Character Creation: Mutants & Masterminds

Lemme just duck into this phone booth...

Anyway:

The Game: Mutants and Masterminds 2nd Ed
The Publisher: Green Ronin
Degree of Familiarity: Some. I played a character named "Nobilis" that I really enjoyed a while back (Branden was the GM, but the game fell victim to unreliable cars and schedules), and M&M is about as close to the d20 system as I like to get.
Books Required: Just the M&M book, I think, but I have the True20 book if I need it.

 
I would run this game, I think, if other, non-d20-based games weren't available. I mean, I like M&M. I like its versatility, and I really like the "Under the Hood" bits in the book, because I like transparency in game design. In fact, mind if I segue just a little?

OK. Gaming can be artistic, but most of the time it's just entertainment, which is fine. And game books can be entertaining to read, but they are, first and last, rulebooks, and therefore tools to help you the reader do something fun. They are not necessarily the fun by themselves.

Now, that said, it's perfectly possible to have gaming books that are fun to read and make for good games. But I personally enjoy when the game designer talks to you, explains why certain decisions were made and what it might do if you did it differently. I don't like game designers hiding behind their games and not providing insight into why a game was built the way it was; there's a kind of Ivory Tower elitism that goes with that attitude (not that I'll name names here).

Anyway, enough rambling. Let's do this.

Step One: Hero Concept. Ooh, I've got one. I want to make a magic-using hero named "Grimoire." That's my concept.

OK, guess maybe I should do a little more. My character was a privileged white guy named Kirk Olsen. Olsen lived in the burbs, away from the kind of trouble that one associates with superheroes, and thus only saw their battles on the news. That meant he got a media filter, and to him, supervillains just posed and then got their asses beat, and superheroes just posed and beat ass. The real day to day stuff - trackers searching out lost kids, powerhouses lifting flipped cars out of ditches, speedsters racing across town to serve warrants - wasn't really covered in the press, and so Kirk didn't see it.

He went to college with this kind of sneering attitude towards supers; yeah, they look cool in tights and all, but we're no better off with or without them (he called them "pajama police"). He majored in English but then started getting into folklore a little more, and took an elective class in Freemasonry and other mystical traditions (remember, superhero world). While studying, he realized a textbook in his library that hadn't been checked out in 50 years had a false back, and inside, he found a rolled up message from a Rosicrucian mystic. It was a series of incantations designed to awaken mystical potential in the reader. He couldn't read it (his Latin wasn't great), so he showed it to a professor.

The professor read it and gained some pretty insidious mental powers. The dude turned around and used those powers to take over the department, bang a lot of hot young coeds by suppressing their ability to say "no," make a lot of money and generally live high on the hog.

Kirk was appalled. This was a man from his life, his kind of life, a man who was comfortable and educated and all of that, and he was using this incredible power to get rich and rape. And Kirk realized then that the idiots you see on the TV are just the ones that make for good press. The real villains are the ones that don't advertise.

And that means that the real heroes are the ones that don't stick around for the credit.

Kirk broke into the professor's house while he was away at a sorority house (think Love Potion No. 9, which gets creepier every time I see it) and found the scroll. He stumbled through it as best he could, but even with his shaky Latin, it worked. Kirk Olsen waited for that professor to return home and confronted him, and let him know that he was onto the game. They found each other to a standstill, and Olsen was forced to flee so that the Professor didn't mind-fuck him.

OK, that's a good start for concept. On to...

Step Two: Check with Your Gamemaster. Moving along.

Step Three: Power Level. Let's assume the default, 10th level. I get 150 points to build Grimoire.

Step Four: Basic Abilities. They all start at 10, and then I pay 1 point for every increment above that. Obviously I want high Intelligence and Wisdom. Let's leave Strength and Dexterity at 10, buy Constitution up to 14 (4 points), buy Int and Wisdom up to 18 (20 points altogether) and buy Charisma up to 12 (22 points).

I need to buy attack/defense bonus. I'll blow 8 points here and put +4 in each of them, why not. Starting to feel like Kirk is spending time and magic in combat training, even though he's not necessarily strong or fast on his own.

And, saves. These are one for one. I'll pump two points into each (8 points, for a total of 38 spent) and then four more into Will (42 points spent).

Step Five: Skills. One power point buys me four ranks in a skill. Looking at the list, I take:

Bluff 4
Climb 3
Computers 5
Concentration 8
Gather Information 5
Intimidate 5
Investigate 4
Knowledge (Arcane Lore) 8
Language (Latin) 1
Notice 5
Search 5
Sense Motive 5
Stealth 6

That's 16 points spent on Skills, for 58 total.

Step Six: Feats. One point per feat rank. (Feet rank? Eww.)

I'll take Distract; I see Grimoire as being able to use small, subtle bits of magic to distract mooks. I'll buy the 2-point version so it works with Bluff or Intimidate. I'll take Master Plan; Grimoire's definitely a leader-type. I'll take Quick Change (if I were running the game, it'd be free) so I can magically become Grimoire in an instant! And I'll take Ritualist, because performing magical rituals is what I do, yo.

Step Seven: Powers. Aw, yeah. Well, here I need to figure out how "magic" works in M&M, so just a moment. OK, so taking "magic" as a power means basically that I have a bunch of powers under that umbrella, that have the "magic" descriptor on them and I can acquire new powers/spells as power feats. Hmm. This requires thinking about how magic works for Grimoire.

Well, I like the notion of him using magic words and gestures to make his spells. But I also like the idea that he has a few tricks that are intrinsic, the result of his regimen of magical study and practice. I think I'd better knock out the Magic first, though, as it's liable to eat a lot of points. I'll take 15 ranks of Magic (30 points). For my free effect, I'll take Obscure - Grimoire likes to move invisibly (since I'd need Obscure to be 2 points per rank, his Obscure affects sight and hearing). And then I need some more Magic powers. If the powers I choose to be Alternates cost rank x2, I can take them up to 15, but any given power can't cost more than 30. Oy. OK.

Oh, wait. If I'm reading this right, every Alternate power only costs me one point. Holy cats. OK, so, I take:

Insubstantial (rank 4, since that's as high as it goes, and I'll put in for 9 extra subjects and one increment of range, meaning I can make 9 people incorporeal if they're within 10 feet).

Invisibility (rank 3, which is 24 points)

Morph (humanoids only, rank 15)

Nullify (magic only, rank 15)

Snare (with the Regenerating Extra, rank 10)

Suffocate (rank 10, plus 5 levels of Extended Reach means I've got a 50' range)

Transform (people into this weird, smoky-glass like material - costs 4 points per level because I want the Continuous extra. Blah. I'll take Sense-Dependent; the target has to hear the incantation for it to work. 10 ranks)

OK, good grief. Alternate Power is nuts. Of course, it does require that I switch between powers, but eh. Let's see: 37 on magic. That takes me to 100 points even.

Like I said, though, I want some powers that I've practiced and made more or less a permanent part of me. I'll take Teleport, and make it a Portal, meaning it costs 4 points per rank. I'll add the Easy Extra, too, so I'm not disoriented on arrival (5 points per level). I want rank 6, so I can teleport 20 miles away. That's 30 points, for fuck's sake. I'll bust it down to a full action to make the portal, that makes it 2 points per level, or 12 points. Much better.

I'll take Blast; seems like I should have one. 2 points per level, and I'll dump 20 points into it for a level 10 Blast. That takes me to 122. Going with my theme of being all secretive and stuff, I'll take Communication. Two ranks is fine for a range of 100 feet. I apply the Selective Feat (I talk to who I want) and Subtle x 2 (my whispers can't even be detected unless I want them to be), and the Area Extra. That costs me 7 points. 129 total.

I think that's good for Powers. I think I'll do the rest of chargen, and then spend my other, what, 21 points.

Step Seven: Complications and Drawbacks. This is mostly role-playing concerns, but there are some mechanical things in this section. First off, Name. Well, we know that. His name is Kirk Olsen, known in crimefighting circles as Grimoire.

His appearance. Well, as Kirk, he's thin, short, and not terribly imposing. He used to be kind of arrogant and overbearing, but since his transformation, he's gotten a new sense of righteousness and humility and that's carried over some. Black hair, blue eyes, favors jeans and casual clothes.

In costume, he wears a black suit, button-down shirt, and a blue tie with gold emblems on it. He wears a black mask and a blue fedora, and black driving gloves. He likes being recognizable as a superhero, but he detests the spandex-and-cape look.

I've been through his origin already. I don't think he has a group allegiance, but morally he's very much professed to stopping the bad guys who keep things on the low. Superheroes go after the big, flashy, bank-robbing idiots all the time...who goes after the perverts? The ones that don't want their pictures in the paper? The ones that traffic in arcane secrets? Grimoire does.

Now, as far as Complications go, he's already got one: The Professor. This guy is his nemesis, an enemy with a small set of powers but a good grasp on using them. Whereas Grimoire used his magic to bring in outside influence (letting him create the snares and change flesh to glass and all), the Professor turned magic on minds and souls.

Finally, I take a Power Loss Drawback - Grimoire loses access to his Magic and all associated powers if he can't gesture or speak. That's worth 3 points, apparently.

Step Eight: Check Your Math. I will. Hang on. See, already finding mistakes.

Abilities: 44
Skills: 16
Feats: 5
Powers: 76
Drawbacks: -3

I'm at 138, giving me 12 points to play with. I'll put 8 into Skills and jack them up as follows:

Bluff 10
Climb 3
Computers 5
Concentration 10
Gather Information 10
Intimidate 10
Investigate 4
Knowledge (Arcane Lore) 15
Language (Latin) 1
Notice 10
Search 5
Sense Motive 5
Stealth 8

That leaves me four more points. I'll pump up my attack and defense mods by 2 more each, so I can hit more betterer.

And that's me at 150 points!

Character Creation: Mouse Guard

SQUEAK.

The Game: Mouse Guard
The Publisher: Archaia Studios Press
Degree of Familiarity: None with this game specifically. I played Burning Empires at Origins a few years back.
Books Required: Just the core.

 
The idea here is that you play a mouse. Yep. The mouse is part of the Mouse Guard, which protects mice from larger predators. There's definitely a "you are the noble knight" vibe that I like, and I love the tag on the back: "It's not what you fight, it's what you fight for." I can groove on that.

The game is based on a comic that I'll have to check out at some point. But I haven't yet, so my character isn't going to be real derivative of those in the comic, clearly.

Concept: I want to make a mouse who's not a tenderpaw, but isn't real experience under the Guard. I also want him to have a kind of a weird vibe to him, something that isn't normal but isn't really under his control.

Guard Rank: He's a guardmouse. He's been around too long to be a tenderpaw, but he's not ready to be a patrol leader yet.

Mouse Age and Ability: I'll say 25 (apparently mice in this game age like people, or at maybe we're measuring months or something). Anyway, that means I'm an adult mouse. That gives me a Will of 2 and Health of 5.

Mouse Nature: I start with Nature 3, and then I answer three questions:

Do you save for winter even if it means going without something now? Or do you use what you have when you need it? I see my mouse as being frugal and careful, a good forager. So, yes to the first one. That means my Nature increases to 4, but I can't take the Generous or Bold Traits.

When confronted, do you stand your ground and fight or try to run and hide? I want my mouse to fight by arranging situations to his advantage, so I'll say I run and hide. That increases my Nature to 5, but I decrease my Fighter trait by 1 (if I take it).

Do you fear owls, weasels and wolves? Hell, yes. They want to eat me. My Nature goes to 6, but I can't take Fearless.

Where Were You Born? There are eight cities in the Territories, so 'scuse me while I look them over again. OK, I like several of them, but Sprucetuck is cool. It's a mouse village in a big old spruce tree, and they harvest fruits and saps to make medicine and so forth. Sounds like a fun place to be from. That gives me the Loremouse or Scientist Skills, and the Inquisitive or Rational traits. Suits me. I'll take Loremouse and Inquisitive.

Life Experience: I get a Skill I'm naturally good at. I'll take Harvester. I get to pick what my parents were good at. Hmm. I'll say that my folks were Brewers. I pick how I convince people I'm right; I take Persuader.

When I came to Lockhaven to join the Guard, he was placed with a senior mouse to help out, learn a trade. I think he arrived during a drought, and had to help with foraging. He apprenticed with a mouse named Ainsley, known as a skilled and persistent forager. So I'll give him Harvester (which is another check on that Skill).

My mentor in the Guard didn't stress fighting (I think he, too, was from Sprucetuck). He stressed knowing your way around rather than fighting your way out, so I'll take Pathfinder.

Now, I need to think of my experiences in the guard and what Skills it's given me. I get six checks as a guardmouse. I take Hunter 2, Pathfinder, Scout 2 and Survivalist.

My specialty is Scout. I've got a little ninja-mouse. Anyway, now I add all my Skills and add 1 to each, and I come up with:
Hunter 3
Pathfinder 3
Scout 4
Survivalist 2
Brewer 2
Persuader 2
Harvester 3

All right, moving on, what am I knowledgeable about? This gives me checks in wises. I have 2 checks, being a guardmouse.

Well, I figure my mouse knows predators. That's why he fears them. I take Predator-wise. Also, since he made his bones, as it were, foraging during a drought, I'll take Drought-wise. I have 2 in each of those.

Guard Resources: Guard pay, and other stuff. I start with 2 and answer more questions:

In winter, do you still practice a trade like weaving, smithing or pottery for the Guard? I'll say yes; winter's a good time for foraging, or even brewing. My Resources goes up to 3.

Are your parents smiths, politicians, merchants or apiarists? Nope, they were brewers. No change.

Do you like to buy gifts for yourself and your friends? No, I see this guy being frugal. No change.

Are you thrifty? Yes. My Resources goes up to 4, but I can't take the Generous trait.

Have you ever been in debt? Or are you bad with money? Kind of redundant, no? Nope. No change.

Do you always pack carefully for a journey, ensuring you have everything you need? Hell, yes. A good scout is one that comes back. My Resources goes up to 5, but I can't take Bold or Fiery.

Guard Circles: Again, I start with 2, and again I answer questions.

Is your mouse gregarious? Does he have lots of friends? Does he make friends easily? I have a hard time playing taciturn characters. Can't imagine why. I'll say yes, which means I go up to Circles 3. I can't buy Bitter or Jaded.

Do you have strong ties to the Guard? Not especially. No change.

Has your character accomplished some great task in the Guard? Does he already have a reputation? Nah. He's too much a ninja-mouse. He's overlooked much of the time. No change.

Does your character have powerful enemies in the territories? I'll say yes. He pissed off the daughter of a powerful family once. My Circles falls to 2.

Has your character been convicted of a crime? Nope. No change.

Is your character a loner, tough and cool? No. Loner characters are annoying. No change. My Circles is 2.

Mouse Traits: A lot like Skills, really. I pick one I was born with, noting that there are a bunch I can't take. I already have Inquisitive from my hometown, though I could take it again. But I'll take Nocturnal. It's not safe at night (owls! OMG!) but that's the best time to scout. I'm not a tenderpaw so I don't get one from my folks, and I'm not a guard captain so I don't get the "life on the road" trait.

Name: The book says that mice in the Territories have Old English-sounding names. I can dig it. My mouse will be named Siddel, which, according to the extensive Googling I did, means "from the wide valley."

Fur Color: I'll say black. Black mice look cool. Plus it gives him a kind of mysterious air, that I may or may not play to.

Parents: Siddel's mother was a black mouse, too. Dad was a more traditional nut brown. Dad's name is Myles, while Mom's is Siobahn.

Senior Artisan: When Siddel came to Lockhaven to join the Guard, he was placed with a senior mouse to help out, learn a trade. I think he arrived during a drought, and had to help with foraging. He apprenticed with a mouse named Ainsley, known as a skilled and persistent forager.

Mentor: Siddel's mentor in the Guard was an old, light-gray-almost-white mouse named Laird. He taught Siddel that if you stay still and patient, and choose a hiding spot well, you can get away from almost any predator.

Friend: Siddel, on his way from Sprucetuck to Lockhaven, met a mouse named Richard. Richard is a wanderer, not part of the Guard, but skilled enough to be. Siddel looks up to Richard, and though they don't see each other much, they've both made vows to help each other out when they can.

Enemy: While foraging, Siddel saw another mouse, a young tenderpaw named Blythe, munching on food that she should have been taking back to Lockhaven, and ratted her out. Blythe took it personally (she got reprimanded, but not seriously) - she grew up rich in Copperwood, and her folks have some influence. They occasionally spread nasty rumors about "that black mouse from Sprucewood, the one that sneaks out at night."

Cloak Color: Laird made Siddel a deep red cloak with black trim. He says that's because deep red is hardest to see at night, harder even than black.

First Mission: Would require a GM, so this doesn't apply.

Belief: This is how Siddel views his role in the Guard, a kind of ethical statement. Siddel's Belief is, "A dead guardmouse is no good to anyone." Siddel is a survivor, and a careful planner. He's fine with violence, but not stupid fighting. And he never, ever forgets that we're mice, and we break easy.

Goal: Doesn't apply, since you write this upon learning about the mission.

Instinct: Siddel's instinct is to hide, watch and wait. But for all that, his instinct is based on his inquisitive nature, not cowardice. So the Instinct statement is: "Always hide when the trouble starts." Note that this doesn't imply cowering, just hiding. No shame in that, certainly not for a mouse.

Gear: Siddel carries a hook and line (for climbing, not fishing) and perhaps a little flask of something medicinal. Beyond that, he travels light.

I see Siddel as having a lot of weird rumors about him. Kind of like Billy in Predator, except he really doesn't encourage them. He's just a black mouse who's good at scouting and hiding, and there's nothing really mysterious about it. Not yet, anyway. 

Character Creation: Rippers

Here's the thing about Savage Worlds setting: There's not really any focus on theme. It's basically action-movie gaming, but there's no irony to it, no deeper implications. I'm not saying that to complain, mind, because I really like the SW settings I've read, Necessary Evil especially. It's just odd to me because I'm used to World of Darkness games, which pride themselves on those deeper thematic components (whether or not they work is up to the reader).

That said, I've got a game setting in mind that I think SW would be perfect for, that I'd actually consider licensing the system to use if I could put the money together to publish. And that's precisely because the system does what it does so well.

But for now, I just finished reading Rippers. It's an interesting setting; Victorian monster-hunting, which by itself seems pretty straightforward, but the founders of the organization you're working for were John Dee, now Jack the Ripper (I know, right?) and Abraham Van Helsing. Reading the book makes me think of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen or Anno Dracula; everybody shows up, at least as a mention. Running it would take some work not to drift whole-hog into pulp, but it would be a fun game to play, I think.

So let's rock!

The Game: Rippers
The Publisher: Pinnacle Entertainment Group
Degree of Familiarity: None with this game, some with Savage Worlds.
Books Required: The Savage Worlds Explorer's Edition and the Rippers book.

 
Concept comes first. Let's see. I've made a couple of Savage Worlds characters. One was a brick-like pirate, one was a sentient Twinkie (I'm running Low Life at Arisia, by the way, largely to make Wendy happy). Haven't really made a brainiac yet; my 50 Fathoms character was close, though.

Since we're in Victorian England, and since we're drawing from all the great inspirations from the lit set in that time (and from that time, of course), maybe I want to make a mad scientist? No, I think rather I want to make a gadgeteer. Science is great, but practical application is better when you're fighting monsters. I take as inspiration Leonardo da Vinci as presented in Assassin's Creed II and Dr. Cockroach from Monsters vs. Aliens (complete with the habit of breaking into the villain laugh when tinkering).

Some backstory: Emil Stahl grew up in Brazil. His family business was coffee imports, and his father's plantation was successful and profitable. His dad, in fact, was a force behind the 1889 overthrow of the emperor Dom Pedro, and although Emil is German by ancestry, he considers himself a citizen of the United States of Brazil.

Emil always had a knack for machines, and was always trying to get Dad to let him try out his machines in the plantation. Machines to pick, to sort, and even plant coffee, but he found that peripheral to his agricultural devices he was always coming up with...weirder stuff. A coffee bean could be as lethal as a bullet if propelled at the right speed in the right direction (found that one out by accident; poor Paulo). A skiff meant to carry sacks of beans across the water to a ship in order to save time traveling along the coast worked just fine, but the interesting thing was how it got a burst of speed whenever it sucked a fish up into the engine.

In 1892, Emil traveled to England in order to assist his father in some export concerns. There, fascinated by the city of London, he went walking and wound up in Whitechapel. Hearing of the Ripper murders for the first time, he let a group of prostitutes get him drunk and tell him stories all night (and take his money, but money's not his major concern). He woke up tied to a bed, underneath one of them, which would have been all right...but then out came the fangs.

Emil, terrified, did what he did best - improvised. He reached into a hole in the mattress, pulled out a loose spring, loaded it with a button off his shirt and fired it into her eye. It knocked her backwards enough to give him time to reload, and he aimed another button for a lamp. The room caught fire, the vampire fled, and Emil, now tied to a bed in a burning room, thought, "Didn't think that through all the way."

Fortunately, the Rippers were on the vampires trail and saved him. And they knew a gadgeteer in the making when they saw one. Also, Emil can always hook them up with good coffee.

Step One: Traits. I start with a d4 across the board and five more points, which is fine. I think, though, that I want to jack Smarts to d8. I'll leave Strength at a d4 for now, but I would like to raise that at some point, maybe. I don't see Emil as being especially weak.

15 points to buy up skills. I know I want Weird Science, first off. I'll take Driving, Gambling, Guts, Investigation, Shooting, Notice, Survival, Repair. Repair and Weird Science I'll put at d8, Shooting at d6, the rest at d4.

Languages. I get half my Smarts die in languages, which means I speak four. I'll take English, German, Portuguese and Spanish.

Step Two: Special Abilities. Hindrances! Well, I know I want Over-Sensitive (Major). Emil is jittery as all hell. He's not a coward, just excitable and over-caffeinated. Also, I want an Addiction to caffeine...and there's no addiction Hindrance. Weird. Well, we'll call it minor and we'll say that if he's gone 24 hours without a fix, he takes a -1 penalty to Smarts or Spirit-based rolls, because that's what happens when us coffee-junkies don't get a fix. I can take one more Minor Hindrance. Finally, I'll take Loyal. Emil isn't good at triage, and if someone's still alive, they're worth going back for.

Now I have four points. I get one free Edge, so I take Arcane Background (Weird Science). I'm OK with my Skills where they are, but I think I want to burn two points and raise the Strength to d6. Erm. Let's check the other Edges. OK, I want Attractive; I see Emil as tan, well-built, and just plain pretty. I also want him to have some money...actually, let's take Noble. I get the effects of the Rich Edge, but it puts on me the onus of being responsible for something (in this case, the family business). That lets me travel, sure, but if I fuck up, our plantation will die and go out of business. Then no more free coffee.

OK, my Charisma is +4 because I'm cute and rich, my Pace is 6", my Parry is 2, my Toughness is 5, and my Reason (new stat for Rippers, basically a measure of sanity and resolve) is -1, because I'm Over-Sensitive.

10 points now to buy Weird Science powers from a very truncated list. I'll take bolt, and call that my slug-thrower (like a gun, but doesn't make a boom and works mechanically rather than chemically). I'll put 3 points into extra bolts, so it costs me four, but I can shoot four targets for 2d6 damage.

You know, this doesn't make a lot of sense. This gives me 10 Power Points, but then says I can build one device. The other Backgrounds talk about taking three powers or whatever - but isn't that what the Power Points are for? Weird. I don't need a list of powers, thanks, I can make the powers I want fit into my concept. I've got six points left to buy Weird Science-y things.

Well, I'll make it easy on myself and take Smite. Emil developed a way to convert organic material into kinetic energy (he's never managed to get it to work on a vehicle large enough to carry much, and never for long periods of time), so that allows him to feed some plant matter, a dead mouse, whatever, into the device and get a bigger burst of energy. That'll give me the Smite and Speed powers. That leaves me two points. I'll take Detect Arcana. This is a device that Emil's been working with only since joining the Rippers, but it's basically an undead-detector. It finds muscle tone; vampires don't have it because they're dead. Not foolproof, but not a bad start.

I start with Status 10 because of my Noble Edge, and that puts me done. Oh, I could buy possessions, but I hate that phase of chargen. Besides which, there's a babby that needs my attention.