Character creation

A character in berkana on paper is a collection of skills, qualities, traits, and basic stats that allow the character to mechanically effect the world. However a character is much more than that in the world. A character represents the journey they have taken so far and the direction and goals for the future. Characters will interact with the game through Role Play and choices more than they will interact with mechanics.

This document will take you though creating a character and will prompt questions you should answer about who your character is.

Origin

One of the first questions to answer is about the characters origin. Where did they live before? Did they wonder or did they call one of the Sovereignties home? There are 5 choices for origin to pick from when creating a character. You can be from one of the Sovereignties as a denizen. These Sovereignties are located on the map  and include Salvoss, Hagea, Erule, Carcassim, and Steinholdt. Your character may also be from the Freelands, which is a loose term for anywhere outside the Sovereignties. This can be the wilds or a small town or village outpost, your choice!

Bloodlines

This will be an important decision for your character and could help shape your character's lived experience . There are 5 Bloodlines in Berkana. The elemental themed Berkane. The strong willed Herial. The ferocious Kelnum, The unsettling Raziel, and the unique Changeling. All characters are human which can show signs of a bloodline features thus they are not treated as separate races within the world. When you choose a bloodline you can then decide which level of costuming you would like to do for the character. All bloodlines allow for no costuming, however the more costuming you rep the more unique bloodline traits you could pick. You may always choose to upgrade your costuming between game seasons.
Now that we have those two questions answered it's onto Qualities and Traits!

Qualities

Qualities represent general Role Play prompts and theming for a character. Picking qualities can help narrow down how the character may act or accomplish their goals. Using a quality is strictly RP and can only be used on a scene or NPC and its effectiveness is decided by the game organizer at the time. We always encourage Role Play and engaging with the world in any way, so Qualities should be treated as something to offer a 'yes and' opportunity if you feel stuck in a situation. They should not be considered the limitations of your characters RP options, but instead their specialties.
When making a character you pick 2 Qualities from either General, Bloodline or one from each!

General qualities

Bloodline qualities

Traits

Unlike Qualities traits have a mechanical advantage that can pop up during an event. Many traits are once an event or subtle passive options. They are weaker than skills but help to add uniqueness to a character and round out their theme and identity especially early on. 1 traits may be swapped out between seasons to represent the general training, hobbies or interests of a character which could change.

Bloodline traits are limited to the costuming. They represent traits that are found in individuals who prominently feature a dominant Bloodline based on their costuming. You must be able to costume the correct tier to pick certain Bloodline traits. You are also limited to the bloodline you chose up above. Use the search feature to narrow down the list!

You may choose 3 traits from the options listed in General and Bloodline

General traits

Bloodline traits

Starting stats

As described in General Mechanics, each Character will start with a Wound limit of 3, a Fortitude rating of 2, and Vitality of 3. Skills can be purchased to increase these stats.

Skills and Renown

Skills are the bread and butter of a character and greatly impact the mechanical aspect of how they can interact with the world of berkana. There are roughly 88 skills in total each covering aspects of combat and vitality all the way to crafting and magic! Each skill purchased will unlock new options for your character. Based of the above information that you chose for your character this could help narrow down where you look.
Skills are purchased with Renown, a measure of a characters experience and impact on the world. Since all character have a history this initial renown acts as a representation of that. You may purchase skills with renown at a 1 to 1 ratio unless it is a core skill. Core skills cost 2 renown as they offer a number of mechanics for interacting and often have entire skill trees linked for progressions.

Spend all 4 renown on Skills

starting Equipment

Berkana uses as few tags as possible and considers most equipment something the players have access to. Thus you may start out with any weapons and armor you wish to bring. Weapons will be tagged with a type tag during log and armor can also be reviewed for deflections. Props that do not require tags are also allowed to be brought in at character creation such as rope, fake candles, lanturns ect.
Many skills also require kits, work bench set ups or unique Phys-reps. These two may be freely brought into event as they are not tagged items.