Part 2: CHARACTER GENERATION

<center>CREATING CHARACTERS </center><multicol GUTTER="18" COLS="2"></multicol> Each player in a STAR FRONTIERS game needs a game character. All characters have eight abilities, arranged in four pairs. These are Strength/Stamina, Dexterity/Reaction Speed, Intuition/Logic and Personality/Leadership. These eight abilities tell players how strong, fast, smart and masterful their characters are. Each of these abilities will have a score from 1 to 100. An ability score of 1 means the character is very poor in that ability, while a score of 100 means the character has very high ability in that area. Players find their ability scores by rolling dice. This is explained under How To Create Characters. <a name="abilities" title="abilities"></a> Explanation Of Abilities Strength is a measure of how strong the character is. A character with a low Strength score is scrawny and weak. A character with a high Strength score is very strong. A character with a Strength score of 100 may be one of the strongest characters on that planet. Stamina measures a character's physical fitness and general health. A character with low stamina will get tired easily and will be prone to injury and disease. A character with high Stamina could work hard all day without getting tired, and might never be sick a day in his life. Stamina also measures how badly a character can be wounded before he passes out or dies. Dexterity measures a character's coordination. Character's with low Dexterity scores are clumsy, while characters with high Dexterity scores are very agile. Dexterity is very important in combat. Reaction Speed measures the quickness of a character's reflexes. If a character with a low Reaction Speed is attacked suddenly, he probably will fumble with his weapon and react slowly. A character with a high Reaction Speed could draw and fire a weapon quickly, jump out of the way of falling boulders, etc. Initiative is not really an ability, but a character's Initiative modifier is important. It is equal to the character's Reaction Speed divided by 10, and is used to determine which character acts first in a fight. Intuition measures a character's alertness and ability to draw conclusions from what seem to be unrelated facts. Characters with high Intuition scores are more likely to solve problems by having hunches or making guesses than by carefully considering all the evidence. Logic is a character's ability to solve problems in an orderly, step-by-step way. It is the opposite of Intuition. Characters with high Logic scores make good scientists and computer experts. Personality measures how well a character gets along with other intelligent beings. Characters with high Personality scores are friendly, pleasant and persuasive, while those with low scores may be grouchy and hard to get along with. Leadership measures a character's ability to give orders that other people will understand and obey. It also measures how willing other people will be to work for the character, take his advice or follow him into a dangerous situation. <a name="races" title="races"></a><center> THE RACES </center> Players can choose to make their characters members of one of four races: Human, Dralasite, Vrusk or Yazirian. Humans are similar to Earthmen, but these Humans developed on another planet closer to the center of the galaxy. Humans are considered the average characters in STAR FRONTIERS games, so their abilities are not modified when the character is created. However, since Humans have no racial/special abilities, the compensation here is they may add five points to any single ability of the player's choice (not both sides, just one score from a pair). Dralasites are rubbery, elastic aliens sometimes called "blobs." They can change their shape at will. creating as many artificial arms and legs (pseudopods) as they need at the moment, with a maximum of one limb per 10 DEX points (rounded up). As such, a player must declare which limb is the "dominant" hand. They are stronger than Humans, but are also slower. They enjoy philosophical debates and have a very strange sense of humor; they love telling old jokes and puns they hear from Humans. A Dralasite may roll ½ INT (rounded up) or less to detect if someone is telling a lie. Vrusk look like large insects, and are sometimes called "bugs." They are quicker than Humans, but are not as strong. They are also ambidextrous and quite flexible, so they may use either hand for operating equipment from many different angles that might strain a member from another race. Vrusk are excellent businessmen and merchants. They love art, beauty and music. A Vrusk may roll ½ LOG (rounded up) or less to comprehend something he/she doesn't immediately understand. Yazirians are tall, light-boned humanoids with furry manes around their necks. Humans nicknamed them "monkeys" because they look a little like chimpanzees. Thin membranes that stretch between their arms, torso and legs allowed Yazirians to glide between the trees on their native planet. They are generally smarter and quicker than the other races, but are not as strong. Their eyes are very sensitive to light, so they usually wear dark goggles during the day. Yazirians were very warlike in the past, and are still considered pushy and aggressive by other races. A Yazirian may roll ½ STA (original score, not current. Round up) to go into a berserker like battle rage, gaining +10 to hit in melee combat.<a name="chars" title="chars"></a><center> HOW TO CREATE CHARACTERS </center> To create a STAR FRONTIERS character, follow the nine steps given. 1. Use the <a target="_blank" href="http://starfrontiers.us/node/2175">STAR FRONTIERS character sheet</a> included with the game, or make a copy on a blank sheet of paper. Use a pencil when you fill in the sheet, because some things may change during the game. 2. To find your character's Strength/Stamina ability score, roll percentile dice. Find the number you rolled on the ABILITY SCORE TABLE. Your base score for that ability is the number listed under the die roll. Write this number in the space marked "Base Score" for STR/STA on the character sheet. <center>ABILITY SCORE TABLE <table width="48%"><tbody><tr align="center"><td align="left">Dice Roll </td><td>01-10</td><td>11-20 </td><td>21-35</td><td>36-55 </td><td>56-70</td><td>71-80 </td><td>81-90</td><td>91-95 </td><td>96-00</td></tr><tr><td colSpan="10"><hr /></td></tr><tr align="center"><td align="left">Base Score </td><td>30</td><td>35 </td><td>40</td><td>45 </td><td>50</td><td>55 </td><td>60</td><td>65 </td><td>70</td></tr></tbody></table></center> EXAMPLE: Remington Braun is creating a STAR FRONTIERS character. To find his character's Strength/Stamina base score, he rolls percentile dice. The result is 53. Checking the ABILITY SCORE TABLE, he sees this gives his character a Strength/Stamina base score of 45. 3. Repeat step 2 to get your character's Dexterity/Reaction Speed, Intuition/Logic and Personality/Leadership base scores. 4. Decide which race you want your character to be. Your choice will affect your ability scores as described in step 5. Any number of players can choose the same race for their characters. Groups with characters from several races usually are more successful and more fun to play. 5. Add or subtract from your STR/STA base score the number shown in the STR/STA column of the ABILITY MODIFIERS for your race. Write the result on both sides of the slash in the space marked "STR/STA ___/___" on the character sheet. This number is your ability score for both Strength and Stamina. <center>ABILITY MODIFIERS <table border="1" width="48%" cellSpacing="-1"><tbody><tr align="center"><td></td><td>STR/STA </td><td>DEX/RS </td><td>INT/LOG </td><td>PER/LDR</td></tr><tr align="center"><td align="left">Human </td><td>+0 </td><td>+0 </td><td>+0 </td><td>+0</td></tr><tr align="center"><td align="left">Dralasite </td><td>+5 </td><td>-5 </td><td>+0 </td><td>+0</td></tr><tr align="center"><td align="left">Vrusk </td><td>-5 </td><td>+5 </td><td>+0 </td><td>+0</td></tr><tr align="center"><td align="left">Yazirian </td><td>-10 </td><td>+5 </td><td>+5 </td><td>+0</td></tr></tbody></table></center>EXAMPLE: Remington Braun has decided he wants his character to be a Dralasite. Looking at the line of the ABILITY MODIFIERS for Dralasites, he sees that he must add 5 to his Strength/Stamina base score. This is because Dralasites are stronger than the other races. Adding 5 to his base score of 45, Remington gets a final Strength/Stamina ability score of 50 for his character. He writes ''50'' in both blanks after "STR/STA" on his character sheet. 6. Repeat step 5 for Dexterity/Reaction Speed, Intuition/Logic and Personality/Leadership. Once all four pairs have been determined and adjusted for race, the player may opt to exchange up to ten points from one side of a pair to the other to further define that character. EXAMPLE: Remington Braun wants his character to have more Intuition than Logic in order to better utilize the Dralasite's ability of lie detection. Norel-Kho's LOG is reduced by 5 so that his INT may increase by 5 for a final INT/LOG: 55/45 7. Divide your Reaction Speed score by 10. If the result is a fraction, round it up to the nearest whole number. The final result is the character's Initiative modifier. Write it in the space marked ''IM'' on the character sheet. EXAMPLE: Remington Braun's character has a Reaction Speed of 45. To find his Initiative modifier, he divides 45 by 10. He gets a result of 4½ . Because this is a fraction, he rounds it up to the nearest whole number, which is 5. He writes "5" in the space marked ''IM" on his character sheet. 8. Give your character a name. If your character is an alien, try to give it an alien-sounding name. Remington decides to name his Dralasite "Norel-Kho Speetrazer". <div><a href="javascript:%20imceFinitor('/files/u59/Eusyl_m.jpg',%20301,%20297,%20'22.62%20KB')"><div style="text-align: center"><div><div><a href="javascript:%20imceFinitor('/files/u59/Norel-Kho.gif',%20195,%20316,%20'15.84%20KB')"><img width="195" src="http://starfrontiers.us/files/u59/Norel-Kho.gif" height="316" /></a> <div><a href="javascript:%20imceFinitor('/files/u59/Speetrazer_sheet.gif',%20292,%20360,%20'19.84%20KB')"><img width="292" src="http://starfrontiers.us/files/u59/Speetrazer_sheet.gif" height="360" /></a></div><div align="left"> 9. Primary Skill Area Finally, select your character's Primary Skill Area. You may choose between Military, Technical, or BioSocial to define the character's career field. The PSA will never change. Your character's PSA will allow for bonuses in certain situations to assist the resolution process. The character starts with Level 1 in that PSA. For each level in that PSA the character gets a +5 bonus per level to ability checks up to level 6. To move up in levels, you must complete a number of adventures as shown in the Level Progress Table. <center><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; width: 136px; padding-top: 0px; background-color: #bbbbbb" class="mediumgraybox"><table border="0" width="140" cellPadding="0" cellSpacing="0"><tbody><tr><td colSpan="2">Level Progress Table </td></tr><tr style="background-color: #00006b"><td align="center">Level </td><td align="center">#Adventures </td></tr><tr style="background-color: #ffffff"><td align="center">1 </td><td align="center">0 </td></tr><tr style="background-color: #dddddd"><td align="center">2 </td><td align="center">2 </td></tr><tr style="background-color: #ffffff"><td align="center">3 </td><td align="center">5 </td></tr><tr style="background-color: #dddddd"><td align="center">4 </td><td align="center">9 </td></tr><tr style="background-color: #ffffff"><td align="center">5 </td><td align="center">14 </td></tr><tr style="background-color: #dddddd"><td align="center">6 </td><td align="center">20</td></tr></tbody></table></div></center> To use a PSA, use the applicable ability score plus the PSA level bonus. Skill checks work just like ability checks: roll d100 and try to roll less than or equal to the PSA’s chance to succeed. You may only perform a skill check once in the Basic game. There are three Primary Skill Areas (PSAs), each with an associated ability set (These do not preclude the use of other abilities in their profession. It just means these are the usual go-to abilities associated with it.): Military PSA deals with demolitions, combat, military operations, and law enforcement. These characters tend to be police officers, corporate security personnel, private investigators, bodyguards, enforcers, bounty hunters, and mercenary soldiers. A Military PSA character may operate any weapon with a successful skill check. They use STR and DEX to determine hits in hand-to-hand and ranged weapon combat (respectively). STA and RS would be the secondary abilities as they determine the ability to overcome combat damage/physical exertion as well as reacting to on-the-spot activities as they occur. Technological PSA are characters that specialize in mechanics, electronics, machinists, pilots, drivers, computer experts, or any position working with various types of technology, including machines, computers, and robots. A Technological Expert may drive or fly and fix any vehicle or piece of equipment with a successful skill check. They use INT/LOG for problem solving, diagnostics, and intricate repair work. DEX & RS are the secondary abilities, for delicate hand work along with responding quickly and surely to crisis situations. BioSocial PSA deals with physical and psychological sciences affecting genetics, health and fitness, and dealing with the intelligent races and their surroundings (including botany, zoology, finding directions, and social interaction). A BioSocialist may cure diseases and treat mental illnesses with a successful skill check. They may operate as guides, scouts, or scientists for scientific or military expeditions. A BioSocialist may map, navigate, and plot routes in any region of a planet with a successful skill check, as well as the application of additional physical or psychological healing outside of a hospital, clinic, or laboratory.They use INT/LOG for problem solving, coming up with cures and straightening out peoples' problems, along with remaining alert to their surroundings. PER & LDR would be secondary abilities as this will be used to interact with others on a frequent basis. EXAMPLE: Norel-Kho has held a long fascination with hovercraft, so he chooses the Technological PSA for his career base. Remington Braun writes this down on the back of his character sheet.</div></div></div></div></a></div>