Character
Backgrounds
Backgrounds represent a character's past experiences, training, and unique circumstances. Each background shapes who the character is and grants mechanical benefits that reflect their history.
Background Points (BPs) are allocated based on the character's Kin. Players spend BPs to purchase backgrounds during character creation. Each background can only be purchased once, and unspent BPs are lost after character creation.
Each background has two tiers: Minor and Major. Major tier always includes all Minor tier benefits unless stated otherwise. Some backgrounds carry a Requirement (a roleplay or narrative obligation) or a Drawback (a negative consequence).
All Backgrounds
| Background | Minor | Major | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ancient Heirloom | 1 BP | 3 BP | You inherited or acquired an ancient artifact under unusual circumstances. |
| Assassin | 1 BP | 3 BP | You have been trained in the deadly arts by a master assassin. |
| Bard of Ancient Tales | 1 BP | 3 BP | You know the Ancient Tales of your Kin and use that knowledge to your advantage. |
| Battle Hardened | 1 BP | 3 BP | You survived many battles and carry their scars as proof of your valor. |
| Born to Saddle | 1 BP | 3 BP | Your riding ability is renowned among your people. |
| Burglar | 1 BP | 3 BP | You are a trained professional burglar and expert treasure-hunter. |
| Daredevil | 1 BP | 3 BP | Fortune favors the bold, and you know it better than anyone. |
| Dark Past | 1 BP | 3 BP | You once served the Darkmaster, but now you are one of His fiercest enemies. |
| Eccentric | 1 BP | 3 BP | Others call you strange. You take it as a compliment. |
| Elven Training | 1 BP | 3 BP | You were raised by or lived among the Elves, learning their ways. |
| Exceptional Training | 1 BP | 2 BP | You studied under a renowned mentor who taught you the secrets of a particular skill. |
| Fleet-Footed | 1 BP | 3 BP | You move like the wind, leaving everyone else behind. |
| Geared for Adventure | 1 BP | 3 BP | You always come prepared, with gear for every situation. |
| Gifted | 1 BP | 3 BP | You are known among your kin for extraordinary might, cunningness, or charm. |
| Greater Fortune | 1 BP | 3 BP | You come from wealth or achieved richness through hard work or blind luck. |
| Healer's Hands | 1 BP | 3 BP | Yours are the hands of a healer, casting pure light in a world besieged by Shadow. |
| Heroic Bloodline | 1 BP | 3 BP | The blood of heroes runs strongly in your veins. |
| Keeper of the Hidden Lore | 1 BP | 3 BP | You are an initiate of a secret magical tradition or arcane organization. |
| Loremaster | 1 BP | 3 BP | You are a scholar, chronicler, and sage, always well-informed about the world. |
| Lovable Rogue | 1 BP | 3 BP | You are a scoundrel by all accounts, yet people find you inexplicably charming. |
| Loyal Companion | 1 BP | 3 BP | Your animal companion is more than a pet — it is your friend and shadow. |
| Magical Affinity | 1 BP | 3 BP | Natural talent and specialized studies made you an expert in a school of magic. |
| Mark of Destiny | 1 BP | 3 BP | You carry a strange mark that warns you of danger and speaks of an uncommon fate. |
| Mixed Ancestry | 1 BP | 3 BP | Your parents came from different Cultures, or you were raised outside your birth culture. |
| Mundane | 1 BP | 3 BP | You are sure this is all a mistake — you are just an ordinary person. |
| Mystical Training | 1 BP | 3 BP | You were trained since childhood in a monastery, developing mystical fighting skills. |
| Religious Adept | 1 BP | 3 BP | You are a member of an established religious order or cult. |
| Rogue Mage | 1 BP | 3 BP | You were born with innate magical ability that works as naturally as breathing. |
| Shapechanger | 2 BP | 4 BP | The totemic animal of your people blesses you with the power to take its form. |
| Slayer | 1 BP | 3 BP | You have sworn an oath of eternal enmity toward a particular type of creature. |
| Stormcrow | 1 BP | 3 BP | You are cursed with glimpses of the future — and they only ever show sorrow. |
| Strider | 1 BP | 3 BP | You lived most of your life in the wilderness, accustomed to nature's laws. |
| Sworn Defender | 1 BP | 3 BP | You are part of an elite military order sworn to protect a place, person, or ideal. |
| Trader | 1 BP | 3 BP | You are or were in the trading business, dealing in goods or specialized services. |
| Unbreakable Bond | 1 BP | 3 BP | You formed a strong bond with a companion — together you can face any adversity. |
| Underground Uprising | 1 BP | 3 BP | You spent your youth among criminals and never fully severed those ties. |
| Unorthodox Education | 1 BP | 3 BP | You started training in a different Vocation before finding your true calling. |
| Vigilant | 1 BP | 3 BP | An adventurous life taught you to sleep lightly and always be ready for trouble. |
| Well Traveled | 1 BP | 3 BP | You travelled far and wide and know places and ways unknown to most. |
| Wyrd | 1 BP | 3 BP | You are bound by a strange fate — improbable things happen around you constantly. |
Ancient Heirloom
You've either inherited an ancient artifact, or acquired it under unusual circumstances.
Choose an item in your starting equipment. That item either grants you a +10 magical Item Modifier to a specific skill, acts as a +1 Magical Focus, or lets you cast a First Weave Spell of your choosing twice a day. Give it a name, an origin, and record it on your character sheet.
Requirement: Give the item a name and origin story.
Includes Minor tier benefits. The item also lets you cast a Spell up to the Third Weave twice a day, or a Fifth Weave Spell once a day.
Drawback: The item is either stolen, or sought by the Darkmaster.
Assassin
You have been trained in the deadly arts by a master assassin.
You gain one rank in the Stealth Skill, and a special +20 bonus to your Nature Skill Rolls when identifying, using, or preparing poisons.
Requirement: Write your Allegiance about your ties to your old master.
Includes Minor tier benefits. When you attack a Surprised foe with a ranged weapon, you can treat that weapon as if it had the Backstab Quality, provided that your target is within the Base Range of your weapon.
Bard of Ancient Tales
You have been taught the Ancient Tales of your Kin: tales of heroes, gods, monsters, and mighty deeds, and you use this knowledge to your advantage.
You gain a +10 bonus to your Songs & Tales Skill, and whenever you Help one of your companions, you always add the number of your Songs & Tales ranks (not the Skill Bonus) to the Helping bonus you grant.
Includes Minor tier benefits. When you are in a safe environment with your companions and there is no unspent Bardic Inspiration Token in play, you may take some time to tell them a tale or sing a song. After you've done so, you create a Bardic Inspiration Token. Any character who listened to you can spend it to gain a bonus equal to your Songs & Tales ranks to any Skill, Attack, or Save Roll, even after they've rolled the dice.
Battle Hardened
You survived many battles and carry their scars on your body, proving your valor and your worth as a seasoned warrior.
Increase your starting HPs by 15, and the Max HP for your Kin by 10.
Requirement: Describe an impressive scar somewhere on your body.
Includes Minor tier benefits. You also never suffer the penalty for being Bruised.
Born to Saddle
Your riding ability is renowned among your people.
You gain a superior riding breed of your choice, appropriate for your culture and kin, and a special +10 to your Riding Rolls.
Requirement: Give your mount a name and record it on your character sheet.
Includes Minor tier benefits. You also gain the special ability to automatically pass Riding Rolls during a mounted battle.
Burglar
You are trained as a professional burglar, or expert treasure-hunter, if you prefer. Your services are usually sought by those who'd like to acquire precious items with a certain discretion.
You gain one rank in Stealth and one rank in Locks & Traps. Additionally, you can always eyeball the approximate value of any precious item you see, even with a single glance.
Includes Minor tier benefits. Whenever you attack an opponent bare-handed or using a Hand weapon, you may use a Free Action to make a Stealth Roll. If you succeed, you may pilfer a non-fixed small item within your reach, as long as no one is holding or wielding it.
Drawback: You've stolen something from someone, and now they'll be hunting you to get it back.
Daredevil
Let others take "safe" choices and worry about the odds. You are a hero; you are meant for greater things and know that fortune often favors the bold.
Whenever you use at least one point of Drive while attempting an action with a Difficulty of Extremely Hard or higher, you get a special +10 bonus to your Roll, in addition to the normal benefits granted by the Drive expense.
Includes Minor tier benefits. Once per session, when you Critically Fail a Heroic or Insane Skill Roll, you gain a Drive Point.
Dark Past
You once served the Darkmaster or one of His lieutenants, but something or someone made you see the errors of your ways. Now you're one of His fiercest enemies.
Your familiarity with the ways of the Enemy makes it easier to see through His ploys. You can cast the Sense Darkness Spell once a day without spending MPs or making a Spell Casting Roll.
Includes Minor tier benefits. You also gain a special +20 bonus to your Wandering Rolls when travelling through Darklands or Blighted Lands. Additionally, once per session, you may ask the GM to reveal a weakness, vulnerability, or idiosyncrasy of a servant of the Darkmaster you're facing.
Drawback: Your past misdeeds are hard to forget, and many still treat you with suspicion or outright hostility.
Eccentric
Other people often tell you that you're strange. Some would take offense to that, but you're proud of what you are.
Choose a Stat in which your Kin has a negative modifier. Increase the total value of that Stat by 5 points.
Requirement: Choose a Stat with a negative Kin modifier.
Includes Minor tier benefits. Choose one of your Kin's Special Traits (like the Orcs' Sun Sensitivity Trait). You ignore the effects of that Trait.
Drawback: Other members of your Kin tend to find you weird or unnatural.
Elven Training
You have been raised by the Elves, or have lived among them, learning the ways of the Fair Kin.
Choose the Elven community that raised you. You gain the Lore of the Ages Special Trait as if you were a Silver Elf. If you already have this Special Trait, you gain 2 ranks to spend in your Kin Spell Lores as you see fit.
Requirement: Choose the Elven community that raised you.
Includes Minor tier benefits. You can also use SWI instead of BRN as a Stat modifier for your Blades Skill, provided you're using a short sword, longsword, or scimitar.
Exceptional Training
You've studied under a renowned mentor, who taught you the secrets of a particular skill.
You gain 2 ranks in any one Skill of your choice (except Spell Lores), or 5 ranks in a Specialty Skill of your choice.
Requirement: Name your mentor.
Includes Minor tier benefits. Your mentor also left you an item specially tailored to you as a keepsake. This item grants you a +10 Item Modifier to the chosen skill.
Fleet-Footed
You move like the wind, leaving everyone else behind you. When you run, you can truly show them the meaning of haste.
Increase your Move Rate by 5 meters. You can travel up to 1.5× the normal overland distance per day, as long as you're on foot and Unencumbered or Lightly Encumbered.
Includes Minor tier benefits. As long as you're Unencumbered or Lightly Encumbered, you can Disengage as a Free Action and gain a special +20 bonus to your DEF for the rest of the Round if you take a Movement Action.
Geared for Adventure
Your companions may joke about the quantity of gear you manage to stuff in your backpack, but you know that being prepared always pays well during an adventure.
You can add two items with a Fare of 2 or less, or one Fare 3 item, to your starting equipment.
Includes Minor tier benefits. Once per session you can spend one point of Drive and a Full Action to rummage through your belongings and pull out a Fare 1 or less piece of equipment that would be useful in your current situation, even if said item isn't written on your character sheet.
Requirement: Include something about always being well prepared in your Nature.
Gifted
You're known among your kin for your extraordinary might, cunningness, or charm.
Increase the total value of a Stat of your choice by 5. Add a title, moniker, or epithet that describes the trait you're known for to your name (e.g.: Tharos the Mighty, Illydriel the Fair, etc).
Includes Minor tier benefits. You can also increase the total value of a Stat of your choice (including the one already chosen) by another 5 points.
Greater Fortune
You come from a wealthy family, or managed to grow in richness and social standing with hard work or blind luck.
You can raise your starting Wealth Level by one, up to a maximum WL of 4.
Includes Minor tier benefits. You're also the owner of some land, estate, or business. As long as you can reach it and you're acquiring something that could reasonably be provided by it, you can raise your WL by two more levels (up to a maximum WL of 5).
Requirement: Describe your property and decide where it's located.
Healer's Hands
Some heroes are known for their might in battle, but you know that even a greater strength is required to mend what's broken. Yours are the hands of a healer, casting a pure light in a world besieged by Shadow.
You gain a special +10 bonus to your Healer Skill, and a +10 bonus to your Nature Skill Rolls to find healing herbs.
Includes Minor tier benefits. Whenever you treat one of your companions or administer them a healing herb, you may choose one of the following: have the patient recover a number of HPs equal to your ranks in the Healer Skill (not your Skill bonus); grant them a special bonus to a SR made to resist the effects of a disease or poison equal to double your ranks in the Healer Skill; reduce the recovery time of a treated Injury by one day for every 5 ranks you have in the Healer Skill.
Heroic Bloodline
The blood of heroes runs strongly in your veins. Tales are sung about the mighty deeds of your family, of your ancestors. Now these tales live again, through you.
You can take a Half Action to inspire all allies that can hear you within a radius of 6 meters, granting them a special bonus of +10 to their Willpower Save Rolls, or a special +5 bonus to their Attack Bonus and Defense for the current Round.
Includes Minor tier benefits. You can reveal your ancestry to someone who doesn't know it as a Free Action. When you do so, you either gain a +10 bonus to your Attack Rolls against them for the current Round, or get to re-roll a Charisma or Deceive Roll against them with a +20 bonus.
Keeper of the Hidden Lore
You're an initiate of a secret magical tradition, or part of an arcane organization. Other initiates (and sometimes sworn enemies of your faction) could recognize you, and may either aid or hinder you, depending on the situation.
You gain two ranks in one of your Kin, Vocational, or Common Spell Lores.
Requirement: Choose a Kin, Vocational, or Common Spell Lore.
Includes Minor tier benefits. Your training unlocked a previously untapped reserve of magical power stored within you. You gain 1 extra MP per Level (including the first).
Drawback: The enemies of your faction both fear and long for your potential, and will go to great lengths to win you to their cause.
Loremaster
You are a scholar, a chronicler, a sage. You spent years studying the history of the world and are always well-informed on anything that happens around you.
You gain one rank in either the Songs & Tales or the Cultures Skill. Whenever you travel to a place you have never visited before in game, you may ask the GM to reveal an interesting rumor, piece of lore, or little-known historical fact about your destination.
Requirement: Choose Songs & Tales or Cultures for your skill rank.
Includes Minor tier benefits. Choose a specific field of knowledge (such as Dwarven history or Elvish runes). Treat all Failure results in Songs & Tales or Cultures Skill Rolls concerning your chosen field as if they were Partial Success results (Critical Failure results are not affected).
Requirement: Choose a specific field of knowledge.
Lovable Rogue
You are a scoundrel, a crook, a liar, a ne'er-do-well. By all reasons, no one should like you, and yet people tend to find you unexplainably charming.
Increase the total value of either your Wits or your Bearing by 5 points.
Requirement: Write what makes you unreliable yet likable in your Nature.
Includes Minor tier benefits. Once per session, you can attempt to confuse a group of sentient beings with your outrageous behaviour as a Full Action. Your targets must be able to see and hear you, and cannot be engaged in combat. Describe your act and make a Conflicting Action Roll using your Deceive Skill against their Perception Skill. If you win, your targets are Stunned and distracted until you stop or something else catches their attention.
Loyal Companion
Your companion is more than a simple animal to you. It's your friend, your shadow; it's part of yourself.
You gain a loyal Small or Medium-sized animal of your choosing, who travels with you and follows your orders blindly.
Requirement: Choose and name your animal companion.
Includes Minor tier benefits. Your companion can be up to Large in size, or the bond you have with it is strengthened, granting you the ability to communicate at a basic level (exchanging concepts like fear, joy, enemies, attack, etc) without speaking. You must be able to see each other to use this ability.
Magical Affinity
A natural talent and specialized studies made you an expert in a particular school of magic.
Choose one of your Vocational Spell Lores to become your favorite Spell Lore. You gain a +10 bonus to all Spell Casting and Arcana Rolls concerning your favorite Spell Lore.
Requirement: Choose one of your Vocational Spell Lores.
Includes Minor tier benefits. You count as if you were one Level higher when casting Spells from your favorite Spell Lore. You also gain one additional MP per level, but you can spend these extra MPs only to cast Spells from your favorite Spell Lore.
Drawback: You have a rival determined either to discredit you in academic circles or to prove their magic school's superiority.
Mark of Destiny
You carry a strange mark on your body, that was there since you were born or since a very particular occasion. Sometimes it throbs or causes you discomfort, as if to warn you of something.
You have a unique permanent mark on a prominent part of your body. Choose one of the following: servants of the Darkmaster, magic, or a specific kind of creature. Your mark will always warn you when you're in the presence of what you chose. You get a -10 penalty to all Perception Rolls to notice anything else when your mark is "active".
Requirement: Describe your mark and choose what it warns you about.
Includes Minor tier benefits. You also gain an additional Passion, named "Destiny", representing your uncommon fate. This Passion works exactly like the others, but cannot be changed, unless you fulfill your destiny.
Requirement: Write your Destiny Passion together with the GM and the rest of the group, and link it to your mark.
Mixed Ancestry
Your parents came from two different Cultures, or maybe you were raised in a Culture other than the one you were born in.
Choose a Culture other than your character's Culture. Select a non-combat Skill in which the chosen Culture grants at least 2 Cultural Skill Ranks. Your character gains 1 rank in this Skill. Then choose one of the Culture's Outfitting Options and add that item to your starting equipment.
Requirement: Choose a different Culture and write a Passion about how your mixed ancestry influenced your character's life.
Includes Minor tier benefits. Select a different Skill in which the chosen Culture grants at least 2 Cultural Skill Ranks. Swap your character's Cultural Skill Ranks with those granted by the chosen Culture.
Mundane
You're pretty sure this is all a mistake. You're nothing like those great heroes of legend, you're just an ordinary fellow. Fate, however, works in mysterious ways.
At the end of each session, if you haven't spent Drive during the session, you gain a point of Drive.
Includes Minor tier benefits. You gain a +30 bonus to your Save Rolls and Defense against magic, but you also suffer a -20 penalty to your Attunement Rolls and Spell Casting Rolls.
Mystical Training
You've been raised and trained since you were a child in a secluded place or monastery under the guidance of a wise mentor, developing mystical fighting skills.
Your unarmed attacks are one Size larger than what they should normally be (up to a maximum of Colossal).
Requirement: Write your Nature about the teachings of your master.
Includes Minor tier benefits. A visible, mystical aura of holiness surrounds you when you're in danger, granting you a special +20 bonus to your Defense and Save Rolls if you are unarmed and aren't wearing any armor.
Religious Adept
You are a member of an established religious order: either of the clergy of some god's church or some cult.
You are an initiate adept of the cult or church. You always carry with you a holy symbol that identifies you as a member. Other members will try to help you in times of need, giving you protection and shelter. You also gain a special +20 bonus to all Charisma and Deceive Rolls made against other followers of your belief.
Requirement: Write your Nature or Allegiance to reflect your religious creed or your loyalty to your cult or church.
Includes Minor tier benefits. You are a member of the clergy, a "true priest". Choose a non-attack Spell of the Fifth Weave or less that doesn't require a Save Roll, related to your belief. You can cast the chosen Spell once per day without spending MPs or making a Spell Casting Roll. Initiates and adepts of your cult or church will listen to your words and obey your provisions.
Drawback: You are disliked by the clergy and members of an opposing cult or church.
Rogue Mage
You were born with an innate magical ability or developed it after a unique occurrence. You can't really explain why or how your magic works, but using it is as natural as breathing to you.
Select any one Spell Lore of your choosing and add it to your Kin Spell Lores.
Requirement: Include something about your magical ability in one of your Passions.
Includes Minor tier benefits. You can spend one point of Drive to gain the ability to cast spells from the chosen Spell Lore without spending MPs for a scene. At the end of that scene, you become Weary if you weren't Weary, and drop unconscious for 1d10 hours if you were.
Drawback: You're hunted by a powerful NPC because of your powers.
Shapechanger
The totemic animal of your people blesses you with a righteous fury, granting you the strength to crush your enemies.
Choose a Medium-sized wild animal (like a wolf, a boar, or a mountain lion) as the totem of your people. Whenever you become Bruised or whenever you gain a point of Drive because of one of your Passions, you can assume the form of the animal you've chosen. While in this form, you have the AT, DEF, HP, natural physical abilities, Skills, and attacks of your totemic animal, or your own Skill bonus +10, whichever is higher. You revert to your original form if you're Incapacitated or if there aren't enemies within sight and you pass your Perception Roll. When you return to your original form, you become Weary.
Requirement: Choose a Medium-sized wild animal as your totem.
Includes Minor tier benefits. You can also choose a Large animal as your totem, and you can spend a point of Drive to transform into your totemic animal with a Full Action.
Slayer
You have sworn an oath of eternal enmity towards a particular enemy. You have spent a great part of your life studying them, to find better ways to hunt them.
Pick a specific type of creature (like dragons, dwergars, or trolls) as your hated enemy. You gain a +10 bonus to your Hunting, Cultures, Songs & Tales, and Attack Rolls when your hated enemy is involved. You cannot choose one of your companions' Kin as your hated enemy.
Requirement: Write one of your Passions about your hatred toward your hated enemy.
Includes Minor tier benefits. Whenever you start a combat against your hated enemy or defeat one of them in a fight, you gain one Hatred Token. You can spend a Hatred Token either to re-roll an Attack Roll that targeted a hated enemy, or to add your Level to a Critical Strike Roll you scored against a hated enemy. Unused Hatred Tokens are discarded at the end of each combat.
Stormcrow
You are cursed with a peculiar ability. You see glimpses of the future, now and then, but your visions only show you sorrow, failure, pain, and death.
Increase the total value of your Wisdom by 5 points.
Requirement: Write one of your Passions about your visions.
Includes Minor tier benefits. Whenever one of your allies spends a point of Drive to re-roll a failed Skill or Save Roll and fails again, you may spend a Free Action to have a vision of doom. When you do so, your companion may accept the failure and get the point of Drive they just spent back.
Strider
You lived most of your life in the wilderness, and are accustomed to the laws of Nature. You are stigmatised as an "outsider" by most of the civilized people you meet, but you probably don't care.
You gain a +10 bonus to all your Adventuring Skills while you are outdoors, far from civilization. Furthermore, you can travel up to 1.5× the normal overland distance per day, as long as you're on foot and Unencumbered or Lightly Encumbered.
Requirement: Write your Nature about why you preferred the harshness of the wilds to the comforts of civilization.
Includes Minor tier benefits. You get a +30 bonus on your Save Rolls against Weariness and Starvation, and a +20 bonus to your Stealth and Perception Skills while out in the wilderness.
Sworn Defender
You are part of an elite military order sworn to protect something. It could be a place, an item, a person, or even an ideal, such as justice or honor.
You gain one rank in both Armor and Body. You also get a special +10 bonus to your Charisma Skill Rolls against people who are either part of what your order protects or friendly to their cause.
Requirement: Write your Allegiance about your order and its mission.
Includes Minor tier benefits. You are immune to fear and gain a +15 bonus to your Save Rolls against mind-influencing effects.
Trader
You are or were in the trading business, as a member of a great merchant family, a shrewd dealer of rare goods, a provider of specialised services, or a similar occupation.
You get a special +10 bonus to your Deceive and Charisma Rolls whenever you're closing a deal or bargaining for something.
Includes Minor tier benefits. Once per session, when you meet a new NPC, you may spend one point of Drive to declare that they are either an old customer of yours or a fellow trader.
Unbreakable Bond
The road may be dark before you, but you're not alone to face it. You formed a strong bond with another member of your fellowship. Together, you can overcome any adversity.
You gain a +10 bonus to your Rolls made to Help the chosen character. Moreover, you always know when your chosen companion is in danger, even if you aren't able to see each other or are separated by a great distance.
Requirement: Select one of your companions and write your Allegiance about them.
Includes Minor tier benefits. As long as you and the chosen companion are within sight of each other, both of you gain a +5 bonus to your DEF and Save Rolls.
Underground Uprising
You spent your youth in the company of thieves, ruffians, or other criminals. You may have left those years behind you, but you have never completely severed your ties with the underworld.
You can use your network of contacts to call in favors or get better prices in the black market. Whenever you're buying stolen or illegal goods, you can treat your WL as if it were 2 levels higher (up to a maximum WL of 4).
Requirement: Write something about your relationship with your criminal contacts in your Allegiance.
Includes Minor tier benefits. Once per session whenever you are in a town, city, or other civilized settlement, you may spend one point of Drive to declare that you have a contact in the local criminal underworld who might help you in the situation at hand. Name the NPC introduced this way.
Unorthodox Education
You started learning the ropes of a different Vocation than the one you belong to now, but either soon discovered that it wasn't your calling or were somehow forced to interrupt your training.
Choose a Skill in which you have no Vocational Bonuses. You gain a special +10 bonus to that Skill.
Includes Minor tier benefits. Choose a Vocation different than yours and a Skill Category in which that Vocation gets at least 2 DPs each Level. At each Level, you get one less Development Point to spend in the Skill Category your Vocation gets the most DPs, and one additional Development Point in the chosen category for the other Vocation.
Drawback: You gained the enmity of a powerful individual during your training. Name your enemy and write your Allegiance about them.
Vigilant
An adventurous life taught you to sleep lightly and be always ready for trouble.
Four hours of rest are enough to give you the benefits of a full night of sleep. This doesn't change your HPs recovery rate, but allows you to recover from the Weary condition and regain all spent MPs with 4 hours of rest.
Includes Minor tier benefits. You can take Full Actions, attack, and Parry normally when you are Surprised. You are still considered Surprised for the purpose of resolving your foe's attacks and special abilities.
Drawback: There's a reason why you're always watchful. Someone or something is out there to get you. Name your enemy and write an Allegiance about them.
Well Traveled
You travelled far and wide, and are familiar with many places and ways unknown to the majority of people.
You gain one rank in Wandering and you know the location of a Safe Haven. Once during the game, unless your character is in the Darklands, you can declare that a Safe Haven is near, and mark it on the map within 1d5 days of travel from your character's position.
Includes Minor tier benefits. Once per session when your party is Preparing for Travel, you may ask the GM to reveal an alternative, secret, or rarely used route to your destination, without any Skill Roll.
Wyrd
You are bound by a strange fate. Improbable and unpredictable things seem to happen with alarming frequency around you, for good or bad.
Whenever you make an Open-Ended Roll, you must re-roll the dice and add the result on an Unmodified Roll of 95 or more, instead of the normal 96 or more. You must also re-roll and subtract the result on an Unmodified Roll of 06 or less, instead of the standard 05 or less.
Includes Minor tier benefits — with expanded thresholds. Whenever you make an Open-Ended Roll, you must re-roll and add the result on an Unmodified Roll of 93 or more. You must also re-roll and subtract the result on an Unmodified Roll of 08 or less.