Paul: August 2008 Archives

Venom Blade: Once per day, a character can use this +1 kukri to inflict a poisoned wound as a melee touch attack or as part of a normal attack with the weapon. The poison has initial and secondary effects of 1d10 Con damage and a Fort save DC of 15.
Moderate necromancy; CL 7th; Craft Magic Arms and Armor, poison; Cost: 13,508 gp

I really don't know what made me choose this one for today. If you don't know about D&D, shame on you. I'm not going to worry about a specific campaign setting, and I'm only going to use the Player's Handbook. That's just how I roll.

Speaking of rolling, that's where we start: rolling ability scores. I roll 4d6 and drop the lowest die six times. This gives me the following scores: 13, 16, 14, 13, 14, 14. Actually pretty darn good. I don't usually roll that well.

Now I choose my race and class and then assign my ability scores as I'd like. I think I'll go with a halfling ranger. After racial modifiers, my ability scores are: Str 11, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 13.

I'm going to ignore the starting package (I'm no newb) and record my racial and class features. As a ranger, I get the favored enemy class feature, and I have to choose a creature type to specialize in. I go with humanoid (goblinoid); this character comes from a region plagued by an expansionist hobgoblin army. (Hey, look! Backstory!)

On to skills. Rangers get (6 + Int modifier) skill points, and this is x4 at first level, so I have 32 skill points. Obviously, I'll max Survival, and I'll also max Listen and Spot. I'll put 4 in Hide and Move Silently, and 2 each in Knowledge (dungeoneering) and Knowledge (geography). I have 12 points left. I'll max Climb, Heal, and Jump.

Now, I get 1 feat, and I'll take Weapon Finesse. My ranger will go the two-weapon route eventually, and now I can use light weapons with my Dex bonus instead of my Str.

For equipment, as a ranger I have 6d4x10 gp, and I roll a total of 180. I start with a pair of short swords for 20 gp. I buy some daggers for throwing; say five for an even 10 gp. I'll get some leather armor for 10 gp. That still leaves me 140. I'll get an everburning torch for 110 gp, a backpack (1 gp), a bedroll (1 sp), a fishing net (4 gp), a belt pouch (1 gp), two days' trail rations (1 gp), and a tent (10). The other 12 gp and 9 sp I'll keep in the belt pouch.

The last step is to record my combat numbers. I get 8 hit points plus my Con modifier, for a total of 10. My AC is 10 + 4 (Dex) + 1 (size) + 2 (armor) = 17. I hit with my short sword at +6 for 1d4 damage, or with a thrown dagger at +7 for 1d3. My initiative modifier is +4 (from my Dex). My saving throws are Fort +5, Ref +7, Will +3.

And that's that. My ranger will be a member of the illustrious Coffeepot clan, Hayden Coffeepot.

Hayden Coffeepot
NG Male halfling Ranger 1
Init +4; Senses Listen +8, Spot +6
Languages Common, Dwarven, Elven, Halfling

AC 17, touch 15, flat-footed 13
hp 10 (1 HD)
Fort +5, Ref +7, Will +3; +2 racial bonus on saves against fear

Speed 20 ft. (4 squares)
Melee shortsword +6 (1d4, 19-20/x2)
Ranged dagger +7 (1d3, 19-20/x2)
Base Atk +1; Grp -3
Combat Options favored enemy (goblinoids) +2

Abilities Str 11, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 13
SQ wild empathy
Feats Track, Weapon Finesse
Skills Climb +6, Heal +6, Hide +12, Jump +6, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +4, Knowledge (geography) +4, Listen +8, Move Silently +10, Spot +6, Survival +6
Possessions short swords, five daggers, leather armor, everburning torch, backpack, bedroll, fishing net, belt pouch, two days' trail rations, tent, 12 gp, 9 sp

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9) portrayed a different galaxy than the one presented in the original Star Trek, and the DS9 Roleplaying Game is a different sort of game than Star Trek. Instead of square-jawed Human captains and Vulcan scientists, players are expected to create Ferengi merchants, Klingon warriors, and Cardassian spies.

DS9 uses the same Icon system rules as Star Trek, and the process of creating a character is essentially the same, so I'll gloss over some things more than I did previously.

For this character, I want to design a Ferengi merchant named Grash. Grash is young and ambitious, the son of a Liquidator looking to make a name for himself.

I start with the racial template. Ferengi choose specializations for the Bargain skill and the Merchant skill, and I will go with Bribery and Trade Routes, respectively. I jot down the rest of my information (Ferengi get quite a few advantages and disadvantages). One interesting thing to note is that Ferengi cannot have any points in the Psi attribute. Moving on.

Next up is the overlay. Remember that this is akin to a character class in other systems. Following my concept, I choose the Merchant overlay. A few more choices here. A specialization in Athletics (Running), another specialization for Bargain (Marketplace Haggling), one for Computer (Research), another for Merchant (Dilithium Markets), and one for Personal Equipment (Tricorder).

Now on to Background. I first choose Early Life, and I take the Wealthy Upbringing package. I choose Charm with a specialization of Influence, and I get the Wealth advantage at +2. For my Advanced Training, I take Mercantile Apprentice/Assitant. This gives me yet another specialization for both Bargain (Dilithium Crystals) and Merchant (Spican Flame Gem Markets), and Administration with a specialization (Bureaucratic Manipulation). Finally, I get a Professional Career package. I take the Trader package. Yet another specialization for Bargain (Spican Flame Gems), two(!) more for Merchant (Shipping and Retail), and one more for Shipboard Systems (Transporter).

I could go back and take disadvantages and use those points to buy advantages, skills, or attribute levels, but I see Grash as a very young character with little in the way of backstory. I'll let him stand as he is. That went a lot faster than my last Icon system character.

Grash

Attributes
Fitness 1

Strength -1
Vitality +1

Logic +1
Perception +1

Empathy -1
Willpower -1

Skills
Administration (Bureaucratic Manipulation) 1 (2)
Athletics (Running) 1 (2)
Bargain (Bribery) 2 (3) and (Marketplace Haggling) (3) and (Dilithium Crystals) (3) and (Spican Flame Gems) (3)
Charm (Influence) 1 (2)
Computer (Research) 1 (2)
Culture (Ferengi) 2 (3)
Fast Talk 1
History (Ferengi) 1 (2)
Language: Federation Standard 1
Language: Ferengi 2
Language: Klingon 1
Law (Trade Regulations) 2 (3)
Merchant (Dilithium Markets) (3) and (Retail) (3) and (Shipping) (3) and (Spican Flame Gem Markets) (3) and (Trade Routes) 2 (3)
Personal Equipment (Tricorder) 1 (2)
Shipboard Systems (Flight Control) 1 (2) and (Transporter) (2)
World Knowledge (Ferenginar) 1 (2)

Advantages/Disadvantages
Excellent Hearing +2
Greedy -1
Mathematical Ability +3
Telepathic Resistance +4
Wealth +2

Courage: 3

Renown: 1
Skill 1

I love superhero games, and Wild Talents is derived from one of the most acclaimed superhero games, Godlike. I picked up the brand new Essential Edition of Wild Talents on a whim at Gen Con this weekend, so I'm giving it a shot.

The Essential Edition doesn't include any world background, so I'll be just use a generic setting. For concept, I latch onto the backstory of Charles Xavier from the X-men. I'll be making a globe-hopping mentalist mutant with a civil rights bent. To make him a little more interesting, my character will be black (the child of Haitian immigrants) and gay. His name is Marco Delacroix.

Wild Talents is (yay!) point based, and step 1 is deciding on a point total. I'll shoot for the middle of the "powerful superhuman" range and go with 300 points.

A note on the game mechanic before I get into the following steps. All traits in Wild Talents are measured as dice pools. Normal dice are rolled and grouped into sets of matching numbers. The player chooses the best set as the result of the roll. A set is rated by two factors: height and width. The height of the roll is the value of the chosen set. The width is the number of dice in the set. So, if I rolled 6 dice and got a set of 2 dice showing 7, my result would have a width of 2 and a height of 7.

There are special types of dice you can buy, however. Hard dice are not rolled; instead, they are automatically 10s. Hard dice cost twice as much as normal dice. Wiggle dice are not rolled, either; instead, after you roll the rest of your die pool, you can set wiggle dice to any value. Wiggle dice cost twice as much as hard dice, four times as much as normal dice.

Dice notation uses the format: #d+#hd+#wd, where "#d" is the number of normal dice, "#hd" is the number of hard dice, and "#wd" is the number of wiggle dice.

Step two is Statistics. Wild Talents has six, three physical (Body, Coordination, and Sense) and three mental (Charm, Command, and Mind). The normal human range for stats and skills is 1d to 5d. My character is pretty average physically, but he's very smart, with keen senses and a commanding presence. I put 3s in Body, Coordination, and Charm, 4s in Sense and Command, and a 5 in Mind. Stats cost 5 points per die, so this set of stats costs a total of 110 points.

Step three is Skills. Each stat has a number of skills associated with it. When you use a skill, you roll add your stat and skill together to get your total dice pool. I look through the list (which the book says isn't exhaustive, anyway) and pick out a few that look good: Empathy 2d+1hd, Knowledge [Psychology] 3d, Persuasion 1d+2wd, Leadership 4d, Ranged Weapon [Rifle] 2d+1hd, Language [French] 2d, and First Aid 1d. Skills cost 2 points per die, and hard and wiggle dice multiply the cost as noted above, so I spend 54 points on skills. I have 136 points left.

Step 4 is The Archetype. A character's Archetype defines several things. First is the Source (or Sources) of his powers. Second are the types of powers he can choose (his Permissions). Finally, the Archetype can include certain Intrinsic qualities that change the way the character's traits function. I choose the Mutant Archetype, giving me the Genetic Source and the Power Theme Permission. This means that I can purchase any type of power, but they must all fit into a specific theme (for this character, I choose "mental powers"). I add a second power source, Psi, bringing my Archetype to a total of 10 points. I have 126 points left.

Step five is Powers (finally). There are three types of power in Wild Talents: hyperstats, hyperskills, and miracles. Hyperstats and hyperskills are similar, simply adding dice to the appropriate stat or skill and allowing you (in most cases) to exceed human maximum. Miracles are a little more complicated; these are the powers that let you do the impossible, from firing blasts of energy to flying.

For Marco, I start with a hyperstat, raising my Mind stat by 2 wiggle dice. Hyperstats costs 4 points per die, and wiggle dice cost 4 times normal, so this power costs 32 points.

I also want Marco to have a Miracle power. Miracles are constructed of Qualities. The three Qualities are Attacks (the power can be used to attack), Defends (the power can be used to defend), and Useful (the power can be used for some other action). A power can have multiple instances of the same Quality, granting several different forms of attack, for instance.

In addition, each Quality can have a number of Extras and Flaws that help define how they work. Each modifies the cost the Quality and expands or narrows the effect.

Finally, each Quality will have one or more capacities that determine Mass (typically the ability to alter, move, create, or destroy an amount of material), Range, or Speed. Multiple Capacities on the same Quality increase the Quality's cost.

Marco has the power Telepathy that I am creating myself based off the example Telepathy power given in the rulebook. This power allows him to blast targets with a mental attack (Attacks Quality with the Non-Physical Extra and Range Capacity), detect hostile intent in time to avoid it (Defends Quality), communicate silently at great range (Useful Quality with the Booster Extra and Range Capacity), and read minds with a touch (Useful Quality with the No Capacities Flaw).

To find the cost of a power, start with a base of 2 points per Quality. Then add the values of the extras and flaws on each Quality; any given Quality will have a minimum of 1 point. This total is the cost per die of the power, multiplying accordingly for hard or wiggle dice. So, for Marco's Telepathy power, the total cost per die is 2 for the Attack Quality plus 2 for the Non-Physical extra, plus 2 for the Defends Quality, plus 2 for the first Useful Quality and another 1 for the Booster Extra, plus 2 for the second Useful Quality but minus 1 for the No Capacities, for a total of 10 points per die.

At this point, I have 94 points left to spend. I can buy Telepathy at 9d and have 4 points left over, but I think I want a few special dice. Hard dice will cost me 20 points each, and Wiggle dice will cost me 40 points each. I'll buy 1 Wiggle die, 1 hard die and 3 regular dice, giving me a pool of 3d+1hd+1wd.

Since I have two power sources, I have to choose one for each power. For Hypermind, I choose Genetic. For Telepathy, I choose Psi (naturally).

Finally, step six is Base Will and Willpower. Base Will is a special stat that represents strength of character and sense of self. It is a static value that can be spent in very rare circumstances for very powerful effects. Willpower is derived from Base Will at character creation, but it fluctuates a lot more during play as you gain and spend it to get smaller benefits. Base Will starts at the sum of your Charm and Command, so Marco has a base of 7. You can pay 3 points to raise Base Will by 1, and I will do that, giving Marco a Base Will of 8. My last point will go to buy another point of Willpower, giving me 9 points.

One last thing at this step is to choose the character's Motivations. Motivations are roleplaying tools that determine how your character gains and loses Willpower points. There are two types of Motivation: Loyalty (a devotion to a person, group, or cause) and Passion (a goal or other driving internal interest). A character must invest his Base Will into a Loyalty and a Passion (at least 1 point in each); this value determines how much Willpower you can gain in a given session for following that Motivation. As a triple minority (black, gay, and a mutant), he has a Loyalty to downtrodden minorities and will try to aid them wherever he can. He also has a Passion for exploration; he wants to see the world and discover great things. I'll split my Base Will evenly between them, 4 points each.

And that is Marco complete. Not a particularly flashy super, but he should be fun in the right game.

Marco Delacroix (300 points)

Archetype (10 points)
Mutant Psychic (Sources: Genetic, Psi; Permissions: Power Theme - "mental powers")

Stats (110 points)
Body 3d, Coordination 3d, Sense 4d
Charm 3d, Command 4d, Mind 5d+2wd
Base Will 8, Willpower 9
Motivations: Loyalty to oppressed minorities (4) and Passion for exploration (4)

Skills (54 points)
Empathy 2d+1hd (6d+1hd), First Aid 1d (6d+2wd), Knowledge [Psychology] 3d (8d+2wd), Language [French] 2d (7d+2wd), Leadership 4d (8d), Persuasion 1d+2wd (4d+2wd), Ranged Weapon [Rifle] 2d+1hd (5d+1hd)

Powers (112 points)
Hypermind 2wd (4 points per die)
Effect: Marco has an additional 2 wiggle dice on all Mind rolls.

Telepathy 3d+1hd+1wd (A D U U; 10 points per die)
Attacks Extras: Non-Physical +2. Capacities: Range.
Defends Capacities: Self.
Useful Extras: Booster +1. Capacities: Range.
Useful Flaws: No Capacities -1.

Effect: Marco is a telepath with the ability to read minds with a touch and communicate silently at a range of 1600 yards. He can also attack enemies with a mental blast that ignores armor and deals width in Shock and Killing damage.

Big Eyes, Small Mouth from the late, great Guardians of Order is really an awesome system that thanks to the vagaries of the game industry and the currency market was sadly driven into the ground. Thankfully I was able to score a copy of the Revised Second Edition and what is perhaps the best example of concentrated awesome ever put on paper, S. John Ross's trad-anime-fantasy setting, Uresia: Grave of Heaven. That's where I'll be starting with this character.

Uresia is a staunchly humanist setting--the gods are honestly dead--and as tempted as I am to write up a happy, bouncy slime (oh, thank you, Mr. Ross, for these), I'm going to go with a plain, ordinary human. In fact, I'm going to go with that standard fantasy trope, the peasant adventurer.

Martin Furrough was born in the sleepy hamlet of Rogan's Heath in the Rindenland in 1374. He grew up listening to his father's stories of the war against evil Koval and dreamed of one day picking up a sword and venturing out into the wider world to vanquish evil. Unfortunately, his first 16 years were spent on the farm, the only battles being waged against pests in the field and vermin in the barn.

Then, last spring, an unusual thing happened. A party of adventurers passed through Rogan's Heath, spilling gold as carelessly as their sour plum wine. One of the visitors, a large man with dented armor and a very respectable mustache, decided to get rather fresh with Mathilda, one of the inkeepers' daughters and the girl that Martin had been too nervous to ask out for nearly a year. His resolve hardened by the sight of the man pawing at the object of his affection, Martin challenged the stranger to a fistfight in the street outside. Laughing, the man accepted and the two stepped outside.

Martin was soundly defeated, but when the dust cleared, the man helped Martin up and offered him a place in his adventuring company. Surprised and still a little dazed from the fight, Martin accepted. He hasn't been home since that day, but he has seen incredible things and learned very quickly the skills one needs to survive danger.

Uresia suggests 35 or 40 points for basic characters, so I'll build Martin on 35. He's a little on the inexperienced side. I'll also be using the optional skills system, so Martin will have 20 points for that.

We begin with Stats. As the name of the system (Tri-Stat) would indicate, BESM has three Stats: Body, Mind, and Soul. These cover all physical, mental, and spiritual/social actions, respectively. A 4 in any Stat represents adult human average. Martin is very fit, rather agile, and definitely strong, so I'll place his Body at 7. He is fairly average mentally, so I'll put Mind at 4. Finally, he is headstrong and determined, so I'll give him a Spirit of 6. That uses 17 of my 35 points. The remainder can be spent on Attributes.

Attributes are the advantages of BESM, and just about everything special your character can do can be defined with various Attributes. Martin doesn't have much in the way of supernatural power, but he will have some special qualities about him. He is moderately attractive (Appearance 1). He has trained with veteran adventurers and mastered various weapons and combat techniques (Combat Mastery 2, Extra Attacks 1, and Massive Damage 1). He can take quite a beating (Damn Healthy! 3). He has thick skin, able to turn some modest blows (Hidden Light Armor 2). He has picked up some equipment in his travels (Personal Gear 1). He has signed on as an agent of the Loreseekers of Sindra (Organizational Ties 1).

Next, I can choose Defects, which give me points back, but taking a look at that section, none of them really jump out at me. And that's fine; Tri-Stat tends to make Defects really limiting for very few points back.

Finally, I get to choose 20 points in skills. In BESM, skills cost different amounts depending on what genre you're playing in. Uresia is very firmly in the "Medieval Fantasy" genre, so I use that price scheme. Every skill I buy gets a specialization for free; I can buy more if I want. I buy one level each in Melee Attack and Melee Defense and specialize in Swords for both. That's 10 points gone. I buy one level of Riding (Horse) for 3 points. I take a level each in Wilderness Survival (Forest) and Wilderness Tracking (Forest) for 6 points. Finally, I take a level in Cooking (Home) for 1 point.

Now I get to calculate various derived traits. My Attack Combat Value is the average of my three stats, rounded down, so I have an ACV of 5, but I add my levels of Combat Mastery for a total of 7. My Defense Combat Value is 2 less than this, or 5. I have Health Points equal to (Body + Soul) x 5, plus 10 for each level of Damn Healthy!, for a total of 95. Finally, I have Energy Points equal to (Mind + Soul) x 5, or 50.

Now all I need is some equipment. BESM isn't too anal about gear; my one level of Personal Gear gives me one major item, four minor ones, and as many mundane items as I'd like. Looking at equipment lists, I'll take a suit of plate armor (major), a longsword (minor), a shield (minor), a set of full camping gear (minor), a potion of might (minor), and some assorted cooking supplies suitable for cooking in camp (mundane).

And there we have it! Martin Furrough, novice peasant adventurer, ready to cut a swatch of legend across Heaven's Grave.

Martin Furrough
35 points

Body 7, Mind 4, Spirit 6
ACV 7; DCV 5
HP 95; EP 50

Attributes: Appearance 1; Combat Mastery 2; Damn Healthy! 3; Extra Attacks 1; Light Armor 2 (Hidden; stops 2 points of damage); Massive Damage 1; Organizational Ties (Sindran Loreseekers) 1; Personal Gear 1

Skills: Cooking (Home) 1, Melee Attack (Swords) 1, Melee Defense (Swords) 1, Riding (Horse) 1, Wilderness Survival (Forest) 1, Wilderness Tracking (Forest) 1

Gear: plate armor (Light Armor Level 4, Partial, stops 10 points of damage), longsword (10 damage), shield, set of full camping gear, potion of might (Super-Strength Level 1, whole body, 1 minute), assorted camp cooking supplies.

I could tell you what Risus is, but it would be easier to just let author S. John Ross describe it himself:

"Risus is a complete Role Playing Game (RPG) designed to provide an "RPG Lite" for those nights when the brain is too tired for exacting detail. Risus is especially valuable to GMs assembling a quick convention game, or any late-night beer-and-pretzels outing. While it is essentially a Universal Comedy System, it works just as well for serious play (if you insist!). Best of all, a Risus character takes about 20 seconds to create!"

The rules are available for free at Ross's site, and it really is as easy as it sounds. Of course, it's universal, so that poses some problems for blind character creation. For this exercise, I'm going to go with a traditional D&D-style fantasy game.

Risus characters are built using clichés, short descriptive statements that form a part of the character concept and serve as the mechanical building blocks of the whole game. A cliché is rated in the number of dice you roll when performing an action. Starting characters get 10 dice to spend on their cliches.

My character will be Sir Reginald Avery-Lexington, a charming, beefy knight in heavy plate armor who likes to ride around the countryside fighting brigands and attending tournaments. There's money in the first and women in the second, and between the two, he keeps himself pretty busy.

For my first cliché, I'll define the core of Sir Reginald's personality. At heart, he is an honorable--if somewhat dim-witted--warrior for justice. There are any number of ways to describe that, but I'll try and keep it short and pithy. I also want this cliché to be Sir Reginald's best, and since no starting cliché can have more than 4 dice, that's where I'll put it. Sir Reginald is a "Crusader who's sure the joke isn't on him (4)."

Sir Reginald reveres women--he reveres them all over the place. Giving him the cliché "Chivalrous womanizer (3)" not only defines his kind-hearted lechery but provides an interesting contradiction to his personality.

It is a maxim of fantasy RPGs that adventuring is a great way to make money, and while Sir Reginald was born into privilege, he sees no reason why he shouldn't benefit from fighting evil. He is a perfect example of the cliché "The rich get richer (2)."

With my final die, I'm going to call on an advanced option found in the Risus Companion called "Sidekicks and Shield-mates." No knight can be considered truly dashing without a bevy of minstrels, men-at-arms, and other hangers on following him around and touting how brave he is. Instead of buying a final cliché of my own, I'll spend the last die to get a sidekick squad of "Merry Sycophants (3)." This group serves as an NPC ally and will generally be available when I need them.

And that's it, honest! Equipment doesn't really matter in Risus; you're expected to have whatever equipment you would need to fulfill your clichés. So, Sir Reginald has armor, sword, shield, horse, fat sack of cash, whatever.

Sir Reginald Avery-Lexington
Description: Tall, dashing knight in shining armor. Flowing blond hair, blue eyes, great smile, IRON HARD ABS!
Clichés: Crusader who's sure the joke isn't on him (4); Chivalrous womanizer (3); The rich get richer (2).
Sidekick: Merry Sycophants (3)

On the other side of the coin from Last Unicorn's Star Trek Roleplaying Game is Red Dwarf: the Roleplaying Game by Deep7. I have to admit that this game is poorly written, and the mechanics are probably not too well thought through, but it is based on one of the best sci-fi sitcoms ever made, so that gives it a few points. I don't have any real experience with this game, so I'll just walk through character creation step by step.

First, I need to pick a Character Type. This is the character's race, and the options are Human, Hologram, Cat (an evolved, humanoid house pet), Dog, Rabbit, Rat/Mouse, Iguana, 4000 Series Mechanoid, Hudzen 10 Series Mechanoid, Kinitawowi (a genetically engineered barbarian race), Pleasure GELF (a shapeshifting blob that looks like anyone's perfect mate), Wax Droid (designed to emulate an historical or fictional character), or Simulant (a psychotic robot killing machine). To make things simple, I'll go with a bog standard human. This gives me 1 point each in the Resist and Cool skills, and I can have a maximum of 6 in each stat.

First, I'm going to need at least some small bit of character concept. I like the idea of a fairly normal guy who was actually competent at his job getting caught up in the wackiness that would be a typical Red Dwarf game.

I get 20 points to put into the six stats, and they are rated on a scale of 1 to 6. Agility is "general physical prowess and gross motor function," while Dexterity is "fine motor skill and hand-eye coordination." The rest of the stats are pretty clear: Strength, Intelligence, Perception, and Willpower. Being a fairly normal guy, I'll just walk down the middle, with 4 points each in Intelligence and Willpower and 3 points each in the rest.

There are three additional stats derived from the main six. Initiative is the sum of Perception and Agility, so I've got 6. Save is Strength + Willpower, or 7 for this character. Shrug is the average of Strength and Willpower (round up), or 4.

Next up is skills, and I get 30 points for this step. I want to be a competent crewman, a security technician, and a 4 in a skill is listed as "professional." I'll put a 4 in Repair, Security, and Awareness. I'll put 3 points in Cool (for a total of 4), Computer Ops, Firearms, Self-Defense, and Athletics. Finally, I'll put 1 point each in Stealth, History, and Astronavigation.

Now I get to fill out my character's personality with Assets, Liabilities, and Behavior Tags. This is your basic advantage/disadvantage system, with Behavior Tags being little personality quirks to smooth things out. I'll start with Liabilities and Behavior Tags to give me a few points to play with, but I don't want this character to be too messed up. He hates formulaic sports movies (Intolerance, worth +2 points), doesn't drink (Moral Restriction, +1), and is a bit on the skinny side (Skinny, +1). Having been stranded three million years in deep space has made him a little cynical (Cynicism), and it really annoys him when some Pollyanna tells him to look on the bright side (Pet Peeve against Chirpy Optimism).

Those traits leave me with 6 points to spend. I'll put 1 into Dumb Luck and 2 into Tinker. The other three will go back into skills, raising Stealth by 1, buying Gunnery at 1, and buying one level of Language: Esperanto.

That just about wraps this character up. I need a name (of course). I think Richard Beakman sounds like a good working-class bloke to me.

Richard Beakman

AGL 3
Athletics 3
Gunnery 1
Self-Defense 3
Stealth 2

DEX 3
Firearms 3
Repair 4

STR 3

INT 4
Astronavigation 1
Computer Ops 3
History 1
Language: Esperanto 1
Security 4

PER 3
Awareness 4

WIL 4
Cool 4
Resist 1

INIT 6
SAVE 6
SHRUG 4

Personality: Cynicism, Dumb Luck (once per session), Intolerance (formulaic sports movies), Moral Restriction (doesn't drink), Pet Peeve (Chirpy Optimism), Skinny, Tinker

The next entry in my character creation series is the Star Trek Roleplaying Game from the sadly defunct Last Unicorn Games. The Icon System at the core of Star Trek is a point-buy system disguised under a pseudo-race/class model. At each step, the book suggests you choose one of several pre-built packages, but it also gives you the option of buying traits of your choice with a certain amount of points. For the most part, I'm going to be using the package system, but if it creates too many problems, I reserve the point-buy option.

The first step is to choose a Template. This first package represents your species, and the options are Andorians, Axanari, Centaurans, Humans, Tellarites, Tiburonians, and Vulcans. (The Axanari were created by LUG, the rest appear in canon, although I believe you have to look to the movies for the Tiburonians, and the Centaurans are visually identical to humans.)

I'm interested in building a young, action-oriented, almost Kirkian officer, so I'll go with the standard Human template. I have to choose a specialization for the Athletics skill (I'll take Running). I also get to choose a Science skill and a specialization; for a nod to that other great captain, Jean-Luc Picard, I'll take Social Sciences with a specialization in Archaeology.

Step 2 is picking an Overlay. In the race/class model, this is your class package, and it's better to just pick one. Obviously, I'm going to pick the Command overlay for my dashing young officer. I have a few choices here: Planetary or Starship Tactics and a relevant specialization (I'll take Starship Tactics and Planetary Support Tactics); and specializations for Shipboard Systems (Helm), Athletics (Climbing), Computer (Research), Personal Equipment (Communicator), and Planetside Survival (Mountain).

Step 3 is the best part of the process, in my opinion: Background. Through a series of package picks, you can easily build a background for your character. You start with Early Life, and there are a few options that jump out at me (Military Family, Normal Upbringing, and "Starfleet Brat"). But I spot Orphaned, and I can't help but think of the character potential there, so I take the Orphaned package. I get to choose Charm or Intimidation, and I take Charm.

Next is Academy Life, describing your time at Starfleet Academy. Advanced Tactical School might be obvious, or perhaps Exploration Training, but I think Intelligence Training looks fun. I get to choose either Klingon or Romulan for my language training. I'll go with Klingon, if only because they show up more in the original series. I'm going to take a Disadvantage at this point, Impulsive, giving me 1 point back. I'll hold onto that until later.

Next up is the Cadet Cruise, worth exactly 1 point, and I get to put it anywhere I want. But that's not nearly enough. I think I'll take the Code of Honor disadvantage for the Starfleet Code at -3 points. This gives me 4 total points to buy things. I'm goint to put 2 points into Famous Incident (giving me 2 extra Renown Points), 1 point into Commendation (the Starfleet Citation for Conspicuous Gallantry for the Famous Incident) and my last point into Promotion (to Lieutenant, Junior Grade, for the Famous Incident).

Finally, you get at least one Tour of Duty, and I'm drawn immediately to the Frontier Patrol package. No choices here, but I do get another shiny Promotion (to full Lieutenant). At the GM's discretion, characters can get additional Tours, but I'm going to take the default of a single Tour.

I think I'll take three disadvantages at this point, linked together. At some point in my tour on the Klingon border, I was present when the Klingon ship I.K.S. DoQ'Toghar massacred a village on a primitive world, raping and killing the woman I loved. Enraged, I killed their commander before my men managed to pull me away. Since that day, I have sworn to take my revenge on every Klingon that served on the DoQ'Toghar, and they have returned my vengeance in kind. Finally, I have grown Intolerant of all Klingons. This gives me a total of 5 points back, combined with the 1 point I had from my Academy Life, for a total of 6 points. With these points, I buy a level in the Command skill and put 3 points into the Department Head advantage.

So, there we have him. Pick a name: Lucas Montaine. A Starfleet Lieutenant assigned to the U.S.S. Lincoln, head of the Signal Analysis department. I'd need to work with a GM to come up with a Famous Incident, but other than that he's good to go.

Lt. Lucas Montaine

Attributes
Fitness 2
Coordination 2
Intellect 2
Presence 2

Empathy +1
Willpower +1

Skills
Administration (Starship Administration) 2 (3)
Athletics (Climbing) 2 (3) and (Running) (3)
Behavior Modification (Resistance) 1 (2)
Charm 1
Command (Starship Command) 3 (4)
Computer (Research) 1 (2)
Culture (Human) (3)
Dodge 1
Energy Weapon (Phaser) 1 (3)
Espionage (Traffic Analysis) 1 (2)
Federation Standard 3
History (Human) 1 (2) and (Federation) (2)
Klingon 1
Law (Starfleet Regulations) 2 (3)
Personal Equipment (Communicator) 1 (2)
Planetside Survival (Mountain) 1 (2)
Security (Law Enforcement) 1 (2)
Social Sciences (Archaeology) 1 (2)
Starship Tactics (Planetary Support Tactics) 2 (3) and (Starfleet) (3)
Streetwise 1
Vehicle Operations (Shuttlecraft) 1 (2)
World Knowledge (Earth) 1 (2)

Traits
Commendation (Starfleet Citation for Conspicuous Gallantry) +1, Department Head +3, Famous Incident +2, Hides Emotions -2, Impulsive -1, Intolerant (Klingons) -2, Obligation (Starfleet Intelligence) -1, Promotion (Lt.) +2, Sworn Enemy (the crew of the I.K.S. DoQ'Toghar) -2, Vengeful (the crew of the I.K.S. DoQ'Toghar) -1

Courage: 3

Renown: 3
Initiative 2, Aggression 1

My next pick in this series is Vampire: The Requiem from White Wolf. As much as I dug the World of Darkness, I was never the biggest fan of the original Vampire: The Masquerade. So, when they rebooted the setting and released Requiem, I was pleasantly surprised to see that they changed very little, but everything they did alter was definitely for the better.

Concept is key in the World of Darkness games, so I'm going to think a little harder about this character. I have an idea in my head of a young girl, a freshman in college, intoxicated by all of the vices of the adult world, who meets a guy at a party, goes off somewhere with him, is raped, Embraced, and then immediately discarded by her new sire, never to see him again. Not only does she feel violated both physically and spiritually, not only is she now subject to the Curse of vampirism with all its accompanying cravings, but she finds herself bereft of purpose and meaning. She knows she can't go back to her old life, but she has no one to show her how to exist in her new unlife.

She wanders for some time, slowly learning the rules of vampiric existence, and eventually she comes upon a gathering of the Lancea Sanctum (a religious covenant of vampires who believe they are instruments of god sent to show man the folly of sin). The teachings of Longinus gives her meaning and purpose; God still loves her, but he has dark work for her to do. She dives into the covenant and is now on her way up.

So, we start the creation process by choosing attributes. I know that physical ability is least important to this concept, but I'm not sure if social or mental traits will be more central. I think I'll go with social, so I get 5 dots there. I'll take 2 in Presence, 2 in Manipulation, and 1 in Composure. For mental, I get 4, so I put 1 each in Intelligence and Wits and 2 in Resolve. Finally, I get 3 dots in physical, so I just spread them evenly, 1 each in Strength, Dexterity, and Stamina.

Next, I choose skills. Again, I'll take Social as my primary category, but I think physical will be my secondary. I see this character having toughened up somewhat on the streets after her Embrace. With 11 dots in Social skills, I go with 2 in Empathy, 1 in Expression, 1 in Intimidation, 3 in Persuasion, 1 in Socialize, 1 in Streetwise, and 2 in Subterfuge. For Physical, I get 7 dots; 2 go into Survival and Weaponry, and 1 each in Brawl, Larceny, and Stealth. And my Mental skills get 4 dots, so I put 1 each in Academics, Investigation, Occult, and Politics.

I also get 3 skill specialties. I like the look of Religion for Academics and Seduction for Persuasion. I want a Weaponry specialty, too, and I decide on Mace. Yeah, she carries around a frickin' mace. You got a problem with that?

Now I add the vampire template. First, I decide on clan. Immediately, Daeva and Ventrue jump out at me. Looking over the clan descriptions, I decide on Daeva for two reasons. One, at the core, this concept really is driven by emotion, both anger and longing. Two, Majesty seems like a better fit than Dominate. I've already chosen Covenant, so I can move on from there.

As a Daeva, I can add one to either Dexterity or Manipulation. Easy choice: Manipulation, giving me 4 dots in that Attribute. Next, I can choose 3 dots in Disciplines, and at least 2 must come from my clan's list (Celerity, Majesty, and Vigor). After a quick look through the Disciplines section, I decide to put 2 dots into Majesty and 1 into Celerity.

My Blood Potency starts at 1, and it's going to stay there. This character hasn't been around that long, and she's not a diablerist, so there's no reason to raise Potency any higher.

Next, I determine my various advantages. My Defense is 2 (lower of Dexterity and Wits). Health is Stamina (2) + Size (5), for a total of 7. Initiative modifier is 4 (Dexterity + Composure). Humanity is the default of 7. Speed is 9 (Strength + Dexterity + 5). Willpower is Resolve (3) + Composure (2), total 5.

I need to choose a Virtue and a Vice. Virtue is easy: Faith. This girl fervently believes that God has a plan for her. It's the only thing that keeps her going night after night. Vice is harder. I think when she was mortal she ran on Gluttony or possibly Lust. But now, it might be interesting if she operated under Envy. She's jealous of the mortals. They have the true keys to Heaven. They have the chance to repent. Vampires don't really have that. All they can do is follow the Testament and do God's work and dream of some far off salvation. Yeah, that sounds kind of cool.

Last step is Merits. I get 7 dots here. First, I buy a dot in Covenant Status. The local Lancea Sanctum knows this character, but she isn't a big name yet. Maybe some night. I take a dot in Resources, too; she runs a blog about the intersection of religion and politics, and it earns a modest income through donations, ads, and merchandise. I put 3 dots into Haven, giving her a small (Size 1) apartment near her old college (Location 1) with some modest security features (Security 1). Finally, I put my last 2 dots into Striking Looks; she's very attractive, which can be both a blessing and a curse.

And that's it. Oh, yeah. Needs a name. How about, Rebeca Cole?

Name: Rebeca Cole
Clan: Daeva
Covenant: Lancea Sanctum
Embrace: 1998
Apparent Age: 18
Mental Attributes: Intelligence 2, Wits 2, Resolve 3
Physical Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 2, Stamina 2
Social Attributes: Presence 3, Manipulation 4, Composure 2
Mental Skills: Academics 1 (Religion), Investigation 1, Occult 1, Politics 1
Physical Skills: Brawl 1, Larceny 1, Stealth 1, Survival 2, Weaponry 2 (Mace)
Social Skills: Empathy 2, Expression 1, Intimidation 1, Persuasion 3 (Seduction), Socialize 1, Streetwise 1, Subterfuge 2
Merits: Haven 3 (Location 1, Security 1, Size 1), Resources 1, Status (Covenant) 1, Striking Looks 2
Willpower: 5
Humanity: 7
Virtue: Faith
Vice: Envy
Health: 7
Initiative: 4
Defense: 2
Speed: 9
Blood Potency: 1
Disciplines: Celerity 1, Majesty 2
Vitae/per Turn: 10/1

The last two games have used point-based character creation, so I thought I'd go with something more structured like a level-based model, and my current obsession in that arena is Star Wars Saga Edition from Wizards of the Coast. This third edition of their licensed Star Wars RPG was a phenomenal step forward, introducing just about every element I actually like in their eventual fourth edition of Dungeons & Dragons.

Like most D20 games, Star Wars characters start by generating ability scores. The rulebook includes options for random generation or planned generation, and of course I prefer planned, which is essentially the one point-buy element in the game.

For this character, I think I'm going to try a concept that's been kicking around in my head a few days, a Rodian Jedi Sentinel. Sentinels are Jedi dedicated to eradicating the dark side, especially Dark Jedi, and the bounty hunter-flavored Rodians seem like a good fit there, although their racial ability modifiers make for poor Jedi. So, working with my skill package I set my ability scores (after racial modifiers) at Str 13, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 12 -- not too great but above average, and it gives a lot of room to grow.

Next is class, which I've already determined in my concept (Jedi). Looking at the class, I see I get the Force Sensitive feat and Weapon Proficiency with lightsabers and simple weapons. I also get one talent from the Jedi-specific talent trees or any of the Force talent trees in the Force chapter. As a Jedi Sentinel, I want a talent from that tree, and Dark Side Sense is the best choice there as it opens up two of the best talents in the tree for later. As a Jedi, I get two trained skills from the class list, and I choose Perception and Use the Force, getting a bonus of +6 with both.

Finally, I also get one feat as a 1st-level character. I'm tempted to neglect the Force and go with Improved Defenses because of my low ability scores, but I can't bring myself to do it. Instead, I choose Force Training, giving me two Force powers of my choice. I take rebuke off the bat. I like the look of sever force, but I don't have a high enough Use the Force check to get much use out of it, so I leave it for higher levels. Instead, I choose force slam, a nice, solid area attack.

The last thing I need is equipment. All jedi get a lightsaber at 1st level, plus 3d4x100 credits (average is 750, so I'll go with that). I take a utility belt, an all-temperature cloak, a concealed holster for my lightsaber, and a basic datapad.

What I end up with is a rather unexceptional Jedi Sentinel with room for growth. He is dedicated to rooting out the Dark Side wherever it dwells. For a name, I look at the sample names for Rodians and choose Neesh.

Neesh, Jedi Sentinel
Medium Rodian Jedi 1
Init +1; Senses low-light vision (ignore concealment from darkness); Perception +6
Languages Basic, Rodese

Defense Ref 13 (flat-footed 12), Fort 13, Will 13
hp 31; Threshold 13

Speed 6 squares
Melee lightsaber +2 (2d8+1)
Base Atk +1; Grp +2
Force Powers Known (Use the Force +6): force slam, rebuke

Abilities Str 13, Dex 12, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 12
Talents Dark Side Sense
Feats Force Sensitivity, Force Training, Weapon Proficiency (lightsabers, simple weapons)
Skills Perception +6, Use the Force +6
Possessions all-temperature cloak, concealed holster, lighsaber, utility belt