A worked example of RuneQuest character creation
RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha is probably the crunchiest game I’ve looked into running. It’s based on the same “basic roleplaying system” as Call of Cthulhu, but set in a high-magic bronze-age fantasy context, and significantly more complex. That said, I think the character creation does a pretty good job of gradually introducing this complexity without being overwhelming, but there were a few aspects which confused me and made me turn to the internet to get help.
So, without further ado, let’s get into the creation of Orstan the Exemplar, warrior and chariot driver of the Hiording clan. You’ll need a copy of the core rulebook to follow along. If you just want to see the finished character, jump to the end.
Character Creation
Step 1: Homeland
Since the one-shot I’m running is going to be set in Sartar, I picked that. This gives our character three starting passions: Love (family) 60%, Loyalty (clan) 60%, and Loyalty (tribe) 60%.
I also decided to pick a name, tribe, and clan (which is actually done in step 8) at this point too: I called my character Orstan the Exemplar, and decided he’s from the Hiording clan of the Colymar tribe. I picked the Colymar because the core rulebook describes them as a “default” tribe for adventurers (in the same way that Sartar is a “default” homeland for adventurers), and I picked the Hiording clan totally arbitrarily.
This gives an additional Loyalty (Colymar Tribe) +10%, which stacks with our current Loyalty (tribe). Not all tribes or clans give an additional bonus.
Incidentally, I came up with the name “Orstan” by giving ChatGPT the example male Sartarite names from the core rulebook and asking for more like that. Here are some more random names:
- Male: Kordar, Dangor, Brondil, Hengor, Garstan, Thandar, Kallor, Ulvar, Orstan, Varlorn
- Female: Althila, Brondis, Caeluma, Daeliska, Erevaya, Frayna, Grevina, Heldara, Iskarna, Jovsara, Kaelana
Orstan at the end of Step 1
- Passions: Love (family) 60%, Loyalty (Hiording clan) 60%, Loyalty (Colymar tribe) 70%
Step 2: Family History
I love lifepath character creation systems, but I decided to skip over the history of Orstan’s grandparents and parents, just focussing on his personal history. That’s what I’ll do in my one-shot, to save time. But if we decide to play a campaign of RuneQuest, we’ll definitely do the full character creation.
1622
As Orstan is from Sartar, I rolled 1d20+5 to see what he
was doing. I got a 13: Orstan was dealing with the Great Winter.
Rolling 1d20 on the Great Winter table, I got a 5,
meaning he nearly froze to death. Rolling on the subtable (1d6
this time), I got a 6, so Orstan survived by fleeing to Esrolia and
fighting in the civil war there.
Rolling 1d20+5 on the Civil War in Esrolia table this
time, I got a 22. Orstan fought gloriously protecting Queen Samastina from Red
Earth assassins, gaining Honour 60%, Loyalty (Queen Samastina) 60%, and
Reputation +1d6% (for which I rolled a 3).
1623
No modifiers for Sartarites this time, so just a straight
1d20 roll. I got an 8, which means that it was a normal year for Orstan
and nothing really happened.
1624
No modifier for this roll either, so a straight 1d20. I
got a 20, meaning Orstan fought at the Battle of Pennel Ford.
Rolling 1d20+10 on the Pennel Ford table, I got a 21,
which means that he fought with great glory, gaining Honour +10%, Battle
+10%, and Reputation +1d6% (for which I rolled a 3).
Some skills start at a value other than 0. Battle starts at 10%, so Orstan now has Battle 20%.
I then chose whether Orstan accompanied Argrath to the summoning of Jaldon
Goldentooth, or aided Harrek the Berserk in sacking the City of Wonders. I
chose the summoning, rolling 1d20 on that table, and got
a 6: Orstan acknowledged Argrath as the White Bull, gaining Loyalty (White
Bull) 60%.
1625
No modifier for this roll either, 1d20 again, and I
rolled a 13. Orstan witnessed a several-kilometer-long dragon explode out of
the ground and destroy a temple-city of the Lunar Empire, then he took up arms
and fought in the Liberation of Sartar!
Rolling 1d20 on the Liberation of Sartar table, I got a
1. Orstan fought with great glory, gaining Honour +10%, Loyalty
(Sartar) 60%, Reputation +1d3% (for which I rolled
a 1), and Battle +10%.
The game begins in 1625, so now we’re ready to leave history behind and look to Orstan’s future.
Orstan at the end of Step 2
- Passions: Honour 70%, Love (family) 60%, Loyalty (Hiording clan) 60%, Loyalty (Colymar tribe) 70%, Loyalty (Queen Samastina) 60%, Loyalty (White Bull) 60%, Loyalty (Sartar) 60%
- Reputation: 9%
- Skills:
- Knowledge: Battle 20%
Step 3: Rune Affinities
At this point I paused to read the rest of the character creation chapter and the chapters on runes, rune cults, and rune magic. Runes are a big deal, both in the setting and also mechanically, so it’s difficult to pick rune affinities without knowing the wider context.
Based on Orstan’s history, I decided he should be a warrior type, probably in the cult of Orlanth Adventurous, which means he needed an Air or Movement rune affinity of at least 50%.
I think this step should be swapped with step 4 (rolling characteristics), as if you end up rolling a frail but smart character you’d probably want to choose a different cult (and so want different rune affinities) than if you roll a strong character. Characteristics don’t matter a huge amount, but a weak character will have fewer hit points and may not be able to use some weapons.
But let’s just hope the characteristics work out for a warrior, and continue.
Due to being from Sartar, Orstan automatically gets Air +10%. I then chose Air, Earth, and Fire for his elemental rune affinities, giving them +60%, +40%, and +20% respectively. Those runes are associated with:
- Being passionate, violent, proud, and unpredictable.
- Being pragmatic, prudent, worldly, and sensual.
- Being pure, chaste, idealistic, and perceptive.
After that, I chose to make Harmony and Movement his primary power / form runes, setting those each to 75% and their opposites (Disorder and Stasis) to 25%. Those runes are associated with:
- Putting the welfare of one’s community above one’s own; versus putting one’s own welfare, advantage, or pleasure above all others.
- Being changeable, energetic, rebellious, and ambitious; versus being resolute and unchanging.
At this point I was starting to develop this idea of a passionate and honourable warrior who lives for the battlefield and is somewhat less comfortable in civilised society. The kind of larger-than-life sword-and-sorcery heroic type: everything Orstan does is boisterous and over-the-top, but he cares deeply about his friends and community and would happily sacrifice himself to protect them.
Finally, for the additional 50 points you get to distribute across all the runes, I went for Air +10%, Earth +10%, Beast +10% (and so Man -10%), Fertility +15% (and so Death -15%), and Movement +5% (and so Stasis -5%). Beast / Man and Fertility / Death are associated with:
- Being bestial, savage, feral, wild, and untamed, preferring the wilderness to cultivated lands; versus being civilised, settled, sociable, and ethical.
- Enjoying the pleasures of the flesh and being generous and giving; versus separating oneself from the material world and seeking to deny the world of the senses, being relentless and ruthless.
I felt these fit well with this passionate warrior feeling I was going for. He prefers the battlefield and the festival to the farm or the marketplace.
Orstan at the end of Step 3
- Runes: Air 80%, Earth 50%, Fire 20%, Man 40% / Beast 60%, Fertility 65% / Death 35%, Harmony 75% / Disorder 25%, Stasis 20% / Movement 80%
- Passions: Honour 70%, Love (family) 60%, Loyalty (Hiording clan) 60%, Loyalty (Colymar tribe) 70%, Loyalty (Queen Samastina) 60%, Loyalty (White Bull) 60%, Loyalty (Sartar) 60%
- Reputation: 9%
- Skills:
- Knowledge: Battle 20%
Rune affinities of 80% of more strongly affect the character’s personality, so Orstan is especially passionate, energetic, unpredictable, violent, and proud.
Step 4: Characteristics
There’s a sidebar with some suggestions for how to change the process if you want slightly better characteristics than average (for example, rerolling 1s), but I just went for the default:
- STR:
3d6: 12 - DEX:
3d6: 10 - CON:
3d6: 10 - POW:
3d6: 12 - CHA:
3d6: 13 - SIZ:
2d6+6: 11 - INT:
2d6+6: 13
From Orstan’s Air I took STR +2, and from his Earth, CON +1.
Unlike some of the other homelands, Sartar doesn’t give any additional characteristic modifiers.
Then I noted down all the derived attributes: magic points, hit points, healing rate, damage bonus, spirit combat damage, maximum encumbrance, strike rank, and skill category modifiers. They’re all pretty straightforward, though one thing I overlooked when I first read this section is that the manipulation skills category modifier also applies to all the weapon skills. It’s there in the text, but every other category modifier has a section heading, so I missed that the weapon skills were covered as part of something else at first.
Homeland Skill Bonuses
Finally, every homeland gives bonuses to some skills. I found the treatment of weapon skills here a little confusing.
RuneQuest puts all weapons skills into categories: for example, 1H Axe covers both small axes and battle axes, and there’s also a separate 2H Axe skill which covers battle axes (I guess using them one- or two-handed is different enough to be a different skill), great axes, and dagger-axes.
The rulebook says that if you get a bonus to a weapon category, you have to pick a specific weapon skill to apply that bonus to. So if you get a bonus to 1H Spear then that means your character starts the game particularly good with one specific sort of one-handed spear, and not all one-handed spears.
But the character sheet doesn’t support that!
The character sheet has a confusing mixture of category-skills like 1H Axe and weapon-skills like Broadsword, with no space to write down which one-handed axe you have that 1H Axe skill in.
I found a thread on the BRP forum with a useful reply by Jason D, a line-editor for RuneQuest:
Okay, hopefully this clarifies things for everyone:
If a cultural skill modifier refers to a specific weapon, then apply that to the specific weapon. For example, a bonus to Lance is just Lance.
If a cultural skill modifier refers to a category, apply that to a specific weapon within that category. For example, a bonus to 1H Spear could be applied to Javelin, Short Spear, or Lance.
If a cultural skill modifier is even more general and applies to multiple categories, pick a specific weapon and apply it there. For example, a bonus to Battle Axe could apply to the 1H or 2H Battle Axe, as desired.
If a cultural skill modifier refers to a weapon that hypothetically could be a skill category or a specific weapon, use the specific weapon. For example, a bonus to Dagger goes to Dagger, not to Parrying Dagger, Throwing Dagger, or Sickle.
And so, in not having space to note down the specific weapons, the character sheet is just wrong.
I think the character sheet should leave all the weapon skills blank, or format them like “1H Axe (_____): __%” so there’s space to write in the specialism, and I also think that the rulebook could have been written a little more carefully to avoid having weapon-categories with the same names as weapon-skills.
Anyway, with that confusion out of the way, Orstan gained the following skill bonuses: Ride (any) +5%, Dance +5%, Sing +10%, Speak Own Language (Heortling) 50%, Speak Other Language (Tradetalk) +10%, Customs (Heortling) 25%, Farm +20%, Herd +10%, Spirit Combat +15%, Dagger +10%, 1H Axe (Battle Axe) +10%, 1H Spear (Lance) +10%, Broadsword +15%, Composite Bow +10%, Javelin +10%, Medium Shield +15%, Large Shield +10%.
Many of those skills have a nonzero starting value, so they’ll be higher than those bonuses. And note that Speak Own Language (Heortling) and Customs (Heortling) aren’t bonuses, those values replace the starting values.
Orstan at the end of Step 4
- STR 14 DEX 10 CON 11 POW 12 CHA 13 SIZ 11 INT 13, HP 11 DEX SR 3 SIZ SR 2
- Runes: Air 80%, Earth 50%, Fire 20%, Man 40% / Beast 60%, Fertility 65% / Death 35%, Harmony 75% / Disorder 25%, Stasis 20% / Movement 80%
- Magic Points: 12
- Passions: Honour 70%, Love (family) 60%, Loyalty (Hiording clan) 60%, Loyalty (Colymar tribe) 70%, Loyalty (Queen Samastina) 60%, Loyalty (White Bull) 60%, Loyalty (Sartar) 60%
- Reputation: 9%
- Damage Bonus: +
1d4 - Spirit Combat Damage:
1d6+1 - Healing Rate: 2
- Skills:
- Agility (+0%): Ride (any) 10%
- Communication (+5%): Dance 15%, Sing 20%, Speak Own Language (Heortling) 50%, Speak Other Language (Tradetalk) 10%
- Knowledge (+5%): Battle 20%, Customs (Heortling) 25%, Farm 30%, Herd 15%
- Magic (+0%): Spirit Combat 35%
- Manipulation (+5%): Dagger 25%, 1H Axe (Battle Axe) 20%, 1H Spear (Lance) 15%, Broadsword 25%, Composite Bow 15%, Javelin 20%, Medium Shield 30%, Large Shield 25%
| Hit Location | 1d20 |
Armour | HP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Right Leg | 1–4 | 0 | 4 |
| Left Leg | 5–8 | 0 | 4 |
| Abdomen | 9–11 | 0 | 4 |
| Chest | 12 | 0 | 5 |
| Right Arm | 13–15 | 0 | 3 |
| Left Arm | 16–18 | 0 | 3 |
| Head | 19–20 | 0 | 4 |
With his above-average STR and average DEX, I think Orstan is well-suited to being a warrior.
Step 5: Occupation
I decided that Orstan would be a Chariot Driver. His job is to transport a temple’s Rune Masters (warrior-priests) around the battlefield. This felt way more cool than just being a regular warrior: driving a chariot into the midst of a battlefield while a muscular blue-painted guy stands behind you flinging lightning around as arrows rain down!
As a chariot driver, Orstan gained: Battle +20%, First Aid +10%, Drive Chariot +40%, Whip +25%, 1H Axe (Battle Axe) +20%, Dance +15%, Javelin +20%, Scan +15%, Honour +10% (really going all in on the honour).
He also gains 1d6 distinctive scars. I rolled a 4, and
decided at one point he was mauled, or slashed, or something, on the right side
of his body, so he has scars on his face, down the right side of his chest, and
really bad scarring on his right arm.
Whip? What whip?
Chariot drivers get a bonus to whip, but there’s no whip skill on the character sheet.
No problem, I’ll just check the weapon list in the combat chapter… and there’s no whip there either. I searched the PDF for “whip”: no stats. Did none of the playtesters create a chariot driver? How did the absence of a starting skill / weapon just not get noticed? I don’t know if it’s in the equipment book (I don’t have that), but if it’s referenced in the core rulebook, as a thing you can get in character creation no less, it should be described in the core rulebook.
After some googling, I found a blog post with some plausible stats which I decided to go for, though I reduced the range from 5m to 2m, because a 5m whip sounds unwieldy. But just forgetting to include the stats for a weapon is a poor look.
Starting equipment
Unfortunately, when I then turned to starting equipment, I was confused again. The rulebook says:
The equipment section also lists the adventurer as having their “cultural weapons.” This means that the adventurer owns one of each weapon they can use. An adventurer could own all of the weapons listed if the player spread the adventurer’s experience among all those weapon skills.
But, since a “cultural weapon” is a weapon you get a bonus to simply for being from a place, isn’t that always the case? Sartarites get Dagger +10%, Battle Axe +10%, 1H Spear +10%, Broadsword +15%, Composite Bow +10% or Sling +10%, Javelin +10%, Medium Shield +15%, and Large Shield +10%. So does that mean every Sartarite character starts the game carrying around a dagger, battle axe, spear, broadsword, bow or sling, javelin, and two shields?
Not only is that more weapons than a warrior gets (since the warrior occupation doesn’t give cultural weapons), there’s not enough space on the character sheet to write them all down!
So I turned to reddit, and the response was… inconclusive. One vote for “up to you”, one vote for “you get everything”, and two votes for “you get the cultural weapons you put occupational, cult, or personal skill points into”. I decided to go for that last interpretation, since it seems the most sensible to me.
If the character creation example in the core rulebook had used just about any other occupation, this would have been made clear. Oh well.
Orstan at the end of Step 5
- STR 14 DEX 10 CON 11 POW 12 CHA 13 SIZ 11 INT 13, HP 11 DEX SR 3 SIZ SR 2
- Runes: Air 80%, Earth 50%, Fire 20%, Man 40% / Beast 60%, Fertility 65% / Death 35%, Harmony 75% / Disorder 25%, Stasis 20% / Movement 80%
- Magic Points: 12
- Passions: Honour 80%, Love (family) 60%, Loyalty (Hiording clan) 60%, Loyalty (Colymar tribe) 70%, Loyalty (Queen Samastina) 60%, Loyalty (White Bull) 60%, Loyalty (Sartar) 60%
- Reputation: 9%
- Damage Bonus: +
1d4 - Spirit Combat Damage:
1d6+1 - Healing Rate: 2
- Armour: linothorax (linen, 3pt), greaves (leather, 1pt), vambraces (leather, 1pt), composite helm (2pt)
- Skills:
- Agility (+0%): Drive (Chariot) 45%, Ride (any) 10%
- Communication (+5%): Dance 30%, Sing 20%, Speak Own Language (Heortling) 50%, Speak Other Language (Tradetalk) 10%
- Knowledge (+5%): Battle 40%, Customs (Heortling) 25%, Farm 30%, First Aid 20%, Herd 15%
- Magic (+0%): Spirit Combat 35%
- Manipulation (+5%): Dagger 25%, 1H Axe (Battle Axe) 40%, 1H Spear (Lance) 15%, Broadsword 25%, Whip 35%, Composite Bow 15%, Javelin 40%, Medium Shield 30%, Large Shield 25%
- Perception (+5%): Scan 40%
- Ransom: 500L
| Hit Location | 1d20 |
Armour | HP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Right Leg | 1–4 | 1 | 4 |
| Left Leg | 5–8 | 1 | 4 |
| Abdomen | 9–11 | 3 | 4 |
| Chest | 12 | 3 | 5 |
| Right Arm | 13–15 | 1 | 3 |
| Left Arm | 16–18 | 1 | 3 |
| Head | 19–20 | 2 | 4 |
| Weapon Attack | % | Damage | Range | HP | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1H Battle Axe | 45 | 1d8 + 2 + 1d4 |
0.8m | 8 | 8 |
| Whip | 40 | 1d4 |
2m | 12 | 5 |
| Javelin (melee) | 15 | 1d6 + 1d4 |
1.5m | 8 | 7 |
| Javelin (thrown) | 45 | 1d10 |
20m | 8 | 3 |
As an aside, I think there’s a mistake in Vasana, the example character in the core rulebook, who has Strike Rank 7 for their broadsword, battle axe, and medium shield, despite the broadsword having a base Strike Rank of 2 and both the battle axe and medium shield having a base Strike Rank of 3.
Step 6: Cult
I chose the Orlanth Adventurous cult, because it’s a popular warrior cult in Sartar.
For joining a cult of Orlanth, Orstan gained 3 rune points, Cult Lore (Orlanth) +15%, Worship (Orlanth) +20%, Meditate +5%, Orate +15%, Speak Other Language (Stormspeech) +20%, Sing +20%, and all common rune spells.
I find it a little strange that Cult Lore and Worship have nonzero starting values (5% each).
For joining Orlanth Adventurous specifically, Orstan gained +10% to any sword skill, so I chose Broadsword. For the additional +20% and +15% bonuses, I chose Sing and Orate, respectively. And for the favoured passion I took Devotion (Orlanth) 60%.
Finally, I had to choose 3 rune magic spells and 5 points of spirit magic spells. I decided on Lightning, Shield, and Wind Warp for the rune magic (being able to turn the wind to favour my javelin throws sounds awesome), and Bladesharp 2, Mobility, Fanaticism, and Protection 1 for spirit magic.
Orstan at the end of Step 6
- STR 14 DEX 10 CON 11 POW 12 CHA 13 SIZ 11 INT 13, HP 11 DEX SR 3 SIZ SR 2
- Runes: Air 80%, Earth 50%, Fire 20%, Man 40% / Beast 60%, Fertility 65% / Death 35%, Harmony 75% / Disorder 25%, Stasis 20% / Movement 80%
- Rune Points: 3 (Orlanth Adventurous)
- Rune Spells: All common Rune spells; Lightning, Shield, Wind Warp
- Spirit Magic: Bladesharp 2, Mobility, Fanaticism, Protection 1
- Magic Points: 12
- Passions: Honour 80%, Love (family) 60%, Loyalty (Hiording clan) 60%, Loyalty (Colymar tribe) 70%, Loyalty (Queen Samastina) 60%, Loyalty (White Bull) 60%, Loyalty (Sartar) 60%, Devotion (Orlanth) 60%
- Reputation: 9%
- Damage Bonus: +
1d4 - Spirit Combat Damage:
1d6+1 - Healing Rate: 2
- Armour: linothorax (linen, 3pt), greaves (leather, 1pt), vambraces (leather, 1pt), composite helm (2pt)
- Skills:
- Agility (+0%): Drive (Chariot) 45%, Ride (any) 10%
- Communication (+5%): Dance 30%, Orate 40%, Sing 60%, Speak Own Language (Heortling) 50%, Speak Other Language (Stormspeech) 20%, Speak Other Language (Tradetalk) 10%
- Knowledge (+5%): Battle 40%, Cult Lore (Orlanth) 20%, Customs (Heortling) 25%, Farm 30%, First Aid 20%, Herd 15%
- Magic (+0%): Meditate 15%, Spirit Combat 35%, Worship (Orlanth) 25%
- Manipulation (+5%): Dagger 25%, 1H Axe (Battle Axe) 40%, 1H Spear (Lance) 15%, Broadsword 35%, Whip 35%, Composite Bow 15%, Javelin 40%, Medium Shield 30%, Large Shield 25%
- Perception (+5%): Scan 40%
- Ransom: 500L
| Hit Location | 1d20 |
Armour | HP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Right Leg | 1–4 | 1 | 4 |
| Left Leg | 5–8 | 1 | 4 |
| Abdomen | 9–11 | 3 | 4 |
| Chest | 12 | 3 | 5 |
| Right Arm | 13–15 | 1 | 3 |
| Left Arm | 16–18 | 1 | 3 |
| Head | 19–20 | 2 | 4 |
| Weapon Attack | % | Damage | Range | HP | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1H Battle Axe | 45 | 1d8 + 2 + 1d4 |
0.8m | 8 | 8 |
| Broadsword | 40 | 1d8 + 1 + 1d4 |
1m | 12 | 7 |
| Whip | 40 | 1d4 |
2m | 12 | 5 |
| Javelin (melee) | 15 | 1d6 + 1d4 |
1.5m | 8 | 7 |
| Javelin (thrown) | 45 | 1d10 |
20m | 8 | 3 |
Step 7: Personal Skill Bonuses
For Orstan’s four 25% skill bonuses I picked his weapon skills: 1H Axe (Battle Axe), Broadsword, Whip, and Javelin.
Then for the five 10% skill bonuses I picked Battle, Speak Other Language (Tradetalk), Worship (Orlanth), Scan, and Medium Shield.
Finally, I noted down related languages: Speak Other Language (Esrolian) 25%, Speak Other Language (Old Pavic) 10%, and Speak Other Language (Tarshite) 10%. The rules say to note these skills down, because you get them for free during character creation but after this point they have to be trained independently, but there wasn’t much space for them on the character sheet. I had to use the three “other skills” slots, which leaves no room for anything else.
Orstan at the end of Step 7
- STR 14 DEX 10 CON 11 POW 12 CHA 13 SIZ 11 INT 13, HP 11 DEX SR 3 SIZ SR 2
- Runes: Air 80%, Earth 50%, Fire 20%, Man 40% / Beast 60%, Fertility 65% / Death 35%, Harmony 75% / Disorder 25%, Stasis 20% / Movement 80%
- Rune Points: 3 (Orlanth Adventurous)
- Rune Spells: All common Rune spells; Lightning, Shield, Wind Warp
- Spirit Magic: Bladesharp 2, Mobility, Fanaticism, Protection 1
- Magic Points: 12
- Passions: Honour 80%, Love (family) 60%, Loyalty (Hiording clan) 60%, Loyalty (Colymar tribe) 70%, Loyalty (Queen Samastina) 60%, Loyalty (White Bull) 60%, Loyalty (Sartar) 60%, Devotion (Orlanth) 60%
- Reputation: 9%
- Damage Bonus: +
1d4 - Spirit Combat Damage:
1d6+1 - Healing Rate: 2
- Armour: linothorax (linen, 3pt), greaves (leather, 1pt), vambraces (leather, 1pt), composite helm (2pt)
- Skills:
- Agility (+0%): Drive (Chariot) 45%, Ride (any) 10%
- Communication (+5%): Dance 30%, Orate 40%, Sing 60%, Speak Own Language (Heortling) 50%, Speak Other Language (Esrolian) 25%, Speak Other Language (Old Pavic) 10%, Speak Other Language (Stormspeech) 20%, Speak Other Language (Tarshite) 10%, Speak Other Language (Tradetalk) 20%
- Knowledge (+5%): Battle 50%, Cult Lore (Orlanth) 20%, Customs (Heortling) 25%, Farm 30%, First Aid 20%, Herd 15%
- Magic (+0%): Meditate 15%, Spirit Combat 35%, Worship (Orlanth) 35%
- Manipulation (+5%): Dagger 25%, 1H Axe (Battle Axe) 65%, 1H Spear (Lance) 15%, Broadsword 60%, Whip 60%, Composite Bow 15%, Javelin 65%, Medium Shield 40%, Large Shield 25%
- Perception (+5%): Scan 50%
- Ransom: 500L
| Hit Location | 1d20 |
Armour | HP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Right Leg | 1–4 | 1 | 4 |
| Left Leg | 5–8 | 1 | 4 |
| Abdomen | 9–11 | 3 | 4 |
| Chest | 12 | 3 | 5 |
| Right Arm | 13–15 | 1 | 3 |
| Left Arm | 16–18 | 1 | 3 |
| Head | 19–20 | 2 | 4 |
| Weapon Attack | % | Damage | Range | HP | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1H Battle Axe | 70 | 1d8 + 2 + 1d4 |
0.8m | 8 | 8 |
| Broadsword | 65 | 1d8 + 1 + 1d4 |
1m | 12 | 7 |
| Whip | 65 | 1d4 |
2m | 12 | 5 |
| Javelin (melee) | 15 | 1d6 + 1d4 |
1.5m | 8 | 7 |
| Javelin (thrown) | 70 | 1d10 |
20m | 8 | 3 |
Step 8: Other Information
Since I already picked a name, tribe, and clan, I didn’t have much to do here.
Just roll Orstan’s birthday (Godsday of Movement Week in Air Season), note down
his starting Reputation +10%, and roll 1d20 for a
family heirloom.
I got a 19: an ostentatious metal helmet (worth 3x normal price) containing a 2-point spirit magic matrix Protection.
And we’re done!
Orstan the Exemplar
Initiate of Orlanth Adventurous. Male, age 21. Chariot driver of the Hiording clan of the Colymar Tribe.
I am Orstan, son of Andrin, of the Hiording clan. I live for battle, glory, and passion; civilisation bores me. I serve my clan as a chariot driver, bringing the Rune Masters to our foes and striking them down through might and magic! I fought to free Esrolia, routed the Lunars at Pennel Ford, and drove them from Sartar in the wake of the Dragonrise. I will strike down all who threaten those I hold dear. The scars on my body bear witness to my devotion.
My friends know me as much for my boisterous laughter and wild partying as for my skill at arms. Some consider me inconsistent and changeable, but my honour and my commitment to the clan never waver.
- STR 14 DEX 10 CON 11 POW 12 CHA 13 SIZ 11 INT 13, HP 11 DEX SR 3 SIZ SR 2
- Runes: Air 80%, Earth 50%, Fire 20%, Man 40% / Beast 60%, Fertility 65% / Death 35%, Harmony 75% / Disorder 25%, Stasis 20% / Movement 80%
- Rune Points: 3 (Orlanth Adventurous)
- Rune Spells: All common Rune spells; Lightning, Shield, Wind Warp
- Spirit Magic: Bladesharp 2, Mobility, Fanaticism, Protection 1
- Magic Points: 12
- Passions: Honour 80%, Love (family) 60%, Loyalty (Hiording clan) 60%, Loyalty (Colymar tribe) 70%, Loyalty (Queen Samastina) 60%, Loyalty (White Bull) 60%, Loyalty (Sartar) 60%, Devotion (Orlanth) 60%
- Reputation: 19%
- Damage Bonus: +
1d4 - Spirit Combat Damage:
1d6+1 - Healing Rate: 2
- Armour: linothorax (linen, 3pt), greaves (leather, 1pt), vambraces (leather, 1pt), composite helm (2pt) (contains 2-point spirit magic matrix Protection) (worth 3x normal)
- Skills:
- Agility (+0%): Drive (Chariot) 45%, Ride (any) 10%
- Communication (+5%): Dance 30%, Orate 40%, Sing 60%, Speak Own Language (Heortling) 50%, Speak Other Language (Esrolian) 25%, Speak Other Language (Old Pavic) 10%, Speak Other Language (Stormspeech) 20%, Speak Other Language (Tarshite) 10%, Speak Other Language (Tradetalk) 20%
- Knowledge (+5%): Battle 50%, Cult Lore (Orlanth) 20%, Customs (Heortling) 25%, Farm 30%, First Aid 20%, Herd 15%
- Magic (+0%): Meditate 15%, Spirit Combat 35%, Worship (Orlanth) 35%
- Manipulation (+5%): Dagger 25%, 1H Axe (Battle Axe) 65%, 1H Spear (Lance) 15%, Broadsword 60%, Whip 60%, Composite Bow 15%, Javelin 65%, Medium Shield 40%, Large Shield 25%
- Perception (+5%): Scan 50%
- Magic Items: An ostentatious helmet containing a 2-point spirit magic matrix Protection spell.
- Ransom: 500L
| Hit Location | 1d20 |
Armour | HP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Right Leg | 1–4 | 1 | 4 |
| Left Leg | 5–8 | 1 | 4 |
| Abdomen | 9–11 | 3 | 4 |
| Chest | 12 | 3 | 5 |
| Right Arm | 13–15 | 1 | 3 |
| Left Arm | 16–18 | 1 | 3 |
| Head | 19–20 | 2 | 4 |
| Weapon Attack | % | Damage | Range | HP | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1H Battle Axe | 70 | 1d8 + 2 + 1d4 |
0.8m | 8 | 8 |
| Broadsword | 65 | 1d8 + 1 + 1d4 |
1m | 12 | 7 |
| Whip | 65 | 1d4 |
2m | 12 | 5 |
| Javelin (melee) | 15 | 1d6 + 1d4 |
1.5m | 8 | 7 |
| Javelin (thrown) | 70 | 1d10 |
20m | 8 | 3 |