Running Cairn in a little while, but this process is pretty quick, and I already have a concept.
The Game: Lost Roads The Publisher:Buried Key Degree of Familiarity: None yet, though mechanically it's similar to Blades in the Dark Books Required: Just the one
Lost Roads takes place in a ruined world as a community of people travel to a new home over the course of a year. So if you're playing a "campaign", you're playing through four Traversals (one per season) and then you come to the end and that's it, chickadee.
The game looks really cool and it screams "run me!", so probably I will. There aren't enough RPGs that are meant for short-to-mid campaign play, IME. Part of character creation would normally be chronicle creation, where we establish the specifics of the environmental disaster that broke the world and the landmarks of the old world that will mark our journey. Since it's just me, however, I shall use the example Traversal, which is a world in which folks used to communicate via a fungal network, but now there are The Last of Us or Girl With All the Gifts infections going on.
First thing: Pick a Role. I want to be a Visionary because one of their Vows is "Leave behind a cache" and I think that's really cool.
Next up, I get three Broad Techniques and one Deep one. Techniques are things you've been taught. Broad means you have, well, a broad knowledge, while Deep is more specific. I want my character to take some notes from Sylens from Horizon Zero Dawn, but with perhaps a little more focus on preserving what's left and a little less on plundering what's come before. For my Broad Techniques, I'll take Foraging, Stealth, and Persuasion. For my Deep Technique, I'll call it "Father taught me the secrets hiding in the roots."
And then I get a Magic Domain! Hmm. I was initially thinking Moon, but reading the various things you can do I feel like Earth is more fitting here. I get the first three abilities here (perceive how earth fits into ecology, talk to earth spirits, use reagents and foci), but then I get to pick a Deep Magic and a Broad Magic. I think I'll say my Broad Magic is I know magic to form pits and tunnels in stone, and my Deep is I know magic to summon an earth spirit.
Age! I can be young, grown, or old. I think I see this guy as old, meaning it was quite a long time ago when he was taught the secrets hiding in roots.
Mementos! These actually get added over the course of play (unless you're doing a one-shot), so right now I just have the character's preferred name to choose. I'll say his name is Pasin.
Stain! This is a nasty thing that other people call me to diminish me. I'm not supposed to use ableist slurs, here, so probably making reference to Pasin's age wouldn't be cool, and anyway it'd be much more interesting to riff on his propensity for digging in the dirt (to find the places we got hurt). We'll say he's called Pasin the Rootcutter.
Tarnish! Similarly, this is a descriptive phrase that calls attention to the negative stuff. Dirty hands, smells of history.
Hardship! This is an event that drove me from my home and generally made everything worse. For a Visionary, it's about lost artifacts and lore (but the first part is an environmental issue). I don't want to make everything about the roots...ooh, how about metaphorical roots? My father died from the poisons in the water. With him died lore we cannot replace.
Humanity! I get three Humanity traits. They're basically just...good things about the character. I think Pasin is patient, observant, and clever.
Way! Basically a brief statement of my character's ethos incorporating Humanity and Vows. In Pasin's case, it's Wisdom cannot be hoarded, kept, or hidden.
Tensions! Well, actually, gonna skip these because they require other players.
Gear! Everything takes up Slots. I know I want some reagent for magic. I figure he's got a chunk of amber that he uses as a focus for magic. I want a water jug, and an antiquarian kit, and some regular clothing, and that'll do it!
Companion! I can pick one of these off my Role sheet or make one up, but I like A mapmaker charting the way to a new home. Her name is Compri, and she's young and spunky and excitable and Pasin loves her like a daughter. He encourages her risk-taking, which might well get her killed at some point.
Pasin is an older man, but he stands straight and he has clear, brown eyes. He smiles easily but rarely laughs, and he listens more than he talks. People who know him fairly well know him as a good listener and very knowledgeable about history and our people's lore. People who know him really well also know he can talk you into anything, so watch out for getting swept up in his enthusiasm.
Imagine a twangy bassline. Now make an RPG out of it.
The Game:Get Funky The Publisher:Chaosmeister Games Degree of Familiarity: None Books Required: Just the one
Get Funky is one of these very short, very focused games, and while I don't necessarily think it'd be a viable long-term game, I do appreciate games like this over the 86,000th DND clone (or rehash). Very basically, it's a romanticization of the 70s in the same way, kind of, that pirate RPGs romanticize their setting and era - characters are larger than life, fashion and music get special emphasis, and the less-fun aspects get downplayed. And I can totally get behind that.
Character creation is real simple and largely random, and I can get behind that, as well. So!
First we roll Attributes, which is just a d6 for each of them. That gives me:
Buff 4 Foxy 1 Groove 5 Soul 4 Wit 6
Wow, apart from my complete lack of social graces, I'm pretty awesome. I start with 3 Funk. My Zen is equal to Buff + Soul + 3, which is 11 in my case.
Next! 2d6 to pick a Career. Oh, wait, it's not really 2d6, it's roll one die and note high or low, and then roll another die (weird). Well, a 6 on the first die and a 4 on the other gives me...Rolling Stone. Someone who travels continually. I can dig it, given that I'm handy and clever but just not real savvy with people. I get a Trait out of this, and I can pick one of the ones listed or make one up. Hmm. Hey, let's take inspiration from the music of the day and call this trait "My Life, My Lover, My Lady is the Sea."
Next is Thing (IT'S CLOBBER- no, no that). This is more like your role or motivation, I guess? Just a 1d6 roll this time. 6 gives me...Wheelman! OK, that'll work. I get another Trait - or, no, I get two more! So following the pattern I'll take a line from a Lobo song and call it "Willpower Made that Old Car Go." For my second one, I'll take "Rather Buy Me a New Carburetor" (bad with people, good with cars. Also, Queen!).
At this point I would add a location to the handily-included map. I think I'd probably put a junkyard or a garage on there. (There are parts of chargen that involve other players, which I'm skipping 'cause y'know, just me.)
And now...the Event. The moment that defines the character and makes them, like, a protagonist. Same weird "2d6" as before. "You got manipulated by someone or something." Well, I think it's pretty easy to see how he got manipulated, he's crap when dealing with people. I think that this guy isn't mean or crass, he's just really shy and only knows how to talk about machines and vehicles. Some fine young lady came along (let's call her "Brandy") and talked him into being a getaway driver. The heist went bad, some people got hurt, and he wound up losing his car and, nearly, his freedom. Sounds good! I get a Trait: "Wherever You May Look Tonight You May See This Wanted Man."
That's all the steps! Just need a name and a look. There's a chart for random name generation, actually, so let's see if it gives me something useful. Booker Kipling. Ergh. Fine with Booker, don't much care for the surname. Brown, that's better. Nickname? The dice says "Flash." I don't buy it, even ironically. I think Booker is likely to go by his first name, and he's never around long enough for a nickname to stick. Obviously long shaggy hair, beard, jeans and a dirty shirt. All Booker wants is to get back to port and get the hell back on the water - vengeance ain't his bag, baby. But Brandy, well, she's maybe still got plans for him...
The Game:Smallville The Publisher: Margaret Weis Productions, but it's out of print Degree of Familiarity: Some? Much? A little? Books Required: Just the one
My relationship with Smallville (the TV show) is weird. Not bad or good, just a little weird. I watched the pilot when it first aired in October 2001, a month after I got hired at White Wolf (I even remember where I was when I watched it, in fact). And at the time I remember thinking, "well, this could get better, I suppose."
I think the thing that bugged me about the show was that we had Clark Kent hung up in a cornfield with a piece of kryptonite around his neck and a big red S on his chest (for Smallville!), and I thought, boy, that is really on the nose. But that was the whole show, at least for the first four seasons, it was call-aheads to shit that hadn't happened and never would on this particular show. It was fun in places, but generally it was aggressively mediocre.
(And yes, I'm aware of the latter-day drama with Allison Mack and Kristin Kreuk and all, and I don't care. I mean, I don't not care, it just doesn't affect me or this project, and it's not a spoon I feel I need to spend.)
Anyway, I bought the Smallville RPG...at some con or other, I'm sure. I skimmed through it, and the beginning of the book has a detailed and extensive example of chargen throughout a whole group (yay!) but it's based on season nine of the show and makes a lot of references to in-show events (boo). So I thought, well, I'll get some of the DVDs from Netflix, watch a few seasons, and see if I have a better sense of how this would work.
I do, but it's not really because of watching the show. It's more because I've played Marvel Heroic extensively, I've become much more familiar with the Cortex system in general, and, yeah, doesn't hurt that shows like Arrow and Supergirl have done more or less what Smallville was trying to do, but better (Gotham, too, maybe? I only watched the first few episodes).
With all of that in mind, I really like the extensive Pathway system for making a group of characters, so I'd actually consider running this game. I'd just have to tell my players to forget about the show, because, as LL Cool J says about the silk dress, you ain't gonna need it.
Now! Chargen! This is designed to be done in a group, but I don't think it'll be especially difficult to do alone, it just means no outside input. It's basically a lifepath system, which gives me the good thoughts, y'know. I can stop after Life-Altering Event and be a Rookie, or I can keep going and be a Veteran. I dunno, I think I may stop at Rookie, but let's just start off and see where things lead.
The game wants me to draw a Pathways map, which would be really cool for a group, but it's just extra work for me and it'd look pretty anemic, so I ain't gonna bother. As such, my starting instructions (Draw your Lead square, Draw arrows from your square to all the other squares, Draw an arrow from your square to a new circle) are pretty truncated. I need a damn concept, though.
Assuming we're in the basic world of Smallville (that is, a PG-rated DC universe with no overt superhumans but entirely too many covert ones), I'll need a concept. Turning to my old friend "pick a song on shuffle," I get "Otherside" by Red Hot Chili Peppers, and sure, I can dig it.
The song is actually about addiction, but I don't think I want to make an addict (largely because given the tone of the setting, that's really only good for a Very Special Episode). Someone who might succumb to a Faustian bargain, gaining power through questionable means, though? I can get behind that. I don't want to make the bookish-loner-given-power, though. More interesting to me to make a character who was generally a good person and fell down a slippery slope. My guy's name is Felix Hunt. I don't know if he has an alias yet, we'll wait on that.
OK, so first I need an Extra, an NPC that helps define Felix. We'll say his mother, Sonya, is that, so I have Sonya Hunt 2d4 (for now), and tag it "raised by". I need to pick an Origin, which is the general statement of how Felix grew up. I'm gonna pick Gifted. That means I can:
But I have some questions to answer first.
What was your gift? Felix has the given of speaking to otherworldly demonic beings. He used to call them the "scary things" when he was little, but it came out as "terry fings", so that's kind of what stuck.
Did your parents lovingly nurture your gift, or were you made to feel ashamed? Felix' parents were split on the issue. His father Victor believed that only by shutting Felix off from the other-worlds entirely could he be truly safe, whereas Sonya felt that Felix could learn to apply moderation. Victor left them when Felix was 5.
Can you remember how you first realized you were exceptional? Building on that last one, when Victor left, he left behind a letter for Felix to read when he was older. Sonya shredded it, but Felix asked the "terryfings" what it said and they reassembled and read it. Victor doesn't quite remember all the details, but the letter definitely said that talking to the terryfings might have consequences.
Cool! Now we'll do the trait-things. Well, Glory might eventually be important to Felix but not so much right now, so I'll step up Truth to d8. I get to add a Distinction or an Ability, and um, I definitely want Magical Legacy. I'll also take the Guilty Distinction. Felix isn't necessarily guilty of anything, but he knows that his parents split up because of him and the terryfings. And then for the last thing I shall bump Magical Legacy to d6.
Next up is Youth, and first up I add a new Location. I'll call it the Runoff; it's a valley behind the school, and when it rains, the bottom of it floods. Felix goes there to think and talk to the terryfings (for whatever reason they're louder there).
Since I started Gifted my choices are Paragon, Jock, or Average. I know I want to end up on Paranormal in the next step, which means I have to do Jock or Paragon (in a group setting, the group could agree to a non-standard progression, but I like the challenge). Hmm. I think I'll go Jock, partially because I don't want every step of this to be all about the magic and partially because the Paragon opening paragraph, um, hasn't aged well:
Anyway, Jock it is!
What was the defining moment of your athletic career? Felix was a goalie for his school's soccer team, and went the whole season without another team - another player - scoring on him. That's because he told the terryfings that if he missed a shot, they were to deflect it.
Were you a team player, or more of a solo athlete? Felix was happy to be on the team, and he was actually a skilled goalie (like, if he's blocking 80% of the shots, that's still good, it's just that otherworldly demons are blocking the other 20%). The other players loved him because he was so good for the records, but they had trouble connecting.
Has your athletic background given you some above average skills? Kind of. Felix stays in shape, and he played basketball and ran track as well as soccer. He's athletic, but it was never going to be a career. What it did do, though, was keep him talking to the terryfings on a regular basis.
New Distinction! Well, I'm fine with Athletic d4. Step up a Resource! I'll bump the Runoff to 2d6. Step up another thing! Well, heck, I'll take Magical Legacy to d8.
And from Youth, we hit Focus. The first thing on the Pathways map doesn't really work (no other players), but the second one allows me to draw an arrow to a new Extra or Location. Hmm. Well, I feel like this is where things are gonna get spoopy, so let's add Victor Hunt 2d4 as an Extra and tag it "bitter but curious" (that's how I feel about him).
And now, Paranormal.
How long have you held this fascination? I feel like we've established that; Felix has been able to talk to the terryfings since he was a small child.
How do you go about your research? Do you fly solo or work with a team? This kind of assumes a Paranormal researcher, but that's not quite what Felix is doing. But that's fine. He "researches" the terryfings on his own, and his research mostly consists of talking to them.
Do you sleep in a tinfoil hat and encourage others to do the same? Sigh. You know, every so often, these otherwise very interesting lists of questions given way to one of these: Dumb, twee, and worst of all, yes or no so it doesn't really encourage any character development.
I would like to add an Ability, I think. I'll take Insect Control, but reskin it as My Unseen Friends d4. I'll step up my Magical Legacy to d10, thanks very much, and I...don't have any Relationships because those happen with Leads and Features, and since I'm solo those don't appear. Whomp, whomp. Well, for the record, were we playing this I'd want to my my dad a Feature.
And now, Road! The Pathways map tells me to draw an arrow back to a Lead square, so I'll add one going from Victor back to me and tag it "afraid of". I can choose between Underground, Ethical, or Risky. Ooh, fun. Well, I think Risky is the logical choice as Felix comes to rely on the terryfings more and more.
Have your actions ever gotten you, or someone close to you, seriously hurt or in trouble with the law? Sure! We'll say that going into Felix' junior year, his dad reappeared and tried to talk to him. Problem was that Victor was entirely too brusque and demanding, and Felix stomped off and then (rather rashly) told the terryfings to get his dad off his back. The creatures ran Victor's car off the road. He was injured, but not seriously. The real issue is that he can see the terryfings, so he knows what really happened.
Have you gambled it all, knowing that failure would mean a future living in a van down by the river? Sigh.
Have your actions caused friends or family to completely disassociate with you? Sonya sticks by Felix, even though she's growing worried about him. Friends...again, mostly it's just that he comes off as hard to approach. Not arrogant, not aloof, not cold, not weird, just...distant.
I think I'll step up Power, thanks. Add or step up a Distinction, eh? Oh, snap, Savage is perfect. Step up a Resource, I think I'll bump Victor to 2d6. Step up a Relationship, Asset, or Resource. Let's step up My Unseen Friends to d6.
And then Life-Changing Event. I think I actually will stop after this; this would be getting to the really interesting bit in Felix' development and I'd want to play through it. I get to pick my Event, but hark! First some Pathways stuff!
Draw an arrow to a new Extra or Location (see, in a group I'd have all theirs to work with, too). I'll add a new Location, how about. The Hunt House 2d4, the house where Felix grew up. Draw an arrow back to a Lead square, well. Oh, wait, I'll draw one from Sonya to Felix and tag it "loves unconditionally."
Optionally, I can switch out any Relationship or Resource for a new one, but eh. I can also remove a d4 Relationship or Resource and step up another one, but also eh.
So what happened to Felix to change his life!? Ooh, Manifestation, please. Now, as written, this is exposure to kryptonite, but y'know, in Felix' case it's just something changing. Let's say this came when he finally got around to asking the terryfings what they really were. Up until then, they were limited in scope because they hadn't been properly incarnated, but when Felix gave them more purchase in the world by allowing them to name themselves, they got more dangerous. The questions listed here don't really work for Felix, so let's say that this was something of a wake-up call - he's beginning to realize how dangerous these things are and that calling upon them gives them more foothold in our reality, but like, sometimes you just gotta.
Power goes to d8, yes please. Other Values, hmm. Let's bump up Duty and Love to d6. Felix is starting to get his head out of his shadowy ass-void. Add an Ability, DON'T MIND IF I DO! I'll take Precognition, that's got some "forbidden wisdom" about it. Step up an Ability or Distinction. Hrm. I'll push Unseen Friends to d8. Step up a Distinction. I'll push Savage to d6. Finally, I'll step up Hunt House to 2d8.
I'm stopping here, so I don't get the rest of the Pathways, but that's cool, boo. Just gotta fill in the sheet! That includes value statements!
Duty d6: I need to keep control Glory d4: Who am I, really? Justice d4: Be careful what you whisper. Love d6: I want my father's forgiveness. Power d8: My unseen friends protect me. Truth d8: Nothing stays secret.
And that's it, because I don't have Relationships in absence of more Leads (and therefore Features).
Felix was a skinny lad, but he's filled out and gotten taller. He's got spiky red hair that he's taken to hiding under a ball cap, and he usually wears jeans, band t-shirts, and his letter jacket. Sometimes he laughs at something no one else hears or seems to agree with an unsaid statement.
Every time I think about this game, this song starts going through my head. ANYWAY!
The Game:WILD The Publisher:we evolve Degree of Familiarity: None yet! Books Required: Just the one, plus a Tarot deck or their app
WILD (which is actually an acronym, unlike FATE or GUMSHOE; it stands for Wake Initiated Lucid Dreaming) is a sci-fi ish game in which you play oneironauts. The technology that allows you to travel into other people's dreams - call ClariT - was designed by a scientist trying to reach his comatose daughter Clarity and bring her out of the dreamworld. The initial scenario of the game, the tutorial, if you will, is a simulation of that mission. The game uses a Tarot deck (custom made!) as the resolution mechanic, and you know I'm a big fan of that. So let's make an oneironaut!
Stage One: Persona. I need to pick one card to represent my character, who they are in waking life, at their most basic. I could choose the card, but I don't really have a character in mind so I'll draw at random. I wind up with the 10 of Control:
This card means security, but not really in the "guarding something" sense, more of the "I have enough money" sense. As the art implies, it can also mean riches or even hoarding. The person in the bed receiving last rites is interesting, too - the Control suit corresponds to Pentacles (or Coins) in traditional Tarot, but the meaning isn't the same (although Coins in general tends to deal with finances or other worldly stuff).
So anyway, I think my dude will be rich, but not, like, so rich he shouldn't be alive (i.e., not a billionaire). I like the idea of a character who's rich in part because he never really did much with his money, out of fear that he would lose it all. So he's got a nice place to live and he's got the things he likes - his books and his piano and his cats - but he's pretty lonely in general. We'll say the Persona concept is rich risk-averse loner.
Stage Two: Shadow. The Shadow is what's holding you back (not unlike the trait of the same name in Wraith, actually). This one is meant to be chosen at random; suits me. Oh, holy cats, that's perfect: The Hanged Man (Reversed).
The Hanged Man, in its dignified form, means transition or readjustment. Reversed, though, it's not just stagnation but unwillingness to change. That's pretty much exactly what I had in mind (BEHOLD THE POWER OF THE TAROT). We'll say his Shadow is change is hard.
Stage Three: Attributes. Four Attributes (Control, Strength, Focus, Passion), which are also the suits of this Tarot. I have 12 points to split up, minimum 1, maximum 5. Well, obviously Passion should be low and Control should be high. I don't necessarily see Strength (which deals with physical actions) being especially high either. Let's put 2 each into Strength and Passion, 5 into Control, and the other 3 into Focus.
Stage Four: Abilities. Five of these: Diplomat, Guardian, Rogue, Scholar, Visionary. I need to assign a 4 to the best, 1 to the worst, 3 to something second-best, and the other two get 2. Hmm. Obviously not Guardian as a 4 (might even be the 1?). No, you know what? I'll put the 4 into Diplomat. My guy is actually really good at dealing with people, it's his own emotions he's not so big on. I'll put the 1 into Visionary, since that's the Ability of creativity and that's kind of where my dude has trouble. I'll put the 3 into Scholar, and the other two get 2.
Stage Five: Aspects. While this isn't a Fate game, Aspects work in a similar way - they can give you a boost or a disadvantage depending on the situation, and the best ones are double-edged swords. I don't have a limit on how many I can take, but the book recommends at least two.
Well, I think the obvious one is more money than he knows what to do with. That nicely captures the fact that he's a man of means, but that he's not entirely enjoying it. Starved for stimulation works, too. I think I'd like one that reflects that he has a weird smattering of skills and knowledge, because if he wants to learn about something, he has the time and means to do it? I don't want "jack of all trades," though. How about just "Dabbler?"
(And I wrote these in the wrong place, dammit. Oh, well, not like I'm gonna play this guy).
Stage Six: Finishing Touches. I see this guy as in his early 40s, good shape, gray hair - played by Reed Diamond if this were a TV show. He's got a gentle voice and good manners; he didn't make his money by hostile takeover or any such nonsense (so how did he make his money? I feel like he may have inherited it, but not as a kid?). He's never been married and truthfully he's not sure if he's interested in romance or sex or anything like that, he just knows that he's bored and he's lonely, and going into dreams is the most interesting think that's been suggested to him in a long time. His name is Stanley Clark.
And that'll do it! I'm running this game on Saturday, looks like fun.
One of my players asked if I had any spider-ish minis, and I don't (largely because most of the minis I use for RPGs are HeroClix). I should get some, though, because we do seem to wind up squishing spiders a lot. Anyway, here's Wonderwalllast time.
Our heroes arrive at the forest fragment of Arachnea, and spot an Angeli Scout Ship that has crashed on a narrow ridge. They have to land a good half mile away and walk back to discover that the ship is on the edge of a very high cliff, leading down into darkness. They examine the ship and discover that no one is aboard, and there's a big hole in the side. Iris surmises that the ship bounced around in the trees before coming to rest on the ridge, and Oola finds footprints outside the ship. They don't seem to lead anywhere, though - did these folks come out of the ship and fall off the ledge?
They search the ship but don't find anything of interest ("Wait, is there actually an Investigation Skill?", asked the players of Veteran characters), and head back out, planning to find another approach to their search for Rezzal Yowlin. But as they do, they are suddenly covered in webbing! A group of Spider-Men attacks, swarming at them from the trees and the top of the ship.
Oola and Iris are quickly overwhelmed, covered in webbing and paralyzed by the spiders' venom. One grabs Oola and pulls her down the cliff into the dark, but Zeenia covers Iris with her gelatinous body and fights the spiders off as best she can. She kills many of them, but eventually is worn down by sheer numbers and captured.
The heroes awaken in a cave, and pull their way out of the web cocoons. About a dozen other prisoners are likewise waking up, and one of them is a Lupine - probably Yowlin. The characters talk to him and he confirms who he is, but also says that the God-Queen of the Spiders is going to come back and eat them all, and only by hiding and staying out of her way can they be safe.
Hiding and letting other people get eaten, however, isn't how the heroes roll. The place is littered with debris, and Oola realizes that they could build some short-range rocket sleds out of it. They rally the other aliens and get to work, completing three sleds and nearly finishing a fourth when the place starts shaking.
Some of the aliens keep working on the sled as the heroes ready their weapons, and a handful of the other aliens join them. Spider-Men skitter in and attack! Oola conjures up darkness, and Iris and Zeenia attack, and their newfound allies hold the line as best as they can. They defeat the Spider-Men, but several of them are trapped in webs and one is paralyzed when the sled is complete. The heroes cut the unfortunates free and everyone gets on the sleds - the heroes and Rezzal take one and speed off as the gigantic legs of the God-Queen burst into the cavern.
Iris pilots the sled around the legs, and gets clipped at one point, but manages to keep control. She blasts off into the Arachnean night and they manage to get back to the ship just as the sled's batteries start to die. They take off into the Slipstream, and as things calm down, they ask Rezzal what he knows about the Barrier.
He explains that he was captured by Primals at one point, and overhead them talking about their next tour on Radios (Radios being a fragment behind the Barrier). He learned that a Warship called the Achilles picks up slaves at the fragment of Vitin, and then flies through the Barrier. If the heroes were to capture the Achilles, they can just ride it through on autopilot. Based on the schedule that the Primals discussed, the heroes have about three weeks before the Achilles winds up back at Vitin.
Twoot tells the characters that he needs to go back to Avia and report to King Throx, and Rezzal asks them to drop him off there, too (they make rocketships there; a space jockey like him should be able to find work). They set off on the long trip across the Slipstream back to Avia.
The Game:H. P. Lovecraft Preparatory Academy (Savage Worlds) The Publisher:Third Eye Games Degree of Familiarity: Haven't played this particular game, but I've run quite a few SW games Books Required: HPL Prep and some version of the Savage Worlds core rules
As I mentioned here, when I did a character for the PDQ version of this game, I like the setting and I like the tone. If I were gonna run it, which system would I use? Probably either Pip or Savage Worlds, but I dunno. Anyway!
First up, I'd choose race, but all HPLPA characters are considered human. That means I get an extra edge, and I think in contrast to my PDQ character for this setting, I'll make a character who's a bit more outwardly monstrous, but is still a fairly nice kid, all things considered. Gonna wind up taking the Hybrid edge, I believe.
Attributes! Standard dealie for Savage Worlds. I'll pump Strength up to d8, jack Spirit, Agility, and Strength to d6, and leave Smarts at d4 (but I'm probably gonna spend points later and raise my Strength).
Skills! I get 4 points to spend on Hobbies and a d4 in Eldritch Lore, in addition to the usual 15. Let's see. I want to be able to squelch around quietly, so d6 in Stealth. Definitely a d6 in Fighting. I'm squamous, so d6 in Swimming. Need a d6 in Intimidation. Tracking makes sense, so I'll put a d4 there. Notice is always a good idea, so there's another d4. Actually I think I'll save the other 5 and see if my Hybrid needs any other Skills.
So now we're into Edges (and I realize as I was reading this that this game is built on the Adventure Edition of SW, which has these "core skills" rules that I don't like, so I'm kinda eliding that and going by SWED rules, FIGHT ME). I'll use my free Edge to buy Hybrid, which gives me a d6 in Mutation and bumps my Eldritch Lore to d6. It also gives me a free bump in an Attribute, so I'll knock Strength up to d8.
I also get a Trait, which is an inhuman power kind of thing, but also gives me a Tell. I think I Stretching, giving me the ability to do a Plastic Man. It also makes my character's flesh moist, squishy, and smell faintly of asphalt.
So, Hindrances! I get Ugly as part of being a Hybrid. I'll take Clueless, and I'll take Quirk (he constantly inflates his cheeks and makes weird frog noises). And I'll take a minor Phobia of birds (THEY KNOW SOMETHING).
That gives me four "points" to throw around. I'll spend two and buy Smarts up to d6 (with the Clueless Hindrance, I feel like that covers his lack of smart-ness without having a low Smarts). Another Edge, perhaps? Ooh, how about Fast Healer.
And then I still have 5 Skill points, so I'll put a d6 into Boating, spend 2 points to boost Eldritch Lore to d8, and the last one to boost Mutation to d8. Oh, wait, I get 4 points in Hobby Skills, too. Um. D6 in Fishing and a d6 in Swamp Stomp.
Derived Traits! Toughness is 6, Parry is 5, Pace is 6, Sanity is 6 (4 + half my Spirit die -1 because my Eldritch Lore is a d8), Charisma is 0.
Just need a name and stuff, then! (Skipping gear, yawn.) His name is Macadam Beaufort, but folks call him "Beau." He's a little less visible than some Hybrids, but he still has to cover up and continually mop his brow (and his pits, and his...well, everything) because he's always a little damp. He's got dirty blonde hair that closely resembles a mop and bright, green eyes that are too big for his face - some teachers say he's got the "Innsmouth Look," but he doesn't know what that means.
No, not the colorful video game, but the Afrocentric Sword and Sorcery RPG!
The Game: Bastion The Publisher:Khepera Publishing Degree of Familiarity: None Books Required:Bastion and the Mythic d6 core
Bastion is one of the settings for Mythic d6, and in contrast to the setting included in the core (for which I made a character here), it's a kind of tragic fantasy setting. The world is dying, the last human city is Bastion, and the PCs are "Fihankra", people who have dedicated their lives to going outside the walls and protecting the city, even though that's basically a death sentence. I like the idea of the game, so let's see how easy chargen is!
Starting characters are equal to level 3 in the Mythic d6 book, which I seem to recall is the basic default...ah, yes, default starting level for heroes, and gives you 125 creation points. However, Bastion tells me:
So clearly I need to pick a Profession Template first? Let's see. OK, Professions are one thing, Archetypes are another (and are from the Mythic d6 book), and then Bastion has various races, too. The character sheets have Archetype stuff filled in, so I really need to pick that first and then print the sheet off (ssiiiiiingiiiiinnnnng, "why ain't there an example of chargen, hidely ho").
Well, I think I'll do what I often do when I'm faced with a setting I don't know well, and pick some random bit of the setting chapter to inspire a character.
Ooh, OK. In the poor section of Bastion, called the Hedge, there's a shadowy thorn-bush kind of thing that the Umbari (shadow-people) are tending. I'll make a character who was part of the sect doing the gardening, and has been sent out to recover some botanical necessity - maybe a bee or a bat that can pollinate the shadow-bush! That's cool. That decides my race (Umbari) but not my Archetype. Let's see.
Scholar seems the obvious choice, although Rogue works, too. I think I'll go Rogue, actually. So I need to pick a Profession template next. Hmm. The Sikaotu are interesting (scouts), but I think that pairing this character concept with a priest (Nyame Dua) is a nice twist. Means I can bless others, which might not have been my first choice of powers for this character, but I can roll with it.
So then I get this array:
And then from Race, I get a couple of special abilities: Dark Sight (just like it sounds) and Into the Void (step into a shadow, pop out of another, dope). Race also gives me minimums and maximums for my Attributes:
Ooh, Sigil! These give me temporary powers when I spend Hero Points. I want Asase Ye Duru:
So, I suppose now we spend 93 additional points on stuff, which includes Attributes. I have to buy my REF up to 3D, but everything else is min 1. Let's see here. Each D is 4 points, meaning I have to spent 12 right off the bat for REF.
Well, seems like Knowledge should be decent for my rogue gardener/priest. Physique will also make my shadow-powers more versatile. If I put Coordination at 2D (average), Knowledge at 4D, Perception at 3D, Physique at 4D, Presence at 1D (secretive, whispery) and Reflexes at 4D, that means I've spent 72 of my 93, leaving me 21 points. I think that's OK.
Skills, meanwhile, cost 1-for-1, or 4-for-1 for specialties. I can't go over 3 in a Skill or 2 ranks in a Specialty at chargen, and of course I have a few Skills going in already, including Influence twice? Wtf? It's not like Influence needs to be specified. Maybe the second one is supposed to be Intuition? Yeah, probably. Let's assume that.
I'll keep most of my given Skills where they are, but I want to raise Investigation and Willpower to 3, which costs me 3 more points. Other Skills? Well, probably I should have some fighting, so, um, Fighting at 2D. I think Know-How at 2D, too. Athletics 2D, Resistance 3D, Movement 2D, how many is that? 14. I think that's probably good, and leaves me with 8 points.
Oh, wait, forgot Sneak. Better put 2D there. That leaves me 6 points. I'll spend one more and break it down into pips and add one each to Intuition, Movement, and Scholar. 5 points remaining, and I'll buy an Advantage (which lets me add 3D to a roll once per session when it's applicable). Shadow Gardener, I think, would let me add dice when I'm dealing with magical plants or other scary nature-things.
Disadvantages, then! Five dice to distribute, and we need one Relationship, one Internal and one External. (Once again, the character sheet says "Personal" instead of "Relationship," but eh.)
So, Relationships are people that can complicate things for my character. I definitely want a Disadvantage related to my dedication to the shadow-bush, but I don't know if it should go here or External (that is, is the Disad about the secret society or the quest itself?). I think it should be the quest, actually, so the relationship needs to be something else. I'll say there's a rich guy in Bastion who really hates the Umbari (he believes they're trying to rebuild their intangible shadow-realm, and in fairness, he's right), and he's able to make trouble for my guy. His name is Bediako. I'll put 2 dice in there.
I'll put one die into Bitter (Internal), and then my other two into Secret Mission (External), and that's that.
Derived stuff: Physique Damage is 2, BDV is 2, Passive Defense is 2, Corruption Threshold is 4. Normally we'd design our Company, but it's just me, so none of that, babe.
Just a name left, and there's actually naming conventions. Assume that he was born under the black moon, on Yawoada, and that means his first name is Tumyaw, his given name is Xoese (it means "Believe"), and his surname is Damte (named after the head of the Shadow Gardeners, let's say).
Xoese, like all Umbari, has black skin and is forever shrouded in darkness. He has silver tattoos on his arms, forehead, and hands, and he wears a hood, so typically you'd just see the glimmer of the tats from underneath it. He's bitter over the loss of his people's homeland, the incoming destruction of the world, and the idea that he has to go out in the world and look for a freakin' bee.
