Cortex Prime: Urchins

DISTINCTIONS

Distinctions are unique personal traits or tropes that set characters apart from one another beyond the pure mechanics.

BACKGROUND | QUIRK | SLEEVE

Distinctions are valued at by default. Chose one distinction that highlights your Urchin's unique Background, one that highlights a peculiar Quirk of the character, and one that highlights the sort of Sleeve the character is adept at.

Note: The Sleeve Distinction can only be used as a when not actually sleeved to a machine. This does not earn a free PP as normal. Sleeve SFX be triggered while not sleeved to a machine.

Background Distinction

Urchins are orphans, forgotten and unseen, scraping by in the streets and sewers of the Stone City. Still, each Urchin followed their own unique path to get where they are. Sample Backgrounds might include Core Royal, Kidnapped, Born in the Black, Stowaway, etc . . .

Approaches

Rather than measurable individual character attributes such as Physical | Mental | Social, Urchins uses Approaches, broad goals that an action is aimed at achieving. Infiltration approach is meant to insert the character into a given situation. Investigation approach is meant to learn something about a given situation. Sabotage approach is meant to fuck up a given situation.

INFILTRATION | INVESTIGATION | SABOTAGE

Approaches default to

Players may instead choose to step up one to by stepping back one to

Roles

Urchins are required to fill multiple roles in their daily struggle for survival, but as happens, each Urchin tends to develop more in certain roles, becoming top tier skilled in one, highly skilled in another, competent in most of the rest, and abysmally less competent at that one role that just eludes them.

FIXER | RUNNER | SCRAPPER | SKULKER | TRACKER | TRICKSTER

Assign one of the following dice to each role:

Knacks

Knacks are specific specialties under a given role that the Urchin is just a natural at. Starting nacks are worth an extra to the roll it applies to but can be stepped up during chargen or advancement as outlined below.

Each player gets to assign two free knacks at to their Character's role.

Each player gets to assign one free knack at to their Character's role.

Each player gets to assign two additional knacks at to any role rated or higher or step up an existing knack (or two) at a one-for-one exchange rate. Knacks cannot be assigned to a character's role.

No knack can be stepped up higher than the dice value of the role it is assigned to.

Heirlooms and Keepsakes

Each Urchin begins play with one Heirloom and one Keepsake.

Heirloom This is a hidden treasure from someone important to the Urchin from before they were orphaned, a gift from a parent or sibling or other relative or a piece of family property that the urchin managed to sneak away with.

Keepsake This is a small memento, a gift from another urchin or a minor found treasure since they became an orphan.

Additional keepsakes can be created in play by spending XP on a character created asset and making it permanent. Keepsakes, in turn, can become Heirlooms by spending XP to declare the item has become more meaningful to the character, bumping its die rating up to

Stress and Complications

Sleeve Modes

An Urchin's sleeve starts play with a rating of in Core, Hull and Systems. The character's Primary Role will allow the player to step up one of these ratings one step. The player then gets to make one more step up to the mode of their choice. This can be the same mode that was already stepped up or a different one.

If a player wishes to do so, they may step down one of their modes to to step up another mode by one step. No mode may be stepped up past

CORE | HULL | SYSTEMS