The Cast

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This page is for players.

As a player, it’s your job to survive whatever Threat the Director has planned for you. If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to investigate the Threat, unravel its weaknesses, and dispatch it for good. If you’re unlucky… the story won’t end well for you.

Your character is synonymous with your character sheet. It lists your Actions, traits, motives, fears, and so on. When you are injured, you rip off part of your character sheet. When you gain a level, you unlock new sections of your character sheet.

You have two ways to make a character: Archetype Characters and Advanced Characters. You can make an archetype character in minutes—it has everything you need printed on the character sheet and offers plenty of ways you can make the character your own. By contrast, an advanced character offers more freedom of expression, but requires more time and creativity on your part. Try archetype characters for your first game, especially if you’re new to roleplaying games.

Character Sheets

Modern Archetypes	Medieval Archetypes	Futuristic Archetypes
Agent	Alchemist	Amnesiac
Antiquarian	Dungeoneer	Gadgeteer
Con	Graverobber	Hacker
Exorcist	Inquisitor	Merc
Final Teen	Magician	Private Eye
Financier	Mystic	Smuggler
Ghost Hunter	Scoundrel
Prodigy

Advanced Character Sheet

Archetype Characters

You can make an archetype character in under five minutes; just print a character sheet and follow the instructions on the sheet.

Character Creation in Ten Steps

Here’s an overview of how you create a character:

1. Pick an Archetype. Your archetype is the core expression of your character, an homage to existing horror characters that you use as a starting point. Your archetype determines which character sheet you use.

2. Pick a Personality. Sum up your personality in a word or two. This is a broad-stroke that helps to define how you see and interact with the world. If you struggle to come up with a personality, you can pick or roll from the following table.

Table: Personality

D66	Personality
11	Anxious
12	Articulate
13	Athletic
14	Blunt
15	Boisterous
16	Compassionate
21	Competitive
22	Courageous
23	Cowardly
24	Cunning
25	Curious
26	Cynical
31	Daring
32	Dashing
33	Decisive
34	Devout
35	Earnest
36	Earnest

D66	Personality
41	Folksy
42	Impulsive
43	Insightful
44	Intrepid
45	Meticulous
46	Outspoken
51	Paranoid
52	Plucky
53	Pragmatic
54	Quirky
55	Refined
56	Sarcastic
61	Savvy
62	Self-Assured
63	Shy
64	Stoic
65	Sexy
66	Worldly

Tip: d66 means 1d6 × 10 + 1d6

3. Pick a Quirk. Come up with something unique, funny, or special about yourself. Your quirk helps to make your character memorable and engaging. If you struggle to come up with a quirk, you can pick or roll from the following table.

Table: Quirks

D66	Quirk
11	Absolutely Loves Drama.
12	Believes Every Conspiracy Theory.
13	Blows Up At the Slightest Inconvenience.
14	Can’t Tell Anyone “No.”
15	Dabbles in the Occult.
16	Easily Gets Distracted—Oh Look a Bird!
21	Falls in Love At First Sight At Least Once a Day.
22	Fidgets Constantly.
23	Forgot Everything You Just Told Them.
24	Has a Heart of Gold.
25	Has an Unending Collection of Fun Facts.
26	Identifies as a Pyromaniac.
31	Insists on Being Called a “Paranormal Investigator.”
32	Insists on Doing Things the Hard Way.
33	Is Cool as Ice.
34	Is Deeply Superstitious.
35	Is Getting Too Old for This.
36	Is Having a Midlife Crisis.

D66	Quirk
41	Is Probably Too Young to Be Here.
42	Is Terrified of Clowns.
43	Is Utterly Unremarkable.
44	Is a Certified Sociopath.
45	Is a Terrible Liar.
46	Lives For the Spotlight.
51	Loves Animals.
52	Never Backs Down From a Challenge.
53	Never Forgets a Face.
54	Reflexively Makes Dad Jokes.
55	Relentlessly Champions a Cause.
56	Sleeps with One Eye Open.
61	Sounds like Mickey Mouse.
62	Subscribes to Every Branch of Mysticism.
63	Swears Like a Sailor.
64	Thinks They Know Everything.
65	Won’t Go Back to Prison.
66	Won’t Stop Talking.

Tip: d66 means 1d6 × 10 + 1d6

4. Make Your Character Sentence. Write your character sentence on your character sheet. It’ll be in the form of “I’m a [Personality] [Archetype] who [Quirks].” Now is also a great time to pick your character’s name.

5. Choose your Motive. Your motive is the thing you want or believe in most. This is what drives you on a fundamental level. You might want to “Protect your community at all costs” or “Become wealthy beyond anyone’s imaginings.”

You will also always gain Advantage if your Action is in furtherance of your motive.

6. Choose your Fear. Your fear stands in the way of accomplishing your motive. This might be a simple phobia, such as “Clowns” or “Closed Spaces,” or an abstract idea, like “Not Knowing where I fit in” or “Becoming Irrelevant”.

The Director can force you to act in accordance with your fear, even when you don’t want to.

As a horror game, Blood on the Lens is a place to explore and conquer your fears in a safe space. If you choose a fear that affects you personally, discuss the matter with your Director and use an RPG safety system to ensure that the game remains comfortable and fun, no matter where the story takes you.

7. Actions and Reactions. You gain +1 to any three Actions or Reactions of your choice. Fill in the dots next to selected Actions and Reactions to show that you roll additional dice when using that roll. Ideally, these rolls should be related to your other character choices.

8. Appearance and Notes. Fill out the Appearance box of your character sheet to determine what you look like to other people, what you’re usually wearing, and what you’re usually carrying with you. If anything else comes to mind, jot it down in the Notes box. Finally, pick your name and your pronouns (if you haven’t done so already).

Roleplaying games are a space to try out identities like you try on clothes. Feel free to pick pronouns that don’t match your own or explore identities that spark your curiosity. As with horror elements, it might be a good idea to use an RPG safety system to ensure that this space is as safe as possible for exploration.

9. Wrapping Up. Finally, go over every remaining box on your character sheet, filling out all those available. If a box contains a star, it unlocks at a later level. Some of these boxes will elaborate on your history, give you connections to other players, let you choose a weapon, and grant you other character choices. Sometimes you’ll have to Sacrifice a box during character creation, ripping parts off of your sheet.

10. Have Fun! Your character sheet is going to evolve with the story around you. It’s going to be scribbled on, torn up, and expanded. It might even be destroyed completely when your character has reached their bitter end. This piece of paper is your lifeline in a dangerous world, so keep it close.

Advanced Characters

Advanced characters take a little longer to build—around ten to fifteen minutes—but offer wide latitudes in the types of characters you can create. Most of the steps for building an Advanced character are the same as building an archetype character, as detailed in the following overview. Steps that differ are marked with an asterisk and detailed as follows.

All advanced characters use the Advanced Character Sheet.

Follow the steps below and touch base with the Director from time to time to ensure your character fits within the broad strokes of the story.

Advanced Character Creation Overview

Much like archetype characters, you can build advanced characters in a few easy steps:

1. Pick Your Identity *
2. Pick a Personality
3. Pick a Quirk
4. Make Your Character Sentence
5. Choose Your Motive
6. Choose your Fear
7. Decide on Your History *
8. Choose Your Connection *
9. Actions and Reactions *
10. Pick Your Weapons *
11. Traits *

Pick Your Identity

Advanced Characters

Your Identity is a word or two that sums up who you are as specifically as possible. You could be a ballerina, farm hand, veterinarian, podcaster, insurance salesperson, or any one of a thousand others. This choice, more than any other, should guide your other choices.

If you struggle to come up with an identity, you can pick or roll from the following tables, depending on whether the setting is modern, medieval, or futuristic.

Table: Identity (Modern)

D66	Identity (Modern)
11	Accountant
12	Banker
13	Bartender
14	Chef
15	College Student
16	Contractor
21	Engineer
22	Farmer
23	Felon
24	Firefighter
25	Hacker
26	Influencer
31	Journalist
32	Librarian
33	Magician
34	Mechanic
35	Medium
36	Musician

D66	Identity (Modern)
41	Nurse
42	Paramedic
43	Park Ranger
44	Pilot
45	Podcaster
46	Prepper
51	Priest
52	Professor
53	Programmer
54	Retiree
55	Security Guard
56	Stand-Up Comedian
61	Teacher
62	Therapist
63	Trucker
64	Unemployed
65	Veteran
66	Writer

Tip: d66 means 1d6 × 10 + 1d6

Table: Identity (Futuristic)

D66	Identity (Futuristic)
11	Architect
12	Asteroid Miner
13	Bartender
14	Bodyguard
15	Bounty Hunter
16	Chef
21	Colonist
22	Data Broker
23	Doctor
24	Entrepreneur
25	Evangelist
26	Explorer
31	Galactic Banker
32	Holo-Caster
33	Holo-Influencer
34	Lawyer
35	Low-Worlder
36	Mechanic

D66	Identity (Futuristic)
41	Middle Manager
42	Musician
43	Pilot
44	Pro Gamer
45	Programmer
46	Retiree
51	Roboticist
52	Salvager
53	Scientist
54	Scrapper
55	Security Guard
56	Shipwright
61	Space Farmer
62	Space Trucker
63	Star Mapper
64	Translator
65	University Student
66	Veteran

Tip: d66 means 1d6 × 10 + 1d6

2. Pick a Personality

Sum up your personality in a word or two. This is a broad-stroke that helps to define how you see and interact with the world. If you struggle to come up with a personality, you can pick or roll from the table included in the Archetype Characters section.

3. Pick a Quirk

Come up with something unique, funny, or special about yourself. Your quirk helps to make your character memorable and engaging. If you struggle to come up with a quirk, you can pick or roll from the table included in the Archetype Characters section.

4. Make Your Character Sentence

Write your character sentence on your character sheet. It’ll be in the form of “I’m a [Personality] [Identity] who [Quirks].” Now is also a great time to pick your character’s name.

5. Choose Your Motive and Fear

Your Motive is the thing you want or believe in most. This is what drives you on a fundamental level. You might want to “Protect your community at all costs” or “Become wealthy beyond anyone’s imaginings.”

You will also always gain Advantage if your Action is in furtherance of your motive.

By contrast, your Fear stands in the way of accomplishing your motive. This might be a simple phobia, such as “Clowns” or “Closed Spaces,” or an abstract idea, like “Not Knowing where I fit in” or “Becoming Irrelevant”.

The Director can force you to act in accordance with your fear, even when you don’t want to.

As a horror game, Blood on the Lens is a place to explore and conquer your fears in a safe space. If you choose a fear that affects you personally, discuss the matter with your Director and use an RPG safety system to ensure that the game remains comfortable and fun, no matter where the story takes you.

Decide on Your History

Advanced Characters

Come up with at least two elements of your character’s History or present circumstances. You needn’t—and probably shouldn’t—write out a lengthy backstory. All you need is a few details about how your character arrived at this point in their life or what they find most important. Feel free to roll or pick one of the questions on the following table to answer.

Table: History

2D6	History Questions
2	What’s your deepest secret?
3	Did you ever lose something important? If so, where?
4	Who do you work for? What’s your current mission?
5	Who was your mentor?
6	Where do you feel at home?
7	Where did you learn your skillset or acquire your powers?
8	What event irreparably altered your life?
9	Have you acquired a reputation? Good or bad?
10	What do you have absolute, certain belief in?
11	What’s your day job?
12	Do you have any lingering injuries or scars? How did you get them?

Choose Your Connection

Advanced Characters

In addition to your background, come up with a Connection between you and another player. You might have been friends, enemies, coworkers, classmates, or anything else. You should consult the other player if the connection is substantial—if you dated or are related, for example.

Feel free to roll or pick one of the Connections from the following table or invent your own:

Table: Connections

2D6	Connections
2	You both experienced something traumatic together. What happened?
3	You shared a criminal past. Did your relationship sour?
4	They were a mentor to me. In what area?
5	You used to be friends, but you haven’t spoken in years. What drove you apart?
6	We worked together in another life. Doing what?
7	You’re related. How close?
8	You run in the same circles. Have you met?
9	We went to school together. At what age?
10	We’re essentially pen-pals (online, text messaging, letter writing, etc.). How did you meet?
11	They have some leverage over me (blackmail, debts, etc.) What is it?
12	I know their secret. How?

Actions and Reactions

Advanced Characters

You gain +1 to any five Actions or Reactions of your choice. You can increase an Action or Reaction twice (to a total of three dice), but not more than twice. Fill in the dots next to selected Actions and Reactions to show that you roll additional dice when using that roll.

Pick Your Weapons

Advanced Characters

Based on your choice of Identity, decide whether you use Improvised, Standard, or Expert Weapons. Then pick two weapons of that category or of a lower category.

Weapons are listed here.

Traits

Advanced Characters

Pick two traits from the following options and write it within a dotted box on your character sheet. To pick a trait, you must meet any requirements listed for it, usually having a high enough number of dice in a particular Action or a high enough level. If your character uses Expert weapons, you can’t pick any traits that require Aim or Force at level 1.

As you gain higher levels, you gain additional traits of your choice.

Aim For The Head

Required: Aim 3 OR Force 3

When in a Life-or-Death scene, you can spend Adrenaline to turn a Success with a Weapon roll into a Twist Success, or vice-versa.

Beginner’s Luck

Gain +1 die on a Luck roll. (1/Scene)

Battlecry

Required: Level 3

You can spend Adrenaline to roll Aim instead of React, or Force instead of Withstand.

Double Down

Choose one Action. When you fail a roll with that Action, you can make a second roll with higher stakes. On a failure, the roll is a Critical Failure—you suffer additional consequences, which may manifest immediately or later.

Eye for Detail

Required: Investigate 3

Whenever you roll a Twist Success on an Investigation roll, you can mark Adrenaline.

Fake It ‘till You Make It

Required: Convince 2 OR Improvise 2

You can spend Adrenaline to roll Convince instead of Improvise or vice-versa.

Fight Like Hell

Required: Level 5

Whenever you take Trauma, you can deal Trauma to a target Close to you.

Fight or Flight

Required: Rush 3

You can spend Adrenaline in a Life-or-Death scene to make a Weapon roll with Disadvantage or to move a second time on your turn.

Follow Through

Required: Force 4

When you make a Weapon roll, you can roll an extra die for each 6 that you roll. These extra dice can exceed the maximum of five.

Gallows’ Humor

Required: Convince 4

When you mark Adrenaline, another player you choose can also mark Adrenaline.

Grit Teeth

Whenever you mark Adrenaline, gain Advantage on your next roll.

Guns Blazing

Required: Aim 4

Reroll 1s on Weapon rolls that use Aim.

Hold Your Breath

Required: Sneak 3

You can gain Advantage on a Sneak roll. You have Disadvantage on the next roll you make during this scene.

Implacable

You gain two bonus dice, instead of one, when you take an Action in furtherance of your Motive.

Knack For This

Required: Level 5

Choose one Action. When you use that Action, you can choose to Succeed on a roll of 4, 5, or 6. You must make this choice before rolling the dice. (1/Scene)

Lethal

Required: Aim 2 OR Force 2

Reroll a Weapon roll. (1/Scene)

Look Over There!

Required: Sneak 4

You can flip any die that you or another player rolled from a 1 to a 6. (1/Session)

Lucky Break

Required: Level 5

When in a non-Life-or-Death scene, you can choose to succeed on an Action without rolling. (1/Session)

Lucky Find

Required: Investigate 2

When you fail an Investigation roll, you can make a Luck roll. On a success, you Succeed the Investigation roll anyway. (1/Scene)

Master Plan

Required: Improvise 4

When you make a non-Weapon Improvise roll that deals Trauma, you gain +2 dice to the roll. These dice can exceed the maximum of five.

Quick and Quiet

Required: Rush 2 OR Sneak 2

You can spend Adrenaline to roll Rush instead of Sneak or vice-versa.

Risk-Taker

Required: Improvise 3

When you roll Director’s Dice, you can turn a Critical Failure into a normal Failure. (1/Session)

Survival Instincts

Required: Level 5

Whenever you take Trauma, roll a die. On a 5 or 6, you take no Trauma.

Trial and Error

Required: Level 3

After you make a Reaction roll, you have Advantage on rolls you make using that Reaction until the end of the scene.

Under Control

Required: Level 3

Choose one Action. When in a non-Life-or-Death scene, you can spend Adrenaline to turn a Success with that roll into a Twist Success, or vice-versa.

Veteran

Required: Rush 4

When in a Life-or-Death scene, you can take two Actions on your turn. (1/Session)

Weak Spot

Required: Investigate 4

In a Life-or-Death scene, you can make an Investigate roll to examine the Threat. On a Success, the next Weapon roll against the Threat rolls a Success on a roll of 4, 5, or 6. (1/Scene)

Wingman

Required: Convince 3

You can give any other player Advantage on a Convince roll. (1/Scene)