Character Backgrounds

Character Background

The player has to decide where their character came from, and that choice leaves a mark on their character sheet.

Here are 10 Backgrounds categorized by origin.

Core World Origins

Life in the neon-soaked megacities of Earth, Mars, Proxima Centauri, Tau Ceti or Epsilon Eridani.

1. The High-Spire Scion (The Fallen Elite)

You were born in the clouds, breathing filtered air and eating real meat. But you fell from grace: disowned, framed, or bored. You have the best education money can buy, but you’ve never done a hard day's labor.
Attribute Bonus: +1 INT (World-class education).
Attribute Penalty: -1 VIGOR (Soft immune system, weak constitution).
Skill Bonus: +2 Bureaucracy or +2 Academia.
The Snag: Bounty. Someone powerful wants you back (or dead). You cannot stay in one system for more than a month without risk.

2. The Sump-Rat (The Nox)

You grew up in the under-city, fighting for scraps in the toxic rain. You know how to disappear and how to spot a lie, but malnutrition has left its mark.
Attribute Bonus: +1 FLEX (You learned to run before you could walk).
Attribute Penalty: -1 BRAWN (Stunted growth from poor diet).
Skill Bonus: +2 Stealth or +2 Streetwise.
The Snag: Illiterate. You cannot read complex text (Technical/Academic). You rely on audio-glyphs or translation software.

3. The Corp-Drone (The Salaryman)

You worked a cubicle job for KreuzTech, Monolith or Thalamus. You know the protocols, the codes, and how to file a form in triplicate. You are reliable, but your spirit was broken long ago.
Attribute Bonus: +1 AWARENESS (Trained to spot errors and efficiencies).
Attribute Penalty: -1 PSYCHE (Conditioned to obey authority).
Skill Bonus: +2 Systems Ops or +2 Negotiation.
The Snag: Compliance Chip. You have an old loyalty implant. You suffer Disadvantage on PSYCHE rolls to resist commands from superior Corporate Officers.

Spacer Origins

Life in the void, aboard stations, haulers, or warships.

4. The Void-Born (The Belter)

You were born on a station or a generation ship. You’ve never felt natural gravity. You move with liquid grace in Zero-G, but "dirtside" gravity feels like it's crushing your bones.
Attribute Bonus: +1 FLEX (Acclimated to 3D movement).
Attribute Penalty: -1 BRAWN (Low bone density).
Skill Bonus: +2 Zero-G Ops or +2 Mechanical Repair.
The Snag: Gravity Sickness. On planets with standard (1G) gravity, you suffer -1 to all Physical Rolls until you take a specific medication (costs credits).

5. The Ship-Breaker (The Scavenger)

You spent your youth in the orbital graveyards of Epsilon Eridani, cutting apart dead ships. You know machines, but you also know what happens when safety seals fail.
Attribute Bonus: +1 AWARENESS (You spot structural weaknesses instantly).
Attribute Penalty: -1 INTELLIGENCE (No formal schooling, purely practical).
Skill Bonus: +2 Scavenge or +2 Jury-Rig.
The Snag: Lung-Rot. You breathed too much recycled dust. You have -2 Max Stamina/Breath holding duration.

Verge Origins

Life on the frontier, dealing with dust, failure, and the Gloom.

6. The Gliese Survivor (The Abandoned)

You lived on Gliese 667C when the Hegemony pulled the plug. You survived the famine and the riots. You are tough as leather, but you trust no one.
Attribute Bonus: +1 VIGOR (You can eat trash and survive).
Attribute Penalty: -1 PSYCHE (Deep-seated paranoia/trauma).
Skill Bonus: +2 Survival or +2 Brawl.
The Snag: Hoarder. You must succeed on a PSYCHE check to throw away anything useful, even if it encumbers you.

7. The Native (The Explorer)

You were born on the Verge. This is your world, its flora and fauna is what you know. You know its beauty and dangers. It is home.
Attribute Bonus: +1 BRAWN (Adapting to the environment has made you sturdy).
Attribute Penalty: -1 INT (Your education has been lacking).
Skill Bonus: +2 Survival or +2 Athletics.
The Snag: Homesick. You roll Stress with disadvantage when not on your homeplanet.

Artificial Origins

You were made, not born.

8. The Vat-Grown (The Model-7 Reject)

You are a biological construct created by GenSyn. You were designed for labor or combat, but you "glitched" (developed a personality) and escaped or were sold off.
Attribute Bonus: +1 BRAWN (Designed for peak performance).
Attribute Penalty: -1 PSYCHE (You struggle with emotions and empathy).
Skill Bonus: +2 Athletics or +2 Resilience.
The Snag: Serial Number. You have a barcode on your neck. If scanned, you count as "Stolen Property." Medics suffer Disadvantage healing you because your anatomy is proprietary.

9. The Uplift (The Experiment)

You aren't fully human. Maybe you have animal DNA spliced in (for reflexes or senses), or you were part of a super-soldier program.
Attribute Bonus: +1 AWARENESS (Heightened senses).
Attribute Penalty: -1 FLEX (Your musculature is twitchy and unstable).
Skill Bonus: +2 Ballistics or +2 Survival.
The Snag: Metabolic Burn. You require double rations of food/water. If you skip a meal, you take Stress immediately.

Special Origins

Criminals and Outcasts.

10. The Penal Colonist (The 1337)

You did time in a hell-world prison. You learned to fix things with shivs and survive beatings.
Attribute Bonus: +1 BRAWN (Hardened).
Attribute Penalty: -1 CHARISMA (You've been institutionalized for so long that "normal" interaction is hard).
Skill Bonus: +2 Intimidation or +2 Melee.
The Snag: Institutionalized. You have Disadvantage on Social rolls with anyone who isn't a criminal. You don't know how to act in polite society.