Not in a particularly good headspace today, so obviously I should do a character and see if I can depress myself further.
The Game: HeartQuest
The Publisher: Seraphim Guard
Degree of Familiarity: None, which is about as much as I'd want
Books Required: Just the one
HeartQuest is an RPG aping the tropes of shojo manga, which is not something I have any particular interest in. The system is Fudge, the precursor to Fate, so at least I've got some familiarity there (but it's pre-Aspects, so bleah). I'm actually not even sure where I got this PDF, because apparently I haven't purchased it from DTRPG, which means I didn't get it in a bundle there. Maybe it was in a Humble Bundle or something? I dunno, it's been in my hard drive since 2012.
Anyway, the game identifies three possible...not genres, so much, as approaches. There's Teenage Romance, Magical Girls, and Fantastical Adventures. Of the three, it's the latter that appeals the most to me, but there aren't any sample settings for me to glom onto, and the one that's the easiest to understand without further context is Teenage Romance (it's also given the most attention in the book, so it kinda comes off as the "default" for the game, wrongly or rightly). So, sure, fuck it, let's make a character who's a high school student in a romance story, despite the fact that playing such a game sounds like about as much fun as licking a mousetrap.
We start with Attributes. They all start at Fair (except Appearance, which starts at Good), and I have three levels with which to boost them. I could, should I so choose, drop one to Poor to get an extra level. I suppose I should come up with some sort of concept.
Well, I'm listening to random songs on Youtube, and "When You Were Young" by the Killers came up. That puts me in mind of a character crushing on someone out of their league, for whatever reason. In particular, the line "he doesn't look a thing like Jesus" makes me think of a character who was raised religious, in an environment that wasn't terribly accepting of LGBTQetc stuff, and now he's experiencing something of an awakening, so to speak. Such relationships are mentioned in the book, though they're treated...well.
Anyway, I'll say that my character is crushing on someone, and if this were a character I were playing, I'd try to make it a PC. But as for this character, we'll glom onto the "still finding himself" angle. I'll set up my Attributes thusly:
Physique: Good
Mind: Good
Willpower: Fair
Cool: Fair
Appearance: Great
Right, now I get 30 Skill levels. Most of them are 1-for-1, but some are more expensive. Which Skills would I like?
Acting/Drama Good
Calligraphy Good
Running Good
Sport (Soccer) Good
Forgery Good
Perception Great
Shadowing Good
Stealth Good
Fashion Sense Superb
Gossip Good
Carousing Good
Emote Good
Joke Good
Theology Fair
Right, now I get two Gifts. I'll take Charisma, since this guy is shaping up to be a social creature. And then I'd like something called Hard to Read; maybe he gets a bonus to hiding how he really feels and what he thinks.
I could take Faults to give myself more points, but I don't think I need 'em, honestly. No Supernormal Powers, so that puts me over to Finishing Touches.
I'll say his name is Masami. He plays soccer (striker, second string goalie) and he makes some pocket change writing love notes for his friends (good penmanship and pretty much untraceable, so if you've got a secret admirer Masami is a good person to have write the note). Masami was raised in a pretty strict household, but his parents seem to have lightened up now that he's a little older. He's about one screw-up away from discovering how strict they still are, however.
Masami has a crush on another boy, probably someone in the grade ahead of him, and he's very confused about that. He hasn't told anyone and he's got no intention of doing so. Masami keeps everything pretty close to the vest, at least for now.
Good enough!
