Character Creation

Helgram Game: Character Creation

• Stats
• Powers
  • Shapeshifting
  • Broken Logrus
  • Trump Artistry
  • Broken Pattern
  • Felsen (can only be gained in play)
  • Major Powers (Logrus, Abyss, Pattern – restricted)
• Magical Abilities
  • Sorcery
  • Conjuration (as a Single Discipline)
  • Magical Sensitive
  • Power Words
• Skills
• Items and Allies

The startup points are 65pt with the basics of shape shift (inherent crisis management plus the basic four forms), and 75pt without. All stats start at Chaos.

Characters will have been born either in the last days of the Bleys as Grand Duke (no earlier than 14,991) or since Ian Cushing-Helgram became Grand Duke in 14,995. As the current year is 15,031, that means that you are no older than 40, and probably somewhat younger than that. You are on your first assignment for the House, and are based out of the Helgram Zócalo. You may occasionally be asked to undertake tasks back in the House proper, or the Courts, but the focus of the game is the Black Zone.

There is an optional character quiz if you wish to fill it out to flesh out your character.

Back to the Helgram Game Main Page

Stats

All stats start at Chaos, and partial buy-ups and sell-downs between Chaos and Amber, or Chaos and Human are available: eg Chaos+5 would be better than Chaos, but not up to Amber level; Chaos-5 is worse than Chaos but better than Human.

The main difference for stats is that while Psyche, Strength and Endurance are as per the ADRPG, Warfare has been divided into Combat (your physical skill at weapons, self-defence, etc) and Presence/Command, which is your personal standing, as well as the ability to see the bigger picture, and encourage other people to do as you tell them.

PCs can buy Presence to a maximum of Amber + 10pt (i.e. pay 20pt).

Stuff is available, to a maxium of 5pt in each direction.

Powers

Full Logrus initiation is not available to starting Helgram Game characters, although PCs may acquire it during play, depending on circumstances.

However, Broken Logrus and Broken Pattern are options for almost any character (although as a Chaos-based character you’d need to come up with a REALLY good reason why you’d have Broken Pattern!), and most other powers are available. Items are handled by specific house rules, so Conjuration does not exist in the usual ADRPG form, although it is available as a class of magic.

Shapeshifting

As the Helgram Game is based in Chaos, the costs of shapeshifting are slightly different. For players who choose to take the 65pt version of character creation, which includes ICM + four forms at the start, then the cost of taking that up to full shifting is 20pt (a 5pt “Chaos discount”). However, if they just want to add elements such as facial features or animal forms, the costs are as below.

Likewise, for characters built on 75pt (i.e. they have an effective -10pt of shifting), if they choose to learn shapeshifting later, then the costs will be as per the table.

Shapeshift is split as follows:

For player characters wishing to take their shapeshifting abilities beyond Basic, they must first learn all the segments of basic shapeshifting, unless agreed otherwise with the GM.

Broken Logrus

To become a Broken Logrus initiate, you need to have taken the 65pt character creation option for shapeshifting (four forms plus Inherent Crisis Management).

Broken Logrus is a down and dirty form of transportation. On the other hand, walking a Broken Logrus doesn’t automatically drive you mad.

Trump Artistry

Trump is reasonably well-known among the general population of House Helgram, and PCs can have had access to training within the Academy. Trump can be bought in the following stages:

For player characters wishing to take their Trump skills beyond Basic, they must first learn all the segments of basic Trump, unless agreed otherwise with the GM

Broken Pattern

All Helgram Game PCs would have enough reality to walk a Broken Pattern. As this is a Chaos-based game, however, any PC wishing to take this Power will need to persuade the GM that they have a good reason to have it! Costs are as follows:

The Felsen Power

The Felsen Power, or what remains of it, was a proto-Logrus which was formed early in the history of the Courts. However, when Cornelius tried to bring it into the Courts proper, it went very wrong, and there was a Powers clash. The world was shattered, and this is the largest piece left. It takes the form of a swirling pattern, which you walk it by spiralling “downwards”. To survive initiation, you need at least some measure of shape shift, although ICM + 4 forms is sufficient.

In abilities, it gives something between Broken Pattern and Broken Logrus. From the BP side, you can travel Shadow to a degree, without the need to follow Dragon lines, and can follow a recent trail. However, you can’t lead anyone with you. You also have the ability to find simple, generic items and walk to them, but this doesn’t work with anything living. It is also helpful for powering spells, if you can figure out how to do it. For an Amberite, rather than a Chaosian, it actually works like both Advanced BP and Advanced Broken Logrus.
There probably used to be an advanced attunement, but the only person who’s likely to have known what it did was Niclas Yannick.

The Felsen Power can only be gained in-game.

Cost: 10pt

Magical Abilities

Sorcery

Under the Sable Magic System, which I’m also using for the Helgram Game, mages are not taught specific spells, but instead will have a basic grounding in magic of all kinds. At higher levels they can have specialised in one, two or three specific areas, for example offensive magic, defensive magic or healing. Details of magic in House Helgram can be found Magic section of this site.

The Helgram Academy offers a full magical training to members of the House. Potential mages can leave the Junior Common Room with the equivalent of a Bachelor’s degree in Magic. Those who are invited to stay on into the Senior Common Room can increase that to either Master’s or Doctorate level. The costings are as follows:

In addition, PCs don’t have to take the whole mage course at once. A character taking 15pt Bachelor level could study further, pay another 5pts, and advance to the next level, although it would take the appropriate amount of downtime/gametime to do: ie roughly a year for Master level and an additional one to two years for full Doctorate.

In addition, with GM agreement, it may be possible to specialise in specific areas of individual magic classes, given the mage a higher effective level in that particular area of a magical discipline, without necessarily having the rest of a class at as high a level. For example, someone with illusion, may choose to become a theatrical mage, and have the equivalent of full specialisation in that area, but perhaps only have basic level in the other parts of illusory magic.

If you feel that being able to rack a dozen spells isn’t enough, you can buy an additional racking item for 5pt, which gives you another dozen spells. However, you still have to refresh and maintain the spells in the second item.

Conjuration

Conjuration can be taken either as a class of magic, as part of a magical degree (as per the Magic System), or the student can choose to forgo studying magic as a whole, and just concentrate on the conjuration of items from scratch, or imbuing living creatures with additional abilities. Potential conjurers still need to have enough Talent to have been accepted for a BMg.

At heart, Conjuration as a single discipline offers a different angle to mech-tech magic. While many of the techniques are similar to those involved in setting powering spells into items, conjuration involves the mage either enhancing an existing item, or creating an item from its basic, unworked materials and giving it purpose by imbuing it with the stuff of Chaos. At the Advanced level, a conjurer doesn’t even need the basic unworked materials to create an item. Conjuration of this style is easiest within the Courts, but is still relatively simple in the Black Zone. Beyond the Black Zone, the stuff of Chaos becomes thinner until you reach the Dancing Mountains, beyond which there are no longer enough loose strands of Chaos to perform this kind of Conjuration.

Once the item has been enhanced or imbued with its abilities, it remains enhanced in perpetuity, even if it is taken beyond the Dancing Mountains. This is in contrast to items made using magical Conjuration, where the enchantments on an item need to be maintained periodically at lower levels. On the other hand, magically conjured items do not have the limitation that they need to include the stuff of Chaos.

At the lower levels, Conjuration is not a discipline with instantaneous applications, but it can be very useful over time.

ADRPG High Compelling does not exist within the Helgram Game.

More details can be found here.

Magical Sensitive

Occasionally, an individual has either an exceedingly weak Talent – i.e not strong enough even to train as the most basic kind of mage; or a flawed or unusual Talent, through which they can demonstrate some kind of unusual affinity or ability. This may be something they have from birth, or it may develop in later life due to specific stresses or experiences. These people are called Sensitives. What specifically makes someone a Sensitive, rather than leaving them with just a weak or broken Talent, is still a matter of great interest and investigation amongst the magical community.

Sensitive abilities can take a number of different forms: examples include the ability to feel magical or other arcane emanations, to unerringly spot black magic and its practitioners, being particularly empathic as far as feeling strong emotions in others, an affinity for the psychic without actually being able to cast spells, being able to seek for something or attune to something and know where it is thereafter, or have what is known in common parlance as Second Sight. There are even some mages who demonstrate the characteristics of Sensitives, which has led to further debate on the nature of this particular ability.

A Sensitive ability can be taken at character creation, although the nature of the Sensitivity needs to be defined at the outset. Occasionally, Sensitive abilities may be acquired in play but in that case, their nature will be defined by the GM.

For a non-mage, Sensitivity costs 10pt; for a mage, it is an additional 5pt over and above their chosen magical level.

Power Words

The other unusual magical ability, which may itself be a form of Sensitivity, is Power Words. These are handled differently in the Helgram Game than in the ADRPG rules. When a character choose Power Words, they are buying the ability to form them, but it does not give you specific “words”. Instead, the character will have have two or three phrases or concepts. For example:

New Power Words can be added during play, if circumstances allow – for example, a desperate situation, where the character ends up trying to dominate the surroundings in desperation, to try to make something happen. Once a Power Word has been formed, it is always available for the future. However, GM agreement is needed to add new words to the list.

Power Words cost 10pt, whether or not the character is a trained mage.

(With acknowledgement to Justin Parsler for the concept)

Mundane Skills

For the most part, the GM assumes that you will have the basic skills for your place of origin, such as language, knowledge of the customs and culture, history, etc.

If a PC wishes to be exceptional at something, they can buy one or more skills for 1pt per skill. As an indication of what that means, had they been trained in Shadow, they would probably be considered the best on the Shadow at what they do.

Suggestions for skills include: acting, administration, business knowledge, diplomat, etiquette, gambling, investigation, sense of style, tracking, weapons master, xenobiology, etc. Powers-related skills such as magic or a specific Pattern ability cannot be bought in this way. The descriptions below refer to non-combat skills.

• 1pt in a skill means you have gained a good grounding in that particular aspect at the Academy or since you’ve been at the Zócalo and could persue it as a career.
• 2pt in a skill means that you’re an expert at that skill within House Helgram, and other members of the House may ask/pay for your services. Given that you’re still relatively young in House terms, while it is possible you might have got good enough in a single skill to be one of the best in the House, you’ll need to justify how. You are very unlikely to have more than one skill at this level.
• 3pt in a skill means that you’re one of the best in the Courts, and people from other Houses may ask you to consult. Given that you’re in the 30-40 years old range, and there are people who are hundreds or thousands of years old, the chances of you being good enough at any skill to be one of the best in the Courts is highly unlikely. If you want to take 3pt in a skill, then I’ll need some justification for you doing so. In that case, you are unlikely to have any other skills at a level above 1pt.

A Clarification on Combat Skills

If a skill is bought in a specific weapon or combat style, then effectively the PC uses that specific weapon or discipline at an effective higher combat/strength (as applicable) to their basic stat. However, there is a law of diminishing returns. The benefit accrued by buying skills in the same weapon increases as follows: 1st  skill level, 10pt benefit; 2nd, 5pt; 3rd, 3pt; 4th and 5th, 1pt each. Therefore the maximum benefit over the character’s base combat is 20pt if the character buys five skills in that particular weapon or discipline.

Default Languages

Helgram Game characters will be fluent in the House language (spoken and written) and Thari (primarily spoken, with written to at least ‘O level/GSCE/10th grade’ standard).

There is also a general Black Zone trade language which allows the inhabitants of different Black Zone worlds to communicate. This serves a similar purpose to English and Hindi in India, as the common second language among many different primary languages and dialects, and would have been studied to at least ‘O level/GSCE/10th grade’ standard, spoken and written.

Items and Allies

Items are also handled somewhat differently within the Helgram Game, as Conjuration does not exist in its ADRPG form. Items are available in two kinds: Personal Items and Items of Power. Living creatures cannot usually be bought as items, except with GM agreement.

Allies, Family Friends and Devotees cost as per ADRPG. Non-family (i.e. 1pt) allies can have quantity multipliers applied to them; Family Friends and Devotees cannot.