On we go, reading games and makin' characters!
The Game: Summerland 2nd Ed
The Publisher: Fire Ruby Studios
Degree of Familiarity: None. I made a character for the first edition, that's as far as it's gone
Books Required: Just the one.
About the only thing that's changed in the second edition is the system, which is a pretty big change, all in all. The setting is the same - one night, a forest sprang up all over the world, destroying cities and ending civilization. Most people are susceptible to "the Call," a nigh-irresistible urge to walk into the woods. The PCs in the game are "Drifters," people who are too broken to be allowed to stay in communities permanently, but, because of their trauma, are resistant to the Call.
This is definitely the sort of game that requires the right group, and I do wonder if it has the right system now, but that's the kind of the thing you play to figure out. The imagery of the game - the Sea of Leaves, the Call, and so forth - is evocative as hell, and I love the artwork. I think I'm gonna pitch it to my group to see if they want to try it.
As such, let's make a character. First thing we'd do normally is decide on themes and tone, but it's just me, so screw that. I need to start by picturing my character in my head (basically I start with concept, adoy).
Hmm. The book points out that Drifters can be anybody - they aren't action heroes or soldiers necessarily, they're just people who, for whatever reason, are resistant to the Call. It seems to me that something beyond just trauma would be necessary, because like, if trees magically destroyed the world, wouldn't just about everybody have some trauma?
But on the other hand, the game posits that the point of all this is to re-integrate with a community, so maybe the PCs are just Drifters who haven't done that yet. Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself. I need a character.
Let's say my character is young. Summerland doesn't say how long it's been since the Event (I had "eight years" in my head, but I think that was some other RPG; I've read so damn many lately), but let's assume it's been a few years, and my character was a mid-teen when it happened. So now he's 20, he's a Drifter, wandering between communities and never really assimilating. He's thin - his metabolism is still amped and he never gets enough to eat. His hair is long, dirty, and brown. He's got peach fuzz all over his face, but it never quite manages to be a "beard." The helix of his left ear is half gone (wolf bite).
Personality-wise, I think he's edgy and slightly paranoid. He's used to people not wanting him around, so that's the assumption he starts from. He's actually really lonely and desperate for company, but getting that would require opening up. His name is Dan Foster. He was in high school when the Event happened, and lost his parents and brothers to the Call within the next few months.
And now, Attributes (this game works on the same system as In Flames, by the same author). I get 10D to divide among the four Attributes (Might, Agility, Wit, and Charm). Everything needs at least 1D, but I can also break a D down into 3 "pips," meaning an Attribute might have a rating of 3D+1, f'rex.
Well, I'm thinking Wit and Agility are Dan's better Attributes; he's too skinny and hungry to have much Might and he's too jumpy to have much Charm. Let's say his Charm is 1D+2, his Wit is 3D+1, his Agility is 3D and his Might is 2D.
Now each Attribute gets a tag. They can be positive or negative, but they all have basically the same game effect; they boost my rolls when they apply. I'll put "malnourished" under Might and "jumpy" under Charm. I'll put "quick reflexes" under Agility and "gamer" under Wit (Dan was an avid video gamer and is good at assimilating a lot of information from his surroundings quickly).
And now, Skills. I have all of the skills in the game at a level equal to the controlling Attribute, and then I get 7D more to throw around. I think there's also a penalty for using a skill untrained, so like, I can use Agility skills I don't put D into, but I'm just getting by on raw ability, not training.
OK, I'll put a D into Brawling, 1D+2 into Stealth, the other +1 into Rifle, +1 into History and Bureaucracy, 1D+1 into Tech, 1D into Survival, and 1D into Streetwise. I could have put something into specializations, but eh.
Ugh. There are some static defense traits, but they're not on the damn sheet. No bueno.
Anyway, Perks and Complications. Perks you need to spend Skill points on, and I didn't save any, so never mind that. Complications give you character points which I guess matter in play. I don't like the examples much, though - "low social class" doesn't make a lot of sense in a post-apocalypse, does it? And "crazy," well, that's just a bit problematic. So nothing there.
Now I need to think about Trauma for Dan. I don't need to define it entirely, because it comes out in play, but I do want to tie it back to my family. I'll say that Dan "hasn't been back to his house since the Event."
My Trauma starts at 5 (8-Wit), and my Stress starts at 8 ([Wit+Charm]x2, ignoring pips). If my stress hits zero, I crack, but if my Trauma hits 0, I can join a community and find a home.
Finally, gear. I get three points to spend on Gear. I'll say I have a package of no-doze pills, a rifle with a pocketful of shells, and a pair of binoculars. The pills and the binoculars he got from his house after the Event. The rifle he took from his neighbor.
And I think that's it!
