ARRGS – Characters

In order to play a roleplaying game, each player needs a character which represents them in the game world.

To build a character follow the steps below

Building a Character

Determine Ability Scores

Each character is represented by 4 ability scores; Strength, Agility, Intellect, and Charisma.

To determine ability scores roll 1d20. This result may be split among the 4 ability scores as desired. The final scores represent the Ability Score and the modifier to be applied.

Determine Race

Each character belongs to a particular race, with each race having their own particular traits and options that influence a characters capabilities.

Select a Race using the information on ARRGS – Races

Apply the Traits of your chosen Race.

Run your Lifepath

Every character goes through a series of challenges before entering into the life of an adventurer. Follow the instructions and run through your Lifepath as per ARRGS – Lifepath.

Develop your Character

There are a number of other statistics applicable to a character other than your Ability Scores.

Vitality: Vitality is a measure of a character’s stamina and morale, it is a pool that is used to power every action, ability, spell, and attack a character may use during a Scene. Vitality is split into two values: Total Vitality and Current Vitality.

Total Vitality is equal to the Vitality indicated by a character’s chosen race, plus the sum total of all Ability Scores, plus any additional Vitality provided by Options that the character may possess.

Current Vitality is equal to Total Vitality, but is reduced by performing actions (including using skills, attacking opponents, and casting spells) and by being damaged or suffering other effects that reduce Vitality. It is restored up to a maximum of Total Vitality by a Rest and by other factors.

Action Points: A character begins with 3 Action Points to spend during a character’s Turn in a Scene by performing Actions.

Additional Action Points: A character begins with a number of Additional Action Points equal to his Agility score. These are expended by performing Swift or Immediate Actions during a Round in a Scene.

Initiative: A character begins with an Initiative equal to his Agility score.

Size Modifier: A character has a Size Modifier as determined by his Race. A character of Large or greater size applies his Size Modifier as a positive bonus to Body, Intellect, and Personality based checks and a negative penalty to Agility based checks, while a character of Small or smaller size applies his Size Modifier as as a negative penalty to Body, Intellect, and Personality based checks and a positive bonus to Agility based checks.

Movement Modes: As determined by a character’s Race

Vision Modes: As determined by a character’s Race

Threat Range: A character begins with a Threat Range equal to his Size Modifier.

Options: Note down any Options a character has acquired from his Lifepath

Skills: Note down each of the following Skills: Appraise, Arcana, Athletics, Craft, Discipline, Influence, Knowledge, Linguistics, Medicine, Nature, Perform, Profession, Religion, Ride, Stealth, Thievery, Tinker, Weaponry – Melee, Weaponry – Missile.

Every Skill should be recorded with its own Rank (determined by the number of Skill Training Options a character possesses in that skill), Expertise a character possesses for each skill, and current number of failures.

Armour: Record all armour a character possesses, including Item Bonus, Damage Resistance, Check Penalty, and any other special properties the weapon possesses

Attacks: Record all attack modes using any weapon you possess, including Damage, Threat Modifier, Range Increment, Crit Range, Crit Damage, Damage Type and any special properties the weapon possesses.

Spell Slots: Record each spell slot per level.

Spells: Record all spells a character is able to cast.

Roles

The final step in developing a character is a Role, there are no classes in ARRGS, each character may choose a Role that loosely influences what skills your character may wish to develop, that Role could be an Expert, Magic User, or Warrior Role or it could be as a typical example of the race they have chosen. The choice of which Role to progress is not made until a character has begun adventuring and started challenging themselves.

Roles are split into Primary and Secondary. The Primary Role is chosen when the character first advances in level and cannot be changed, all other Roles are considered secondary. Each Role advances in level separately and should be recorded separately.

A character advances his level in a Role by improving his capability with a number of Skills as indicated in Table 1: Advancement. Each Role (or Race) has a specific list of Skills that may be improved in order to advance a level. To improve a Skill the character must gain a Skill Training Option in one of the listed Skills for a Role by failing a number of checks with this Skill equal to the Skill Training rank (in that Skill) multiplied by 10. Once a character reaches this target number of failures he gains another Skill Training Option in that skill, and resets the number of failures to 0. Other methods of acquiring the Skill Training Option (such as Magic Items or quest rewards, etc) do not count towards advancing a character in level.

When a character advances in level record it separately for each Role the character is following.

Below are the list of skills for each Role that can be improved in order to advance a character in level in that Role. For advancing Races as a Role refer to ARRGS – Races.

Expert Role: Choose any 10 Skills for your list of Role Skills

Magic User Role: Arcana (Int), Craft (Int), Discipline (Per), Knowledge (Int), Nature (Int), Profession (Int), Religion (Int), Weaponry – Melee (Bod), Weaponry – Missile (Agi)

Warrior: Athletics (Bod), Craft (Int), Discipline (Per), Influence (Per), Nature (Int), Profession (Int), Ride (Agi), Weaponry – Melee (Bod), Weaponry – Missile (Agi)

Table 1: Advancement

Level	Skill Target	Options	Ability Bonus
1st	1	+2	–
2nd	2	+2	–
3rd	2	+2	–
4th	3	+2	+1 to one
5th	3	+2	–
6th	3	+2	–
7th	4	+2	–
8th	4	+2	+1 to one
9th	4	+2	–
10th	4	+2	–
11th	5	+2	–
12th	5	+2	+1 to one
13th	5	+2	–
14th	5	+2	–
15th	5	+2	–
16th	6	+2	+1 to one
17th	6	+2	–
18th	6	+2	–
19th	6	+2	–
20th	6	+2	+1 to one
21st	6	+2	–
22nd	7	+2	–
23rd	7	+2	–
24th	7	+2	+1 to one
25th	7	+2	–
26th	7	+2	–
27th	7	+2	–
28th	7	+2	+1 to one
29th	8	+2	–
30th	8	+2	–

Level: This number indicates the level a character attains in a Role.

Skill Target: This indicates the number of Skills in a particular Role that must be improved through failure in order advance to the next level.

Options: This indicates the number of Options the character may select from the list available for the Role that is advanced in level or from the list of Universal Options, or from the list of any other Options the GM deems available to the character. Secondary Roles that advance in level receive only 1 Option and only from the list of Options available for the Role.

Ability Bonus: This indicates when a character may gain a bonus to a chosen Ability Score. This is optional and available only if the GM allows it. This bonus is accrued only when a character reaches the indicated level in his Primary Role

Primary/Secondary Role: When a character advances in a Role for the first time (usually on character creation), that class becomes his Primary Role. Whenever he advances in this Role he gains additional bonuses upon reaching certain level milestones according to Table 1: Advancement.

The character may still advance in other Roles (still requiring a number of Skills for the Secondary Role be improved in rank through failure), these are known as Secondary Roles. A character gains only 1 Option per level when advancing a Secondary Role and a character does not gain the Ability Bonus indicated in Table 1: Class Advancement.