Character Creation

In order to play Beyond the Veil you will need an alter-ego who exists in the fictional 1920s world in which the game takes place. This alter-ego is called your character, and this section discusses how you create one. Don't worry - it's not hard.

Before you go on to the number-crunching, think about what sort of person you are going to play. The 1920s are wonderfully rich in possibilities - just scan a history book or get a couple of film noir classics out of your video store if you're stuck for ideas. Remember that if you want to play in Beyond the Veil, it's best if you get in touch with the referees before steaming ahead.

Like a real person, your character has any number of defining characteristics. These are the things that make them unique, and for the purposes of this game they are rendered down into the following abstract abilities:

Dexterity (DEX)

Your character's physical agility and nimbleness. Dexterity is important to physically active characters. It may be used in combat, in picking a lock, or in mechanical repair.

Education (EDU)

Education is a subtle combination of the character's native intelligence, and the level to which that intelligence has been trained. Education determines the number of skills a character has learned, and is used for intellectual activities such as practicing medicine, translating ancient texts, and analysing evidence.

Constitution (CON)

Your character's physical hardiness. The higher your constitution, the harder it is to physically subdue you. Consitution also comes into play when determining the effects of drugs and poisons.

Power (POW)

Your character's strength of will. This determines you character's connection with the wierd and mystical; a character with a low power is weak-minded, easily-swayed and likely to go mad at the drop of a hat. High-powered characters are strong-willed and mentally resilient.

Sanity (SAN)

Your character's sanity is measured on a sliding scale. When it drops suddenly or reaches zero, the character goes mad - the exact effects of the madness depending on the nature of the thing(s) that caused your sanity to drop in the first place.

Magic Points (MP)

Occasionally a character might want to do something magical - perhaps conduct a seance or summon a Nameless Thing from Beyond. When they do this, the magical effect is fuelled by their magic points. Magic points may also be used up unconsciously - resisting possession, for example.

Wound Points (WP)

Wound points are used to measure how much physical damage your character has taken. When you run out, your character first falls unconscious, and then dies. Simple.

Skills

Everyone learns skills during their lives. Characters are no exception. All characters are assumed to be able to boil an egg and write a letter, but you have to indicate any specialist skills - such as anthropology, mechanical repair, weapon skills or foriegn languages.

Assign Points To DEX, EDU, CON And POW

You have 45 points to split between these four abilities. Divide them up as you see fit, remembering to try and acheive a balance that is credible for your character. No ability may have a score lower than three or higher than twenty.

Example: I want to play an archaeologist. He needs a high education, and a pretty good CON too (otherwise he'll catch yellow fever before discovering that Peruvian mummy). I divide the points up thus: DEX-7 EDU-16 CON-14 POW-8.

Calculate Values For SAN, MP And WP

This is easy. Your character's SAN = POWx5; their MP = POW and their WP = CON.

Example: My archaeologist has a POW of 8 and a CON of 14, so his SAN is 40, and he has 8 magic points and 14 wound points.

Buy Professional Skills

You have a number of points equal to your EDU score with which to buy non-weapon skills from the skill list. You may hold some points over if you want to.

Example: My character's EDU is 16, so I have 16 points to buy skills. I choose Archaeology (4), Anthropology (4), History (4), Library Use (2) and Language (Latin) (2).

Buy Other Skills

You now have an extra five points with which to buy any other skills. These may include weapon skills. Again, if you don't want to spend all your points, feel free to hold some in reserve.

Example: Thinking of Indiana Jones, I decide to buy the weapon skills Unarmed Combat (1) and Small Melee (2), leaving me with two points. I finish off with First Aid (2), always useful on field trips.

Flesh Out The Character

In consultation with the referee, decide upon the character's name, nationality and background. Draw up a brief profile, describing any allegiances which the character may have and any interesting events which occurred in their past. Finally, sort out a costume and some props, so that you can play the character convincingly.

I decide to call my archaeologist Harold 'Digger' Jones. He was educated at Oxford where he is in the occasional employ of the Ashmolean Museum. After chatting to my referee, I decide that Digger's finacee was horribly murdered whilst in India - strangled by a devotee of the Thuggee cult. Digger's mission in life is clear - if he ever runs across the Thuggees again, they'll pay!