You participate in a war. The war could be as large as a formal military action between two or more governments or as personal as a war your friends and you declare on a crew of pirates. You could participate in the war as a mercenary, a soldier, or just as someone with a cause worth dying for. This Story Path represents time spent preparing for and participating in a violent conflict that influenced your life and is for people who want to explore characters who take up arms to uphold a cause or make a living.

1st Event: Pick a Fight and Side

Completion: You complete this event when you reach the war zone of your intended Battle. If your conflict is with a small group of mobile people (like a ship of roving pirates), you need only get within a day’s Travel of them to complete this event. There is also the possibility that instead of choosing a conflict, a conflict chooses you.

Reward: Increase the die size of one of your Physical Skills by 1.

2nd Event: Recon

Completion: You complete this event when you learn a piece of information about your enemy that helps you in your upcoming Battle. This information can be gained through deception, hacking, spying, interrogation, or any other means. The information could be about your enemy’s number of troops and resources or could provide you with a weakness they have.

Reward: Increase the die size of your Computers, Deception, Perception, Presence, Skullduggery, or Stealth skill by 1.

3rd Event: Prepare for War

Completion: You must ready your Equipment and get any allies entering the Battle with you ready for war. This preparation could include meditation, communicating with loved ones, or completing rituals for luck before a fight. You complete this event when you have concluded your preparations.

Reward: Select one Nova ability from your Species.

4th Event: Ready…Fight!

Completion: You complete this event when the Battle you’ve been preparing for is done. You could win the day, go down swinging, or retreat to fight another day. In all cases you learn a valuable lesson in the violence that you carry with you forever.

Reward if you win the battle: Increase the die size of your Athletics, Melee, Power, or Ranged skill by 1.

Reward if you go down swinging: Gain the Battle-Scarred special ability. You can make a skill roll as an action during Combat to impose a minor negative condition on one creature within 1 square. If you complete this Story Path a second or greater time and you go down swinging again, select one special ability from your Species.

Reward if you retreat: Gain the Move Fast, Stay Alive special ability. Whenever you begin your turn within 1 square of at least one enemy, you increase your normal speed by 3 squares. If you complete this Story Path a second or greater time and retreat again, select one special ability from your Species.

5th Event: Tend To Your Wounded

Completion: Your Battle is over, but its scars linger. To complete this event you must help heal any allies who lived through the Battle, repair damaged Equipment, clean yourself up, and take time to reflect on your experience either alone or with friends in a way that makes sense for you (e.g. a quiet dinner, a night out on the town, time spent meditating, or a debrief meeting).

Reward: Increase the die size of your Engineering, Knowledge, or Medicine skill by 1.