Character Generation

AbilitiesAbility RanksRace SelectionPoints to SpendMeritsFlaws & Advantages

How Do I Make a Character?

TI 9.1 has some revised character generation rules, based on those designed for Season 10.  This will be their trial run so please bear with any oddities, and do make sure to share your thoughts about weaknesses or potential improvements.

Before jumping into the gritty details, remember that one of the goals of 9.1 is to create characters that can become interesting NPCs in a future full season.  Keep this in mind when imagining the abilities and back-story of your character, as you may want to follow a different style of development or story arc than for a regular player character.

One final note: no experience points will be awarded for characters this season, the miniseries will be too short for that.  Instead, you will receive a few bonus points during character generation to ensure that your character is sufficiently powerful to make waves in the TI universe right from the start.



The five basic character abilities have not changed.  They are:

Ability Ranks

Ability scores now range from 0-20 in order to allow for more variation among high-level characters.  The progression within any particular ability may be summarized as follows:

Note that, during character creation, you may not raise an ability score above rank 10.  The higher ranks are meant for experienced player characters and NPCs.  Since we are not dealing with experience points in the miniseries, your character will not have this option.

Race Selection

The basic character template starts with no merits and a rank of 1 in each ability score.  Each potential character race then has a different set of modifiers which are applied to these basic stats.  The same races are available in 9.1 as were in previous seasons.  They have the following modifiers:

Points to Spend

After applying the racial bonuses, every player receives a few extra points with which to buy ability ranks or merits.  These are:

Remember to spend any extra merit points that you may receive as part of your racial bonus!


Merits are external advantages that a character may call upon (as opposed to the internal advantages of abilities).  Things like money, titles, or slaves are merits.  The standard merits and their point costs are as follows:

Political Influence: Deference given to a character by various factions.

Political Power: Direct personal control within a government.  May also come with actual responsibilities.

Military Rank: An actual commission in the military service of your choice.

Military Unit: A military commission and the operational unit to go with it!

Personal Strike Group: A special forces team under your personal command.

Industry or Business: The profits of a sizeable corporation accrue to your bank account and you may gain some useful information.  But beware of regulation and competition.

Black Market and Organized Crime: Same as a legal business, but with more people trying to arrest and/or kill you.

Membership: You're a member of a political party or other private association.  This gives you some benefits short of full control, but also comes with responsibilities.

Leadership: You control a political party or other private association.  This may let you wield significant power, but remember that your people are counting on you.  x2 cost to supply your members with military or other special equipment.

Special Project: You manage a special project for a government or organization.  This may be a weapons research program, or something more sinister.  Usually, but not necessarily, secret.

Money: You have substantial savings, some of it in hard currency.

Civilian Spacecraft: A personal transport among star systems.  Full crew included.  Light armaments might clear space debris or discourage pirates, but don't take these into a fight and expect them to survive.

Warship: A ship with military grade weapons and armor.  Standard equipment for pirates, privateers, and naval captains.  Operated by your very own crew of sailors or cutthroats.

Items: One of your personal possessions is a powerful magickal artifact or technological device.

Contacts: Information flows to you from a wide network of sources.

Allies: Someone who shares your interests or goals.  The strength of their loyalty depends upon the price.  x1 cost for an associate with their own agenda, x2 for a friend who likes you well enough, x3 for a good friend who'll never abandon you, x4 for a blood brother who'll die in your stead.

Slave: That may not be the legal term for it these days, but thanks to blackmail, extortion, or simple intimidation you own someone.  Be careful to never give them an opportunity to change that relationship.

Henchmen: You employ a few NPCs of average ability.

Flaws and other Attributes

Merit points may also be spent or gained from other inherent character attributes.  These will require special consideration and approval by the moderator, but just about anything should be possible, for the right price.

Some examples of positive attributes may be:

It is also possible to give your character Flaws, which weaken the character in some way, in exchange for bonus points to spend on attributes or other merits.

Some possible flaws might be:

That's everything!  Contact the moderator or post on the web forum if you have any questions.  Remember to have your character proposal submitted by August 15.  Have fun!