All campaign start characters are 16-18 year olds from lower class families and neighborhoods on a planet that is not fully terraformed “abandoned colony”.

The technology is mostly about earth year 1985-1990 and the world has just recently regained interplanetary space flight.

You are all trying to get into mardets as a way to get adventure and a good career.

Things to think about when building the character, in approximate order.

• Role on group, so that all the basic needs of the group are filled. This is defined by the theme you select, but obviously also the class training, but also skills and feats selection. The starting class has less effect as you can easily multi-class.
  • The group should have at least someone for following roles to start:
    • Tech/engineer: Engineering 8+ /recommend 10+
    • Pilot/space pilot/driver: Piloting minimum 8+/recommend 10+
    • Someone to interact with others. Diplomacy, bluff or intimidate minimum 8+/recommend 10+
    • Combat
    • Medical Medicine minimum 8+/recommend 10+
  • and fairly soon:
    • Electrician: Electronics minimum 8+/recommend 10+
    • Hacker: Computers minimum 8+/recommend 10+
    • Security systems bypass. Electronics minimum 8+/recommend 10+
    • Investigator: Investigate minimum 8+/recommend 10+
    • Scientist: Life science minimum 8+/recommend 10+
    • Scientist: Physical science minimum 8+/recommend 10+

Most of the characters should likely take the first class as something that helps them survive. Good choices are:

• Adept or Sentinel → Take the barrier for the DR, That 1 DR is a lot in the early low damage enemy attacks.
• Soldier or Vanguard → Toughness feat is a great help in surviving hits and full BAB helps in hitting.
• Combat Engineer →ranged attack Incinerate or Cryo Blast and try to stay out of melee.

Note that if you use your level one extra feat for second toughness or take a really high CON, there should be lot less need for the above things and can take the first level as something else.

It is highly recommended that if you do not have special defenses like the barrier, you should at least have 12-15 hit points at level 1. With such a 8-10 is enough(and that 8 comes automatically as minimum).

Select one of the options below and assign them to your ability scores

• FOCUSED: 18, 14, 11, 10, 10, 10
• SPLIT: 16, 16, 11, 10, 10, 10
• VERSATILE: 14, 14, 14, 11, 10, 10
• FLAT: 13, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12
• LOOP SIDED: 17, 16, 16, 8, 8, 8
• HIGHS AND LOWS: 18, 18, 13, 8, 8, 8

Then add racial modifiers. (+2 CON for human)

Select your theme. This is a basic focus for your character regardless of the class choices.

Select your starting class

Do your levels as normally for the first level.

It is suggested that the characters have trained for some actual profession, that is have taken one rank in a professional skill. Some possibly useful ones from among hundreds possible below:

• Some professional creative like: artist, writer…
• Someone who knows about corporations like: corporate professional, lawyer, accountant…
• Some management like: general contractor, manager…
• Knowing about society: politician, bureaucrat…
• Know about the seedy side of the society: courtesan,bounty hunter, smuggler…
• Or just some useful skill like: cook, farmer, miner…

Alternatives could be some other skill, at least if you have a skill focus or optional specialization in them:

• A perform skill could do well instead to do professions like: actor, video personality, orator, poet, comedian,dancer, musician…
• Engineering for a technician, electrician, mechanic or similar.
• Sleight of Hand and Bluff for a con man…
• Medicine for a paramedic or nurses assistant.
• Physical Science/Life Science for a research assistant, lab assistant, science teacher or similar.
• Piloting for a driver.
• Intimidate for a bouncer.

But most of you will have gone through a vocational training and it would be good for the group to have some coverage of the main areas.

In the beginning you get following feats in addition to the level feats above.

• Culture: Own culture: Start: Bayaran
• Language: Own Language: Start: Ameringlish
• Armor: Light armor
• Weapons: Pistol, Basic melee
• One skill focus feat of your choice
• One Toughness feat for being human if human. For other races the racial starting things.

If you change characters the new character gets 80% of the XP of the previous character or 60% the XP of the highest XP character in the group whichever is higher.

If you change to an existing NPC who is along you get a 10% bonus xp, thus higher of 90% own xp or 70% group XP.

For such characters do the levels that you can get for that XP.

Everyone gets:

• One set of normal clothes 1kg
• personal grooming equipment 0.5kg
• Buy Gear for $100*Starting level^2. Thus $100 for starting characters.
• Class specific items:
  • Adept,Sentinel,Mystic: Organizer + amp module, one 2 kb eeprom cartridge with 1 level 1 Biotic control program and 1kb free space.
  • Combat Engineer,Infiltrator,Scientist: Organizer + Remote control module, one 2 kb eeprom cartridge with 1 level 1 Tech control program and 1kb free space.
  • Envoy: Derringer (5mm), 50 ammo 5mm, Cellular Phone
  • Soldier: Pathfinder (5mm revolver), 50 ammo 5mm, Knife
  • Vanguard,Operative: Leather armor, Cleaver, Metal baton

Suggested things/packages to think about: (pooling group money is a good idea to get some of these)

• 150: Derringer (5mm) + 50 ammo 5mm
• 225: Pathfinder (5mm revolver)+125 ammo 5mm
• 50: Small First Aid Kit + 2 Hemostatic Bandages
• 100: Cellular Phone(if none in the group)
• 200: Mini-Tool Kit(any and all)
• 25: Multi-Function Knife
• 50: Multi-Tool
• 100: Walkie-Talkie (likely need 2 to be useful)

Other useful things:

• Rope
• hatchet
• Shovel, Folding

In addition it is suggested that everyone get a simple melee weapon if they do not get one of above and winter clothes.

Also for hobbies and similar: That is any skill 8+ at level 1

• Acrobatics: Starting money: skill*5 cr from performing
• Athletics: skiis and small climbing kit.
• Biotics: one biotic skill program
• Bluff: Starting money: (skill-1)*5 cr from gambling winnings+ pack of playing cards.
• Computers: a Home computer with modem.
• Culture: Research material: Small library culture(mostly old magazines)
• Diplomacy: contacts: +2 to gather information in home town.
• Disguise: Mini Disguise toolkit
• Electronics: Mini toolkit Electronics
• Engineering: Mini toolkit Tech
• Investigate: Mini toolkit Forensics
• Intimidate: Starting money: skill*5 cr from school bullying
• Life Science: Research material: Small library Life science(mostly old magazines)
• Medicine: Large first aid kit
• Perception
• Perform Starting money: skill*5 cr from performing
• Physical Science: Research material: Small library Physical science(mostly old magazines)
• Piloting:Starting money: skill*5 cr from working
• Profession: Starting money: skill*5 cr from working
• Sense Motive
• Sleight of Hand: Starting money: skill*5 cr from dishonest things.
• Stealth: Reversible camouflage suit: +1 stealth snow/forest
• Survival: Camping equipment: sleeping bag, 2 man tent, camping basics.