Rules - 2: Character Generation

2:1 Introduction

There are six stages of Character Generation:

Background	Creating your characters history
Skill Types	Recognising different Skill types
Allocating Points	Deciding on character stats and choosing the skills and skill levels that you want your character to have
Resources	Defining the special benefits that your character has acquired during their life
Starting Cash + Equipment	The cash and equipment your character starts the game with
SIN	Deciding whether or not to SIN your character

2:1:1 Background

Before you can create a character for SINergy you need to look at the world guide. If you have come straight to character generation then go back and look at it. Looking through the world guide will give you a better idea of the feel of the setting and the types of characters that will work.

A character background should be a potted history of the important events in their life. Think about where and how they grew up. Think about how they earn their living and what sort of skills, friends/enemies they will have made along the way. Basically, think about what the character would be like if they were really living in the SINergy world. A well thought out character background will make the rest of character generation a much smoother affair and will act as a continual yard stick for determining your role playing of them.

2:1:2 Recognizing Skill Types

Stats

Stats broadly represent a characters genetic balance. They have no impact on the mechanics of game play, but serve as an initial guideline for assessing a characters fundamental strengths and weaknesses. Once you have created a background for your character you will need to assign values to each of the four Stats that reflect the sort of person they are.

MIND	Development of the mental abilities. Skills that rely on memory, deduction, insight.
BODY	Development of the body. Skills that rely on physical speed, power or coordination.
TECH	Practical application or manipulation. Skills that involve making, repairing or hands on aptitude.
SOUL	A measure of that Intangible something. The Soul stat represents those abilities that are not quantifiable in a scientific world. It exists as a sort of stopgap for the weird and wonderful. A high Soul stat suggests a character ill at ease with the mundane world. Soul differs from the other stats because it only applies to one skill in the rules, Luck. This means what ever other skills a character chooses they will almost certainly end up taking it. Other skills are only available via ref suggestion.

Each Stat relates to a group of skills that reflect the stats strengths.

For instance: The skill Cybertech falls under the stat TECH as it entails the technical manipulation of an object, in this case Cyberware.

For a list of skills and their corresponding Stat see the Common Skill Appendix.

Skills And Specialisations

As stated above to perform most rule guided actions a character must have the relevant skill. There are two types of skills in the SINergy system Primary Skills and Specialisations.

Primary Skills

Primary Skills are incredibly broad and represent a general ability to perform that action.

Skills go from level 1-5 where 1 is Amateur, 3represents a professional leveland 5 is a master in the field

Specialised Skills (Advanced Rules)

Specialised Skills are a lot more specific compared to Primary Skills and represent a specialised field within the area of the primary skill.

Specialised Skills go from level 2-8 where two is Amateur and 8 is the absoluteHuman Maximum.

Specialised Skills are technically more specific versions of a 'Primary Skill'. You must have atleast 1 level inthe corresponding 'Primary Skill' before you can learn the specialised variant.

Once you have selected a specialisation any advancement of the 'Primary Skill' will not affect the level of the specialisation, it has in effect become a separate ability.

For a list of skills and the corresponding Stat see the Common Skill Appendix.

2:1:3 Allocating Points

In SINergy the way a player generates a character is quite simple, you are given a set number of points with which to buy Stats and from there skills and specialisations. This is done to ensure a balance for starting characters as well as to provide an easy and accessible way to create your alter ego on paper.

To begin you will have 16 points to allocate between your stats as you see fit. You must have at least 1 point in each of the stats, but there is no upper limit. Each level in a Stat costs you one 'Stat Point'. The more points you put into a stat the more Skills that character will have in that area

For Instance: HARRY wants TECH level 5 thus it will cost him 5 of his 16 Stat points.

For each point you put into a stat you have equal points to buy Primary Skills and Specialisations from the corresponding skill list (see Common Skill Appendix).

For instance: HARRY has put 6 points in TECH thus he has 6 points with which to put in TECH Primary Skills and Specialisations.

However there are a few rules you must follow when purchasing Primary Skills and Specialisations.

When generating a new character you can only put a maximum of 3 into any one Primary Skill.

To buy a Specialisation you must have the corresponding Primary Skill.

To take a specialisation you put a point into the specialisation. It is then considered a separate skill (i.e. it does not improve if the primary skill is improved). A specialisation starts at one level higher than its primary skill.

Once you have taken a specialisation you can put more points into it as per primary abilities.

For Example: DICK has already bought the Primary Skill of Firearms at level 2 that means if he buys any specialisations of the 'Primary Skill' Firearms they will automatically start at 3. He puts another 3 points into the specialisation of pistol giving him a Specialisation of Pistol 5.

When generating a new character you can only reach a maximum of 5 in any specialisation.

You can select as many specialties of a skill (or several skills) as your point allocation permits

Any points you do not allocate during character generation will be lost.

Please Note: For a starting character it makes a lot of sense (math wise) to take a primary to level 3 before specialising, but you do not have to. You may feel that although your character is a master swordsman, they are not particularly adept with other melee weapons and so you choose to specialise in Sword after only taking the 'Primary Skill' Melee 1.

Two examples of Character Generation:

For Example: HARRY has put 7 points in the TECH stat giving him 7 points to put into his TECH Primary Skills (and Specialisations). He chooses the 'Primary Skill' of Paramedic at Level 3 (3 points used so far) and then puts 2 into the Specialisation of TOXIC Damage (5 points used so far) because he has now reached his maximum in the specialisation of TOXIC Damage he puts his final 2 points into the specialisation of BURN Damage (7 points used). Below is a table illustrating the final result of the above example. HARRY also has to allocate the rest of his points in his other stats in a similar way.

STAT	PRIMARY SKILL	SPECIALISATION
TECH 7	Paramedic 3	TOXIC Damage 5
		BURN Damage 5

For Example: TOM's background describes him as a Japanese ex-soldier who now makes his living as a lone mercenary (a Solo).Out of his 16 points he has allocated 9 points to his Body stat in line with this background because such a career suggests a fairly physical person. After looking at the available Body skills TOM selects the Firearms skill (because he would be well versed in the use of guns), Endurance (because he is used to getting shot), and Melee (because he figures a Japanese soldier probably knows how to use a katana). After considering how to allocate his Body points TOM opts to put 3 points into the 'Primary Skill' Firearms, 2 points into the 'Primary Skill' Endurance and 3 points into the 'Primary Skill' Melee. This leaves him with one point. Although he could use it to put his 'Primary Skill' Endurance to level 3 (or take another Body skill at level 1) he decides to take a specialisation in sword use which means he then has melee level three and sword use level 4. TOM then also has to allocate the rest of his points in his other stats in a similar way.

STAT	PRIMARY SKILL	SPECIALISATION
BODY 9	Melee 3	Sword 4
	Firearms 3
	Endurance 2

General Skill List

This Primary skill list is not definitive however any additions must be ref sanctioned. A description of each skill can be found in the Skills Appendix.

Specialisations of a Primary skill are chosen at the player's discretion keeping the 'spirit' of the example in mind.

Specialisations of a Primary skill may not be broader in scopethan the examples given, however choosing a 'narrower' specialisationis at players discretion.

Stat	Primary Skill	Example Specialisations

MIND	CorpDeal	Military / Police / Religion / Corporation (Specify).
	Knowledge (Specify)	E.g. RPG Systems / 80's Metal.
	Language (Specify)	E.g. German / Tibetan.
	Law	Criminal Law / Corporate Law.
	Law Enforcement	Carabinieri / Traffic Police.
	Media	Net Broadcasts / Newspaper.
	Medicine	GP / Proctology.
	Military	Special Forces / Marines / Tactics.
	Net Running	Power / Speed / Data.
	Politics	Local Government / Spin.
	Science : Biology	Microbiology / Human Biology.
	Science : Chemistry	Compounds / Elemental Properties.
	Science : Physics	Molecular Physics / Particle Physics.
	StreetDeal	Military / Police / Gangs.
	StreetWise	Local Gangs / Narcotics.

BODY	Dodge	Combat Dodge.
	Endurance	Combat Endurance
	Esoteric Weaponry (Specify)	.
	Heavy Weapons	Support / Rocket Launcher.
	Firearms	Pistol / SMG / Rifle.
	Melee	Sword / Knife / Hammer / Staves.
	Strength	Throw / Holds / Grip.
	Unarmed Combat	Martial Arts (Specify) / Street fighting.

TECH	Bioware Engineering	Organeering / Biosculpting.
	Communications	Encrypting / Satellite.
	Cybertech	Cyberlimbs / Cyberoptics.
	Demolitions	Bomb Disposal / Structure hitting.
	Electronics	Domestic / Power Systems.
	Paramedic	Burns / Toxins.
	Forensics	Pathology / Psychology.
	Mechanical Engineering	Automotive / Factory Machines.
	Microelectronics	Cybermodems / CPU's.
	Security Systems	Locks / Safes.
	Surgery	Neuro / Cardio / Cyberware.
	Surveillance	Audio/Video/Counter.
	Weapon Smith	Pistol/Rifle.

SOUL	Luck

2:1:4 Resources

Once all the Primary Skills and Specialisations have been chosen the Player is allocated 3 resource points to purchase starting resources from the list below.

*Contact*	A person or organisation that deals with the character on friendly terms
*Equipment/Weapon/Cyberware*	Any piece of Equipment/Cyberware/Bioware within a set level
*Employment*	In Character employment

A resource represents a special benefit that the character has acquired during their life. It might a contact in the under world or an expensive piece of equipment. It might be a custom weapon or cyberware upgrade. Within the scope of the categories below it is up to the player to choose. You can ask for what ever you want, but the ref has the final word as to what is and isn't acceptable.

You may select the same resource more then once, either improving the resource rating, or selecting a second resource of the same type.

You should again think back to your characters background before selecting resources.

For Example: If you have decided to play a fixer with a reputation for dealing in hard to get hold of Bioware you should really use one of your resources to have a contact in the Bioware industry.

For Example: If your daddy left you his custom Walberg 20mm Hand Cannon, you should allocate one of your resources to this special weapon.

For Example: If you work as a 'Gun for Hire' doing mercenary style work for the highest bidder then you should really use one of your resources to a Job in this field.

Like stat and skill points, you must allocate all of your resources before you start play. Those left unallocated will be lost.

Contact

A contact is a person or organisation that deals with the character on friendly terms. Aside from the roleplaying benefits of having a well-placed chum a contact will have a rating of 3 in the area (skill) you choose. You can call on the contacts rating whenever you wish.

For example: If you select a contact in the drug industry you can buy at normal retail any narcotic with availability of 2 or less.

In addition if you select a contact who has the same skill as you and your skill is higher or equal to theirs then the contact provides you with a +1 modifier to your skill whenever you use them to perform that skill. The reverse is also true!

If you spend 2 resources on the same contact then that contact can have a specialisation of the skill at level 5 (as per the normal skill table).

Equipment / Weapon / Cyberware

A character will be able to buy a certain amount of Cyberware or equipment based upon their starting funds (see below). But these purchases are limited to what the character can buy legally (or through their contacts etc.). If the character selects this resource they gain a piece of exceptional equipment. This can be any piece of Equipment/Cyberware/Bioware up to level 3 (see relevant appendix).

By way of a guide such a piece of equipment might duplicate a level 3 skill (dependent on maximum limitations for its type or a +1 modifier to a skill. If the resource is taken twice it can be for another piece of equipment (at level 3) or for a better version of the original item (up to level 5 or +2). If the item selected is not in the relevant appendix then the ref will arbitrate the exact level of the item.

Employment

Selecting the job resource means that your character starts the game in gainful employment. Select one of your characters skills (preferably the highest level one).

You will need to allocate one monthly time slot each month to doing the job (see Section on Progression). Failure to do so means that you will loose the job along with all its benefits. Technically you'll have been fired. Please refer to the services appendix to locate where you character's skill would fall on the wage scale.

2:1:5 Starting Cash and Equipment

A character is assumed to have purchased a certain amount of equipment prior to the start of the game through the course of their every day life. This is represented by starting funds.

The character takes the level of their highest skill (or one of them if two are equal). This number is multiplied by 500. The resulting figure is the number of credits that the character can buy equipment, Cyberware, Bioware, drugs or whatever. Any funds not spent at character generation are considered the characters savings.

A starting character is restricted as to what they can buy.

If the item is restricted (i.e. the item is only available to the military) then the character has to pay the black market cost (x2).

If the item has availability above 0 they must have a contact (or be employed) in the field relating to the item.

These ratings are listed in the items description in their relative appendices.

Any funds a character has left over are considered savings.

2:1:6 Single Identification Number (SIN)

At this point you need to make a final choice for your character. Do they have a SIN?

A SIN is like a national insurance number. It gives you legal status. It is technically illegal to do not have a SIN, but the majority of the population do not and the law is enforced unevenly.

Not being SINed means you are not on all the official records, this might be a good thing!

Being SINed means you get a SIN card. This is a combination ID and credit card. In addition to confirming your identity you can pay for goods & services. Most respectable businesses only deal in credits, not being able to use them means you can only work with cash.

You have to be SINed to be able to use credits. Credit transactions are authorised by your SIN. If you don't have one you can't own credit.

For More information check out 'Buying Stuff'.

2:2 Character Generation Summary

Here is a quick Summary of the Character Generation Process.

1. Read the world guide.

2. Write up a character background.

3. Allocate 16 points between the four stats: MIND, BODY, TECH and SOUL (minimum of one point for each).

4. Spend points allocated to each stat on skills that fall under that stat. Remember the only Soul skill you can buy is Luck.

5. (ADVANCED: Allocate of points to specialisations for skills purchased).

6. Allocate 3 resources.

7. Determine and spend starting funds (500xhighest skill level).

8. Decide whether your character has a SIN.