The Investigators of the Frozen Moonlight
As part of my ongoing effort to write a little winter mystery, here is a guide to making a character suitable for the Frozen Moonlight adventure. I'm probably, very likely, going to lean on 2400 or "Just Roll High" for this adventure.
1. Choose a Name
2. Roll for Qualities
3. Select a Background
4. Choose a Specialty
5. Select Equipment
Strength: Represents physical power, raw strength, and endurance.
Roll 3–8: Your character is Weak.
Roll 13–18: Your character is Strong.
Influence: Measures personal charisma, persuasive ability, leadership, and physical appeal.
Roll 3–8: Your character is Boring.
Roll 13–18: Your character is Charismatic.
Observation: Represents sharpness, awareness, and attention to detail.
Roll 3–8: Your character is Absent-Minded.
Roll 13–18: Your character is Alert.
Knowledge: Reflects the depth of understanding and expertise in specific fields.
Roll 3–8: Your character is Ignorant.
Roll 13–18: Your character is Learned.
Willpower: Reflects mental stamina, determination, and courage.
Roll 3–8: Your character is Cowardly.
Roll 13–18: Your character is Brave.
Academic
Rarely educated locally, academics often study abroad.
Skills: History (d10), and choose either Arcane Knowledge or Natural Sciences (d8).
Equipment: A fitting item from their institution, such as a book, instruments, or a telescope.
Doctor
At the forefront of modern medicine, doctors are indispensable.
Skills: Medicine (d10), and choose Animal Handling or Natural Sciences (d8).
Equipment: A medical bag.
Cleric
Clerics range from Vatican emissaries to local priests. Faith is often the only weapon against the supernatural.
Skills: Choose 1 skill (d10) or 2 skills (d8) from Deception, History, Intimidation, Occultism, Performance, or Persuasion.
Equipment: A holy object, a spellbook, or a black book.
Woodsman
Woodsmen include rugged lumberjacks, hunters and coal burners. They thrive far from civilization.
Skills: Survival (d10), and choose Animal Handling, Navigation, Natural Sciences, or Tracking (d8).
Equipment: Tools for their trade, like an axe for a lumberjack.
Military
Characters with military experience may have served as officers, soldiers, engineers, or sailors.
Skills: Choose Shooting or Hand-to-hand Combat (d10), and choose one from Athletics, Animal Handling, Intimidation, Navigation, or Tracking (d8).
Equipment: A uniform and a weapon, such as a saber, rifle, or pistol.
Occultist
Occultists may be priests who crossed boundaries or heirs to mystical traditions.
Skills: Occultism (d10), and choose one from Arcane Knowledge, Deception, Dexterity, Medicine, or Survival (d8).
Equipment: A black book and a ceremonial dagger.
Private Detective
Private detectives solve cases requiring discretion and intelligence, ranging from infidelity to murder.
Skills: Choose three skills (d8) from Arcane Knowledge, Shooting, Deception, Dexterity, History, Intimidation, Persuasion, or Stealth.
Equipment: A detective’s bag.
Writer
Writers may be journalists covering the mysteries of Gåteskogen or authors seeking inspiration.
Skills: History (d10), and choose Arcane Knowledge, Persuasion, or Deception (d8).
Equipment: A notebook filled with observations and personal reflections.
Vagabond
Vagabonds are wanderers with a unique understanding of the human and supernatural worlds.
Skills: Stealth (d10), and choose Survival, Deception, or Tracking (d8).
Equipment: A sturdy staff.
Servant
Servants often work in grand households or as personal aides to the nobility, knowing many secrets.
Skills: Persuasion (d10), and choose History, Deception, or Dexterity (d8).
Equipment: A pistol, skeleton key, or black book.
Alchemist
Masters of formulas to manipulate matter, often creating brews or enhancing tools and weapons.
Skills: Arcane Knowledge (d10), Occultism (d8).
Equipment: An alchemy set.
Hunter
Trained to track and fight supernatural creatures, often using special materials like silver-plated blades.
Skills: Choose either Shooting or Hand-to-hand Combat (d10) and the other (d8).
Equipment: A blessed weapon.
Card Reader
Able to glimpse the future, past, and distant places using supernatural cards.
Skills: Occultism (d10), and choose two from Arcane Knowledge, Deception, History, or Persuasion (d8).
Equipment: A tarot deck.
Trickster
Tricksters are cunning and resourceful, excelling in deception and improvisation. They rely on wits and charm to outmaneuver foes and allies alike.
Skills: Deception (d10), Dexterity (d8).
Equipment: A set of lockpicks and a bag of trick items (e.g., smoke bombs, fake documents).
Scholar
Scholars dedicate themselves to deep study and research, seeking to uncover truths about the world and its mysteries.
Skills: Natural Sciences (d10), History (d8).
Equipment: A portable research kit, including journals, writing tools, and reference books.
Mystic
Mystics channel the unseen forces of the world, using intuition and ritual to gain insight and manipulate their surroundings.
Skills: Occultism (d10), Persuasion (d8).
Equipment: Ritual components, a ceremonial staff, and a charm or talisman.
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| DallE attempts to illustrate Norwegians in the 19th century. |
Your Investigator
To create a character, you and the game master can go through the following steps:1. Choose a Name
2. Roll for Qualities
3. Select a Background
4. Choose a Specialty
5. Select Equipment
Name
Select an appropriate name for your character. If you can’t think of one, you can always make a roll or choose from the table below.Qualities
Each character receives a set of random qualities by rolling 3d6 for each of the following categories. These qualities are used in the game but can also guide the character's behavior.Strength: Represents physical power, raw strength, and endurance.
Roll 3–8: Your character is Weak.
Roll 13–18: Your character is Strong.
Influence: Measures personal charisma, persuasive ability, leadership, and physical appeal.
Roll 3–8: Your character is Boring.
Roll 13–18: Your character is Charismatic.
Observation: Represents sharpness, awareness, and attention to detail.
Roll 3–8: Your character is Absent-Minded.
Roll 13–18: Your character is Alert.
Knowledge: Reflects the depth of understanding and expertise in specific fields.
Roll 3–8: Your character is Ignorant.
Roll 13–18: Your character is Learned.
Willpower: Reflects mental stamina, determination, and courage.
Roll 3–8: Your character is Cowardly.
Roll 13–18: Your character is Brave.
Background
Each character has a background that briefly describes their history and why they were chosen for a mission in Gåteskogen. Backgrounds are concise, leaving room for the player to add details. The background also grants skills and equipment.Academic
Rarely educated locally, academics often study abroad.
Skills: History (d10), and choose either Arcane Knowledge or Natural Sciences (d8).
Equipment: A fitting item from their institution, such as a book, instruments, or a telescope.
Doctor
At the forefront of modern medicine, doctors are indispensable.
Skills: Medicine (d10), and choose Animal Handling or Natural Sciences (d8).
Equipment: A medical bag.
Cleric
Clerics range from Vatican emissaries to local priests. Faith is often the only weapon against the supernatural.
Skills: Choose 1 skill (d10) or 2 skills (d8) from Deception, History, Intimidation, Occultism, Performance, or Persuasion.
Equipment: A holy object, a spellbook, or a black book.
Woodsman
Woodsmen include rugged lumberjacks, hunters and coal burners. They thrive far from civilization.
Skills: Survival (d10), and choose Animal Handling, Navigation, Natural Sciences, or Tracking (d8).
Equipment: Tools for their trade, like an axe for a lumberjack.
Military
Characters with military experience may have served as officers, soldiers, engineers, or sailors.
Skills: Choose Shooting or Hand-to-hand Combat (d10), and choose one from Athletics, Animal Handling, Intimidation, Navigation, or Tracking (d8).
Equipment: A uniform and a weapon, such as a saber, rifle, or pistol.
Occultist
Occultists may be priests who crossed boundaries or heirs to mystical traditions.
Skills: Occultism (d10), and choose one from Arcane Knowledge, Deception, Dexterity, Medicine, or Survival (d8).
Equipment: A black book and a ceremonial dagger.
Private Detective
Private detectives solve cases requiring discretion and intelligence, ranging from infidelity to murder.
Skills: Choose three skills (d8) from Arcane Knowledge, Shooting, Deception, Dexterity, History, Intimidation, Persuasion, or Stealth.
Equipment: A detective’s bag.
Writer
Writers may be journalists covering the mysteries of Gåteskogen or authors seeking inspiration.
Skills: History (d10), and choose Arcane Knowledge, Persuasion, or Deception (d8).
Equipment: A notebook filled with observations and personal reflections.
Vagabond
Vagabonds are wanderers with a unique understanding of the human and supernatural worlds.
Skills: Stealth (d10), and choose Survival, Deception, or Tracking (d8).
Equipment: A sturdy staff.
Servant
Servants often work in grand households or as personal aides to the nobility, knowing many secrets.
Skills: Persuasion (d10), and choose History, Deception, or Dexterity (d8).
Equipment: A pistol, skeleton key, or black book.
Specialty
After being recruited for the Gåteskogen mission, the character is trained in a specialty, granting additional skills and equipment. If a skill is already known, the dice type is upgraded (e.g., from d8 to d10, or d10 to d12).Alchemist
Masters of formulas to manipulate matter, often creating brews or enhancing tools and weapons.
Skills: Arcane Knowledge (d10), Occultism (d8).
Equipment: An alchemy set.
Hunter
Trained to track and fight supernatural creatures, often using special materials like silver-plated blades.
Skills: Choose either Shooting or Hand-to-hand Combat (d10) and the other (d8).
Equipment: A blessed weapon.
Card Reader
Able to glimpse the future, past, and distant places using supernatural cards.
Skills: Occultism (d10), and choose two from Arcane Knowledge, Deception, History, or Persuasion (d8).
Equipment: A tarot deck.
Trickster
Tricksters are cunning and resourceful, excelling in deception and improvisation. They rely on wits and charm to outmaneuver foes and allies alike.
Skills: Deception (d10), Dexterity (d8).
Equipment: A set of lockpicks and a bag of trick items (e.g., smoke bombs, fake documents).
Scholar
Scholars dedicate themselves to deep study and research, seeking to uncover truths about the world and its mysteries.
Skills: Natural Sciences (d10), History (d8).
Equipment: A portable research kit, including journals, writing tools, and reference books.
Mystic
Mystics channel the unseen forces of the world, using intuition and ritual to gain insight and manipulate their surroundings.
Skills: Occultism (d10), Persuasion (d8).
Equipment: Ritual components, a ceremonial staff, and a charm or talisman.
Skills
The following are just example skills that I thought could be useful for this setting. Feel free to add or remove some.
- Acrobatics
- Arcane Knowledge
- Athletics
- Ranged Combat
- Deception
- Animal Handling
- Dexterity
- History
- Intimidation
- Medicine
- Navigation
- Hand-to-hand Combat
- Natural Sciences
- Occultism
- Performance
- Survival
- Persuasion
- Stealth
- Tracking
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