First off there are two new races and a new class. The races are the Half Vampire and the Ban. I will post both of them very soon. The class will only be created if someone wants to be it. The class is the soul knife and it is a psyonic striker.
Other basic rules for character creation is that we will be moving away from alignments in this game and towards honor. You will have some sort of honor score that will have an effect on your character but you dont need to know all of that yet. When making your character just skip the alignment because it does not matter. I you are divine then really dive into your god that you choose (after i post them) and we will come up with a set of rules and conducts for you. Basic races, races of shadow, the shifter, drow, genesi, and campaign created races are all on the table along with pretty much every class. Let me know what you want to be before you create it and I will give you the OK. No Dragonborn, shardmind, wilden, githyanki, or tiefling. That is about it for the statistic components of the game I think. OH yea! and no magic items. We will be doing something with masterwork gear or gear made out of special materials but we will have very little involvement with magic items. The art of crafting such items was mostly lost during the "dark years" (a span of time during the downfall of the brothers when magic was unpredictable and uncontrollable).
As for role playing. There is a lot that you need to know. If you have a character over the age of 35 or 40. Which you all will be unless you can come up with a good reason why you are not then you will have to come up with some significant injury or injuries that you sustained during your time spent in the "dark years". Because the dark years outlawed anything that had to do with arcane and divine magic and the nations were at war with the shifter and half vampire hordes they resorted to using a group called "cutters". These people are non-powered medics that travel in large wagon hospitals behind the lines of battle. They got their nickname due to the large number of limbs they have cut off. Anyway you need to have an injury that you got during those years. They can be as simple as scars that you have that are a rememberance of a sword that has come across your face or a mutulated back from torture. You can be missing limbs, have gone blind, had your tongue cut out, or even run through with a spear. I do not care what the injury is but you need to have one and have a story behind it. You may have more than one but you must at least have one. If you need feats to help you get around some glaring problem, like wielding a greatsword when you have no right hand, we will work something out.
Other then that you must also write 4 horrific things that you have experienced throughout your life. They can be from childhood all the way up to current day. They can be memories of loosing your family, friends, seeing the horror of the battlefield, being tortured, raped, or watching some twisted demonic ritual. Whatever you choose you must dive into it. I want to know what your character saw, tasted, felt, and could smell. I want you to be as afraid of what happened to your character out of game as your character is in game. None of your characters will be invincible or without flaws. The things that you have seen and the things that you have been forced to do have crippled you emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Flashbacks, night terrors, and PTSD are likely a part of your life.
Other then that please follow the 10 min background posted bellow.
The Ten-Minute Background
Step 1: Write 5 background and concept elements that you feel are
important to your image of the character. These can be a concept overview, a
list of important life events, a physical description, a personality
profile...whatever you need to get an image in your mind. 5 is just a
minimum...more elements are encouraged!
Step 2: List at least two goals for the character. At least one of
these goals should be one that the character has, while another should be one
that you, as a player, want to see developed over the course of the game.
Step 3: List at least two secrets about your character. One is a
secret the character knows, one is a secret that involves him but that he is
not actually aware of yet. This will help me in creating plots that center
around your character. I will also be creating a third secret which you as a
player will not be aware of, so expect some surprises!
Step 4: Describe at least three people that are tied to the
character. Two of them are friendly to the character, one is hostile. If you
like, you can include an enemy of yours here as well, so I have an instant NPC
nemesis to throw at you.
Step 5: Describe three memories, mannerisms, or quirks that your
character has. They don't have to be elaborate, but they should provide some
context and flavor.
You can email your background and character ideas to me at mark@newlifexn.org. Please take time to love your character before we start playing. I will be posting more soon. I will be also posting one horrific memory that you have all experienced together as Bridge Burners. Once we get basic caracter outlines done I will work on linking you all together and making you love and be devoted to each other as much as you are to yourselves.
Hope this helps!
