“To Know Who You Are, First Choose What You Believe”
“Faith is not a thing which one ‘loses,’ we merely cease to shape our lives by it.”
— George Steiner, Real Presences (1989)
“The strongest oaths are straw to the fire i’ the blood.”
— William Shakespeare, The Tempest (1610)
In most RPGs, a character is defined by numbers: hit points, attributes, powers. In The Veiled Age, an explorer is defined by what they believe.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, identity was rarely “personal.” It was ideological. Protestant or Catholic, mystic or mechanist, royalist or iconoclast – beliefs decided what you could see, what you feared, and even what you could touch. In this world, belief is not just narrative color. It is the operating system of reality.
Explorer Creation at a Glance
Explorer creation proceeds through eight steps:
- Roll ability scores
- Choose a Path (ideological origin)
- Choose a Class (tactical role)
- Choose a Background (culture & language)
- Select one Tier-1 Hidden Truth
- Record Veilmarks
- Determine starting gear
- Flesh out personal details
Step-by-Step (What You Actually Get)
1. Assign Ability Scores
Roll 4d6, drop the lowest, six times. Assign freely to STR, DEX, CON, INT, WIS, CHA. The average score is about 12–13. Standard modifiers apply (10–11 = +0, 12–13 = +1, etc.).
2. Choose a Path (ideological origin)
Your Path fixes your starting orientation along the world’s two axes: Spiritual ↔ Material and Authoritarian ↔ Libertarian. Paths grant:
- +1 to a specific ability
- +1 Veilmark on the matching axis
- One Save Focus ([T]rauma, [H]azard, [S]ubversion)
Example highlights:
- Mystical → +1 WIS, +1 Spiritual, Subversion Focus
- Crafty → +1 INT, +1 Material, Hazard Focus
- Disciplined → +1 STR, +1 Authoritarian, Trauma Focus
- Wayward → +1 DEX, +1 Libertarian, Hazard or Subversion Focus
Choosing a Path is already transformative: you begin with one Veilmark, a scar on the soul that shapes what you can perceive and what perceives you.
3. Choose a Class
Your Class defines how you approach conflict and discovery. Options: Warden, Hand, Survivor, Speaker, Scholar, Guide. Each grants:
- Hit Die and 1st-level hit points (minimum = die’s average + CON mod, never below 1)
- One Ability Focus (+2 on rolls with that ability)
- Unique class abilities and class-shaped gear
Examples of class abilities:
- Warden (STR, d8): act before initiative once per day; can fortify allies’ position before combat.
- Hand (DEX, d6): automatic crits from surprise; advantage on locks and traps.
- Survivor (CON, d10): ignore one poison/disease per day; allies ignore one fatigue effect.
- Speaker (CHA, d6): rally or demoralize once daily; advantage on tense persuasion.
- Scholar (INT, d4): reveal enemy weaknesses; identify relics or tech.
- Guide (WIS, d4): force a failed save reroll once per day; ask the Veil Keeper (VK) a true yes/no about the safest course.
4. Choose a Background (culture & language)
Select or roll a cultural origin. Each grants one language (INT 12+ allows more). Backgrounds carry narrative weight: factions, faith, and contradiction.
5. Select a Hidden Truth (Tier-1)
Before play begins, your explorer has already survived one revelation. Each Tier-1 Truth grants:
- A permanent boon
- +1 Veilmark along its ideological axis
Example: THE DEAD ARE NOT QUIET → once per rest, you may ask a corpse one yes/no question; +1 Spiritual.
6. Record Veilmarks & Worldviews
Track Veilmarks along both axes (0–4). Your starting Path and Truth already push you into alignment. Veilmarks govern faction reactions, relic resonance, and access to higher Truths. They are not optional. They are your metaphysical fingerprint.
7. Determine Starting Gear
All explorers begin with basic adventuring kit: backpack, tinderbox, torches, waterskin, rations, and 3d6 pieces of eight (pc). Roll for class-shaped gear: armor, weapons, and a unique tool (e.g., thieves’ tools, holy symbol). Alternatively, roll 4d6×10 pc and shop.
8. Personal Details
Record name, pronouns, origin, and an ideological contradiction—a secret belief, doubt, or hypocrisy the VK can press during play.
What You Start Play With (Level 1 Snapshot)
- Two Focuses: one Save Focus from Path, one Ability Focus from Class (both at +2).
- Hit Points: Class Hit Die (min. average) + CON mod (min. 1).
- One Hidden Truth: boon active, +1 Veilmark recorded.
- Veilmarks: from Path and Truth, shaping initial worldview.
- Languages: from Background (extra if INT ≥ 12).
- Gear: basic adventuring kit + class gear (or rolled wealth).
Why This System Exists
Advancement in The Veiled Age is not just mechanical. You don’t siply level up. You diverge and develop.
When your Allignment and your discovery of Hidden Truths collide, you will suffer fractures that rewrite your affiliations, shift your Veilmarks, and alter how the world treats you. It is not growth. It is unraveling.
“Truth does not change because it is, or is not, believed by a majority of the people.”
—Giordano Bruno
Sources of inspiration include Burning Wheel’s belief-driven arcs, Unknown Armies’ psychological mechanics, mystical texts on Gnosis and exile, and early modern crises of faith.
You do not build an explorer. You chart their wounds, their faiths, and their contradictions – and see which ones survive contact with the world.
“She was either a witch or a woman of God.”
—Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic (1971)
Explore creation is a declaration of what you think the world is – and an invitation for the game to prove you wrong.
Coming Soon: Design Diary #4: Ideological Axes