I decide to spend my 100 XP on:

Fighting Arts: Parry - 20
Strong Mind - 30
+1 Swords - 25
+1 Shooting/Throwing - 10
+1 Feats - 10

That leaves me 5XP. I did consider taking Enemy for the mercenary captain but decided against it.

7. Potential, Defense, Speed, and Stamina
8. Fighting Attitudes and Attack Rating
9. Survival Points, Rindath, and Exaltation
10. Description and Equipment

These are mostly derived stats for combat.

Potential is used to modify your combat stats through stances and is based on Creativity. Our PC has Potential 2.

Defence is the difficulty to be hit. Its Reason + Empathy + 5 or 8. This is low, but I do have Parry. Parry can only be used against opponent's with whom the PC has initiative over rather than attacking to replace Defence with the  PC's attack roll.

Speed is initiative. Its Combativeness + Empathy or 6.

Stamina is 10.

Attack is Combativeness + Domain/Discipline or 12.

Survival is 3.

Rindath is used for Demorthen Mysteries and is Empathy + Combativeness + Creativity or 10. I doubt I can use this though.

Exaltation is used for Miracles and is Conviction x3 or 9. I doubt I can use this either.

Given he's Poor, I will give him just a Longsword with nothing else.

SUMMARY
Ways: Combativeness 5, Creativity 4, Empathy 1, Reason 2, Conviction 3
Domains: Close Combat 5 (Swords 2), Shooting/Throwing 4, Natural Evironment 3, Feats 3, Perception 2, Travel 2, Occultism 1
Combat: Attack 10 (Swords 12), Defense 8, Speed 6, Potential 2, Fighting Arts: Parry
Sanity: Mental Resistance 9, Orientation: Instinct, Trauma 4
Stamina: 10
Survival: 3
Personality: Rebellious, Master of One's Emotions, Latent Disorder: Paranoia

And that's the character done.

Ways are interesting, the Sanity stuff seems like a lot of it is just focusing what's gonna happen if the character loses it to the existing personality traits of the character.

How does the game handle Stat checks in a game without any?  In other words, how do I check to see if I can lift a portcullis, or even see if I can lift more weight then another character?

Quote from: CRKrueger;570700Ways are interesting, the Sanity stuff seems like a lot of it is just focusing what's gonna happen if the character loses it to the existing personality traits of the character.

How does the game handle Stat checks in a game without any?  In other words, how do I check to see if I can lift a portcullis, or even see if I can lift more weight then another character?

It would be a Feat Domain check (standard skill check). This uses Combativeness as a default Way i.e. Feat Domain + Combativeness + d10 v TN. This may seem like it would produce strange results but the system is Skill focused with 75/25 Skills to Ways in weight.

You can buy physical (and mental) advantages like Strong with XP, if you want to be exceptionally strong.

In other words, just like most systems. The Ways operate very much like Attributes, just with a more personality profile vibe than a D&D default one.

One thing I quite liked was how Stances worked. Effectively, you can take a default, aggressive, defensive or quick stance. Each grants a bonus equal to your Potential to a combat stat and imposes a malus on another.

Aggressive sees Potential added to Attack and subtracted from Defence. Defensive is the other way around. Quick adds Potential to Speed and subtracts it from Defence.

Overall, some Warriors will be more flexible than others, which is distinct from raw capability in any one area. It's reminiscient of The One Ring, but without the asymmetrical combat system that causes some people issues.

I did another PC creation on TBP: http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?641137-Shadows-of-Esteren-Let-s-make-a-PC. This one was a Tarish noble scholar who was possessed by a Feonadas and has since become a mentalist detective in order to hunt the Feonadas down.

finally downloaded my book 1 copy, and a quick observation.  the general layout is backwards to me--by which i mean, the world info is the first half and the game mechanics the second half.  no big deal, i'll just skip the first half while i peruse what makes it tick, the game physics, that is.  

makes more sense to me to put the mechanics first ("how do i do stuff/make a character/etc.?") and the fluff/world info second.

I talked tot he designers at GenCon and ran through the rules and fluff.

I thought it looked really good.

I like that a high combativeness menas a high passion and therefore affects saves to resist doing stuff. A nice balance.

I liked the idea that the supernatural was mostly just folklore. I think you can easily stat out monsters if you like.

Thought it was an interesting take and the discussion with the designers showed that they thought about games a way I recognised talking about the cool time a PCs chainsaw type tool powered by some canned flux exploded.

generally some very good ideas

Looks like i may be playing in a one-shot of this. Will offer my thoughts when I have had a chance to play.

My friend just got back from GenCon and got my copy over there. I'm hoping to get a chance to pick it up so I can go through it

I have almost finished reading the rulebook. I like what I see alot and can't wait to receive the physical product and run this game.

The three big sticking points for people will be:

1. The Ways are really cool but they also create a big abstraction in the system. You don't primarily describe your PC in terms of capabilities but instead by what makes them tick. If people can't get over the abstraction then this will be a sticking point.

2. The setting material is in first person tales rather than the more usual reference material. I kind of love how it feels like the knowledge is being handed down, is not necessarily complete and is open to intepretation. However, some people will find this a sticking point when they want that list of precepts for the Temple or know who the king of Tri-Kazel is.

3. No bestiary. Feondas are an important part of the setting yet are rarely encountered and are mysterious. As such, they are not given any mechanics or stats in the book. I find this to be a plus, but it will be a big for some people.

Just received confirmation my books have shipped and should be here in 1 to 2 weeks. The final PDF and Book 0 PDF are due any day now too.  That's what I call a snappy KS.

I got my copy this weekend, and I've been reading through it. I've got to say this is a gorgeous book. The rules themselves are an easy read, it's the reading through the world is the thick read. Enjoyable, but thick. The staff was cool enough to paint in my book too.

http://postimage.org/image/a7mocwu13/

Nice. I wonder if all Collector's Editions got a pic like that.

The rules are a real pleasure. Very simple yet full of flavour.