Urban Shadows 2E is the long-awaited sequel to 2015’s breakout urban fantasy role-playing game. We’re going back to The City, with its complex web of supernatural schemes, ancient grudges, and boundless opportunities for power and wealth, provided you’re willing to get your hands dirty. The City is a vast place, with room for itinerant Wizards, scheming Imps, mortal Hunters, and blood-sucking Vampires all duking it out from its dirtiest slums to its sparkling skyscrapers. But before you can make your mark on The City, we have to create a character, and figure out who they are and what they want. It’s easy to get caught up in the details of The City, so allow me to be your guide, as we create your character and prepare you for the long nights to come.
1. PICK A PLAYBOOK
The City is vast, with a home for anyone you could ever dream of. To help narrow it down, start by selecting a playbook that interests you. Are you an enigmatic Fae, striking deals and making promises with a rhyme and reason nobody else can decipher? Or a powerful mortal Sworn to a secret organization, carrying a legendary weapon as the symbol of your office? Do you serve a demonic patron as the Tainted, hoping to one day buy your freedom, or are you a visionary Wizard who seeks to harness her magical breakthroughs to benefit all of humanity? No matter what you pick, read your playbook thoroughly so you can understand just what you’re getting into.
2. NAME, LOOK, DEMEANOR
Now it’s time to name your character. Urban Shadows is set in the modern day, so most people will have fairly typical names. But don’t let that constrain your creativity! If you want to go for a name that’s way out there, just think about how you would’ve got it. Then you’ll pick your look - this will give a rough sketch of how other players see you. Try to focus on adjectives rather than specific items of clothing. Are you dressed to impress, or do you run around in tattered rags? Finally, pick your demeanor. This is a personality trait, like Shrewd or Calculating, designed to give a first impression of your character to other players. Choose one from your playbook or invent your own. Your demeanor doesn’t define you, but it’ll give the other players a chance to springboard off your personality.
3. ASSIGN YOUR STATS
Next, let’s look at your four stats - Blood, Heart, Mind, and Spirit. Blood is all about your physical might and toughness, how well you’ll fare in a scrap. Heart governs your passion, charm, and charisma, and tells us how good you are at expressing yourself with your words. Mind is your intellect and trickery, how well you can manipulate people and deceive others. Spirit is your attunement to magic and the supernatural, as well as how focused you are under pressure and how readily you can let out the power within you. Each playbook has a set of predetermined stats. Pick one of the stats you feel best embodies your character and add +1 to it.
4. DETERMINE YOUR CIRCLE RATINGS
Each character has a rating, separate from their status, in the four Circles of The City. Mortalis are the mundane humans who exist at the periphery of the supernatural. Night are the players and predators, vampires and werewolves. Power are the entrenched establishments of Wizards and Oracles. Wild are the mercurial Fey and the vicious Demons, both creatures from other realms. Your Circle rating represents your inroads in that community and how well you understand its internal politics. A high Circle rating gives you access to a depth of contacts and up to date news, while a low Circle rating means you just don’t understand how the Circle works. Your playbook has a predetermined set of Circle ratings - add +1 to one of them, and think about how your character might be caught up in that Circle’s politics.
5. ANSWER YOUR INTRO QUESTIONS
Every playbook comes with a set of evocative intro questions that help define your character, their history, and the people they know. These questions are typically leading, like “Whom did you scam that still holds a grudge?”. Lean into these ones, and use them to invent your own non-player characters! Embrace what they say about you, and think about the details of the relationship you’re creating. Who did you scam? Are they an ancient ghost, a lackadaisical troll, or a reckless vampire? What kind of scam did you pull on them, and why do they still hold that grudge? Fleshing out these relationships will give you a better idea of who your character is, and how they operate in The City.
PICK YOUR PLAYBOOK MOVES AND FEATURES
Look over your playbook’s special moves and features. Envision how you interact with The City, and what kind of activities you get up to, and then select two moves that fit with that vision of yourself. Each playbook also has a special feature, unique to them. For example, the Spectre has Anchors that connect them to their previous life, the Oracle has a benefactor that relies on their gift of foresight, and the Hunter has a vast arsenal and a secret society they belong to. These moves and features are what elevate your character from being just another oracle or hunter to being the Oracle, or the Hunter.
REVIEW YOUR GEAR
What you carry, what resources you have access to, where you live, all make a statement on who you are. Take a quick look at your gear - what do you carry and why? How did you get your gear? Does it carry a particular sentimental value to you? This is your chance to define more of your personal history. Your gear will range from where you live, to what kind of car you drive, to the weapons you carry. In the broad scheme of things, your gear will be less important than your playbook moves and features, but it’s still your gear.
SHARE YOUR CHOICES WITH YOUR TABLE!
Finally, it’s time to share your character with your fellow players, and get ready to meet The City at large! Sharing your choices and answers to your intro questions can inspire creativity in other players, or even give them the opportunity to incorporate the NPCs you created into their background. If you don’t have a group yet, you can find an awesome table right here on StartPlaying! Our expert gamemasters will pick up this tour where we left off, and throw you right into your first tangle with The City. See you on the streets soon, shadow…
Clarissa is a professional GameMaster on StartPlaying - if you want to learn more about Urban Shadows, you can join one of her games at StartPlaying
