Advantages of the Fate Core System
I am steadily creating more material for integrating Aqualon with Fate Core, all of which you can view here:
Fate Core Resources
But the core concepts of Fate Core can help you create a character without making him or her for a specific system. I am speaking, of course, about aspects. Aspects can be sentences that describe core characteristics, relationships, strengths, and failings of your character. Ideally they can serve you as a compass for how the character would react in certain situations and what would motivate them to do a certain thing.
Here are examples for Aqualon characters from the novel described with aspects. High concept aspects try to focus on what the character is all about and what makes them awesome while trouble aspects highlight the things that complicate their lives:
Rei |
| Aspects |
| I am a Brother of the Null on an important quest! (High Concept) |
| People keep telling me to restrain my overinflated vocabulary. (Trouble) |
| I have seen enough suffering: Inaction is no longer an option. |
| Balance in all things. |
Ayveron Galamoore |
| Aspects |
| If I haven't studied it, I've at least read the cliff notes! (High Concept) |
| They tell me curiosity is a virtue... (Trouble) |
| Magic? Bah! I prefer people who know what they do when they play with reality. |
| Handy with a toolbox, dangerous with a lab. |
Frederick Severlin |
| Aspects |
| Heir to the Severlin Family and a captain of the White Lancers of Aerialis! (High Concept) |
| I am a bit young for my station, but I'll show them all! (Trouble) |
| I've been practicing with my grandpa's magic throwing daggers since I was a little boy. |
| Second Wind Iustus Volthun is more of a father to me than my father. |
Paxia |
| Aspects |
| I am older than the world. (High Concept) |
| The rise and fall of my race will never stop weighing on my soul.(Trouble) |
| The Great Clockwork shuts me down: without a DVF inhibitor, I go offline. |
| I know many songs and every one of them tells a tale. |
Places Fleshed Out Enough Online to Base your Character on
There are a couple of places on Aqualon described well enough already to create a character for yourself! Here are some articles that will aid you on your quest:
The Middle Lands
You can already see a plethora of little villages on the map of
the Middle Lands, and if you want a magus character, your best bet is one of the five great mage academies of this nation!
The cities of
Aerialis, where the Rickard Leeuw Magistorium, the academy for wind magic, is located, and
Aquaris, where the Spire of Rahn, the academy for water magic, is located, already have extensive articles each, both including a city map, making them optimal starting places to build your character. But the other three elements are not out of reach! If you are interested in the other mage academies of the Middle Lands, you can find
an article on them here!. There is also some recent information on
The Bonfire Shrine now available, specifically on the attached map.
Chapters of the novel that have additional Information:
More on the city of earth, Arda, can be found in chapter 8.
More on Aerialis in chapter 9 and chapter 10 (ch10 will be public on 21st Apr. 2018).
The Yamato Kingdom
The Yamato Kingdom is located in a great mountain range east of the Middle Lands and houses an old and distinct culture. In its fertile Yamato Valley, many old and grand cities reside, and on top of one of its tallest peaks lies the great capital of Yamaseki, where the imperial Tenshin family rules.
While it has no own article yet, you can learn more about its layout from
its map.; additionally there is a lot of information on Yamato culture hidden in my article about
the Moths of Yamato.
Chapters of the novel that have additional Information:
Chapters 4, 6, and 7 (Nanashi)
Miyako Fluxum, the Moving City
While some rudimentary information on Miyako Fluxum, a city of technocrats that oppose the Borealis ban of technamagix research, is available in
the Aqualon Master Timeline, your best bet is on the novel, where some extensive descriptions of the city are provided fairly early on.
Chapters of the novel that have additional Information:
Chapters 2 and 4.
Interesting Additions for your Character
There are many cool things your character could have, which help define them or make them special. Of course, being able to use elemental magic as a magus is a powerful aspect for your character, but being able to manipulate one of the elements is far from making you or anyone invincible: A well aimed arrow can still cause some serious harm, and even a swordsman of sufficient skill could prove to be a real problem for you in a fight. And more than that: Being good at hurling fireballs does not really make you a good negotiator, though it certainly doesn't hurt if you wish to browbeat people.
But there are many other ways to make your character relevant or interesting: Influence with powerful houses gives you an in into the fascinating world of intrigue and interesting resources, connections with the technocrats or being one yourself can give you access to fabulous machinery and knowledge that is far beyond that of most people, and even a regular old mercenary, scout, or assassin becomes a force to be reckoned with and a person of note if they wield an unusual magic engine as a weapon or other.
And why not have an animal companion to make your life easier and more interesting? The moths of Yamato mentioned earlier in this article are extremely well described in their article, and the small murasaki moths are fluffy and docile, spreading the scent of spring everywhere; what a great companion to soothe people you try to engage, be it for commerce or for diplomacy, and children just love them!
Or perhaps a loyal frost wolf of the North may be more to your liking? Or one of the trained giant spiders, tall as hounds, which are raised and utilized by some Kaltani tribes for hunting. A bit grim? Perhaps, but who would pick your pocket with menacing chelicerae clicking in their direction?
Aqualon Facts of the Day
A great source for background information and character ideas can be found in the daily facts I release about the world of Aqualon! You can find these on
Aqualon's Discord Server.
