If you want to play missions in the Universe of Abyssal you need the main protagonists, the player characters. They are the backbone of the story. So some special care is needed in creating them and giving them enough background to make the stories evolving around them meaningful. Of course, they will have some game values defining their abilities, but that is not the most important thing. It is what ties them to reality, what makes them care and suffer, what makes them feel success.
In the first instalment of Abyssal the game is about a corporate covert operations team sent on missions to further the corporation's interest under the radar of anyone. This does not mean that these are only missions involving combat. There can be riddles to solve, murders to investigate or elaborate heists to plan. But to be true, a bit of violence is to be expected.
Choosing a corporation
This is one of the first things to do for a group of players starting a new crew. Together with the Suit they decide upon the corporation they would like to work for. Either one of the Big 12 or they create the superficial image of a corporation they are eager to work for. Why superficial? Finally, it is up to the Suit what happens under the hood of the firm. Nobody really knows what is decided upon behind closed doors or if the crew is marked as expandable. These are things that remain in the domain of the Suit.
Creating Weakness and Strength
To tie in the characters, it is important to root them in reality. If they are highly polished people with interchangeable faces and names, you can play through some missions and have some short-lived fun (nothing wrong here for a single shot mission) but it will remain without consequence. On the other hand, there can be much at stake if the personal background of each character comes into play. There may be a lingering drug addiction, suppressed PTSD or such fine things as a girlfriend or wife waiting at home. Gambling debts or just crushing loneliness dowsed in nights of party and excess, all may play a role if the shit hits the fan. Maybe there is a fine refuge for the character in nature where he can relax after a mission. And then his enemies seek him out there. Give these thoughts a few moments to sink in, and you will see why they are important eventually.
Creating these strengths and weaknesses does not mean they should create a crippled team. The characters should form a highly performant crew their employers trust in at the beginning of the game. They are the ones that are trusted with classified information regarding their missions. Not all of it of course, but a great deal of. This crew should be a mission ready one.
Setting personal goals and motivations
Somewhere in their history, the characters came to work for the corporation. And most of them voluntarily. As you already decided on the corporation, it is time to think about why the character joined. Certainly, this line of work yields a good pay cheque at the end of the month. But perhaps there is more. The character may need the money to finance his childhood dream of a space yacht. Is it revenge, to get into the vicinity of one of the top brass of the corporation to execute rightful wrath? Or did the character join to stay near his crush from high school who entered into management. There are many, many goals or ambitions a character may have, and they may well cross with the strengths and weaknesses. That’s OK, and the Suit will look at these backgrounds and use them for the better of the overarching story.
Deciding on a spacecraft and equipment
At the end of crew creation, a decision has to be made on the ship and the equipment. The crew is not too high up on the ladder of the corporation, so their equipment will be good and functional, not necessarily exceptional. We are talking about the standard equipment here, not mission specific one. It is military graded, not some junk but not cutting edge. There is no monetary limitation, just some common sense.
The spacecraft has to be a vessel that accommodates 5–10 people, equipped with a good Kramer PAD and an intermediate stellar projector. The characters have to speak with their Suit about their preferences, so the corporation will provide a suitable vessel. This is also dependent on the kind of missions the characters are trained for. No use for a hyper stealth torpedo vessel in a diplomatic mission with interests. So communication is key.
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