Embedded Files
A trader-turned-smuggler-turned-rebel, on the run from the hated empire in a rickety hot-air balloon....
An imperial traveler with the head of a cat, seeking wisdom about the empire’s subjects....
An old, moss-covered statue, suddenly awoken to life with no memories except how to battle with spear and shield....
A silent, shipwrecked stranger who wields an ancient artifact that looks for all the world like a pool noodle....
Illustration by Sansiia
To play When Sky and Sea Were Not Named, you'll take on the role of a hero—an exceptional individual with unique abilities and ideals. This page is a broad overview of the hero creation process.
Your hero can be any kind of character you like—brave, clever, goofy, foreboding, a mighty warrior, a fragile scholar, a simulacrum of your favorite fictional character. But they must be capable of rising to the occasion. Remember: the world is ending, just as your character’s adventure begins!
Your Hero Sheet is a record of your hero's various aspects and current condition. To get started, copy the hero sheet template. Then, decide who your hero is, step-by-step.
Make Your Hero
Make Your Hero
Choose an origin, which determines your hero’s physiological traits, their background knowledge, and how the people of Tel-Kanan might treat them.
Choose a calling, an archetype your hero aspires to, encompassing a broad style of play.
Choose lore, the set of cultural knowledge and skills your hero has accumulated over their lifetime. Your origin and calling determine what your lore options are.
Choose items, including armor, weapons, and magical items granted by previous steps.
Choose ideals, which help you roleplay your hero and provide opportunities for powerful invocations.
Finalize your stats: attributes, action dice, defenses, languages, literacy, and other finishing touches.
Quick Hero CreationYou can build a hero quickly by sticking to the top-level page for each step. You don't have to dive into the nitty-gritty rules and details in the subpages. Just write down your choices for each step and note any attribute requirements or abilities.If you're having trouble making a decision for a given step, roll a die and let fate decide.
The six pages above present a broad overview of all the options for each step of this process. As you go through each step, consider your attributes, and take note of any abilities granted by your choices.
Attributes
Attributes
The four attributes—Agility (AGI), Strength (STR), Will (WIL), and Intellect (INT)—reflect your character’s basic physical and mental traits. Each attribute has a score ranging from 0 to 5. Attribute scores are also represented with diamonds (✦✦ for 2), colored accordingly.
When you make a new character:
You have 6 points total to allocate between the four attributes.
The highest score you can normally assign is 3.
There isn’t a discreet step for assigning your character’s attribute points. You can allocate them all at once, or you can wait until Step 6 to finalize them. However, your calling and lore options in steps 2–3 have minimum attribute requirements. Your choices in these steps thus determine to a large extent how quick, strong, driven, and smart your hero is.
Abilities
Abilities
Abilities are granted by your origin, lore, and calling. They define what your hero can do beyond the basic actions available to all characters. You'll know something is an ability when you see a ✪ star icon next to its name.
Hero abilities are summarized on the top-level pages. You'll find more detailed rules for how they work in the sub-pages for each specific origin, calling, and lore.
The four attributes—Agility (AGI), Strength (STR), Will (WIL), and Intellect (INT)—are the building blocks for your hero's defenses and action dice. The quality of each defense and action depends on a pair of attributes.
Take a Hero
Take a Hero
Don't want to create your own hero from scratch? Use one of these folks.
Chom, Kananite Champion
༄ GET HERO
Wandu, Zordin Wanderer
༄ GET HERO
Matreyis, Mazrian Mastermind
༄ GET HERO
Meshua, Kananite Messenger
༄ GET HERO
Seneferi, Mazrian Sorcerer
༄ GET HERO
Ashur, Shinarian Arbiter
༄ GET HERO
Basic gameplay rules and descriptions of each hero's starting abilities are included on the Slides. Make a copy, and make the hero your own.
← Tracking Your Stats ✧ Origins →
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