"Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed"
Francis Bacon, Novum Organum
Common traits that most characters possess are a mind and a body, the ability to think and to move. There would be few exceptions. Therefore it is important to define the quality of each of these traits. Firstly, we need to decide how the levels will be described.Levels and Facets
Many roleplaying games use numbers, but since these numbers are abstract, they do not really describe anything. Emergence uses descriptive words to define different levels of ability and quality. This way, just a glance at the Role Description Sheet should give a good idea of the quality of a character's common traits. The Levels for all Common Traits, including Facets, are:
Disabled; Feeble; Poor; Good; Apt; Stunning; Exceptional; Legendary; Mythical; Incredible; Undefined. This list is in order of favourableness except for the last Level, Undefined, which has a special purpose. The normal range for a Human-like character is from Feeble to Exceptional. Average would be Good. Outside this range should be reserved for special characters, like the superhuman or supernatural beings you might meet on an adventure.Describing the Facets
This can be done using a variety of methods. Each method has its strengths and weaknesses.Arbitrary
The levels of the Facets are assigned arbitrarily, based on the Character Sketch, Life Path etc. This means that how well you describe your character is important. Imagination and originality should be rewarded. This can take some time. The Exceptional level should be earnt with a Great Story. The advantage with this method is that a character can be completely custom made and the orignal story behind the character is defined and adhered to, and encourages creativity. The disadvantage is that it's slow, prone to arguments, and gives more creative or headstrong people an advantage over others. It may lead to unbalanced or unfair characters if the Director does not restrict the character creation process carefully. Some players might stereotype themselves, always creating similar roles for themselves to play. If this is over-done, the player might tend to bore themsleves, other players or the Director. The Director has to try and discourage this. The whole point of the Story is to entertain.Balanced
The levels are assigned in a balanced way. If one is Apt, then another is Good. If one is Stunning, another is Poor, the rest are Good. If one is Exceptional, another is Feeble, and the other two are Poor. Even though Execptional levels are allowed, there must still be a good reason and a good story for how a character got that way. You need not be as careful as with the Arbitrary method because the levels permitted are already balanced. The advantage of this method is the balance it brings to each Role, and fairness for all players. The problem is that sometimes, balance may seem artificial or restrictive.Highest Permittable CombinationsApt, Apt, Good, Good
Apt, Apt, Apt, Feeble
Stunning, Stunning, Feeble, Feeble
Stunning, Apt, Poor, Poor
Stunning, Apt, Feeble, Good
Stunning, Good, Good, Poor
Exceptional, Good, Feeble, Feeble
Exceptional, Poor, Poor, FeebleBalanced Random
For quick characters, you do not want to make decisions about strengths and weaknesses. Special and Learned Traits could be ignored or hinted at with one or two words (Big Guy; Wizard; Computer Hacker), or assumed from the general idea (the bandit can swing a sword OK; the Cyber Police can shoot straight). For Facets, you could assume Good, Good, Good, Good, but that is just a tad bit plain.You could try this, or come up with you own method. This Random method tries to be balanced, yet allows custom made characters too.
Roll a 10 sided dice, one for each Facet. Add to this the score of both the neighbouring dice. Then add one more dice roll to each Facet, without sharing it with the others. Your now have a score from 4 to 40. The average score is 22.
Then based on the type of character, decide on the Key Facets. If you do not want to decide, then the Key Facets are which ever ones have the highest score already. The Key Facet should suit the character concept. The Key Facet of a Brutish warrior would be Form, for Strength, Size and Stamina. For a Swashbuckler, it would be Agility. For the Balanced Warrior, both. A Wizard's Key Facet would be Soul. A Tactician's would be Intellect. Add the following number of 10 sided dice to the score of the Key Facet, or spread them around as you see fit, putting 2 here, 1 there, until all are used up. Check the score on the Score Chart to find out your level.
Number of Adjustment Dice and Role Types0 Minor/Comic Relief
Pooki, the lecherous Faerie
1 Mundane/SideKick
Mad-Farmer Don
2 Adventurer/Henchman *Most Player Characters are this type
Horato In'Tjon, The Pickman
3 Hero/Villain
Tydjaek, Commander-Royal
4 Veteran Hero/Major Villain
Akrondas, Chieftain of the Dahid
5 Legend/Fiend
King Drom the Conqueror, Founder of Dromdom
6 Myth/Monster
The Black Wyrm of Sefiin
7 Diety/Demon
Solmor, the Earth-GodsScore Required for a given LevelThis method is great for rushing through the character creation process, and perfect for the on-the-fly allies and adversaries a Director sometimes needs. It is fine if you left your Role Description Sheet behind, but still want to join in as a quick, special guest star. The advantage here is speed (assuming your math is OK), and it requires less creative effort. The problem is that it could lead to strange combinations, and that you cannot always get what your after.
0 or less.....Disabled
1 - 10........Feeble
11- 20........Poor
21- 30........Good
31- 40........Apt
41- 50........Stunning
51- 60........Exceptional
61- 70........Legendary
71- 80........Mythical
81- 90........Incredible
91 or more....UndefinedReally Random
Roll one 10 sided dice for each Facet, multiply by 5, to get a score of 5 to 50. Check the score on the Score Chart in the previous method. This is really quick, really random and really bad for balance. You are limited to a range of Feeble to Stunning, with 1 in 10 Facets limited to Feeble. You could be braindead and still make a character. This could be used to build a Role backwards, with the Concept based on the Facets.Common Traits in More Detail
Facets are the most general of the Common Traits. To be more specific in your Role Description, you can use Aspects and/or Subscripts, but these can as easily be described later on during the Story, and need not be detailed for a completely playable Role.