Character Generation

Abilities • Ability Ranks • Race Selection • Points to Spend • Merits • Flaws & Advantages

How Do I Make a Character?

TI 9.1 has some revised character generation rules, based on those designed for Season 10.  This will be their trial run so please bear with any oddities, and do make sure to share your thoughts about weaknesses or potential improvements.

Before jumping into the gritty details, remember that one of the goals of 9.1 is to create characters that can become interesting NPCs in a future full season.  Keep this in mind when imagining the abilities and back-story of your character, as you may want to follow a different style of development or story arc than for a regular player character.

One final note: no experience points will be awarded for characters this season, the miniseries will be too short for that.  Instead, you will receive a few bonus points during character generation to ensure that your character is sufficiently powerful to make waves in the TI universe right from the start.

Abilities

The five basic character abilities have not changed.  They are:

• Combat: The ease with which your character can shoot and/or beat people up.
• Strategy: How good your character is at managing plans and prevailing in contests of wits.
• Magic: The ability of your character to bend reality to his will, consciously or not.
• Social: Your character's ability to persuade and influence others.
• Intelligence: Your character's raw intellect and knowledge.

Ability Ranks

Ability scores now range from 0-20 in order to allow for more variation among high-level characters.  The progression within any particular ability may be summarized as follows:

•        0: No aptitude.  With a 0 in Combat, a character cannot swing a flyswatter.  With a 0 in Intelligence, a character cannot think.  0 is not an acceptable score for any ability except Magic.
•     1-2: Low aptitude.  The average highschool student will outperform your character in this ability.
•     3-5: Average aptitude.  Your character's ability is within the range of most ordinary people.
•     6-8: Exceptional aptitude.  Your character can comfortably defeat most everyone he challenges using this ability.  Only other characters of notable skill will prove difficult.
•   9-10: Mastery.  Your character deserves recognition as a master of his field in this ability.  At this point, only certain established NPCs could dependably beat the character.
• 11-15: Epic mastery.  Your character is better at this ability than all but a handful of people who have ever lived.  There may be one or two NPCs who can still beat the character, but it will be a fight they remember.
• 16-20: Godhood.  Your character is the best in the universe at this ability, or else close to stealing a previous god's mantle.  A character of this rank in Combat may defeat armies without being seen to sweat.  A mage of this ability is probably one of the legendary Oracles.

Note that, during character creation, you may not raise an ability score above rank 10.  The higher ranks are meant for experienced player characters and NPCs.  Since we are not dealing with experience points in the miniseries, your character will not have this option.

Race Selection

The basic character template starts with no merits and a rank of 1 in each ability score.  Each potential character race then has a different set of modifiers which are applied to these basic stats.  The same races are available in 9.1 as were in previous seasons.  They have the following modifiers:

• Human: +1 Social, permanent 0 in Magic, +9 merit points
• Vampire: +1 Combat, +1 Magic, +1 Intelligence
• Ghoul: +1 Combat, +4 merit points
• Caal: +1 Magic, +2 Intelligence
• Human Mage: +2 Magic, +1 Social
• Horadrim: +1 Combat, +1 Magic, +1 Strategy
• K'Nes: +2 Social, +2 merit points
• Jurvain: +1 Strategy, +1 Intelligence, +2 merit points
• Werecreature: +2 Combat, +1 Magic

Points to Spend

After applying the racial bonuses, every player receives a few extra points with which to buy ability ranks or merits.  These are:

• 10 ability points
• 10 merit points
• 15 bonus points which may be spent as ability or merit points in any combination

Remember to spend any extra merit points that you may receive as part of your racial bonus!

Merits

Merits are external advantages that a character may call upon (as opposed to the internal advantages of abilities).  Things like money, titles, or slaves are merits.  The standard merits and their point costs are as follows:

Political Influence: Deference given to a character by various factions.

• 1 point:   Regional.  Of course you can build your lair inside that volcano.
• 2 points: Planetary.  You want us to let a ship through the orbital defense grid?  No problem.
• 3 points: Upper level.  The Admiral thought you might like to have the fleet escort you to the next system.

Political Power: Direct personal control within a government.  May also come with actual responsibilities.

• 2 points: Regional.  The keys to the city.  And the city's taxes.
• 4 points: Planetary.  Who needs to be the Duke of Minos when you're the one raising his armies?
• 6 points: Upper level.  When you decide who transits the Imperial hyperspace network, the whole galaxy pays you kickbacks.

Military Rank: An actual commission in the military service of your choice.

• 1 point:  Captain / Lieutenant
• 2 points: Major / Lieutenant Commander
• 3 points: Lieutenant Colonel / Commander
• 4 points: Colonel / Captain
• 5 points: Brigadier / Commodore

Military Unit: A military commission and the operational unit to go with it!

• 2 points: Captain of a Company (100 soldiers)
• 3 points: Major of a Company (100 soldiers) / Lieutenant Commander of a Fighter Squadron (12 fighters)
• 5 points: Lieutenant Colonel of a Battalion (300 soldiers) / Lieutenant Commander of a Fighter Wing (36 fighters)
• 7 points: Colonel of a Regiment (1,000 soldiers) / Captain of a Gunboat Squadron (6 gunboats)
• 9 points: Brigadier of a Brigade (3,000 soldiers) / Commodore of a Destroyer Squadron (3 destroyers)

Personal Strike Group: A special forces team under your personal command.

• 1 point:  Squad (12 soldiers)
• 2 points: Platoon (3 squads)
• 3 points: Lance (2 platoons)
  
  

Industry or Business: The profits of a sizeable corporation accrue to your bank account and you may gain some useful information.  But beware of regulation and competition.

• 1 point:  Small industry with a limited market or single-planet operations.
• 3 points: Medium industry with a few products or selling to a couple systems.
• 5 points: Large industry marketing a brand known throughout the galaxy.

Black Market and Organized Crime: Same as a legal business, but with more people trying to arrest and/or kill you.

• 1 point:   Local pusher or fence.  The cops might shake you down occasionally if you haven't kept up with your bribes.
• 2 points: You're the end distributor for a smuggling ring or the regional boss of the planetary crime syndicate.  Enjoy the tax-free earnings, but don't let your guard down.
• 3 points: You manage the smuggling ring or crime syndicate, hopefully at a distance.  If the government doesn't want you dead, it's probably because you're working for them under the table.
  
  

Membership: You're a member of a political party or other private association.  This gives you some benefits short of full control, but also comes with responsibilities.

• 1 point:  Minor organization.  You're a local union organizer, church mission coordinator, or girl scout troop leader.
• 2 points: Major organization.  Operations director of a revolutionary political party, captain of the reserve militia, or a buccaneer in the Corsairs.
• 3 points: Key organization.  Sabbat bishop, member of a Duke's household staff, or trade representative for a K'Nes planetary Llan.
  
  

Leadership: You control a political party or other private association.  This may let you wield significant power, but remember that your people are counting on you.  x2 cost to supply your members with military or other special equipment.

• 1 point:  Small organization of about 50 people.  You run a cult in your basement made up of the friends you met at summer camp.
• 2 points: Moderate organization of a few hundred people.  The local government is probably keeping an eye on the revolutionary party you're building.
• 3 points: Large organization of thousands.  When you call your lieutenants to action, they will bring hordes of your followers onto the streets.
  
  

Special Project: You manage a special project for a government or organization.  This may be a weapons research program, or something more sinister.  Usually, but not necessarily, secret.

• 1 point:   Large project.  Your project is a major plank of your superiors' strategy, and they have invested significant resources to ensure you succeed.  This may be a revolutionary warship or weapon design, medical experimentation, of reverse engineering alien technology.
• 3 points: Game-changer project.  Your company or planetary government has spent all of its assets to fund your project, and your success is critical to their future survival.  You are experimenting with Forces Man Was Not Meant to Know, and will either change the balance of power if you succeed, or else die a horrific death due to your own hubris.
• 5 points: Galactic Mega-project.  Multiple megacorporations and Imperial houses have built you a laboratory outside of settled space to allow you to pursue your project in absolute secrecy.  If the public learned what you were doing, all the established star nations would stop fighting and ally at once in order to destroy you and eliminate all trace of your knowledge.  If you can beat the clock and the inevitable assassins your work may render hyperspace obsolete, allow Humanity to ascend to a higher plane of existence, or teach the Bugs to love.

Money: You have substantial savings, some of it in hard currency.

• 1 point:  250,000 crowns.  50,000 on demand.
• 2 points: 1,000,000 crowns.  200,000 on demand.
• 3 points: 5,000,000 crowns. 750,000 on demand.
• 4 points: 10,000,000 crowns.  1,250,000 on demand.
• 5 points: 100,000,000 crowns.  10,000,000 on demand.

Civilian Spacecraft: A personal transport among star systems.  Full crew included.  Light armaments might clear space debris or discourage pirates, but don't take these into a fight and expect them to survive.

• 1 point:  Tiny vessel.  A personal yacht or cargo shuttle.
• 2 points: Small vessel.  A tramp freighter or passenger liner.
• 3 points: Medium vessel.  A standard freighter or long-distance transport.
• 4 points: Large vessel.  A super-freighter or luxury cruise liner.
• 5 points: Enormous vessel.  A heighliner or mobile factory.

Warship: A ship with military grade weapons and armor.  Standard equipment for pirates, privateers, and naval captains.  Operated by your very own crew of sailors or cutthroats.

• 1 point:  Fighter.
• 2 points: Gunboat or Light Attack Craft.
• 3 points: Frigate.
• 4 points: Light Cruiser.

Items: One of your personal possessions is a powerful magickal artifact or technological device.

• 1 point:  Simple item.  Invisibility ring, returning throwing dagger, or talking recon drone.
• 3 points: Major item.  Your average flaming sword, golem butler, or pocket aerodyne.
• 5 points: Powerful item.  The Sword of Omens, a bootleg Soul Web, or a vial of Mordred's blood.
• 8 points: Legendary item.  Excalibur (the Orb), Kuar, or Lwan Eddington's pickled head.

Contacts: Information flows to you from a wide network of sources.

• 1 point:  Regional contacts.
• 2 points: Planetary contacts.
• 3 points: Sector-wide contacts.
• 5 points: Galaxy-spanning contacts.
  
  

Allies: Someone who shares your interests or goals.  The strength of their loyalty depends upon the price.  x1 cost for an associate with their own agenda, x2 for a friend who likes you well enough, x3 for a good friend who'll never abandon you, x4 for a blood brother who'll die in your stead.

• 1 point:  Small timers.  Colony chiefs, freighter captains, corporate managers.  Limited, but not helpless.
• 2 points: Notables.  Warship captains, brigade commanders, directors of large corporations.  People who can open doors for you, or maybe knock them down.
• 3 points: Big leagues.  Dukes, Admirals, and Field Marshals.  When these people speak, the galaxy listens.
  
  

Slave: That may not be the legal term for it these days, but thanks to blackmail, extortion, or simple intimidation you own someone.  Be careful to never give them an opportunity to change that relationship.

•   2 points: Nobody important.  Just some poor schmuck from the street under your absolute control.  Why even bother learning a name?
•   3 points: Minor functionary.  Local potentate or an officer on a warship.  Some small influence and resources beyond what you provide.
•   6 points: Bigger fish.  Starship captain, station commander, maybe even a junior minister in the Imperial bureaucracy.  Could be a political force to be reckoned with if they weren't using all their influence for your benefit.
• 10 points: Top of the food chain.  A general, a prince, a fleet lord.  Someone in lofty places, and probably desperate to make sure you don't take it all away.

Henchmen: You employ a few NPCs of average ability.

• 1 point  per 5 henchmen.

Flaws and other Attributes

Merit points may also be spent or gained from other inherent character attributes.  These will require special consideration and approval by the moderator, but just about anything should be possible, for the right price.

Some examples of positive attributes may be:

• Cybernetic (5 points) - mechanical augmentations temporarily boost an ability score.
• Poison Immunity (3 points) - genetic re-engineering lets you shrug off most toxins.
• Eidetic memory (2 points) - remember anything with photographic precision.
• Night vision (1 point)- see clearly in the dark.

It is also possible to give your character Flaws, which weaken the character in some way, in exchange for bonus points to spend on attributes or other merits.

Some possible flaws might be:

• Blind/Deaf (+5 points) - Entirely lose the use of a major sense.
• Crippled (+4 points) - Your movement is seriously impaired by the loss of a limb or other physical disability.
• Addiction (+1-3 points) - Your character needs some substance in order to live or function normally.  Side-effects and the difficulty of acquiring the substance may increase the bonus.
• Mute (+2 points) - Your character is incapable of communicating with others.
• Disfigured (+1 point) - Scars or unfortunate birth cause your character to repulse others.

That's everything!  Contact the moderator or post on the web forum if you have any questions.  Remember to have your character proposal submitted by August 15.  Have fun!