Character Creation: The Tick

No, wait. Yes, it's a superhero game, but not quite like that. No, today's offering is...

The Game: With Great Power...
The publisher: Incarnadine Press
Degree of familiarity: Some. I played it at Origins, and I've read the book a few times, because it's an entertaining read (which is more than you can say for a lot of RPGs). I'd love to run it.
Books required: Just the WGP book, but this is another one of those games, like My Life with Master, that really requires a full group during chargen. 

 
Men and women in tights, makin' the rules and breakin' em!

OK, since I don't have a group to play with, I'm going to piggyback on the example given in the book. The first question is The Struggle, that is, what are all the heroes torn between? In the book, the example is "Ideals vs. Practicality", so I'll go with that. It's a question near and dear to my heart anyway. No, wait, that's "Cheesecake vs. Nachos."

Scripting Question Two is "Will you be using an existing hero, or making your own?" Duh.

Question three (Assets): How does your hero excel?

Aspects are facets of your character that can be attacked during play. For instance, Assets can be Powers, Origins, Identities, etc. And then we get into Motivations and Relationships, but that's next. There's no limit to how many you can choose, ostensibly, but everyone needs at least 3. I'll do four.

Which, of course, demands that I actually think about my character a little. OK. Ideals vs. Practicality. I think I'd like to play a technological character, someone who doesn't actually have powers but has nifty gadgets. And because I've never actually played a character called "the Wraith," I'll do so, even though I've played wraiths.

Ahem. Anyway, for my first Aspect, I'll pick an Asset to represent the Wraith's powers. I figure he's got this lightweight, black (duh) bodysuit, big long cape, hood, domino mask. The suit allows him to manipulate his own form and capabilities. He can alter his voice so that it causes physical pain to others, or sounds soothing and trustworthy. He can give himself a false face, and stimulate his muscles with current to make himself stronger. I'll call that Asset "Enhancement Bodysuit", which isn't very poetic, but I'll forgive myself that.

This suit comes down on the Ideals thing, because the Wraith stole it with the help of his friend and former co-worker at Hephaestus Biomechanics (I'll get to him later). They stole it because they knew it was just going to go to the military or intelligence world, and they figure that they could do more with it for the good of mankind.

For my second Aspect, I'll take Identity. I want this to be more Practical than Ideal, so I want there to be a real struggle between what Wraith wants to do and what he can do. I list it as "Ailing Scientist." Wraith isn't dying, but he's not in great health, either. Without his suit, he'd be toast in a real fight.

Now, on to Motivations. This pretty much has to come down on Ideal, doesn't it? Nah. I like a challenge (and besides, I have an idea for my other Ideal one). I'll take a Conviction: "Work Within the Law." Obviously, Wraith's a vigilante, so he's a criminal by default (depending on the assumptions of the setting). But he doesn't just beat up bad guys and expect them to go to jail. He knows that if he doesn't present real, usable evidence when he fights crime, the bad guys are going free. Sometimes, that means he has to be satisfied with just stopping them.

Finally, I need a Relationship, but I've thought of that. His partner's name is Dr. Greg Barton. Dr. Barton helped design the suit, and while he's not fit enough to wear it (neither is Wraith, really, but at least it fits him), he helps maintain it and sometimes drives a getaway van. Greg is, like Wraith, an idealist.

If I were doing more Aspects, I'd put something in there about the company that he stole the suit from, but I just want four. Besides, I've got a Changeling game to run. Ideally, I'd do more. Practically, I gotta be going. :)

Oh, I do need to mark down the Scale of my Aspects. That's easy. Except for "Work within the law," (which is Municipal) they're all Personal.

And that's pretty much it. I'd discuss with my GM how each of these Aspects could Suffer in play, but since it's just me, I shan't bother.