PANGAEA TRAIT LIST
Renamed/Altered Assets:
Steel (Cool Under Fire): Steel just sounds cool.
Craftsman (Mechanically Inclined): This one is actually kinda altered since I apply it to all Craft skills instead of just mechanical stuff.
Leadership (So Say We All): "So say we all" is just too BSG.
Renamed/Altered Complications:
Addiction: Limited to alcohol, hallucinogenic mushrooms and cannabis.
Murderer (see Convict): Convicted murderers are typically marked as murderers and exiles from their city. Usually the mark is a simple branding on the forehead and that would make it difficult to hide.
Disallowed Assets:
Anger Issues (see Vengeful)
Dogfighter: No combat aircraft or spacecraft. Duh.
Mathematician: While the science of mathematics isn't unknown or anything and there are occupations and academic pursuits that make use of it, it just doesn't impact the world of Pangaea enough to warrant an asset. I suppose I could have allowed it but it's just seems out of place to me.
Out for Blood (see Vengeful)
Shadow: No cortex or anything even similar.
Disallowed Complications:
Idealist: While it'd be a very good complication for the Pangaea world it just doesn't fit the setting IMHO. No one is an idealist like described by this asset in Pangaea.
Pacifist: see Idealist. In Pangaea pacifists just don't live very long.
New Assets:
Giant (d10): Giants are usually 7 to 8 feet tall. Opponents attacking you with a ranged weapon treat the range as one less than it is. For example an attack at short range is treated as a point blank attack (+1 skill step) and a ranged attack from long range is treated as medium range (-1 skill step). Point blank range is still point blank range though (the standard +1 skill step). On the other hand you receive +1 Attribute step to all Strength/Vitality checks (including combat rolls), as deemed appropriate by the GM. It may also provide a +1 skill step bonus in certain cases (like intimidation attempts) as the GM allows.
Mark of Cain (d12): The Mark of Cain is a birthmark that only appears on the faces (the whole face) of the firstborn sons of Cain's direct descendants so it's kinda rare. It's well known in the world of Pangaea especially in the lands populated by Cain's descendants and the evidence that you're part of Cain's extended family will usually effect how people respond to you. Usually not in a good way although most people won't risk a confrontation with someone with the Mark.
It also marks the person as someone who can claim protection from anyone seeking vengeance for any violent act they commit. This doesn't exactly stop anyone from seeking revenge or justice but just promises that they'll suffer a worse fate if they do. Bear in mind that this only protects against attempts to kill your character in retaliation for any violent deaths you cause. There are plenty of imaginative ways to punish your character for such things that don't threaten your life or even cause lasting injury.
Other than the impact it has on interaction with NPC's this applies an automatic +2 skill step Intimidation check against anyone who attempts to harm someone who bears the Mark of Cain but only if they're doing so in seeking justice for some violence you've done in the past. This applies whether the intent is to kill you or just punish you in some other way and even in other cases such as using physical force to throw you out of the city or tie you up.
In lands and cities controlled by Cain's descendants the Mark grants you a bit of social pull even if people despise you but in lands occupied by the descendants of Seth this doesn't apply at all. In those lands you can expect never to get past the city gates in most cases and probably run out villages by angry mobs with torches and pitchforks.
Nephilim (d12): Pick any two Attributes you like. This asset then applies a standard +1 Attribute step to those two attributes from here on. Think of this as a Talented asset that applies to Attributes instead. If the cost of the asset seems too high remember that this bonus essentially applies to every skill use and derived attribute that these two attributes are used with so it can impact quite a lot of actions.
Nephilim aren't recognizable from regular people in Pangaea so it has no impact on interaction with npc's or other characters unless you are known to be a Nephilim. Even then it probably won't have much impact since the Nephilim are sorta common.
Pet (d2+): This is just an adaptation of Nathan's Pet (minor) asset for my campaign. A character with this asset can still use Willpower+Animal handling/(animal type) to get their pet to do tricks as they like with the difficulty decided by how difficult the trick is. They can also still spend a plot point to take control of their pet for a short period of time. The trait value is determined by what kind of pet the character has. I'm mostly pretty general about this and as a really loose guideline I just add up the Attributes of whatever animal the player wants and then average them out. I take that and bump it up one step to get the value of the trait. I don't think I would recommend that method for any other GM but it works fine in our case for Beckah's pet monkey.
New Complications:
Black Widow (d4): Primarily a roleplaying trait but the GM may require Willpower checks if an easy mark presents itself. It can also effect any romantic relationships the character may get themselves involved in since they'll feel compelled to take advantage of such a relationship to make money for the guild.
The Black Widow complication has a bit of a long description attached to it that I might give later but the basic stuff is that there's a "guild" of prostitutes with guildhouses in just about every city in Pangaea who recruit (kidnap) pretty young girls and brainwash them into a sort of cult. These girls are trained in all the dark arts of a Pangaea's kinda sorta version of a companion's guild. But these "companions" aren't socially accepted or respected and are well known and hated. It's given as a complication because those poor girls caught up by the guild are basically compelled to make money for the guild by robbing their customers. High ranking prostitutes in the guild even marry rich or influential men and spend years funneling their wealth into the guild until they're found out. Most of the characters with this complication just have the compulsion to seduce and rob others and give the money to the guild. A large part of the complication for this compulsion is that black widows are trained to kill their victims after robbing them in most cases (in order to reduce the chances of being caught or tracking them back to the guild).
Black widow characters are still expected to pay dues whether they're "working" or not so most will feel compelled to practice their primary occupation even if the player character is busy adventuring or on some quest or other.
Curious (d4): Whenever you come across a unknown or a novelty you just have to stop and figure it out. Even if it's dangerous you feel compelled to examine new things and investigate mysteries. A person with the Curious complication will want to examine a new creature even if it's dangerous or figure out who murdered the local constable even if the person responsible is likely to come after them. Figuring out or studying a new thing will almost always trump any danger inherent to it.
Death Wish (d4): You want to die for whatever reason but in a specific way. Why your character has a Death Wish should be clearly defined between you and the GM and the your character's generally preferred method of death should too. Most characters with a Death Wish may want to "go out in a blaze of glory" or in some self-sacrificing act of heroism but whatever general death wish you choose it should be somewhat specific. The character isn't exactly suicidal but they do value dying in a certain way or under certain circumstances to the extent that the instinct for self preservation just doesn't apply.
Impulsive (d4): This is primarily a roleplaying complication. Your character prefers to act immediately instead of wasting time contemplating consequences. They don't make plans or utilize tactics and instead much prefer solving a problem right away with direct action. This will often get your character into trouble and probably the rest of your player character group too.
Oath (d2+): Primarily a roleplaying trait but Oaths are taken very seriously in the world of Pangaea. A character who has taken an oath will feel compelled to carry it out whether or not doing so will be difficult or dangerous (so the GM might call for Willpower checks in some situations). This complication is pretty diverse and it's value will depend on what oath your character has taken. How inconvenient it is and how often it is likely to come up in the game both effect the level so you'll have to work with the GM on this one.
Vengeful (d2-d8): Not exactly a new complication really. I just sewed Anger Issues and Out for Blood together since they have this natural progression it seems to me and the two complications are so similiar that they just bother me. Other than that there's really no change to either complication and it just applies the roleplaying impact of Anger Issues to Out for Blood. Also a d2 level of Vengeful can still impact a character's behavior against their will as Out for Blood can.
- Home
- Leave us a note!
- Marvel Heroic Roleplaying
- Star Trek (Decipher)
- Our Atomic Highway Campaigns
- Our D&D Campaigns
- Our Cortex: BSG Campaigns
- Our Cortex: Serenity Campaigns
- Cortex: Supernatural campaigns
- Our Cortex: Homebrews
- Our D20 Modern Campaigns
- Atomic Highway resources
- D&D Resources
- Cortex: BSG Resources
- Cortex: Serenity Resources
- Cortex: Supernatural Resources
- Cortex: Homebrew Resources
- Cortex: Homebrew Campaigns and Settings
- Cortex Adventures
- Miscellaneous