In this post, I’ll draw up a second/professional level troubleshooter for players to use when they don’t have a character ready to play. Characters get to buy one of each type of character element per level, so we will add two more attribute points, skill points, and perks in each section. In addition, the PC will get two hero points to spend at the beginning of each day.

The character concept is a fun mental exercise; just make suggestions about a character you think would be interesting to play. It’s pretty easy to tie your character elements, which you determine later, to your concept, and you can come back and change your concept at any time.

Character concept: Tanni’s clan consists of many proud craftsmen, and due to the nature of some of their crafts, her father also expired due to a mishap while testing such things. Tanni always felt that her father wasn’t very proud of her, so she vowed to excel at the one thing that would make him proud after he died: his job.

Goal: become a legendary troubleshooter like her deceased father.
Flaw: with her father’s accident in mind, she is often too cautious.
Hero points: a quick prayer to her father gives her insight into the presence of traps or hidden objects.

Now that we know who our trapspringer is, we can pick out the remaining character elements with relative ease.

Tanni must be delicate and dextrous with devices, but it’s even more important for her to know what she’s doing, so her high attribute score goes to Mental (12). Physical follows (10), leaving her low score as Metaphysical (8). She’s no slouch though, so she adds her two bonus points to Physical.

Attribute scores: P 12, M 12, MP 8
Bonuses: P 1, M 1, MP -1

Tanni trained extensively with the craftsmen of her clan and learned from the stories her father told, gaining experience with traps and locks, so she puts both of her skill points in Larceny.

Skills: larceny 2

One thing that runs in her family is luck, although that luck isn’t limitless. So Tanni has the Lucky Day perk, which lets her spend a hero point to just narrowly avoid what might be the last mistake she ever makes. Her training results in having a keen eye, which she uses in battle to spot a vulnerable enemy and that enemy’s vulnerability. The Backstabber perk lets her do extra damage when an opponent’s guard is down.

Perks: backstabber, lucky day

Gear is very important to someone in her line of work, so she carries a (somewhat heavy) collapsible pole for setting off traps that she’s found. She’s not much of a warrior, but she carries a light (short hafted) mace to intimidate enemies, and a dagger in case the mace fails. She’s also learned that padded armor protects against weapons and falls.

Gear: horseman’s mace d6, dagger d4, padded armor d4 (pp1), collapsible 10-foot pole, lockpicks

Tanni is set to test the devices of her clansmen or disarm long-abondoned traps. She’s okay at searching, but when she’s in a place where something is missing or where clues have led her to treasure, she uses a Hero Point to search with her father’s insight. She’s not excited about getting into fights, but she’ll defend herself while waiting for a good opportunity to clobber or stab someone.

Character Sheet:

Tanni the trap-springer, level 2
Goal: become a legendary troubleshooter like her deceased father
Flaw: too cautious
Hero points: pray to find hidden things
P 11 (12), M 12, MP 8
Skills: larceny 2
Perks: backstabber, lucky day
Gear: horseman’s mace d6, dagger d4, padded armor d4 (pp1), collapsible 10-foot pole, tools/picks