Dark Ages Character Creation
Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2017 10:42 pm
The character creation will follow the rules of Call of Cthulhu Dark Ages (6th Rules). Below is a summary of the process. I will still attach the fillable character sheet to this post.
Characeristics
Allot 100 points among the eight characteristics Strength (STR), Constitution (CON), Size (SIZ), Intelligence (INT), Power (POW), Dexterity (DEX), Appearance (APP), and Education (EDU).
The minimum assignable value for SIZ and INT is 8 (small, dull); for the other characteristics the minimum is 3 (weak, sickly, clumsy). The maximum assignable value for any characteristic is 18 (huge, brilliant, nimble, knowing). Characteristics may change during play.
A ninth characteristic, Sanity (SAN), derives from Power x5.
A Dexterity roll equals your DEX x5.
An Idea roll equals your INT x5.
A Know roll equals your EDU x5.
A Luck roll equals your POW x5.
A Charisma (or Attraction) roll equals your APP x5.
Total your character’s STR and SIZ, and find the investigator’s damage bonus on the table nearby.
Enter the number 99 for 99 minus Cthulhu Mythos.
If your investigator gains points in that skill, lower this number by a like amount.
To determine hit points, total CON plus SIZ and divide by 2; round up any fraction.
For magic points, circle that number equal to POW.
For Sanity points, circle the number equal to SAN.
Occupations
defines what your player character did, what position in society did he or she fulfill, before becoming an investigator. About two dozen occupations are listed below, well-suited for producing likely investigators. Each occupation denotes applicable skills and potential savings, given in deniers. Choose an occupation.
In the Dark Ages, most people were tied to clergy or a lay lord. Whenever possible, we suggest “freeman” or “high-status” versions of common occupations, which give the player more autonomy. All occupations allow at least one free choice of skill among those in the skills list and weapons tables. Remember that the Cthulhu Mythos skill cannot be chosen, only learned during play.
Money & Equipment
All occupations endow the investigator with a certain number of deniers — representing what the character might conceivably have saved living frugally, and indicate that occupation’s yearly potential. Buy weapons, clothing and other effects fit for your investigator’s occupation.
Magic
A few occupations (healer, hermit/heretic, and exorcistpriest) allow the investigator to select Old Grimoire spells instead of skills (I'll post the Old Grimoire summary, if necessary). Such a choice is always subject to keeper approval — count 50 skill percentiles for every targeted spell (in which the caster must overcome the target’s magic points), and 100 skill percentiles for others.
Occupations List
Beggar
As a beggar, you devote your life to niggling food and sometimes money from passersby.
Skills: Bargain, Conceal, Fast Talk, Insight, Listen or Spot, Hidden. Three other skills are personal specialties.
Money: 1D4-1 silver deniers.
Yearly Income: 240 deniers.
Cleric
You are the child of a rich man, or a brilliant peasant boy who caught the notice of a man of the Church. You received a formal religious education in a bishopric or a monastery. Now you are a secretary, an administrator, a jurist, or an architect at the service of a count or a bishop.
Skills: Latin, Library Use, Persuade, Own Kingdom, Status, Write Latin, (or the local chancery language). Two other skills are personal specialties (may gain Language Bonus).
Money: 1D3+6 x50 silver deniers.
Yearly Income: 2400 deniers.
Craftsman or Shopkeeper
You might be a smith, a baker, or a weaver. Choose your craft. You live in a village community or in a city.
Skills: Bargain, Craft (choose one), Fast Talk, Insight, Natural World, Own Kingdom, and Status. One other skill is a personal specialty.
Money: 1D2 x100 silver deniers, +100 deniers in product.
Yearly Income: 1200 deniers.
(Free) Farmer
You are the salt of the earth, a well-to-do farmer or colonist. Dark Age society depends on your crops, and you work like a horse.
Skills: Bargain, Craft (choose one), Drive Horses, Listen, NaturalWorld, and Track. Two other skills are personal specialties.
Money: 1D100 silver deniers, +300 deniers in stored grains or in herd animals.
Yearly Income: 600 deniers.
Guard
You work in a cathedral city for the burgrave or the bishop. In times of peace, you have little to do but practice with your weapons and keep in shape.
Skills: Fist/Punch or Head Butt or Kick or Grapple, Own Kingdom, Sneak, Spot Hidden or Listen, Status, Throw, and one weapon skill. One other skill is a personal specialty.
Money: 1D3 x100 silver deniers, plus fighting equipment as assigned by employer.
Yearly Income: 1800 deniers.
Healer
To foreigners, you look like a villager. But villagers know better: your mentor granted you powers of the invisible world. Now villagers come to your hut for a cure or a potion, or for advice about love or birthing a child, the promise of rain and the evil eye. Be wary of the ever-suspicious village priest!
Skills: First Aid, Insight, Listen or Spot Hidden, Natural World, Occult, and Potions. Two other skills are personal specialties (spells are allowed).
Money: 1D3 x100 silver deniers.
Yearly Income: 900 deniers.
Hermit / Heretic
You are an outcast, a drifter, a person plagued by dreams and visions. You grasp at strange clues and bewildering notions. You either hide in the woods or live in a secret
community.
Skills: Hide, Insight, Listen or Spot Hidden, NaturalWorld, Occult, and Persuade. Two other skills are personal specialties (spells are allowed).
Money: 1D6 silver deniers.
Yearly Income: 240 deniers.
Household Officer
You serve your lord in his urban palace or his castrum. Select one of the following functions: steward, headman of the stables, or keeper of the order.You spend much of
your day bullying lesser servants to do their work.
Skills: Craft (choose one), Conceal, Fast Talk, Insight, Listen or Spot Hidden, and Sneak. Two other skills are personal specialties.
Money: 1D3 x100 silver deniers.
Yearly Income: 900 deniers.
Juggler / Minstrel
You’re witty and articulate, dress gaily and are interesting looking, and you love to get attention. You might be adept with chansons de geste (see page 66) — your heroes are Roland, Charlemagne and Alexander the Great — you play a musical instrument, recite poetry and stories that everybody already knows, and are maybe proficient at tumbling, juggling, rope walking, or some other entertaining craft. You might even own a tame bear or monkey! If possible, you enter the services of a nobleman, whose praises you sing and whose generosity you praise. In return, you hope for gifts and treasures and the security only a court can offer you.
Skills: Art (choose one), Bargain, Fast Talk, Insight, Own Kingdom, and Persuade. Two other skills are personal specialties.
Money: 1D6 x50 silver deniers.
Yearly Income: 1500 deniers.
Mercenary / Brigand
As a mercenary you fight for the highest bidder and then scavenge battlefields for trophies.As a brigand, you may have been the victim of some natural catastrophe or some heinous injustice that changed your life forever. Now you hide deep in the woods and rob traveling monks or traders.
Skills: Fist/Punch or Head Butt or Kick or Grapple, Natural World, Navigate, Track, Sneak, Throw, and one weapon skill. One other skill is a personal specialty.
Money: 1D4+1 x50 silver deniers, plus 500 deniers for fighting equipment.
Yearly Income: 2100 deniers.
Merchant
You are a Jew living in a port city or on the outskirts of a cathedral city. You make a living from accounts and agents. You import wine, exotic spices, and silks from heathen countries and sell them to arrogant nobles. Not being a Christian, you are allowed to be a moneychanger and a moneylender.
Skills: Accounting, Bargain, Fast Talk, Own Kingdom, Other Kingdoms, Other Language, andWrite Language. One other skill is a personal specialty (may gain Language
Bonus).
Money: 1D4+4 x100 silver deniers, plus 700 deniers in product or outstanding loans.
Yearly Income: 9000 deniers.
Monk / Nun
You live in a monastery, in silence and in prayer, leading a simple life.When you don’t pray or sing, you perform domestic tasks, or copy arcane manuscripts from the monastery’s library. As a member of your order, you are not allowed to own private property but if you leave the monastery with special permission, you can always count on the hospitality and charity of other monasteries.
Skills: Art or Craft or Science (choose one), Latin, Library Use, Listen, Occult, Sign Language, andWrite Latin. One other skill is a personal specialty.
Money: Money and equipment as assigned by order.
Yearly Income: 600 deniers.
Pilgrim
You live by the charity of other people. You accomplish a pilgrimage to a holy place such as Jerusalem, amonastery, or a cathedral city housing holy relics.You have your own reasons to be a pilgrim, maybe for the expiation of some crime, the wish to elevate your soul, or simply the desire for adventure in its noblest sense.You could be headed to Santiago de Compostela in Spain,Mount SaintMichel in France, Jerusalem, or Rome.
Skills: Bargain, NaturalWorld, Navigate, Own Kingdom, and Sneak. Three other skills are personal specialties.
Money: 1D8 silver deniers.
Yearly Income: 240 deniers.
Priest
You are on a mission from the church to enlighten laymen and women in the ways of God. You are an exorcist or a full-fledged priest who is bound to a parish and collects
the tithe from the farmers, most of which goes to your greedy lord. Although St. Paul highly commends celibacy and it is strongly recommended, you may have a concubine and even children, though they will not inherit from you.
Skills: Fast Talk, Insight, Latin, Occult, Persuade, and Status. Two other skills are personal specialties (religiously appropriate spells are allowed).
Money: 1D8 x25 silver deniers plus holy book or bible,
prayer books, other equipment as determined by denomination and parish.
Yearly Income: 600 deniers.
Sailor
You’re skilled with sails, boats, and ships, and know tides, the wind, and the stars. You have seen Hamburg, Venice, or Constantinople. Life is glorious, except for storms, pirates, and the terrors of the deep.
Skills: Climb, Fast Talk, NaturalWorld, Navigate, Other Kingdoms, and Pilot Boat. Two other skills are personal specialties.
Money: 1D3 x100 silver deniers.
Yearly Income: 1200 deniers.
Scholar
You belong to a monastic or cathedral school. You are the recipient and the dispenser of godly knowledge. You spend your time reading classical authors, writing manuals,
and teaching. When you don’t teach you’re involved in political intrigues for some good cause.
Skills: Latin, Library Use, Own Kingdom, Persuade, Science (choose one), Status, andWrite Latin. One other skill is a personal specialty (may gain Language Bonus).
Money: 1D3 x100 silver deniers, plus writing materials.
Yearly Income: 1500 deniers.
Sergeant / Mayor
You are employed by a lord or a monastery to supervise the administration of the domain. Your main task is to collect tax money and dues in kind.
Skills: Bargain, Fast Talk, Insight, Sneak, Spot Hidden, Status, and one weapon skill. One other skill is a personal specialty.
Money: 1D3+4 x100 silver deniers, plus 600 deniers in livestock or horses.
Yearly Income: 3000 deniers.
Small Trader
You own a few pack animals or a small ship. You circuit inland, up river, or along the coast for the benefit of your master. You know a lot about that route and its particular dangers.
Skills: Bargain, Drive Horses or Pilot Boat, Fast Talk, Insight, Own Kingdom, Other Language (common trading speech), and Navigate. One other skill is a personal specialty: depending on your trading route you might know Medieval Latin or Greek (Mediterranean), Flemish (around the North Sea), Low German or Old Norse (around the Baltic Sea).
Money: 1D3+1 x100 silver deniers, plus 400 deniers in product.
Yearly Income: 3600 deniers.
(Free) Warrior
You are a proud miles, a professional warrior. You are a bold adventurer on his own or hired by a warlord. Your proudest possessions are a horse, a long sword, and chain mail.
Skills: Grapple, NaturalWorld, Own Kingdom, Ride, Status, Track, and one weapon skill. One other skill is a personal specialty.
Money: 1D4+6 x50 silver deniers, plus a horse, longsword, and chainmail.
Yearly Income: 9000 deniers.
Woodsman / Fisherman
As a woodsman you exploit the forest: you might be a hunter, a honey gatherer or a woodcutter who produces charcoal. As a fisherman you are living in a fishing community by a lake or by the sea.
Skills: Craft (choose one), Listen or Spot Hidden, Natural World, Navigate, Pilot Boat or Track, Swim or Sneak, and Throw. One other skill is a personal specialty.
Money: 1D6 x25 silver deniers.
Yearly Income: 240 deniers.
Name
Most people in the Dark Ages have no surname: John is just John. To further describe an investigator, or to distinguish between two with the same name, give a irthplace, as in John of Hereford, or an occupation, as in John Smith, or a distinguishing feature, as in Erik the Red. Old French, German, or English first names are ideally
suited forDark Ages investigators, as are themore pious names from the Bible. Here are some typical examples:
Anglo-Saxon Names
MALE: Aelfhere, Aelfred, Aelfric, Aethelstan, Aethelweard, Aethelwulf, Aescwine, Birhtric, Birhtnoth, Caedmon, Centwine, Cenwulf, Cuthbert, Ealdhelm, Earcenbold, Godwine, Hildegils, Leofric, Leofwine, Odda, Offa, Ohthere, Penda, Sigebriht, Wighelm, Wigstan,Wufsige,Wulfstan,Wulfwige.
FEMALE: Aethelflaed, Aelfgyfu, Aehtelgythe, Eadgifu, Ealhraed, Hereswith, Hilda, Leofflaed, Leofware, Wihtburg.
Old French Names
MALE: Aimeri, Aimon, Aiol, Aleaume, Archembaud, Arnoul, Baudouin, Bruyant, Eustache, Fierbras, Fromondin, Galien, Gilles, Godefroi, Gui, Guibert, Guillaume, Hardouin, Jehan, Julien, Raimon, Raoul, Tancred, Thierry, Yves.
FEMALE: Adelaide, Adeline, Aiglante, Alienor, Beatrix, Beatrice, Belle, Berthe, Blonde, Catherine, Cecilia, Clarissa, Erembourg, Ermengarde, Esclarmonde, Heloise, Jehanne, Lutice, Mirabel, Nicolette, Olive, Oriabel, Passerose, Rosamonde.
Old High German Names
MALE: Adalbracht, Adalbert, Adaldac, Adelgero, Adam, Addo, Agilwulf, Aistulf, Albwin, Arnolf, Berchhold, Berengar, Bernefrid, Bernhard, Boppo, Buobo, Brun, Bruno, Chuonrad, Eberhart, Everhart, Egilulf, Egbert, Erkanbald, Erhard, Folcbert, Folcmar, Fulco, Fulrad, Folkwin, Friderich, Gisilbert, Gislfred, Giselher, Geseprant, Godfrid, Goslin, Gozlin, Grimoald, Guntbrecht, Gundolfm Guntram, Gundelbert, Griffo, Gundpert, Gunther, Hatto, Heinrich, Herimann, Hermann, Hildulf, Ingo, Hubert, Ribald, Obert, Hugo, Lampert, Landemar, Liutger, Liudolf, Luipold, Lindwin, Liutward, Liutprant, Hlothar, Ldowich, Chlodowech, Mainard, Mainfred, Meginbert, Maginfred, Ozbert, Liutker, Frumolt, Otto, Odo, Odalrich, Ratbodo, Reginbald.
FEMALE: Adalheid, Adelaide, Adalwit, Adred, Albsinda, Bertha, Hathwiga, Hedwig, Mathilda, Mechtild, Gisla, Gisiltrude, Glismuada, Hiltiburg, Ida, Ota, Imma, Regingarda.
Birthplace & Language
Choose the investigator’s kingdom of birth and language—the German empire (with four main Old High German dialects spoken: Frankish, Saxon, Bavarian, Allemanic — the term ‘German’ (thiudisk) itself is only just evolving), the kingdoms of France, Burgundy, or Italy (where Old French and Occitan dialects are spoken), the kingdom of England (Old English dialects spoken) are good starting points; see the “Languages” section on page 54 and “A Quick Tour of the World,” page 61, for more details.
Sex of Your Character
In order to enrich the playing experience, we decided to stretch historical correctness and open most occupations to female player characters (avoid cleric, priest, guard, and warrior). The keeper must decide whether to consider audacious women as exceptions in a hostile male society, or to bend medieval mentality toward gentle integration.
Education
Apart from men of the church, clerics, and a few nobles, no one possesses formal education in the Dark Ages, since there is no proper schooling system outside of the monasteries. The game concepts of Education (EDU) and the Know roll measure factual knowledge in Cthulhu Dark Ages: an investigator with a high Education may not be schooled, but still might be studious, observant, and judicious. This definition of Education does not contradict the Call of Cthulhu rules — in Cthulhu Dark Ages the “school of life” has the same status as formal schooling.
Age & Aging
Your investigator’s age is 15. For every ten years or fraction older that you make your investigator, add a point to EDU and allot 20 occupation points. Also remove your choice of 1 STR, 1 CON, 1 DEX, or 1 APP.
Characeristics
Allot 100 points among the eight characteristics Strength (STR), Constitution (CON), Size (SIZ), Intelligence (INT), Power (POW), Dexterity (DEX), Appearance (APP), and Education (EDU).
The minimum assignable value for SIZ and INT is 8 (small, dull); for the other characteristics the minimum is 3 (weak, sickly, clumsy). The maximum assignable value for any characteristic is 18 (huge, brilliant, nimble, knowing). Characteristics may change during play.
A ninth characteristic, Sanity (SAN), derives from Power x5.
A Dexterity roll equals your DEX x5.
An Idea roll equals your INT x5.
A Know roll equals your EDU x5.
A Luck roll equals your POW x5.
A Charisma (or Attraction) roll equals your APP x5.
Total your character’s STR and SIZ, and find the investigator’s damage bonus on the table nearby.
Enter the number 99 for 99 minus Cthulhu Mythos.
If your investigator gains points in that skill, lower this number by a like amount.
To determine hit points, total CON plus SIZ and divide by 2; round up any fraction.
For magic points, circle that number equal to POW.
For Sanity points, circle the number equal to SAN.
Occupations
defines what your player character did, what position in society did he or she fulfill, before becoming an investigator. About two dozen occupations are listed below, well-suited for producing likely investigators. Each occupation denotes applicable skills and potential savings, given in deniers. Choose an occupation.
In the Dark Ages, most people were tied to clergy or a lay lord. Whenever possible, we suggest “freeman” or “high-status” versions of common occupations, which give the player more autonomy. All occupations allow at least one free choice of skill among those in the skills list and weapons tables. Remember that the Cthulhu Mythos skill cannot be chosen, only learned during play.
Money & Equipment
All occupations endow the investigator with a certain number of deniers — representing what the character might conceivably have saved living frugally, and indicate that occupation’s yearly potential. Buy weapons, clothing and other effects fit for your investigator’s occupation.
Magic
A few occupations (healer, hermit/heretic, and exorcistpriest) allow the investigator to select Old Grimoire spells instead of skills (I'll post the Old Grimoire summary, if necessary). Such a choice is always subject to keeper approval — count 50 skill percentiles for every targeted spell (in which the caster must overcome the target’s magic points), and 100 skill percentiles for others.
Occupations List
Beggar
As a beggar, you devote your life to niggling food and sometimes money from passersby.
Skills: Bargain, Conceal, Fast Talk, Insight, Listen or Spot, Hidden. Three other skills are personal specialties.
Money: 1D4-1 silver deniers.
Yearly Income: 240 deniers.
Cleric
You are the child of a rich man, or a brilliant peasant boy who caught the notice of a man of the Church. You received a formal religious education in a bishopric or a monastery. Now you are a secretary, an administrator, a jurist, or an architect at the service of a count or a bishop.
Skills: Latin, Library Use, Persuade, Own Kingdom, Status, Write Latin, (or the local chancery language). Two other skills are personal specialties (may gain Language Bonus).
Money: 1D3+6 x50 silver deniers.
Yearly Income: 2400 deniers.
Craftsman or Shopkeeper
You might be a smith, a baker, or a weaver. Choose your craft. You live in a village community or in a city.
Skills: Bargain, Craft (choose one), Fast Talk, Insight, Natural World, Own Kingdom, and Status. One other skill is a personal specialty.
Money: 1D2 x100 silver deniers, +100 deniers in product.
Yearly Income: 1200 deniers.
(Free) Farmer
You are the salt of the earth, a well-to-do farmer or colonist. Dark Age society depends on your crops, and you work like a horse.
Skills: Bargain, Craft (choose one), Drive Horses, Listen, NaturalWorld, and Track. Two other skills are personal specialties.
Money: 1D100 silver deniers, +300 deniers in stored grains or in herd animals.
Yearly Income: 600 deniers.
Guard
You work in a cathedral city for the burgrave or the bishop. In times of peace, you have little to do but practice with your weapons and keep in shape.
Skills: Fist/Punch or Head Butt or Kick or Grapple, Own Kingdom, Sneak, Spot Hidden or Listen, Status, Throw, and one weapon skill. One other skill is a personal specialty.
Money: 1D3 x100 silver deniers, plus fighting equipment as assigned by employer.
Yearly Income: 1800 deniers.
Healer
To foreigners, you look like a villager. But villagers know better: your mentor granted you powers of the invisible world. Now villagers come to your hut for a cure or a potion, or for advice about love or birthing a child, the promise of rain and the evil eye. Be wary of the ever-suspicious village priest!
Skills: First Aid, Insight, Listen or Spot Hidden, Natural World, Occult, and Potions. Two other skills are personal specialties (spells are allowed).
Money: 1D3 x100 silver deniers.
Yearly Income: 900 deniers.
Hermit / Heretic
You are an outcast, a drifter, a person plagued by dreams and visions. You grasp at strange clues and bewildering notions. You either hide in the woods or live in a secret
community.
Skills: Hide, Insight, Listen or Spot Hidden, NaturalWorld, Occult, and Persuade. Two other skills are personal specialties (spells are allowed).
Money: 1D6 silver deniers.
Yearly Income: 240 deniers.
Household Officer
You serve your lord in his urban palace or his castrum. Select one of the following functions: steward, headman of the stables, or keeper of the order.You spend much of
your day bullying lesser servants to do their work.
Skills: Craft (choose one), Conceal, Fast Talk, Insight, Listen or Spot Hidden, and Sneak. Two other skills are personal specialties.
Money: 1D3 x100 silver deniers.
Yearly Income: 900 deniers.
Juggler / Minstrel
You’re witty and articulate, dress gaily and are interesting looking, and you love to get attention. You might be adept with chansons de geste (see page 66) — your heroes are Roland, Charlemagne and Alexander the Great — you play a musical instrument, recite poetry and stories that everybody already knows, and are maybe proficient at tumbling, juggling, rope walking, or some other entertaining craft. You might even own a tame bear or monkey! If possible, you enter the services of a nobleman, whose praises you sing and whose generosity you praise. In return, you hope for gifts and treasures and the security only a court can offer you.
Skills: Art (choose one), Bargain, Fast Talk, Insight, Own Kingdom, and Persuade. Two other skills are personal specialties.
Money: 1D6 x50 silver deniers.
Yearly Income: 1500 deniers.
Mercenary / Brigand
As a mercenary you fight for the highest bidder and then scavenge battlefields for trophies.As a brigand, you may have been the victim of some natural catastrophe or some heinous injustice that changed your life forever. Now you hide deep in the woods and rob traveling monks or traders.
Skills: Fist/Punch or Head Butt or Kick or Grapple, Natural World, Navigate, Track, Sneak, Throw, and one weapon skill. One other skill is a personal specialty.
Money: 1D4+1 x50 silver deniers, plus 500 deniers for fighting equipment.
Yearly Income: 2100 deniers.
Merchant
You are a Jew living in a port city or on the outskirts of a cathedral city. You make a living from accounts and agents. You import wine, exotic spices, and silks from heathen countries and sell them to arrogant nobles. Not being a Christian, you are allowed to be a moneychanger and a moneylender.
Skills: Accounting, Bargain, Fast Talk, Own Kingdom, Other Kingdoms, Other Language, andWrite Language. One other skill is a personal specialty (may gain Language
Bonus).
Money: 1D4+4 x100 silver deniers, plus 700 deniers in product or outstanding loans.
Yearly Income: 9000 deniers.
Monk / Nun
You live in a monastery, in silence and in prayer, leading a simple life.When you don’t pray or sing, you perform domestic tasks, or copy arcane manuscripts from the monastery’s library. As a member of your order, you are not allowed to own private property but if you leave the monastery with special permission, you can always count on the hospitality and charity of other monasteries.
Skills: Art or Craft or Science (choose one), Latin, Library Use, Listen, Occult, Sign Language, andWrite Latin. One other skill is a personal specialty.
Money: Money and equipment as assigned by order.
Yearly Income: 600 deniers.
Pilgrim
You live by the charity of other people. You accomplish a pilgrimage to a holy place such as Jerusalem, amonastery, or a cathedral city housing holy relics.You have your own reasons to be a pilgrim, maybe for the expiation of some crime, the wish to elevate your soul, or simply the desire for adventure in its noblest sense.You could be headed to Santiago de Compostela in Spain,Mount SaintMichel in France, Jerusalem, or Rome.
Skills: Bargain, NaturalWorld, Navigate, Own Kingdom, and Sneak. Three other skills are personal specialties.
Money: 1D8 silver deniers.
Yearly Income: 240 deniers.
Priest
You are on a mission from the church to enlighten laymen and women in the ways of God. You are an exorcist or a full-fledged priest who is bound to a parish and collects
the tithe from the farmers, most of which goes to your greedy lord. Although St. Paul highly commends celibacy and it is strongly recommended, you may have a concubine and even children, though they will not inherit from you.
Skills: Fast Talk, Insight, Latin, Occult, Persuade, and Status. Two other skills are personal specialties (religiously appropriate spells are allowed).
Money: 1D8 x25 silver deniers plus holy book or bible,
prayer books, other equipment as determined by denomination and parish.
Yearly Income: 600 deniers.
Sailor
You’re skilled with sails, boats, and ships, and know tides, the wind, and the stars. You have seen Hamburg, Venice, or Constantinople. Life is glorious, except for storms, pirates, and the terrors of the deep.
Skills: Climb, Fast Talk, NaturalWorld, Navigate, Other Kingdoms, and Pilot Boat. Two other skills are personal specialties.
Money: 1D3 x100 silver deniers.
Yearly Income: 1200 deniers.
Scholar
You belong to a monastic or cathedral school. You are the recipient and the dispenser of godly knowledge. You spend your time reading classical authors, writing manuals,
and teaching. When you don’t teach you’re involved in political intrigues for some good cause.
Skills: Latin, Library Use, Own Kingdom, Persuade, Science (choose one), Status, andWrite Latin. One other skill is a personal specialty (may gain Language Bonus).
Money: 1D3 x100 silver deniers, plus writing materials.
Yearly Income: 1500 deniers.
Sergeant / Mayor
You are employed by a lord or a monastery to supervise the administration of the domain. Your main task is to collect tax money and dues in kind.
Skills: Bargain, Fast Talk, Insight, Sneak, Spot Hidden, Status, and one weapon skill. One other skill is a personal specialty.
Money: 1D3+4 x100 silver deniers, plus 600 deniers in livestock or horses.
Yearly Income: 3000 deniers.
Small Trader
You own a few pack animals or a small ship. You circuit inland, up river, or along the coast for the benefit of your master. You know a lot about that route and its particular dangers.
Skills: Bargain, Drive Horses or Pilot Boat, Fast Talk, Insight, Own Kingdom, Other Language (common trading speech), and Navigate. One other skill is a personal specialty: depending on your trading route you might know Medieval Latin or Greek (Mediterranean), Flemish (around the North Sea), Low German or Old Norse (around the Baltic Sea).
Money: 1D3+1 x100 silver deniers, plus 400 deniers in product.
Yearly Income: 3600 deniers.
(Free) Warrior
You are a proud miles, a professional warrior. You are a bold adventurer on his own or hired by a warlord. Your proudest possessions are a horse, a long sword, and chain mail.
Skills: Grapple, NaturalWorld, Own Kingdom, Ride, Status, Track, and one weapon skill. One other skill is a personal specialty.
Money: 1D4+6 x50 silver deniers, plus a horse, longsword, and chainmail.
Yearly Income: 9000 deniers.
Woodsman / Fisherman
As a woodsman you exploit the forest: you might be a hunter, a honey gatherer or a woodcutter who produces charcoal. As a fisherman you are living in a fishing community by a lake or by the sea.
Skills: Craft (choose one), Listen or Spot Hidden, Natural World, Navigate, Pilot Boat or Track, Swim or Sneak, and Throw. One other skill is a personal specialty.
Money: 1D6 x25 silver deniers.
Yearly Income: 240 deniers.
Name
Most people in the Dark Ages have no surname: John is just John. To further describe an investigator, or to distinguish between two with the same name, give a irthplace, as in John of Hereford, or an occupation, as in John Smith, or a distinguishing feature, as in Erik the Red. Old French, German, or English first names are ideally
suited forDark Ages investigators, as are themore pious names from the Bible. Here are some typical examples:
Anglo-Saxon Names
MALE: Aelfhere, Aelfred, Aelfric, Aethelstan, Aethelweard, Aethelwulf, Aescwine, Birhtric, Birhtnoth, Caedmon, Centwine, Cenwulf, Cuthbert, Ealdhelm, Earcenbold, Godwine, Hildegils, Leofric, Leofwine, Odda, Offa, Ohthere, Penda, Sigebriht, Wighelm, Wigstan,Wufsige,Wulfstan,Wulfwige.
FEMALE: Aethelflaed, Aelfgyfu, Aehtelgythe, Eadgifu, Ealhraed, Hereswith, Hilda, Leofflaed, Leofware, Wihtburg.
Old French Names
MALE: Aimeri, Aimon, Aiol, Aleaume, Archembaud, Arnoul, Baudouin, Bruyant, Eustache, Fierbras, Fromondin, Galien, Gilles, Godefroi, Gui, Guibert, Guillaume, Hardouin, Jehan, Julien, Raimon, Raoul, Tancred, Thierry, Yves.
FEMALE: Adelaide, Adeline, Aiglante, Alienor, Beatrix, Beatrice, Belle, Berthe, Blonde, Catherine, Cecilia, Clarissa, Erembourg, Ermengarde, Esclarmonde, Heloise, Jehanne, Lutice, Mirabel, Nicolette, Olive, Oriabel, Passerose, Rosamonde.
Old High German Names
MALE: Adalbracht, Adalbert, Adaldac, Adelgero, Adam, Addo, Agilwulf, Aistulf, Albwin, Arnolf, Berchhold, Berengar, Bernefrid, Bernhard, Boppo, Buobo, Brun, Bruno, Chuonrad, Eberhart, Everhart, Egilulf, Egbert, Erkanbald, Erhard, Folcbert, Folcmar, Fulco, Fulrad, Folkwin, Friderich, Gisilbert, Gislfred, Giselher, Geseprant, Godfrid, Goslin, Gozlin, Grimoald, Guntbrecht, Gundolfm Guntram, Gundelbert, Griffo, Gundpert, Gunther, Hatto, Heinrich, Herimann, Hermann, Hildulf, Ingo, Hubert, Ribald, Obert, Hugo, Lampert, Landemar, Liutger, Liudolf, Luipold, Lindwin, Liutward, Liutprant, Hlothar, Ldowich, Chlodowech, Mainard, Mainfred, Meginbert, Maginfred, Ozbert, Liutker, Frumolt, Otto, Odo, Odalrich, Ratbodo, Reginbald.
FEMALE: Adalheid, Adelaide, Adalwit, Adred, Albsinda, Bertha, Hathwiga, Hedwig, Mathilda, Mechtild, Gisla, Gisiltrude, Glismuada, Hiltiburg, Ida, Ota, Imma, Regingarda.
Birthplace & Language
Choose the investigator’s kingdom of birth and language—the German empire (with four main Old High German dialects spoken: Frankish, Saxon, Bavarian, Allemanic — the term ‘German’ (thiudisk) itself is only just evolving), the kingdoms of France, Burgundy, or Italy (where Old French and Occitan dialects are spoken), the kingdom of England (Old English dialects spoken) are good starting points; see the “Languages” section on page 54 and “A Quick Tour of the World,” page 61, for more details.
Sex of Your Character
In order to enrich the playing experience, we decided to stretch historical correctness and open most occupations to female player characters (avoid cleric, priest, guard, and warrior). The keeper must decide whether to consider audacious women as exceptions in a hostile male society, or to bend medieval mentality toward gentle integration.
Education
Apart from men of the church, clerics, and a few nobles, no one possesses formal education in the Dark Ages, since there is no proper schooling system outside of the monasteries. The game concepts of Education (EDU) and the Know roll measure factual knowledge in Cthulhu Dark Ages: an investigator with a high Education may not be schooled, but still might be studious, observant, and judicious. This definition of Education does not contradict the Call of Cthulhu rules — in Cthulhu Dark Ages the “school of life” has the same status as formal schooling.
Age & Aging
Your investigator’s age is 15. For every ten years or fraction older that you make your investigator, add a point to EDU and allot 20 occupation points. Also remove your choice of 1 STR, 1 CON, 1 DEX, or 1 APP.