Character Creation

Structural basis: Cairn 2e — Character Creation.

In This Chapter

Character Creation Sequence
Life Path
Experience and the Unique Life Path Element
Name
Starting Inventory
Ability Scores
Hit Protection (HP)
Appearance and Traits
Bond
Age
Omen
Finishing Your Character

Character Creation Sequence

To create a character, complete these steps in order:

Determine your Life Path. Choose a result or roll d20 on the Life Path table.
Determine your Experience and unique Life Path element. Record the Experience listed in the table, then receive a Talisman, Companion, or Valuable.
Choose a name. Choose your character's name.
Receive your starting Inventory. Roll 7d6: three dice determine Water, Food, and Fire; the other four determine a Weapon, Travel Gear, a Tool, and protective equipment.
Determine your Ability Scores. Roll 3d6 for Strength, Dexterity, and Will, in that order; you may then swap any two results.
Determine your Hit Protection. Roll 1d6 for your starting HP.
Determine your appearance and traits. Establish your appearance, manner, Virtue, and Flaw.
Determine your Bond. Choose a result or roll d20 on the Bonds table.
Determine your age. Roll 2d20+10.
Determine the Party's Omen. Once all players have created their characters, the player of the youngest character rolls d20 on the Omens table, reads the result to the Party, and records it on their character sheet. The Foundling has a separate rule.
Check your character sheet and Inventory. Record all results, weapon Damage, protective equipment, applicable Armor, and current / maximum HP. Decide which items the character carries and which a Companion carries, if its capabilities allow this. Track their loads separately; a Companion does not increase the character's personal limit of 10 slots. Include worn equipment, Life Path items, and Bond items. Leave behind or transfer excess items; at exactly 10 occupied slots, current HP is 0. Check that the equipment can be used together: a shield cannot protect you while both hands are drawing a bow.

After completing these steps, your character is ready for their first Adventure.

Life Path

A Life Path is your character's life before their Adventures began.

It shows where your character came from, what Experience they have, what they know about the world, and what they set out with. It connects them to the people, occupations, and places of the Great Steppe.

A Life Path is neither a class nor a profession. It does not restrict your character's actions or provide a list of special abilities.

Determining Your Life Path

Choose a suitable Life Path or roll d20 on the separate Life Path table.

A Life Path establishes Experience, but not a complete biography. The player and Warden can decide where, from whom, and under what circumstances the character gained that experience.

For Learned a Master's Craft, choose one craft; smithing is a separate result.
For Learned to Read and Write, experience of the written tradition is not a prerequisite for using a Book or a Word.
For Hiding Their Past, choose one main area of previous experience and the reason the character conceals it.
The Foundling uses the special Omen rule below.

Experience

Each Life Path determines your character's Experience: an area of practical knowledge and ability acquired before their Adventures began.

Record the Experience listed for your chosen Life Path on your character sheet. Its use in play is described under Experience.

Life Paths and the Great Steppe

A Life Path connects your character to the world of DAIRN. Through it, you learn not only about your character, but also about the Great Steppe: its people, occupations, roads, customs, dangers, and mysteries.

A Life Path is not a complete biography. It gives your character a starting point for their story. Who they become is determined during their Adventures.

Experience and the Unique Life Path Element

Find your character's Life Path in the separate Experience and unique elements table, d20. Record the listed Experience on your character sheet, then receive the unique element.

Talisman

A Talisman is a small personal item received through a Life Path and connected to your character's past. A Talisman is always Petty and occupies 0 Inventory Slots. Having a Talisman does not in itself mean that the item has supernatural properties. Record it in the Talisman field.

Companion

If your Life Path grants a Companion, record them in the Companions field. The Companion begins the game with your character and occupies no slots in your character's Inventory. Their own Inventory is tracked separately under the Companion rules. Give the Companion a name if you wish.

Valuable

If the result is a Valuable, record it separately as instructed by that result. A Valuable is not a Talisman or part of the starting Inventory roll.

Name

Give your character a name.

Choose a name that suits their origins and the character you envision.

A name grants no mechanical advantages and does not restrict your character's actions.

Starting Inventory

The base Inventory package is determined by rolling 7d6. Items from your Life Path are additional.

Roll three dice for Water, Food, and Fire. After rolling, you may swap any two of these three results once. Then roll four more dice separately for a Weapon, Travel Gear, a Tool, and protective equipment; these results cannot be swapped.

Roll results, the number of Inventory Slots each item occupies, and Supplies are listed in the separate starting Inventory table, 7d6.

Weapon and protective equipment statistics, along with item slot requirements, are given in the basic equipment reference. Record your weapon's damage die alongside its name. Record your protective equipment and the Armor value it provides while worn or used; keep Armor separate from HP.

Record the items in your character's Inventory. The total Inventory limit is 10 slots. A Bag has a capacity of up to 6 slots, included in the character's total of 10; it does not increase the total Inventory limit.

An ordinary item occupies 1 Inventory Slot, a Bulky item 2, and a Petty item 0, unless the item specifies otherwise. Worn equipment counts toward the limit. Items received through Bonds count toward the same Inventory limit.

All received items are recorded and tracked according to The Character in Play. The procedures for gaining Fatigue, becoming Deprived, and recovering are given in Game Procedures.

Ability Scores

For each Ability Score in order, roll 3d6 and add the results of all three dice. Once all three Ability Scores have been determined, you may swap any two resulting scores. Each starting Ability Score is therefore in the range 3–18.

The uses of Strength, Dexterity, and Will and the Check rules are described in The Character in Play.

Hit Protection (HP)

When creating your character, roll 1d6. The result is their starting HP.

This roll is separate from the seven Inventory dice. Record current / maximum HP and Armor separately: armor reduces incoming Damage and does not increase HP. With all 10 Inventory Slots occupied, current HP is 0; keep the rolled maximum. Check the final number of occupied Inventory Slots before departing.

Hit Protection is defined in The Character in Play; its loss and recovery are covered in Game Procedures and Combat.

Appearance and Traits

When creating your character, determine their appearance and traits using eight separate d10 tables:

Physique;
Skin;
Hair;
Face;
Speech;
Clothing;
Virtue;
Flaw.

These results describe your character's appearance, manner, and personality. They are not Ability Scores and do not in themselves grant numerical bonuses or penalties.

Roll 8d10 — one d10 for each category — or choose suitable results.

Related table: Character Appearance and Traits, 8d10.

Bond

A Bond connects your character to the world through an unresolved obligation, debt, promise, secret, person, place, past event, or supernatural circumstance.

A Bond is a separate element of character creation. It is not a Life Path and does not replace an Omen.

Choose a suitable result or roll d20 on the separate Bonds table.

Age

Roll 2d20+10 to determine your character's age. Starting age is therefore 12–50 years.

Age does not in itself grant bonuses or penalties.

Age is used to determine the Party's shared Omen; see the Party Procedure.

Omen

An Omen is a sign of an unusual event occurring or approaching in the world. It may foretell trouble, point to an existing Threat, or result from something the characters have yet to discover.

An Omen does not necessarily concern the character who determined it and does not predict their personal fate.

Party Procedure

Once all players have created their characters, compare the characters' ages. The player of the youngest character rolls d20 on the separate Omens table, reads the result to the Party, and records it on their character sheet. This Omen concerns the entire Party. If several characters are tied for youngest, the Omen is determined by whichever of their players rolled for age last.

The Foundling and Omens

If your character's Life Path is Foundling, roll an additional d20 on the Omens table regardless of their age, but keep the result secret. You may record this secret Omen in your notes; it does not need a separate field on the standard character sheet.

If the Foundling's player also determines the Party's shared Omen, they determine two separate results: the Party's Omen is read aloud, while the Foundling's additional Omen remains secret.

The development and resolution of Omens are Warden procedures, covered in the Warden's Guide.

Finishing Your Character

Before your first Adventure, make sure you have recorded:

name;
Life Path;
Experience;
starting Inventory, weapon Damage, and active Armor;
Talisman, Companion, or Valuable, if received through your Life Path;
Strength, Dexterity, and Will;
current and maximum HP;
appearance and traits;
Bond;
age;
the Party's shared Omen, if this character determined it;
secret Omen, if the character is a Foundling.

Fill in only the type of unique element granted by your particular Life Path. Check the occupied Inventory Slots. Your character is now ready to play.