Theogony

Characters At A Glance

Main Table

Character	High Concept	Player	Moxie	Conditions
Erin "Mac" MacAran	Black Market Hustler	brahnamin	2
Prof. Crushing Deep Mysteries	Neo-Orca Exosolar Researcher	MrPrim	2
TBD	TBD	TBD	2
TBD	TBD	TBD	2
TBD	TBD	TBD	2
TBD	TBD	TBD	2
TBD	TBD	TBD	2

Scene 1: Arrival on Hesiod

Situation

• You are the Exploration Team on a First-in mission to the newly-discovered Gate on a planet that has been provisionally named Hesiod. As the First-in team, you don't know where you're going or what to expect when you get there.
• The initial automated probe determined that the arrival Gate was on solid, rocky ground and that the gravimetric and atmospheric conditions were survivable for typical morphs. There was some data corruption on the second probe, so much less information than is typical is available, but enough information was returned to establish that Hesiod was survivable. The decision was made to send through a First-In team rather than attempt another automated probe.
• Your job is to learn as much about the planet as possible in the 14 hours that you have before the gate re-opens.
• In addition to you as the Exploration Team, there is a Security Team, whose job will be to deploy a security cordon around the Gate and hold it against any potential threats.
• The overall expedition is under the command of Caihong Li from your sponsor Pathfinder. She will be accompanying you through the gate and will stay with the Security Team.
• Descriptors: Discovery Bonuses; Fixed Departure Time

The Other Side of the Gate

• Descriptors: To be revealed

Caihong Li

• Descriptors: Pathfinder First-In Expedition Manager; Up-and-Coming Planetary Consortium Executive; Tricked-Out Crasher Morph
• Gear: Standard Pathfinder Crashing Kit; The BEST Designer Recreational Drugs

Base Security Team

• Descriptors: Hired Mercenary Squad; Combat Synthmorphs; Here to Protect the Gate
• Gear: Crew-Served Seeker Launcher; Rapid-Deployment Base Security System

Important Links

• In-character Thread
• Out-of-character Thread
• Recruitment Thread

Character Creation

Character creation in Freeform Universal is very simple. There is a Character Template for your convenience, but you aren't required to use it. (Changeable stats like Conditions and Moxie we will track here on the main page instead of on the character sheets.)

• First, your character needs a High Concept - this is the kernel of who or what the character is, and should be summed up in just a few words or a phrase. Barsoomian Revolutionary, Cephalopod Uplift Pilot, something like that.
• Fill out your biographical details: name, basic biography, etc.
• Answer the questions related to your individual Drives. Every character wants something that they can't immediately get. The three questions are:
  • What do you want?
  • What is stopping you?
  • What will you do?
• The mechanical core of your character is 6 Descriptors. These are single-words or short phrases that describe the relevant aspect of your character. The 6 Descriptors that we'll use for this game are:
  • Morph - relates to the morph your PC is currently wearing
  • Mind - relates to your PC's nonphysical characteristics
  • Muse - relates to your PC's Muse. If you don't want a Muse, it relates to why you don't have one.
  • Rep - relates to your PC's Rep with a particular network of your choice - which network, and why is it the way that it is (positive or negative)?
  • Edge - an advantage that your character has.
  • Flaw - a disadvantage that your character has.
• Your character also has 2 pieces of Gear. Of course, your character may fictionally be lugging around other stuff, but these are the two pieces of Gear that you look at as your signature items. Batman's Utility Belt, John Wick's Fashionable Suit Armor, etc. While other items (called "props" in the game) may be important from time to time, these are the pieces of Gear that you want to regularly have a mechanical impact.
• Last, Relationships. All of your PCs are on the same Gatecrashing team, but please describe the particular relationships that you have with 2 other PCs. These can be positive or negative, so long as the negative doesn't impede the game.

Rules Notes

How do I do stuff?

• Pose a closed (i.e., yes/no) question about what your character is attempting. Can I land the ship safely? Do I complete the hack before the IC gets to me? Etc.
• Start with 1 d6 as an Action die. Add another die for every positive Descriptor, Condition, piece of Gear, or other modifier that helps your attempt. Remove a die for every negative Descriptor, Condition, piece of Gear, etc. that hinders your attempt. (This includes not just your character's modifiers, but also the NPC's or location's or scene's - whatever is relevant. When in doubt, I'll have the final word on what applies or doesn't, but fundamentally if I let you in the game I trust your judgment so just be reasonable.)
  • If you're left with a positive number of modifiers, roll that many additional Bonus d6s and take the highest result from all dice.
  • If you're left with a negative number of modifiers, roll that many additional Penalty d6s and take the lowest result from all dice.
  • If you're left with no net modifiers, just roll your Action die.
  • Examples: If you have 3 positive modifiers and 2 negative modifiers, you'll roll 1 Action die and 1 Bonus die, for a total of 2 dice and take the higher result. If you have 2 positive modifiers and 3 negative modifiers, you'll roll 1 Action die and 1 Penalty die and take the lower result.
• That result tells you the answer to your question:
  • 6 = Yes, and
  • 5 = Yes
  • 4 = Yes, but
  • 3 = No, but
  • 2 = No
  • 1 = No, and
• The GM will (pending some reasonable negotiation) decide on what the "ands" and "buts" mean.

What can I do with Moxie?

• Add a bonus die before the roll
• Re-roll any one die after seeing the result
• Elevate a Prop - turn a Prop into Gear for 1 Scene (meaning that it can be added to your die pool when relevant)

How do I earn Moxie?

• Refresh. When the characters have the chance to take a break, they'll return to 2 Moxie if they had less.
• Take a hit. Voluntarily accept a "No, and" result before rolling the dice and gain 1 Moxie.
• Complete bonus tasks. Every so often, I will offer bonus RP tasks that can be completed to earn Moxie. I'm doing this as a more objective version of earning Moxie for doing cool things as described in the book.

What are Conditions?

• Conditions are temporary Descriptors that apply to your character and are mechanically important. They may be Positive or Negative. Maybe you're Concussed from a fight with an Uplifted Gorilla. Or maybe you're wearing a Jovian Battlesuit for a scene.
• From time to time, you'll get Conditions from successes or failures on Roles, or maybe just from the fiction itself.