Chuubos Character Options
Return to Chuubo's Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine
Town is such a wildly varying place that it can be nice to have some touchpoints when deciding what to play. What follows are some of the suggested backgrounds and "races", along with any of the Magical or Superior Skills needed to bring those choices to life.
Important Note: By no means are these "the" character options for Chuubo's! This is just a collection of the canonical suggestions for characters who fit into Town. Use them as-is, adapt and alter them as you wish, or ignore them and play something unrelated.
Special skills are noted with Ж for Magical Skills or § for Superior Skills. Skills that are tied intrinsically to the character type are included with that character, while those shared among many types are found at the bottom of this page. That doesn't mean you can't choose these skills freely; anyone may learn a given skill, especially the Magical Skills.
Page references are in [brackets].
Backgrounds
This could be your active role in Town, something you do on the side, something your family does, etc. Obviously the choices are near-limitless if you don't want one of these.
Deviant Scientist
Town has its share of steampunk inventors, mad scientists, alchemists, and more. Skills: Deviant Science.
Ж Deviant Science: Create an impossibly bizarre device, from powered machines to automata to death rays. [241]
Note: See The Glass Maker's Dragon, p. 127, for a detailed example ("Nightmare Science").
Exorcists, Shrine Maidens, Priests, etc.
Fortitude is known for its shrines, and the Kinnoruto Exorcists help to defend Arcadia. Skills: Superior Holiness and Spiritual Energy.
§ Spiritual Energy: You able to sense and oppose both magic and supernatural phenomena, and detect disruption in the pattern of the world around you. [262]
Legendary 139
Some time ago, a large ship arrived via Big Lake with 139 passengers from the Outside. They claimed to have been touched by a miraculous force, and adapted almost effortlessly to Town life. Each found a "Keep", a place or touchstone to bond with. Skills: No special ones.
This character type has its own mini-supplement, The Legendary 139.
Shrine Family, Kichi
They tend the pools which are used to wash away the taint of Outside dust, and can be used to glimpse truths and future events Skills: Kichi Family Magic.
Ж Kichi Family Magic: Get visions from the sacred pools or use them to replenish yourself. With difficulty, set your spirit free to travel. [210]
Shrine Family, Sosunov
Dreamers and meditation experts, who guard Town from things which would attack in the dream-world. Skills: Sosunov Family Magic, Superior Dreamer.
Ж Sosunov Family Magic: Appear in the dreams of others, possibly even at great distance or through time, and cast nearly any spell if done in a dream-world. [212]
Shrine Family, Titov
A toxic family keeping some sort of supernatural prisoner beneath their shrine. They are empty souls who hate each other. Skills: Titov Family Magic.
Ж Titov Family Magic: Attract that to you which you need, find a way to make someone or something aid you, possibly even create that which you most need. [215]
Shrine Family, Vasili
They intercede between Town and the elements — the sky, the earth, the wind, etc. Romantic and wild, more innately magical than magical practitioners. Skills: Affinity for [an Element].
§ Affinity for [an Element]: Loosely described at best, as it will vary by the element. Requires the element to already be present. [217]
Shrine Family, Yatskaya
In ancient days, this family were seal skinchangers, but today most are bound to the land and to the cats of Fortitude (which puts them at odds with the rats). Skills: Cat-Speaker, Claimed by the Sea, Superior Dreamer.
§ Cat-Speaker: Communicate with cats, which can vary quite a bit in utility. Also covers doing catlike things, but as a normal (not Superior) skill. [219]
§ Claimed by the Sea: Understand and adapt to the water and the secrets of the deep. At higher levels, maybe transform into a seal. [220]
"Races"
Here we're using "race" in the traditional RPG sense, not the cultural one. Most people in town are humans, but not all. Don't feel like you have to pick an exotic race to have cool, inhuman abilities! If you want to be a human who learned magic from a dragon and was gifted wings on her 13th birthday, go for it.
Ghosts
Horizon has its share of ghosts. By default, a ghost PC is assumed to be manifested physically unless using Ghost Magic to fade out. Skills: Ghost Magic.
Ж Ghost Magic: Hear your name being used, fade from sight, become intangible, with difficulty interact with the physical world while ghosted out. [234]
Jotun
Technically "Jotun-Blooded," these are the mostly-human descendants of giants. They're strong, tough, and often magical. Skills: Superior Vitality and possibly other Magic and/or Superior Skills.
Long-Neck People
While they usually look normal, some Arcadians can stretch their necks to amazing lengths with incredible flexibility. They have a reputation as tricksters and spies. Skills: Long-Necked.
§ Long-Necked: Stretch your neck, twist it around, and support it despite it being completely unrealistic for your muscles to do so. [264]
Rats of Fortitude
Fortitude rats are about a foot long, intelligent, clothed, and often dashing adventurers. They have their own ships and organizations. Some humans grow up among them and are honorary rats. Skills: Fortitude Rat.
§ Fortitude Rat: You can hear (and communicate in) ultrasonics, travel unseen via hidden pathways, gnaw through things, etc. [208]
Riders ("Excrucians")
Pale folk with eyes full of stars. There's something dark and problematic about them, but a few seem genuinely interested in becoming part of the community. Skills: Changeling, Night-Craft, Rider Necromancy.
Ж Changeling: Hide your Rider nature, mimic another person, hide within a group or family, twist a person's mind. [295]
Ж Night-Craft: Mold things out of dirt and shadow, from poisons and simple objects to complex creatures. [296]
Ж Rider Necromancy: Speak in unearthly voices, obscure the appearance of something, with difficulty raise the dead. [294]
Tenko ("Fox-Eared People")
Tenko are also known as "shop foxes" due to their prevalence as small business owners in Arcadia. They appear human, with fox ears atop their head in addition to having human ears. Skills: Fox-Eared Fire and Lightning Magic, Fox-Eared Perception Magic, Fox-Eared Transformation Magic (usually just one of the three, because they can "borrow" the other two with difficulty).
Ж Fox-Eared Fire and Lightning Magic: Create foxfire, sparks, or even full on energy blasts. [258]
Ж Fox-Eared Perception Magic: Enhance your own sense or fool those of others, including disguising or hiding yourself. [258]
Ж Fox-Eared Transformation Magic: Become more attractive, turn into a fox, or with difficulty turn into other beings. [258]
Tree People
Some Arcadia residents are bound to a local sacred tree or grove. They tend to be long-lived and resemble a plant in subtle (or obvious) ways. Skills: [Plant Type] Spirit.
§ [Plant Type] Spirit: Live off sunlight instead of food, dance beautiful, empathically communicate with and heal plants, perhaps even assume plant form. [264]
Vampires
Many live in Horizon, where the common folks are scared of them. To offset that, the friendlier ones drink "pillow tea" to soften their fangs. Skills: Superior Grace, Superior Vitality, Vampire.
§ Vampire: Feeling off of blood and/or emotions, being at home in the dark, going without air or food, healing quickly, etc. [236]
Wind-Spirits and Wind-Charmers
Little Island is full of air spirits, flitting about gracefully. Some of its mortals (the "wind-charmers") have a bit of spirit blood in them as well. Skills: Celestian, Wind-Spirit.
§ Celestian: Live in the air, obviate the need for food and sleep, and bring some of the properties of Celestia [283] down to Town with you. [286]
§ Wind-Spirit: At lower levels, you're light-footed. At higher you can either turn into actual wind or control wind. [286]
Note: The spirits of the Walking Fields have a variant of Celestian, "Walking Fields Spirit." [291]
Further Superior Skills
These examples aren't tied to one specific race or background.
§ Superior Dreamer: Lucid dreaming, which gives you control of your own mental state. Can't really affect the physical world, though. [221]
§ Superior Grace*: Unnatural grace and precision, full control over your movement, like a ninja. [237*]
§ Superior Holiness: Calm hearts, purify water, and channel the power of above. Actual miracles require a fairly high level. [261]
§ Superior Immortality: Heal quickly, avoid being hurt, survive situations you really shouldn't. [426]
§ Superior Vitality: Unnatural strength and hardiness. At high enough levels, you can swat an elephant out of your way. [236]
§ Superior Wings: You have them and maybe you can fly. [76]
Return to Chuubo's Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine