Character Creation
Character creation in this sense doesn't mean a completely new character from scratch, but actually just stands for this portion of setting up your character with his fighting skills and maneuvers during the creation process.
Below are the steps to setting up the process. It's pretty simple so there should not be much in the way of confusion.
Purchasing Combat Maneuvers
Characters get the Basic Maneuvers for free. Anyone can use these without problems of any kind. Other Combat Maneuvers are purchased with Power Points. The cost of a maneuver can be found in the maneuver's description.
A character's Abilities define how many Power Points she has to work with, as follows:
-- For every dot in Athletics, a character gains 2 Power Points with which to purchase Athletics-based maneuvers.
-- For every dot in Brawl, a character gains 2 Power Points with which to purchase Brawl-based maneuvers or Tooth & Claw maneuvers (except Pounce, which is purchased with Athletics Power Points).
-- For Akashic Brothers, who purchase Do instead of Brawl: for every dot in Do, a character gains 2 Power Points with which to purchase Brawl-based maneuvers and another 2 Power Points per dot to purchase Do-based maneuvers. They also use Do in place of Brawl for the various rolls associated with combat.
-- For every dot in Dodge, a character gains 2 Power Points with which to purchase Dodge-based maneuvers.
Power points gained from an Ability can be used only to but maneuvers based on that Ability. Thus, Brawl points cannot be used on Athletics maneuvers, and so on.
Freebie points and experience points can also be used to purchase maneuvers. Whichever way the player choses to buy them, it's still the same...(Power Points X 4 experience points or freebie points).
A character does not have to spend all their Power Points...they may hang on to them to save up for more potent maneuvers, and so forth. If that's not the case, and you're just not interested in buying more maneuvers, you don't have to. They may be "cashed in" for freebie points instead to use on other things. One extra freebie point for every four
Power Points cashed in. NOTE...this does not apply to those who have bought maneuvers and have points left over. This is meant towards all the Power Points. Thus, you either purchase the maneuvers and forfeit this concept, or you use the Power points towards maneuvers.
If a character's Athletics, Brawl, Do, or Dodge abilties increase after he intially buts Combat Maneuvers, he gains the extra Power Points. For example, if a character has Brawl 2, he gets 4 Power points initially. Several games later, he purchases another point in Brawl, giving him Brawl 3. With that new point, he acquires the two Power Points as well,
thus giving him more to purchase further maneuvers.
Purchasing Weapon Skills and Maneuvers
A character's ability to use hand-to-hand weapons such as swords, knives, clubs, and so forth...is utilized by the Melee skill. This affects the character creation process in two ways:
-- For every dot in Melee, a character may choose 1 Weapon Technique. These techniques define what types of weapons he is skilled at using and what types he knows little about.
-- For every dot in Melee, a character gains 2 Power Points with which to purchase Weapon Maneuvers.
Melee only deals with hand-to-hand weapons. The Firearms skill covers the use of all sorts of guns and related weapons. For every dot in Firearms, a character may choose 1 Firearms Technique. There are no Firearms-based combat maneuvers however.
If you want your character to be more familiar with weapons, then it's possible to purchase extra techniques in either area. Each additional technique costs 1 freebie point or 2 experience points.