Character Creation: RunePunk

Day 2 of continuous chargen! Wooo!

The Game: RunePunk: Steam & Shadow
The Publisher: Reality Blurs
Degree of Familiarity: Never played this particular game, but it's Savage Worlds and I'm pretty familiar with that
Books Required: RunePunk and some form of the Savage Worlds rules

 
Savage Worlds books always look thick and like they'll take a lot to get through, but generally you can read the first chapter and be fine to make a character. In this case, RunePunk gives us a few pages of history and current setup, and then launches into the races.

A brief aside: I'm reading through the book and not terribly impressed with a) the editing (a lot of repeated words and unnecessary verbiage) and b) the amount of information (there's a Church of the Twilight, which sounds really cool, but at no point that I can find are we told what they believe), and I'm all set to kind of dismiss this game...

...but then I keep thinking "this would be really cool to run/play," so I dunno what that says. The game feels like it should be more interesting that it reads, but then, it's a game that says "run me," so I'll call that a win. And the races totally pass the Chupp test, because I had a hard time picking one. So, well done!

Speaking of character creation...

So, this is funny and it shows you what a fuckin' nerd I am, but as I'm reading through I note that the Church of Twilight is dedicated to the worship of Umbriel, Lady of Shadow. And I see the name "Umbriel" and I think of her:

Hail, Atlanta!

Anyway, I want to make a shadowpriest.

Step One: Race. Basically any race can be a shadowpriest, but I like the Andari. They're humans that got exposed to magical (runic) energies or had a bad experience with a "far door" (teleportation gateway - this setting is all over the damn map, lemme tell ya) and wound up slightly out of phase with the world. Honestly, though, the detail I like most about them is that they use human names but add the season in which they were "changed." My character's name is Aldous Blackwinter.

Step Two: Place of Birth. This is relevant because it impacts Common Knowledge. I want Aldous to be a citizen (from one of the districts of ScatterPoint). Specifically, he's from ChalkChain, the district that processes the dead. Most dead people are given anonymous burials, and Aldous' family has been in the business of preparing the dead for four generations. And then one winter, when Aldous was about 18, there was a terrible runestorm and Aldous never really came back, not as he was. He said goodbye to his family and joined the priesthood, driven by an unquenchable feeling that he was destined for deeper mysteries than merely death.

Step Three: Traits. Usual Savage Worlds dealie, although I should note my racial stuff first. I get Mystical Knack (extra Power Points if I take an Arcane Background, which I will), Out of Phase (bonus to Toughness), Perceptive (bonus to Notice checks), and Twilight Sight (I can see in the dark). Over on the minus side, I get Tough on Things (mechanical shit tends to break around me) and Wispy (Vigor is hard to raise, which is stupid because it about negates my Out of Phase Edge, but whatevs).

OK, then, Attributes. Obviously I want Spirit to be high, so I'll buy that up to d8. I'll put Smarts at d6, Strength at d4, Agility at d8, and that leaves Vigor at d4. I can live with that, I guess. Andari are supposed to be skinny.

Over on the Skills end of things, I get the usual 15 points, and not for the first time I rather wish they were listed on the damn character sheet. Well, I use Faith to do magicky things, so I'll bump that to d8. I'll take Guts at d8, too (Aldous fears nothing), and Intimidation at d6 (Andari are spooky). I'll take Knowledge (Rune Lord) at d4 (I can't cast runes, but it feels like I should know them a little), Notice at d6, Persuasion at d8 (Aldous is silver-tongued) and Stealth at d4.

Sigh. Yes, yes, technically secondary abilities (derived traits) happen now, but suppose I take an Edge that changes them? They go at the end. (I say this every time I do a Savage Worlds character and you can't stop me.)

Step Four: Special Abilities. OK, so I need some Hindrances because I don't get a free Edge. I note that I could take two major Hindrances, rather than one major and two minor (or four minor, for that matter). Hmm.

Well, there's an Obligation Hindrance, and since I'm a priest I think that's appropriate. I'll take that a Major. And then look at that, there's one called Scrawny that means I can't carry much. Perfect. That's my Hindrances done.

That gives me 4 points to throw around; Edges are 2 each. Two points right away to Arcane Background (Shadowpriest). And then there are a bunch more than I like. The agony of choice!

Well, as much as I like some of the others (Runic Tattoo especially), Arcane Companion (Shadowborn Avatar) is just too cool. It effectively gives me a second character I can send on errands and fight for me (and it's so much more effective in combat than I am), so that's where I'm going.

As a shadowpriest, I get two powers and 15 Power Points (rather than 10; Mystical Knack, y'see). I'll take Bolt (I need something offensive) and Summon Shadow (I like this "calling up the magical shadows") thing I've got going.

And now I can do derived traits. My pace is 6, my Parry is 4 (oof), my Toughness is 6 (because of my bonus), and my Charisma is 0.

At this point I would do gear, but a) it's boring and b) I don't see Aldous as having much. He has his robes from the priesthood, and his fucking unnerving companion, and that's basically it. But let's think about appearance and personality n' stuff.

Aldous is slightly shorter than average and so thin he has trouble keeping his robes on sometimes. When he casts, though, his robes billow out and get filled with shadows, and his eyes go pure white (as compared to his companion's, which are always pure black). Aldous is soft-spoken and friendly, but he's purely devout and dedicated to the precepts of his church. Sometimes you can catch him glancing skyward as though he's waiting for something, but he refuses to say what. He doesn't seem afraid of it, though - if anything, he seems reverent.

And that's me done!