The Rules

Character Creation

Building an operative means answering one question at every step: who is this person, and what are they willing to lose? Everything else — the stats, the chrome, the Path — is just how you write that answer down.

“Everybody in the Age of Echoes is running from something. The only choice is what you carry with you.”
The Shape of a Build

Characters in Chrome & Covenant are built by point-buy, not random rolls — you decide exactly who your operative is. Every build rests on three Core Stats, and you spend a pool of points to set them:

20 points across Mind, Body & Soul  ·  max 10 in any one
A 7 or 8 makes you above average. A 9 or 10 makes you exceptional. Spreading thin keeps you flexible; specializing makes you formidable in one arena and exposed in the others.

Want more than the points allow? Take a weakness. A cyberware addiction, a corporate enemy, a debt you can’t outrun — each accepted flaw pays out Bonus Build Points (+2 to +6, depending on how much it’ll cost you in play) to spend on strengths elsewhere. You can stack two on your own; a third needs your GM’s blessing and a good story. Weaknesses aren’t punishments. They’re the parts of a character that make them worth playing.

The Build, Step by Step
ConceptWho were they before, and who are they now? What drives them into the Hidden War, and what do they stand to lose? Everything downstream serves this.
OriginPick the region that shaped you. Each grants signature skills, starting contacts, and a default safe haven — see below.
PathYour mechanical identity and progression track. Ten Paths, from the Churchie to the Wheel Man. Full breakdown here.
Core Stats & AttributesSpend your 20 points across Mind, Body, and Soul. Each stat splits into two Attributes (Intelligence/Perception, Strength/Agility, Charisma/Willpower) used for tiebreakers, prerequisites, and derived values.
SkillsStart from your Path’s recommendations, add what your origin and concept demand. Most operatives begin with 8–12 skills, none higher than Expert. The skill list lives here.
Chrome ProfileDecide how augmented you start — Natural, Light, Standard, or Heavy. Every implant costs Humanity. What chrome costs you.
Bonds, Motivations & ContactsAt least one bond, three motivations, three contacts. Tie at least one motivation to the Hidden War. This is where your character stops being a stat block.
Starting GearBegin with 100 Coin split across State, Corp, and Grid currencies. Watch your Signal Load — smart gear and chrome both draw on it. Gear basics here.
Derived StatsCalculate Hit Points, Humanity, Luck, and Initiative from the stats you set. The formulas are below.
Finalize & ReviewShare sheets with the table — every ability is disclosed, no hidden tricks. Find the synergies and frictions with your crew. A character is built to run with others.
Where You Came From

Your origin is the culture that shaped how you see technology, authority, and survival. It sets your signature skills and your starting relationships — and it’s the place you can still call something like home.

Aurora-9 Underground Networks Raised in the surveillance state, where identity is contraband and respect moves through underground hierarchies. You learned to read a room and disappear from one. +1 Deception · +1 Streetwise
Iron Belt Tech Adaptation Where Lucent Ark tools got repurposed for survival and a cracked machine is just a machine waiting to be turned the other way. Reverence for lost knowledge, hands always working. +1 Crafting · +1 Engineering
Forgotten States Constitutional Resistance Dustbowl communities that kept the old legal traditions and the older habit of self-reliance. You treat accountability and preparedness as survival tools, not abstractions. +1 Investigation · +1 Leadership
Fallen Shore Maritime Solidarity Shipborn, where mobility is survival and a good story is currency. Borders are temporary; the water and the dead are not. +1 Piloting · +1 Performance

Not from any one region? Neutral St. Louis is the crossroads — the neutral ground where every faction trades and no one rules. A common origin for operatives who belong everywhere and nowhere.

Professional Background

On top of your origin, your pre-operative profession gives you a contact network and a way of seeing problems:

Trader / NegotiatorValue, translation, and relationships built through commerce. Merchant and broker networks.
Operator / ScavengerResource recovery and technical analysis. Salvage crews and underground markets.
Protector / EnforcerThreat assessment and group defense. Security networks and gang hierarchies.
Scholar / ArchivistPreserving and moving knowledge. Knowledge-keepers and faction historians.
Mediator / GuideTranslation, conflict resolution, terrain. Faction intermediaries and regional guides.
Artisan / CreatorTurning raw materials into needed goods. Craft guilds and cultural patrons.

Origin and background also seed your Ghost Debt — the inherited obligations and unfinished business that follow a character into play. Nobody starts the Age of Echoes with a clean ledger.

The Numbers You’ll Track

Once your stats are set, a handful of derived values fall out of them. These are the numbers on the right-hand side of your sheet — the ones that keep you alive.

Hit PointsBody × 3 + 10How much harm you can take before you’re in real trouble.
HumanitySoul × 10Minus the cost of your chrome. Your buffer against the cold logic of the machine.
Luck= WillpowerYour starting pool of Karma’s everyday currency. Refreshes each session.
InitiativeAgility + PerceptionAdded to 1d10 to set the order of action when things get fast.
Carry CapacityStrength × 10 kgWhat you can haul without it slowing you down.

Humanity is the one that haunts you. Every implant buys capability and spends a little of what makes you human — the central trade of the whole setting. More on chrome and its cost.

A Build, Start to Finish

Here’s how the pieces lock together — a complete first-level operative, ready for Session Zero.

Worked Example

Maya Chen

A former Lucent Ark data analyst who vanished into Aurora-9’s underground rather than face corporate reeducation. She still believes technology can serve people — she just stopped believing the corporations would let it.

Path The Tech Nerd — the crew’s problem-solver. Engineering Expertise (+2 Crafting/Engineering), Jury Rig.

Origin Aurora-9 (+1 Deception, +1 Streetwise)

Core Stats Mind 8 (+1) · Body 6 (+0) · Soul 6 (+0)

Skills Engineering +3 · Investigation +3 · Hacking +2 · Crafting +1 · Deception +1 · Streetwise +1 · Stealth +1 · Medicine +1 · Composure +1

Chrome Neural Interface (−5 Humanity) · Enhanced Memory (−3 Humanity)

Derived HP 28 · Humanity 52 · Luck 6 · Initiative +14

Gear Military toolkit · custom datapad · smartweave jacket (Armor 3) · ceramic knife · compact smartgun · 100 Coin (20 State / 50 Corp / 30 Grid)

Drives her Prove independent tech can serve a community. Expose corporate surveillance. Keep the human-centered philosophy alive.

Notice how every number traces back to the concept. The corporate past buys the analytical Mind. The escape explains the Aurora-9 skills. The light chrome reflects someone who’ll use technology but won’t let it own her. That’s the goal — a sheet that reads like a person.

Why It Works This Way

The setting is built into the math. Humanity comes from Soul, so the more human your character starts, the more chrome they can survive — and the more they have to lose by taking it. Weaknesses fund strengths, so the most capable operatives are usually the most compromised. The mechanics don’t just model the world of Chrome & Covenant. They argue for it.

This is the complete creation procedure — enough to build a playable operative right now. The Core Rulebook carries the full Path abilities and progression, the complete skill list with specializations, the cyberware catalog, and the weakness tables that turn a good flaw into the best part of your character.

You know how a character comes together. Now pick what they do.

Choose a Path Skills Chrome & Humanity How the Dice Work