Character Creation

Creating Your Character
The following process details creating your character in Zephyr - Tales from the Void. While the process is intended to be simple, there are certain rules that are different from the standard 5e Character Creation process.

Choose your Role

The first step in creating your character is to imagine what role you would like to play in the group. Is there a character from a movie or other cultural reference you would like to pull from? Are you imagining yourself playing the daring hero, the mad scientist, the brave soldier, or other equally exciting archetypes? Whatever you decide, the character you create will represent you in the game and be the persona you will adopt while playing through the Mastermind's missions. Have something in mind? Then let's move on to the next step.

Assign Your Building Blocks

In Zephyr - Tales from the Void you allocate your character resources by determining the tier rating of each of your character building blocks. These building blocks allow you to assign a number to each of five categories of character development: attributes, feats, skills, contacts, and affluence. Select a tier for each block, from 1-5. Once you have selected a number, that number is no longer available to select for other tiers. Take the value for that block in the tier you have selected and apply it to your character, as noted in the sections below for each block.
Below is the table from which you should start. Assign one priority to each of the five blocks, one per column on the table. The values in the column you choose are available to you for character creation. These values also determine how your character will progress through their 10 character levels. For example, selecting priority 1 for Feats would result in feats for your character at 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 9th levels.

Attributes
There are seven attributes in Zephyr - Tales from the Void. When you select a tier for your attributes, you may allocate the number given from that tier, divided among these seven attributes as desired.
Strength. Your physical prowess. Strength defines your ability to pick things up and put them down and is an indicator of your overall athletic ability.
Agility. Determines your reflexes and reaction time. Agility defines things like flexibility, accuracy, balance, and other dexterous skills.
Stamina. How hearty you are; whether that is during combat, how far you can run, how long you can go with out food, and so on.
Intelligence. Defines your ability to comprehend and retain information. Intelligence contributes to your ability to learn languages, understand magic, and resist illusions.
Reason. Your ability to discern right from wrong, good from evil, and a good situation from a bad one. Reason represents the hairs on the back of your neck that raise up when something is just not quite right.
Charisma. This ability determines your ability to find your way through many social situations; how couth you are in formal settings, or crass during more rough and tumble occasions.
Affluence. How much influence and wealth you possess. Affluence not only determines your purchasing power, but also how likely it is someone knows or has heard of you.

Affluence. A representation of your overall reach or pull in society. Beyond just simple purchasing power, a high Affluence score could represent your ability to get a meeting influential politicians, or perhaps how well known your family is among the elites. Conversely, a low Affluence score means you lack influence and likely do not have the ability to easily acquire things.

Point buy system in Zephyr - Tales from the Void.

Feats
Feats are earned by the character solely based upon this table at the character levels listed. Note: Unlike standard 5th Edition, characters do not have the option to substitute a feat for their attribute increase at 4th and 8th levels.

Species
This column determines which of the available species of Baennor you are able to select for your character. This column does not necessarily indicate one species is mechanically more powerful than another, only that many of the higher priority species on the list are far more rare. Harbingers, for example, are exceedingly rare and are only now beginning to be seen around the Commonwealth.

Contacts
Contacts are very important in Zephyr - Tales from the Void. If your character needs information or is searching for something around the Commonwealth, it is their Contacts that are going to make it happen. When you select your priority in this column, it indicates the additional number of Contact Points they will receive to generate contacts.

Starting Wealth
Affluence and Wealth is another feature of Zephyr - Tales from the Void that differs significantly from many role-playing games. Instead of counting coins and hoarding wealth, a character's spending power is determined by their Wealth score and modified by their Affluence attribute. Starting Wealth determines how much starting wealth. You may use this wealth to make purchases during character creation.

Choose your Species The next step in the character creation process is to decide on your species. There are a wide variety of species to choose from and choosing the right one to match your envisioned persona can be a very important part of your character creation. It is important to note that in Zephyr - Tales from the Void there is a reason for the existence of each of the species, from where they originated, and how involved they are in the modern arcane world of Baennor today. Below is a brief description of each of the species on Baennor. For more detailed information on each of them, consider the Species article.

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Aos'si. These medium-sized humanoids are reclusive and mysterious rulers of the fey on Baennor, the aos'si (ee-she) largely reside in the northern forests of the continent of Eryphir. However, there are occasionally those who venture forth into the world in search of adventure and understanding. Interestingly enough, aos'si are indeterminant growers, meaning the never stop growing and changing over the course of their very long lives.
The aos'si have long ago lost their direct connection the Dreaming (the realm of the Fey), but instead must meditate in order to merge with the collective consciousness of the aos'si. In this way they replenish their spirit every evening. This requires 4 hours of meditation, from which they emerge completely refreshed.
As the aos'si on Baennor no longer have access to the Seelie and Unseelie Courts of The Dreaming, they have instead established their own Courts and rule from the massive northern forest of Eryphir.
Aos'si receive a +2 Intelligence and +2 Wisdom bonus. The fey possess Darkvision out to 60'. These fey are also immune to sleep and charm magic, and have advantage on saving throws against non-fey magic.

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Boggarts. Thought to have perhaps been a goblinoid species who inhabited Baennor during the Age of Chaos, these small-sized humanoids are exceedingly rare and often thought to be a myth or a bedtime story to scare children. They are small-sized goblinoids who today can be found living in the shadows of various cities across the Commonwealth.
While not inherently evil, they are the literal boogeymen mother's tell their children about to keep them in line. Boggarts often appear to be made of porcelain or other solid material. In fact, many boggarts have the ability to transform into a toy-like object in order to remain undetected.
Boggarts receive a +2 Constitution and +2 Wisdom bonus; They are immune to poisons and have Darkvision out to 60'. Finally, each boggart is usually "known" among its kin for one particular talent. As such, each boggart gains 1 bonus Feat at character creation.

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Cogs. These mechanical creations were the brainchild of an aetherist named Dr. Rerinald Dalston and his "Dalston Sphere" or a device implanted as the "brain" into each cog. Not often thought of as a sentient creature, these constructs are manufactured in a wide variety of forms, serving an even wider variety of functions. Occasionally, and inexplicably a cog will become self-aware and gain its personal freedom and it is these types that become agents.
Cogs are usually medium-sized, but not always humanoid in form. Cogs receive a +2 to any one attribute and a choice of any 2 skills. Cogs do suffer from a lack of understanding of Commonwealth cultural norms - or any cultural norms, for that matter, and therefore roll with disadvantage on any charisma-based skills against non-cogs.

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Halbkin. The small-sized humanoids have only recently been acknowledge by scientist of the Commonwealth as their own species. Halbkin are generally identified by some sort of physical deformity and an inherent resistance to psychic energy. The superstitious believe halbkin to be the product of a family cursed by the Gods for their transgressions against them. Scientists, however now believe the existence of halbkin is a result of some sort of radiation from the Void.
Halbkin are small-sized with skin tones and hair color similar to their parents, whether dwearh or daonni. Halbkin receive a +2 to their Constitution and enjoy resistance from Psychic damage. They do suffer a -2 to their Charisma score and usually have some sort of noticeable deformity or scaring as a result of the inexplicable complications experienced from the Void.

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Harbingers. Another recently acknowledge species, harbingers are medium-sized humanoids who have - according to scientists in the Commonwealth - have started exhibiting dramatic features of their own, dominate elemental parts. Dwearh, for example, might take on aspects of fire or earth, while daonni would exhibit either water or air aspects. While truly an interesting phenomenon, many around the Commonwealth see these transformed individuals as monsters or abominations.
Harbingers are medium-sized humanoids with skin tones and hair determined by their dominant element. Fire harbingers, often called afreets, have fiery red hair and burnt umber skin. Earth harbingers, or sulpharai, often have coal black hair and a dark, rustic reddish brown skin color. Water harbingers, known as mareeds, have pale blue or greenish skin and very light bluish or greenish hair, while air harbingers or ionno are completely white skinned with most often platinum colored hair or occasionally gray, the color of storm clouds.
Each harbinger variant has developed abilities directly tied to their element:
Afreets. Immune to natural Fire damage; Resistance to magical Fire damage; Produce Flame at will; +2 to Dexterity
Sulpharai. Immune to natural Acid damage; Resistance to magical Acid damage; cannot be pushed, pulled, or tripped while standing on natural or worked earth or stone; Fists are considered weapons and deal d6 bludgeoning damage; +2 to Constitution
Mareeds. Immune to natural Cold damage; Resistance to magical Cold damage; Swim speed equal to Move speed; Can breathe underwater; +2 to Wisdom
Ionno. Immune to natural Lightning damage; Resistance to magical Lightning damage; Jump twice as far as normal without needing a running start; may safely fall a distance of 10 feet x Intelligence bonus without taking damage; +2 to Intelligence

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Hobs. As fey are indeterminant-growers, they begin life as diminutive creatures, commonly referred to as brownies or fairies or something similar. Hobs are small-sized creatures are thought to be young fey, likely born of magic here on Baennor. While still old by human standards, most hobs give the impression of a carefree and naive adolescent.
Human, Daonni. When the Elemental Lords ruled the Prime, the factions of Water and Air created the Daonni to harvest motes of apiom (water) and ion (air) on Baennor. These medium sized humanoids are perhaps the most common species on the planet of Baennor and fill many of the governmental roles within the Commonwealth.
Human, Dwearh. Just as the Daonni were created by the Elemental Lords of Water and Air, the Dwearh were created by those of Fire and Earth. While common, the Dwearh suffered a huge loss of life centuries ago when they instigated the first attempt to gain their freedom from the Elemental Lords. Since losing their empire and uncountable numbers, the Dwearh have since integrated largely (and successfully) with the Commonwealth.
Wogan. These medium-sized creatures are likely a long-lost species of goblinoids from the Age of Chaos. Nomadic and free-spirited, the wogan live in huge roving tribes called Hosts. Today, they are likely the third most common species on the continent of Eryphir and currently are considered friendly with the Commonwealth, though largely due to their geographical separation east of the Reinhelm Mountains.

Choose your Profession

Once you have your species decided, the next step is to choose a profession that suites the persona you wish to create. Your profession will determine not only your basic style of play, but also the abilities and attributes your character will receive. the list of available professions are below along with short descriptions of each, but for more information on each, click the link at the beginning of each description.
Aeronauts. Fearless Racers of the Skies - Soldiers and fighters comb the ground during combat, u aeronauts race across the skies, securing the battlefield through speed and firepower. The aeronaut is a dexterity-style warrior who excels at tactics and speed.
Aetherists. Astute Scientists of Magic - creating and utilizing magic to expand their knowledge of the metaverse, aetherists focus mostly on the fifth element, or Aether. Aetherist backgrounds range from scientist to magician; from lattice artisans to pactkeepers - those who enforce the Edicts of Peace between the Prime and the Elemental Planes.
Amplified (Amps). Magically Enhanced Savants - unlike soldiers, amps are trained in the way of the sword, the fist, and the mind - utilizing magic to enhance their prowess and speed in combat.
Atomicists. Brilliant Masters of the Elements - Atomicists take their understanding of magic and apply it to the primary elements - Ion, Philogiston, Apiom, and Sulphuria- to fantastical effect. These practitioners use these elemental motes to produce their . Atomicist backgrounds range from snake oil salesmen to doctors; from herbalists to necromancers.
Cipherwrights (Cipher). Cunning Engineers of Magic - Where aetherists study magic, and chymists tinker with the elements, ciphers craft with both. Engineers of the age, ciphers craft amazing devices, machines, and weapons through their knowledge and use of magic. Cipherwrights are responsible for the masterful creations that make the Commonwealth the most powerful nation on Beonnis; Ciphers roles range from craftsman to civil engineer; from repairman to war machinist.
Freelancers. Skills and Tradecraft - Freelancers are people who use their particular set of skills to make a living. When syndicates hire outside help, they look to the professional freelancers first and often pay handsomely for their skills.
Scoundrels. Deft Deceivers and Shysters - Scoundrels (or nomadi as they are colloquially referred to in the West) come in many flavors and no two are ever the "same". Rarely do they have a cause or purpose other than making the next score.
Soldiers. Practitioners of War - Trained in the art of war and weaponry, soldiers are the embodiment of combat. They work well as leaders or followers, but always as a part of a team - defeating their enemies through tactics and superior firepower.
Toughs. The Proverbial Knife in the Gunfight - Sometimes you just need the heavy muscle to come in and stark banging heads together. That's where the tough comes in - generally relying on brute strength and excessive constitution, the tough is one of the few types of people who still wade into melee.