BW PDF - Midnight Campaign

Races, Curses & Talents IntroWhile this game was designed to grant great flexibility in specific style, playing a race or talent can be a greatstarting point for building a character. The personality and capabilities of each of the races included in thischapter can create a wide variety of vivid, rich characters.Adding a Race, Curse, or TalentWhen building a character, the player may choose onerace or talent at no cost. Add the character’s innateabilities to their abilities page.Most of the character types in this chapter have twoattributes which are better than average. When theyadd this ability, they increase them by 2 points each.These abilities can be further enhanced through theInhuman Attribute ability in Chapter 6.A player who chooses not add a race or talent uponcreation is human, with no innate supernatural talents,and may spend 20 extra points at the beginning of thegame to purchase spells, weapon techniques or attributeabilities, as described in the human entry on thefollowing page.Advanced AbilitiesIn addition to their base abilities, these character typeshave advanced abilities that some of their kind acquire.Purchasing these abilities is like purchasing any otherabilities in the game, except that they are only availableto the character type under which they are listed.Adding an additional Curse or TalentIt is possible to add a secondary curse or talent,later in the game, but there are some rules regardingcompatibility, which are listed in each entry. Addingan additional Curse or Talent must also be done as asignificant part of that character’s story, and not gainedthrough simply leveling up. A second Curse or Talentwill cost 20 points, as listed in the text.RacesA race is a character’s physical heritage, and in this gamemost often denotes an entirely different species, ratherthan what we understand as racial diversity. Differentraces can grant dramatically different features andcapabilities. A race must be started at character creation,and cannot be retroactively added to a character as theydevelop, without dramatic arcane intervention.The races included here are the Animal races,Demonic races, Divine races, Shapeshifters, and theFae. Each maintains a distinct tone, and will providefor a different gaming experience.Many of these races seem to have a typecast personalityand description associated with them. This helps guidethe player in forming a character, but is not a hardlimitation. Demons can be caring and Aeonic can bespiteful. Animal races can be civilized and the Fae canbe brutal and cruel. Keep this in mind while developinga character, and play the character as you want to see itplayed, and not always as instructed.CursesA curse is a condition that the character finds themselvesin, which in most cases is irreversible. The plight ofthe werewolf and the vampire, for example, are curses,as is the state of the true undead. These curses can beacquired as a character progresses, but only throughevents in the character’s life. One does not simply wakeup as a werewolf, but becomes one after a violent andlife-threatening encounter. A character may, however,start the game with one of these curses, as this eventcould have happened to them before this chapter oftheir story begins.TalentsAlso included in the Demonic and Divine categoriesare a list of supernatural talents. These are innateabilities that a character can discover within themselves.These may be acquired as the game progresses, throughpersonal practice and study, or they may be a giftbestowed by some greater being. The acquisition andprogression of these talents is up to the player andthe storyteller.CompatibilityMany of the character types in this chapter are notcompatible one with another. Normally, a character canonly have one race, one talent, and/or one curse, however,some of the specific abilities have more complicatedrestrictions. Each character type will have listed specificcompatibility instructions.51