Characters & Crews

Building your deniable asset in 2048

In FREE//FALL, capability is bought, spliced, or installed. A character is a deniable asset shaped by three facets:

The Chrome – Gear, Assets and Augmentatons the character can utilize.
The Resources – Body, Mind, and Ghost of the character; Structure, OS of the Exo; Systems of an Augmentation can be exploited to cheat fate.
The Spark – A lingering spark of inherent knack tied to your Class, granting the character an unique Skill they can utilize instead of Chrome.

Defined by Chrome

In the fractured future of 2048, you are not defined by a hero’s journey or an arbitrary level. You are defined by your Gear, your Augmentations, and your willingness to bleed.

The Chrome

Gear, Assets, and Augmentations

This is the primary source of capability. Tools, weapons, armor, and cybernetics grant specific skills, but they extract a toll called Binding.

The Rule: “Having the right tool IS the skill.” - Having a knife, means you can use it to do knife things, within fictions context. Having a cybernetic sensory suite, you can use it to spy on the enemies, if any.

The Cost: You don’t just equip heavy armor; you support its weight with your spine (Binding Body). You don’t just run a Black Ice breaker; you dedicate neural bandwidth to controlling it (Binding Mind).

The Resources

Mind, Body, Ghost

Body, Mind, and Ghost represent your innate capacity. These are finite resources with an Initial rating and a Current rating. They are used to:

Power your Gear: The higher your Initial Attribute, the more tech you can Bind.

Resist Harm: You can replace Transient Harm with Permanent Harm in an Attribute to stay in the fight.

Operational Capacity: Once your Current pool is empty, you are exhausted, vulnerable, and unable to attempt actions outside your Skills or reduce incoming Harm through effort.

Push the Limits: Spend a point of an Attribute to attempt an action as though you had a Skill for it.

In addition to the innate Resources the character has, some gear or augmentations might grant the Character additional Resources. The additional resources are often 1-1 replacapble with a specific innate Resource.

The Spark

Class and Skill

A lingering spark of inherent knack tied to your Class. It grants you a specific Skill.

Effect: A Skill enables a character to attempt an action governed by the skill, without needing specific gear, spending an Attribute point, or taking Harm just to make the attempt. It represents years of muscle memory or intuition that tech cannot replicate.

Very experienced characters might have an additional Skill from their Class list, or an extra “knack” from another Classes list.

Classes and Skills

Class	Skill	Definition
The Vanguard	Breaching	Forcing entry through barriers, doors, and fortified positions
The Vanguard	Close Combat Tactics	Hand-to-hand fighting and melee weapon proficiency
The Vanguard	Tactical Defense	Holding ground, providing cover, and protecting allies
The Spectre	Infiltration	Bypassing security and moving undetected through hostile territory
The Spectre	Sabotage	Disabling systems, planting charges, and destroying infrastructure
The Spectre	Surveillance	Monitoring targets, gathering intel, and counter-surveillance
The Wirehead	System Cracking	Breaking into secure networks and overriding digital defenses
The Wirehead	Data Mining	Extracting, decrypting, and analyzing information from systems
The Wirehead	Cybernetics Intrusion	Hacking augmentations and neural implants in hostile targets
The Fixer	Human Systems	Field medicine, trauma care, and biological repair
The Fixer	Field Systems Tech	Repairing gear, jury-rigging equipment, and Bricolage
The Fixer	Clocksmith (AI)	Programming, maintaining, and negotiating with artificial intelligences
The Operator	Deadeye	Precision shooting at range, called shots, and overwatch
The Operator	Target Acquisition	Marking targets, calculating trajectories, and coordinating fire
The Operator	Field Support	Providing suppressive fire, area denial, and tactical coordination
The Broker	Negotiation	Brokering deals, extracting concessions, and defusing standoffs
The Broker	Impersonation	Assuming false identities and blending into hostile social environments
The Broker	Influence Peddling	Leveraging contacts, favors, and blackmail to move the needle
The Pilot	Vehicle Handling	Operating ground, air, and space vehicles under combat conditions
The Pilot	Logistics	Managing supply chains, routes, and extraction plans
The Pilot	Sensors & Countermeasures	Operating detection systems and deploying electronic warfare

Using Class Skills

Note that unlike Gear, the class skills are strictly situational. In game terms, this means the character is able to do any actions required to succeed in the skill’s situational context. But the skill Breaching f.ex. does not grant universal ability to fight with weapons.

Similarly: close combat tactics, will allow character to utilize ranged weapons, etc. in close combat situations, but will not let the use knives for interrogation.

This also means the characters are able to use improvised means to achieve things in fiction. A Wirehead with Cybernetics Intrusion is able to cheat eye implants of an adversary, without specific electronic gear - f.ex. with makeup, mirrors or some other completely improvised tools, that are available in fiction.

2. Character Creation Pipeline

Follow these steps to build a mercenary ready for the Ecopunk slums or the Cyberpunk void.

Step 1: Concept & Origin

Define your mercenary’s nature. Where did they learn to survive?

The Gravity Well (Earth/Al Presa): Born in the heat and biological decay. Familiar with Bricolage (repurposing trash), toxic weather, and the crowded vertical slums.
- Vibe: Sweat, rust, duct tape, organic desperation.
The Void (Space/Belt): Born in the cold, sterile vacuum. Familiar with corporate rigidity, radiation, zero-G combat, and the silence of the black.
- Vibe: Cold, silence, magnetic seals, corporate sterility.

Step 2: Choose a Class & Details

Choose a Class that defines your approach to the job. Select one Skill from that Class.

Class	Role & Description	Skills (Choose One)
The Vanguard	Frontline combatant and breaching expert. They carry the heaviest armor and break the hardest targets.	Breaching, Close Combat Tactics, Tactical Defense
The Spectre	Master of stealth and sabotage. They operate in the blind spots of sensors and society.	Infiltration, Sabotage, Surveillance
The Wirehead	Digital ghost. They manage the Mind Binding load of dangerous software to breach systems.	System Cracking, Data Mining, Cybernetics Intrusion
The Fixer	Tech guru and medic. Masters of Bricolage, keeping people and gear running with duct tape and bypasses.	Human Systems, Field Systems Tech, Clocksmith (AI)
The Operator	Sharpshooter and tactical observer. They provide overwatch and coordinate fire.	Deadeye, Target Acquisition, Field Support
The Broker	Social chameleon. They navigate the corporate boardroom and the black market alike.	Negotiation, Impersonation, Influence Peddling
The Pilot	Vehicle expert. They bind their nervous systems to engines and thrusters.	Vehicle Handling, Logistics, Sensors & Countermeasures

Step 3: Assign Attributes

Assign the Standard Array [12, 8, 6] to your three Attributes. These are your Initial values (your maximum potential).

BODY: Physical resilience, brute force, biological tolerance. Used for Heavy Weapons, Armor, and resisting Physical Harm.
MIND: Focus, technical acuity, cognitive processing. Used for Hacking, Med-Tech, and resisting Psychic Harm.
GHOST: Social composure, stealth, existential stability. Used for Stealth suits, Social maneuvering, and resisting Compromise.

Step 4: Select Gear & Calculate Binding

Select your equipment. This is a critical step. Every significant piece of gear has an Attribute Binding Cost.

Calculate Current Attributes: Subtract the Total Binding Cost from your Initial Attribute.

Initial Attribute - Total Binding = Current Attribute Pool

Note: If you Bind too much, you leave yourself with fewer resources to push limits or resist Harm.

Step 5: Derived Stats

Action Pool: Standard 5d20.
Harm Slots: Standard is 3 Slots. (Penalty: -1d20 to the Action Pool per filled slot).

3. Example Characters

Example 1: “Rhino” - The Vanguard

A walking tank built for the breach.

Class: Vanguard (Skill: Breaching)
Initial Attributes: Body 12, Ghost 8, Mind 6.
Gear Loadout:
- “Rhino Hide” Heavy Armor: AV 3 (Physical). [Binds 3 Body]
- Kinetic Carbine: DV 2, Auto-Fire. [Binds 1 Body]
- Pneumatic Ram: DV 3, High Impact. [Binds 2 Body]
- Mule Harness: Load Bearing. [Binds 1 Body] (Negates weight of Ram/Rifle for movement, but Binding remains for usage).
Calculations:
- Total Body Binding: 3 (Armor) + 1 (Rifle) + 2 (Ram) + 1 (Harness) = 7 Body Bound.
Current Pool:
- Body: 12 (Initial) - 7 (Bound) = 5 Current Points (Risky, but powerful).
- Mind: 6 (Initial) - 0 = 6.
- Ghost: 8 (Initial) - 0 = 8.

Example 2: “Whisper” - The Spectre (Hacker)

A ghost in the machine using Hacking gear.

Class: Wirehead/Spectre Hybrid (Skill: System Cracking)
Initial Attributes: Mind 12, Ghost 8, Body 6.
Gear Loadout:
- Operator’s Slate (“Ghost Link”): The deck itself. [Binds 1 Mind]
- Program: “Banshee” (Tier: STEEL): Blast type software. [Binds 2 Mind]
- Program: “Needle” (Tier: CHROME): Spike type software. [Binds 3 Mind]
- Chameleon Suit: Stealth tech. [Binds 2 Ghost]
- Micro-Pistol: Backup. [Binds 0 - Light Gear]
Calculations:
- Total Mind Binding: 1 (Slate) + 2 (Banshee) + 3 (Needle) = 6 Mind Bound.
- Total Ghost Binding: 2 (Suit) = 2 Ghost Bound.
Current Pool:
- Body: 6 - 0 = 6.
- Mind: 12 - 6 = 6 Current Points (High cognitive load).
- Ghost: 8 - 2 = 6 Current Points.

Example 3: “Patch” - The Fixer

Bricolage expert who keeps the team alive.

Class: Fixer (Skill: Human Systems)
Initial Attributes: Mind 12, Body 8, Ghost 6.
Gear Loadout:
- Trauma Kit (“Patch-Up”): Enables Medical Actions. [Binds 2 Mind]
- Personal Sensor Array: Tactical awareness. [Binds 1 Mind]
- Light Ballistic Vest: AV 1. [Binds 1 Body]
- Neuro-Stunner: DV 1 (Psychic). [Binds 0]
Calculations:
- Total Mind Binding: 2 (Kit) + 1 (Sensors) = 3 Mind Bound.
Current Pool:
- Body: 8 - 1 = 7.
- Mind: 12 - 3 = 9 Current Points (Huge reserve for medical checks).
- Ghost: 6 - 0 = 6.

4. Crews

Mercenaries rarely operate alone. Your Crew is your life support system.

1. The Niche

Extraction: Getting people out of Al Presa or corporate holding.
Acquisition: Stealing data shards or prototypes from the Belt.
Sanitation: “Cleaning” up messes for Theseus (Wetwork).

2. Shared Assets

Crews often pool resources for one major asset:

The Van/Shuttle: A beat-up transport (e.g., “The Ugly Duckling”).
The Safehouse: An off-grid container in the Al Presa Sump.
The Fabricator: An illegal 3D printer for repairing armor.

3. Dynamics

Professional: Just here for the credits.
Ideological: Fighting against the heat or the corps.
Compromised: Working off a debt to a Syndicate or Theseus.