Earthmen as PCs

In my mind, Athanor exists in the distant future of Earth, long after it has faded from glory. If humans survive, they do so beyond the scope of travel to Athanor. However, it is true that the alien nature of the campaign  or players’ desire for a familiar character type to run may make it hard for some players to get into playing an Athanoran character.

Earthmen on Athanor have arrived through some sort of temporal or dimensional portal. Most will be from some point in the 20th or early 21st century, arriving through strange portals such as are found in the Bermuda Triangle, by wormholes as astronauts, or by magical or weird-science accidents. They may want to return to Earth, but this would be a major story arc and will not be intended to be an easy goal! Earthmen are standard humans, just like Zamorans in all respects except as follows:

Class Advancement
    Earthmen will not begin trained as magic-users. Most will be Fighters. A few may be rogues with magical potential, but no training.

Skill with Ancient Technology
Earthmen, used to 20th century or 21st century technology are more familiar with technological items.  They gain a +2 to saving throws to use Ancient technology.

Weapon
Earthmen begin play with a sidearm. This can be a six-shot revolver or a ten-shot automatic pistol. In any case, the weapon does 1d6+2 damage, range 50feet, RoF 1, and takes one round to reload. The character begins with a full weapon and 1d6 reloads of ammunition.

While this is a convenient weapon, it is up to the player to find a way to get more ammunition….
 
Miscellaneous Technological Items
    Earthmen begin with 1d3+1 other useful modern items such a lighters, flashlights, etc. These are likely to wear out over time.

Background Skills
Earthmen may choose from the following  type II skills in addition the usual background skill options: Archaeologist, Astronaut, Electronics, Mechanic, Pilot, Scientist, Soldier.

The Skills
Archaeologist
    Archaeologists are adept at deciphering signs, symbols and languages, understanding cultures, and understanding traps and other dangers in old ruins. (+4 saves) They also have a sense of what items are of value among the ruins of ancient civilizations and are adept at appraising them.

Astronaut
    Astronauts know how to operate spacecraft and gain a +2 bonus to saves to use Ancient technology.

Electronics
    This ability allows characters to repair and operate electronics devices (+4 saves). This grains a +2 to saves to use Ancient technology.

Mechanic
    This ability allows characters to repair and operate mechanical devices. This grains a +4 to saves to disarm traps, perform basic repairs, and to fix  non-electronic items.

Pilot
    This is the ability to pilot, repair, and operate aircraft (+4 saves).  With practice, this can apply to Athanoran airships.

Scientist
    Scientists are skilled in identifying and analyzing physical phenomena. Choose a field. Chemists can do the same tasks as characters with the Alchemy skill; Biologists can identify animals and plants and predict their behavior; etc. This gives a +4 bonus to appropriate saves. This grains a +2 to saves to use Ancient technology.

Soldier
    Soldiers understand tactics, weaponry, and outdoor survival (+4 saves).