Troika, if you haven’t heard of it before, is a seriously dope fever-dream of a science-fantasy RPG where you zip through dimensional portals between worlds strung like crystal orbs in the sky, battling strange monsters to complete even stranger quests. The main website is here, and you can get a physical copy here, and a digital copy here.

In Troika, your character starts with a background that sums up who they were before the game. These backgrounds include skill points, special abilities, and starting items. Since Troika spans multiple planes of existence, these backgrounds can get pretty bizarre. Here are three new ones for your game: the scholar king, the bewildered angel, and the crotchety witch.

---

The Scholar King

Your kingdom crumbled long ago, and you live in an ancient castle surrounded by ancient books about ancient times. But you’ve left that all behind for the chance for new experiences, new places, & new knowledge. You still wear your crown, but you have no desire to be in power again. Thrones are for the young, and perhaps one day you’ll help some young prophesied ruler find theirs.

Possessions:

• A dozen scrolls on niche but useful topics
• One elderly servant. Perhaps a bodyguard, a wizard, or a butler. Their undying loyalty to you is their greatest strength – certainly their frail body is no use to you.

Advanced Skills:

• 3 Forgotten Languages
• 3 Etiquette
• 2 Evaluate
• 2 Mythology or Poisons or Lock Picking or Trapping or Healing

Special

You may Test your Luck to read something immediately useful from your scrolls.

---

The Bewildered Space Angel

On the planet you hail from, you are regarded as an angel. Bewinged, behaloed, bewildered at the strange sights and new worlds you are now discovering. Are you on a mission from your god to bring your holy light to the new worlds? Or are you searching for a way to keep your god contained?

Possessions:

• Flowing robes and a spiked halo (counts as Modest Armour)
• Angelic Weapon: A staff or sword with minor magical properties. Perhaps it can summon light, flames, or a song.

Advanced Skills:

• 2 Spell – bless
• 2 Spell – intimidating aura
• 3 Inspiring words
• 3 Fighting with your angelic weapon

Special:

You have a flight speed as fast as a typical human running.

---

The Crotchety Witch

You’ve left your magical house and familiars behind to embark on a dark and dangerous quest. You’ve foreseen dark days ahead and only someone with your powers can keep the multiverse safe. Or perhaps you’ve sensed an incredibly powerful magical artefact and want to add it to your collection.

Possessions: 

• Arcane equipment. Besomes, athames, candles, star charts, abacuses, herbs – everything you need for a quick magical intervention
• An arcane trinket that looks bizarre but does nothing real, perhaps a necklace with a moving eye in the centre, a ring that changes colour, or a staff with golden vines curling incessantly around it
• An arcane trinket that looks normal but has immense power, like a plain gold ring that eats souls, a hat that speaks in your mind and sees all, or a foxfur that contains the fox god

Advanced Skills:

• 4 Mathmology or Astronomy or Logic
• 2 Spell – random
• 2 Spell – random
• 2 Spell – random

Special:

You have a method of unusual transport – eg: a flying cauldron, enormous tiger, hat with wings, etc.

---

I have another set of Troika backgrounds in the works, then I’ll be putting them together into a little pamphlet zine you can download over on my itch.io page (link in the header). So keep an eye out! If you want to be notified of all my posts, I recommend following me on Twitter or following this blog directly using the sidebar tool.

Stock art sourced from Fat Goblin Games