Specialist Character Background ExpenseRPG Tabletop Game

Background Overview

Specialists are artificially grown adults who emerge from vat-birth with the complete professional knowledge, muscle memory, and temperament of a deceased expert known as their "Mentor." Through an 18-month gestation process involving psychic imprinting via holographic matrix technology, Specialists bypass decades of traditional training to emerge as fully competent professionals.

However, this artificial expertise comes with significant psychological complexity. Specialists possess all the skills and behavioral patterns of their Mentor without any of the personal memories or experiences that shaped those patterns, creating individuals who are simultaneously masterful and mysteriously troubled.

Character Creation

Starting Benefits - Master-Level Expertise: Begin with professional-level skills in your Mentor's specialty - Inherited Muscle Memory: Automatic success on routine tasks within your field - Intuitive Knowledge: Can perform complex procedures without conscious understanding of the steps - Accelerated Learning: Enhanced ability to learn related skills within your specialty area

Inherited Limitations - Inexplicable Phobias: Roll or choose 2-3 irrational fears or compulsions tied to your Mentor's past - Learning Rigidity: Severe difficulty learning skills outside your specialty (treat as if learning a completely foreign concept) - Contextless Behaviors: Exhibit specific habits, preferences, or reactions that you cannot explain - Emotional Blind Spots: Certain social or emotional situations trigger inappropriate responses

Mentor Categories

Academic Specialists Typical Mentors: Researchers, professors, scientists, Tegic theorists Skills: Research, analysis, technical knowledge, problem-solving Common Quirks: Obsessive note-taking, specific work environments, unusual sleep schedules Career Paths: University positions, research facilities, government think tanks

Artisan Specialists Typical Mentors: Master craftspeople, engineers, artists, builders Skills: Fine motor control, material knowledge, aesthetic judgment, quality assessment Common Quirks: Texture sensitivities, tool preferences, compulsive quality checking Career Paths: Manufacturing, custom work, artistic commissions, restoration

Military Specialists Typical Mentors: Officers, strategists, specialists, combat veterans Skills: Tactical thinking, leadership, weapons proficiency, threat assessment Common Quirks: Hypervigilance, authority issues, specific combat stances, territorial behavior Career Paths: Military service, security, consulting, training roles

Tegic Specialists Typical Mentors: Magical practitioners, enchanters, ritual specialists Skills: Spell casting, magical theory, ritual performance, mystical insight Common Quirks: Superstitious behaviors, sensitivity to magical fields, compulsive rituals Career Paths: Magical research, consultation, artifact creation, mystical services

Psychological Development Stages

Years 1-3: Peak Performance - Maximum efficiency within specialty area - Unquestioning acceptance of inherited patterns - High professional satisfaction - Minimal self-reflection about origins

Years 4-7: Growing Awareness - Increasing frustration with inexplicable behaviors - Questions about personal identity vs. inherited patterns - Beginning to notice gaps in self-knowledge - Difficulty relating to naturally-trained colleagues

Years 8-10: The Rejection Phase - Active resistance to inherited programming - Strong desire for authentic personal experiences - Career change considerations - Identity crisis: "Who am I beyond my Mentor?"

Post-Decade: Resolution - Some embrace their inheritance while developing personal identity - Others completely abandon their specialty for new pursuits - Many find balance between inherited skills and personal growth - A few become mentors themselves, creating the next generation

Roleplay Considerations

Personality Quirks - Sudden, inexplicable emotional reactions to specific triggers - Compulsive behaviors that serve no apparent purpose - Strong preferences for things you've never experienced - Instinctive reactions that contradict your conscious personality

Social Challenges - Difficulty explaining your expertise to others - Awkwardness in age-appropriate social situations - Tension between inherited temperament and personal desires - Relationships complicated by mysterious behavioral patterns

Character Development Opportunities - Investigating your Mentor's history - Learning to work around inherited limitations - Developing authentic personal relationships - Choosing between inherited excellence and personal growth

Mechanical Considerations

Advantages - Start with advanced skills in your specialty - Bonus to learning related skills within your field - Automatic success on routine professional tasks - Enhanced pattern recognition within your domain

Disadvantages - Severe penalties when learning outside your specialty - Compulsive behaviors that may interfere with actions - Phobias that create situational limitations - Difficulty with major paradigm shifts in your field

Special Mechanics - Mentor's Echo: Occasionally receive flashes of intuitive knowledge - Programming Resistance: As you age, increasing difficulty using inherited skills - Authentic Achievement: Bonus satisfaction/experience from learning new skills naturally - Identity Crisis: Periodic checks to maintain psychological stability

Story Hooks

Personal Mysteries - Discovering disturbing details about your Mentor's past - Meeting other Specialists from the same Mentor - Uncovering the reason your Mentor was deemed unsuitable for normal society - Finding personal artifacts or records from your Mentor's life

Professional Challenges - Being asked to perform tasks that trigger inherited phobias - Competing with traditionally-trained experts who resent your advantages - Facing technological or methodological changes that challenge your inherited knowledge - Discovering ethical problems with your Mentor's original work

Relationship Dynamics - Romantic interests confused by your contradictory behaviors - Mentoring naturally-trained students while questioning your own expertise - Conflicts with authority figures who don't understand your unique psychology - Friendships with other Specialists facing similar identity challenges

GM Notes

Specialists work best as characters wrestling with questions of identity, authenticity, and personal agency. Their inherited expertise should feel both like a gift and a burden, creating internal tension that drives character development. The key is balancing their professional competence with their personal vulnerability, making them simultaneously capable and sympathetic.

Consider how their Mentor's hidden past might gradually reveal itself through seemingly random phobias, preferences, or reactions, creating ongoing mystery and character growth opportunities throughout the campaign.