Creating a Hunter

Here are the instructions as for how to create a player character.

While it's important to focus on your own "tastes," there are also those of the GM and any other participants.

In other words, your group's consensus.

Unless you have others waiting on you, if there's any aspects of your character's data or description you don't like, you can always go back to an earlier step to make some changes.

= Select an Origin = You can roughly group Hunters by their Origin. A different Origin can signify not only a different role in society, but a different biological root. One's Origin could be said to determine what they are.

You can choose one of ten different Origins:
 * Irregular
 * Beginners, apprentices, and even ordinary people dragged in.
 * Professional
 * Skilled Hunters with some experience behind them.
 * Elder Blood
 * Old family lines prepared to face demons. Commonly called Exorcists.
 * Changeling
 * Former humans that have fused with a faerie. They take on characteristics of their contracted faerie.
 * Elf
 * Eternally youthful designer humans created to rule over the city.
 * Automata
 * The unions of science and magic. Machines imbued with a human soul.
 * Succubus
 * Demons of lust that have materialized to feed on human desire.
 * Vampire
 * Vampires who have lived in the shadows of society since ancient times.
 * Apostle
 * Former humans chosen by a god as an apostle, serving as living terminals.
 * Avatar
 * The physical incarnations of gods and demons. They take on the forms of humans for the time being.

= Decide on an age and sex = Determine the age and sex of your player character.

In typical TTRPGs, you can choose whatever you like, and even put off this choice to the very end. In this game, however, it's best to decide early on, making sure to keep the group consensus in mind.

As well, depending on your character's Origin, they may very well have eternal youth and their appearance may not reflect their true age in the slightest. Therefore, you should first decide upon your character's apparent age before their true age.

With eternally young characters, you could even wait to decide their true age until when it may tie into the plot of a session.

Gender includes both males and females, as well as hermaphrodites. However, don't forget the group consensus. If you want to play a character whose age or sex may be hard to tell from their appearance, you may wish to let your GM know.

= Select an Adept = Hunters always have a specific field they excel in. Whatever a hunter is Adept at represents their field of expertise. How a character can handle requests depends on what kind of Adept they are.

You can choose one of ten Adepts:
 * Fighter
 * Warriors who excel at close combat, striking heavy blows.
 * Soldier
 * Combatants with excellent defensive ability and endurance. Suited for long, drawn out fights and defense.
 * Gunner
 * Marksmen whose primary weapons are firearms. They are capable at fighting at many different ranges.
 * Assassin
 * Killers who aim to end foes in a single, unexpected strike from secret.
 * Mage
 * Practitioners of scholarly magic. They reliably whittle down their foes.
 * Witch
 * Magic users contracted with faeries. Their faeries lend their aid in the form of good luck.
 * Fixer
 * Intermediaries excelling at communication. They work to resolve issues without conflict.
 * Seeker
 * Computer techs who use the net to hunt down intelligence on threats.
 * Bitch
 * Playboys and playgirls who enjoy themselves with sex. Apt at anything erotic.
 * Dominant
 * Rulers who seize control through the heart. From defeated foes come new minions.

= Acquire your starting Powers and note your Character Type = Write down the Power listed for each your chosen Origin and Adept, found on their respective pages. If there are any choices to be made as part of a Power, such as with Professionals, go through those as well.

Of importance, player characters are typically the Character Type 「Human」. However, that may change depending on one's starting Powers. See the section on Character Types for more on what these mean.

= Decide on a past = Give your player character a fitting past.

You could roll on the 「Life Circumstances table」 on the page for your selected Origin, or choose an entry that you like. This aspect of your character's past holds the reason they chose to live as a Hunter, a turning point in their life.

Next, roll on or choose from the 「Personal Experiences table」 on the page for your Adept. This is the biggest incident that your character has faced in the process of learning their skills and abilities.

If you have multiple Adepts, like with a Professional, you can select a personal experience from each Adept.

These have no direct effect on mechanics, but can have a significant impact on RP through such things as a Hunter's reputation, connections, and the way they conduct themselves during a session. Discuss your choices with your GM to make sure your background fits in.

= Decide on any faeries and gods = Only changelings, apostles, avatars and witches need to perform this step.

For changelings and witches, look to the 「Faeries table」 to pick out a faerie to form a contract with. Faeries revolve around folklore and are groups of beings rather than a specific individual.

For apostles and avatars, look to the 「Gods table」 to choose a god to be devoted to, or to be your true self. Gods refer to gods and monsters of myth, those who are singular individuals, along with the legendary souls of great historical figures.

If you have a specific wish in mind, you can propose faeries and gods outside of these tables to use. Talk with your GM to decide what Power Groups they may have.

Table - Gods
= Select your Power Groups = Note the Power Groups for your Origin and Adept. These are the paths your player character will grow in, going forward.

If your Origin or Adept has multiple Power Groups listed under its entry, pick one. (A character gets two power groups total.)

For changelings, apostles, avatars, and witches, see your chosen faerie or god for what Power Groups are available from them.

If your Origin and Adept share only a single Power Group, you can choose from any Power Group for your second.

If you're stuck between choices, you can always decide later when you level up for the first time. These are only for additional powers going forward, and don't have much effect on a character's initial state.

You can choose from these ten Power Groups, each with their own general focus:
 * Worldly Powers
 * Unique techniques based upon the human spirit, negotiation, and sociability.
 * Conflict Powers
 * All manner of powerful combat abilities learned and polished upon the battlefield.
 * Gunplay Powers
 * Firearm techniques that have been refined to the realm of mystique.
 * Reaper Powers
 * Assassination techniques with the purpose of inflicting swift death.
 * Illusion Powers
 * The powers of faeries, twisting and deceiving the senses of others.
 * Succubus Powers
 * The powers of succubi and incubi, manipulating others through their desires and feeding off their vitality.
 * Curse Powers
 * Traditional black magicks that curse and bring ruin to foes.
 * Darkness Powers
 * The powers of evil faeries and demons, commanding darkness itself.
 * Blessing Powers
 * Divine protection bestowed by gods. Good or evil, it doesn't matter.
 * Chaos Powers
 * Otherworldly powers that defy understanding. The rarest power group.

Table - Power Group: Adept
= Decide on your first Connection = No matter how powerful the Hunter, it's impossible to make it alone. They live in society, and have all manner of relationships. Among those relationships, the people who are particularly helpful as allies or supporters are known as one's 「Connections」. Your network of personal connections will grow as you complete sessions, but at first, you start off with only one.

Someone with a strong connection to your character's 「Life Circumstance」 and 「Personal Experience」 is preferable. For an apostle, their god would be a strong candidate, and for a witch, their contracted faerie.

You can choose one of these six categories of connections:
 * Lovers: romantic interests, those obsessed with you, those who worship you, as well as parental or guardian figures
 * Ruffians: mercenaries, guards, hitmen
 * Information dealers: seekers, experts, media personnel
 * Guardians: bodyguards, bouncers, guardian spirits, gods
 * Mystics: magicians, fortune tellers, faeries, gods
 * Patrons: the wealthy, parental or guardian figures, technicians, those indebted to you

Which people can fit into which type of connection isn't strict. For example, a mercenary in a love affair with your character could be a 「Lover」 or a 「Ruffian」.

For specifics on each type of connection, look to the 「Personal Connections table」.

The characters behind connections are generally determined by the GM. Since they may be involved in ERP, if the player has a clear interest in such, you can talk over the details, keeping the group consensus in mind.

The 「Character Types table」 may also be of use, reaffirming what kind of character direction both would like to see.

Table - Character Types
= Decide on any body arrangements = As part of fashion, there are many hunters who pick up cyberware and bioware unrelated to combat.

As well, depending on your origin, you may already have some of these aesthetics naturally. See the 「Required Body Arrangements」 and the 「Recommended Body Arrangements」 sections on each Origin's page.

You can look to the 「Body Arrangements table」 for what you may want. You can acquire however many you wish, or none at all (depending on your origin). With your GM's approval, you can design body arrangements outside of those listed here.

Body arrangements don't have any mechanical effect, but they can be useful in a variety of ways (particularly in ERP) for description, direction, and similar.

However, if you take too many body mods, it can be hard to grasp what your character looks like. Start off by picturing your character in your head and work from there.

Table - Body Arrangements
= Decide on an outfit = Determine what clothes your player character would wear while on the job.

You can roll on the 「Outfits table」 for a general category, or choose one. You can also decide upon further specifics, if you wish.

For a particularly outlandish outfit, you may want to ask your GM.

Further, your character may have different plainclothes or clothes they wear around at home, if you want to think more on that.

Table - Outfits
= Decide on housing = Determine where your player character spends their daily life.

Roll on the 「Housing table」, or choose one.

It may be good to think about their life circumstances, personal experiences, and connections while figuring this out.

With this, your mental image of your character as a person should be nearly complete. If this image feels fuzzy or conflicted, look over what you've decided upon thus far and change anything that feels out of place.

Table - Housing
= Select your weapons = Choose up to two weapons for your character to be skilled in.

At least one of them should listed in your chosen Adept's 「Recommended Weapons」, however.

If you decide you only want one weapon, you gain an additional 50 credits to start with. See step 「13. Spend credits」 for how to use these.

The ten types of weapon available to choose from are below:
 * Blades
 * All bladed weapons such as swords, knives, axes, spears, naginata, etc.
 * Martial Arts
 * Various martial arts. Also includes fighting with staves and tonfa.
 * Handguns
 * Close-ranged handguns. The most common arms.
 * Assault Rifles
 * Long guns meant for medium to long ranges. Hard to conceal.
 * Sniper Rifles
 * Powerful long guns for long ranges. Disquieting if carried around in public.
 * Magitakts
 * Small wands used by magicians. Powerful if you know how to use one.
 * Scourges
 * Magical whips that lash the soul directly. Paddle-types included.
 * Temptation
 * Seduction through charm and caress. Further includes persuading, provoking, and inciting action.
 * Artifacts
 * Mythical and folklore weaponry. Includes religious implements.
 * Metal Suits
 * Reinforced armor for both offense and defense. Disquieting if worn around in public.

Table - Weapons
= Spend credits = Starting player characters begin with 100 credits (150 if they only have one weapon). One credit, in a present sense, is worth around 100 dollars.

These can be spent on any ware, items, and weapon customizations.

You cannot possess multiple of the same piece of gear.

Ware are modifications applied directly to a Hunter's body.

There are four different categories, but you can acquire any without being bound to a single type.
 * Cyberware
 * Enhancements through attaching mechanical parts.
 * Magiware
 * Enhancements through continuous magical means. Includes tattoos.
 * Bioware
 * Enhancements through attaching non-original biological parts.
 * Nanoware
 * Enhancing existing organs with nanomachines.

Items are pieces of equipment that are consumed when used. They're inexpensive, but once you use one up, you'll have to go buy another.

Customizations are enhancements for weapons.

For details, see each weapon's page.

Customizations are specific to each type of weapon, so one type's customizations cannot be applied to another.

Of note, there are some customizations across weapons that share the same name, but are still different.

If you want to be able to afford more ware or other gear, you can go into 「Debt」, up to a maximum of 200 credits.

However, the 「Interest」 on this debt is 10%.

This interest must be paid on a session-to-session basis, separate from repaying the debt itself. In practice, you pay this interest the same as paying your expenses.

= Calculating expenses = Player characters have to pay a considerable amount to maintain their health, fighting abilities, weapons, ware, etc.

If due to a power, some of your gear doesn't require paying maintenance, you don't have to include those in your calculations.

Your PC's expenses are the sum of the following:
 * [Level × 10] credits (20 initially).
 * [The base maintenance costs of each weapon you have] in credits.
 * [The total cost of your Ware and Customizations ÷ 10] in credits.
 * (Items don't require maintenance.)

= Fill in basic character stats = Player characters start with a Level of 「2」, a base Karma of 「2」, and a base Pride of 「8」.

If a Power or Ware you have changes these, write down the modified value instead.

A character's Level indicates their ability at combat. This initial level of 「2」 represents the minimum prowess recognizable as a full-fledged Hunter.

Karma represents a character's luck. The lower the better. Too high, and a character is liable to make mistakes on any dice checks outside of combat.

Pride represents a character's willpower. It could be called their fighting spirit. The higher the better. Characters with 「0」 Pride cannot fight any longer. At that point, the request they've taken will most likely end in failure.

Karma and Pride can increase or decrease from their base values many times during a session. The minimum Karma you can have is 0, and the maximum Pride you can have is ［your base Pride × 2］ (initially 16).

= Decide on a Hunter name = Hunters are unlikely to give out their real name while out handling requests.

Hunter names are for the most part self-proclaimed handles, used as nicknames on the job.

You can roll for two results on the 「Hunter Name table」 and combine them for a name of your own. Of course, you can pick any result, or use a single word as a name.

You can also decide on a Hunter name using words not on the table or from other foreign languages. Anything works for now, so long as it wouldn't be mistaken for your character's real name.

You could also add 「Miss / Mister」, 「Mrs.」, 「Madam」, 「Doctor」, or 「The」 before a word for a Hunter name.

There aren't any real restrictions on Hunter names. However, to avoid confusion, courtesy is to avoid using a similar name to a Hunter already operating in the area.

Use your Hunter name for introductions and marketing yourself.

Close partners may use shortened nicknames for each other (ex. Teardrop → Tear).

Though, even if you give your Hunter name, others may still use the name of your Origin or Adept to refer to you. 「Hey, elf over there」 or 「Get a grip, fighter」, or other things in that style.

Table - Hunter Names
Hunter Names Table

= Decide on a real name = Finally, you are nearing the end of character creation.

Even as a hunter, you may use your real name in private relationships and those you're closely Connected with.

Since the Fallen Special Ward is located in Japan, the majority of its residents are Japanese. Even so, there are a fair number of people from other cultures, and those whose families stretch back several generations within the Special Ward have many unique names of their own.

In particular, many deeply ingrained residents don't use kanji in their names, or even lack family names.

As well, some people may never reveal their real names, only using hunter names and obviously fake pseudonyms.

Consider your character's background, and choose a name you find appropriate. If you can't think of one, you can leave it unknown for the time being.

= All finished! = With all that, your player character is now complete!

Once the GM decides on what kind of person your connection is, and decides on a request for you to receive, you'll be all ready for a session!