Character Creation

You will need a character to play Saga Machine. This is the persona you adopt when you play the game, the individual you pretend to be in the game world. Before play begins, create a character using the rules below.

Overview

Character creation in Saga Machine takes place over the course of three basic steps. These establish the character’s concept, capabilities and stats. The different steps are outlined below:

Pick Geneline: Pick a geneline from the provided list, representing your character’s genetic modifications and aptitudes. This helps establish her starting stats, as well as her Edge score.
Choose Role: Your character’s role helps to determine her training and learned capabilities, as well as how she fits into the team. Select a role from the provided list, then record its associated skills and gear.
Finishing Touches: Throughout life, everyone picks up a few hobbies, specialty skills or contacts. Choose two for your character, then optionally pick a weakness, record ambitions and calculate a few scores.

Character Concept

The most important part of character creation is to begin to envision your character. Who is she? What does she do for a living? What is she good at? What does she struggle with? It is from this vision that the remainder of character creation follows.

Regardless of the vision that begins to form, two key questions to ponder are: “Who is your character as a person?” and “What is she going to do within the context of the campaign?”

If the first question is not answered adequately, what you have is not really a character, so much as a collection of stats. If the second question is not answered well, you may have an interesting concept, but otherwise might find yourself with little to do during the actual game. You should also keep in mind the type of campaign the GM is preparing.

The GM is preparing to run an action horror campaign about a criminal gang on Mars. Thinking this over, the player decides that she wants to play a genetically perfected hitman from the slums. She names him Finneus.

Genelines

Most people living in 2214 possess genes that have some amount of modification. Mods that protect against disease, genetic defects or—among spacers—loss of bone density due to microgravity are particularly common.

Gene modifications are typically applied directly to a genome before birth. Others are inherited from one’s parents. A rare few even have genes that were edited sometime after birth as a patch job.

While there are many different commercial genelines available for prospective parents to purchase, all but the most exotic or experimental fall into a broad category.

Pick Geneline

Begin by picking your character’s geneline. Each provides an array of stat values, sometimes with specific requirements, as well as a value for your character’s Edge score.

Next, assign each stat a value from the geneline’s array. The areas in which your character excels should be given the highest values, while the areas in which she is the weakest should be given the lowest. A value of 4 is the historical human average. A value of 5 is the contemporary average with gene edits taken into account. Some genelines require that you put a sufficiently high value in one or more stats. For more information on stats, see page XXX.

Finally, record the Edge score provided by the geneline. You may also optionally choose an entry on the geneline’s associated Development table to generate a life event for your character.

The available genelines are listed in the following sections.

Finneus’ player looks over the available genelines and immediately seizes on Modern Superman. She then writes down that geneline’s stat array and decides on Strength 6, Dexterity 5, Speed 8, Endurance 5, Intelligence 4, Perception 4, Charisma 4 and Determination 6. She also records that he has Edge 1.

Looking over the geneline’s table of Development Events, Finneus’ player doesn’t see any that are a perfect fit, but she decides to go with Family Feud—only instead of another family, his parents’ feud is with the corps!

Athlete Deluxe

An upmarket geneline targeted at those who want to provide their child with a genetic disposition favoring athleticism and physical capability, the Athlete Deluxe package is often purchased by those who dream of raising a future sports star or who want to make up for family genes that convey poor physical ability. As a deluxe geneline, its cost is outside the means of most parents, and as such it isn’t commonly found among manual laborers, despite its obvious applications.

Stats: [ 8, 7, 6, 6, 4, 4, 3, 3 ]
Requirement: Both Strength and Endurance must be 7 or greater.
Edge: 2

Card	Development Event
A – 2	Legal Troubles: You got into a spot of trouble with the authorities. Maybe you started running with a bad crowd, or maybe it was all a misunderstanding.
3 – 4	Mentorship: Someone during your adolescence acted as an important mentor. Maybe this was to teach you valuable skills or maybe it was more of a personal mentorship.
5 – 6	Disfigurement: An accident during your adolescence left you disfigured or scarred. This likely has had an effect on both your social status and abilities.
7 – 8	Childhood Sports: You excelled in many different sports as a child. This may have left you with a competitive personality or an overconfidence in your own physical abilities.
9 – 10	Tough Love: Your parents let you learn things the hard way. It may have been cold, but it built up your strength of will.
J – Q	Military School: You were enrolled in a prestigious military academy. There you learned discipline, the basics of tactics and prepared to one day be an officer.
K – Jo	Organ Donor: Your parents cloned you for spare organs in case they needed them. They did. You survived the procedures, but now your body is failing.

Budget Upgrade

Families who cannot afford a standard genetic upgrade for their child often opt for a budget upgrade. While not as full-featured as the standard packages, it does provide crucial protection against most common genetic diseases, as well as a modest boost to the child’s inborn capabilities. Those with a budget upgrade often lag behind their peers during development, but some take these difficulties in stride, as it drives them to work harder and focus in order to become competitive.

Stats: [ 7, 6, 6, 5, 5, 4, 4, 3 ]
Edge: 4

Card	Development Event
A – 2	Net Lifeline: There were few other children near your age around growing up, and so you had to rely on the net as your social lifeline. You may still.
3 – 4	Religious Upbringing: Not every religious person is a Serv. Maybe you were thinking of joining the clergy, or perhaps you simply went through a devout phase.
5 – 6	Witness: As an adolescent you witnessed a violent crime and quickly had to go into hiding, lest the perpetrator hunt down you or your family.
7 – 8	Early Indenture: You went into debt and were forced into a contract of indenture. Perhaps you eventually paid it off, fled in breach of contract or are still paying it off.
9 – 10	Corridor Urchin: You grew up squatting in the abandoned corridors of one of the system’s largest colonies, or on the streets of one of the cities back on Earth.
J – Q	Gang: In your adolescence, you joined a gang and participated in its petty disputes—wearing its colors and helping to patrol its territory.
K – Jo	Slum Runner: As an adolescent, you ran errands for smugglers, dodging security and drones. One day, a job went bad, and you barely escaped—others weren’t so lucky.

Celebrity Deluxe

Some prospective parents have both considerable wealth and dream of their child being a celebrity, dancer, model or similar. These parents may opt for a celebrity deluxe geneline. This upgrade provides a genetic disposition geared towards being an outgoing and charismatic individual. As a deluxe geneline, however, its cost is prohibitive for most families.

Stats: [ 8, 7, 6, 6, 4, 4, 3, 3 ]
Requirement: Both Perception and Charisma must be 7 or greater.
Edge: 2

Card	Development Event
A – 2	Friend: You had a very close friend growing up who had a major influence on your life. Perhaps you are still friends, or perhaps this turned to enmity.
3 – 4	Pregnancy: A pregnancy forced you to step into a role of responsibility during your adolescence. Perhaps it involved you, a partner, a close sibling or even a parent.
5 – 6	Popular Kid: You were one of the popular kids growing up, and were always surrounded by the adulation of your peers.
7 – 8	Child Celebrity: You gained some amount of celebrity as a child, perhaps as a cast member of a popular vid, or serving as a face of a brand being promoted by a corp.
9 – 10	Hunted: You were groomed to inherit your family’s power until you uncovered a secret you weren’t meant to see. Ever since you’ve been on the run, hunted by their security.
J – Q	Kidnaping: Held for ransom by desperate ex-employees, your family refused to pay, using you as a negotiation chip. You were rescued, but it became clear you were expendable.
K – Jo	Quarantine: A viral outbreak on your family’s private orbital left you locked inside with the infected. Security protocols failed. The only way out was stepping over bodies.

Genius Deluxe

Life is harder when you’re dumb. Some prospective parents don’t want their child going through that, so they pour considerable financial resources into purchasing an upgrade that will ensure the largest possible boost to their kid’s intelligence. This geneline does just that, providing a genetic disposition towards memory and quick learning. As a deluxe upgrade, however, it is outside the means of most families.

Stats: [ 8, 7, 6, 6, 4, 4, 3, 3 ]
Requirement: Both Intelligence and Determination must be 7 or greater.
Edge: 2

Card	Development Event
A – 2	Subcultural Rebel: You switched subcultures during your adolescence. Perhaps this was a way to rebel against your family or maybe your entire family made the switch.
3 – 4	Runaway: You ran away from home and it changed your life. Maybe you stowed away on a ship bound for space, or picked up unusual skills during your time away.
5 – 6	Missing Years: For some reason you have a large gap in your memory during your adolescence. You have no idea what happened to you.
7 – 8	Private Tutors: Your education included a private tutor who vanished one night. You later found encrypted files she left behind, with secrets about your family.
9 – 10	Corporate Creche: Raised in a corp facility, you knew no family—only training, psych conditioning and quotas. The first time you saw the sky was on a recruitment poster.
J – Q	Washout: You were one of the best—an elite student at a prestigious academy. Then you cracked under pressure, failed out and lost everything, leaving you to scrape by.
K – Jo	Special Program: Your parents signed you up for a “special program” through their corp: cutting-edge cognitive acceleration. The nightmares and other side effects were downplayed.

Groundside Standard

The single most common category of genelines, the groundside standard package provides a well-rounded set of upgrades commonly chosen by those living in a gravity well. It includes all the usual protections against genetic diseases, as well as a resistance to many transmissible diseases usually found among large populations. Resistance to environmental pollutants and modest developmental upgrades are also added into the mix.

Stats: [ 7, 6, 6, 6, 5, 4, 4, 3 ]
Requirement: Two of your physical stats must be 6 or greater.
Edge: 3

Card	Development Event
A – 2	Pet: Growing up you had a memorable family pet. It may have been an unusual species, such as an uplift, or it may simply have colored you for life as a “cat person,” etc.
3 – 4	Moved Frequently: Your family moved so frequently that you never really grew attached to anywhere. You feel restless when you remain in any one place for long.
5 – 6	Subcultural Change: Your family switched subcultures when you were a child leaving you familiar with both, but perhaps not fully part of either.
7 – 8	Many Parents: You have many parents. Perhaps they were part of a group marriage, or you were in a situation where several families collectively took care of the children.
9 – 10	Conscripted: During your adolescence, you were conscripted into the armed forces of a corp, nation-state or paramilitary organization.
J – Q	Problem Sibling: A sibling of yours repeatedly found herself on the wrong side of the law, and she attempted to involve you in her shady dealings as well.
K – Jo	Stasis Mistake: A medical debt scheme put you into stasis as a kid. You woke up years later, with everyone you knew gone and your body struggling to adjust.

Modern Superman

Genelines in the modern superman class represent the best well-rounded upgrades that money can buy. As such, they are usually only purchased for the offspring of the exceedingly rich or influential. Children with these upgrades typically excel in multiple fields, quickly surpassing their peers, and often find themselves either at the pinnacle of popularity or isolated because of it.

Stats: [ 8, 6, 6, 6, 5, 4, 4, 4 ]
Edge: 1

Card	Development Event
A – 2	Fall From Power: Initially wealthy or powerful, your family suffered a scandal that forced them down the social ladder. Its shadow may still linger over you.
3 – 4	Clone: You are a gene-upgraded clone of someone—likely someone rich or powerful. While you are your own person, this has overshadowed your development.
5 – 6	Experimental Variant: As the best that money can buy, many Modern Superman genelines are custom engineered, but they are not always without quirks or side effects.
7 – 8	Corporate Education: Your family enrolled you in the most prestigious school operated by their corp, which taught you a variety of subjects, including brand loyalty.
9 – 10	Family Feud: Your family was involved in a feud with another prominent shareholder, perhaps as the result of a past violence, a hostile takeover or failed negotiations.
J – Q	AI Companion: Raised in luxury, your only real friend was a corp-built AI companion. Then, one day, it was deleted—without warning or explanation. You never got over it.
K – Jo	Initiation Ritual: Your childhood social circle was an elite “future leaders” group. Then one night, you saw their initiation ritual—and knew walking away wasn’t an option.

Spacer’s Standard

Life in space is dramatically different from life in a gravity well. As such, the standard genelines chosen by spacers differ from those typically selected by groundside parents. While all the usual protections against genetic diseases are still included, the spacer’s standard package also includes resistance to bone degradation due to microgravity, as well as a higher tolerance to radiation. This is coupled with modest mental and developmental upgrades.

Stats: [ 7, 6, 6, 6, 5, 4, 4, 3 ]
Requirement: Two of your mental stats must be 6 or greater.
Edge: 3

Card	Development Event
A – 2	Gravity-Stunted: You grew up in a low gravity environment, making you taller and thinner than otherwise. You still feel uncomfortable in “normal” gravity environments.
3 – 4	Orphaned: You lost your parents as a child. Perhaps you were then raised by someone else in the subculture, distant family or left among the station corridors.
5 – 6	Gravity Change: A move led to a major gravity adjustment. This likely caused hardship, as you had to adapt to heavier gravity with limbs not yet equipped for it.
7 – 8	Moving Up: Your family experienced a significant leap upward in wealth. Perhaps someone landed a good corp job, blundered into fame or inherited a windfall.
9 – 10	Systems Failure: A spacecraft your family was on suffered a catastrophic failure. You made it to a lifepod. They didn’t. And you watched them suffocate in the void.
J – Q	Fringe Family: Growing up, your family was involved in some sort of rebel or fringe group, such as the Sovereign Liberation Front or Harbingers of the Divine Form.
K – Jo	Refugee: Food shortages, sabotage or fighting doomed the station or colony where you were born. When rescue arrived, it was too late. You barely escaped the horrors.

Wild Type

Those with a wild type genome don’t have any sort of gene upgrade. Instead, they simply have whatever genetic material their parents naturally provided them with. Children with this sort of genome are becoming a rarity outside of those in remote locations, the impoverished or within certain religious groups. They frequently lag behind their peers in development, and are susceptible to numerous genetic diseases.

Stats: [ 7, 6, 5, 5, 5, 4, 4, 3 ]
Edge: 5

Card	Development Event
A – 2	Net Isolation: You grew up with limited net access. As a result, you are more likely to rely on your own stored knowledge than most others.
3 – 4	Illness: An illness as a child took its toll on you. Perhaps it left you scarred or deformed in some way. This would be a good justification for a weakness.
5 – 6	Many Siblings: You have numerous siblings, and always had other children around. This has led you to either prize your alone time, or to avoid being alone at all costs.
7 – 8	Abandoned: In your adolescence you were abandoned. Perhaps your family left you when they moved, or maybe you were lost during a major conflict or natural disaster.
9 – 10	Marriage: You married early. Perhaps you were pressured into it by your family. Maybe it ended in disaster, or perhaps you are happily married still.
J – Q	Societal Fringe: Your adolescence was spent living on the fringes of society, learning how to get by without connections, a credit rating or new technology.
K – Jo	Fight Scars: You were thrown into illegal fights as a child—entertainment for rich voyeurs. You got out, but the scars remind you: win or die, no one ever fights fair.

Roles

Roles represent broad science fiction horror archetypes. They are also a way to help quickly define your character’s key strengths and responsibilities on the team. Each provides a selection of skills, as well as a package of starting gear.

Choose a Role

It is now time to pick your character’s role. Review the list on the following pages and select one. It may be worth discussing your choice with the rest of your gaming group.

Once your character’s role has been chosen, assign each of its listed skills a value from the array below. A specialization must be chosen for any skill marked with as asterisk (*).

[ 4, 3, 2, 2, 1, 1 ]

Then pick one of your chosen role’s listed gear packages and record the indicated items on your character sheet. Finally, you may optionally choose an entry on the role’s associated Training table to generate a life event for your character.

The available roles are listed on the following pages.

Finneus’ player looks over the list of roles and considers choosing either Enforcer or Operative. Eventually, she decides to go with Enforcer. She records that role’s six skills and then assigns each a value. She goes with: Athletics 3, Awareness 1, Melee 2, Projectiles 4, Stealth 2 and Streetwise 2.

She then looks through the Enforcer’s available gear packages and goes with: Ballistic Clip, P\&W Coverjack, Light Pistol. She writes that down.

Finally, she looks over the role’s table of Training Events. As none seem like a good match, she decides to skip taking one. Instead she comes up with a story about how Finneus’ parents pushed him to work against the corps, but he wasn’t good for much other than muscle.

Custom Roles

If none of the listed roles seem like a good fit for your character’s concept, the GM may allow you to create your own. Select six skills suitable for the custom role, assigning each a value from the array shown on page xxx. Then purchase two to five items of suitable gear, costing up to a total of 500¤. Keep any remaining money. Finally, decide on a name for your custom role and record it.

Narrow Archetypes

Some common science fiction archetypes are defined by proficiency in a specific, narrow field. To play a character embodying one of them, choose a role with the relevant skill, assigning it the highest possible value. Then, flavor the role’s other choices as appropriate for the archetype.

A few notes on playing some of these archetypes can be found below.

Hacker: Consider choosing the Operative, Scientist or Technician role, then prioritize the Academics (Computers) skill.
Medic: Consider choosing the Scientist or Suit role, then prioritize the Medicine skill.
Pilot: Consider choosing the Roughneck or Technician role, then prioritize the Vehicles* skill.

Drifter

Drifters survive on the fringes of society, moving between outposts and colonies, often unseen and unnoticed. Skilled at navigating harsh environments, recycling goods and living off what others toss away, they know how to avoid trouble—or stir it up when necessary. In the desolate reaches of space, their instincts are their greatest asset.

Skills: Animals, Awareness, Empathy, Stealth, Survival, Thievery

Card	Gear Packages
♠	Camera, Hand Terminal, Toolkit (Animals), 75¤
♥	Backpack, Ballistic Clip, Hand Terminal, Light Pistol, 70¤
♦	Combat Utility Knife, GPS Tracker, Hand Terminal, Survival Kit, 100¤
♣	Backpack, Flashlight, Rope, Toolkit (Thievery), Shockstick, 90¤

Card	Training Event
A – 2	Vagabond: You spent a fair amount of your early career drifting from job to job and station to station, looking for work, cheap thrills or a purpose.
3 – 4	Exiled: You were charged with a crime and, whether truly guilty or not, exiled from a particular station, nation-state or colony.
5 – 6	Indentured: An unannounced sweep left you indentured to a corp, where you were forced to repeatedly perform hard labor.
7 – 8	Remember the Dead: A fellow drifter died at your side, but before she expired, she whispered to you where she hid something of value.
9 – 10	Favored Pet: You acquired a favorite pet who may still be by your side, despite years of wandering the corridors or hopping between stations.
J – Q	Food Shortages: You went through a period without an adequate food supply. Its desperation left its mark on you.
K – Jo	On the Run: Perhaps you skipped out on a contract, a heist went bad or you broke out of jail. Regardless, everywhere to go, bounty hunters seem to follow.

Enforcer

Enforcers are the muscle of the team, specializing in combat and security. Tasked with maintaining order in lawless zones or repelling hostile forces, they excel in close-quarters and ranged combat. In the harsh, isolated reaches of the Sol system, their brutal efficiency is often the crew’s last line of defense.

Skills: Athletics, Awareness, Melee, Projectiles, Stealth, Streetwise

Card	Gear Packages
♠	Disposable Cuffs, Hand Terminal, P\&W Coverjack, Shockstick
♥	Ballistic Clip, Hand Terminal, Medikit, Light Pistol
♦	Ballistic Clip, P\&W Coverjack, Light Pistol
♣	Biomonitor, Combat Utility Knife, Hand Terminal, C3 Vac Suit, 125¤

Card	Training Event
A – 2	Corp Military: Small-scale military conflicts are a staple of corporate dealings and cultural clashes. It also pays well. You got your start doing that sort of work.
3 – 4	Security: Security services maintain order on most colonies throughout the Sol system, although some are little better than criminals. For a time, you joined one.
5 – 6	Gambling: You were involved in a high-stakes gambling match. Regardless of whether you won or lost, there were bad feelings and accusations of cheating.
7 – 8	Mutiny: After serving under an incompetent boss, those in your unit staged a mutiny. You may have participated, fought back or simply took the opportunity to walk away.
9 – 10	Suicide Mission: You were ordered to participate in a nearly-suicidal mission. You may have refused, abandoned your post or even somehow have survived.
J – Q	Patron’s Betrayal: Your unit was betrayed by your employer and left to die. While you survived, not everyone was so lucky.
K – Jo	Saved: A fellow enforcer died, saving your life in combat. You still remember her, and may have a keepsake or feel you owe her family.

Fixer

Fixers are the masters of deals and connections, thriving in the gray areas of corporate and colony law. Whether arranging discreet trades, brokering alliances or smoothing over dangerous situations, they know how to get things done. In the lawless edges of the Sol system, their network of contacts can mean survival or disaster.

Skills: Deception, Empathy, Language*, Persuasion, Socializing, Streetwise
Specializations: For Language specializations, see page xxx.

Card	Gear Packages
♠	AR Glasses, Backpack, Hand Terminal, Medikit, Translation Software, 170¤
♥	AR Implant, Hand Terminal, Stimulox, Shockstick, 25¤
♦	Combat Utility Knife, Hand Terminal, Microbug, Voice Mask, 155¤
♣	AR Glasses, Ballistic Clip, Hand Terminal, Light Pistol, 50¤

Card	Training Event
A – 2	Sales Agent: A great deal of money can be made peddling various wares to the masses. You entered the workforce as a “sales agent.”
3 – 4	Corridor Regular: You spent time garnering contacts among the workers and day-to-day people of the corridors or streets.
5 – 6	Declared Trouble: Someone in power saw your growing network of contacts as a threat and declared you a public enemy.
7 – 8	Betrayed: One of your contracts betrayed you, handing over your information to a rival gang, corp, syndicate or other foe.
9 – 10	Hard Deal: After being taken in by security, the authorities offered you a deal: rat out your contacts or face the consequences.
J – Q	Partner: For a time you worked closely with a partner, and while you eventually went your separate ways, you still owe her a few favors.
K – Jo	Silent Benefactor: A powerful but unknown figure backed your rise. One day she may call in her favor, and refusing isn’t an option.

Operative

Operatives are covert specialists, adept at gathering intelligence, infiltrating secure locations and executing high-risk missions. Whether working for corporate interests or underground movements, they thrive in the shadows, manipulating and deceiving others to achieve their objectives. In a world of shifting allegiances, their loyalty is often to the highest bidder.

Skills: Academics*, Deception, Investigation, Stealth, Streetwise, Thievery
Specializations: For Academics specializations, see page xxx.

Card	Gear Packages
♠	Disposable Cuffs, Hand Terminal, Somnitol, Shockstick, 175¤
♥	Ballistic Clip, Toolkit (Thievery), Light Pistol
♦	E-Lockpick, Hand Terminal, Magnetic Grapnel
♣	Combat Utility Knife, Disguise Kit. Hand Terminal, 75¤

Card	Training Event
A – 2	Crime Pays: Crime persists for a reason: the rewards are often worth the risks. You were involved in a criminal enterprise and gained skills from the experience.
3 – 4	Wet Work: You were offered a large sum as part of a contract to kill someone. You may have refused, may have warned the target or even accepted the offer.
5 – 6	Risky Heist: Alongside an eclectic crew, you took part in a risky heist, attempting to steal something of great value from a corp or other power.
7 – 8	Turf War: When a turf war broke out among the local criminal underworld, you were contracted to infiltrate one of the gangs.
9 – 10	Corporate Espionage: For a time you worked for a corp, digging up dirt and collecting intel on their rivals.
J – Q	Deep Cover: You spent years undercover inside a criminal syndicate, extremist cell or rival corp. Some still don’t know you were never really one of them.
K – Jo	Burned Identity: A mission went sideways, forcing you to erase your old identity. Unfortunately, the past has a way of catching up with you.

Roughneck

Roughnecks are hard-working, blue-collar specialists, skilled in heavy labor and machinery. Whether operating mining rigs or handling cargo in zero-G, they’re accustomed to tough conditions and even tougher people. When things go wrong, their brute strength and no-nonsense attitude can be the team’s saving grace.

Skills: Athletics, Melee, Socializing, Streetwise, Trade*, Vehicles*
Specializations: For Trade and Vehicles specializations, see pages xxx and xxx.

Card	Gear Packages
♠	Flashlight, Hand Terminal, Power Tool, Rope, Toolkit (Welder), 70¤
♥	Hand Terminal, Toolkit (Mechanic), C3 Vac Suit
♦	Baton, Hand Terminal, Power Tool, P\&W Coverjack, 70¤
♣	Backpack, Flashlight, Geiger-counter, Plasma Cutter, 10¤

Card	Training Event
A – 2	Miner: You worked as an asteroid miner. While much of the manual labor is automated, humans are still needed to oversee the sites, machines and surveys.
3 – 4	Grunt: Manual labor is still needed when automation is either insufficient or impossible, and you got your start doing that sort of gruntwork.
5 – 6	Artisanal Labor: Hiring manual laborers is trendy among the Former and Expret subcultures: a sign of wealth. For a time you worked that sort of contract.
7 – 8	Hard Times: Difficult times fell upon you, leaving you without work for an extended period and threatening to render you destitute.
9 – 10	Indebted: Too many bills and too few contracts left you indebted to a shady creditor, whether a cut-throat corp, criminal enterprise or mysterious benefactor.
J – Q	Religious Experience: While out performing a job, isolated in the void of space, you had what could be called a religious experience.
K – Jo	Tunnel Rat: You spent years crawling through the underbelly of off-world colonies, patching up bulkheads and leaks. Something you found still keeps you up at night.

Scientist

Scientists are the team’s experts on analyzing unknown phenomena, from bioengineered monstrosities to orbital anomalies. Equipped with cutting-edge knowledge and research skills, they provide crucial insights that often determine survival. Their curiosity drives them, but in dangerous environments, knowledge can be a double-edged sword, leading to terrifying discoveries.

Skills: Academics*, Empathy, Expression, Investigation, Language*, Medicine
Specializations: For Academics and Language specializations, see pages xxx and xxx.

Card	Gear Packages
♠	AR Glasses, Hand Terminal, Medikit, Regenasone, 150¤
♥	Disposable Test Kit, Hand Terminal, Toolkit (Biology), 150¤
♦	Data Chip, Hand Terminal, Stimulox, Toolkit (Engineering), 25¤
♣	Biometric Reader, Combat Utility Knife, Hand Terminal, Toolkit (Chemistry), 125¤

Card	Training Event
A – 2	Medical: As the human population grows, so too does the need for medics. You started in the medical field, whether as a physician, nurse or clinical researcher.
3 – 4	Breakthrough: You were on the edge of an exciting scientific breakthrough when you were immediately and inexplicably removed from the project.
5 – 6	Ivory Tower: Academia is an institution unto itself, where knowledge is passed down through teaching or publications. You spent years receiving a broad education.
7 – 8	Wealthy Patron: For a time your research was funded by a wealthy patron, but it ended on questionable terms. She may believe that she still has rights to your work.
9 – 10	Accident: There was a terrible accident in a lab while you were present. You barely escaped. To this day the circumstances seem suspicious to you.
J – Q	Plagiarism: While under considerable stress to complete a project, you were pressured to plagiarize another scientist’s work.
K – Jo	Expedition: You were part of an expedition to a remote part of the Sol system during which one or more members mysteriously vanished.

Suit

Suits are corporate representatives, diplomats or executives, skilled in negotiation and manipulation. Tasked with protecting business interests or brokering deals, they excel at navigating complex social dynamics. In the cutthroat world of corporate boardrooms and backroom plotting, their smooth talk can open doors—or conceal dangerous ulterior motives.

Skills: Deception, Expression, Language*, Medicine, Persuasion, Socializing
Specializations: For Language specializations, see page xxx.

Card	Gear Packages
♠	Biomonitor, Hand Terminal, Personal Assistant, 150¤
♥	AR Glasses, Disguise Kit, Hand Terminal, 50¤
♦	Hand Terminal, P\&W Coverjack, Radio Comm, Shockstick, 25¤
♣	AR Implant, Hand Terminal, P\&W Coverjack

Card	Training Event
A – 2	Nepotism: You got your foot in the door of your first real career through old-fashioned nepotism. It could have even been some fancy corp work.
3 – 4	Luxury and Excess: For a time you lived the high life—exclusive parties, off-world vacations, vices. Then it all came crashing down, leaving you in debt or disgrace.
5 – 6	Brushed Shoulders: You brushed shoulders with someone with true power, such as the leader of a corp, nation-state or secret project.
7 – 8	Assassination Attempt: Someone wanted you eliminated and hired an assassin to do the dirty work. Thankfully you survived.
9 – 10	Discredited: One of your corporate rivals worked in the shadows, seeking to unfairly discredit you and contributions.
J – Q	Investment: You invested in a particular venture—perhaps a new corp, expedition or colony—but have yet to see a return and communications have been opaque.
K – Jo	Project Oversight: You managed a classified corporate project that suddenly shut down. The official reason doesn’t add up, and someone is still watching you.

Technician

Technicians keep vital systems running in high-stress environments where failure is not an option. Specializing in diagnostics and repair, they handle mechanical breakdowns, electrical malfunctions and equipment sabotage. Often isolated in dangerous areas, a technician’s quick thinking and practical knowledge are essential to surviving hostile, unpredictable threats.

Skills: Academics*, Awareness, Investigation, Projectiles, Trade*, Vehicles*
Specializations: For Academics, Trade and Vehicles specializations, see pages xxx, xxx and xxx.

Card	Gear Packages
♠	Hand Terminal, P\&W Coverjack, Toolkit (Mechanic)
♥	Encryption System, Workstation
♦	AR Glasses, Hand Terminal, C3 Vac Suit, 150¤
♣	Backpack, Combat Utility Knife, Hand Terminal, Toolkit (Engineering), 125¤

Card	Training Event
A – 2	Net Work: Your early days of employment were spent on the net—either writing code, upkeep nodes or producing new content, such as AR tags.
3 – 4	Stolen Efforts: A rival technician stole your work, claiming it as her own. As a result, she was promoted, while you were kicked to the curb.
5 – 6	Trade Secret: While working for a corp or other organization, you were charged with protecting an important trade secret.
7 – 8	Fieldwork: Your employer sent you out into the field to test some of their new designs. You learned unexpected things from the experience.
9 – 10	Security Breach: A system you designed or maintained was hacked, leading to major consequences. Were you careless, or was it an inside job?
J – Q	Prototype Engineer: You helped develop a next-gen piece of hardware or software. It worked—too well. Now it’s been classified, weaponized or disappeared entirely.
K – Jo	Smuggled Parts: You helped move restricted or stolen tech past security checkpoints. You told yourself it was just business—until you saw what it was for.

Finishing Touches

By this point, your character is almost complete. All that’s left is to add some finishing touches—such as choosing a couple extras, picking out weaknesses and calculating a few scores.

If you are quickly preparing a character for a single-session game, the only necessary steps here are choosing extras and calculating scores. The rest can be easily skipped.

Choose Extras

In life, everyone picks up a few hobbies, specialty skills or contacts. It’s now time to round out your character in this way. Choose two items from the list below. The same option may be selected twice.

Contact: It often pays to know people who know people. Gain a Contact trait, specifying a specific useful acquaintance. A table of useful contact types can be found on page xxx.
New Skill: Gain either a new skill of your choice at rank 2, or three skills of your choice at rank 1. A specialization in one of the Academics, Language, Trade or Vehicles skills may be particularly appropriate.
Subculture: Society has splintered into numerous subcultures, each with their own values and support network. Gain a Membership trait, specifying the specific subculture with which you identify. A table of major subcultures can be found on page xxx.

Custom Extras

If none of the listed extras seem like a good fit, the GM may allow you to pick your own. This gives you 6 experiences to put into any stats, skills or traits of your choice.

Finneus’ player looks over the list of extras and to take Thievery 2 as a new skill, as it was the main reason she at one point considered the Operative role. She then decides that he is part of the Entro subculture, which would explain his parents’ feud with the corps.

Card	Contact	Card	Contact
A♥♦	Agricultural	A♠♣	Artistic
2♥♦	Bureaucratic	2♠♣	Celebrity
3♥♦	Communications	3♠♣	Construction
4♥♦	Corporate	4♠♣	Criminal
5♥♦	Custodial	5♠♣	Educational
6♥♦	Engineering	6♠♣	Entertainment
7♥♦	Environmental	7♠♣	Executive
8♥♦	Familial	8♠♣	Financial
9♥♦	Hacker	9♠♣	Industrial
10♥♦	Legal	10♠♣	Mechanical
J♥♦	Medical	J♠♣	Merchant
Q♥♦	Military	Q♠♣	Scientific
K♥♦	Security	K♠♣	Service
R-Jo	Subcultural	B-Jo	Transport

Cards	Subculture	Page
♠, ♥♦	Entro: Subculture that thrives on discord and is usually highly critical of authorities, social class and corporate power.	xxx
♠, ♠♣	Expret: Subculture that values aesthetics and creative expression in all things, placing a great emphasis upon forms that appeal to the emotions.
♥, ♥♦	Former: Those in this subculture often fetishize the pursuit of perfection and work ethic, and are usually associated with a higher class lifestyle.
♥, ♠♣	Ghostman: Subculture that mixes fatalism with an urgent drive to seize the day. They also tend to reject the false niceties that make up social etiquette.
♦, ♥♦	Heed: Those in this subculture exalt in having new experiences, with a particular emphasis on baser instincts and animal drives.
♦, ♠♣	Neoret: Subculture that looks back on the past, often taking inspiration from it or reinventing old traditions for the new era.
♣, ♥♦	Serv: Amalgamation of various conservative religious groups, often lumped together by the rest of society under the Serv banner.
♣, ♠♣	Techno: Subculture that prizes the seemingly inevitable march of progress, culture, and most of all, technology.

Pick a Weakness

The most interesting characters usually have some sort of weakness, whether it’s a vice, personality flaw or physical shortcoming of some kind. In Saga Machine, these sorts of flaws are represented by Weakness traits.

All Weakness traits are similar in that they are optional, have no experience cost and each present some kind of drawback. In return, when that drawback negatively affects your character in some significant way, she gains an Edge (see page XXX). In this way, Weakness traits are a good mechanism for gaining Edge during play.

A table of common Weaknesses can be found below. Full descriptions of all Weakness traits can be found starting on page XXX. While picking out one or two for your character is recommended for any game longer than a single session, doing so is optional.

Finneus’ player is a bit lost on coming up with a weakness, so she decides to flip a card and take a random Dark Secret. She draws an Ace and gets Killer, which she decides fits, even if it is a bit on the nose. For a related weakness she selects Obligation, and decides that he owes favors to a local criminal syndicate.

Card	Weakness	Card	Weakness
A♥♦	Absent-Minded	A♠♣	Allergy
2♥♦	Amnesia	2♠♣	Bad Back
3♥♦	Bad Eyesight	3♠♣	Bothersome Habits
4♥♦	Compulsive Behavior	4♠♣	Cowardice
5♥♦	Crippled	5♠♣	Doomed
6♥♦	Enemy	6♠♣	Fat
7♥♦	Flashbacks	7♠♣	Hard of Hearing
8♥♦	Honesty	8♠♣	Impulsive
9♥♦	Insomniac	9♠♣	Lecherous
10♥♦	Obligation	10♠♣	Phobia
J♥♦	Poor	J♠♣	Rival
Q♥♦	Scrawny	Q♠♣	Secret
K♥♦	Stutter	K♠♣	Suspicious
R-Jo	Ugly	B-Jo	Wanted
#### Dark Secret

Horror is filled with characters that harbor dark secrets. Some of these may be extraordinary, while others are mundane albeit no less dark. You may optionally choose a dark secret, which may inform your choice of weakness.

Card	Dark Secret
A	Killer: At some point in the past you were driven to take a human life. It may have been the life of a parent or abusive spouse. Perhaps it was the life of a business partner or extortionist threatening to expose your other secrets.
2	Drug Fiend: You are addicted to some sort of drug, to a point beyond mere substance abuse. You may have squandered your family fortune in pursuit or sweet oblivion, or even performed questionable acts to get your fix.
3	Silent Witness: You were a witness to a heinous crime, but did not intervene or inform the authorities. Coming forward now might mean the scorn of your friends or family, as well as the threat of dangerous acts by the perpetrator.
4	Blackmailer: You know the dark secret of another character—a dangerous NPC or perhaps another player character. Furthermore, you’re blackmailing her, asking your victim for a large sum or for questionable favors in return for your silence.
5	Debauched: You are addicted to sensual pleasure of some sort not looked kindly upon by polite society. You may have even led others down this path.
6	Voices: Sometimes you hear voices in your head. Sometimes they even tell you to perform terrible acts. And usually you resist, but those times you do not…
7	Plunderer: At some point in the past you stole something of great worth. You may not even realize its true value. Nevertheless, there are those who want it back, and who are not willing to forget or forgive.
8	Shady Debt: You have somehow become indebted to a questionable lender, one who will stop at nothing in order to see that it’s paid back. You may even be driven to desperate acts in order to pay it off.
9	Past Associations: At some point in the past you were a member of a terrorist organization, a cult or some other group that, were it known, would result in your scorn, and possibly danger from the group you left.
10	Sadist: You harbor an inner desire to bring harm to others, delighting in their suffering. You may regularly resist this urge, or you may secretly indulge when no one is there to catch you.
J	Expedition Survivor: You are the sole survivor of an expedition to somewhere out in the void. To put it mildly, the expedition ended in disaster, and you were forced to perform the most heinous of acts to survive.
Q	Uncanny Double: There is another person out there who looks exactly like you and who regularly sullies your good name. Perhaps she is a twin, a clone, a surgical lookalike or simply happens to have a similar appearance.
K	On the Take: Perhaps you are a spy working for a clandestine organization, or maybe you are simply corrupt. Regardless, you regularly receive payments for small hostile acts or hidden information.
Jo	Inhuman: You are secretly not fully human. You may be an escaped trans-genetic experiment, a half-synthetic construct or even someone with an AI-enhanced consciousness.

Calculate Scores

Now that your character’s starting stats, skills and traits are finalized, take a moment to calculate her derived scores.

Armor: The capability of your character to resist damage. Usually this is provided by literal armor, although some creatures have durable hides that act as armor.
Defense: The ability of your character to avoid being struck by attacks in combat. Formula: Median of Dex, Spd and Per.
Edge: How much fate favors your character. Determines how many Edge to gain at the beginning of a session. Formula: Determined by Geneline.
Encumbrance: The number of items of significant size your character can carry before being hindered by their weight or bulk. Formula: Median of Str, Dex and End.
Health: A measure of how much damage or exhaustion your character can suffer before being threatened with death. Formula: Str + End.
Lifestyle: A short descriptor of your character’s relative level of wealth, possessions and other non-liquid assets. Formula: Average.
Move: How many meters your character can move per action taken in combat. Formula: Median of Spd, End and Det.
Willpower: Your character’s ability to avoid being overwhelmed by mental effects, such as fear or paranormal compulsions. Formula: Median of Int, Chr and Det.
Sitting down to calculate Finneus’ scores, his player notes that he has Armor 3, Defense 5, Edge 1, Encumbrance 5, Health 11, Move 6 and Willpower 4.

What’s a Median?

 3. For those of you who need a refresher, the *median* value is the middle value in a series. So, for example, if you’re asked to take the median value of Str 6, Dex 7 and End 4, the median value is 6\. It’s not the highest; it’s not the lowest; it’s the middle value.

Gathering the Team

Talk to the other players and discuss how your characters know each other. Did they meet before the campaign begins or are they encountering each other for the first time? If the GM has a specific premise or type of horror in mind, it is also a good idea to discuss it with each other.

All of the players sit down and discuss how their characters know each other. They decide that they all met while locked up for minor crimes in Chi Chen, and that they’re not trying to establish a reputation in the Mars colonies.

Campaign Language

The GM, or players collectively, should select a campaign language to be the language shared by all characters on the team. When in doubt, just pick the language in which the game is being run. All player characters automatically know this language for free.

Ambitions

Think about your character’s goals and come up with both a long-term ambition and two short-term ambitions. Alternatively, the GM may assign one or more of these starting ambitions, to help hook characters into the campaign’s events from the start.

Finally, the group should work together to come up with one party ambition, which all player characters share. For more on ambitions, see page XXX.

The GM has specific plans for the campaign and decides to assign the initial party ambition once the team receives their first mission hook. The GM also gives all characters one short-term ambition: “Do something big that will help build the right kind of reputation.”
This leaves Finneus’ player with one short-term and a long-term ambition to come up with. She decides the short-term is: “Find a better gun.” She then decides that his long-term ambition is: “Find a way to escape his obligations to the Rakhimov Syndicate.”

Begin Play!

Your character is now ready for play. Submit your character sheet to the GM for approval and prepare to experience the dark future.