Portals works on a 6-class system:
Warrior, Savant, Caster, Mage, Technician, and Artisan.
The main difference between these classes is which Skill Slots are on the character sheet.
Craft and Weapon Slots → Body Skills
Knowledge Slots → Mind Skill
Aura Slots → Aura Skill
Select your Class below:
| Class | Craft | Weap. | Know. | Aura |
|---|
| 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
|---|
| 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1* |
|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
|---|
| 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
|---|
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
|---|
*CASTER NOTE: Casters replace the Aura slot with a Magical Category containing four initial Spells.
Name and describe every skill slot supplied by the selected class.
Define your character's traits here!
1 Merit/Perk = 2 Limits/Quirks.
Some traits will influence your stats.
✓ = Show on sheet
Create objects and weapons here. Magic entries can spend their own Charges or use the character's innate Charges.
Complete the character's identifying information.
Step 1: Choose a Class
Portals uses six classes: Warrior, Savant, Caster, Mage, Technician, and Artisan. Classes mainly determine which skill slots appear on the character sheet.
| Class | Craft | Weap. | Know. | Aura |
|---|
| 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
|---|
| 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1* |
|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
|---|
| 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
|---|
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
|---|
Step 2: Choose Your Skills
Your class determines how many Craft, Weapon, Knowledge, and Aura choices you need. Give each required skill a name and describe what it covers.
Skill and weapon guidance
Craft: A physical skill set placed under Body, ranging from Music (Flute) to Driving. Some Crafts require related Knowledge—for example, bomb-making requires Demolitions knowledge.
Weapon Classification: Choose a classification such as Axe, Blade, Bow, Firearm, Staff, or Whip. It covers every weapon in that family, whether or not the character normally carries it. A character with Blade can use both swords and knives. Many weapons can also use Throw, but must be recovered after being thrown.
Weapon Level Reference:
- Level 0: Blunt; 1d6 damage; concealable by hiding or disguising it; usually one- or two-handed.
- Level 1: Small; 1d6 + 1 damage; easily concealed; one- or two-handed.
- Level 2: 1d6 + 2 damage; concealed with minimal effort; one- or two-handed.
- Level 3: Large; 1d6 + 3 damage; cannot be concealed and requires both hands.
- Level 4: Magically enhanced; 1d6 + 4 damage; modified with the GM and purchased with experience.
- Level 5: Broad Spectrum; 2d6 damage in an area; usually activated with Throw rather than a Classification.
Standard Body Skills:
- Hand to Hand: Fight with hands or feet for 1d6 damage. Dodge-able.
- Grab Hold: Cling to a surface, catch something, or restrain someone.
- Dexterity: Flexibility and the use of fine and gross motor skills.
- Throw: Throw or fling something away from yourself.
- Resilience: Withstand difficult physical conditions, such as maintaining sobriety or handling extreme terrain.
- Instinct: When a Body skill is not on the sheet, test whether it is instinctive to the character and can be accomplished anyway.
Knowledge: Mind-based expertise tied to training, history, personality, or a Craft. Unusual knowledge may be unexpectedly useful; confirm custom ideas with the GM.
Aura: Magical abilities that normally spend one charge per use and require an explanatory Character Trait. Natural Aura Skills are stronger and more flexible than magic from purchased rings.
Choose a class to see its required skill slots.
Step 3: Attributes
Divide exactly 33 points among Body, Mind, and Aura. No attribute may exceed 13. Common distributions include 13–11–9 and 11–11–11.
33 / 33 points assigned
Attributes determine Hits, Stuns, Charges, and the starting minimum for skills in that attribute. Hits equal Body +2, Stuns equal Mind +2, and Charges equal Aura +2. Trait modifiers can be added separately.
Step 4: Signature Skills
Choose the most important skill in each attribute and raise each of those three skills to 14.
Step 5: Skill Points
Distribute 10 additional points among your skills. Each point raises a skill by 1. A skill’s final value—including modifiers—may never exceed 15. Skills can be improved later through the Experience Shop.
Skills use a d20. A value of 10 gives roughly even odds of success, and higher values improve those odds.
