Virtue & Vice

When creating a character, select one of the following virtues and or vices for them. These words describe aspects of your character's personality, competing drives or goals. A character's Virtue or Vice isn't simply indicative of their morality. While a character Virtue is a positive trait, it should be possible for one's Virtue to also drive them to do terrible things.

Acting upon your Virtue or Vice is a way of reaffirming yourself. In most cases, acting upon a Virtue or Vice will lead to you recovering Anima during a scene.

Your virtue and vice cannot be tied to the same ability score, as these virtues and vices are usually reflections of each other. You cannot be both Prudent and Lustful, both patient and impulsive.

A character's Virtues and Vices will likely stay the same for an entire story. However, they can change if your character undergoes a life-changing event. You can discuss this with the GM after you have completed a significant personal story arc. 

Fulfilling your Virtue gives you 1 permanent Hero Point, while indulging in your vice gives you 1 Hero Point for the remainder of the current session.

Virtue

Your virtue is your higher character, the personality trait that represents who and what you are when you're at your best. Acting in accordance to your virtue gives you satisfaction and reaffirms your sense of self. 

Charity (Compassion, Mercy)  - DEXTERITY

 You are guided by your compassion to share what you have to improve improve the lives of those around you. By sharing gifts, you cultivate goodwill in others. 

A charitable character gains a Hero Point when they help another at the risk of harm or loss to themselves. It isn't enough to share what you have in abundance. You must make a real sacrifice to be truly charitable. 

Diligence (Hard Work, Persistence) - AGILITY

You put in the effort to do things right the first time, you plan ahead, and you perform tasks assigned to you honestly and to the best of your ability. This isn't about mindlessly following orders, it's about intelligently doing the job before you in a way that makes life better for you and those around you. It's about avoiding procrastination and shortcuts that will bite you in the ass later on and being responsible to others.

A diligent character gains a Hero Point when they refuse to take the "easy way out." This could be seeing a mission through to the fullest extent, instead of just accepting something as "good enough" and calling it a day; or it could be putting aside time and resources to prepare for future incidents and events.

Faith (Conviction, Humility, Loyalty) - SPIRIT

This isn't necessarily faith in some higher power, but more faith in some objective right and wrong, and dedicating yourself to advancing the "right side". You can put your faith in God, science, your nation, a political philosophy or an organization.

A faithful character gains a Hero Point when they refuse to denounce or act against the object of their faith, even when refusing to do so puts them at risk. This isn't about being a preacher who launches into a screed against those who mock them. This is about putting the advancement of your ideals above your own personal gain or well-being, such as refusing to scrap your research when offered a significant bribe to do so, refusing to denounce your religion even when tortured, or refusing to go against the ideals of organization you are part of even when doing so would be advantageous.

Fortitude (Courage, Integrity, Stoicism) - CONSITUTION

Fortitude is about standing up for one's beliefs and holding the course, no matter how difficult it might be to give up. By staying the course, regardless of the cost, you prove the worth of your ideals.

A resolute character gains a Hero Point when they withstand overwhelming odds or temptations to alter their goals or abandon their quests. This isn't about temporary distractions but about serious threats to your health and wellness that might reasonably cause you to abandon your quest.

Hope (Dreams, Optimism) - CHARISMA

A hopeful character believes in that there's always a better tomorrow worth striving for. You believe that things will turn out all right in the end, and you intend for yourself and your friends to remain standing at the end.

Hope isn't about staying the course no matter what. That's Fortitude. Instead, hope is about never giving into despair, and never letting your friends and allies give up either. A hopeful character keeps their entire community's spirits up, and keeps urging them to dream big and do bigger.

A hopeful character gains a Hero Point when they restore hope to a community or group that has given up or when they reignite the spark of another's Virtue. 

Justice (Righteousness) - STRENGTH

Wrongs cannot be left unpunished: this is the central tenet of the just. The just believe that evil cannot prosper so long as one good person continues to strive to do the right thing. While you might not necessarily be one to mete out final judgement, you can at least be a tool to help justice along.

A just character gains a Hero Point when they can see an act of great justice enacted. This could be discovering the identity of a serial killer and reporting it to the authorities, banishing a demon who has corrupted a town for generations, or unmasking the actions of an amoral corporation that has been abusing a population that cannot protect itself. A just act has to be big enough to enact changes throughout a community to qualify. Simply stopping a playground bully from beating up another child isn't going to suffice.

Prudence (Patience, Vigilance) - INTELLIGENCE

Prudent individuals maintain their integrity by acting with knowledge and restraint. You always try to think of the bigger picture, and you try not to act until you have enough information to make a reasonable decision. You always try to look before you leap, but when you do leap, you are committed to what you know to be the best course of action.

A prudent character gains a Hero Point if their investigations turn out new truths or information that greatly enhance their understanding. This isn't about finding new clues but major "a-ha" moments that make the ideal course of action clear to a prudent character.

Temperance (Frugality, Self-Restraint) - WISDOM

Temperance is about finding balance in life. Everything has a place in a person's life, from anger to forgiveness, lust to chastity. You know that it's when things are taken to the excess that trouble happens. Too much righteousness can be just as bad as too much wickedness. 

A frugal character gains a Hero Point they refuse to indulge in excesses or personal passions. This isn't about refusing the reward for a job well-done or not going to a party celebrating your victory, but this is about refusing to leverage your fame or past deeds to your advantage, refusing to take revenge on an individual even when it would feel cathartic and just, or offering a wicked soul forgiveness even when your allies are calling out for their blood.

Vices

Your vice represents your short-term comfort, the one flaw you indulge in to feel good, just for a moment. It's an avoidance mechanism that can help you hold the short-term problems at bay in exchange for long-term pain. A vice reaffirms your sense of yourself, even if it is self-destructive. 

Vices exist to tempt your character down a more morally dubious path. While your Virtue should be what your character strives towards, your Vice is easier to fulfill and can be easily indulged in stressful situations. For example, if you find yourself surrounded a street gang, it is mechanically advantageous for a wrathful character to start the fight instead of seeking to talk their way out of it--they don't know if diplomacy would work, but they do know that if they punch first, they'll start the fight with a hero point that could save their ass. Likewise, a Gluttonous character whose addiction is alcohol might be tempted to hit up the bar before an investigation so they have that hero point to rely on during their upcoming investigation--and if they refuse to indulge, they might later regret it when they end up stonewalled by a seemingly impossible mess of contradictory clues.

Acedia (Carelessness) - SPIRIT

Acedia has been variously translated as laziness, apathy, ennui or boredom. You lack the passion and drive to change things around you, instead going with the flow and letting others take the lead. You find it hard to become motivated and to care about things beyond what's directly in front of you. Unlike Sloth, which represents laziness and avoidance of effort, Acedia is a pure lack of caring, not even mustering the effort to give a damn.

You gain a temporary hero point when you delay making a difficult decision and push it to a future time.

Envy (Jealousy)  - CHARISMA

You are never satisfied with what you have, be it your wealth, status, or accomplishment. There is always someone better out there, and they make you feel small and ignored. You measure yourself against your peers, and you find yourself lacking. 

You gain a temporary hero point when you gain something a rival or peer has, be it a possession, a title, or relationship.

Gluttony (Addiction) - WISDOM

You're always chasing that next new experience, the next high. You might hunger for food, drugs, or attention. Whatever makes you feel good, you want it. You fill that hole in your heart by stuffing it full with as much enjoyment as possible. Gluttony represents long-term obsessions that erode your life over time; if your vices are short-term indulgences, that is lust. 

You gain a temporary hero point when you indulge your addiction.

Greed (Avarice) - DEXTERITY

To you, there is no such thing as having too much. Wealth, power, influence--no matter what, you need more of it, even if this means taking it from someone else more deserving. Because the more you have, the more protected you are, and the less likely it is that the world will be able to hurt you. Your wealth and power is your gilded armor against having to face the dangers of the world.

You gain a temporary hero point when you acquire something of significant value.

Lust (Impatience) - INTELLIGENCE

Lust is uncontrolled desire. A lustful individual is driven by the immediate need for personal satisfaction, regardless of what happens next. Long-term plans and the big-picture are intimidating and remind you of how small and powerful you are. So instead you go hard now, and let a future you deal with the consequences. Lust represents fleeting bursts of passion and obsession; more long-term addictions are represented by the vice of Gluttony.

You gain a temporary hero point when you indulge your passions.

Pride (Vanity) - CONSITUTION

Pride is self-confidence run amok. It is the belief that your actions are right, because you are the one making them. You refuse to back down even when the evidence is clear that you might be in the wrong. You cannot accept your fallibility, that you might be wrong, that you can possibly fail. And so you let other people suffer for your mistakes and tell yourself it's all worth it in the long run.

You gain a temporary hero point when you force others to follow your orders, or when you obtain public recognition or a position of authority.

Sloth (Apathy) - AGILITY

Sloth is about avoiding problems and letting someone else do the hard work. Rather than put in the effort, you refuse to go beyond the bare minimum, knowing someone else will come in later to fix it. You can't fail if you don't try, after all. And the fact that you can shove all the blame and responsibility and stress on the person who actually did the job is a massive weight off your shoulders.

You gain a temporary hero point when you avoid stressful situations or difficult tasks.

Wrath (Hatred) - STRENGTH

Wrath is uncontrolled anger. It is frustration expressed in the least productive way possible, directed against those who are not responsible at all for the problems at hand. The world sucks, and since trying to channel your anger productively might hurt you, you instead turn your rage against anyone who you can remotely justify, from the barista who gets your order wrong to the driver who cuts you off on the way to work. They're not really responsible for how you feel, but flipping out on them certainly feels good.

You gain a temporary hero point when you unleash your anger in a situation outside of combat.