A Distant Inheritance 6

6: Archetypes

Two weeks in and we’re finishing up character creation with the actual archetypes. As you’ll recall these are the method by which we set the majority of the PC’s traits and a couple of their talents. My objective in setting these up was to capture the feel of the setting. To that end I have ten archetypes with five of them bring warrior types, three of them being educated (if not specifically wizards) and two of them having high burglary traits. I also have three with Lineage 3 and three with Lineage 1 to spread out the types of characters. I did have a High Lineage/High Burglary archetype (the rakish courtier) but abandoned it when my wife pointed out that no one in the source material fit that description.

Once again, to make a complete character the player picks an Archetype, adds a die to one of that Archetype’s Traits, selects two Inheritances (which may add more Trait dice and Talents) and select four player-defined Talents for the Traits that didn’t have Talents set by the Archetype. That’s an awful lot of capitalized terms in that there sentence, but hopefully it’s clear enough.

Lost Heir: the PC is the heir to a kingdom that has been lost due to violent attack or is being overseen by others until he reclaims the thrown.

Athletics 2d

Burglary 3d

Education 2d [Homeland Knowledge]

Lineage 3d [Prince of X]

Perception 1d

Warcraft 3d

Doughty Freelance: The PC comes from good stock but isn’t due to inherit much of anything and therefore serves as a warrior for some noble or a sword for causes that have the right funds or morals. He is strong, tough, durable and skilled with fighting.

Athletics 3d [Lift]

Burglary 2d

Education 1d

Lineage 2d

Perception 1d [smell a bad deal]

Warcraft 3d

Yeoman Fighter: you’re a man of no rank or consequence save that you have hefted a spear or bow in the army or in the defense of your kinfolk in the wild lands…and unlike many proved to be good at it. Your keen senses and combat training make toy a force to be reckoned.

Athletics 2d

Burglary 2d [Avoid being a target]

Education 1d

Lineage 1d [Courage]

Perception 3d

Warcraft 3d

Striving Noble: You’re of noble blood, to be sure, but you don’t always feel it in your heart and therefore have to try extra hard to with your limbs and your blades to prove yourself worthy of the family name – and in so doing fail to reach the ideal you have set yourself.

Athletics 3d

Burglary 1d

Education 2d [Family History]

Lineage 2d [Rally to Cause]

Perception 1d

Warcraft 3d

Younger Prince: A younger member of a powerful noble family you’re well trained in warfare and diplomacy and can act as an envoy of your family’s interests – or draw on your family’s aid in your own causes.

Athletics 2d

Burglary 1d [get close to the conversation]

Education 1d [Languages]

Lineage 3s

Perception 2d

Warcraft 3d

“Expert Treasure Hunter”: You’re someone who’s skilled at getting into places where people store valuable things and exiting with those things in hand. There are plenty of people or monsters who have things they neither need nor deserve. You resolve that.

Athletics 1d [Climb]

Burglary 3d

Education 2d

Lineage 2d

Perception 3d

Warcraft 1d [Get away]

Wiry Woodsman: You’re a rawhide tough woodsman of no particular rank or status but a useful blend of physical ability and subtle grace. As such you can be an enormous asset to any organization that wins your loyalty to its cause.

Athletics 3d

Burglary 3d

Education 1d [survival]

Lineage 1d

Perception 2d [Tracking]

Warcraft 2d

Bookish Noble: While your compatriots have mastered the arts of the bow and blade you have studied the histories of people, the secrets of governance and the ancient runes (while not completely neglecting your horsemanship). This makes you a dangerous man indeed.

Athletics 1d

Burglary 1d

Education 3d

Lineage 3d

Perception 2d [Intutiton]

Warcraft 2d [Mounted combat]

Hermetic Sage: While considered a wise counsel when you do speak you spend much of your life traveling and studying, learning secret lore and uncovering subtle threats.

Athletics 2d

Burglary 1d [Enter unseen]

Education 3d [Pathfinding]

Lineage 2d

Perception 3d

Warcraft 1d

Hedge Wizard: Unable to adopt the trappings of the nobility, or perhaps unwilling to subject others to the dangers of your work, you study the secrets of the world in a natural setting and with nature’s tenacity.

Athletics 3d

Burglary 2d

Education 3d

Lineage 1d [Language of X]

Perception 1d

Warcraft 2d [Grow natural weapons]

There. That’s The archetypes for the players to choose from. We’ll get into the actual plot next post