Character Types

There are several character types that give you special conditions for your character. Each of them bring a unique set of abilities, mostly based on stats and pools.

Arche (10 points)

You are part human, part animal spirit. Inside you is the essence of an archetype animal spirit from a long, long time ago – an ancient time when the surface of the world was alive and teeming with life.

Choose one animal archetype represented by one of your stats. You gain the ability to buy this stat up to 8, preventing you from ever suffering critical failures with rolls involving that particular stat.

You have access to the Snake stat and may pick Snake for your archetype. The Snake stat is used for several things:

  • To recall “memories” of your archetype of animals. You may (at the GM’s discretion) recall facts about both the Surface and the Underworld that your character does not already know. The information is always recalled from the archetype animal’s point of view.
  • To summon an archetype animal messenger.
    • You must use a part of your mind (spend 1 Tear) to summon the messenger.
    • It appears as a silvery ghost in the shape of the specified animal, and can speak with your voice and in any languages you know. It can repeat/describe everything it sees and hears back to you, but must physically travel to the location where it is supposed to deliver the message, and then travel back to where you are to deliver any replies.
    • If struck with a weapon, the messenger dissipates and you immediately know what has happened to it, but do not gain any more information.
    • The messenger ceases to exist after completing its mission (delivering a message and returning with a reply).
    • The messenger is limited to its animal type for purposes of travel and survival – a fish messenger can only travel by water and will not be summoned on dry land.
  • To create a homunculus in the shape of an archetype animal.
    • You must use some components and a part of your body (sacrifice 1 Blood “permanently”) to create the homunculus.
    • The quality of its looks depends on your Artisan skill.
    • The homunculus has no stats, and is created with 2 Tears and 2 Blood – it has no Sweat score and never suffers from exhaustion. It also has no skills.
    • The purpose of the homunculus is to function as a messenger and companion, but also to absorb illnesses and radiation.
    • If the homunculus for any reason loses all its Blood, it is destroyed and you lose 1 Tear – you however regain the Blood point sacrificed at the homunculus’ creation.
    • The homunculus appears as an appropriate animal of your archetype, but quite eerie, as it is stitched together from components and anointed in your blood. It can speak in all the languages you know, and read, but not write. It does not need to eat or breathe, though a fish homunculus requires watery living conditions.
    • You do not need to have your homunculus with you for it to absorb illness and radiation, but it is easy to destroy if left alone, since it cannot defend itself. The homunculus will lose 1 Tear for every full week it is left alone without seeing you – it is part of you after all. If it reaches 0 Tears it will fall into a depression and stop functioning until you spend some time with it.

The animal spirit in you is not visible in your appearance.

You cannot be possessed by telepanimi. You are immune to radiation, toxins, and illness as long as you have a homunculus. You cannot do Sourcery, but you have access to the Snake stat (see above).

Human (0 points)

You are a human being. There’s nothing special about you except that you are one of the main characters in this game. You cannot do Sourcery.

Mutant (5 points)

You are a human being, albeit a mutated specimen of the species. The radiation and toxins in some parts of the Underworld changed you already while you were in the womb. The mutation is manifest on you – it should be fairly easy to spot that you are a mutant.

Choose two of your four stats; one to be your strong stat and one to be your weak stat. All rolls involving the strong stat are at a +1, while all rolls involving the weak stat are at a -1. Normal conditions for critical successes and critical failures apply.

Choose some way your mutation manifests. The manifestation should correspond with the stats chosen, but also be useful in a limited way.

  • Examples: Weak Rat and strong Bird could mean you have grown wings that hamper your movement but that may allow you to avoid damage from falling long distances. Weak Fox and strong Fish could mean you have visible gills and your short-term memory is shot, but you can breathe under water for short periods of time.

You are immune to radiation and toxins. You cannot do Sourcery.

Sourcerer (10 points)

You are a human who is in contact with the Source. You have a fifth Stat available to you called The Snake, which you have to spend points on like any other stat. This means you can always opt to roll a third, differently coloured d8 to represent your Sourcery (use your Snake stat for this). You can substitute a successful Sourcery dice for any failed dice rolled in the same roll.

  • To use the Sourcery dice you need to spend 1 Tear.

Using only your Snake Stat you can try to do something incredible, like cause a small earthquake or turn yourself into an animal temporarily. Roll your Snake. Success means you create an effect that lasts for 1 minute or does 1 point of damage to a single target. You can choose to stretch your ability and double the effect or the duration – but only if you are willing to spend 1 Tear and suffer the side effects (roll a d8 and suffer the effects from the corresponding thing on your list). A critical success (roll of 1) on any straight Snake roll doubles the effect without side effects and without needing to spend a Tear.

You need a table of side effects for your Sourcery:

  • Make a list of eight things that may occur whenever you stretch your abilities. These things should range from merely unpleasant to right out hurtful. Have the GM or other players help you.
  • The GM retains the right to change your list should the things be too easy or too hard on you.
  • Number the items on the list 1-8 and use it whenever you stretch your Sourcery.

If you can’t be bothered making your own list, you may use the following example:

  1. Your Sourcery brings a foul stench to the air.
  2. All light sources near you are snuffed out. If you attempted to create a light source, it flashes and leaves all seeing creatures blinded for one round.
  3. Your palms start bleeding, no damage.
  4. Your eyes change colour permanently.
  5. The spell decides to emerge through your guts, ripping out of your mouth and causing you damage. Scratch 1 Blood.
  6. The spell creates an “evil twin” of you somewhere in the Underworld. The twin acts and talks like you, but with malicious intentions towards you – it will try to wreak havoc to your life. The twin is substantial, but will melt after a number of hours equal to your current Tears. Losing Tears after the twin is called does not shorten its lifespan.
  7. Your pupils become slits, your tongue forks, and your fingers turn into snakes (yes, living snakes! Their bites are not poisonous), and you lose the ability to speak or otherwise communicate clearly for a number of hours equal to your current Tears. Losing Tears after this occurrence will actually make you change back faster. You may use the snake fingers as weapons – striking someone with an unarmed attack will cause 1 Blood damage from the bites.
  8. The effect and/or the damage applies to you as well as the target. If you are the target, an ally also gets affected.

You cannot be possessed by telepanimi.

Telepanimus (5 points)

You are not a physical being. You are a ghost-like apparition, a living, ethereal memory. You have no coherent verbal language, being able to speak only in non-verbal moans. You are however capable of communicating telepathically with living beings, albeit you can only communicate with one individual at a time.

You have an effective score of 0 in The Rat and The Fish. You instead purchase points in The Snake, effectively substituting this score for any Rat or Fish score needed. Whenever you possess a living being, you can use this being’s Rat and Fish scores.

You can possess a living being. The being can decide to allow possession, effectively giving up the physical control of his body for a number of minutes that equals your Snake score. To possess someone who does not allow it, you need to beat a roll of his Bird score with a roll of your Snake score. You are still kicked out of his body when a number of minutes equal to your Snake score has passed. Every consecutive time you try to repossess someone who actively resists you, your victim gains a +2 bonus on his Bird score to withstand your attempts.

  • You cannot possess a Sourcerer or an Arche – it is impossible. Possessing someone costs you 1 Tear for each attempt – if the attempt fails, you still lose the Tear.
  • Skills that require you to have a physical body are only useful to you when you are possessing someone.
  • If the host is willing, you may choose to inhabit a body for a number of hours equal to your Snake score (instead of minutes), but the host may then kick you out at will.

You can choose to manifest visibly, appearing as a whitish, see-through human with blurred features, hovering a few centimeters above the ground.

You cannot be killed while in ghost form, but you can be banished by a Sourcerer or captured using the Memorator skill. Being banished means you are unable to manifest or possess for 31 hours. If the host body you currently possess is killed, you are killed with it. If it is merely knocked out, you are knocked out as well until your possession time is up and you are ejected from the body, or until someone wakes the body up.

You do not need to breathe or eat in your ghost form. You have no Sweat or Blood scores, except when possessing another being. You cannot buy Mutations. You cannot do Sourcery.

Ticking Dead (5 points)

You are not a living person, but a conscious corpse turned into a mechanical clockwork being. You cannot be killed, though your body can be destroyed and your memory core wiped or obliterated.

If your memory core is obliterated or destroyed, you are irrevocably dead. If your body is damaged, you need to be looked at by someone with the Artisan skill – if it is ruined or destroyed, your memory core needs to be installed into another body by someone with the Memorator skill.

You do not need to breathe and are immune to gases, radiation, illness, and toxins, but water may rust or dissolve parts of you, resulting in damage. Any direct contact with water results in 1 point of damage every minute the contact is sustained. Merely getting wet results in 1 point of damage every 10 minutes until you are dried off. If the water is salty, double the damage.

You do not need to sleep or eat, but you will need to wind yourself up and grease your cogs, each once every 31 hours. Failure to do either will result in your body grinding to a halt within the 32nd hour.

You cannot purchase more than 3 points in The Bird or more than 5 points in The Rat. You have no Sweat score. Your Blood score is calculated differently. You cannot do Sourcery. You cannot be possessed by telepanimi.