Building a Character

Starting Stats and Abilities

Endurance

• All characters begin with an Endurance pool of 2.
• If you are 'Prepared for Combat, you gain an additional 2 endurance.
• If you are Dressed Iconically, you gain an additional 2 endurance.

Prepared for Combat: This involves showing your character is ready to face combat: for example, wearing armour or military fatigues, synskin, exposed bionic enhancements, scars, gang tattoos or warpaint. If you feel you are showing that your character is a fighter then you benefit from this trait. If you want to appear harmless at first glance but instead be quite dangerous then the Adept Mortis trait covers the ability to be so.

Dressed Iconically: This involves costume that draws its inspiration from the artwork and material of the 40k universe. Examples include uniforms from the iconic Imperial factions (such as a Guardsman’s uniform, a Commissar’s coat and hat, an Astropath’s robes and staff, the cog-trimmed red of the Mechanicus, an Arbitrator’s black armour and helm, or the distinctive armour and vestments of the Sororitas). However, it is also possible to gain this benefit without a uniform: for example, by showing off your character's homeworld origins through Hive gang tattoos, Noble House symbols or other iconography. Iconic symbols such as Aquilae, purity seals, the Cog Omnissiah and Imperial badges of office also comprise "iconic" kit.

These traits are not meant to be needlessly prescriptive. The point of these traits is to encourage telling your character’s story through their kit. The game team are happy to consult on ideas you have for your kit. We’re not generally expecting any kit currently in the system to fall short of this. I_{Subscript text}f we feel that any kit needs some tweaks, we’ll approach that with an offer of loans from crew kit and any aid we can give you.

Resources

• All characters begin with a Fate pool of 3.
• All characters begin with a Willpower pool of 0, and can gain more by buying traits.
• All characters begin with no access to Mission Supplies, and can gain more by buying traits.

Basic Weapons Training

• All characters can call Blam with a ranged weapon (if they have the Supplies to do so).
• All characters can make uncalled blows in melee with LARP-safe props.

First Aid

• All characters can pause a Bloodied character’s bleed count by using their full attention to treatment.
• All characters can can administer chems at a Medicae or Chirurgeon’s direction.

To pause a Bloodied character's bleed count, you must roleplay keeping pressure on their wounds. Do not touch other players without permission. You cannot hold anything else in your hands while you work to staunch the bleeding. This takes your full attention: you cannot make any attacks or calls. You cannot move the casualty while you are working. If you leave the casualty, make any calls, or do something else with your hands, the character's bleed count resumes. Some characters, such as Medicae and some Tech Priests, have skills which mean they are not subject to these restrictions.

Knowledge or Strength

Most Servants of the Holy Ordos are prized for one of two things. Their knowledge of the awful threats that face humanity, or their physical ability to mete out suffering on the enemy.

A starting character may choose to have one of the following abilities;

• Knows too Much - your character has one of the Lore Disciplines (no specialism).

Or

• Tough Enough - your character is hardy thanks to their life experiences, less likely to have been hired for their intellect vs their talent to crack skulls, they gain +1 Endurance but can then not gain any Lores from traits, only via character actions.

Lores do not represent something the 'average' Imperial citizen knows, that can be found here but rather than which is largely 'forbidden' and should be kept from average citizens.

Character Traits

• All characters start play with 10 Traits.
• You can change Traits between events to represent varying training and focus.
• You cannot have more than 10 Traits and do not gain more over time.

Characters in DuD are mechanically defined by their Traits. These are abilities, selected during character creation, which represent a character’s background, training, and heritage. Which Traits a character can access determines how they can impose effects on other characters, solve puzzles, gain information, and otherwise affect the game world.

Your character has Ten Traits. These represent a lifetime of experiences and training and skills learned from an interesting life in the Prosperitas Sector. Ten is the maximum number of traits any character will have in the game.

Despite the hard limit and lack of ability to gain further traits, bear in mind that you may change your character’s Traits in between events. Reasons might include (but are not limited to) a notable IC change in their attitude and direction, and IC injury, a change in planned physrepping or costume, or a change in your OC interest in or ability to engage with some sections of the rules or game. If you wish to do this, you can talk to the refs between events to discuss how the change happens IC if applicable. The traits you select at character creation are not set in stone.

There is a simple list of all traits here. These Traits are designed to represent your character's background and nature in mechanical terms. You should prioritise picking traits which suit your character's personality and background. If a Trait seems to suit your preferred play style, but the description does not suit your character, talk to the Game Time about the idea of 're-skinning' it to fit your concept. In most circumstances we can make this work with some potential added drawbacks where relevant, where we can't make it work a Unique Trait (see beneath) might be more appropriate.

Unique Trait (Requires: Ref Permission)

• Every character may have up to two Unique Traits.
• These are bought from your starting pool of 10, like other Traits.
• You may choose to have one of these traits represent a unique object, and one an aspect of your character's abilities.
• Alternatively, you may choose to have a more powerful single trait which is purchased with two slots.
• You do not have to choose Unique Traits and they are not a requirement to enjoy the game.

A unique trait represents something unusual about your character. This could be a deadly artefact from a bygone age, a holy relic, a piece of xenos technology - but it could be something more intrusive, such as coming from a species other than humanity, a pact with an entity beyond the veil that claws at the soul, or perhaps an origin from beyond the Imperium. This trait is entirely unique to your character. The game team will consult with you before writing the trait.

Wargear and Carry Limits: Where your unique trait represents a piece of Wargear, you do not need to separately buy a one of the Ranged Combat Traits or Close Combat Traits to be able to use it. For example, a Unique Trait that gives you a special melee weapon would supersede the need to talk the Assault Weapons trait. However, if you have a Unique Trait you cannot also carry an Assault Weapon or Heavy Weapon of the same type.

Submission: If you wish to take one of these you should write up what you would like the item to be, what you’d like it to do, and any physreps you are thinking of using to represent it. When you’ve done this, please send your ideas to us at writingteam.deathuntodarkness@gmail.com - we’ll discuss with you and refine the design of the trait before drawing up lore for it that best fits it into the narrative of our game. Your trait may be acquired in downtime, or be gifted/discovered in uptime. Sometimes opportunities for such traits will be found in the uptime game environment, at which point this trait would be what you would select if you wished them to be acquired permanently.

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Character Progression

In Death Unto Darkness many characters are at the pinnacle of what they could achieve normally - represented by the ten traits chosen at character creation which are the result of a lifetime already spent before or in Inquisitorial servitude. DuD is a flat-progression system with limited gained-via-play benefits.

Adjustments

Our lives OC can change drastically, as can physical and mental health, what might be something easy to engage with one event may be impossible to the next and then possible several events later. To this end there is no shame to be had in asking to entirely alter your traits' at any stage - we only ask that you give us warning in advance as a game team by contacting us about the skills you wish to change. Most things can be handled easily but be aware that Faith and Fire as well as Spymaster, and Trade Connections all require pre-game prep so it is best to swap these as soon as possible as it saves both game-team time and ours.

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Additional Design Notes

But what about this talent I have in my background?

There are enough Traits without us introducing highly specific ones that won't be relevant to the majority of games or players. The best example here is Piloting and Driving which, due to budget, are unlikely to appear often and when they do appear only do so in the context of narrative. Many of these ‘unlisted’ Traits and skills could be represented at a player event by an interactive game or puzzle, so be careful about overegging your talents because you might be expected to back them up in play via an unfamiliar system – but we won’t make you spend Trait slots on them.

But what about my bionic prosthesis?

There are several Traits that mention wearing bionic physreps to represent them. This does not mean you aren’t allowed to wear bionic physreps as part of your costume, or as the result of Scars and other wounds – in this circumstance they don't take the full effect of Haywire but should glitch or react in a minor fashion.