This system allows players to define personal struggles for their characters, creating opportunities for roleplay, mechanical tension, and dramatic growth. Each character arc is built around a central Flaw. The player and GM then define the Challenge to overcome it and the potential destinations: Overcome (conquering the flaw) or Embrace (accepting it as part of who they are).
Each player may select a Flaw for their character. A Flaw consists of:
Each Flaw must have a defined Challenge, a specific, difficult completion criteria that represents the character actively confronting their flaw. This isn't a simple task; it's a narrative milestone that requires genuine struggle and risk. The player and GM agree on the Challenge when the flaw is created. A good rule of thumb is having a brief scene or encounter to resolve the challenge where the challenge is the central point of the current player engagement.
Example Challenge for "The Haunted": "Face the source of your trauma, whether it's the person who wronged you, the location of the event, or a perfect simulation of it and choose to act with clarity and courage rather than fear."
When the player completes the Challenge and achieves a Triumph, they overcome their flaw permanently. The Flaw is removed from the character sheet, and the player gains a benefit that reflect their character's growth that activates whenever the GM spends a Chronicle Point and lasts for the remainder of the scene or encounter, the player may select a one of the following each time gm spends a chronicle point:
Sometimes, a character can't overcome their demons, or the player decides that their flaw is too central to who they are. When the player neglects the challenge but chooses to Embrace, they do not conquer their flaw; they accept it, letting it define them in a new more complicated way.
Each arc has a Counter Track that begins at 0. The player can earn marks toward Overcome or Embrace by acting in accordance with either path during a scene or encounter. Many scenes may not have any progress toward the completion of an arc; additionally, players might elect to spend a Chronicle Point to shift the narrative to create circumstances that progress the arc. Three marks are required to resolve the arc. Once three marks have been earned in total, the GM creates a scene or encounter or alters the current scene or encounter to resolve the arc. Overcome or Embrace is decided by whether the majority of marks are in favour of Overcome or Embrace and the player roleplays out this change to their character with them and GM collaborating on any narrative consequences, direction or prompts for roleplay that they should keep in mind. Below is an example of how to track this:
When to Award a Mark:
A mark is awarded when the player portrays their character taking a meaningful action that aligns with either the Overcome or Embrace path. The GM has final discretion, but the following guidelines apply:
| Mark Type | Criteria |
|---|---|
| Overcome | The character acts against their flaw, demonstrating growth, resistance, or a conscious choice to be better. They may refuse the easy path, seek help, acknowledge their failing without excuse, or choose the harder right over the easier wrong. |
| Embrace | The character leans into their flaw, allowing it to dictate their actions or justifying it as part of who they are. They may act on their flaw's impulse, defend it as identity, or reject an opportunity to change. |
A player may earn at most one mark per scene or encounter, regardless of how many qualifying actions they take. Many scenes may pass without any progress toward the arc's completion. If a player wishes to create opportunities for their arc to progress, they may spend a Chronicle Point to shift the narrative, introducing circumstances that allow them to earn a mark.
Character Arc: _________________________
Flaw: DS___ to _________________________
Challenge: _____________________________
OVERCOME MARKS: [ ] [ ] [ ]
EMBRACE MARKS: [ ] [ ] [ ]
Resolution: ☐ Overcome ☐ Embrace
In Armournaut, pilots are scarred people fighting for survival, profit, or redemption. Character arcs give players:
This guide helps you craft balanced, thematic arcs that fit your campaign.
| Theme | Flaw (DS Penalty + Roleplay Prompt) | Challenge (Narrative Milestone) |
|---|---|---|
| Redemption | DS1-3 penalty to Demand - Whispers follow you. Fellow pilots eye you with suspicion. When you try to command authority, your voice falters. Who are you to lead? | Publicly save a member of the faction you wronged at great personal risk, forcing them to acknowledge your change of heart. |
| Identity | DS1-3 penalty to Persuasion - You don't know if your memories are real. When you try to connect with others, you hesitate. Are you even a person worth knowing? | Discover irrefutable evidence of your origin (clone, experimental subject, or erased past) and choose whether to embrace or reject it in front of those who defined you. |
| Addiction | DS1-3 penalty to Piloting - Your hands shake at inopportune moments. Between jobs, you disappear. In the cockpit, your focus splinters when the craving hits. | Resist the substance or compulsion during a critical mission failure, succeeding through sheer willpower rather than succumbing to the craving. |
| Trauma | DS1-3 penalty to Resolve - Loud noises trigger flashbacks. Certain environments like smoke, sirens, or specific voices send you spiraling. You freeze when it matters most. | Face the source of your trauma (the location, the perpetrator, or a perfect simulation) and act with clarity and courage rather than fear. |
| Ambition | DS1-3 penalty to Insight - You calculate how everyone can serve your goals. Genuine motives are invisible to you. You assume everyone else is playing the same game. | Sacrifice a significant promotion, payday, or status to protect a comrade or innocent, proving some things matter more than advancement. |
| Supernatural | DS1-3 penalty to Interfacing - Technology flickers around you. Screens glitch. Systems reject your input. The digital world bends strangely in your presence. | Survive a direct confrontation with the supernatural entity tied to you, either severing the connection or accepting its role in your life. |
| Betrayal | DS1-3 penalty to Insight - You assume everyone has an angle. Kindness makes you suspicious. You misread genuine gestures as traps. | Trust a former enemy or untrustworthy ally with your life without contingency, and have that trust rewarded rather than exploited. |
| Sacrifice | DS1-3 penalty to Endurance - You volunteer for suicide missions. You push past injuries. Your body is a tool you expect to discard. | Choose to live for something rather than die for it. Commit to a future that requires you to exist, abandoning the comfort of self-destruction. |
| Isolation | DS1-3 penalty to Organization - You operate alone. In group tactics, you default to solo action. Coordinating with others feels foreign and frustrating. | Accept genuine help from another pilot during a critical moment, allowing them to save you and acknowledging you cannot do this alone. |
| Madness | DS1-3 penalty to Detect- You see patterns that aren't there. You argue with voices. Your conclusions are brilliant or insane. You can no longer tell which. | Have one of your "delusions" proven undeniably correct or finally accept that it was never real, finding peace in clarity. |
| Legacy | DS1-3 penalty to Demand - You are judged by your predecessor's sins. When you try to assert yourself, you hear their voice in your head. Are you leading, or are they? | Define your own legacy publicly, either by defeating the predecessor who defines you or by accomplishing something they never could in their own field. |
| Justice | DS1-3 penalty to Persuasion - You see the guilty everywhere. You escalate conflicts. Diplomacy feels like cowardice. You would rather judge than negotiate. | Let a truly guilty party escape or face legal consequence rather than enacting your own judgment, trusting the system you once abandoned. |
| Discovery | DS1-3 penalty to Knowledge- You chase every mystery. Side objectives distract from primary missions. You stop to examine what others ignore. | Uncover the truth you sought and choose what to do with it. Share it freely, bury it, or weaponize it. Accept the consequences. |
| Corruption | DS1-3 penalty to Endurance - Your body is failing. You hide symptoms from allies. Fatigue hits without warning. You know you are running out of time. | Find a cure or means of control, then decide whether to save yourself at the expense of others or accept your fate to protect them. |
| Freedom | DS1-3 penalty to Demand - You cannot follow orders blindly. Anyone giving commands triggers defiance. Authority makes your blood run hot. | Return to the place of your captivity willingly, either to free others or to confront your former captor on your own terms. |
| Guilt | DS1-3 penalty to Resolve - You replay your failure constantly. You apologize unprompted. When pressure mounts, you wonder if you deserve to succeed. | Save someone in the same manner you failed to before, breaking the cycle of guilt through action rather than penance. |
| Faith | DS1-3 penalty to Insight- You interpret events through doctrine. Evidence against your faith is conspiracy. Doubt feels like damnation. | Witness something that fundamentally challenges your belief system and choose a new path, or recommit with full understanding of what you are choosing. |
| Transformation | DS1-3 penalty to Persuasion - Your body marks you as other. People stare, recoil, or fetishize you. Genuine connection feels impossible. | Accept what you have become and use it to accomplish something your old self never could, embracing the change rather than mourning it. |
| Love | DS1-3 penalty to Resolve - You take risks to protect your person. When they are threatened, reason goes out the window. Your heart rules your head. | Choose between your love and your duty, then live with the choice without trying to undo it or reclaim what was lost. |
| Power | DS1-3 penalty to Insight - When you have leverage, you use it. Mercy feels like weakness. You stop seeing people. You see assets and obstacles. | Hold absolute power over someone who wronged you and choose genuine mercy without expecting anything in return. |
| Survival | DS1-3 penalty to Stealth- You hoard resources. You take unnecessary risks for salvage. Letting anything go feels like death. | Give away something vital like food, ammunition, or fuel to someone who needs it more, trusting that abundance will follow. |