Character Creation: The Last Caravan

Time for a Rick Mitchell Special!

The Game: The Last Caravan
The Publisher: Mythworks
Degree of Familiarity: It's Forged in the Dark, so I know the underlying bones, but I haven't played this yet
Books Required: Just the one

The Last Caravan is billed as a "cars and aliens" game, which I didn't really think of as a genre but there are actually a fair number of cinematic touchstones that work. I mentioned (if obliquely) The Mitchells vs. the Machines, but I think Love & Monsters would probably work, too (Little Miss Sunshine is on the list of touchstones in the book, as is X-Com 2; what I'm saying is there's a lot to like here). 

So let's make a traveler! Chargen would normally start with the group determining what kind of caravan we've got here (family, scientists, etc.) and making some decisions about where we're going and why, but for my purposes I don't need to worry about that. I do, however, need to pick an "imprint" (you can call them whatever you want, they're playbooks. Or character classes. Or whatever). 

Well, my instinct is Lookout (or Good Boi) but I think I'm gonna do something a little different for me and make a Wrench. I don't play mechanically inclined characters all that often because I have zero such skill myself and it's hard to improvise the way I can with characters with a base of knowledge closer to mine, but here I think it'd be fun. Let's name him Florian Roy.

Having chosen an imprint, I now choose a background. This is just a quick phrase stating where my fella came from (not, like, geographically). I think Florian was an in-house mechanic for a Quebec-based rich dude (maybe billionaire, maybe not quite that bad). When the Two Months War kicked off, he expected the boss to turn the compound into a bunker or otherwise be, like, useful - that didn't happen. Everyone scattered to the winds, and Florian wound up here (wherever "here") is. So for background, that cooks down to "displaced in-house mechanic."

Now we assign gambit strength - basically action dots. I have two in drive a car and rig & repair already, and I can go to 3 on one of them if I want. I think Florian isn't any great shakes when it comes to speaking up and taking charge, so I won't take those gambits. I'll put a dot into search & survey and one into fight under pressure, I think. He got this far, so he's probably able to sneak around when he needs to, so I'll put another dot there - actually, let's say two there, he's used to being invisible. Useful skill when you work for a rich dork.

I get one special ability, and as is common for these games there's one suggested, but eh. I think Crafting Knowledge makes more sense here. I'll say Florian has crafting knowing in Vehicle. 

Next, I get an inadequacy (this kinda takes the place of vice-like things in other FitD games). I'm gonna take Fear, and say that Florian is really conflict-averse - someone raises their voice and Florian just wilts and goes back to work with wrenches and grease and so on. Physical violence is marginally easier because at least then it's clear what's happening, but I think after a fight Florian would be a wreck for a while regardless of whether he actually took physical harm.

Name and look! I did name already. Florian is 34. He looks pretty flat a lot of the time; the world being what is it, he's lost a lot of his affect (at least initially). Brown hair, brown eyes...actually I can see a younger Ethan Embry playing him.

And, finally, items. I can have two items or three filled slots of inventory (out of seven), whatever comes first. If I want a toolbox, that eats three slots. Do I want a toolbox? Let's say no - that's a big heavy thing to carry. I do want a multi-tool, though. Also duct tape and that's two items.

And that's all she wrote! Let's go, Monchi!