Character Creation: Dead Air: Seasons

Pure coincidence that I picked this book up after our Misspent Youth game involves some of the same imagery.

The Game: Dead Air: Seasons
The Publisher: The World Anvil
Degree of Familiarity: None with the game system, but I've played The Last of Us
Books Required: Just the one 

 

So here we have a post-apocalypse game where the apocalypse in question involves mushroom zombies. Dead Air: Seasons apparently is part of a series of games set in this universe, but this is the only one I own, and I think it's likely to remain so. Reading the book, I found it kind of hard to follow, and I'm not sure why - it's not badly written or anything, but it wasn't holding my interest. Might just because I've seen all this before; I've read All Flesh Must Be Eaten, I've read The Girl With All the Gifts, and like I said, I've played The Last of Us. 

I have niggles about the system, too (though, once again, I'd need to play it to really know). For one thing, character (and Community) creation involve a lot of prose. You're meant to write out your concept in sentences, and I can say from experience that not every player thinks like that and it'd be pulling teeth for some folks. But also, you're rolling d6s and shooting for high numbers, OK sure, but if you roll any 1st, the action fails? That seems really harsh to me. Again, though, I admit that game wasn't keeping me hooked, so maybe it works better in play.

The production values are fantastic, though, I'll give it that. Let's make a character!

Normally we (the hypothetical group) would make a Community first, but since it's just me I'll use the Community example helpfully provided. That's a missile silo built into the side of a mountain in the Bavarian Alps, and the area's been christened Bannwald ("forbidden forest"). 

We start off with a concept. Let's see here. It's 10 years since the apocalypse, meaning if my character is 50 he had a whole life in the old world. Is that something I want to do? Sure. The Community is in Germany, but I don't have to be German per se. Let's say that my character is actually Spanish, and was teaching in a boarding school when the apocalypse hit. I don't think the book tells us what time of year it was when things really went to shit, but let's assume it was during the spring when much of the school was on spring holiday (there's gotta be one, the Germans love to take vacations). Let's call him Emilio Vázquez Almeida. 

(I note with some amusement that this is both at least the second Spanish character I've made and the second character that was working as a teacher when the world ended.)

With that in mind, I'm meant to write a bit about Emilio, so:

Emilio was a teacher of Spanish and European history at [a boarding school in Germany; were I actually playing him I'd do a bit more digging]. He originally came to Germany following a girl, but they broke up and Emilio already had a job he enjoyed. Emilio is well-traveled and an experienced hiker. In addition to his classes, Emilio was a track and field coach. He was 42 when the apocalypse hit. He holed up in the school with the few students and staff that were left and they made it a self-sustaining Community for a few years, but then the Blight got in and everything kinda went to shit. Emilio struck off on his own and eventually arrived in Bannwald. 

OK, next, what's next? Descriptors! These are divided up into four Background Steps, namely Yesterday's World, Along the Way, Today's World, and Tomorrow's World. They're meant to be written in first person, and have both a benefit and a downside. 

Yesterday's World: Obviously Emilio is well-educated and well-traveled. He was a teacher, but it seems like that's not the most interesting or relevant thing about him? I think we'll say it like this: I am well-educated and well-traveled, and the world seems so much smaller now.

Along the Way: This one's pretty easy: I lived in a Community in the school where I worked, but it was all destroyed by the Blight. 

Today's World: This is kind of meant to center on his relationship to the Blight and his role in the Community. Emilio is of course multi-lingual and knowledgeable about history, but I figure nowadays that's less useful. So: I help others to stay in shape and be ready to run, and I might push them a little too hard sometimes.

Tomorrow's World: Hopes, dreams, what gives us the strength to carry on. I remember the world as it was and I know its history, so I need to survive to teach the next generation.

Next up, Archetypes! These don't have a lot of immediate mechanical effect, I don't think, other than helping to determine what Gifts I can take. I get two of them. Obviously Athlete needs to be one...hmm. Explorer or Savant? I think we'll go Savant, just because Emilio's been more sedentary the past few years (that is, hasn't been traveling). There's apparently a way to add a third Archetype in play, and I think if I were playing Emilio I'd work towards adding Explorer and frame it as him relearning some things he already knew.

Gifts! I get four, one for each of the Background Steps. Each of them grants some Soma; the more specific and niche the Gift, the higher the Soma, I think? I'm not 100% what Soma does in play, I'll look it up in a sec here. Anyway, there are Generic Gifts, Gifts from each Archetype, and Goal Gifts. I don't have to have one of each, but the game does recommend spreading out the type of Gift (some cost Soma in play, some don't, that kind of thing). 

OK, then. Starting with Yesterday's World, I think we want something reflecting Emilio's knowledge and travels. Probably a Savant Gift, then. Nope, those all suck. Ah, but the Generic Gift Curious makes sense, it's all about knowing various things about historical context or general information. That's Soma 3. 

For Along the Way, again there's nothing in Savant I want, but Generic saves me again with Hiker, which lets me navigate out in nature. Also Soma 3. 

Today's World! This should definitely be an Athlete Gift. Cross Country Runner, there it is. Soma 2.

And, finally, Tomorrow's World. OK, seriously, is there any Savant Gift that makes sense? Nope. The only one that's not hyper-specific is a perfect memory one, and that doesn't fit. But, there's a Goal Gift called Ambition, which fits just fine. Soma 3. 

Total Soma: 11. Not sure what that means in context. 

Well, anyway, Attributes! We've got five: Body, Reaction, Mind, Presence, and Determination. Why are they not in alphabetical order? Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe in Italian they are (this game is originally written in Italian). I pick an array depending on how focused I wish to be. Actually, "Focused" is I think about Emilio's speed. That lets me put 4 in Body and Mind. I'll put his 3 into Determination, and that leaves Presence and Reaction at 2. 

Soma total is 11, PNR (the "Point of No Return," with regards to becoming a zombie) is 10. 

Equipment isn't buying shit with money or soup or whatever. I get one "Iconic Item" that Emilio always has on him. I think for Emilio it's his hiking boots. They cost him a lot of money, but he's maintained them over the years. 

Emilio is in his early 50s, dark skin, black hair that's now going grey. He is lean and keeps himself in shape, but he's slowly waking up to the fact that sooner or later, his body is going to give out.