The Shadow of Yesterday
written by Clinton R. Nixon
copyright 2003 Anvilwerks
updated 04/10/2003
Chapter 2: Characters
Characters' bits and pieces
Players' characters in The Shadow of Yesterday are made up of three mechanical entities: Pools, Skills, and Secrets.
Pools
Pools are exactly what they sound like: pools of points that the player may dip into during the game to aid the character. These points can be spent to make the likelihood of succeeding at a task easier, or to power special abilities (Secrets) that the character has. There are six of these pools:
- Vigor
- Vigor represents the character's strength and vim, the ability to put his physical power to use in the world.
- Force
- Force represents the character's willpower, his ability to project his mental power into the world.
- Grace
- Grace represents the character's dexterity, litheness, and adeptness, his skill at moving carefully and without wasted energy.
- Wits
- Wits represents the quickness of the character's mind, his ability to know what is going on around him, and to learn new things.
- Grit
- Grit represents the character's ability to tough it out, take damage, and keep on going.
- Charm
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- Charm represents the character's charisma, his ability to bring others to your way of thinking, not through force, but through pleasing them.
Pools always have a minimum of one point in them, but have no maximum. Remember that the number of points in a pool does not represent the character's ability to perform tasks relating to that pool, but the character's ability to exert himself to do his best in those tasks.
Skills
Skills do represent characters' ability to perform tasks. They're that simple: a measurement of how good the character is at certain things. There are nine types of skills in The Shadow of Yesterday:
- Open Skills
- This is a catch-all skill category, consisting of the abilities common to all characters.
- Artistic Skills
- These are the skills that allow you to create works of art, as well as manage to live as an artist, from hand to mouth.
- Craft Skills
- These skills are used to create works of utility, from swords to carts to dinner, as well as trade well for your creations.
- Fighting Skills
- These are the skills a warrior would learn in battle, consisting of not only martial abilities, but combat medicine and command.
- Illicit Skills
- These are the skills any criminal, or even slightly shady person, would put to good use, including the ability to sneak well, steal, and find others that would aid and abet your activities.
- Outdoor Skills
- These are the skills any outdoorsman would know, consisting of empathy with animals, knowledge of plants, and the ability to hunt with a bow.
- Priestly Skills
- These are the skills a priest would use in his daily life. Priests aren't organized and don't necessarily wear collars or holy symbols or anything: they are merely counselors of men, and have the ability to inspire others, sway crowds, read the faces of men, and comfort the troubled.
- Social Skills
- These are the skills any person of class would know, from bringing others to your opinion to getting others into your bed to speaking foreign languages.
- Arcane Skills
- These fearsome skills call on the six Words of Magic, using unnatural energies to create, alter, destroy, know, hide, and manipulate.
Within each of these categories, there are four to six skills a character may learn. Each skill is scored from 0 to 10, with 0 being absolutely no training or special ability in the skill, and 10 being a paragon of knowledge in that skill.
Each character will have types of skills that they learn easier than others, which is how a character's area of speciality within the game is defined. Even so, any character may try to use any skill in the game, with the exception of Arcane Skills. In order to use an Arcane Skill, the character must have a score of 1 or higher in the skill.
The listing of each skill and what it does is found in Chapter 3: Fiddly Bits.
Secrets
Secrets are special abilities a character has, as well as special motivations that drive the character. Secrets are split into two categories, Expertise Secrets (being the former, special abilities) and Key Secrets (being the latter, special motivations.) There are also Arcane Secrets, which are only a special application of Expertise Secrets. Not all Secrets are available to every character, however. There are Species Secrets, which are Secrets only members of that species may learn. There are also some Cultural Secrets, which can only be learned while the game's events are located in that culture.
Every character is allowed to start out with Secrets, and most will have two or three at the beginning of the game. Key Secrets are particularly important: they are the primary method by which characters increase their Pools, get better with their Skills, or learn new Secrets.
The Secrets available to characters are found in Chapter 3: Fiddly Bits. For now, know that Expertise Secrets generally require 0-3 points out a Pool to be spent in order to use them, and Key Secrets make your character more powerful.
How to create a character
Many role-playing game texts will tell you to have a good idea of who your character is before play. I totally disavow this. You and your friends will get to know your character during play. What that character did before-hand is of some interest, but even those details will emerge during play easier than before play. If you were reading a book, would the author expect you to know the main character before-hand? Of course not.
What you do need to know is this: where this character is from, what species he is, what he's good at, and what might be important to him.
Culture
You will have to decide on a culture that your character is from. You and your friends have probably decided on an area in which the game will start before play, and your characters will likely come from that area and its surrounding cultures. More on each culture is found in Chapter 6: The World of Near, but a quick run-down of each culture follows.
- Qek
- The northern-most culture in Near, Qek is full of steaming jungles and active volcanoes. Its members are primitive and form close-knit family units. Qek is rich in spices and jewels, but is full of danger. Humans, goblins, and elves come from Qek.
- Khale
- Khale is a land of wild forests, tall tales, magic, and song. It has a tribal culture and values myth and art, and has a definite Celtic influence. It is currently at war with Ammeni, and grows smaller each year as the ruthless invaders attack. Humans, goblins, elves, and ratkin come from Khale.
- Ammeni
- The large country of Ammeni consists mainly of delta, swamp, and wet lowlands, and their largest exports are rice and opium. Caste is very important in Ammeni, and those of the upper caste are cruel and dominate those below them. The food is wonderful, though, as would be expected in this French-Vietnam influenced land. Almost all people in Ammeni are humans, although the rare goblin is found as a lackey, and ratkin hide away in the nooks and crannies.
- Maldor
- Maldor is the ruins of what once was the Empire. Wrecked by the coming of the Shadow, it struggles to survive, unaided by the feudal system that still controls it. It is full of great castles and cities abandoned and full of secrets to discover. Humans and ratkin are very common in Maldor, and elves, goblins, and the occasional vulfen are found there.
- Oran
- Oran is a vast land, consisting of steppes, huge mountains to the west, and plains. Wild horse-lords drive their clans across the landscape, demanding tribute from commoners, but offer protection in exchange. There is no culture in Near that can boast the range of climate and geography that Oran has. All species are found in Oran.
- Goren
- To the south, a Nordic-influenced land run primarily by vulfen and human barbarians, which tend to fight each other quite a bit. The tundra and snow ends in an icy ocean. Goblins and elves can also be found here.
- Vulfland
- Vulfland is the largest land-mass in Near, although most of it is uninhabitable to anyone but vulfen, who control this entire land. Starkly beautiful mountains of ice dominate the landscape at the bottom of the world.
Species
All characters are members of one of the following species (also known as "races" in many role-playing games.) While these species can get along, they do not necessarily always do so, and they all have differences that will generate conflict between them. They are split into two groups: the Old Species, which existed before the coming of the Shadow, and the New Species, which came after the Shadow. Humans, goblins, and elves are in the former group, and ratkin and vulfen are in the latter. (Although vulfen existed beforehand, humans were not aware of them.)
You will have to decide on what species your character is. If torn, remember that humans are the most populous, and the other species exist in order to put humans' strengths and weaknesses into contrast.
- Humans
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Humans are the most populous species of sentient people on Near, and are found anywhere in the world one might look. Their power has waned significantly, though, since the time of Shadow. They are infinitely adaptable, and pick up new things easier than any other species.
- Goblins
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Goblins live wherever others have deemed too hot, too cold, or too foul. Infinitely adaptable beings, the small wiry things manage to resemble demons, dogs, and men at the same time. Their curiosity drives them into all the forgotten places of the earth, and makes them decent apprentices for just about any job: they catch on quickly, but tend to cause as many accidents as they do help. Their bodies have an ability to evolve to match their environment, and their offspring carry these same characteristic. Left alone, their societies are incomprehensible to any outsider. Most of them do not understand the human concept of love: they have a monomaniacal mind, and live to fulfill whatever craving they are currently fixated on. They are poly-sexual, and any mating between them, whether male-male, male-female, or female-female, can generate offspring with only a month-long gestation period.
A few goblins have been observed in a bizarre state that resembles human love, known only as "the Affliction" in their rough language. These goblins leave their tribe and travel, their only goals to prove their love or die. A goblin has never been observed in love with another goblin, however; they always choose a member of another species as their object of affection.
- Elves
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No one except elves really understand what they are, or where they're from. To hear them explain it, they are native to another world spiritually above Near but travel from world to world. They exist solely as magical beings that create their own bodies, with an immortal spirit that returns to their home upon their death. Like goblins, they do not generally love in a human sense: they view love as a want that debases their personality, as they view all wants.
Elves spend most of their time wandering from place to place, rarely settling down for more than a few months. They form few attachments, and may find themselves in a position of leadership, as a lover, or as a helper, but view all of these positions as only good deeds done towards others, and with complete disinterest. Elves usually take on the appearance of perfect human specimens, but cannot avoid the residual glow that always comes off of their skin from their inherent magic. They can be found nearly anywhere on Near, but are most common in places where humans are concentrated.
- Ratkin
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Ratkin resemble nutria, enormous rodents, standing on their hind legs with opposable thumbs. About three to four feet tall, they have pointed button noses, whiskers, and are covered in either grey, brown, or black fur, with the occasional albino all-white ratkin. They are generally untrusted by all other species except goblins, and known as dirty thieves. They live primarily in cities.
When among their own kind, ratkin live in a communal situation, with no discernable leader or structure. Property owned by a ratkin, including a mate, is considered free game for other ratkin. While the huge vermin are quick to come to each others' aid against a common enemy, they are vicious competitors within their own society.
It is rumored that among a litter of ratkin, only two or three of the often fifteen to twenty children both actually become ratkin, with the rest becoming larger than normal rats.
Note: Ratkin are not to be played as annoying creatures who steal everything from everyone, especially other player characters. This will result in other players beating you soundly. Ratkin will respect other people's property, if they are not ratkin and they respect their own property. Of course, the moment a character doesn't really respect his own property, ratkin'll take it in a second.
- Vulfen
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The Vulfen are a southern race, used to thick forests, deep snow, bitter cold, and wild beasts. They resemble half-men, half-wolves, with thick brown and grey body hair, long snouts, sharp teeth and claws, and sharp ears on top of their head. They are known for their prowess in the wilderness and in battle, and have a reputation of being fiery, vigorous lovers. They do, however, have some problems getting along with other species, as they view others as weak and destructive.
Within vulfen society, caste is very ordered, with the smallest unit of order being a pack - five to ten vulfen that live, eat, breed, and hunt together. Each pack has a valru, or leader, who dominates the rest of the group. The alpha is expected to be followed in any order. Above that is the tribe, a group of around a dozen packs, all led by the ruvalru, or leader of leaders. The twenty tribes of Vulfland are all led by their great Wolf King. Any order from a vulfen of higher status is expected to be followed, and any vulfen that does not, and refuses to be punished, is exiled from vulfen society.
Pools
Divide 18 points among your character's pools, with a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 6 in each. (Note: this maximum is just for character creation; your character may end up with a pool later much higher than 6.) Characters of species other than humans have special notes about their pools.
- Goblins generally have a high Grit pool, and low Wits. Grit may start as high as 7, while Wits can never start higher than 3.
- Elves' Vigor, Grace, and Grit scores must always add up to twice their Force score, as their bodies are created solely through the application of their Force to influence the world.
- Ratkin generally have a high Grace pool, but weakened Vigor and Charm. Grace may start as high as 8, but Vigor and Charm may not start higher than 4.
- Vulfen generally have high Vigor and Grit pools, and lower Force and Charm. Vigor and Grit may start as high as 7, but Force and Charm may not start higher than 4.
Skills
Skill categories are rated by how easy it is for the character to learn them. When creating a character, you must set these ratings. Open Skills are always rated at A (the easiest to learn.) Choose one other skill category to be rated at A, and two to be rated at B, with the rest rated at C. All categories rated at A have a score of 1 at this point.
As with pools, species other than humans have some special rules:
- If playing an elf, Arcane Skills must be rated at A or B.
- If playing a ratkin, Illicit Skills must be rated at A or B. If playing an albino ratkin, Arcane Skills also must be rated at A or B.
- If playing a vulfen, both Outdoor and Fighting Skills must be rated at A or B. Arcane Skills must be rated at B or C, however.
Advances
Advances are the units of character advancement; that is, one advance is the smallest amount your character's abilities can improve by. Before play, your group will decide on how many advances each character receives. Usually, all characters receive the same amount, but this does not have to be the case. A good amount of advances for beginning characters is 12.
Advances can be spent in the following ways:
- Increase three skills rated at A by one point.
- Increase two skills rated at B by one point.
- Increase one skill rated at C by one point.
- Increase one pool by one point.
- Gain a new Secret.
And that's about it
Seriously, you've created the mechanical bits of your character. Think of a good name for your character (Chapter 6 has some suggestions) and a physical description, and you're ready to start play.
