Chuck Dee

Part 1: Envisioning the Character

Jaquin Durand was orphaned at an early age. He never knew his father and his mother never talked of him, but she worked tirelessly to support him until she fell sick, leaving him in the sums of Shinboil. Falling in with a rough crowd, he survived as he could, but always felt he was meant for more. On the day of the open trials for the army in the city, he decided to join up. But he didn't want to just join, he wanted to excel, and chose to present himself in the gruelling trials of the Hielyr, the last elite regiment in the city. He proved more than up to the job, and joined as a cadet. His rapid rise up the ranks was only exceeded in speed by his rising cynicism, as he found that the armed forces for the most part were just as corrupt as the streets had been. It was nothing like what he'd expected. He is now respected in his regiment, but holds only them as his comrades, in service to the Queen, though rebellion foments around them in Shinboil.

Part 2:Building the Character

Creating a character in Age of Ambition is based on lifepath generation. You choose your lifepath, and get training points for certain advancements. Once you have enough of these, you then proceed to getting your final character. I've denoted the steps that contribute to the training path with (x). Age of Empire uses a card based resolution system, so I've tried to denote the cards that I've pulled below.

Birth Fortune: Tough (x) 10S Name: Jaquin Durand People: Human (chosen) Religion: Non-religious (chosen) Career: Ne'er-do-well First – Free – Common 1 – 10S Thievery (x), Streetwise (x) – Wet Work – DEX-10 –> 6 + 6H = 12 Second – END-10 –> 4S + 7 = 11 – Common 2 – 9D Stealth (x), Thievery, Dagger – Partner Third – DEX-10 –> 6C + 6 = 12 – Common 3 – KS Fleet of Foot (x), Stealth, Lockpicks – Gang War – STR – 10 –> 5D + 4 = 9 Soldier. First – Free – Common 1 – 9S Fencer, Sword (x), Pike – Caught Spy Second – STR-10 –> JD + 4 = 14 – Common 2 – Dual Wield, Dagger (x), Athletics (x) – Gambling –> PER-10 – 6D + 5 = 11 Third – END-10 –> 3S + 7 = 10 – Common 3 – Skirmisher, Bow (x), Gambeson, Insignia – Compatriot Dies Fourth – DET-10 –> 10C + 4 = 14 – Common 4 – Awareness (x), Arquebus Social Strata: Commoner 4 Foundational Event: Liar Liar (x) KD

Stats

STR – 4 DEX – 6 SPD – 5 END – 7 INT – 6 PER – 5 CHR – 3 DET – 4

Skills

Academics Animals Athletics – Proficient Awareness – Expert Deception – Proficient (Liar, Liar) Empathy Expression Investigate Language (Standard) – Proficient Medicine Persuade Socialize Stealth – Expert Streetwise – Expert Surivival – Proficient Thievery – Expert Tradecraft Vehicles

Fighting Styles Fencer Dual Wield Skirmisher

Traits Toughness (Tough) Human Hope (race) Moxie Diehard Combat Reflexes Favor (former Partner) Favor (spy contact) Favor (murder patron)

Ambitions Become a distinguished member of the Army

Creed never turn his back against a comrade

Idiosyncracy likes to carouse

Weaknesses Human Optimism Obligation (Con-Artist Sibling) (Liar, Liar) (Gang War) Obligation (former Partner)

Scores

Armor Attack (DEX+INT/2) 6 Defense (SPD+PER/2) 5 Encumbrance (STR+DEX/2) 5 Health Points (STR+END) 11 Luck 5 Move (SPD+END/2) 6 Willpower (CHR+DET/2) 4

Equipment Dagger x2 Lockpicks Sword Arquebus, 10 bullets, powder Pike – Sold Bow with 10 arrows – Sold Backpack 208 bp

Part 3: Final Character and Conclusions

Name: Jaquin Durand Race: Human Career: Former Ne'er-do-well, Current Soldier. Social Strata: Commoner Ambitions: Become a distinguished member of the Army Creed: Never turn his back against a comrade Idiosyncracy: Never turns down an opportunity to carouse

Background

Jaquin Durand was orphaned at an early age. He never knew his father and his mother never talked of him, but she worked tirelessly to support him and his younger brother Arnaud until she fell sick, leaving him in the sums of Shinboil with his young brother to take care of. Falling in with a rough crowd, he survived as he could, but always felt he was meant for more. His brother, on the other hand, was more than content with where they were, and excelled in the environment, running cons on everyone he could, and falling back on his brother when they went wrong. He used every tactic he could to keep his brother close, even using the time he saved his brother's life and nursed him back to health against him. It took his brother betraying him for his eyes to open, and for him to decide he was going to leave the life. On the day of the open trials for the army in the city, he decided to join up. But he didn't want to just join, he wanted to excel, and chose to present himself in the gruelling trials of the Hielyr, the last elite regiment in the city. He proved more than up to the job, and joined as a cadet. His rapid rise up the ranks was only exceeded in speed by his rising cynicism, as he found that the armed forces for the most part were just as corrupt as the streets had been. It was nothing like what he'd expected. He is now respected in his regiment, but holds only them as his comrades, in service to the Queen, though rebellion foments around them in Shinboil.

Stats

Strength (STR) – 4 Dexterity (DEX) – 6 Speed (SPD) – 5 Endurance (END) – 7 Intelligence (INT) – 6 Perception (PER) – 5 Charisma (CHR) – 3 Determination (DET) – 4

Calculated Scores

Armor: 2/1 Attack (DEX+INT/2): 6 Defense (SPD+PER/2): 5 Encumbrance (STR+DEX/2): 5 Health Points (STR+END): 11 Luck: 5 Move (SPD+END/2): 6 Willpower (CHR+DET/2): 4

Skills

Athletics – Proficient Awareness – Expert Deception – Proficient Language (Standard) – Proficient Stealth – Expert Streetwise – Expert Surivival – Proficient Thievery – Expert

Fighting Styles

Fencer Dual Wield Skirmisher

Traits

Toughness Human Hope Moxie Diehard Combat Reflexes Favor (former Partner) Favor (spy contact) Favor (murder patron)

Weaknesses

Human Optimism Obligation (Con-Artist Sibling) Obligation (former Partner)

Equipment

Dagger x2 Lockpicks Sword Arquebus, 10 bullets, powder Gambeson with Insignia Backpack 246 bp

Final Notes: Everything in this seems to be quite different from other games- making a character in this made me more interested in trying to play. I was able to make quite the interesting character with a lot of hooks that I'd like to explore in more detail. I like the careers and how you navigate them- it reminds me a lot of WFRP. It's one of the first systems where character creation made me deviate largely from what I'd conceived- and I liked it!