[Mighty Thews] Character Generation, Part One: Bones
I'm a bit proud of the simplicity of character generation for Mighty Thews. There are still some things to work out, but the general idea is this: Through each player making a few discrete choices and providing a few sentences, you have bad-ass characters, a new game setting (or at least details from an existing one) and all the PCs tied together in the events-to-happen.
After reading below, note that if you want to play the same characters on a different night, you can modify the Path and/or Fate (and all its options) to fit the new story. For example, early Conan could be Savage-Raised, Rogue & Scoundrel and Roaming Soul. By the time he's plying the seas with Belit he's Savage-Raised, Dog of War and Leader of Men.
The first part here is the bulk of character generation. What I'm calling the Bones (there are three steps to chargen: Bones, Meat and Skin). The Bones setup the characters, their background, and their setting. The Meat sets up the current situation. The Skin is what wraps it all up; names, descriptions, notable gear, etc.
The First Part: Bones
Bones, Step One: Origin
All I know right now is that I want two characters who have to work together, despite their obvious differences. They may even hate each other. The first thing I do is pick an Origin for each one. My choices are City-Born, Savage-Raised and Sorcery-Hewn. I'd love to try and get a sorcerer (of some kind or another) and a rogue (think Nifft the Lean) matched up. Sorcery-Hewn is the obvious choice for my sorcerer; City-Born sounds good for a metropolitan and resourceful ne'er-do-well. Your Origin gives you your initial Scores, a Setting, and choice of Boon (one of three). As you'll see below, you are encouraged to use your Setting entries to provide brief biographical notes.
Sorcery-Hewn Setting: Name your dead or distant civilization and one of its greatest constructions.
City-Born Setting: Name your city and the district or feature you call (or once called) home.
Sorcery-Hewn
Thews: 1
Guile: 2
Weird: 2
Boon: Sorcery. When rolling your Weird score to Do the Impossible, you skip the setup action and can immediately attempt the Impossible action. You must still spend one Sweat to do the Impossible.
Setting: The crumbling city of Ur-Haggash, home to my Witch Mother. I was cast from its last great edifice, the Tower of Rapture, saved impossibly by a great hawk.
City-Born
Thews: 2
Guile: 2
Weird: 1
Boon: Well-Connected. +2D on a Resources roll using your Guile when interacting with those of your city.
Setting: The great shambling metropolis and port, Westhope, built under the shadow of the mountain ruins of Ur-Haggash. I hold various apartments and shared safehouses throughout the city, most notable among them a stately room above the Wingless Griffon.
Bones, Step Two: Path
Your Origin gives you three Paths to choose from. The choices for Sorcery-Hewn include: Noble Politico, Rogue & Scoundrel and Strange Immortality. City-Born offers: Dog of War, Noble Politico and Rogue & Scoundrel. The idea of a noble sorcerer is interesting, and my City-Born adventurer begs for Rogue & Scoundrel. Paths provide Score adjustments, another Setting and a Key. Your Key is a non-player character that you want tied directly into the story.
Noble Politico Setting: Name your noble house, guild or council.
Noble Politico Key options: Familiarch, Spouse of Convenience, Vassal
Rogue & Scoundrel Setting: Name your safehouse, band or thieves' guild.
Rogue & Scoundrel Key options: Mentor, Friend in Wine and Tears, A Lover
Sorcery-Hewn, Noble Politico
Thews: 1
Guile: 4
Weird: 3
Boon: Sorcery. When rolling your Weird score to Do the Impossible, you skip the setup action and can immediately attempt the Impossible action. You must still spend one Sweat to do the Impossible.
Key: Truive, my youthful wife, second cousin, and probable lover of other, lesser men.
Setting: The crumbling city of Ur-Haggash, home to my Witch Mother. I was cast from its last great edifice, the Tower of Rapture, saved impossibly by a great crimson seahawk.
Setting: The Red Crest line, one of the founding families of Westhope; my father is next in line as patriarch. Our standard is a seahawk over ocean waves, both in blood red over a black field.
City-Born, Rogue & Scoundrel
Thews: 3
Guile: 4
Weird: 1
Boon: Well-Connected. +2D on a Resources roll using your Guile when interacting with those of your city.
Key: Gartch, a hulk of a man, renowned swordsman, originally of the barbarian southern tribes of Ketch.
Setting: The great shambling metropolis and port of Westhope, built under the shadow of the mountain ruins of Ur-Haggash. I hold various shared safehouses and a modest apartment or two throughout the city, most notable among them a stately room above the Wingless Griffon.
Setting: Again, my stately room above the Wingless Griffin, affording me a striking view of the Sonorous Cliffs (when the city's warships aren't docked). Strong locks, barred windows and a conveniently hidden trap door offer much needed amenities for a man of my situation.
Bones, Step Three: Fate
Now you get to choose one of three Fates: Demonbound, Leader of Men or Roaming Soul. A Fate provides more Score adjustments, another Setting and an entry unique to each Fate: Demon, Destiny and Folly, respectively. I don't want to fall into the cliche of the sorcerer tied to a demon, so he becomes a Leader of Men. The rogue will definitely be a Roaming Soul.
Leader of Men Setting: Name a group you lead (or once led) and a trusted companion from that group.
Leader of Men Destiny options: Destruction, Glory, Transformation.
Roaming Soul Setting:Name someone with which you have run afoul (justified or otherwise) and their family or organization.
Roaming Soul options: Always a Cockup, Unlucky in Love, [I haven't yet decided on a third option]
Sorcery-Hewn, Noble Politico, Leader of Men
Thews: 2
Guile: 4
Weird: 3
Boon: Sorcery. When rolling your Weird score to Do the Impossible, you skip the setup action and can immediately attempt the Impossible action. You must still spend one Sweat to do the Impossible.
Destiny: Destruction.
Key: Truive, my youthful wife, second cousin, and probable lover of other, lesser men.
Setting: The crumbling city of Ur-Haggash, home to my Witch Mother. I was cast from its last great edifice, the Tower of Rapture, saved impossibly by a great crimson seahawk.
Setting: The Red Crest line, one of the founding families of Westhope; my father is next in line as patriarch. Our standard is a seahawk over ocean waves, both in blood red over a black field.
Setting: Each founding line holds a Line Guard; I serve the Red Crest as Captain of the Blooded Wing. From these capable soldiers I have picked my promising niece and fledgling sorcerer, Saress the Whispering Knife, as my lieutenant.
City-Born, Rogue & Scoundrel, Roaming Soul
Thews: 3
Guile: 5
Weird: 1
Boon: Well-Connected. +2D on a Resources roll using your Guile when interacting with those of your city.
Folly: Always a Cockup
Key: Gartch, a hulk of a man, renowned swordsman, originally of the barbarian southern tribes of Ketch. I cannot count the times Gartch has saved my life, and I his.
Setting: The great shambling metropolis and port of Westhope, built under the shadow of the mountain ruins of Ur-Haggash. I hold various shared safehouses and a modest apartment or two throughout the city, most notable among them a stately room above the Wingless Griffon.
Setting: Again, my stately room above the Wingless Griffin, affording me a striking view of the ruinous Tower of Rapture (when the city's warships aren't docked). Strong locks, barred windows and a conveniently hidden trap door offer much needed amenities for a man of my situation.
Setting: Misfortune has led me to cross paths with the Red Crest, earning the animosity of the patriarch's heir, one Sigmund Red (known out of earshot as Demon-Sire and Witch-Thrall). However, during this misunderstanding, I may have caught wind of an assassination plot ...
After reading below, note that if you want to play the same characters on a different night, you can modify the Path and/or Fate (and all its options) to fit the new story. For example, early Conan could be Savage-Raised, Rogue & Scoundrel and Roaming Soul. By the time he's plying the seas with Belit he's Savage-Raised, Dog of War and Leader of Men.
The first part here is the bulk of character generation. What I'm calling the Bones (there are three steps to chargen: Bones, Meat and Skin). The Bones setup the characters, their background, and their setting. The Meat sets up the current situation. The Skin is what wraps it all up; names, descriptions, notable gear, etc.
The First Part: Bones
Bones, Step One: Origin
All I know right now is that I want two characters who have to work together, despite their obvious differences. They may even hate each other. The first thing I do is pick an Origin for each one. My choices are City-Born, Savage-Raised and Sorcery-Hewn. I'd love to try and get a sorcerer (of some kind or another) and a rogue (think Nifft the Lean) matched up. Sorcery-Hewn is the obvious choice for my sorcerer; City-Born sounds good for a metropolitan and resourceful ne'er-do-well. Your Origin gives you your initial Scores, a Setting, and choice of Boon (one of three). As you'll see below, you are encouraged to use your Setting entries to provide brief biographical notes.
Sorcery-Hewn Setting: Name your dead or distant civilization and one of its greatest constructions.
City-Born Setting: Name your city and the district or feature you call (or once called) home.
Sorcery-Hewn
Thews: 1
Guile: 2
Weird: 2
Boon: Sorcery. When rolling your Weird score to Do the Impossible, you skip the setup action and can immediately attempt the Impossible action. You must still spend one Sweat to do the Impossible.
Setting: The crumbling city of Ur-Haggash, home to my Witch Mother. I was cast from its last great edifice, the Tower of Rapture, saved impossibly by a great hawk.
City-Born
Thews: 2
Guile: 2
Weird: 1
Boon: Well-Connected. +2D on a Resources roll using your Guile when interacting with those of your city.
Setting: The great shambling metropolis and port, Westhope, built under the shadow of the mountain ruins of Ur-Haggash. I hold various apartments and shared safehouses throughout the city, most notable among them a stately room above the Wingless Griffon.
Bones, Step Two: Path
Your Origin gives you three Paths to choose from. The choices for Sorcery-Hewn include: Noble Politico, Rogue & Scoundrel and Strange Immortality. City-Born offers: Dog of War, Noble Politico and Rogue & Scoundrel. The idea of a noble sorcerer is interesting, and my City-Born adventurer begs for Rogue & Scoundrel. Paths provide Score adjustments, another Setting and a Key. Your Key is a non-player character that you want tied directly into the story.
Noble Politico Setting: Name your noble house, guild or council.
Noble Politico Key options: Familiarch, Spouse of Convenience, Vassal
Rogue & Scoundrel Setting: Name your safehouse, band or thieves' guild.
Rogue & Scoundrel Key options: Mentor, Friend in Wine and Tears, A Lover
Sorcery-Hewn, Noble Politico
Thews: 1
Guile: 4
Weird: 3
Boon: Sorcery. When rolling your Weird score to Do the Impossible, you skip the setup action and can immediately attempt the Impossible action. You must still spend one Sweat to do the Impossible.
Key: Truive, my youthful wife, second cousin, and probable lover of other, lesser men.
Setting: The crumbling city of Ur-Haggash, home to my Witch Mother. I was cast from its last great edifice, the Tower of Rapture, saved impossibly by a great crimson seahawk.
Setting: The Red Crest line, one of the founding families of Westhope; my father is next in line as patriarch. Our standard is a seahawk over ocean waves, both in blood red over a black field.
City-Born, Rogue & Scoundrel
Thews: 3
Guile: 4
Weird: 1
Boon: Well-Connected. +2D on a Resources roll using your Guile when interacting with those of your city.
Key: Gartch, a hulk of a man, renowned swordsman, originally of the barbarian southern tribes of Ketch.
Setting: The great shambling metropolis and port of Westhope, built under the shadow of the mountain ruins of Ur-Haggash. I hold various shared safehouses and a modest apartment or two throughout the city, most notable among them a stately room above the Wingless Griffon.
Setting: Again, my stately room above the Wingless Griffin, affording me a striking view of the Sonorous Cliffs (when the city's warships aren't docked). Strong locks, barred windows and a conveniently hidden trap door offer much needed amenities for a man of my situation.
Bones, Step Three: Fate
Now you get to choose one of three Fates: Demonbound, Leader of Men or Roaming Soul. A Fate provides more Score adjustments, another Setting and an entry unique to each Fate: Demon, Destiny and Folly, respectively. I don't want to fall into the cliche of the sorcerer tied to a demon, so he becomes a Leader of Men. The rogue will definitely be a Roaming Soul.
Leader of Men Setting: Name a group you lead (or once led) and a trusted companion from that group.
Leader of Men Destiny options: Destruction, Glory, Transformation.
Roaming Soul Setting:Name someone with which you have run afoul (justified or otherwise) and their family or organization.
Roaming Soul options: Always a Cockup, Unlucky in Love, [I haven't yet decided on a third option]
Sorcery-Hewn, Noble Politico, Leader of Men
Thews: 2
Guile: 4
Weird: 3
Boon: Sorcery. When rolling your Weird score to Do the Impossible, you skip the setup action and can immediately attempt the Impossible action. You must still spend one Sweat to do the Impossible.
Destiny: Destruction.
Key: Truive, my youthful wife, second cousin, and probable lover of other, lesser men.
Setting: The crumbling city of Ur-Haggash, home to my Witch Mother. I was cast from its last great edifice, the Tower of Rapture, saved impossibly by a great crimson seahawk.
Setting: The Red Crest line, one of the founding families of Westhope; my father is next in line as patriarch. Our standard is a seahawk over ocean waves, both in blood red over a black field.
Setting: Each founding line holds a Line Guard; I serve the Red Crest as Captain of the Blooded Wing. From these capable soldiers I have picked my promising niece and fledgling sorcerer, Saress the Whispering Knife, as my lieutenant.
City-Born, Rogue & Scoundrel, Roaming Soul
Thews: 3
Guile: 5
Weird: 1
Boon: Well-Connected. +2D on a Resources roll using your Guile when interacting with those of your city.
Folly: Always a Cockup
Key: Gartch, a hulk of a man, renowned swordsman, originally of the barbarian southern tribes of Ketch. I cannot count the times Gartch has saved my life, and I his.
Setting: The great shambling metropolis and port of Westhope, built under the shadow of the mountain ruins of Ur-Haggash. I hold various shared safehouses and a modest apartment or two throughout the city, most notable among them a stately room above the Wingless Griffon.
Setting: Again, my stately room above the Wingless Griffin, affording me a striking view of the ruinous Tower of Rapture (when the city's warships aren't docked). Strong locks, barred windows and a conveniently hidden trap door offer much needed amenities for a man of my situation.
Setting: Misfortune has led me to cross paths with the Red Crest, earning the animosity of the patriarch's heir, one Sigmund Red (known out of earshot as Demon-Sire and Witch-Thrall). However, during this misunderstanding, I may have caught wind of an assassination plot ...