Creating a character in ShadowRealms is not about choosing a class. It is about making decisions. You are deciding where your character’s strengths lie, what shaped them, what they believe, how they were trained, and what kind of power they command.
Character creation happens in layers. Each layer adds another dimension — ancestry, natural aptitude, training, upbringing, influence, and extraordinary ability. By the time you finish this chapter, you will have built a complete and playable character ready to enter the world.
Take your time. None of these decisions are random. Each one shapes how your character will feel at the table.
Step 1: Determine Character Tier
Every campaign begins at a specific Character Tier, chosen by your Game Master.
Tier represents how experienced and influential your character is at the start of play. A lower tier represents someone just stepping into danger. A higher tier represents a veteran, champion, or even a legendary figure.
Your Tier determines three things:
- How many Build Points you receive.
- How many Realm Powers you begin with.
- The maximum value any one column may reach during character creation.
Starting Realm Powers follow a triangular progression. As Tier increases, characters gain broader and deeper access to extraordinary abilities. This will matter when selecting Realm Powers later in this chapter.
Character Tier Table
| Tier | Build Points | Starting Powers | Max Column Value | Max Skill Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adolescent | 12 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| Acolyte | 15 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| Adept | 18 | 3 | 5 | 4 |
| Professional | 21 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Veteran | 24 | 10 | 7 | 8 |
| Heroic | 32 | 15 | 9 | 10 |
| Champion | 36 | 21 | 11 | 13 |
| Legendary | 42 | 28 | 12 | 18 |
| Epic | 48 | 36 | 15 | 24 |
Maximum Column Value
The Max Column Value prevents extreme specialization at low tiers.
For example:
- At Veteran tier, no column may exceed 7.
- At Champion tier, no column may exceed 11.
- At Epic tier, you may assign up to 15 in a single column.
This ensures characters grow proportionally to the scale of the campaign.
Step 2: Assign Build Points
You will distribute your Build Points across five columns:
- Bloodline
- Aspects
- Trait Balance
- Skills / Interests
- Resources
Each point you assign increases that column’s value from 0 to 15. That value determines what the column grants.
You are not rolling randomly. You are prioritizing.
The Master Character Table
| Value | Bloodline Tier | Aspect Points | Trait Balance | Skills / Interests | Resources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | — | 15 | –20 | 6 / 3 | 0 |
| 1 | A | 18 | –10 | 12 / 6 | 10 |
| 2 | B | 21 | –5 | 18 / 9 | 50 |
| 3 | C | 24 | 0 | 24 / 12 | 200 |
| 4 | D | 27 | +5 | 30 / 15 | 1,000 |
| 5 | E | 30 | +10 | 36 / 18 | 5,000 |
| 6 | F | 33 | +15 | 42 / 21 | 20,000 |
| 7 | G | 36 | +20 | 48 / 24 | 100,000 |
| 8 | H | 39 | +25 | 54 / 27 | 500,000 |
| 9 | I | 42 | +30 | 60 / 30 | 1,000,000 |
| 10 | J | 45 | +35 | 66 / 33 | 5,000,000 |
| 11 | K | 48 | +40 | 72 / 36 | 10,000,000 |
| 12 | L | 51 | +45 | 78 / 39 | 50,000,000 |
| 13 | M | 54 | +50 | 84 / 42 | 100,000,000 |
| 14 | N | 57 | +55 | 90 / 45 | 500,000,000 |
| 15 | O | 60 | +60 | 96 / 48 | 1,000,000,000 |
Each column scales differently. Aspects increase steadily. Skills increase in large blocks. Resources grow exponentially to represent influence compounding at higher levels.
Bloodline
Bloodline defines your ancestry and inherent traits. It shapes physical form, innate abilities, and cultural origin.
Higher Bloodline tiers grant stronger innate advantages. Lower tiers may grant fewer inherent benefits but allow greater investment elsewhere.
Bloodline grants Closed Traits automatically.
Aspects
Aspects represent your natural capability and determine how many dice you roll.
The four Aspects are:
- Body (Might, Vitality, Endurance)
- Grace (Agility, Finesse, Quickness)
- Mind (Reason, Memory, Awareness)
- Soul (Intuition, Willpower, Presence)
You receive a pool of Aspect Points based on your column value and distribute them among the four Aspects. Attributes are derived from these Aspect scores and determine your dice pools.
Trait Balance
Traits represent inherent physical or mental characteristics.
They are divided into:
- Positive Traits
- Negative Traits
And categorized as:
- Open Traits (selectable)
- Closed Traits (granted by Bloodline)
Trait Balance determines whether advantages outweigh disadvantages or vice versa.
Traits modify Target Numbers, grant resistances, alter defenses, or provide unique capabilities.
Skills & Interests
Skills represent trained ability. Interests represent specialized knowledge, artistic focus, or crafted expertise.
Your column value determines how many Skill Points and Interest Points you receive.
Skills are rated from 1 to 24.
Skill List
- Accuracy
- Fighting
- Academics
- Athletics
- Acrobatics
- Influence
- Grappling
- Perception
- Warfare
- Wildcraft
- Leadership
- Animal Handling
- Riding
- Device Mechanics
- Thievery
- Devotion
- Arcana
- Alchemy
- Focus
- Channeling
- Stealth
- Psychology
- Occult
- Wear Armor
- Swimming
- Medicine
- Seamanship
Many Realm Powers reference specific skills. For example:
- Fury powers often rely on Fighting.
- Shadow powers may rely on Stealth.
- Faith powers rely on Devotion.
- Tome powers rely on Arcana.
- Vial powers rely on Alchemy.
Your skills shape how effective your powers become.
Interests Must Be Specialized
Every Interest must be chosen as a specialization within one of four categories:
Perform
Examples: Acting, Singing, Instrument (Lute), Dance, Oratory, Ritual Performance, Storytelling
Craft
Examples: Smithing, Carpentry, Leatherworking, Tailoring, Masonry, Brewing, Cooking, Bowyer/Fletcher
Knowledge
Examples: History, Law, Theology, Strategy & Tactics, Heraldry, Astronomy, Geography, Planes, Occult Theory
Art
Examples: Painting, Sculpture, Calligraphy, Illumination, Poetry, Composition, Design & Ornamentation
You cannot take “Knowledge” broadly. You must take “Knowledge (Law)” or “Knowledge (History),” for example.
Background Selection
Investment in the Skills column unlocks Background layers.
- 1 point: Select a Homeland
- 2 points: Also select an Upbringing
- 3 points: Also select a Profession
Each layer grants:
- Skills at rating 1
- Interests at rating 1
- Language proficiencies where appropriate
- A narrative feature
Backgrounds flesh out who your character was before adventuring.
Languages
Languages are selected during Skill and Interest allocation.
Every character begins with:
- Babbel (spoken) — the divine Common Tongue.
- One Ethnic Language (spoken).
If Reason is 1 or higher, the character may also read and write their starting languages.
Additional languages may be purchased:
- Spoken — 1 point
- Reading (includes writing) — 2 points (requires Reason 1+)
- Spoken + Reading — 3 points
Gothic and Classical must be taken with literacy.
Shroud is spoken-only and functions as a coded overlay within Babbel.
Backgrounds may grant additional languages without cost.
Resources
Resources represent wealth, property, and influence.
At low levels, Resources determine equipment and lifestyle.
At higher levels, Resources may represent estates, titles, social leverage, business holdings, or political authority.
Resources scale exponentially to reflect increasing narrative impact.
Step 3: Select Realm Powers
You begin with a number of Realm Powers determined by your Tier.
Realm Powers represent martial techniques, supernatural gifts, and extraordinary talents. They replace the need for separate feat and spell systems.
Your skills, attributes, and choices shape how effectively you use them.
There is no hard cap on total powers. Your Tier determines your starting breadth.
Final Assembly
When you have:
- Assigned Build Points
- Distributed Aspect Points
- Selected Traits
- Assigned Skills and Interests
- Chosen Backgrounds
- Recorded Languages
- Determined Resources
- Selected Realm Powers
Your character is complete.
You are ready to step into ShadowRealms.
Example Character Build
To see how all of this works in practice, let’s build a character from start to finish.
Campaign Tier
The Game Master has chosen Veteran Tier for the campaign.
From the Tier Table we learn:
- Build Points: 24
- Starting Realm Powers: 10
- Maximum Column Value: 7
No column may exceed 7 during creation.
Step 1: Assign Build Points
The player wants to create a capable battlefield skirmisher with some stealth training and modest social influence.
They distribute their 24 Build Points like this:
- Bloodline: 3
- Aspects: 7
- Trait Balance: 4
- Skills / Interests: 6
- Resources: 4
No column exceeds 7, so this is valid.
Step 2: Apply the Master Character Table
Using the table:
Bloodline 3 (Tier C)
This grants a standard baseline Bloodline with inherent traits.
Aspects 7 → 36 Aspect Points
These 36 points are divided among Body, Grace, Mind, and Soul.
The player distributes:
- Body: 10
- Grace: 12
- Mind: 7
- Soul: 7
These are then divided into their respective Attributes.
Trait Balance 4 → +5
This allows the player to take up to +5 more advantages than disadvantages.
They select:
- Keen Senses (+2)
- Fast Reflexes (+2)
- Light Sleeper (+1)
Total: +5. No disadvantages required.
Skills / Interests 6 → 42 Skill Points / 21 Interest Points
Resources 4 → 1,000
This represents a comfortable professional lifestyle, quality gear, and some social standing.
Step 3: Background Selection
Because the player assigned 6 to Skills, they unlock:
- Homeland
- Upbringing
- Profession
They choose:
Homeland: Of the Highlands
Grants Survival and Athletics at 1, plus Knowledge (Geography: Highlands).
Upbringing: Martial
Grants Fighting and Warfare at 1, plus Interest (Strategy & Tactics).
Profession: Vanguard
Grants Wear Armor, Leadership, and additional martial equipment.
These stack with purchased skills.
Step 4: Assign Skills
From their 42 Skill Points, the player invests in:
- Fighting 8
- Stealth 6
- Athletics 5
- Perception 5
- Accuracy 4
- Leadership 4
- Wear Armor 3
- Psychology 2
- Occult 2
- Survival 1
- Warfare 1
- Acrobatics 1
(Background skills at 1 stack normally.)
Step 5: Assign Interests
Each Interest must be specialized.
From 21 Interest Points, the player chooses:
- Knowledge (Strategy & Tactics) 3
- Craft (Smithing) 2
- Knowledge (Geography) 2
- Art (Calligraphy) 1
- Perform (Oratory) 1
- Knowledge (Law) 2
- Craft (Leatherworking) 2
- Knowledge (Heraldry) 2
- Art (Design & Ornamentation) 1
- Perform (Storytelling) 2
- Knowledge (History) 3
Step 6: Languages
Every character begins with:
- Babbel (spoken)
- One Ethnic Language (spoken)
The player has Reason 2, so they may read and write their starting languages.
They also purchase:
- Gothic (Reading) – 2 points
- Shroud (Spoken) – 1 point
This reflects legal training and familiarity with underworld codes.
Step 7: Select Realm Powers
At Veteran Tier, the character begins with 10 Realm Powers.
The player chooses:
- 6 Fury powers (primary combat focus)
- 3 Shadow powers (mobility and stealth)
- 1 Tactics power (battlefield positioning)
These reflect their identity as a disciplined skirmisher.
Final Character Concept
The result is a Veteran-tier battlefield operative:
- Physically capable
- Skilled in combat and stealth
- Educated enough to read Gothic legal texts
- Familiar with Shroud cant
- Financially stable
- Backed by martial upbringing and Highland roots
Every choice flowed naturally from the Tier and column allocation.
No randomness. No hidden math. Just structured decisions.
And that’s how a ShadowRealms character comes together.