A character? A CHARACTER, THEN!
The Game: Slayers
The Publisher: Gila RPGs
Degree of Familiarity: None, but it's not particularly complex
Books Required: Just the one
I picked this game up and read it because it's nominated for a bunch of Ennie awards, including Best Game and Product of the Year. And I like it! There's a bit of a mismatch between artwork and tone, I think, but that happens (lord knows I know). It's a game about being hired to hunt monsters in an ever-expanding fantasy city, which is cool (shades of Blades in the Dark, which is listed as an inspiration). From a design perspective, one of the things I like is that each of the four character types engages with the combat rules in a slightly different way. Very much planning on running this at some point and seeing how it all works.
BUT ANYWAY gonna make me a character. Let's see, Blade, Gunslinger, Arcanist, or Tactician. If I were actually going to play this game I think I'd lean either toward Gunslinger (because they're cool) or Tactician (because of the way I approach combat in RPGs), although I'd look longingly at Arcanist, too. Mark of a good, Chupp-test-passing game, if you've got 4 character types and I'm split between three of them.
I think I'll go with Gunslinger (prints out sheet). Ooh, lookit this, not only do the rules shift to better represent what you can do with this character type, but it's actually reflected on the sheet so you can visually engage in play. A round of applause here.
So first I choose my class, cool, did that. Next I set one Skill as d10, two at d8, and the rest at d6. Okies, then. There's no "combat" skill because all the characters have their own combat systems, which I really like for two reasons. First, asymmetry in design is cool, and second, it means I don't have to sacrifice combat efficacy if I want my dude to be good at something else, too.
For my d10 skill, then, I'll take...actually, let's do this backwards, and note the skills I don't want to be exceptional at (that is, the ones that are d6s).
Well, Brawn can be a d6, I don't need my Gunslinger to be a beefcake. Mend and Study, likewise, I don't see him as bookish. I keep picturing some version of Erron Black from Mortal Kombat, if I'm being honest, so sure, let's lean into that "dark outlaw" trope a little and say he won his revolver in a game of cards against a man who wore a hood low across his face. He never saw the guy directly, and all he knows is that a couple of Inquisitors showed up and asked him some very searching questions (as they do) the next night.
Cool, so with that in mind, I think Deceive can be a d6, and as contrary to my usual playstyle as it is, I'll make Stealth a d6, too (guns are loud). That leaves Agile, Hunt, Negotiate, and Streets, one of which has to be a d6. I think I'll make it Hunt, and say that he's pretty new to being a Slayer.
I'll stick my d8s in Negotiate and Agile, and that leaves my d10 in Streets. So that's cool, my gunman is connected as hell. I'll say that he was known as a gambler before winning that revolver, and he was going to trade it away, but somehow not carrying it just feels...wrong.
Neat! Next up, I get two basic advances. Sadly I can't start with a Rune (which requires three), so I'll take Draw (my Speed is d8 rather than d6, so I have a better chance at going first) and Desperate (last bullet in the gun deals extra damage).
My HP is 8, my Speed, as discussed, is d8, Trigger Limit is 4, and Damage (for most bullets) is 1. All I need now is a name and a description.
Loshe Canna started dressing in black once he became a Slayer. It's not necessary, but it fits the style, and one thing Loshe knows from his time frequenting the gambling halls and pubs of The City is that people hire Slayers who have done successful hunts previously, or the Slayers that look and sound cool, and since he's not one, he'd better be the other. Loshe isn't much of a Slayer as far as the blood-n-guts end of things (he's not bad, but he's not exceptional yet), but what he is good at is bargaining for a good price and making sure that any collateral damage gets forgiven, and that's an advantage a lot of crews don't realize they need.
Loshe is lanky - maybe even gangly - but he hides it under a cloak and a hood. His hood shows his face, though, because he's not trying to be that mysterious. He's got blue eyes and dark hair that's just a bit patchy due to an illness he had as a kid, which is another good reason for the hood. He keeps his revolver in a custom holster under the cloak, but moves the holster around (hip, back, ankle, wrist, whatever), which has led to the rumor that he has multiple guns.
And that's it! Cool game, this, have to give it a whirl at some point.
