Character Creation

Backgrounds

Your Background determines what Skills your character is best at, where your character gets material goods, and any special Tricks or abilities you may have outside of combat. You may pick one from the list starting on page 18 of the manual, make up your own using the questions on page 24 of the manual, or select from the options below.

Lone Star Highway Patrolman

Goods: Selling Information
Connections: Dirty Lone Star Officers (Connections)
Primary: Lightly Armored Vehicles
Support/Knowledge: Local Roadways
Social/Business: Security Etiquette
Other: Intimidation
Trick: I Ran These Roads: Highway patrol always knows the shortcuts, sensor dead zones, and other secrets of the local roadways.

Knight Errant Security Consultant

Goods: Fencing Valuables
Connections: Fences (Connections)
Primary: Home Burglary Systems
Support/Knowledge: Casing Homes
Social/Business: Salesmanship
Other: Deception
Trick: Here's the Mistake: Security Consultants are trained in spotting the most significant weakness of a home or personal security system.

Doc Wagon Field Medic

Goods:
Connections: I picture the sort of weirdo ambulance driver types in the classic Nicolas Cage film, Bringing Out the Dead
Primary: Trauma treatment
Support/Knowledge: Drug knowledge
Social/Business: Local gang members and drug addicts (whom you've treated numerous times)
Other: Lifesaver (people think well of you, especially if you've saved their life or the life of someone close to them)
Trick:You're Still Breathing, Ain'tcha? : Doc Wagon Field Medics are experts in diagnosing and treating trauma wounds with basic portable medkits

Ex-Yakuza Enforcer

Goods: Loan Shark
Connections: Yakuza
Primary: Human Anatomy
Support/Knowledge: Gang Hierarchies
Social/Business: Yakuza Traditions (proper etiquette, how to read tattoos, etc.)
Other: Weightlifter
Trick: A Man Must Have a Code : You're respected by other warrior types who aren't sociopathic street scum

Metahuman Activist

Goods: Anonymous Donor
Connections: Activist Community / Media Contacts
Primary: Working a Crowd
Support/Knowledge: Local Politics
Social/Business: Progressive Causes
Other: Convincing Rhetoric
Trick: Bring Me My Bow of Burning Gold : Activists have a natural enthusiasm, which, if sincere, will convince like-minded others to aid them.

Hermetic Student

Goods:
Connections: Hermetic Researchers (Connections)
Primary: Hermetic Research
Support/Knowledge: Hermetic Theory
Social/Business: Academic Etiquette
Other: Hermetic Lab Work
Trick: I Read a Paper About That: Thanks to their formal education, hermetic apprentices always have the relevant academic knowledge for any magical phenomenon.

Template

Goods:
Connections:
Primary:
Support/Knowledge:
Social/Business:
Other:
Trick:

Origins

Your Background tells us what your character has been up to lately. Your Origin tells us where your character comes from. Your Origin might be a type of creature like “Troll” or “Protocol Droid,” or a demographic like “Dwarven Peasantry” or “Middle-Class Suburbanite.” Work with your group to pick something appropriate to the tone of the game.

Once you have selected your Origin, you pick two Skills and one Complication related to that Origin. If your Origin is wealthy, you may add one to your Wealth score in lieu of one of the Skills.

Elf

Skills: Low-Light Vision, Elven Charisma

Elvish Superiority (Complication): Even if you don't think you're better than everybody else, a lot of people will assume you do.

Dwarf

Skills: Thermographic Vision, Dwarven Constitution

Too Damn Short (Complication): It's the humans' world, and you have to live in it.

Ork

Skills: Low-Light Vision, Orkish Athleticism

Orkish Brute (Complication): Even if you're not a brutish thug, a lot of people will assume you are.

Troll

Skills: Thermographic Vision, Inhumanely Tough, Inhumanely Strong

Too Damn Big (Complication): It's the humans' world, and you have to live in it.

Magician

Skills:

• Alchemy (creating magical substances)
• Arcana (spell design and analysis)
• Artificing (creating and analyzing magical foci)
• Assensing (understanding astral perceptions)
• Astral Combat (fighting in astral space)
• Banishing (disrupting the link between spirits and the material world)
• Binding (compelling a bound spirit)
• Counterspelling (dispelling magical effects)
• Disenchanting (removing an enchantment)
• Ritual Spellcasting (casting ritual spells)
• Spellcasting (casting spells)
• Summoning (summoning spirits)

Life Modules

These are borrowed from some new edition and come with a bunch of crunch, but they reminded me of Traveler, and might give people some inspiration, so I put them here.

Nationality

UCAS, CAS, NAN, and TÍR TAIRNGIRE

Formative Years(until about 10 years old)

1. Arcology Living
2. Corp Drone
3. Farm Living
4. Fugitive
5. Isolated Rural Upbringing
6. Military Brat
7. Orphan
8. Rich Kid
9. Street Urchin
10. White Collar

The Teenage Years (until about 17)

1. Corporate Education
2. Farm Living
3. Gang Warfare
4. High School
5. Home Tutored
6. Isolated Rural Upbringing
7. Magical Education
8. Military School
9. Prep School
10. Street Kid

Further Education (optional)

1. Community College
2. State College or University
3. Ivy League School
4. Military Academy (followed by Tour of Duty with an armed force)
5. Trade School / Technical School (and pick vocation)

Real Life

1. Bounty Hunter
2. Celebrity
3. Combat Correspondent
4. Corporate
5. Covert Operations
6. Drifter
7. Ganger
8. Government Agent
9. Law Enforcement
10. Organized Crime
11. Political Activist
12. Postgraduate Studies
13. Private Investigator/Detective
14. Regular Job
15. Shadow Work (Shadowrunner)
16. Street Magic
17. Terrorist
18. Think Tank
19. Tour of Duty (Mercenary), Tour of Duty (NAN), Tour of Duty (Tir Tairngire), Tour of Duty (UCAS, CAS, and CFS)

Earthdawn Skills

Active

• Horsemanship
• Lockpicking
• Mechanical Traps
• Scouting Ahead
• Field Doctor
• Astral Manipulation
• Stealth
• Foraging
• Acrobatics
• Speaking with the Dead
• Animal Handling
• Traps
• Tracking
• Pathfinding
• Herbal Medicine
• Climbing
• Stealing
• Poisons
• Sharpshooting
• Sailing
• Ropes
• Mending
• Campmaking
• Brute Strength
• Riding
• Sleight of Hand

Knowledge

• The Land Before
• The Plants Before
• The Animals Before
• Hermetic Theory
• Writing
• Library Use
• Augury
• Runes
• Astrology
• Languages
• Sensing Harmony
• Philosophy
• Military Tactics
• Navigation
• Cartography
• Appraisal
• HIstory

Social

• Looking Tough
• Bargaining
• Bullshitting
• Hiding the Truth
• Working a Crowd
• Reasoned Argument
• Making Relationships
• Observation
• Interrogation
• Cold Reading
• Impersonation
• Music
• Bluffing
• Oratory
• Haggling
• Bribery
• Seduction
• Formal Etiquette

Tricks

• I Read a Scroll About That: Thanks to their formal education, hermetic apprentices always have the relevant academic knowledge for any magical phenomenon.
• Warrior's Code: You're respected by those who value discipline and honor.
• Hang In There: You're an expert in stabilizing people in the immediate aftermath of an injury.
• Perfect Recall: Always remember whatever you've heard, word for word.
• Greasy Hands: You're always ready with a bribe.