Character Sheet Express Guide

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Welcome to the Express version of the DJB Character Sheet Guide! As the title implies, this guide is designed to give a streamlined, barebones look at the way the new Character Sheets work and will hopefully make you feel more comfortable in this new system.

The new Character Sheets are based on the FATE roleplaying system. While the FATE system is designed for tabletop, it focuses heavily on the act of telling a compelling story through interesting, unique characters. A lot of these elements have been taken and used in constructing an entirely new type of system, specifically designed for the Dark Jedi Brotherhood’s various writing activities.

This guide aims to help members both new and old get acquainted with this new system. So, let’s get to it!

Creating Your Character

After logging in on the main DJB site, head over to your administration panel and click on the “Character Sheet Administration” link. From here you can manage existing sheets. Since this is your first one, however, click the big green button that says “Create Character Sheet From Scratch”.

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After a few moments, a new window will open up in your current one. Welcome, to the Character Sheet Construction Tool!

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Coded from the ground up by Seneschal James Entar for use with the new FATE system, this tool is what you’ll use to create your first character sheet. From here, the construction tool will walk you through creating your new character sheet. The tool has several different sections, allowing you to define the following things about your character:

Personal Details

Select your species from the DB-approved list, write a physical description for your character, define their handedness, height, weight, and preferred weapons.

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Disciplines

Main Article: Disciplines

Select your character’s class; In classic RPG terms, this is where you pick, “Tank”, or “DPS”. Each Discipline comes with two unique feats. One Modifies an existing Force Power, the other is unique to the discipline

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Aspects

Main Article: Aspects

Choose your aspects; An aspect is a word, phrase, or sentence that describes something centrally important to your character. It can be a motto your character lives by, a personality quirk, a description of a relationship you have with another character, an important possession or bit of equipment your character has, or any other part of your character that is vitally important. You get 6 aspects total; two general, two personality, and two combat. Stock aspects are built into the Character Creation Tool, but you are welcome to create an aspect of your own. Make sure you follow the guide <here> on how to write custom aspects, as each custom aspect must be approved by the Combat Master or Voice.

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Skills

Main Article: Skills

Even with the Force, Dark Jedi still need to make an honest living. Here you can build a tree of skills that fit your characters style in combat and in everyday situations.

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Force Powers

Main Article: Force Powers

The entire reason you became a Dark Jedi in the first place. Here you build a tree of Force Powers that fit your characters style in combat and in everyday operation. The higher the power is on the tree, the more proficient you are with it and the greater you’ll be able to use it.

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Specializations

Here you select your primary and secondary Lightsaber Forms as well as your primary and secondary Martial Arts styles. With Lightsaber forms specifically, you only get a secondary form upon hitting a certain rank and by having a set number of points in the Lightsaber form skill.

Feats

Main Article: Feats

Feats are tricks, manoeuvres, or techniques your character has that change how a skill or Force Power behaves. Generally, this means you get a bonus in certain situations, but sometimes it gives you some other ability or technique.

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FATE System: How it Works

Skill/Force Power Tree 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. 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.

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If you build your tree 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.

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Writing With The FATE System

So, you’ve created your new Character Sheet. Congratulations. Now what?

Unlike the past, the Character Sheets have been designed to be used as a basis for all of the DJB’s writing-based ventures. Your Character Sheet is not just limited to the ACC, but will be the source and reference used for your fictions, run-ons, and solo-missions.They are not designed to limit your imagination, only a means of helping to create realistic, likeable characters. The heart of the system is the focus on writing creatively.

Character: Marick Arconae
Species: Hapan
Discipline: Assassin
Aspect: Duelist
Skills: Athletics, Bladed Weapons, Lightsaber Style (Ataru)
Force Powers: Force Cloak, Amplify, Mind Trick, Sight
Feats: Reflexive Counter, Ghosting II, Faceless II

Mission: Infiltrate Enemy Base, Assassinate leader. Do not let anyone detect you, or the mission is compromised.

Target: Janis Wyn - Human Female - Jedi; Equite 3

Fiction	Analysis
The complex was heavily guarded by mercenaries decked out in full-sets of armor and automatic blaster rifles. The Equite Assassin knew that he couldn’t take them all out on his own without being overwhelmed or drawing attention to his mission.	The combination of the Assassin Discipline, and the “Duelist” Aspect help the writer show how their character handles an obstacle. The writer knows that Marick can’t take out all the guards, because his fighting style is geared towards one-on-one encounters rather than charging headlong into battle with abandon. Discretion is also a mission parameter, and an Assassin would want to utilize their skills to their advantage.
Closing his eyes and taking a breath, Marick wrapped the Force around him like a cloak, his figure fading away into nothingness. As he stood still watching the patrol pattern of the guards, one would think that the duracrete wall he leaned against was unoccupied. As he slowly started to creep forward on the balls of his feet, Marick’s body remained cloaked, the faint shimmer of movement in the air the only thing visible to the naked eye. A security camera turned its attention on him, but he kept moving at his pace and the camera continued on its path without incident. Marick waited for one of the guards to open the door to the base, and slipped in before they could close behind them before making his way towards his target.	Marick can use “Ghosting II” which allows him to move slowly and remained cloak while using the Force Power: Force Cloak. This is a perfect way to avoid the guard patrols. Now inside the complex, there is still the task of locating the enemy leader and eliminating him. Easier said than done. However, Marick has a second unique skill as an Assassin: Faceless II. One way of using this skill is to take out one of the guards and assume their identity.
Keeping himself cloaked in the Force, Marick continued to move slowly down the main corridor, sticking to the shadows cast from the narrow, overhead-lighting. A guard idly checked the ammo clip of his Blaster Rifle as he turned a corner and entered an adjoining room, unaware of the transparent ripple in the air that followed close on his heels. Once the door closed, Marick’s figure shimmered back into focus. Before the guard could react, the Assassin’s knife flashed across the guards throat, a crimson line bursting to life as blood squirted free. At the same time, Marick placed a hand over the guards mouth to silence any cry, carefully guiding his now lifeless body down to the floor. Marick studied the face of the deceased guard for a few moments. He closed his eyes and burned the image of the guards face into his mind. The Assassin exhaled as he ran his open hand slowly down his face in a ritualistic manner. When his hand finished its motion, the Hapan’s handsome face was replaced with the same crooked nose and dull brown eyes of the guard. When he emerged from the room, Marick had traded out his dark cloak for the guard’s armor and blaster rifle. After searching the guard’s pockets, he found an access card and PDA that showed a rough map of the base for reference. The Assassin now knew exactly where to find his target.	Now, the writer has shown ingenuity in using their character’s skill set to get around obstacles. Faceless allows an Assassin to alter his features to look like one of the guards, giving him much easier access to getting around the base. The job is not yet done, however.
The main command room had been left unguarded. Janis must have been confident that no one would get by the plethora of mercenaries she had hired to guard the sole entrance. Marick held his access card up to the scanner and a trio of beeps gave way to a click as the door slid open. “Come in,” the woman's voice said calmly. “I’m impressed you made it this far. I could sense your intent from the moment you entered.” “You could have saved me the trouble then,” Marick replied evenly, aiming his blaster at the woman. He pulled the trigger and launched a volley of blaster bolts at his target. Janis was ready though, her azure lightsaber springing to life to deflect each of the bolts.	Marick doesn’t have any skill with blasters. In this system, however, that still gives him the ability to point the barrel at an enemy, pull the trigger, and hope to hit something. Just because he has no points in blasters does not mean he cannot use the weapon- he just cannot use the weapon effectively.
Marick quickly discarded the rifle and called his own lightsaber to his hand, igniting the blade and launching himself through the air with a boost from the Force. Sabers sizzled as the two blades locked, but only for an instant. Marick was already moving, spinning and slashing low at Janis’ ankles. The Jedi backed away from the sweep, but wasn’t prepared for how quickly the Assassin moved. Marick threw his body into a sidelong roll, coming up nimbly in a crouch and thrusting the tip of his saber into Janis’ side.	Here we see Marick switching to his lightsaber, his prefered weapon. He then uses the Force to Amplify his Athleticism, launching his initial attack at his opponent with augmented speed. His lightsaber form, Ataru, utilizes an offensive focus while utilizing this same speed and athleticism. This is a prime example of how Force Powers can work together with your Skills. However, Marick needs to end the fight quickly and make an escape before reinforcements arrive.
Janis tried to keep pace with the Assassin, but he was simply moving too fast. Marick feinted, twisted, and attacked with sporadic yet somehow calculated strikes. She batted away a high slash and then stepped away from a cross-cut. Opening herself to the Force, she augmented her own speed to keep pace, her eyes searching for an opening in her attackers defense. She found it when Marick feinted left and then cut back to his right, crouching low and thrusting the tip of his saber at her heart for a killing blow. Janis parried the stab by batting it aside and then stepping into her attackers guard. With a flick of her wrist, she could have cleaved his head clean off his shoulders. Except Marick’s body was already moving. On reflex, he somehow countered the strike by ducking under it at the last second, lashing out with his own blade to cut a clean line across Janis’ stomach. The Jedi let out a shrill cry as she dropped to her knees, her saber clattering to the floor and deactivating. Marick kneeled down and checked his target’s pulse. Dead.	Here we see a Feat in action. Marick has the “Reflexive Counter” Feat which: Uses Precognition to counter-attack moments after an opponent initiates a lethal blow--once per combat. Where Janis would have cut off Marick’s head, his Feat kicked in, allowing him to counter the move and deliver a killing blow of his own. Combined with the “Duelist” Aspect, which grants a bonus to one-on-one combat but makes fighting multiple opponents harder, the quick exchange between combatants is realistic. If Marick had charged in and used his Blaster to shoot her full of holes, it simply would not be accurate. If Marick had picked up an axe and started flailing around with it, swinging it like a warhammer, that would not have worked either as he lacks the “Might” skill. The focus was instead on athletics, agility, and guile in a one-on-one duel.