All VR characters are familiar with the low level areas of settings in which they live. Your main character receives Knowledge: VR Game World (Avatars or Gloaming) to reflect this. However, it is not a given that they can operate vehicles of their time period; these must be taken as skills.VR characters can advance much more quickly than main characters. You might find yourself able to afford a new VR character advance practically every session in which you play your VR character, whereas your main character might only receive enough XP to buy an advance after completing entire storyline arcs.
- Av2VRGameRules - for more information on VR gameplay
- Smith (Strength) - you can craft armor and weapons, or repair them. Any equipment found on adventures will generally be in poor condition (-2 to Fighting, Shooting, or -1 Armor). A good Smith roll can restore these items to be like new! You may also, given enough time and special materials discovered in your travels, create weapons and armor of new and unique properties.
- Lore (Smarts) - you may be able to recognize ancient languages in ruins, recall history or esoteric fact about a strange creature you've just sighted, or otherwise make sense out of an enormously complex and ever-changing game world.
- Riding (Agility) - you can ride domesticated and trained mounts without this skill, but you will need this skill to be able to ride in combat.
- Sense Portal (Spirit) - Gloaming only. You receive this skill for free at d4. It allows you to sense nearby portals, and on a raise, what dimensions they connect to. The farther away a portal is, the harder it is to sense.
You should choose one of the following Arcane Backgrounds for your VR character. You can never change this later without starting over with a new VR character.
- Link (Avatar) - you gain d4 Link (Spirit). You should define your Avatar's appearance and chosen element, i.e. earth, air, fire, water, steam, ice, sand, et cetera. Your Avatar begins with a 10-point power pool and one power, plus a set of natural abilities and attributes which will be provided by the GM. Summoning and dismissing your Avatar does not take power.
- Link (Augment) - you gain d4 Link (Spirit). An Augment may be a piece of armor, weapon, or other item of reasonably large side (at least the size of your head). You will have a 10 point power pool and one power which you use through the Augment. Your Augment will have two Advances which you gain whenever you summon and equip the Augment. Summoning and dismissing your Augment does not take power.
- Magician - you gain d4 Spellcasting (Smarts). You have a 10 point power pool and three powers.
- Backlash: when you roll 1 on your Spellcasting die, regardless of your Wild Die, you are automatically Shaken.
- Shapeshifter - Gloaming only you gain d4 Shapeshift (Spirit). You have a 10 point power pool and the power Shapeshifting. You begin with three Advances to make your shifted form more powerful than your normal form, but are vulnerable to silver weapons (2x damage). See Av2NaturalAbilities for available abilities.
- While it costs 1 power point to transform into your 'True Form', you can maintain it indefinitely.
- You can "Monster Out". You increase in size by 2 (+2 Toughness, strength increases by 1 die type) but this costs 1 power point to maintain per round. Getting a Raise on your Shapeshift roll causes you to monster out for one round per Raise at no power cost.
- It costs no power to return to human form.
- Supernatural - Gloaming only you gain d4 Dark Mastery (Spirit) and the ability to cast spells or use innate magical abilities. You have a 10 point power pool and receive advantages and hindrances according to the specific type of Supernatural you choose.
- Vampires: has the Mind Control power and +2 to Charisma; takes damage from sunlight, afraid of holy symbols.
- Faeries: has one spell (choose from power list) and innate flight, but vulnerable to iron and steel weapons (+1d6 damage) and incapable of lying.
- Kitsunes and other tricksters: has the power of Illusion*, but are bound by their word and unable to lie. They have a natural fox form (or coyote, or rabbit) with natural weapons (Str+d4 melee) and must use Illusion to be able to pass among humans.
- Angel: has two spells (choose from power list), or one spell plus innate flight. Has either a persistent glow or wings which are difficult to conceal. (-2 to Stealth) Must be Heroic. (does not count against player-chosen Hindrances)
* Note: Illusion is represented as Elemental Manipulation: Light. 1 power point will allow you to manipulate a small area, i.e. face obscuring for 10 minutes. 2 power points will allow you to manipulate an area the size of a figure, i.e. appear as human. 3 power points will allow you to manipulate a larger creature or object, i.e. an aircar. Illusions are applied as Tricks (opposed Smarts rolls) against opponents, at +1 to your roll.
- Taking Improved Illusion will both reduce your power consumption and increase the area of the illusions you can create. 1 power point would be sufficient to disguise yourself or another person for 10 minutes, 2 power points would cover a larger creature or object, 3 power points would cover a room.
Edges
Note: all VR characters automatically have both Hard to Kill and Harder to Kill at 100% effectiveness.
For all but Avatar and Lycanthrope Links, you may take the New Power and Increase Power Pool Edges as normal (once each per Rank). The Rapid Recharge Edge is gone. (30 minutes, or even 15 to recover a power point, is an eternity in a movie-style campaign)
Promote Avatar - grants your Avatar two Advances and either a Size increase or a Trait increase to reflect your Avatar's growing power. Your Avatar can then purchase New Power and/or Increase Power Pool if you so desire. May not be taken more than once per Rank.
Avatar Sense - allows you to see, hear, and feel what your Avatar does. Grants +1 to Avatar Link rolls.
Heal Avatar - you can channel energy into your Avatar. Roll Avatar Link against a target of 4 to give up one level of Fatigue to cure one of your Avatar's Wounds. Each Raise allows you to cure one additional Wound at no additional cost. Nothing happens on a failure. On a Botch, you are Shaken, but your Avatar will not take any further damage.
Stronger Form - you can add two advances and either a Size increase or a Trait increase to your shifted form. You can take this Edge once per Rank.
Additional Form - you can shift into a different form. Usually a Lycanthrope would take this to be able to shift into both a humanoid wolf form and a true wolf form. This has the same power cost as the first form and by default, the same abilities; if you want different abilities, you will need to consult the GM.
Natural Shifter - you add +2 to your Shapeshifting skill rolls, making it easier to shift in form.
Avatar Sense - allows you to see, hear, and feel what your Avatar does. Grants +1 to Avatar Link rolls.
Heal Avatar - you can channel energy into your Avatar. Roll Avatar Link against a target of 4 to give up one level of Fatigue to cure one of your Avatar's Wounds. Each Raise allows you to cure one additional Wound at no additional cost. Nothing happens on a failure. On a Botch, you are Shaken, but your Avatar will not take any further damage.
Stronger Form - you can add two advances and either a Size increase or a Trait increase to your shifted form. You can take this Edge once per Rank.
Additional Form - you can shift into a different form. Usually a Lycanthrope would take this to be able to shift into both a humanoid wolf form and a true wolf form. This has the same power cost as the first form and by default, the same abilities; if you want different abilities, you will need to consult the GM.
Natural Shifter - you add +2 to your Shapeshifting skill rolls, making it easier to shift in form.
Alchemy - requires d8 Smarts. You can make magical potions. You can make no more than one potion a day, and you cannot have more than one potion at a time, either on your own person or given to others. You do not need Knowledge: Alchemy to make potions as they are considered "basic" to the profession.
- Healing potions cure one Wound, as long as they are used within the Golden Hour; injuries are healed if the player is fully healed as well.
- Mana potions restore 5 Power Points or cure one Fatigue level. (Avatar Links are advised to give the potions to their Avatars, not to drink them themselves)
- The skill Knowledge: Alchemy allows you to make elixirs that confer temporary benefits. You must beat a target of 4 (or higher if the GM rules that the effect you're trying to achieve is complex) with your Knowledge roll to make the elixir. A Raise may give you, at your option, a double-effect elixir, a double-duration elixir, or an additional elixir that doesn't count against your daily limit.
- The Additional Potions Edge allows you to make two more potions per day and increases your potion limit by two. You may take this once per Rank.
Rune Engraving - you can inscribe magical wards in the ground, or on objects, which confer magical benefits. You can only inscribe one rune a day, and you cannot keep the rune from one day to the next. The basic rune is a Barrier that keeps monsters out, with a 5 power point pool. Requires d8 Smarts.
- Knowledge: Runes allows you to inscribe other types of runes that work like Powers, each having a 5 power points pool. You must beat a target of 4 (or higher if the GM rules that the effect you're trying to achieve is complex) with your Knowledge roll to make the rune. A Raise adds 5 power points to the rune.
- Additional Runes allows you to make two more runes per Recovery Time and increases your rune limit by two. You may take this once per Rank.
- Rune Smith allows you to imbue weapons and armor permanently with Runes. Runes do not vanish from these items; each rune engraved in an item recovers its full power points on the next day. However, for game balance reasons, they do count against your rune limit, meaning that if you have a limit of 5 runes total, and engrave 2 into your armor, you won't be able to draw or change more than 3 runes from then on. Requires d6 Knowledge: Runes and d8 Smith.
Gear
Your character begins with VR$500. (a Seasoned character would begin with VR$2500) This is a shorthand for 'the local currency of the VR game world' - in actuality the units and value of currencies will vary from one place to another.
- Av2VRGear - a listing of unusual gear that can be purchased by VR characters.
