Character Creation

The main steps of creating your character are outlined below in the general order you should follow. Additional clarifying details, such as equipment details, can be found on their respective pages.

Character creation for Ame no Woto is a hopefully quick and easy process: this is an RPG that aims to focus more on character progression as the adventure goes on than what you are capable of at level 1: XP is weighted in such a way that the first few levels go by quickly and give you a good framework to make a gameplay and roleplay build out of. The full process of character creation is outlined here and more fully detailed below; if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

  1. Choose your Background: this is the basis of who your character is, with some stat adjustments, skill assignments, and a unique ability. These can direct your character, but are not as restrictive and defining as RPG classes usually go.

  2. Define your Primary Statistics: use the stat array given below and add your Background's bonuses to it. Specialisation and generalisation are equally valid options.

  3. Determine your Secondary Statistics: using your Background's modifiers and your allocation in the last step, derive your Secondary stats from your Primary stats.

  4. Choose your Skills and Tools: depending on your Background, you have a base set of Skills to choose from, and depending on your Intelligence modifier you can add further Skills or Tool proficiencies that you think might be useful or interesting.

  5. Pick a starting Perk and Equipment: you have one Perk Point to spend on any perk you meet the prerequisites for. You also can choose an equipment preset pack (or hard cash) and use however much money your Background gives you to buy additional items.

  6. (Optional) Choose a Trait: if you want, you can give yourself one Trait from the respective page. These are completely optional, and meant to offer small bonuses with equivalent drawbacks in order to play around with builds and add some texture to your character. You can also skip this and just...

  7. Add Flavour: the final step, give your character some biography and motivations for why they want to join the potentially deadly expedition they're about to embark on. Also give them some physical/psychological details and a character portrait snagged off Danbooru or Pinterest - go wild, and have fun.

Backgrounds

Artisan
Artist
Chemic
Cleric
Criminal
Dalefolk
Logger
Merchant
Miner
Noble
Pauper
Peasant
Peregrine
Performer
Ranger
Sailor
Scholar
Soldier

Your background defines who you are and where you come from, but the finer details are up to you. Each background will grant a few small bonuses along with a basic skill, tool, and equipment allotment. First think of the kind of character you'd like to play, and then look through the backgrounds to see what will most help bring your idea to life.

This is just a sample list of the backgrounds available to choose from; the full details for each are at Backgrounds. If you would like a background that is not covered by any of the above, one can be made to order.

Primary Statistics

Physique

This is a measure of your raw physical capabilities: strength and endurance combined. It determines your Health, as well as how much damage you deal with melee and some ranged weapons. While higher Physique grants a higher carrying capacity, it also means you weigh more. Low Physique gives you a lighter build.

Psyche

Your mental fortitude and intuition. A high Psyche score means that you're more in tune with your emotional state, and determines your Will and mental defence. It is also helpful when interacting with ancient technology and using drugs.

Perception

The strength of your five senses, especially sight and hearing. Perception is mainly used for attack rolls with ranged weapons, but also improves your ability to sense hidden creatures and objects.

Intelligence

This is your capacity for learning, intellectual comprehension, and memory rolled into one. Intelligence determines your number of skill points/languages and can be useful in games of skill like chess.

Charisma

How much people like to be around you, and your influence over them. With high Charisma your words have a greater impact on people, for good or ill, and others naturally trust you more and might even be willing to do things for you.

Agility

Your dexterity, mobility, and reaction speed. Your Initiative is based on Agility, as is your Resistance, and it generally helps you avoid damage and other trouble.

These are the building blocks of your abilities, determining your strengths and weaknesses in many other related fields, as well as your perk eligibility. Your opportunities to increase these stats are fairly rare, limited mostly to bonuses from equipment and perks, so pick a spread of stats that best reflects the general kind of character you want to play from the first session. Use the array given here to determine your stats, in any order you prefer:

16, 16, 15, 13, 11, 8

How high or low each stat is determines its modifier. This is equal to 1/2 however much higher or lower than 10 the respective stat is, rounded down if higher or up if lower, so a score of 16 would mean a +3 modifier for that stat, while a 9 would be a -1 modifier.

Secondary Statistics

Health

How much damage you can take before falling unconscious and entering a dying state. Calculated as 1d8 + your Physique modifier per level. For your first level, it is 8 + your Physique modifier.

Will

How much mental damage you can take before going catatonic and entering a trauma state. Calculated as 1d4 + your Psyche modifier per level. For your first level, it is 4 + your Psyche modifier.

Armour Class

Your ability to avoid attacks targeting you. Calculated as 12 + your Agility modifier; an attack roll must exceed this number in order to hit.

Skill Points

How many points per level you can invest in various skills and proficiencies. Calculated as 3 + your Intelligence modifier, or 6 + twice your Intelligence modifier for your first level.

Carry Weight

How much you can carry in total. Calculated as 50 x your Physique modifier, with a minimum of 50. Measured in pounds.

Movement Speed

How far you can move on your turn, in feet. For Medium-size humanoids, it is 30 feet.

Your secondary statistics are derived from your primary stats above, and are much more malleable: you will see them change based on your equipment and perks throughout your adventure.

There are also two other minor, flavourful statistics based on your primary stats as well: your height and weight. Using a base height of 150cm, add 2d6*[1+Physique modifier]. To calculate your weight, use a base of 40kg, then add 4d6*[1+Physique modifier]. This is optional, and you can reroll these as many times as you'd like before you're finished character creation.

Skills

Acrobatics - AGI

How well you can perform precise manoeuvres like fitting into small spaces, rolling to cushion a fall, or escaping restraints.

Animalia - CHA

Your knowledge of and ability to communicate with animals of all kinds, except for sapient creatures like humans.

Athletics - STR

How well you can jump, climb, swim, wrestle, etc.

Authority - CHA

How well you can get others to follow or obey you, from giving commands to violent intimidation.

Barter - CHA

Your ability to haggle prices and present goods and services as worth more or less.

Esoterica - PSY

Your intuitive knowledge of obscure and ancient things, as well as your ability to comprehend and make use of unknown technologies and ancient creations.

Insight - PSY

Your sixth sense, determining how well you can tell if someone's lying, their behavioural patterns, and their fighting style.

Investigation - PER

How well you can figure out and spot clues or helpful objects or features in a room or broad area, search documents for useful information, and general logical thinking.

Legerdemain - AGI

Dexterous skill at concealing objects, filching from the pockets of others, or planting things on people without being noticed. Alternately, for doing magic tricks.

Lore - INT

Your learned knowledge of traditional subjects: history, religious practises, geography, physical sciences, and nature.

Medicine - INT

Your ability to diagnose and treat wounds and illnesses.

Performance - CHA

Your skill at various performing arts of your choice, from the complex social dances of the noble class to musical instruments and song.

Rhetoric - CHA

Your ability to make a good argument and persuade others regardless of whether you are telling the truth or lying, as well as your conversational charm.

Savoir Faire - INT

Your urban survival skills and know-how, such as finding who's who in a city, where the good trade is, the best ways to get around without detection, and so on.

Sneak - AGI

Your ability to stay hidden from sight while still or while moving, as well as keeping quiet and avoiding being tracked.

Survival - PSY

Your ability to stay alive and thrive in wilderness conditions, including hunting, tracking, finding water, making shelter, and similar tasks.

Skills represent the main ways through which you navigate and investigate the world. At character creation you are assigned a certain number of Skill points based on your Intelligence, with initial Skill proficiencies based on your background. Skills are also subject to a modifier based on the Primary Statistic they are tied to, listed alongside each Skill. Certain backgrounds also give bonus modifiers to certain Skills.

You can invest a number of points into each Skill up to half your level (rounded up) + 1, before any other modifiers are added on top. All Skills start at 0 regardless of proficiency, but upon gaining a level you can invest two Skill points into a Skill you are not proficient in, "buying" proficiency along with one point in that Skill. If you have leftover Skill points after levelling up, the unspent points stay banked until your next level up.

Tools and Trades

Artisan's Tools

A variety of tools, devices, and knowledge to perform a specific trade: gunsmithing, carpentry, calligraphy, brewing, glassmaking, sewing, painting, leatherworking, and many others. You can take this proficiency multiple times for multiple trades.

Art Supplies

The necessary implements for an artist of any kind to ply their ancient trade: depending on your specialty this may include ink, quills, and paper, an easel, brushes, and paints, or chisels and mallets.

Chemic's Supplies

Beakers, liquid elements, a small burner, and other various tools to concoct various chemical elixirs, all bundled up in a secure briefcase.

Cooking Supplies

A set of tools and know-how to transform ingredients - edible or inedible - into something nourishing and hopefully delicious.

Disguise Kit

A set of makeup, clothing, and accessories commonly in the possession of both criminals and actors. One kit can contain one disguise, to pass yourself off as a member of a social group, class, or profession.

Forgery Kit

Tools used for forging documents, replicating signatures, and copying seals.

Instrument (Type)

A musical instrument you're skilled with. You can take this proficiency multiple times for multiple instruments.

Poisoner's Kit

A set of tools and know-how to extract poisons and toxins from plants and animals and synthesise them into a useful form.

Thieves' Tools

A set of tools used to pick locks, surreptitiously break and enter, and assemble or dissemble traps.

Tools are essentially like Skills but for specific occupations or tasks. Your Background will grant you one or more Tool proficiencies for free and at character creation you can select as many others as you'd like for one Skill point each. Every level after, you can buy Tool or weapon proficiencies for two Skill points. Unlike Skills however, Tools do not require further investment, and you cannot use a Tool unless you are proficient in it. Instead of stat modifiers or points, Tools gain a flat bonus equal to half your level (rounded up) +1.

Adjacent to Tool proficiencies are languages and weapon proficiencies. Your Background includes at least one language and weapon proficiency; languages are listed in The World, and weapon proficiencies are divided into Simple and Martial, and defined per weapon in Items & Equipment.

Starting Equipment and Perks

Finally, there are two things everyone begins the adventure with, regardless of background: a Mercenary's Pack containing a number of useful items, and one Perk of your choice that you meet the requirements for, as found on the Perks page.

The contents of the Mercenary's Pack, given more detail on the Items & Equipment page, are as follows:

  • One martial or simple weapon of your choice, along with 20 pieces of ammunition if it is ranged or thrown;

  • A pouch containing 75 crowns;

  • A backpack;

  • A crowbar;

  • A hammer;

  • 10 pitons;

  • A lantern;

  • 2 flasks of oil;

  • A lighter;

  • 10 days worth of rations;

  • A waterskin;

  • 50 feet of light rope;

  • A bedroll;

  • A bar of soap.

The total weight of this pack is 62.5 pounds, excluding the weapon and ammunition. If you'd like, you can sell off individual pieces of this pack for their price as listed in Items and Equipment, and buy something else.