Character Creation

The following is general character creation rules that cover how the character creation process works on this site and for the setting involved, as well as any house rules therein.

Character sheets can be found under WoD: White Pines here (labeled with [Neolithic]). Other sheets can be used so long as they're linked to a handle appropriately, and are easy to navigate.

Advanced Characters
A player may have three total characters using Advanced creation rules, no more than one of a given Supernatural type, which allow for more potent or older characters. Generally, these should be characters meant to be prominent figures of some sort.

Where these differ from the norm, an Advanced entry will be listed in the steps below. When submitting an Advanced character, place (Advanced) somewhere in the subject header.

Restricted and Banned Items
Restricted items will be listed below and on the appropriate character pages. If you have a restricted item, you will not be able to playtest your character first, and will need to make sure to include a history with your character that explains ALL restricted items. You should also generally talk with an ST ahead of time, though this isn't a requirement.

Banned items are not allowed at character creation, period, and will be listed below and on appropriate character creation pages.

Advanced characters are inherently restricted, and follow those same rules. An advanced character with additional restricted items should generally have a longer history, but there's no hard rule so long as everything's covered.

Step One: Concept
Names should be simple (most biblical names are fine), though characters with spiritual interaction may also have spiritual titles, which are secondary titles representing their interaction with the Border Marches and Shadow. Given IMC's handle rules, you should feel free to use a last name for your handle, but note they aren't really used in-character.

Remember to make your concept era-appropriate and setting-appropriate. Modern concepts like businessman or even the typical idea of a static merchant don't yet exist, and there's little in the way of careers or dedicated jobs beyond the general farming everyone does, those few remaining hunters, nomadic traders, the potters, and of course those few Wise, which are in a caste of their own. Those few that live and subsist entirely alone (generally Supernatural in some way, if they hope to survive) are simply labeled as solitaries in the Caste entry on the sheet.

Similarly, travel from other areas is nearly unheard of. You might come from a neighboring village, but there's certainly no "foreign" characters in the area, even in the case of Awakened characters and others with supernatural abilities to travel; it's simply not done.

Characters get three Aspirations as normal. Generally, one will be a long term goal, one will be related to one's caste or other duties, and one will be personal, but this isn't a strict ruling.

Banned: Modern or foreign concepts as explained above.

Step Two: Anchors
Little change is needed here. Virtues, Vices, the supernatural equivalents, and touchstones all work essentially the same, though the latter might be called out on the respective character creation pages for Supernaturals. Just remember not to take any that specifically reflect modern concepts.

Step Three: Select Attributes
You may choose an array of 4/4/4 instead of the normal 5/4/3; it's fairly typical for those in this era to need to be capable of a bit of everything.

Advanced: Advanced characters receive an array of 7/6/4 or 6/6/5.

Restricted: Multiple attributes at 5.

Step Four: Select Skills and Specialties
You may choose 8/7/7 or 10/6/6 instead of the normal 11/7/4, for the same reasons as above.

See Dark Eras pages 23 to 31 for information on how Skills work in the era. Remember that Drive is replaced with Ride, Computers with Enigmas, and Firearms with Archery. Archery also covers javelins, slings, and throwing weapons, rather than Athletics.

As above, remember the three skill specialties chosen need to be suitable for the setting.

Advanced: Advanced characters receive an array of 15/11/7, 13/11/9, or 11/11/11, and five skill specialties.

Restricted: Having two or more skills at 5 dots.

Step Five: Add Template
This is where you add your character template, whether a mortal, minor template, or a full supernatural. See the links below depending on your character type: Advanced: Characters with a Supernatural Tolerance trait (Gnosis, Blood Potency, etc) receive an extra dot of it for free, and will generally have other advantages as listed on their page above.
 * Mortals and Generic Minor Templates
 * Vampires
 * Ghouls
 * Werewolves
 * Wolf-Blooded
 * Mages
 * Proximi

Restricted: Supernatural Tolerance at 4 dots.

Banned: Supernatural Tolerance at 5 or more dots.

Step Six: Merits
All characters receive ten dots of merits at creation. This includes mortals. Obviously, any merit relying on modern infrastructure, techniques, or foreign tutelage (like many fighting styles) cannot be taken. If there's any uncertainty about specific merits, ask an ST.

Characters can trade merit dots for skill specialties on a 1 to 1 basis.

Advanced: Advanced characters start with 20 dots of merits, which can be traded for further Supernatural Tolerance at a rate of 5 to 1 as normal.

Merits from other Venues
At Storyteller discretion, merits from another venue's splat-specific merit section might be allowed on a case by case basis, if it makes sense for the character and concept, and doesn't seem like it would cause problems.

Advanced and Epic merits
Introduced in Beast, Advanced and Epic merits are special merits that are supernatural extensions of mundane merits. You may ignore the Beast prerequisite for the merits with those labels in the Beast book, so long as they don't in any way rely on the Beast template. Instead, Advanced merits may be taken by anyone with a supernatural template (anyone but a normal mortal), and Epic merits may be taken by fully Supernatural characters (such as Mages and Vampires).

Language
All characters within the setting speak the same language. The language merit, however, can be purchased for "First Tongue" (allowing one to understand spirit speech), "Sygil Carving" (allowing First Tongue and other symbols to be carved into Pottery and similar objects), and "High Speech" (When taken as a language, this only allows basic understanding of runes. This requires Sygil Carving before a non-Wise can take it).

Multilingual cannot be taken.

Mystery Cult Initiation
Mystery cults can be submitted for ST approval, and will be listed here. Generally, they're more likely to be approved if more than one player is involved in the creation of it, and especially more likely if developed IC.

Resources
Resources essentially represents your character's share of livestock and agriculture, and how readily it can be replenished. A character with 0 dots has no excess and can't survive a drought or bad harvest, whereas a character with 5 could likely live off of what they have for weeks, and perhaps garner favors by trading away that excess to others.

Generally, only supernatural characters have the means to have more than a dot or two of Resources, so Resources above 2 is restricted, and needs ST permission after creation.

Updated and Custom Merits
Updated 1st edition merits, as well as those unique to the setting, can be found here.

Step Seven: Advantages
No value changes; calculate your advantages and derived traits as normal. Supernatural advantages might be changed on the appropriate page.

Integrity
Integrity is determined normally for mortals and minor templates, as are breaking points, but note that all characters in the Neolithic era are somewhat more used to the Supernatural; they receive a +2 on breaking point rolls caused by witnessing supernatural events. This does NOT apply to breaking points caused by being the TARGET of a hostile supernatural power.

Step Eight: History and Experience
Characters that have a history of at least a few paragraphs receive 5 Experiences to round out their sheets; this must be spent now, as it can't be banked. For non-restricted, non-advanced characters, however, this is optional.

See the creation pages for different templates above for a list of Experience costs.

Advanced: Advanced characters need to have a history of at least a few paragraphs. Those that have a history with a length of about double what's required of them receive 10 Experiences to spend now, and it similarly cannot be banked.