Character Creation: Rebel Scum

I'm just here for the action figures.

The Game: Rebel Scum
The Publisher: 9th Level Games
Degree of Familiarity: None
Books Required: Just the one 

Rebel Scum is, as is probably obvious by looking at the cover, a Star Wars homage (I can't really call it a rip-off because it's clearly made with love for the IP and it knows exactly what it is). It's interesting because the artwork in the book is designed in the style of the old Kenner Star Wars action figures, of which I had many growing up. It uses the Polymorph System, much like a lot of 9th Level stuff. I haven't run it yet, I keep putting The Very Good Dogs of Chernobyl on my one-shot menu but it hasn't been chosen yet.

Anyway, the only other notable thing about Rebel Scum is that it spends a lot of time talking about how fascists suck (yes they do) and about how the game offers an opportunity to fight against such fascists in a fictional context. More to the point, it makes a point of calling the Empire analogue "the Republik" because:

This cause a bit of a stir some months back because DriveThruRPG told 9th Level Games that this violated the TOS, 9th Level pulled the game and then started advertising it as a game that was "Banned by DriveThruRPG" (which it wasn't, really, though I recognize that's a technicality), and Rascal News reported on it. 9th Level stuff is still available on DTRPG (though this game doesn't seem to be), the fascists haven't gotten less fashy, so here we are. 

Anyway, let's make a scum! As is often the case with these games, the first thing we do is pick a class and print the appropriate sheet, and my god these are brutal on the ol' printer. Anyway, what kind of rebel would I like to make? I think I lean toward the "charming rogue" Han Solo sort of archetype, at least today, so sure, let's be a Rogue. 

Next thing I'm meant to do is pick a name, and the book encourages me to give in my pulpiest desires. I think I don't want to make someone quite as scoundrel-like as Han, so let's go a little lighter. My guy's name is Boots Cambria. Probably Boots has a real first name, but if so he sure ain't gonna tell you. I picture Boots as wearing blues and oranges, and probably some cool-looking boots just to make the name make sense.

Anyway, next up we pick a Role. There's a bit of overlap between class and role, in my opinion. Anyway, I think Boots makes the most sense as the Vanguard. I want him action-focused. That means my die would be a d6. I get to pick two Edges from my sheet (which are functions of class, not role). I shall pick Racer and Thief, how about. 

And...I think that's it? No Bonds to start with....yeah, I think that's it, other than a little blurb. We'll say that Boots doesn't have his own ship, he's a petty thief and racer (and race-fixer) whose operation was raided and destroyed by the Republik. He feels like they owe him. 

Character Creation: Sentai & Sensibility

Closing in on the end of the year! Probably make some big philosophical post on the 31st in which I reveal a Dark Truth. Or maybe it'll just be a post about dumb TV shows, who knows.

FOR THE NINTH GAME OF XMAS, TWENTY-TWENTY-FIVE,
NINE LADIES IN ROBOTS,
EIGHT MONSTERS WRANGLIN'
SEVEN SCOFFLAWS SCOFFIN'
SIX GEESE A-HONKIN'
GIRL BY MOONLIGHT,
FOUR ELDER GODS,
THREE HENS WITH TITS,
TWO CORVID COURTS
AND CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIRN! (you have to imagine the word stretched out and hitting all the notes in the usual "partridge in a pear tree" line)

The Game: Sentai & Sensibility
The Publisher: 9th Level Games
Degree of Familiarity: None
Books Required: Just the one 

So, this game combines Austen-esque Regency sorts of vibes with Japanese sentai kinds of things. Giant robots what combine into one big robot, that sort of thing. It's cute, perhaps not my thing, but I think it'd be fun with the right table. It's a Polymorph System thing, so every character type has its own die and success depends on what kind of thing you're doing (see also: Scurvy Buggers, The Very Good Dogs of Chernobyl, and Mazes). 

With that in mind: Filling out our "dance card" starts with a Society (though several other things are mentioned first). Everyone in the group is meant to have the same Society, but since it's just me, what would I push for if I were playing? Ooh, actually, we can do this randomly...Racers! Sounds good to me.

Next up we pick Station, which is effectively character class or role or whatever. I think I'll lean into my predilection to play support and be the Dragoon. 

Next, Temperament. These hinges on Humour (as in, the four), and we can do this randomly, which is I think what I'd like to do. So: We roll a d4 to pick a Humour (2, Choleric). That sets my Element as Fire and my Season as Summer. I roll a d6 to set a tens place and a d10 to set a 1s to pick a personality trait, and that gives me...27, which is Modest. Sounds fine to me. Nowhere to put that one the sheet (rather, there is, but there's not a text box for it). Well, let's roll a d12 for a favorite color, anyway. Umber. Sure, sounds great.

Machina! This is a giant machine that I summon to help fight against the Abominations of the Syndicate. Again, I can randomize it, and I'm happy to do that. Rolling a few dice lands me on condor. Fuck yes. Big ol' umber-colored condor. SQRAWK.

Weapon! Again, I'll go rando. "Bo-hiya," what the fuck is that? OH SHIT ROCKET LAUNCHER. Hells yeah.

Need a Henshin device, which is an object I use to transform into my Ranger persona. Will I randomize again? YOU KNOW I WILL! Ring, that's nice and easy.

Next few steps are just basics; name and pronouns. Let's name my guy...Sandford Wilcox (he/him).

Right, now Rival and Confidant. These can change week by week, and can be other PCs or other folks in the greater community. Let's say that Sandford's Rival is Eve Marshall. Eve is a soldier and peacekeeper, and she and Sandford are technically on the same side, but they really don't see eye to eye on particulars. His Confidant is Cleveland Cordova (am I using a random name generator? why yes I am). Cleve is the fellow who designed and maintains Sandford's weapon and they just click. And perhaps the looks that Cleve gives Sandford are...meaningful?

That's about everything. Sandford is big, but not, like, buff. He's tall and has really long arms and good reach, and he's sturdy on his feet. When he changes into his Machnia, he reaches out his arms and lets them grow into wings, resembling the condor emblem on his ring. I think his bo-hiya melds with him and winds up on his back, so he can fire while flying. 

And that's about it!

Character Creation: Mazes

Grizzly maze? Corn? Amazing Stories? 

The Game: Mazes
The Publisher: 9th Level Games   
Degree of Familiarity: None. One of these days I'll run something in this system
Books Required: Just the one 

And a bookmarked PDF, oh my days. 

Mazes is a dungeon crawl RPG, taking its cues from early D&D, Tunnels & Trolls, and lots of OSR games. The intended tone is very "kick in the door, kill the monsters, loot the place"; there's a setting, but it's really broad and vague. 

I like the game; I've always liked the simplicity of that setup (makes me think of the old Dungeons & Dragons coloring book I had - actually I still have it somewhere). It also serves as a reminder that while we've spent a lot of years in RPG design focusing on storycraft and ludonarrative things and character motivations and narrative currency, there's something iconic and just cool about the mazes n' monsters style of game.

Now, the system? I have the same concerns I always have about Polymorph, I worry that the game system would get samey really quickly. Also, this particular game has a lot of moving parts - in addition to Role, which determine which die you roll (and is common to the system), we have Edges and Conditions and Aspects and so on, plus like four or five currency traits (Treasure, Wealth, Hearts, Stars, etc.). I think it would be playable and there are some cheat sheets that would be helpful, but it'd definitely be a game I'd need to pick through and suss out from a mechanical standpoint so I could explain it.

Also, the character sheets are really damn ink-heavy and I don't see any printer friendly ones. Actually, finding sheets on the 9th Level site at all is a chore. (But they have an itch page that has them.) 

Right, so!

So, why do I want to enter the Maze? The Roles aren't about methodology so much as, well, role within the party. That is, it's possible to be a warrior who uses magic or a Paragon (knowledge-seeker) who uses weapons (though mechanically that's unwise, because Paragons are squishy). I think I'll go classic here and be a Paragon; my character enters the maze seeking lost lore and secrets. ('Scuse me while I print a sheet.)

Oh, holy shit, those sheets are pngs, are you kidding me. Oh, wait, the product page in the 9th Level site does have sheets, including a fillable one. What the fuck. OK, moving on. Being a Paragon means I start with 4 Hearts and 4 Stars. I am squishy, but versatile! 

The book tells me to write some Drives down, but there's no place on the sheet for them so it must not be that important. 

How do I solve problems? Using my fooking magic, that's how! Ahem. Sorcery.

What is my place in this world? This is my Class, which is basically a combination of Role and Aspect, but gives me some Edge, too. Let's see. I think for what I'm picturing, Guild Mage makes the most sense.

I get Magic, obvs, but I do need to choose a Domain. I think my mage will be a Sea-Mancer. I think it fits with the "discovering secrets" vibe to be interested in things that are buried (or sunk) deep.

Who am I in this world? Clumsy way of asking whether I have a Familiar or a Magic Item. Do I want a familiar? I think maybe I do, that sounds fun. I need to choose a Domain for it. I'll say my familiar is a little mechanical dude named Clink. Clink's Domain is Forge (Sea abjures Forge, so it makes sense I could just wash the little booger away if I wanted to). 

What is my best attribute? Which is a fancy way of saying "choose from the three choices in the Class box." I think my guy is Learned. 

What do I look like? I think my wizard wears blue robes, a tricorn hat, and instead of a wand or staff has a wooden gauntlet-y sort of thing, carved from driftwood, that he wears on his left hand to cast spells. Clink rides in his rucksack (Clink is heavy, but he walks slowly, so he usually winds up in the sack out of convenience). 

What is my name? I don't care much for the sample names given under Guild Mage. I think my guy is named Sursera (it's a chosen name; it means "sea-dweller" in one of the older tongues, but Sursera's never been on anything bigger than a lake. Yes, he's good at Sea magic. That doesn't mean he's ever been to sea. Broaden your mind). 

That'll do it!

Character Creation: KAMB Orange

Say it with me now. ALL HAIL KING TORG!

The Game: Kobolds Ate My Baby! Orange Book
The Publisher: 9th Level Games
Degree of Familiarity: I've played a bit of KAMB, but never this edition
Books Required: Just the one

I picked this game today because it's in a Humble Bundle that only costs $45 (or less, if you don't want all the games involved) and benefits the Children's Miracle Network. I actually did waffle about buying it, not because there aren't good products in it (Wildsea, Slugblaster, and Night's Black Agents just to name three, but also some more traditional fare like Call of Cthulhu 7th Ed, indier stuff like Be Like a Cat, etc. etc.) but because a) it adds a shitload of new games to my list and I was actually making some progress this year and b) it adds a game that I suspect I am going to find upsetting to read (that'd be They Came From Beneath the Sea!, my last published, though uncredited, work, but we'll get to that someday when I feel up to it). 

But at the end of the day, it's just too good a deal to pass up, and I wanted to do a character from a game from the bundle in order to...promote it? Probably not, since I think anyone reading this is likely to already know, but whatever, maybe you tripped on the Internet and landed here, in which case, hi.

ANYWAY. Kobolds Ate My Baby! is a beer-n-pretzels RPG in which you play the titular little buggers. It's been around for a lot of years (I made a character for a previous edition, and it was the 7th character I ever made for this project, and that was back in 2008). If you've ever been at a con and heard a bunch of idiots yelling "ALL HAIL KING TORG!" (ALL HAIL KING TORG!) then you've got a general sense of the vibe. 

Generally, you're all kobolds, you typically get sent out on some stupid mission for your voracious king (ALL HAIL KING TORG!), and you're going to wind up making multiple characters because kobolds make Death Checks frequently.  

I think KAMB might be a younger man's game, as thinking about playing it now just makes me tired, but who knows, with the right libations and environment, it could be fun. I definitely do like this new edition. When I saw it was using the Polymorph System (same system as The Very Good Dogs of Chernobyl and Scurvy Buggers) I was a little concerned because that system usually splits characters up into classes and gives each one a different sort of die to roll, but they hung a lantern on that and the game still just uses d6s. 

So let's make a kobold! I will name my kobold Brap. 

I choose a Role for Brap, which means exactly nothing. Let's pick the Die Six.

I speak 1d6 Human Words. Ooh, rolled a 6! I'm one eloquent little bugger! Let's see...Brap can say soup, bucks, saddle, carnitas, yelp, and liqueur. 

I has a flavor! Rolling a die...Brap is bitter. He gets Advantage on Eat rolls.

Jorb! I could roll a d6 and pick one of the basic ones, but I think I'll roll a d66 and get something more interesting. 1, 6 means either Braumeister or Tourist. Think I'll go with the former. That means I get a beer helmet, meaning I can have two drinks but keep my paws free. Speaking of my paws, in my Wrong Paw I have a bag of bottle caps. And then in my Left Paw, I have (roll d666) a weapon, and it's Dangerous! Specifically (roll d66) it's an Iron Poker!

And that's it. My little Braumeister is probably going to talk someone's ear off about craft beers and wind up as soup for his trouble, which is just as well. 

Character Creation: Scurvy Buggers

Yarr, buggers!

The Game: Scurvy Buggers
The Publisher: 9th Level Games
Degree of Familiarity: None
Books Required: Just the one, laddie

Scurvy Buggers is a game in which you play pirates (or "pyrates", going by the text). It uses the polymorph system (same as Very Good Dogs of Chernobyl), and focuses on pirates-as-found-family, kinda. It very much takes inspiration from Our Flag Means Death, although there's no bibliography so that's never mentioned (but like, c'mon). 

Would I run it? I dunno. I like how it leans into queer content and I like how the focus is less on the buckles and swashing thereof and more on interactions between pirates ("pyrates") and telling stories. But the system is weird; like Very Good Dogs, what number you roll on your die determines what you succeed at, but it's not about value of the die, but literally what digit you roll. To succeed with Savvy, you need to roll a 2 or a 3, so the Genteel (the Role that uses a d4 only) has the best chance of succeeding there. 

I think it's a pretty big conceptual shift for a lot of players and I think it'd be hard to get your head around at the table, but not impossible. The game also isn't as laser-focused as Very Good Dogs, though considering that it's taking its cues from some pretty specific tropes (myths, one might say) about pirates, it's not exactly setting-agnostic, either.

So let's bugger a pirate! Er, make a scurvy pirate bugger! Pyrate! Whatever!

Razzum frazzum not bookmarked PDF grumble...

Anyway, first thing we do is a pick a Role. I believe I shall go with Dauntless. My pyrate's name is Boots Lochlyn; he's called "Boots" because he was a cobbler back in Merry Olde England and through a series of wacky circumstances wound up out here on [this ship]. Boots, therefore, has a skill that might actually be useful, if there were tools and leather enough. Which there's not. 

But Boots is also first one up the rigging when we're spotted a ship to seize, first across to their deck with a knife t'ween his teeth, and first asleep at night with a big smile on his face. 

So what's Boots' Flag? (That'd be his motivation for piracy.) Clearly it's Adventure. Boots probably could have returned to England or at least gone to a colony - they need boots there, too, but then he'd miss out on the clang of steel, the spray of the sea, and the rousing shanties! 

(There's no fucking step by step for chargen, have I mentioned how fucking annoying that is?)

So anyway, Bonds would require a crew, so I'm gonna skip that. I think, though, that Boots likely keeps himself apart from his crewmates, at least emotionally. If he gets close to them, it's hard to be excited about life-and-death struggles that involve them, right? (Likewise, if he starts to see the enemy, whoever that is, as human, that's gonna fuck with him, too.)

Right, what else. Edges! Edges are like skills or advantages, and here's a fun fact, they're not mentioned in the context of chargen. Ever. But all the pre-gens have two, so I'll take two. I'll take Scrappy and Sea-Legs, those sound pretty in-keeping. 

And that's it, y'all! Boots is 23. He's got thinning brown hair and a light beard growth (he never lets it get more than that because it itches). He's got a pair of boots that he keeps up meticulously, but he doesn't normally wearing them at sea unless there's gonna be violence. 

Character Creation: The Very Good Dogs of Chernobyl

Voof voof, comrade.

The Game: The Very Good Dogs of Chernobyl
The Publisher: 9th Level Games
Degree of Familiarity: None
Books Required: Just the one

I love games like this. It's such a specific concept, it probably doesn't have a great deal of replay value, but man, "you play the dogs of Chernobyl fighting Lovecraftian horrors," what a hell of a pitch. And let's be real, it's $15 for the book. You'd spend that on a movie ticket alone. 

So anyway, that's really the pitch for the game. Characters are a pack of doggos (very good doggos), who live in and around the town of Pripyat. There are monsters in the woods that leaked out through a tear in reality, and the humans don't really have much of a clue. Humans mostly try to shoot you, and some doggos actually remember the time before all this when humans took care of doggos, but some were born in the aftermath. It's got the potential to be a truly tragic game, though you could make it a straight horror game without much trouble. 

First thing we'd do, normally, is choose a pack. Pack basically describes the dynamic of the PC group, and it does matter mechanically because you can roll your pack die if more than one dog is helping out, but since it's just me I shall skip it. 

Next we pick role: Hunter, Courser, Elder, or Guard. I dunno. I don't really have a concept, so I suppose I shall go to my music library and randomly pick a song. Just a moment.

Oof. OK, then. This is a song about living in the moment and recognizing that nothing will ever be the same as it is now. Let's just lean into the damn tragedy, here. My doggo is an Elder (which, annoyingly, doesn't at all indicate how old he is; there's a different choice for that, and I feel like the writers knew it was a bad choice of words because it's called "Expert" in one place in the book). 

My character's name is Mitya. Mitya was already old when the doom came to Pripyat, and had pretty much resigned himself to snoozing most of the rest of his life. And then he wound up living through horrors he never expected as his humans were forced to flee and the young human he'd watched grow from a baby sobbed as they forced him into a truck. Mitya has thought many times about lying down to die, but he just doesn't have it in him to give up until his pack is out of danger...so, pretty much never. 

I picture Mitya as a bloodhound, which I don't think are common in Ukraine, but whatever. Some kind of hound. Anyway, the next choice is Generation, and Mitya is Wyse (meaning he was born before the disaster and lived with humans). He gets the Remembers edge from that.

Next up, Breed. I want Mitya to be big, so I think I'll pick Borzoi. That means I get to pick an Edge from Agile, Fast, Gentle, Quiet, or Smart. Hmm. Not Agile or Fast, not at his age. I like Gentle, actually.

Calling! This is the place Mitya has in the pack. Is that not the same thing as Role? WHO KNOWS. (There are some kind of ill-defined things in this game.) I think Mitya is either a Guide or a Shadow, and I think Shadow is interesting for a dog so big. I'll take Hiding as his Edge.

And that's really it. Mitya is a great big Borzoi, mostly white with black patches. He's really good at lying still and letting everyone forget he's there, and he's really good at staying quiet for longer than you'd think. Mitya remembers the days before all the fire and smoke, and he's given up trying to teach the pups about it. He encourages them now to find the joy they can in the days they have, because sure as summer follows spring they'll end, something will change, and all they'll have is what they can remember. 

And on that cheery note, we're done!