RPG/Character Creation

Whether you're seeking to play the RPG with friends or simply want to build a character for fun and community interaction, this should serve as a fitting guide to creating any number of characters within the setting.

Background

The first step for creating a character is to determine their origin. From where in the galaxy do they originate? What are their goals, and personality like? Perhaps explain their fears, dreams, or unresolved traumatic memories? Maybe something is waiting for them back home, something they need to graduate to return to. Whatever the case, come up with a story yourself or talk to others to help develop an idea.

Note: Multiverse and Time Travel backstories are restricted due to setting guidelines. For alternate history, consider using an Altearth.

Name

Your character's name is entirely up to you, but some factions in the galaxy have unique naming conventions. Divine often have a "ThingDoer" surname, The original Heretic Devilings were branded with their crime as a surname, and many Mythic societies have very mystic or fantastical names in aesthetic with their origins, and the same goes for many of the factions and racial groups in the galaxy.

Don't be afraid of being on the nose, you'd be surprised how many fitting or ironic names are commonplace.

Home World

Select a home for your character to hail from. This will probably determine their history and upbringing. While Mahou Galaxy may seem like a daunting setting, the unique planets provide a wide range of potential backgrounds. Perhaps your character was lost on the Terra One disaster? A victim of the Legion War? As you continue to explore the setting, more options will become available to you, and don't be afraid to ask others for help!

Planets that have not discovered Biowarp technology are considered Watcher-Protected Planets. WPPs are patrolled by menacing Watcher vessels that forbid any alien species from contacting or landing with the society until they advance to a point of technology on par with the rest of the galaxy.

Alternatively, you may wish to create an Altearth. Altearths provide a more smooth entry to the setting as they are identical and numerous, in addition to having potentially alternate histories. This is one of the most common means of entry for new students, and most Altearths are considered WPPs.

A Map of Mahou Galaxy, notable systems highlighted.

Method of Arrival

MSF High itself resides within a pocket dimension, hidden away from the rest of Mahou Galaxy. When a person showing some form of heroic potential meets certain criteria, they can be enrolled in MSF High, appearing in Mahou City until the Ceremony of Destiny once a year, the only time when a portal back to the galaxy is opened up. Selecting one is crucial to how your character arrives at MSF High, but if your character is designed for Mahou Galaxy, this step is optional.

Near-Death Experience

The standard form of entry for new students is a magical spell performed by the world itself regularly, swooping people away just as they're about to be killed. This "Isekai" method is the most common of all, but has a set of restrictions. Firstly, the killing event must obscure the body from onlookers. Anything that would destroy the body completely is a good example of this, but most (though not all) instances of a person "dying" out of sight are valid for this. To any observers after the visual obstruction fades, the character will seem to have just vanished without a trace. Second, this method of entry only saves the character's soul, not their body, and it's likely for them to wake up as a completely different race or gender as a result.

Invitation by Entry Slip

Before the school began to recruit automatically, enrollment forms were created personally by Principal Sakura and sent out into the galaxy where they would find their way into the hands of lucky applicants. Though now a discontinued practice, and exceptionally rare, some of these entry slips still exist, waiting to be used. They appear similar to the standard Character Sheet. When filled out by an applicant and placed in the mail (Or whichever delivery service is used on your character's home planet) your character will be transported to MSF High overnight, waking in their dorm room as the race and gender specified on the sheet. While exceptionally rare, this is still a valid option for arrival. Inspired are able to make their own entry slips, but these are not guaranteed to work, especially if they hail from a planet with low or no magic.

Magical Anomaly

Rarest of all are fringe magical events that teleport your character directly to MSF High. While not unheard of as a form of entry, this is also the least likely and most open-ended. Discuss this with your GM before you commit to it.

Amnesiac

If you're having trouble deciding on a backstory, not starting with one is also an option! Amnesia among new students is a surprisingly common occurrence in Mahou City. Due to a mistake in the school's healing magic, traumatic memories are misinterpreted as open wounds and removed from the minds of new students. The intense emotional energy being split from its host and not dealt with properly will inevitably result in a Shadow, a form of monster that seeks to subdue its creator into an inescapable nightmare-coma. However terrifying this may be, a character overcoming their shadow provides a solid goal for them, and, if the GM wills it, a tremendous experience bonus. Whether you want to fill in your backstory later, or leave it up to the DM to decide how things went for you, this option provides a placeholder.

Already Home

Lastly, your character could simply be born (or created!) on campus. While the world MSF High resides in is only around 40 years old, Graduates often fall in love and procreate. This method is more common for Mecha or Elemental races.

Character Sheet

A variety of character sheets are available to customize right on your device or to print out and use in a physical game! Downloads will be linked below.

Original Sheet (.pdf) by Wraith

Alternate Sheet (.odt) by Sedra

Google Docs Sheet by Spiral

Plain Text Sheet by Sedra

Stat & Skill Allocation

See also: Skills and Stats

Strength: Physical brawn and might. Most attacks, including unarmed ones, deal strength damage.

Defense: Toughness of the body. Defense can cancel out damage as well as make blocks. Many magic opposition rolls use this stat.

Agility: Speed of the body. Fast attacks use agility, and certain weapons do agility damage. Lots of physical activities rely on this stat.

Accuracy: Senses and aim, related to speed of the mind. Higher accuracy means memories are more crisply recalled and most ranged weapons use this as an attack stat, as well as disarming attacks.

Intelligence: Your character's wits and ability to make logical connections. Many spellcasting abilities use this as their primary stat. Used to defend against distraction attacks.

Personality: The character's force of personality and willpower, allows you to use distraction-based abilities, defend against mind-influencing spells and is the primary stat for some forms of spellcasting.

To begin, start with 6 points in each stat. You have 12 points to allocate among each of these. At this stage, the maximum level a stat can be raised to is 10. Remember that your selected Race and Disposition will apply a modifier to your stats after this.

Skills work differently. You begin with Level 0 in all skills. From racial levels, you gain skill points to allocate among these. Skills affect the number of dice you roll when performing a related action. Raising a skill from Level 0 to 1 will cost 1 point, 1 to 2 costs 2 points, 2 to 3 costs 3 points, et cetera. You may not skip levels. Raising a skill from level 0 to 5 will cost 15 points as if you spent them on all previous levels. A full table of point costs is available on the Skills and Stats page.

Tip: Having a skill at Level 0 can be devastating. While it's important to focus on your strengths, investing extra points into an even spread can save you from a lot of bad situations!

To make the math easier, a helpful Skill Calculator (Kudos to Spiral!) is available here.

Race

See also: Races

Next, select a race from this list. Note that, due to the school's magical recruitment, your race may differ on arrival from what it was out in the galaxy.

Your first Racial Level is Free. Racial levels are all counted in the same pool, so leveling a second race to Level 1 would cost the same as leveling your first to Level 2.

Note that your race can be changed at any point. Transformation is quite common at MSF High, so consider yourself split between your Racial Levels and your Current Physical Race., where the former reflects your character's learned abilities and skills, whereas the latter dictates their appearance and stat modifier. Remember: Only your stat modifier and Racial Advantages and Disadvantages swap out when your race is changed. All undesired transformations revert overnight from the school's healing magic.

You may only take a level in a race while it is your current physical race, unless you possess the Inherent Bloodline Advantage.

If you wish to make a Hybrid Race, it is suggested that you take Inherent Bloodline on character creation. Do note that natural Hybrids are quite rare in Mahou Galaxy.

If a race you wish to play is not listed in the subraces of the list, use a base race! Their stats are flexible and descriptions meant to be widely applicable.

Disposition

See also: Dispositions

Next, select a Disposition that matches your character's personality. This affects your stat modifier and your resistance to spells. Like Race, your Disposition can be modified with magic, changing your stats and spell opposes with it. Remember that all undesired changes revert overnight!

If a disposition lists multiple stats side-by-side Example: Str/Def +2, Acc/Per -2 then you choose either one or the other to receive the bonus or penalty.

Advantages & Disadvantages

See also: Advantages and Disadvantages

Your character starts the game with 500 XP. You may spend this on Advantages or gain an extra starting amount by taking extra Disadvantages. Note that you may only gain up to 2000 XP this way during character creation.

Disadvantages can be bought off, but the XP cost to do so is three times the XP cost gained from taking them during character creation.

You may still spend XP on Advantages after character creation, but you will not receive additional XP from Disadvantages taken after character creation unless specified otherwise by your GM. Additionally, the GM may choose to give you an Advantage or Disadvantage due to the events of your campaign. Through character progression, the GM may also choose to offer a discount when buying off a Disadvantage provided good reason.

Facet

See also: Facets

Your character's Class, or Facet as it is known in this system, provides your character with most of their combat abilities.

Most characters in Mahou Galaxy are expected to gain at least one facet level by adolescence. Your first level in a facet is 500 XP.

You may level in multiple facets concurrently, but they must have differing skill specialties! The XP cost resets for each new facet provided its specialty does not overlap with an existing one. Example: Taking a level of Soldier while you already have Level 1 Warrior would cost as much as buying Level 2 Warrior as they share the Gym specialty, but leveling in Priest instead would only cost 500 XP, as it is your first level in a History Specialty Facet.

Remember: While you can level in as many facets as you wish, you must be able to access your levels to gain the benefit from them. Facet Level access can be acquired from either Racial Levels or Enchanted Magical Clothing.

Money & Equipment

Your character starts with $500 to spend as you desire and a free School Uniform. You may choose to spend from this pool during character creation on Clothing, Weapons, or other items, but spending time in-game to go shopping for these instead may provide you with interesting NPC encounters or a discount, if the GM provides one.

Every week, your character gains $(5*Threat Level) in allowance. See also: Allowance

Alongside the envelope containing your starting money will be a brochure introducing them to the world.

Height/Weight/Sex

Physical characteristics of your character. Most characters are medium sized, meaning between 4 and 8 feet tall, and have weights ranging from 80 to 300 pounds, but the odd-sized advantage can give you a different height(and mechanical changes to go along with it), while some subraces may specify a different average weight or height. So long as they are within reason for your character concept, they don't confer any advantages or incur any penalties. In the case of this game, the sex attribute refers to their biological gender rather than an internal one, and affects what characters may become attracted to the character. Characters may be either Male or Female, but the Androgynous advantage can allow your character to have an appearance with a hard-to-distinguish mix of masculine and feminine traits.

Preference

This describes your character's sexual preference, and determines what sorts of characters your character is attracted to. This comes into play when your character attempts to infatuate another character, or is the target of an infatuation attempt. For the purposes of this game, there are six options, as follows:

Androsexual: Your character is attracted to males. This is regardless of their own sex. They gain no bonuses or penalties to their infatuate attempts.

Gynosexual: Your character is attracted to females. This is regardless of their own sex. They gain no bonuses or penalties to their infatuate attempts.

Heterosexual: Your character is attracted to members of the opposite sex. If the character is male, they are attracted to females, and if they are female, they are attracted to males. They gain no bonuses or penalties to their infatuate attempts.

Homosexual: Your character is attracted to members of the same sex. If the character is male, they are attracted to males, and if they are female, they are attracted to females. They gain no bonuses or penalties to their infatuate attempts.

Bisexual: Your character is attracted to characters of any sex. This leaves your character vulnerable to infatuate attempts by any character who can make them, but it also gives your character a +2 bonus to any infatuate attempts they make.

Asexual: Your character is not sexually attracted to either gender. This renders your character immune to infatuation attempts, but imposes a -6 penalty to any Infatuation attempts made, and a -4 penalty to any Infuriate or Intimidate attempts.