Jacks are intrepid explorers. They are jacks of all trades—hence the name—although the word also hearkens back to fables involving a wily, resourceful hero who always seems to be named Jack. Used as a verb, “to jack” means to steal, to deceive, or to get out of a tight scrape through ingenuity or luck.
Jacks don’t use one skill or tactic exclusively; they use whatever weapons, armor, esoteries, or anything else might help them. They are hunters (particularly treasure hunters), con artists, skalds, rogues, scouts, and experts in a variety of fields.
Jacks in Society: Jacks are crafters, entertainers, leaders, and thieves. They’re architects, engineers, con artists, salespeople, and teachers. This diversity doesn’t mean that the Jack is the archetypal everyman—that kind of simple categorization would diminish the character type. Jacks are remarkable in that they can do so many different things, and some do multiple things. If one Jack is an artist and another is an explorer, there’s likely a third who is both at once.
Skilled and learned Jacks who share their gifts with others are prized members of society, well respected for what they know and can do. A village might be protected by warriors, but it’s the Jack who makes everything run smoothly by repairing or building whatever is needed, handling disputes, investigating mysteries, and so on. On the other hand, Jacks who use their varied abilities to benefit only themselves are distrusted at best and reviled at worst. The murderers and thieves of a community are likely Jacks.
Jacks in the Group: Jacks fill in the space between the extremes of Nanos and Glaives. They frequently do a little of everything and know a little of everything. They can fight alongside a Glaive or have a scholarly talk with a Nano. There are no right or wrong places, actions, or roles for Jacks. They can hold their own in combat or other dangerous situations, but they excel at many assorted tasks like searching for clues, using diplomacy with the locals, or repairing a piece of broken gear. The drawback, of course, is that Jacks are rarely the best fighters in combat or the best numenera handlers. They might, however, be the best at more specialized skills. They’re the most likely characters to know how to climb, how to stand watch effectively, how to jimmy a lock, and how to jury-rig a makeshift shelter or snare trap.
Jacks and the Numenera: Jacks gravitate toward cyphers or artifacts that expand their array of options even further. An enhanced piece of armor might be fine for a Glaive, but many Jacks would rather have an object that allows them to communicate at a distance, walk through walls, or put foes to sleep.
Advanced Jacks: Jacks are the most flexible of the character types, and advanced Jacks are no different. Some learn esoteries, as Nanos do. Others hone their combat abilities. Some Jacks do both, gaining more skills and improving at, well, a little bit of everything.
JACK BACKGROUND
You might hear people say that a Jack is just the typical everyman (or everyperson), but don’t believe it. You aren’t like anyone else. You can do things that no one else can do because you do so many things. You’re a warrior, you’re a thief, you’re a diplomat, you’re a sage, and you’re a spy.
When you choose Jack as your character type, come up with an explanation for how you learned your wide variety of talents. Choose one of the three options described below. It will provide the foundation of your background and give you an idea of how you can improve. The GM can use this information to develop adventures and quests that are specific to your character and play a role in your advancement.
BORN LUCKYYou seem to be better than most people because you are. Your ancestors were part of a genetic experiment, and your genes are superior to those of the average human. You’re smarter, stronger, more dexterous, and able to learn mental and physical skills more quickly. Folks might call you charismatic, blessed, divinely gifted, or just plain lucky. They probably said the same thing about your parents, their parents, and so on. Some of your genetic advantage might even grant you low-level psychic abilities that greatly resemble the “miracles” performed by Nanos.
Advancement: You might be a superhuman, but you’re still limited by what you learn and experience. Therefore, you must continue to train and study. Practice is the key—it just comes easier for you than it does for others. When you improve, it’s because you have honed your natural abilities or unlocked heretofore unknown genetic traits.
SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKSYou learned things the hard way—on your own. Adaptive and canny, you express the true strengths of humanity in your ability to adjust quickly to circumstances, pick up new tricks to succeed, and ultimately survive when you probably should be dead. Most likely, you grew up on your own, perhaps on the streets, in the wilderness, or amid ruins. The details don’t really matter. What’s important is that you taught yourself how to overcome whatever challenges came along.
Advancement: Just keep on keeping on. You got to where you are by observing, learning, adapting, and adopting. To advance, you need to do more of the same. Constant wariness coupled (somewhat paradoxically) with constant curiosity allows you to hone your skills and new capabilities.
A COBBLED JUMBLEYou’re the product of generations of eugenics, bolstered by minor cybernetic enhancements, a few small psychic abilities, and the lessons of secret masters. In other words, you don’t have one source of power or one explanation for your abilities—you have many, and as far as you’re concerned, that’s the best formula for success. You don’t put all your eggs in a single proverbial basket. To really get ahead, you must rely on multiple strengths.
You’ve always got an unexpected trick up your sleeve or a fallback contingency. For example, you might have subdermal implants that make you more resilient, your training might let you sense a foe’s attack before he strikes, and your psychic abilities could allow you to push your enemy’s blade slightly to the left so you can just barely dodge it. In the end, you’re simply hard to hurt.
Advancement: You have chosen every path, so you must travel each of them. Training and drugs fuel your body and mind, brain implants grant you additional skills, and devices hidden in your palms give you fresh abilities. Advancement means new teachers and technicians, strange substances and radiations, and an everincreasing need to discover the secrets of the past that will prove essential for your future.
JACK PLAYER INTRUSIONS
When playing a Jack, you can spend 1 XP to use one of the following player intrusions, provided the situation is appropriate and the GM agrees.
Familiar Insight: You know this person (or heard about them somewhere) well enough to give insight about their motives or intentions and how best to convince them to see things your way. You know the right words, posturing, inflection, amount of emotional manipulation, or even what sort of joke or agreeable complaint might sway them. This can convince a neutral person to take your side, or a hostile one to hear you out for a little while longer.
Inspirational Recall: You recall an important detail from a previous encounter (perhaps something you don’t even remember noticing at the time) that suggests a successful course of action for your current situation. This might be recognizing a password hidden in an innocuous code or riddle, realizing you saw a suspicious individual near a crime scene, overhearing an important conversation between two NPCs, or understanding that an NPC’s subtle glance or gesture had additional connotations indicating what you should do.
Lucky Break: Something unexpected happens that is to your advantage. A rope your opponent is hanging from might snap, the person you’re debating in front of an influential Aeon Priest might trip or forget what they were going to say, or something that was supposed to last only a round or two lasts a little while longer.