tryingtimes,whethertheyretheendthatwasIoretoldor the beginning oI a new world.PrimarySkills:Interaction,Knowledge:Religion,Knowledge: Mythology, Stamina, WillSecondary Skills: Casting, Research, StaminaEdges: Allies, DeIender, ForceIull WillFighting Style Ranks: 1Wealth: 3 Youve always known there were three sides to everystory: his, hers, and the truth. Youve made it your busi-ness to Iigure out the truth when youre asked to do soaIter all, somebody has to tell it like it is. You know theinsandoutsoIuncoveringdirtylaundry,oIgettingsecrets to tell themselves to the right ears. It was prettyeasy, until a Iew years ago. Now people are asking youtoIindtheirlostkids,toIigureoutiIthatIreakycultguy next door is casting hexes on their dog, and to Iol-low unIaithIul spouses into the best and worst neighbor-hoods,neitheroIwhichareverysaIetosomeonelikeyou. Folks are willing to pay Ior the added risk . . . butyoure beginning to wonder iI the money is worth yourskin or, iI the rumors are accurate, your soul.PrimarySkills:Interaction,Knowledge:Law,Senses, Tech: ElectronicsSecondarySkills:Research,Stamina,Stealth,TrickeryEdges: ForceIull Will, Network, ResilientFighting Style Ranks: 2Wealth: 2When you got your Iirst computer, it was like some-one had just handed you the keys to the candy store. Youdivedin,notjustintogamesand websurIing, but intothecode.Youwantedtoknowhowitallticked,andwouldntstopuntilyoudIigureditallout.Now,eventhough you spend most oI your time in a dark room sur-roundedbyIlickeringscreens,youremoreIreethanmost people you know. You can have a well-paying jobdoing easy work iI you want it (your bosses dont knowthe diIIerence between a 4-hour hack job and a 40-hourprogramming epic), or you can delve into the undersideoI hackingand cracking andmake yourselI some extracash liIting Iiles and sabotaging systems. Every once ina while you stumble onto some scary stuII out there onthe web, magic rituals that seem Iar too sound, picturesoIcreaturesthatseemIartooreal.IIanyoIthatstuIIreally is out there, youre better oII staying in.PrimarySkills:Knowledge:ModernCultures,Knowledge(chooseone),Research,Tech:Electronics,WillSecondary Skills: Casting, TrickeryEdges: Glory Hound, Network, Thought SavantFighting Style Ranks: 0Wealth: 3The system doesnt work Ior you. In truth, you dontbelieveitworksIoranyone,exceptthosepowerIulenoughandcorruptenoughtopour theirstolenmoneyinto it to get what they want. You reIuse to use the toolsoI the moneyed Iew to Iight their game; instead, yourehittingthemwhereithurtsmost:thepocketbook. Andyoure not above using every trick in the book to do it,either. It seems like Iolks are getting spooked by recentevents, and thats bad Ior their business . . . but good Ioryou.Primary Skills: Ranged, Stealth, TrickerySecondarySkills:Knowledge(choosetwo),Quickness, Tech: MachineryEdges: Action Junkie, Brutal, Follow-throughFighting Style Ranks: 2Wealth: 2You have a giIt Ior research, a grasp oI science, andan obsession Ior detail that makes you an excellent can-didateIoryourIield.YouloveexperimentingtoIindnewphenomenaorthecausesbehindeIIectswerealreadyIamiliarwith.TheIutureisatyourIingertips,and you are determined togetus there, one theoryat atime. That is, iI the world doesnt end Iirst. Whatever ishappening,youresuretheresascientiIicexplanationIor it. Either that, or there needs to be an expanded deI-inition oI science.PrimarySkills:Research,Knowledge: Science,Tech (choose one), WillSecondarySkills:Knowledge(choosetwo),Medicine, Senses, Tech (choose one)Edges: ForceIull Will, Glory Hound, Thought SavantFighting Style Ranks: 0Wealth: 3Youvemasteredyourchosenpath,progressingsoIarastobecomeaninstructortoyourIellowstudents.Whetheryouhaveyourownschoolorteachunderanothermaster,yourskillanddevotionhavealwaysbeenimpressivetoyourstudents.Lately,however,youvebeguntothinkabouttheoriginsoIyourart.Inthe modern day, it has been relegated to a perIormancestyle,asport,oratbestapathtowardsselI-discovery.But it was once a vital tool, developed so that the pooranddeIenselesscouldstanduptothestrongerandthebetter-armed. Its beginning to look as iI that tool will benecessary again.Primary Skills: Melee, QuicknessSecondary Skills: Athletics, Ka, StaminaEdges: KarmicRelease,KarmicRestraint,WeaponSpecialistFighting Style Ranks: 3Wealth: 1 Youretheeternalstudent.Whygraduate?Everything you need is at the university. Maybe youreaddicted to knowledge, maybe youve got a good deal asone oI the schools athletes. A Iew quacks at the univer-sity even claim to know something about magic, and iIyougotstarteddownthatroad,youIoundtherewasmuchmoretolearnonthestreetsthantherewasoncampus.Primary Skills: NoneSecondarySkills:ChooseanyIourKnowledgeskills any six other skillsEdges: Action Junkie, Casting, MentorFighting Style Ranks: 0Wealth: 1Yougrewuponthestreets, making the most oI ahard liIe bylearning howtobeharderandtougherthananyoneelse out there.Somemightcallyouabrute,butthatsonlybecausetheyvegotnothingelsetothrowatyou.IIyouworkIortherightpeoplelongenough,watch their moves and learntheirtricks, youllhaveoth-ers working Ior you one day.YourliIestylemaynotbestrictly legal,but playing bytherulesisIorpeoplewhocan aIIord it.PrimarySkills:Melee,Ranged, StaminaSecondarySkills:Trickery, WillEdges: ActionJunkie,Brutal, Follow-throughFighting Style Ranks: 3Wealth: 2Comparedtothemythicage,ourmodernworldisIairly devoid oI ritual and religion. To give them direc-tion as karmic beings, thereIore, all scions claima sireIromthemythicpast,whetherconsciouslyoruncon-sciously. Rather than actual ancestry, a dragons sire actsas an example oI his guiding principles. II there were aspokespersonornarratorIorthescionsliIe,hewouldspeak in the sires voice. Playerscanresearchthestoriesandmythsbehindtheir sires, iI they like, and include aspects and imageryIrom them in their characters lives. Characters may Ieelinexplicably drawn to the culture Irom which their siresstories emerged, even iI the culture is unrelated to theirown.TheeIIectoIasireonacharacterisproIound,iIsubtle. Such choices color the lives oI scions in myriadways, not all oI which are consciously realized.Eachsirerepresents somegoal, value,orvirtuethatthe mythical dragon was supposed to have embodied inliIe. There may be conIlicts between two sires and theirbegotten,usuallyduetoincompatiblephilosophies,overlappingareasoIinterest,orbecauseoIagapbetween the two cultures that spawned them. InadditiontobeinganeasywaytoidentiIyonesoutlook,siresalsooIIersystemicbeneIits.EachsiregivesitsIollowers(orbegotten)alistoIedgesIromwhichtheymaychooseone bonus edge rank.Itshouldbenotedthatonlyscionsinthemodernagehavesires.Dragonsinthemythicagedonot.Theveryconcept oI a sire is alientomanydragons:theyaretheirownmentors,theirpurposesbeingtogrow and learn through-out their many liIetimes.Theinspirationprovid-ed by a symbol or mind-set that leads to a higherleveloIskillsandatal-entIormundaneedgesisapurelyhumanphe-nomenon.Also,oIcourse,manysiresoIthemodernagedidinIactexistinthemythicage.A livingdragoncannotbeasiretoanother. Somemorespiritualscions may come to IeelthatthelackoIguidingprincipleswaswhythedragonsIailedtosavetheirage;otherscionsmay consider a belieI in sires to be a dilution oI dracon-ic power, and reject it as ancestor worship and totemkow-towing.Regardless,whenplayinginthemythicage, remember that your characters will not have chosensires.However,thisdoesnotmeanthatplayersandGame Masterscannot developanarrativein whichthescions previousselvesservedtheIiguresthatwouldeventuallybecometheirsires;theplayers dragonsinthemythicagedonotgainthesystemicbeneIitsthattheirscionselvesdo,buttheroleplayingconnectionmade can be quite rewarding. Sires are presented in the Iollowing Iormat: Translation:TheliteraltranslationoIthenameinthe language oI the sires source culture.SourceCulture:ThehumansocietyinwhichtheconceptoIthesiresupposedlyoriginated.Moreaccu-rately, in thecases oIdragons thatactuallydid existinthe mythic age, this is the culture that inherited and Iur-thered the sires name, acting as midwiIe Ior the birth oIthe sires identity into the modern age.Concepts: The imagery, themes, and emotions com-monly identiIied with the sire.Edges: The list oI edges Irom which a starting scionthat is a begotten oI this sire may choose.Fighting Style Ranks:Thisnumberisaddedtothetotal ranks Irom which the scion may choose his startingIighting styles.Bonus Karma: Whereas backgrounds provide mon-etary wealth, belieI in or aligning with a sire grants spir-itual wealth in the Iorm oI bonus karma. This number isadded to the starting scions max karma pool. Sample begotten of the sire.TheIirstparagraphdescribesthelegendormythassociated with the sire. The second paragraph describesthe tendencies oI that sires begotten.Choose one oI the sires below and write its name onyour character sheet on the line provided. Once your sireis chosen, choose one edgeIrom its listand write it onyour character sheet, in the box labeled Edges, with arank oI 1. II the edge you picked is one already provid-edbyyourbackground,increaseitsrankto2.Writedown the number oI Iighting style ranks your sire grantsonapieceoIscratchpaper.Finally,writedownyourcharacters bonus karma in the Max Karma area oI thekarma box on your character sheet.Translation: Little KingSource Culture: PhoenicianConcepts: Debauchery, Iear, masculinity, poisonEdges: Action Junkie, Alluring, Glory HoundFighting Style Ranks: 1Bonus Karma: 4 Thegirlnextaoorwhoisseenasabaainfluence on the neighborhooas boys. The olaer brother that gives his unaer-ageasiblingalcoholwithallthebestintentions,butunfortunate results. The girlfriena who keeps her boyfriena lateforworktimeaftertimeonMonaaymornings,eventually getting him firea.InChristianart,BasiliskistheveryemblemoIsinandthespiritoIevil.Hisprecisephysicalappearancehasneverbeenagreedupon,perhapsbecauseoIhisunIortunate tendency to cause death to any who lookedupon his visage. It was believed that iI he could see hisown reIlection in a mirror, the Basilisk would burst apartwith horror and Iear. Everywhere he went, his poisonousbreathscorchedgrassandburstrocks,turningIertileland into desert. But was the very nature oI the Basiliskevil? Ancient legend suggests a deeper truth. The early,pre-Canaanite Phoenicians told tales oI a phallic serpentgod thatmayhavebeen linkedtoBasilisk.HisloveoIsensuality and companionship led him to seduce count-lesswomenwholivedneartheriversacredtohim.TheseproliIicactionsputhimatoddswiththeotherlocal deities, who cursed him with an appearance so hor-rible that no lover would ever be able to look upon himagain.It is easy to condemn the actions oI Basilisks begot-ten.ChaosseemstoIollowtheireveryaction.Somewhere during their growth, their souls conIused thewiseconceptoIIollowingblisswiththelesssereneacting on impulse. Whats more, they are enablers thattend to have negative inIluences on their Iriends. When aplangoeshorriblywrong,itisoItenthebegottenoIBasilisk who have neglected their responsibility.Translation: Dumb BeastSource Culture: Judeo-ChristianConcepts: Abundance, change, desire, repressionEdges: ConIident, Karmic Release, SeductiveBonus Karma: 3Fighting Style Ranks: 2 A sex aaaict thatclaims she aoesnt haveaproblem. Thechurch-going,ruralhousewifethatkeeps an impressive stash of trashy romance nov-els unaer her bea. A missionarythatexperimentswiththemina-alteringarugs,heathenphilosophies,anasexual practices of the foreign cultures he is sup-posea to be converting.TheologistshaveuseduphundredsoIpagesandcountless hours debating whether Behemoth was in Iactapregnantelephantoranengorgedhippopotamus.According to legend, he was the largest animal that everwalkedonland.Somesayhewasacreaturecreatedsolely to be eaten at the banquet at the end oI the world.The truth,oIcourse, isnone oI these. Behemothwas ahuge dragon, beautiIul and powerIul, ruling over lessercreatures and humans alike. He built a legacy in ancient times oI abundance and pleasuresome believe the sto-riesoIBacchuscameinpartIromthememoriesoIBehemoth. He was a creature oI desire, and saw no rea-sonwhy othersshouldnt bethesame (after his whimsweresatisIied).Sostrongwasthistendencytowarddebaucheryandamoral actsthat,even intothemod-ern age, the authorsoI theOld Testamentelevatedhimto become a symbol oI the greatest oI evils. ThebegottenoIBehemothhaveinheritednotonlyhis desires and tendencies, but also his Iate as a creatureconstrainedandreshapedbytheIearsoImainstreamculture and religion. They secretly shed their inhibitionsand subvert the bindings that keep them and their peerstrappedinarchaictraditions.Whenthetimecomes,theyllstepoutoItheirrolesandopenlyembracethedesires oI their true natures. Translation: Devil oI the Lake oI the Red EyeSource Culture: CelticConcepts: Evasion, patience, obstinacy, trickeryEdges: Dexterous, Resilient, SurvivorFighting Style Ranks: 0Bonus Karma: 5 A teenagesocialite thatweaselsmoneyoutofherwealthyfatherbutconstantlyevaaeshisaemanas that she be responsible with it. A citybusariverthatnevergivesthesur-rounaing cars a choice (or chance) to merge. A raaical bookstore owner that takes a thiramortgage on his house to keep his small shop fromsurrenaering to a big box franchise.When a band oI religious militants (now metaphori-cally and collectively known as St. Patrick) slaughteredall the serpents on an emerald isle that would eventual-lybecomeIreland,theyleIttheirgreatestIoeIorlast.Caronach,theSerpentoILoughDerg,wasadragonsacred to the mother goddess. When others had given uptheirstrugglesagainsttheinvaders,herbegottensay,Caronach kept upthe Iight. She conIusedand torment-ed her pursuers by leaving her shed skins behind. Manyanoccasion ledtohernearcapture,hadshebeen will-ingtobetamedandthereIorespared,butevershereIused to surrender. She wasIinally trapped and slainon the shores oI Lough Derg, where her blood turned thelake red, giving it its name. Many believe, however, thatshe escaped, and awaits a time when the mother goddesswill reclaim the earth.Caronachs begotten are just as stubborn as their sire.Theywillresist,tothebitterend,evencausingthem-selvesmoreharmthangoodintheprocess.Theywillnot be told what to do, nor will they be controlled. Theirresponse to such attempts may range Irom punishing the Basilisk: Insidious sowers oI discord.Behemoth: Revelers in secret lust and excess.Caranoch: Clever, patient survivors.Cernunnos: Passionate idealists with a respectIor nature or the divine.Chimera: Righteous warriors who revere Iemininity.Dambala: Shadowy questers oI human potential.Hydra: Volatile,unpredictablevengeance-seek-ers.1ormungand: Grim, uncaring opportunists.Ladon: Wise, caring seekers oI wisdom.Lebe: Pragmaticlaborersandunintentionalshamans who make their living oII the land.Mabinogion: Inspired leaders and creators.Naga: Devoted extremists with Ilexible morals.Nehebkau: Murderousphilsopherswhoseedeath as nothing but a Iorm oI change.Ouroboros:ConIidentoverseersoIbalanceinall things.Quetzlcoatl: Brilliantbutgroundedinventorsand mentors.Ryu: Bold, courageous young protectors.Tiamat:Alluringmanipulatorswhorespectonly strength and power.Typhon:FerventseditionistswhopreIerany-thing but the status quo.Xiao: Do-gooders upon whom Iortune smiles.Zahhak: SavvywarriorsoIthesocialbattel-ground.Zu: Ambitious,capable,andoItenmisguidedtech-heads and worshippers oI all things modern.perpetrator with childish pranks to simply ignoring him.In the end, they always get their revenge, simply by con-tinuing on, unaIIected, unconcerned, unchangeable.Translation: The Horned OneSource Culture: CelticConcepts: Fertility, nature, rule over liIe and deathEdges: Aggressive, Animal AIIinity, BrutalFighting Style Ranks: 4Bonus Karma: 1 Thetravelerwhokeepsfearsofherownmortality ana stagnation at bay by regularly pick-ingupanamoving,spreaaingtheseeasofherexperience ana stories as she goes. Theofficeslavewhosecarisalwayslaaenwithcampinggear,sohecanescapetothewilaerness at a moments notice. Theurban-awellingclubfreakwhoonlyfeelsalivewhenmak-ingormovingtobeatsthatconfureprimalimagesofthetribeorthe hunt.When the earliest Celtswalkedin theshadowsoIuntamedanddangerousIorests,theymutteredtheirprayersIorprotec-tiontoCernunnos.HewasamongthemostbeautiIuloIdragons.Hisscales were a shimmeringgreen,hisIaceaIirewithgoldeneyes,hisheadtoppedwithsweeping,wickedlydangeroushorns. As an aspect oI theGreen Man and the IatheroInature,hiscoloringchangedalongwiththeseasonsandhismoodscould vary with the speedoIthechangingweather.A creaturetobewor-shippedandadoredasmuch as Ieared and avoid-ed,Cernunnoswasallthings but one: human. CernunnosattractsavarietyoIIollowers.Tosome,hisrepresentationoIlivinginthemomentamongthewilds speaks to their own wild passions and thrill-seek-ing habits. Others seek a deeper understanding and com-munion with the ideas oI spirituality, liIe, and the natu-ralworld. Andtoyetothers,hissymbolismoIaggres-sive, masculine sexuality resonates. Something they allshare, however, is a recognition oI divinity.Translation: Young She-GoatSource Culture: GreekConcepts: Femininity, rage, righteous Iury, rebellionEdges: DeIender, Durable, Follow-throughFighting Style Ranks: 2Bonus Karma: 3 A lawyerwhohasaevoteahislifetopro-tecting abusea chilaren ana batterea women. An equal rights activist who tirelessly worksto improve a society in which she has little faith. An eco-terrorist whowilluse any meanstofightthetrueevilsoftheworla.corporatepol-luters.Inpopularmyth,theIire-breathing Chimera came IromaIamilyoIdistinguishedmonsters:daughteroIEchidna and Typhon, sister totheHydra,Cerberus,andtheNemeanLion.ShewasapetoIKingAmisodarusoICaria. He raised her to terror-izethesurroundingregion.King Iobates oI Lycia sent thehero Bellerophon, with the aidoIPegasus,tokillChimera.He bore a spear tipped with aleadblade,whichhehurledinto her throat just as she wasabouttoimmolatehimwithherIierybreath;insteadoIkilling Bellerophon, however,theheatoItheIlamemeltedtheleadspearhead,whichtrickleddownChimerasthroat and killed her. There is, however, an olderanddeepermythoIChimera,Iollowed by her begotten. It isthestoryoIaninnocent,Iemaledragon,huntedandruthlesslyslainbytheglory-seekingBellerophon.PatriarchsoIthemodernagetransIormedhertorepresenttheevilsoIwomen.Ultimately, the story oI Chimera and Bellerophon becamea Ialse illustration oI the triumph oI good over evil. Chimeras Iollowers know better. They see her Iire astheragewithinIorthedemiseoIthemothergoddess. They believe in equality and justice, and Iueled with theIuryoIChimeraslegacy,theyIight,sometimesblindwith the rage that theyve inherited Irom her. Source Culture: VoodooConcepts: Thehidden,potential,shadow,theIullcircle oI human natureEdges: Circumspect, Strong, Thought SavantFighting Style Ranks: 0Bonus Karma: 5 A stoicorcynicwithbrilliantareamsanaiaeas that he keeps for himself rather than share. The manic-aepressive whose bouts of geniusare counterea by suiciaal lows. A miaale-ageablue-collarworkerwhohasbeenthroughhellanabackinhislife,anahascome out the other siae with the poise ana wisaomof an elaer.Dambalahasmadehiswayintomodernconscious-nessthroughtheHaitian-inspiredVoodoobelieIsoINew Orleans. His roots, however, are deep and exceed-inglyancient.Birthedinshadowbytheopposingembodiments oI chaos and order, he is the serpent oI thesky,creatoroIallthewatersoItheearth,thehillsandvalleys, and even the stars and planets in the heavens. Itwas the shedding oI his skin that brought Iorth the Iirstrainbow, his polar opposite. He so loved it that he madeithiswiIe.DambalarulesovertheaspectsoIcreationthat are unilluminated; he knows the parts oI our mindsthat we hide Irom even ourselves.DambalainIluencesbothhisbegottensdarkandlightenergiesIear,grieI, andanger,aswellasempa-thy, nobility, and wisdom. They recognize and celebratethe strengths oI both sides oI their natures, and are capa-bleoIthemostextrememeasuresoIthetwo.Wheninsynch with Dambala, whether the dark side or light, theytriumph. Whentheydonotgiveintotheirsiresguid-ance, they Iail. He is the drug, the Iocus, that holds themtogether.Source culture: GreekConcepts: Chaos, independence, vengeance, volatilityEdges: Daunting, Dervish, DexterousFighting Style Ranks: 2Bonus Karma: 3 A gifteaathlete,aaoreabyhisfansanarespecteabyhispeers,wholashesoutatthoseclosest to him. A gangleaaerthataefenasthehelplesswithinhisterritory,ifonlytomakesurethatnoone but him gets to brutali:e them. A mistreateaassistantthattenaersherres-ignationbyaeletingallofherbosssimportantfiles.History hasnot beenkind to theHydra. ThesecondoIHercules twelvelabors,todayshehasbeenallbutdemotedtoalargewatersnake.ButshewasanotherproudoIIspringoIEchidnaandTyphon.A dragonoIgreatpower,shehadnineheads(eightmortalandoneimmortal), poisonous blood, and deadly breath. The bat-tlebetweenHerculesandHydrawasIearsome.Eachtime he managed to cut oII one oI her heads, two moregrew to take its place. It may well have been the end tothe slow-witted Hercules had it not been Ior the help oIIolas,hisnephew.Iolasdiscoveredthatbycauterizingthe necks, new heads would not appear. With this advan-tage,Hydrawasultimatelykilled.This,however,wasnother end. Knowingthe blood oIthe Hydrawas poi-sonous, Hercules dipped his arrows in itan action thatnearly killed him later. Even in death, Hydra worked toexact her will.Hydras begotten have long memories and short tem-pers. For them, its not about Iairness, its about gettingsatisIactionthe consequences be damned.Source Culture: NorseConcepts: Gluttony,Ragnarok,serpentencirclingthe world and biting its tail.Edges: Fluid Fighter, Hoard, StrongFighting Style Ranks: 5Bonus Karma: 0 A Shock DJ, spewing his toxic verbal sluageon the masses. A publicrelationsexecutivethathasnotroubleconvincingchilarenthatsmokingisfun,ana gooa for them' A corrupt politician taking aavantage of hispublic position for personal gain.Jormungand,theMidgardSerpent,isthesonoIthegodLokiandhisgiantesswiIe, Angrboda. Athisverybirth the gods Ieared him, Ior he grew at such an alarm-ing rate they Ioresaw that one day he would bring greatevil tobothgodsandmen.By thetimeOdin tookhimIrom his parents and cast him into the sea, Jormungandhadalreadygrownto suchamassthatheIilled alltheoceansoItheworld,Iorcinghisowntaildeepintohismouth.Heliestherestill,bitinghistail,coilingalloImankind in his mass, twisting and writhing in Iury as hetriestomakehiswaytoland.HisvenompoisonsthesoulsoIthesailorsthatdieatsea,andhisthrashingisresponsibleIorIatalstormsandtidalwaves.Itissaid thathewillwaitthereuntilRagnarok,theendoItheworld,atwhichtimehewillIighthisnemesis,Thor,where they will destroy each other.TheIollowers oIJormungandare opportunists;theysurvive and thrive on the backs oI others. Like their sire,they consume without respect Ior the resources that pro-videthemsomuch. Theywait,testthewind, thenact.WhenthesmokeclearsIromthebattleIield,Jormungands begotten will be there to stab the hero inthebackandclaimvictoryinhisstead.TheyhavenoloveorconcernIorhumankind,andareindiIIerentabout the morality oI the means to their ends.Translation: He who embracesSource Culture: GreekConcepts: Intelligence,protection,wisdom,theGolden Apple oI KnowledgeEdges: DeIt, Karmic Restraint, SageFighting Style Ranks: 0Bonus Karma: 5 A quietobserverwhosefewworasareamong the most meaningful. The concernea guy who acts as a surrogatebig brother to all his female frienas. Theblinahomelessmanthatalwaysbeatsyouatchess,anasomehowknowswhenyourecheating.LadonwasoItensoughtaIterIorinsightandper-spective. His wisdom earned him a place as the guardianIortheGoldenAppleoItheHesperides,theIruitoIknowledge that Hercules was sent to steal as one oI histwelvelabors.HerculeskilledLadonwitharrowspoi-sonedbythebloodoItheHydra,nearlykillinghimselI in the process. The beautiIul HesperideswereheartbrokenbyLadonsdeath,whohadbeenbothabrotherandaprotectortothem.ThedistortedweaveoImythologyhassadlytransIormedLadonsmemoryIromthatoIawise guardian into that oI a monster with 100heads,eachspeakingwithitsowninsanevoice.Ladonsbegottensharemanytraitswiththeirsire.TheypossessaquietwisdomandintelligenceregardlessoIeducation,occupa-tion, or religion. For the greater good and as anatural instinct, they utter the truth as they seeit,regardlessoIwhattheirlistenerswanttohear. Source Culture: DogonConcepts: Agriculture, liIe Iorce, resurrection, soilEdges: AnimalAIIinity,ForceIullWill,ThoughtSavantFighting Style Ranks: 1Bonus Karma: 4 A biologistsearchingthroughthenaturalresources of the rainforest in an effort to cure can-cer. A farmerthatusesthemostefficient,moa-ern techniques, but still ventures into his fielas inthe aeaa of night to perform the rituals of the olaways. A hunterthattracks,kills,anaaresseshisownfooa,ana cant stanableeaing-heart hippieswho refuse to eat a piece of meat.Inancienttimes,thecultoILebespreadthroughmuch oI Western AIrica with the Dogon people oI mod-ern Mali. Worshipped as a god oI the soil, he was said tobe the resurrected soul oI the Iirst Dogon ancestor. Lebevisited his devoted Iollowers in the night, appearing as adarkdragonthatlickedtheirskintopuriIythemandinIusethemwithaIertility-richliIeIorce.ItwasLebewhoalsorestoredliIetothesoil,ensuringtherenewaloIthe earth Iorplantingandhar-vesting. LebesbegottenreIertothemselvesasHogon,andareamongstthemostsurprisinglymysticaloIscions.TheyhaveaproIoundconnectionwiththeEarthand,speciIically, respect Ior the resources it provides. Wastedisguststhem,butsodoesIoregoingthebountyoInature. One should notcasuallyorcallouslyabusethatwhichtheEarthprovides,butnodisrespectisgreaterthanreIusingitsgiIts.HogonthereIoreIeelastrongsenseoIobligationtoandownershipoItheareastheycallhome.TheytendtoIerventlypracticemeditationand rites oI puriIication as demonstrations oI their com-mitment to Lebe.Source Culture: WelshConcepts: Creativity, myth, inspirationEdges: ConIident, Karmic Release, NetworkFighting Style Ranks: 2Bonus Karma: 3 Thefamilyfigureheaawhostressestheimportanceoflearninganapassingonthefami-lys history. Anauthorwhoseemstoenterapsychoticepisoaewhenshewrites,analaterclaimsthatshesnotcreatingafictionalworla,butratherchanneling one from somewhere else. A leaaer who shapes the worla arouna him,forbetterorworse,tofithisvisionofaniaealreality.MabinogionhascapturedtheheartsandsoulsoIcountless Iollowers, without them ever knowing it. Sheisthestrong,reddragonthatstandsIirmlybehindthecreativityandrichnessoIthecollectiveimaginationoItheancientCelts.TheWelshalonehaverealizedherrole,iIonlyinpart,andhaveplacedheremblemasanational symbol. She stands proudly, wings erect, clawsbared,tongueoutandtailpoised,brightcrimsononaIieldoIgreenandwhite.Shewatches,waitingIorherchancetoinspirethosewhosemindsandheartsareopen.MabinogioninIluencedthetale-tellingoItheCelticbards,theingenuityoIStonehenge,andthestrength and determination oI Boadicea. Today,MabinogioncontinuestoinIluenceamorediversetribeintheIormoIherbegotten. WhileotherssearchIormeaningorIeartheirIates,thebegottenoIMabinogion Iight, love, and die with passion and conIi-dence,knowingthattheyaresimplypartoIalargerstory. When their time is done and their Iinal reincarna-tionhas beendestroyed,theyknow thattheir livesanddeedsarewhatwilllivebeyondthem,becomingnewlegends in their own right.Source Culture: East IndianConcepts: Betrayal,changingcurrents,shapeshiIt-ing, waterEdges: Arsenal, Dexterous, RapidFighting Style Ranks: 3Bonus Karma: 2 Theextremistthatsenashisfianceonanairplanewithasuitcaseheloaaeawithexplo-sives. Thecultleaaerthatsaveshisfollowersby leaaing them in mass suiciae. Thepolygamistthatmarrieslonelywomento steal their life savings.Naga was little more than a snake until she licked updrops oI Amrita, a nectar oI immortality and divine con-sciousness.The AmritaawakenedherinnerawarenessandNagawastransIormedintoabewitchingdragon,havingtheheadandupperbodyoIabeautiIulwomanand lower halI oI a monstrous but graceIul serpent. Shehelddominionoverwater,cruellycausingIloodsanddroughtsatherwhim.NagaclaimedthepoweroIliIeand death over entire villages, and could go Irom givingthemherblessingoIbenedictiononeyeartoutterlydestroying them the next. Humans worshiped her out oIobligation and Iear.The Iollowers oI Naga are supremely devoted. Theybelieve they will one day give their lives and souls to acause,whethertheycallitbyhernameorsomeother.They aremavericks, heedingtothe needs or desiresoInone but themselves and their agendas. While notorietyIoronespowerandtheachievementoIvictoryaredesirous, it is the act oI exercising that power, the striv-ing Ior victory, that bring the begotten oI Naga to a stateoI rapture. Translation: He who harnesses the soulsSource Culture: EgyptianConcepts: Death, transIormation, the rising sunEdges: Alluring, Brutal, Weapon SpecialistFighting Style Ranks: 5Bonus Karma: 0 Thebutlerthatreallyaiaaoit,anaissupremely satisfiea that he aia. The aivine assassin that accepts each fob asa holy quest. Thebattereawifethatwakesuponeaay,packs a bag, ana is never seen again. Nehebkau was a serpent swimming in the primevalwaterswhen the sun god, Ra, reached in and threwhim intothe sun,transIorminghim intoaIabulouswingeddragon.RawassoimpressedbyhisowncreationthathekeptNehebkauwithhim,andtogethertheyrodethesunasitroseeachday.Intime,Nehebkautookonthesun-risessymbolismIorchangeandbecametheharbingeroItransIor-mationandoIdeath.AsguardianoItheunderworld,hejudgedoverthe deceased in the Halls oI Maat.Whilehedidnotclaimapriest-hoodamongtheEgyptians,theydidrespecthismagicalabilitiesandinvokedhisnameoItenintheirrites.HisnameisassociatedbothwithspellsoIdeathandwithspells oI protection Irom it.ToNehebkausbegotten,thelinebetweenliIeanddeathisverythin.They,moresothananyothers,haveastrongsenseandunderstandingoItheirkarmicheritage.DeathholdsnoIearIorthem,andIorsome,bestowingitissimple.TheIollowersoINehebkauIeelastrongconnectiontoduty,andaIteraccomplishingagoal, move on to the nextwithoutlookingback.More than any other scions, the begotten oI Nehebkausleep soundly aIter spilling blood.Translation: Devouring its tailSource Culture: UniversalConcepts: CyclesoInature,eternity,reincarnation,no end and no beginningEdges: Durable, Resilient, MentorFighting Style Ranks: 2Bonus Karma: 3 A politicalaaviserthat works unaer count-lessleaaers,furtheringhisagenaaregaralessofregime change or social trenas. A worlatravelerthatcirclestheglobe,returnshome,anareali:esthateverythinghaschangea ana everything has stayea the same. The miaale chila that grew up watching theconflicts between olaer ana younger siblings, anaalways knew what to say to keep the peace.Many cultures have claimed the mysteriousOuroboros. The earliest reIerences come IromEgypt,butitisclearthatshemadeherwaythereviathePhoenicianstotheGreeks,whoultimately named her. Not to be contented, sto-riesoIherinIluencereachtheIarcornersoItheworld:India,Japan,Europe,NorthAmerica,SouthAmerica.Sheisthe eternal symbol oI thedragonbitingitstailthedragonthatsurvivesbyeatingitselI.Somebelievesheexistsintheheavens,surroundingall oI existence, deIin-ingtheboundariesoI the universe. O u r o b o r o s begottenbelieveinthe eternal renewal oItheuniverse.Theyunderstand that there canbenogoodwithoutevil,nolightwithoutdark-ness.AlthoughsometrytoinIluencethisephemeralequationoIrightandwrong,ensur-ingtheultimatebalance,manyunderstandthatallthingswilleventuallyswing around to the pointoI origin. As is said, this too shall pass. Ouroboros,however, will always be.Source Culture: AztecConcepts: Calendar, innovation, peace, sacriIiceEdges: Karmic Restraint, Sage, SurvivorFighting Style Ranks: 0Bonus Karma: 5 A charismaticbutpragmaticpriest,well-connectea to his flock. A craftsman or artist that furthers his agen-aasbyincorporatinginspiring(orrebellious)images ana themes in his work. A working-classblokethatcommanasrespectfromhisco-workers,hecanenafightswith stern woras, practical wisaom, or tough fists,whichever is most appropriate for the situation.QuetzlcoatlisoneoIthenoblestdragonsIoundinmyth. II it was a positive element oI Aztec culture, he issaid to have provided it. II it was a negative element, heis said to have opposed it. Anyone so virtuous and help-Iul must eventually be targeted by those who wish to useothersIortheirowngain,however,andsoitwaswithQuetzlcoatl. His brother Texcatlipoca tricked the peace-IuldragonintolookingintotheevilSmokingMirror.Thinkingthat thewarpedreIlectionhesaw withinwashis true selI, Quetzlcoatl was driven insane by grieI. Theonce chaste, pious serpent Iell into a rage oI debaucheryand destruction, channeling his selI-hatred into a revul-sion Ior all those things that he had once supported andhelped create. AIter recovering Irom the mirrors eIIects,Quetzlcoatl could not bear to look at what he had done.Hetraveledeastinshame,withapromisetoonedayreturn and reclaim his heritage.TheIollowersoIQuetzlcoatlhavebeenthroughthewringer,paidthepriceIortheirnobilityandsacriIice,and arent eager to go through it again. For some, theirsirestaleisalearningexperience,preventingthemIrom making the same mistakes. For others, the Iate oIQuetzlcoatlwasnotablebeavoided,butthestoryatleast provides some hope oI an eventual reconciliation.Many are atoning Ior a past sin, real or imagined.Source Culture: JapaneseConcepts: Courage, honor, lightning, realized poten-tial, respectEdges: Action Junkie, Karmic Release, StrongFighting Style Ranks: 4Bonus Karma: 1 A vigilante street fighter. A young, Olympian-hopeful athlete. An iaealistic but aeterminea politician.The tale oI Ryu reaches out to many scions, in that italmostdirectlymirrorstheirownexperiences.Ryuissaidtohave been a Japanese peasant boy whose Iatherwas kidnapped by an evil sorcerer-king and locked in ahightower.TheboybravedmanydangerstoIindamagicpearlthat,whenswallowed,gaveitsconsumermagicalpowers.Givingnothought tohisown Iate, heconsumedthepearlandtransIormedintoapowerIuldragon with power over lightning. Using his newIoundpowers,hedestroyedthesorcerer-kingandhistower,rescuinghisIather.Oncethedeedwasdone,however,therewasnoreturn;RyuwasIoreveraItertoremainadragon,andtheguardianoIthepoweroIthunderandlightning. Though his Iather grieved, Ryu embraced hisnew Iorm and the role that came with it.Ryus begotten are the shining knights oI the scions.TheircouragebringswithitalloItheattendantweak-nesses:manyarenave,single-minded,andlackinginimagination. However, oI all the scions, they are amongthemostwillingtoIollowthepathIatehassetoutIorthem. When they begin to realize their draconic natures,they see that they are also realizing their true selves, andare likely to embrace it without reserve. This trait is notto be underestimated; the most dangerous warrior is theone who will use his weapons without hesitation.Source Culture: BabylonianConcepts: Contrasts(chaosvs.law,creationvs.destruction),cycles,Iemininepower,seas,thecreationor gathering oI servantsEdges: Allies, ConIident, ForceIul WillFighting Style Ranks: 1Bonus Karma: 4 A cutthroatbusinesswomanthatusesallofher assets to get to the top. An artist that is as renownea for his beauti-fulimagesaepictingthefemaleformasheisformistreating his moaels. A motherwhoraisesherchilarentobestrong, then cuts them loose to face the worla ontheir own.InBabylonianmythology,Tiamatisacreatorgod-dess,theembodimentoItheoceans oItheworldin alltheir inevitable power. Like many mythical Iigures, sheisastudy in contrasts; she isthe motheroI allliIeandeven oI the other gods, but tales also tell oI her vicious-ness,insanity,andaneventualneedtodestroyallthatshe had created. While mighty in her own right, her pre-IerredmethodoIwar wastocreatecreaturestodoherbidding and to overwhelm her Ioes with her dominatingmentalpresence.Itwassaidthatnonecouldresisthercommands.TiamatsbegottencarelittleIorconceptslikegoodand evil, viewing the world instead in terms oI creationand destruction, strength and weakness, power and obli-gation. Some may be Ieminist and others sexist, but allhave strong views, one way or another, about the Iemalegender.HerIollowerstendtohavealotoIambition,whetherasleadersandmanipulatorsoIothersorasindependent creators. Translation: Violent StormSource Culture: GreekConcepts: Rebellion, storms, volcanic activityEdges: Aggressive, Dervish, DexterousFighting Style Ranks: 4Bonus Karma: 1 The chila that sasses back. Theaocumentaryfilm-makerthatexposesthegovernmentanabigbusinesses forwhattheytruly are. Theannoyingquestion-askerthatneverseemstohaveanenatohisinquiries,butalsonever has any answers himself.TyphonwastheyoungestsonoIGaiaandTatarus,and as Husband to Echidna, spawned a monstrous broodoIhisown. Heissaidto havebeenoIsuchasizethathis hundred horrible, snake-like heads touched the stars,dripping poison Irom every eye, lava and red-hot stonesIallingIromeverymouth.Hiswingedbodywascom-pletely Ieathered and his legs were sinuously serpentine.The godstookonelook,transIormed intoanimals, andranIortheirimmortallives.Eventually,thegodsoIOlympus realized the Iutility oI Ilight, and turned to dobattle. Typhon was eventually trapped beneath a moun-tain, and supposedly lies there to this day, belching Iorthlava,smoke,andashandreleasing theviolent destruc-tive winds and storms oI the world. ScionsIollowingTyphongenerallylackrespectIorauthorityIigures.Whiletheydonthaveittogetherenoughtobetheleader,theyhavenodesiretobetheIollowereither.Althoughsome have realized that it iseasier to get through liIe bykeepingtheirthoughtstothemselves,manyembracetheattentionandnotorietytheir actions bring them.SourceCulture:ChineseConcepts: Fortune,nar-row escapes, rain, righteousrewardsEdges: DeIt,Durable,SurvivorFighting Style Ranks: 2Bonus Karma: 3 A aevoteateacherthatgiveshisheartanasoultotheseeminglyungratefulpupilsheteaches,thatsameteacherslifeislatersaveabyapupilheinspireatobecomeaaoctor.A miracle-making social worker who inher-itsasmallfortunefromanunknownanaaistantrelative. A bike messenger that always tries to shootthegapbetweentraffic,anaalwaysmanagestomake it.XiaowasaboyIromavillagethatwassuIIeringIromseveredroughtandstarvation.Oneday,whilegathering grasses near a river, he Iound a pearl. His Iam-ilysoonrealizedthatanyjaritwaskeptinovernightwould,magically,beIulltobrimmingwithricebymorning.XiaoandhisIamilygladlysharedtheirgoodIortune with everyone in the village, but two neighborslet greed and envy get the better oI them. Catching themin the act oI stealing the pearl, Xiao swallowed it to pre-ventitstheIt.Hewasimmediatelyovertakenbyanunquenchable thirst. He ran to the river, drank it dry, andwas turned into a dragon. In his dragon Iorm he was abletobringthelong-awaitedraintohisvillage,butwith-held rain Irom those that would have stolen the pearl.Xiaos begotten are the noble good. They do Ior oth-ers what none would do Ior them. Additionally blessedwith divine luck, the Iollowers oI Xiao believe that whatgoesaround,comesaround.AndIorthem,thisisexpresslytrue.WhentheyhaveexhaustedthemselveswithbeneIitingothers,theywillreapunexpected,serendipitous rewards.Source Culture: PersianConcepts: Control,cor-ruption, deceitEdges: Alluring, ForceIulWill, SeductiveFighting Style Ranks: 1Bonus Karma: 4 TheyoungJPwhoinfluencesherfami-ly-ownea-ana-operateaemployerstobecomeinvolveawithquestion-able business practices. Anaavisorthataistractsarulerfromthepoliticalchaosformingarouna him. Thecoupleaaerwhosecountrybleeaswhile his personal wealthgrows.TotheancientPersians,ZahhaksverynameevokedanuglyimageoIevilandcruelty. In the Avesta, the holy book oI the Zoroastrians,he was described as a three-mouthed, three-headed, six-eyed, cruel dragon with a thousand senses. His two sec-ondaryheadsdemandedadailyIeedingoItwohumanbrains. He was oI a Ioreign race, who appeared undertheguiseoIleadingthePersiankingtogloryagainstinvadingtyrants.Histruepurposewassoonrealizedwhen he Iist enslaved, and then ate, the king. Were it not Iortheherowhoslewhim,Fereydun,hewouldhaveeventually destroyed all goodness in the world.In thespiritoI theirsire,Zahhaks begottenIeed onthe minds oI others. They are able to weave lies oI suchdeceit thattheycancontrolandinIluence anyone Iromweak individuals to entire nations. Their strength comesnot just in the Iorm oI manipulation, but also in the IormoI understandingthey know what people want to hear,and are able to use that knowledge to their own, manip-ulative beneIit.Source Culture: SumerianConcepts: SelI-deception,technology,unpredictabilityEdges: ConIident, WeaponSpecialist, WindIallFighting Style Ranks: 3Bonus Karma: 2 Theguyfromagroupofharmless,pot-smokinghighschoolfrienasthatgrewuptobeasuccessfullawyer ana cocaine aaaict. Therecentcollegegraa who spenas most of hisentry-levelpaycheckonthelatesthigh-techgaagets,ananotontherentfortheapart-mentheshareswithhisbestfriena. Theaarkhackerthatreallyaoesfustwanttocrash a bunch of systems anacause a lot of heaaaches.InatimeoIantiquity,itissaidthatthechildrenoIEnlil,the god oI air, came to him withlaughterandexcitement.WonderoI wonders, they had Iound a new crea-ture.Whenheaskedthecreatureitsname,itsimplypurred, Zu. Zu soon grew to become the divine stormdragon,theincarnationoIthesouthernwindandthethunder clouds. Enlil gave to him the job oI guarding asetoItabletsthatheldalltheknowledgeintheworld.While initially a IaithIul guardian, Zu came to covet thetablets and the power they could grant their owner overtheentirecosmosandtheaIIairsoIman.Thestormdragon stole them, only to be overcome by their powerandbarelydeIeatedbeIorehisunwisemachinationsnearly caused the world to regress to a state oI primor-dial chaos.ThestoryoIZuresonateswithmanylivinginthemodern age.He has greatpower, but wants only more.Heseesaccesstoknowledgeandcannotunderstandwhy he should not have it. He proclaims his loyalty to amaster in name, but not in heart or in spirit. He demandsthattechnologyandpowerbeused,regardlessoIthenatural processes that would normally govern sweepingchanges. Thisstepiswherethenittygrittyandper-sonal details are added to your character. Inorder to puttheIinishingtoucheson him,you return to that place Iromwhichitallstarted:hisaspects.Remember,aspectsare more than just receptaclesIordice.TheyrepresentthenatureoIanindividual,histruepotential.Table13showsthevarioustraitsthataspectsinIluence.Bonuspoints should be recorded onscratchpaperuntiltheyareused;allotherdependenttraitsarerecordedonthecharacter sheet. All dependent traits thatcallIoryouraspectscoreaspart oI a calculation use yourbaseaspectscore.JustasthediceinanaspectcanchangeIrommomenttomoment,yourbaseaspectscorescanchangeIromadventure to adventure, boththroughcharacteradvance-ment and mishaps. Any timeyou change one oI your baseaspects, adjust all dependenttraits accordingly. RacialmodiIiersmayaIIectsomeoItheseitems. Ascion, Ior instance, gains a racial modiIier to his karma.AllrelevantmodiIiersIorscionsareincludedintheexplanationsbelow. For a completelist oI racialmodi-Iiers, seethe Game Masters Hanabook. WhenweaponsaredrawnandbulletsstartIlying,Fire and Water are the aspects that most characters turnto.Whenmoving,attacking,ordeIending,acharactercan link together a series oI moves to create sequences. ThemaximumnumberoImovesacharactercanlinktogether in anactivesequenceisequaltohis base Firescore;themaximumnumberoImovesacharactercanlink together in a reactive sequence is equal to his baseWater score. Your base Air score determines your karmic range,which is a measure oI how well you can remain in tele-pathic contact with your broodmates and how Iar-reach-ingyourspellsandpowersare.Formoredetailsonkarmic range, see page 173. SupernaturalcreaturestendtohavealotoIkarmaavailabletothem,whilehumanstendtocreatekarmaalmost as quicklyastheyspend it. Both are signiIicantadvantages.OIallthecreaturesintheworldoIFIREBORN, only the scions oI the modern age have both.Theirhumanitymeansthattheirkarmareplenishesquickly, but their draconic souls and their countless liIe-times have also allowed karma to coalesce around themin great quantity. For more inIormation on using karma,see Chapter Seven: Karma and Magic.Most humans have a maximum karma pool equal totheir base Earth score. Because your character is a scion,however, she begins with a maximum karma pool equaltoherEarthx5.WritethisnumberinthePoolSizeand CurrentKarmaPoints sections oI the karmaboxonyourcharactersheet(makesuretoaddanybonuskarma you gain Irom your sire to both totals). Whenanactionscenestarts,acharactermakesaninitiative test by rolling the sum oI his base Fire and Airscores. A characters health chart is dependent on a combi-nationoI Water(hisreIlexes, health,andsenseoIselI-preservation)andEarth(hiswillpower,resistancetopain, and sense oI determination). Any dangerous attackagainstacharacteristranslatedintoeitheraminorwound or one or more wound dice. Minor wounds are thebashes, cuts, and scrapesthataverage Iolks rarely suIIer,but thatheroesandIighterssuIIerdaily. Youcan shrug oIIaminorwoundwithoutsuIIeringanypenalties,butiIenoughoIthemaddup,youcanstarttakingmoreseriousdamage(thisisexplainedinmoredetailinChapterFive:Combat).Acharacter can suIIer a number oI minor wounds equal tohisbaseEarthscore.Onyourcharactersheetshealthchart, Iill in the boxes in the minor wounds pullout untilyou haveanumberoIempty boxes remainingequal toyour base Earth score. More seriousdamage inFIREBORN is represented bydice penalties. The more wounds a character suIIers, thehigher the penaltiestoalloIhisrolls(this is explained inmoredetailinChapterFive:Combat).YourcharactersbaseWaterscoredeter-mines your charac-ters ability to soakup damage. A stag-geringblowagainstacharacterwithalowWaterscoremightbeaglancingblowagainstacharacter Aspect Effect on Dependent TraitsFire Determines the number oI moves the character can make as part oI a physical actionWater Determines the number oI moves the character can make as part oI a physical reactionAirDetermines the characters karmic rangeEarth Determines the size oI the characters max karma poolFire Air Determines the characters initiative dice.Earth Water Determines the characters health chartFire Water Determines the characters number oI bonus physical skill ranksAir Earth Determines the characters number oI bonus mental skill ranks withhighaWaterscore.Onyourcharactersheetshealth chart, Iill in the damage column according to theinstructions in each row. Dave is making Giles,ahara-on-his-luckbut tough-as-nails scion. He hasWater 4 ana Earth 5.Lookingatthehealthchart,heseesthatGileswillbeable to suffer 5 minor wounas. He aarkens in the minorwounas circles until he has 5 remaining. Then he looksattheaamagecolumn.Onthefirstrow,whichaefineswhat hits result in no noticeable effect, he writes 4,because his base Water score is 4. That means that hitsthataolessthan 4pointsofaamagehaveno effectonGiles,heshrugsthemoffwithoutaseconathought.Movingaownthelist,hecomestotheminorwounasrow, ana writes 4. That means that hits that ao 4 ormorepointsofaamageinflictminorwounastoGiles.Hecontinuesaownthechart,aaainghisbaseWaterscore to the total in each box, as shown in Diagram 11. Your careerandtraining(representedbyyour back-ground) and outlook on liIe (represented by your choiceoI sire) arent everything. In Iact, theyre just the begin-ning.TorepresentthediversityoIcharacterinterests,experiences,andtalents,eachstartingsciongainsanumberoIbonuspoints.Thesemaybespenttoimprove his skills. ThesumoIthescionsbaseFireandbaseWaterscoresisthenumberoIpointsavailableIorimprovingphysical skills. The sum oI the scions base Air and baseEarthscoresisthenumberoIpointsavailableIorimprovingmentalskills.Eachpointspentincreasesaskillbyone.Nostartingscionmayhavemorethan4ranksinanyskill.UseapieceoIscrappapertowritedown your bonus point totals, then spend them by writ-ing the new skill ranks down on your character sheet inthe Skills section. For more inIormation on skills andtheir use, see Chapter Two: Skills and Edges.IIyouwish,youcanusephysicalbonuspointstoimprove mental skills, and vice-versa. When you spendbonuspointsinthisIashion,every2pointsspentincreases a skill by one. Not every scion is young and inexperienced. Some oItheFirebornknockedaroundtheworldIormanydecadesbeIorekarma,andmemoriesoItheirtrueselves, returned. These gaIIers may claim Experience asstartingcharactersonly.However,learningyourtradeandhardeningyourselItotheworldcomesatacost:eachnewexperience,eachskillyoulearninyourcur-rentliIetime,separatesyouthatmuchmoreIromthecountlesslivesyouvelivedbeIore,thesourceoIyourkarma. When claiming Experience, you may lower yourmax karma pool by one point in exchange Ior one bonuspoint. This is the only way that a starting scion can haveskillrankshigherthan4.BecareIul,however;inFIREBORN, karma is one oI your most potent weapons. Itis a combination oI luck, Iortune, and willpower. WhenyoureoutoIkarma,nomatterhowhighyourskillranks, it becomes much more diIIicult to avoid harm andmisIortune. Even iI scions are oIten-times outcasts or loners, theyarestilldriven,talentedpeople.Whereasmoststartinghumancharacterswouldhaveasingle,rank1edge,scions begin with 3 ranks in edges. One is granted by thescionsbackground,andanotherisgrantedbythescionssire(iIthetwoedgeschosenarethesame,thescion combines them to end up with rank 2 in that edge).Allscionsreceiveabonusthirdedgeranktoassignhowever they wish. Ascion may increase the rank oI anedge granted by a background or sire, bringing it to rank2 or 3, or could use it to aquire rank 1 in any other edgeoI his choice.AsyourcharacterIights,grows,lives,andremem-bers,hewill getthechanceto improvehis edges,gainnew ones, and explore even more Iantastic abilities. Allscionsbeginwithrank1intheGroupMindpower.Thisallowsthemtocommunicatewiththeirbroodmatestelepathically.YoucanonlycommunicatewithabroodmateiIheiswithinyourkarmicrange,however.FormoreinIormationonhowGroupMindworks, see page 82. Scionsattracttroublelikebloodattractssharks.Maybe its the sense oI a monster among them Irom theschoolyardkids,maybeitstheIactthatanimalsarescaredoIyou,maybeitsthesenseoIcompetitionbecauseyouvealwaysbeengoodatthingswithoutneeding to try. In any case, most scions learn to handleweaponsandselI-deIenseprettyquickly(thisisnottosayyoucantplayapaciIistscioniIyouwant,buttheres a warcoming,andyou probably wontdoyourbrood much good iI you cant at least take care oI your-selI in a Iight).CombinetheIightingstyleranksgrantedbyyourbackground and your sire. The total number is the num-beroIIightingstyleranks yourscionbeginswith;youmay choose any Iighting style oI that rank Ior which youqualiIy, or you may divide up the ranks and spend themon several lower-ranked Iighting styles. For a list oI Iighting styles, see the Catalog oI Pain,page 130. Onceyourdependenttraits,skills,Iightingstyles,and edges are chosen, its time to move on to the Iinish-ing touches. Thesearethe detailsthatpersonalizeyourscion.WhatareaIewIavoriteexperiencesIromherchildhood? Does she have a stuIIed animal she still talksto? Whats her Iavorite TV show? What kind oI music issheobsessedwith?HowdoessheIeelaboutreptiles?Whatareherdailyhabits?IIshecouldbeanyanimal,what would she be? What does her Ilat look like? Whatpart oI town does she live in?Some oI these questions can be answered independ-ently. II you want your scion to be a stunning looker thatattracts all the right attentionat all the wrong times, sobe it. II you want her to be tough-as-nails on the outsidebut a soItie on the inside, thats up to you. But outside oIalloIthecharacter-deIining,thought-provokingtraits,theres still the shallow, materialistic, status-symbol roleoI possessions.YourstartingscionisassumedtohavethebasicmaterialpossessionsdeIinedbyhiswealth.Theseinclude a place to live, whether it be a cardboard box orapenthouse;awardrobe,rangingIromcast-oIIarmysurplus to cutting-edge clothes tailored just Ior him; andthebasicamenitiesoImodernliIe,likebooks,keep-sakes,TV andstereo,andthelike.Anythingbeyondthat,includingvehiclesandweapons,mustbepur-chased usingyourwealthrank.BeIoreyougoonyourshoppingspree,though,takeaIewmomentstothinkabout what those everydaypossessionslooklike.Envisionyourcharactersstyle as deIined by that oh-so-importantIactor,hisstuII.DoeshehaveaIeworiginalartpiecesinherit-edIromagreat-grandIa-ther,ordohiswall-hang-ingsconsist oI postersleItoverIromhisdaysatUniversity?Ishiscollec-tionoIreadingmaterialIromalibrarythatwentoutoIbusiness,Iromhisdays as a rare book collec-tor,orIromcountlesssubscribenow,paylater!magazinesubscrip-tions?Thesetinynuancesmaynotmattermuchwhenevilsorcerersaretrying to harvest your soul Ior lunch, but they make theeveryday moments in between high adventure that muchmore immersive and rewarding. WeaponsarentseenasmundanepossessionsinLondon, which until recently prevented even its police-men Irom carrying Iirearms. Cars are likewise less com-monthaninmanycities,seeingashowtheTubeorabikecangetyouwhereyouneedtogojustaboutasquicklyandIarmorecheaply.Theyoungandwell-oIIare likely to have computers, but even that isnt a given.TobeginthegamewiththeseoranyotherspeciIicitems that your GM deems are not readily available, youmust use your Wealth rank. This works exactly the sameas using available wealth in play (see page 100), but you Youmaynoticewhencalculatingdependenttraitsthat characters with base scores oI 0 in any oI them aregoing to be in a world oI hurt. Acharacter withFire 0would be able to perIorm no physicalmoves as partoI a physical action, Ior instance, and a character withWater 0 would have a nonexistent health chart.To allow such characters to remain a nominal partoI the game, 0s should be considered 1s Ior the pur-posesoIcalculatingdependenttraitsonly. TheIactthat the character will be unable to even make testsinthataspectwithoutmakingastancechange,onthe otherhand, issimply something theyll havetolive with.do not need to subtract Irom the available wealth youllhaveintheIirstadventure.Instead, simplychooseoneitem(orcollectionoIitems)IoreachWealthrankyouhave, starting with the lowest rank and proceeding to thehighest.Forinstance,astartingscionwithWealth3would be able to choose one Wealth 1 item, one Wealth2 item, and one Wealth 3 item (which might be a kniIe,alaptopcomputer,anda4-doorcar,respectively).IIascion wishes to begin with several cheaper items insteadoI one oI each Wealth cost, he may instead trade in anyWealth pick Ior Iive items oI the next lower Wealth cost,which may in turn be traded in Ior Iive items oI the nextlowerWealthcost,andsoon.Forexample,thescionIromtheexampleabovemightinsteadtradeinhisWealth3pickIorIiveWealth2itemsor25Wealth1items.OIcourse,thepolicemayhavesomequestionsIoryouwhentheyIind25survivalknivesinyourIlatbut iI the police showup, thats probably the lastoI your worries.Youmaychoosestreetcostitemswithyour Wealthpicks,aswell,butonlyiIyouhaveskillranksinKnowledge:StreetequaltothestreetcostoItheitem(see page 101).AnayhasaeciaeatomakeaFIREBORN character.Hisfirststepistoaeciaeonacharacterconcept.Helikestheiaeaofplaying someone with a mysteri-ouspastthatsfarsmarteranamorecapablethanheseems.Maybe a foreign emmigrant thatbarely knows the local languageanacustoms,orasmellybumthatutterssurprisinglywiseaaviceattensemoments.Whereas most other scions in hisbrooawillbeyoung,Anayscharacter will be olaer ana moreexperiencea.Hisshtick,heaeciaes,willbetotakeevery-thinginstriae...eventhefactthat hes aaragon. After all, thecultureshockofrememberingthemythicageisntmuchworse thanbeinganoutcastin moaern society.NowthatAnayhashisconcept,hepurchaseshisaspects. He wants his scion to be sturay ana observant,He aoesnt mina if others take a more aramatic role, solongashecanprotectanawatchoutforthem,takeabeating,anagiveusefulaavice.Reaaingthroughtheaspectaescriptionsonpage5intheIntroauction,heaeciaesthatWateranaEarthshoulabehisstrongpoints. He spenas 20 of his 28 aspect poins on those twoaspects,givinghimbasescoresof5ineach.Withhiseightpoints left, hegiveshimself a 4 in Fire(he wantsto be able to aish out some pain when fists start flying).Thatleaveshimwithonepointleft,whichwoulagivehim a base score of 1 in Air. Anay stops for a moment toconsiaer that. On the one hana, having a base score of1 in any aspect can severely limit a character, it woula-nt take much in terms of penalties for him to be unableto use Air at all without making a stance change to moveaiceinto thatpool. Sohe coulaspenahiseightpointson base scores of 3 each in Fire ana Air, creating a muchmore balancea character. On the other hana, Anay likestheiaeaofsomeonewhoseemscompletelyunintelligi-ble, even not quite with it, but still capable when it reallsmatters.Embracingthisimage,Anaygoesaheaawiththe 1 in Air. His character concept has changea from anexperienceaanasavvymiaale-ageasciontothatofanearsavant.HerecorasthebaseaspectscoreshehaschoseninthesectionmarkeaAonhischaractersheet, as shown on aiagram 12.Next, Anay must choose a backgrouna. He looks overthelistanaaeciaesthathelikesthesounaofbeingacollector, arifter, or raaical. The arifter has the skill setanaeagechoiceshethinksaremostappropriateforhischar-acter,sohepicksthatoneanawritesitinthecharacterinfosectionmarkeaBonhischaractersheet.InthesectionmarkeaC,herecorastheskill ranks grantea by his back-grouna. 4s in his primary skills,2sinhisseconaaryskills.Healso chooses an eage (Resilient)anawritesthatinthesectionmarkeaD,anawritesaownon a piece of scratch paper thathewillhave2fightingstyleranks to spena.Nowthathehasaprettysolia concept, incluaing a back-grouna,Anaystartsthinkingabouthis characters name.Helikes the souna of Augustus, anafrom there aeciaes that his scionisanot-quite-rightintheheaaGermanemmigrantwhocameto Lonaon a few years ago . . . right about the time thatmagic returnea tothe city. When that happenea,some-thing startea calling to him, so he left his fob, wife, anafamily, ana has been living on the streets in the West Enaever since.Satisfiea with that spontaneous foray into Augustushistory,Anayreturnstothecrunchybits.Itstimeforhim to choose a sire.Its no contest,he reaas the sum- maryforCaranoch,anaaeciaesthatthatstheoneforhim.Coinciaentally,CaronachofferstheResilienteageasabonussireeage,Anaychoosesthatoneana,sincehealreaayhasrank1initfromhisback-grouna, increases itsrankto2onhischaracterssheet.Caronachaaasnobonusfightingstyles,sohehasnothingtowriteaownforthat,butsheaoesproviaeasiginificantincreaseof5toherbegot-tens karmapools,whichhewritesinsectionBunaerhis max karma pool.Finally,itstimeforaepenaenttraitsanafinishingtouches.ThankstohisFireanaWaterscores,AnaynotesthatAugustuswillbeabletoperformactionsequences with four moves ana reaction sequences withfive moves. His karmic range will be quite short, Trivial,buthiskarmapoolwillbeasi:eable30(5xhisbaseEarthscoreof5forasubtotalof25,plusthe5bonuskarma from his sire). His initiative aice will be the sumofhisbasescoresinFireanaAir,heaoesntneeatowrite that aown anywhere, as both are clearly markea inhis aspectscoreboxes. Next, Anayfillsout hischarac-tershealthchart.Hisbasescoreof5inWatermeansthat hell have pretty high aamage thresholas. He writes5 in the first row of the left-most column, 5 in thesecona row, 10 in the thira row, ana so on until theleft-mostcolumnisfilleain.Then,becausehehasabase score of 5 in Earth, he aarkens in the minor wounapullout column until he has five boxes open with whichto sustain minor wouna.Next, Anay gets to the bonus points. He aaas his basescores in Fire ana Water to get a total of nine, so he canaistributeuptoninepointsamonghisphysicalskills.Sincehealreaayhas4rankseachinQuicknessanaStamina, he aeciaes to improve his Athletics, Melee, anaRangea skills, giving 3 skill ranks to each. He has fewermentalbonuspointstoaistribute,onlysix.HeseesAugustusasbeingprettyawareofhissurrounaings,even if he hiaes it well, so he spenas two points each onSenses ana Trickery to increase them to a total of 4 skillranks in each. That leaves him with two points to spena,he sinks both into Ka, as that seems appropriate for thepartys wise man figure.Continuingtothenextstep,Anayseesthathecanhave more skill points after all, by claiming experience,hecantraaeinkarmaforskillranks.Sincehehassomuch, he goes aheaa ana aoes that, lowering his karmapoolbysixtogainsixbonuspoints.HechoosestoimproveQuickness,Stealth,anaTrickerybytwoeach,bringinghistotalranksineachskillto6.Hesalotmore spry than he looks. Anay marks his skills up on hischaractersheet,anaerasesthe30unaerhiskarmapoolsection,replacingitwith24.Thatstillseemslikeplenty of karma.He notes that all scions have rank 1 in Group Mina,sohewritesthataowninthesectionmarkeaD.Fighting Style ranks are next. Because his strength is inWateroverFire,AnaychoosestheLuringBlaaestyleforAugustus.Hellbeusingabaseballbatanatrashcan lia more often than a swora, but thats all right . . .thestylewillstillworkforhim.Asforhisfinalbonusrank in eages, theres no sense complicating things whenAnayknowsthathewantshischaracterbetough.Heapplies his bonus rank to the Resilient eage, giving himrank 3. Checking the rules for that eage, he sees that itgives himtheabilitytosoakupthreeaaaitionalminorwounas,soheerasesthreeboxesintheminorwounapullout of his health chart.Thefinalstepin scioncreationisfinishingtouches.Anay will come back ana figure out someof those per-sonalaetailslater,fornow,hewantstogetfigureouthis possessions. Thats pretty easy for a arifter, who hasanavailablewealthof0.Augustusstartswiththeclothesonhisback.Anaysettlesintowritinguphischaracteraescription,hoping the GMwill give him anopportunity to fina something heavy to use as a weaponbefore the action starts. One oI the goals oI the mechanics used in FIREBORNis to keep a seamless Ilow throughout a session, switch-ingIromnarrativescenestoactionscenes,andback,withouthavingtolookupawholenewsetoIrules.ThereIore,manyoIthetermsandsystemsmentionedhere are described in more detail in Chapter Six: Actionand Combat. Skills are presented in the Iollowing Iormat: TheMentalorPhysicaldescriptorabovetellswhethertheskillisprimarilyphysical,andthereIoretestedwithFireandWater,orprimarilymental,andthereIore tested with Earthand Air. Some skillscanbemade elite with an edge, allowing the character to applyhis ranks in the skill to the use oI special weapons, vehi-cles, or other activities that require speciIic training; iI askill can be made elite, that is listed here as well.EachskillentrybeginswithanexplanationoIwhatthe skill is used Ior in-game. Where appropriate, relatedbutoverlappingskillsmaybementionedtocontrasttheir uses. Finally, descriptions oI appropriate active vs.reactiveusesoI this skillaregiven,aswellas whetheror not it might ever be tested in aspects other than its pri-mary ones (the mental aspects iI it is a physical skill, orthe physical aspects iI it is a mental skill).Use: IItheskillhasmultipleusesorsubskills,theyare listed here. Asdescribedinthegamesystemintroduction(seepage5),manytestsinFIREBORN areunopposedtests:You roll the dice in your relevant aspect pool, and iI youscoreanumberoIsuccessesequaltoorgreaterthanyour threshold, you succeed. Some tests, however, willbe opposed: One or more other parties will be trying toprevent you Irom doing something (a conIlict) or tryingtodoitbetterthanyou(acontest).Inthesecases,theparties make an opposed test to determine the outcome.Inanopposedtest,itmattersnotonlywhetheryousucceededorIailed,butalsowhetheryoudiditbetterthan the character opposing you. In an opposed test, youstillhave toscoreanumberoIsuccessesatleastequalto your threshold, but you also have to beat your thresh-old by more than your opponent.InthevastmajorityoIcases,thepartiesinanopposed test will be rolling against the deIault thresholdoI1,andthewinnerwillbesimplythecharacterwhoscoresthemostsuccessesonthetest.Insomecases,though, one or both characters may be rolling against athreshold greater than 1and they may each be rollingagainst diIIerent thresholds. In these cases, both partiesmake the test asnormal, then each sets aside a numberoIsuccessdiceequaltohisthreshold.Theremainingsuccesses are compared, and the one with the most suc-cesses remaining is the winner oI the opposed test. ThediIIerencebetweenthewinnersremainingsuccessesand the losers are the winners net successes.Rememberthatacharactermustalwaysscoreenough successes to match his threshold to succeed at atestatallregardlessoIwhetherhedoesbetterorworsethananopposingcharacter.IIacharacterinanopposedtestIailstoscoreenoughsuccessestomatchhisthreshold,hesuIIerswhateverconsequences wouldnormally Iollow, just as iI it had been a standard unop-posed test.Notethatthisprocessisonlynecessarywhentheplaying Iield is not levelthe opposed test is not equal-ly diIIicult Ior the parties involvedor when its impor-tanttoknownotjustwhopeIormedbetter,butalsowhethereitherorbothperIormedwellenoughtosuc-ceed at the task at all. In all other cases, both parties sim-ply make the test as normal and the character who scoresthe most successes wins the opposed test.: Shaylea has beenchasing a twistea aber-rant, a minion of the Dwellers, for what seems like aays.They reach the base of a cliff ana the aberrant begins toclimb.Shayleapursues.TheGMcallsforanopposeaFire (Athletics) test ana announces that the threshola is5.Shayleascoreseightsuccessesanatheaberrantscores six. First, both the player ana GM set asiae fivesuccessestoaccountfortheaifficultyoftheclimb.Shaylea has three successes remaining ana the aberrantis left with one. Both Shaylea ana the aberrant can suc-cessfully climb the rock face. Shaylea has more remain-ingsuccesses,however,anashewinstheopposeatestwith one net success. ThisskillcoversawiderangeoIactivitiesthatareprimarily governed by physical strength and Iitness. Youusethisskilltoclimb,jump,run,swim,bashdowndoors, liIt heavy weights, and perIorm many sports andEvenwhenaskilledcharacterdoesnotusehisskill rankstomake a stancechange in support oIatest,he still has a much better chance oI succeedingthansomeonecompletelyunskilledinthetaskathand.A charactersuIIersa2unskilled penaltywheneverheattempsataskthatisgovernedbyaskill in which he has no ranks. gamesthatemphasizeathleticprowess.Physicalteststhat aredeterminedmorebybalanceand agility, ratherthan physical strength, typically use the Quickness skill.TeststhatusetheAthleticsskillarealmostalwaysphysicaltests.Athleticstestsarealsousuallyactive,suchaswhenyouattempttoclimbawall,jumpachasm, or swim across a river, and thereIore these testsgenerallyusetheFireaspect.Theyareonlynecessarywhen there is a chance oI Iailure; moving across a cob-blestonestreet,Iorinstance,doesnotrequireanAthletics test.Moving acrossa slickcobblestonestreetwhilebeingshotatbyangrymobsters,ontheotherhand, might.AthleticstestsoItenrequireyoutoknowhowIaryour stride distanceis,whichiscalculatedthroughacombinationoIsizeandgait(seepage138).Theteststhemselves are made against terrain thresholds, whichrepresentthediIIicultyoImovingyourstridedistance(oraportionormultiplieroIthatdistance,iIyouredoingsomethingotherthanwalking)throughoroverthegiventerrain.Justaswithsequencesincombat,physical tests are made using moves (see page 134). ForeachsuccessIulmoveyouwishtoperIorminthesequence, you must gain a number oI successes equal tothe terrain threshold. II you dont succeed at perIorminganymoves,youeitherdontmanagetogetanywhere,Iall, or suIIer some other eIIect depending on the terrain. KurtBlackwooa,ascionwithastriaeof40 feet, is attempting to climb a knottea rope up a wall.The terrain threshola for the climb is 2, so Kurt neeas togain 2 successes on a Fire (Athletics) test to perform asingle Climb move (a Climb move allows him to cover aaistance equal to one-quarter his striae, or 10 feet). If hegains4successes,hecoulaperform twoClimbmoves,meaning he woula climb 20 feet, 6 successes woula gethim 30 feet, 8 woula get him 40 feet, ana so on.LetssayKurtwantstogettothetopofa20-foot-highwallanathengetonhisfeetontheroof.AsaescribeainChapterSix,Kurtssequencemightlooklike this. Climb Climb Reaay. He can get 10 feet upwith the first Climb move if he gains 2 successes, anoth-er10feetupwiththeseconaClimbmoveifhegainsanother2successes,anacangetonhisfeetanabereaay for action with a final, fifth success. If he gains 3successes, he manages to perform the first Climb movebut not the secona . . . the extra success is wastea. If heonly gains 1 success, that means he aoesnt perform anyofthemovesinhissequence,anahehasachanceoffalling, as aescribea unaer Climbing, below.Terrain thresholds can depend on your choices. Somemovesworkbetterthanothersinagivensituation,sochoosingtherightmovescanmakeadiIIerence.YourGM might also give you several choices or ask how youwant to try to crossthe distance, climb the wall,etc. IIyou choose the easier or saIer path, your terrain thresh-old will be lower.Reactive Athletics tests are most likely to occur whenothercharactersortheenvironmentareactingagainstyouwhileyouareemployingtheskill.Forexample,climbingawallwouldtypicallybeaFire(Athletics)test.However,iIastrongwindoranenemysattackthreatenedtodislodge youIrom thewall,the GMmaycallIorareactiveWater(Athletics)testtodeterminewhetheryoumaintainyourpositionorIall.ReactivetestscanbebasedonthesamethresholdslistedIoractive tests in the skill descriptions.YoucanusetheClimbmove,governedbyaFire(Athletics)test,toclimbropesandtrees,Ireeclimbwalls or cliII Iaces, or swing Irom ropes, vines, or chan-deliers. Humans and other creatures without climb gaitsclimbatone-quartertheirwalkingspeed;inotherwords, each successIul Climb move allows you to coverone-quarterthedistancecoveredbyasingleStridemove. The terrains shown on Table 21 can be used asguidelines.EspeciallylongclimbsmayrequireWater(Stamina) tests, as described under Stamina, page 44. II you Iail a Climb test, the GM typically allows youObviously,usingthismicro-viewoIskilltestingwouldtakealongtimeiIyouuseditIor eachsec-tionoIa,Iorinstance,1,000-It.rockclimb.Forlong-term tests, the GM simply adds a multiplier tothedistancecoveredandthetimeused,andaskscharacters to resolve with a single test. A good esti-mateistomultiplythedistancegainedbyx10Ioreach minute oI game time, or x100 Ior each 10 min-utesoI gametime.Letsusetheprevious example,puttingKurtona1,000-It.rockIaceinsteadoIawall. II Kurt gains 6 successes on the terrain thresh-old2rockIace,hewouldnormallycovergroundequal to three Climb moves, or 30 It. The GM does-ntwanttoholdupthegametoworryabouteachshort span oI the rock Iace, however; he wants to getageneralideaoI how longittakes thescion to gethalIwayup,whichiswhenthemonsterhunterwatching him through his riIle scope will start snip-ing at him. So the GM applies the x10/1 minute rule:inoneminuteoIgametime,thescionmanagestoget 300 Ieet up the Iace. One more test, assuming hedoesntIall,shouldgethimhalIwayupthecliIIIace,at whichpointthe GMwill cut intoan actionscene.The same system can be used Ior swimming or anyother long-term test.to make an immediate Water (Athletics) test at the samethreshold to catch yourselI. II you succeed at this reac-tive test, you simply make no progress with that attempt.II you Iail, and are not otherwise secured (such as by asaIety line), you Iall. IIyoudo nothit groundimmedi-ately,and are tumbling down a slope or Ialling parallelto a surIace with adequatehandholds, youmay make aGrabmovethenextturntostopyourIall.Theterrainthreshold applied to the test is at least equal to that oI theclimb,thoughtheGMmaysetithigherdependingonthe circumstances.YoucanusetheJumpmove,governedbyaFire(Athletics) test, to make lateral and vertical jumps, eitherIrom a standing start or with a running start. When mak-ing a horizontal jump, you can jump a distance equal toyour reach (two Ieet Ior size 0 creatures) with every suc-cessyouscore.Whenmakingaverticaljump,youcanjump a distance equaltoyour reachIor everyIoursuc-cesses you score. The distance Ior either type oI jump isincreased by 50 iI you get a running start.This meansthatthedistancetraveledwithasingleJumpmoveisvariable,unlikeallotherAthleticsmoves,whichallowyou to travel concrete distances. It may be easier to thinkoI Jump tests in terms oI the number oI Ieet you can jumpdepending on the number oI successes you score.II you score more successes than you need Ior a par-ticularjump,youcanchoosetolandinthespotyouwereaimingIororjumpsomeoralloItheadditionaldistance,asindicatedbyyournumberoIsuccesses.IIyoudonotmeetthethresholdIorthejump,youstillcoveradistanceequaltoyourreachIoreachsuccess,you just do not reach your goal. In some cases, this leadsto a nasty, possibly Iatal, Iall.II you end up one reach short on a lateral jump, andcanIallatleastyourheightbeIorehittinganothersur-Iace, you can attempt to catch yourselI on a ledge withaWater(Athletics)test(seetherulesIorclimbing,above). Link, a scion, makes a Fire (Athletics) testana scores 4 successes. He woula be able to fump 8 feetfrom a stanaing start (12 feet with a running start), or 2feet straight up with a high fump (3 feet straight up witha running start).YoucanusetheStridemove,governedbyaFire(Athletics)test,tomoveIorwardatasteadypace.Humansandothercreatureswithlandgaitsstrideattheirnormalspeed;inotherwords,eachsuccessIulStride move allows you to move your speed. II you wantto covermore distance orhustle,ratherthan justwalk,thatisrepresentedbycreatingasequenceoIStridemoves.Asmentionedabove,youonlyneedtomakeanAthleticstestwhenthereisachanceoIIailure.Stridetests are probably the least common oI Athletics tests, asmovingIorwardoverlevelgroundissomethingthatmost characters dont have a problem with. When speedis oI the essence, however, you may very well Iind your- Type of 1ump Distance in Feet for Size 0Standing jump Successes x2*High jump Successes/2** one-halI this distance with a running startTH Terrain1 A gradual slope oI less than 45, a ladder,or a tree with many sturdy branches.2 A roughslopeoI45orsteeper,aropeladder, a tree with a Iew sturdy branches,oralowstonewallwithplentyoIgapsbetween the jutting stones.3 A knottedropeagainstasolidsurIace,atree with Iew, small branches.4 A knottedropeinanopenspace,anun-knotted ropeagainstasolidsurIace,orachimney-climb up a smooth vertical shaIt.5 A roughsurIacewithabundanthand-holds,suchasarockycliIIIaceoranuneven stone wall.6 A roughsurIacewithsomehandholds,such as a cavern wall.7 A roughsurIacewithIeworverysmallhandholds,suchasabrickwall,oranoverhang with abundant holds.8 A smooth surIace with Iew handholds, oran overhang with some handholds.10 A smoothsurIacewithnohandholds,oran overhang with Iew handholds.12 An overhang with no handholds.3 to TH SurIace is wet or slippery. selI testing even your ability to move on your own twolegs. In such cases, terrain thresholds may be applied, asshown on Table 23. II you Iail a Stride test, the GM typically allows youto make an immediate Water (Athletics) test at the samethreshold to catch yourselI. II you succeed at this reac-tive test, you simply make no progress with that attempt.II you Iail, you Iall and are prone.YoucanusetheSwimmove,governedbyaFire(Athletics)test,totreadwaterorswim.Humansandother creatures without swim gaits move through wateratone-halItheirStridespeed.Table24liststerrainthresholdsIorswimminginvariousconditions(halvethe threshold, to a minimum oI 1, iI you are only tryingto tread water or Iloat). AIter every 30 minutes oI Iloating or treading water,andevery10minutesoIswimming,youmustmakeaWater(Stamina)testorsustain1wearinessdie (seeTaking Damage, page 147). The threshold oI the testbegins at 1 and increases by 1 with every test.IIyougetnosuccessesonaSwimtest,youmustmakeaWater(Stamina)test.IIhavealreadymadeWater(Stamina)testsduetoswimmingIorextendedperiodsoItime,thethresholdisthesameasyourlastsuch test. II you succeed, you simply make no progresswith that Swim attempt. II you Iail, you sink below thesurIaceandmaybegintodrown.Youcanholdyourbreath Ior a number oI minutes equal to your successesonaWater(Stamina)test. AIterthistimehaselapsed,you suIIer1wounddie each turn Iromdrowning untilyou die. Link fumps into a wiae river ana attemptstoswimacross.Thereisalightcurrent,sotheterrainthreshola is 2. The first turn, he makes a Fire (Athletics)testana gainstwosuccesses.That allowshim to coverthe aistance grantea by one Swim move, or one-half hisStriae rate. The following turn, he makes the test againanaonlygainsonesuccessnotenoughtoperformeven a single Swim move in this terrain. He immeaiate-ly makes a Water (Stamina) test ana fails this, too. Linksinks below the surface of the river. He gains 5 success-es on the Water (Stamina) test allowing him to hola hisbreath, which means he can remain unaerwater for fiveminutesafter that, hell start to arown. He can make anew Fire (Athletics) test each turn to recover ana beginswimming again.Afterhes been swimming for 10 minutes, hell haveto make a Water(Stamina) 1 test tocontinue. Tenmin-utes after that, hell have to make another test at thresh-ola 2, ana so on.The weight that you can liIt or carry is determined byyour base Fire score. Increase your listed liIting or car-ryingcapacitybyanamountequaltoyouroriginalcapacity Ior each superhuman rank you have in Fire, anddouble the capacity Ior each size category you are larg-er than 0 (likewise, halve your listed capacities Ior eachsize category you are smaller than 0).YoucancarryuptoyourstandardcapacitywithoutsuIIeringanynegativeeIIects.ForeveryIactoroIweightyourecarryingbeyondyourstandardcapacity,base Fire Lift (lbs.) Carry (lbs.)1 50 102 75 203 100 304 200 405 400 506 600 60TH Terrain1 Level ground without obstacles.2 GroundisparticularlyroughorIulloIsmall holes.3 Groundiscoveredwithridges,mounds,and trenches.1 to TH Per six inches oI water covering ground.2 to TH Ground is slippery.TH Terrain1 Calm water2 Rough water, light current3 Turbulentwater,moderatecur-rent4 Stormy water, heavy currenthowever,yousuIIera1disadvantagepenaltytoallphysical tests.YoucanliItmorethanyourstandardcapacitybymakingaLiIttest.ForeverysuccessontheFire(Athletics) test, you can liIt 5 more than your standardload. A human with Fire 3 has a carrying capac-ityof30lbs.,while asi:e1 creaturewithFire3hasacarryingcapacity oftwicethat,or 60lbs. anaa si:e2creaturewithFire3hasacarryingcapacityoftwicethat amount, or 120 lbs. If any of them haa superhumanFirescores,3(3)forinstance,theywoulaaaa3xtheircapacitiestotheiroriginalcapacity(beforeanyaou-bling),givingthemliftingcapacitiesof120lbs.,240lbs., ana 480 lbs., respectively.Any of them coula carry more than these capacities,but woula begin suffering aisaavantage penalties to allphysicaltestsiftheyaiaso.Thehuman,forinstance,woulasuffera1physicalaisaavantagepenaltyifhecarriea anywhere from 3160 lbs, a 2 physical aisaa-vantage penalty if he carriea anywhere from 6190 lbs.,ana so on. You use this skill to cast spells. For more inIormationonspellcastingandmagicuse,seeChapterSeven:Karma and Magic. You can also use this skill to identi-Iyspellsbeingcastbyothers.ThethresholdIorsuchtests is twice the rank oI the spell being cast. You use these skills to create art, perIorm in Iront oIanaudience,orbuild,repair,orcreateobjects,sub-stances, and materials with no moving parts or technicalcomponents.Youmustpurchaseeachsubskillinthisgroupseparately.MentalCraItsubskillsaregenerallythe artistic craIts,including alchemy,cooking, gemcut-ting, painting, pottery, sculpture, weaving, and writing.PhysicalCraItsubskillsincludearmorsmithing,black-smithing,carpentry,Iletching,masonry,andweapon-smithing. The list oI possible subskills within this cate-goryisvirtuallyendless,andplayersandGMsareencouragedtodeveloptheirowntosupplementthoselisted here.To create items that must merely be serviceable, youmay make a single test, requiring an amount oI time aslistedonTable26.A singlesuccessmeansthatyouhavecreatedausable,iIunimpressive,item.ForeachsuccessyougainonthetestbeyondtheIirst,youmaydecrease the items creation time by 10. No successesmeansyoumakenoprogress,andhaveinIactruinedyour materials.The process to createa potential workoIart, ontheotherhand,ismoredetailed.ThequalityoIanitemisdeterminedseparatelyIromitscompletion.Eachitemcreated (or group oI items, like a quiver oI arrows or abox oIcandles)requiresone Fire (CraIt)or Air(CraIt)test per hour oI the project, with a minimum oI one testIor items with 10-minute creation times. Additionally, aprojectscreationtimedoublesIoreachqualitythresh-old above Hack that you wish to attain.ItemscanhavequalitiesrangingIromHacktoMasterpiece,asshown on Table27;in order to createa Hack item, all you need is the minimum oI one successoneachtestwhilecreatingtheitem.TomakeaMasterpiece,on theotherhand,you mustgainat leastnine successes on each test you make while creating the Time Item10 minutes A horseshoe, a pair oI socks, a sim-ple meal, a clay bowl.1 hour A wagonhitch,awoodenstool,acod piece, a batch oI bricks, a poem.3 hours Apot helm, a vial oI acid, a huntingkniIe, a portrait.6 hours Anarmoire,atunic,aquiveroIarrows, a scene oI a play.12 hours A breastplate,aIive-course meal, aburialurn, avial oIpoison, a chap-ter oI a novel.24 hours A 20-It.-tallbronzesculpture,theIoundationoIalargehouse,alowstonewallsurroundingahalI-acreoI land.Quality TH Example (Writing)Hack 1 A highschool research paper.Novice 3 AnarticleIoracollegenewspaper.Acceptable 5 AneditorialIortheLonaonTimes.ProIessional 7 Asci-Ii novel picked up by amajor NYC publisher.Masterpiece 9 A workthatcouldbecomepart oI the literary canon.item.EvenasingleTH8testwouldlowerthepiecesqualitytomerelyProIessional.Ontheotherhand,regardless oI the number oI successes you make on eachtest,iIyoudonotspendtheextratimetoperIectit,itcan never be more than Hack quality. This skill represents your awareness and understand-ing oI the Ieelings, emotions, and motivations oI others.It also suggests your ability to use that understanding toaIIect others thoughts or behavior. Interaction includescommonsocialskills,suchaspersuasion,oration,seduction,andevensmalltalk.Useitactivelytogaininsight into the thoughts, Ieelings, and behavior oI oth-ers.Useitreactivelytosenseandcounterattemptsatdeception or social manipulation. Intimidationandoutrightdeceptionarecoveredbyotherskills(WillandTrickery,respectively).Air(Interaction)testsaretypicallyunopposedunlessthesubject is actively trying to conceal his Ieelings or oth-erwise misdirect or conIound your eIIorts. When this isthecase,thesubjectrollsanEarth(Interaction)testtooppose you. At a base threshold oI 1, you can sense thesurIaceorimmediateIeelingsormotivationsoIastranger. More complex inIormation or more inscrutablesubjects increase the diIIiculty, as shown on Tables28and 29.TheseinteractionmodiIiersarecumulative.Forexample, iI you are trying to sense the underlying Ieel-ings, conviction, or motives (TH 5) oI a subject oI a diI-Ierentspecies(2)thatyouarewell-acquaintedwith(1), the diIIiculty threshold would be 6. This skill represents your karmic awareness and spir-itualmemory.Useittosensetaintandkarmaandtoconnect the people, places, and things you encounter inthemodernagewiththoseyourememberIrompastlives,includingthemythicage.Thetestisactive,andthereIore uses your Air aspect iI you are actively search-ing Ior or trying to identiIy these karmic traces and con-nections.Otherwise,thisrecognitionisreactive,andyou make Earth (Ka) tests to use this skill. You can alsousetheKaskilltosenseandmeasureanopponentskarma in combat (see Sense Karma, page 133). Threshold Information Example1 Basic Ieelings Anger, conIidence, Iear, joy, suspicion.2 Level oI Ieelings Whethertargetisannoyed,simmering,pissed,orontheverge oI violence.3 Cause oI Ieelings What exactly you said that pissed the target oII.4 Complex interactions oI Ieelings The target is pissed oII but also IearIul that hell look badin Iront oI his mates.5 Source oI Ieelings ThetargetispissedoIIbecauseherecentlygotlaidoIIIrom a long-term job, and he needs to prove to himselI andhismatesthathewontletanyonepushhimaround,notaIter what that bastard oI a boss did to him.6 Best way to counter the Ieelings Make a stand against thetarget, showing him that youreno pushover, but give him a chance to agree with you bystarting to complain about your own loser job.TH Modifier Condition2 The subject is someone youve knownall your liIe (or is a broodmate).1 Thesubjectissomeoneyouarewell-acquainted with./0 The subject is someone you have nevermet or have only met a Iew times.1 The subject is Irom a diIIerent culture.2 The subject is a diIIerent species. This skill represents both Iormal learning and practi-cal experienceina wide varietyoIareasorIields. Youmustpurchaseeachsubskillinthisgroupseparately.KnowledgetestscanoItenbemadeusingpracticalorvocationalskills.Forexample,thereisnoKnowledge:EngineeringsubskilllistedbecauseacharacterwithTech:Engineeringwouldknowjustasmuchaboutdesigns, schematics, and blueprints, but would also havethetrainingtousethatknowledgeinpracticalapplica-tions.TheIollowingisalistoIavailableKnowledgesub-skills. The list is not inclusive and players and GMs areencouraged to create their own.AncientCultures: Theways,customs,andtradi-tionsoIancientethnic,national,cultural,orsocialgroups. This skill can only be used with mythic age cul-tures iI it is promoted with an edge.Art: AnunderstandingoIthehistory,styles,andtrends oI art, both old and new.Finances: A graspoIthemonetaryandbusinessworld and its ins and outs.Geography: Lands,politicalborders,topographyand terrain, climate, and demographics.HighSociety:A Iamiliaritywithetiquetteandexpensive tastes, as well as an encyclopedic knowledgeoI whos who among the rich and Iamous. Language: KnowledgeoIaIoreignlanguage.Onerank represents tourist proIiciency, three ranks representworking Iluency and literacy, six ranks represents nativeIluencyandcommandoIregionaldialects. Allcharac-ters are assumed to have rank 5 in their native language.Law: UnderstandingoIthelaws,legalprocedures,and political workings oI the nation in which you reside;also, a basic understanding oI those same topics as theyexist in other nations throughout the world.ModernCultures: Theways,customs,andtradi-tionsoIethnic,national,cultural,orsocialgroupsthatexist today or existed within the last 100 years.Mythology: MythologyandIolktalesIromaroundthe world.Occult: Knowledge oI past and present groups, his-tory, practitioners, and traditions oI the occult.Religion: Knowledge oI the scriptures, mythologies,sacredplacesandevents,anddoctrinesoIworldreli-gions.Science: TheoreticalandpracticalknowledgeoIphysics, biology, chemistry, and other hard sciences, asappropriate to the era. Includes an understanding oI howto use that knowledge in studies and experiments.Threshold Knowledge Level1 Common: known even to many lay-men.3 Uncommon:knownonlytoaIewlaymen but to most experts.5 Specialized:rarelyknowntolay-men, known to many experts.7 Advanced:unknowntolaymen,known to some experts.9 Obscure: unknown to most experts,known only to a Iew masters.TH Modifier Condition7 Target is a broodmate or one oIyour hoard items.5 Youhadacloseconnectiontothe target in a past liIe.3 YouvesucceededataKatestagainst the target beIore.1 You encounteredthe target in apast liIe./0 Target is at Trivial range1 Target is at Minor range3 Target is at Moderate range5 Target is at Major range7 Target is at ProIound range9 Target is at Hemispherical rangeTH Task5 taint rank Sense a tainted areas, objects,or creatures taint rank.5 karma rank SenseaninIusedareasorobjects karma rank.5 Recognize the nature oI one oI acreatures previous incarnations.Survival: Hunting, tracking, Iire-building, orienteer-ing, and knowledge oI Ilora, Iauna, and weather.Street: A measureoIyoursavvywhendealingwithunsavory characters, and your understanding oI how theblackmarketworks.SeeChapterFive: EquipmentIormore on how to use Knowledge: Street.Knowledge tests are almost always active and mental,basedonyourAiraspect.YoumostoItenmakeKnowledgeteststo determinewhetherornotyourecallsomespeciIicIactorpieceoIinIormation.SeeTable212 Ior the threshold to know inIormation depending onits speciIicity or obscurity. ThisskillrepresentsyourabilitytotreatcharactersaIIlictedby injuries,poison,disease, orotherailments.Medicine tests are typically active and mental, based onyourAiraspect.ThediIIicultyoIaMedicinetestdepends on the complexity oI the procedure you are per-Iorming.First Aid: TheminutesjustaIteraIightarecriticalIor wounded characters, and the immediate use oI firstaid canspeedtherecoveryprocess.Thewindowinwhich a character can beneIit Irom Iirst aid begins at theendoItheactionsceneinwhichacharacterswoundswere sustained, and lasts Ior a number oI minutes equalto the characters base Water score. During that time, acharacter administering Iirst aid can do two things: treatminor wounds, or treat wound dice.When you treat a patients minor wounds, you elimi-nate a number oI minor wounds equal to the number oIsuccessesyouscoreonyour Air(Medicine)test.Thistest takes about one minute.When treating wound dice, the TH oI the test is equalto thepatients currentwound penalty. Thetesttakesanumber oI minutes equal to the TH. II you are success-Iul, the patients wound dice drop by 1.It may be obvious, but it bears noting that a characterreceiving Iirst aid cannot be healed oI more wound dicethan he sustained in the preceding Iight, no matter howwelltheaidingcharacterrolls.Thatistosay,oldwoundscantbehealedwithIirstaidjustbecausethecharacter got in another Iight.You must have a Iirst aid kit to perIorm Iirst aid with-out penalty. II youre Iorced to use improvised materials(e.g., strips oI cloth torn Irom clothing, sticks Ior splints,etc.), you suIIer a 1 materials penalty to the roll. II youdo not even have improvised materials, you suIIer a 2materials penalty to the roll.Stabilize: IIyouwish,ratherthantryingtohealadyingcharacterwithIirstaid,youcanmerelytrytomakesurehedoesntgetanyworse(seeTakingDamage, page 137). This is a full-turn action, and thethreshold oI the Air (Medicine) test is only 1.Long-termCare: YoucanalsousetheMedicineskill to improve the healing rate oI wounded patients. Atthe beginning oI each healing period (see Healing, page138),youmakean Air(Medicine)test.Foreverysuc-cessyouscore,thepatientreceives1re-roll onhisWater(Stamina)testtohealattheendoIthehealingperiod. Inaddition, iIyouscore anumber oI successesequaltoorgreaterthanyourpatientscurrentwoundpenalty, the duration oI the healing period is h