This week, I’m making a character for the excellent space-fantasy RPG, Coriolis. Think of Coriolis like Firefly if it was themed after 1001 Arabian Nights instead of Westerns. In Coriolis, various factions compete in a struggle for cultural, political, and military dominance in the multi-system Third Horizon. The players take on the role of a ship crew trying to make a living traveling the Third Horizon; they may be traveling performers, mercenaries, archaeologists, or even religious pilgrims. Inevitably, the Horizon-wide power struggle is going to affect their travels, whether for good or for ill.
There is a group aspect to character creation in Coriolis, including choosing your group concept, group talent, and choosing your ship. I won’t include those decisions as I want gamers to be able to take my character, Sabah, and place them in whatever sort of campaign they wish. Readers should also note that Sabah is a gender-neutral name, and I am intentionally using the gender-neutral pronouns they/them for the character. Players should feel free to adapt Sabah’s gender however they please.
Sabah grew up in the cloud city of Shariqa on the desert planet of Dabaran. Their family was very wealthy due to their control of a large mining and water-extraction corporation. Sabah’s parents intended them to take control of the corporation when they came of age and began training them in business affairs and leadership from a young age. Despite all their training, Sabah’s noble upbringing meant they lived a very sheltered life and were ignorant of the plight of ordinary Dabarani citizens who toiled and struggled on the planet below.
Everything changed on Sabah’s thirteenth birthday when their father decided to take them on a tour of a few of the company’s mining projects. Sabah quickly began to realize during the tour how poor the conditions under which the company’s laborers worked and lived were. Not only did the environmental hazards of their work leave them frail and in poor health, but they barely made enough money for their families to survive. This angered and saddened Sabah and their opinion of their parents, the company, and the Dabarani nobility was forever tarnished. Sabah resolved from that day on to renounce their family and inheritance and work for the rights and liberation of laborers on Dabaran and across the Third Horizon.
At first, the laborers were suspicious when Sabah came to their camps looking for work. Within a few short weeks, however, Sabah’s dedication and enthusiasm earned him the respect of their co-workers. In addition, it quickly became apparent that Sabah’s knowledge and training in business and leadership were valuable assets that could be used to fight for better pay and working conditions, and within a couple of years, Sabah had won numerous victories for the cause on Dabaran. An unfortunate repercussion of their success was the ire of the nobility. Sabah was forced to flee for their life when the nobility (including their former family) sent assassins to end their meddling once and for all.
Fortunately, Sabah’s hard work did not go unnoticed, and they soon were contacted and hired by members of The Free League, labor unionists who functioned as one of the largest and most influential factions in theThird Horizon. Sabah now works as an activist and negotiator on behalf of The Free League and works stints aboard various vessels in order to travel The Third Horizon and fight against injustice wherever they may find it.
You can download the character sheet for Sabah here.
Do you have thoughts or questions about the article or suggestions for future content? Leave a comment below or drop me a line at jtdimino@d20radio.com.
J.T. Dimino
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