Character Creation Guidlines

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Apr 14, 2015 6:02 am
In order to keep this neat and clean I am locking the creation thread so that only I can post (assuming I've checked the right settings) Please go to the "OOC Character Creation Discussion" to post about your character ideas and questions.
Apr 14, 2015 6:57 am
Step 1 - Form and High Concept.

Each player character(PC) is a small creature that used to serve a powerful magic user of some kind as a familiar. You were used to fetch components, channel arcane energies, serve as look out and spy, or anything else you might have read about or imagined in a Fantasy Genre Book/Game/property/etc. Consider the types of service you performed for your master when developing your High Concept.

Each PC is a small creature in a world of ruled by humanoid creatures, and filled with innumerable dangers because almost everything is bigger than you. Consider the form you take when developing your High Concept.

There are three basic forms that are available to PCs: Animal, Fantastic, and Homunculus. Each one has a slight advantage over the other. Each advantage will be explained here, but you might need to keep reading the creation guidelines to understand fully.

Animal - The most common style of Familiar. This type starts life as an average small animal, anything a human being could comfortably carry in one arm. At some point their master performed a ritual and bound their souls together. The animal is then blessed with human level intelligence and the ability to be a conduit for their master's magic. Services performed by these type of familiars was generally limited by their natural capabilities. Now that their master is gone PCs find they have powers of their own that can overcome those frailties. Popular Animal Familiars are : Cats(domesticated), Rats, Bats, Ravens, Snakes, Spiders, Toads, Weasels, Lizards, and Owls. Other animals are viable, this list is simply the most common types.
Advantage - +1 Refresh. Animals start the game and each session with an extra Fate Point. This Refresh can never be lost or turned into a Stunt. Animal type familiars always have 1 Refresh

Fantastic - This type of familiar covers all of the "naturally existing" creatures in the world that aren't regular animals. They tend to have more natural capabilities than animals, but they are far more conspicuous. Usually Fantastic types were captured in their natural environment or summoned and bound to the material world. They are still small and serve in all the same ways other familiars do, but the relationship between master and familiar is more equal. The master typically pledges the familiar to a limited contract or one that is more mutually beneficial. Common Fantastic types include: Nixies, Pixies, Weirds, Quasits, faerie dragons, or wisps. Again this list is by no means exclusive, merely the most common examples. ((A note* - Demons and devils are not available to PCs. Demon familiars do exist, but they follow different rules. Usually when their master dies, his or her soul is bound for a torturous afterlife and the evil familiar takes them their kicking and screaming. Don't ask to be a demon. Quasits fill the role of human shaped outsiders))
Advantage - Fantastics get two more Magic descriptors for free. They do not need to pay a Refresh to have a total of 6 descriptors, and the bonus descriptors do not have to be bound to their Magic type. ((For more on this see the Extras posting below.))

Homunculus - This type of familiars that are constructs and fabrications created by the master they served. Their forms are the most varied, but there is one common thread...they were infused with the life essence of the person who created them. The bond between master and Homunculus was the strongest of all the familiar bonds. The master's will was the Homunculu's will. There were no contracts or bindings to be threatened, the homunculs served because it was an extension of the master. This also makes them the most volatile familiar after the death of the master. Common Homonculus forms include: Clay, Brass, Stone, Bone, and Wood. Again this list is by no means exclusive, merely the most common examples.
Advantage - Homunculi are extremely durable. The magic that sustains them keeps them from going to pieces. Homunculus familiars gain an extra Minor Consequence (2 point Consequence) ((See the Stress section below.))

When deciding on your High Concept, please include the type of familiar you are going to play in the aspect and be as specific as possible. (i.e. Rat, Toad, Pixie, Brass Automaton). Also consider describing what the most common service you performed for your master as part of your High Concept. This service isn't mandatory, just a suggestion.
Apr 14, 2015 7:04 am
Step 2 - Approaches
Instead of using skills like Fate Core uses, we will be using the six Approaches of FAE, aka Fate Accelerated. These will include: Careful, Clever, Flashy, Forceful, Sneaky and Quick. You will assign an array of numbers to each of these skills. That array is +4, +3, +2, +1, +1 +0. It is my belief that all of those approaches are sound and cover every possible action in every possible way. It is entirely up to you how you put together your character. Consider the type of familiar you will be playing, Fantastics tend toward Flashy and Forceful, Homunculi are Careful and Sneaky, Animals vary depending on their nature in the wild.
Apr 14, 2015 4:27 pm
Step 3 - Magic Extra

Each familiar is gifted with a shard of power their former master possessed. This power takes the form of an Extra. This Extra is a simple formatted sentence that gives details on what type of magic the character uses and one or more facts about how they can use this magic to defend themselves and accomplish their goals. The format for the Magic Extra is as follows:

Because [character name] (can/am/is) type of magic used (he/she/it/they) can Fact 1, Fact 2, Fact 3, Fact 4.

This sentence illustrates the extraordinary and supernatural abilities your character has above and beyond what would be considered normal for a creature of their type. For example, an owl of pixie familiar does not need a Fact to describe their characters ability to fly. They are winged creatures, it is assumed that they can do that. If you want the character to be capable of achieving super sonic speeds, then a Fact should be used. Facts are intended to be extensions of the magic a character wields. An Earth Wizard would not be capable of summoning a rain storm, and a Water Mage could not create fire with their magic for example.

Again this Extra describes the effects your character can do normally, without the expenditure of Fate Points and other resources.Fate Points may be spent to create different magical effects within the fictional narrative of the game. If it is established in the narrative that a character is incapable of cresting fire with their magic, then no amount of Fate Point expenditure will make it possible in the narrative.

Fantastics - This type of familiar gets a maximum total of 6 Facts. The two bonus facts are to be used to to describe their unique capabilities. Perhaps an Air Elemental is naturally 'hard to see', or a faerie dragon has a 'toxic tail barb'. A fantastic does not have to have 6 Facts, but a maximum of 2 facts may be about their nature, the other 4 must be tied to their magical ability.

Below are two example Magic Extra sentences to help illustrate how they might look:

Because Bunyon the Toad is a Water Mage he can Summon and Control Water, Turn Water into Ice, Breathe both Air and Water, Turn Himself and Others into Water.

Because Thimble the Pixie wields Necromantic Energy she can Reanimate Corpses, Speak with the Recently Departed, Place Hexes of Ill Luck, and Inflict Disease with a touch. Her Pixie nature also gives her A Sleep Charm and she can Give Others the Gift of Flight.
Note that the Sleep Charm and Gift of Flight are the bonus extras Thimble gains as a Fantastic type familiar. Thimbke can fly of her own accord as a Pixie and does not need a Fact to gain the ability.
Apr 14, 2015 5:55 pm
Step 4 - High Concept, Trouble and Other Aspects

High Concept - As stated in step one, the type and form that your character takes needs to be a part of your High Concept. For Animals and Fantastic types, this may be as simple as including the "species" in the description. Crow, Nixie, Rat, or Fire Elemental covers type easily. Homunculi are a little more open ended and the description may not be clear at first blush. This isn't a problem, but we will need to be clear about the nature of the character's construction. A Clay Blood-infused Homunculus has vastly different qualities than a Animated Wicker Doll, or Brass and Steel Automaton, but they all qualify as Homonculi type because they were constructed from parts and scraps that were not a living thing before.

Type and shape are not the only components that make up a High Concept. It should be a short sentence still, but also include details that reflect the character's outlook on life and the world. Or any other factors that you might want to include. As per the typical advice High Concepts that can have positive and negative effects on your character are best, but Formerly Familiar already has a little bit of that built in. You are supernatural creatures in a Humanoid run world. Characters are all small, or even tiny, things that are not readily welcomed at the local inn. Go ahead and reference the Fate SRD or published materials for more guidelines on creating High Concepts, or ask in the OOC Character Creation Thread.

Trouble - This aspect is pretty straight forward. You need to create a complication for your character. Something that gets in the way of them achieving their goals. It could be personal and internal, or it could be an external world threatening thing. Maybe your former master had enemies. Now you have inherited them because you hold a sliver of your master's soul and the enemy wants it snuffed out for fear your master could rise up again. Or maybe your just have a really bad attitude and can't make friends. Its up to you as long as it works against your character.

Other Aspects - Like a normal Fate game you may have up to three other aspects on your character sheet. I ask that you come up with at least one other Aspect, the others may be defined during play if you want. Again, these Aspects work just like normal Fate Aspects. The reflect your character's abilities and personality or even equipment like a really bad ass ring, wand or sword. They should be flexible enough to have both a positive and a negative affect on your character.
Apr 14, 2015 6:26 pm
Step 5 - Stunts and Refreshes

Each character starts with 6 refresh, except Animal Types who start with 7 (see below). The total number of Refreshes your character has is how many Fate points they have at the beginning of each session. Refreshes are spent to create Stunts your character can use during play for added effects. The standard is to spend 3 Refresh to get 3 Stunts. Generally these stunts are tied to your character's skill in Magic granting them bonuses and effects without needing to create the advantage or Aspect with other actions first. There are several ways create a stunt, and they are all similar to the Magic Extra described above. See the Examples below:

Because I [describe some way that you are exceptional, have a cool bit of gear, or are otherwise awesome], I get a +2 when I [pick one: Carefully, Cleverly, Flashily, Forcefully, Quickly, Sneakily][pick one: attack, defend, create advantages, overcome] when [describe a circumstance].

-or-

Because I [describe some way that you are exceptional, have a cool bit of gear, or are otherwise awesome], once per game session I can [describe something cool you can do].

-or-

Because I [describe some way that you are exceptional, have a cool bit of gear, or are otherwise awesome], I can spend a fate Point to [describe something cool you can do].

If there is something you want your character to be capable of that does not seem to fit one of these formats, ask about it and we can probably work something out.

Animal Type - Animals start the game with 7 Refresh. They may not ever spend this refresh on a Stunt. This extra Refresh represents the extra luck and power an Animal Type gains from its relationship with its (now former) master.
Apr 14, 2015 7:11 pm
Steps 6 - Stress and Consequences

Familiars are small creatures. They are not powerhouses in terms of how much damage they can take. A solid blow from nearly any foe can end them quickly. Familiar Characters have 2 Physical Stress and 2 Mental Stress. (Except Humunculi, see below) This value is not tied to any Approaches or Magic Facts. Otherwise Stress functions as it does in the standard rules.

Stunts might add to character durability. Stunts can add Armor (if your character is a turtle, or a stone statue). Magic can heal stress, and possibly relieve consequences outside of action scenes.

Each Familiar has three Consequences. These Consequences have values of 2, 4, & 6. Consequences are used to "buy-off" Stress that your character would otherwise take. These Consequences follow all the normal rules of Fate Core in terms of how long they last and what affect they can have on your character.

Homunculus Type - This type of Familiar starts with 3 Physical and 3 Mental Stress. This reflects the fact they are constructs made of nonliving materials (for the Physical Stress) and that they have been infused with their former master's life essence (for the Mental Stress). The magic used to make these characters makes them harder to damage.

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