Character Creation
So let’s make a character in MEGALOS. Before anything else, let’s decide on a basic concept for this character. I like wizards, so I want to make some sort of wizard adventurer. Let’s see how we do that.
Looking at page 80, there are 7 steps to make a character. Let’s walk through them.
Step 0: Sketch out a general theme or simple concept for your character! This concept isn’t binding in any way and has no mechanical effect, but when you’re just sitting down to make a character, having an idea top-of-mind is very helpful.
We already did this step, so let’s go to Step 1.
Step 1: Choose a homeland, and pick 2 of that homeland’s signature skills. Each signature skill chosen is improved by +1 rank. Remember that all skills have a rank of 1 to begin with. You may pick either a generic homeland (p. 81) or one specific to the game’s setting (p. 245 for Oradam Rift homelands).
I like a lot of the concepts for Oradam Rift, so we’ll use that list. Eldash sounds cool (a land noted for its culture of quiet, contemplative people who wear masks in public) so we’ll choose that as our homeland.
From Eldash’s signature skills, we’ll choose Attune and Watch, bumping both those up to rank 2.
Step 2: Come up with 4 traits (a Background, Mental, Physical, and Special trait). These allow you to reroll a die on any skill test to which you can argue that the trait would grant you some kind of benefit, edge, or experience. Page 84. If the game is using optional Language rules, also pick a Language package (p. 86).
We’re not going to worry about Language, so we’ll skip that optional part.
Thinking about our traits for minute, I come up with the following.
- Background: Fugitive Mage
- Mental: Quiet but Observant
- Physical: Delicate Precision
- Special: Ancestral Mask
I’m not sure how helpful that Special one will be, so we’ll come back to it later as we learn more about our character.
Step 3: Assign 6 skill points and 3 cutscene approach points. Increase any skill or approach assigned a point by +1 rank per point assigned. No skill or approach may be higher than rank 3 at character creation. Remember that all skills and approaches have a rank of 1 by default. Page 24.
We already have Attune and Watch at rank 2, so we’ll need to keep those in mind as we assign our points. Thinking it over, I choose the following to put my points into:
Cut Scene Approaches
- Clever 2
- Cautious 3
Skills
- Attune 3
- Finesse 2
- Inspect 3
- Learn 3
- Watch 2
This looks good and since every other skill will be at 1, I don’t feel too bad about not putting points into them. Now it’s time for…
Step 4: Choose a Class (Invoker, Throne, or Witch) and a Calling belonging to the chosen Class. Write down the Class’s Aether Current rules. Write down the Calling’s Base Damage, HP, Defenses (Dodge and Ward), Soak, Recovery, and your Calling’s bonus power. Thrones should also write down their Finishers. Pages 88-172.
This one looks a little involved, so we’re going to be a bit of skimming to pick out something that catches my eye. Both the Invoker and Witch classes could fit what I’m looking for at a high level, but looking at the Callings, the Astromancer speaks to me more than the others, so we pick that one.
This calling gives me the following stats:
- Base HP: 24
- Base Defenses: 8 Dodge / 8 Ward
- Base Damage: 6
- Recovery: 4
- Recovery Bonus: 6
My character’s bonus power is Cosmic Siphon, which lets me deal damage and recover Aether Current dice as a Minor Action. Speaking of Aether Current dice…
My class’s Aether Current ability is called Seals. At the beginning of an encounter, I roll my Aether Current dice (four d6s). Dice that roll even numbers as Astral Seals, while odd numbers as Umbral Seals. I will spend these to use my other abilities.
Step 5: Choose a number of Powers and Talents from your Calling’s special abilities. The number you can choose will be determined by what Class you’re playing. It’s a good idea (especially for players who are new to either MEGALOS or TRPGs in general) to balance your Major Action & Minor Action powers.
Looking at my Class’s advancement table on page 92, my character starts with 2 Invocations, 1 Arcana, and 1 Talent. Looking through the lists, I pick the following to compliment my Cosmic Siphon bonus action I received earlier.
- Invocation: Gygus, an earth-themed summon which give my character attacks that care about any special terrain on the battlefield.
- Invocation: Hajmaul, a lightning-themed summon which gives my characters that either inflict damage over time or area damage, depending on if I spend Astal or Umbral Seals.
- Arcana: For my Arcanum Power, I pick Hajmaul’s, a powerful attack that automatically hits all foes in combat, inflicting damage over time.
- Talent: Protective Eidolons, which gives my character bonuses to Dodge, Ward, and Soak rolls when they are hosting an Invocation.
Step 6: Design your Weapon and Outfit. Outfits are built on a priority system and
weapons are built from a list of options. Find your final values for Dodge & Ward,
Armor HP, Soak, Core Damage, Range, Weapon Dice, and any other stats affected
by your loadouts. Pages 184-191.
For this step, I use Bill’s tool he created to make my Weapon and Outfit.
For my outfit, since my character is a Striker (defined by their Calling), I can only select a Light or Medium outfit. Since I don’t expect my character to carry a lot, I sacrifice the Inventory Points granted by a Light Outfit and choose Medium. Looking at the priorities, I put A into Soak Bonus, B into Armor HP, and C into Defense Bonus. I want to be tough when I get hit, but will mostly try to stay out of the thick of fighting. For the mod, I will pick Fluxing to help me get the Umbral and Astral Seals I need in combat. This give me an outfit with the following stats:
Medium Outfit - Fluxing
Defense Bonus: +2, Armor HP: 10, Soak Bonus: +2, Inventory Points: 5
Fluxing: +/- 1 to a single Aether Current die’s value, once per round on my turn.
For my weapon I want to hit hard, so I choose a Heavy Ranged weapon which I will say is a wizard’s staff. For my type, I will pick Deadly for even more damage and for the mod I will pick Seeking to increase my chances of hitting. This gives me a weapon with the following stats:
Heavy Weapon ✧ Ranged, Deadly, Seeking
Weapon Dice: 2, Damage Bonus: +8, Range: 3
Deadly: +1 damage bonus (or +2 for Heavy Weapons)
Seeking: Ranged only. Weapon ignores cover, add +1 to the result of all rolled Weapon Dice.
This makes the stats I received at Step 4 become:
- HP: 24
- Armor HP: 10
- Defenses: 10 Dodge / 10 Ward (11/11 while hosting an Invocation)
- Damage Bonus: 16
- Weapon Dice: 2 (+1 to the results)
- Recovery: 4
- Soak: 1d6 + 2 (1d6 + 3 while hosting an Invocation)
- Recovery Bonus: 6
Step 7: Write a bond with one other character in the group. This should be a sentence or
so at most. Bonds do not need to be symmetrical between two characters, and they
don’t need to be strictly “positive”, but they should indicate a deep connection one
way or another. Page 17.
We’ll skip this one for now, since we’re not going to playing this character with anyone else.
We look to be done, but don’t have a name for our character yet. I’ll call them Gavrin of Eldash.
Going back to their traits from Step 2, I like the flavor of the Astromancer being associated with the stars and zodiacal gods, so I’ll change Gavrin’s Special trait to “Blessed by the Stars.”
In total, this took about an hour. Let’s see what our character sheet looks like:
