Character Creation: Æternal Legends

Gotta love games that require me to open up a tab for Alt codes.

The Game: Æternal Legends
The publisher: Mob United, originally, but I don't see anyone but eBay selling it
Degree of familiarity: None. I've read it, that's it. Playing it would be fun, but I say that a lot, don't I?
Books Required: Just the core. 

 

OK, Æternal Legends is about modern fantasy, about being a Legend and a hero. It's got shades of Changeling: The Dreaming and Unknown Armies, which is cool. I think I'd like to have seen more examples in the book - character creation, powers in action, actual play, that kind of thing, because after reading I'd have a hard time explaining it. But, Stew helpfully made us a character a while back, so I betcha I can do it, too.

Step 0: Concept. I know I want to play a gnome. I like their description here, how they're about invention and creation and inspiration. And, I admit, as I'm making more characters I'm seeing a trend toward mercurial, trickster and (of course) jumpy/flippy sorts. So why ignore what I love?  

My gnome is loosely (loosely) based on Robert from Munich, the toymaker-turned-demolitions guy. That is, he was a toymaker and specialized in intricate clockwork and radio-controlled toys, but never made the same one twice and sold them at a fraction of what they were probably worth. When he became Aware of his Clade and realized the struggle between Light and Dark, he turned his talents to more martial pursuits, largely because he saw it as an interesting challenge. He works with traps more than bombs, though. Bombs are easy. Traps, especially a trap that can fascinate a target long enough to nail him, are fun.

I won't sweat nationality, because I'd go with wherever the game was set. I do think that the character always has something wiry and clockwork to fiddle with. Probably a big clanky bag of spare parts that can use to whip something together for whatever reason, whether it's to win favor with a child or open a difficult lock.

Names. Argh. He was born Timothy Adlerman, but he goes by "Tink" (for "tinker"). Yes, this does sometimes get people thinking "Tinkerbell" and giggling, so he had a Tinkerbell tattoo put on his shoulder and dyed his hair blond and did it up in a Tinkerbell-like 'do. Fuck 'em if they can't take a joke.

Oh, and his Sphere is definitely the Beauty, and his role is the Mad Inventor. That's an easy one.

Step One: Attributes. We've got four here, with 7 points to divvy up. I'll put three each into Body and Mind; I want this guy to be quick, nimble and smart. The last point goes into Presence; as far as charisma goes, he's just average (he's cute, but he's annoying sometimes and he tends to take apart your microwave). That leaves Ethos at 1, but that's OK - I see Tink as unfocused and unsure of what he really believes. He's trying to find his place as a Legend, and doesn't like where other people try to put him.

Now, along with my Attributes, I get Edges and Flaws. I add one Edge and one Flaw to my Attributes. I automatically have the Body Edge: Nimble and the Mind Flaw: Oblivious for being a gnome. I'll give Tink the Presence Flaw: All Hands; he just can't leave well enough alone and has to touch everything. And then I think he needs the Mind Edge: Creative. Duh. He can turn alarm clocks into watchdogs.

Step 2: Traits. Derived stuff; Health, Conviction, Wits, Will. It's pretty much just the linked Attribute +4, and I'm not sure why we do it here rather than at the end, but whatever. Health 8, Conviction 5, Wits 8, Will 6, Magic 5.

Step 3: Aptitudes. These are kind of like professions. I get two, and then four points to divvy up, so let's look at the list and see if any of them work. Well, sure. OK, it makes sense for Tink to be good at Enchantment magic, so I'll take the Enchantment Aptitude. I'll also take Engineer, because, well, duh. I'll put three points into Engineer and one into Enchantment - Tink's just starting to use his powers magically.

I get one Skill to apply to one of my Aptitudes. I believe I will apply "Clockworks" to my Engineer Aptitudes. Because I'm a gnome, that adds 2 dice rather than just one.

And now, my Expertise. Obviously, what Tink's good at is creating devices, but let's get more specific than that. I'm going to call it "Tinkerer" - that's his name, that's where his true passion lies, so that's what he's best at. He can disassemble and reassemble just about any device, and make it better (or at least more interesting) in the process.

Step 4: Beliefs. This has to do with self-identity, which is a point of struggle for Tink. I get one Belief (since I have Ethos 1), and I'll phrase it this way: "Everything can be improved."

Step 5: Clade. Did that already. He's a gnome.

Step 6: Sphere. Did that already. Beauty, and Mad Inventor.

Step 7: Social Class. There's a chart. Hang on. For the Unaware, I'm Lower Middle Class. For the Aware, I'm Upper Middle Class, on account of my knowledge of Enchantment. I'm considerably richer among the Aware. My Revenue for Unaware sources is 5, but for the Aware it's 7.

Step 8: Equipment. Lots of spare parts in a big sack. Probably nothing in the way of real weapons, though I can see Tink building a blunderbuss or something in future.

OK, then, I think that's done.