Step Seven:
Select your character's class.
The player can choose one of four broad character classes:
Warrior, Ranger, Rogue or Academic.
These four classes reflect four fundamentally different backgrounds.
Within each broad class there are a number of basic careers that the character may follow. These reflect what the character knows and is capable of doing before becoming an adventurer. The player should select one character class for their character.
Warriors:
Come from a fighting background. This is not necessarily the military,
but will always have involved hand-to-hand combat of some kind. For example, warrior characters might have been Pit-Fighters, Bodyguards or Mercenaries.
Rangers:
Are independent rural characters. Their lives may have been spent tending animals or roaming the woodlands or mountains. Such characters might have been Herdsmen, Gamekeepers or Trappers.
Rogues:
Live largely by their wits, usually in cities where they can make a living from the mass of common and gullible people. Typically, they will have been Thieves, Entertainers or Beggars.
Academics:
Are the educated persons of society. They can read and write (which practically no-one else can) and can often have lucrative jobs amongst the professions or skilled crafts. Many Academics will have started out as Artisans, Clerics, Lawyers or Wizards.
Class Restrictions:
Warriors:
The character must have a WS of at least 30.
Rangers:
The character must have a BS of at least 30.
Rogues:
The character must have an I of at least 30. An elf must have an I of at least 65. Elves, being good, are not naturally given to exploiting or manipulating people.
Academics:
The character must have an Int of at least 30, and a WP of at least 30.
Step Eight:
Determine the characters initial skills.
Skills are specific abilities, such as riding a horse, being able to pick pockets or read. There are a great many skills in the game and they play an important part.
To determine how many skills a character has, roll a D4 and modify the result by the characters age. The chart below gives the modifications for different age brackets. There is a separate column for each race because they mature and age at different rates 70 is very old for a Human, but quite young for a Dwarf or Elf. None of the modifiers are cumulative. A 70 year old Dwarf has D4 + 1 skills, an 80 year old Dwarf has D4 + 2 skills. Older characters have fewer skills due to creeping senility, failing physique and a tendency to get out of touch.
Age modifiers for initial skills:
| Age..... |
Human... |
Elf..... |
Dwarf... |
Halfling |
| 16-20 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| 21-30 |
+1 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| 31-40 |
+2 |
-- |
-- |
+1 |
| 41-50 |
+1 |
+1 |
+1 |
+1 |
| 51-60 |
+1 |
+1 |
+1 |
+1 |
| 61-70 |
-1 |
+1 |
+1 |
+1 |
| 71-80 |
-2 |
+1 |
+2 |
-- |
| 81-90 |
+1 |
+2 |
-- |
-- |
| 91-100 |
+2 |
+2 |
-- |
-- |
| 101-110 |
+2 |
+1 |
-1 |
-- |
| 111-120 |
+2 |
+1 |
-1 |
-- |
| 121-130 |
+2 |
+1 |
-2 |
-- |
| 131-140 |
+2 |
-- |
-2 |
-- |
| 141-150 |
+3 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| 151-160 |
+3 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| 161-170 |
+3 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| 171-180 |
+3 |
-1 |
-- |
-- |
| 181-190 |
+3 |
-1 |
-- |
-- |
| 191-200 |
+2 |
-2 |
-- |
-- |
| 201-210 |
+1 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| 211-220 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
To determine a characters skills, find the skill chart for the chosen Career Class: Warrior, Ranger, Rogue or Academic. There are some mandatory skills for each race, explained below, and these must be taken before other skills are rolled. If the character has some skills left to determine, they are randomly generated by a percentage roll on the appropriate skill chart.
Mandatory Skills
Humans:
The main advantage Humans have is that they are versatile. Human characters dice for all their initial skills randomly, on the skill chart for their chosen Career Class.
Elves:
All Elves have Excellent Vision. If the character has two or more initial skills, the second will be one from Dance, Musicianship or Sing, with an equal chance of each. Any remaining slots should be diced randomly on the skill chart for the chosen Career Class.
Dwarfs:
All Dwarfs have Mining. If the character has two or more initial skills, the second will be one from Smithing or Metallurgy with an equal chance of each. Any remaining slots should be diced randomly on the skill chart for the chosen Career Class.
Halflings:
All Halflings can Cook. If the character has two or more initial skills, the second will be one from Herb Lore or Specialist Weapon - Sling or Silent Move Rural, with an equal chance of each. Any remaining slots should be diced randomly on the skill chart for the chosen Career Class.
Initial Skills
The following charts are used to determine characters initial skills. Once you have determined how many skills your character has, roll a D100 for each slot left (remember, your character may have mandatory skills for their race) and consult the appropriate table and column for the characters Career Class and race. If the same skill is rolled twice, ignore the second roll and roll again.
Warrior Skill Chart
Ranger Skill Chart
Rogue Skill Chart
Academic Skill Chart
Step Nine:
Determine your character's career.
Within each broad Career Class, there are a number of individual careers, which narrow down and give additional details of the characters past, and give them some additional trappings (equipment) and skills. For example, a Ranger class character might have been a herdsman and have additional skills such as Animal Care and Charm Animal, as well as the associated trappings such as a slingshot and shepherds pipes. Players are not free to choose their characters initial career in the same way you did with your characters general class. To determine your characters initial career you should roll a D100 and consult the appropriate career chart and race column below. You characters career will change over the course of its adventuring life, so dont be too disheartened if you feel dissatisfied with your D100 result.
Warrior Basic Careers
Ranger Basic Careers
Rogue Basic Careers
Academic Basic Careers
Once you have determined your characters basic career, you should email me with the results. I will inform you of your additional skills (and their description) and trappings (equipment). These new skills and trappings should be noted down on your character sheet. I will have complete descriptions of each WFRP Basic and Advanced Careers, including the Advance Schemes and Career Exits, on the web by the time you need to refer to them.
Step Ten:
Choose your free advance.
Every career has an associated Advance Scheme. The scheme represents the way a character gets better at his job as time goes by, and allows the player to increase certain characteristics during play. Copy the scheme for your character onto your character sheet in the space reserved for Advance Scheme. The scheme indicates which of the characters characteristics may be increased and by how much. This is not an immediate bonus - the advances must be earned during play. Schemes are related to characters careers, and represent their potential to exploit their background by developing certain aspects of their physique and personality.
Adventurers are a cut above the normal population of the Old World that is what marks them out as heroes with a destiny. To reflect this, the first advance is earned now, and the player is allowed to advance any one characteristic by +1 for S, T, or W, or by up to +10% for any other characteristic. Once you have decided which advance is to be taken, the Current Profile line should be filled in, incorporating the advance. A note of how much has been taken should be made in the Advance Scheme characteristic, so that you remember the advance has been taken.
Example of a completed Character Profile.
| Starter Profile |
M..... |
WS..... |
BS..... |
S..... |
T..... |
W..... |
I..... |
A..... |
Dex..... |
Ld..... |
Int..... |
Cl..... |
WP..... |
Fel..... |
| Starter Profile |
4..... |
28..... |
38..... |
3..... |
3..... |
6..... |
29..... |
1..... |
33..... |
30..... |
32..... |
25..... |
37..... |
32..... |
| Advance Profile |
__..... |
+10..... |
+10..... |
+1..... |
__..... |
+2..... |
+10..... |
__..... |
__..... |
__..... |
+10..... |
+10..... |
__..... |
__..... |
| Current Profile |
4..... |
28..... |
48..... |
3..... |
3..... |
6..... |
29..... |
1..... |
33..... |
30..... |
32..... |
25..... |
37..... |
32..... |
The red numbers in the BS column indicate that one advance has been taken in the characters Ballistic Skill characteristic. The 48 in the Current Profile indicates the characters new ballistic skill. During play your character will make tests using the Current Profile characteristic line.
Your character is now ready to begin their battle against the scourge of Chaos in the Old World.
Good Luck!