Roll 3D6 for each Ability:
- Physical
- Mental
- Social
Ability Scores represent a character's prowess in these three broad categories. Physical represents the fitness, the reflexes and other athletic characteristics. It is also the score most closely associated with combat, influencing both melee damage and ranged weapon accuracy. Mental scores represent the technical and intellectual faculties of a character. Social scores affect interactions between other characters, particularly NPCs. You can choose to sacrifice two points to any ability score to gain one point on another. Ability scores may not be lowered below ten in this way. Particularly high scores are rewarded with bonuses; they are as follows:
- 13-14: +1
- 15-16: +2
- 17-18: +3
These bonuses apply in many situations, for example:
- Physical
- Added to Melee Damage
- Added to To Hit Rolls
- Added to Kicking in a Door (Kick in Door is on a D6, success on 5-6)
- Added to Hit Die rolls
- Subtracted from AC
- Can Carry 65lbs + Bonus x 12lbs
- Mental
- # of Programming Languages
- Gain an Additional (10% x Ability Bonus) added to any Experience gained.
- Social
- Additional languages
- Max # of Followers
Choose a Class for your character
Your Class represents the tools and the approach your character uses to navigate their world. There are three basic approaches in Hack/. The first is the Soldier. The Soldier uses force and violence to accomplish his ends. The next is the Hacker. The Hacker uses tools, tech and knowledge to achieve his goals. The final class is the Spook. The Spook specializes in social engineering and deception.
Your Class represents the tools and the approach your character uses to navigate their world. There are three basic approaches in Hack/. The first is the Soldier. The Soldier uses force and violence to accomplish his ends. The next is the Hacker. The Hacker uses tools, tech and knowledge to achieve his goals. The final class is the Spook. The Spook specializes in social engineering and deception.
Roll for your starting Hit Points
Hit points represent the abuse your body has taken. The more hit points you have, the more damage you can absorb. Characters gain hit points as they grow in level; high level operators will often out last their lower level opponents due to this factor. To determine your starting hit points, roll your hit die and add your Physical adjustment to it. The die you use to roll for hit points is determined by your class; soldiers roll a D10, hackers and spooks get only a D6.
Hit points represent the abuse your body has taken. The more hit points you have, the more damage you can absorb. Characters gain hit points as they grow in level; high level operators will often out last their lower level opponents due to this factor. To determine your starting hit points, roll your hit die and add your Physical adjustment to it. The die you use to roll for hit points is determined by your class; soldiers roll a D10, hackers and spooks get only a D6.
Roll to determine your Starting Assets
Character begins with D6 x $1,000 in items and D6 x $100 in cash. Unfortunately, you also have D20 x $1,000 in debt, spread among D6 debtors. Those debtors are rolled on table below.
- Student Loans
- Medical Bills
- Credit Card
- Car Loan
- Bookie
- Loan shark
Buy your equipment
Read the section called Shopping in chapter 4 for details. After equipping your character, record your Armor Class (AC). Your AC is determined by your protective equipment minus your Physical Adjustment. Lower is better.
Determine Home City
Read the section called Shopping in chapter 4 for details. After equipping your character, record your Armor Class (AC). Your AC is determined by your protective equipment minus your Physical Adjustment. Lower is better.
Determine Home City
Roll a D6 on the chart below to help decide where your character is from. All locations are in reference to the city the first adventure begins in. Your character speaks, reads and writes the official language of their home city. In addition, a character receives their Social ability bonus in additional spoken languages. Character also has a temporary +1 to his Mental score while in their hometown.
- From this city
- From another city in the same region
- From another city in a neighboring region
- From another city in a neighboring country
- From another city in a distant country
- From an exotic, remote location
