Overview
There are seven character types to choose from, each of which has what’s called a “playbook”, which is a set of particular abilities available to that character type, as well as equipment or other details pertinent to playing that kind of character in the game.
A character is also composed of a heritage, which indicates the culture they grew up in, and a background, which is the profession they took on before taking to the stars in pursuit of a life of grand adventure.
Characters also have allies and rivals, some of whom they determine during character creation.
Note that in terms of their species, the game assumes that all characters are human, but there are options for becoming what is generically called a xeno, which needs to be discussed with a GM before the game begins. More information is available here.
Here is a very basic summary of each of the character types:
mechanics are gearheads and hackers.
muscles are dangerous and intimidating fighters.
mystics are galactic wanderers in touch with the Way.
pilots are ship-handling wizards and danger addicts.
scoundrels are scrappy and lucky survivors.
speakers are respectable people on the take.
stitches are spacefaring healers and scientists.
There is no limit (as there are in some other similar games) as to how many of these types can exist within a given Crew.
Character types also determine things like the availability of some gear, and various suggestions in regard to how each type operates.
Unlike games focused on the advancement of a character which accrues greater and greater power over time, and has no real functional means of death beyond the rare event of it occurring in combat, Scum & Villainy, along with most games of its ilk, pay less attention to character abilities and power. Because the game is so story-centric, what a player decides to do with their character is often as important as the skillset used to do it.
Furthermore, characters have multiple means to be ‘taken out’ of play—they might die in combat; they might be captured and imprisoned; they might become insane or gather too many traumas and be forced to retire; the might simply die of old age. The point is that characters aren’t designed to be played over and over and over again, endlessly. They will get hurt, maybe killed, need to sit things out, or if they do survive for long enough, likely become so hardened by their experience that they retreat from life.
And that transience, strange as it may sound, is part of such a character’s beauty.
Future Intent
I would like for there to be a greater amount of customisation in the game (which is one of the downsides of a “playbook” style system, of which this is one). The actual archetypes themselves I may modify or even remove. This will also allow me to merge this lowlife scoundrels on a heist sort of system with something more akin to a brutal, bloody war in the stars type thing, whilst also allowing factional warfare to determine who sits on the throne, and stuff like that, which is currently beyond the scope of this particular game.
My eventual intent is to take most of the abilities from within specific playbooks and make them available to anyone, with perhaps just one or two core abilities remaining unique to a “type”. Which would facilitate someone playing, say, a muscle to incorporate aspects of the scoundrel's luck, or to dabble in hacking or healing.
That would allow for a far greater range of character options, which will be necessary if multiple “modes” are introduced.
I would also aim to tie heritage more directly to certain character types, or have them grant access to unusual or more specialised types (which might be flagged as “advanced”, to indicate they are more involved or have more complex mechanics than a regular character type.
Eventually, I want there to be an explicit mechanism to make time itself a resource. Characters will advance a bit faster, but will have a discrete limit on their lifespan—this will push games (on a long enough timeline) into a more dynastic approach, where the faction or ideals they fight for become more important than the design of any one particular character.
As an example of group concepts (as opposed to choosing a starship to determine the Crew’s focus), here are some from Blades In The Dark, which is about a group of criminals fighting for turf and coin in a deadbeat city:
assassins are killers for hire, who execute "accidents", disappearances, murders, and ransoms.
bravos are mercenaries and thugs, who execute battles, extortion, sabotage, and smash & grabs.
cults are acolytes of a forgotten god, who execute artefact acquisiton, auguries, consecration, and sacrifices.
hawkers are are vice dealers, who execute product procurement, covert sales, shows fo force, and social events.
shadows are theives and spies, who execute burglaries, espionage, robberies, and sabotage.
smugglers are contraband transporters who execute clandestine deliveries, territory control, and expeditions outside the city or planet.
As further examples, here are more character types from Band of Blades, which is about a legion of troops traversing a realm beset by an horrific and unstoppable undead invasion in order to make a final stand in their legendary keep:
rookies are fresh troops who still need to earn their stripes.
soldiers are general infantry who are tough but not yet a specialist (like all of the following types).
heavies are mighty bulkwarks who shine with might and determination against the dark.
medics are healers and researchers who get their fellow soldiers through a mission alive.
officers are the unit leaders who command their troops to victory even when they're up against certain death.
scouts are stealthy types who often work alone and see the enemy coming so the unit knows what it is up against.
snipers are skilled marksmen who are able to dispatch the most serious threats from afar.