While you might think that this is a superfluous step, spending a few minutes thinking about your character and what you want him to be like will prove to be very beneficial in the long run.

Your initial character concept can answer many questions about your character. You will likely want to sketch out a small bit of his history, and then start adding to it as you create the character. You will want to decide upon his Race, his Background, the things that you think he should be good at.

You will want to put some thought into his personality and motivations. Are there events in his past that shaped his outlook? What drives the character to do the things that he does? Is he interested in fame or wealth? Is he running away from some dark secret in his past?

While these rules do not give Alignment labels like a certain famous set of rules, there are traits known as good and evil, and many shades of grey between the two extremes. You should figure out what sort of tendencies your character will exhibit.

Once you have given this all some thought, and gotten at least a basic idea of what you want your character to be like, you can then move on to the next step and actually begin creating your character.

Step 1: Character Concept

As silly as this may sound, you should have a basic idea of the type of character that you would like to play before you even attempt to create a character. This Character Concept will be important as you make your decisions in the other steps. Many of those later decisions should come naturally and easily based upon the concept that you have devised for your character.

Step 2: Choose Race

This aspect of the character is something that should have been fully decided in determining your character concept. You need only select that race which fits your character concept, record the racial information on your character sheet and then move on to the next step.

Step 3: Choose Background

One of the things to determine in the character concept is where the character comes from, his Background. One of the primary benefits of a Background is that it gives the character a number of free ranks in various skills. Additionally, a character’s Background can often determine a number of other factors about the character, such as which languages he has access to and thus can learn. Backgrounds often also instill a number of base perceptions and attitudes that can be used as a starting point for the character’s personality.

Most often, the specific details of a Background will depend upon the setting that is being used for the game. We have included a number of generic Backgrounds that can be used.

Step 4: Choose Character Class

Once you have selected your character’s Race and Background, the next thing to do is to select your character’s Class. This class defines some of the most basic information about the character, such as what skills he has an affinity for. Each Class has a number of skills that are classed as Favored, which means that they have a lower cost than other Standard Skills.

A character’s Class will also define one or more special capabilities that the character might have, such as access to a specific School of Magic or granting additional Favored Skills.

It should be noted that it is quite likely that none of the given character classes is a perfect match for your character concept. This is quite okay, nothing is likely to be a perfect match, but you should choose the Class that is closest to your concept.

Step 5: Determine Stats

Not everybody is going to enjoy the same method of determining their character’s stats. Novus offers you 3 separate methods for determining your character’s stats. There is the Random Method, the Point Buy Method and the Stat Array Method.

This section will also tell you how to determine any secondary stats such as how many Spell Points your character has and how many Hit Points he has.

Step 6: Develop Your Character

The player receives 30 Character Points (CPs) to use in creating a first level character. For each level beyond first level that the character achieves, he receives 15 additional Character Points. These Character Points may be spent on learning Skills, Spells, Combat Moves or acquiring Talents.

Individual Skills are the last type of item a player may purchase for his character. Players are limited on how many total skill ranks that the character may have in an individual skill. Refer to the section on Skills (p. 20) for more information.

Spells are codified methods of utilizing magical energy to create specific effects.

Combat Moves are special actions that can be performed instead of a normal, standard attack. They allow the character to produce results other than simple damage.

Talents are special capabilities that do not require or invite continued improvement once learned. In most cases, a Talent may only be acquired once. Some Talents may also require other Talents as prerequisites.

Step 7: Equip Your Character

Once the player has spent all of his character’s Character Points, it is time for him to spend his gold. Every character will start with a few basic items as described in the beginning of this section, but the player will likely want to get him some more equipment, specifically for the adventuring that he is planning on his character doing.

The tables given in this section will provide you with the most common items that an adventurer may require or want.

Step 8: Tally Bonuses

This is the point in time where the player should, if he has not done so already, go over his character and make sure that he has tallied all skill bonuses and to make sure that he has not forgotten anything.

Step 9: Begin Play!

Of course, this requires that you have other players and a GM to run things

The following is a short list of terms and words that may be confusing to those who are new to Novus.

Action Points (AP)

Every round has 5 Action Points. Players determine how much they may accomplish in a given round through the number of Action Points that their declared action will take.

Armor Rating (AR)

This value is subtracted from the damage dealt to the character. It is subtracted from the total amount of damage that is dealt.

Attack Bonus (AB)

This is the character’s skill bonus for the weapon that he is using, along with any special modifiers for that weapon based upon the situation or the Combat Move being used.

Attack Roll

This is the total of a 2d10 roll along with the attacking character’s Attack Bonus.

Base Damage (BD)

This is the minimum amount of damage that a successful attack deals.

Character Class

This is method of defining certain aspects of the character, such as which skills are Favored Skills and which are not, as well as how many Hit Points he receives each level and any special training or ability the character receives.

Character Points (CP)

This is a pool of points used to develop the character. They can be spent on ranks in specific skills, Talents, Combat Moves, and Spells.

Combat Move

This is a special move that the player may elect for his character to perform while in combat. It often gives modifiers to the character’s AB, his DEF, the number of AP the move will take and the effects of the actual attack.

Combat Skill

This is the character’s skill in combat. There are several different Combat Skills, one for each of a group of similar weapons. Additionally, Combat Styles also count as Combat Skills.

Combat Style

This is a special skill for combat. It is used to allow a character to learn more advanced combat techniques, and most Combat Styles also give discounts on purchasing Combat Moves.

Damage Rating (DR)

This, plus the stat bonus of the skill used in making an attack determine the Base Damage of that attack.

Defense (DEF)

This is the number that must be equaled or beat in order for an attack to hit the target.

Game Master (GM)

This is the person who controls the actions and events of the entire campaign setting. He is NOT the enemy of the players.

Hit Points

This is a measure of how much damage a character can take before going unconscious and before dying. At 0 hits, a character may do nothing except to try and heal himself. At -11 hits, the character is unconscious, and at -(Constitution Stat Value + 10) the character will actually die.

Magic Stat

The stat that is specifically associated with a given spell using Character Class or School of Magic. If a character is not of a spell using class, then he will use the stat, Intelligence, as his Magic Stat.

Non-Player Character (NPC)

This is a character or monster that is controlled by the GM.

Player Character (PC)

This is the character that is controlled by the player.

Saving Throw (Save)

This is a roll to resist or avoid being affected by something (spell, poison, etc.) that is not covered by any other type of roll. There are 8 types of Saving Throws, one for each stat. The basic bonus used for making a Saving Throw is the Stat Bonus of the applicable Stat plus 5, plus any other appropriate modifiers.

School of Magic

This is both a method of casting spells and a philosophy towards casting that colors how a character who knows that School casts spells and what spells they learn to cast.

Spell Points (SP)

This is a measure of how much energy, magical or otherwise, that the character is able to manipulate before he must rest. It could be considered a measurement of mental exhaustion.

Stat Bonus

This is a number that is based on the character’s Stat Value for a given stat. This number is added to skills and is part of the Save Modifier used in Saving Throws.

Stat Value

This is the sum of the raw stat, any racial modifiers and any miscellaneous modifiers from other sources, such as Talents.

Stats

These are numbers that are used to describe various attributes of the character.

Novus uses a simple 2d10 ≥ TN mechanic.

This means that to accomplish a task,  whether it be a skill roll or Saving Throw, you roll 2d10 and add them together, along with any modifiers. If the total result is equal to or greater than the Target Number (TN) for the task,  you succeed.

Both combat and spell casting also follow this same basic mechanic as well.

Exploding &  Imploding Dice

Many games use the concept of exploding dice. The concept is simple. When you roll the dice,  if you roll a certain number,  you get to roll that die again and add it to the first roll.

In Novus, anytime you roll a 10 (usually a "0" on a d10),  you sum the two dice and then you reroll that individual die and add it to the total. If that second roll is also a "10",  then you roll again and it to the total as well. And you continue to do this until you stop rolling tens.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have what I call Imploding Dice. If you roll a "1" on either die,  you sum the two dice,  and then reroll that individual die (the die with the "1" on it) and subtract it from the total. If the second roll is also a 1,  you subtract it from the total,  and roll again and subtract this roll as well. And you continue to do this until you stop rolling ones.

In both cases,  once a die explodes or implodes,  it can never reverse direction.

If you roll a "1" on one die and a "10" on the other,  that is known as a Nova Roll. In such cases,  the dice neither explode or implode,  they are read as they are,  and the results, however they turn out,  happen in an odd and unusual manner. The character also earns a Fate Point when this happens.

Saving Throws

Saving Throws,  or just Saves as they are more commonly called,  is how you resist things such as poison,  spells, certain actions and even non-magical attempts to coerce your character. Saves are made against specific Stats (i.e. Save vs. Con,  Save vs. Str,  Save vs. Wis,  Save vs. Will, etc.).

Every Save has a base TN of 15. To make a Save, you roll 2d10,  add in the appropriate stat bonus,  and the base Save modifier of "5". If you also receive bonuses from talents or spells, you would add them as well. If the total result is greater than the TN of the Save,  you have made your Save.

Note: As mentioned,  the Base TN of a Save is 15. However,  exceptional rolls,  or items or spell effects may raise the TN of a given Save.

Snag/Boon Points

All skill rolls,  including combat and spell casting,  can earn Snag/Boon Points. You earn Snag Points for rolling under the TN of the task. You earn Boon Points for rolling over the TN of the task. 1 point for every 10 points over or under. Once you earn these points, you (the Player!!) must immediately spend them. There are three lists of Boons, one for general tasks,  one for combat,  and one for spell casting,  and one basic list of Snags that will have options that apply to various types of actions.

For example,  for combat,  some boons might give extra damage,  while another boon may allow you to make a free second attack against the same or adjacent foe,  while another boon gives you a bonus to initiative or your attack bonus in the next round. If you earn enough Boon Points,  your foe could be required to make a Save vs. Con or fall down dead.

Spell casting boons can increase the TN of the Save against the spell,  or increase its range or its power. Skill boons can reduce the amount of time required to perform the skill,  give a bonus to your next attempt with that skill, provide you with extra information you might not normally know,  any one of several other possibilities.

Snags are often called failures or fumbles in many other systems,  but a Snag is not always a failure,  it could be that it will simply take you extra time to complete the task,  or that you only got it partially complete,  and have to make another roll in the following round.

The important thing about the Snag/Boon Point system is that the Player decides the outcome by spending the points that he earned based on his original roll for the task. There are no random rolls or results involved in this. The Player controls the outcome,  both good and bad.

This system also allows for the GM to control the lethality of the game. After all,  the GM is not required to use the "Save or death"  Boon against the players. He can use other options for the monsters and NPCs at lower levels to ensure that the game remains fun,  and that a player isn't required to make a new character because some random roll kills his first character 5 minutes into the game.

This is the first in a series of small PDFs designed to support Novus in various ways.

In this first issue,  we supply you with the spell creation rules that were used to create all of the spells in the core Novus rulebook.

It also contains rules for learning those Spell Bases (as they are called) and using them to create and cast spells on the fly (Improv Casting). Additionally,  there are rules for unlocking existing spells,  and using the Spell Bases to modify them on the fly.