Kith and Kin: Character Creation Redux

 This is a directly copied and mildly edited document from the pdfs I'm throwing together for Kith and Kin. You can kinda ascertain the core mechanic here, but there's some extra stuff to consider thats in an actual document (that I'll be posting sometime in the next few days).

Answer the following Questions, to build your wanderer.

Work with your GM to determine appropriate answers. The ones here can be modified to taste.

Some samples are provided.

There are additional guidelines after the questions.

 

To what people were you born?

Youngfolk can use projectiles without tools, can pick up skills slightly faster and look youthful. Broadfolk are strong and resistant to cold, but suffer in heat and require more food. Smallfolk require less resources and are socially adept, but are physically small and frail. Treefolk can climb naturally but are slightly less adept at using most tools. Elderfolk have an eclectic mixture of features and may be broadly adept or hyper specialized. Wildfolk are naturally mighty, agile and vigorous but cannot speak easily, exhaust faster and are less social. The stronger the benefits the stronger the downsides.

(Folk will give some default traits)

Here you may also choose if you are from a Forager, Pastoralist, Agricultural or Proto-Urban culture. This will influence your assumed skillset. Foragers are better at foraging and hunting, pastoralists are better at wayfinding and tracking, Agriculturalists are better at knowing what plants are edible and how to exploit their life cycles, and Proto-Urban cultures may have a greater understanding of “Academic” things (or even be “Literate” in proto-writing).

(Culture will give 2-3 relevant skills)

 

What was notable upon your birth, or not long thereafter?

Disproportionate Strength? Precocious Perceptiveness? The Swiftness of your step? Your preternatural Health? The speed with which your Coordination developed? How quickly you Won the Hearts of others? How you seemed to have a Stone Belly for meals no other toddler would stomach? Or were there Unnatural Circumstances surrounding your birth and childhood that influenced you?
(General trait. Can be magical.)

What two roles did you grow into? Alternatively, which single role did you excel in?

Are you a Forager for food and herbs? A Tracker of game and man? A Warrior who brought down prey and enemy alike? A Wayfinder who sought new paths? A Fisher trained in spear and net? An Artisan of some specific trade? A Wise One? A Healer?
2-3 Skills per role. If you choose to be excellent in a single role rather than adept in two, then the 2-3 Skills you receive from the single role will be at the “Expert” level, rather than the “Skilled” level.

Why are you not with them anymore?

Theft? A Curse? Murder? Forbidden Love? Forbidden Sorcery? Failure or even Unwanted Success?
(Trait, Magical or otherwise)

What has occurred since then?

Captured by another culture of ship builders and city dwellers? A near death experience that left you more sensitive to the deathly realms? Many battles that have honed your skills? Theft from others to survive? The contraction of a curse?
(Trait or 2-3 Skills)
 

Finally, choose 3-6 items that relate to your overall backstory and recent events. Could be several preserved rations, tools, weapons, heavier clothing (“armor”) etc.
 

Player Guidelines

What are appropriate answers to the prior questions? 

A general rule of thumb is that a skill is broad enough to not be completely circumstantial, but specific enough to not lack meaning.

As an example, if you fell into the roles of a Hunter and a Warrior, than you might have the skills Tracking, Camouflage, Stealth, Spear-Fighting and Evasion. Stealth could be thought to be provided by both, and so has an argument for being at the “Expert” rather than “Skilled” level.

The levels of skills is Untrained -> Skilled -> Expert -> Master. Anything beyond this is unnatural or exceptional. An untrained skill is not listed and is the assumed default.

Other traits can follow a similar progression. Average -> Trait -> Exceptional Trait -> Pinnacle Trait. An average trait is not listed and is the assumed default. If you use different adjectives to describe the trait at each level, mark down how many dice of advantage it could provide in some contexts.

For example: Strong (1d) -> Powerful (2d) -> Mighty (3d)

This shouldn’t be necessary for skills, as the dice of advantage is folded into the “Skilled”, “Expert” and “Master” rating before the skill.

“Negative” traits work in the inverse direction.

Skills and traits may provide a dice of advantage for each “level” above the baseline. This means that on a 3d6 roll, if you have a 2d advantage, roll 5d6 and keep the highest 3.

The “may” is there because in most cases it will simply allow you to bypass the rolling mechanic altogether, or roll when another character would simply automatically fail.

Magical traits can be some magic "powers", such as some Initiatory Secrets (an Arcanum).

Some other stuff

The amount you can carry depends somewhat on what you’re using to carry them and your own traits. No bag? Well how do you plan to carry a bunch without it? If the way would work irl then it probably will here.

People tend to give -lithic characters names that feel like a statement, a description or an expression. For example: “Tall-One”, “Leaping-Through-The-Wind”, “Abhors-Stillness” or “Dances-Along-The-Coast.” Failing that, they tend to default to simple monosyllabic “cave man” sounding names like “Gug” “Ruk” “Tun” etc. I am biased towards the former, largely because that is how essentially every name that is currently still used works. Even names that just feel like names have meanings to them. The later stems largely from pop cultural nonsense, but might have a place if we consider them to be very simple early signifiers.

So for names, think of the naming scheme of your origin culture (Do they prefer to name after animals, actions, descriptions, natural features, or do they wait until adulthood and then take on a name reflective of their roles and personality?) and express it's meaning. The names can be simple or complicated, though I would prefer if complex ones have a shorthand for ease of use.

Disabilities have been considered throughout the paleolithic era. You may take disabilities in exchange for additional reasonable benefits. Do consider how you intend to play with or around the limitations however. A person unable to walk at this time would likely not survive being banished unless they have help. To be fair, that is true of those banished with able bodies too. Just consider what works and if something doesn’t we can find a way to make it. After all, real people figured this stuff out too, and this is fantasy.

Gender can get weird but consider the times when constructing your characters understanding, expressions and language used. As for the actual transitional process, that will likely be limited to social expression and perhaps the marginal benefits provided by herbal treatments at first. Refined magical herbs and spirits can do wonders. Don't let any of this hamper your creativity (this is "do get weird" not "don't get too weird"), just consider how your characters cultural understanding would be different than your own.

Most people tend to have darker skin at this time, though further north you will eventually find truly pale-skinned folk, often hybrids with broadfolk. However, conditions such as vitiligo do exist and there are certain pale cave dwellers that might exist. “Race” as a concept, does not exist to the Kin. The Kin see each other as people with some differences, and hybrids are common enough you can play one (we’ll just scale the benefits a bit). Wildfolk-other hybrids dont generally exist, which is why they are considered “Kith”. Much the same with underkin/nightfolk (cave dwellers).