Character Creation: Knight

Ugh, almost three weeks into the month before I make a character (last one doesn't count as November, it was meant to be the last character of October). 

But in my defense, it's been a shitty month and just sitting at my computer has been somewhat triggering. It's easy to yearn for the days of yore, where you could solve a problem by sticking a sword into it. 

The Game: Knight
The Publisher: Armoured Gaming
Degree of Familiarity: None, though it does remind me of a couple of other games
Books Required: Just the one

Knight (which is one of those RPG titles that makes you think "did you understand when you did this that googling your product is going to be a chore?") is a fantasy-ish RPG set in Arthurian-like myth. I say "like" because although it's set in "Avalon," it's not actually set in Arthurian mythos per se (not like, say, Age of Arthur). The game lists Blades in the Dark and Pendragon as inspirations, and the latter I definitely see, though I'd be hard-pressed to pick out the influence from Blades. The movie Dragonheart also shows up; it's the genesis of the knightly oath. 

But the real selling point, I guess, is that you make a knight and a couple of NPCs, one of whom is your heir. Your knight is probably going to kick it at some point, and then you elevate your heir to knighthood and carry on. I like the idea; I admit my eyes glazed over a little when I was parsing the system, but it was late at night so that's not a big surprise. So let's make a knight! (Fun fact: my brain auto-corrects that word to the faux-French pronunciation from Monty Python & the Holy Grail every single time. "Kanigit.")

Character creation has a bunch of random rolls, which I always appreciate. 

First, we create/roll/choose a name for our knight. I shall name him Raibeart.

Coat of arms, however, I shall roll for. Black background with a sun. That's striking. 

My age is 16 + 1d10, rolled a 2, so 18. I'm a young'un. My patron spirit is St. Gertrude the Forester. Sounds good.

3d6 for physical descriptors gives me...hard eyes, bald/shaven hair, thin body. Maybe Raibeart was a monk. 

Next we put 12, 10, and 8 in Vigor, Wit, and Prowess however we like. I think if Raibeart was a monk, Vigor probably isn't his strong point, so I'll put my 8 there. I'll put the 12 in Wit, and that leaves the 10 in Prowess. 

Roll a d8 for a special skill...hunter! Archery, woodcraft, animal lore, stealth, fits in with my patron saint.

Two family members! I need names, ages (younger, but close to me in age), relationship, and something interesting about them. Well, let's say the first one is Murdo, my nephew. He's the eldest son of his family so he really should be the one inheriting and so on, but he was thrown from his horse when he was 15 and almost died. He's healed pretty well (he's now 17), but he's missed a lot of opportunity.

The other one is Gertrude, my sister (16). Gertrude always knew that monastic life wasn't going to work out for Raibeart, and bet him that if he left the monastery within a year, she got to be his heir. He lost that bet. Yes, she's named for the saint - St. Gertrude is a big deal in Raibeart's family.

I have 8 Endurance, so...sure. 

I get to choose/roll/create my family name, which also happens to be the name of our fief. Let's call it Kerk. 

I get a squire; let's name him Heck. I get a horsey, let's name her Sunbolt. I get a sword and another fine weapon; let's say it's an axe. And then I get two just functional weapons, we'll say hunting bow and spear.

I get armor that was passed down from my mother's family - supposedly the leather straps were made from a beast blessed by St. Gertrude or sacrificed to her or something (the story changes). I get a shield with the Kerk heraldry, and 5 Glory, and that's it, son.

I figure Raibeart is a little more outdoorsy and active than a monastic life allowed; maybe he had an older brother who got killed in battle and that allowed him to become a knight (we're playing pretty fast and loose with actual chivalric stuff, here, obviously). Raibeart's fief is in the woods; Kerk is known for good hunting, but also some dangerous wildlife and terrain. 

Raibeart himself is 18. He's been out of the monastery a while but still shaves his head (hair itches as it grows in and he doesn't like it). 

That'll do it, I think!