Given the isolated nature of the village, and in an attempt to minimize the amount of world building initially, characters are restricted to the following:
- Racial heritages are limited to Dwarf, Half-Elf, Common Man, and Mixed Man
- Culture choices are limited to Highland (living nearby up the mountain), Rural (living on the outskirts of the village), or Urban (living predominantly in the village proper).
- Professions are not restricted, any Core Law profession is permitted and will be worked into the village details as needed
- Statistics are generated using the point buy system, for both Temporary and Potential statistics. Potentials are assigned with a Bonus total of +55, and Temporaries are assigned using a Bonus total of +15.
- Optionally, the player can select to generate Potential stats randomly instead. In this case, a set of 3 numbers between 11 and 100 (d100, discard 10 and below) is rolled for each stat. The highest number of each is kept and assigned to the stat, the others discarded. Two swaps can then be made, to move Potentials to move favorable locations. In this case, once the dice are favorable or unfavorable, the point buy option may not be used for Potentials. Temporary stats are assigned using the normal Point Buy mechanic.
- As characters level, at each EVEN level, they gain the ability to increase slightly one Potential stat (before rolling for stat gains). This can be one of the following options:
- +5 to the Potential of a stat with a current Potential of 50 or less
- +3 to the Potential of a stat with a current Potential of 75 or less
- +1 to the Potential of a stat with a current Potential of 90 or less
- Statistics with a Potential of 90 or above cannot be increased with this method.
- As normal, each level gain provides 2 free Stat Gain rolls on the stats of the player’s choice. Additional rolls can be purchased for 4 DP per roll. Each of these attempts can be applied to any stats, including multiple rolls on the same stat if desired.
- Any Channeling spell caster must select from the limited Religions represented in the village – either The Hearth Circle or The Greenwarden
- Any Essence or Mentalism spell caster must select one of the three existing “arcane” spell casting tutors, and their respective limitations – The Whispering Veil, The Flamehand, or The Blooming Thread
- Hybrid spell casters much choose one from both sets, as appropriate for their character concept
- Non-spell casters can choose any of the same, or their own (or none) as they desire.
- Each organization lists the available spell lists – these are the only ones that can be learned by the character at character generation. It does not eliminate the option to learn other spells – only restricts them to what teachings are available in the village they grew up in. Once they begin adventuring, more options will present themselves, and by the course of actions, additional options will become available.
- To help inspire backgrounds and personality, each character will receive a couple of cosmetic modifiers – these have no mechanical advantage, but help to define something unique about the character. Some of these will be defined by other players, some of these will be left to the player to define. In theory, these will include the following:
- Status of their family
- A personal trinket of importance
- A notable personal detail
As the campaign continues, replacement characters will be crafted from the current situation and setting – this includes adding or removing cultures, races, and professions, as well as default spell lists. The further the group journeys, the more they will discover the world system to understand the concepts
