Character Creation

This page summarises the Character Creation process. Each section of Character Creation is covered in greater detail on its own page.

Concept
If you're playing the game, your first step should be to come up with a concept for the Character you wish to play. Concepts can be very simple, or very complex, whichever you choose.

A couple of sample concepts to give you an idea:

Concept 1
A former athlete turned sneak thief.

Concept 2
A former rally driver turned sniper.

These two very cimple concepts can help you assign dots where necessary.

Attributes
Characters in The Lincoln Academy are all human, albeit of a slightly different variety. As such, the dots they have to distribute among Attributes are:

Primary Category: 6

Secondary Category: 4

Tertiary Category: 3

Additional dots may also be purchased with Freebie Points.

As with all World of Darkness themed games, the Attributes used in Lincoln Academy are:

Abilities
There are 36 Abilities in Lincoln Academy: 12 Talents, 12 Skills, and 12 Knowledges. Each Ability covers a range of aptitudes. For certain Abilities (Expression, Crafts, Performance, Academics, and Science), it is best to pick a Speciality, even if the Character's rating in the Ability is not yet 4 or higher. Thus a Character with the Crafts skill is generally versed in handiwork of all sorts, but might be particularly adept as a Mechanic. Characters have the following dots to distribute among Abilities and may not have any Ability at a rating higher than 3 by spending these dots:

Primary Category: 11

Secondary Category: 8

Tertiary Category: 5

Additional dots may also be purchased with Freebie Points. Note: This can raise an Ability higher than 3.

Backgrounds
These traits describe advantages of birth, circumstance, and opportunity, material possessions, social networks, and the like. Backgrounds are external, not internal, traits, and you should always rationalise how you came to possess them, as well as what they represent. Who are your Contacts? Why do your Allies support you? Where did you meet your Retainers? How exactly did you make enough money to justify 4 dots in Resources? If you've put enough detail and/or thought into your Character Concept, selecting appropriate Backgrounds should be easy.

Although it is uncommon to make rolls involving Backgrounds, your Storyteller might have you do so to see if you can obtain information, goods, or favours. For example, you might have to roll Wits+Resources to keep your stock options healthy, or Manipulation+Contacts to wheelde that extra favour from your *smuggler associate".

Characters in Lincoln Academy have 5 dots to distribute in Backgrounds, though additional dots may be purchased with Freebie Points, and the Backgrounds used are:

Allies

Arcane

Contacts

Fame

Influence

Mentor

Resources

Retainers

Status

Supernormal Powers
The one common thing that all characters share is at least one Supernormal Power. Below is a list of Supernormal Powers available in the game, though this list is by no means complete. All Supernormal Powers require an activation roll (unless stated otherwise), which is based on the Character's X-Factor rating and is difficulty 7 unless otherwise stated, and an expenditure of Fatigue Points equal to the level of the power being used (unless stated otherwise) to represent the drain on a Character's internal reserves of power.

When a character has used up all their Fatigue Points, they are incapable of activating their powers at will. However, if they are thrust into a situation of great stress, the player may spend an X-Factor point to activate the Characater's power for one scene. After that scene, *all dice pools* are halved to represent the Character having over-exerted their powers, not to mention their body. If a Character spends all of their X-Factor Points, they are incapable of activating *any* power until they have rested and they also run the risk of dangerous over-exertion which can bring about the onset of The Logan Effect.

Characters have 3 dots to spend here, and may spend them all on one power, or may spread them around. Additional dots may also be purchased with Freebie Points.

Other Traits
There are four other traits used in The Lincoln Academy. Each has its own page, but for the sake of completeness, are named here:

Fatigue Points

Health Levels

Willpower

X-Factor

It should be noted that the only Trait listed above that can be directly improved by spending Freebie Points is Willpower.

Character Advancement
Characters advance by the spending of Experience Points.