Backgrounds

Overview

Backgrounds are the Personal-story version of Traits. They give the player a vast amount of latitude to generously define the nuances of their character's personality, history, and genealogy. As with traits, Backgrounds come in several shapes and sizes with each having different rules around how/when they can be purchased. Most have to be purchased as part of character generation, but they are purchased during different points either at birth or during specific lifepaths. For more information on the specifics of Lifepaths refer to the Lifepath Character Generation section.

Backgrounds are universally purchased with Story Points.

Birthright

Birthrights are the most fundamental Background and describe the character's genealogy. This is the one background every character must have exactly one of and therefore is the first step of character creation.

Recognized Noble

You're the king shit, entitled to all things. Getting landed is a realistic if not inevitable goal for you as is climbing the noble bureaucratic ladder. You will be greeted with respect and treated as a first class citizen in most parts of the civilized world, even the houses of enemies. The only downside (outside of the secret contempt of the proletariat) is you may have to duel to the death over the honor of almost anything.

• Automatically attain the Noble rank of Lord when you complete your Adolescence Lifepath
• Add 3 levels to Assets and Income
• Inheritance backgrounds cost .5x the SP cost
• SP cost of Rank in any order (besides Nobility) costs 20% less SP (.8x cost)
• Can take Nobility Lifepaths
• Can become a Questing Knight
• Starting Fate/Will: 1/1

Recognized Bastard

Your noble parent has honored your birth with recognition. This will come as a mixed blessing with full blooded nobility generally treating you as an outcast, but still brooking full noble status to nearly everyone else. Recognized bastards are afforded many of the same luxuries and opportunities as full nobles, though rarely have the same responsibilities. Additionally recognized bastards are often favorite targets of political intrigue.

• Automatically gain the Noble rank of Lordling when you complete your Adolescence Lifepath
• Adds 2 levels to Assets and Income
• Inheritance costs .75x the SP cost
• SP cost of Rank in any order (besides Nobility) costs 10% less SP (.9x cost).
• SP cost of Rank in Nobility costs 20% more (1.2x cost)
• Can take Nobility Lifepaths
• Can become a Questing Knight
• Starting Fate/Will: 2/4

Adopted into Nobility

Either you or your family has been adopted into nobility by a kind Noble. Though you now officially carry the Noble family name, you are not considered blooded and therefore are not recognized as a candidate for the Order of the Phoenix (though your offspring will be).

• Gain the noble rank of Noble when you complete you Adolescence Lifepath
• Adds 1 level to Assets and Income
• Can take Nobility Lifepaths, though Rank in Nobility paths costs 1.5x more SP
• Starting Fate/Will: 3/5

Freeman

The freeman class is largely populated by the non-noble blooded members of the Church and League, although there’s still plenty of completely unaffiliated Yeomen to be found. Though they offer no official fealty to any master the truth is this leaves them somewhat beholden to all.

• Starting Fate/Will: 4/6

Serf/Peasant

The largest birthright (by percentage), serfs essentially own very little that is actually theirs and live their entire lives in the service (whether direct or indirect) of some Lord in exchange for (theoretical) protection. Though largely free they rarely move beyond their humble beginnings and even after extensive acclimation to higher society still have plenty of behaviors that tip people of privilege off.

• Levels 4+ of Rank, Assets, and Income/Wealth cost 1.25x SP
• Inheritance costs 1.5x SP.
• Starting Fate/Will: 5/6
• Start with an additional Advanced Will or Fate Ability.

Orphan

Your parents abandoned you or died and you were probably too ugly to get adopted, thus you were raised in an orphanage (if adopted typically use the rank of the parents, this background specifically refers to children raised in an orphanage or worse). This has scarred you in many ways, probably leaving you secretly jealous of anyone who had a reasonably happy/loving childhood.

• Cannot buy Inheritance.
• Levels 3+ of Rank, Assets, and Income/Wealth cost 1.5x SP.
• Starting Fate/Will: 5/7
• Start with an additional Advanced Will or Fate Ability.

Slave

You were born into bondage and are the direct property of someone (usually noble, but it's not uncommon for various factions of the league or church or rich freeman to have slaves). Must take the background "Someone else's property" or "Escaped Slave" at no cost/bonus.

• Cannot buy inheritance.
• Levels 2+ of Rank, Assets, and Income/Wealth cost 1.5x SP.
• Levels 4+ of Rank, Assets, and Income/Wealth cost 2x SP.
• Starting Fate/Will: 5/8
• Start with an additional Advanced Will or Fate Ability.

Pre-Lifepath Backgrounds

Players need to select a single pre-lifepath Background during character creation. These affect how many starting resources players have when building their characters.

I'm too old for this shit

You are past your prime (45+), and as such your body and mind have begun to degrade.

• Start with 200CP
• Start with 650SP (150 counts as earned in game, will affect Presence)
• Once the character has a 6 in Prowess/Focus/Awareness, every CP spent on the track only fills half of a dot.
• Resilience costs 2cp per dot past 3 (and thus you only get one extra wound box for every 2 CP).
• Earn half SP during gameplay (round up).
• At least 10% of your sentences must begin with a phrase equivalent to "back in my day ..."

Nubile

You are way too young to be doing this (<21).

• Start with 100CP
• Start with 250SP
• You cannot buy more than 1 adult lifepath.
• During character generation the cost to acquire a second dot in any node of a skill tree (root, branch, leaf) is doubled (two CP per dot filled in).
• During gameplay you receive 2 additional CP per session.
• You receive 50% more SP for everything.

Frozen in a Capsule (or other crazy background story)

"The character is actually from the 30th century but was only recently found in hypersleep, floating in a derelict science station." or "Raised by wolves"

• Start with 150CP
• Start with 500SP
• Cannot gain any Rank/Inheritance/Income as part of character creation (wealth is fine though).

Normal Dude

Yawn.

• Start with 150CP
• Start with 500SP

Lifepath Backgrounds

These backgrounds are bought when taking an individual lifepath during character creation. They tend to either modify the effects of a given lifepath or help better describe what occurred during that particular lifepath. Not all of these backgrounds are appropriate for all lifepaths, specifically there are far fewer that make any sense for childhood/adolescence lifepaths so keep that in mind. The character sheet provides space next to each lifepath for backgrounds so feel free to embellish and explain as much as befits the background. Finally some of these backgrounds actually grant bonus SP.

Background	SP Cost	Applicable Paths	Effects/Description
Criminal	+10	Adult	The character was in prison or was otherwise detained for part of this lifepath (6-18 months) for some mid-level crime. The SP cost to gain Rank, Wealth, or Income for this lifepath is 25% higher. This is a good way to make criminal contacts.
Convict	+25/Rank lost	Adult	The character was in prison for just about all of this lifepath. The character loses all non-noble rank, half of their noble rank, and half of their income when they become a convict (Wealth isn't touched). Additionally the SP cost to gain rank in any future lifepaths is +50% sp. Can only be taken as part of the Prison lifepath.
Escaped Convict	+35	Adult	The character escaped from a prison of some kind. They are now a fugitive and actively hunted by specific parties. Can only be taken as part of a Prison Lifepath.
Inheritance	5	Adult	The character inherits a significant amount of wealth later in life. Still must pay SP cost for the inheritance background, but otherwise enjoy the firebirds. Considered a separate inheritance from any other's acquired through character generation but is subject to all birthright bonuses/penalties due to Birthright. Childhood and birth inheritances are available through the normal inheritance rules that follow.
Rockstar	20	Adult	During this lifepath you can gain a 3rd Rank, Wealth, and Income but they all cost 2x the base SP cost to advance. You will be remembered and highly praised by those you worked with during this prodigious stage of your career/life.
Quick Study	20	Adult	During the time it takes for one lifepath (3-5 years), the character can take the same lifepath twice (still costs full CP for 2nd lifepath). Rank, Wealth, and Income gains are treated as though only 1 lifepath had passed. Cannot combine with Rockstar.
Deep Cover	25	Adult	The character can take the Agent or Analyst lifepath in addition to any other lifepath (still costs the full CP). Cannot gain more than 2 levels of Rank during the lifepath (can gain 1 for each path, or 2 for one path, but that's it). Cannot combine with Superstar. Gain a free contact for their handler.
I Hate Sleep	35	Adult	Works just like Deep cover, except for any 2 lifepaths with no free contact or support from a spy network (nor any ties).
Major Illness/Trauma/Tragedy	+10 or more	Any	The character suffered a major illness or injury or trauma that severely hindered their development during this lifepath. For every CP worth of Prowess/Focus/Awareness they sacrifice that they would have gained as a part of this lifepath, they gain +10sp.
Responsible for Tragedy	+5	Any	The character had an important role in some kind of major tragedy/crime that will haunt them forever.
Got Away With It, For Now	+5 or more	Last	The character committed a major crime that they are not necessarily broken up about, but are culpable for and are actively being sought after. This has to have occurred as part of their last taken lifepath to be worth bonus SP. Also must take an enemy as a result of this.
Major Life Event	0	Any	Got Married, Had a child, Joined the Mormans, Lost a child. Anything character defining that could have happened during this lifepath should be noted.
Functional Addict	+15	Adult	The character became addicted to a substance or activity of some kind but otherwise maintained a productive life. They remain addicted by the end of the lifepath and this or another addiction related background MUST be taken during the next lifepath.
Degenerate	+25	Adult	The character became so badly addicted to a substance or activity of some kind their life was directly impacted. Any Rank/Wealth/Income gains are 50% more expensive during this lifepath. MUST continue to take Degenerate (for bonus SP) on all future lifepaths until Cleaned-Up is taken.
Cleaned Up	15	Adult	The character broke their addiction to a substance or activity of some kind. Cannot occur in the same lifepath as the addiction was incurred.
Sathraist/Antinomist/Symbiot collaborator	+50	Last	The character is now secretly a part of one of the most hunted/reviled groups in Fading Suns. Their life will inevitably end in the flames of purification, it's only a question of when (soon). Can only take this with their last lifepath since the odds of living much longer are slim to none.
Enslaved	+25	Any	The character has become a slave through some means. At any rate they are now legally considered property. Requires the character to take a slavery lifepath.
Escaped	10	Any	The character escaped bondage during this lifepath. Legally they are still considered someone's property and it's entirely possible they are being actively hunted. The majority of characters who start life in bondage will have to take this at some lifepath to become a PC. Requires the character to take a slavery lifepath (can be the same one enslaved in).
Infamy	+5/10/15	Adult	The character has acquired a major negative reputation of some kind. The levels represent the scope of the notoriety. Level 1 represents a continent-wide or small organization, level 2 is system-wide or major organization, level 3 is known worlds wide. Generally speaking infamy comes to those who have done bad things and gotten away with them, so be specific. Only one level of infamy can be purchased per lifepath since it takes time to accrue the reputation. A second level can be taken during a lifepath but for no bonus SP.
Fame	5/10/15	Adult	Just like infamy, only in a positive light. Perhaps your character is related to the emperor, or perhaps they are some major hero. Fame comes in many flavors. Many nobles qualify for low levels of fame simply by being who they are. Just as with infamy, fame generally takes time to accrue and thus only one level can be acquired per lifepath (though a 2nd level can be bought for 2x sp cost).
Vassal	+5	Adult	You spent this lifepath bound directly to someone else (typically noble). While you are usually free to do your own thing the simple truth is your life is not entirely your own. Vassals cannot gain rank in Church/Guild/Noble hierarchies during this lifepath.
Joined an organization	10	Adult	This lifepath was punctuated by the character joining a major organization (Guild, Church, Spy organization, Military). This allows the character to take lifepaths from that order and must be taken in order to take lifepaths from a new organization. Generally characters can only be in one organization at a time (Nobles and spies are the notable exceptions)
Professional Failure	+10	Adult	You did something that prematurely ended your career. You can no longer gain rank within that organization.
Professional Disgrace	+25	Adult	You did something so bad that you were disowned by your previous association. You lose all rank and gain a level 1 Infamy with that organization (no bonus SP for this).
Promise/Debt/Oath	+0/5/10	Adult	You acquired an important favor to someone from a basic promise to a debt to a blood oath. These must still be relevant to the character during gameplay to be worth SP.
Favor	5/15/25	Adult	Someone relevant to the story owes you a Promise/Debt/Oath
Ward	+5 or more	Adult	You are responsible for someone/thing besides yourself. This ward must be kept close and likely travels with you in some capacity. The more vulnerable the ward, the higher the bonus SP (and risk).
Traveled to a new Planet/System	3/10	Any	Every time you travel to a new place you must pay SP. A new planet (or moon or major spacestation) in your current system costs 3, a new system costs 10 (you get one planet in that system for free as part of the cost). Revisiting a place you've been doesn't cost anything.
Phoenix Badge	50	Adult	Must be a noble, but gain 1 level of wealth or income and gain the Phoenix Badge and Imperial Charter.
Imperial Cohort	40	Adult	Gain a level of wealth or income and gain a Cohort Badge and Imperial Charter.

Money and Power

These backgrounds all focus upon the various assets a character can accrue over the course of their life. The various sections each work somewhat differently and as such it's important for a player to consciously track each version of these.

Rank

Whenever a character chooses a rank-bearing lifepath they can buy a single level of rank as well for the specified SP cost for that rank. A 2nd level can be bought for 1.5x the SP cost as well if they desire. All noble blooded characters also gain rank when they come of age based on their birthright (this happens for free). Gaining Rank comes with a free bump to both Income and Wealth (next section).

Rank is cumulative in that if a character has three consecutive lifepaths where they gained 1 rank per path they are now rank 3. It is possible to have multiple ranks in several organizations (this is very common for nobles who join either the church or league). Also if a character leaves an organization on good terms they will retain their highest attained rank in that organization. Each level of Rank bumps a character's Assets AND Income by one level automatically, and for free (beyond the SP cost of the rank).

From a socioeconomic standpoint ranks across organizations are relatively equal, that is to say a Brother is roughly equal to a Journeyman, is roughly equal to a Lord, is roughly equal to a Sergeant, is roughly equal to an Agent. In their respective domains each is significantly higher than the other but in a general context rank roughly equates to social status. The civilian ranks (Military/Intelligence) end at 4 and while there are higher ranks in these organizations they are almost universally populated by members of the Church, League, or Nobility to whom they report.

Ranks beyond 6 should be heavily restricted away from Player Characters as these ranks tend towards the upper end of the bureaucratic spectrum and would largely interfere with the activities typically partaken by intrepid adventurers. Individual organizations have unique names for many of these ranks but outside of their organization or high-etiquette situations the generic names can safely apply.

Note: Costs are successive, it costs 60 SP to go from rank 0 to rank 3 (10+20+30)

Rank	SP Cost	Title (Church, Guild, Noble, Military, Intelligence)
0	0	Brother, Intern, Cousin, Civilian, Trainee
1	10	Monk, Clerk, Noble, Private, Consultant
2	20	Acolyte, Apprentice, Lordling, Corporal, Junior Agent
3	30	Brother, Journeyman, Lord, Sergeant, Agent
4	40	Canon, Associate, Knight, Sergeant Major, Director
5	50	Deacon, Fellow, Baronet
6	60	Priest/Adept/Philosophus, Engineer/Captain/Jonin/Consul, Baron
7	*	Bishop, Director, Earl
8	*	Archbishop, Master, Count
9	*	Cardinal, Dean, Duke
10	*	Patriarch, Guildmeister, Prince
11	Sure	Emperor

Wealth and Income

Wealth and Income are acquired over the course of lifepaths and function similar to Rank (they are both cumulative and are bought as part of each lifepath). For every Adult lifepath chosen a player can choose to spend the SP to gain the next level of income and/or wealth (they are separate backgrounds and are tracked/purchased separately). During each lifepath a second level can also be bought for 1.5x the SP cost (3 levels of either Wealth or Income cannot normally be purchased during a single lifepath). Gaining rank in an organization typically also comes with a free bump to both assets and income, however a 2nd level still will cost the 1.5x price.

While Wealth and Income are tracked separately, they are only tracked once. It doesn’t matter during which lifepaths the character gained a bump in either, all that matters is their current rating. A character could have spent their first two lifepaths gaining rank with the engineers (each rank would give a free bump to both Wealth and Income, so they would now be at 2 in both), then during their third lifepath as a space pirate then chose to buy 2 levels of wealth, they now would have 4 wealth, and 2 income. If during their next lifepath they joined the Scravers and gained 1 more point of rank (bump to both wealth and income), they now would be at 5 wealth and 2 income.

It may be possible for a player to increase their income through the course of play whether through promotion or saavy business maneuvers and in this case the GM should allow the player to spend the SP to increment their income, however wealth is no longer available through SP expenditure once the game begins (have to earn it the old fashioned way, by looting the bodies).

Note: Costs are successive, it costs 24 SP to go from no income to income 3 (4+8+12)

Level	SP Cost from previous	Firebirds (Wealth/Income)
1	4	40 Firebirds/4 Firebirds per month
2	8	120 Firebirds/12 Firebirds per month
3	12	200 Firebirds/20 Firebirds per month
4	16	360 Firebirds/36 Firebirds per month
5	20	560 Firebirds/56 Firebirds per month
6	24	800 Firebirds/80 Firebirds per month
7	28	1080 Firebirds/108 Firebirds per month
8	32	1400 Firebirds/140 Firebirds per month
9	36	1760 Firebirds/176 Firebirds per month
10	40	2160 Firebirds/216 Firebirds per month

Inheritance

This type of wealth covers any assets left to the character that they did not directly earn. It's very rare for anyone but a noble to claim any reasonable inheritance. Unlike Wealth or Income, Inheritance is purchased before Adult Lifepaths are chosen (any inheritance needs to be sorted out by the time the character is 18) and as such can only be purchased during character creation. Inheritance costs strictly more than Wealth per firebird, but a player is not restricted by lifepaths as to how much inheritance they begin with. Additionally a character can have multiple inheritances (for story purposes list how much money is coming from where).

Note: Costs are successive, to get level 4 inheritance costs 40SP (5 + 5 + 10 + 20)

Level	SP cost from previous	SP cost from 0	Firebirds (Wealth/Income)
1	5	5	40 Firebirds
2	5	10	80 Firebirds
3	10	20	160 Firebirds
4	20	40	320 Firebirds
5	40	80	640 Firebirds
6	80	160	1280 Firebirds
7	160	320	2560 Firebirds
8	320	640	5120 Firebirds

Assets

Assets represent the final type of wealth/property that players can own. Unlike liquid capital or revenue, assets don't necessarily translate to direct character wealth (though they can serve as the basis for the character's capital and revenue). Assets are largely for character decoration however they can often play an important role in the character's or game's story. The final important note about Assets is the larger the asset the larger the player's responsibility towards it. Assets provide no intrinsic firebird value, they are more for character story, however they can be used to explain various levels of income/wealth. It would be highly unlikely for anyone short of a Duke to have assets 4 or 5.

Note: Costs are successive, it costs 15 SP to go from no assets to assets 2 (5+10)

Level	SP Cost from previous	Firebirds (Wealth/Income)
1	5	Minor Personal Property: Modest Home or Small farm
2	10	Moderate Personal Property or Minor Investment: Modest Personal Estate, Kiosk in the bazaar, Boutique shop in a city, lonely tavern in the woods)
3	15	Major Personal Estate or Moderate Investment: Castle, Bank, Tavern, Plantation, Small Trade Frigate
4	20	Vast Personal Estate or Major Investment: Palace, Spaceport or Bazaar tax rights, Planet-wide Business, Cruiser
5	25	Vast Investment: Interstellar business, Trade fleet, Space Station, Tax rights to a Major City

Relationships

Relationships are used to represent either individuals or groups of people who the character has meaningful contact with. They are statistically similar but they serve slightly separate roles. Both can be modified through the course of play by investing time and additional Story Points into the specific Contact or Connection and new ones can just as easily be acquired. An important note is that mechanically these can be used to represent negative relationships as well as positive ones.

The base SP cost to define a new Connection or Contact is 5SP.

Contacts/Enemies

Contacts are not supposed to define common NPCs, but instead specific people important or useful to the player in a narrowly defined way. More SP can be invested either at character creation or through play. Players don’t have to invest SP into every NPC they meet, however if they do then they have the option of investing more to improve the relationship or the NPCs stats (with GM approval). Enemies likewise can grant the player bonus SP (roughly equal to half the equivalent Contact, though it's largely up to the GM to decided on Enemy's stats). The following stats are defined on the character sheet and are used to better define the Contact/Enemy

Personal Information

Details like name, age, description, location, history, etc. Feel free to write a story but this category of information is by definition mechanically unimportant

Disposition

Disposition is a rough approximation of how the contact regards the character. Disposition is largely determined by roleplaying (or background writing) but can change over the course of the game (with SP investment to improve it, no cost to have it go down). Mechanically higher disposition can yield bonuses and lower disposition penalties as the GM sees fit. The SP cost represents going "up" the chart towards a friendlier/better relationship. There is no cost to go down (though this is certainly possible through mistreatment). Also brand new Contacts start at Neutral during character creation and start at whatever the GM and player can agree upon during gameplay (in either case it costs no additional SP beyond the 5 to generate the contact).

Mechanically Disposition is typically used as a bonus on rolls for the character, and a penalty on rolls against the character.

Level	SP Cost from previous	Disposition
-3	-	Hostile/Hatred
-2	3	Anger/Resent
-1	2	Cool/Disappointed
0	1	Neutral/Uninterested
1	1	Pleasant/Impressed
2	2	Friendly/Amiable
3	3	Love/Loyal

Expertise

All contacts are considered to have a 2 for a skill in any old roll. Players can purchase higher "skills" for their contacts (use only skill roots). Contacts can have as many expertises as the GM will approve.

Note: Costs are successive. It costs 3SP to go from 2 to 4 (1 + 2)

Skill Level	SP Cost from previous	Skill
2	-	Proficient
3	1	Skilled
4	2	Professional
5	3	Expert
6	4	Master

Effectiveness

If Expertise determines an NPC’s "skill", Effectiveness determines their die pool. Unlike PCs, contacts only have one rating which is intended to represent their ability with regards to their expertises. The floor for effectiveness is 6, but a player can invest story points to raise a contact's effectiveness based on the following chart.

Note: Costs are successive. It costs 3SP to go from 6 to 8 (1 + 2)

Die Pool	SP Cost from previous
6	-	Basic
7	2	Useful
8	4	Efficient
9	6	Superb
10	10	Heroic

Connections

Connections also cost 5SP to start. Unlike Contacts, Connections don’t represent any single individual so much as an organization that the character is in favor with. Connections are useful to provide information and occasional harbor or supplies but are nowhere near as reliable as Contacts. Just as with Contacts, Connections have various “attributes” that the player can raise by spending Story Points either during character creation or during play.

Organization Information

All the juicy details about who they are and how the PC is connected to them.

Sphere of Influence

A specific geopolical domain for the connection with the default being 0. A higher sphere of influence costs more SP as follows. Costs are successive.

Level	SP Cost from previous	Sphere of Influence
0	-	City/Station
1	1	Continent/Moon
2	2	Planet/Asteroid Belt
3	3	System
4	4	Feifdom
5	5	Known Worlds
6	6	Galaxy

Expertise

Just as with Contacts, the player needs to define "skills" for their connection to use. Unlike Contacts, Connection skills must be Branches, not Roots. Additionally some expertises will make no sense at all (a connection with an expertise in Agility won’t be much use) so the player should only define the expertises for the connection that will be useful. Otherwise use the same SP chart as Contacts, assuming a base expertise of 2.

Note: Costs are successive. It costs 3SP to go from 2 to 4 (1 + 2)

Skill Level	SP Cost from previous	Skill
2	-	Proficient
3	1	Skilled
4	2	Professional
5	3	Expert
6	4	Master

Standing

In addition to defining the relationship between the character and the organization the Connection represents. Mechanically standing determines the die pool the connection will use when making rolls at the player's request. Essentially the higher the player's standing the more resources that organization will dedicate toward assisting the player. The following chart determines the SP cost of each standing.

Note: Costs are successive. It costs 3SP to go from 4 to 6 (1 + 2)

Level	SP Cost from previous	Standing
4	-	Distrusted
5	1	Disinterested
6	2	Accepted
7	3	Recognized
8	4	Respected
9	4	Made Man
10	4	Boss

Compact

There is a price for being in bed with a major organization and the compact represents this. There are two parts to the compact, one is how much it costs to get help FROM the Connection which is inversely proportional to Standing (the higher the standing, the cheaper the cost of help). The second is the implicit expectation from the Connection TOWARDS the player which is directly proportional to Standing (the higher the standing, the more they expect from the character in terms of kickbacks, communication, returns on investment, etc). Connections are a two way street.