These optional rules for creating HardNova 2 characters add a little more depth to their lives and personalities. Feel free to adjust them to fit your needs and play style. Additional add-ons for HardNova 2 may be required for some gimmicks and skills. Step 1: Species
Choose character species. Step 2: Ability
Divide twelve (12) points among abilities, keeping in mind limits imposed on the various races. Allocate an extra one to four points for more heroic games. Step 3: Family Background
Choose a family background from those available to the character’s species. The backgrounds are: technical, political, military, financial, criminal, artistry, and primitive.

	Species			Early Education Table
	Human			any
	Centaurian			any
	Kt’Sorii			male: technical, military, criminal; female: political, financial, criminal
	Digronian			male: all but criminal; female: criminal, technical, artistry
	Migado			technical, political, financial, criminal, artistry
	Tarkosian			technical, political, military, financial, criminal, primitive
	Kinosian			technical, political, financial, artistry, primitive
	X-an			technical, military
	Gillie			primitive
	Dashi			technical, financial, criminal
	Sligg			technical, political, financial, criminal, primitive
	Ul-Marian			technical, political, financial, criminal
	Sikatai			any

Step 4: Early Education
Roll on the Early Education table a number of times equal to half the roll of one die (round down), consulting the column for the character’s family background. Increase the level of the indicated skill by one. This represents skills learned during the character’s youth. Step 5: Higher Education
Roll on the Higher Education table for the character’s family background a number of times equal to the roll of one die. If more than one column exists for the background, the player must choose only one of them for all his rolls. Increase the level of the indicated skill by one. This represents skills learned during the character’s schooling years. Step 6: Early Employment
Roll on the Early Employment table a number of times equal to the roll of one die, up to a maximum number equal to the value listed below for the character’s species. Consult any column that is compatible with the character’s family background (see Sector table below). Increase the level of the indicated skill by one. This represents skills learned during the character’s early adult life.

	Species			Maximum Rolls
	Human			6
	Centaurian			6
	Kt’Sorii			6
	Digronian			5
	Migado			6
	Tarkosian			4
	Kinosian			2
	X-an			6
	Gillie			1
	Dashi			5
	Sligg			4
	Ul-Marian			4
	Sikatai			5

	Sector			Compatible Family Background
	Corporate			technical, financial
	Private			technical, military, financial, criminal
	Military			technical, military
	Public			technical, political, financial, artistry, primitive
	Rogue			any

Step 7: Focused Training
Allocate twenty-five (25) points among skills. Skills not listed under the appropriate family background column on the Early Education or Higher Education table require double the amount to be allocated to them. Allocate an extra five to ten for more heroic games. Step 8: Gimmicks
Note all gimmicks required by the character’s species. Optional gimmicks may be chosen for the character, but each one reduces an ability by one (1) point or a skill by three (3) points. Detrimental gimmicks provide one (1) extra point for abilities or three (3) for skills. Optional
Roll one die and consult the table below. Then roll on the Events table, referencing the appropriate column. Characters with criminal or primitive family backgrounds may not roll on the Politics table, and should roll again.

	Roll			Event
	1			war
	2			crime
	3			travel
	4			politics
	5			miscellaneous
	6			a quiet life—no roll is made

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Early Education

Roll

Technical

Political

Military

Financial

Criminal

Artistry

Primitive

1

investigation

interrogation

athletics

gambling

finesse

crafts

athletics

2

design

academics

brawling

commodities

piloting (ground)

design

brawling

3

computers

academics

firearms

commodities

disguise

design

melee

4

mechatronics

general knowledge

melee

computers

forgery

performance

tracking

5

scanning

negotiation

piloting (spacecraft)

negotiation

performance

scavenging

scavenging

6

sciences

performance

zero-g

street cred

street cred

computers

survival

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Higher Education: Part 1

Roll

Technical: Engineering

Technical: Medical

Political

Military: Spacer

Military: Soldier

Military: Pilot

1

design

investigation

academics

athletics

athletics

firearms

2

advanced engineering

biomechanics

commodities

firearms

brawling

gunnery

3

computers

medicine

general knowledge

gunnery

firearms

piloting (spacecraft)

4

engineering

medicine

negotiation

zero-g

melee

zero-g

5

mechatronics

sciences

performance

piloting (starships)

survival

scanning

6

sciences

composure

composure

scanning

composure

composure

Higher Education: Part 2

Roll

Financial: Merchant

Financial: Broker

Criminal

Artistry

Primitive

1

piloting (spacecraft)

gambling

finesse

crafts

athletics

2

forgery

academics

firearms

design

brawling

3

commodities

academics

gambling

academics

melee

4

computers

commodities

forgery

computers

tracking

5

negotiation

negotiation

computers

sciences

scavenging

6

street cred

performance

street cred

performance

survival

---

Early Employment

Roll

Corporate Sector

Private Sector

Military Sector

Public Sector

Rogue Sector

1

investigation

piloting (ground)

athletics

design

firearms

2

design

piloting (spacecraft)

firearms

academics

interrogation

3

academics

zero-g

tracking

computers

forgery

4

commodities

scavenging

demolitions

general knowledge

commodities

5

negotiation

computers

survival

negotiation

piloting (starships)

6

composure

street cred

composure

street cred

seduction

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Events

Roll

War

Crime

Travel

Politics

Miscellaneous

1

Promotion: character gains the military rank gimmick

Falsely accused: character gains the criminal gimmick

Galactic tour: character gains the multilingual gimmick

USU commissioner: character gains the USU authority gimmick

Accident: character gains the heightened vision gimmick as a mechanical enhancment

2

Advanced training: allocate five extra points among brawling, firearms, zero-g, and composure

Suspected criminal: character gains the fame gimmick

Homeworld tour: allocate five extra points among general knowledge, streetwise, and piloting (ground) skills

Planetary magistrate or legislator: character gains the planetary authority gimmick

Accident: character gains the musclebound gimmick as a mechanical enhancment

3

Decorated: character gains the fame gimmick

Victim: character gains the autoinjector gimmick

Transportation accident: character gains the disfigurement gimmick

Former politician: character gains the elite gimmick

Genetic Aberration: character gains the tolerance to pain gimmick

4

Wounded in action: character gains the clumsy, disfigurement, reduced stamina, or weak gimmick

Victim: character gains the environmental dependency gimmick

Sought comfort: character receives the addiction gimmick

Character has a major USU politician as a contact

Genetic Aberration: character gains the astrosense gimmick

5

Traumatized: character gains the addiction gimmick

Accomplished thief: character gains the wealth gimmick

Species Exchange: allocate five extra points among skills belonging to a different family background

Character has a major planetary politician as a contact

Genetic Aberration: character gains the empathic sense gimmick

6

Court-martialed: character gains the criminal gimmick

Galactic Con-Man: character gains a small starship

Abduction and Testing: remove five points among any skills

Disgraced politician: character gains the fame gimmick

Genetic Aberration: character gains the aurasense gimmick