Character Creation: Tomorrow City

There's a Nields song called "Tomorrowland," but that's not the same thing. 

The Game: Tomorrow City
The Publisher: Osprey Games
Degree of Familiarity: None
Books Required: Just the one

Don't seem to have a PDF of this, that's annoying. I think I got it as a gift, actually. 

Anyway, Tomorrow City is a dieselpunk RPG taking place in an alternate 1984 in which the Great War just recently ended (meaning that the Second World War didn't really happen as such). The USA has fragmented and the game is taking place in the titular city, built way above the ground in California (but not floating above the ground - I know a game setting about a steampunk city in the sky, but you can't really find it for sale anymore for some weird reason). 

This game looks pretty cool, actually. The type is a little smaller than I'd like, but that's been my only real complaint so far. The system involves rolling a bunch of d6s, some Action Dice and some Danger Dice. Danger cancels Action of the same value, and then your highest-remaining Action die is your result (there are some supplemental mechanics; 6s left over on Danger Dice build Pressure, when Pressure hits 6 bad things happen, and so on). It reminds me a little of Wildsea but the narrative load doesn't seem to be as weirdly distributed. 

So let's make a Rev! A rev is a "dangerous, passionate, skilled mercenary", according to the chargen section, so that's an easy enough hook to get my brain around. I'd screenshot the character steps, but I don't have a damn PDF, so I guess we're freehanding it.

Step One: Visualize your character. Basic concepty kind of stuff. This would also normally include the group's reason for rev-ing, but it's just me. I don't have a much of a concept, though, so I think I'll randomize myself a theme song. AWAKEN, iTUNES!

Ah, Michael Bublé's cover of "Save the Last Dance for Me." That actually works pretty well, vibe-wise, for this game (the aesthetic is supposed to be kind of inter-war America, Big Band, that sort of thing). How does it inform a character? I think it'd be fun if our revs were spies, thieves, and my character and another PC were married. Kind of a True Lies/Mr. & Mrs. Smith/Black Bag kind of vibe (except not as Cameron as True Lies, not as boring as Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and more fun than Black Bag). 

So let's name my character Sylvain Lois. I want him to be smooth and debonair, but for his wife to be the action-oriented one. Basically she'd be the one out there dancing, kicking ass, while he's more the one bypassing computer systems (which may not exist in this setting, but you see what I mean). That's not a bad start.

Step Two: Choose or create three Trademarks. Everything in this game has Tags, Trademarks are just a type of that. They relate to background, occupation, and description, and I can mix n' match as necessary. I can make up my own if I need to, but let's see what's in the book.

Oh, the agony of choice! There's a bunch I'd like. I think I have to take Charming, because I think this guy is at least in part a face. I'd really like to take a Background, just to have some idea where this guy came from, but do I wish to take, say, Gadgeteer as an Occupation? Or get into some of the quasi-magic stuff with Pattern Weaver? Ooh, I think maybe I do. Symbolist is just too damn cool (Metaphysical Geometrist is more what I'd normally do, but I think Symbolist is better for this concept). And then I think I'll take Skyriser as a Background; my guy is from money (I think I'd encourage my hypothetical wife's hypothetical player to be Riffraff or something, but we're just spitballing here).  

OK, now what? Step Three is Choose three Edges. Edges are basically specializations within Trademarks; any Skyriser is probably good at dealing with high society, but I might be knowledgeable at Family Gossip particularly or something. I get three of these, and I can put them under whatever Trademarks I wish. I do have to make them up, though.

Well, I see Sylvain as being the life of the party. Actually that's a good Edge to put under Skyriser (if it were under Charming, it'd be more broadly applicable, but I see Sylvain as being really out of place amongst working class folks). 

One of the suggested Traits (which are meant to be used as inspiration for Edges) listed under Symbolist is "Lock & Unlock Things", and I think that's pretty appropriate for Sylvain. He's good at putting a rune on something and opening (or sealing) it up.

Finally, I want one under Charming. Let's make Sylvain Seductive. Yes, his wife is out there dancing, but he's perfectly capable of luring a lonely wife (or husband) into a corner for a quick heart-to-heart.

Step Four: Choose three Advantages. These are little stunt-like things that come under the Trademarks, and here I do have to choose one of each. So from Skyriser, I'll pick High Society (I can automatically identify the person with the highest social status and get an extra Action Die for my first interaction with them). From Charming, I'll take Winning Smile (I roll with Mastery when I persuade with charm and magnetism). And then for Symbolist, I gotta take Glyph (I can put a glyph on something and give it a Tag, like, say, "Unlocked"). 

Step Five: Flaws. I get two. Problems, passions, or things I gotta deal with. I definitely want one to indicate Sylvain's love and devotion to his wife (not that it's a flaw, of course, but it's something that could cause complications in play), so I'll call that "Don't Forget Who's Taking You Home." (You know, as written that implies a certain amount of possessiveness on his part, which isn't really what I was going for, but I'm gonna leave it because I already wrote it on my sheet.) For my second Flaw, I like "Soft-Looking" from the Skyriser Trademark. Sylvain isn't weak or incapable, but he looks like a toff. 

Step Six: Write one Drive. What is it that's pushing Sylvain? Not to go back to this well too much, but I think "Me and my wife against the world" is pretty good. That's a little non-specific as far as Drives go; a lot of the examples are framed as "I will [whatever]," but I like that Sylvain and his missus aren't necessarily trying to get rich and retire or get revenge or whatever - they want to live on their own terms, together. (At least that's what Sylvain thinks.)

Step Seven: Describe two Ties. These are relationships between PCs, so I'm going to skip it, but obviously if I were playing this the way I'm envisioning it, one of them would be to my wife.

Step Eight: Set Moxie, Cred, and Grit to 3. Um, OK, done.

Step Nine: Gear up. Nah. I mean, Sylvain probably has some kind of chalk or grease pencil to draw glyphs, some well-made but functional clothes, probably a weapon of some kind.

Step Ten: Round Out the Character. Here's where I'd do a name, but I did that. Sylvain is in his 30s, very handsome, black hair, brown eyes, flashy smile, and manages to look hot but harmless, which is hard to pull off. His speech patterns betray his upbringing as a Skyriser. I picture him played by a young Josh Hartnett, maybe (with darker hair).