Migraines have laid low our original plan for the afternoon (Masks), so we're doin' this instead.
The Game: Bob, Lord of Evil
The Publisher: Peregrine Products
Degree of Familiarity: None
Books Required: Just the one
Bob, Lord of Evil is a kind of standalone supplement to Murphy's World, which I don't own. Murphy's World itself is a playable game, but can also work as a setting to whatever game you happen to be playing. Basically, it's a world on which belief and expectation shapes reality, with the result that "Murphy's Law" tends to be what governs things. Bob details the Dark Lands, a particular area within Murphy's World, ruled over by the titular Bob.
The game text is mostly fun to read, which is something in and of itself (humor in gaming is hard). The general tone is pretty much black humor, kind of fantasy Paranoia in a way - you can try to ingratiate yourself to Bob, but he might eat you anyway and there's really not a winning strategy. The book is almost all setting and it details the various factions and characters in the Dark Lands lovingly. I can't say they didn't put the work in, and the book is full of adventure ideas, random tables to get things moving, and quotes from Bob and other important characters.
I have to say, though, that the book feels really busy (hell, the cover alone is the busiest one I've seen outside of Strike!), and I don't feel real inclined to run the game. But maybe it's because it calls itself a "roleplay game" and the missing -ing kinda jars me.
Moving along, let's make a character.
Heh. Look at the chargen page (seriously, just a page), it's clear to me that they're really leaning in to this "system doesn't much matter, because it's all about the setting, use your favorite system" thing. But, this book was still made in the 90s, so we've got these niggly little things like you get one extra Skill point for every five years your character has lived, that kind of thing.
Well, anyway, first thing I need to do is make some personal characteristic choices. I think I want to lean in to the fact that living in the Dark Lands is a risky proposition, and make a character who firmly believes that Bob is going to eat him someday. After all, Bob ate the rest of his family. And his pets. And his bike. And his shoes. He's become fatalistic and he has a chip on his shoulder (sometimes literally, because why not). He calls himself "Lunch."
First thing: Race. I'll say Lunch is a Darkling, one of the unfortunate folks who develop mutations from living here too long. I can roll on tables for mutations, and I might as well. I get one Undesirable Physical Transformation, one Undesirable Behavioral Transformation, and one Desirable Transformation. Let's throw some dice.
For my Undesirable Physical Transformation, I get Body Coloring. Rolling on that table, I get Sandy Tan. Not a terribly appetizing color, but who knows, maybe he'll turn a nice juicy red if you baste him. For my Behavioral etc, I get...excitement or fear prompts altering all objectives to destructive ends. I can roll with that. When Lunch gets scared, he starts flipping tables and saying "OK, then! Eat me!" like Tommy Lee Jones at the end of Men in Black. And then for my Desirable thingie, I get 100% magic resistance. Sorcery just rolls right off me like a nice Hollandaise sauce.
All right, that's a start. We'll say that Lunch is short and plump, his skin is a sandy tan color, his hair is black but cropped short (so it'll be easier to pluck before cooking), and he only wears organic, natural fibers.
Right, I need to pick some Traits, but they seem to be just descriptors. So we'll say Lunch is Pushy, Fatalistic, Brave, and Delicious.
I kinda covered personal history already, and I'm not going into too much detail for this game. Personal Goal: Well, now. To be eaten by Bob, obviously...and to make the bastard choke. (I'm reminded of Spoon's brave dying words in Dog Soldiers.)
Right, now Stats. I roll a d10 for each Stat, then subtract the total from 100, and then add a d6 for every negative Trait but subtract a d10 for each positive one. Well, that's...involved. Hang on. My d10 total is 56 (why bother assigning numbers to Stats if I'm just gonna wind up with a pool of points anyway)? I arguable have three positive Traits (immune to sorcery, Delicious, Brave) and four negative ones, so I add 4d6 but subtract 3d10. Subtract 8, add 10, net add of 2, meaning I have 58 points to split between 8 Stats.
Well, I figure Intelligence isn't necessarily Lunch's go-to, so I'll keep that low (2; 56 remaining). Willpower, though, that feels like it should be high, so I'll go to 10 on that (46). Charisma we'll put at 5 (41), Mystic at 1 (he's immune to magic, and I like the idea that it just kind of ignores him; 40), Strength can be 10, Dexterity can be 7 (23), Fitness can be 15, and the other 8 can go into Appearance.
Health Points are the average of Fitness and Willpower, which for me 25/2, or 12, I guess. I get a bonus if I'm over 200lbs, because everyone knows the fatter you are, the more damage you can soak up, but I'll leave it because I don't feel like figuring out Lunch's actual weight.
10 Skills, and I can pretty much make them up and assign a Stat to them. OK, then. Oh, wait, it's actually 10 plus 1 for every 5 years of life. Lunch is 25, so I get 15 Skills. Wow.
Well, some kind of combat is probably smart, so I'll take Scrapping. Oh, wait, they separate non-combat and combat skills. Fine, I'll take Scrappling as well. Making scrapple is important. I'll take Cooking, Baking, Brewing, Herbology, and Sommelier as Skills, too. Over under combat, I'll add Chopping and Flambé. Four more.
Some kind of stealth is probably smart, so Sneaking, sure. Inchoate Shouting, too. Geography (Dark Lands), so Lunch knows his way around. Hmm. Leadership, why not ("TONIGHT WE DINE IN HELL! AS THE MAIN COURSE!"). That'll do it!
And that's actually the lot. Lunch is ready to serve!
