The character-creation system is designed around a few precepts. Keep these in mind while generating the persona you will assume in the game

• You may create a character of any age, from any culture and from any nation region or planet, subject to the Storyteller’s approval.
• The character-creation system is intended more as a persona development device than as a strict mechanical system. The character creation process provides you with the means for your concept to work within the rules by defining your character in terms of Traits. The numbers involved are less important than the concept — your character’s Traits should support and strengthen your concept. Who wants more rules at the expense of an interesting character or a good story? The character cannot exist as mere dots on a page — roleplaying is always more important than numbers. The only way your character becomes more than dots on a page is through roleplaying his interactions with the world.
• Players receive points to spend on each category of Traits, including Attributes, Abilities, and Advantages. Players have a certain number of points to spend on Traits they would like their characters to have. Players also get “freebie points” at the end of character creation; they may spend these to round out their characters, add personality and further differentiate their characters from those of other players.
• A Trait rating of 1 is poor, while a rating of 5 is excellent. Thus, a character with a single dot in a Trait is either not very good with that Trait or is a beginner. Don’t think that your character sucks because she’s only got one dot in Manipulation. Over time, your character can grow and improve their Traits — possibly overcoming their weaknesses — through the experience system. The experience system allows characters to grow and improve. You have an opportunity during character creation to flesh out your character through their weaknesses as well as their strengths.
• It is your responsibility to take on a role that’s not destructive to the group. It’s very important to make a character that fits into the group. There has to be some reason you’ve joined up with your companions (the other players’ characters). People don’t usually just hang out for the hell of it. If you make a character who won’t work with the group, or who really doesn’t fit in, then the other players won’t tolerate it. The Storyteller or other players may ask you to modify how you play, or even to create a new character who fits better with the rest of the group. Survival depends on each member of the group helping one another.

Concept: Choose an overall concept of who the character is: what they've done, how they've lived, and what is unique about them. This concept may describe their profession, how they saw themseles, or what others felt about them.

Nature and Demeanor: Nature is the “true” personality of your character - who they are deep down. Demeanor is the personality your character presents to the world. More often than not, Nature and Demeanor are different, especially given the complex and mysterious nature of the mind.

Characters with ratings of 4 or higher in Attributes or Abilities may choose specialties for those Traits. Specialties represent a particular focus and proficiency related to the character’s concept or profession. Some characters are especially good at particular applications of their Traits. For example, a mechanic might be particularly good with muscle cars, a sprinter may be swift-footed, a thief might excel at breaking and entering, a chauffer may be especially good at off-road maneuvers, or a brawler might be infamous as a dirty fighter. A player may declare a specialty as a guide to roleplaying even if the character does not have a rating of 4 or higher but it has no effect on rule mechanics.

A specialty is a particular subcategory or facet of an Attribute or Ability — thus, a character with a Strength 5 might choose to be especially adept in deadlifting, while a character with Performance 4 might be renowned for her singing. Most players select specialties simply to flesh out a character, but they can have some very real effects on the story as well. A specialty allows the player to count 10s on actions as two successes where the specialty directly applies to the action being attempted.

Players should clear any specialties with the Storyteller, who can veto any specialties that are too broad (such as “guns” for Firearms or “healing” for Medicine) or that focus solely on game mechanics (“dealing damage” for Strength or “soak rolls” for Stamina). The player and Storyteller should work together to express the character’s concept through specialties.