Character

Players in SOJOURNER experience the game world through their characters, appropriately called "player characters" or "PCs" for short. SOJOURNER PCs are stalwart adventurers, explorers, and occasionally heroes.

Player characters are a cut above the normal world's populace. They acquire new talents quickly, bounce back from terrible wounds and setbacks, and achieve feats and confront dangers most wouldn't dare contemplate. This isn't due to any inherent superiority, but is rather a narrative device to ensure that the players feel capable and empowered to take on the challenges they face over the course of the story.

Follow the steps outlined in the Character Creation section of this page to make your very own SOJOURNER character.

Character Creation

SOJOURNER characters are shaped both by their upbringing and by their adventuring careers. To make a playable character, follow the steps below in any order, though the numbered order is a good default. Senteia is the game's default world and setting, but you can use the SOJOURNER rules to explore a wide variety of fantasy settings. Simply substitute appropriate culture skills appropriate to the world you'll be playing in.

Choose an ancestry and select a starting General ability.
Choose or create a background and select trade and culture skills.
Choose the Arcanist, Specialist, or Warrior class.
Gain 30 Money and purchase any equipment you wish from the Marketplace.
Define your character's personality, motivation, and objectives within the narrative.

Character Statistics

There are three basic statistics that all characters share: Speed, Vitality, and Stamina. Player characters have a fourth statistic called Fortune, which NPCs lack. One additional metric of a character's capability is the amount of Burden they can carry.

Speed

A character's Speed is the distance in Spaces they can move using a single Reposition maneuver (see Tactical Mode for more details). A player character's base Speed is 4.

Many other Move abilities make reference to a creature's Speed, often allowing them to move a distance up to half their Speed (rounded down, as always). Speed has no bearing on the distance a character can move outside of Tactical Mode.

Some creatures have different kinds of Speed they can use. For instance, a winged beast might have a normal Speed of 3, but have a flying Speed of 8. Creatures can only use one kind of Speed at a time. To switch, the creature must use a new instant, maneuver, or action with the Move trait. For example, a winged beast running out of a building must use the first Reposition maneuver to move using their normal Speed. Once outside, the beast cannot use any remaining movement to take to the sky. They might use their action to Reposition, and can then make use of their flying Speed.

Vitality, Damage, and Blight

A character's physical health is measured by their Vitality statistic. A player character's base Vitality is 4.

Every point of Damage or Blight a character sustains counts against their Vitality, and is a form of harm. Damage is physical wounds such as cuts, bruises, and burns, while Blight is a more lingering malady that may be inflicted by dark magic, curses, or wicked poisons.

When a character's combined Damage and/or Blight becomes equal to their Vitality, they are knocked unconscious (dying). A character cannot have Damage and/or Blight in excess of this maximum.

If a character would take Damage but cannot due to their Vitality maximum, they take Fatigue equal to the remainder (see the Stamina section below). If they are then unable to take any remaining Fatigue due to their Stamina maximum, the character dies.

If a character would take Blight but cannot due to their Vitality maximum, they first remove that amount of Damage and then take the remaining Blight. If they still could not take any remaining Blight, the character dies.

Stamina, Stress, and Fatigue

Stamina is a measure of a character's energy and stability. A player character's base Stamina is 4.

Every point of Stress or Fatigue a character sustains counts against their Stamina, and is a form of harm. Stress can represent a variety of factors such as losing concentration, physically exerting oneself, or suffering a glancing attack. Fatigue is a lasting drain on one's energy, and is typically accrued from losing sleep or overextending oneself long-term.

When a character's combined Stress and/or Fatigue becomes equal to their Stamina, they become vulnerable, meaning they make all rolls with -3 Edge. A character cannot have Stress and/or Fatigue in excess of this maximum.

If a character would take Stress but cannot due to their Stamina maximum, they instead take no Stress.

If a character would take Fatigue but cannot due to their Stamina maximum, they first remove that amount of Stress and then take the Fatigue. If they still could not take any remaining Fatigue, they instead take no Fatigue.

Note: The Taxing Trait

Some abilities and effects have the Taxing trait, which indicates the task requires some kind of exertion on the part of the character. These often require the character to take Stress and/or Fatigue, and cannot be used if the character is vulnerable.

Fortune and Luck

Fortune is a statistic exclusive to player characters, who have a base Fortune of 4. Roughly speaking, it measures a character's adaptability, magical aptitude, and connection with fate itself. A player character cannot have Luck in excess of their Fortune. Any Luck they would gain above this maximum is lost instead.

Luck is a “meta” resource, meaning that it’s not something in the fiction that the characters would know anything about. Rather, it’s used by the players and the GM to help shape the story as it progresses. Luck totals are persistent across game sessions for both the players and the GM. Luck is primarily acquired by player characters using the Unwind activity during Downtime Mode.

After a player makes a roll, they can choose to spend any amount of Luck to improve their result by the amount of Luck spent. This can cause a roll to become a success rather than a failure.

GM Luck. At the start of every game session, the GM gains Luck equal to the number of players participating in that session. The GM can never have Luck in excess of twice this number. Whenever a player makes a roll, the GM can spend 1 Luck to add a Bane to the roll, or to upgrade a Bane to a Severe Bane.

As another option, the GM can spend Luck to activate narrative complications to the player's objectives. For example, the GM might spend 2 Luck at the end of a session to have an old rival ambush the players with a clever trap as a cliffhanger. This doesn't preclude the GM from introducing such scenarios without spending Luck, but it can be a useful tool for remembering to keep the story moving forward at an appropriate pace.

Optional Rule: Balancing Fate

Your group may prefer a gameplay style in which Luck is used more frequently. If so, you can make use of this optional rule that also serves to help balance out good and bad fortune for the players.

Whenever the GM or a game rule calls for a player to make a roll, the Event Die has the potential to generate Luck. If a 20 is rolled, the GM gains 1 Luck. If a 1 is rolled, the player character gains 1 Luck. This is in addition to the normal effects of rolling a 20 or a 1 on the Event Die. Luck generated in this way cannot be spent on the triggering roll.

This optional rule also encourages both the GM and the players to spend their Luck more liberally, since they would gain no Luck if they are already at their maximum before making a roll. However, this may also have an effect on the gameplay for Specialist characters, since many of their abilities require the spending of Luck.

Burden

A player character can comfortably carry an amount of Burden up to their Might die size. Carrying Burden in excess of this causes the character to become encumbered (see Tactical Mode status effects) until they shed some weight. A character simply cannot carry more Burden than twice their Might die size.

See the Marketplace page for more information about items and Burden.

Character Sheet

Download the SOJOURNER character sheet to print. The sheet is double-sided, with most essential information located on the front page. Write your character's name, ancestry, background, and class in the spaces provided at the top of the sheet.

Recording Statistics

Your character's Vitality, Stamina, Fortune, Speed, and Burden sections are each arranged as grids of symbols. The first four for each section are filled in and able to be used. Whenever you would permanently increase one of these statistics, use a pen to outline the next available container in the grid. In the case of Burden, outline two additional weight symbols for every die size your Might is above d4.

Whenever you would take any kind of harm (Damage or Blight for Vitality; Stress or Fatigue for Stamina), you can either place a special token in one of the available slots or lightly write the first letter of the harm type inside of it. Each slot marked in the Fortune grid indicates 1 Luck that you have; you can begin the game with each slot filled with Luck. The Speed grid doesn't typically need to be used in this way, but it can be used to mark how many Spaces you've moved with a single ability usage.

Recording Skills

When you gain a boost to a physical or mental skill, fill in the next empty die size in that skill's row. When you gain the first boost to a trade or culture skill, simply write the name of the skill in the first available row provided. For each subsequent boost, fill in the next empty size as normal.

Whenever you would make a roll, you can quickly determine what die size by identifying the rightmost filled-in die size for that skill. If you don't have the relevant trade or culture skill written on your sheet, simply roll a d4 for untrained.

Recording Abilities

Write the name of each ability you gain in the lines provided. You don't need to write any Basic abilities in this area, since Basic abilities are available to all characters. If you have room, you can describe what each ability does in the same area. Leave the Experience field blank for now.

Recording Inventory

Write the name of each item you gain in the Inventory section. Don't forget to mark Burden slots for items with 1 or more Burden. Record any Money remaining in the space provided.

Final Details

The Edge Modifiers section at the bottom of the front page doesn't require any action on your part; it is simply a reminder of how Edge works.
Leave the progress tracks blank for now, unless you have a starting objective with the GM's permission.
Feel free to include a drawing of your character, or any relevant notes in the tall box on the back of the sheet.

Character Sheet Download