Character Creation: Era: Deadwest

Yee ha! Let's round up and rope some broncos! Or Incubi.

The Game: Era: Deadwest
The Publisher: Shades of Vengeance
Degree of Familiarity: Never played it, but the system feels very familiar
Books Required: Just the one, and it's tiny

There are a bunch of these Era games - one just finished Kickstarting, in fact - and they're little bite-sized thingies that present a basic setting, a rules engine, and that's it. Not dissimilar to the vs. [whatever] games, as I think about it. 

So, anyway! Deadwest's very simple setting is basically: There's a Western kind of frontier, and then glowing purple portals opened up, monsters (which the locals started calling "incubi" rather than "demons," despite the fact that an incubus is a demon that boinks people in their sleep and these things very much don't do that) started crawling out and killing people, and a market for "gunslingers" that are skilled enough to kill Incubi opened up. And you're a gunslinger. Go! 

I dunno. It's thin, but it would be workable - NOVA gets by on not too much more, setting wise. But NOVA and the associated games have a couple of hooks that this doesn't. First, the setting is interesting, even if it's minimal. There's some cool stuff going on, there's some context to the world. Second, the system is interesting and invites some player interaction. Era's system is basically just Storyteller - roll [stat] + [stat] d10s, compare each die to a target number, the more successes you get, the better. Where it differs is that you can insta-kill a target (though not an Incubus), and if I'm reading it right, it looks like if you beat the "Kill Threshold" of a weapon on any one die that happens, but the Kill Threshold is like 5 for most guns, so I have no idea how most fights wouldn't immediately end with anyone who gets hit immediately dying. Again, that assumes I'm reading it right, and I admit I skimmed. 

Anyway, I like the idea of a small, self-contained game that fits in your pocket, I like the artwork, I don't think I love much else. But let's make a Gunslinger!

(Oh, and I don't love the sheet design, it looks like a 2000 Florida ballot.)

So the first thing I need is a Background, which is complicated because there's really not much setting to speak of. One of the Skills you can buy is Demolitions, and it does seem like explosives would be the most efficient way to kill Incubi, so let's say my character was an engineer who worked for mines and railroads and wound up taking work as a gunslinger. He's not bad with a rifle, he's passable with a handgun, but if he has a little time to prepare he can turn demons into craters pretty reliably (is this a viable character concept in actual play? I don't really know). We'll call him Lonny Huxley, most folks call him "Hux" and that suits him fine.

Now I need a "Quirk," which in practice is closer to a flaw. One of the examples is "Materialistic" and I kind of like that for Lonny - if he's going to risk getting eaten by demons to save your shitty little town, he gets paid in advance and he doesn't pay for drinks, thanks. 

Appearance! Lonny is a white guy, average height, lanky, carries a rifle and a big ol' satchel of his equipment (but generally doesn't carry the explosives on him, that's just silly). Has a patch on his left cheek that's permanently marked black (powder burn from a hastily put-together bomb). 

Attributes! They're divided up into three categories (see, this is almost definitely based on some version of the Storyteller system) but one of the category has two Attributes and the other ones have three, which is weird. Anywho, I get 6/5/4 to split up. I want Lonny's Intelligence, Wits, and Dexterity to be high, so his Reaction Attributes should get the 6. I'll put the 5 into Potence and the 4 into Defense (maybe that's why it only has two, because you'd want them higher?). 

Anyway, I'll put 3 into Dexterity, 2 into Wits, 1 into Luck. One into Strength and Charisma, three into Intelligence, and 2 each in Stamina and Willpower.

Skills are likewise divided up into Personal/Technical/Interaction, and I get 11/7/4 to prioritize these categories. I think probably Technical gets the 11? Yeah, and Personal comes in second, which leaves Interactive as third. Doesn't seem to be a maximum rating, which makes me wonder what the little brackets are for. Oh, wait, I get it, they cost more to go higher (there are little numbers in those brackets, but they're hard to see). 

Ah, OK, raising Attributes or Skills past 4 costs more. Good to know. I don't know that it'll be relevant.

Well, whatever. Over in Personal, I'll put three into Investigation, two into Larceny, and two into Survival.

Technical: I want 4 in Demolitions (to boost it higher would require extra points, and I don't think I want to do that). I'll also put 4 in Engineering...wait, no. I'll put 3 there, 1 in Handgun, 3 in Rifle. 

And, finally, under Interactive, let's put two in Commercial and two in Esteem. 

Derived stats, at the end where they belong! Notoriety would be set by the GM, so I'll leave that blank. Size is 5, Encumbrance is Strength + Stamina + Size, or 10 for Lonny. Speed is Strength + Size + Dexterity (11), Initiative is Willpower + Wits (6), Defense (misspelled as "Defence") is the "lowest [sic] of Dexterity and Wits" - hey, just like NWoD! Anyway, that'd be 3. Damage and Kill modifiers are 0 unless I'm wearing armor, which we'll assume I'm not. Health and Pain are both equal to Stamina + Size, which is 8. 

And then I'd get a handgun and a rifle, and I think you're supposed to draw them into these weird grid things?

I have nothing like the artistic skill required for that, so I'm gonna skip the shopping step and just say that Lonny has a handgun (whatever the most basic revolver is), a rifle with a good range, and hopefully some explosives, and call it good. Yee-ha!