Sep 5, 2021 2:26 am
Your character's background and training prior to entering play together are referred to as their Origin. These are valuable options providing tools they carry with them for their entire career. Origin consists of two parts - Talent (natural ability) and Specialty (training and life experience).
This Step, with it's incredible offering of options, is where a new player begins to feel overwhelmed. I too find myself perusing the many options across all of the core rulebook and the rules supplements and often times find an option that would take me in a complete opposite direction. Not necessarily a bad thing - as inspiration comes from many areas - and if you do find an Origin that my differ from your concept then file it away for a later time, a later game, or simply refer back to Steps 0 and 1 with this new concept in mind.
I am pretty set on my female version of a Mitch Rapp or Sam Fisher so with that clear picture as reference, then selecting a Talent and Origin is not as daunting as it first may seem. As mentioned previous I am leaning towards Infiltrator (with Martial Artist, Faceman, and Pointman as 'back up' options). Infiltrator listed Dexterity as the priority for Attributes with either Wisdom or Charisma as a close second - whereas Faceman and Pointman (both more social oriented classes) listed Wisdom and Charisma as the priorities. Leaning towards a more sneaky Infiltrator you will recall that we put more of our Attribute expenditure into Dexterity and Wisdom - though did not skirt on the Charisma so those classes are certainly still a viable option. With Dexterity being the priority then I should be looking for those talents that boost that Attribute.
Agile, Daring, Disciplined, Gifted, Gonzo, Graceful, Privileged, Reliable, Dexterous, Lithe, and Shifty (the last three being offered in the World on Fire Sourcebook) all boost Dexterity or in some cases offer a boost to an Attribute of my choosing that also seem in line with my concept. The next logical step would eliminate those Talents that would decrease Wisdom (knowing that I want to utilize a more 'sneaky' Infiltrator). Though 11, while still easily considered 'a lot' has pared the list down significantly.
Okay --- the only Talent that boosts Dexterity at the expense of Wisdom is Lithe (though I hesitate to dismiss it out of hand as it adds to base Defense, increases Speed, and adds Vitality. With that in mind lets look at the other attributes I've prioritized - Intelligence and Constitution (and to a lesser extent Strength as I don't want a -1 penalty to checks with that Attribute).
Agile boosts Dex at the expense of Str and it's other benefits are ones I feel I can live without so Agile
Daring boosts Dex at the expense of Int and as before it's other benefits are ones I can live without so Daring
Gifted provides my choice of boost and decrease and the benefits don't excite me Gifted
Graceful boost Dex at the expense of Constitution and it's benefits are ones I feel I can do without Graceful
Shifty while boosting Dex at the expense of Cha oddly provides benefits that seem reliant on Charisma and don't seem helpful for my concept Shifty
So now I am left with 6 choices. All are really good and provide benefits that excite me (and is why I absolutely LOVE this game as two people with a similar concept in mind can come up with two entirely different characters) but the two whose benefits intrigue me the most are Disciplined and Privileged. The benefits of Privileged however seem to fit my concept the best (the daughter of a US ambassador would certainly have lived a privileged life).
Talent: Privileged
Using the same process with Specialty and selecting those that best describe my concept I am coming up with Contract Professional, Operative, Champion, Killer, and Spy. Only 5 to whittle down. Of the 5 Contract Professional, Operative, and Spy intrigue me the most - now 3.
In looking over the benefits Spy (released in a later supplement) seems to offer the same as Contract Professional yet with more choice so Contract Professional
With my statement in Step 0 that my character had grown up outside the US in a number of different countries I like what Operative provides - also the fact that Operative seems more 'action' to me where Spy is more 'observe'
Specialty: Operative
Privileged Operative
This Step, with it's incredible offering of options, is where a new player begins to feel overwhelmed. I too find myself perusing the many options across all of the core rulebook and the rules supplements and often times find an option that would take me in a complete opposite direction. Not necessarily a bad thing - as inspiration comes from many areas - and if you do find an Origin that my differ from your concept then file it away for a later time, a later game, or simply refer back to Steps 0 and 1 with this new concept in mind.
I am pretty set on my female version of a Mitch Rapp or Sam Fisher so with that clear picture as reference, then selecting a Talent and Origin is not as daunting as it first may seem. As mentioned previous I am leaning towards Infiltrator (with Martial Artist, Faceman, and Pointman as 'back up' options). Infiltrator listed Dexterity as the priority for Attributes with either Wisdom or Charisma as a close second - whereas Faceman and Pointman (both more social oriented classes) listed Wisdom and Charisma as the priorities. Leaning towards a more sneaky Infiltrator you will recall that we put more of our Attribute expenditure into Dexterity and Wisdom - though did not skirt on the Charisma so those classes are certainly still a viable option. With Dexterity being the priority then I should be looking for those talents that boost that Attribute.
Agile, Daring, Disciplined, Gifted, Gonzo, Graceful, Privileged, Reliable, Dexterous, Lithe, and Shifty (the last three being offered in the World on Fire Sourcebook) all boost Dexterity or in some cases offer a boost to an Attribute of my choosing that also seem in line with my concept. The next logical step would eliminate those Talents that would decrease Wisdom (knowing that I want to utilize a more 'sneaky' Infiltrator). Though 11, while still easily considered 'a lot' has pared the list down significantly.
Okay --- the only Talent that boosts Dexterity at the expense of Wisdom is Lithe (though I hesitate to dismiss it out of hand as it adds to base Defense, increases Speed, and adds Vitality. With that in mind lets look at the other attributes I've prioritized - Intelligence and Constitution (and to a lesser extent Strength as I don't want a -1 penalty to checks with that Attribute).
Agile boosts Dex at the expense of Str and it's other benefits are ones I feel I can live without so Agile
Daring boosts Dex at the expense of Int and as before it's other benefits are ones I can live without so Daring
Gifted provides my choice of boost and decrease and the benefits don't excite me Gifted
Graceful boost Dex at the expense of Constitution and it's benefits are ones I feel I can do without Graceful
Shifty while boosting Dex at the expense of Cha oddly provides benefits that seem reliant on Charisma and don't seem helpful for my concept Shifty
So now I am left with 6 choices. All are really good and provide benefits that excite me (and is why I absolutely LOVE this game as two people with a similar concept in mind can come up with two entirely different characters) but the two whose benefits intrigue me the most are Disciplined and Privileged. The benefits of Privileged however seem to fit my concept the best (the daughter of a US ambassador would certainly have lived a privileged life).
Talent: Privileged
Using the same process with Specialty and selecting those that best describe my concept I am coming up with Contract Professional, Operative, Champion, Killer, and Spy. Only 5 to whittle down. Of the 5 Contract Professional, Operative, and Spy intrigue me the most - now 3.
In looking over the benefits Spy (released in a later supplement) seems to offer the same as Contract Professional yet with more choice so Contract Professional
With my statement in Step 0 that my character had grown up outside the US in a number of different countries I like what Operative provides - also the fact that Operative seems more 'action' to me where Spy is more 'observe'
Specialty: Operative
Privileged Operative