CHaraCter Creation

Talislanta has a plethora of sentient races, most of which make for interesting player characters. Players should familiarize themselves with the races available for play along with the Traveler’s Guide section of this book before selecting the race they wish to play. The first step in creating a Talislanta player char acter is to select the character’s race or culture. This choice will determine the character’s general outlook on life. Additionally, each Race will have a list of base attribute ratings, default skill ranks and special abili ties open to characters of the race. These serve to dif ferentiate the races and cultures from each other. The skills and special abilities are always consid ered Preferred Skills Once a race is selected, the player may now increase any one Attribute by +1. If they do this however, they must further decrease one Attribute by -1. Each race also has a list of possible Paths open to characters of that race. Players should record all of this information on their character sheet. The second choice a player need make when creat ing a charcter is to detrmine the backgroud of that character. Players should now review Chapter Four: Paths. During character creation, characters begin with a blank slate. After selecting your character’s race, it is assumed they are just entering adulthood and thus begin with only rudimentary skills. By selecting different Paths open to the character’s race, the character acquires new skills, special abili ties and quirks. How many Paths may be selected is determined by the type of campaign the GM wishes to run. Typically, three Path campaigns are about av erage. Single Path games can also be fun but players should be prepared to face tough obstacles as they are only at the point in their life when they are start ing to learn to survive in the oft dangerous world of Talislanta. For heroic or epic campaigns, GMs may permit four, five or even more Paths to starting char acters. Such games can also prove fun but GMs will need to be careful to fill their campaigns with epic foes to properly challenge the heroes. Players should consult with the GM to determine how many Paths the player is allowed to select for his or her character. Players should record all relevant Race and Path information on their character sheet such as skill ranks, special abilities, attribute bonuses or penalties, default Quirks, starting equipment, etc. Review the section on Attributes in Chapter One, and follow the guidelines to determine your charac ter’s Hit Points (HP), Movement, and Encumbrance ratings. Finally players should personalize their characters by giving them a name, background and interesting personality traits. They may also spend any currency acquired from their Paths on additional equipment, mounts or conveyances, weapons, armor, etc. Some helpful hints on creating interesting player characters can be found on the pages following the Race descriptions further in this chapter.