My last posting of house rules mentioned starting knowledges, but before I do that I instead decided to post what sophonts I allow as player characters...
I would like some feedback --- if there's a classic minor I've missed that deserves to be a travelling sophont in the Marches, please comment.
Travelling Sophonts. While Charted Space has a variety of sophonts, and even the Spinward Marches has several sophonts unique to it, what separates a playable sophont from a non-playable one is the desire of such a race to travel. The vast majority of sophonts will never leave their homeworlds. Of those races willing to travel, common to the human worlds above are Imperial, Vilani and Solomani humans; less common but found within the Marches are Daryen humans. Some of the worlds above are Vargr worlds, and Vargr are known for travelling, and populations can be found scattered on Imperial worlds in the Marches. While only one Important world above has a notable Aslan population, Aslan are also recognized for their desire to travel, and even Aslan clans have settled on Imperial worlds. Of the minor sophont races not native to the Marches, Bwaps and Virushi are uncommonly encountered throughout the Imperium and so make our list of playable sophonts.
TRAVELLING SOPHONTS
Note that Aslan and Vargr player characters will be considered to have come from Imperial populations, and are both comfortable and familiar with Imperial culture. This may mean that such characters will not mix well with native Aslan or Vargr populations when encountered in-game.
The Human Characteristics. The standard human Characteristics are Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, Intelligence, Education, and Social Standing; Vargr use Charisma rather than Social Standing. Abbreviate the names with the first three letters of the name (Str, Dex, End, Int, Edu, Soc/Cha).
PLAYER SOPHONT DETAILS
Bwaps reroll any receipt of Gambler or Streetwise, and receive two levels of knowledge when they gain their first level of Bureaucrat (and this can come from homeworld knowledges). While Vargr and Human hands can easily use the same tools, Bwap hands are different, and so they receive a −1 Mod when using human tools for a task. Aslan paws have similar problems, but are even more different, perhaps raising the difficulty of some tasks using the wrong tools. Fortunately, equipment for both Aslan and Bwap are readily available on Importance 0 or greater worlds within the Marches.
Virushi may not enter any military career, and the first receipt of any Fighter, Gunner or Heavy Weapon knowledge only gives level-0 (which is only for tracking, and not usable in-game). Further, Virushi cannot use human tools or equipment, and specially modified equipment generally costs 1.5 times normal, and is available on Importance 1 or greater worlds on Imperial worlds in the Marches.
For all characters, equipment received during character generation is considered to have already been modified as required to be fully usable by the character.
The Universal Personality Profile. The six characteristics are recorded in the six-digit string called the Universal Personality Profile (UPP). The UPP shows characteristics as single eHex digits in a six-digit string. The string is a ready reference for the abilities of the character.
Characteristic Code. The characteristics are also numbered by their position in the UPP and preceded by C for Characteristic. The first digit in the UPP is C1 (=Strength), the second digit is C2, the third is C3, and so on.
Creating The UPP
All players will roll 18D, dropping the lowest 6D, with dice divided between characteristics as desired by each. Convert the values to eHex and assemble the UPP strings for all characters.
Any player may elect to not roll, and instead take the series “3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6” instead.
• Vargr characters drop the lowest 5D, or add an additional “3” to the series.
• Aslan characters roll 21D and drop the lowest 7D, or add an additional “3, 4” to the series.
• Bwap characters roll 18D and drop the lowest 8D, or drop one set of “3, 4” from the series.
• Virushi characters roll 21D and drop the lowest 3D, or add an additional “2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6” to the series.
Genetics
The high die selected for the first four characteristics is genetic. It has meaning as the genetic heritage for the individual.
Retention of this information is optional but may be of importance later. If this information is not recorded during character generation, it can be recovered with genetic testing (detailed in the Genetics chapter).
Social Standing
Characters with Soc 10+ are considered “noble”, but not titled, unless they enter the Noble career, or receive a Knighthood as a benefit in career. If untitled, the Soc characteristic represents your family’s status, not your personal status.
I would like some feedback --- if there's a classic minor I've missed that deserves to be a travelling sophont in the Marches, please comment.
Travelling Sophonts. While Charted Space has a variety of sophonts, and even the Spinward Marches has several sophonts unique to it, what separates a playable sophont from a non-playable one is the desire of such a race to travel. The vast majority of sophonts will never leave their homeworlds. Of those races willing to travel, common to the human worlds above are Imperial, Vilani and Solomani humans; less common but found within the Marches are Daryen humans. Some of the worlds above are Vargr worlds, and Vargr are known for travelling, and populations can be found scattered on Imperial worlds in the Marches. While only one Important world above has a notable Aslan population, Aslan are also recognized for their desire to travel, and even Aslan clans have settled on Imperial worlds. Of the minor sophont races not native to the Marches, Bwaps and Virushi are uncommonly encountered throughout the Imperium and so make our list of playable sophonts.
TRAVELLING SOPHONTS
Code:
Name Homeworld Sector Hex Details
Imperial — — — Mixture of Vilani and Solomani humans, comprising the bulk of Imperial humaniti.
Vilani Vland Vlan 1717 Major human race taken from Terra and abandoned on Vland.
Solomani Terra Solo 1827 True homeworld of all Humaniti.
Aslan Kusyu Dark 1225 Major sophonts, often mistaken for feline in nature.
Vargr Lair Prov 2402 Major sophonts, wolves from Terra uplifted by the Ancients.
Bwaps Marhaban Empt 0426 Minor sophonts famed for their bureaucratic expertise.
Virushi Virshash Reav 2726 Minor sophonts famed for their medical and research expertise.Note that Aslan and Vargr player characters will be considered to have come from Imperial populations, and are both comfortable and familiar with Imperial culture. This may mean that such characters will not mix well with native Aslan or Vargr populations when encountered in-game.
The Human Characteristics. The standard human Characteristics are Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, Intelligence, Education, and Social Standing; Vargr use Charisma rather than Social Standing. Abbreviate the names with the first three letters of the name (Str, Dex, End, Int, Edu, Soc/Cha).
PLAYER SOPHONT DETAILS
Code:
Name Characteristics Str C2 C3 Int C5 C6 Vision Hearing Smell Touch Other Details
Humaniti SDEIES 2D 2D 2D 2D 2D 2D V-16-RGB H-16-9382 S-10-3 T-06-2 none
Aslan SDEIES 3D 2D 3D 2D 2D 2D V-16-RGB H-18-8474 S-18-3 T-12-3 dewclaw (2D)
Vargr SDEIEC 2D 3D 2D 2D 2D 2D V-20-RGB H-18-9471 S-20-4 T-14-3 bite (2D)
Bwap SDEIES 1D 2D 1D 2D 2D 2D none
Virushi SDEIES 5D 3D 2D 2D 2D 2D severalBwaps reroll any receipt of Gambler or Streetwise, and receive two levels of knowledge when they gain their first level of Bureaucrat (and this can come from homeworld knowledges). While Vargr and Human hands can easily use the same tools, Bwap hands are different, and so they receive a −1 Mod when using human tools for a task. Aslan paws have similar problems, but are even more different, perhaps raising the difficulty of some tasks using the wrong tools. Fortunately, equipment for both Aslan and Bwap are readily available on Importance 0 or greater worlds within the Marches.
Virushi may not enter any military career, and the first receipt of any Fighter, Gunner or Heavy Weapon knowledge only gives level-0 (which is only for tracking, and not usable in-game). Further, Virushi cannot use human tools or equipment, and specially modified equipment generally costs 1.5 times normal, and is available on Importance 1 or greater worlds on Imperial worlds in the Marches.
For all characters, equipment received during character generation is considered to have already been modified as required to be fully usable by the character.
The Universal Personality Profile. The six characteristics are recorded in the six-digit string called the Universal Personality Profile (UPP). The UPP shows characteristics as single eHex digits in a six-digit string. The string is a ready reference for the abilities of the character.
Characteristic Code. The characteristics are also numbered by their position in the UPP and preceded by C for Characteristic. The first digit in the UPP is C1 (=Strength), the second digit is C2, the third is C3, and so on.
Creating The UPP
All players will roll 18D, dropping the lowest 6D, with dice divided between characteristics as desired by each. Convert the values to eHex and assemble the UPP strings for all characters.
Any player may elect to not roll, and instead take the series “3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6” instead.
• Vargr characters drop the lowest 5D, or add an additional “3” to the series.
• Aslan characters roll 21D and drop the lowest 7D, or add an additional “3, 4” to the series.
• Bwap characters roll 18D and drop the lowest 8D, or drop one set of “3, 4” from the series.
• Virushi characters roll 21D and drop the lowest 3D, or add an additional “2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6” to the series.
Genetics
The high die selected for the first four characteristics is genetic. It has meaning as the genetic heritage for the individual.
Retention of this information is optional but may be of importance later. If this information is not recorded during character generation, it can be recovered with genetic testing (detailed in the Genetics chapter).
Social Standing
Characters with Soc 10+ are considered “noble”, but not titled, unless they enter the Noble career, or receive a Knighthood as a benefit in career. If untitled, the Soc characteristic represents your family’s status, not your personal status.
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