Character Creation Guide

For New Players of Survival Skool RPG

Character Creation
📜 Table of Contents

Welcome, Survivor

This guide will walk you through building your first character step-by-step. By the end, you'll have a unique survivor ready to face whatever horrors await.

What You'll Need: This guide, a character sheet (provided by your GM or use the online sheet), and about 30-45 minutes. The digital character sheet calculates most values automatically!

What Makes a Character?

Your character is defined by four key elements:

  1. Attributes — Your natural abilities (strength, reflexes, intelligence, etc.)
  2. Skills — What you're trained to do (combat, stealth, medicine, etc.)
  3. Traits — Special abilities that make you unique
  4. Derived Stats — Numbers calculated from your attributes (Tolerance, Speed, Movement)

1 Character Concept

Before diving into numbers, think about who your character is. A clear concept will guide all your choices.

Ask Yourself:

Example Concepts
  • "A streetwise enforcer who's not too bright but can take a punch"
  • "A brilliant field medic who freezes up in direct combat"
  • "A charming con artist who's too clever for their own good"
  • "A priest who investigates supernatural mysteries despite his fear"
Write a one-sentence concept at the top of your character sheet. This will guide all your mechanical choices!

2 Distribute Attribute Points

You have 150 points to distribute among 5 attributes.
Each attribute must be between 15 and 45.

The Five Attributes

💪 BRAWN
Physical strength and power. Lift heavy objects, hit hard in melee, intimidate with presence. Affects carrying capacity, Tolerance, and melee damage.
⚡ NERVE
Reflexes, coordination, and precision. Quick reactions, accurate shooting, nimble movement, steady hands. Affects initiative and finesse skills.
🧠 BRAINS
Intelligence, knowledge, and reasoning. Solve puzzles, recall information, understand machines, diagnose illness. Affects all technical skills.
❤️ HEART
Empathy, social connection, and emotional intelligence. Read emotions, persuade others, lie convincingly, provide comfort. Affects all social skills.
🔥 GUTS
Instinct, courage, and mental endurance. Face danger without flinching, survive harsh conditions, trust your instincts. Affects Tolerance and Speed.

Distribution Strategies

Balanced Character (All 30s)

Jack-of-all-trades, master of none. Good for first-time players who want flexibility.

Brawn
30
Nerve
30
Brains
30
Heart
30
Guts
30
The Enforcer "Brick"

A streetwise enforcer who's not too bright but can take a punch.

Brawn
42
Nerve
28
Brains
18
Heart
22
Guts
40
The Field Medic "Dr. Chen"

A brilliant field medic who freezes up in direct combat.

Brawn
20
Nerve
35
Brains
45
Heart
35
Guts
15

3 Calculate Skills

Skills determine what your character can do. Each skill combines two attributes:

Primary Attribute (full value) + Secondary Attribute's Tens Digit = Skill Value
Example Calculation

Dr. Chen's Medicine Skill:

  • Primary: Brains 45
  • Secondary: Heart 35 → tens digit = 3
  • Medicine = 45 + 3 = 48

The 18 Skills

Skill Formula What It Does
Athletics Brawn + Guts÷10 Running, jumping, climbing, swimming, feats of strength
Combat Brawn + Nerve÷10 Attacking with weapons (melee and ranged)
Coercion Brawn + Heart÷10 Threats, intimidation, instilling fear
Sneak Nerve + Guts÷10 Moving unseen, hiding, covering tracks
Gymnastics Nerve + Brawn÷10 Balance, tumbling, dodging, grace under pressure
Spot/Listen Nerve + Guts÷10 Noticing details, sensing danger
Legerdemain Nerve + Brains÷10 Sleight of hand, pickpocketing, lockpicking
Examine Brains + Guts÷10 Searching for clues, analyzing evidence
Knowledge Brains + Brains÷10 Education, memory recall, academic learning
Mechanics Brains + Brawn÷10 Building, repairing, understanding machines
Medicine Brains + Heart÷10 Treating wounds, diagnosing illness, surgery
Cajolery Heart + Brains÷10 Persuasion, negotiation, inspiring others
Deceit Heart + Nerve÷10 Lying, disguise, misdirection
Empathy Heart + Heart÷10 Reading emotions, understanding motivations
Insight Heart + Guts÷10 Reading people, detecting lies
Reflex Guts + Nerve÷10 Quick reactions, dodging, initiative
Survival Guts + Brawn÷10 Wilderness navigation, enduring harsh conditions
Occult Guts + Brains÷10 Supernatural knowledge, rituals, forbidden lore
Remember: Higher skill numbers are better! When you roll, you want to roll equal to or below your skill value to succeed.

4 Choose Traits

Traits are special abilities that make your character unique. You get a number of traits from each attribute equal to that attribute's tens digit.

Attribute of 42 = 4 traits from that category
Attribute of 28 = 2 traits from that category
Brick's Trait Allowance
  • Brawn 42 → 4 Brawn traits
  • Nerve 28 → 2 Nerve traits
  • Brains 18 → 1 Brains trait
  • Heart 22 → 2 Heart traits
  • Guts 40 → 4 Guts traits

Total: 13 traits

Sample Traits by Category

💪 Brawn Traits
Brawler: -10 to Combat when fighting unarmed • Intimidating Physique: -5 to Coercion when your physical presence is visible • Strongback: -5 to Athletics when lifting or carrying heavy objects
⚡ Nerve Traits
Quick Draw: -10 to Combat for initiative or drawing weapons • Silent Step: -10 to Sneak when moving slowly • Dodge Roll: Once per turn, roll Gymnastics to evade a successful attack
🧠 Brains Traits
Surgeon's Precision: -10 to Medicine when performing surgery • Mechanical Genius: -10 to Mechanics when repairing machines • Speed Reader: -10 to Knowledge when researching from texts
❤️ Heart Traits
Silver Tongue: -10 to Cajolery in social negotiations • Charming Liar: -10 to Deceit when lying face-to-face • Empathic Connection: -10 to Empathy when reading emotional states
🔥 Guts Traits
Fearless: -10 to Reflex/Survival when facing fear or horror • Pain Tolerance: -10 to Survival when wounded • Combat Reflexes: -10 to Reflex during active combat
Important: Negative numbers are GOOD in this system! "-10" means you subtract 10 from your roll, making it easier to roll under your target and succeed.
⚠️ Negative Traits (Optional)

You can take up to 3 negative traits. Each one gives you +2 Fortune at the start of every session. Fortune lets you turn failures into successes!

Examples: Phobia (+10 to rolls when confronting it), Coward (+10 in direct danger), Old Injury (+5 on specific rolls), Haunted (+5 to Occult but disturbing visions)

Negative TraitsFortune/Session
0 traits0
1 trait2
2 traits4
3 traits (max)6

5 Calculate Derived Stats

These values are calculated automatically from your attributes:

🛡️ TOLERANCE
(Brawn + Guts) ÷ 10, round UP
Your resistance to injury. Damage must meet or exceed this to cause an injury.
⚡ SPEED
(Guts + Nerve) ÷ 10, round UP
Initiative order in combat and how quickly you can act.
🏃 MOVEMENT
Speed × 5 feet
How far you can move in one turn (~3 seconds).
🎒 CARRYING
Brawn × 3 (functional)
Brawn × 5 (max)
Weight you can carry without penalty vs. total limit.
Comparison: Brick vs. Dr. Chen
StatBrickDr. Chen
Tolerance(42+40)÷10 = 9(20+15)÷10 = 4
Speed(40+28)÷10 = 7(15+35)÷10 = 5
Movement7 × 5 = 35 ft5 × 5 = 25 ft
Carry (functional)0-126 lbs0-60 lbs

Brick can shrug off most hits and carry a lot of gear. Dr. Chen is fragile but has steady hands for surgery.

6 Starting Equipment

Your GM will tell you what equipment you start with based on the campaign setting and your character concept.

Loadouts

The character sheet provides Loadouts — quick equipment lists based on character type and tier. Loadouts make it easy to gear up your character without selecting every item individually.

Ask your GM which tier is appropriate for your campaign before selecting a loadout. Some campaigns start with basic survival gear, while others allow more advanced equipment.

Typical Starting Gear

If not using loadouts, typical starting equipment includes:

7 Character Details

Bring your character to life with personal details:

You can upload a portrait image to your character sheet! This will be visible to your GM and other players during game sessions.

Character Notes & Background

The character sheet includes a Character Notes & Background section. Use this space not only for your character's backstory, but also for personal campaign notes and reminders — important NPCs, locations, plot points, or anything you want to remember during sessions.

You're Ready!

Congratulations! You've created your first Survival Skool character. Remember:

📝 Create Your Character Now