Making a Shadows and Echoes Character

Character Creation Steps

Note that these steps are focused on kinden character creation; creating characters of the People is not yet detailed.

  1. Choose your kinden and note your Ancestor Art powers.
    Your kinden probably determines your Culture, Career, skills, and Combat Styles.
  2. Roll your characteristics.
  3. Calculate your Attributes normally using Mythras rules (note exceptions here).
  4. Choose your Career from those for your kinden (including new SAE Careers, or work with the GM for a Career and backstory).
  5. Determine your skills.
    1. Calculate Standard Skills.
    2. Allocate 100 Skill Points across: Cultural Standard Skills; 3 chosen from Cultural Professional Skills; and to a single cultural Combat Style if chosen. Each skill must receive at least 5% and no more than 15%. Customs and Native Tongue get +40% each.
    3. Allocate 100 Skill Points across: Career Standard Skills and 3 chosen from Career Professional Skills. Not all skills must be improved, but no one skill can receive more than 15%.
    4. Choose one additional Professional Skill or Combat Style as a hobby; allocate 150 Bonus Skill Points to that skill and any Cultural- or Career-based skills (i.e., do not allocate these to new skills), giving each a maximum of 15%.

Choose Your Kinden

Your kinden is part of the story of your life and culture. Are you a bandit? A politician, a scholar, a grifter, a mercenary? Your kinden played a large part in who you are.

Apt Kinden

Ant Kinden

Ant cultures are Civilized1 in Mythras terms. Most Ants are trained as warriors, but as primary professions artifice, crafts, building, and scholastic pursuits are not uncommon. Read about various Ant cities here.

Culture Standard and Professional Skills

Use Mythras Civilized Standard and Professional Skills.

Passions

  • Fanatical loyalty to own city: 60% + ANC
  • Fanatical hatred of Ants from every other Ant city: 40% + ANC

Careers

If you're an Ant you are likely a soldier, mercenary, or artificer. You are probably a renegade Ant, unless you're in a group where most or all of you are also playing Ants from the same city.

Use the Mythras Career section; choose any of the Civilized Careers except Mystic, Priest, Shaman, or Sorcerer. Ant Handler replaces both Beast Handler and Herder. Artificer2 is a new SAE Career.

Bee Kinden

Bee cultures are Civilized1 in Mythras terms. Bees are highly social and industrious, and fiercely loyal to their cities and Queen (each Bee city has its own Queen). Bee culture prizes art and beauty.

Bee cities are found across the world - they work as vassals in the Spiderlands, slaves to the Wasps, and have settlements on the harsh western shores. Read about the Bee kinden here.

Culture Standard and Professional Skills

Use Mythras Civilized Standard and Professional Skills.

Passions

  • Fanatical loyalty to ruler of city: 50% + ANC
  • Commitment to beauty and elegance in artifice and artistic endeavors: 30% + INT

Careers

Bees are excellent artificers, but like Ants are not quite as proficient as Beetles. Bees tend to be artificers, artists, scholars, soldiers, farmers, and merchants.

Use the Mythras Career section; choose any of the Civilized Careers except Mystic, Priest, Shaman, or Sorcerer. Bee Handler replaces both Beast Handler and Herder. Artificer2 is a new SAE Career.

Beetle Kinden

Beetle cultures are Civilized1 in Mythras terms. Read more about Beetle kinden.

Beetles are found in abundance around the world, and they tend to surpass others in artifice, industry, and as merchants. They're not particularly aggressive or martial, although they also aren't shy or timid.

Culture Standard and Professional Skills

Use Mythras Civilized Standard and Professional Skills.

Passions

Collegium Beetles:

  • Rationality and truth: 30% + ANC
  • Loyalty to Collegium and what it stands for: 40% + ANC

Helleron Beetles:

  • Commerce and profit: 30% + ANC
  • Family or merchant association: 40% + ANC

Careers

Use the Mythras Career section; choose any of the Civilized Careers except Mystic, Priest, Shaman, or Sorcerer. Beetle Wrangler replaces both Beast Handler and Herder (note that Beetle Wranglers are very rare). Artificer2 is a new SAE Career.

Beetles are often artificers, scholars, and merchants. However, being so plentiful they are found in every Apt occupation from metalworker to writer to mercenary to criminal.

Fly Kinden

Flies are fast and agile fliers and are often messengers. Flies also flourish as artificers, scholars, con artists, servants, and more. Flies live in almost all cities, across the world. Fly cultures are Civilized1 in Mythras terms. Learn the lore of the Flies.

Culture Standard and Professional Skills

Use Mythras Civilized Standard and Professional Skills.

Passions

  • Loyalty to warren or family group: 30% + ANC

Careers

Use the Mythras Career section; choose any of the Civilized Careers except Mystic, Priest, Shaman, or Sorcerer. Fly Wrangler replaces both Beast Handler and Herder (note that Fly Wranglers are very rare). Artificer2 is a new SAE Career.

Mole Cricket Kinden

Mole Cricket kinden are huge (around 9 or 10 feet tall), incredibly strong, peaceful, and shy. They're primarily subterranean, but can be found above ground as artificers or miners (with their unique earth and rock shaping Art) in the Lowlands, and as slaves of the Wasp Empire. Mole Crickets are slow to anger but once roused are terrifying warriors. Mole Cricket cultures are Civilized1 in Mythras terms.

Read more about the massive Mole Crickets.

Culture Standard and Professional Skills

Use Mythras Civilized Standard and Professional Skills.

Passions

  • Moving and shaping earth and rock; related construction: 30% + ANC
  • Aversion to violence: 20% + ANC

Careers

Use the Mythras Career section; choose any of the Civilized Careers except Mystic, Priest, Shaman, or Sorcerer. Mole Cricket Handler replaces both Beast Handler and Herder (note that Mole Cricket Handlers are very rare). Artificer2 is a new SAE Career.

Scorpion Kinden

Scorpions are Nomadic1 in Mythras terms. Scorpion tribe cultures have a tendency to be oriented around individual strength and violence. They are often hired as mercenaries or slavers. Rarely, they'll be found in cities living more or less peacefully. Read grim facts about the Scorpion kinden.

Scorpions are Apt, but only recently.

Culture Standard and Professional Skills

Use Mythras Nomad Standard and Professional Skills.

Passions

  • Love of battle/fighting: 30% + ANC
  • Hatred of weakness: 30% + ANC

Careers

Use the Mythras Career section; choose any of the Nomadic Careers except Official, Priest, or Scholar. Scorpion Handler replaces both Beast Handler and Herder (note that Scorpion Handlers are very rare). Artificer2 is a new SAE Career.

Soldier Beetle Kinden

Read about Soldier Beetle kinden

Soldier Beetles make capable artificers and excellent soldiers. They're soldiers, artificers, scholars, mercenaries, even occasionally merchants or sailors.

Use Ant or Beetle character creation.

Wasp Kinden

Although not all Wasps are belligerent and hostile, many are. The current culture of their Empire is centered around conquest and domination of other lands and kinden.

Every male Wasp is a soldier in the Wasp army, regardless of actual profession. Wasps may be artificers, merchants, slavers, or soldiers. Learn about Wasps, soldiers in the violent empire of black and gold.

Wasp culture is Civilized1 in Mythras terms, although this is only within the last three generations.

Culture Standard and Professional Skills

Use Mythras Civilized Standard and Professional Skills. There is usually an emphasis on martial skills.

Passions

  • Loyalty to the Empire and Emperor: 40% + ANC
  • Loyalty to Army unit: 45% + ANC
  • Contempt for other kinden: 30% + ANC

Careers

If you're a Wasp you receive at least basic training as a soldier regardless of your actual career. Chances are though you're actively assigned to the Army - at least half of male Wasps are (Wasp society is misogynistic; women can advance to positions of power but it is rare).

Use the Mythras Career section; choose any of the Civilized Careers except Mystic, Priest, Shaman, or Sorcerer. Wasp Handler replaces both Beast Handler and Herder. Artificer2 is a new SAE Career.

Inapt Kinden

Dragonfly Kinden

In the Commonweal, Dragonfly culture is Civilized1 in Mythras terms although it is a rigidly stratified feudal society. The nobility spend much of their time in the practice of noble combat (swords, archery), art, and the pursuit of beauty and balance in all things.

Dragonflies found outside of their own lands tend to be mercenaries, sometimes nobles. Read about Dragonfly kinden.

Culture Standard and Professional Skills

Use Mythras Civilized Standard and Professional Skills.

Passions

  • Loyalty to local nobility: 20% + ANC
  • Love for art and beauty: 30% + ANC

Careers

Use the Mythras Career section; choose any of the following Careers:

  • Agent
  • Dragonfly Handler (replaces Beast Handler and Herder)
  • Courtier/Warrior if noble
  • Crafter/Artist
  • Entertainer
  • Hunter
  • Merchant
  • Scholar
  • Sorcerer
  • Thief/Bandit

In addition, Mercer (Commonweal law enforcers) is a new Career. Mercers are a combination of Scout and Warrior. They are particularly well trained in the combat arts.

Grasshopper Kinden

Grasshoppers are normally a peaceful and somewhat shy kinden. In the Commonweal and the Wasp Empire, Grasshoppers have often been servants or slaves. They are often farmers or hunters, sometimes merchants, rarely warriors. Grasshopper culture in the Commonweal and lands of the Wasp Empire is Civilized1 in Mythras terms, although it leans towards the agrarian.

Learn the lore of the Grasshopper kinden.

Culture Standard and Professional Skills

Use Mythras Civilized Standard and Professional Skills.

Passions

WIP

Careers

Use the Mythras Career section; choose any of the following Careers:

  • Agent
  • Grasshopper Handler (replaces Beast Handler and Herder)
  • Crafter/Artist
  • Entertainer
  • Hunter
  • Merchant
  • Sorcerer
  • Thief/Bandit
  • Warrior

Mantis Kinden

Mantids tend to be reclusive, seldom leaving their forest strongholds and villages. They are known throughout the world to be the most skilled warriors alive. Most Mantis settlements would probably be considered Barbarian1 in Mythras terms, although there is variation depending on region, and many could instead be considered Civilized1.

Those found outside of their forests tend to be mercenaries. Or simply bands of Mantis Warriors out for adventure or blood.

More about Mantis kinden.

Culture Standard and Professional Skills

Use Mythras Barbarian or Civilized Standard and Professional Skills. Note a particular emphasis on martial skills.

Passions

  • Honor: 50% + ANC

Careers

Use the Mythras Career section; choose any of the following Careers:

  • Agent
  • Mantis Handler (replaces Beast Handler and Herder)
  • Hunter
  • Scout
  • Sorcerer
  • Warrior

Moth Kinden

Read about the secretive, magical Moth kinden.

Moths are warriors, magicians, scholars, craftsmen, artisans, or artists.

WIP

Roach Kinden

WIP

Spider Kinden

Spiders tend to be warriors, scholars, merchants, artists or artisans, nobles, even sailors.

Learn about the Spider kinden.

WIP

New Careers in Shadows and Echoes

Artificer

WIP

Kin Animal Handler

WIP

The Kin Animal Handler Career should only be undertaken by those with the Ancestor Speech Art. Others risk injury or death.

Airship Crew

WIP

Standard Skills

Professional Skills

1

This is true of the Lowlands; in other parts of the world cultures will vary.

2

See Artifice.

 

The Mythras game system, rules, etc. are copyright The Design Mechanism.

All of Adrian Tchaikovsky's literature, stories, etc. are copyright Adrian Tchaikovsky.

Material on this site not covered by other ownership or copyright statements is Copyright © 2022 Robert Prince.