Character Creation: Beat to Quarters

Coming up on 400 characters (this one is 397). What should I do for the 400th?

The Game: Beat to Quarters
The Publisher: Omnihedron Games 
Degree of Familiarity: None, though for some reason I keep thinking I've already done this game
Books Required: Just the one.

So! This is a game set on the high seas during the late 18th-early 19th century. We're assumed to be playing someone serving on an English ship, though not necessarily English by birth. Character creation looks interesting, inasmuch as stats and skills start at 0 or 1 and then get raised by what happens during chargen. But let's start at the beginning.

Step One: Character Concept. This actually has four sub-steps, the first of which is Concept, which is a little redundant. I think it'd be interesting to play someone of privilege and rank, so I'll say my character is only 16, but is a Midshipman. He volunteered for service to follow in the footsteps of his father and brother, and has starry-eyed visions of noble combat and jolly camaraderie. Probably isn't gonna live up to what he's expecting. His name is John George Norbett, but the older officers call him "Young Jack."

Next I determine how many Experiences I have. Evidently one makes a pretty young, green character; a standard would be about 3. Normally my GM would decide this, but given Jack's age, I'm gonna say he's got two and see where that gets me.

Rank is easy; I want to be a Midshipman so I'm a Commissioned Officer. Last thing about concept is the ship, which would normally be a whole group decision. Going with the idea that Jack is riding his family's coattails might indicate he's on an impressive ship, but suppose Daddums decided to throw him into a more difficult situation to make a man out of him? Let's say he's on a frigate in the North Sea Fleet, called the HMS Geryon.

Step Two: Personal Station. Demographic type stuff. I'm English, we've established that. Religion, I think Anglican makes the most sense. I'm the son of a Naval Officer, which means I have Wealth 2, Measures 4, Skills 4, and Command, Courtesy, Diplomacy, Purser, Riding, Seamanship as skills. I'm also Literate and get Read & Write for free.

So, my four Measures (Guts, Discipline, Charm, and Influence) all start at 1, and I have 4 more points to split up. I think I'll leave Guts at one (Jack is one wound away from folding), I'll put Discipline at 2, I'll put Charm at 3 and Influence at 2. Sounds good.

And then Skills. I get 4 points and I have to put them into the few listed. I'll put one each into Courtesy, Diplomacy, Riding, and Seamanship.

Step Three: Experiences. Well, like I said, I think two is appropriate. I need a deck of cards for this. And, ooh, there's a table of random experiences in the book! Awesome, I'll check that out. Oh, blah, these are really unspecific. OK, I'll just make something up. I'll have one experience before joining the navy and one after (so the pre-navy one would have happened in childhood).

I'll say that Jack has only met his father twice, since the old man's been at sea most of his life. The first time he remembers meeting his father was when his aunt Nona was married; dad came home for the wedding (Nona is his mother's sister, and mom's side of the family has some political connections). Jack's father, meeting Jack for the first time, filled his (and his brother's) head with stories of the sea, and it fascinated Jack. And then dad left, and didn't bother to say goodbye, and Jack figured the only way to really be his father's son was to volunteer as a middie. Drawing a card, I get 8 of Clubs, which means I get one in a Skill of my choice. I'll put it in Maritime.

Oh, and then for each experience I get either one Measure, one Skill, or one point in a Reputation. Kinda feels like a I should have some kind of Reputation, huh? Reputations can be personal or institutional. For the first one, I'll add a point into Sword (he and his brother would play at swordfighting after dad left).

And then I get the Booty of Experience (tee-hee) for each experience, so I need a card. For my pre-navy experience, I get...wow, king of spades. I've become vitally important to someone in this experience, +1 to two Institutional Reputations. OK, sure. We'll say that mom's family (the Tellingtons), a very rich and powerful one, has a vested interest in my naval career because they're pretty sure they can manipulate me. That's +1; I'm Being Groomed by the Tellington Family. And then my brother is also on a ship near England, the Apsley, and he's talked me up to the crew. I'm Known to the Apsley Crew +1.

OK, now there's a big section on the ship, which I'm going to skip because it'd be a group thing. That takes me on to Step Five, Recruitment and Training.

I pick a profession aboard the ship: Easy, I'm a sailor. I get +1 in Seamanship, Scavenge, and Maritime. Then as a Midshipman, I get this stuff: +1 Charm, +1 Influence, +1 Awareness, +1 Maritime, +1 Seamanship, +1 Courtesy, +1 The Arts, +1 Purser, +1 to two other skills, +1 Institution: Ward Room reputation, +1 Institution: [Your Ship] reputation.

Well, for my two other Skills, I'll take Sword and Gunnery.

And now I do my other (post-navy) experience (that'd be Step Six). Jack's ship was assigned to escort a whaling vessel to the Arctic Circle. Jack saw a rating fall into the water and go under almost immediately, before he could say anything or raise an alarm. And Jack kinda froze up and never said a word. No one else saw (as far as he knows). Drawing a 7 of diamonds, I get another in a Skill; I'll put it in Intrigue. I also get another free Measure/Skill/Reputation. I think my father should figure in. I'll say that Jack acquitted himself well on that voyage to the Arctic, and take Respected by my Father +1 for that.

And, again, Booty! Drawing a card, I get a small curio or object, giving me +1 to a particular Skill when used. I'll say it's a pair of gloves that he had made on the trip; they improve his grip and give him a +1 to Sword.

Step Seven: Traits. These are just fun little Merit/Flaw kind of things, I get 10 points to buy them. I'll take Educated, Fair of Face (I'm cute), Lap of Luxury (I gots mad ducats), Blameless (who, me?) and Family Connections.

Step Eight: Wealth. Well, I start with 2, I add 2 because I'm an Officer and 2 because I'm in the Lap of Luxury, so I have Wealth 6.

Now I've just gotta total everything up and tie it all together. I'll say that Jack is, again, only 16, and yet very much not the callow youth he was only a year ago. His time aboard the Geryon has taught him that he's more a political animal than a tough old salt, but he's learned that such men can thrive on the high seas. He means to captain his own vessel someday, but at the moment he's patient and willing to learn. What he doesn't have, at least not yet, is the respect of the men, who all call him "Jack the Lad" and "Junior Jack" behind his back.

Jack is blond, with blue eyes and barely a hint of a beard. His skin is pale and smooth, but he's missing one of his incisors after getting knocked in the mouth during a storm. He'll tell anyone who'll listen about his father, and he hasn't noticed that people ask about his mother and her family more often.

That'll do it! That's actually kinda fun. No idea how it would play, but chargen was enjoyable.