2023 Character Creation Challenge

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Yeah, after 31 straight days I need a break. But I'd love to take a stab at some of the games with more involved character gen. And it occurred to me I was very PC / protagonist minded, so it could be fun to mix it up and start building villians and bad guys for PC's to thwart (or not).
 
MoonHunter is continuing on. Let me repost a first post for a thread I started on another less publike site. If people want to, I will start a similar thread here.

It takes 28 days to make (or break) a habit. (well 21-28 days depending on whom you listen to.)

I have spent 31 days doing something - making characters.

This is my second (and a half) year doing #CharacterCreationChallenge. My post-mortem this year will be a little different than last year.

As I expected, like last year, I woke up in a panic. You see, I do characters the day ahead, then post them up (and usually tinker some) on the appropriate day. So I finished it all "yesterday". True to form I woke up this morning in 12 seconds of panic going, "OMG what character am I going to post.".

Last year I went through "withdrawals" for the next week or so, maybe tinkering with a new character. I expected the same this year. It is okay. I have a plan.

The Challenge Continues.

There are three levels of Challenge I propose. Choose the one that works for you.

1) The Perfect Challenge Response would be 334 characters, until January 1st. This is the platonic ideal. It is mostly unsustainable, though if we average it out... it might be possible.

2) The Best Challenge Response is 48 more characters, one for each week until January. That way we keep the form up, without pushing life hard.

3) The Target Challenge Response is 70 more characters, bringing one and a half characters a week (a total of 101 if you did January), until January 1st.

4) Supportive Challenge Response is 11 more characters, one per month until January 1st.

The challenge starts 02/01/2023 - tomorrow from this time coordinate ... but join any time.

These will be "average numbers". Some weeks you will do more, some weeks less. Th,e target is to get as close to the chosen challenge number as you can. Each player of this game will keep track of their own numbers, My #3, My week 05, or somesuch. They should also list the game and version they are doing the character for.

Characters can be of any system or setting as appropriate. They can be character exercises or you could be filling out a location or setting. Since we are not pushing for one a day, each one should have a nice bit of conception, history, and some description.

If you don't make it, fine. There is no penalty for failure. You will have some NPCs/ characters made. That will be useful. Also: You will still show off games or setting you like - that others might not know. You can play with "the game of the moment". It is a place to put characters you make. (A double posting in game-specific threads might happen and it is okay by me.)

I am doing #3, Target Challenge.

This year I will not have those withdrawals. I assume you won't either.
 
MoonHunter said:
MoonHunter is continuing on. Let me repost a first post for a thread I started on another less publike site. If people want to, I will start a similar thread here.

It takes 28 days to make (or break) a habit. (well 21-28 days depending on whom you listen to.)

I have spent 31 days doing something - making characters.

This is my second (and a half) year doing #CharacterCreationChallenge. My post-mortem this year will be a little different than last year.

As I expected, like last year, I woke up in a panic. You see, I do characters the day ahead, then post them up (and usually tinker some) on the appropriate day. So I finished it all "yesterday". True to form I woke up this morning in 12 seconds of panic going, "OMG what character am I going to post.".

Last year I went through "withdrawals" for the next week or so, maybe tinkering with a new character. I expected the same this year. It is okay. I have a plan.

The Challenge Continues.

There are three levels of Challenge I propose. Choose the one that works for you.

1) The Perfect Challenge Response would be 334 characters, until January 1st. This is the platonic ideal. It is mostly unsustainable, though if we average it out... it might be possible.

2) The Best Challenge Response is 48 more characters, one for each week until January. That way we keep the form up, without pushing life hard.

3) The Target Challenge Response is 70 more characters, bringing one and a half characters a week (a total of 101 if you did January), until January 1st.

4) Supportive Challenge Response is 11 more characters, one per month until January 1st.

The challenge starts 02/01/2023 - tomorrow from this time coordinate ... but join any time.

These will be "average numbers". Some weeks you will do more, some weeks less. Th,e target is to get as close to the chosen challenge number as you can. Each player of this game will keep track of their own numbers, My #3, My week 05, or somesuch. They should also list the game and version they are doing the character for.

Characters can be of any system or setting as appropriate. They can be character exercises or you could be filling out a location or setting. Since we are not pushing for one a day, each one should have a nice bit of conception, history, and some description.

If you don't make it, fine. There is no penalty for failure. You will have some NPCs/ characters made. That will be useful. Also: You will still show off games or setting you like - that others might not know. You can play with "the game of the moment". It is a place to put characters you make. (A double posting in game-specific threads might happen and it is okay by me.)

I am doing #3, Target Challenge.

This year I will not have those withdrawals. I assume you won't either.
Click to expand...

Okay, a few people mentioned about keeping it up. This post got liked. So Here it is....

The 2023 Continuation Thread
 
January 31st

System: Blade of the Iron Throne
Version: N/A...or Color edition?
Setting: World Of Conan...but neither d20, nor 2d20:tongue:!

Calidor
Gender: Male Race: PC.
In this, you are choosing priorities, so let me start.
Sorcery: D
Culture: C
Attributes: 29
Skills: 12
Proficiencies: 16
Assets: Three Poor assets

Sorcery: Mundane. That's my usual way of saying "I would have rather played a historical campaign with no magic"...:grin:
Brawn: 5
Daring: 5
Tenacity: 4
Cunning: 6
Heart: 5
Sagacity: 4

Which also gives us...
Reflex: 6
Aim: 6
Knockdown: 4
Knockout: 5
Move: 5

Culture: Hillfolk. He's living in a broken mountaineous region that's hard to traverse...well, yeah, Bosonian:thumbsup:!

7 bonus skill points related to survival, climbing, animal ken. Which means I've got 19 points total, basically.

Animal Ken 2 - he's got his own pet monkey and is trying to train it to do tricks, especially "fetch"...
Battlefield Tactics 1 mostly learnt by osmosis
Climbing 4
Customs 1 - he is trying to learn how to behave since leaving the Bosonian hills...that said, he still mostly sucks at it...
Detect Sorcery...unavailable.
Falsehoods 1 - unlike Cimmerians, Bosonians have a few known almost-liars. They're known as Those Guys (who have Creative Attitude To Truth, however - actual liars aren't tolerated).
Foreign Language 2 do Aquilonians speak the same language as Bosonians? I think they do, but if they don't, well, he gets this to be Aquilonian. If yes, this is Zingaran.
Foreign Language 2 Nemedian for obvious reasons
Foreign Language 2 Pictish
Foreign Language 2 Zamoran
Note: those are actually 4 points. At chargen every point in languages counts for 2 points.
Information gathering 1
Sneaking 2
Survival 2
Tracking 1

...a skill monkey he ain't! But then, neither was the young Conan - unlike the old Conan, one must note.

Proficiencies (weapon skills):
Cut-and-thrust 12
Bow 4
Curious detail: he got the least amount of bow training he could get away with in Bosonian society, in favour of the sword. He was thinking of going mercenary even in those early days!

Passions:
Gain fame as mercenary
Get the money
Get the girl
Revenge on the Nemedians who killed my father
Drama

Assets:
Panther Reflexes (Poor): you know how some people are high strung, and some are too high-strung? Well, guess which one is his case... +2 TN modifier on most applications of Customs, Etiquette, Information Gathering, and Seduction.
Honest (Poor): Well, yeah, Bosonian...we said it already... The character takes +3 TN to successfully tell a lie or sniff out somebody else’s lie. He takes +1 TN to all social Checks in situations in which he is hiding something.
Lecherous (Poor): We know why nobody tried to stop him from going mercenary. The character is addicted to pretty faces. If he wants to avoid having to make passes at every possible attractive partner he comes across (or at the most attractive one if encountering several at once), he has to pass a TY Check. Usually at Challenging or above difficulty.
Note: given that he is high strung, and has no Seduction to begin with, I predict him being disappointed regularly in-game, until we get to the "drinking and whoring" part of the adventure:angel:!

Bio: Calidor was born as a Bosonian, but wasn't much of an archer - by choice, mind you - focusing his efforts on the sword, instead. This was related both to the popularity of duelling (with sticks) between boys, and to his plans of leaving the hills and going mercenary to gain fame, wealth and prestige.
And, he hopes, maybe foreign chicks would like him more? He hears swordsmen are rather highly revered in foreign lands...
And if that fails, well, he still plans to gain wealth, so there are other options as well!
His active chasing of all skirts probably contributed to him not being missed much, too. Nobody tried real hard to stop him, at any rate. At least nobody with a daughter, granddaughter, or niece.
 
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sharps54 said:
If we are going to do that can we close this post, maybe once everyone catches up for January, so dummies like me don’t post in the wrong thread?
Click to expand...
Will do.
 
Unlocking so folks can do what they want.

There's two threads. At some point I will merge them.
 
System: Age of Ambition

Name: Jaquin Durand
Race: Human
Career: Former Ne'er-do-well, Current Soldier.
Social Strata: Commoner
Ambitions: Become a distinguished member of the Army
Creed: Never turn his back against a comrade
Idiosyncracy: Never turns down an opportunity to carouse

Background
Jaquin Durand was orphaned at an early age. He never knew his father and his mother never talked of him, but she worked tirelessly to support him and his younger brother Arnaud until she fell sick, leaving him in the sums of Shinboil with his young brother to take care of. Falling in with a rough crowd, he survived as he could, but always felt he was meant for more. His brother, on the other hand, was more than content with where they were, and excelled in the environment, running cons on everyone he could, and falling back on his brother when they went wrong. He used every tactic he could to keep his brother close, even using the time he saved his brother's life and nursed him back to health against him. It took his brother betraying him for his eyes to open, and for him to decide he was going to leave the life. On the day of the open trials for the army in the city, he decided to join up. But he didn't want to just join, he wanted to excel, and chose to present himself in the gruelling trials of the Hielyr, the last elite regiment in the city. He proved more than up to the job, and joined as a cadet. His rapid rise up the ranks was only exceeded in speed by his rising cynicism, as he found that the armed forces for the most part were just as corrupt as the streets had been. It was nothing like what he'd expected. He is now respected in his regiment, but holds only them as his comrades, in service to the Queen, though rebellion foments around them in Shinboil.

Stats
Strength (STR) – 4
Dexterity (DEX) – 6
Speed (SPD) – 5
Endurance (END) – 7
Intelligence (INT) – 6
Perception (PER) – 5
Charisma (CHR) – 3
Determination (DET) – 4

Calculated Scores
Armor: 2/1
Attack (DEX+INT/2): 6
Defense (SPD+PER/2): 5
Encumbrance (STR+DEX/2): 5
Health Points (STR+END): 11
Luck: 5
Move (SPD+END/2): 6
Willpower (CHR+DET/2): 4

Skills
Athletics – Proficient
Awareness – Expert
Deception – Proficient
Language (Standard) – Proficient
Stealth – Expert
Streetwise – Expert
Surivival – Proficient
Thievery – Expert

Fighting Styles
Fencer
Dual Wield
Skirmisher

Traits
Toughness
Human Hope
Moxie
Diehard
Combat Reflexes
Favor (former Partner)
Favor (spy contact)
Favor (murder patron)

Weaknesses
Human Optimism
Obligation (Con-Artist Sibling)
Obligation (former Partner)

Equipment
Dagger x2
Lockpicks
Sword
Arquebus, 10 bullets, powder
Gambeson with Insignia
Backpack
246 bp

Final Notes:
Everything in this seems to be quite different from other games- making a character in this made me more interested in trying to play. I was able to make quite the interesting character with a lot of hooks that I'd like to explore in more detail. I like the careers and how you navigate them- it reminds me a lot of WFRP. It's one of the first systems where character creation made me deviate largely from what I'd conceived- and I liked it!

Full notes and character creation: https://write.as/chuckdee/character-a-day-2023-day-11-age-of-ambition
 
That's not a starting character. It's an NPC, actually. But I already know what he's like, now I'm wondering how much XP are needed to get to this level.

System: Art of Wuxia
Version: n/a (or is it AsenRG's Version...)

Name:Bat'Bayan - actually cannot be pronounced by humans, but this is a good approximation
Race: Atlant
STRENGTH 69
AGILITY 69
LOGIC 96
WILLPOWER 96
Talents: Thief (55%), Detective (68%)
Skills:grin:etective 1, Scholar 4, Warrior of the Space Palm 3 (External, 65%)
Kung-fu Techniques: Multiple Attacks, Multiple Defense, Counterattack, Hold, Reverse Hold, Meditation (3 learned with XP)
Mystic 1 (58%)
163 XP

Totally Honourable, Very Generous, Very Brave, Somewhat Selfish, Somewhat Cruel, Totally Focused

Bat'Bayan is tall for a human, with long dark hair, silvery clothes and a headband that sports the IYI symbol. He works in the Cowboys ("Agency For Research & Protection Of Primitive Pre-Contact Societies"), the Space division.
Bat'Bayan was posted, along with his colleague and partner Mila, to survey the primitives on a planet that is, roughly, 1500 years away from eing allowed First Contact. However, Mila was kidnapped by a rogue Salurian and brought to the planet...

That usually results in Quarantine Teams being dispatched.
Bat'Bayan couldn't accept that, neither for Mila nor for the continent she was taken to, so he delayed reporting the events and went on a rescue mission himself. Or course, to minimise "exposing" the natives (to tech), he is using their kind of technology.
Even that much, he knows, can give rise to Conspiracy Theories that might screw the development of the natives' culture as the civilisation of the planet keeps advancing...but he has no choice.
He has been following the Salurian ever since, racing against time and trying to use local intermediaries as much as possible.
 
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I'm making this as a pregen for Chappy, who is going to come to tomorrow's session. He gave me the background...conveniently, in English, so I just pasted it here. The picture is also what he has found.

System: Art of Wuxia
Version: N/A

Character:
GruntBull_yong_25-years-old_chinese_man_buzz_beard_rugged_face__6bbd359f-9cfc-462e-80e3-2de7332be6d8.png

Zheng Longwei, known as "Sandfox" - a young, reserved, sometimes uncouth detective making a living with morally questionable cases on the rough-tumble gutter streets he grew on as an orphan, deeply empathic but not afraid to make difficult choices or get his hands dirty, with a thematic fixation with Tibetan sand fox (stealth and cunning, but also more wolfish look emphasizing the wild nature of a street-grown man).

So:
Strength 60
Agility 65
Logic 55
Willpower 50

Detective 0 Primary Talent 48%
Thief 1 43%
Talent: Warrior of the Pouncing Panther/Red Tiger Secondary Talent (50% close/52% ranged)
Technique: Lethal Strike (i.e.+3 damage)
 
And here is another NPC, the other one mentioned in Bat'Bayan's story. (There might be an Easter Egg...or two...or three...in this character).

System: Art of Wuxia
Version: N/A

Countess Mila "Totally-Not-Yovovich"
Female Atlant (looks like a blonde human who'd get a role in any 80ies SF movie)


Strength 50
Agility 65
Logic 69
Willpower 68

Scholar 5 85%
Apothecary 2 55%
Mystic 2 54%
Sorcerer 1 (Primary Talent) 54%
Spell: Travel.
Warrior of the Heliconian Twisting 3 (secondary talent): 73%/73%
Techniques: Vivacity, Counterhold, Hold

She is exactly 100XP ("Cultivation Points") above a starting character, too.

Mila is the other half of the survey crew sent to this planet. However, watching the rise of dark cults and mafias and doing nothing was sitting badly with her, despite all her training...or because of it, because she knew how much things could improve!
So she escaped to planetside, staging her own kidnapping, hoping that her fellow crewmember would do the right thing and follow her, instead of risking the intervention of a Cleaner!
If he does, she feels she would be able to persuade him to follow her and start a live on the planet. Their mission is long-term anyway...
Meanwhile, she is acting like a xia, busting cults and criminal networks, becoming known as The Bat (because she's dressing all in black, in a mask that looks like it has small ears, sitting sideways on the head). And she has started learning sorcery, which is unknown in Space Society. Her first lessons focused on transportation magic, because she doesn't like taking chances: if a Cleaner appears, he is bound by law to save her. If he can't get to her, he can't start Cleaning the Contamination (which might include destroying the whole continent, depending on an AI analysis). So she simply has to escape him, right?
 
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