Oxford University Role Playing Games Society
ICON Character Creation

Icon Characters

For obvious reasons, characters must be people who would be willing to attend an interstellar meeting of assorted people. Motivation for this can be anything: socialisation, or to trade, exchange information, represent your species, sell your services etc. However, ICON is not intended to be too high-powered, so there will not be players at the level of heads of government.

First, you must select a race for your character from the list of ‘open’ races given elsewhere. Each race will be described to its members more fully, either in text or verbally.

Characters are described by attributes and powers. Each character has 25 points to divide as desired.

Attributes describe certain traits of a character: each character must have a value in each, although in extreme cases a value of 0 may be appropriate. An attribute of 3 is 'galactic average', but the technology exist to push people well beyond the natural capacities of their race. Values above 5 are awesome, and 8 is the maximum possible value for an attribute: in the case of Body and Reflexes, this is the best on offer from the finest experimental cybertechnology labs. Powers indicate to what resources and abilities a character has access. Maximum here is 12. Some indication has been given of their uses: hopefully this is obvious for the attributes. Players are asked to define exactly what they want their power stat to do.

As well as defining attributes and powers, we would like you to provide some character description before the game starts. This should consist of at least the following:

Concept: A few words
Justify your existence: Why should your character exist? This will not determine whether you will be 'allowed', but will make you think.
Aims: The game is only 8 weeks long: it may be worth setting yourself a target. However, plots will be provided, so don't make it something that will take all your time.

You could also write history, psychoanalysis, stories, family sagas, anything you want to pad that character sheet out to a satisfying 2kg.

Character Suggestions

Explorer or Arco-Scientist
General, or mercenary leader.
Ambassador, or other governmental representative.
Trader
Priest - HCPD or otherwise.
Muat-Tien gamer [either rich and jaded, or poor and gifted]
Spy/Smuggler/Rogue/Ruffian.

Some characters should speak first to certain GMs:

Corinne: Explorers.
Steve: Religion, Science.
Philip: Commerce and business.
Robin: Ambassadors.
Muat-Tien gamers should ensure that they read the relevant information sheet.

Attributes

Body: Strength, toughness, stamina.
Reflexes: Alertness, speed of action, dexterity, agility.
Appeal: Charisma, persuasion abilities, media appeal.
Management: The ability to organise large groups of people, and to target and attain goals.
Science: Research, invention, application of technology.

Powers

Influence

Jump Ship: Jump ships are relatively rare: most interstellar travel is via jump gates. A privately owned jump ship is even rarer. This power buys a small jump ship owned by the character. If you only want occasional use of jump ships, use those belonging to an organisation on which you have influence, or hire pilots.
A rating of 3 indicates a ship with a safe jump range of 2-3 light years. 5 is 4-5 ly, and 7 is 6-7 ly. Higher ratings will indicate either ships with special abilities (hideous weaponry, extra sub-light speed etc.) or else cutting-edge drives on a par with those of the Amorians.
Private Fleet or Company: See the rules below. This category applies to all businesses including planet-bound concerns, as well as haulage companies, military units and space pirates.
Laboratory: Access to testing, research and development facilities, archived information, and academia. Useful for Arco-scientists. A 1-3 rating will mean a simple facility, probably dedicated to a single research project. 8-9 will indicate a broad based scientific complex, with dozens of projects running concurrently.
Income: Personal wealth. A source should be indicated. This indicates above-normal resources: the average citizen has a rating of 0. A 3-4 rating indicates a fair degree of affluence. 9-12 is certainly top percentile. This indicates private wealth: a top businessman does not need to buy his salary as income.
Hacking: Programming ability, access to cutting edge software. Top level computer crime is not possible with a rating lower than 6.
Combat abilities: Rules for combat are available on the separate ‘Muat- Tien’ sheet. If you wish to be an experienced fighter, either in the games or outside them, refer to those rules.
Skills: The abilities relevant to your character’s intended profession. If you wish to do something not covered by these rules, a skill may well be appropriate. A skill of 1 indicates an ability which stands out from the norm. 5 is god-like.
Specials: In some cases, a racial special ability will have to be bought now. Players will be informed if necessary.
Others: Either something unique to your character, or something that we GMs forgot. This list is not definative.

Private Fleets

These rules cover space-going fleets operated by PCs, and also apply to land based companies and military forces.

Private fleets are defined by 8 or 9 characteristics, determined as follows:

Efficiency = 1.5 x [The Management stat of the fleet's controller]
Enthusiasm = 1.5 x [The Appeal stat of the fleet's controller]
Adaptability is that of the major race in the organistion, or an average if necessary.

Next, allocate points to the following attributes. The number of points available is equal to double the number of character points spent on the fleet. Extra points must be allocated to raise a value above 10: a value of 11 cost 12 points, a value of 12 cost 14 etc.

Tech - The level of technology utilised by the organisation. Every organisation gets a basic 4 points for free.
Military - The military capability of the fleet.
Transport - The quantity of interstellar cargo which the fleet can carry. If Tech is less than 8, this will be entirely by jump gates. Transport is a valuable commodity, and can be used to generate income.
Trade - Profit made by trading or other commercial activities. Excludes transport, but includes crimes such as piracy.
Intelligence - A measure of how well-informed the race is.
A Special stat might in some cases also be required.

Examples:

Transport 0, Trade 7 : A highly profitable but planet bound concern: perhaps a mining or insurance firm.
Transport 5, Trade 5, Military 1 : A weakly defended interstellar trade operation.
Transport 1, Trade 5, Military 5 : Either pirates, mercenaries, or a combination of the two.
Transport 1, Trade 0, Military 8 : A CCF unit.

If the character in question is intending to run a company within the GMG, a department in StarMerc, or any other unit with an authority higher than the player, the department in question should be bought as a private fleet as usual. A certain amount of influence on the organisation is automatic, but additional leverage may be bought as influence in the usual way.