Character Creation
Character creation in The Electric State RPG produces a Traveler — a flawed, dreaming human (or drone) making their way through a collapsing America. The process is detailed in Chapter 3: Your Traveler. See Game Overview for context on the setting and core mechanics.
Step 1 — Choose an Archetype
Your Archetype is the closest thing this game has to a class. It defines who you are, what you're good at, and what drives you. There are 10 archetypes; no two Travelers in the group should share one.
| Archetype | Key Attribute | Core Identity |
|---|---|---|
| Artist | Empathy | Compulsive creator hiding fear behind performance |
| Criminal | Strength | Self-made survivor; reacts to threats with violence |
| Devotee | Empathy | True believer in a cult, driven to convert others |
| Doctor | Empathy | Disenchanted healer; possibly neurine-addicted |
| Drone Pilot | Wits | Special: you are a drone — your physical body is comatose elsewhere |
| Investigator | Wits | Cynical PI who tracks people lost in the neuroscapes |
| Outsider | Agility | Never fit in; distrusts everyone |
| Runaway Kid | Agility | Escaped a bad home; fiercely independent |
| Scientist | Wits | Rationalist clinging to facts as the world burns |
| Veteran | Strength | War survivor haunted by what they did |
Each archetype entry lists suggestions for your talent, dream, flaw, personal item, neurocaster model, and starting cash. You may choose or roll randomly from those suggestions, or create your own.
Drone Pilot is the unique exception: your stats are built normally, but you take damage like a drone (not a human), carry no gear, don't track Bliss, and cannot enter local neuroscapes.
Step 2 — Roll (or Buy) Attributes
Four attributes define every Traveler, rated from 2 to 6. Higher is better.
| Attribute | What It Covers |
|---|---|
| Strength | Toughness, melee combat, physical endurance |
| Agility | Speed, stealth, ranged combat, driving, acrobatics |
| Wits | Intelligence, awareness, education, tech knowledge |
| Empathy | Persuasion, charm, deception, reading people |
Rolling: Roll four dice; re-roll any 1s until all show 2 or higher. Assign the four results to the four attributes in any order. The Key Attribute listed by your archetype is the one you'll likely rely on most.
Point buy (alternative): Distribute 16 points across the four attributes. No attribute may be lower than 2 or higher than 6.
If your total starting attribute score is 15 or lower, you receive one extra starting talent.
Step 3 — Derive Health & Hope
These are your two vital resources.
Health = (Strength + Agility) ÷ 2 (round up)
- Reduced by taking damage. Reaching 0 means Incapacitated — you may die.
- Can be permanently increased by the Tough talent (+2).
Hope = (Wits + Empathy) ÷ 2 (round up)
- Reduced by pushing dice rolls and traumatic events. Reaching 0 triggers a Breakdown.
- Can be permanently increased by the Dreamer talent (+2).
- Also tied to Bliss: if your Bliss score (from neurocasting) equals or exceeds your current Hope, you cannot leave the Electric State on your own.
Step 4 — Choose a Starting Talent
You begin with one talent (two if your total attributes were 15 or lower). You can choose any talent freely; your archetype suggests three. Talents give +2 dice in specific situations, unlock special actions, or provide passive benefits.
Selected talent examples:
| Talent | Benefit |
|---|---|
| Tough | Max Health +2 |
| Dreamer | Max Hope +2 |
| Medic | Roll Wits to stabilize an Incapacitated person |
| Drone Operator | +2 dice to all drone control rolls |
| Hacker | +2 dice to neuroscape hacking rolls |
| Charmer | +2 dice to Empathy rolls to make NPCs like you |
| Sniper | +2 dice when firing a rifle at Long range or farther |
| Neuroresistant | Better resistance to Bliss from neurocasting |
| Nine Lives | +2 dice on death rolls (6 dice instead of 4) |
| Lone Wolf | Reduce Tension with others without them being present |
New talents can be created with GM approval, as long as they don't overlap existing ones. The printed list is not exhaustive.
Step 5 — Personal Stuff
Dream
A personal aspiration that guides your roleplaying. Choose one from your archetype's list, roll randomly, or create your own. Following your Dream during sessions enables advancement.
Flaw
A core character trait that stands in your way. Works like Dream — choose, roll, or create. Playing your Flaw drives both drama and eventual growth. At some point during the Journey you may overcome your Flaw — see Advancement below.
Favorite '90s Song
Pick any real '90s song, invent a fictional one, or roll on the D66 table (e.g., Black Hole Sun, Killing in the Name, Bittersweet Symphony). No mechanical effect — purely for character colour.
Description & Name
Give your Traveler a brief physical description and a name appropriate to the 1990s setting.
Step 6 — Gear & Neurocaster
Every Traveler (except Drone Pilot) starts with:
- One neurocaster — required to enter neuroscapes. The model depends on your archetype (e.g., Stimulus TLE Standard, Johnny Jolt Theme, Jury-Rigged).
- One personal item — chosen or rolled from your archetype's list (e.g., a handgun, first aid kit, musical instrument, or dog).
- Starting cash — rolled according to your archetype (e.g.,
$100 × D6or$10 × 2D6).
Additional personal belongings with no mechanical effect (clothes, toiletries, trinkets) are allowed at the GM's discretion. The game does not use encumbrance tracking — if you're obviously carrying too much, the GM may call for a Strength roll or simply say no.
Step 7 — Set Starting Tension
Tension represents the emotional charge in a Traveler's relationship with each other Traveler. It is asymmetrical and ranges from 0 to 2:
| Score | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 0 | No tension — no unspoken feelings |
| 1 | Suppressed emotion: irritation, admiration, attraction, distrust |
| 2 | Uncontained strong emotion: rage, love, fear |
At the start of the game, assign Tension 1 toward one or two other Travelers, and 0 toward the rest. The group should discuss what each Tension represents before play begins. Flaws are a natural source of Tension.
Mechanical effect: In any opposed roll against another Traveler, you gain bonus dice equal to your Tension toward them. Reducing Tension also restores Hope (–1 Tension for both parties, +1 Hope each, requires a quiet scene with no immediate threat).
Advancement: Developing Your Traveler
After each session, hold a brief debriefing. Each player describes at least one moment where their Traveler acted according to their Dream or Flaw. If the table agrees (GM has final say), that player makes an Improvement Roll:
- Choose the attribute that best reflects what you learned during the session.
- Roll one die. If the result is higher than your current score, increase that attribute by 1.
- If the result is equal to or lower, you instead gain a new talent (must be justified by in-session events).
An attribute increase may also raise your maximum Health or Hope accordingly.
Overcoming Your Flaw
At a dramatically appropriate moment — typically late in the Journey — you may declare that your Traveler has fundamentally confronted and resolved their Flaw. If the table agrees, you immediately make three improvement rolls and the Flaw is removed. After overcoming your Flaw you cannot improve further, so don't do it too early.