Character Creation: Seven Leagues

Cael's napping, it's too bloody hot to do yardwork (and the grass isn't growing anyway, probably because it's so bloody hot). So, let's make a character!

Actually, I've already made one this week. Well, I mean, I made one on Tuesday, but then Thursday was chargen for Michelle's upcoming Dresden Files game. So my character there is a kinetomancer. He's a professor at Loyola University (the game is set in Baltimore, which is funny because we chose that city without realizing that the city used in the book as the example for City Creation is, in fact, Baltimore) who had a nervous breakdown after reading a book on the Music of the Spheres and checking some of the theorems put forth in that book against the cutting-edge astrophysics work he was doing. His Trouble Aspect is "The Math Doesn't Add Up", which I like. I think he'll either become a fully-fledged wizard or go nuts and start breaking things by fucking with kinetic energy. Either's good.

But never mind that now!

The Game: Seven Leagues: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game of Faerie
The Publisher: Malcontent Games [ETA: apparently defunct]
Degree of Familiarity: None. I got it in the Haiti bundle, and recently started reading. I hear good things, though.
Books Required: There is just the one, AFAIK.

 
Seven Leagues is the kind of game I would buy anyway (and indeed, I almost bought it at Origins until I remembered I had the pdf and hadn't read it). It's a faerie-tale game, appears to be very system-light, and is based heavily on concept. I know players that would have a hard time with this chargen, since a large part of it is "make something up."

But hey, let's get to it. I start with Aspect. My character's Aspect is a brief description of that character, sort of like a title. So: What kind of Faerie-tale creature would I like to play?

Well, I always liked the stories of the Black Shuck, the huge black dog of the English moors. So my Aspect is going to be Peat, Canine protector of travelers.

Next we do Virtues. These are stats, basically. Hand is all things physical, Heart is courage, empathy and charisma and Head is all things mental. I get 13 points to split up, nothing lower than 1 or higher than 7.

Well, I don't think Head is really the doggie's strong point. The books says that an animal's Head rating might be 1, so I'll make Peat's Head score 3. That leaves 10 points for his others, and I'll put 6 into Heart and 4 into Hand. He's physically capable, but it's where he gets to be brave and tenacious that Peat really shines.

Now we do Charms. Charms are magical powers, and they're a little like the More and Less Than Human bits of My Life With Master, in that they're magic with a very open interpretation. I get a number of Charms equal to my lowest Virtue, which is 3.

I want Peat to be sneaky and silent, so I'll choose Glides silent and unseen through the moors. I want him to know who's worthy of his protection, so he can smell a person's truth (be it true home, name, etc.). And, finally, Peat Can rally the beasts of the moors to his side by baying.

And now, Taboos. These are magical hindrances. I don't have to take any, but I can take up to three and get one extra Charm per two Taboos...except no point in taking three, then, because I'd still only get one Charm. OK, then.

I think Peat has a soft spot for women. Actually, he's easily fooled by beauty (that way it's not just a girl thing). And one more: Peat cannot set foot on ashes. Not sure why, just sounds Faerie to me.

Finally, I need a Legend. The Legend is a quick passage about Peat, in which I underline several Keywords, which then get worked into the game and help with Narrative Control (I haven't read the system fully yet, so I'm fuzzy on the details - hopefully I can talk someone into running this sometime). So here's Peat's Legend:

The black dog of the moors bays at the moon, and the creatures of the moorland come to him. "Here is a man lost," says the dog, "and so we must guide him on his way."

The other creatures balk at this. The birds of the moors twitter and complain, because the man shoots them and takes them for food. The stag whickers and raises his antlers, and the red fox sits quietly, guiltily, for he steals the man's chickens at night. But the black dog is resolute. "The man will be protected." And he bears his teeth and the animals flee, following the man, guarding him from harm.

Other beings stalk the man. The Redcap seeks to dip his hat in the man's blood. The Piskie and the Will-o-the-wisp seek to lead him astray. Other fae might wish to seduce or change him. The black dog walks next to him, unseen, unheard, and his snarls frighten away these creatures. The other animals of the forest take care not to hurt the man or lead him astray, but they have no truck with the magical beings of the moors. That burden of protection belongs to the black dog alone.

So there ya go. I see Peat as a kind of guardian angel, and the conflicts he'll get into will almost certainly involve being used by someone abusing that tendency.