Chapter Two

Character Creation & Contacts

In Steel Age, players take on the role of a human character living in the hard world of Dyrhal. Character creation is not the construction of a class shell or heroic archetype. It is the making of a person: someone shaped by birth, labor, obligation, skill, and the ties that bind them to other people.

Who your character becomes will be determined by the choices they make in play. Who they are at the start is determined here. You will define their core attributes, whether they are Omen-Born, the background that shaped them, the skills they begin with, and the contact that ties them to the world before the first session begins.

In Dyrhal, survival depends not only on steel and skill, but on relationships. Every character begins play with one Contact granted by their background. A Contact represents a personal bond developed before play begins — someone who remembers your name, your work, your debts, or your worth.

A Contact is not a hireling, subordinate, or controlled asset. They are an independent actor within the world who may offer assistance when it aligns with their interests, loyalties, or obligations. In Steel Age, a Contact is one of the living bonds that proves your character already belongs to the world.

Character Creation Order

Determine Core Attributes
Choose if Character is Omen-Born
Choose Background
Choose Initial Skills
Determine Starting Contact
Complete Final Touches

All Player Characters Are Human

In this age, Dyrhal belongs to humankind — by plow, by oath, by hunger, and by steel. The rules in this book assume all player characters are human. This matters for three reasons:

The baseline is human. Attribute limits, injury, fatigue, travel hardship, and social order are written with human bodies and human institutions in mind.
The world treats the “other” as an event. What is not human is typically a rumor until it is a threat — something spoken of in taverns, carved into ward-posts, or carried as a fearful story from the road.
The tone stays grounded. Steel Age is a game of hard choices, scarce mercy, and lived consequences. Keeping characters human keeps the game’s grit and social weight consistent.

Overheard at a waystation inn, Barony of Justa

“You hear what came through the eastern pass last month? Beastkin. Six, maybe eight. And something behind them — big. Nobody could agree on what it was, only that it was large and walking.”

“What happened?”

“Garrison closed the gate. Waited. It moved on.”

“The point is — nobody asked where the men on the wall were from. Drezdani, Aurikronton, Skeljari raider turned honest, merchant’s son out of the Keshar ports. Didn’t matter. You were there, holding a spear, and you were human. Whatever was out there wasn’t.”

“Only distinction that matters. The only one.”

Determine Core Attributes

All characters — whether player characters, allies, or foes — are defined by four core attributes: Prowess, Toughness, Mind, and Charm. These represent a character’s fundamental physical and mental qualities and are defined by a Core Attribute Score. Attribute scores range from 2 to 12 for humans (most starting characters will fall between 6 and 11).

Prowess measures a character’s physical capability in moments of action and exertion. It governs strength, coordination, balance, and the ability to apply force effectively in combat. Prowess is used in melee engagement rolls, physical contests, and other actions that demand speed, power, or bodily control under pressure.

Toughness represents a character’s physical resilience and capacity to endure hardship. It reflects stamina, pain tolerance, and the ability to remain standing after injury or exhaustion. Toughness influences Health, resistance to physical harm, and the ability to withstand environmental extremes or magical effects that strain the body.

Mind measures a character’s perception, judgment, and mental discipline. It governs awareness, memory, tactical reasoning, and the ability to remain focused under pressure. Mind is used for ranged combat, many forms of magical casting, and situations requiring analysis, foresight, or careful decision-making.

Charm represents a character’s force of personality, will and ability to influence others. It governs persuasion, deception, leadership, and the capacity to project confidence or authority. Charm is also central to several magical paths, reflecting the will to shape unseen forces through presence and conviction.

When creating a character, players and the GM should agree on one of the following methods to determine a character’s starting core attribute scores:

Fate Roll (Default)

Procedure: Roll four times using 5 + d6. Assign the four results freely among the four attributes. Final results will range from 6 to 11.

Example — Generating Attributes Using the Fate Roll

Jesse makes a new character using the Fate Roll method: he rolls four times using 5 + d6. He ends up with final attribute results of 10, 9, 7, and 6. Since he’s imagining a hardened frontline fighter, he assigns those scores to emphasize toughness and combat ability: Prowess 10, Toughness 9, Mind 7, Charm 6. Another player could take the same results and distribute them differently to fit a different concept.

Optional Method — GM Approval Required

Point Buy

With GM approval, players may use Point Buy instead of the Fate Roll.

All attributes begin at 6
The player receives 10 points to distribute
Increasing an attribute by +1 costs 1 point
No attribute may exceed 11 or start lower than 6
Unspent points are lost

Example — Generating Attributes Using Point Buy

With GM approval, Mara uses the Point Buy method. All four attributes start at 6, and she has 10 points to spend; each +1 costs 1 point, no attribute can exceed 11, and unspent points are lost. Mara is building a perceptive ranged scout, so she pushes Mind hardest, then rounds out physical capability and leaves Charm slightly behind. Results: Prowess 8, Toughness 8, Mind 11, Charm 7.

Attribute Modifiers

Once attributes are determined, players calculate their Attribute Modifiers — the bonuses or penalties added to skill checks and opposed rolls. The mundane limit for humans is 12; scores above 12 belong to magic, monsters, and myth.

Attribute Score	Modifier	Notes
2	−3	Feeble
3–4	−2	Frail
5–6	−1	Poor
7	+0	Common
8–9	+1	Remarkable
10–11	+2	Renowned
12	+3	Legendary

When a skill check or opposed roll is made, it is the modifier — not the raw attribute score — that is added to the die result. Players should note their modifiers on their character sheet so they are ready at hand during play.

A score of 7 is the human average and carries a modifier of +0. This is not a weakness — it means the character performs as a capable, unremarkable person in that area. Most starting characters will have several attributes at or near 7, and that is by design. The modifiers at the extremes reflect genuine rarity: a score of 12 represents the outer edge of human capability, the kind of person spoken of in stories.

Note: Modifiers are used throughout the rules for skill checks, opposed rolls, and combat. The full mechanics are covered in Chapter III (Skills) and Chapter IV (Combat). Return here if you need a reminder of how a score translates to a modifier.

Omen-Born

At character creation, the player chooses whether their character is Omen-Born. In Dyrhal, that means the child first drew breath under a minor omen tied to one of the Nine — small signs the faithful still mark in their prayers.

Being Omen-Born permits investment in casting skill and access to that god’s path of magic. Omen-Born characters must still spend Skill Points (SP) to learn Unseen Craft (Casting).
Being Omen-Born grants no immediate abilities or bonuses.
A character can only be born under one god’s omen, determined by their birth month, which is chosen at creation.
If the character never invests in casting skills, the Omen-Born state provides no mechanical benefit.

Example — Omen-Born, but No Casting: “The Sign Was Not a Calling”

Sera was born under the Rook of Lyuberan — the midwife swore the candle-flame leaned sideways. The household whispered for years: Omen-Born. Marked. When her player builds Sera, they choose Omen-Born and select Lyubera. But Sera grows into a practical sort of woman and never invests in Unseen Craft (Casting). The omen is real. The world remembers it. Sera does not.

Results: Sera is Omen-Born (Lyubera), but because she never buys Unseen Craft (Casting), she cannot cast spells and has no access to Lyubera’s magic path in play.

Omen-Born characters are subtly marked. Healers, priests, and old folk may sense something unusual about them, though few can explain it with certainty. Each god is associated with one of the nine months defined by the alignment of Telas’s three moons:

Month	Season	God	Domain
Eirvethon	Dead Winter	Eirveth	Frost, Death, Peace
Tajmrokar	Long Darkness	Tajmork	Night, Mischief, Secrets
Vargthyrion	Spring’s Fury	Vargthyr	Beasts, Storms, Fear
Verdaineis	Growing Season	Verdaine	Earth, Plants, Healing
Farrkjolar	High Work Season	Farrkjol	Craft, Fire, Knowledge
Arkaelios	Campaigning Season	Arkaelos	War, Vengeance, Fate
Pravonar	Harvest	Pravon	Law, Sun, Trade
Thalarionis	Last Voyages	Thalarion	Sea, Travel, Luck
Lyuberan	Year’s End	Lyubera	Love, Art, Dreams

If a Player Decides Not to Be Omen-Born

This character is Standard-Born. Characters who are not Omen-Born can never invest in casting skills. Non-Omen-Born characters gain +2 starting Health — a life force more firmly anchored in the physical world. The choice is permanent and cannot normally be changed after character creation.

Example — Not Omen-Born: “Harder to Kill, Never Touched by the Unseen”

Brann was born on an ordinary night in an ordinary season — no strange winds, no sudden silence in the animals, no candle-flame bending toward a god. No priest recorded a sign. Because he is not Omen-Born, Brann can never invest in Unseen Craft (Casting) — not at character creation, not later, not even if he finds a teacher or steals a forbidden book. The gate is shut.

Results: Brann cannot ever buy Unseen Craft (Casting) and therefore can never cast magic, but he gains +2 starting Health.

Special Attribute: Health

After choosing Omen-Born status, calculate the character’s Health. While Toughness represents a character’s underlying resilience, Health represents current physical condition and indicates how close they are to incapacitation. A character’s starting Health equals their Toughness score. Non-Omen-Born characters add +2 to this total.

Example: A character with Toughness 9 starts with 9 Health if Omen-Born, or 11 Health if Standard-Born.

Backgrounds

In addition to attributes, players further refine their characters through Backgrounds. All backgrounds represent characters at the beginning of adult life (approximately age 18). Backgrounds grant skill access and competencies, not mastery — they indicate the life path the character was on before they became adventurers.

Mira of Justa, former Acolyte of the Shrine to Lyubera at Thornfeld

“I lit candles for Lyubera every morning for six years. I knew the prayers before I knew my letters — the order of them, the names of the saints, which offerings the goddess preferred in which season. The senior acolyte used to say that devotion was a discipline, not a feeling. I believed her.

When the barony collapsed and the shrine burned with it, I stood at the edge of the road with a holy symbol I couldn’t sell and hands that knew how to fold cloth and pour oil. I thought — what does a woman do with six years of someone else’s faith? Nobody answered. The road did what roads do.

Turns out you carry it like everything else. Quietly, and with both hands.”

Players may choose one background. Each background allows the character to choose two of the three listed skills at Trained level. Backgrounds also grant Competencies — basic knowledge representing routine training. You don’t roll for routine use; the GM calls for a Competency Check only when the situation is risky, opposed, time-pressured, or meaningfully uncertain. Full rules for Competency Checks are covered in Chapter III.

Each background also provides one Contact and determines starting equipment and Silver Rounds (SR). See later in this chapter and Chapter VI: Wealth & Equipment for full details.

Core Backgrounds

Apprentice Artisan

You spent your youth learning a craft under a master who demanded patience more than inspiration. You know the value of good tools, steady hands, and work done properly.

Skills (Pick 2)

Craft, Trade, Lore

Competencies

Use of basic tools of the trade
Evaluating workmanship quality at a glance
Familiarity with guild customs and apprentice expectations

Starting Equipment

Common Clothing, Craft Tool Kit, Dagger. 2d6 SR.

Contacts: Guild and Trade or Bureaucracy and Law

Apprentice Healer

You learned to tend wounds before you learned to ask questions. Blood, sickness, and suffering are familiar, even if mastery still lies ahead.

Skills (Pick 2)

Healing, Lore, Survival

Competencies

Use of bandages, salves, and basic medical tools
Recognizing common injuries and illnesses
Maintaining hygienic practices in care

Starting Equipment

Common Clothing, Light Gambeson, Healer’s Kit, Dagger. 2d6 SR.

Contacts: Clergy or Rural and Wilderness

Apprentice Skilled Laborer

Your strength was put to use early, hauling stone, timber, or tools long before adulthood. You understand work sites, danger, and the quiet pride of building something real.

Skills (Pick 2)

Construction & Labor, Persuasion, Craft

Competencies

Safe use of heavy tools and equipment
Identifying structural hazards
Understanding worksite hierarchy and signals

Starting Equipment

Common Clothing, Light Gambeson, Basic Tool Kit, Dagger or Hand Axe. 2d6 SR.

Contacts: Guild and Trade or Rural and Wilderness

Apprentice Thief

You learned to take what others failed to guard and to disappear when noticed. Locks, purses, and blind spots feel like puzzles waiting to be solved.

Skills (Pick 2)

Thievery, Stealth, Streetwise

Competencies

Familiarity with criminal codes and expectations
Identifying basic security measures
Knowing where stolen goods might be fenced

Starting Equipment

Common Clothing, Basic Tool Kit, Dagger. 1d6 SR.

Contacts: Underworld or Bureaucracy and Law

Caravan Guard

You earned your keep watching the road and sleeping with one eye open. Bandits, beasts, and bad weather taught you that danger rarely announces itself.

Skills (Pick 2)

Melee Combat, Survival, Beastwise

Competencies

Standing watch and rotating sentries
Recognizing threats to caravans and camps
Understanding basic guard discipline and hierarchy

Starting Equipment

Common Clothing, Heavy Gambeson, Spear, Axe or Mace (choose one), Shield. 2d6 SR.

Contacts: Maritime and Caravan or Military and Warband

Gladiator / Pit Fighter

You learned to fight not just to win, but to be watched. Pain, discipline, and spectacle shaped your body and instincts alike. Whether freedom or glory drives you, violence has always been public.

Skills (Pick 2)

Melee Combat, Acrobatics & Movement, Persuasion

Competencies

Familiarity with arena combat rules, signals, and conduct
Recognition of common fighting styles used in pits
Knowledge of arena hierarchy (handlers, promoters, bookmakers)

Starting Equipment

Common Clothing, Heavy Gambeson, Axe, Shortsword or Mace (choose one). 1d6 SR.

Contacts: Underworld or Nobility and Household

Drav Ulshen, former caravan guard, now retainer to the Baron of Omsk

Three seasons on the Kalz road and every one of them taught me the same lesson: the thing that kills you is the thing you stopped watching for. Not the bandit in the tree line — him you expected. The rock that turns under your boot at the wrong moment. The river crossing that was safe last month. I carry a spear because it keeps things at a distance. I carry attention because the spear is not always enough.

Junior Clerk

You were trained to read, tally, and record in a world where such skills carry quiet power. Paper trails, laws, and ledgers taught you how authority truly works.

Skills (Pick 2)

Lore, Trade, Persuasion

Competencies

Reading and copying formal documents
Knowledge of local laws, fees, and procedures
Navigating bureaucratic processes

Starting Equipment

Good Clothing, Basic Writing Kit, Dagger. 2d6 SR.

Contacts: Bureaucracy and Law or Guild and Trade

Merchant’s Clerk

You grew up among scales, contracts, and careful words. You learned early that profit often matters more than truth. The world beyond the shop offers larger risks — and greater rewards.

Skills (Pick 2)

Trade, Lore, Deception

Competencies

Reading ledgers, tallies, and trade marks
Understanding weights, measures, and coinage
Familiarity with market etiquette

Starting Equipment

Good Clothing, Basic Writing Kit, Dagger. 3d6 SR.

Contacts: Guild and Trade or Maritime and Caravan

Minor Bandit

You lived by ambush, intimidation, and the threat of violence. The road was both livelihood and battleground. Whether desperation or cruelty drove you, you learned how quickly order breaks down.

Skills (Pick 2)

Stealth, Streetwise, Ranged Combat

Competencies

Setting up simple ambushes on roads or trails
Maintaining and hiding weapons and gear
Recognizing signs of pursuit or retaliation

Starting Equipment

Poor Clothing, Light Gambeson, Dagger or Hand Axe, Bow (if Ranged Combat chosen). 1d6 SR.

Contacts: Underworld or Rural and Wilderness

Noble Bastard

You were raised close enough to power to taste it, but never enough to claim it. Courtesy, culture, and hierarchy were drilled into you alongside resentment or ambition.

Skills (Pick 2)

Melee Combat, Lore, Command & Tactics

Competencies

Basic literacy and writing
Familiarity with noble customs and heraldry
Understanding feudal obligations and expectations

Starting Equipment

Good Clothing, Heavy Gambeson, Sword, Axe or Mace (choose one), Shield. 3d6 SR.

Contacts: Nobility and Household or Bureaucracy and Law

Novice Woodsman / Hunter

You learned the forest by necessity, not romance. Tracks, weather, and game shaped your days more than people did. Civilization feels distant, but never entirely safe.

Skills (Pick 2)

Beastwise, Survival, Ranged Combat

Competencies

Use and maintenance of simple hunting gear
Knowledge of common game animals and seasons
Safe travel through local wilderness terrain

Starting Equipment

Common Clothing, Light Gambeson, Basic Tool Kit, Dagger or Hand Axe, Bow (if Ranged Combat chosen). 2d6 SR.

Contacts: Rural and Wilderness or Military and Warband

Aldric Vonn, junior clerk to Magistrate Havel, Barony of Drevask

My father wanted me in the garrison. My mother wanted me in the temple. The magistrate’s office was the compromise nobody was happy with, which is how I knew it was the right choice. I have learned more about power sitting behind a desk than either of them learned standing in front of one. Paper is patient. Paper remembers. And nobody watches the clerk.

Peasant / Herdsman

Your life was built around the land and the animals that sustained it. You learned endurance, routine, and quiet resilience. The wider world is harsher — but not unfamiliar.

Skills (Pick 2)

Acrobatics & Movement, Survival, Beastwise

Competencies

Basic animal care (feeding, grooming, herding)
Familiarity with rural customs and obligations
Use of common farm tools and implements

Starting Equipment

Common Clothing, Dagger or Hand Axe. 1d6 SR.

Contacts: Rural and Wilderness or Clergy

Street Urchin

You survived by your wits and quick hands, learning the rhythms of a town’s underbelly before you learned to read. Trust was a luxury; speed and silence were not.

Skills (Pick 2)

Stealth, Streetwise, Thievery

Competencies

Navigating urban environments without being noticed
Knowing which doors are left unlocked and when
Reading people’s intentions by posture and tone

Starting Equipment

Common Clothing, Dagger. 1d6 SR.

Contacts: Underworld or Bureaucracy and Law

Warrior Recruit

You were handed a weapon and told to be useful. Whether by conscription, desperation, or choice, you learned the basics of organized violence under someone else’s command.

Skills (Pick 2)

Melee Combat, Survival, Command & Tactics

Competencies

Basic weapon maintenance and drill
Understanding chain of command and orders
Setting and maintaining a watch

Starting Equipment

Common Clothing, Heavy Gambeson, Spear, Hand Axe or Mace (choose one). 2d6 SR.

Contacts: Military and Warband or Rural and Wilderness

Background Is Not Destiny

In Steel Age, backgrounds are foundations, not cages. They tell us what kind of life your character has already lived, what that life has taught them, and what sort of people and obligations stand behind them at the start of play. They do not determine everything the character will become.

The same broad archetype may begin from very different backgrounds. A capable scout might begin as a hunter, a caravan hand, a messenger, or a household retainer used to bad roads and uncertain ground. A persuasive character might come from shrine service, trade, household duty, or hard experience among dangerous people. Background gives your character a starting shape. Skill choices, contacts, equipment, and play turn that shape into someone more specific.

In Dyrhal, people do not begin as fixed heroic types. They begin as human beings formed by labor, bond, duty, fear, and whatever training life has already forced upon them. What they become is decided later.

A background tells you where you begin. It does not tell you where you end.

Edda Vaskrensdottir, innkeeper, Barony of Omsk — from a letter to her sister in Kalpherion

You ask what kind of people take work like this. I have been watching them come through for eleven years and I still cannot give you a clean answer. A priest’s daughter once, still with the devotional ink on her fingers. A man who had been a mason’s apprentice until the work ran out. Three siblings from a farming family whose holding burned. A former guild clerk who never said why he left.

The only thing they share is that they stopped staying where it was safer. Whatever put them on the road — debt, loss, ambition, something they cannot name — they are all here now, asking about the garrison, the roads, and whether the barony pays for what it sends people to find.

They do not look like heroes. They look like people who have run out of easier options. In my experience, those are often the same thing.

Initial Skills

In addition to background skills, each character receives two Skill Points (SP) to customize their starting abilities. These points may be spent in one of two ways:

Purchase two additional skills at Trained (1 point each), or
Upgrade one background skill from Trained to Skilled (2 points).
At creation, you cannot start above Skilled from these points.

These skills represent areas of knowledge that the character has picked up before the start of the game. Skills have four ranks (Trained through Master; see Chapter III). Players may choose from the following skills. Full descriptions, progression costs, and path benefits are found in Chapter III: Skills and Paths.

Melee CombatFighting at close quarters — reach, momentum, and striking effectively in armed combat.

Ranged CombatBows, thrown weapons, and similar arms relying on timing, aim, and distance.

Command & TacticsCoordinating allies, issuing orders, and imposing structure on chaos in battle.

Acrobatics & MovementClimbing, feats of body control, balance, and precise physical movement under pressure.

BeastwiseTracking, hunting, and reading the wild — also the training and care of animals.

SurvivalEnduring harsh environments, finding food and shelter, navigating wilderness.

StealthMoving unseen, remaining unheard, and avoiding detection in hostile environments.

StreetwiseUrban undercurrents, black markets, criminal codes, and street-level politics.

ThieveryLockpicking, disabling traps, sleight of hand, and precise manual deception.

DeceptionLying convincingly, misleading others, and maintaining false identities under scrutiny.

HealingStabilizing wounds, treating injuries, and managing illness through practical knowledge.

TradeNegotiation, valuation of goods, managing contracts, and conducting commerce.

SeamanshipOperating vessels, navigating waterways, and surviving travel by sea or river.

PersuasionInfluencing attitudes through reason, rhetoric, empathy, or force of personality.

LoreScholarly knowledge, history, religious doctrine, and specialized academic learning.

CraftThe creation and repair of goods through skilled workmanship in a chosen discipline.

Construction & LaborLarge-scale building, fortification work, heavy labor, and physical project coordination.

Unseen Craft (Casting) ✦Channeling and shaping magical forces through learned techniques. Omen-Born only.

The World Already Knows You

Your starting skills show what your character can do. Your Contact shows that they did not learn to live in Dyrhal alone.

In Steel Age, survival depends not only on steel and skill, but on relationships. A Contact is one of the living ties that proves your character already belongs to the world: someone who knows your name, your work, your debts, your worth, or the shape of your past.

A Contact is not a hireling, subordinate, or controlled asset. They are an independent person whose help, goodwill, or attention may matter when circumstances align. After you have recorded what your background taught you, record who that life left you connected to.

Nature of a Contact

Each Contact is defined by:

Identity — individual or organizational identity
Relationship State — the current disposition of the Contact toward the character
Context — how they know the character
Interests and Vulnerabilities — GM determined

Contacts are NPCs and act according to their own motivations. They are not obligated to comply with unreasonable or self-destructive requests. The GM determines all Contact behavior based on fiction, political circumstance, and prior player actions.

Choosing an Initial Contact

Characters may choose an initial contact based on the Contact Archetypes listed in the Contact Categories assigned to them by their background. If the GM allows, the character may choose from outside the assigned categories to fit a specific campaign or character concept.

Unless background, fiction, or prior shared history suggests otherwise, a newly chosen Contact begins at Neutral Relationship State.

Clergy

Shrine Mentor

IdentityPriest, abbot, or shrine keeper

InterestsProtect doctrine and reputation; guide the faithful

VulnerableScandal, heresy accusations, superior pressure

Temple Almoner

IdentityCharity steward and storehouse administrator

InterestsControl aid distribution; expand influence through mercy

VulnerableShortages, theft, being exposed for “favor trading”

Pilgrim-Preacher

IdentityItinerant holy figure with a traveling network

InterestsSpread a message; expose corruption; stir reform

VulnerablePersecution, unreliable allies, provoking the powerful

Guild and Trade

Master Artisan

IdentityFormer master or respected craftsperson

InterestsReputation, quality, stable inputs and apprentices

VulnerableRivals, guild penalties, material scarcity

Traveling Factor

IdentityMerchant agent moving contracts and goods

InterestsProfit, information edge, reliable problem-solvers

VulnerableBandits, debt, getting caught dealing off-book

Supplier / Weighmaster

IdentityMaterials supplier or market weights-and-measures official

InterestsKeep trade flowing; control pricing and standards

VulnerableAccusations of fraud, bribery exposure, guild pressure

Underworld

Fence

IdentityBuyer of stolen or “unasked-about” goods

InterestsDiscretion, leverage, steady merchandise flow

VulnerableWatch pressure, rivals, clients who talk

Gang Runner

IdentityStreet lieutenant controlling turf and messengers

InterestsTerritory, loyalty, keeping heat away

VulnerableCrackdowns, internal betrayal, debt to a boss

Corrupt Watchman

IdentityGuard sergeant or constable on the take

InterestsMoney, control, information dominance

VulnerableBlackmail, internal affairs, overplaying their hand

From a letter of Akbar of Keshar, written at Velmorys — recipient unknown

If your road takes you through Velmorys, go to the harbor and ask for Karl. Tell him Akbar sent you. He keeps a desk near the third dock, behind the weighing shed — you will smell the tar before you see the sign. I found him on my first crossing from Keshar, when I arrived with a hold full of spice and dye and no idea who in this town could be trusted. Karl could have taken advantage of that and he didn’t. He found me buyers, kept his cut honest, and had me out of port before the tariff men thought to look twice. I made enough on that voyage to come back. I have been coming back ever since.

Nobility and Household

Household Steward

IdentitySteward or castellan’s aide who runs a household

InterestsOrder, logistics, stability of the house

VulnerableIntrigue, audits, being blamed for unrest

Disgraced Retainer

IdentityFormer guard, messenger, or courtier cast out

InterestsRedemption, revenge, restoration of status

VulnerableDebts, reputation, old patron’s lingering claim

Minor Patron

IdentityThane, Komes, or hanger-on with limited influence

InterestsPrestige, deniable errands, quiet victories

VulnerableRivals, scandal, fragile standing

Military and Warband

Drill Sergeant

IdentityVeteran trainer or squad leader

InterestsDiscipline, readiness, chain of command

VulnerableOrders from above, grudges, tied to failures

Quartermaster / Armorer

IdentityControls issued gear and supplies

InterestsPrevent waste and theft; favors for favors

VulnerableShortages, corruption accusations, audits

Scout Captain

IdentityPatrol lead, outrider, or skirmish veteran

InterestsGood routes, threat intel, keeping people alive

VulnerableBad terrain calls, rival officers, mission blame

Rural and Wilderness

Village Reeve / Headman

IdentityLocal organizer of disputes, labor, and dues

InterestsKeep peace; meet obligations; avoid lordly wrath

VulnerableFamine, tax pressure, being seen as weak

Trapper / Hunter Mentor

IdentityExperienced woodsman with territory knowledge

InterestsProtect grounds; old ways; mutual respect

VulnerableRivals, wardens, injury or age

Border Guide

IdentitySmuggler-guide, ferryman, or pass-keeper

InterestsSafe crossings; quiet routes; paid discretion

VulnerablePatrols, feuds, a “price” that keeps rising

Bureaucracy and Law

Magistrate’s Clerk

IdentityJunior official who knows forms and procedures

InterestsAdvancement, quiet leverage, keeping ledgers useful

VulnerableCorruption exposure, scapegoating, patron demands

Records Scribe

IdentityKeeper of warrants, claims, and old files

InterestsInformation advantage, stability, patronage

VulnerableFire, theft, someone demanding erasure, blackmail

Toll Collector / Permit Agent

IdentityGatehouse functionary or road-fee keeper

InterestsRevenue, control, predictable “arrangements”

VulnerableAudits, raids, being caught skimming

Maritime and Caravan

Boatswain / Mate

IdentityCrew boss or ship officer

InterestsOrder, safety, profit from reliable passage

VulnerableInspections, storms, captain politics

Caravan Master

IdentityRoute boss hiring guards and booking wagons

InterestsSafe delivery, schedules, trustworthy hands

VulnerableBandits, border tolls, thin margins

Harbor / Waystation Broker

IdentityDock clerk, stable master, or booking agent

InterestsFees, access, knowing who moves where

VulnerableBribery exposure, rival brokers, official pressure

Kesse Neuhaus, Mercenary Crossbowman, Free City of Strandholdt

A good caravan master is worth more than the guards he hires. He knows the road before you reach it. He knows which toll collector can be reasoned with and which one is looking for a reason. He knows when to push through and when to stop and wait for something to pass. I have worked under three who were worth the title and a dozen who were not.

The ones worth the title, you remember. Not because they were generous — they usually weren’t. Because when it went wrong, they had already thought of it. Need passage on a guarded route, a letter of introduction at the waystation, a place in the wagon train where questions don’t get asked — that kind of man can arrange it. Quietly, quickly, and with a price that is never just coin.

That is all a contact is, really. Someone who has already thought of it.

Relationship States

Each Contact possesses a Relationship State toward the character, reflecting trust, loyalty, and shared history. Relationship States may shift during play as a result of actions, betrayal, fulfillment of obligation, or political change.

State	Modifier	Effect
Burned	—	Cannot be invoked. The bond is broken. The Contact may be hostile or aligned against the character.
Fraying	−3	The relationship is a step away from breaking. Aid is limited to Minor Favor boons.
Wary	−1	The Contact maintains distance. Assistance is limited and conditional. Cannot be called upon for Life Debt boons.
Neutral	+0	The Contact recognizes the relationship but expects reciprocity. Assistance requires reason, leverage, or mutual benefit.
Trusted	+1	The Contact shares personal loyalty or meaningful history. They will accept measured risk in support of the character’s cause.
Bound	+3	The Contact and character share fate through oath, blood, debt, or political entanglement. Refusal to assist requires extraordinary circumstances.

Invoking a Contact

To request aid or a Boon from a Contact, the following must be true:

The character must have plausible access to the Contact.
The request must be communicated in a credible manner.
The Contact must have reason and the means to assist.

Persuasion Check

2d6 + Charm Modifier + Persuasion Skill Modifier + Relationship State Modifier + Situational Modifiers. The roll must exceed the Challenge Mark (CM). On failure, the request is denied. Limit: One request per Contact per scene or downtime day. A new attempt is only permitted if the situation has meaningfully changed since the last request.

Scale	CM	Description
Minor Favor	8	Small assistance — information, shelter, a message, loaner gear, simple cover.
Costly Favor	10	Meaningful help at some personal cost or risk to the Contact.
Serious Obligation	12	Significant aid that puts the Contact’s standing, safety, or resources at real risk. Almost always generates complications.
Life Debt	14	The Contact risks everything. Always worsens Relationship State by one step whether it succeeds or fails.

Example — Invoking a Contact (Success, With Strings)

Kesta’s Contact is now Trusted (+1) after months of reliable silence. A magistrate’s clerk is looking for her name, so she asks Ivara for a Costly Favor (CM 10): hide her from trouble for a few hours while the watch searches the wrong streets. Kesta makes the Persuasion check and gets a total of 12. She exceeded the CM, so Ivara agrees — but not cleanly. Ivara will hide her, but only if Kesta leaves her weapon outside, stays silent, and is gone before nightfall. Ivara also demands a small payment, because heat costs coin.

Results The request succeeds because the roll exceeds the CM; the Contact grants the boon with reasonable constraints, and the GM seeds a complication appropriate to the scale of the favor.

Consequences of Failure

If the margin of failure is 4 or more, the request is denied and the Relationship State worsens by one step. Margin of failure = CM − roll total. Life Debt boon requests always worsen the Relationship State by one step whether they succeed or fail. If a Life Debt request fails by 4 or more, the Relationship State worsens by two steps.

Example — Invoking a Contact (Failure)

Kesta asks a Neutral (0) Contact for a Costly Favor (CM 10). She rolls a total of 10. Because success requires exceeding the CM, the request is denied — 10 is not greater than 10. The margin of failure is 0, so the relationship does not worsen. Later, she asks for a Life Debt (CM 14) and rolls 10 again. The request is denied; the margin of failure is 4, so the relationship worsens by two steps — one for Life Debt, one for failing by 4 or more.

Results A tie is a failure. Life Debt requests always cost the relationship, win or lose.

Contact Boons

When a Contact agrees to assist, the aid they provide is called a boon. Boons are grouped by scale, from small favors to life-altering debts. The GM may attach reasonable constraints to any boon. Serious Obligations and Life Debts almost always generate complications.

Minor Favor CM 8

Information A useful rumor, local truth, or warning about a person or place.

Shelter A safe place to sleep or hide briefly (hours to one night).

Introduction A basic introduction to a minor figure or intermediary.

Message Deliver a message or arrange a discreet meeting request.

Loaner Gear Lend mundane equipment or supplies for a short time.

Simple Cover Provide a plausible excuse or minor alibi.

Costly Favor CM 10

Hide from Trouble Conceal you from a search or stall pursuit for a few hours.

Access Entry to a place you shouldn’t be, or use of a key, pass, or restricted space.

Procure Goods Obtain an uncommon item or service on short notice.

Pull Strings Smooth a minor legal or official problem — delay a hearing, reduce a fine, get you released.

Short Credit Lend money or extend credit with expectation of quick repayment.

Secure Transport Arrange passage, escort, or safe routing within the local area.

Serious Obligation CM 12

Safe House Network Move and shelter you across multiple locations while hunted.

Major Bribe or Payment Spend real money or political capital on your behalf.

Smuggle or Extract Get you or goods past a controlled boundary or out of custody.

Serious Cover Identity Provide papers, employment, or sustained cover for days to weeks.

Call in Help Bring a small group to assist with a dangerous task.

Damage a Rival Sabotage a rival’s deal, testimony, or logistics — inviting retaliation.

Life Debt CM 14

Ruinous Sanctuary Harbor you knowing it may cost them freedom, livelihood, or life.

Betrayal for You Break oath or faction ties to protect you, creating a lasting feud.

Take the Blame Accept responsibility publicly to spare you.

Spend Everything Sacrifice fortune, position, or family standing to save you.

Forbidden Act Commit a grave crime or taboo on your behalf.

Stand With You Fight beside you or mobilize others in defiance of orders or law.

Contacts are not merely useful — they are part of the character’s place in the world. In standard play, when a character dies, their successor is one of their Contacts. The person who steps forward is someone already woven into the story — with their own relationship states, interests, and vulnerabilities intact. This makes every Contact a potential future character, and the network itself something worth protecting. For full succession rules, see Chapter VIII: Injury, Death, and Retirement — Succession.

Signature Boons by Contact Category

Use these when you want the Contact’s role in the world to shape the boon more strongly.

Clergy

Minor Sanctuary for one night; conceal presence from casual inquiry.

Costly Arrange a private audience with a local priest or access to restricted shrine records.

Serious Intercede publicly to protect you — testimony, oath, or shelter — at real risk to their standing.

Life Debt Defy doctrine or superior authority to save you, accepting punishment, exile, or ruin.

Guild and Trade

Minor Confirm fair value and warn you if you’re being cheated or set up.

Costly Secure priority service or materials, or pull a job ahead of the queue.

Serious Vouch for you with the guild or cover a major cost, risking fines or expulsion if you fail.

Life Debt Break guild law or monopoly for you, burning their position.

Underworld

Minor Pass a message through the street network and learn who is asking about you.

Costly Move “hot” goods or hide you for a few hours while heat passes.

Serious Stage an extraction and take the blame if it goes wrong.

Life Debt Betray their crew or superior to save you, triggering retaliation and a permanent feud.

Nobility and Household

Minor Gain entry to a manor or feast as a servant, courier, or guest-of-a-guest.

Costly Secure an audience, letter of passage, or limited protection under a household name.

Serious Spend political capital to shield you from law or rivals, creating a public obligation.

Life Debt Publicly take your side in a dangerous dispute, risking land, title, or life.

Military and Warband

Minor Honest assessment of local threats and a safe route through patrol lines.

Costly Lend gear or assign an escort for a short, specific task.

Serious Pull you out of custody, a press-gang, or a doomed posting by calling in authority.

Life Debt Commit troops or warband presence to your cause, defying orders and inviting reprisal.

Rural and Wilderness

Minor Food, a hidden camp, and guidance through local terrain for a day.

Costly Shelter you from pursuit and misdirect trackers with local help.

Serious Move you across borders — rivers, passes, forest holds — by dangerous back ways.

Life Debt Take you in against the will of the community or local lord, risking collective punishment.

Bureaucracy and Law

Minor Explain local laws, fees, and who to speak to — or avoid.

Costly Delay paperwork, “lose” a minor record, or arrange a timely permit or inspection.

Serious Alter or seal a serious document trail — charges, warrants, claims — at career-ending risk.

Life Debt Destroy evidence, frame another, or defy a magistrate — outright corruption or treason.

Maritime and Caravan

Minor Find passage, cargo space, or a reliable guide within the next leg of travel.

Costly Smuggle you or your goods past inspection on a single crossing.

Serious Reroute a shipment or schedule to extract you, taking a major financial hit.

Life Debt Risk ship and crew — or caravan — to save you during pursuit, storm, or siege.

Maintaining Contacts

Contacts can provide meaningful aid and an essential anchor for the character in the world of Dyrhal. However, they may also request a favor or aid from the character from time to time. This is left to GM discretion and can provide a powerful adventure or story hook.

If a character declines to respond or ignores a Contact’s request for aid, the most likely result is a downgrade of the Relationship State. The more serious the request, the more serious the downgrade.

Example — Maintaining a Contact (When They Ask Something Back)

Ivara sends word: a young runner got grabbed, and the watch is about to squeeze names out of him. She asks Kesta to intervene — quietly. Kesta refuses. Not because she wants to, but because the party is already running for the border and cannot risk turning back. The GM downgrades the Relationship State by one step. Ivara doesn’t swear revenge. She simply stops answering messages as quickly, and every favor becomes colder and more conditional.

Results When the character ignores a Contact’s request, the Relationship State may worsen — especially when the request carried real risk or urgency.

GM Note: After a Serious Obligation or Life Debt is granted by a Contact, introduce a related obligation, complication, or request within the next few sessions.

From the journal of Emelyn of Strandholdt, written at Argathis

Josep met me in the back of the tanner’s yard, which tells you everything about the mood. He had the goods — wrapped in oilskin, no markings, exactly as asked — but his hands weren’t right. Too still. I’ve known Josep three years and still hands mean he’s watching for someone. I asked him directly. The Merchant Guild has been sending men. Not the kind that file complaints — the kind that stand outside your door at odd hours and follow you to market. Josep has been moving goods outside guild channels for years, undercutting their rates, and they have finally decided to do something about it. He doesn’t know if they want to squeeze him or make an example of him. He thinks the latter. He finished the exchange quickly and kept looking at the yard entrance. I told him I could find someone to watch his back for a few nights. He said it wouldn’t matter — that once the guild decides a man is a problem, a few hired swords don’t change the arithmetic. I left by the river gate with the goods under my coat and the uncomfortable feeling that I had just conducted what may be my last transaction with Josep. Some contacts burn slowly. Some burn all at once.

From the private record of Josep of Argathis, scratched in the margin of a ledger

Emelyn came again. Good coin, no questions, clean handoff — she is the kind of client that keeps a man in business. But I am not sure I can keep taking her work. The Guild has two men watching the south quarter and one of them recognized me at the weighing yard last tenday. I am not afraid of complaints. Complaints go to the magistrate and the magistrate has his own arrangements. I am afraid of the other kind of visit. The kind where nobody files anything afterward. I have three contacts who can move me if it comes to that, and I have been mentally running the cost of calling them in. A Serious Obligation on each. That is three debts I may have to spend in a single week just to stay alive. I built this network over eleven years. I may burn it in eleven days.

Burning a Contact

When a Contact’s Relationship State reaches Fraying, the next step lowering it results in the Contact being Burned. A Contact may be burned if:

The Relationship State drops below Fraying.
The character recklessly endangers them.
The character betrays their trust.
The Contact suffers serious exposure or reprisal due to the character’s unexpected actions.
A Serious Obligation is ignored.

A burned Contact may sever ties permanently, become hostile, or align with opposing factions. Burned Contacts should have lasting consequences within the campaign. A Burned Contact cannot be invoked and is treated as an NPC whose disposition has turned against the character.

Example — Burning a Contact (When the Bond Breaks)

Later, Kesta pushes again — reckless this time. She drags watch attention straight to Ivara’s door, then disappears into the rain. Ivara’s relationship was already Fraying. This is the moment it breaks. She burns the connection: shutters the shop, sells what she can, and leaves town. Weeks later, Kesta learns Ivara has aligned with a rival crew — one that now knows Kesta’s face and habits.

Results When a Contact becomes Burned, they cannot be invoked again and may sever ties, turn hostile, or join opposing factions.

Expanding One’s Network

Additional Contacts may be gained through fulfilling obligations, political service, military campaigns, criminal collaboration, religious devotion, or long-term social investment. There is no formal limit to the number of Contacts a character may possess. However, maintaining relationships requires time, trust, and attention — and there is a practical limit on how many a character can successfully maintain at one time, given the two-way nature of the relationship.

Finishing Touches

Name, Age, and Appearance

Characters should choose a name and appearance that is culturally relevant to the campaign. If a player wants an unusual or non-standard appearance, this is a great opportunity for a GM to incorporate the consequences of those choices into the fabric of the campaign.

Personal Lore & Motivation

Players should write one or two sentences describing the character’s personal history and motivations. The GM should collaborate in this process to ensure it fits the campaign. As Steel Age does not use an alignment or strict morality system, this is important for defining the character’s worldview and giving them a structure they can enter the campaign with. Personal lore can also serve as fertile ground for future story hooks and adventures.

From the journal of Ser Nathan Purcell of Ardeaux — first entry written in Dyrhal, at anchor off Phanokastran Keep

The keep sits on a bluff above the water and it does not look like a welcome. Grey stone, salt-eaten, a flag I don’t recognize. The pilot said we would dock by midday. I have been watching the coast for an hour.

I have my mail, my father’s sword, and the shield I had made before I left. Eleven silver rounds — not a fortune, but enough to move carefully for a few weeks if I am not stupid about it. I have a letter from Greenagl, my old friend, well, sometimes friend, addressed to a clerk in the Baron’s household named Aldric, who apparently handles appointments and quiet favors. Greenagl said to lead with the letter rather than my name.

My sword arm is better than passable. I have been told more than once, by people not trying to flatter me, that I make a good first impression. And I have spent enough time on bad roads in worse company to know how to read a situation before it reads me. These are the assets. The language I will manage. Everything else I will have to find here.

We are coming into the dock now. The keep is larger than it looked from the water.