Cosm: Aysle.Background: New lands have ap-

peared, lands which have somehowcaused a change in Aysle itself. You donot know how the changes came about,or how the pathways work. The darkoppression of the land has been par-tially eradicated, and it is rumoredthat even Pella Ardinay has had achange of heart. But there are otherswho still hold to the old dark ways.You have fought many of those in thepast few days, fighting your way toone of the pathways to the new land.There you hope to aid those whostruggle against the dark ways, for theglory of a battle well fought and torekindle a sense of pride long agocrushed in Aysle. The new land hasbeen stranger than you had ever ex-pected, but the battle is evident nearlyeverywhere. Perhaps this time it canbe won.

Personality: Aggressive, with astrong sense of personal honor andpride. Foes or companions who fighthonorably deserve respect. Compan-ions who act cowardly are disdained,foes who fight dishonorably are ruth-lessly dispatched.

Equipment: ring mail (+3/armorvalue 14), broadsword (+6/dam-age value 18), scabbard, smallpeddlar's bag, tribal totem on neckthong, a Timex watch, 100 AyslishTrades.

Quote: "These trucks, are they aspowerful as trolls?"

Skill Notes: Your tag skill is meleeweapons.

Cosm: Core Earth.Background: You were trained in

one of the world's finest universities,although you did not take full advan-tage of your training. Learning secondhand, by word of mouth, or from well-worn books was a necessary evil. Youbegan traveling while working on yourdoctoral thesis, which to the surpriseof your adviser, you did finish. Sincethen you have done a number of oneyear stints at different universities,spending too much time in the field toplay the important political games backon campus.

You find your work exhilirating,enjoying the challenges of the field.You learned to scavenge your ownresources rather than rely on govern-mental or institutional support; thePossibility Wars have rewarded thisskill. The savagery of the wars havenot dimmed your enthusiasm for col-lecting the rare or discovering theunknown. You are one of the fewsources of new knowledge available toCore Earth, and the chances for adven-ture have never been greater. Theworld of shifting realities is waiting tobe discovered.

Personality: Confident, friendly,you are attracted to the unknown, andare willing to undergo considerablerisks for an obscure, but importantfact. You can operate alone, but youhave learned that sharing knowledgecan increase the total knowledge avail-able to you; it's just that getting peopleto go where you want to go is some-times difficult.

Equipment: backpack, campinggear,. 38 revolver (damage value14), spare ammunition, flashlight,notebook, sketchpad, $500.

Quote: "Tokari poison is notalways painfully fatal, but I stillrecommend that you duck thedarts. "

Skill Notes: Your tag skill isscholar; choose a primary field ofstudy. Other scholar skills are inother, not necessarily related fields.

Cosm: Core Earth.Background: You were in Africa

when reality was torn to shreds by theinvaders. While your organization wasparalyzed for a few days, it recoveredfar faster than other branches of thegovernment, and began to seek out thecauses for this catastrophe, understandthem, and eliminate them — if pos-sible. Resources are scarce, the mis-sion more difficult, and the enemymore baffling than ever, but that soonbecame part of the job.

For now reconnaissance is the nameof the game; find out how strong theenemy is, harass them where practi-cable, and discover which portions ofthe population might be contacted tohelp bolster resistance to the Possibil-ity Raiders. You are to keep yourself inplay; do not take yourself out of thegame by taking foolish risks unlessdirectly ordered to do so.

Personality: You are efficient, andapproach most people as a puzzle tobe solved. You do appreciate peoplewho share your views, and return loy-alty with loyalty. You are extremelyunpleasant when crossed.

Equipment: 9mm Beretta (dam-age value 15), ammunition, ankleknife (+3/damage value 11), falseID papers, miniature camera, mini-ature tape recorder, hand-held sat-ellite transceiver (tech 23), $2, 000worth of gold coins.

Quote: "I wonder if you haven'tgot your priorities a little mixed uphere. "

Skill Notes: Your tag skill is per-suasion.

Cosm: Nippon Tech.Background: Need for your serv-

ices grew rapidly during the Mit-suyana/Kanawa takeover wars. Theonly distress you felt was the rapidexpansion of the ninja class, many ofwhom were glorified street fighterswith no sense of tradition, whose train-ing consisted of a few choreographedbrawls. Your opinion is correct, but itis unpopular with some of those whoemploy you. Unfortunately, being un-popular has led to the request for yourtermination. Fortunately, your correctopinion meant that those who soughtto kill you lack the necessary skill to doso. You are getting better. So are they.They have the numbers. So you havesought defensive ground outside therealm of Nippon Tech, ground whichneutralizes the resources the corpora-tions can grant your adversaries. Inthese areas you have found that em-ployment opportunities are still avail-able, and you have found others whosefight is similar to your own struggles.There are forces which seek to elimi-nate those who follow the correct path,forces which are growing stronger eachday.

Personality: You pursue your artwith diligence. While you are far fromperfection, you know that to seek any-thing less is incorrect. You honor acontract, and consider an oath betweenfriends or within family such a con-tract.

Equipment: Niyoki camouflagesuit (+1 to stealth), shimsi sword(+5/damage value 13), throwingstars (+3 / damage value 11), Sorubugloves (+2 to climbing), 100, 000 yenaccount card.

Quote: "Conceding one's deathbefore battle may prevent thatdeath. "

Skill Notes: Your skill tag is mar-tial arts. You only have 11 skill pointsto assign, and must take lockpicking,stealth, and prestidigitation. You areunable to spend possibilities on re-ality skill rolls.

Cosm: Nippon Tech.Background: You worked for one

of the medium sized arbitrage houseswhich did work for Mitsuyana Indus-tries. You acquired a reputation as ayouthful miracle worker, finessing thefinance net in time to prevent hugegains by Kanawa Corporation, evenposting respectable gains for your ownfirm. But the fight became increasinglygrim, fought on the street almost asoften as across terminals. Clever finan-cial action blurred into the unethical,then into the murderously criminal.They were doing it, so you would haveto do it too.

You decided that you would not.The art of business had gone horriblywrong. It was time to move elsewhere.When you began to look around, yousaw that more than business was start-ing to go wrong. As you regain controlof your life, you see that others arediligently working to restrict self-de-termination in others.

Personality: Hard-working, youdive into any task in which you believewith a zeal others may find hard tounderstand. You enjoy working withothers, but find idle time difficult; re-laxation makes you restless for the nextchallenge.

Equipment: Panasonic currencyemulator (manufactures copies of upto 1, 000 units of any paper currencyper cartridge), three cartridges, port-able computer (in purse or attache)with telecom links (tech 24), convert-ible rain-poncho/mono-tent, infraredbinoculars, first aid kit, 9mm Beretta

(damage value 15), ammunition, jim-mied identity card, 5, 000, 000 yenaccount card.

Quote: "The bottom line is there ismore than the bottom line. "

" Skill Notes: Your tag skill is charm.

Cosm: Aysle.Background: Since being amazed

by the illusions of a merchant magi-cian, you have devoted most of yourlife to the study of magic, much of thattime hiding from Ardinay's minions.Luckily they thought your researchannoying rather than a real threat, andyou could deal with the minions theHigh Lord did bother to send. Yourknowledge has grown slowly, pains-takingly, but events have unfoldedwhich may give you an opportunity toincrease your knowledge manyfold!

The flow of magic was interruptedby when Ardinay ordered anotherinvasion; and now the magic of Aysleis "spilling over" into someplace else.To travel these lands, to explore the"edges" of magic, and areas wheremagic works differently, would be agreat help to your research.

Personality: Enthusiastic and curi-ous about everything related to magic,you occasionally forget the practicalside of life. Usually the result is a tadembarrassing, but nothing else. In thewild situations of the Possibility Wars,the flaw may be more serious, and youhave promised yourself you will be-come more practical as soon as youfinish designing your next spell.

Arcane Knowledges: Fire +2,

Spells:

Equipment: robes, equipmentbelt, belt pouches, spell components,dagger (+3/damage value 10),empty food pouch, and you couldswear you had brought a healingdraught, right next the the pouchwith all your money... well maybeyou left that one at home.

Quote: "While not having quitethe effect intended, the spell was asuccess. Don't you think so?"

Skill Notes: Your tag skill is al-teration magic. You have 10 pointsto distribute in other arcane knowl-edges and spells, in addition to the13 to spend on skills.

Cosm: Nile Empire.Background: You spent your youth

reading the stories in Weird Tales,imagining yourself as a hero. Heck,you could probably go them one betterif you had the chance — certainly youwould give yourself snappier dialogue.When you read the small advertise-ment from Elhai University, the oneabout "enhancement research", youfigured this was your chance. The boysin white had it mostly figured out, butthere were some setbacks and a lot ofhard work before the payoff. And thenthings got weird. The Pharaoh movedhis palace somewhere else, anotherplanet; you were expected to help thePharaoh crush the natives. That isn'twhat you had become a hero for, andyour weren't going to let a few dozenshocktroopers dissuade you. Okay,maybe the shocktroopers could con-vince you to leave, but they couldn'tdissuade you from being a hero.

Personality: Brash, energetic, youare ready to tackle the world. Youhave abilities beyond most mortal men,just as you have always wanted. Thereis the occasional drawback, but heck,that's always been part of the hero biz.This is the life you have always wantedto lead.

Equipment: costume, streetclothes, Nile identity papers, 50 NileRoyals.

Quote: "This time Dr. Mobius hasgone too far!"

Skill Notes: You start with only 9Possibilities and no tag skill. You haveflight power 15. Your power has anadventure cost of 3; you must spend3 possibilities an adventure to keepflight.

Cosm: Core Earth.Background: You have always

wondered about many things, particu-larly about the hard questions, thetough questions of existence andmeaning. Combined with a desire tohelp others answer their own ques-tions, you entered the clergy. Yousought answers in formal religioustraining; instead your questionsloomed larger once you finished.Travel did not ease your soul, and youeventually returned home to assumethe traditional role of the cleric. Thenarmageddon struck.

Now the questions of good, evil andfree will, of what man's role is, of whatconstitutes reality, are being brutallyposed by the Possibility Raiders. Theanswers cannot be found in medita-tion. You must find them in action,helping others to find those answers intime to save themselves from the Raid-ers.

Personality: Earnest, seeking thetruth, you have developed a keen senseof humor and a sarcastic wit to protectyou from the disappointments of yoursearch so far. The news of miracles hasgiven you hope, while news of thePossibility Wars threatens to crush it.

Equipment: holy symbol, holybook, first aid kit, envelopes, post-age, paper and pen, club (+3/dam-age value 11), $250.

Quote: "Not all mysteries aremeant to be solved, but you can't tellwhich is which without trying to solvethem. "

Skill Notes: Your tag skill is evi-dence analysis 3/15.

Cosm: Cyberpapacy.Background: Things became a

mother-circuit mess in a hurry. Youwere working for IRCOM, working onelectronic composition, when themachines started to wack out. Yourswere one of the first to go, and thennothing would work for you, evenyour electric guitar. Then the beepscame back, and you could work thingsagain. When his Holiness Jean Malrauxarrived, something snapped. First itsnapped in France, then you; whenyou heard of the GodNet, it soundedlike a dream. You jacked in with al-tered IRCOM equipment and discov-ered the truth. The GodNet was wrong,like a great piece of music being butch-ered by a backup band. Whoever set itup didn't have a clue — or worse, theyknew exactly what they were doing,and wanted it this way. You foundthings out, but people didn't want tohear them.

Things are hot right now, so youhave taken a vacation elsewhere. Butsomeday you are going back to theGodNet. Someday you are going tohelp get it right.

Personality: Energetic, committedto music and meaning, you believethat harmony is a key principle in life.The Possibilty Raiders increase dis-cord and destroy harmony, althoughsome of the tools they have introducedwill be useful in the right hands —such as yours. You intend to use them.

Equipment: J-Jack, cyberdeck De-licious and spare parts, Uzi (damagevalue 17), ammunition, IRCOM pass,portable holo CD, portable keyboard,10, 000 Franc account card.

Programs: attack +1, defense +2,stealth +2, charm +1.

Quote: "You gotta learn to listenbefore you learn to play. "

Skill Notes: Your tag skill is cyber-deck operation. You have cyber value 2.

Equipment: costume, gadget belt(value 17 for one of the followingpowers: dazzle, flight, invisibility, fogscreen, mega-hearing, ultra-sight, x-ray eyes),. 38 revolver (damage value14), ammunition, tool kit, oscilloscopeparts, 400 Nile Royals.

Quote: "This isn't anything a littleingenuity can't get us out of. "

Skill Notes: Your skill tag is scholar(science). Pick a science.

Cosm: Nile Empire.Background: As a boy, you were

fascinated by your grandfather'swatch, and your mother let you con-duct simple experiments in the lab,under her strict supervision. As yougrew older, you exploited the lapses inher superivion (and the really keenarticles in Journal for the Advancement ofthe Sciences and Popular Mechanics) tobuild a few widgets of your own. Bol-stered by simple successes you con-ceived a far more complicated device,one which would give you an abilityyou had always wanted. It just nevercame together.

Then the Pharaoh gathered all hisscientists and moved them across themaelstrom bridge. It had happenedbefore, but this time something hap-pened to you. You gained a clearervision of what was happening aroundyou, and what was happening waswrong. At the same time, your techni-cal understanding made a leap, andyou completed your device. Minuteslater the lab was attacked by creaturesseeking you, and you fled. You havebeen battling crime and evil ever since.

Personality: Shy, you tried to over-come your shyness by devloping tech-nical marvels to impress people. Asyour social skills improved, you foundyou could interact with people on yourown, but you retained your love ofgadgets.

Cosm: Core Earth.Background: The spirits whispered

to you when you were a young child.Oh, you ignored them first, as did allthe others who had forgotten, but thespirits were patient. In a few years,you were ready to listen, to learn thewisdom they could teach, and walkthe paths they set before you. You sawwhat the white man could no longersee, heard what he no longer was ableto hear. At first the vision was beauti-ful, liberating. It soon changed. Thespirits foretold of the ripping of thesouls of the people at the hands ofinvaders, of the struggle to preservethe very link between Earth and herpeople, a link already weak. You be-gan your travels, guided by the knowl-edge of your visions, and seeking oth-ers who would join you in your questto heal the lands.

Personality: Patient with purpose,you wait for the emotions of others tocrest before speaking. Your calmstrength carries you, and others withyou, through severe circumstances.

Equipment: street clothes, tribalclothes, war boomerang +4/12, leathercoat/armor +2/12.

Arcane Knowledges:

Spells:

Quote: "To hear the answers givenyou, you must listen to the quiet inbetween the words, for much is spo-ken there. "

Skill Notes: Your tag skill is conju-ration magic. You have 12 points of ar-cane knowledges and spells

Quote: "You are wise to seek meout, for I have read the lore of Gro-lisch herself, and I myself have seenthe eyes which fill the pale night. "

Skill Notes: Your tag skill is divi-nation magic. You have 11 points todistribute in other arcane knowledgesand spells, in addition to the 13 tospend on skills.

Cosm: Orrorsh.Background: You have always had

more empathy for the natives than thecolonists. The Victorians were toostuffy, to stolid in their day to daylives. You believe they understand lessabout the night dangers than they thinkthey do; such pride in Orrorsh is adeadly extravagance. But coins rarelywalk up to you without being invited,and the invitations are so easily ex-tended to the Victorians. Their coinsdo not walk to you, they run. Not oneto spit at such benefits, you have trav-eled with the colonists, and share theirdesire to defeat the horror which per-meates the land. Your methods mayjust be a little different.

Personality: Showman, con artist,magician: you are a little of each andrelish each role as it is appropriate.Confident, you know never to showdoubt, certainly never to a client.

Equipment: Silver jewelery, goldbandana pin, boot knife (+3/damagevalue 11), Colt Peacemaker (damagevalue 15), ammunition including ninesilver bullets, incense, combustiblepowders for colored flame, the Gro-lisch Tome of Ancient Lore (not really,but an impressive enough forgery),100 Victorian Sterlings.

Arcane Knowledges: Folk +1,

Spells:

Equipment: Avro PR II. V wristgun (damage value 19), ammuni-tion, Kreelar tendon-supplements,apotheduct, rove-eye, two jaz packs,IriMesh jacket (+3/armor value 14),Paris Liberte pass.

Quote: "Moving targets are morefun. "

Skill Notes: Your tag skill is firecombat. You have cyber value 10.

Cosm: Cyberpapacy.Background: The street was iced

when the hood-and-frocks started towipe everything down. It was eeriethe way they found punks; blink andthey would be there. The street wasn'tsafe for anybody but pedestrians. Thenthings began to change. Sharps couldpick up parts, from chopshops thathad nothing to do with cars. And theparts kept getting better. When thefrocks showed again, you decided youneeded something to even the odds.So you went on the jaz, and got a littlewire-and-polish done. The frocks wentape when they first saw you, and youmade sure those frocks weren't goingto get a second look. The street's inter-esting again. Like it should be.

Personality: Rough, you like thosewo handle rough and dish it too. Yourpatience has decreased since the jaz,but you will listen to folk who aretalking sense. As long as you don'thave to sit around too long to hearthem.

Cosm: Core Earth.Background: Indonesia disap-

peared from the electronic eyes of theworld. Then New York collapsedalmost overnight, and people every-where wanted to know why. WhyParis? Why London? The whole planetwas besieged by uncertainty in thewake of the invasion of the PossibilityRaiders. You read the incoming re-ports, then decided to enter the warzones to look for answers. When youfind answers you disseminate themhowever possible, through the net-works if the machinery works, by localcouriers if nothing else. The job isdangerous, for the invaders have astrong interest in keeping the peopleof Earth ignorant as long as possible.But the people have a right to know!You have lost most of your reporter'sobjectivity they taught you in journal-ism school, for everyone is on the frontlines of the Possibility Wars in someway or another, and the people on theother side want you dead.

Personality: Brusque when youneed answers, and a skilled verbalduelist, you have developed an abilityto relate to people off the record. Youare often the only source of informa-tion people have, and you have metthe challege head on.

Equipment: News van, camcor-der, dozens of yellow pads, pens,Macintosh portable computer, Sam-sonite luggage,. 38 revolver (damagevalue 14), $700.

Quote: "The pen isn't alwaysmightier than the sword, but it canhelp someone else decide where toswing. "

Skill Notes: Your tag skill is per-suasion.

Cosm: Core Earth.Background: You rose to prominence

through the feats of your youth, a hero /celebrity for much of the nation. Asyour fame began to fade, opportunistsdecided it was time for you to moveinto politics, to act as speaker for acoalition, to coax the public into ac-cepting their agenda. You were elected,and applied yourself to the new job asyou had to everything else; you weredetermined to be the best you couldpossibly be. Your "advisors" tried tocontain you in your role as mouth-piece, but your ideas, your agenda,began to be heard. You survived youropponent's smear campaign, and someof your ideas even came to fruition.Then the Possibility Raiders tore eve-rything apart.

Now you hope to rally the people,to help them regain hope and controlof their destiny. You travel in othercountries as well, as an ambassador-at-large, reminding the world that yournation still exists.

Personality: Determined, optimis-tic, you believe the ideals of your na-tion are meant as a blueprint for ac-tion, not musty ideas to be relegated tohistory discussions. You constantlytake calculated risks, and are used towinning. You are going to win this onealso.

Equipment: business suit withkevlar lined coat (+5/armor value13), casual clothes, passport, Mac 10(damage value 18), ammunition, 10one-ounce gold bars, pen and gov-ernment stationery.

Quote: "Times which need heroesusually get the heroes they need, butprobably not the ones they want. "

Skill Notes: Your tag skill is real-ity.

Cosm: Cyberpapacy.Background: You have always ex-

celled, often to the point where therewas no meaning to the phrase, "yourpeers. " You have been alone for nearlyas long as you have achieved, at leastin the sense of true friendship. The oneor two people to whom you grew closehave been almost clinically removedby the others around you. There havebeen plenty of people eager to latchonto your work, to share the credit,and others equally eager to discredityou to save their own egos. You havetread the path between the two typescarefully.

You thrive in your work, as yourwork never deserts you and is stillimportant. But the Possibility Warshave given a new dimension to yourlife, creating a problem so large, eventsso vast, that they dwarf any of thework you have done. Somehow, thismust be your life's work. Somehowthe Wars are a key to yourself.

Personality: Quick, smart, and oc-casionally guilty at how smart you are.You take things literally, and are justbeginning to develop a sense of humorand a way of dealing with people otherthan through your work.

Equipment: SC Kyogo T11 (dam-age value 21), two extra clips, Vallechipware (3 skills/+l add each),chipholder 1, climbing cable, infra-red goggles. Cyber value 1. 125, 000franc account card.

Quote: "Cosm catastrophe foldswere just a theory, until someone elseused them to start kicking our butt. "

Skill Notes: Your tag skill is sci-ence.

Equipment: battered vehicle(choice of land, water, or air), spareparts, tool kit, welding mask, acety-lene torch, extra battery, old calen-dar, Savage 77E (damage value 18),$100 and spare change.

Quote: "Stop looking so nervous,this buggy has always held it togetherat this speed... Uh-oh. "

Skill Notes: Your tag skill is landvehicles (or air vehicles or water ve-hicles, your choice).

Cosm: Core Earth.Background: You have been called

a grease monkey since you were 12,and have been fascinated by cars,trucks, planes and boats since you werethree. You are good with vehicles, al-though you have your favorites, andmade a decent living along the smallerracing circuits. Then the muck reallyhit the fan; buggies stopped working,tractors stopped working, even canopeners stopped working. You noticedthat things worked fine when you usedthem, and you could even get themgoing again when they stopped onyou, a talent too few people have.

As you are one of the few peoplewho can keep a vehicle going, regard-less of where it is, you have entered anew line of work. You have become arealm runner, the person who getsgoods into areas which need them, orwho takes things out of an area whensomeone else needs them. The firstfew times were pretty straight hauls,but lately things have gotten prettyweird. But hey, the world's prettyweird, too. You figure you are doinggood by doing what you do best. That'sabout all you can ask out of life.

Personality: Jovial, easy going in acrisis, you are often taken less seri-ously than you ought to be. Not that itbothers you, and being underestimatedcan be an advantage sometimes. Youallow other people their pride, andyou get the results.

Equipment: broadsword(+6/damage value 15), plate armor (+6/armor value 15), holy symbol, foodpouches, worn copy of The DarkKnight.

Quote: "Faith in our mission mustnever waiver, or we have lost the firstbattle with our enemy. "

Skill Notes: Your tag skill is faith.

Cosm: Aysle.Background: You were a defender

of a lord of Aysle, one of the privilegedelite. When Uthorian's forces over-whelmed Aysle, you fought well, butwere defeated. You vaguely remem-ber your last moments, and were surethat you were going to be killed. Butyou have recently awakened in an-other world, not sure how you hadgotten there, or where "there" is. Soonyou came to realize that others likeUthorian were invading this world,that the gods have given you a chanceto fight once more. As you began ex-ploring further you discovered thatAysle itself had taken part in this inva-sion, but that dramatic events hadchanged things in your home land.Someday it may be possible for you toreturn home, and help your ownpeople as you now help those of thisEarth.

Personality: Commanding, self-assured in battle, you are less assuredwhen you put your sword down. Youare often grim, but you can be warmwhen in the company of people whomyou trust.

Cosm: Core Earth.Background: A short time ago you

only concerned yourself with shiftingthe odds in another African strugglebetween democracy and despotism.Your ethics were dutifully subordi-nate to your mission, but your honestyshone through at inappropriate times,causing problems with your employ-ers. Your employment abruptly termi-nated, you drifted north toward ru-mors of war in Egypt.

You found yourself in the strangestrevolution you had ever seen — thereturn of the Pharaoh to rule Egypt, areversion to four millenia old religionand 50 year old technology. But thetotalitarian ring of the retoric wastimeless. You fought against the revo-lutionaries; you lost. The Nile Empireonly forgives dead enemies, and youdecided you would pass on that sort offorgiveness. Since then you havedrifted from one front of the Possibil-ity Wars to another, hoping to winenough small victories to make a dif-ference in the big picture.

Personality: You survive, and youhave built your personality to enhanceyour chances of keeping your skin.You trust few people, and are alwayson guard when entering a new situ-ation. While courageous, you fiercelyresist being sucked into fighting forwhat looks like a completely lost cause.

Equipment: Uzi (damage value17),. 357 Desert Eagle (damage value16), ammunition, stolen maps of Nilefortifications, fatigues and camo gear,sunglasses, hip pouches and canteen,$700.

Quote: "Forget the song; dirtydeeds cost big bucks. "

Skill Notes: Your tag skill is firecombat.

Equipment: hrockt spear (+4/damage value 13), loincloth, musicalgreeting card, club (+3 / damage value12), TMNT tee-shirt.

Natural Tools: claws, damagevalue 13; tail, damage value 10.

Quote: "Why do so many of youwatch the fighting on that box, ratherthan become warriors yourselves?"

Skill Notes: Your tag skill is meleeweapons. Hrock spear needs a spiri-tual level of nine to function.

Cosm: The Living Land.Background: The gotak had told

you it was time for the tribe to moveonce again, and you led a party ofwarriors ahead to scout. What yousaw confused you. Other Edeinos,under direct orders from Baruk Kaah,were starving out the huge camps ofthe natives by intercepting food, ratherthan doing battle with the natives. Thegotak who told you that the soft-skinned beings of this world were al-ready dead instructed you to use theweapons of the walking dead. Theywanted you to use the captured "rifles"rather than throw your spear for theglory of Lanala. They were telling youto become like the walking dead.Troubled, you went to talk to youroptant; she seemed to understand, butthen she called for the Ravagons todeal with you. You evaded them bycrossing into the land of the dead,where some of their optants gave yousanctuary. Since then you have wan-dered in and out of the Living Land,sometimes as a guide for those whocall themselves Americans, sometimesto regrow spiritually. You know BarukKaah is doing something bad to yourpeople. You pray to Lanala that yourpeople do not become as vapid as theseEarthers.

Personality: You accept much ofwhat life gives you, choosing to am-plify the experience, good or bad, ratherthan avoid it. You find Core Eartherstoo restrained, but you have found afew new, delightful experiences out-side of the Living Land.

Quote: "Sorry punk, but you'vegot such a pretty face that my fist justhad to meet it. "

Skill Notes: Your tag skill is un-armed combat. You have only 10 skillpoints to distribute. You have a su-per-attribute, with two points addedto Toughness and one to Strength. Ad-venture cost: 3.

Cosm: Nile Empire.Background: Scum is scum, and no

matter who is in charge, the scum sticksaround the alleys and the gutters.Crime has gotten worse since the sun-loving Pharaoh took power, and allthose extra shocktroopers don't do awooden nickel's worth for the Joe onthe street. The scum prey on the Joes.You wipe off the scum. At least someof them. Then they seem to grow back,and the cycle starts again. You can'tseem to win. But if you stopped, thescum would win. And even a stinkinghole-in-the-sand city like this one de-serves better than that. So you go out,ask some question, knock a few headstogether, and things get better — untiltomorrow night.

Personality: Cynical, tough, you arerumored to have a heart of gold. But asa former secretary said, it might bethere, but it certainly isn't getting anylarger.

Equipment: Brass knuckles (+2/damage value 13),. 38 revolver (dam-age value 14) which you sometimeseven load, half a ham sandwich, operaglasses, Dentley's cinnamon gum, achecking acount with a minimum bal-ance (50 Nile Royals) and pocketchange.

Cosm: The Living Land.Background: You were not good at

stories as a child. You did not evenparticularly enjoy listening to the sha-man tell his stories. Then one day youheard the wind, and a few weeks laterthe water. They began to tell you theirstories. You listened enraptured as thewind and the water told you that itwas your destiny to tell stories, togather them from all over the lands,and plant them in the imaginations ofothers. This work is important, forpeople could find their ideals, theirworlds, through the greater truth instories. The wind murmured of theapproaching storm, the water stoodsilent. When the Possibility Wars be-gan, you knew that this was the stormyou were warned of, and that you hadto gather the stories of the world, andreseed hope in those who had lost it.

Personality: An eloquent, emotionalspeaker, you have learned how to en-tertain and how to inform throughyour stories. You believe that all goodstories contain important truth, nomatter how outrageous the story. Youenjoy your travels and the people youget to know, but the Possibility Warsare never out of sight.

Equipment: spear (+4/12), shortbow (+5/damage value 13) from CoreEarth survivor, clothes, papers, pensand tape recorder from the "deadlands", blanket, copy of Winnie thePooh.

Quote: "Time was different thenthan it is now... this is a story of thattime. "

Skill Notes: Your tag skill is charm.

Cosm: Orrorsh.Background: You had served in

Rhodeland as a Gallic Legionaire, bat-tling the "squigglies", the horrific crea-tures which threatened the few vitalcolonies on the forsaken continent.Your patrol was ambushed by a shapeshifter one night. It killed two andwounded five others, including your-self, before being driven off by silver-coated Enfield rounds. The dead weredestroyed, and four of the woundedwere later executed when the com-pany chaplain pronounced them be-yond hope. He said that you hadavoided the fate of a beast, and so werespared. The chaplain was wrong.

A month later you first manifestedan ability to shift shape; luckily youwere alone at the time. But in a societywell attuned to tracking and eliminat-ing horrors, you knew your time incivilized lands to be limited. The newcolony on Earth provided you anopportunity for as fresh a start as pos-sible.

Personality: Honorable, you stillconduct yourself in accordance withthe code of the Gallic Legion — youhave great physical and moral cour-age. But the wolf is far less civilized,and his behavior is beginning, ever soslightly, to blend with the man's.

Equipment:. 44 revolver (damagevalue 15, akin to Colt Peacemaker),ammunition, including 12 silveredrounds, spare clothes, medal from theBattle of Vender's Bog, 30 Sterlings(the remains of your last pay from theGallic Legion).

Quote: "Sir, savagery is a subject Ibetter understand than you couldever know. "

Skill Notes: Your tag skill is shapeshift. All values are presented ashuman /werewolf. So, claws —/16means that the human form cannotuse the claws, but the werewolf has avalue of 16. Each form receives 13skill points. Faith adds must be thesame for each form.

Equipment: holy symbol, woodenstake,. 44 revolver (damage value 15,like the Colt Peacemaker), fingerprintpowder of your own invention, penand notebook, 500 Victorian Sterlings.

Quote: "A conclusion is like a por-trait; it should be drawn so as to beaccurate in every detail. "

Skill Notes: Your tag skill is evi-dence analysis.

Cosm: Orrorsh.Background: The undead claimed

an older sibling when you were quiteyoung. The pain, loss, and shameexperienced by your family pro-foundly affected you. Fear, curiosity,and a desire for justice led you to delveinto every available source of mythiclore. While you were primarily inter-ested in the lore of the undead, yoursystematic, analytical mind arrayedevery fact you discovered into a usefulwhole.

You attended Holgromb's Collegeat Oxford, a college with an emphasison science. Your classmates thoughtyou odd, a perfectly valid conclusiongiven their rather pedestrian point ofview. Your career as a stalker of theundead began when you found, anddestroyed, the ghoul who had killed auniversity Don.

Personality: A brilliant, keenthinker, you are often brusque to thosewho waste your time with groundlessspeculation or mindless distortion ofthe facts. You are somewhat fright-ened of the possibility of someday,somewhere, encountering yourvampiric sibling.