Backgrounds and Mission Statements

Backgrounds: A character’s background describes their personal history, upbringing and formative experiences before play begins. Typical backgrounds may include details such as family, culture, education, hardships, and pivotal events that shape worldview and personality. By default, your background may have you adored by some factions but hated by others, so be careful what you share in the early days of adventuring. Your background is a foundation for roleplay, providing depth and context, and may include features like quests and missions involving; family ties, prior occupations, secrets, and cultural influences.

Mission Statements: Every character has a mission statement which is a central goal or driving force in life. This could be revenge for a past wrong, a pursuit of freedom, devotion to a cause or deity, ambition to become a leader, the search for lost family, or any other core motivation. Your mission statement guides your character’s journey, shapes choices, and provides meaning to their decisions and actions. It can evolve over time as the character grows, and is a powerful tool for shaping narrative and roleplay.

Prestige and Legacy

Prestige in SorC measures your character’s identity, reputation, and ultimately their legacy. Prestige develops through your choices, actions, accomplishments, and even failures. It determines how NPCs, creatures, and other players respond to you, whether with respect, fear, admiration, or hostility. Your character’s profile (appearance, race, class, attire, reputation and bg) is the world’s first impression, but Prestige developes as you play.

Stance: Stance represents your relationship and standing with various factions, cultures, and organizations. High stance with a group brings favor, while low stance can mean suspicion or trouble.

Alignment: Your character may be Lawful, Neutral, Evil, or anywhere in between, and this alignment influences behavior and how you are perceived.

Discipline: Discipline describes your position on religion, ranging from Ambivalent, Asmodeun, Moralis, Naturality, or Norkal, to other faiths and philosophies. Discipline paths can have prerequisites like alignment, pilgrimages, or academic study.

Politics: Your stance on politics, be it indifferent, ambivalent, partisan, or centrist, can affect affiliations and opportunities.

Prestige is not always chosen directly, but is shaped throughout your character’s journey. Affiliations and associations require earning faction stance and reputation through actions, quests, and choices. Titles; “Heroic”, “Villainous”, or “Shamed” are earned or assigned, each with positive or negative values, and can be highlighted or swapped as your character’s story unfolds. Shamed titles may dissipate with good deeds or become harder to remove with continued wrongdoing.

Prestige affects your character’s appearance: heroes may gain radiant features, while villains show signs of corruption. Titles and achievements, such as Dragon Slayer or Master Alchemist, bring recognition and bonuses. Conversely, negative actions may earn infamous titles like Frog Skinner or Elder Thief, which influence interactions and consequences in play.

Legacy is the lasting impression your character leaves on the world, built from years of play and accumulated Prestige. Legacy persists beyond your character’s lifetime, reflected in stories, records, and the world’s memory.

Recognition, reputation, affiliation, and association all play a part in your character’s Prestige and Legacy, shaping the opportunities, challenges, and relationships encountered throughout your journey in SorC.

Exploration

Traverse 13 planets in an odd world with a life-sustaining and magic-emitting main sun, Adoria, and its sister, the dying star Tawdry Dwarf. Each planet features a gate to its own hell domain, found in throne rooms of extravagant labyrinths. Exploration is not just travel, but discovery, challenge, and encounter with the unknown.

Standing

Standing reflects a character’s conscience and moral compass, based on alignment, religion, and politics. It evolves as you interact with the world, face dilemmas, and choose sides in great conflicts.

Home & Family

Your home and family are more than just mere flavor. They're a living part of your story and your character’s legacy. Track your home and family details in your journal, whether you possess a humble tent, a wagon, a bungalow edged in the shallow waters of a foggy swamp, a modest village hut, or a sprawling mansion on a grand estate. Some adventurers travel light, carrying their lives in a pack, while others build lasting roots in Essentia’s lands.

Home: The nature of your home is entirely up to you (and sometimes, fate). It could be a tent carried by a loyal henchman’s horse, a rustic cabin, or a vast estate. Your dwelling grows and changes with your journey, and the pursuit of a dedicated home offers not only stability but also a host of functional advantages, such as; farming, gardening, crafting workshops, storage, achievement and trophy displays, and a place for family and pets.

Family: Family is what you make of it, or sometimes what the world makes for you! Perhaps you’re a notorious “Romeo” with a surprise family, or you’ve chosen to settle down and play as your children or spouse. Protecting your family and the home you share with them is a vital part of your legend. To begin a family, characters may embark on the path of Love Quests (link pending). Families may grow through adventure, romance, and circumstance, and can become central to your personal story.

Plots and Dwellings: Whether you own a small plot, a cozy cottage, or a sprawling estate, your home evolves with your achievements. Expand your property, build gardens, open workshops, or nurture pets and children. The choices are yours, and every addition becomes part of your legacy. In SorC's ever-changing world, your home and family provide not just shelter, but meaningful connections, personal goals, and opportunities for story-driven play.