PmWiki | Tripocalypse / Backgrounds

Very Different Places is a classless, levelless system, but this is not true of the majority of roleplaying game systems.

For the purpose of allowing faster character creeation and quick porting of characters to and from VDP, this page provides level equivalents and common backgrounds.

Backgrounds can be used when creating a character, and give the character a starting set of skills.

Backgrounds will allow one or more elective skills, which unless otherwise specified must be given at most 1 point. In exchange for a 1 point elective, two 0 point electives may be taken.

Elective XP may also be used to raise existing skills by 1 point at the normal cost (XP equal to the new level of the skill, limit 3)

In general, backgrounds with more focused skills will grant you more available experience, though backgrounds that allow high starting skill values may offer significantly less.

Name	Description	Electives	XP used	Skillset	Notes
Artist	A professional artist, who has spent most of their background years studying and practicing art.	4	14	Detection 1, Artist (your specialization) 2(3) OR Performance (your specialization) 2(3), Business 1, Manipulation 1, Psychology 1, Scholar (art) 1(2)	If related to your art, you may spend any amount of this XP on the other of Artist or Performance, but must specialize.
Athlete	A professional athlete, trained to compete against the best the universe has to offer.	4	14	Athletics 2(3) OR Swimming 2(3) (must specialize), Scholar (your sport) 0(1), Psychology 1, Medicine 1, First Aid 1, Alertness 1, Tactics 1	If you spend your 6 XP in skills related to your chosen sport, you may increase those skills up to 3.
Businessperson	A professional in business, whose skills largely depend on their chosen field	7	10	Business 2, Manipulation 1, Command 1, Gambling 1, Psychology 1, Scholar (Business) 1, Strategy 1, Performance 1	N/A
Doctor	An expert in the field of medicine, with more knowledge of practice than theory compared to the Scientist.	6	12	Medicine 2, First Aid 2, Scholar (Medicine) 1, Science (Biology) 1(2), Detection 1, Psychology 1, Info Tech 1	N/A
Engineer	An expert in a field of functional design, turning science into technology.	6	12	Mechanics(Engineering, your field) 2(3), Science (your field) 1(2), Scholar (your field) 1, Detection 1, Info Tech 1	N/A
Hacker	An expert with computers, for good or for evil.	8	8	Manipulation 1,Info Tech 2, Gambler 1, Alertness 1, Detection 1	N/A
Pilot	An expert in piloting one or more kinds of vehicles, from ground bikes to great capital ships in space.	6	13	Pilot 2, Alertness (Visual) 2(3), Mechanics 0, Info Tech 0, Navigation 1	N/A
Politician	A person of influence with both the people and the elite	6	12	Manipulation 2, Command 1, Psychology 1, Scholar (Political science) 1, Strategy 1, Performance 2	N/A
Rogue	A person skilled in doing things that often run afoul of polite society.	7	10	Manipulation 1, Thief 1, Sleight of Hand 1, Stealth 1, Gambler 1, Business 1, Alertness 1, Detection 1, Tactics 1, Navigation 1	They usually, but not always, come from poor lifestyles, but some are groomed as professionals.
Scientist	A specialist in a field of science.	7	10	Science (your field) 2(3), Scholar (your field) 1, Strategy 1, Detection 1	N/A
Scout	An expert in fieldcraft and reconnaissance, scouts grow up going places and telling people about them.	3	16	Detection 1, Alertness 3, Navigation 2, Scholar (fieldcraft) 1, Athletics 1	Dev Note: Scouts are hyper specialized for a very valuable pair of adventuring skills. Picking up a combat skill, pilot 1, and first aid would probably be a good idea.
Soldier	A soldier in a professional, modern army, who has passed basic training.	3	18	Command 1, Ranged Combat 1(2), Melee Weapons 1(2), Close Combat 1, Explosives 1, Info Tech 1, Mechanics 0, Navigation 1, Alertness 1, Artillery 0, Tactics 1, First Aid 1, Athletics 2, Swimming 1	A more generic background that represents basic military experience, that can branch into many fields.
Technician	An expert in fieldwork, different from an engineer in that they're the ones actually building things.	7	10	Mechanics 2, Detection 2, Alertness 1, Sleight of Hand 1	A specialized vehicle tech may spend XP up to 2(3) in Pilot for their vehicle specialty.
Mage	A professional user of narrative causality. Studied in its basic forms, they are likely to specialize.	8	8	Scholar(NC) 1, Reification 1, Daemonscripting 1, Narrative Control 1, Info Tech 1, Detection 1, Psychology 1, Science(NC) 1	N/A