Book I: Earth
Game of Twenty Questions
The following is a list of twenty questions that you can utilize to create your character. The fist ten determine major details of your character, in the sense that you, the player, answers them, while the last ten are optional, and are answered from your perspective.
Question I: Clan and Family
What clan and family does your character belong to? Select one of the following Clans, and one of the individual families within your chosen Clan.
Crab Clan
- Wound threshold: 11 + Brawn
- Strain threshold: 9 + Willpower
- Starting XP: 90
- Starting Skills: Resilience 1
- Way of the Crab: Once per session, your character may spend a Story Point as an out-of-turn incidental immediately after suffering a Critical Injury to reduce the results by their Brawn x 10.
Hida Family
A Hida character starts with 1 rank in either Athletics or Discipline.
Hiruma Family
A Hiruma character starts with 1 rank in either Coordination or Survival.
Kaiu Family
A Kaiu character starts with 1 rank in either Crafting or Knowledge (Warfare).
Kuni Family
A Kuni character starts with 1 rank in either Knowledge (Forbidden) or Vigilance.
Yasuki Family
A Yasuki character starts with 1 rank in either Coercion or Negotiation.
Crane Clan
- Wound threshold: 9 + Brawn
- Strain threshold: 11 + Willpower
- Starting XP: 90
- Starting Skills: Knowledge (Education) 1
- Way of the Crane: Once per session, your character may spend a Story Point as an incidental. If they do so, during the next skill check they make during that turn, your character increases the strain they inflict or the strain the heal (you choose before making the check) by an amount equal to their Presence.
Asahina Family
An Asahina character starts with 1 rank in either Discipline or Negotiation.
Daidoji Family
A Daidoji character starts with 1 rank in either Knowledge (Warfare) or Resilience.
Doji Family
A Doji character starts with 1 rank in either Charm or Perception.
Kakita Family
A Kakita character starts with 1 rank in either Cool or Coordination.
GENESYS
Dragon Clan
- Wound threshold: 10 + Brawn
- Strain threshold: 10 + Willpower
- Starting XP: 90
- Starting Skills: Survival 1
- Way of the Dragon: Once per session, your character may spend a Story Point as an incidental. If they do so, during the next skill check they make during that turn, your character adds a to the check equal to their Willpower.
Agasha Family
An Agasha character starts with 1 rank in either Alchemy or Crafting.
Kitsuki Family
A Kitsuki character starts with 1 rank in either Perception or Streetwise.
Mirumoto Family
A Mirumoto character starts with 1 rank in either Athletics or Cool.
Togashi Order
A Togashi character starts with 1 rank in either Discipline or Knowledge (Lore).
Lion Clan
- Wound threshold: 12 + Brawn
- Strain threshold: 8 + Willpower
- Starting XP: 90
- Starting Skills: Melee (Heavy) 1 or Melee (Light) 1
- Way of the Lion: Once per session as an incidental, your character may spend a Story Point to recover a number of wounds equal to their Brawn.
Akodo Family
An Akodo character starts with 1 rank in either Cool or Leadership.
Ikoma Family
An Ikoma character starts with 1 rank in either Knowledge (Education) or Perception.
Kitsu Family
A Kitsu character starts with 1 rank in either Discipline or Vigilance.
Matsu Family
A Matsu character starts with 1 rank in either Athletics or Coercion.
Phoenix Clan
- Wound threshold: 9 + Brawn
- Strain threshold: 11 + Willpower
- Starting XP: 90
- Starting Skills: Knowledge (Lore) 1
- Way of the Phoenix: Once per session, your character may spend a Story Point as an incidental. If they do so, during the next skill check they make during that turn, your character removes h from the check equal to their Intellect.
Asako Family
An Asako character starts with 1 rank in either Knowledge (Education) or Negotiation.
Isawa Family
An Isawa character starts with 1 rank in either Discipline or Perception.
Shiba Family
A Shiba character starts with 1 rank in either Knowledge (Warfare) or Vigilance.
Scorpion Clan
- Wound threshold: 10 + Brawn
- Strain threshold: 10 + Willpower
- Starting XP: 90
- Starting Skills: Deception 1
- Way of the Scorpion: Once per session as an out-of-turn incidental, your character may spend a Story Point to add a number of h to another character’s skill check equal to your character’s Cunning.
GENESYS
Bayushi Family
A Bayushi character starts with 1 rank in either Cool or Charm.
Shosuro Family
A Shosuro character starts with 1 rank in either Skullduggery or Stealth.
Soshi Family
A Soshi character starts with 1 rank in either Knowledge (Forbidden) or Coercion.
Yogo Family
A Yogo character starts with 1 rank in either Streetwise or Vigilance.
Unicorn Clan
- Wound threshold: 10 + Brawn
- Strain threshold: 10 + Willpower
- Starting XP: 90
- Starting Skills: Riding 1
- Way of the Unicorn: Once per session as an out-of-turn incidental, your character may spend a Story Point to add a number of a to another character’s skill check equal to your character’s Agility.
Ide Family
An Ide character starts with 1 rank in either Charm or Negotiation.
Iuchi Family
An Iuchi character starts with 1 rank in either Crafting or Perception.
Moto Family
A Moto character starts with 1 rank in either Athletics or Survival.
Shinjo Family
A Shinjo character starts with 1 rank in either Coordination or Knowledge (Geography).
Utaku Family
An Utaku character starts with 1 rank in either Discipline or Leadership.
Question II: Upbringing
What is your character’s upbringing?
Your upbringing will determine your character’s core career skills. These may reflect your character’s interests and hobbies, specialized school training, and natural abilities.
To determine your character’s career skills, start by choosing 4 general skills.
Next, choose 4 more skills using the following criteria:
- Must contain 1 social or combat skill, or Invocation.
- Cannot contain more than 3 combat skills.
- Cannot contain more than 3 social skills.
- Cannot contain more than 3 Knowledge skills.
- Cannot contain more than 2 additional general skills.
Once you have selected your 8 career skills, choose any 4 of them and gain 1 rank in each for free. This may be in addition to any skills granted by your Clan archetype, though you cannot raise a skill higher than rank 2 during character creation.
Keep in mind that selecting your career skills are core to your character, and this cannot typically be changed after character creation. Choose skills that best round out your character concept and compliment your chosen school (below). You should reevaluate your career skills before ending character creation.
See Book 2: Water for the list of skills.
Question III: School
What is your character’s school?
Normally, your character can only choose a school related to the Clan your character belongs to. While it is not unheard for members of certain Clans train in a school of another Clan, this should only be allowed under special circumstances at the GM’s discretion.
Each school has 4 career skills. Add these skills to your character’s career skills. You may select any 2 of these skills and gain 1 rank in each for free. This may stack with any of your character’s established archetype or career skills (determined in questions 2 and 3), though you still cannot raise a skill above rank 2 during character creation.
Each school also has a few talents. These talents work the same as any other talent, though only characters trained in that school can take those talents.
GENESYS
Only characters with the Invocation skill as a career skill may choose a school with the “Shugenja” tag.
Each school also determines your character’s starting outfit.
See Book 2: Water for a list of Schools.
Question IV: Heroic Ability
What is your character’s heroic ability? (See Realms of Terrinoth p. 74.)
Question V: Appearance
What is your character’s appearance? What is their height, weight, and build? What are their hair and eye colors? How old is your character? Does your character have any significant birthmarks, scars, or similar identifying features?
Question VI: Motivations
What is your character’s greatest desire and fear? What is your character’s greatest strength and flaw? See Genesys Core Rulebook p. 47-50 for lists of each. Select or roll from the lists, or create your own at the GM’s discretion.
Question VII: Trust
Who does your character trust the most? Does your character trust a family member or spouse? A sensei or student? A comrade in arms? Their lord? Or do they trust no one at all?
Question VIII: Bushidō
What is your character’s opinion on Bushidō? Is there a particular tenet of Bushidō your character embodies? Or do they not truly care for it at all?
Question IX: Relationship with Clan
What is your character’s opinion of their own Clan? Are they inclined towards war in a pacifistic clan, or a pacifist in a martial clan? Do they agree with the clan’s current political situation?
Question X: Marriage or Betrothal
Is your character married or betrothed? What is the state of the marriage or betrothal? Does your character have any other relationships that would complicate their marriage or betrothal?
Question XI: Prejudices
Does your character have any prejudices? Does your character have a particular hatred for another clan, family, or group? If so, why?
Question XII: Loyalties
To whom does your character owe the most loyalty? While the proper response is “the Emperor,” this does not hold true in reality. Your character may be personally loyal to a friend, a spouse, a family member, and so on. If so, why is your character so loyal?
Question XIII: Preferences
What is your character’s favorite and least favorite things? Is it a material possession? Activity? Place? Food?
Question XIV: Habits and Mannerisms
Does your character have any recurring mannerisms? This could be a particular daily routine, a character tick, or a particular greeting or phrase.
Questions XV: Emotions
What about your character’s emotions? While a proper samurai keeps their composure in public, what are their actual emotional responses to events that happen.
Questions XVI: Subordinates
How would your character handle a subordinate’s improper behavior? Are they the sort to demand the subordinate’s seppuku over even a minor infraction (something that could get your character into significant trouble very quickly), or will they forgive the behavior and attempt to correct it?
Questions XVII: Relationship with Parents
What kind of relationship does your character have with their parents? Is it close, or distant? If asked, how would they describe your character? Are they still alive? What about other immediate family members, such as siblings?
Questions XVIII: Ambitions
What are your character’s highest ambition? What do they strive for, and what are their life goals?
GENESYS
Questions XIX: Religion
How religious is your character?
Questions XX: Death
How will your character die?
Finishing Up
You should finish up by investing starting experience points (see Genesys Core Rulebook p. 44) and determining derived attributes (p. 45). Remember to reevaluate your character's career skills before finishing up.
GENESYS