All Character Builds

Introduction

We will be exploring character creation in Abraxas throughout this article. The goal is to build on the skills we learned while developing Argus Stonefury and Sera Vane. As in those articles, we will be building on the "Heroic" Campaign Band, which determines a character's starting power level.

For this article, we will follow William through the character creation process as he constructs his character for Sally's Abraxas game. William has the idea of playing a genius Gnome inventor trapped in the body of a hulking, seven-foot-tall, asymmetrical steel and bronze automaton. There's a lot to unpack here, so let's get started.

Step I: The Concept

Fizzlebang Cogspring was a brilliant Gnomish inventor whom the Glitchlock Syndicate murdered for his greatest invention: the Arcanocore. The lab "accident" that took Fizzlebang's life activated his patent-pending Consciomatic Anima Transmission Synchronizer that grafted his consciousness into the Arcanocore itself.

The Arcanocore was powering a crude prototype automaton, which Fizzlebang was able to take control of and use to subdue his assassins. He learns the contract on his life was commissioned by the High Inventor Guild, which leaves him nowhere to turn.

Mechanically, William would like to turn Fizzlebang into a heavy-hitting, high-defense, ranged combatant. His vision is of a main battle tank that can plant itself in place and use the raw power of the Arcanocore to decimate his enemies from behind a powerful force field.

However, all of his attacks and most of his abilities require him to use his Inventor skill to activate, with many powers provoking a severe concussive pulse on failure. This represents the jury-rigged nature of Fizzlebang's existence.

William talks with Sally, who likes the concept. The group does not have an official heavy hitter or a tech specialist, and the idea presents a lot for Sally to work with. William gets the go-ahead to push his damage ceiling higher than normal, making him capable of delivering massive amounts of damage at range. To compensate for this enormous damage potential, William will keep his attack accuracy relatively low. This trade-off is a common balancing technique referred to as a Fulcrum in Abraxas.

Step II: Attributes

The prototype itself is a large machine that was not built for combat, and Fizzlebang's base stats reflect this. Although not impressive on its own, his new mechanical form is being magically reinforced and boosted by the presence of the Arcanocore. This will be mechanically defined as powers that amplify his core Attributes.

As a reminder, here are the seven attributes:

• Strength – Physical strength
• Agility – Reflexes and coordination
• Stamina – Overall toughness and ability to exert yourself
• Intellect – Reasoning and logical thought
• Technology – Your proficiency with the tools and tech of your time
• Spirit – Mental strength, wisdom, and creative endeavors
• Charm – The ability to influence others with words

William spends his 18 Attribute dice like this:

*William elected to split one of his Attribute dice into three pips and redistribute those pips to his Intellect and Technology attributes.

Step III: Skills

As one would expect, Fizzlebang's skills are focused on inventing. He possesses skills such as Dodge and Marksmanship, but these are relatively new additions to his skill set, acquired on the road. William is spending more than the recommended 7D on skills, drawing 3 points from his Creation Points (CP) early:

• Dodge 1D – Fizzlebang knows when to duck
• Marksmanship 1D – He knows enough to be dangerous
• Perception 1D – Keen observation skills, for science
• Scholar 1D – A good general base of knowledge
• Inventor 3D – Where Fizzlebang excels
• Lockpicking 1D – Useful for small mechanical traps as well
• Systems 1D – For navigating complex information systems

In addition, Fizzlebang specializes in a few skills:

• Scholar: Arcanocore Theory 2D – This brings his total skill dice to 3D plus his Intellect for 6D+1 total when dealing with the Arcanocore
• Medicine: First Aid 1D – Specialized training for those undergrads who keep getting hurt

Not a bad spread of skills. Fizzlebang is a technological genius who has spent a considerable amount of his life in the lab.

Optional Steps

The next four steps are optional and can be purchased with Creation Points (CP). All characters on the Heroic Band receive 19 CP to buy these optional items. William spent an extra 3D on skills, which cost him three points, reducing his CP to 16 for these steps.

Step IV: Species

William decides to pick up a suite of powers to represent his new mechanical existence. A mechanical form has many benefits over a biological one. William connects with Sally, and they work together to iron out the details.

These are the powers that being a machine grants to Fizzlebang:

• Adaptation – Allows for survival in harsh environments like vacuums, extreme cold and heat, etc.
• Environmental Breathing – Specifically purchased with the "No Need to Breathe" Enhancement
• Hardiness – Fizzlebang no longer requires food or sleep
• Immortality – Old age will not come for Fizzlebang (assuming you don't void the warranty)
• Disease Immunity – Biological threats no longer apply
• Poison Immunity – As above

To offset the purchase of these powers, William purchases the following disadvantages:

• Magical Construct – Fizzlebang now hums from the Arcanocore, with the sound of gears whirring and cogs clinking
• Does Not Heal Naturally – The medicine skill no longer works on Fizzlebang; an Inventor roll is substituted for relevant checks

Adding everything up yields a total of 4 CP cost. William now has 12 CP left from his starting 19 points.

Step V: Advantages

Given that the High Inventor Guild is apparently behind his death and his life as a fugitive, Fizzlebang has no narrative advantages to speak of.

Step VI: Powers

This is where William gets to customize Fizzlebang in the way he wants. Mechanically, there are a few common Limitations to most of his powers:

• Unified: Arcanocore Generator – When an attack like a Drain targets one power, all his powers are affected. Single point of failure.
• Requires Daily Maintenance – About an hour under optimal conditions. Failure to perform maintenance has negative consequences.
• Not in a Negavolt Field – Negavolt energy shuts down the Arcanocore.

Arcanocore Systems

William purchases some basic Arcanocore systems. All have the unified limitations mentioned above:

• Bulwark – A potent (24 Soak, 12 BP) energy barrier that Fizzlebang may form for protection. Usually a hemisphere centered on himself with a maximum diameter of 24 meters. Crucially, Fizzlebang can fire through his own Bulwark. The Bulwark automatically shuts off if he moves.
• Empowered Actuator (+2D Strength) – The Arcanocore boosts his mechanical body
• Infused Acuity (+2D Agility) – As above, but for coordination and dexterity
• Structural Reinforcement (+2D Stamina) – Boosts his Stamina to an extreme level

Weapon Systems

Fizzlebang's weapon systems have additional limitations on each attack:

• Requires a Skill Roll: Inventor – Each attack requires a free Technology plus Inventor roll to activate
• Side Effects: 5D Strength Knockdown in a 3m Radius – When the Inventor skill check fails, Fizzlebang detonates and projects a blast wave

The Arcanocore's "Weapon Systems" all emanate from behind a crystal pane in his chassis:

• Disruptor Beam – A powerful base attack that does massive 8D+1 damage at 800m range. Indirect Enhancement allows firing through his own Bulwark.
• Overcharged Disruptor Beam – Powerful attack (7D+2) that can damage structures (+10 Scale) and vehicles, with a three-round cooldown.
• Pulsewave – A massive energy wave (AoE line) that damages (7D) everything in its path.
• Core Overload – A desperate anti-personnel countermeasure that blinds (5D Sight Flash) everything within a 12m diameter. Requires 30 seconds to recharge.

William spends his remaining 12 CP on his formidable set of powers. His powers are heavily limited, which is usually a red flag for most characters. Sally does not mind William exceeding the soft caps in this case.

Step VII: Martial Arts

Not much fits here, plus we're out of points.

Step VIII: Disadvantages

William picks up the following disadvantages to tie back into his concept from Step I:

• Distinctive Features: Magical Construct (0) – His new existence as a hulking automaton is easily recognized. From the species template, zero points.
• Physical Limitation: Does Not Heal Naturally (0) – Another species template item that nets zero points.
• Hunted: The Glitchlock Syndicate (4) – His murderers are still hunting him to rip out the Arcanocore.
• Psychological Limitation: Follows The Rules (3) – A common occurrence that requires a Strong Willpower check to resist.
• Psychological Limitation: Scientific Curiosity (3) – Fizzlebang's desire for scientific discovery can outweigh his common sense.
• Reputation: Mindless Automation (3) – People commonly mistake Fizzlebang for a mindless magical construct.
• Vulnerability: Negavolt Energy (2) – An uncommon magical energy that hits extra hard against Fizzlebang.

Step IX: GM Review

Sally reviews the Fizzlebang character sheet and notes a few important details:

• William is running a classic "High Damage, Low Accuracy" build in Abraxas as agreed upon
• Although very potent, his powers carry significant drawbacks, like daily maintenance requirements
• Negavolt Energy is highly effective against Fizzlebang
• Positioning himself and his Bulwark will be key, adding a layer of tactical choice

Fizzlebang fills an important role: that of the heavy hitter. This is a good niche for Fizzlebang.

From a story perspective, there are numerous story hooks for Sally to work with. A genius inventor who was murdered and turned into a walking invention. Plus, he is on the run from the Glitchlock Syndicate and High Inventor Guild.

Sally approves Fizzlebang for play!

Wrapping Up

We have followed William and Sally in this article as both players and GMs. We saw how a complex and powerful character concept was brought to life using the Abraxas rules. Fizzlebang is now a mechanically complex and narratively rich character with a clear set of motivations.

He is a marked Gnome, and it's only a matter of time before the Glitchlock Syndicate catches up to him. The Syndicate is intelligent and technologically sophisticated enough to exploit Fizzlebang's numerous and severe vulnerabilities. He better have some powerful allies to watch his back.

Between Fizzlebang, Sera, and Argus, we have quite a story shaping up. We can already see the types of stories and antagonists that each player brings to the game as a part of their character. Each brings a unique set of skills and powers to the group, and importantly, narrative threads for the GM to weave into the story.

What possibilities do you see when looking at the character backgrounds for Argus, Sera, and Fizzlebang? Argus, the risk taker. Fizzlebang, the rules follower. Sera, the spiritual anchor. How would these characters interact in-game, and how would their backgrounds affect the game? What happens if the Glitchlock Syndicate tips off the Bloodrock Orcs about where Argus is to cause a distraction to capture Fizzlebang?