This is 400 characters for the project. I tried to see if there was some theme for every hundredth character, but there really isn't: Mouse Guard, Epyllion (ashcan), and Argyle & Crew. There's a vaguely whimsical thing going on, but not really much commonality. So my theme, I suppose, is "whatever happens to catch my interest at the time," and here we are at Unbound.
The Game: Unbound
The Publisher: Rowan, Rook, and Decard, I guess?
Degree of Familiarity: None
Books Required: Just the one
Huh, another game that uses cards instead of dice. That's like three in a row.
Anyway, Unbound is a really interesting-looking game. I love the cover - it's stylish and clean and communicates that we're not shooting for a particular genre, and yet it's really exciting at the same time. The game reminds me a little of Strike! in that there's not a specific setting and there's a defined battle system that's apart from the not-battle system, but it's so much simpler and cleaner. Making a character is going to take a little more fudging because of the lack of other players than I usually like to do for this project, but I like the game too much to skip it.
See, one thing I like, not that I want to turn this into a review instead of a chargen exercise, but fuck it, is that the game is designed to play a few sessions with a given group and then switch things up, making a saga with different characters. I think that if the system works at the table, that could be a lot of fun. But, like I said, this is just chargen, so let's get into it.
Step One is to pick a base setting and tone. We'd decide this by drawing cards and picking touchstones, and then meshing them together into a setting. OK, sure, I'll do that. I need cards, though. Normally we'd probably all draw two touchstones, but since it's me I'll draw three and see where that takes me. OK, I get "androids," "aliens," and "a lost civilization." That sounds pretty cool.
So let's say this: The PCs are androids that were reanimated when aliens landed on our planet. The civilization that built us is long-since destroyed and nothing but ruins remain. Our prime directive is to rebuild, but we don't have any idea where to start. The aliens, for their part, are dedicated to cataloguing lost civilizations and then, if the civilization is truly dead, recycling the planet's resources - but is our planet truly dead, if the androids are trying to restart it? It's an ethical dilemma, and the aliens aren't quite sure how to proceed.
OK, next we pick a core. Again, this would be a group decision since we'd all share the same core, but it's just me so on we go. "Core" kinda defines the whole raison d'etre of the group, and I think for the setting I've come up with, Magi makes the most sense. We're not actually magic, but we're exploring and gathering information (you could make an argument for "Devout," too). I note the Recovery power we'd get (which doesn't mean a lot to me without knowing how the system works), and then there's a list of questions that normally the whole group would answer, but I AM THE GROUP.
- What (or who) are we searching for? A way to rebuild the civilization that left us here.
- Where do we reckon it's hidden? In one of the many overgrown, half-destroyed, or dilapidated ruined structures of that civilization.
- Who would rather we didn't get our hands on it? The aliens hovering in orbit above, because they want to use the planet's resources.
- What happens if we don't get control of it? The aliens will mine the planet for materials, and we'll be destroyed or left to rot in a wasteland.
- Where is the first stop on our journey? I think some sort of power station or information hub, so we can see where we might look for our goal.
I'll have core foundations for my character, but that's later. At present I need a core foundation for the whole game, but that's easy: "Reactivated Androids Trying to Rebuild the World."
Now I pick a role, which is specifically for battle. I'll take Warden; I specialize in tanking hits and surviving. I'm bigger than the other androids, because I have a lot of armored compartments to protect soil and seed samples. Questions:
- What do you use to take our your adversaries? Fists with hydraulic power behind them.
- How do you avoid damage? Regenerating polymer armor plating under my "skin."
- Where did you learn to fight like this? Adaptive/augmentative programming; we all have it.
Now I pick a trait! A trait is my personal style for how I Warden. I'll take Mighty, just to keep with my theme of being kinda like Groot. I answer one of two questions, and I'll answer the first one: Who taught you to fight like this? I mentioned the adaptive/augmentative programming earlier. I think my android was the first to reactivate, and he went about finding his companions...but that put him in conflict with the fauna of this new world. He had to become a badass in order to fight them off, and so his new programming assumes it's him against a large number of foes. That's not always true, but it might be awhile before his programming adjusts again.
For my Mighty power, I'll take Knockback. I can...um, knock things back well. That comes with its own question, What's the biggest opponent you've taken down? I'll say it was a great big bear-like thing with horns and an extra set of legs for balance.
Now I get foundations. Normally I'd make up one and the other players would make up the other, but y'know. So my first foundation is "Walking Seed Vault." My second one is "Strongest of the Reactivates." (My thinking here is that my character has some hidden programming that means that if destruction ever seems a foregone conclusion, he's to prevent his own destruction at all costs and hibernate or something.)
Next, two fates (same drill, normally, one from me, one from group). Fates are things that will happen in the near future, designed to be dramatic scenes. For my android, I'll say "I spot a huge predator approaching" and "I get a message from the aliens."
Step Seven is for the GM, so I'll skip it. Step Eight is to draw for a scar. Neat! I get 7 of spades, which means...jealousy, a new adversary, hatred, a trademark scar. We'll say that my android knocked that bear-thing off a cliff, but it survived and it remembers his scent (or perhaps the scent of the seeds therein).
Last step! Description, name, and so forth. My android is humanoid, bulky through the chest, thick legs, and a waist that can turn him 360 degrees around. He's not as human-seeming as some of the others, but he's got a lot of storage space inside him and none of it is free. He's got a boxy, metallic head and lights where eyes should be, and unlike some of the other androids, his mouth doesn't move when he talks; it's just a couple of pieces of polymer covering a speaker. His name is "Gardener."
That'll do it!
