Archetypes

 

These are classic archetypes used throughout many settings. The idea is to give the player an outline to help build the character. The player can pick and choose according to the outlined information or even go in another direction. After all, the character that goes against type is often more interesting. Players can pull items from other archetypes as well to help in defining their character. The players can interpret these archetypes however they want. Two players may have different views. That’s what makes this interesting. These choices can be made after the initial “tutorial” of “0” level.

 

Career Path

Players may move through different archetypes as they develop, such as the ganger who becomes a street samurai. The path can be one or more archetypes. This movement reflects the character's progression.

 

The Information is ordered this way:

 

Character Archetype 

Name/definition

Scores:

Strengths

Weaknesses

Preferred talents

Personality:

 

Barbarian - You are all about the emotion of the fight - rage. You may have some skill but you rely on the rage to get you through. Typically you come from a primitive background relative to the setting you are playing in.

 

Scores:

Strengths: Strength, endurance, outdoors

Weaknesses: observation, technology, knowledge

Preferred talents: Rage, Ablative Armor

 

Personality:

1. Quick to take offense - all you have is your reputation. If anyone calls it into doubt, you react quickly and violently.

2. Rude- you are blunt and abrupt. Social norms confuse you. You see things in black or white.

3. Loyal - Barbarians form tight knit units. Often they are motivated more by intra unit relationships than any other factor.

4. Anti Tech - You don’t like technology and will do all you can to avoid dealing with it by using low tech weapons.

 

Bounty Hunter: You are all about the chase. You live for the thrill of subduing your quarry, dead or alive.

 

Scores:

Strengths: Intuition, observation, outdoors

Weaknesses: Education, 

Preferred Talents: Hunter, Awareness, Ambush

 

Personality:

1. Relentless - you are focused, on point, and never quit.

2. Loner - Bounty Hunters prefer to operate on their own.

3. Connected - You rely on contacts to help you with your bounties. You see every social opportunity as an opportunity to cultivate a new contact.

 

Brainiac: Knowledge is power and you know everything. You are a brilliant problem solver and believe you are an expert about everything.

 

Scores:

Strength: Education, knowledge, tech

Weaknesses: intuition, endurance, strength 

Preferred Talents: Hacker, Smart

 

Personality:

1. Slow to act - you want to have all the information before you make a decision.

2. Elitist - you believe that your intellectual superiority means you are actually superior.

3. College Educated - you believe that formal education is the only kind of education.

 

Cleric - These are your healers. They derive power from worshipping their Deities. Many make excellent combatants as well.

 

Scores:

Strengths: strength, Endurance, melee weapon 

Weaknesses: Outdoors, knowledge

Preferred talents: Health, Rage

 

Personality:

1. True Believer - they are inherently religious and following the directions of their Deity.

2. Compassionate: They care deeply about the world around them and the people that inhabit it.

3. Militant: Clerics believe that it is not enough to heal the world, but also important to fight against their enemies. As such clerics make good fighters and use Rage to their advantage.

 

Commando: You were a part of an elite military unit like the Seals, SAS, or Spetznaz. You were the best your military had to offer.

 

Scores:

Strength: dexterity, sneak, attack

Weaknesses: charisma, knowledge

Preferred Talents: Aim, Point Blank Shot

 

Personality:

1. No man left behind - ever!

2. Driven - you don’t know or understand the meaning of quit.

3. Loyal - you will protect your team no matter the costs.

4. Self assured - You know what you can do and how to get it done. You are fully confident in your abilities. You don’t brag or boast because you don’t have to.

 

Criminal: This is your basic criminal type. They lie, steal, and cheat their way to fame and fortune. 

 

Scores:

Strengths: dexterity, technology, sneak, improvised weapon 

Weaknesses: Outdoors, Endurance, strength

Preferred talents: Ambush, Camouflage, Find/Remove Traps

 

Personality:

1. Jail bird - you've done some time and will do more. It's just the cost of doing business.

2. Compulsive Liar - You can tell when a criminal lies - their lips move!

3. Braggart - criminals always exaggerate their accomplishments.

 

Driver - you are what you drive. Drivers are masters at operating drones and vehicles. You express yourself in the way you manipulate vehicles. You relate better to tech than people.

 

Scores:

Strengths: dexterity, vehicles, technology 

Weaknesses: charisma, strength 

Preferred Talents: proxy (drone), Wheelman, Techie

 

Personality:

1. Don't touch this - Drivers treat their drones like close friends… and they don't want you messing with them.

2. Need for speed - riggers have one speed, fast.

3. Rude- you are blunt and abrupt. Social norms confuse you. You see things in black or white.

 

Druid - You worship nature. You express your nature worship in your relationship to animals and the natural world, oftentimes working with an animal as a simple proxy or turning yourself into the animal.

 

Scores:

Strengths:  outdoors, intuition 

Weaknesses: Technology, education 

Preferred talents: Simple Proxy(using an animal form to make attacks), Shapeshift

 

Personality: 

1. One with nature: you are completely at home in natural settings.

2. Militant - Druids tend to be very active in the protection of the natural world.

3. Animal Characteristic - Druids tend to use a proxy or shapeshift into one particular animal. When in normal form their dress and appearance will reflect this; bear - fury, bird - feathers in clothes, wolf - tooth necklace. They often will emulate the favored animal's characteristics.

4. Anti Tech - You don’t like technology and will do all you can to avoid dealing with it including using low tech weapons.

 

Eco Terrorist - Our planet is a living thing and you were born to protect it. At any cost. You believe the world is being destroyed by tech and greed. You seek a harmonious balance between tech and nature, but one that favors nature. Your terrorism takes the form of marches, assassinations, and destruction of eco destroying companies. Your work with your team is just a way to pay the bills and fund your terrorism.

 

Scores:

Strengths: intuition, outdoors

Weaknesses; technology

Preferred talents: Detect Talents

 

Personality: 

1. Jail bird - you've done some time and will do more. It's just the cost of doing business.

2. Fanatical - You are right, everyone else is wrong. You believe what you believe and nothing will change that.

3. Tech as a tool - you hate technology, but let’s face it, you have to use it at some time. Eco terrorists will use minimal amounts of tech. They may favor weapons like bows and crossbows over guns. They do enjoy the irony of technological devices like bombs killing users of tech.

4. My cause - this is your pet cause; waters, anti nuke, whatever.

 

ex -Company Man - This is a person who puts the Company above himself. They are very loyal employees and give up autonomy to the Company. When a Company Man defects, it is a serious tragedy. What did the employer say or do to destroy such loyalty? These players will retain a great deal of information on how the company functions and who works for it. Ex Company men can fill several roles based on what they did for the company. Intelligence/security work and Negotiators are common.

 

Scores:

Strengths: charisma, education, Technology 

Weaknesses: strength, outdoors

Talents: Charming, Alertness, detect lie

 

Personality:

1. Loyal - once a Company Man leaves his company, they will become intensely loyal to the team they join. They typically like to work with only one group.

2. Stubborn—They are slow to acknowledge issues with where their loyalties lie. This makes it difficult for them to turn against their corporation and makes them so dangerous when they do. 

3. Ego - Company men see their loyalty as a higher calling. They see themselves as superior to the simple wage slaves. 

4.   Follower—ex-company men can make good leaders, but they view the world in terms of how they can serve their masters. This makes them struggle to figure out what is best for them and the team.

 

Ex-cop - You served as a Peace Keeping officer for a paramilitary force.

Scores:

Strengths: Observation, attack, range weapon 

Weaknesses: sneak, education

Preferred talents: Push (A), Trip (A)

 

Personality:

1. Cog - your value is in following orders no matter the consequences.

2. Bad reputation - You are no longer a cop for a reason: corrupt, brutal, incompetent, turned in a fellow cop. Your choice.

3. Plodding - you will usually solve your case, but you move slowly and carefully. 

 

Ex-military—This archetype served in the legitimate military organization for a given country. People enlist for many reasons: patriotism, poverty, learning useful skills, escaping a particular circumstance, or becoming citizens (for those without a legitimate ID). Enlistees learn basic combat skills as well as transferable skill sets (computers, mechanics, communication, ECT). Soldiers train most with modern firearms.

 

Scores:

Strengths: attack, outdoors, range weapon 

Weaknesses: influence, knowledge

Preferred Talents: Aim, Camouflage, Find/remove traps

 

Personality:

1. Follow orders - military service highlights structure and command. Soldiers learn to work within these command structures.

2. Basic Combat Training - everyone learns basic combat skills

3. Loyal - soldiers form tight-knit units. Often they are motivated more by intra-unit relationships than any other factor.

4. Mediocrity - soldiers learn to volunteer for nothing, keep their head down, and stay out of trouble. 

 

Face: This is the con artist, influencer, interrogator, negotiator, fast talker of the party. The face’s biggest weapon is charm. And they have it in spades. The face will keep you out of combat and then negotiate the surrender. 

 

Scores:

Strengths: charisma, influence

Weaknesses: strength, intuition

Preferred talents: Charming, Goad.

 

Personality:

1. Charming - this is how you manipulate. You believe you can make anyone like you. 

2. Slow to the draw - You try so hard to talk your way out of combat that you are slow to react when the fight starts.

3. Loud and proud - everything about your personality is overblown. You are a giant neon sign screaming “look at me!”

 

Fixer: you are the master at getting elicit gear. You have contacts all over and know how to mix and match these assets to get jobs done. 

 

Scores:

Strengths: Charisma, Influence

Weaknesses: Strength, outdoors, 

Preferred talents: Charming, Hacking

Personality:

1. I’ve gotta guy for that! You know people everywhere and love putting together teams.

2. In control. Your ability to connect with many different groups of people leaves with the feeling you can get out of anything.

3. Charming - this is how you manipulate. You believe you can make anyone like you. 

 

Ganger - you learned early on that to survive on the streets you couldn't do it alone. The gangs were a natural family. You joined at a young age and we're all in. Gangers typically come from poverty. The gang creates an instant safety net.

 

Scores:

Strengths: strength, melee weapon 

Weaknesses: education, knowledge, outdoors 

Preferred Talents: Rage, Fearsome

 

Personality:

1. Life is cheap - you know you won't grow old so you put it all in the line every day .

2. Quick to take offense - all you have is your reputation. If anyone calls it into doubt, you react quickly and violently.

3. Cog - your value is in following orders no matter the consequences.

4. Jail bird - you've done some time and will do more. It's just the cost of doing business.

 

Gun Bunny - it's all about the guns. This archetype collects guns. They categorize them. Name them. Have one for every occasion. Even ones they will never use. Guns are a fetish. They are always cleaning them, playing with them, organizing them. And best of all, shooting them. But make no mistake. They could shoot the wings off a fly at a 1000 yards.

 

Scores:

Strengths: dexterity, attack, technology, range weapon 

Weaknesses: Education, strength 

Preferred talents: Aim, Point Blank Shot 

 

Personality:

1. A gun for every occasion; clear a building, sniping, tuxedo, happy mood …

2. Have gun will travel - the gun Bunny will always be armed except for security checkpoints. And they will do anything to subvert these checkpoints.

3. Calm: they are trained to fire their weapon between breaths for greater accuracy.

 

Hacker - you are a master of the world of ones and zeros. Mastering the net means you understand the code behind how the world works. You believe this knowledge puts you ahead of the rest of humanity.

 

Scores:

Strengths: attack, education, technology

Weaknesses:  outdoors, strength, 

Preferred Talents: Detect Talent, Hacker

 

Personality:

1. Gloating - you are a master of the universe and not afraid to let the whole world know.

2. The real world is a dull grey - you live in VR. The rest of the world is dull dull dull.

3. Intuitive - You synthesize information quickly.

 

Mad Bomber: It's all about the boom! You are an expert in demolitions. 

 

Scores:

          Strengths: Education, technology, dexterity 

           Weaknesses: strength, influence.

            Preferred Talents: Techie, Range Weapon (IED, you use a bomb to            attack. It acts as a range weapon.)

 

Personality:

1. Weird - people sense there is just something off about you.

2. Serene - you are preternaturally calm. You build and dismantle bombs for a living. Very little causes you anxiety.

3. Signature - every bomb you make has something that is distinctly you. Maybe it's the wiring harness, a particular part.

 

Mage: These are your classic spellcasters. They learn their craft through study and use Education. They tend to use items like rings, wands, broaches, and such as magic item descriptors. Mages tend to gather in like-minded groups as their magic works uniformly from one Mage to another. Mages tend to have a lot of non combat talents that they view as “spells”. Mages will buy more talents and expand their energy points,

 

Scores:

Strengths: education, knowledge, simple proxy (spirit)

Weaknesses: strength, endurance

Preferred Talents: any non Combat Talent 

 

Personality:

1. Deep thinker - Mages believe that their education is the source of their Talents. They approach problems methodically and feel that research is an integral part of their process.

2. Combat shy - many mages see combat as a failure on their part to devise a better option. They also see combat as chaotic and an anathema to their ordered lives.

3. Superiority Complex - Mages believe that their ability to manipulate the fabric of the universe with spells means they are masters of the universe.

 

Mercenary - some ex military move into this archetype. This archetype features combat arms, battle casters, riggers, medics, and hackers. This archetype is simple - you get paid to fight for someone else's cause.

 

Scores:

Strengths: attack, technology, dexterity 

Weaknesses: education, knowledge

Preferred Talents: Bring on the Pain, Heal(minor)

 

Personality Strengths:

1. It's just a job - the merc has no emotional commitment to the job at hand. They can walk away at a moments notice 

2. No honor - the only code is money.

3. Next best thing - mercs are always convinced that their next contract will set them up for life.

 

Ninja/Monk: These are characters who favor stealth over all things. They derive their prowess from magical talents. They prefer attacks that don't compromise their stealth.

 

Scores:

Strengths: strength, dexterity, sneak, improvised weapon 

Weaknesses: education, technology, charisma

Preferred Talents: Ki Body, Parry, Camouflage, Ambush 

 

Personality: 

1. Calm: Ninjas always act as if they are in full control over what is going on around them.

2. Shy; Ninjas live in the shadows. They stay in the background during social situations. They don’t like the spotlight. 

3. Loner - Ninjas prefer to operate on their own

4. Stealthy - you are a master at hiding.

 

Performer - Performers are floating entertainers. They can be seen on stage or your local pub. They tell stories with words and music that focus on historical themes. During missions Performers are noted for supporting their party members using their own special magic. Performers use their performing for attacks and the instrument acts as a weapon.

 

Scores:

Strengths: Charisma, influence, knowledge

Weaknesses: strength, technology

Preferred talents: Buffs, Heal

 

Personality:

1. Loud and proud - everything about your personality is overblown.     You are a giant neon sign screaming “look at me!”

2. Inquisitive - Performers are constantly seeking out knowledge.

3. Selfless - Performers view themselves successful when the party is successful. As such they tend to be more of a support role. 

 

Private eye/ Investigator - whether you have a police background or are self taught, you excel in researching and gathering information. You are the classic private eye. 

 

Scores:

Strengths: Charisma, knowledge, observation

Weaknesses: outdoors, strength

Preferred talents: Mind Read, Charming

 

Personality:

1. Inquisitive - Private eyes are constantly seeking out knowledge.

2. Personable - you are down to earth and people tend to like you for it and tell you things they probably shouldn’t.

3. Same old same old - you are weary from seeing the same terrible things over and over again.

 

Gonzo Journalist - News is your life. You record everything that happens around you and provide running commentary. 

 

Scores:

Strengths: Charisma, influence

Weaknesses: attack, outdoors 

Preferred talents: Charming(A)

 

Personality:

1. Loud and proud - everything about your personality is overblown. You are a giant neon sign screaming “look at me!”

2. Famous - People notice you when you are in public. You thrill at the recognition, but sometimes this interferes with your mission.

3. Connected - your fame has put you in contact with the rich, famous, and powerful. Your contact list reflects this.

4. Invincible- you don't believe you can die as your documentation of the world around you will last forever.

 

Smuggler: You are an expert at getting illicit goods from one place to another.

 

Scores:

Strengths: Sneak, vehicle

Weaknesses: Strength, education, 

Preferred Talents: Camouflage, Awareness, control drone

 

Personality:

1. Cool under pressure - the hairier the situation, the calmer you get.

2. Lack of curiosity - You don’t know or even care what you are smuggling.

3. Friends in low places - your work tends to come from criminals. Your contacts tend to be from that group.

 

Sniper: Your brain is a computer. You are constantly looking at the world in terms of sight lines, windage, range, humidity. You arrive at your perch by slow, patient, quiet movements. You are invisible death. Most come from Military or Paramilitary background. You could combine ex- cop or ex-military or merc with sniper.

 

Scores:

Strengths: dexterity, attack, sneak, outdoors, range attack 

Weaknesses: charisma, strength

Preferred Talents: Ambush, Aim, Camouflage, Long Shot 

 

Personality:

1. Patient - You have waited days in place to take your shot.

2. Stealthy - you are a master at hiding.

3. Calm: you are always in full control over what is going on around you.

4. Accurate - you live by the motto, “One shot, one Kill.” You never multi-tack, preferring accuracy over volume.

 

Street doc - this is a generic term for somebody who heals people. These are people that either part or full time render aid to those who are poor. Doctors, nurses, medics, magic, self taught. These people are well respected on the streets because they are desperately needed. Harming a street doc brings down the worst retribution the streets have to offer.

 

Scores:

Strengths: education, technology 

Weaknesses: attack 

Preferred talents: any in Health

 

Personality:

1. Compassionate: They care deeply about the world around them and the people that inhabit it.

2. Hippocratic oath: Do no harm - this frequently comes in conflict with living on the streets. Do you see the oath as meaning you won't attack others? Or do your vows account for the realities of surviving on the streets?

3. Heal the world - You will heal any one at any time. You would even heal your enemies, but only after defeating them. 

 

Spy - you are all about gathering and leveraging intelligence. You have studied people and understand how to manipulate them. You are good at taking information from diverse places and seeing the truth behind it. 

 

Scores:

Strengths: influence, intuition, observation, knowledge

Weaknesses: strength, outdoors 

Preferred Talents: Charming, Detect Lie, Goad

 

Personality:

1. Manipulative - you view each person you meet as a potential asset and constantly strive to bend them to your will. 

2. Charming - this is how you manipulate. You believe you can make anyone like you. 

3. Ego - you believe you are so charming that you fail to recognize when your charms fail.

 

Street Samurai—At its core, this is the quintessential fighter class of cyberpunk. Style is just as important as the ability to put your enemies in the ground. The typical Samurai comes from poverty or an irrelevant background. Street Samurai learn at a very young age that maximum violence is the best defense. Samurai prefer Japanese samurai culture, but this is generally a warped Western view. The Katana is the preferred weapon. Samurai use many Tech Descriptors.

 

Scores:

Strengths: attack, melee weapon, strength 

Weaknesses: education, knowledge, influence

Preferred Talents: Rage, Ablative Armor

 

Personality:

1. The Code: courage, honor, loyalty (generally to those who hire them)

2. No Fear - Street Samurai believe that they are too tough to be defeated. This leaves them unwilling to back down even in the face of overwhelming opposition.

3. Impulsive - Street Samurai tend to act before thinking through a problem.

 

Warlock - This Archetype has pledged its soul to a powerful being in return for mystic powers.

 

Scores:

Strengths:  knowledge, charisma, education, range attack (M)

Weaknesses: strength, endurance,  

Preferred talents; Implant Thought, Detect Talents, Mind Read, End Talent.

 

Personality:

1. Subservient - A Warlock doesn’t ask, “What should I do in this situation?” The Warlock asks, “What would my Master want me to do in this situation?”

2. Knowledge is Power - Warlocks are constantly reading and learning about how magic works in order to increase their power.

3. Driven - a Warlock will focus on short and long term goals andand then pursue them intensely without losing sight of the goals.then pursue them intensely without losing sight of the goals.