Character Creation

The Group

The country of Uusam is assembling three different groups to kill Emporer Jin. The identities, expertises, city of assembly, time of departure and movements of each group will be unknown to the others. The three groups are each contingency plans for each other, and all have the same objective. If you meet, you will know each other by exchange of a secret code.

Your are recruited to group #2, which will assemble in the port city of Buech in Uusam. A trusted friend or informant has asked you to join this espediditon. In return, you will be paid the equivalent of current US currency $250,000 up front and $1,000,000 for successful completion of the mission. Alternate non-monetary renumeration can be requested instead. The theme of group #2 is diversity of talent. Each individual is an expert in their particular field. There will be combat specialists, as well as individuals who have specific intellectual or interactive skills that might be useful.

If you wish to list your character archetype (ie doctor, engineer, martial artist) to give others a feel for who might be in the group you can list them here: Jin Dynasty Characters.

Points

Power Level Characters will be built on 75 points plus a maximum of 75 disads (total 150 points max) with normal characteristics maxima. This is a "Heroic" level campaign in the Hero System that uses real world type characters. Don’t expect a lot of experience, your characters where chosen because they are experts at what they do. All characters are subject to normal characteristic maxima.
Point Restrictions points can be distributed among characteristics, skills, powers, etc as you want.

Background skills

Characters need not pay for every skill in their background. Some may be taken as everyman skills for no character points. For example, Joe the Lumberjack was born and raised in Grundle, and has worked as an emigrant temporary worker for 10 years in Uusam. He may take the following skills for free: Fluent without accent in Grundle dialect, Area knowledge Grundle and Uusam 8-, PS lumberjack 8-. If he wants to chop down a tree, he can do that without a roll. If he wants to do something complicated like make a totem pole, that will require a lumberjack roll, which you will likely miss at an 8-. The idea is to provide incentive for a rich background without forcing you to spend character points to simulate it. Obviously GM approval will be required, but you get the idea.

Ethnicity

You should decide upon an ethnicity and country of origin for your character, which may not necessarily match their country of origin (see The 6 Kingdoms details of each country). Higher education is only available in Uusam, Shin and Konn, depending on the topic.

Each country of origin comes with skills:

Uusam
0 Language: Uusam (fluent no accent; literate)
0 KS Uusam 8-
0 KS 6 Kingdoms History 8-
0 Deduction 8-

Shin
0 Language: Shin (fluent no accent; literate)
0 KS Shin 8-
0 KS Jin Emporers 8-
0 Deduction 8-

Konn
0 Language: Konn (fluent no accent; literate)
0 KS Konn 8-
0 KS or PS Mining 8-
0 KS Minerology 8-
0 Trading 8-

Grundle
0 Language: Grundle (fluent no accent)
0 KS Grundle 8-
0 PS Laborer (general or specify type)
0 Slight of Hand 8-
0 Survival Temperate/Subtropical 8-

Huen Rae
0 Language: Huen Rae (fluent no accent)
0 KS Huen Rae 8-
0 PS Farming 8-
0 Cooking 8-
0 +3 PRE, only to resist PRE attacks

Mung
0 Language: Mung (fluent no accent)
0 KS Mung 8-
0 TF: Equines
3 Riding 11-
0 +3 PRE, only for PRE attacks
0 Consume alcohol 8-
0 Animal care: equines 8-

Combat

Damage Classes, OCV, DCV and Defense We will be using a modified rule of X Y and Z adapted from Jason. If this is too complicated for you, just send me your character and I'll crunch the numbers for you. NOTE: I think that these are pretty generous, maybe too generous. Unless you think your character is a crazy killing machine, you probably don't have to worry.

• rule of x: DC + OCV ≤ 15
  
• rule of y: DCV + Defense ≤ 11
  
• rule of z: x + y + CSL + SPD ≤ 30
  

where:
DC = damage class of your nastiest attack including anticipated weapon and/or martial or standard maneuver used (ie 6d6 normal damage or 2d6 killing damage = 6 damage classes). Remember to see the weapons section below!
OCV = maximum OCV excluding skill levels/martial arts/standard maneuvers.
DCV = maximum DCV excluding skill levels/martial arts/standard maneuvers
Defense = active points of maximum PD divided by 5 plus active points/5 of any defense power. (ie for 3 PD plus combat luck, the active points are 3/5 plus 6/5 = 2, round up)
SPD = speed CSL = Combat skill levels

Luck. Luck is common for martial artists. Taking more than 5 character points of luck will nevertheless be restricted unless it ties in with the characters background somehow. Every 1d6 luck gives you 1d6 per session of luck. Using luck: one luck point gets you either:

• reroll one of the dice (take the result, better or worse)
  
• reroll all of the edice (take the result, better or worse)
  
• permit an illegal abort declared before dice are rolled (ie Zak dex 18 hits goon 1 on phase 12, but goon 2 dex 16 then is going to attack zak. zak wets his pants and wants to abort to dodge but cannot since he already acted this phase. zak burns one point of luck which permits him to abort to dodge, and as normal with abort, he loses his next action)
• +1 DCV before dice are rolled
• +1 OCV before dice are rolled
• Three points of luck will get you +1 DC before damage is rolled
• Six points of luck will get you a lucky break in roleplaying. Players may pool luck points for this option. GM approval required.

Martial arts are common. For every 3 martial arts maneuvers paid for, take one additional maneuver for free (3 = 4). For five, take two free (5 = 7). For seven martial arts or combat maneuvers take three additional (7 = 10). Freebies can be 3, 4 or 5 point maneuvers, regardless of the cost of your other maneuvers. Martial arts are negatively affected by armor, see above. Players can create their own unique marital arts style if desired.
Martial artists know maneuvers and associated skills. All characters with martial arts must purchase a knowledge skill in their martial art style. Characters who are very proficient in their martial art (ie have many maneuvers and associated skills) should have a high KS or KS in multiple styles if the character is, say dual trained in Karate and Kunatao.

Armor. The following armor are commonly available for all locations (reistant/nonresistant defense): Cloth (0), Leather (2/2), Scale (3/3), Chain (4/4). The following martial arts attuned armor are available but rare and expensive: Kendo Armor (2/4), Karate Armor (2/6), Samurai Armor (6/6).
Martial arts maneuvers with armor:

• Leather: no penalties
  
• Scale –1 DCV (unless STR = 15)
  
• Chain –2 DCV (-1 if STR = 15; -0 if STR = 18) (-1 to stealthy rolls)
  
• Kendo Armor -1 DCV (unless STR = 11)
  
• Karate Armor -1 DCV (unless STR = 13)
  
• Samurai Armor –2 DCV (-1 if STR = 15; -0 if STR = 18) (-4 to stealthy rolls)
  

Combat Luck Maximum combat luck levels is 2 (6 rPD/6 rED). One level of combat luck requires a KS in a martial art. Two levels of combat luck additionally requires that the character is more proficient in martial arts (intentionally vague). Exceptions may be granted for the persuasive.

Weapons Metal weapons are made of poor quality iron, and often break. Also, the trees that grow in the 6 kingdoms are not hard wood trees, thus wooden weapons are also fragile. More durable woods can be imported but are rare and costly. Normal quality weapons are –1 damage class to the rules listed in the book. High quality weapons are normal damage class, rare and expensive. And high quality weapons look expensive, wow, nice sword, dude.

Hit locations will be used. One can aim for certain locations at an OCV penalty as per the Hero system rules.

Bleeding. At 0 Body or below you are bleeding to death and will lose 1 body after 12 segments (ie if you hit 0 in segment 6, then you lose one body next segment 6) until someone has a successful paramedics roll.

Infection. Any damage 2 body or over risks infection. A successful paramedics roll will prevent infection.

Healing Body is healed normally (you heal your recovery in body per month; so if you have REC = 6 then you heal 1 body every 5 days). In hard conditions this is half (strenuous activity, fighting, hard travel…), with easy conditions it is double (in a hospital or similar). Characters with Paramedics or Doctoring PS can also heal wounds; either can heal 1 body per day. Doctors can make a skill test to heal 2 body per day. Small towns will have local healers (who have paramedics skill) while doctors and hospitals can be found in cities.

Skills

Everyman skills See above in Ethnicity

Additional skills

Paramedics: this will be useful to make sure your comrades don’t die…see healing above.

PS: Doctor: requires paramedics. See healing rules above. Even more useful in preventing death. Only taught in countries where higher education is available (Shin, Uusam and Konn)

PS: Acupuncturist: requires paramedics. in game implementation to be recommended by interested players

Fung Shui: the design of buildings and cities to maximize the flow of energy or Chi.

Calligraphy: All countries share the same written language, with some minor idiomatic differences. Calligraphy is an art form using the written character.

Cooking: anyone can put meat on a stick and char it over the fire. This is real cooking that will impress the ladies and gentlemen.

PS: Lion Dancing: the traditional art of lion dancing, where two people are in a lion costume. Both need the skill. PS: Lion Dancing provides the ability to do a poor lion dance. Acrobatics and Contortionist complement and enable a complex lion dance.

Chi Centering: Focusing the mind and spirit. Implementation to follow, or to be suggested by an interested player as to how their character wishes to focus their Chi.

Human perception: Is that guy trying to hide something?

Area Knowledge: choose specific countries and cities within the 6 kingdoms.

Knowledge skill: history of various kingdoms or 6 kindoms in general.

Languages: The 6 kingdoms speak dialects of the same language. Amongst the Mung, 3 dialects are spoken (western, middle and eastern Mung). Each other country speaks its own dialect. All characters can understand every dialect as an everyman skill. For one point, a character can speak fluently in a different dialect with his native accent. For an additional point, a character can speak fluently without an accent.

Custom Skill/Power Skill: Specific Martial Art Style. This skill would be used to do off the cuff unique martial arts maneuvers. This would be required, for example, if you come from Zongo. “I’m going to jump off that bridge, grab the flagpole, do a triple twist and hit him with my flaming middle finger martial strike right up his ass.” Creative stunts such as this would require a martial arts skill test, but then may be granted bonus +OCV because the opponent is surprised and awed by your prowess. Of course attacking the rectal sphincter would be at –5 OCV due to the small size (unless you are attacking Gabe, then it’s +5 OCV).

== Talents==
Most talents should be available

== Powers==
Powers may be allowed to simulate a specific martial art move or other ability with GM approval. Powers that fits the genre and ties in with your character will be allowed. Some powers will not be allowed. Disallowed power list: notably nobody gets to heal body with a power (see healing above).
Powers will be limited similar to the PA rules. Powers can have 40 active points without penalty. Powers can have 50 active points but the additional points are bought at 2x cost.
Characters with significant power based abilities my be required to take a vulnerability disad.

Power Frameworks will be strictly regulated.

Example characters

If you want to use any of these characters, you can. They may need to be modified to conform to the rule of X Y and Z.
Shin Architect Secret Tunnel Specialist
Uusam Iron Silk Sarf Martial Artist
The Con Man
Mung horseman
Konn Chi Centered Sword Master