Background
A characters background can vary greatly, as any individual in Nihil can awaken to the presence of magic through witnessing a severe enough distortion of reality. A Dreamer’s mind is shaped by the curse of the he Stiffs to ignore instances of magic occurring, but if rational explanation utterly fails to cover the event then the Dreamer may begin to awaken. Many become drawn in the pursuit of knowledge, frantically hoping to find answers to the terrible glitch in reality they experienced only to discover a new world of endless errors and possibilities.
This discovery radically changes the character into a Cipher, a mage capable of bending the world to their whims through the manipulatation of the magic surrounding them, hidden within the wires and infrastructure of Nihil. The Cipher’s perception of the world, and their role within it, is permanently altered. But in gaining this new awareness and incredible power, the Cipher gains enemies capable of unimaginable destruction and suffering.
The act of shaping reality in any way contrary to its intended rules draws the attention of the lich-lords known as the Stiffs, the necrotic demi-gods masquerading that created this prison reality. Anyone capable of weilding magic poses a threat to their dark schemes, and they will relentless pursue Ciphers in order to destroy their minds and shackle their spellcasting abilities into an obedient abomination known as a Shill. These Shills are made from the harvested soul of a Cipher, incapable of remembering their previous life and are they follow the Stiffs commands without question. They are capable of casting powerful magic and they relentlessly pursue Ciphers to grow their ranks and appease their corrupted leaders.
When creating a character’s background it may be helpful to think of the Cipher’s life before and after they awakened. Consider what their stance is on the topics of magic, the Stiffs and Shills, the Dreamers they interact with, and their feelings towards the dystopic world around them. If this process proves difficult, try filling out the following statements from your Cipher’s point of view to generate ideas about their personality, inspirations, flaws, and appearance:
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When people see me, they first notice my [ ___ ].
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The people who know me well all have this in common: [ ___ ].
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Without [ ___ ], I would not be who I am today.
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Many people consider me to be an expert in [ ___ ].
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I dream of achieving [ ___ ], but cannot proceed because of [ ___ ].
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If I had to describe magic with three words, they would be: [ ___ ] , [ ___ ] , and [ ___ ] .
Take note of the answers to the above statements and summarize these details into the Appearance, Personality, Inspirations, and Flaws sections of the character sheet. Any player may choose to expand their character’s background with their own statements, histories, and observations.
To finish making a character’s background, describe the event that stirred your Cipher from slumber and their experience of awakening to magic. This moment may have been fraught with fear or horror as reality bends and distorts, or it may be inspiring and unimaginably blissful. However this moment occurred, it will lead the Cipher to seek answers and ultimately awaken to the magic around and inside of them. This information should be written within the Origin / First Glitch section of the character sheet.
Protocols
Players choose spells from eight different categories of magic known as Protocols to represent their Cipher’s knowledge and mastery of magic. A complete list of Protocols can be found here:
A Cipher can only ever hold two different Protocols in their mind at once, but players may choose any spells from those two Protocols for their Cipher to know. This restriction is due to the strain and complexity required to manifest spells from different methods of magical manipulation. Players may choose ten spells for their Cipher to know when the game begins and gain one additional spell for every completed session of Somnihil. At the beginning of a session, a player may choose to change all or some of the spells their Cipher knows in order to have the most variety of options for the challenges ahead.
Each Protocol has distinct abilities and themes that define how its magic transforms the world. For assistance in selecting a Protocol based on thematic scenarios, follow the steps in this guide.
More scenarios and details are in development and will be added to this guide over time.
Cyberware
In Development
Gear
In Development