Character Creation: Mortal Coil

Tonight I'm running Changeling and cooking. I need to do some cleaning, and I need to take donations up to Goodwill just to clear out some clutter, and the dishes need done. But I also know that if I start doing stuff like that, I'll continue doing it, and then I won't get a character done. And I woke up this morning with a real need to make a character.

Not with a character concept, mind. I just kind of want to make one.

The Game: Mortal Coil, Revised
The Publisher: Galileo Games
Degree of Familiarity: None. I've read it, but even that's been a while.
Books Required: Just the one.

I picked up Mortal Coil at one con or another, one a big indie games kick. It looks like fun; it's much like Fiasco and Geasa (which I still haven't received my copy of, guys at IPR) in that you build the world and the setting as part of character creation.

I really do like that set-up, by the way, but I think I like it better the way Misspent Youth and Ganakagok do it where there's at least some thematic structure going in (which may be why I went that route with curse the darkness). Anyway, once again, it does make character creation from this perspective somewhat difficult. Fortunately, there are two example games set up in the book for me to glom onto.

The first bit of character creation is setting creation, as I mentioned, and we'd decide things like the tone of the game and how prevalent magic is and so on. There are two examples in the book. One is a kind of X-Files thing, the other is basically American Gods. Think maybe I'll go with the latter, since it's something I can't easily do with at least a dozen of my other games. First step in actual chargen is Character Concept. Now, this is the "old gods becoming irrelevant and drinking in a bar" setting, meaning my character is a god without worshipers. The examples are Loki, Sedna, Pele and Pluto. Seems like we've got a wide variety of pantheons to choose from. So, heading over here, and clicking on Celtic Mythology, I find my old buddy Ogma.

Now, if you've been paying attention, you know that Ogma was one of the characters in the Mage demo chronicle. He's the Irish god of eloquence and wisdom, it seems. I picture him as this kind of avuncular ex-hippie college professor, someone who might have been wild in his younger days but it just too old, too drunk and frankly too smart to be arsed to do stupid shit. I think he gets more fiery as he drinks, but the trick is getting him to actually do something rather than talk about it.

Good start for concept. I get five points to spend on Passions, which can be focused on Duty, Fear, Love and Hate. Even a one-point Passion is strong, and they just go up from there.

I don't think Duty is a big part of Ogma's life. I think Fear and Love are, though. I want a Fear: "People are losing the ability to communicate." Ogma invented an alphabet, according to legend, and he's terrified by text-speak and other new forms of language that seem to bastardize the eloquence he's used to. I'll put one point there.

I think his stronger Passion should be something about free speech. But is that Duty or Love? Hmm. I guess it could be either, but Duty, to me, implies too much of an impetus to get up and get moving, and that's not where I see this character. So let's say it's Love: "The greatest blessing is to speak freely." Two points.

One more. Ogma took the sword away from the King of the Formorians, so he's willing to throw down when necessary. I think I want a Hate. "I will not be silenced." I'll put my other two points there.

Next step: Abilities. All of the characters in this game (that is, the gods game) start at "ageless," so I get 15 points in Faculties and 15 in Aptitudes. The Faculties are Force, Grace, Will and Wits.

Well, obviously Will and Wits (which represent, respectively, mental fortitude and cleverness) are my high points. I'll put 5 points in each (the maximum). That leaves five for Force and Grace, and I think Grace should be stronger, so I'll put three there and two in Force.

And now, Aptitudes. These are nouns, as in "My character is a/the _______." So for Ogma, I want him to be the god of eloquence. That's easy enough. I also want him to be a connoisseur of fine wines and scotches and so on. I think it's fun if he's an instigator, too, someone who can get people fired up. And, just for the hell of it, I want him to be good at darts. So my Aptitudes look like this:

God of Eloquence 5
Connoisseur 3
Instigator 3
Darts Champion 4

And that's that, then. The rest of it is starting pools for points, but they wouldn't be filled in on the sheet anyway.