Backgrounds

There are only two or three human stories,

and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never happened before.

— Willa Cather, O Pioneers!

Every hero has to start somewhere. We all have background experience that have lead us to where we are today.

When you create a character, you gain a background. This decision is permanent, and cannot be changed at later levels. Each background includes the following:

• Starting Vitality Points

• Ability modifier increase

• Starting Wealth Score

• A Reputation Bonus or Penalty

Some backgrounds have a prerequisite that characters much possess to select them. A character only has to meet these requirements on creation. A character who no longer meets these requirements due to changing circumstances retains all the bonuses--your background doesn't change just because you do.

Activist

You've always been someone willing to stand up for what you believe in. You've made your opinion your life, attending rallies, travelling to rallies, working for politicians who almost always inevitably fail. It's a great deal of work for little reward, but you can say you've stood for something. When one of your contacts from a past campaign reached out to you and offered you another opportunity to change the world, you took it, and it lead you here...

Activists include local politicians, community organizers, social workers and campaign operatives.

Ability Modifier Boost: Charisma +1

Skill Bonus:  Composure +2, Leadership +2

Wealth Score: 7

Vitality Score: 8

Amnesiac

Your background is... you can't remember. You might have some vague idea, but, really, you don't remember much before a strange man in a black cloak came and offered to help you. 

It’s up to you and the GM how to handle the truth of your character’s backstory. You could leave it to the GM so it’s a secret, work together with the GM, or even choose to leave it undecided until later. In any case, you and your GM should determine a few noteworthy details about your character or their belongings to get the first clues to your past.

Ability Modifier Boost: Your Choice +1

Skill Bonus: Two of your choice +2

Wealth Score: 5

Vitality Score: 6

Archaeologist

You've always been fascinated with the past. While other kids played cops and robbers, you read about the Roman conquests or watched historical dramas. Whether you're digging through ruins or a library, your imagination remains fixed with the peoples and cultures that came before. Your research eventually lead you asking the right question of the right person, and they realized your potential, offering you the opportunity to uncover the real truths of the world.

Archaeologists include relic hunters and other field scientists.

Ability Modifier Boost: Intelligence +1

Skill Bonus: Knowledge (Ancient Cultures) +2, Social Science +2

Wealth Score:  11

Vitality: 8

Artist

Your creative side is always out front. You have a vision that drives you to express yourself in some form, from poetry to painting to music. Your creative connections came from a variety of eclectic backgrounds, and one of them ended up having a far more fantastical story than you ever imagined. One thing lead to another, and, well, now you're here.

Artists include illustrators, copywriters, cartoonists, graphic artists, novelists, actors, game designers, musicians, and web designers.

Ability Modifier Boost: Wisdom +1

Skill Bonus: Creativity +2, Entertainment +2

Wealth Score:  7

Vitality: 6

Athlete

Your body is a finely turned machine, and you take a great deal of satisfaction in pushing it to its limits. You have worked hard and trained to become the best a chosen sport, but aside from a college scholarship and a few interviews with local papers, it never went anywhere. At least, until this stranger approached you out of nowhere and offered you a new set of challenges to test yourself against.

Athletes include gymnasts, wrestlers, boxer, martial artists, swimmers, skaters, and sports professionals. 

Ability Modifier Boost: Strength +1

Skill Bonus: Athletics +2

Wealth Score: 9

Vitality: 12

Blackcloak Scion

You are a Blackcloak, like your forefathers. This was your destiny. Your family has been a member of the Blackcloaks for generations, perhaps even back to the founding of the order some 1200 years ago. You were raised on the stories of greats of the organization, of Van Helsing and the Brothers Grimm. You decided at a young age that you would become a Blackcloak, and you are one of the few new recruits to have reached out and approached them.

Ability Modifier Boost: Agility +1

Skill Bonus:  Law +2, Occult Lore +2

Wealth Score: 9

Vitality: 10

Criminal

You have an unscrupulous background in the dark underbelly of the society. You lived on the wrong side of the law, working for the right people with the right connections to scrape together a living--if you could call it that. You honed your skills, and were actually quite good at what you did. But in your line of work, your past has an unfortunate tendency to catch up with you. And catch up it did. Eventually, you were facing prison, or death at the hands of your rivals. That's when a strange man from an agency you never heard of showed up, and offered you the opportunity to pay back your debt to society in a way that didn't leave you rotting in a cell or six-feet underground.

Criminals include burglars, thieves, gang members, bank robbers and other career criminals.

Ability Modifier Boost1: Dexterity +1

Skill Bonus: Deception +2, Manipulation +2

Wealth Score: 5

Vitality: 8

Con Artist

You have a gift for knowing what to say, and when to say it, to get others to do what you want. You dedicated yourself to the one cause that mattered most above all else:  yourself. You made a living, such as it was, off the gullibility of others, but you never had a real break. At least, not until you were contacted by a stranger who appreciated your skills, and offered you an opportunity to play on the winning side for once.

Con artists include scammers, hackers, ponzi-scheme operators, corrupt politicians, and others who abused the trust of others to make a living.

Ability Modifier Boost: Charisma +1

Skill Bonus: Deception +2, Interaction +2

Wealth Score: 9

Vitality: 6

Cop

You go out there every day, dealing with the dregs of society--the criminals, the low-lives and the unfortunates who have fallen through the cracks. You never really got the appreciation you feel you deserve, but you were needed. Especially when more and more people ended up disappearing, and folks you used to know on the streets turned up mauled or mutilated by something that you just can't explains. You were told to drop it, focus on your job. And then you were approached with an offer to show you what's really happening out there, to take all your knowledge and skills to actually keep your city safe. 

Cops include uniformed police, state troopers, sheriffs, prison guards, and other local law-enforcement officers.

Ability Modifier Boost: Agility +1

Skill Bonus: Firearms +2, Law +2

Wealth Score: 7

Vitality: 10

Covert Operative

Your country called, and you answered. They taught you everything you needed to know to protect the secrets of the powers-that-be, from disguise, to self-defence, to how to see without being seen. But it was never quite enough for you--this wasn't some romantic career of spy-games and martinis. It was mostly data-entry and protecting corrupt politicians from blackmail. And so, when you were given the opportunity to join an new organization, one that would actually appreciate your skills, you jumped at the opportunity.

Covert Operatives include spies, federal agents, military intelligence, or private security services.

Ability Modifier Boost1: Wisdom +2

Skill Bonus: Awareness +2, Deception +2

Wealth Score: 9

Vitality: 8

Doctor

You are fascinated by the human body: how it works, its strengths, the miracle of life itself. You went through years of schooling and residency to earn your licence, and you went into practice helping your community. But all your education didn't prepare you for the real world. The strange new viruses and afflictions you can't explain, and that aren't referenced in any journal. All those new theories you see bouncing around the Internet that your mind tells you are placebos or scams. All those new ailments your patients are coming in complaining about. Eventually, your investigations caught the attention of the powers-that-be, and they offered to show you the truth in exchange for your skills as a healer.

Doctors include various healthcare professionals, including physicians, surgeons, pharmacists and psychiatrists.

Ability Modifier Boost: Intelligence +1

Skill Bonus: Medical Science +2

Wealth Score: 15

Vitality: 8

Emergency Responder

You love the rush you get when you respond to an emergency: a car crash, a house fire, a heart attack, a shooting. Your daily grind involves things that most other people would prefer to never thing about. But it's worth it to you, because you're actually helping, saving lives. Or at least, that's how things are supposed to work. Lately, though, you've been dealing with more and more corpses, people mauled to a thousand pieces, or dead with no sign of injury, or completely and utterly brain-dead. Despite all your training, you were feeling powerless. Unless a stranger approached you and offered you the chance to see what's really plaguing your hometown.

Emergency responders include firefighters, paramedics and emergency medical technicians

Ability Modifier Boost: Dexterity +1

Skill Bonus:  Drive +2, Medical Science +2

Wealth Score: 7

Vitality: 10

Dilettante

You're the heir to a powerful family in the secret world, born to plentiful wealth and even more plentiful connections. You grew up entangled in the webs of the supernatural world's politics, spending your youth in back-rooms, penthouses, and the halls of power. You seemed destined to follow in your family's path, becoming another puppet-matter. But something changed, and you put those ambitions on hold so that you could instead devote yourself to protecting the secret world from threats both internal and external.

Dilettantes include anyone who comes from a family with power in the secret world, including the heir of a powerful magical bloodline, a member of a noble house of the fey, or the child of a member of the Parliament of Shadows.

Ability Modifier Boost: Charisma +1

Skill Bonus:  Diplomacy +2, Occult Lore +2

Wealth Score: 15

Vitality: 6

Ex-Military

Your formative years were spent overseas, serving in your country's armed forced. You were trained to fight and kill, skills that set you apart from the others. And the things you saw over there... they continue to haunt you. They were never confirmed in any official reports, or reported on in the media, but you know what you saw, what you experienced, was real. It lead you down the rabbit hole, and at the other end you found an outstretched hand saying they had a use for someone of your talents.

Ex-Military includes individuals who used to be enlisted members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Special Forces.

Ability Modifier Boost: Constitution +1

Skill Bonus: Endurance +2, Firearms +2

Wealth Score: 9

Vitality: 10

Investigator

You've always known there were three sides to every story: his, hers, and the truth. You've made it your business to find out the truth when you're asked to. You know the ins and outs of uncovering the dirty laundry, of getting the the secrets to tell themselves to the right year. It used to be pretty easy, uncovering cheating partners or unscrupulous business details. But now you're dealing with missing kids, strange symbols carved in warehouse floors, and even cultists. Just as you were afraid you were getting in over your head, a contact of yours reached out and offered you an opportunity to continue your work, but with the backing of an entire organization. How could you say no?

Investigators include private investigators, police detectives, and criminologists.

Ability Modifier Boost: Wisdom +1

Skill Bonus:  Investigate +2, Law +2

Wealth Score: 7

Vitality: 10

Journalist

You demand the truth, and deliver it to those who might not have the means to get to it themselves. You live for the thrill of the next scoop, making the high-and-mighty squirm, and seeing your name in print. The world is filled with more secrets than you can point your recorder at, and there's never been a better time to be a journalist. Except for, of course, the financial collapse of the industry. That's why, when one of contacts reached out with an opportunity that took advantage of your particular investigative skills, you took the chance.

Journalist includes investigative reporters, photojournalists, and freelancers.

Ability Modifier Boost: Wisdom +1

Skill Bonus:  Interaction +2, Investigate +2

Wealth Score: 7

Vitality: 8

Lawyer

You've always been drawn to the law, the webs of rulings and precedents upon which our society is set. You have the showmanship of an actor, the mind of an investigator, a passion for research, and a firm belief in the system to deliver justice. Or at least you used to. As you delved deeper into a particular case, you uncovered some truths that the law just isn't capable of handling. There is more out there than the system you dedicated yourself to mastering. It was then that a contact of yours reached out and offered you the opportunity to apply your training in a different court of law.

Lawyers include advocates, prosecutors, paralegals, and judges.

Ability Modifier Boost: Intelligence +1

Skill Bonus:  Investigate +2, Law +2

Wealth Score: 13

Vitality: 6

Mystic

You were born into the waking world. Magic was as much a part of growing up as breathing. You have seen monsters and chatted with beings out of myths. You've had a variety of teachers over the years, and, eventually, one of them reached out to you, and offered you an opportunity to use your knowledge of the secret world for more than parlor tricks and idle research.

Mystics include hedge-mages, magicians, alchemists, folk-healers, and others who make use of their occult knowledge in mundane society.

Ability Modifier Boost: Spirit +1

Skill Bonus:  Gnosis +2, Occult Lore +2

Wealth Score: 7

Vitality: 6

Programmer

When you got your first computer, it unlocked a brand new world for you. You wanted to know how it ticked, and you wouldn't stop until you knew the ins-and-outs of this digital universe. Years later, you have a well-paying job in the booming digital industry, developing apps for well-paying clients or managing countless bug reports. You still live on the net, but it's different from the world of your youth. Every once in a while in your quests for solutions, you stumble across the scary stuff that's out there on the weird corners of the web: magic rituals that seem far too sound, pictures of creatures that couldn't have been Photoshopped. Then, one day, you clicked something you shouldn't have, and you ended up seated in a dark room, this time being offered an opportunity to use your skills to keep this brave new world you discovered safe.

Programmers include full-stack developers, IT and networking professionals, and systems analysts, and data administrators.

Ability Modifier Boost: Intelligence +1

Skill Bonus:  Computer Science +2, Technical Science +2

Wealth Score: 11

Vitality: 6

Scientist

You have a gift for research, a grasp of the sciences, and an obsession for details. You love experimenting to discover new phenomena or the causes behind effects we're already familiar with. The future is at your fingertips, hidden behind the veil of just a few more discoveries, a few new theories. You've tried gazing at the face of truth, but for some reason, the deeper you delved, the less sense it made. What you were seeing, well, you're certain there's a scientific explanation for it, but you're not certain how far you'd have to expand the definition of science to fit that explanation in. While some of your colleagues may have started to look at you as if you were a crack-pot, one of them actually paid attention to what you were saying, and introduced you to a mutual friend, someone willing to support someone with your skills in their quest for the truth.

Scientists includes researchers, academics, professors and engineers.

Ability Modifier Boost: Intelligence +1

Skill Bonus:  Two of: Knowledge, Life Science, Physical Science, Social Science or Technical Science

Wealth Score: 11

Vitality: 6

Time-Lost

You are not of this age. You come from a different era entirely. Perhaps you fell through a Thule time portal during the Great Occult War in the 40s. Or maybe you were locked in a tome frozen in time since the age of the Pharaohs. Regardless, the 21st millennia is new to you, and you're still trying to adapt to the modern world. Thankfully, soon after your arrival, an agent dressed in black approached you, and offered you a place in an organization that would support your adaptation to this strange new world, in exchange for your particular set of skills.

Ability Modifier Boost: Constitution +1

Skill Bonus:  Melee Weapons +2, one skill of your choice

Wealth Score: 5

Vitality: 8