Character Creation: Luna

Eight characters in August! I'm unstoppable!

The Game: Luna
The Publisher: Gila RPGs
Degree of Familiarity: I ran a one-shot of NOVA once, which is set in the same world, but doesn't use the same system. Otherwise none
Books Required: Just the one 

Luna, as mentioned, doesn't use the same mechanics as its sister games (NOVA and Nest), which I appreciate - I think the game engine should go along with the tone and intended content of the game. Luna doesn't have combat, it's about infiltrating a settlement and turning the sun-shard that powers everything into a moonstone. Like Nest, it's meant to be a 3-5 session campaign or a one-shot, and there's actually support for either, all within a game of about 40 pages. 

The game engine is actually based on the Resistance System (of Spire and Heart fame), but somewhat less involved. 

First thing we do is choose a class!

As is often the case with Gila games, all four of these look awesome and pass the Chupp test easily. I think today I'm feeling assassin-y, though, so I'll go with Scythe. No slot on the sheet to write Class, that's odd. Well, anyway, my starting Skills are Compel and Fight, and my starting Domains are Sparks and Technology.

And now I answer some questions! These are:

1. How long have you been in the cult? Let's say that we're a new convert (it occurs to me that Tobias Stratton, my NOVA character, would make a terrifying Lunar cultist if his life had gone differently). My character is named Horizon, or at least, that's his name now. He watched his brothers become Sparks and just never come back, and one day he stole some gear and went out into the Dusk to find whatever remained of them. A Lunar cultist named Gear found him, brought him to safety, and told him the truth - The sun isn't going to rise...but the moon always will. The Sparks aren't going to save us. Anyway, that's a long-winded way to say he's only been in the cult for a short time, and Gear's indoctrination is still pretty fresh.
2. The cult has countless sects and shapes. What's a major belief that you hold onto? Gear told Horizon that worship of the sun-shards is doomed, because the sun is doomed - we've seen that. It's not just blasphemy to continue that worship, it's folly, and it's doubly heartbreaking because we have a better way! We can get ahead of this by changing them to moonstone! The "major belief" here, I think, is that if all of the sun-shards were allowed to die, everything would just work out. No more fighting, no more Corvus making trouble, just harmony in the shadows.
3. Who did you first kill for the cult? What cybernetic did you earn as a result? It was Jonnen, the quartermaster who had all the codes to the Sparks. Horizon blames him for his brothers never coming home, not that he'd admit that. The cybernetic he earned was implants in his legs that let him run and jump with amazing speed and power.

I get my core ability - I can kill someone once per session, or more if I want to take Body stress doing it. I get to pick an Ability from a list, and I'll go with being able to do incredible acts of strength and speech, as that fits with the backstory.

Advances! Let's assume we're playing a 5-session scenario, so I just get one. I think I'd like the Sneak Skill.

I get two Bonds, but one's with a PC so I'll skip that. The other is with an NPC who's responsible for maintaining my cybernetics, and asks how I keep their silence. I'll say that person is Fanla, my aunt. She knows that Horizon has...changed, but she doesn't know I've been indoctrinated into the Lunar cult. I suspect this story might end badly for her. (No spot for Bonds on the sheet, that's disappointing.)

Horizon doesn't really have a cover identity; he's the person he always was because he's from this city. He's young, skinny, lithe, and fast, but he's been thoroughly trained to keep his cybernetic prowess under wraps when he's not on-mission for the cult. I suspect he's going to do something amazing in front of people and get exposed that way at some point. Played by a young Barry Keoghan, maybe.

And that's it!