SIX BACKGROUNDS FROM EDEL Troika!-compatible character backgrounds from a newly liberated sphere. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- UNQUIET GOLEM You clearly weren't made for crushing armies or defending treasure hoards. What is a golem without a prescribed purpose? A pity your maker isn't around to answer all of the vexing questions that sentience brings. Possessions: Small hidebound journal Quill pen and diverse inks Bag of books [1] Spyglass Skills: 3 Strength 2 Fist Fighting 2 Second Sight 2 Etiquette Special: You are made of either: A) Furnace-hardened ceramics with bold glazing (immune to fire and heat), B) A patchwork of sturdy canvas, tanned hides, and colorful fabrics (Light Armor, negates [#] armor penetration), OR C) Impossibly smooth glass (2 Random Spells at rank 1). You do not eat, but you do need to sleep as normal. Unlike other golems, you can speak. Your sizable fists deal damage as a Staff. ------------------------- BOGTRAWLER Most folks do not care to crawl through the viscous muck of Sopa-Sopa. Most folks want nothing to do with the vapors that slacken muscles and pull minds like taffy. Most folks will never find the abandoned rucksacks, the priceless baubles, the long-petrified murders. Fortunately, you are not most folks. Possessions: Hooked pole (Damage as Axe, uses Polearm Fighting) Putrid clothing Hatchet Witch-Hair rope Skills: 2 Poison 2 Evaluate 2 Polearm Fighting 1 Swim 1 Strength 1 Tracking 1 Climb ------------------------- SAGANN OF BROADEST EL You are one of the massive variety of fish-folk hailing from Broadest El. The wonders of Edel's mightiest sea were not enough to slake your unquenchable curiosity. Armed with your marine intuition and trusty harpoon, you are ready for the bizzare and alien world of the drylands. Possessions: Harpoon (Damage as Spear) Sailcloth breeches 50' rope, daisy-chained Coral talisman (non-magical, but worth 3d6 silver in a pinch) Large waterskin (6 days' worth, begins at capacity) Skills: 5 Swim 2 Spear Fighting 2 Strength 1 Wrestling Special: You have a fully-functional set of gills, and need not surface for breath while underwater. However, hydration is more important for you than for most: you must either submerge yourself in water for at least 10 minutes or drink a large water ration daily (20 minutes/2 rations in desert or tundra). Failure to do so for 2 days results in Drying-Out, which functions as Drowning. ------------------------- NORO LONGHUNTER Longhunters roam far from the fertile mesas of their people, braving the scorching Azure Sands for meat and for glory. Possessions: Atlatl (Dart-Thrower, damage as Crossbow) Brace of Darts (4, damage as Spear -1) Broad-brimmed hat Dusty blue poncho Gourd filled with Goatseye Cactus juice [2] (3 uses) Skills: 3 Tracking 3 Atlatl Fighting 1 Spear Fighting 1 Run 1 Sneak 1 Forage ------------------------- ACOLYTE OF JUNK Some say that if one cannot buy bread, one has no worth themselves. The devotees of the Gullfather know better--there is glorious bounty to be found in society's leavings. Currency is folly when there are treasures on the morning shores and feasts in the pig-troughs. Possessions: Gnarled driftwood club Heavily mended clothing (as Light Armor) Small pot Sewing kit with spools of rough thread Skills: 2 Sneak 2 Mending 1 Club Fighting 1 Running 1 Trapping 1 Healing 1 Cooking 1 Carpentry 1 Horticulture Special: Gullfather's Blessing: While under the blessing of the Scavenger God, you may test your Luck in any settlement to find a lightly-used mundane item (once per item, per day). You also suffer no penalties for using improvised weapons, or for plausible jury-rigged solutions. If you use money to engage in financial transactions of any kind, or ask others to do the same on your behalf, your blessing is revoked. Barter is both acceptable and encouraged. To regain the Gullfather's favor, you must destroy a bank, mint, or treasure hoard. ------------------------- GOBLIN CONTAINMENT You are a scarred veteran of one of countless goblin wars. Valuable though they are to the liberation of spheres, the sprawling, mindbending labyrinths of the goblins must be kept as small as possible wherever they arise. Few things faze you after witnessing the senseless horrors of twisted hyperbolae and kinematic space. Possessions: Worn chainmail (Light Armor) Warped sword Bolas Weighted net Skills: 2 Sword Fighting 2 Throwing 2 Spell--Breach 2 Spell--Coal Resolve 1 Spell--Sentry 1 Spell--Random -------------------------------------------------- NOTES [1] Bag of books: Test your Luck to find a plausibly relevant piece of information. A roll of 2 yields disastrously false info. 6 uses. [2] Goatseye Cactus juice: When consumed, induces a state of serene focus and hallucinated color-swaps. +1 to Skill for an hour, but the comedown is inevitably accompanied by a violent vomiting fit (-2 Stamina). ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ~slothbear, 04/17/2019 This material licensed under CC BY-NC 3.0. .