Browse the Cypher System

You are addicted to a drug, probably something illegal, expensive, or both. You are usually in control enough to be a functional adult, holding down a job and maintaining some personal relationships, but the hunger is always there, threatening to fuck up your life. You have a unique insight about crime, or at least how to interface with the criminal world so you can get your next score. You know you have your addiction under control—your drug of choice helps you cope with your illness, or the crapsack world you live in. Or you're looking for help. Or you need to hit rock bottom before you realize how serious your problem is. Or maybe you're too stubborn to realize this'll kill you sooner rather than later. People who know about your addiction might pity you, want to save you, or dismiss you as a junkie.

You have a knack for surprising people-- performing impossible athletic feats, sneaking up on someone who's alert, or instantly reacting to an ambush. You like to make use of these talents to enhance (or rehabilitate) your reputation as a hero prone to spectacular rescues, defeating foes way above your league, and arriving just in time to save the day. Ironically, in your normal daily life, you're a little awkward and overlooked.

You're attractive to others, but perhaps more important, you are likeable and charismatic. You've got that "special something" that draws others to you. You often know just the right thing to say to make someone laugh, put them at ease, or spur them to action. People like you, want to help you, and want to be your friend.

You are a machine-not just a sentient machine, but a sapient one. Your awareness might make you an exception, or there may be many like you, depending on the setting. Artificially intelligent characters have machine minds of one type or another. This can involve an advanced computer brain, but it could also be a liquid computer, a quantum computer, or a network of smart dust particles creating an ambient intelligence. You might even have been an organic creature whose mind was uploaded into a machine. Your body, of course, is also a machine. Most people refer to you as a robot or an android, although you know neither term describes you very well, as you are as free-willed and free-thinking as they are.

Helping others is your calling. It's why you're here. Others delight in your outgoing and charitable nature, and you delight in their happiness. You're at your best when you're aiding people, either by explaining how they can best overcome a challenge or by demonstrating how to do so yourself.

You're not sure that your thoughts are always your own. You often hear a voice or voices, guiding you and attempting to force your hand. Sometimes these voices are helpful and kind. Other times, not so much. Where do they come from, and are you cursed or blessed by them?

Someone you cared for wronged you. They may have done so directly by betraying a trust, stealing your supplies, or giving you up to raiders to save their own life. Maybe they did it indirectly by going missing or dying on you. Or maybe it was an organization or institution that let you down. Whatever it was, you've spent a lot of time pulled into yourself, paranoid and mistrustful of others. But something's happened lately that has at least opened you to the possibility of trusting others again. Maybe you have to work with someone else or die. Alternatively, perhaps you've decided to try one more time, despite your disillusionment. It's either that or fully give in to bitterness.

You're a self-assertive sort, confident in your abilities, energetic, and perhaps a bit irreverent toward ideas that you don't agree with. Some people call you bold and brave, but those you've put in their place might call you puffed up and arrogant. Whatever. It's not in your nature to care what other people think about you, unless those people are your friends or family. Even someone as brash as you knows that friends sometimes have to come first.

You've spent most of your life in sedentary pursuits-books, movies, hobbies, and so on-rather than active ones. You're well versed in all manner of academia or other intellectual pursuits, but nothing physical. You're not weak or feeble, necessarily (although this is a good descriptor for characters who are elderly), but you have no experience in more physical activities. (Calm is a great descriptor for characters who never intended to have adventures but were thrust into them, a trope that occurs often in modern games and particularly in horror games.)

You're an evolved, intelligent dog with the ability to speak and use tools. Some caniens stand upright and have hands, and others are quadrupeds who can use a combination of their front paws and mouth as adroitly as a handed canien; you decide which kind of canien you are. Most canien clothing and equipment accommodates walking on either two feet or four, so that's normally not an issue. Either way, you've got fur, a tail, and a noble dog visage true to your particular line of descent. And like most caniens, you're loyal to your pack and friends. But you may find strangers a little suspicious, in which case you aren't shy about letting them know. However, you're usually willing to entertain the idea that a newcomer may be a friend you just don't know yet.

You are unmistakably feline. Your people have fur; large, pointed ears; sharp teeth and claws; and even tails. You are nimble, graceful, and quick. An ancient and sophisticated culture, your people have their own language, customs, and traditions developed in relative seclusion over the centuries. Neither conquerors nor conquered, the success of your society has come from the fact that you have given most others a wide berth. As a people, you almost never get involved in wars or similar matters, which has given other cultures the idea that you are aloof, unapproachable, or mysterious. As long as they leave you alone, what they think is fine with you.

Early on you discovered—or perhaps you knew all along—that you weren't really who everyone thought you were. Perhaps when you were still very young, the child whose name you have now was stolen, and you were put in their place. Or perhaps you are the same person you've always been, but you've never felt like yourself, and you know that the real you is nothing like the one that everyone else knows. More than once in your life, you've been abandoned, distrusted, and rejected by those you loved most, which means that sometimes you fall into deep funks. However, you are just as adept at pulling yourself out of them when the situation demands it. If nothing else, you're supremely adaptable.

Danger doesn't mean much to you, mainly because you don't think much about repercussions. In fact, you enjoy sowing surprises, just to see what will happen. The more unexpected the result, the happier you are. Sometimes you are particularly manic, and for the sake of your companions, you restrain yourself from taking actions that you know will lead to disaster.

You're a smooth talker and a charmer. Whether through seemingly supernatural means or just a way with words, you can convince others to do as you wish. Most likely, you're physically attractive or at least highly charismatic, and others enjoy listening to your voice. You probably pay attention to your appearance, keeping yourself well groomed. You make friends easily. You play up the personality facet of your Intellect stat; intelligence is not your strong suit. You're personable, but not necessarily studious or strong-willed.

You have a blend of animal attributes; you may be a well-known mythological creature, like a satyr or minotaur, or you may have a unique combination of features. Bison horns, boar tusks, bear paws, a wolf's tail, a lion's mane: take your pick. Your thickened skin offers protection from attacks and the elements. Depending on your dexterity—and whether you have opposable thumbs—you may use adaptive weapons and tools, like a dagger modified to be held in a paw instead of a hand. You're eager to protect the ones closest to you, and usually more likely to run toward conflict than away from it.

You're quick-witted, thinking well on your feet. You understand people, so you can fool them but are rarely fooled. Because you easily see things for what they are, you get the lay of the land swiftly, size up threats and allies, and assess situations with accuracy. Perhaps you're physically attractive, or maybe you use your wit to overcome any physical or mental imperfections.

Graceless and awkward, you were told that you'd grow out of it, but you never did. You often drop things, trip over your own feet, or knock things (or people) over. Some people get frustrated by this quality, but most find it funny and even a little charming. (Some players may not want to be defined by a "negative" quality like Clumsy, but in truth, even this kind of descriptor has enough advantages that it makes for capable and talented characters. What negative descriptors really do is make more interesting and complex characters that are often great fun to play.)

You have (or had) a successful career working for a megacorporation, climbing your way up through the ranks. You've kissed ass and backstabbed as much as you needed to in order to survive the capitalist rat race. You're smart, manipulative, and observant. Maybe you're still employed there, with a "safe" promotion that's giving you some time to take a breather before your next goal. Maybe you were fired for cause, or cut loose to improve the corporation's end-of-quarter profit. You might be a loyalist looking to get back in, or vengeful and ready to see what other opportunities avail you.

Courage fails you at every turn. You lack the willpower and resolve to stand fast in the face of danger. Fear gnaws at your heart, chewing away at your mind, driving you to distraction until you cannot bear it. Most times, you back down from confrontations. You flee from threats and vacillate when faced with difficult decisions. Yet for all that fear dogs you and possibly shames you, your cowardly nature proves to be a useful ally from time to time. Listening to your fears has helped you escape danger and avoid taking unnecessary risks. Others may have suffered in your place, and you might be the first to admit this fact, but secretly you feel intense relief from having avoided an unthinkable and terrible fate. (Descriptors like Craven, Cruel, and Dishonorable might not be appropriate for every group. These are villainous traits and some people want their PCs to be entirely heroic. But others don't mind a little moral greyness thrown into the mix. Still others see things like Craven and Cruel as traits to overcome as their characters develop (probably earning them different descriptors).)

Maybe you have a notebook where you write down ideas so you can develop them later. Perhaps you email yourself ideas that strike you out of the blue so you can sort them in an electronic document. Or maybe you just sit down, stare at your screen and, by indomitable force of will, produce something from nothing. However your gift works, you're creative-you code, write, compose, sculpt, design, direct, or otherwise create narratives that enthrall other people with your vision.

Misfortune and suffering do not move you. When another endures hardship, you find it hard to care, and you may even enjoy the pain and difficulty the person experiences if they've done you wrong in the past. Your cruel streak may derive from bitterness brought about by your own struggles and disappointments. You might be a hard pragmatist, doing what you feel you must even if others are worse for it. Or you could be a sadist, delighting in the pain you inflict. Being cruel does not necessarily make you a villain. Your cruelty may be reserved for those who cross you or other people useful to you. You might have become cruel as the result of an intensely awful experience. Abuse and torture, for example, can strip away compassion for other living beings. As well, you need not be cruel in every situation. In fact, others might see you as personable, friendly, and even helpful. But when angered or frustrated, your dual nature reveals itself, and those who have earned your scorn are likely to suffer for it.

There is no honor among thieves-or betrayers, backstabbers, liars, or cheats. You are all of these things, and either you don't lose any sleep over it, or you deny the truth to others or to yourself. Regardless, you are willing to do whatever it takes to get your own way. Honor, ethics, and principles are merely words. In your estimation, they have no place in the real world.

You are quite certain that your fate is leading you, inextricably, toward a terrible end. This fate might be yours alone, or you might be dragging along the people closest to you.

You can shift at will between a dragon and humanoid form; you may choose to spend more time in one form or the other. In your dragon form you're about 10 feet (3.5 m) long with four legs, leathery wings, and a serpentlike tail. You're drawn to treasure and shiny things, but you're willing to share your hoard with those you trust. Though you can speak human languages, you can't ignore the fact that you're a wild part of your local ecosystem—at least some of the time. You're an apex predator, driven to fly and to hunt, and you brumate in cold temperatures like other reptiles.

You have scales, fangs, claws, and magic-gifts of the dragons. You might have been born of dragonfolk parents, willingly transformed in a magical ceremony, or chosen by a dragon to be their agent or champion. You have a great destiny before you, but it is your choice whether to make it your own or bend to the will of those who made you what you are. Some people mistrust or fear you, and others consider you a prophet or wish to exploit your power for their own goals.

You're a stocky, broad-shouldered, bearded native of the mountains and hills. You're also as stubborn as the stone in which the dwarves carve their homes under the mountains. Tradition, honor, pride in smithcraft and warcraft, and a keen appreciation of the wealth buried under the roots of the world are all part of your heritage. Those who wish you ill should be wary of your temper. When dwarves are wronged, they never forget.

You haunt the woodlands and deep, natural realms, as your people have for millennia. You are the arrow in the night, the shadow in the glade, and the laughter on the wind. As an elf, you are slender, quick, graceful, and long lived. You manage the sorrows of living well past many mortal lifetimes with song, wine, and an appreciation for the deep beauties of growing things, especially trees, which can live even longer than you do.

Other people are open books to you. You may have a knack for reading a person's tells, those subtle movements that convey an individual's mood and disposition. Or you may receive information in a more direct way, feeling a person's emotions as if they were tangible things, sensations that lightly brush against your mind. Your gift for empathy helps you navigate social situations and control them to avoid misunderstandings and prevent useless conflicts from erupting. The constant bombardment of emotions from those around you likely takes a toll. You might move with the prevailing mood, swinging from giddy happiness to bitter sorrow with little warning. Or you might close yourself off and remain inscrutable to others out of a sense of self-preservation or an unconscious fear that everyone else might learn how you truly feel.

"But I thought I was human this whole time!"

You have walked a long and lonely road, leaving your home and your life behind. You might have committed a heinous crime, something so awful that your people forced you out, and if you dare return, you face death. You might have been accused of a crime you didn't commit and now must pay the price for someone else's wicked deed. Your exile might be the result of a social gaffe-perhaps you shamed your family or a friend, or you embarrassed yourself in front of your peers, an authority, or someone you respect. Whatever the reason, you have left your old life behind and now strive to make a new one.

You're fleet of foot. Because you're quick, you can accomplish tasks more rapidly than others can. You're not just quick on your feet, however-you're quick with your hands, and you think and react quickly. You even talk quickly.

You're an evolved, intelligent cat with the ability to speak and use tools. Felis are equally comfortable running on all fours or standing around in a clowder of other felis gossiping over catswort tea. Your fur is your protection from the elements, but you sometimes wear a harness for your equipment and may adopt boots for rough terrain and hats for fashion or function. Your visage is like that of before-times cats, including piercing, reflective eyes. Like other felis, you are crafty and cautious, unless you feel comfortable with others, in which case you can laze away hours in the sun or a warm spot. But if need be, you are quick to act and are not afraid to use your claws to defend yourself.

You emerged from the chrysalis with your mind awash in skills instilled while you matured, as well as knowledge handed down from your ancestors. If the stories are true, some of your knowledge comes from even further back, ceded by godlike "humans" who raised flutters into the light of self-knowledge. That was before humans were lost, leaving the world in ruins. Ruins that are now yours to refurbish and rebuild or, as many prefer, to ignore while you instead go your own way. Humans may have created you, but they're gone, and you can decide what you think you owe them, if anything. As a flutter, you are kin to the much smaller natural moths that still flit by night. But you have an internal skeleton and lungs, and are far larger. For all that, you also have wings, a proboscis, and much thinner limbs than the average animal still roaming the world.

Not everyone can be brilliant. Oh, you don't think of yourself as stupid, and you're not. It's just that others might have a bit more . . . wisdom. Insight. You prefer to barrel along headfirst through life and let other people worry about things. Worrying's never helped you, so why bother? You take things at face value and don't fret about what tomorrow might bring. People call you "idiot" or "numbskull," but it doesn't faze you much. (It can be liberating and really fun to play a foolish character. In some ways, the pressure to always do the right, smart thing is off. On the other hand, if you play such a character as a bumbling moron in every situation, that can become annoying to everyone else at the table. As with everything, moderation is the key.)

Forgeborn—also called golems—are animate figures of metal, reanimated flesh, or other normally inert materials. Forgeborn are constructed for a specific purpose; their primary task is often to guard the alchemist that made them. As such, they usually ain't playing with a full deck when it comes to brains. You're different—somehow, you got a fully developed sense of self, and either never had or lost your compulsion to serve your maker. Maybe your alchemist creator emancipated you once they understood your animated form contained a fully realized mind, or maybe you ran away when the chance offered itself. Either way, you're on your own now, choosing your own goals and jobs.

Sometimes you feel like you are a single being, and other times you think you might be more. You feel torn into pieces, unsure which elements are you and which belong to someone else. Or perhaps they're all you, and you want to find a way to embrace all of your selves.

A furious, fuming anger waits, always, just beneath your surface, swirling under your skin like a caged beast. You might do your best to hide it or control it, or perhaps you have given up trying to tame it and you let it run wild. Either way, it seems to cause you—and those around you—grief more often than not.

You always feel like you're a hair-trigger away from giving in to an unthinking rage. You may have a mild case of SHITS, or suffer an illness or injury that makes you prone to violent outbursts. You might do your best to hide it or control it, or perhaps you have given up trying to tame it and you let it run wild. Either way, it seems to cause you—and those around you—grief more often than not.

Unfortunately, you're dead. But hey, it's not all bad! Your spirit has remained in the mortal world. You can still walk among the living, but you no longer need pesky things like food or sleep. It's up to you how long you've been dead, whether you remember your death, and why you've stuck around: seeking revenge, settling a debt, protecting your descendants, perfecting your great-grandma's pecan pie recipe, or something else entirely.

You are curious and love discovering ways to turn found things into art, tools, or weapons. You might be a sculptor, smith, artist, chef, storyteller, or inventor. Alchemy, magic, and engineering fascinate you. Other beings may see you as a strange mix of a nature-loving elf and a craft-obsessed dwarf, but you and your kind are unique people with a passion for life, exploration, and creation.

You have a perfect sense of balance, moving and speaking with grace and beauty. You're quick, lithe, flexible, and dexterous. Your body is perfectly suited to dance, and you use that advantage in combat to dodge blows. You might wear garments that enhance your agile movement and sense of style.

Life's thrown trials aplenty your way. Yet you're still here. Your skin is sun kissed and weathered and your hair is streaked with gray, sure, but that just speaks to your resilience. You're seasoned—you've got the wisdom of long experience behind you. Your crinkled eyes only enhance your steely gaze, because you exude the quiet confidence of the battle tested. 'Course, you've also learned the value of companionship, and your face easily breaks into a warm smile when your friends are nearby.

You conceal your true nature behind a mask and are loath to let anyone see who you really are. Protecting yourself, physically and emotionally, is what you care about most, and you prefer to keep everyone else at a safe distance. You may be suspicious of everyone you meet, expecting the worst from people so you won't be surprised when they prove you right. Or you might just be a bit reserved, careful about letting people through your gruff exterior to the person you really are. No one can be as reserved as you are and make many friends. Most likely, you have an abrasive personality and tend to be pessimistic in your outlook. You probably nurse an old hurt and find that the only way you can cope is to keep it and your personality locked down.

You stand at least 12 feet (4 m) tall and tower over everyone around you. Whether you are a full-blooded giant or merely have giant heritage from large ancestors, you're massive. Always large for your age, it became an issue only once you reached puberty and topped 7 feet (2 m) in height, and kept growing from there.

Three feet tall and proud, you are fond of the comforts of home but itching for a little adventure now and then. Small and quick, you have a way of getting along with everyone. You might have been raised in a halfling village, a mixed community where humans and the small folk work and eat side by side as friends, or a less welcoming environment where your people get things done using deception and criminal activity. You and humans have a lot in common-you're just more compact and efficient about it.

Your body was built to take abuse. Whether you're pounding down stiff drinks while holding up a bar in your favorite watering hole or trading blows with a thug in a back alley, you keep going, shrugging off hurts and injuries that might slow or incapacitate a lesser person. Neither hunger nor thirst, cut flesh nor broken bone can stop you. You just press on through the pain and continue. As fit and healthy as you are, the signs of wear show in the myriad scars crisscrossing your body, your thrice-broken nose, your cauliflower ears, and any number of other disfigurements you wear with pride.

The world seems more dangerous than it should. You are troubled by fearful and anxious thoughts, and can't always discern what is a true threat and what isn't. You might see shadows following you, be plagued by nightmares, or be filled with a general sense of unease. This constant feeling of being haunted drives you to try to make things feel safer for yourself and those around you.

Demons of the underworld sometimes escape. When they do, they can taint human bloodlines. Things like you are the result of such unnatural unions. Part human and part something else, you are an orphan of a supernatural dalliance. Thanks to your unsettling appearance, you've probably been forced to make your own way in a world that often fears and resents you. Some of your kin have large horns, tails, and pointed teeth. Others are more subtle or more obvious in their differences-a shadow of a knife-edge in their face and a touch that withers normal plants, a little too much fire in their eyes and a scent of ash in the air, a forked tongue, goatlike legs, or the inability to cast a shadow. Work with the GM on your particular helborn appearance.

You are physically repugnant by almost any human standard. You might have had a serious accident, a harmful mutation, or just poor genetic luck, but you are incontrovertibly ugly. You've more than made up for your appearance in other ways, however. Because you have to hide your appearance, you excel at sneaking about unnoticed or disguising yourself. But perhaps most important, being ostracized while others socialized, you took the time growing up to develop yourself as you saw fit-you grew strong or quick, or you honed your mind.

You are trustworthy, fair, and forthright. You try to do what is right, to help others, and to treat them well. Lying and cheating are no way to get ahead-these things are for the weak, the lazy, or the despicable. You probably spend a lot of time thinking about your personal honor, how best to maintain it, and how to defend it if challenged. In combat, you are straightforward and offer quarter to any foe. You were likely instilled with this sense of honor by a parent or a mentor. Sometimes the distinction between what is and isn't honorable varies with different schools of thought, but in broad strokes, honorable people can agree on most aspects of what honor means.

Despite civilization's fall, you're optimistic about what the future could bring, confident that it will be bright. In fact, now that all the old institutions and cares of the world are gone, you hope something better can be rebuilt in its place. It's possible that you're bubbly and full of cheer. But you might instead be quietly confident, your hope revealed by the way you always try again if at first you fail. Being hopeful doesn't mean you're blind to others' faults, but you can hope they will do better next time, which might lead you to be more forgiving than other survivors. After all, when you screw up, you hope others will allow you the same luxury of learning from your mistakes.

You once rode with the Wild Hunt: an immortal cavalry who traversed the skies in secret each night, gathering the souls of those who died in battle and carrying them to the beyond. These days, the Wild Hunt has downsized and your nights are your own. You're mortal again, too, but it's impossible to forget the terrifying freedom and power you once held. Maybe you've let nostalgia make you bitter, or maybe you don't miss the Hunt at all, instead living in fear of being conscripted once more.

You have a hard time tamping down your enthusiasm. Why wait when you can just do it (whatever it is) and get it done? You deal with problems when they arise rather than plan ahead. Putting out the small fires now prevents them from becoming one big fire later. You are the first to take risks, to jump in and lend a hand, to step into dark passages, and to find danger. Your impulsiveness likely gets you into trouble. While others might take time to study the items they discover, you use such items without hesitation. After all, the best way to learn what something can do is to use it. When a cautious explorer might look around and check for danger nearby, you have to physically stop yourself from bulling on ahead. Why fuss around when the exciting thing is just ahead? (Impulsive characters get into trouble. That's their thing, and that's fine. But if you're constantly dragging your fellow PCs into trouble (or worse, getting them seriously hurt or killed), that will be annoying, to say the least. A good rule of thumb is that impulsiveness doesn't always mean a predilection for doing the wrong thing. Sometimes it's the urge to do the right thing.)

You're misunderstood, and you might not even think of yourself as a hero, but somehow you keep ending up in situations where your abilities are just what's needed to prevent disaster. Maybe good luck cancels out just enough of being cursed to count as a win. You've saved innocent lives, defeated some really bad people, and perhaps even cheated death a couple of times. Half the time you don't even know how you did it, but you succeeded at the impossible . . . often with a lot of collateral damage. When you hear police sirens, it's time to leave, but you know that trouble will find you eventually--and you'll be ready to smash it.

The world is vast and mysterious, with wonders and secrets to keep you amazed for several lifetimes. You feel the tugging on your heart, the call to explore the wreckage of past civilizations, to discover new peoples, new places, and whatever bizarre wonders you might find along the way. However, as strongly as you feel the pull to roam the world, you know there is danger aplenty, and you take precautions to ensure that you are prepared for any eventuality. Research, preparation, and readiness will help you live long enough to see everything you want to see and do everything you want to do. You probably have a dozen books and travelogues about the world on you at any time. When not hitting the road and looking around, you spend your time with your nose in a book, learning everything you can about the place you're going so you know what to expect when you get there.

You're quite smart. Your memory is sharp, and you easily grasp concepts that others might struggle with. This aptitude doesn't necessarily mean that you've had years of formal education, but you have learned a great deal in your life, primarily because you pick things up quickly and retain so much.

You are often tickled by a sense of knowing what someone will say, how they will react, or how events might unfold. Maybe you have a mutant sense, maybe you can see just a few moments ahead through time, or maybe you're just good at reading people and extrapolating a situation. Whatever the case, many who look into your eyes immediately glance away, as if afraid of what you might see in their expression.

You're cheerful, friendly, and outgoing. You put others at ease with a big smile and a joke, possibly one at your own expense, though lightly ribbing your companions who can take it is also one of your favorite pastimes. Sometimes people say you never take anything seriously. That's not true, of course, but you have learned that to dwell on the bad too long quickly robs the world of joy. You've always got a new joke in your back pocket because you collect them like some people collect bottles of wine.

It's always been easy for you to see things from the point of view of other people. That ability has made you sympathetic to what they really want or need. From your perspective, you're just applying the old proverb that "it's easier to catch flies with honey than with vinegar," but others simply see your behavior as kindness. Of course, being kind takes time, and yours is limited. You've learned that a small fraction of people don't deserve your time or kindness-true sadists, narcissists, and similar folk will only waste your energy. So you deal with them swiftly, saving your kindness for those who deserve it and can benefit from your attention.

You're a soul of few words—or no words at all, when a shrug or nod will do. Now there's some who'll flap their jaws about everything that comes into their head. Sometimes they get under your skin. But you don't upbraid them; nope—you just frown. You're direct and to the point, avoiding elaboration. You're comfortable with pauses, and when you do speak, your words carry extra weight. All that said—and that's a hell of a lot more than you would say—you don't mind other folks. Just their prattle.

You have studied, either on your own or with an instructor. You know many things and are an expert on a few topics, such as history, biology, geography, mythology, nature, or any other area of study. Learned characters typically carry a few books around with them and spend their spare time reading.

You are from a long line of fierce reptilian predators. You show your fangs and scales proudly. Your people survive and thrive in the wetlands, guarding their eggs, raising their hatchlings, and protecting their territory. City-builders may call you a savage and your culture primitive, but there is grace in your hunting, artistry in your crafting, joy in your songs, and reverence in your worship.

You can't remember exactly when it happened or why, but you have lost your way. The path through life, or even through your own mind, no longer seems to exist. Once you had a reason and a goal, but now you find yourself wandering aimlessly, without clear purpose or drive.

You rely on chance and timely good luck to get you through many situations. When people say that someone was born under a lucky star, they mean you. When you try your hand at something new, no matter how unfamiliar the task is, as often as not you find a measure of success. Even when disaster strikes, it's rarely as bad as it could be. More often, small things seem to go your way, you win contests, and you're often in the right place at the right time.

You've made it this far without having any cybernetic implants—an extreme outlier in a world where they're as common as eyeglasses. You should decide the reason why you don't have any—religious objection, allergic to synthetic materials, poverty, or simply lucky (or talented) enough to never have needed them. You might be open and obvious about this, or try to keep it a secret (perhaps using scars or tattoos to make it look like you aren't a luddite).

You have delved too deeply into subjects people were not meant to know. You are knowledgeable in things beyond the scope of most, but this knowledge has come at a terrible price. You are likely in questionable physical shape and occasionally shake with nervous tics. You sometimes mutter to yourself without realizing it.

You have a special talent with machines of all kinds, and you're adept at understanding and, if need be, repairing them. Perhaps you're a bit of an inventor, creating new machines from time to time. You get called "techie," "tech," "mech," "gear-head," "motor-head," or any of a number of other nicknames. Mechanics usually wear practical work clothes and carry around a lot of tools.

You have a very impressive physique. Your strength, power, and very importance are superior. Whether you're truly the mightiest may be up for debate (and you may have a friendly rivalry about this with other superheroes), but there is no question that you are exceptional. These things make you confident, but you know that you have these physical gifts in order to perform heroic deeds, and unseemly conduct is beneath you.

You have lived your life deep underground in artificial bunkers, hidden from the world's destruction and the brutal scavengers that live above. As a morlock, you have a keen mind for the technology salvaged from the before-time. In fact, every morlock comes of age by fitting a piece of morlock technology to its body to provide enhancement and extend its life. This means that you are part flesh and part machine. Your skin is as pale as milk, except where it's been replaced with strips of metal and glowing circuits.

Savage forces strong enough to destroy a world left you transformed. Either through latent mutations passed down from ancestors that survived the apocalypse, or because something about you reacts when you're exposed to radiation or some other mutagenic source, you are prone to mutation. You might look relatively similar to others of your species, or you might have one or more obvious physical differences that make it hard to disguise your nature. Not that you necessarily want to hide what you are; you might wish to proudly display what makes you different and, to your mind, better.

The dark figure lurking silently in the corner? That's you. No one really knows where you came from or what your motives are-you play things close to the vest. Your manner perplexes and confounds others, but that doesn't make you a poor friend or ally. You're just good at keeping things to yourself, moving about unseen, and concealing your presence and identity.

You think of yourself as mystical, attuned with the mysterious and the paranormal. Your true talents lie with the supernatural. You likely have experience with ancient lore, and you can sense and wield the supernatural-though whether that means "magic," "psychic phenomena," or something else is up to you (and probably up to those around you as well). Mystical characters often wear jewelry, such as a ring or an amulet, or have tattoos or other marks that show their interests.

You've lived a sheltered life. Your childhood was safe and secure, so you didn't get a chance to learn much about the world-and even less chance to experience it. Whether you were training for something, had your nose in a book, or just were sequestered in a secluded place, you haven't done much, met many people, or seen many interesting things so far. That's probably going to change soon, but as you go forward into a larger world, you do so without some of the understanding that others possess about how it all works.

You're a shapeshifting water spirit. You can walk on two legs and breathe air, but when you're submerged, you gain a tail, fins, and gills. You probably live near flowing water, with no preference for salinity or temperature; you also have a general affinity for nature and a knack for identifying useful plants. Your playful and upbeat disposition doesn't mean you're passive or helpless. Though you may prefer to talk your way out of tough situations, you're quick to react to threats—especially in water, where you maneuver with deadly accuracy.

You miss little. You pick out the small details in the world around you and are skilled at making deductions from the information you find. Your talents make you an exceptional sleuth, a formidable scientist, or a talented scout. As adept as you are at finding clues, you have no skill at picking up on social cues. You overlook an offense that your deductions give or how uncomfortable your scrutiny can make the people around you. You tend to dismiss others as being intellectual dwarfs compared to you, which avails you little when you need a favor.

You are a quintar from the planet Quint. You are basically humanoid but taller, thinner, and blue skinned. Your hands end in three very long fingers. Quintar have five genders, but all quintar prefer to be addressed as female when communicating with more binary species. Human emotions and sexuality fascinate them, but not because they don't have such concepts-quintar emotions and sexuality are just very different from those of humans. In general, quintar are more cerebral than other species, valuing knowledge over all else. Quint is relatively Earthlike, with slightly less gravity but a slightly denser atmosphere.

You can take a lot of punishment, both physically and mentally, and still come back for more. It takes a lot to put you down. Neither physical nor mental shocks or damage have a lasting effect. You're tough to faze. Unflappable. Unstoppable.

You died. Now you're back. Except not completely—you're what them alchemists call a necrovore, or as regular folks whisper in your wake, Damned. And perhaps you do bear a sigil branded onto your flesh by a demon from Perdition. Maybe your situation is the result of some other curse that pulled you screaming back into animation. Or you might be called back from death due to your own need to finish a task you failed to accomplish before life fled.

It's part of your nature to question what others think can't or shouldn't be done. You're not insane, of course-you wouldn't attempt to leap across a mile-wide chasm just because you were dared. There's impossible and then there's the just barely possible. You like to push the latter further than others, because it gives you a rush of satisfaction and pleasure when you succeed. The more you succeed, the more you find yourself looking for that next risky challenge to try yourself against.

You are born of a species of evolved insects once called "cockroach," but that is far in the past. Radiation and forced evolution have radically increased your size, shape, and ability to think. Your exoskeleton mimics the shape of a human being, though not perfectly. When you move about human society, shadows and cloaks are your ally if you wish to pass unnoticed. When those of your kind are discovered, it usually goes poorly for someone. You, however, have a wandering spirit and seek to explore the fallen world and find a new way forward.