Character Creation: Wild Skies

Last character of July! I've been shooting for six a month this year and I doubled that in July. Probably not going to be as "productive" in August because work starts back up, but we'll do our best.

The Game: Wild Skies: Europa Tempest
The Publisher: Wet Ink Games
Degree of Familiarity: None
Books Required: Just the one

Wild Skies: Europa Tempest is a diesel-punk game in which you play anthropomorphic animals in an alt-history Earth where the first World War never ended. Tonally it's...interesting. Like, we have the fact that everyone is animals, so the comic includes fun stuff like the tortoise chef named Biscuits and the black sheep named Rambeaux. But then there's, well, this:

I think that bear would have a hard time screaming with his face blown through the back of his head

It reminds me in a lot of ways of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (that is, the comics and the RPG), and that's not a bad thing, especially since unlike TMNT it doesn't use the janky-ass Palladium system. So let's make a character!

I don't really have a concept handy, so howzabout if I let Apple Music pick a song at random? 

"Soup Kitchen" by Eva Trout, from the American Werewolf in Paris soundtrack, which isn't the most embarrassing album I own, but it's probably in the top 10. Anyway, this song calls to mind someone who has been through the wringer and refuses to succumb to adversity, or pity, or charity. I think this character is stubborn and bullheaded, but maybe has an artistic or even gentle soul. Good start, let's continue.

Step two is Select Primary and Secondary Attributes. 10 points to Brawn, Smarts, and Guts. Gotta have at least one, but no more than 10 (which isn't a probably because the max I could have is 8). Let's say 6 in Brawn, 1 in Smarts, 3 in Guts. 

Secondary Attributes are basically the same deal, except I have 18 points to split into six of them (Strength, Fleetness, Know-How, Moxie, Valor, Grit). Know-How can be low, but Moxie should be a little higher. I'll put one into Know-How for now, 5 into Strength, 2 into Fleetness (that's 8), 4 into Moxie, and three each into Valor and Grit. 

Next step is to Choose Animal Type. I think I'll lean into being bull-headed and make a bull. 

So this boosts Brawn, Strength, and Grit by one, which is cool. My starting Ability is Horns, and then I get two more Abilities, which have to be chosen from the Unique and Optional Abilities for my type. Let's see. I don't want Hauling (so I can do physical labor real good, la-di-da). Feat of Strength is pretty dope, though. I'll take that. Pack is cool, but I see my guy as being more of a loner than that. Natural Armor or Stubborn? I think Stubborn (which allows me to focus on a non-combat activity to the exclusion of all else and get bonuses for doing so) is more in-theme.

Choose a Size. I can adjust my Size one step in either direction for free, but I'm good with Large. 

Choose Perks & Quirks. I get one Perk for free, and then I can take up to two Quirks for a like number of Perks. I'll take Poet as a Perk, but honestly the rest of them don't really stir me. 

Choose a Nationality. From whence does my bull hail? Let's say he's Hungarian. 

Choose Careers & Skills. I get two Careers (this works much like Cairn, so I could be an Actor/Mechanic or whatever). Well, my bull isn't terribly smart or well-educated, so careers like Doctor or even Mechanic are beyond him. I think Thug/Revolutionary is the best way to simulate his hard-knock life. I get a skill die in Leadership, Social, and Sneak as a Revolutionary, and Melee 2, Athletics 1 and Drive 0 as a Thug. I get a Specialty in each of those, and then I get one more Skill (because of my 1 in Smarts), and then one more die to put in any of my Skills (because of my 1 in Know-How). Well, let's look at the Skill list.

I'll take Wrestling as my Athletics Specialty, Train as my Drive Specialty (most from riding the rails, I think), Aggravate for Leadership, Street Smarts for Sneak, Intimidate for Social, and Brawl for Melee. For my Learned Skill, ergh, I guess I'll take Knowledge. I'll take Language as the Specialty so my bull speaks German (if I were actually going to play him in a campaign, I'd take whatever the common language of the group was). 

One more Skill die to throw around. I think it's gotta go in Athletics. 

Build the Moral Compass. This is interesting. The Moral Compass takes the place of XP and alignment in Wild Skies; there are 8 axes and you arrange them on the compass rose to indicate which is important and which story arc and struggle you want to focus on. 

Well, for my bull, I think, Survival to Growth is the most important one. I'll put Survival at the "north" position of the compass, and Growth at the south. Defense to Destruction, Exploration to Rest, and Endurance to Change are the other axes that I think fit the character best. I'll put Endurance/Change and Defense/Destruction in the northern half; I think those are the ones that it would be most interesting to deal with. 

Finishing Touches! This is mostly just appearance and gear and so on. Guess I should give him a name, too. His name is Gyurka ("farmer"), and his family were simple laborers. He was born in 1900, which means he's 30-ish in the game's timeline. Also means he was a young bull (calf, I guess) when the Great War really got going, so he's seen his whole life blown apart. He's about seven feet tall, and isn't as bulky as some cattle, but he's used to being on his own and doesn't need your charity. That said, he'll always work for a living. 

Last thing would be Affiliation, but that really requires a group. I think Gyurka wouldn't actually be all that hard to slot into a game, and he'd be a decent brick character once he trains up a little. It'd be interesting to see him gain some loyalty to the people around him. (I'd also have to find a book of war poetry if I were going to play him.) 

That's it! Happy July!