Character Creation: Psychic Kids

You know, like in Village of the Damned. (Not really.)

The Game: Psychic Kids
The Publisher: Wet Ink Games
Degree of Familiarity: None, but I know the game engine and the subject matter feels awful familiar
Books Required: Just the one

Psychic Kids has you playing, well, psychic kids. You're all held in the Facility, and one night your powers Awaken, you break out, and you're on the Run (the book insists on capitalizing it) to a barely-remembered safe place. 

The game has a lot in common with Psi-Run, though it has a firmer structure and more trad system. It also has a lot in common with Timepeekers, the PbtA game I was working on when I was cancelled (like 8 years ago this week, in fact, how time fuckin' flies), but that's neither here nor there. The concept is very simple and borrows a lot tonally from Stranger Things, E.T., Firestarter, and the like. 

The game engine is the +One system, same as for Heckin' Good Doggos and Garbage & Glory. I have mixed feelings about the system. Basically the way it works is that you roll a number of d6s equal to a Skill, looking for 5s and 6s. Points in the controlling Attribute allow you to alter that roll, adding dice, rerolling dice, or adding "pips" (changing the result of a given die roll). When we played Garbage & Glory, it felt really unforgiving. Like, especially when you get into needing multiple successes on a given roll, it didn't feel like characters had enough points to make it work. I don't remember feeling that way after running Heckin' Good Doggos, though, so many G&G just doesn't give starting characters enough dots to throw around? 

Anyway, I think I'd run (Run) this game, if I could do it without making myself feel sad. Let's create me character!

I poke fun, but the truth is I make this mistake a lot

I don't have a concept handy, so I think I'll do my old standby of "pick a random song from my music library" and see where that gets us.

And here's where it got us!

That's "Angry Young Man" by Billy Joel (actually it's "Prelude/Angry Young Man" because the instrumental before the song is great too). That's actually a really appropriate song, I think, because this game asks you to play tweens who are running from government oppression. The titular angry young man is probably an adult, but that's fine. The line "I found that just surviving is a noble fight" is perfect on its own. 

So I think my psychic kid needs to be on the older side of things. That probably makes him 12ish? Let's say his name is Caleb Bachman. Caleb is tall for his age, and he's always been on the rowdy side, which means the Facility has history not been gentle with him. He's got a lot of pent-up anger, and it's going to get him (and probably the other kids he's Running with) in trouble someday.

Attributes! I get 10 points to split between Brawn, Smarts, and Guts, minimum 1, maximum five. Well, Guts definitely needs to be on the higher side for Caleb. Let's put four there and three in the others (I have learned that in this system, you really run a risk if you over-specialize).

Skills! Again, 10 points. Yeah, this is definitely more than the raccoons got. I'll put three into Run, two each into Find, Befriend, and Throw, and one into Sneak (I know from experience that putting one into a Skill isn't smart, but I feel like Caleb would have some skill there).

Psychic power! I get one from the list (or I could in theory make one up, but eh). The obvious choice would be something big and showy like Telekinesis, but I think I want Caleb to have Emphakinesis (control over emotions, though I've never heard it called that).

And then I need a Memory of Safety, just some concrete thing that Caleb is running (Running) toward. I think Caleb remembers a hand on his shoulder, firm, heavy, comforting. Dad? Maybe, but he doesn't know.

That's basically it! Caleb is average height, average build (maybe a little on the skinny side since I'm sure he got sent to solitary without supper more than once). Hair is brown and getting shaggy because now he doesn't have to buzz it. Chews his nails, his right hand tends to flap when he gets mad or excited.