Backgrounds represent the character's non-magical life and social footprint. Each character selects 1 Primary Background and 1 Secondary Background. Backgrounds are always relevant and generate pressure.
The Classics
1. Student
- Access: Universal Academic Courtesy. Access libraries/archives in any city.
- Pressure: Deadlines and condescension from elders.
- Resource: Gain advantage on research/recall (1/session).
2. Service Worker
- Access: Back of House. Access staff areas/kitchens in any venue.
- Pressure: Financial instability; invisibility.
- Resource: Declare you were present and unnoticed (1/session).
3. Noble
- Access: Purchased Entry. Access VIP areas/high society via demeanor.
- Pressure: Family surveillance; ransom target.
- Resource: Solve a mundane problem with money (1/session).
4. Caretaker
- Access: Trusted Presence. Access medical/domestic spaces by offering help.
- Pressure: Compulsion to help strays/delays.
- Resource: Negate a consequence for a protected NPC (1/session).
5. Outcast
- Access: The Underbelly. Access homeless networks/squats in any city.
- Pressure: Police harassment; suspicion.
- Resource: Disappear from attention (1/session).
The Professionals
6. The Driver
- Access: Logistics. You can acquire a vehicle in any city and navigate without maps. You know the fastest route out of town.
- Pressure: Vehicle maintenance; you are always the designated getaway.
- Resource: Getaway. Automatically escape a mundane pursuit (1/session).
7. The Fixer
- Access: Black Market. You know the code words to find illegal goods (weapons, drugs, fencing) in a new city.
- Pressure: Criminal debts; paranoia.
- Resource: I Know a Guy. Produce a specific mundane illegal item within the hour (1/session).
8. The Suit (Corporate)
- Access: The Algorithm. You have credentials that work in office parks and corporate HQs everywhere. You blend into the bureaucracy.
- Pressure: Constant communication (emails/calls); corporate ethics.
- Resource: Expense Account. Absorb a financial cost or bribe without tracking (1/session).
9. The Techie
- Access: Digital Skeleton Key. You can bypass basic electronic locks and access public surveillance feeds.
- Pressure: Digital trail; hardware dependency.
- Resource: Loop. Erase the last 5 minutes of digital evidence of your presence (1/session).
10. The Journalist
- Access: Press Pass. People talk to you because they want to be heard. You can enter crime scenes or press conferences.
- Pressure: The drive to publish; danger from exposing truths.
- Resource: The Scoop. Learn a mundane secret about an NPC or location (1/session).
The Performers & Socialites
11. The Influencer
- Access: Social Currency. You can mobilize a flash mob or get into clubs because "it's good exposure" for them.
- Pressure: The audience is always watching; loss of privacy.
- Resource: Viral. Direct public attention toward or away from a specific event (1/session).
12. The Artist
- Access: Bohemian Circle. You are welcome in galleries, squats, and elite parties alike. You speak the language of the avant-garde.
- Pressure: Melancholy; need for inspiration.
- Resource: Critique. Unnerve a social opponent by deconstructing their appearance or taste (1/session).
13. The Athlete
- Access: Physical Peak. You can access gyms, stadiums, and training facilities. People respect your discipline.
- Pressure: Injuries; dietary restrictions; recognition.
- Resource: Push. Succeed on a mundane physical feat that should be impossible (1/session).
The Fringe
14. The Believer (Clergy/Cultist)
- Access: Sanctuary. Religious institutions (of any faith) will offer you shelter and food.
- Pressure: Moral obligations; crisis of faith.
- Resource: Confession. An NPC trusts you with a burden or truth they wouldn't share otherwise (1/session).
15. The Conspiracy Theorist
- Access: Pattern Recognition. You notice surveillance, dead drops, and codes that others miss.
- Pressure: Paranoia; nobody believes you.
- Resource: Connect the Dots. The GM links two seemingly unrelated clues for you (1/session).
16. The Veteran
- Access: Tactical Assessment. You can identify security blind spots and weapon types at a glance.
- Pressure: PTSD triggers; vigilantism.
- Resource: Suppress. Intimidate a mundane threat into backing down without violence (1/session).
17. The Drifter
- Access: Ghost. You leave no paper trail. You can sleep anywhere and eat anything.
- Pressure: No roots; no backup.
- Resource: Scavenge. Find a useful mundane item in the trash or environment (1/session).
18. The Tourist
- Access: Innocence. You are invisible because you are obvious. You can stand in the middle of a crisis taking photos and no one perceives you as a threat.
- Pressure: Naivety; easy mark for grifters.
- Resource: Lost. Accidental entry into a secure location because you "took a wrong turn" (1/session).