In Thriller, archetypes form the foundation of your character’s identity, capabilities, and narrative role within the game. Archetypes are thematic templates representing iconic horror tropes that influence how your character navigates terrors and mysteries. Selecting an archetype is more than just picking abilities; it shapes your character’s personality, approach to challenges, and overall playstyle, profoundly impacting their story.

Selecting Your Archetype

To select your character’s archetype, follow these steps:

Choose an Archetype: Pick an archetype that aligns with your character concept and intended role. Common archetypes include Survivor, Investigator, Charmer, and Scholar (among others).
Meet Attribute Requirements: Ensure your character has at least a score of 6 in the archetype’s primary attribute. (For example, the Survivor requires Strength ≥ 6. The Everyperson archetype has no attribute requirement.)
Record Your Archetype: Write down your chosen archetype on your character sheet. Your archetype determines your initial abilities and will guide your character’s growth and development.

Archetype Perks

When you choose an archetype, you also select one unique perk from that archetype’s list. Perks provide specialized mechanical advantages or narrative benefits, reinforcing your character’s thematic strengths.

Archetype Traits and Roleplaying

Each archetype comes with distinct positive and negative traits that deepen narrative and roleplaying opportunities:

Positive Traits: These offer situational bonuses aligned with your archetype’s core strengths. Typically, you gain an advantage when your actions truly embody the strengths of your archetype.
Negative Traits: These introduce situational penalties or limitations, reflecting realistic challenges your archetype might face. Embracing these flaws in roleplay enriches your character’s story and adds immersive depth.

By thoughtfully selecting and roleplaying your archetype, you bring your character vividly to life; navigating the suspenseful and terrifying narratives of Thriller in a way that’s unique to your character.

Survivor Archetype

Primary Attribute: Strength (minimum required score: 6)

The Survivor archetype represents individuals hardened by adversity and physical challenges. They are resilient, resourceful, and adept at enduring the harsh realities of a horror-filled world. They thrive when facing physical threats head-on, relying on strength, determination, and sheer grit to persevere against overwhelming odds.

Survivor Perks (choose one):

Unbreakable: Once per session, if reduced to 0 Vitality Points (VP), immediately regain 1d6 VP. This perk helps you stay on your feet during critical moments, allowing you to continue fighting or escape danger.
Combat Instinct: You gain advantage (roll twice and take the higher result) on Strength checks for grappling, escaping restraints, or improvised attacks. This perk boosts your combat versatility and effectiveness in close-quarters scenarios.
Resourceful: You craft or repair improvised weapons and basic survival equipment with advantage, and required time or materials are halved. This ensures your character remains prepared and capable, even in desperate situations.

Survivor Traits:

Positive Trait – Hardened: You have advantage on checks involving resisting physical exhaustion, pain, or harsh environmental effects. This represents your ability to remain effective under physically demanding conditions.
Negative Trait – Stoic Isolation: You have disadvantage (roll twice and take the lower result) on Social checks when attempting to convey empathy, build rapport, or comfort others. This reflects your emotional distance born from prolonged hardship and survival experiences.

How to Play a Survivor

Playing a Survivor means focusing on physical strength, resilience, and practical problem-solving. Prioritize Strength-based checks and scenarios that leverage your toughness and resourcefulness. In combat, use your chosen perk strategically; Unbreakable keeps you alive in dire circumstances, Combat Instinct enhances your effectiveness in close-quarters fights, and Resourceful lets you adapt when equipment is scarce or improvised.

Role-play your Hardened trait by exhibiting confidence and fortitude during strenuous activities or in harsh settings. Conversely, let Stoic Isolation color your social interactions, creating narrative tension as your Survivor struggles with empathy and emotional connection. By leveraging your strengths and managing your weaknesses, your Survivor becomes a vital anchor in the group’s efforts to withstand and overcome the horrors you face.

Slippery One Archetype

Primary Attribute: Dexterity (minimum required score: 6)

The Slippery One archetype excels in precision, manual dexterity, and stealth. These characters rely on meticulous control, careful manipulation, and subtle techniques rather than sheer agility or brute strength. They are masters of sleight-of-hand, lock-picking, delicate sabotage, and precisely executed attacks, navigating dangerous situations through calculated movements and cunning maneuvers.

Slippery One Perks (choose one):

Quick Hands: Gain advantage on checks requiring sleight-of-hand, lock picking, disarming traps, or other tasks of manual dexterity. This perk enhances your ability to manipulate objects swiftly and discreetly under pressure.
Precise Strike: Once per session, you can guarantee a critical success (natural 20) on a single Dexterity-based attack or skill check, ensuring pinpoint accuracy at a crucial moment.
Shadow Step: Once per session, instantly reposition up to your normal speed without being noticed or provoking attacks, reflecting your mastery of subtle movement and stealthy positioning.

Slippery One Traits:

Positive Trait – Nimble Fingers: You gain advantage on checks involving intricate manual tasks such as pickpocketing, delicate crafting, precise sabotage, or quickly using small tools. Your exceptional manual dexterity lets you succeed where others might fumble.
Negative Trait – Physically Unimposing: You have disadvantage on Strength checks or actions requiring sustained physical force, grappling, or endurance. This reflects your reliance on finesse over muscle.

How to Play a Slippery One

Playing a Slippery One means prioritizing finesse, precision, and clever manipulation over direct confrontation. Focus on situations where careful dexterity and quiet skill give you an advantage. Use your chosen perk strategically: Quick Hands to expertly disarm traps or silently open locked doors, Precise Strike for critical moments requiring guaranteed accuracy, and Shadow Step for quick repositioning when detection could spell disaster.

Role-play your Nimble Fingers trait by showcasing your character’s subtle expertise with tools, locks, or delicate objects. Conversely, let the Physically Unimposing trait guide you away from direct physical confrontations, encouraging creative or indirect solutions. With careful precision and clever use of your dexterous skills, your Slippery One will turn subtlety and finesse into powerful tools of survival.

The Runner Archetype

Primary Attribute: Agility (minimum required score: 6)

The Runner archetype embodies speed, agility, and rapid response. Runners excel at maneuvering quickly through perilous environments and deftly avoiding threats. They rely on swift reflexes and dynamic movement, thriving in situations that reward quick reaction times and efficient repositioning.

Runner Perks (choose one):

Lightning Reflexes: Gain advantage on Agility checks for initiative rolls and to dodge surprise attacks or avoid traps. This perk ensures you react swiftly and decisively during critical moments.
Fleet-Footed: Your base movement speed increases by 10 feet. This superior mobility lets you rapidly reposition, escape danger, or pursue targets during encounters.
Parkour Expert: Gain advantage on checks involving acrobatics, climbing, jumping, or traversing obstacles (urban or natural). This enhances your ability to navigate complex terrain quickly.

Runner Traits:

Positive Trait – Swift: You gain advantage on checks related to rapid movement, evasion, or quick repositioning. This trait highlights your capacity to move swiftly and evade danger effectively.
Negative Trait – Fragile: You have disadvantage on Endurance checks to endure prolonged physical strain or direct physical impacts. This reflects your focus on agility over physical toughness.

How to Play a Runner

As a Runner, leverage your exceptional speed and agility. Seek out challenges that reward quick reflexes and fast movement. Use your perks to maximize these strengths—Lightning Reflexes helps you seize initiative and evade harm, Fleet-Footed gives you unparalleled mobility to outmaneuver opponents or flee, and Parkour Expert lets you scale and vault through obstacles with ease.

When role-playing, emphasize your Swift trait by constantly staying on the move and reacting in a flash. Acknowledge your Fragile trait by avoiding drawn-out brawls; instead, use hit-and-run tactics and never stay in one spot for too long. With careful tactics and strategic bursts of speed, your Runner will consistently outmaneuver threats and seize critical opportunities when they arise.

The Last One Standing Archetype

Primary Attribute: Endurance (minimum required score: 6)

The Last One Standing archetype embodies resilience, stamina, and sheer determination. Characters of this archetype are capable of enduring significant physical punishment and prolonged challenges. This archetype excels at weathering the harshest conditions, absorbing damage, and persisting through adversity when others falter.

Last One Standing Perks (choose one):

Unyielding: Gain advantage on Endurance checks to resist fatigue, environmental hazards, or the effects of physical harm. This perk greatly increases your capacity to withstand prolonged challenges and severe conditions.
Iron Constitution: Increase your Vitality Points (VP) by 5. This bolsters your durability, allowing you to survive longer in combat or under harsh conditions.
Second Wind: Once per session, immediately regain a number of Vitality Points (VP) equal to your Endurance score. This perk gives you a critical recovery boost, keeping you in the fight even after severe damage.

Last One Standing Traits:

Positive Trait – Resilient: You gain advantage on checks involving physical resilience, resistance to pain, or enduring harmful and exhausting conditions. This reinforces your ability to survive through sheer toughness.
Negative Trait – Slow Recovery: You have disadvantage on Agility checks requiring quick reflexes or rapid movement. This represents your focus on endurance and durability over speed and finesse.

How to Play the Last One Standing

Playing a Last One Standing means using your unmatched endurance to survive what others cannot. Throw yourself into situations where durability and resilience are key. Choose your perk based on the needs of the moment—Unyielding to excel in harsh or exhausting conditions, Iron Constitution to simply take more punishment, or Second Wind to bounce back when your Vitality is nearly spent.

Role-play your Resilient trait by meeting challenges head-on, demonstrating unwavering determination and the will to push through pain and fatigue. At the same time, respect your Slow Recovery trait by not overextending into tasks requiring finesse or quick reactions—take a measured approach when agility is needed. Through strategic endurance and sheer grit, your Last One Standing will serve as the steadfast pillar of the team, outlasting adversity and emerging stronger after every trial.

The Scholar Archetype

Primary Attribute: Knowledge (minimum required score: 6)

The Scholar archetype represents intellect, analytical prowess, and extensive knowledge. Scholars excel at deciphering clues, solving complex problems, and uncovering hidden truths. Their sharp minds make them indispensable in situations that require careful analysis, detailed research, or strategic planning.

Scholar Perks (choose one):

Encyclopedic Mind: Gain advantage on Knowledge checks to recall information, solve puzzles, or understand complex theories. This significantly enhances your ability to leverage your extensive knowledge base.
Strategist: Once per session, provide strategic insight that grants advantage to you or an ally on their next check. This reflects your tactical acumen and meticulous planning, giving your team an edge at a pivotal moment.
Insightful Analyst: Gain advantage on checks involving investigative research, deciphering hidden meanings, or interpreting data and clues. This perk is especially valuable during complex mysteries or investigations.

Scholar Traits:

Positive Trait – Intellectual: You gain advantage on checks that involve critical thinking, detailed research, or academic knowledge. This emphasizes your scholarly background and intellectual strengths.
Negative Trait – Overthinker: You have disadvantage on Social checks that involve quick decision-making, persuasion, or improvisation. This reflects your tendency to deliberate thoroughly before acting, sometimes to a fault.

How to Play a Scholar

Playing a Scholar involves using your intellect and knowledge to aid the group. Take the lead in investigative and analytical tasks, offering up crucial information and plans. Leverage your chosen perk to excel: Encyclopedic Mind gives you a wealth of information at your fingertips, Strategist lets you turn careful planning into concrete benefits for the team, and Insightful Analyst helps you unravel complex scenarios piece by piece.

When role-playing, lean into your Intellectual trait by methodically analyzing problems and sharing learned insights. Be mindful of your Overthinker trait during fast-paced situations—your character might hesitate or overanalyze when quick action is needed, which can be a fun challenge to portray. By strategically applying your brainpower, your Scholar will consistently uncover vital clues, solve challenging puzzles, and provide essential guidance to keep the team informed and prepared.

The Investigator Archetype

Primary Attribute: Perception (minimum required score: 6)

The Investigator archetype embodies acute observational skills, heightened senses, and intuitive analysis. Investigators excel at noticing hidden details, picking up subtle clues, and solving mysteries. Their perceptive nature makes them indispensable in scenarios involving investigation, exploration, or uncovering deception.

Investigator Perks (choose one):

Keen Observer: Gain advantage on Perception checks to spot hidden details, detect lies, or notice concealed threats. This perk sharpens your ability to quickly discern crucial information from your surroundings.
Detective’s Intuition: Once per session, automatically succeed on one Perception check to find a critical clue or notice an important detail. This guarantees that pivotal information never escapes your notice when it really counts.
Tracker: Gain advantage on checks for tracking individuals or creatures, and for analyzing signs of activity in an area. This is particularly useful during chases, hunts, or any investigative fieldwork.

Investigator Traits:

Positive Trait – Alert: You gain advantage on checks involving immediate awareness, vigilance, or noticing subtle changes in the environment. This amplifies your ability to identify and respond quickly to potential threats or clues.
Negative Trait – Suspicious: You have disadvantage on Social checks involving trust-building, persuasion, or diplomacy. This reflects your naturally cautious, wary demeanor and difficulty taking things at face value.

How to Play an Investigator

Playing an Investigator requires strategic use of your sharp senses and curiosity. Seek out situations where keen observation and careful analysis give you an advantage. Use your perks wisely: Keen Observer helps you constantly pick up on hidden information, Detective’s Intuition ensures you don’t miss the one clue you absolutely need, and Tracker lets you follow trails and deduce patterns that others might overlook.

In role-play, demonstrate your Alert trait by remaining vigilant and quick to point out oddities or potential threats that others miss. Conversely, let your Suspicious trait show in social settings—perhaps your character is slow to trust or always probing for ulterior motives, which can both aid and complicate group interactions. With tactical observation and precise deduction, your Investigator will solve mysteries, uncover dangers before it’s too late, and provide the critical intelligence your team needs.

The Charmer Archetype

Primary Attribute: Social (minimum required score: 6)

The Charmer archetype exemplifies charisma, persuasion, and exceptional interpersonal skills. Charmers are natural leaders and diplomats, adept at navigating complex social dynamics, influencing others, and defusing tense situations through eloquence and wit.

Charmer Perks (choose one):

Silver Tongue: Gain advantage on Social checks involving persuasion, negotiation, or diplomacy. This greatly enhances your ability to sway opinions and guide interactions in your favor.
Inspiring Presence: Once per session, grant all allies within earshot advantage on their next action. This reflects your capacity to motivate and rally others through inspiring speech or leadership.
Master Manipulator: Gain advantage on Social checks involving deception, misdirection, or subtle manipulation. This perk shines in scenarios where cunning and finesse can alter the outcome to your benefit.

Charmer Traits:

Positive Trait – Magnetic Personality: You gain advantage on checks involving forming alliances, inspiring confidence in others, or winning trust. Your natural charisma helps you forge positive relationships and lead effectively.
Negative Trait – Overconfident: You have disadvantage on checks requiring caution, detailed planning, or subtlety. This reflects your tendency toward boldness and relying on charm over careful analysis.

How to Play a Charmer

Playing a Charmer means actively engaging and influencing people around you. Put yourself in situations where persuasive dialogue and charismatic leadership are needed. Choose your perk based on your approach—Silver Tongue if you plan to talk your way through challenges, Inspiring Presence to boost your allies’ morale and performance, or Master Manipulator to achieve goals through cunning social stratagems.

When role-playing, make use of your Magnetic Personality by initiating conversations, negotiating deals, and generally being the face of the group. Your character can shine when rallying allies or diffusing conflicts with just the right words. On the flip side, let your Overconfident trait show by occasionally leaping before you look in social scenarios—perhaps promising more than you can deliver or underestimating a foe because of your confidence in your charm. Through savvy social maneuvering and a flair for communication, your Charmer will guide outcomes in your favor and ensure your team maintains valuable connections and allies.

The Faithful Archetype

Primary Attribute: Willpower (minimum required score: 6)

The Faithful archetype symbolizes unwavering resolve, inner strength, and steadfast conviction. Characters with this archetype excel at resisting psychological manipulation, confronting supernatural horrors, and maintaining composure under intense stress. Their strong willpower makes them remarkably resilient against fear, doubt, and despair.

Faithful Perks (choose one):

Steadfast Mind: Gain advantage on Willpower checks to resist fear, mental manipulation, or sanity-altering effects. This significantly bolsters your mental resilience and fortitude in the face of horror.
Inner Calm: Once per session, automatically regain Sanity Points (SP) equal to your Willpower score. This demonstrates your character’s ability to restore inner composure and stability in moments of crisis.
Aura of Resolve: Allies nearby gain advantage on Willpower checks against fear or psychological effects. Your presence and unwavering strength inspire those around you to resist terror and doubt.

Faithful Traits:

Positive Trait – Resolute: You gain advantage on checks involving determination, courage, or resilience under psychological pressure. This highlights your exceptional mental strength and dedication.
Negative Trait – Rigid Beliefs: You have disadvantage on Social or Knowledge checks when you need to adapt to unfamiliar viewpoints or ideas. This represents your unwavering adherence to personal convictions, even when flexibility might be wiser.

How to Play the Faithful

Playing the Faithful means leveraging your strong will and convictions to support yourself and others. Put yourself in situations where mental resilience is key—whether standing up to mind-bending supernatural forces or helping allies keep their cool. Choose your perk to suit the situation: Steadfast Mind for constant resistance to fear and manipulation, Inner Calm to regain sanity and composure when pushed to the brink, or Aura of Resolve to bolster your team’s courage when horror strikes.

In role-play, show your Resolute trait by meeting fear and despair with unshakable courage and faith. You might be the character who volunteers to face the darkness first or who refuses to back down when everyone else is trembling. Meanwhile, let Rigid Beliefs introduce some conflict or growth opportunities—perhaps your Faithful character has a hard time accepting unconventional methods or collaborating with those who challenge their worldview. Through unwavering resolve and principled strength, your Faithful will serve as a cornerstone of stability and hope, confronting nightmares head-on and inspiring others to do the same.

The Fortunate Archetype

Primary Attribute: Luck (minimum required score: 6)

The Fortunate archetype represents extraordinary luck, serendipity, and an uncanny knack for bending chance in your favor. Fortunate characters thrive in unpredictable situations, relying on good fortune to turn the tides and to escape seemingly impossible predicaments.

Fortunate Perks (choose one):

Lucky Break: Once per session, reroll a critical failure or force an opponent to reroll a critical success. This perk lets sheer luck flip a pivotal outcome, potentially turning disaster into opportunity.
Serendipitous Discovery: Gain advantage on Luck checks to find useful items, hidden resources, or fortuitous circumstances. This increases your odds of stumbling upon something (or someone) beneficial just when you need it most.
Charmed Life: Gain advantage on any checks involving random chance, gambling, or other unpredictable scenarios. Thanks to your charmed existence, you consistently reap favorable outcomes from uncertain situations.

Fortunate Traits:

Positive Trait – Favored by Fortune: You gain advantage on checks to narrowly escape harm, succeed against long odds, or benefit from lucky coincidences. You truly seem to be favored by fate in moments of chaos.
Negative Trait – Reckless Optimism: You have disadvantage on checks requiring careful planning, caution, or detailed risk assessment. This reflects your overreliance on luck and impulsive tendency to assume things will just work out.

How to Play the Fortunate

Playing as the Fortunate means embracing uncertainty and trusting your luck to carry the day. Jump into risky or unpredictable situations and make the most of chance opportunities. Use your perks at key moments: Lucky Break when you desperately need to avert failure or negate an enemy’s lucky hit, Serendipitous Discovery to conveniently find resources or clues, and Charmed Life to tilt ongoing random events (like games of chance or chaotic battles) in your favor as often as possible.

When role-playing, lean into your Favored by Fortune trait by taking confident risks — your character might volunteer for the crazy plan because somehow things just work out for them. Show off those improbable escapes or lucky hits as defining moments. Meanwhile, let Reckless Optimism lead you to sometimes gloss over planning and precaution; your Fortunate character might rush in on a hunch or shrug off warnings, expecting luck will save the day. By riding the waves of fortune and taking well-timed gambles, your Fortunate character will defy the odds, turn bad situations around, and provide your team with surprising twists of fate just when they need them.

The Everyperson Archetype

Primary Attribute: None (no minimum required score)

The Everyperson archetype represents the average individual thrust into extraordinary circumstances. These characters aren’t specialized in any one area, but they make up for it with adaptability, practicality, and resourcefulness. The Everyperson excels by making the most of a diverse yet modest skill set, embodying the potential for everyday heroism.

Everyperson Perks (choose one):

Jack of All Trades: Once per session, gain advantage on any one attribute or skill check of your choice. This reflects your versatile capabilities — when a crucial moment comes, you can unexpectedly excel even in an area outside your usual expertise.
Resourceful: Gain advantage on checks involving improvisation, creative use of available resources, or quick adaptation to unexpected situations. This highlights your practical ingenuity in a pinch, allowing you to jury-rig solutions where others might be stumped.
Hidden Talent: Choose one specific skill at character creation; you permanently have advantage on checks with that skill. This represents a personal hobby or life experience that gives you a unique specialty despite your generalist nature.

Everyperson Traits:

Positive Trait – Adaptable: You gain advantage on checks involving adjusting to new challenges, environments, or roles. This underscores your flexibility and capacity to cope effectively with whatever situation is thrown at you.
Negative Trait – Ordinary: You have disadvantage on checks that require exceptional specialization or extraordinary talent in a single area. This emphasizes that you’re a generalist at heart — you may lack the extreme prowess that specialists have.

How to Play the Everyperson

Playing the Everyperson means emphasizing versatility and common-sense problem solving. You’re not the strongest, fastest, or smartest, but you can contribute in many different ways. Look for scenarios where practical solutions and teamwork shine. Choose your perk to complement the group’s needs: Jack of All Trades gives you a clutch boost exactly when and where you need it, Resourceful lets you improvise tools or plans on the fly, and Hidden Talent ensures there’s at least one thing you’re unexpectedly great at.

In role-play, highlight your Adaptable trait by being the first to volunteer when a task needs creativity or when circumstances suddenly change. Show that your character can quickly learn or adjust as challenges evolve. Likewise, embrace the Ordinary trait by portraying a humble, relatable perspective — your Everyperson might often rely on help from more specialized teammates and isn’t too proud to admit their limits. Through versatility and ingenuity, the Everyperson can turn everyday skills into heroic feats, thriving amid the extraordinary and providing crucial adaptability to your team.

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TCR: Archetypes