Requires ratings in Backing and Connections)
• Vacation: Whether enjoying a honeymoon, a safari-style hunting trip, a well-deserved vacation from the Blessed Isle's intrigues, an extended healing rest or a tour through the Threshold just after graduation from one of the major academies of the Dragon-Blooded, the PC is here to enjoy him or herself.
• Banishment: Scandal sometimes builds up a little too much on the Blessed Isle, where everyone knows what everyone else is doing. Times like those call for a bit of a retreat from society, and the Threshold is perfect for that.
• Official Business: Exalts tied to certain organizations in the Empire may be in the Threshold tending to their duties in that capacity, whether as spies and operatives, missionaries or factotums.