Creating your character's Concept
With the Attribute scores defined, it's time to define who your character is. This is called Concept, and it establishes what he knows, what he is good at, what he is bad at, what sentient species he belongs to, and can even tell us about his personality.
Players have almost total freedom to create their character's Concept, as long as they stay within the confines of the setting and the style of game defined by the group (if everybody agrees to play outlaws, don't make a virtuous law-abiding crusader). All they need to do is create a single phrase that explains who the character is, what he does, what species he is from (if no alien species is specified, it's assumed the character is human), and that can also define other minor details about him.
<--more-->As an example, one could say their character is a "cocky smuggler from the outer regions", and that would say quite a lot about him. First of all, he thinks too much of himself. This probably puts him in situations he can't really deal with all by himself, but maybe this gives him some confidence when he needs. Being smuggler, he knows a lot about how to avoid the laws of the Galactic Overlords, how to hide forbidden goods from their agents and where to get whatever they are looking for. Additionally, being from the outer regions of the Galaxy, he knows information regarding the sectors of that region, the Overlords who rule them, the safe places a smuggler could hide into, the places where to find a job and so on.
There is no real rule for how to create a character Concept. However, some guidelines may help:
- Establish some personality detail about him;
- Define his occupation or vocation, what he does;
- Determine if he is human or not;
- Says where he is from or if he is part of some organization;
This way, there is no defined list of concepts and players can exercise their creativity freely. It is advised that players and Overlords discuss the Concepts beforehand, and agree with what each element mean in the game. In addition to providing players with guidance on how to portray and roleplay the character, Chapter 4: Rules of the Game will discuss how the Concept affects the game rules.
After rolling her character’s Attributes, Alice has to come up with a Concept for her adventurer. Looking at her scores for inspiration, she sees her character like a tough guy but with a good mind for details and technology. She figures a starship mechanic would be a good fit. Remembering one of her favorite characters from TV, she sees that mechanic as a hopeful person, coming from a backwater planet, always curious to see the next system. She writes down “Hopeful Mechanic from Isolated Planet”. She can define more about her home world during the game.
Alien Species
Some characters, however, may belong to a different sentient species. The Universe of Solar Blades & Cosmic Spells is populated by an incalculable number of different sentient species, even though the Cleansing Wars began in an effort to wipe most of them. When the Galactic Overlords rebelled against their leader and began fighting one another, the war changed its focus and most of the persecuted were ignored or were now an important force to muster against the others.
In game terms, being from an alien species is as simple as stating it in the character’s Concept. As usual, players and Overlord will need to discuss what is means to be from that species, what their characteristics are, what their culture is like, how they usually behave, and other details that will have establish the species in the campaign and that will guide gameplay.
Some alien species, however, have special powers that require some rules adjustments. We normally assume aliens have no other special ability that differentiates them from humans in game terms, but that’s not always the case. A species might have the ability to see in the dark, another might be able to breathe underwater, or some other fantastic feat humans are not able to accomplish.
In this case, for each special ability like these, characters from those species need one extra adventure each level to advance to the next one. Humans might not have all those astonishing powers, but they sure learn fast and are very flexible, adapting to almost any environment. Players should note their species’s special abilities on the character sheet.
Finally, the tables over Chapter 10: The Lost Archives can be used to generate unique cultures for these alien species, giving players and the Overlord a stronger sense of the role of these aliens in the overall Universe.
Sample Species
Humans
Humans are the most widespread species in the Galaxy. This is due to their incredible capacity to adapt to almost any environment but also due to the Cleansing Wars, when the mad Galactic Overlords and their former Leader almost exterminated any other species who opposed human supremacy. Their appearance is the most varied among the sentient species, with a wide range of skin tones, different colors of hairs and eyes, and an even more varied range of cultures. In game terms, we assume all characters are humans unless specified otherwise, so no modification is needed. Humans are the only species that begin with a Luck score of 4.
Trekkats
Trekkats have the appearance of large reptiles with and armored face with three large horns for defense, a strong exoskeletons and six insectoid legs. They were once primitive savages from an isolated planet in the outer regions. They were brought into the Cleansing Wars when the Galactic Overlords decided their sheer number could make a difference in the battles between themselves and started training them with the use of weapons. It didn’t take long for their independent minds decided to brake away from the Overlords’ control and explore the Galaxy. However, as revenge, one of the Overlords used all his powers to devastating their home planet, and now Trekkats are without it, as orphans among stars.
Trekkats have an innate talent with machines, and a strong sense of camaraderie amongst themselves. Additionally, they are capable of making extraordinary jumps. In game terms, as part of their movement, they can leap a distance equal to either their Physique or Agility (whichever is higher) in meters horizontally, or half as that vertically. They need one extra adventure to level up each time.
Szarians
Szarians are reptilian humanoids with slender bodies and the incredible capacity of knowing where in the Galaxy they currently are. Because of that, the Galactic Overlords decided they were more valuable alive, under their service, than dead like other alien species. Pacts were made with different tribes and ancient rivalries turned into open warfare both in their home world as amongst the stars. When the Cleansing Wars ended, the Szarians maintained their fame of the best explorers in the Galaxy, but the relationship among themselves was never the same.
Szarians have a very competitive culture and a strong desire to discover new places, paths and systems. Their innate ability to always know where they are make them perfect explorers and hunters. In game terms, Szarians characters never get lost and always know their location in the Galaxy if they’ve traveled to that place before. Because of that, they need one extra adventure to level up each time.
Cyberians
No one remembers how the Cyberian were before they decided to become a race of cyborgs. They made the transition from biological beans to machines with the immortal brains of sentient beings in the early days of the Cleansing Wars, sensing their bodies would not be enough to resisted the cruelty that was to come. Doing so allowed them to resist most of the biological weapons used against aliens in the war and made them the first species do organize an alliance against the Galactic Overlords.
Even after the Cleansing Wars, Cyberians remain a species dedicated to overthrow the remaining Galactic Overlords. Their cybernetic bodies make them resilient to most conditions that are harmful to biological beings, but also make them vulnerable to specific hazards machines are vulnerable to. Their mechanical bodies are equipped with many tools and weapons customized to each individual, effectively making them capable of having twice as much encumbrance limit than other characters. As usual, this makes Cyberians characters need an extra adventure to advance each level.
Since Alice decided to play a human mechanic, Daniel wants to make his character an alien. He already decided he is a “brash pilot from the core region”, but now he wants to create an alien species for himself. He thought about it and decided he wants his character to be from an insectoid species with highly intelligent and competitive people. They all have the ability to fly and would look like humanoid wasps, but without the sting. He talks with the Overlord and they agree on calling the species Besphians and charge the additional adventure to level up for the flight ability.
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