Gender, Vocation & Level

 

Gender refers to the sex of the character, either male or female. The gender or sex of a PC is selected by the player or it can be determined by rolling d10:

 Result Character’s Gender   

1 - 5       Male

6 - 9      Female
          10          biexual, hermaphrodite (all Kaldanes)

Therns do not marry and the Black Pirates are “far inferior to red men in refinement and chivalry.” (GM, VIII)   For simplicity and political correctness, male and female characters have similar abilities, skills & aptitudes; however, in most nations female characters are not trained to become either troopers or warriors. Size of a character is based upon race and size as listed on Table 1.3. Experienced players may role-play opposite gender characters; however, cross-dressing is discouraged!

 

vocation or class describes the occupation or profession of a character.   All characters will belong to one of the six vocations or classes. A character retains his vocation for his entire life. Choice of vocation is important as it determines which weapons and skills are available to a character. Priest or psychic characters can even cast spells (Chapter 5).

            Many red, yellow or thern NPCs encountered will be 1^st level civilians that practice a trade, craft or art. They often belong to the eXtra vocation and aren’t as personally inclined for adventuring as troopers, criminals, warriors, scientists or priests.    

            Not all vocations or classes are available to every race as Table 2.3 indicates. Which class or vocations are allowed to a specific exotic species is at your GM’s discretion.  The vocation or profession of a PC may be selected by the player or determined by rolling six-sided dice and consulting Table 2.3.

            Dual-classed or multi-class PCs are not necessary because of the game’s elegant allocation of skills. (RP6).  The advancement or progression of a character is expressed numerically through his level. 

                                                                                                                              Table 2.3

  d8      d8     Character      Allowed

Male  Female   Class         Races

 

      1       -  -               Trooper              R, G              

      2        1               Criminal           R, T, Y
  3- 4     - -               Warrior           R, T, B, Y

     5         2             Scientist           R, T, Y            

     6       3- 4              Priest              R, G,Y, K

  7- 8    5- 8             eXtra                    ALL

 

Level is an ordinal measure of the relative success or standing of a character in his chosen profession.  NPC level is usually selected by the referee or obtained by rolling d4, while beginning PCs usually start at 2^nd level.    
Most ordinary people or citizens would be considered 1^st level characters.  The maximum level a character can obtain in his chosen vocation or class is half his primary ability (p.16, Table 3.1) score for the selected vocation.

The term level is also used to describe the difficulty of a challenge or an adventure.  Level is also used to describe the complexity or power of spells. Initially, new players might find this terminology confusing, but soon will rattle off statements such as “my 5^th level priest cast a 2^nd level spell while facing a 3^rd  level encounter.”

A character’s level is crucial to determining his survivability, as a character’s attack bonus, saving throw bonus, skill rank and hit points are based upon his current level in his chosen vocation.  As a player character increases in competence and experience, this is reflected in game terms by a corresponding increase in the character’s level.

 

Miniatures from Reaper, 
painted by Tom Nelson