Welcome to the GRIMWIRE Character Creator
Answer a series of questions to create your GRIMWIRE character. Any field can be left blank. After you have competed all the steps, you’ll get a plain text description of your character that you can copy and paste into a document editor of your choosing.
Use the button below to create a random character. You can also randomize specific features of your character during the creation process.
Step 1: Morphology
Click on the labels on the left to choose your character’s physical form.
See notes on humanoid selective breeding for more information on humanoid castes.
Agrarian
The giants of Aarda’s forests and fields, Agrarians’ most recognizable feature is their size. They grow to be 2.5m tall on average, often taller. They were bred to harvest vast fields and carry massive burdens. However, modern agrarians are found in a variety of careers, not just agriculture, in both cities and rural areas.
Lowland agrarians live in the valleys and plains of the constellation of countries known as the Agrarian States. An easy-going nature is valued in lowland agrarian culture. Highland agrarians, who tend herds in mountainous regions, tend to be fairer, more willowy, and more aloof than their lowland cousins.
Gameplay Features:
- Brick Shithouse: +5 max Condition
- Size Matters: +3 bonus on any roll relevant to their superior size and strength such as jumping, reaching, lifting, breaking, shielding, grappling, or intimidation.
Delver
A stocky people bred for mining and construction.
Delver culture is synonymous with working-class culture in general. This includes taking pride in your work, especially work that is mentally and physically demanding, the importance of family and community over the individual, forthrightness, crudeness, and taking pleasure in food, drink, and debauchery when the work day is over. Delvers also value erudition and most delver bars have a reading room in the back.
Since the professions dominated by delvers are considered “skilled” labor (a dubious label that highlights societies’ dismissive attitude towards agriculture, the service industry, and other so-called “unskilled” labor), many delvers see their caste as the quintessential workers, the backbone of civilization. This pride can make them gruff and insular, even prejudiced against other castes.
Gameplay Features:
- Seismic Sense: by feeling a wall or the ground for about a minute, delvers can discern the thickness of walls and detect motion in a 9m sphere around them.
- Work Ethic: Delvers get a +3 bonus when performing any task related to crafting, building, or repairing.
Automechanical
Unlike simpler forms of AI, automechanicals (or simply ‘mechanicals’) are fully independent and seem to demonstrate self-awareness.
The technology to create mechanicals, especially their brains and programming, is still being rediscovered by modern civilizations. They are highly sought after as slave labor, due to being lest costly to maintain than biological humanoid workers and the fact that they do not possess legal rights outside the territories they control.
Mechanicals are not always humanoid in form. They can have extra limbs, wheels or treads instead of feet, etc. These features do not have an effect on game mechanics.
Gameplay Features:
- Unaffected by healing items or healing techniques intended for biological lifeforms including chants, hypos, bandages, or medkits.
- Don’t require food, water, or air.
- Mechanicals must recharge themselves from an electrical power source in order to benefit from resting. They can not die from lack of power but will instead just turn off.
- Cannot perceive illusions and are immune to mental status effects including but not limited to terror, agony, frenzy, berserk, sleep, brainwashed, or mind controlled except when inflicted by wiremancers or other mechanicals.
- Immune to poison, and disease.
- When hit with electricity or radiation mechanicals must roll a d4. On a 1, they are stunned for one round.
- Instead of the conditions that would burn out a biological lifeform, mechanicals get burnt out by dampness or immersion in water, ambient radiation, going too long without performing routine maintenance, or going too long without recharging.
Martial
A menacing people bred to be police and soldiers, martials are the most fearsome looking of all the castes. They have broad pointed ears, elongated canine teeth, and striped skin in unusual tones including greys and greens. A few elite units were specially bred to have vivid skin tones–white, blue, purple, red, or jet black. Martials have large yellow, red, or orange eyes with vertical pupils. It is a common myth that martials can see in the dark. Instead, it is believed that the vertical pupils were chosen as a trait of the caste to enhance their fearsomeness.
Martials are physically durable and typically display an aptitude for combat and military strategy. Some martials are big and burly, harkening back to when they were used primarily as ground troops, but most are smaller in stature–an average of 1.7m in height and typically have a muscular build.
Gameplay Features:
- Fearsome: Martials get a +3 bonus to intimidation.
- Hard to Kill: Once per day, a dying martial can get back up. Using this ability as a free action allows the character to return to consciousness with 2 Condition. This can not be used if the character is killed outright.
Relational
Bred for their beauty and charm, the role of a relational is to please. They include distinguished servants, dancers, sex worker, receptionists, bank tellers–any job where service is central. As a result of selective breeding, most relationals display an instinctual ability to read people.
Of all the humanoid castes, relationals have the most diversity in appearance corresponding to various ideals of beauty. They typically have distinct features such as unusual hair, skin, or eye color. Some possess even more exotic features like horns, vestigial wings or skin that changes color.
Gameplay Features:
- Intuition: Relationals have an uncanny ability to accurately guess things about people such as their favorite food, marital status, etc.
- Stick Together: Relationals have connections in all but the remotest population centers.
Relict
Ethereal, few in number, and secretive, the relict are an enigma. They do not appear to have been bred for any social role, nor are they known to have come from any particular territory.
Relict have pointed ears and dark, almost black eyes with no whites. They live longer than other humanoids and are rumored to have supernatural powers. They group together in small, semi-nomadic communities and are generally looked down upon as witches and thieves.
Gameplay Features:
- Relict Luck: The relict are known to have extraordinary good fortune. Once per day, a relict can re-roll a failed roll.
Peer
Known to the other castes as “proprietors” or “bosses”, the Peers are the ruling caste on Aarda.
A Peer’s typical noble bearing and severe beauty is often accompanied by a sickly quality.
Most peers have access to longevity treatments which can prolong their lives to double that of a typical humanoid or longer.
Gameplay Features:
- Peer Fear: Fear and respect for Peers has been bred into the other castes. Once per conversation, a Peer can try again if they fail an intimidation or persuasion roll by using a commanding tone. This only works on those with agrarian, martial, delver, cerebral, and relational heritage. Relict, automechanicals, allohumanoids (including gremites), other Peers, and other sapient beings are not affected.
- Commanding Presence: A Peer can use an action to command anyone that understands them to do something. If they choose to obey and the command is something they can do, they can attempt to carry out the command immediately, effectively granting them an extra action in a conflict. You must rest for at least 5 hours before using this ability again.
Cerebral
A petite people bred for research and analysis, cerebrals are the scholars, scientists, and artificers of Aarda. They are the most recently created caste, and there are very few of them. Many do not know they exist, and they are often mistaken for delvers, who they are descended from. Due to selective breeding and greater access to education, most cerebrals possess a capacity to process information and solve technical problems beyond that of other castes. They are small in stature and resemble delvers, though with less muscle.
Gameplay Features:
- Restless Mind: Cerebrals need less sleep than other humanoids and can therefore spend 2 hours instead of the usual 1 performing downtime activities during a rest of 5 hours or longer.
- Polyglot: Cerebrals are fluent in two additional languages.
Gremite
Gremites are small, impish allohumanoids. Adult gremites are usually no taller than 1m. They have a fixation with gadgetry and for this reason can be both an asset and an extreme annoyance to other humanoids. With their large eyes and ears, striped or spotted skin, and sharp teeth, they bear some resemblance to martials, but with dark eyes like the relict.
Gremites typically live in tribal burrows apart from other humanoids. They are rarely found integrated into general humanoid societies, although they do so more frequently than other allohumanoids.
Gameplay Features:
- Most gremites carry with them a device that allows them to teleport up to 9m as an action. If the device is lost or broken, they can spend 8 hours to create a new one from scrap electronics.
Allohumanoid
‘Allohumanoid’ is a term applied to peoples that have been isolated from the rest of the humanoid gene pool for so long that they have evolved into a distinct species.
Due to physical adaptations from living in extreme environments, allohumanoids are usually perceived as monsters by the dominant humanoid species–on the rare occasion they are perceived at all.
They are so rare that their existence is not considered an established scientific fact and most believe them to be cryptids. Like gremites, other types of allohumanoids typically live in tribal societies, inhabiting high mountain ranges, deep seas, remote deserts, or deep caverns.
Gameplay Features:
WORK IN PROGRESS
Additional Heritage [optional]
Your character can have genetic heritage from as many biological humanoid subtypes as you want.
While your character can inherit cosmetic features from any number of biological humanoid subtypes, for simplicity sake they will only inherit the gameplay features from the one you selected above. Automechanicals are excluded since they don’t have genes. Characters can be cyborgs, see options below.
// Incompatible with automechanical morphology. //
Mutations [optional]
When physical abnormality crosses a certain threshold, the humanoids that bear these differences are labeled “mutants”. Most societies view mutants as threats to the health of the gene pool at best, inhuman monstrosities at worst. Mutants are shunned by society, sometimes killed on sight.
Mutations have no effect on game mechanics. Automatons don’t have mutations.
Mutations are not common and highly stigmatized. If you choose to create a character with mutations, be aware that they will likely be treated as a pariah.
// Incompatible with automechanical morphology. //
Step 2: Origin
Background
Name
Age
Humanoids have roughly the same lifespan as humans on earth–with the exception of relict who naturally live about twice as long as other humanoids and Peers who have access to technologies to artificially prolong their lives. Automechanicals are adults from the moment they are built and activated and can theoretically live indefinitely.
Step 3: Specialty
Players choose one specialty for their character, which should make sense with the character’s backstory. Specialties give a character access to a specific group of techniques. As characters level up and increase their stats, they gain access to more powerful techniques.
At the GMs discretion, characters can learn techniques from other specialties. The GM may require that there be a justification within the story explaining why your character would know techniques from another specialty.
Click on the labels on the left to choose your character’s Specialty.
Bruiser
Requires TOG
This specialty focuses on close quarters power fighting. Relying on strength and ferocity to decimate their enemies, characters with this specialty learn how to fight either from growing up in tough parts of the world and/or joining peasant militias that lack access to elite weapons or training. However, an unrefined fighting style does not imply a lack of skill or strategy.
Techniques:
Iron Fist
Passive
Punches, kicks, and other types of unarmed attacks do increased damage equal to d4 plus the character’s TOG. The damage die increases as TOG increases.
Take the Hit
2 Focus
You brace yourself against an incoming physical attack. As an auxiliary reaction to being targeted with a physical attack or area of effect, you automatically fail your AGL roll to evade and the damage is halved. You can use this technique while shielding others.
Infiltrator
Swift, precise, and vicious, the skills of an infiltrator emphasize the element of surprise and are designed to be effective against stronger opponents. Characters with this specialty likely have had access to advanced training as part of an elite military force or covert organization.
Techniques:
Arterial Spray
3 Focus
Spend Focus then make a melee or thrown attack with an edged weapon. If successful, in addition to normal damage the target bleeds for d2 damage each round. The damage increases as COR increases. You can use this technique multiple times on the same target to increase the damage.
Defensive Stance
1 Focus
Activating this technique as a free action at the end of your turn allows you to add your COR to any AGL rolls to evade attacks you make until your next turn. However, on your next turn you can not add your COR bonus to attack rolls.
Hunter
A hunter may be a sniper, bounty hunter, or merely someone who hunts to survive. All hunters have two things in common: uncannily sharp senses needed to track their prey and deadly aim to bring them down.
Techniques:
Aim
1 Focus per point of COR bonus added
You focus in on your target, adding a bonus to a COR roll for one ranged attack. Each point of bonus costs 1 Focus. The total bonus cannot exceed your COR. Focus is spent prior to rolling and is spent whether the attack hits or misses.
Track
1 Focus
Requires 3 rounds in conflict or 30 out of conflict to complete
You can use PER instead of MND for identifying who or what made a track and reconstructing events based on traces, as if seeing the events in a vision.
Wiremancer
Wiremancers are at the cutting edge of electronic information warfare. However, wiremancy is more than simple hacking. Wiremancers can sense and control the flow of electricity through unknown means. All non-mechanical wiremancers have an implant, a convolution of tubes and antenna grafted into their skull to enable them to rip through networks at the speed of thought.
Techniques:
Dive
Using your implant, you send your consciousness into any stream of electrical current. This technique can be used to manipulate simple electrical devices connected to the wire or access communication networks.
Arc
3 Focus
Fire a bolt of electricity at a target. On a successful RSN roll against the target’s AGL, the target receives 2d4 electrical damage. The damage increases with higher RSN.
Sourcerer
Requires RSN
Sourcery is a forbidden art. A sourcerer seeks to command the laws of the universe. A sourcerer can modify the fabric of reality the way a wiremancer can manipulate data system. The path of sourcery is long and hard and a sourcerer can be as dangerous to their allies as they are to their enemies.
Techniques:
Dismantle
3 Focus
On a successful RSN roll based on the size and material, you destroy an inanimate object that you touch.
Shadow Arc
3 Focus
A bolt of dark energy lashes out at your enemies. On a successful RSN roll against the target’s RSN, the target receives 2d4 supernatural damage. The damage increases with higher RSN.
Chanter
Requires RSN
Chanters are versed in incantations that can heal and protect or bring about death and destruction. These chants have no known translation. Some believe they were inscribed upon reality itself. When the chant, the voice of a chanter takes on a mystical resonance that cannot be stifled or silenced by normal means.
Techniques:
Illuminate
1 Focus
Light radiates from a point that hovers near you. You can also make the light come from your body. It lasts until you rest for any duration and can be extinguished as a auxiliary action. The light can illuminate supernatural darkness. As a auxiliary action, you can move the light to any location within 18m. Otherwise it either stays where it is or follows within 3m of you (your choice).
Heal
1 Focus for every 2 Condition restored
This chant invokes the ideal form of the body, restoring Condition up to 2x your RSN stat. Only works on biological lifeforms.
Glamor
Those with this power can manipulate the minds of others, spinning hallucinations and toying with their emotions and volition.
Techniques:
Throw Voice
2 Focus
You can make your voice appear to come from any location within range 9m. You can also alter your voice to sound like other people.
Vitriol
3 Focus
You curse, berate, and/or shriek at the target, breaking them down. This causes them to take d4 supernatural damage and suffer a -3 penalty on their next roll.
Thorn
Those who manifest the power of the Thorn have been chosen, some would say infected, by a plant-like lifeform that grows weed-like all over Aarda. This connection grants them supernatural abilities and alters their physical body–sometimes in monstrous ways.
Techniques:
Tooth and Claw
1 Focus for 3 attacks
When making melee attacks, you maul your enemies. Your unarmed attacks do d4 damage plus your TOH. Damage increases at higher levels of PER.
Itch
3 Focus
On a successful RSN roll you inflict terrible itching welts upon a target. After using, the target notices a slight itch. The full effect begins at the beginning of the target’s next turn. For the next 3 rounds, the target receives a -3 penalty to all rolls except TOG and RSN. In addition, during each of their turns that fall within the duration of the effect, the target must make a MND 11 roll or spend their turn furiously scratching without being able to move or act.
Step 4: Stats
Condition and Focus
Condition is a character’s “health” or “hit points”. It represents how well a character is doing physically from moment to moment.
Focus is analogous to “technique points” or “magic points” in other rpgs. It’s essentially a meter that regulates a character’s use of special techniques.
Your characters max focus affects how many special techniques they know. For every 2 points of max focus, your character gets access to one special technique. Characters will be able to further increase their max Condition and Focus as they level up.
Use the arrow buttons to adjust your characters starting max Condition and Focus. Raising your Condition lowers your Focus and vice versa. The current configuration is recommended for your Specialty.
Attributes
A character’s capabilities are represented by 6 attributes described in detail below. Characters will be able to further increase their attributes as they level up.
Select which attributes you would like to apply bonuses and penalties to. You can select an attribute only once. The attributes recommended for your character’s Specialty have been automatically selected.
+2 Stat:
+1 Stat:
+1 Stat:
-3 Stat:
A -3 penalty to one of your stats may seem like a huge inconvenience, but the fact that your character has a weakness will create challenging and often hilarious circumstances in the story.
Click on an attribute to learn how it affects gameplay.
Toughness [TOG]
The power of a character’s muscles as well as their physical durability.
TOG Governs:
- Gripping and Holding (including Grappling)
- Breaking objects
- Lifting, Carrying, and Throwing
- Enduring conditions that affect the body such as poisons
TOG adds directly to damage from melee and thrown weapons, 1 damage for every point of TOG. Having a negative TOG stat reduces the damage to a minimum of 1.
TOG is also required to use heavy weapons and armor effectively.
Coordination [COR]
How well a character manipulates objects.
COR Governs:
- Accuracy of attacks with ranged and melee weapons
- Crafting, Building, Disassembling, and Repairing
- First Aid
- Pickpocketing and Sleight of Hand
COR also allows characters to make multiple attacks with light weapons.
Agility [AGL]
A character’s ability to move quickly and skillfully.
AGL Governs:
- Evading Attacks and other hazards
- Moving Stealthily
- Movement including Running, Jumping, Swimming, Balancing and Climbing
In addition, AGL increases or reduces a character’s movement speed by 1m per point.
Mind [MND]
A character’s ability to retain and analyze information and exert self-control.
MND Governs:
- Crafting, Building, and First Aid (to understand recipes, blueprints, or procedures)
- Self-Control and Willpower
- Diagnosing injuries or broken technology
- Memory
- Learning
- Analyzing and Applying Information
- Operating Technology
- Detecting Lies
- Resisting Mental Effects
Perception [PER]
A character’s alertness and awareness of their surroundings.
PER governs:
- Initiative (who goes first in a conflict)
- Observation
- Reading and Manipulating People
- Sensing Danger
- Staying Conscious
- Resisting Mental Effects
Resonance [RSN]
A character’s attunement to the supernatural or metaphysical.
RSN governs:
- Evading supernatural attacks
- Perceiving supernatural energies or phenomena
- Interacting with some ancient artifacts
In addition, RSN increases or reduces a character’s range for supernatural attacks by 1m (3’) per point.
Step 5: Gear
Players begin with the following:
- Clothes
- Some non-perishable food
- A card with a magnetic strip that can store and transfer money
- A backpack
Players also receive M500 that they can use to purchase starting equipment (and keep whatever’s left over).
Acute Trauma Spike [M250]
Restores 6 Condition
Spring loaded auto-injector cartridge containing medication and nanites that can be deployed rapidly in emergency situations. Popping off the cap of this handheld cartridge reveals a cluster of six short hypodermic needles. Inject near the wound site for maximum efficacy. This one looks a little old.
Antivenom Spike [M100]
Neutralizes biological toxins
Auto-injector containing a selection of synthetic antibodies designed to instantly treat envenomation from a wide variety of poisonous insects and other vectors. They don’t make them like this anymore.
Hemostatic Bandage [M50]
Stops bleeding
Gauze bandage impregnated with a clotting agent that can staunch blood flow when applied to an open wound. Packaging is a bit yellowed.
Medkit [M80]
Used to stabilize the dying and treat wounds
Standard first aid kit containing sutures, bandages, gauze, rubber gloves, tweezers, scissors, sterilizing wipes, tape, topical cream, and painkillers.
Cross Pein Hammer [M50]
Damage: 2d4
Requires 2 TOG
5kg one-handed hammer with one flat head and one wedge-shaped. Used to harden metal surfaces by striking and compressing them.
Chain [M30]
Damage: d4
A heavy gauge roller chain used in engines and other industrial applications that has been repurposed into a crude weapon.
Grasswood Cane [M30]
Damage: d2+1
A grasswood stalk, less than 1m in length. Commonly used by grass harvesters to spank their enemies.
Rusty Chainmail Shirt [M250]
1 Armor
Requires 1 TOG
Unstable (d10)
Uncomfortable to wear. The rust has fused some sections together while others are frayed and falling apart.
Shiv [M30]
Damage: d2+1
A dull, rusty knife crudely forged from a piece of scrap steel and wrapped with dirty cloth tape at the handle.
Sling [M30]
Range: 18m
Damage: d2+1
A strap made from a section of inner tube used to whip ball bearings (included) at skulls from a distance.
Throwing Spikes [M50]
Range: 9m
Damage: d4
Made from short sections of steel rebar sharpened with a grinder.
Automechancial Repair Kit [M200]
An assortment of replacement parts including cables and tubing, servomechanisms, pistons, and a portable drive for data backup and restoration. Electronic and mechanical tools not included. Limited number of uses.
Automechanical Power Bank [M400]
Unstable (d20)
Weighs about 5kg. This portable battery enables an automechanical character to benefit from a long rest even when no sources of power are available. Holds enough power for 3 long rests and can be recharged.
Electronic Tools [M50]
Battery operated soldering iron, spool of wire, voltmeter, wire cutters, and an assortment of fuses, LED lights, resistors, switches, capacitors, transistors, and diodes.
Note: To make use of these tools, your character must have relevant skills from their background or learn during the course of the game.
Filament Flute [M200]
Battery operated instrument that produces vibrating tones by rapidly heating and cooling air blown into it.
Gas Mask [M50]
A rubber mask with glass lenses that completely encloses the face. Uncomfortable to wear and limits vision, but provides protection from airborne contaminants. The filter must be replaced periodically.
Grappling Hook [M30]
Black steel. Four prongs protruding from a central shaft and a loop for attaching a rope (not included). Two of the prongs swivel for easy storage.
Herbalism Tools [M50]
Contains an assortment of glass jars and vials, a bottle of ethanol, a small steel pot, small amounts of honey, oil and wax, and a strainer.
Note: To make use of these tools, your character must have relevant skills from their background or learn during the course of the game.
Lockpicking Tools [M50]
Five metal picks, each shaped differently and a tension wrench suitable for picking a variety of locks.
Note: To make use of these tools, your character must have relevant skills from their background or learn during the course of the game.
Mechanics Tools [M50]
Contains ratchet, sockets, wrenches, pliers, and screwdrivers.
Note: To make use of these tools, your character must have relevant skills from their background or learn during the course of the game.
Portable Data Storage [M200]
Vacuum tube based flash drive, about the size of a sandwich with retractable connecting cable.
Toxicity Counter [M200]
Small device with a plastic casing that beeps in the presence of radiation or airborne contaminants. The deadlier the atmosphere, the faster the beeping.
M Remaining: 500
Not enough M.
Your Inventory:
Click on an item to remove it.