Powder, Gears, and Blessed Steam - A WHF Engineering Quest

You only stumble a half dozen times making it back up to your room and only two of them into your fellow patrons who shove you aside with an understandable level of disgust. Hands clench on the edge of the nightstand until the wood creaks, the light of the moon outside and the candle burning in front of you more than enough for your purposes. Have you done this each night before today?

In the bowl of water before you the face starring back softens as your grip lightens… It is hard to accept it. An unwashed, half maddened mess looks back in place of the once bright and driven student. Powder burns still marr the edge of your tunic. Soot from some experiment long ago eating at the hem of your shirt. If you were to turn your hand you'd find the callusses of a craftsman just starting to form… Another sign of a dream cut down in front of you.

Staring into those almost lifeless eyes it takes you a moment again to recognize them as your own, a slight tremble of your body distorting the reflection in the water. Again you find yourself remembering your past, this time of those earliest years and the place you came from…

Who are you?
[] Luther Von Brak - A young man barely into his twenties. A once finely kept beard and well trimmed mustache framing a slightly tanned face with harsh green eyes. Short black hair that even now seems surprisingly well maintained. You are a Burgomeister's only son, your parents pride and joy once upon a time. Rare were the days that you truly knew hunger. Few were the things that could not be given to you when asked. A life of luxury unlike much of the Empire that has instilled in you a taste for the finer things in life and…

Left a burning patriotism for your nation in your breast. It is by the armies of the Empire, the will of Emperor Luitpold, and the aid of the Elector Counts that humanity still finds itself in some semblance of peace. You had meant to act as a pillar of the Empire by pursuing your passion…

• Gives Patriotic Fervor (You are a staunch supporter of the Empire and will gladly work for its betterment. Gain an additional die when your actions would inspire this patriotism.)
• +10 Starting Wealth
• +1 Mind

[] Adela Helmuth - A woman in her youth with hair the golden color of wheat, brilliant eyes the shade of rubies, freckles dotting her cheeks… It is hard to see that supposed brilliance now. Caked in grime and weighed down by your failures. They were simpler and kinder days back then, of that you were certain. Your days spent running through the village fields. Your nights spent helping clean the temple and studying the tenets of your Mother's faith.

It was those days that taught you the importance of faith, even if right now it withers and flounders in the back of your mind. Faith and belief can drag one through their darkest days and through them invite the workings of the divine.

• Gives Child of … (A second set of options will be given next turn for which deity of the Old World pantheon your worship)
• +5 Starting Wealth
• +1 Soul

[] Margaret - Just Margaret. No last name. Heavily tanned skin bearing years of calluses, light grey pupils, and hair kept short and tied back so it was out of way. An orphan, a girl that grew up fighting for scraps on the street and performed a miracle: Getting accepted to a school backed by the Empire itself. After years and years of struggling it was a difficult task to adapt, but her sponsor and teacher was always there to help. Or, at least they were until that final day where they booted you out the door.

You've been further down than this before. It hurts. It feels cruel and occasionally things seem hopeless, but… You'll get through it.

• Gives Brilliant Mind (Provides an additional die when learning any new skill, halves chance of accidents)
• +2 Starting Wealth
• +1 Body

Note: After this we'll have two more parts of character creation: Choosing our main characters Dream that gave them a passion for engineering, machinery, and technology before finally deciding on their Fall which got them kicked from the school as well as banned from all others in the Empire.