Character Creation: DOGS

False advertising. 

The Game: DOGS
The Publisher: KN Obaugh
Degree of Familiarity: I've played Dogs in the Vineyard once or twice, but it's been years
Books Required: Just the one

THIS GAME HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH DOGS. I feel cheated. (I don't really.)

DOGS is short for Dicepool mOral predicament based Generic roleplaying System, which is something of a forced acronym, but it's there for a reason. DOGS is basically the mechanical and philosophical (from a game design standpoint) bones of Dogs in the Vineyard. And at first I was a little skeptical of that premise, but honestly, I've heard any number of great ideas for using the underpinnings of DitV - that is, the PCs are the moral authority and the conflict comes not only from dealing with "evil" but from deciding what evil is and how to deal with it. Green Lantern Corps was one of those ideas, and I remember someone putting forth the idea that Werewolf: The Forsaken would work nicely in that framework. 

But for purposes of DOGS, I do need some kind of setting. There's one included with the book, but it includes pregens, so I don't know if I want to use it. Ah, there's a few pages of example settings that aren't more than a paragraph, but that's really all I need as far as chargen goes. Just a moment.

Hrm. There are a few I enjoy (and a few I don't mind but I'm not gonna use because they're too similar to other settings I've done lately). Let's see if I can randomize. 

So there's my starting premise. I don't have a character concept handy, though, so I'll turn to my old friend iTunes Apple Music and pick a random song. Aaaaand that gives me:

Listening to the lyrics ("Angels," by Tori Amos), I'm not really sure what the song is actually about, but for my purposes, it makes me think of someone who's destined to do great and terrible things. I don't necessarily want to play that person, though, I want to play the person who's trying to warn others about the course of destiny, so I'm thinking a soothsayer/diviner/Cassandra kind of character. That's a decent jumping off point, so let's jump off.

I must pick a Background and a Focus. Background is either Specialized, Balanced, or Rocky. I'll go with Rocky, I want this guy to have some baggage. 

 Trained/Connected/Spiritual are the choices for Focus. I think I want to go with Spiritual. 

Now, I get 15d6 to distribute into the four Stats, and each one has to have at least 2d6. I know I want Spirit (which is aggressiveness and tenacity) to be high, but Soul can be a little lower. So let's put 7d6 into Spirit, 3d6 into Body and Mind, and 2d6 into Soul. 

So then I get Traits, Relationships, and Powers, according to the chart up there. Starting with Traits, I shall take I see the light of greatness in others 1d4, because that's gonna get me in trouble. Too Clever by Half 2d6, sure. And then I want something to represent that this guy is, above all, hopeful about people (which is why he keeps getting burned). Thinks the best of people 2d8. 

Relationships! I think that he needs an enemy, someone that he talked up and helped and promoted who then turned out pretty rotten. Verl, the student who betrayed me 1d4, sounds good. I want some connection to the other diplomat-type people I romp around with. If I had a group, I'd probably work in a reference to a single character, but since it's just me I'll say My cadre has yet to disappoint me 2d6. 

Last one is 2d8. Hmm. I'll actually leave those unassigned, because in play I'd want to be able to "discover" that someone is a Chosen One or whatever. 

Powers! Obviously I need a divination like thing, but that should be a mixed blessing at best, so I'll just say Natural talent for divination 2d4. I see this guy having powers involving dust or ash, actually. Ooh, maybe it's about the remains of destroyed objects, so it's not like he can command dirt, but he can call up the ashes of a fire into a cloud to obscure him or whatever. Power over the ashes 2d10, please, because I want that to be impressive.

2d6 remaining, and I can split them if I want. Do I want? I think I want him to have some magic allowing him to sidestep danger ("not my time to die" kind of thing). Sidestep fate 1d6, sure. And then I'll take Basic conjuring 1d6 - he's been trained in simple magic, conjuring light and whatnot, but it's not where he's really skilled. 

Equipment! The setting explanation up there doesn't mention anything that I get for free (most of the other settings do), so we'll just assume I get the usual allotment. That is, I can take as many items as I want, but they are rated thusly: If it sucks it's 1d4, ordinary is 1d6, good quality is 2d6, honkin' big is 1d8, good and big is 2d8. Total maximum is 32 (meaning, if my math's right, I could four 1d8 items). 

Well, traveler's gear 1d6, sure. I want some kind of divination paraphernalia, but I don't want something obvious like Tarot or runes or whatever. I think that his method of divination involves a keek-stane, a box with a black glass lens in it that he stares into to divine the future. I'll give the keek-stane 2d6. That puts me up to 18, so I can take 12 more. 

A weapon is probably wise, so I'll take longsword 1d6. One more d6, and that's pretty much my only option. I'll give him a signet ring 1d6, a symbol of his office. That might be the kind of thing that the group would get for free, but I'll just assume that closes me out. 

Dranas, for 'tis his name, is a younger man, but his hair is ash-grey. He has blue eyes and resting annoyed face - he actually does have a sense of humor, but it's very dry and deadpan. He rarely laughs, and almost never our loud, but you'll get a chuckle out of him sometimes. He was raised in educated society, but his mother was obsessed with his father (who actually died or left when Dranas was young) - she claimed that his father, Drani, was the Savior From the Fire, whatever the hell that means. Dranas doesn't see mom much anymore.

Often after meeting someone, he'll get hung up on some little detail about them and stare into his keek-stane, and then either let it go ("guess it was nothing") or decide this person is Important ("shit, here we go"). 

That'll do it!