Regulus
Characters in Regulus
Characters in Regulus have all the normal things you'd imagine: a name, appearance, and so on. However to make the game work, they also have a lot more. Follow along below to figure out how those special things work.
Defining Characters
In this rules-lite game, characters are loosely defined by Qualities and Ratings. Both are slightly vague, and meant to be applied broadly. Each Quality of a character is a broad defining aspect of them. A Quality can be a vocation, a defining trait, or a passion. Each Rating is as aspect of the character with a number rating, called the Rating Level. An example of a Rating is Wealth, which is a vague definition of how much wealth the character holds.
Qualities
A Quality is a broad definition of an aspect of a character. They typically fall into three types: vocation, trait, or passion. For player characters, Operatives, you may also choose characteristics from your Volume - more on that later. When your character can apply a Quality in the fiction, it'll provide Means or Advantage for a die roll.
- Vocations are each a broad set of skills all wrapped up together. 'Detective' is a good example, or 'Net Coder' for a more setting specific example. Each Vocation may also get one or Aptitudes, which when they apply will give Advantage for a die roll. For the 'Net Coder' example, an Aptitude might be 'Security'.
- Traits are sweeping aspects of the character summarized as short phrase. 'Strong as an Ox', or 'Crazy Smart' are good example Traits. The application of Trait Qualities can be impacted by a characters Luck Rating, which will be expanded upon later.
- Passions are exactly what they say they are: something your character cares deeply about. Each of these are enough to drive them to action. They fuel and empower. A Passion could be an activity 'Gambling', 'Martial Arts', or 'Coding' are good examples of these. A vice can be a Passion is well 'Greed' or 'Sloth' are good examples of these, but the latter might be hard to play in the game YMMV. A belief is also a Passion, such as a Religion or Philosophy.
Ratings & Levels
Ratings are broad, vaguely defined facets of a character. Each has a number level rating, which is a rough measure of the amount of that Rating a character holds. Called a Level Rating, or Level for short, here is what the number roughly means.
| Level | How much? |
|---|---|
| 0 | None, you ran out! |
| 1-3 | A Minor amount |
| 4-6 | A Moderate amount |
| 7-9 | A Major amount |
| 10+ | A Metric Shitload |
All characters in Regulus have at least four Ratings, though they may also have more as well: Luck, Security, and Wealth. It is important to note that when a Rating hits zero, or runs out, the character will face a crisis.
- Comfort: This is how relatively satisfied the character is with their situation in life. When you run out of Comfort, you'll face a Mental Crisis. When your character does the things they enjoy, they will gain comfort. Comfort is the closest thing to HP (of D&D fame) in this game.
- Luck: This is the measure of how much the universe blesses the character. The higher this rating the greater chance of winning out when blind chance is the factor. When you run out of Luck, you'll face a Wild Crisis.
- Security: This is the amount of protection your character has in the dangerous world in which they live. When you run out of Security, you'll roll face a Safety Crisis.
- Wealth: Money, assets, promises and such are all Wealth. When you run out of Wealth, you'll face a Monetary Crisis. Completing Jobs gives you levels of Wealth.
Marks: Ratings can earn marks during play. Each mark is a markdown or a markup. When a Rating has three marks, they are removed, and it resolves in a roll to decrease or increase the level. If more markups than markdowns, you roll three six-sided dice. If any result in 6 or exceeds the level, it is increased by one. If more markdowns than markups, roll three six-sided dice; if any come up 1 or lower than the rating, the rating is decreased by 1.
The Eight Volumes
As you take the first step in creating your character, you determine which Volume they belong too. A Volume is like a special book from which you can choose things for your character. Each of the eight Volumes in the game gives your character a place in the Network, but not a specific job. You just answer three simple yes or no questions, and you get the Volume given the exact combination. Here are the questions:
- Does your Operative live under a false identity? There are many reasons to do so, but this gives life another level of complexity. Operative will end up a Runner, Professional, Insider, or Crusader.
- Has your Operative killed someone before? Murder is extreme, but sometimes necessary. Operative will end up a Irregular, Professional, Rector, or Crusader
- Many in the Empire believe God is divine. Does your Operative agree? A hot political topic across humanity, 80% of people would answer Yes here. Operative will end up a Missionary, Rector, Insider, or Crusader
| Fake Id | Killer | Belief | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| No | No | No | Spook |
| Yes | No | No | Runner |
| No | Yes | No | Irregular |
| No | No | Yes | Missionary |
| Yes | Yes | No | Professional |
| No | Yes | Yes | Rector |
| Yes | No | Yes | Insider |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Crusader |
Volume: Crusader
Your Operative belongs to a recognized Religion, and has taken brutal action in the name of the cause, under the direction of Control. This status gives you special dispensation from Control, but the Empire has an active file on your actions and does not approve. Within the Network Crusaders are pretty common, and often seek to promote their Religion via actions in the criminal syndicate. However unlike their brethren the Missionary, they don't usually evangelize their cause.
Volume: Insider
Your Operative is an erased member of Control infiltrating the Network to keep tabs on their operations. Unlike the Spook, the Network can never know you are a part of Control, as they have a zero tolerance policy. The Insider is truly erased, they can never return to their identity as part of Control. This gives them certain advantages in maintaining their secrecy. You'll have a handler from Control that knows you are an Insider, and feed information about the Network back to that handler.
Volume: Irregular
Your Operative is a Mercenary, a gun for hire. You probably have earned a Duke title from an Empire world, having done a recognized Service for the Empire. Often this means you led an action team and dealt with a Pirate group, making you at least a leader of some manner, and often a soldier. Irregulars comprise a large bulk of the Network, as they are the ones that often directly get their hands dirty.
Volume: Missionary
Your Operative belongs to a recognized Religion, and seeks to spread the word. This status gives you special dispensation from both Control and the Empire. This recognition makes you powerful both inside and outside the Network. While you evangelize your cause, it is often the case that you don't fully believe at all and are in just in the game for the power you can gain. Though, that isn't ever public knowledge as you would quickly lose your position of power.
Volume: Professional
Your Operative is a Professional killer, assassin for hire. Along with the Rector, the most rare of the Operatives in the network. While you can make a straight-up cold-blooded killer type, that isn't the norm for these Network Operatives. Most Professionals are clever accident makers, employ Net Code, or engineer quick decay poisons to get their work done. These people are often the most feared of the Operatives.
Volume: Rector
Your Operative belongs to a recognized Religion, and has taken brutal action in the name of the cause. This status gives you special dispensation from the Empire, but Control has an active file on your actions and does not approve. Unlike the Crusader, the Rector has taken a title from the Empire, and in return gained standing and power. As a Rector you are head of a small church, which both grants many benefits at the cost of time vested maintaining it.
Volume: Runner
Your Operative trades in secrets and operates as a fixer forging connections between people and the Network. Runners and Irregulars make up the bulk of the Operatives in the Network. You likely have a Mirrochip, which lets you interface with the 'Net in ways normal people can't. However using the Mirrochip is tricky work, and you have spent either much expense or time to get mastery over it.
Volume: Spook
Your Operative reports to a World of the Empire or a Union on the activities of the Network. You are a not-so-secret agent, which is to say that the Network is in general quite aware of your infiltration. You are good at what you do though, and tolerance is granted as long as you play ball with Network Security - known internally as Sec Ops. Even though you work for the given organization of power, its secret work. You don't get any standing or protection, and are in fact walking a very dangerous tightrope every day. To add to you risk, to maintain your security you often have to leak what information you are reporting to a Network handler, which would obviously make your organization quite unhappy with you if ever discovered.