Autumn War CharGen - v12 design - Astor
Okay, since cucumberseed has set up a new chargen for Autumn War, I'm going to give it a whirl. While I'm tempted to put Fetch back through it (and I might yet), I want to try a different province. Since the original AW design was about the war between Oak and Pine, I decided to go for Pine 'cause Oak just don't stroke me, plus Pine has access to the Chestnut Tree Witch (which does stroke me). I'm trying not to flesh out the char too much at this point, or at least get my heart set on it so when I jack up the Ages of Life rolls, that I don't kibosh my concept.
I think I've got a mutable concept here, an exiled member of the Pine nobility who works as a Chestnut Tree Witch. Details from there will depend on where things go. So here we go:
Step One:
- Name: Astor - 7th Duke of Solistice (in Exile).
- Province: Pine
-- Lingo: Old Kingdom
All I seem to remember about Pine's kingdom is that it was fucked because the former monarch was very good at keeping usurpers at bay, but shitty at finding a reasonable successor. This makes me think that the Pine nobility is a lot more interested in stabbing each other in the back than the brass tacks of government. I made up the title 'cause it sounded good that a non-Xtian culture would maybe have dominions based on astrology. I dunno. Mostly it sounded good.
Step Two:
- Virtue: Faith
I figure that if Astor's a Chestnut Tree Witch, he's gonna be doing some battle with spirits and with the Black Wind and with the setting more than people. As it turns out, his skillset might lend to this as well. From a metagame perspective, I wonder if Faith might be an obvious "easy mode" for gathering strength. Entering into a lot of conflicts leans toward traditional "kill things, take loot" paradigm of gaming - which AW is supposed to be subverting. Dunno. Just a thought. I don't see Astor as being really strong of personality, though since I don't have a great grasp of his personality atm either. This might be a weakness of the fact that I didn't want to really flesh out his RP persona and have it smashed by the Ages of Life. Meh.
Step Three (Age/Life):
- Early Childhood:
-- Aspect/Psyche: Dreamy (creative, irresponsible, intuitive)
-- Ability: Hearthkeeper \
At this point, Astor is a wistful noble brat. He's being taught how to lord over servants, how to properly arrange things, how to maintain some dignity. More than that, though, he's learning how to sense/notice things that happen around the manor. Rolled a 4, onto next childhood.
- Young Childhood:
-- Ability: Diplomacy \
And here Astor learns how not to tell people that his mom is schtupping the Butler. Or how to use that knowledge to his own advantage anyway. Class 101 on Being A Noble Manipulator. Rolled a 3, keep going, as the young boy is really starting to get interested in how to use people as a game.
- Older Childhood:
-- Ability: Storyteller \
-- Art: Ritual
By this point, Astor is being noticed for be avidly interested in people and in being noticed by people. He wants to work them, and his family is more than willing to teach him how to speak publicly and how to win them to a cause (or more often, to defame the opposition). He's also being schooled in some of the high rituals of whatever his religion is, along with the social rituals of the nobility, so he can at least pay lip service tradition even if he doesn't care about it in reality (which he doesn't, very feckless, our boy). Feckless enough, anyway, to fuck about the remainder of his childhood. Rolling a 5 means that Astor spends the rest of his childhood becoming accustomed to luxury and not learning anything in particular.
Metagame: I almost think that the rolls for adulthood should be EC 6, YC 5 6; OC 4 5 6; and at least give a roll for Adolescence to develop into adulthood. Or at least the lattermost of those. Seems harsh that you can jump from EC to Adulthood in with a 1/3 chance. Of course, I haven't done enough of these to determine how that would affect balance. Just a thought, put it out there for commentary.
- Adulthood - Just Initiated
-- Ability: Diplomacy \\
Now Astor is getting into advanced, adult diplomacy. Probably starting to negotiate things of actual importance, not to mention starting to negotiate his personal affairs. Astor likes girls, 'cause I'm just heteronormative like that. I dunno. Although we haven't gotten there yet, I figure that Astor's Chestnutt abilities are starting to manifest here. They frighten him. Rolled a 2, Astor continues.
Metagame: I feel like that this Age should get something more, an art or an aspect of psyche/culture. Transitioning to Adulthood - the Initiation, you see - should have more of an impact than just a skillset they pick up. Also, I'd like to suggest that the Warrior path can be started at any point in adulthood - not just at the Just Initiated stage. So at each level of adulthood you can join the service, or advance if already started. Seems a little harsh to ask someone to decide right away if they will pick up a Pointy-Stick. Besides, different cultures will have differing opinions on when to begin martial training.
- Young Adult:
-- Ability: Bard \
-- Aspect/Psyche: Idealistic (Brighter Outlook, Too-Trusting, Fervent)
-- Art: Intrigues
This is Astor in his prime under his family. He's already got the theoretical underpinings on how to be a real political mover, but now he's getting the experience of feeling people out and comparing them to what he knows. He's also bought into a lot of the nobility rhetoric, and doesn't he just live in the best of all worlds? Maybe, but all this manuevering that he's getting into is helping him know how to figure out the unspoken games that people play with each other. Don't worry, faithful readers, Astor is set for a fall - which pretty much happens here. Rolled a 6, oops now Astor has a kid. I was sorta hoping to get him one more rank of adulthood, but whatever. Roll with the punches.
Metagame: Um. There's something about the "procreative" vs. "non-procreative" mechanics divide that strikes me poorly. I don't want to have hetero-entitlement burst forth from my mouth but there seems to be something unbalanced in the fact that "non-pro's" (by which I am reading 'teh ghey') are more likely to advance a bit further into adulthood before moving on to parenthood and thereby be more likely to get a few more free attributes. Of course, Step 5 takes a bite out of this in DPs and Step 6 in ratios. Still, there's something that sticks as wrong in my mind about the way there's a mechanical division based on sexual orientation. Unless procreative/nonprocreative is supposed to denote something other than orientation.
- Parenthood: Small Child
-- Aspect/Culture: Fatalistic
-- Ability: Bard \\
-- Art: Cold Weather
Well Astor has slipped off of the slope and is on the outs with his kin. As such, he's developed his province's typical pissy-attitude with regard to resignation and a philosophy "so it goes". On the other hand, believing that fate is out of your hands leaves you free to make other plans. Astor has inherited a little kid as a result of his adventures, a survivor of a massacre that Astor had no small part in. I'm thinking that this kid has a little of Mad Eyes in him, making Astor a little more willing to help the kid (I think a boy?) out. This is also the period of time in which Astor is doing the real work of being a Chestnut Tree Witch, so he's learning more about the world outside the Manor hedge. Particularly on how not to freeze to death. I start to roll to see if I continue, then realize I don't have to. Since I wanted to roll, I decide I must want to continue in the Parenthood Ages.
- Parent of Young Child
-- Ability: Pathfinder \
-- Art: Bow & Arrow
Well, life isn't getting any easier for Astor, and he's spending a lot more time on the road (or in the air, as it happens). As such, he's doing a lot more pick-up work and travelling around. Odd jobs means he needs to know how to find his way around and, if necessary, how to get out of dodge faster than the posse. Knowing how to use a simple bow and arrow helps track down that food, particularly if it's flying next to you. I decide to go ahead and stop here, not sure why. I don't want a very old character, and if the kid gets any older I'm going to start wondering why Astor's not ditching him at the nearest convent or something.
Step Four:
Diplomacy: 10
Bard: 10
Storyteller: 8
Hearthkeeper: 8
Pathfinder: 8
Others: 6
Step Five/Step Six:
I have seven (double check, please) Ages of Life, so that leaves 13 DP. This also means that I have a ratio of 13:1 (Parent 6 + 7 AoL)
- DPS
-- Advantage: Chestnut Tree Witch (4)
-- Arts: Imperial (2), Ash (2)
-- Aspect/Culture: Resourceful (1)
-- Ability: Forage \ (2)
-- Ability: Waywatch \ (2)
-- Ability: Spiritualist \ (2)
This represents Astor's original concept (CTW), and the skills that he picked up after he was exiled, and after he picked up the Kid. In the older versions of AW, extra languages are Arts, so I assume that is carried over here. Also, Ash is noted to be a derivation of Old Kingdom - so I don't know if it makes sense for Astor to need a separate Art to speak it. It would make sense for him to know it from living around servants (probably of Ash heritage) for the early part of his life, and then travelling around an underclass. If an extra Art isn't necessary for him to speak Ash, I'd take Kacia (since he might do jobs for them occasionally). Imperial comes from the fact that he did work as a mercenary for the Oak Incorporated Conscription Service for a while.
Step Seven:
"I need to find/recover 'my childhood love's' remains (10)"
As mentioned, Astor was on the payroll of the Oak Army for a while - using his Chestnut Tree skills to keep the Black Wind off of his employers' soldiers and occasionally to execute members of the resistance. One day, a Pine Expeditionary Force decided to try to take the mining camp for resources. Astor thrust them all into the Black Wind as ordered. Unfortunately, the regiment was the one which should have been commanded by his former childhood love (it was a hereditary command position), and he never found her body. Maybe she lived (it does happen) maybe she didn't. But now she could be anywhere in the provinces (or beyond *wince*).
This event also is what left him with the Kid. He knew to sneak away from the Pine camp and hide in a cave until it was all over. Astor found him later after he told the Oak to go fuck themselves, seemed like the least he could do after killing a whole bunch of people.
Step Eight:
Scar 1: I betrayed my family crest to the Black Thorns.
Scar 2: I called the Black Wind to consume my countrymen.
Yes, it seems that young Astor was actually a patsy to the Black Thorns, who were backing his family to take the crown. (Un)Fortunately, the King found out and summarily executed the majority of the conspirators. Astor's role of rabblerouser and propagandist wasn't appreciated, but he somehow managed to avoid the axe at the cost of being exiled from polite society. He technically has a title, but it's marred by the fact that his family is now commonly believed to be tantamount to diabolists.
The second scar is basically mentioned above.
Step Nine:
Goal/Plan: Help the kid overcome his madness or find someone reliable and responsible to take care of him. 'cause wherever Astor's going, he figures its probably in harm's way.
Step Ten:
Gear: Pouch of food, backpack, long jagged-toothed two-man saw (for playing and flying), bow & not-enough arrows, thick coat, some tea leaves (kinda sorta helps the kid when he gets those fits), spyglass.
This is a bit more than the 5 or 6 items, but seriously? Who's counting?
Summarized character sheet in the comments.
Overall: Pretty quick chargen, if you know what kinda character you're going for. Seems pretty streamlined so far, although I did have to refer back to various sheets in order to remember what my culture's arts are (but cross referencing is totally part of char gen). I think my next attempt is going to be a full schmoe build (no advantages) to see how that works out. Will also probably go "non-procreative" to see how that affects things. I might also try to mix-max for a particularly skillset, but we'll see.
-12th.