Chapter 4: Characters & Crews

1. Defined by Chrome

In FREE/FALL, you are not defined by a level, an experience bar, or a destiny. You are defined by what you can do, what you are willing to sacrifice, and the machine you have built out of your own body.

A mercenary is a specialist. Your capability is rarely innate; it is bought, installed, spliced, and bolted on. You are a platform for weapons, software, and tools.

The Three Pillars of a Mercenary

  • Attributes (The Fuel): Your raw capacity. Body, Mind, and Ghost are finite resource pools used to power abilities, resist harm, and push your limits.

  • Gear (The Capability): The defining element of v6. "Having the right tool is the skill." Gear grants you the ability to act, but it comes with a cost: Binding.

  • Specialty (The Edge): The one thing you can do better than anyone else without needing a machine to do it for you. It is your lingering spark of human talent.

2. Character Creation Protocol

Follow this six-step protocol to build your deniable asset.

Step 1: Concept & Class

Who were you before you sold your skills to the highest bidder? Choose a Class to define your role in the crew. This determines your Specialty options.

Class Role & Concept
Vanguard The Hammer. Breachers, heavy weapons experts, and frontline tanks. You solve problems with kinetic energy. If it's locked, you knock it down. If it's standing, you put it down.
Spectre The Ghost. Infiltrators, assassins, and spies. You excel when no one knows you are there. Silence is a weapon, and you are its master.
Wirehead The Architect. Hackers and drone operators. You fight on the digital front using Programs to spike systems. Reality is just code waiting to be rewritten.
Fixer The Glue. Medics, mechanics, and tech-wizards. You keep the meat and the metal functioning when everything breaks. Entropy is the enemy, and you are winning.
Operator The Hunter. Snipers, spotters, and tactical coordinators. You eliminate key targets and control the battlespace from a distance. One shot. One clean check.
Broker The Face. Negotiators, grifters, and social chameleons. You weaponize information and social credit. Every person has a price. You just have to find it.
Pilot The Jockey. Aces, smugglers, and wheelmen. You are the interface between the crew and the engines that keep them alive. Gravity is just a suggestion.

Step 2: Assign Permanent Attributes

Attributes represent your maximum potential. They are the "tank size" for your resources.

Assign the standard array [ 12, 8, 6 ] to your three Attributes:

  • BODY: Physical resilience, torque, health.

    • Powers: Heavy Weapons, Melee, Resisting Physical Harm.

  • MIND: Processing power, focus, technical skill.

    • Powers: Hacking, Repair, Resisting Psychic Harm.

  • GHOST: Empathy, stealth, social intuition.

    • Powers: Subterfuge, Negotiation, Resisting Compromise.

Design Note: Why Invest in Off-Stats? You might ask: "If I'm a Wirehead with a Specialty in Subversion, why do I need a high Ghost score?"

  1. Capacity: The Gear required to perform Subversion (e.g., a Spoofer) has a Ghost Binding Cost. If your Ghost is too low, you cannot equip the tool.

  2. Survival: Attributes are your Hit Points. Ghost resists Compromise Harm (Panic, Detection, Social Pressure). A Wirehead with low Ghost is effective until they get yelled at by a corporate security chief—then they fold.

Step 3: Choose Specialty

Select one Specialty from your Class list.

These Specialties are the Core Skills of the game. A Specialty allows you to attempt complex actions related to that field without suffering a penalty or needing to Push (spend Attribute points).

  • Vanguard: Breaching, Close Combat Tactics, Heavy Ballistics.

  • Spectre: Infiltration, Sabotage, Surveillance.

  • Wirehead: Hacking, Electronic Warfare, Subversion.

  • Fixer: Human Systems, Engineering, Acquisition.

  • Operator: Target Elimination, Overwatch, Drone Command.

  • Broker: Negotiation, Streetwise, Deception.

  • Pilot: High-G Maneuvers, Exo-Combat, Evasion.

Step 4: Equip Gear (The Loadout)

Select your starting loadout (refer to Chapter 5: Tools of the Trade). This is the most critical step.

The Requisition Budget You begin with a Requisition Budget of 12 Credits to purchase your initial Bound Gear. This represents the equipment you have salvaged, stolen, or been issued by a patron.

  • Basic Gear (typically 1-2 Credits): Sidearms, light armor, basic tools, standard software.

  • Specialist Gear (typically 3-5 Credits): Rifles, assault armor, breaching kits, advanced software.

  • Heavy Gear (typically 6-8 Credits): Heavy weapons, powered exoskeletons, military cybernetics.

Note: Unspent Requisition Credits are lost. They do not roll over into your liquid cash.

The Binding Cost Buying the gear is only half the cost. You must also pay the Binding Cost. This permanently reserves a portion of your attribute pool to power the item.

Calculate your Max Current Attributes: Permanent Attribute - Total Binding Cost = Max Current Attribute

Example: You have Permanent Body 12. You spend 6 Credits to buy "Rhino" Heavy Armor (Binding: 3). Your Current Body is now capped at 9. You cannot recover points above 9 while wearing that armor.

Reference: Gear Capabilities (The Skill List)

In FREE/FALL, you do not write "Shooting" or "Lockpicking" on your character sheet unless it is your Specialty. For everything else, The Gear Provides the Skill.

The Golden Rule of Gear:

  • The Skill Domain (What you roll) determines which Attribute you use to Push or Resist.

  • The Binding Cost (What you pay) determines which Attribute pool is reduced to equip the item.

These are not always the same. A Reflex Implant might help you fight (Body Skill), but strains your humanity (Ghost Binding).

Body Domain Skills (Force & Resilience)

  • Breaching: (Granted by Explosives, Rams). Forcing entry and clearing obstacles. Includes Pioneer Work and Shock Tactics.

  • Close Combat Tactics (CQC): (Granted by Shotguns, Melee, Monowire). Mastery of the kill-zone. Martial arts and point-blank gunplay.

  • Heavy Ballistics: (Granted by Assault Rifles, LMGs). Dominating the field through volume of fire. Covers Suppression and Area Denial.

  • Human Systems: (Granted by Medkits, Bio-Monitors). Maintenance of the organic platform. Includes Trauma Care and Cyber-Integration.

  • High-G Maneuvers: (Granted by Flight Suits, Vehicle Links). Withstanding extreme acceleration. Covers Dogfighting and Evasive Driving.

Mind Domain Skills (Focus & Tech)

  • Target Elimination: (Granted by Sniper Rifles, Smart-Links). Surgical removal of key threats. Relies on Focus and Calculation.

  • Surveillance: (Granted by Optics, Scanners). Mastery of situational awareness and Battlefield Assessment.

  • Hacking: (Granted by Cyberdecks, Spikes). Intrusion into digital networks. Relies on Logic and Rapid Processing.

  • Electronic Warfare: (Granted by Jammers, EMP). Brute force domination of the electromagnetic spectrum. Covers Jamming and Spectrum Defense.

  • Engineering: (Granted by Toolkits, Welders). Mastery of hardware. Repairing systems and Bricolage (jury-rigging).

  • Drone Command: (Granted by Drone Rigs). Piloting and coordinating autonomous units.

  • Streetwise: (Granted by Underworld Databases). Knowledge of the shadow economy, pricing, and Turf Boundaries.

  • Exo-Combat: (Granted by Walker Rigs). Piloting "Human-Scale" vehicles and walking tanks.

Ghost Domain Skills (Subterfuge & Influence)

  • Subversion: (Granted by Spoofers, Deepfakes). The art of Digital Deception. Tricking the lock rather than breaking it.

  • Infiltration: (Granted by Camo Suits, Mag-Boots). Unauthorized entry and unseen movement.

  • Sabotage: (Granted by Demolition Kits, Traps). Physical destruction and denial of the environment.

  • Overwatch: (Granted by HUD Links, Battle-Nets). Tactical command and Target Designation.

  • Acquisition: (Granted by Salvage Kits, Trade Goods). The art of procurement. Finding what is hidden or valuable.

  • Negotiation: (Granted by High-Status Wear, Pheromones). The art of the Deal. Persuasion, Intimidation, and Leadership.

  • Deception: (Granted by Holo-Masks, Voice Mods). The art of the Lie. Acting, Impersonation, and Social Stealth.

  • Evasion: (Granted by ECM Pods, Smuggler Holds). Flying quiet. Smuggling and Sensor Ghosting.

Step 5: Derived Statistics

Calculate your survival metrics based on your choices.

  • Dice Pool: Starts at 5d20. (Remember: Each filled Harm Slot reduces this by 1d20).

  • Harm Slots: You have 3 Universal Slots. They can be filled by Physical, Psychic, or Compromise damage.

  • Liquid Assets: You start with 1,000 Credits in untraceable chips. This is for bribes, lifestyle, ammo, and cheap, non-bound equipment.

Step 6: Identity

Give your mercenary a name, a callsign, and a reason they are running the shadows.

  • Visuals: Describe the meat and the metal. Scars, holographic tattoos, corporate branding, or street-modded fashion.

  • Drive: Debt, revenge, addiction, or a dream of buying a ticket to Mars.

3. The Crew (Bricolage Families)

In FREE/FALL, the lone wolf dies. The Crew is your life support system.

Crew Creation Before the game begins, the group should answer three questions:

  1. The Niche: What jobs do you take? (e.g., "We specialize in zero-g salvage.")

  2. The Asset: What allows you to operate? (e.g., A rusted shuttle, a safehouse in Al Presa.)

  3. The Friction: Why do you stick together? (e.g., "We all owe money to the same loan shark.")

Collaborative Survival Because of Attribute Binding, no single character can do everything.

  • The Vanguard has low Ghost because they are covered in steel; they need the Broker to talk their way past the checkpoint.

  • The Wirehead has low Mind because their brain is full of attack software; they need the Fixer to repair the drone when it gets shot.

4. Example Characters (v6 Ready)

1. "Rhino" - The Vanguard

The Breacher. A walking tank designed to kick doors down.

  • Attributes: Body 12, Ghost 8, Mind 6.

  • Specialty: Breaching.

  • Loadout (12 Cr): Heavy Assault Armor (6), Kinetic Carbine (3), Pneumatic Ram (3).

  • Binding: Body 6 (Current Max: 6).

2. "Glitch" - The Wirehead

The Digital Sniper. Frying neural links from the safety of cover.

  • Attributes: Mind 12, Ghost 8, Body 6.

  • Specialty: Hacking.

  • Loadout (12 Cr): Operator's Slate (2), "Black Wyvern" Spike (6), "Fog" Counter (3), Light Pistol (1).

  • Binding: Mind 6 (Current Max: 6).

3. "Patch" - The Fixer

The Field Medic. Keeps the crew breathing and the guns cycling.

  • Attributes: Mind 8, Body 12, Ghost 6.

  • Specialty: Human Systems.

  • Loadout (12 Cr): Adv. Trauma Kit (4), Utility Exoskeleton (4), Med-Scanner (2), Shotgun (2).

  • Binding: Mind 3 (Current Max: 5), Body 4 (Current Max: 8).

5. Advancement

In FREE/FALL, you advance by surviving.

  1. Credits: Buying better gear (Higher effect, lower Binding cost).

  2. Connections: Earning favors to access restricted markets.

  3. Scars: Replacing your meat with chrome.

Optional Rule: Milestones & Mastery

For long-term campaigns where players want to reflect the honing of instinct over machine.

  • The Second Specialty: After a major campaign arc (3-5 missions), unlock a second Specialty from your Class list.

  • The Third Specialty: Upon becoming a true veteran, unlock a third Specialty from any Class.

Note: This rule represents the refining of the "Ghost" in the machine. It offers a slight edge, but never replaces the need for the right tool for the job.