Character Creation: The Underground

Well, the winds haven't blown our house to Oz yet, so let's make a character.

The Game: The Underground - A Sam & Fuzzy Roleplaying Game
The Publisher: Damocles Thread Development
Degree of Familiarity: None, though I was pleasantly surprised how accessible the book is
Books Required: Just the one

I bought this game because I was (at the time) friends with one of the creators, and like many of the games I buy, it kinda sat on my shelf for a while until I felt motivated to read it. I'm not generally a fan of RPGs based on existing properties, because there's a barrier to entry. If it's a TV show or a movie, that's one thing, because watching is less brain than reading, but when they're based on books or comics (particularly comics with an 18-year backlog), that's a bit much to jump into.

But with that said, The Underground has an introductory section that lays out the world, the tone, and the history in enough detail that I feel like I can make a character, but not so much that my eyes glazed over. The writing is tight, too, and although it's a humor game, it's obviously written by someone who understands how to write humor (humor games often are not).

Anywhichway, the basic idea here is that there are humans and inhumans, and there's a mysterious Committee that controls both the Surface and the Underground, down to the pop culture. The current head of the Committee is a dinosaur called Mr. Rexford, and some of the other factions include the Kingdom of Catopia and the Vampire Council. So it's kind of a mixture of the World of Darkness, Candycreeps, Paranoia, and any number of other RPGs that have a secret world being gate-kept. 

Making a character is a 9-step process, so let's get to it. 

Step One is to pick a species. I can choose one of the existing ones or make one up. Let's have a look. Oh, OK, so making a new species is actually hella easy; it's just a matter of giving a bonus to one Attribute. Well, I really like the description of Catopia, so I'll make a Catopian. As a Catopian I get a +2 Notice, but I can only wield small weapons. Makes sense. 

Step Two is Background. Background is just whether my kitty grew up on the Surface, the Underground, or first one then t'other. I'll say he's an Undergrounder. That sets my Cope at 2 and my Deal at 8, but I don't know what that means yet. 

Step Three is Faction, and I don't feel like being a special snowflake, so I'll say my character is a Catopian citizen.

Step Four is Attributes. Cope and Deal are already set, but the other four I get to assign. I have 11, 8, 5, and 3 to assign, and I have a +2 to Notice. Let's see. I think I'll put my 3 in Notice, actually, because with the +2 I get 5 which is about average. I'll put my 5 into Buff, my 8 into Tough, and my 11 into Quick. I'm a nimble kitty!

Step Five is Skills. I get 8 points to divide up, but I can't take more than 2 in any given Skill. My job will figure into this somehow, too, though. Oh, wait, that just deals with what I can raise later. No worries. OH WAIT NO I get a bonus to 4 skills when I pick a job. Still doesn't affect this part.

OK, then, I'll put 2 into Athletics, 2 into Grub (vittles most tender and feasts most fancy), and one each into Close Combat, Entrepreneur, Stealth, and Vehicle (yeah, man, I can fly that thing). 

Step Six is Powers, but I don't actually get any at chargen, so on we go.

Step Seven is jaerb. What do I want my kitty to do? Something food-related, I think. SHIT YEAH COFFEE RUNNER. I get a bonus to Athletics, Evasion, Grub, and Vehicle. I also get the Caffeine-Fueled Rage power, which allows me to burn through a task quickly. Sounds about right. 

Step Eight is hobby. This is optional, but I want to take Early Adopter. My cat is always upgrading his phone and other gadgets. I get a bonus to Construction for that.

Finally, Step Nine is Strangeness, which is set by my background and species at 2.

Cool, all I need now is a name and a description! My cat's name is Witchery Woogins (he goes by "Woo"). He's a tuxedo cat with blue eyes, and he likes to joke about being overdressed when he's naked. In the Underground, he dresses for his job as a coffee runner, and prides himself on getting coffee to his customers fast, hot, and frothy! 

I think Woo would get into an adventure by colliding with one of the other PCs and hanging around with them until they pay up for the coffee they spilled. Woo isn't the cleverest of cats, but he's fast and he knows how to make a damned good cuppa. 

And that's me done!