Character Creation: Zafir

Cryin' shame this game didn't exist 35 years ago, because I think my some of my buddies in high school would have gotten into it.

The Game: Zaifir Tactical Roleplaying Game
The Publisher: Zafir Games, I guess?
Degree of Familiarity: None
Books Required: Just the one

Zafir is your basic fantasy homebrew - it's got several sapient races, a well-defined world, magic rocks, gods, the whole schmagoigle, as Zoidberg would say. Where it kinda stands out, at least for me, is that the game unabashedly leans in to one of the things people say about D&D sometimes: it's a minis game with roleplaying breaks. Combat in Zafir is designed to happen with a 3D map, meaning the gridmap needs depth as well as minis and terrain. How well would the system work in play? I don't know and I'm not likely to ever know, because I don't think I'm ever likely to have a group and a situation that would merit the work of learning it. Tactical systems tend to work the best when the players understand them, and all of my players are grown-ass people with jobs (and ADHD), so learning something this involved would be hard for all of us.

But with that said, the setting is well-realized and interesting. It's kind of in the same vein as Altais - it passes the Chupp test and it's not just "Tolkein warmed over," so that's nice. So let's make a character.

(Also, side note, I'm really impressed they produced a game this size and with production values this nice on a $22K Kickstarter. I know from experience how quickly that money dries up.)

Characters have one of three starting classes: recruit, novice, or seeker (soldier, mage, or spiritist, respectively). I think I shall go with my gut and make a novice, because I love me some magic. As a novice I can be part of a mage guild if I so desire, and since I have no particular character concept in mind I shall take advantage of the handy random table and pick a guild. A roll of 3 gives me "Mages Guild of Deldaria." Let's take a quick trip to the setting chapter and see what that means. 

Well, that's easy enough. Moving on! That's literally all the information in the entire book about this guild, by the way, so I'm largely on my own. Next thing to do is Origin, which includes race, but also whatever other pertinent background details I find interesting. 

Let's see. The Federation of Deldaria is pretty big and includes several constituent nations, so let's say my character is from Astin. Industrious, mountainous, and lots of auranite, which is a magical rock that holds charges of electricity. 

Now, what race? Deldaria is mostly insaan (human) or hinn (little pointy-ear people), but there are other options. I think I'll be boring and go with insaan, actually. 

Let's say my character is a mountaineer, and that he grew up in a village built into the mountains. Getting there (or getting back down) requires a trek up the foothills or using an airship, and during the summer months it's prone to storms, making airship travel unsafe. My character enjoyed going out into the wilderness during the stormy season, setting up a shelter, and spending the time in quiet contemplation - he's a devotee of the Fivefold Church, and worships Xi'lat, the Zephyr, as his patron deity. Since there's a handy name section, let's pick a name while we're at it. His name is Rei Amedda. 

Rei is dark-skinned with rust-colored hair and pale gold eyes. I'll save other descriptive things until I get a little further along in the process. Speaking of which, what's next?

Attributes! As a novice, I get one in Toughness, Agility, and Accuracy, and 2 in Discipline. And holy shit, this character sheet calculates the derived stuff magically. I get a ballistic vest, and then I get a primary weapon and a secondary weapon, only as a novice I can pick an arcane focus instead of a primary weapon. I'll do that, seems useful. For my secondary weapon I'll take a pistol. 

As a novice I get the Ignite ability (I can set shit on fire). And then I can pick stuff off a list for my inventory, as appropriate, so let's see now. Basically I'm taking camping-related stuff, and then I get 20+2d6 moneys (roll, 6, so 26 riyals). 

Starting proficiencies! Set by my class, not a surprise. I get Autorifles, Sidearms, Arcane Focuses, Medium Armor, and Fire Magic. I don't love that mages all use the same kind of magic to start out, but whatever, level-based system. 

Responsibilities! These are skills, kinda-sorta, but they're also what you're meant to be doing in the group. That's kind of a cool way to arrange this. I get 3 points in one and 1 point in two more. For Rei, I'll put my 3 into Navigation, and my 1 points into Arcana and Sustenance. 

Languages! I can be fluent in two or fluent in one and conversational in three. I feel like Rei spent a lot of time alone, but then again, he is part of the guild. I'll be fluent in Everan (the official Deldarian language) and in Universal Zafiri Sign; let's say he learned it at the guild. 

And that's about it! I picture Rei as being early 20s, and not especially gung-ho about setting shit on fire, but well aware that greater mysteries await. I also think his devotion to Xi'lat is more about getting out into nature and marveling at the storm than, strictly speaking, religious faith, but is there really a difference?