CS Guide: Character Creation

The character sheets that the Dark Jedi Brotherhood utilizes are a custom set based on the FATE roleplaying system. While the FATE system is designed for tabletops, it focuses heavily on the act of telling a compelling story through interesting, unique characters. A lot of these elements have been taken and integrated into constructing an entirely new type of system, specifically designed for the Dark Jedi Brotherhood’s various writing activities.

In this guide, you will find all the information you need for creating your character, including guidelines by the Voice team that will ensure your character sheet is approved in a timely manner. Please keep in mind that the Voice staff are responsible for approving every edit made to a character sheet, and that if you have a question or concern with comments made in a remand of your character sheet, please, do not hesitate to contact the staff! We are here to help.

For additional information on the character sheet approval process, check out the Character sheet approval guidelines

Creating Your Character

To begin, head over to the top left corner of the DJB main webpage where you see your name. When you click it, there are a few options.

1: Click: Administration -> Character Sheet Administration 2: Click: Green Button "Create new character sheet from scratch" 3: Click: "Edit"

This will bring you to the Character Sheet Creation Wizard, which will walk you through all the steps needed to complete your character sheet. Please use the following guide to help craft your character.

Step 1: Personal Details

Input your characters person details.

Species

(Main Article/Document: Species)

Select your Species from the DB-approved list. You will be able to fine-tune the details of your character in the fields to come as you write a physical description for your character, define their handedness, height, weight, and preferred weapons.

Height/Weight

Members in the Brotherhood span across the globe. As such, both the metric and imperial measurement systems are used. You may use feet or meters for height, but should also include the conversions for better understanding and immersion among your peers. There are many converters available online to help you with such.

Example: 6ft / 1.82m or 1.82m/6ft 185lbs / 83.9kg or 83.9kg / 185lbs

For the most accurate results, pick a real-life person, athlete, actor, or someone that you feel closely portrays your character. Look up what their height/weight is, and adjust from there.

Handedness

Select if your character is right-handed, left-handed. Ambidexterity is covered with a set of selected Feats you will learn about later on and can apply to your character.

Physical Description

What does your character look like? This section serves as the basis on which your peers will answer that question and draw a visual imagine in their own heads as to what your character looks like. Include details like muscle tone, flabbiness, skin tone, nose shape, eye color, scars, hair style, fashion sense, tattoos, or even unique birthmarks! The more detail you provide a reader, the easier it becomes for them to put a face to the name they are reading about. Focus on painting a clear picture of your character.

Weapons Loadout

Please see the Weapons Selection Guide for more information on selecting which weapons your character carries around on a regular basis.

Note: Fighting style should be reserved for your Combat Aspects. Listing how and when you use your weapons is also better communicated through those Aspects, especially if you are writing your own unique style. Stating that you use the Force in lieu of weapons is acceptable, but again, listing what powers you use or how you use them should be limited to Aspects and Force Power assignments.

Step 2: Disciplines

Main Article: Disciplines

Select your character’s Discipline: in classic RPG terms, this is where you pick something much like a Class. Each Discipline comes with two unique Feats. One modifies an existing Force Power, while the other grants a Force Power unique to the Discipline. Your Discipline serves as a basis for how you will build your character’s unique personality and your Skill and Force Power sets. Disciplines, in character, relate to the training your character would receive as he or she advances. This is in contrast to the Orders, which are meant to represent more of the philosophical background to how your character uses and relates to the Force.

File:CS4.jpg

Step 3: Aspects

Main Article: Aspects

"Scoundrel. I like that."

―Han Solo

You've created the outline for what you want your character to be. Now it is time to define who that character really is.

Aspects are the key to your character's personality and what sets them apart from other characters. They allow you to expand on your character's merits, flaws, habits and quirks, traits that help make them truly unique and likable. These Aspects can be rooted in your character's history, upbringing or background to shed light onto what makes them behave in various situations or scenarios.

When creating a character, you want your reader to be able to empathize in some way, shape, or form. Even if you are writing an evil, bunny-killing Dark Jedi, giving them a balanced set of flaws and merits not only makes them realistic, but also easier to relate to. If your character is relatable, your reader will have a better experience reading your work. Step 3. Profit.

Every character gets to choose six (6) Aspects. These six (6) Aspects are divided into three categories that get two Aspects each: General (2), Personality (2), and Combat (2).

Personality Aspects are the most important, as they are the heart of your character. These can range from phobias and quirks to motivations and ambitions, hopes and dreams, the most vital things that make your character who he or she is.

Combat Aspects detail your character's fighting style and habits. This can range from ranged fighting and stealth to melee and a tendency to want to blow things up.

General Aspects can fall under either personality or combat. They can also be used to describe anything that falls in-between or outside of the aforementioned categories as well, such as some character history or a relationship with another character.

You have the choice of selecting from a plethora of Aspects pre-written and created by members of the Brotherhood (recommended for newer members) or creating your own custom Aspects!

Example of Pre-Written Aspect

"Lone Wolf"

Lando Solowalker doesn't like to work in groups or teams and feels most comfortable on his own. Ladno Solowalker sticks to himself, sets his own pace, and doesn't share feelings or emotions with others. While the Lone Wolf can get things done quietly and efficiently, he tends to be emotionally cut off and has problems relating to his comrades.

Though simple, this Aspect does a great job of separating your character from the rest of the pack. It then goes on to point out the flaw/merits of this loner attitude, creating a realistic, relatable character.

The possibilities are endless, but ultimately, using the elements of your characters history, backstory, and culture with a cause and effect is a surefire way of having your custom aspect approved!

Step 4: Skills

Main Article: Skills

"These blast points - too accurate for Sand People. Only Imperial Stormtroopers are so precise."

―Obi-wan Kenobi

Skills are the fundamental actions that your character is able to perform. Most Skills are usable at a very basic level, even untrained, but to perform meaningful tasks with those Skills, your character will need to put points into them. Skills represent actions your character could take, from firing a weapon to managing a diplomatic negotiation, and demonstrate how good your character is at utilizing that particular skillset. It’s important to remember that circumstance is almost always more important than just who has a higher modifier in a Skill or Power. Many Feats modify Skills, and allow them to be used in different ways. We'll talk about Feats below.

The most important thing to remember about Skills: you can’t be good at ALL the things. Balance is a big part of what makes characters realistic and even relatable. Even if you have no points in a given Skill, say, Blasters, you can still pick one up, point it, and shoot. You will just have a hard time hitting anything. The second important thing to remember is that +3 (Proficient) makes up what Skills your character is considered pretty darn good at. Just because you're not a master in Bladed Weapons doesn't mean that you're still not deadly with a sword. It’s all relative to the scale. Most Brotherhood members should think of the +3 tier as being very good at something, far above average.

For this reason, we've created a progression system that helps shed light on what each skill tier enables your character to do.

Skill/Force Power Ladder System

You need to build up to the Skills you want to master, and to reach a higher tier you need a set of Skills filling the prior tier. The Skills you use to build do not have to be related. This is not a Skill Tree like you see in ToR or other RPGs. All it means is that in order to create a balanced skill-set, you can't be "amazeballs" at everything.

Instead, think of it like a pyramid: you can't build a pyramid upside down, can you? The top layer needs to always be supported by a layer below it. An image of a proper skill pyramid can been seen below.

To set your Skills and Force Powers, drag and drop the grey boxes into the respective sections designated by +1, +2, +3, +4 and +5.

File:CS5.jpg

If you build your ladder improperly, and don't have the proper pyramid base, you will see a red highlight appear around your Skills, as seen in the image below. Your sheet will not be approved and you will not be able to move forward.

File:CS6.jpg

Both Skills and Force Powers have separate ladders. The number of points you have to build your ladder is based upon your Order and your current rank.

Skill Points

There are four different rank tiers which provide access to higher proficiencies as you progress in Brotherhood rank. Moving from one tier to the next gives you a larger boost in total Skill points from which to draw upon.

Novitiate		Journeyman		Equite		Elder		Grand Master
Initiate	11	Protector	20	Equite I	29	Dark Adept	38	Grand Master	Infinity
Apprentice	12	Guardian	21	Equite II	30	Dark Jedi Master	39
Novice	13	Jedi Hunter	22	Equite III	31	Dark Prophet	40
Acolyte	14	Dark Jedi Knight	23	Equite IV	32

Skill Levels

Each level of proficiency in a Skill can be bought using one (1) point. There are six levels of Skill proficiency:

Mediocre (Untrained, +0) - Available to all ranks
Learned (+1) - Available to all ranks
Average (+2) - Available to all ranks
Proficient (+3) - Available at Journeyman
Adept (+4) - Available at Equite I
Master (+5) - Available at Dark Adept
Sovereign (+6) - Available at Grand Master

Step 5: Force Powers

Main Article: Skills

"The Force is what gives a Jedi his power."

―Obi-wan Kenobi

Quick explanation of Force Powers.

Force Power Points

There are six different rank tiers which provide access to higher proficiencies as you progress in Brotherhood rank. Moving from one tier to the next gives you a larger boost in total Force Power points from which to draw upon.

Force points are distributed in the same manner as Skill points and use the same style of pyramid to balance out which Force Powers your character is best at.

Novitiate		Journeyman		Equite		Elder		Grand Master
Initiate	11	Protector	20	Equite I	29	Dark Adept	38	Grand Master	46
Apprentice	12	Guardian	21	Equite II	30	Dark Jedi Master	39
Novice	13	Jedi Hunter	22	Equite III	31	Dark Prophet	40
Acolyte	14	Dark Jedi Knight	23	Equite IV	32

Force Power Levels

Each level of proficiency in a Force Power can be bought using one (1) point. There are six levels of Force Power proficiency:

Initiate (+1) - Available to all ranks
Studied (+2) - Available to all ranks
Disciple (+3) - Available at Protector
Adept (+4) - Available at Equire I
Master (+5) - Available at Dark Adept
Grand Master (+6) - Available at Grand Master

Step 6: Specializations

Here you select your primary and secondary Lightsaber Forms as well as your primary and secondary Martial Arts styles. Lightsaber Forms become available to Journeyman, but until Dark Jedi Knight, the only form a member can become proficient in is Form Zero. Form Zero introduces the basic movements and strikes that the more advanced forms build from.

Lightsaber Form

Upon reaching the rank of Knight, your character can learn up to two Lightsaber Forms. This is not to say that your character doesn't know about other forms, but your character has only practiced in a maximum of two. In order to select a form, you must have at least a +1 in Primary Lightsaber Form, and in order to select a second form, you must have at least +1 in Secondary Lightsaber Form.

Martial Arts Style

Your martial arts style is how you do combat without a lightsaber or blaster. Much like your lightsaber style, you must have at least a +1 in Primary Martial Arts Style in order to select a style. The same, too, for your Secondary Martial Arts Style.

NOTE: Martial Arts Guide is currently being re-written. For now, please disregard references to stats from the old Character Sheet system. Martial Arts Styles do not require a previous form either, as this too is a holdover from the older version of the Character Sheets.

Lore

For each Rank in the Lore Skill, your character has studied a subject intensely and is considered an expert in that field. This knowledge is on par with an academic 2-4 year program. Beginning with one subject at Skill Level 1, you gain an additional subject for each respective Skill Level.

All characters have knowledge of the Brotherhood as well as the history of the modern era (Imperial Period, New Republic, and New Jedi Order). You are up to date on current news and pop culture and the state of the galaxy and have completed basic academic training. If you want to explore a lack of education, you would cover this under a Custom Aspect.

Languages

Linguistics refers to an individual's ability to read, write, and analyze text, speech, and transcriptions from different languages. All characters have a base understanding of their own native language and galactic basic. Linguistics covers the addition of new languages to an individual's repertoire, one for each rank in the skill. When used untrained, this skill grants proficiency in all common languages associated with the individual's species.

All species are able to speak or understand Galactic Basic by default as a part of your “base” language. If you selected a non-Human species, you also get that species' native language as a base. Base languages are present even if Linguistics is set to +0. Linguistic, then, applies only to additional languages you wish to add to your characters ability.

A list of languages currently in use in the character creation system is available in the Languages guide. Please consult the Species guide or Wookieepedia for information on which languages your chosen species knows if you do not know. All languages must be considered Star Wars canon.

Step 7: Feats

Main Article: Feats.

Feats are at the heart of the character sheets, and probably the most fun to take advantage of. Feats are perks, maneuvers, or techniques your character has that change how a Skill or Force Power behaves. Each Feat is associated directly with a Skill or Force Power and allows you to augment or modify them in different ways. Some Feats allow you to substitute one Skill or Force Power for another in certain circumstances, sometimes at a penalty. Others directly enhance a single Skill in a specific way.

Keep in mind you must have points in the Skill or Force Power that a Feat modifies to take advantage of it! Feats apply to situations, and do not supply permanent stat-boosts as a passive state. Many Feats allow you to use one skill in place of another. Remember when looking over someone else’s character sheet to check the Feats they have, as Feats directly influence Force Powers and Skills!

Final Step: Save and Submit

Once you have completed all the steps in the Character Creation Tool, you can press the "Save" button located at the bottom. Once you have saved your new character sheet, you still have one more step to go! Return to Character Sheet Administration, and you will see your current active sheet as being editable. On the right hand side, you can either Preview your sheet, or submit it for the Voice staff to look over and approve!

Database

For a list of all the Species, Feats, Aspects, Disciplines, Skills, and Force Powers check out: Character Sheet Reference