Oh. I'm interested. I'd like to play as the Astropath. Promise not to turn into a demon and eat everyone! (jkjk I promise nothing of the sort.)
The suggested starts for an astropath are void born, imperial world, and hive world, and I'm inclined to agree. I want a intelligent and faithful servant of the emperor! Looking though the options I feel like playing a hiver, afraid of open spaces, might be a hard sell for a character who throws his mind and voice though the infinite vastness of space. Equally my character is presumably more well versed in the dark mysteries of the universe then the average person from an imperial world, so I pick void born. Born on a space station along a heavily traveled warp lane. I belonged to the insular clan that live aboard it full time. The low gravity made my body weak, but the exposure to the reality of space hardened my mind, something that would greatly come in handy later on.
I get +5 Will, -5 Strength. Ship Dialect, Charmed, which has a 10% chance to save me a fate point on use. Ill Omened, which gives me a -5 fellowship when interacting with nonspacers (which perhaps I'll pass off as the fact that my face is blasted and twisted by the emperors light? Only those used to seeing all manner of strange humans from far flung places might be undisturbed by my vestige.) Shipwise makes a few skills that I probably won't use unless we have no pilot basic skills. I guess I can very poorly navigate a starship. Void accustomed means I don't treat zero or low g as difficult terrain and I'm immune to space travel sickness. Cool.
I roll 1d5 for my starting wounds, getting a two, which I add to double my toughness bonus for 8 starting wounds. I roll my starting fate and end up with 4 fate points. Charmed isn't looking like a very useful ability.
Next up, after being born into the void I have a choice, did I grow up in a scavanger, a scapegrace, or a stubjack? Well, none of them are that appealing or unappealing to me, so for a moment I pause on this step and look forward, I see in the next row my choices are tainted, criminal, renegade, and duty bound. As someone who's been brought by the black ships to Holy Terra itself. Someone who's seen the emperors light with my own eyes at the acceptable price of said eyes, it seems like an easy choice to go for, so I'll be a stubjack. Growing up among a space station infested with clans of void born. Forced to work together to keep the station working, but at the same time in fierce competition for limited resources, it's only natural that the lower and less well off clans would resemble something like gangs, in constant low levels of warfare and competition with each other. Born to just such a clan, I learned at a young age how to look after myself, how to fight with a blade, and more importantly how to avoid a fight by swagger and acting intimidating. +5 WS, quickdraw, and intimidate as a basic trained skill. However, I never learned how to get along in polite company, and my natural response to go to threats instead of talking have lowered my fellowship by 5 and weakened my sanity by [rolls] 4 (ouch) insanity points. At least I am pure. The ballistic skills will be quite helpful at the start of the game, and allow me to focus on my role as a communicator instead of battle mage. Later on they will also help me aim my mind bullets. Sadly it looks like I'm drawing even further away from my fellow man and intimiate won't be useful for me seeing how weak I am, it'll be hard for me to get what I want from someone without mindjacking them it seems.
Moving forward I'll be picking Duty Bound! The great black ships came, and finding my potential I was gathered onto them. After years of travel my ship eventually found its way back to Holy Terra, I followed the path alongside millions of my brethren into training to be sacrificed to the Astronomican. However my power of mind and soul lead me to be spared! It was decided that instead of being fuel for the great signal, I would be trained to be an Astropath! After months of preparation I brought alongside one hundred of my fellow chosen into the emperors palace itself. There I went though the Soul Binding. The ritual where I saw the glorious light of the emperor in all it's magnificence! It was the last sight I would ever see, as my mind and body were cleansed my eyes were blasted from my skull, leaving behind nothing but withered sockets. Still, it was a price well worth paying for seeing such a glorious thing, and compared to many of my fellows who were killed or rendered insane by the sight, I fared quite well. Forevermore would I be bound to the emperor, chain that are equally as unbreakable as stone, but feel as light upon my soul as a feather, for serving the father of all mankind is no burden at all. From this experience I have gained +3 willpower and the unbreakable Armor of Contempt! As my soul was cleaned of all imperfections, the corruption of the universe will find no purchase on me. However my awe for the empror and my duty to him make me unable to work well with things that fall outside his light, gaining a massive -10 penalty to interaction tests with things such as aliens or heretics.... I don't see the downside.
After being bound to the emperor I served as an astropath on Terra for some time, learning how to cast my voice out to the unfathomable reaches of space, and how to receive the voices the voices of my fellows. My powers grew and I became adept at what was required of me, eventually leading to me being assigned to a post off world, and so once again boarding a great starship I set forth. However disaster struck.
For my trails and tribulations I have access to Calamity (which I won't choose because the downside effects the party as a whole instead of just me) Ship-lorn, which means I lost my ship and was set adrift, it lowers my fellowship even lower, but in return I can pick survival or darksoul (I think I'd rather have survival. I feel like my armor of contempt will save me from the darkness.) or dark voyage, said bleeding walls, which will give me forbidden lore or resistance to fear in exchange for some more insanity. Both seem like good choices to me, so instead I look forward. The last step of the paths is Motivation, and I have access to Vengeance, Renown, Pride, or Prestige. Well, I don't want Vengeance, and I don't want pride (at least not actively, to be honest most of the choices seem to be a subset of pride. Do I want a peer to start to patch up my terrible fellowship? Or do I want to be very talented? Do I want to climb the ladder of society, or do I want to have my name echoed in history forever more? In the end I have to go with my gut, I shall serve, and by doing so I shall accomplish that which will have me be known in the empire for the rest of days. Renown. However, that doesn't help my current choice, so I'll just go with dark voyage because I don't want even more fellowship negatives.
On the voyage though the warp to my far flung post the Gellar Field of the ship failed, not fully of course, but enough that the horrors of the warp entered the ship, and for a split second my sensitive mind was unshielded and I saw deeper into the warp then any man should. The terrors that appeared ravaged the population of the ship, many were slain as reality itself broke apart and most of the rest were driven irrevocably insane. I was one of the lucky survivors, who clung to life and sanity by the grace of the emperor, riding the tides of madness until the ship dropped back out into real space. We few survivors found ourselves in a far flung region of space, way off course from our intended destination. I managed to gather enough of my mental powers to send out a distress signal, not knowing if we would be found and our ship too damaged for further travel, we lived on the decaying hulk for months, people dwindling from accident, murder, or the dark things that still lurked in the depths of the ship. Eventually out salvation arrived, a ship that had heard one of my calls appeared nearby and rescued the few survivors. I was eventually returned to the greater fold of imperial society, the experience had taken it toll on my mind, for I had experienced that which no one should. Too far flung to make my original post in a reasonable amount of time, I was instead assigned to a succession of minor posts throughout The Aurorus Expanse, as I reclaimed my cracked mind and soul I grew in power and experience. My renown grew and soon I was considered powerful and experienced enough to serve alone in this poorly manned region of space, achieving the title of Astropath Transcendent. Risen above the legions of other astropaths by power, skill, and luck, I now have enough control over my own fate to at least somewhat choose where I go and who I serve. In this case I've found myself in the service of a rogue trader. The Aurorus expanse is wild and needs to be brought back further back into the emperors light, and from the deck of one of the cityships that such individuals ply the universe I hope to be on the forefront of taming this savage space.
I'm taking forbid lore: from my dark voyage, ether "The warp" if we don't have a player character navigator or "Deamonology" if we do. For my Renown I pick Peer: Astropaths, which at least should patch up the negatives I've been accumulating with my fellows. I also gain two more insanity from my experience.
1. What is your Demeanor: Although hot tempered as a youth, decades of meditation, study and work for a greater cause has had a moderating influence on me. Much of the time I am sturdy, Supine, and calm. Although I must admit that in times of stress my mental control over my emotions can suffer, leading to a more Choleric and Bilious temperament.
2. Why are you a leader aboard a Rogue Trader vessel: Perhaps alone of the souls upon this ship, I have personally witnessed the grand light of the holy emperor with my own eyes and stayed, at least mostly, whole of mind and body. By Purity of Soul and Strength of Willpower I have domination over the warp and matters concerning it.
3. Why does the Aurorus Expanse call to you: Perhaps the Aurorus expanse called to me in a more literal sense then figuratively, for I did not come here of my own free will. Tens of thousands died on my journey here and my own fate was greatly disrupted. Now that I am here though I do not regret either sacrifice, I have found a place teeming with the need of the emperors light and my own services. So serve I shall, until the glory of the emperor has filled all corners of this realm and his light banishes all traces of the darkness remaining.
4. What will you sacrifice: I have sacrificed body and mind in service to the Throne. I have lost all my physical possessions in the past as fate has brought me to where I may serve. I have seen my companions be torn from this reality to be eternally tormented in an existence that should not be. None of this I have regretted, and all has been a sacrifice worth making for the service to the throne. The only part of me whole and unscarred, as yet not sacrificed, is my soul itself, the holy touch of the emperor himself has graced my soul, and that is something I can never part with.
5. What is your ambition: I shall serve the Throne in this dark corner of the universe, doing what I can to serve it's needs and bolster it's presence. Eventually all shall know that Nathin has brought the light of the emperor to a darkened corner of the universe and burned out that which lurked.
6. What are your hatreds: Those who live beyond the emperors light, or even worse those who purposefully leave it. The Xeno. The Heretic. They who are born without or purposefully discard the emperors grace are, at best, worthy of pity as they are removed from this existence.
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Topic: Rogue Trader (something grimdark): Character Creation/OOC (Read 36626 times)