Character Creation: Monsters & Other Childish Things

Only two days with the kids there, of course, and no therapy because first up is divvying up caseload, setting up the space, etc. But, in happy news, I did get my first paycheck as a therapist rather than an intern, so that was pretty cool.

We watched Nightmare Before Christmas last night. I'd forgotten how truly creepy bits of that movie are, but Kai didn't seem to mind. Every time I watch that movie, I'm struck by how much more interesting it could have been with a little more attention to script and a little less attention to hokey song lyrics. And Oogie Boogie was just wasted. And wtf is up with his gambling thing? Is that like a "deal with the Devil" kind of idea? Conclusion: Tim Burton needs more zoloft or less, I can't decide.

(I'm aware that he didn't direct it, but it was definitely his work.)

Anyway, speaking of surreal child-related experiences:

The Game: Monsters and Other Childish Things
The publisher: Arc Dream
Degree of familiarity: I've read it. Uses the same One-Roll Engine as Godlike, but I've never played it. I do, however, have an ongoing interest in RPGs that have the players taking the roles of kids, obviously.
Books required: Just the core, which I purchased at GenCon.

Anyway, here's something weird about this game: It doesn't make a lot of the assumptions clear up front. Like, evidently these monsters are real, can eat people, can wipe the floor with SWAT teams, but there's not really a lot of word count devoted to what that's done to the world. But the game is just fun to read (it took me all of one night, while Nobilis took months and Fading Suns a week, and that was with skipping large sections), and I can see it being a lot of fun to play.

Basically, you're a kid who has befriended a horrible monster from outside time and space. This monster feeds on relationships, so it's in your best interests to keep your mom (or whoever) happy with you. It's also in your best interests to keep an eye on your monster, lest he go tromping off eating people.

So, with that in mind, I start with creating my kid. If you're keeping track, this is the third child character I've created.

My character's name is Mikey Robard. Mikey lives with his dad; his mom died a few years ago. Mikey says he doesn't remember much about her, but that's not really true. He remembers more than he'd like, he just doesn't have the words to talk about his memories or the way they make him feel. Mikey's close to his dad, and even though Dad works long hours, they always watch an episode of Animaniacs when Dad gets home. Mikey can't sleep unless they do.

Since I don't know when this game is "set," we'll say Mikey is 10 years old and not bother with a birthdate. He goes to John F. Kennedy Elementary, since there's a school named after JFK pretty much everywhere. His homeroom teacher is Mr. Ackman, and he's this big, balding friendly guy that reminds Mikey a little of his Grandad.

Mikey is a little slimmer than he was last spring. Folks think that's because he's hit a growth spurt, but actually it's because he spent the summer running after his monster making sure nothing bad happened. He keeps his hair buzzed (Dad finds it's easier to do that than spend money at the barber's, and Mikey likes the way it feels anyway). He likes pants with lots of pockets and Local Sports Team gear. Mikey's Favorite Thing is sports. He's not particular about the sport, and he's not a stats encyclopedia. He likes to play sports. He wants to play on a Little League team this spring; he's even got his bat and glove already.

A Good Thing he did: Mikey stayed after school last year to help his teacher (Mrs. Drepps, who retired) carry all her classroom stuff to her car. It took 10 trips.

A Bad Thing he did: Mikey threw out his parents' wedding picture over the summer. He's not sure why he did that. He was mad about something.

Stats. We've got five Stats: Feet, Guts, Hands, Brains and Face. They start at 1d, and I have 10 to divvy up. I know I want a good Feet score, as sporty as Mikey is, so I'll put 3d in there. Mikey's not the bravest of kids, but he's not a chicken, either, so I'll put 2d into Guts. Hands should be good, too, so I'll put 3d there, and that leaves 1d each for Brains and Face.

Skills. I get 15 points for Skills, and they start at 0. I know I want P.E.; again, sporty. I'll put 4d there. Wind had better get some dice (3). Courage needs a die or two; let's call it two. I'll put a die in Shop, just for the fun of it. That leaves five dice. I don't see Mikey being great with Out-Think, but maybe Notice. I'll put two dice there. The other three dice I'll put in Charm. Mikey's a nice kid, even if he's a little loud sometimes.

Relationships. I get six dice to sink into relationships. I can add these to various rolls if I can make the case that the relationship is a motivator. Obviously, the big one is Dad, and that gets 4 of my dice. For the other two, I put one into "Mr. Ackman" and one into "Mom." Just because she's dead doesn't mean Mikey doesn't love her.

And that's Mikey! Now for his bestest buddy!

Well, first off, I have to sketch the monster. Now, if you know me, you know that my artistic ability is about on pay with my daughter's, so this is perfect! I draw my monster and assign his hit locations. He's a big, hairy, four-armed ape-pig-thing. His name is Grunty. Grunty was sitting in the dumpster near Mikey's apartment one night when Mikey got home from the park, rooting around for scraps. They got to talking, and because fast friends. Mikey loves watching Grunty do one thing with his upper hands and something else with his lower hands, like playing video games and eating a sandwich (or whatever else is handy).

I put the upper arms as one hit location and the lower arms as another. I know on the picture it looks like right and left, but I changed my mind after I drew it. Bear with me.

Right, let's do the qualities and stuff.

Hit Location: 1-3. Name: Big, hairy, upper arms. Qualities: Attack, Defend, Useful (climb walls). Dice: 9. Extras: Spray, Awesome x2.

Hit Location: 4-6. Name: Small(er), hairy, lower arms. Qualities: Attack, Defend, Useful (long, nimble fingers - can hold or entangle). Dice: 7 Extras: Spray, Awesome x2, Wicked Fast 3.

Hit Location: 7-8. Name: Short, strong, hair legs. Qualities: Defend. Dice: 8 Extras: Wicked Fast 2.

Hit Location: 9. Name: Pig-like face with sharp pointy teeth. Qualities: Attacks, Useful (eat anything). Dice: 4.

Hit Location: 10. Name: Big, flabby body. Qualities: Defends. Dice: 3. Extras: Tough 2.

Now, for a little more about Grunty. Grunty hides by clinging to walls, ceilings, trees or whatever else is just above the visual line of adults. His Favorite Thing is "eating while doing something else," or "snacking," you might say. He loves to eat, but he only uses his top arms for that. His bottom arms get bored, and he can't eat with both sets at once, so he likes to play video games, mess with clay, or do a Rubik's cube while eating. So Mikey not only has to provide him with some edible (not hard, since he can pretty much eat anything) but something to do while he eats. And he hates crosswords.

And that's about it, actually. Ready for the ape-fights!