Culture and community play an important part of character creation. Culture determines the kind of society in which the character was raised, and so prescribes certain outlooks and philosophies he or she might have. More practically, culture helps define the values of the various skills that shape your character’s overall capabilities. Community details the family, both immediate and extended, which helps to define kinsfolk and relationships with them.

Culture

There are three basic krinn cultures: Barbarian, Civilized, and Nomadic.

A description of each cultural background follows and includes a view of the culture from the perspective of one of its members. Incorporated in the description is a list of skill bonuses and new skills appropriate to that culture. Players should apply the skill bonuses immediately to the Standard skills on their Character Sheet, and add the additional new skills, known as Professional Skills (introduced in the next chapter), to the appropriate section of the sheet. In many cases a cultural background lists a range of skills and invites the player to pick one, or more, that will gain a bonus: in this way players from the same cultural background can ensure that their adventurers are different in the areas they have developed.

Also note that each culture comes with several Game Systems ➞ Passions. If Passions are being used, then the Cultural Passions define ingrained preferences and prejudices for that culture. If Passions are not required, then simply ignore the entries.

Cultural Skill Points

Each culture lists a variety of Standard Skills that the character learns as part of his formative development within that society. These are core abilities which all characters from the same specific culture improve to some degree. Characters also learn a number of more specialized or esoteric Professional Skills according to their personal interests, and have the option of learning a cultural Combat Style.

Skills ➞ Professional skills are further explained in the Skills chapter, but in brief they represent those skills which cannot be attempted without years of rigorous study and specialized training. Whereas a character has a basic ability in all Standard Skills, they have zero ability in any Professional Skill unless chosen as part of their cultural upbringing or career.
When applying cultural skills perform the following steps:

• Apply the static bonuses to Customs and Native Tongue: these are +40% to each, irrespective of the culture chosen.

• Select three Professional Skills from the options offered

• If desired, select a single Combat Style

• Distribute 100 points amongst the listed Standard Skills, the chosen Professional Skills, and the Combat Style (if selected), increasing that skill by 1% for every point spent on improving it. Players are free to choose how much each skill is improved by, but each skill must receive a minimum of 5% and cannot receive more than 15%.

Chosen Professional Skills start off at their base characteristic value as per Standard Skills. Some Professional Skills such as Crafts, Languages or Lores offer choice of a specialization. In these cases the specialty chosen should be one which suits that culture.

Characters need not invest any points into a Combat Style if they are disinclined to do so, as some cultures have non-combatant members whether due to gender, caste or philosophy. Cultural Combat Styles usually reflect the informal training received by the community for hunting, personal protection or civil defense.

Each culture comes with a range of evocative names for Combat Styles. However, no weapons are defined, because Combat Styles are intended to be flexible tools for the Games Master to tailor the weapons to the particular culture or setting. Refer to the Combat ➞ Combat Styles section in the Combat chapter for further guidance.

Barbarian

Tribal in nature, barbarians tend to shun civilization, viewing those who live in large towns and cities as weak and corrupt. Although their own settlements are also sedentary, they tend to be far smaller and closer to nature. Barbarian tribes occupy distinct territories, often half tamed wilderness, which they regard as their own for hunting, grazing and farming purposes. Most are adept in the use of weaponry as they must overcome many dangers throughout their lives – facing creatures of the wilds or mustering to defend their lands against rival tribes. Since they live in small communities the ties of kinship and clan are strong elements of their society.

Skills

Standard Skills

Athletics, Brawn, Endurance, First Aid, Locale, Perception; and either Boating or Ride.

Example Combat Styles

Barbarian Fyrdman, Berserker, Horse Eater, Seaborne Reiver, Weapon Thegn, Wolf Hunter.

Professional Skills

Craft (any), Healing, Lore (any), Musicianship, Navigate, Seamanship, Survival, Track.

Cultural Passions

• Loyalty to Clan Chieftain

• Love (friend, sibling or romantic lover)

• Hate (creature, rival or clan)

The Barbarian’s Voice

‘The people of the towns and cities call us barbarians because our houses are not made of mortared stone, and we choose not to crush ourselves together like too many fish in a shallow pond. They call us barbarians because we choose not to write down what we see, hear and say, but to memorize it as song. They call us barbarians because we fight amongst ourselves sometimes. They call us barbarians because they simply do not understand. Living in brick boxes must do something to the wits.
$\quad$ We choose to be close to the ground that gave rise to all of us. Our homes are made from the things we can readily find and shape, and we do not believe in building high or covering the ground in dressed marble. Life is hard; we appreciate it that way. It is good to feel the rain on our cheeks and the sun on our backs as we go about our business. Why lock ourselves away? The gods created us to experience the world, and you can’t do that if you spend all your time imprisoned within walls. We accept the world for what it is and how it is. Town and city folk seek to make it something else. We appreciate comfort and warmth just like they do, but we take life as it comes, not as how we would like it be. A bed of good, fresh straw is as comfortable as any slab stuffed with feathers – and probably cleaner, and certainly better for the back.

Do not believe what you hear from them about our lack of laws. Our laws are embodied in our customs and traditions. When we transgress we expect to be punished. When we transgress badly we expect the punishment to be bad, too. We believe in saying what we mean, meaning what we say and doing what we have promised. Some view this as harsh, such as when we stone liars to death, but this means we do not have liars in our midst. Those tempted to transgress know the consequences and think twice. This helps us to live in harmony.

You question our raids? Well, do the civilized folk not make wars? Of course they do! When they make war thousands die, innocent victims amongst them. For us, we raid to settle scores and to build our strength – not just the strength of the tribe but the strength of character too. We expect to be raided and our neighbors expect us to raid them. Just as the hawk takes the dove on the wing. Life is a cycle and we are part of it; and when we raid, a few might die, but most do not. And when we die we are ready for it and unafraid. Through raiding we understand our place and keep it, just as the wolf knows its territory and keeps that.

So come and break bread with us. We do not care that you live in stinking, narrow, disease filled streets; as a visitor to our hearth you are a guest and will be treated as such. You will be served first, above even the headman, and we will share with you all that we have, keeping nothing back. In return we ask for news and stories, and perhaps a small token of your appreciation for our hospitality in the form of a song or a dance. Come, the elders are waiting.’

Civilized

The Civilized culture is epitomized by a semblance of law and order, underpinned by complex social codes, and supported by a bureaucracy. Civilized people believe themselves superior to all other cultures because their achievements tend towards permanence: sprawling cities, imposing temples, celebratory monuments, and the recording of history and events in books, tomes, and scrolls. Of course, this is a thin veneer. The most civilized of cities can be more lawless than any barbarian frontier settlement; and the social codes may be cruder than the hospitality rituals of nomads. But the Civilized culture prides itself on its achievements, its infrastructure, its professional artisans, and its ability to easily extend its reach to wherever it wishes to go.

Skills Standard

Skills

Conceal, Deceit, Drive, Influence, Insight, Locale, Willpower

Combat Styles

Citizen Legionary, City-state Phalangite, Levied Archer, Light Skirmisher, Street Thug, Town Militia

Professional Skills

Art (any), Commerce, Craft (any), Courtesy, Language (any), Lore (any), Musicianship, Streetwise.

Cultural Passions

• Loyalty to Town/City

• Love (friend, sibling or romantic lover)

• Hate (rival, gang, district or city)

The Civilized Voice

‘Isn’t this a fine city? I mean, isn’t it the finest you’ve ever seen? Safe, too. The militia sees to that, and although you might see the odd beggar wandering around the marketplace you’re as likely to be attacked as you are to get eaten by monsters. We have rules, you see. Without rules we’re no better than animals. Rules help us live together without fighting, and to make things we can sell so that we can move up in the world.
$\quad$It’s about order and a certain degree of comfort. And it’s about education. I have listened to the priests and studied with philosophers, which helps me run my business. Because I run my business I can buy education for my children so they can run businesses too, when they’re older. I can buy my wife the things we need to bring up the children, and sometimes there’s a little left over for a treat. Sometimes. And to pay the taxes. It’s very important that we pay the taxes.

But mostly it’s about protection. That wall around the city is there for more than show. It keeps the Schpane out and lets us live in peace. The garrison patrols the borders, and the wall, and alerts us when enemies are near. Not that they’d dare attack us! We have the most important city in the whole region. Attacking us would invite hatred from our allies. So we are safe.

Well, yes, of course there’s crime. There’s always someone who isn’t prepared to work for it and steals instead. Why, only last week my shop was turned over, and the day’s takings stolen. And yes, there are muggings, and murders too, but the militia always catch the perpetrators; and when they do! Well, then they’ll see our marvelous court in action. The Emperor himself presides, you know, and he's just. He can tell when someone’s guilty just by staring at them. And don’t bother appealing; if you’re guilty, you’re off to the quarries. That’s unless you’ve been stealing, in which case you lose fingers.

What I like most about the city is the wider community. It’s about meeting new people every day, each with a new story to tell. I like seeing my neighbors, even if they are a bit loud sometimes, and I like the atmosphere of market day or Gods’ Day when everyone’s excited and out for a good time. I like having a roof over my head, and a warm bed to lie in at night (even if it is damp). I like having a door I can close on the world when I get fed up with it, and knowing that I don’t have to go out with a spear to hunt my next meal.

Me? Give up the city? No chance!’

Nomadic

Nomadic people are constantly on the move, with no home and hearth to call their own. They may wander aimlessly about, or might have several camps they move to and from throughout the year. They raise few crops and instead follow the migrations of animals or fish, perhaps even herding their own domesticated beasts. Nomads are adept at subsisting on what they can quickly and easily scavenge from their surroundings, letting nothing go to waste. The skills of the nomad culture should be tailored to their environment. Some journey vast distances on foot, others live in caravans or ride strange creatures, and some drift across the oceans on great floating rafts.

Skills

Standard Skills

Endurance, First Aid, Locale, Perception, Stealth; and two of the following: Athletics, Boating, Swim, Drive or Ride depending on the primary mode of travel.

Example Combat Styles

Camel Cavalry, Feathered Death Flinger, Horse Lord, Whale Hunter, Wheeled Warrior, Wolf Runner.

Professional Skills

Craft (any), Culture (any), Language (any), Lore (any), Musicianship, Navigate, Survival, Track

Cultural Passions

• Loyalty to Tribal Chieftain/Khan

• Love (friend, sibling or romantic lover)

• Hate (creature, rival or tribe)

The Nomad’s Voice

‘In the winter we move down to the shelter of the valleys where our people have made camp every year for fifty generations. We wait until the ground thaws, living all the while on the dried meats and fruits laid down in the autumn and protect ourselves from the snow and cold. Last year we arrived in the valley to find it had been occupied by savage, diseased wolves, and we had to drive them out and cleanse the place with fire. A dozen died in that fight. A dozen hands fewer to tend the herd and forage.

In the spring we move to the high plateau, where the hunting is good. The Great Hunt takes place in that time, when the strong go and find antelope, leopard, and yak, and the rest move the herd up out of the valley. Those are good days, and we give thanks to the spirits, and sacrifice a cow or two. We meet the other clans at the Great Sky Cairn, and exchange news, and gifts. There is always a feast, and many sore heads, but we agree the business for the year, and discuss what the game trails are like, and how the pasture holds out. Last year one clan brought with it a monster they had captured and tamed. It was a scaly thing with tusks and hide like tree bark; the shamans said it was unnatural, but the other clan kept it as a watchdog.

And then in the summer we move out across the high plateau where we graze our animals and gather fruits to prepare for the winter. Sometimes we battle, seeking to hold the best grasslands, or raid barbarian settlements lurking in the forest, but mostly we know peace. It is difficult to keep enemies when you’re always on the move. Neither do we waste. Waste is an insult to the gods! We eat, or find a use, for everything we hunt. We honor what nature provides, and do not squander it. It brings tears to the eyes and heart to see the waste in the stinking cities.

Why do we follow this life? Because of the animals, because of the seasons! The world moves and so must we. If you stay in one place you sap the earth and it stops giving. Stay in one place and sooner or later enemies or monsters find you, and before you know it you’re fighting every day instead of every now and again. By moving we learn the land and take its best. If you set down roots, you become like a plant and we are not plants. We have legs and we walk and run like the deer walk and run. We are free and being free we must move freely. Our hunters and herders are strong because we keep our blood moving and stay in time with the seasons, moving when the earth and the spirits say it is time to move. Never stop moving. Even when death claims us, we go to the Great Hunting where all is spring and the game is good, and the spirits look after us as we have looked after them.

We have a good life.’

Background

Events Background Events are notable things that have happened in the character’s life before he began his career as an adventurer. Some are formative; some are fortunate and some are unfortunate. Background Events are optional, but using them adds to the character’s history, and can be used by creative players and Games Masters as hooks for scenarios or even complete campaigns. If using Background Events you may feel free to choose an event that appeals or roll randomly. Random rolls may produce very interesting, but potentially conflicting results. If a roll is not to your liking or seriously disrupts the idea and concept you have for your character then do re-roll the event. Background Events should enrich the character – not disrupt it. If your starting character is older than the standard, then you may gain multiple rolls on this table (see Careers ➞ Age). If you roll a result twice, re-roll one of the results. If two results contradict each other either discard both and roll again, or agree with the Games Master how best to make both results work together.

Background Events Table

Roll a 1d200 and find out

Community

Having determined the character’s culture it is now time to develop his community ties. Community consists of a number of related elements: family, contacts, background events and passions. Passions have been mentioned in the Culture section earlier, but you will find the rules for them here.

Work through each of the Community elements as described below adding the details to your character sheet. This is an opportunity to really bring your character to life – to work out what family he has, what friends and enemies he might have made, what strange or odd things may have happened to him in his past, and what things drive his loyalty, his loves and his hates.

Character Social Class

Social Class measures the prosperity, resources and social position of characters. Their class influences the starting money available to them, and likely Background Resources – things to which the character has access and can return to when not adventuring. It is additionally used to determine income between adventures (see the Economics and Equipment chapter).

Unless it has been predefined as the consequence of a Background Event or specifically decided by the Games Master, a character’s Social Class is rolled randomly – although it can be chosen or re-rolled if the Games Master permits. There are three separate tables, one for each culture, which determine the class the character or his family have enjoyed for most of their life.

Class defines broad categories of social strata, but may have more subdivisions as determined by the game setting. In general the more advanced the culture, the more complex its social structure. Players should confer with the Games Master to decide what precise title or rank is appropriate for their character.

Social Class Tables

Barbarian Social Class Table

Civilized Social Class Table

Nomad Social Class Table

Starting Money

All characters begin the game with commodities or currency worth:

• Barbarians: 4d6 x50 silver pieces

• Civilized: 4d6 x75 silver pieces

• Nomadic: 4d6 x25 silver pieces

Multiply the character’s starting money by the Money Modifier to determine the available cash or commodities the character has. At the Games Master’s discretion additional money generated by the Money Modifier may be in the form of goods or chattels rather than ready coin.

The Background Resources reflect additional items the character either can start the game with – such as a mount (horse, camel or beast appropriate to culture) – and things he can call upon, such as servants or slaves.

Families

Every character comes from a family. The family might be rambling with dozens of members or small and tightknit with only a handful of kin. The family’s reputation might help or hinder the character, or its connections might prove useful for all sorts of reasons now or in the future.

If desired, roll 1d100 on each of the Family tables below to determine parental status, the number of siblings the character has, and the extended family’s structure. Next determine the family’s connections and reputation. Does the family enjoy respect in its community? Do its connections bring it a level of power or prestige? Are there are skeletons in the closet that might threaten stigma or ostracism? Does reputation bring allies or enemies?

It is recommended to leave the details of large families vague. One way of developing a story for characters is to introduce family members – such as that shrewish aunt or roguish cousin – through roleplaying and scenario development. Keeping details vague at this stage gives the Games Master the flexibility for creating such introductions.

Allies, Contacts, Rivals and Enemies

Allies, Contacts, Rivals and Enemies are people, or perhaps organizations, that a character has developed a relationship with for either good or ill. At this stage all one needs to do is give these supporting characters a name (Contact: Gundleus the Sage, for example, does just fine; or, Enemy: Cult of Eignachs); fleshing out the details can come later.

• Ally: a friend, colleague or relation who shares the same cause as the character and will offer help and guidance when called upon. Depending on their personality the Ally may want a favor in return or might provide aid for free.

• Contacts: people of potential influence the character knows. A Contact is an acquaintance who can help, not one who will.

• Rival: those who oppose the character for the same or similar goals, and will attempt to interfere with or harass him.

• Enemy: someone who wishes the character harm, and will go to lengths to ensure the character suffers in some way. Enemies may take direct or indirect action, possibly trying to influence contacts and allies to bring about the character’s misfortune.

Allies, Contacts, Rivals and Enemies are intended to act in the background, providing occasional interactions with the character but not always being prominent in their lives. These can be good sources of background information and, in certain circumstances, drive crucial parts of a scenario, but they are generally intended to be bit-players in the characters’ stories rather than fully-fleshed non-player characters. Of course, they may well develop into fully-formed non-player characters as a campaign develops, and so Games Masters should keep careful note of who they are, how they look and act, what they know, and how they have (and will) interact with the character. This will maintain consistency in how they are portrayed.

Family & Connections Tables

Parents Table

Siblings Table

Extended Family Table

Reputation Table

Connections Table

Passions

Using Passions can greatly assist players and Games Masters in deepening the nature of the character, introducing plot hooks based on a character’s desire or prejudices, and helping the player to understand who his character is, what drives him, and so on.

Passions are measured in the same way as skills; they have a starting value based on two characteristics and are rated between 1 and 100 (or higher). Passions represent several things:

• Loyalties and allegiances

• Strongly held beliefs or ideals

• Emotion felt towards someone or something

A Passion can be improved in the same way as a skill or it can be either increased or decreased by the Games Master depending on circumstances. Aild, for example, may have Loyalty to Achaius, his clan chief, at 70%. However if Aild were to make an alliance with an enemy clan that Achaius disapproves of, then the Games Master could, quite reasonably, have Aild’s Loyalty drop to 50%, representing an erosion of his fidelity. Conversely, Achaius might grant Aild a favor which increases the Loyalty to 80%, demonstrating the strengthening bond.

A Passion can be for anything – a person, an organization, an ideal, even an object. Passions are typically described by a verb such as: Comfort, Desire, Despise, Destroy, Espouse, Fear, Flee, Foreswear, Hate, Love, Loyalty to, Protect, Repudiate, Respect, Seek, Subvert, Torment or Uphold.

The verb describes the nature of the relationship. Loyalty, for instance, does not always indicate respect; Respect does not always indicate love; Despising something is not the same as hating it; Loving someone is not the same as being loyal to them. The verb used should therefore reflect how the character feels either personally or culturally towards the subject.

A Passion can be established at any point in the game – either during this phase of character creation or, and perhaps most interestingly, during game play. All a character needs to do to establish a Passion is stipulate that he intends to form the passion and give it an appropriate adjective: Love (Elissa), for example; or Shun (Sorcery).

The starting value of the Passion varies according to its type - see the Passions Table, opposite. All the Starting Percentages may be modified by the Games Master to reflect deeper or lesser devotion; thus, Love (Elissa) might begin for a character at 55%, using the above Starting Percentage calculation, but, because the character is so faithful to Elissa (a childhood sweetheart), the Games Master decides to increase the Starting Percentage to 75%, taking into account the lifelong devotion.

Where a person or people are concerned, the Passion does not need to be reciprocated. It is up to the Games Master to decide if it is or not, and the Player must decide if unreciprocated love will strengthen his character’s Passion, or weaken it. If the decision is made to strengthen the Passion (unrequited love often drives the heart to deeper fondness or infatuation), then the Passion value can be increased (or decreased, if the depth of feeling is diminished) by 1d10%.

This section only details what Passions represent and their default values. How Passions are used in the game is discussed in in Game Systems ➞ Passions.

Passions Table