Character Creation: Mercenary Breed

Been a while since I've done a SWADE game.

The Game: Mercenary Breed
The Publisher: Mystical Throne Entertainment
Degree of Familiarity: None
Books Required: I think just the one, but maybe SWADE too, we'll see 

This is one of those Savage Worlds games that has a player's guide and a GM's guide, I think. In any event, there are a bunch of sourcebooks (I got this one in a bundle). It's very pleased with itself for being a "sandbox" setting, based on how many times it uses the word "sandbox." (And now I've got a Too Much Joy song in my head.)

So what's the game? You're in the Argo Galaxy, you're a mercenary working for one or more megacorps, you go out and do mercenary things, sandbox sandbox sandbox. The things that interest me about the game are the bits where you can play as a "gemini" (human, basically, and I have no idea why they're called that - are they all twins?), or one of a bunch of "xeno" cultures, or I think there's a random "make your own alien" system? If there is I'm gonna use it. 

I think I'll use that Too Much Joy song as a theme song. Not sure I've ever used one of their songs before, seems an oversight. They're an Ohio band, need to show some state pride! Anyway, the song is very upbeat and jaunty but it is dark if you check the lyrics. It's about shopping in a mall at Xmas time, but feeling "darkness neverending" and remembering being happy in the titular sandbox as a kid. I'm envisioning a merc character who's made it pay pretty well, is doing OK, surviving, but is bored and depressed and distracted (kind of a Martin Blank sort of vibe). 

That's a pretty good start. First up in chargen, we pick a culture (which replaces Race). I wanna be a random thing! For that I need a deck of cards. Dealing three out, I get 7 Hearts, 6 Diamonds, and 10 Clubs. So what's that mean?

The first card's suit tells me what kind of animal I resemble. Hearts is Avian. Cool, I'm a bird-alien. The value gives me...pointed ears, +2 Notice for sound. Well, birds on Earth don't have external ears, but I'm an alien bird, so that's fine. 

The second card is about "overall physicality." The suit (diamonds) affects strength, the value (6) means I am solid (+1 Toughness; I'm a big bird). 

Last card gives me a special trait. It's a club so that trait is gonna be physical, and it's a 10 so I gain the Alertness Edge (it says "Canine" but that's hardly necessary). 

Now, since I have a total bonus of +3, I need a -1 somewhere. Well, let's say that my people's planet is mostly desert. Water exists but is almost all underground where the temp is cooler. My character's people, the Legara, are stocky and tough, and over time have developed tufts of feathers and cartilage on their heads to help them locate by sound (other creatures call those "ears", I guess). Since he's from a desert planet, we'll say that his race is unsuited to cold environments; he takes a -4 penalty to resist cold damage or effect. 

The Legar are on the tall side by gemini standards, and have downy feathers over the bodies. Their beaks have receded and aren't quite as hooked and sharp as they were in generation's past, but speaking Argosian is still a challenge (though not impossible). Legar have never had wings or been able to fly, and they resent the implication, thanks. 

OK, cool. On to traits! Your basic SWADE arrangement, I get a d4 in everything and 5 points to throw around. I kinda want a higher Vigor or Strength to represent my character's stocky-ness, but maybe that's covered by his racial (er, cultural, even though the culture isn't what you're designing...ah, screw it) bonuses. OK, so let's put 2 into Agility (d8), 1 into everything else except Spirit (representing his generally demoralized state). 

Skills work like they do in SWADE. That is, I get a d4 in Athletics, Common Knowledge, Notice, Persuasion, and Stealth, and then 12 more dice to pump in. Any new ones? Yeah, there's a Xenology skill keyed off Smarts that determines knowledge of alien shit for cultures that aren't part of the Alliance. Don't think my guy needs that. Everything else is just ways in which skills interact with the setting. Also Arcane Backgrounds get replace with Tech Backgrounds, so I can have powerz if I want them, but I'm kinda leaning straight gun-bunny for this guy. As such: 3 points into Shooting, 3 into Fighting, 1 into Stealth, 2 into Athletics, that just leaves 2. Battle seems wise, so I'll sink my last two points there.

Hindrances! Any good ones in the Mercenary Breed book? I kinda like Stargazer - my guy likes to look at stars, but is deathly afraid of space. Given his weakness to cold, I think that tracks. I kinda want something to represent his distracted, unsatisfied vibe, but I don't think Death Wish really works. Let's take Hesitant instead. And I'll also take Thin-Skinned; personal attacks really get under his feathers.

That gives me four points (or "boingles" as they're called in SWADE - look it up, I dare you) to buy traits with. Would I like an Edge? Are there any good ones in the Breed book (sounds wrong)? Eh, not really. Actually I don't see a lot of Edges that are available to Novice characters that I like, so y'know what? We're gonna bump Agility to d10 (2 boingles) and spend the other two to put Fighting and Shooting to d10.  

Languages, we'll assume I'm part of the Alliance so I speak Argosian (the "common" tongue) and Legara, my people's language. Reputation starts at 0, and there's no way to raise that, so sure, whatever.  

Gear I'm gonna skip because it bores me, but if I were playing him I'd buy a gun and a sword or something. 

Derived traits: Parry is 7, Toughness is 6 (including my bonus), Pace is 6, Rep is 0, as mentioned.

Ciks (for 'tis his name) is a Legar, one of the large, solid, bird-like xenos from the planet Sanaran. He's about 6'3", stocky and solid (which surprises gemini, who keep expecting him to have hollow bones for some fucking reason). His body is covered with brown and white feathers, he's got bright yellow eyes and a little beak, but hands with three fingers and an opposable thumb rather than wings ("how many times I gotta tell you assholes I can't fly? Why would you even think that? Can you fly?"). He's kind of a badass in terms of straight-up combat prowess, but he's never really developed much of a style and he's really just going through the motions of late (maybe he had a Rep score and then lost it, if that's how the system works). I'm sure he's only one bad mission away from a corporate review or something, but like, he's just not sure what the hell the point is. Money? Really? He could go back to Sanaran and do just fine. Travel? He hates space, it's too cold. Whatever, what's this job, killing alien bugs, cool, let's do it.

That'll do it! Next up: THE 12 GAMES OF XMAS!