Chapter 2 - Character Creation ============================== The character creation system for WFRP is largely sound for our purposes. However, some changes must be made: * First, the necessary rolls for the character races will be different. * Second, the random skill and career tables will be invalid. Here we address the problem of the random rolls and skills, careers tables and rolls are in Chapter 4. 2.1 Profile =-=-=-=-=-= In fact, the characteristic rolls in WFRP are on the whole sound, it is just that the race names need changing and, moreover, they miss one other common WH40K race - the Ogryns. +-------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ | | Human | Eldar | Squat | Ratling | Ogryn | +=======+===========+===========+===========+===========+===========+ | M | D3+2 | D3+3 | D2+2 | D2+2 | D2+4 | | WS | 2D10+20 | 2D10+30 | 2D10+30 | 2D10+10 | 2D10+20 | | BS | 2D10+20 | 2D10+20 | 2D10+10 | 2D10+30 | 2D10+20 | +-------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ | S | D3+1 | D3+1 | D3+1 | D3 | D3+2 | | T | D3+1 | D3+1 | D3+2 | D3 | D3+3 | | W | D3+4 | D3+3 | D3+5 | D3+3 | D6+12 | +-------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ | I | 2D10+20 | 2D10+40 | 2D10+10 | 2D10+40 | 2D5+10 | | A | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | Dex | 2D10+20 | 2D10+30 | 2D10+10 | 2D10+30 | 2D5+10 | +-------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ | Ld | 2D10+20 | 2D10+30 | 2D10+40 | 2D10+10 | 2D5+10 | | Int | 2D10+20 | 2D10+40 | 2D10+20 | 2D10+20 | 2D5+10 | | Cl | 2D10+20 | 2D10+40 | 2D10+40 | 2D10+10 | 2D5+10 | +-------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ | WP | 2D10+20 | 2D10+30 | 2D10+40 | 2D10+30 | 2D10+20 | | Fel | 2D10+20 | 2D10+30 | 2D10+10 | 2D10+30 | 2D10 | +-------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ 2.2 Other Character Details =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Decide for yourself the characters' name, race and gender. The GM may also allow you to choose an alignment (though many WFRP GMs, including myself, only allow experienced WFRP roleplayers this privilege). For other details see below. * Humans: Night Vision: Zero Alignment: Any (default is Neutral) Height: Male - 5'4"+D10" Female - 5'+D10" Skills: All random * Eldar Night Vision: 30 yds Alignment: Any (default is Neutral) Height: Male - 5'6"+D10" Female - 5'4"+D10" Skills: Night Vision (30 yds), Excellent Vision, SW - Eldar Notes: Must choose whether Eldar is an Exodite or loyal to a Craftworld. May also opt for character to be an Eldar Scout (offering the most varied roleplaying opportunities). * Squats Night Vision: 30 yds Alignment: Any (default is Neutral) Height: Male - 4'4"+D10" Female - 4'2"+D10" Skills: Night Vision (30 yds), Mining Psychology: Home in the Squat Homeworlds. Subject to hatred of Goblinoids (Orks, Gretchin and Snotlings) * Ratlings Night Vision: 20 yds Alignment: Any (default is Neutral) Height: Male - 3'4"+D10" Female - 3'2"+D10" Skills: Night Vision (20 yds), Silent Move Rural Notes: All Ratlings hail from the home planet of Ornsworld * Ogryns Night Vision: Zero Alignment: Any (default is Neutral) Height: Male - 11'+2D10" Female - 10'8"+2D10" Skills: Cook, equal chance of Very Strong or Very Resilient Age: 2D8/4D6 Pychology: Cause fear in creatures under 10' tall Special rules: All Ogyrns must start the game in the Soldier class as an Imperial Guard. +---------+----------+ | Age | Skills | +=========+==========+ | 5-10 | +0 | | 11-15 | +1 | | 16-20 | -1 | | 21+ | -2 | +---------+----------+ NOTE All others except Ogryns use the method of rolling the character age given in WFRP: for Eldar use Elves, Squats use Dwarves, Ratlings use Halflings, and Humans use, well, Humans! The equivalent age rolls for Ogryns and their Age-Skill table are above. 2.3 Skills =-=-=-=-=- Using the method of WFRP, roll a D4 for the number of random skills the character gains, modifying the result by the characters age (see above). Random skills are then rolled on the tables below, according to career class. In addition, the player can pick three skills of his of choosing. Note that, in the case of Non-Humans, there are some mandatory skills which must be taken before anything else. In this case they supplant the equivalent numbr of random rolls. The number of free choices remains unchanged. --Soldiers-- +---------+----------------------------+---------+----------------------------+ | D100 | Skill | D100 | Skill | +=========+============================+=========+============================+ | 01-06 | Ambidextrous | 07-13 | Specialist Weapon | | 14-15 | Disarm | 16-20 | Luck | | 21-25 | Drive Motorcycle | 26-30 | Spot Ambush | | 31-33 | Read/Write | 34-39 | Very Strong | | 40-44 | Very Resilient | 45-48 | Silent Move Rural | | 49-52 | Silent Move Urban | 53-55 | Fleet Footed | | 56-62 | Pilot | 63-68 | Lightning Reflexes | | 69-75 | Repair (Weapons/Armours) | 76-80 | Sixth Sense | | 81-85 | Scale Sheer Surface | 86-91 | Marksmanship | | 92-96 | Acute hearing | 97-00 | Excellent Vision | +---------+----------------------------+---------+----------------------------+ --Explorers-- +---------+----------------------------+---------+----------------------------+ | D100 | Skill | D100 | Skill | +=========+============================+=========+============================+ | 01-04 | Ambidextrous | 05-10 | Heraldry | | 11-16 | Astronomy | 17-22 | Culture Classification | | 23-25 | Luck | 26-28 | Drive Motorcycle | | 29-35 | Read/Write | 36-40 | Operate Complex Vehicles | | 41-42 | Very Resilient | 43-50 | Space Navigation | | 51-55 | Warp Navigation | 56-63 | Direction Sense | | 64-65 | Fleet Footed | 66-70 | Pilot | | 71-72 | Lightning Reflexes | 73-77 | Linguistics | | 78-83 | Repair (Vehicles) | 84-85 | Climb Sheer Surface | | 86-90 | Sixth Sense | 91-94 | Acute Hearing | | 95-00 | Technology Evaluation +---------+----------------------------+ +---------+----------------------------+ --Rogues-- +---------+----------------------------+---------+----------------------------+ | D100 | Skill | D100 | Skill | +=========+============================+=========+============================+ | 01-04 | Ambidextrous | 05-08 | Blather | | 09-10 | Sing | 11-15 | Bribe | | 16-17 | Dance | 18-20 | Forgery | | 21-25 | Luck | 26-30 | Flee! | | 31-34 | Drive Motorcycle | 35-38 | Very Strong | | 39-42 | Very Resilient | 43-48 | Silent Move Rural | | 49-53 | Silent Move Urban | 54-57 | Fleet Footed | | 58-65 | Pilot | 66-68 | Lightning Reflexes | | 69-75 | Street Fighting | 76-79 | Scale Sheer Surface | | 80-86 | Dodge Blow | 87-91 | Sixth Sense | | 92-96 | Acute Hearing | 87-00 | Excellent Vision | +---------+----------------------------+---------+----------------------------+ --Academics-- +---------+----------------------------+---------+----------------------------+ | D100 | Skill | D100 | Skill | +=========+============================+=========+============================+ | 01-03 | Ambidextrous | 04-08 | Heraldry | | 09-12 | Astronomy | 13-17 | Blather | | 18-23 | Bureaucracy | 24-25 | Sing | | 26-30 | Custom Lore | 31-35 | Warp Lore | | 36-40 | Cryptography | 41-42 | Dance | | 43-50 | Luck | 51-53 | Flee! | | 54-58 | Super Numerate | 59-65 | Read/Write | | 66-67 | Very Strong | 68-69 | Very Resilient | | 70-72 | Silent Move Rural | 73-75 | Silent Move Urban | | 76-80 | Pilot | 81-85 | Lightning Reflexes | | 86-90 | Scale Sheer Surface | 91-95 | Sixth Sense | | 96-00 | Acute Hearing +---------+----------------------------+ +---------+----------------------------+ 2.4 New and Modified Skills =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= In this section we describe both the new skills, explicitly created for the sci-fi setting of WH40K, and those which, taken from the fantasy RPG, have been a little adapted to the Universe of the 41th Millenium. * Acrobatic Manoeuvres This skill substitutes the skill Trick Riding, and it allows a vehicle to be driven at its extreme. This skill can't be used by itself, and the skills Pilot, Drive Motorcycle or Operate Complex Vehicles are required. The character has to make a Risk Test only for those manoeuvres on the limits of skill and vehicle design, and when such a risk test is necessary the character has an additional bonus of +10% to the Test. * Alien Lore This is the typical skill of people who have travelled for a long time, or of a historian. Its range of use can be very large: if the character succeeds in an Int test, it allows him to speak or to understand the fundamental traits of other languages, to know racial cults, etc. * Arcane Language - High Gothic The Imperium has a common language of sorts, known as Low Gothic. The many dialects of Low Gothic across the Imperium, however, can mean one speaker nevertheless having great difficulty understanding another. To solve this problem the higher classes use an ancient, pure language called High Gothic, that on which Low Gothic was based and akin to Latin or Greek in our world. Kept pure by tradition for millenia, it is understandable all across the galaxy, and those who can speak this will rarely have a problem finding another who speaks it, whatever planet they are on. * Astronomy Apart from the clearly greater knowledge of the universe available to the PCs in WH40K with respect to WFRP, the difference between this skill and the original one is that, in this case, the character can recognize celestial bodies and constellations, generally known, also on a star chart or on an electronic display and not only observing them from the surface of a planet. Astronomy is not enough to be able to make space voyages, for which further skills are necessary (see Space Navigation). * Bonesinging The Eldar skill of shaping (usually psychic) materials by psychic means, often using a psychically tuned instrument of some sort such as the psychoharp. Apart from the different methods of manipulating the substance, used in a similar way to other practical skills, with the exception of testing on WP rather than Dex or any other characteristic. * Bureaucracy (or Administration) The characters with this skill are familiar with the essential facets of most bureaucratic systems. With a Int Test they can understand the fundamental bureaucratic mechanisms of an unfamiliar planet they have visited, given some basic information. They can also easily handle the administrative quibbles regarding their home planet. In the case of a planet under Imperial control, the knowledge will extend to the bureaucracy of the whole Imperium. The skill gives a +10% on the Bluff, Corrupt, Gossip and Find Job Tests in environments where bureaucracy has a fundamental role, such as public offices. * Codex Astartes Knowledge of the contents of the Codex Astartes, the large tome that details the organisation, tactics, heraldry, and many other aspects of a Space Marine chapter. It can be known in 4 levels. Level 1 grants knowledge of a particular fact in the Codex on a successful Int test, each higher level gives a cumulative +10 bonus on the test. Especially obscure facts in the Codex (such as how many french iguanas to post on guard duty during the second coming of Christ - its 4 by the way...) or especially easy ones may be subject to modifiers to the test at the GMs call. * Culture Classification A character with this skill can evaluate the evolutionary degree of the inhabitants of a planet or of a specific area. By means of comparison with other known races, the character can, with some basic information, understand the culture of the analysed group and their social evolution. The skill gives a +10% bonus on Comprehend Languages and Bargain tests. It is commonly used with the Custom Lore skill. * Custom Lore This skill substitutes the Etiquette skill of WFRP. The character has a particular ability to locate the main characteristics of usages and customs of people, by means of past experiences. This skill allows you to tread foreign lands without looking like a stranger, and gives a +10% bonus to all Fellowship Tests, comprehending Bluff and Gossip. It is commonly used with the Culture Classification skill. * Diplomacy This skill grants the character a +10 bonus to Fel tests intent on deterring someone from violent action (be it an immediate personal attack or a planned planetary invasion), and other vocal interaction with others whose purpose is not to promote immediate violence towards the character or another on whose behalf s/he is arguing. * Dodge Ranged Weapons This skill is similar to the Dodge Blow Skill of WFRP, which is used only in melee combat. With a successful I Test a character can Dodge a firearm or a ranged shot. The following modifiers are applied: -10, if Sustained Fire is used; -10 for every 5 square yards of affected area of an area weapon. * Drive Motorcycle This skill substitutes the WFRP Riding Skill, but if some of your characters are born on planets where the horse is still used as a mean of transport, you are free to retain the Riding Skill. This skill allows to drive any two- or three-wheeled land vehicles, as well as hoverbikes (you only need handlebars and a saddle). The character has to make a Risk Test only for those manoeuvres on the limits of skill and vehicle design, and when such a risk test is necessary the character has an additional bonus of +10% to the Test. * Drive Wheeled-/Tracked-Vehicles Characters with this skill can drive any kind of terrain wheeled or tracked vehicle, be it a camions, tanks (Land Raider, Rhino, etc.) or Ork Battle Wagon. The character has to make a Risk Test only for those manoeuvres on the limits of skill and vehicle design, and when such a risk test is necessary the character has an additional bonus of +10% to the Test. * Electromechanic Manipulation This substitutes the Engineering Skill of WFRP, since, even though engineers still exist (almost always Squats), designing is virtually extinct. Instead, existing technologies are merely reproduced and/or modified. For example, you need this skill to build a Combi-Weapon. The PC with this skill have a +10% on Build Tests regarding electric, electronic and mechanical devices. * Electronic Infiltration Characters with this skill can infiltrate, with a computer and a telecommunications device, the few databanks remaining on the planets ruled by the Imperium. An Int Test may be required for systems with particular protections. * Forgery This skill allows to forge any kind of document, be it magnetic, electronic or on sheep skin. The character must have his working instruments at hand and the process will take 1D4 hours. The quality of the fake can be determined with a Int test. * Immunity to Warpsickness Movement through the Warp often causes a form of travel sickness known as Warpsickness. Some people, however, through an accident of genetics or repeated exposure, can become immune. This skill can only be gained on character generation or in a career in which the character may spend relatively substantial time travelling in the Warp, a prime example being that of the Navigators. * Legend Lore In the universe of WH40K much historical knowledge is handed down by word as legends; characters with this skill know most of these traditions. Some examples of legends are: the battle between Horus and the Emperor, and the lives of the Primarchs of the Space Marines. Usually the use of this skill requires a Int test. A character with this skill can choose a specialization, (e.g. the history of Blood Angels), for which the Int test is not required. * Martial Arts This skill is the evolution of the Street Fighting skill. It is a very powerful skill, therefore it counts as two normal skills (when the PC is created) or it costs 200 EP, when acquired during advancement (if the character already has the Street Fighting skill, 100 EP are enough). A character with Martial Arts gains a +10 to WS and +10 to I when involved, unarmed, in a melee; if he has already the Dodge Blow skill, he has a Dodge Blow roll with a +10 bonus; finally, he ignores all unarmed combat modifiers just as with the Street Fighting skill. * Military Tactics The art of planning a battle or series of battles against the enemy. This skill represents knowledge of the best tactical planners in the past (and the strategies they used) and experience in the field of battle. All characters with this skill also know this: no plan ever survives contact with the enemy. Gamewise, when this skill needs testing on, roll against Int. Specialisations can be taken in this skill giving +10 to the test when used for that specialisation. Specialisations can be taken more than once giving cumulative +10 bonuses. Possible specialisations include: Skirmishes, Ambushes, Large scale warfare, Armoured vehicle tactics, Infantry, etc. * Operate Complex Vehicles This skill allows the character to pilot a specified (at the time of the skills' gain) type of large vehicle, be it a spaceship, titan, or other vehicle of large dimension. This skill however does not allow a single character to operate a vehicle requiring a crew of more than one person. The character has to make a Risk Test only for those manoeuvres on the limits of skill and vehicle design, and when such a risk test is necessary the character has an additional bonus of +10% to the Test. * Pilot Characters with this skill can drive hovercrafts, vehicles with anti-G systems and any other kind of non-earthly vehicle used for the movement within the atmosphere. The character has to make a Risk Test only for those manoeuvres on the limits of skill and vehicle design, and when such a risk test is necessary the character has an additional bonus of +10% to the Test. * Psychic Sense This skill is similar to the WFRP skill of Magical Sense. The character is able to understand if a device or a creature is the receptacle of psychic energy, has psychic powers or if it comes from the Warp, just by touching it. * Psychic Void Have you ever met someone you just couldn't 'get a feel for'? Someone you just didn't somehow feel wholely comfortable with? The chances are, that person was a Psychic Void. Most people exist partly in both the normal physical world and as a spark in the psychic sea of the Warp. Psykers especially glow brightly in the Warp, and Eldar souls shine as bright as a star. Other, rare, people, seem to have no Warp presence whatsoever - a psychic void, effectively soulless. The basic human evaluation of someone you unconsciously make when you meet them reports nothing about these individuals, leading to natural distrust and discomfort. This extremely rare defect occurs in less than one in a billion individuals. Tales have grown up around these people, of whom it is said that meeting their eyes is an experience one can never forget, seeming to draw you into a void, a pool of nothingness. Even being near them can make the most hardened person uncomfortable. It is hardly surprising, that these people, branded pariah, untouchable, are treated like outcasts or lepers, rejected from settlements. Local superstitions warn against touching them, saying it will bring bad luck. They are hunted by the Inquisition, and live lives as loners. However, the trait can also be occasionally useful. Psychic Voids, properly trained, can psychically maim or even kill a psyker at the level of their very soul, and Pariahs gain a +20 modifier on tests to intimidate anyone, at the expense of a -20 penalty on all other Fellowship or interpersonal tests, including tests such as busking, employment, etc. Needless to say, this is an innate skill, not gainable at any other time or any other circumstances (save highly drastic or usual ones, like a demi-god severing their link to the Warp...). * Read/Write In WFRP, the average person cannot read, the same cannot be assumed in general in the WH40K galaxy, where such depends on the world the character hails from. Characters from modern civilised worlds of the Imperium are assumed to be able to read and write, those from less civilised worlds may not be so lucky. In case of doubt, the GMs decision is final. * Repair The ability to put devices back in working order is fundamental in the universe of WH40K, where most designing and building skills are lost. With this skill a character can repair even seriously damaged mechanisms, unless unreplaceable spare pieces are missing. The Repair Skill has three different branches (corresponding to three different sub-skills): Weapons and Armour, Vehicles, Electronic Instruments. * Science This is a wide ranging skill, and the character must choose a specialisation. It grants the character knowledge in that scientific area (subject to a successful Int test when used). The character can also attempt to discern facts about other sciences outside of his/her specialisation. To do this, the player must roll against HALF Int, rounded down, subject to any additional modifiers the GM sees fit. This is only possible because of the way some sciences are inter-related. The GM may rule that certain sciences have no connection, and rule that knowing a specialisation of one gives no knowledge about the other. Example specialisations include: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Genetics, Psychology, Palaeontology, Planetology, Cosmology, Nuclear Physics, Quantum Physics, etc. * Secret Language - Lingua-Technis This is the ancient and secret language used and preserved by the Tech-priesthood of Mars. None but those authorised and so blessed by the Machine God may use it, or even learn it. * Smith With this skill it is possible to slightly modify the size and shape of armour without servosystems and not requiring implants (such as Terminator Armour). The character needs his instruments at hand and 3D10 hours to complete the job. Apart from this, the skill is analogue to the one of WFRP. * Speak Language - Low Gothic Low Gothic is the standard Imperial tongue and though many, many dialects have evolved across the galaxy, it remains largely universal. PCs whose characters hail from human worlds of the Imperium are assumed to speak it. * Specialist Weapon This skill already exists in WFRP: it allows the character to use weapons which need special training, and which are used otherwise with a WS or BS of 10 (according the standard WFRP ruleset). A character with this skill can choose from the groups described in WFRP, as well as five new groups of specialist weapons: - the (E) group - Eldar Weapons, - the (F) group - Flame Weapons, - the (G) group - Grenades, - the (P) group - Plasma Weapons, - the (S) group - Eldar Shuriken Weapons. The group of a weapon is indicated next to its name in the Wargear chapter. A character, specialized in one of these groups of weapons, can use them with his normal BS. The weapons marked with a star (*) in the Wargear chapter are specialist weapons so singular that they do not belong to any group and to be properly used require the character to have a Specialist Weapon skill devoted only to that weapon. All the Heavy Weapons and the Terminator Weapons follow this rule. For the others, there are still weapons in all categories of Specialist Weapon of WFRP, except for the Gunpowder Weapons, Artillery and Incendiary: most of the firearms of WH40K are simpler to use than the primitive arquebuses of WFRP, and the complex ones are characterized as we said above. * Space Navigation (Astrogation) This skill allows a character to trace space routes personally known or indicated on an available map or space chart, and therefore to navigate through planetary systems. However, it does not allow the character to navigate through Warpspace - the Warp Navigation skill is required for that. * Spot Ambush Characters with this skill are very hard to surprise, thanks to their specific military training, and have a +10% bonus for the Hear Noise and Observation Tests rolled to verify if they are surprised. * Survival Characters with this skill can take sustenance from a wild and hostile environment, by hunting, herb harvesting, etc. Moreover, they know the fundamental methods and remedies to resist extreme cold, heat, and, in general, all the external climatic conditions. * Technological Evaluation Thanks to this skill, with a few clues, a character can understand the highest degree of technological development reached by a culture. This skill gives also a +10% bonus on Bargain and Evaluate Tests regarding technological handiworks. * Warp Lore The Warp is a parallel dimension, almost unknown, but used to cover the great distances of the space. A character with this skill has an idea of the creatures haunting the Warp and of its laws. This skill works as the Daemon Lore skill of WFRP. * Warp Navigation A character with this skill can pilot spaceships through the Warp, without the risk of coming to a far and hostile planet! This skill is actually a genetic mutation, and can be acquired only at the generation of the character, not by using EP. The Warp Navigation Skill is a psychic power, but those who have it never have other psychic powers. * Web Lore The Webway is an intricate Eldar tunnel system crossing the Warp. It is composed of main paths, large enough to allow the passage of impressive spaceships, and smaller secondary paths. This skill allows to identify the various Gates, i.e. the entrances to these tunnels, which usually are not recognizable, and to have an idea of the monsters haunting the Webway and of its legends, related to arcane and secret places such as the Black Library. * Web Navigation This skill allows the character to pilot spaceships within the Webway, to get your bearings within the main and secondary paths, to track routes so as to reach the destination by means of the shortest path, avoiding the most dangerous zones. However, it does not allow anyone to find the Black Library, nor other such secret places. 2.5 Fate Points =-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Since our heroes will be the main characters of battles most of times lethal, it is useful to give some more chance to the players to keep untouched (so to speak!) their favorites at least for some game session. And so the Fate Points come into play, for all aspects exactly alike to those of the Fantasy RPG. So, when characters are created Humans will have 1d3+1 Fate Points (1d3-1 for Space Marines), Eldar 1d3-1, Squats 1d3, Ratlings d4 and Ogryns D3-1. The Fate Points are handled by the Game Master exactly as described in the paragraph Fate Points, on page 15 of WFRP. If a character has a standard profile for his race, he gains one Fate Point more; a Champion gains no more Fate Points than normal. A Hero has one Fate Point less than normal (one minimum). A Mighty Hero has two Fate Points less than normal (zero minimum).