Attributes     
Eight attributes define the core capacities of a character. Each of them are rated (for humans) from one (worst) to ten (best). The attributes start with a default value of five. Either before moving forward with creation or at the end, a player can choose to add two points in any combination to their attributes, but then must subtract one from another attribute. Note that non-humans (animals, the Cursed), are able to have some attributes greater than ten. The attributes are as follows:

Strength is a measure of a character's physical might. Those with high Strength can carry more, hit harder, and perform impressive feats impossible for others. Those lacking Strength will have difficulty wearing protective armor, are restrained more easily, and can fail others when Strength is needed.

Agility is a measure of how well a character moves. A high Agility means a character can move faster, more accurately, and move in ways that others could only dream of. A lack of Agility leads to a character moving slowly, missing the mark more often, and being clumsy at times when it could matter most.

Vitality is a measure of a character's resilience and physical toughness. With a high Vitality, a character can withstand more damage, shrug off diseases and poisons, and stay awake longer without rest. A lack of Vitality leads to a susceptibility to damage, disease, and poison, and cannot be relied on to keep watch overnight.

Intelligence is a measure of how well a character understands the world around them and make sense of difficult topics. A high Intelligence means a character can grasp truths broadly. A low Intelligence indicates the character has difficulty making sense of the situations they find themselves in and unable to understand difficult topics.

Wits is a measure of how quickly a character's mind works. With high Wits, a character can notice small details, make quick retorts, and otherwise beat others to the punch. Low Wits means the character misses details, realizes the right retort the next morning, and usually misses opportunties others grab first.

Resolve is a measure of a character's willpower and mental resilience. A high Resolve contributes to a character's resistance to psychological stress and ability to overcome self-doubt. If a character has a low Resolve, they are likely to fold under pressure and question themselves and their actions.

Charisma is a measure of a character's personal magnetism and natural leadership ability. If a character has high Charisma, they are able make a strong first impression and easily command others' attention. With a low Charisma, a character may be unable to make a positive impression and is likely socially invisible.

Personality is a measure of a character's ability to succeed at complex social interactions and maintain long-term relationships. A character with a high Personality is able to convince and persuade others and maintain a large network of allies and associates. However, a character with a low Personality will find themselves challenged to convince others to aid them and unable to keep people in their social circle.

Facets     
There are a few aspects to a character's nature that, while important, are not as important as an Attribute or function in a different manner. Not every character will have these Facets; Size and Quickness are universal, but only magical entities possess Magnitude, and only player characters need to keep track of their Dissonance. The following is a list of the Facets, a description of how they work, and how they are calcuated:

Magnitude is a measure of a character's supernatural might. Most people and animals in the world do not have a Magnitude score, but all of the Cursed do, as well as spirits, dire beasts, and other dangerous residents of Midseltu. Magnitude is rarely rolled, but instead functions as a limiter to what Dominions a character can learn. It also contributes to the resistance a character has against supernatural effects.

Size is a measure of how big a character is. It has two primary factors: the bigger a character is, the easier they are to hit in combat. Fortunately, the bigger a character is, the more effort has to be taken to injure them. Size also plays a factor in how fast a character walks and runs. The default Size for an adult human is five, but character creation may result in a different value for a character and some magic can temporarily alter a character's Size.

Quickness is a measure of how quick a character is to react. It is used primarily in combat to derive Initiative, but sometimes in other situations when reaction speed matters. A character's Quickness is the total of their Agility and their Wits. Some Characteristics or Traits may also affect a character's Quickness. If they do so, it will explain the effect in the description.

Dissonance is a measure of how much a character's mind is focused on reconciling their past actions with their core values. It initially starts at zero and is acquired by failing Dissonance checks after failing a Psyche check for violating a character's Virtues. Dissonance functions as a penalty for Promotion checks, effectively making it more difficult to increase a character's abilities. Dissonance can be overcome through certain actions that are described in their appropriate entries.

Skills     
While Attributes define a character's inherent aspects, Skills instead represent specific abilities the character has put time and effort into developing. Some Skills represent aptitude in physical activities, like athletics, others in mental tasks, like Cryptography, and others focusing on social interaction, like Negotiation. Skills are rolled in combination with an Attribute in order to determine a character's base capability for a particular action. There will be more information on how rolls are performed on the Primer and Combat pages.

Everybody receives the following skills at the start for free:

• Area Knowledge(Home Neighborhood/Village): (Starting Age-12)/3
• Athletics: 1
• Unarmed Combat: 1
• History: 1
• Language(XXXXX): equal to your Intelligence at the end of character creation.
• Theology: 1

Lifepath     
Characters represent the people of Dierertu, and like people, have histories that help define them. Character creation generates these histories during the Lifepath portion. Assuming you are creating one of the Cursed, your Lifepath choice will determine the course of action. If you choose for your character to bear the Curse of Unlife variant of the Created, skip the Childhood portion of the Lifepath and you get five years of Lifepath as an adult. Any other character gets four rolls on the Childhood Lifepath and up to twenty rolls on the Adult Lifepath, with no more than five after the acquisition of a Curse.

• 01: Early Apprenticeship^*: Choose one Job you qualify for and take 1 Career Cycle's skill rolls from it. You are considered hired in that Job, and may roll for re-hire to remain in that Job on your first Job roll.
• 02: Weakling: You did not eat enough as a child, and therefore have -1 Strength.
• 03: Strong Back: You worked hard in your early years, giving you great natural Strength; add 1 to that Attribute.
• 04: Clumsy: You've always been physically awkward, no matter how hard you try; -1 Agility.
• 05: Graceful: You can make the most difficult physical maneuver look simple; +1 Agility.
• 06: Lame: Whether it's a bum leg, bad joints, or something else, you're not the fastest around; -1 Speed.
• 07: Quick: A natural runner, you're the one to win the races; +1 Speed.
• 08: Tough: You can thank at least one of your parents for beating you enough that you can stand up to your hard life; +1 Vitality.
• 09: Sickly: Suffering comes easy to you; -1 Vitality.
• 10: Dullard: You never did understand the finer points: -1 Intelligence.
• 11: Smart: You know better than most how horrible life is; +1 Intelligence.
• 12: Slow: Why did the chicken cross the road? -1 Wits.
• 13: Quick-witted: Insert pithy follwoup here; +1 Wits.
• 14: Pathetic: You probably don't even know what you want, much less how to get it; -1 Resolve.
• 15: Bold: The wise would stay out of your way; +1 Resolve.
• 16: Boring: It's doubtful that anybody would notice if you killed yourself; -1 Charisma.
• 17: Magnetic: People are just drawn to you - though this is not always good; +1 Charisma.
• 18: Cold: You have difficulty relating to people; -1 Personality.
• 19: Sociable: Getting along comes easy to you; +1 Personality.

Psyche     
People hold values as part of their self, and so do characters. The Psyche represents that part of the character's personality and what they hold dear. Ten separate entries make up this part of the character sheet, with the first being the most dearly held value and ten the least. Of course, there are more Virtues than there are Psyche slots; not all people value the same things. The Virtues themselves fulfill a dual role. When a character performs an action that's in line with one of their Virtues, they (WHAT DO CHARACTERS GET FOR AFFIRMING A VIRTUE?). When a character acts contrary to one of their Virtues, they risk gaining Dissonance, a special Facet that works as a penalty against Promotion Rolls.

When you're asked to make a Psyche roll, it's a standard ± roll with a Target Number of 1. The Value of the roll is the Psyche score of the Virtue in question.

Virtues     
Ambition: The ambitious constantly seek ways to get ahead in whatever ways are available to them - or whatever way they can make.
Affirmation:
Violation: Roll a Psyche check for Dissonance when you fail to take an opportunity to get ahead.

Compassion: Compassionate individuals are driven to assist the downtrodden, a rare quality on Midseltu.
Affirmation:
Violation: Roll a Psyche check for Dissonance when you do not help another when you are able to do so.

Competitiveness: For those who consider competition a Virtue, they have to win at everything.
Affirmation:
Violation: Roll a Psyche check for Dissonance when you lose in a match of athleticism, combat, wits, or other challenge.

Conformity: The Virtue of conformity requires that those following it go along with the group they're with.
Affirmation:
Violation: Roll a Psyche check for Dissonance if you try to tell a group what to do or fail to go along with the group's plan.

Conviction: Giving up is antithetical to those who value conviction. They're committed to whatever goals they set themselves toward.
Affirmation:
Violation: Roll a Psyche check for Dissonance if you give up on a goal you were working toward.

Courage: A courageous person stands up to difficult odds and challenges and resists the fear that tells them to run away and cower.
Affirmation:
Violation: Roll a Psyche check for Dissonance if you don't engage in a reasonable fight, or run away from a battle you still have a chance to win.

Devotion: The devoted are dedicated to the cause of one of the gods or an ancestor spirit. They've subsumed part of themselves into pursuing what they believe that entity's goals to be.
Affirmation:
Violation: Roll a Psyche check for Dissonance when you don't pursue the goals of the deity to whom you are devoted.

Duty: Those who are committed to duty must meet their commitments, for doing so is an essential part of their being.
Affirmation:
Violation: Roll a Psyche check for Dissonance when you shirk your duty.

Excellence: Those who value excellence as a Virtue must perform at the highest level and consequently hold themselves to a near-impossible standard.
Affirmation:
Violation: Roll a Psyche check for Dissonance when you fail a dice roll.

Expression: This Virtue, Expression, is one that drives its adherents to be creative and go above and beyond to be artistic in their lives.
Affirmation:
Violation: Roll a Psyche check for Dissonance when you accept function over form.

Greed: Greed is good, according to those who follow this Virtue. The pursuit of material wealth is a cornerstone of their life.
Affirmation:
Violation: Roll a Psyche check for Dissonance when you do not take an opportunity to increase your wealth.

Harmony: When pursuing harmony as a Virtue, one must ensure that those one spends time with coexist without conflict.
Affirmation:
Violation: Roll a Psyche check for Dissonance when you fail to unite people around you to a peaceful consensus.

Honesty: Holding to honesty as a Virtue requires its adherents tell the truth, no matter how dangerous nor inconvenient.
Affirmation:
Violation: Roll a Psyche check for Dissonance when you tell a lie, even one of omission.

Inquiry: Curiosity is way of life for those who follow the Virtue of Inquiry, which calls its adherents to verify any supposed truth they encounter.
Affirmation:
Violation: Roll a Psyche check for Dissonance if you assume a given statement as true without independently verifying it.

Levity: Humor can be the best medicine, a potent coping mechanism, or a diversion from the horrors of life. Some see levity as a Virtue, and must always try to see the funny side of life.
Affirmation:
Violation: Roll a Psyche check for Dissonance if you take a bad situation seriously and fail to make light of it.

Loyalty: Loyalty to allies and those to whom you have sworn oaths are paramount to followers of this Virtue.
Affirmation:
Violation: Roll a Psyche check for Dissonance if you betray an ally or someone you have sworn an oath to in any way.

Mercy: A rare quality on Dierertu, the Virtue of mercy requires its adherents to show compassion to all, even if they have wronged you.
Affirmation:
Violation: Roll a Psyche check for Dissonance if you harm someone unnecessarily.

Order: Laws and traditions are vital, according to those who follow the Virtue of order.
Affirmation:
Violation: Roll a Psyche check for Dissonance if you violate the law, a social norm, or traditional expectation.

Pacivity: Violence is anathema to those following the Virtue of Pacivity.
Affirmation:
Violation: Roll a Psyche check for Dissonance if you commit an act of violence.

Piety: The pious trust in the gods and their ancestors, trusting them to provide guidance and direct the world in the correct way.
Affirmation:
Violation: Roll a Psyche check for Dissonance if you act in a way contrary to the tenets of your faith.

Refinement: Those who pursue refinement as a Virtue must always choose the finest available option when acquiring, consuming, or choosing options for themselves.
Affirmation:
Violation: Roll a Psyche check for Dissonance if you settle for something other than the best.

Retribution: Retribution is a dangerous Virtue to follow, for it requires its adherents to return harms done to them in kind.
Affirmation:
Violation: Roll a Psyche check for Dissonance if you forgive someone who harmed you, or give up on revenge.

Self-Sufficiency: To follow the Virtue of Self-sufficiency, one must overcome any obstacle on one's own.
Affirmation:
Violation: Roll a Psyche check for Dissonance if you seek out help from another in order to complete an objective.

Sensualism: Sensualism requires its adherents to always embrace new or interesting experiences.
Affirmation:
Violation: Roll a Psyche check for Dissonance if you turn down an opportunity to experience something new.

Suffering: Some people justify the suffering they've experienced by perpetuating it upon others. Those who follow the Virtue of Suffering are that sort of person.
Affirmation:
Violation: Roll a Psyche check for Dissonance if you do not take the opportunity to make another person's life worse when it is within your power to do so.

Temperance: There are risks in indulging oneself too much, and those who follow the Virtue of Temperance know full well that they need to hold themselves in check.
Affirmation:
Violation: Roll a Psyche check for Dissonance if you indulge in something to a risky or unsafe level.

Vision: Someone who holds the Virtue of Vision believes in attempting to seek out new explanations for the world, and for coming up with new ways to deal with the world around them.
Affirmation:
Violation: Roll a Psyche check for Dissonance when you accept the status quo and don't attempt a radical change to fix a problem.