Character Creation: 50 Fathoms

Well, my initial idea for this evening's fun hit a snag - I'm out of space on my gaming bookshelves, so I need to buy another one before I can finish cleaning my office. Don't suppose anyone wants an assload of Jyhad cards? Happy to trade them for an RPG.

Anyway, I decided to make a character. Initially I was thinking Terra Primate, but I just read 50 Fathoms and figure I ought to do this one before the knowledge fades from my brain.

The Game: 50 Fathoms
The publisher: Pinnacle Entertainment Group
Degree of familiarity: None with this game specifically, though I've run Savage Worlds in the form of Necessary Evil.
Books required: The Savage Worlds book and the 50 Fathoms book.

 
I admit, I wasn't sold on this initially. I got this book in a trade, having flipped through it at a con or something and thought, "eh." I mean, it looks like a generic fantasy world, only with more water. What do I want fantasy for? I've got Desolation.

Really, though, the backstory is kind of interesting. Three witches, having been sentenced to death by the king, rise up all bloated and drowned and make it rain enough to drown the world in 50 fathoms of water (which may have been where the game title came from, I'm not sure). This also created a vortex to our world, so pirates and other shippy people have been lured in by some weird "Maiden" in the mist.

The world is detailed enough that it wouldn't be at all hard to run a game. I like that humans are interlopers, but that we've already set up towns and started trying to run things (including introduced our quaint notions of "God" to the heathen natives; it hasn't taken). There are also some cool races. You can play a hyper-intelligent crab-person, or a big fat walrus-person, or a dolphin-person, if you think the dolphin is your "spirit animal" or some such BS.

I do not have a spirit animal, and if I did, it'd be a bunny anyway, so I won't be playing a doreen (the dolphin-folks).

Step One: Race. Well, heck. This is not a light decision. If I want to play a magic-user ("elementalist", in this game) I have to be either human, scurillian (crab-people), kraken (FUCKING MIND FLAY- er, octopus-faced people) or masaquani (the human-like natives of Caribdus).

You know, I kind of like the notion of a super. In 50 Fathoms parlance, a "super" is someone who vouches for the legality of a ship's cargo, but the ship's code and number are tattooed on the super's arm. They're very well-paid. First time I read them, I thought maybe that'd be a fun character. I think I'll do that, but I still need a race.

I choose atani. They're these winged, bat-like elf-like people. The picture in the book is of this lithe, graceful-looking woman atani, but of course I'm going to play a dude. I think my atani left his home for some reason - probably his family died during the flood and subsequent war, and being around his own people is painful for him. He's OK with the open ocean - yeah, there's no trees, but he can hang in the crow's nest and look out over clear, blue water stretching forever. It's kind of peaceful. He also has the names and numbers of cargos past on his wings, not his arms, making for this kind of of weird patchwork of numbers and letters all over them, which I think would look awesome.

Step Two: Traits. I start with a d6 in Agility because I'm an atani. Strength, however, is expensive to raise (again, because I'm an atani and they have hollow bones). Since I think that this guy is going to spend a lot of time flying around, scouting, observing and occasionally firing a gun or sling or something at enemies, I'll keep my points in Agility and Smarts and Spirit. I boost Agility to a d10, Smarts to a d8 and Spirit to a d6. That leaves Vigor and Strength at a d4, but I can live with that.

OK, now Skills:

Flying d10 (it's free to d6, and I boost it to d10)
Knowledge (Masaquani Language) d6 (also free)
Boating d4
Climb d4
Knowledge (Shipping Laws) d6
Notice d6
Persuasion d6
Shooting d6
Streetwise d4
Taunt d6

Fun fact: You can incapacitate mooks with a Taunt.

I should do derived traits now, according to the book, but that's dumb.

Step Three: Special Abilities. Edges and Hindrances. I mark down my racial Edges (I can Glide and I'm Agile), and my racial Hindrance (I's a Weak puppy). As usual, I shall take the allowed two minor and one major Hindrances, which requires me to grab my copy of Savage Worlds.

OK, I'll take Cautious. My guy thinks of himself as the last of his line, and that makes him circumspect. Likewise, I'll take Pacifist. He'll fight if there's no choice, but he'd rather fly to high ground.

Hmm. For my Major Hindrance, let's give this guy some color. I'll take Enemy. He's got a ship of once-legitimate-sailors-now-pirates who can't go home again, largely because of my character. He was their super, and during the vessel he freaked. He saw the course that the captain had plotted, and saw that it was going to take them too close to the Kehana Flumes. Not wishing to be eaten by psychotic fish-monsters, he jumped ship, gliding away during the night and hitching a ride with another vessel. The ship can through the flumes fine, but arrived at their destination without a super...which meant the whole shipment was impounded and the crew arrested as pirates. This was some years back, when my guy was still pretty green, and he hasn't repeated this cowardice, but there's still a pissed-off crew of pirates who'd love to shoot his ass.

Well, now I've got 4 points to play with. I'd like an Edge, I think. I'll take Rich - supers are well-paid. For my last two points, I'll buy Stealth at d6.

I start with my clothes and 500 pieces of eight, only I get that times three for being Rich. With 1500 silver pieces, I buy two flintlock pistols (yes, I'm a pacifist, but guns improve my bargaining position) and a map of Caribdus. Figuring out my derived traits, I have +0 Charisma, 6'' Pace, 2 Parry (because I have no Fighting, which means I'd better stay the hell out of close combat) and 4 Vigor.

The book says atani have graceful-sounding names. One of my favorite lines from a Shakespeare play is from Twelfth Night: "This is Illyria, lady." Very lyrical. My character's name is Aes Lyrria (yes, it's pronounced much like "ace," but with a more obvious dipthong; "ay-is"). And I think that puts me all done.