The Country Bumpkin

First in the family to hold a wand. Magic is new, terrifying, wonderful — and you will not waste it.
You are a 2nd-year student at the Cyorian Royal Magical Academy, admitted under the Crown's emergency enrollment.

1. Origins

Pick 1. Your origin grants a Connection — a person, organization, or access you can leverage during play.

Origin	You come from...	Connection
Rural Outsider	A village far from Cyoria: farmlands, a border settlement near Koth or Sulamnon, things in the woods city folk don't believe in.	Village Elder: once per quest, consult your village elder or wise-woman for practical (if old-fashioned) magical advice.
**[[07 The Weeping\	Survivor of The Weeping]]**	You grew up in the shadow of the plague: quarantine memory and scarcity pragmatism.
State Orphan	Raised by the state's institutions: bureaucratic blindspots and hard pragmatism.	State Network: bureaucratic blindspots, 1/session.
Dungeon Scavenger	Your family delved the upper Dungeon for a living: monster anatomy and honest darkness.	Mercenary Guild: once per quest, monster intelligence, a guide for the upper Dungeon, or fencing illicit monster parts without questions.

2. Attributes

Fixed array. Sum +4.

Attribute	Score
Mental	1
Social	-2
Physical	3
Memory	1
Calculation	0
Finesse	0
Willpower	1

Mana: 4 + Highest of (Calculation, Finesse, Willpower) = [5] Boxes Ready Glyphs: 2 + Highest of (Calculation, Memory) = [3]

3. Starting Schools

1 dot in Projection (the survival basics you crammed) grants 1 Spell Formula
1 dot in Abjuration (you learned to stay alive first) grants 1 Spell Formula

Baseline casting starts with your school-native starter glyph. You may hold a number of Mastered Spells in active recall equal to your Memory attribute.

4. Playbook Moves

Signature Move (auto-granted)

Fresh Eyes: When you encounter a magical effect, creature, or place you have never seen before, roll +Mental.

10+: Ask the GM 2 questions about it; they answer truthfully.
7-9: Ask 1 question, answered truthfully, but the wonder costs you — take -1 forward to act on the answer.
6-: You gawk at the worst possible moment, and the GM makes a hard move.

Choose 2 of 6

Born of Earth: When you push your body through exhaustion, hardship, or harsh conditions, roll +Physical. 10+: you keep going, no cost. 7-9: you keep going, but mark 1 Wound from the strain. 6-: your body gives out, and the GM makes a hard move.
Fast Learner: When you stabilize a new formula the hard way — through Research Matrix, failure, and repetition — mark 1 Study Points and Insights immediately.
Simple Truths: When you tell an uncomfortable truth to someone in power, roll +Social. 10+: they listen and respect the honesty — take +1 forward with them. 7-9: they listen, but take offense; the GM chooses how it bites you later. 6-: you've made an enemy, and the GM makes a hard move.
Home in Your Heart: Once per session, when you're lost, stuck, or desperate, you recall something from home — a trick, a tool, a memory. Ask the GM one question; they must give you a real, practical answer drawn from your past.
The Crown's Ledger: Your enrollment rides on an Crown scholarship with strings. When you miss an obligation — a class, a service shift, a payment — mark a Debt. The Crown collects its Debts at the worst possible moment: a summons, a posting, a test of loyalty.
Midnight Oil: When you push yourself to study, craft, or practice without sleeping (saving a Time Slot), roll +Mental. 10+: you succeed with no penalty. 7-9: you succeed, but take 1 Wound from extreme fatigue. 6-: exhaustion catches up immediately, and the GM makes a hard move tied to mistakes, delay, or collapse.

5. Starting Gear

Worn but clean clothes and one keepsake from home
A patched bag with borrowed, secondhand textbooks
A cheap Standard Focus (your first!)
Your Crown scholarship papers — read them carefully

6. Bonds

Format: "I have a bond of [Emotion/Concept] with [NPC Name] because [Reason]."

Someone here helped you when you were lost on your first day because...
Someone here mocks your accent, and you've decided to prove them wrong because...

7. Advancement

Fiction-first milestone hooks — the GM can use them when you spend SP/IP or when a chapter closes. Growth shows in the story, not on a table.

The wonder is wearing off. Which piece of the Academy's glitter has turned sour? What do you miss most from home?
Magic for the village. Who back home would you share your power with — and who would you protect it from?
First in the family. What does success look like when you define it, not your professors?