Character Creation: World of Darkness

Today's installation of the chargen exercise is just making a mortal World of Darkness character.

The Game: World of Darkness
The publisher: White Wolf Game Studio
Degree of familiarity: Very yes.
Books required: Just the World of Darkness Rulebook, though I might grab other supplements as whim strikes me.

 

Making a mortal World of Darkness character is tricky without an ST. Is this character going to wind up some type of supernatural being? Are we doing a CoC style game, or a Chill style game? Are we going to wind up being ghouls? Who knows!?

Well, I think that I'm going to approach this character as though I'm playing a World of Darkness game that could go in any direction - assume it's going to be character-focused, and therefore not worry so much about the ST's intentions (since there isn't one). So, grabbing my WoD book:

Step One: Concept

I want to make my character someone who hasn't seen much of the supernatural yet, but won't totally buckle if he does. I have a running joke with my players, that in the World of Darkness, bartenders, EMTs, doctors, cops, social workers and other people that work on the "front lines" with other people tend to see the supernatural. You want a weird comparison? Think about the way the rich people differed from the poor in Land of the Dead. The rich people didn't have to worry about getting eaten on a regular basis - but when the shit went down, they didn't know how to cope, either. I want someone who will cope, even if he doesn't know it yet.

I don't, however, wish to play a bartender. I think my character's going to be a landscaper. How's that for a weird concept? He owns his own (very small) business, and mostly takes contracts mowing really huge lawns for corporations, municipal property, things like that. That means that, in a chronicle, all the ST has to do to get him involved is having him taking care of the right lawn, and he'll be right there in the midst of it.

Thinking a little more about his history, I decide that my character is divorced. Something happened a few years back - his wife just changed. Suddenly she was sullen, withdrawn, secretive and standoffish. They tried to work it out (rather, he did) but eventually they just split up. He still wonders if it was something he did wrong, or, if not, what happened to her to change her like that (that's even more ST fodder - did she Awaken? Get stolen by the Fae? Get involved with a hunter cell? Maybe she was just sick of him). I debate whether they had any kids, but I decide against it; it's a complication that pushes my hot buttons, and as a player it's better not to hand the ST anything you don't want broken.

I figure my character's about 30, still young, but not a kid anymore. I name him Mike Dashell; nice American-sounding name.

I think that's enough history to start with mechanics, so!

Step Two: Attributes

Mike spends most of his time outside, and leads a very active life, so I'll put Physical as primary. Social's secondary, and Mental is tertiary.

For Physicals, I'll put two dots in Stamina and two in Strength. His muscles are usually stiff, so he's not terribly spry, but he's strong and tough.

For Social, I'll put one in each, and put the extra one in Manipulation. Mike's a good talker, once you get him going. He plays things close to the vest, though; still smarting over his wife.

For Mental, I'll just make him even across the board; one dot in each.

Step Three: Skills

Again, I see Physical Skills as Primary, but I'm going to make Mental secondary, just because I know I'll want to spread those points out a little. That leaves Social as tertiary.

Physical Skills: I'll put two dots in Athletics; Mike plays a little basketball with his coworkers sometimes, and he's never really lost his edge. Two dots in Drive (he drives mowers for a living, and he's good with trucks, too) and two in Larceny (he knows how to pick locks and hotwire cars, even if he doesn't do it). I'll put three in Survival - Mike was an Eagle scout, and is still an occasional camper. My last two dots go into Firearms and Brawl; neither of which are Skills he cultivates, but he's got a passing knowledge of both.

Mental Skills: Two in Computer (he runs the company's website himself), three in Crafts (auto repair and landscaping), one in Academics, one in Science.

Social Skills: Two in Subterfuge (he's got a good bullshit detector), one in Persuasion and one in Empathy.

Step Four: Select Skill Specialties

Someone had an interesting take on this: Think of three things about the character, and see what those suggest about Specialties. For Mike, I think: divorced, taciturn, green thumb. That last one's easy; I put a Landscaping Specialty in Crafts. For "divorced," I think the whole experience is what honed his ability to detect lies, so I'll put Spotting Lies under Subterfuge. For "taciturn," I put Good Listener under Empathy - Mike's a sympathetic ear for folks who need to talk.

Step Five: Add Supernatural Template

Not applicable. Not yet, anyway.

Step Six: Determine Advantages

This really should be step seven, after Merits, but whatever. Presently, size = 5, Speed = 10, Health = 8, Initiative modifier = 4, and Willpower = 4. Morality starts at 7, and I don't feel like dropping it.

His Virtue is Justice. One of the reasons that his divorce eats at him so much is that it doesn't seem fair. Mike's Vice is Sloth. He cuts corners where he can, finishes jobs a little faster than he should sometimes, and has to watch himself or he'll sleep all day on his day off.

Step Seven: Merits

Well, I don't feel like busting out Second Sight and making this dude psychic; it just doesn't fit. I know I want Resources 2; even with alimony, he does OK. I'll take Contacts (Local Government, Local Corporate) for people he knows through his business, and Language (Spanish) since a lot of the guys he hires are Puerto Rican. That leaves me two dots. I'll take Meditative Mind (Mike took up meditation as a way to relax himself after the divorce) and Strong Back (years of lifting mulch bags).

Looking over the rest of the sheet, I decide that Mike has a CCW permit. He carries a lot of cash around after some jobs, and some of the gear he uses is worth money, so he carries a loaded revolver with him sometimes. Plus, it's another way to get myself into trouble, and every character should have a few of those.

Mike is a good support character, I think - he's enough of a do-gooder to get involved, and he's got enough interesting stuff in his background that he could carry a story.