Please reach out to the storytelling staff at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to discuss your character before beginning creation. We will speak with you about your concept, help you identify an appropriate Kingdom of origin for you, and help guide you the rest of the way to ensure your character will fit the theme and setting. New characters should be submitted by the second Saturday of the month prior to game, to allow time for tweaks as needed. Submissions received late may not be approved for the following game. You will be allowed to play your concept at the next game, but you will not be allowed to enter into any challenges until your character is fully created. This gives you a chance to experience the game, and for the troupe to see how well you blend with it. If your character is not finished, and you do not wish to play it until it is, we can provide an NPC for you to play, with sufficient notice. This will give you a good idea of the game and aid in your creation, roleplaying in the setting, and immersion.
Setting
One of the most important aspects of the Seventh Age is the setting: The Thousand Years of Darkness. Various Kingdoms and Domains exist, ruled by terrifying monsters. For humans, it's absolutely terrible. For everything else, it's the Dark Ages... AKA: Awesome. Originally the game took place within the Unseelie Kingdom of Dischordia. In this latest chapter, however, the character you create will be some sort of fancy nobility from one of the kingdoms of the world who have found themselves in a place known only as Haven. For now you will need to decide on a concept.
Inspiration & Concept
A character is more than a collection of powers and traits, so you should put some thought into what makes your character unique. Give some thought to a concept, and a short summary of what the character is about. It might be inspired by a favorite novel or movie, or based on some defining thing about the character. Try browsing http://tvtropes.org/ for ideas if stuck. While spending points to build up the character sheet, think about what Traits/Abilities/etc. are essential for the concept to work. Any concept is valid, provided it fits the setting as described above.
The next step is to choose a creature type and a Domain. Whether you're a bloodsucking vampire, a fae created from pure dream, a half-spirit shifter, an enlightened mage, or a resurrected mummy, you must be one of the playable races from one of the kingdoms of the world. You may want to consult the storyteller for advice, or examine the Kingdoms in more detail. The reason the Kingdom is chosen before the character is created, is that each domain has its own theme and characteristics which may influence your concept.
Once you have selected your kingdom, build a starting character for your appropriate creature type following the rules of your appropriate creature book. Check the House Rules for any changes to your creature type that supersede the books. The maximum trait cap is determined according to the chart listed under the House Rules for your creature type. Vampires cannot be lower than 6th generation, Shifters cannot start higher than Rank 5 (Elder), Mages cannot start with more than 5 Arete, Mummies cannot start with more than 5 Balance, and Fae cannot have more than 5 Glamour higher than their Banality.
Once the basic character is complete, add 150 experience to it. Writing and submitting a backstory will, pending approval, earn you an additional 50 experience. Discuss with the storyteller what has happened in your past and led you to Haven, as well as what you have been doing during your time there.
Population / Title
In most Kingdoms, title is determined by the amount of people underneath you, which is calculated by your Influences and certain backgrounds. Each Influence and Population Background amounts to 1,000 people under you. You must spend at least 10 points (Squire), but no more than 150 points (Baron) of your 200 experience on population producing backgrounds. Title is an important element of the social aspect of the game. You MUST create a noble and you MUST be from one of the listed Kingdoms. The titles of Nobility are as follows (according to Dischordia. Other kingdoms and domains may have variation in their title names):
- Squire: You oversee or have holdings over 10,000 "souls"
- Knight: You have acquired holdings over 50,000 "souls"
- Baron: You have conned enough to get roughly 150,000 "souls"
- Count: My, my, you sly dog. 300,000 jackasses follow you
- Duke: You must have slept with your bosses to get here. 600,000
- Prince: A lot of people, roughly 1,250,000 souls
- King: That one guy everyone talks about. 2,500,000 souls
- High King / Emperor: This, my friends, is Balor. 5,000,000+
Your title can increase or decrease throughout play... but the importance of it depends on how much you can convince your peers in Haven that it IS important. The easiest way to gain title, is to get someone else to kneel and swear fealty to you. If you have two friends who are your Knights, each with small armies of 50,000 people in a domain, and you have the same amount yourself, you can become a Baron. Thus, if you want to grow in title, you can do it through recruitment and acquisition, hostile takeover, trade, or treaties. Careful, though, as you grow in title you gain more responsibility... Maintaining and caring for your population requires Resources - See below for more detail.
Afterword
Once you have a character, a Kingdom, and some friends to work with, get out there, little champ, and show those people at court what you are really worth! Just don't lose your lands and holdings and title... Every player should familiarize themselves with the Laws & Etiquette of Court before attending. The laws presented there are those of Dischordia, and not every Kingdom holds the same values.
Each character chooses what Abilities describes the things their character can do or knows. We have broken down a list of available abilities in the 7th Age setting. Some Abilities are available to all races and others are race specific. Ultimately, if it isn’t on this list, it isn’t in the game. Abilities can also have specializations. For every 3 traits in an Ability you can choose a specialization. Some are specific and already listed. Others are more free form and interpretive. Specializations count as an extra trait in challenge resolution so long as your specialization applies to the scenario. And no matter what only one specialization can be utilized for a challenge.
These are the available backgrounds in the game. Certain specific backgrounds, listed below, produce population which adds to your title. Those marked with a note in parenthesis are restricted to the noted creature type at creation.
- Allies
- Contacts
- Domain
- Domain Security
- Information Network
- Herd (Vampire)
- Kinfolk (Shifter)
- Colony (Ratkin)
- Cult (Mage)
- Dreamers (Fae)
- Holdings (Fae)
- Political Connections (Fae)
- Ayllu (Mummy)
A note on Resources
As important as your population - in some ways even more so - are how you care for them. This requires Resources. The setting of Haven is one of a kingdom in its infancy, and kingdom building is intended to be a major element.
While your level of Resources is capped like any other Background, you are limited to a maximum of five levels of the Resource background at creation. For each trait of Resources you possess, you must choose what type of resource it represents. The list of possibilities is extensive and open-ended - be it food, materials for building and crafts, luxury goods as provided by craftsmen, or other things which can be set at creation.
Please note that, at this time, an exhaustive list of Resource types is not provided. This is intentional, to leave it open for players to propose possible Resource categories and types that might otherwise not be considered. If they would fall into an existing category, they will be classified accordingly.
All influences add to your population totals. Please familiarize yourself with the Influence House Rules as this may impact the influences available to you at creation. Note that our influences differ drastically from every other World of Darkness game, and you should examine the influence charts before choosing your influences.
A note on Influences
Any given influence cannot be higher than seven at creation. In addition to providing population, your level of an influence represents your control over a certain category of life in Haven. As a (relatively) recent arrival in Haven, and one who has been isolated from your neighbors while you establish your own corner of it, you simply have not had the time or opportunity to develop total control over that influence. Plus, having levels above you means you will have something to aspire and grow to, as well as rivals who may contest you for that control.
The list of Merits available to choose from is vast and spans dozens of books. We have consolidated a list of available merits, complete with the point value and the book in which it can be found. Some Merits are for all races, others are only available to certain creature types. View the list to see what advantages are available for your character.
In addition to providing additional points for character creation, Flaws can make a character special and provide a roleplaying challenge. The list of available flaws is broken down much like the list of merits. Certain flaws are open to anyone and some are race specific. Check out the list to see what character defects you’d like to give your character.
