This page contains instructions for creating player characters in this TTRPG system. It will help you fill out your character traits step by step.
Character Sheets
You can use our character sheet template on Google sheets.
You are also free to create your own character sheets.
For Players
Open a character sheet. You will start filling out your character sheet as you go through the steps of character creation.
Creativity Required
The Etherole TTRPG system requires you, the player, to get creative when making your character. We don’t create a flavorful, evocative, and fun, character for you. We provide good mechanics & game balance. You add the flavor yourself.
To explain how to take the mechanics we have provided and add your own flavor, we will look at the Mobility skill inked power called Fade (which lets you move without triggering an opportunity attack). This power could be portrayed in a number of ways:
- a short range teleport
- confusing your opponent via some kind of telepathy
- a feint
- a brief but distracting illusion
- a pillar of darkness briefly enveloping you
- your opponent being mesmerized by your impossible beauty
- your opponent’s weapon being held in place by some telekinetic force
- pulling an octopus from your bag and spraying your opponent with ink
We do provide some guidance on how to add flavor to your powers so that they are cool, entertaining, and fun.
Review your kit
Your GM should have provided you with a starting kit. This kit is your template for character creation. Your kit should look something like this:
Caps
Caps are the maximum rating that the associated character traits can have.
Attributes: 6
Skills: 6
Assets: 9
To Spend
10 Attribute Points
25 Skill points
20 Power Points
12 Asset Points
Starting Potency: 1
Free Powers: Plot Armor, Mask
Your kit may have higher or lower values, and may include different free powers.
A Kit Is Not A Class
This system does not have classes, such as the ones used in Dungeons & Dragons. Kits are not some kind of vague synonym with class.
A kit should have plenty of room to create a unique character.
Choose Connection
Your character’s connection is the thing they care most about within your fictional world. It is the reason they do what they do.
Most connections will be to people, communities, places, or organizations. Read the full entry on connections here.
Connections are part of the social mechanics of this system.
Most characters will begin play with only 1 Connection. Your GM can make exceptions, but you should have a good reason to begin play with more than 1 Connection.
Choose Vice
Your character’s vice is something which they enjoy too much, or spend too much time on. It does not have to be 1 of the 7 deadly sins, but those are valid choices.
Your vice will come up almost every game session. You can earn 1 experience point per game session by pursuing your vice. Read the full entry on vices here.
Vices are part of the social mechanics of this system.
Most characters will begin play with only 1 Vice. Your GM can make exceptions, but you should have a good reason to begin play with more than 1 Vice
Spend Attribute Points
You will spend Attribute points by choosing your ratings in the 3 Attributes: Physical, Social, and Mental.
Each attribute starts at rating 1. You will spend your points to raise attributes above a rating of 1.
If your kit has caps, you cannot have an attribute rating above the cap.
Calculate Health
A character’s total health is equal to (Physical attribute + 4) for most characters.
Spend Skill Points
You will now spend your skill points. You may spend your skill points however you like.
Each skill starts at rating 0. You will spend your skill points to raise their ratings above 0. When you’re finished spending your skill points, you will almost certainly have skills which have a rating of 0.
If your kit has caps, you cannot have a skill rating above the cap.
Academics & Literacy
In settings where illiteracy is common, a character with an Academics skill of 0 is illiterate.
Spend Knowledge Skill Points
See: Knowledge Skills
Calculate the number of Knowledge Skill points you have to spend:
- You receive free Knowledge Skill points equal to 3X your Academics skill rating.
- You receive free Knowledge Skill points equal to 2X your Mental attribute rating.
Once you have calculated your total knowledge skill points, you can begin spending them. See this list of example knowledge skills. You will have to get creative, and work with your GM to define knowledge skills that are relevant to your setting.
All characters begin with a free rating 6 language, which is their native tongue. You can take additional languages by spending knowledge skill points.
Spend Power Points
In the example kit above, you receive 20 power points. You may spend these as you see fit, up to a maximum combined buy cost of 20.
Many powers are linked with a skill, and have pre-reqs for minimum skill requirements. Some powers are not linked to a skill, and can be purchased by anyone who meets any other pre-reqs the power may have.
Powers List
Browse the powers list and pick the powers you want. You can browse the full list of powers in google sheets here.
Select Power Limiters
Power limiters reduce the buy cost of the powers you purchase. A power limiter can reduce the buy cost of a power by up to 3, to a minimum buy cost of 1.
Power limiters are one of the most important concepts in this system. This is where you define your character’s nature; the source of their power.
Spend Asset Points
Peruse the assets list, and spend your asset points.
You may have caps on how many points can be spent on a single asset, so check the kit your GM gave you.
If you want a special vehicle or location, see those pages for special mods that you can spend your asset points on.
Some assets relate directly to armor and weapons. You can wait to add these on your character sheet until you’ve settled on what equipment you’ll start with.
Select Equipment
Equipment is a broad category that includes armor, weapons, vehicles, and miscellaneous equipment.
Select Armor
A character will start the game with 1 set of armor of the player’s choosing. There is no need to buy or pay for this free armor set. If you want your armor to be special, you can add mods to it via the Magic Armor Asset.
A character may wear 1 set of armor at any given time.
Select Weapons
Characters will start the game with 2 weapons of the player’s choosing. There is no need to buy or pay for these 2 weapons. If you add mods to your weapon(s) via the Magic Item Asset, the mods you buy will apply to both of your starting weapons. This essentially makes modding your second weapon free.
A character may wield up to 1 weapon per hand at any given time, or hold a single weapon in two hands. Characters may have more weapons on their person, but they must use a ready weapon action to wield them.
Further information: dual wielding, and two-handing a single weapon.
For non-conventional weapons (knife, gun, bow, etc), use the Fantastical Weapon asset mod. Non-conventional weapons can include things like: fire pouring forth from your eyes, lightning crackling around you, a ball of energy, rainbows, etc.
Misc. Equipment
Other pieces of equipment are generally covered by the power limiter rules. For example, a pair of night-vision goggles would be purchased as a power with the required equipment power limiter. There is no hard cap on the number of such pieces of equipment, but use common sense – no one has an unlimited carrying capacity.
Cosmetics
Create a brief description of your character’s appearance.
Their appearance is almost entirely up to the player. As long as their appearance does not violate the setting you’re playing in, the GM should allow player characters to look however the player wants them to.
Players should be aware that very exotic appearances might make their character very distinctive. NPCs are going to notice & remember the person with silver hair & glowing red eyes.
You should consider a number of factors when creating your character’s description:
- Passive powers with the Obvious power limiter
- Obvious passive powers should alter your character’s appearance in a way that is fun & thematic, and reveals something about the character’s nature or the nature of their powers.
- For example, a character with the Weightless passive power, and the obvious power limiter, might float above the ground at all times.
- Obvious passive powers should alter your character’s appearance in a way that is fun & thematic, and reveals something about the character’s nature or the nature of their powers.
- Equipment: armor, weapons, etc
- What do your weapons & armor look like?
- Mods might change it’s appearance.
- The Fantastical Armor & Fantastical Weapon mods are required reading for anyone who wants their character to use non-standard appearing weapons & armor.
- Weapons & armor that fulfill your Required Equipment power limiter might appear completely unique or fantastical.
- Mods might change it’s appearance.
- What do your weapons & armor look like?
- Your Physical attribute rating, and Might skill rating, are immediately apparent to anyone who looks at you. If your character is super muscular, they appear to be super muscular.
- The Pint-Sized Powerhouse power can be purchased in order to conceal your Physical & Might ratings. This power can allow you to appear as a small child who is somehow capable of throwing boulders and lifting cars.
Cosmetics Matter
Cosmetics are important.
Cosmetics are what the players picture in their imagination but they have even greater importance in your narrative. Within the world of your game, things which are “merely cosmetic” to the players are true & real to the characters within that universe.
Cosmetics matter every bit as much as mechanics, so feel free to take your time in crafting your character’s appearance, along with the appearance of their powers.
For Game Masters (GMs)
Explain The Setting
Your first task as GM is to discuss the setting of the game with your players.
Many settings have so much notoriety that you needn’t say anything more than “The setting is Star Wars.” Less well recognized settings will require you to elucidate them to your players.
Players need a basic understanding of the setting in order to build their character within that setting’s constraints. Your players need to understand that they shouldn’t try to bring a cyborg into a swords & sorcery game.
It’s fair to place some burden on the players to learn about the setting, but it’s unlikely that they’re going to read through 5 books in order to understand it as well as you do.
Discuss Character Ideas
It’s important to have an open discussion about character ideas before anyone gets too committed to a character concept.
You want the characters to have enough overlap in their motivations (see Cares) that they will group up together without straining suspension of disbelief too hard.
You don’t want the characters to overlap too heavily on skills & powers. This doesn’t mean that there can’t be some overlap. In some games, everyone will need to be a competent combatant. In other games, everyone will need to be a competent social butterfly. It helps if the GM explains what sort of game they are expecting to run.
Give Your Players A Kit
Your players need you to send them a kit in order to create their characters. As the GM, you’re free to create your own kits for your games. We’ve provided example kits below for starting characters in each tier.
Player Character Kit Examples
We suggest that all players in the same game receive the same kit. There should be plenty of room within any kit to flesh out a unique character. Recommendations for starter kits in each tier are below.
Tier 1
Caps
Attributes: 6
Skills: 6
Assets: 9
To Spend
10 Attribute Points
25 Skill points
20 Power Points
12 Asset Points
Starting Potency: 1
Free Powers: Plot Armor, Mask
Tier 2
Caps:
Attributes: 9
Skills: 9
Assets: 16
To Spend
16 Attribute Points
35 Skill points
30 Power Points
24 Asset Points
Starting Potency: 3
Free Powers: Plot Armor, Passive Regeneration 1, Mask, Extra Health
Tier 3
Caps:
Attributes: 12
Skills: 12
Assets: 20
To Spend
22 Attribute Points
50 Skill points
50 Power Points
36 Asset Points
Starting Potency: 6
Free Powers: Plot Armor, Passive Regeneration 2, Mask, Extra Health
A Note On Shared Nature
The kits above are merely a starting point. You may wish to add free powers to your kit in order to give the player characters a similar shared nature.
For example, if you’re playing a game about vampires, you’ll add the “Vampire” power, which makes their energy regenerate when drinking blood. This is for both game balance reasons and narrative reasons; It’s hard to be a vampire among sun-gods. In cases where you do not wish the player characters to have a shared nature, we suggest that they at least have similar goals &/or cares.