Character Advancement
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. You will not gain additional Traits between events.
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.
Scars
Scars replace traditional experience points and represent growth-through-suffering. A character in DuD that 'plays it safe' will have a good chance of seeing out the end of the story - but it is only those who take risks with their fate who will truly be changed by their experiences.
- For every point of Fate spent at an Event you can choose a Scar for your character over the next Downtime.
Scars are usually unique traits as they result from the actions of the individual. Where a scar is created by a player in coordination with the game team, it will reflect the circumstances in which it was gained. Other than this, Scars come with a Curse and a Boon - three example scars are given beneath just to help with understanding how we would go about creating one.
More Machine Now than Human
Colonel Nekarts picked a fight with an explosive device last event and was left Near Death, spending Fate to survive. A friendly neighbourhood Tech-Priest temporarily patched her back together with bionics before an extensive surgery could be performed on her in downtime. The resulting surgery has replaced nearly 50% of her body with extensive bionics including several vital organs, sheathing her partially in adamantium.
Curse: Being so extensively modified including vital organs might make Nekarts tough, but it also leaves her vulnerable. She now becomes Bleeding if stuck by the Haywire call, and is vulnerable to Command Override. In addition, her body now occasionally aches for her phantom limbs and sometimes she worries about invasive losses of emotional processing due to the parts of her brain that have been replaced by bionics.
Boon: Colonel Nekart gain +2 Endurance and takes no damage from uncalled melee blows. When reduced to Bloodied by Bolt, she can benefit from the call Get It Together without the need for Triage; she can do this once before Recuperating and roleplaying performing the Rites of Repair.
Honoured for Their Service
Arbiter Fife threw themselves at the enemy last event, charging down a corridor, taking horrendous damage to slam their shock shield down and disrupt a heavy weapons nest allowing the rest of the team to reach an objective. They have been commended by their fellows and after recovering from their wounds have been honoured with a boon by their Inquisitor.
Curse: Fife has been noticed by the Inquisition now, the expectations placed upon them mean that they are thrown onto progressively more dangerous missions by their Inquisitor even outside of mainline events. As a result they begin events with a random wound or appropriate roleplaying effect representing their most recent mission.
Boon: Fife's missions do mean they often walk away with useful objects and information - as a result, similar to the Trader ability, they begin events with a relevant item, paperwork or piece of information connected to the event.
Brought Back... Different
Scribe Brosken died last event, he's sure of it, but he woke up with some madly grinning person over him and the sound of his Inquisitor's voice in his ear - he was returned to the mission by the Inquisitorial Representative but everything has seemed a bit odd since....
Curse: Brosken is constantly haunted by mad dreams and invasive whispers, he feels oddly incomplete - but yet he does not feel corrupted. His Corruption track is replaced with an extended Madness track that slowly claws away his psyche from him. In addition he can never have more than 2 Endurance.
Boon: Brosken is a clone, born without a soul, an artificial pariah. He may call Ineffective against attacks with the Warp tag that target him and to calls of Would you Kindly...?. In addition he may call Warp Rend twice if he is in melee with an individual and strikes them with a melee weapon - he cannot use this again until he has Recuperated.