Greetings all!
This thread is not quite a formal recruitment thread (though it may turn into one), but more to dip my toe into the waters and see whether this idea is viable.
So, the history is that I've been listening to a Burning Wheel podcast for a while now, put out by the Strand Gamers, and it's gotten me interested in running or playing in a Burning Wheel game. So basically I figured I'd test the waters, and see how many people on these forums have heard of the system, and who might be interested in giving it a go via play-by-post. I've got a few ideas rattling around in my head for some different campaigns, and apart from some differences in flavour (magic being potentially lethal for instance), I think we should be able to slot the system into Golarion easily enough.
What do you guys think? Have you played Burning Wheel before? Played it by PbP? or just interested in giving it a go?
I'm always down to try new systems. I'll do some research o the game and get back to you. Is there an SRD equivalent for this game?
I've played a bit with Burning Wheel and own the books. I don't feel comfortable enough to run it, but I know enough to play without slowing things down too much.
I really enjoy the ideas in the system, but I find it a little slow taste in a standard game. I've always thought it would be a great system for PBPs though.
If you or anyone else is willing to run it, I'd definitely be interested.
I'm gonna listen to the podcasts and get back to you.
Alright, I was starting to worry I wouldn't get a response at all :p
I hope you enjoy it Jelani, but it might take you a while to listen to the whole thing, there's just shy of 40 episodes, and they're each about 3-5 hours :p Unfortunately I haven't found any sort of SRD or other online resource (there is a wiki and a forum, but not sure how useful those are), if anyone else is aware of one (even if they're not interested in playing themselves), I'd appreciate being pointed in that direction.
Oh! There is an introductory scenario which I have been considering running, which the Strand Gamers did a play-through of which might help you (and anyone else who's interested in joining) get a feel for things :) It is called The Sword (bottom link in that post)
Yeah Doomed Hero, I thought the depth of roleplaying that PbPs allows would work pretty well for the system. For anyone who is interested the system (or the way I've seen it used) it is very much focused on the party and the characters. The reason I haven't posted up the campaign's plot outline, is because character creation and the plot concept are meant to be created cooperatively at the same times.
As far as mechanics goes, it uses a dice pool mechanic similar to shadowrun, although fairly different in how it is used. A success for most people is scored on a 4+ on a d6, and starting characters will have skills ranging from 2-6 depending on stats and lifepaths and such. It's much more skills focused than combat focused, as healing is nowhere near as plentiful, and a single fight if your character is not ready for it, can take you out of action for weeks, or months.
The system is fairly complex, but quite robust, which is why I asked for people who have played it before, but I'm willing to try it with new people as well, you'll just need to work with me or someone else with the rules to create your character, so it'll be a bit slower.
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So, to see if it will drum up any more interest I'll post some of the 'plot seeds' I've come up with. Together we'll decide which one(s) we want, and where your characters fit into it. They are all very much open to suggestion and change :)
Idea 1: Sandpoint/Magnimar campaign
Beginning in the Varisia area the party gathers together to help fend off some pesky goblins, either those who are troubling the village (Sandpoint), or venturing down into the sewers, where something has riled up the Goblin population (Magnimar).
Allowed Races: Human, Elf, Dwarf (others by discussion)
Idea 2: Andoran campaign
The rural Andoran village where you live has been having troubles recently with some oddly behaved wildlife. Just last week, one of the mighty Megaloceros charged through town, leaving a wake of destruction behind, and wounding several people until it was chased off.
Allowed Races: Human (others by discussion)
Idea 3: Lands of the Linnorm Kings
Your village on the border of Irrisen has long stood firm against the forces of the Winter Witches, but even the largest stone can be worn down by constant pressure. The village is faltering, each year a few more warriors falls than grow to replace them, what can be done to halt the tide of the land of eternal winter.
Allowed Races: Human (others by discussion)
Idea 4: Minkai Campaign
It has been over a decade since the land was ravaged by the false Jade Regent, who was finally cast down by the true Empress, Ameiko Kaijitsu. Things finally seem to be recovering, the fields of Minkai bountiful once again, trade restored to the lands beyond, but now it seems the demonic menace of the Oni is set to rise again.
Allowed Races: Human (others by discussion)
Idea 5: Orcish Campaign
You have lived your entire life surrounded by the brutality and savagery of your culture, it is time to take what is yours. Will you lead the orcs to ravage the 'civilized' lands, or will you destroy them from within?
Allowed Races: Orcs & Goblins, potentially other races as slaves.
Those are my ideas, but this is meant to be a collaborative effort, so if you guys have any suggestions for what you'd like then let me know, and I'll give you my thoughts and see if I'm comfortable running that :)
Howdy Peanuts!
Well, I'm not personally interested in trying an entirely new game system right now (too much going on IRL), but you wanted something to point other new players at.
Here's a link: Burning Wheel Gold: Hub and Spokes on RPGNow.com, which is a free introductory download.
That might help any prospective players out!
Cheers!
Weren Wu Jen (aka Rasil Bathbone, aka Zanos)
Never played the system... will do some background reading...
My vote would be for the Land of the Linnorm Kings, with the Minkai and Orcish games being the next best options.
Would actually love a game set in the Realm of the Mammoth Lords (hint-hint)
Colour me interested tho :)
I will see if I can find the rules somewhere. As for the ideas, 3 or 5 both sound fine.
Ahh, thanks Weren :) and fair enough, we all know how RL can get at times :)
Good to hear it Black Dow. As far as the mammoth lords I've never actually read the region, so I can certainly do so and see if it sparks anything. I think the Linnorm Kings one was the first idea I came up with (have been toying with something in that vein for a while now), so glad to see it's popular.
I will just stress again however that combat is very deadly in the system, and while I have an idea of how magical healing could work, I'm not sure what I'll actually go with, so the game is not likely to be too combat focused.
Jelani, if that free product Weren linked is the same hub and spokes from the rulebook, then that has the basic rules, but no character gen stuff. Character gen works on Lifepaths, Skills, and Traits, which I can elaborate further on, but for now I have some other stuff to do.
Alright, from a brief comparison of the free Hub & Spokes on RPGMPS, that does appear to be the first 74 pages lifted straight from the core rulebook :) Thanks again for that link Wujen. Anyone who's interested in the system should be able to get a good feel for the basic resolution mechanics from that. The file also contains a character sheet, and four pregens (the ones for The Sword introductory adventure I mentioned previously)
So, so far we have interested parties of:
Doomed Hero
Black Dow
and DM Jelani
Could probably play with three characters, but would like a fourth if anyone else is interested in trying out the system. Then we can move this thing onto character creation, and finalize the campaign idea.
Lookin' forward to it!
I downloaded that Hub and Spokes thing and was reading over it. I'm listening to the podcast right now. Sounds like a fun complex system. The only thing I'm concerned with is, why are we setting this in Golarion? Golarion is a high magic, high combat, swashbuckly type place. This system by all accounts is more Lord of the Rings, low magic, low combat etc.
I'd rather play in a world that fits the system a little better. We can swipe names and places from Golarion, but I dunno...
What about a bronze/iron age fantasy viking land? Bascially a fusion of the two...Lands of the Linnorm Mammoth Jarls? Low-magic, full of megafauna, witches, hags, linnorms, warring tribes of Ulfen warriors and Kellid barbarians. Dangerous place to be alive. More like Conan than Golarion. What do you guys think about that idea?
I had thought the same thing.
There are places in golarion where the low-magic feel could work though.
We'd just need to contain our adventure to an area like that.
Hmmm, well I was hoping to use Golarion as it's a setting we all should be fairly familiar with, and while the feel of the setting is a bit different I didn't think it was too big a deal...
If you guys want to however, then we can try it in it's own setting, I'll just need a bit of help with worldbuilding, since I've not really done any of that before. As long as we start small with a fairly localized area (which was kind of the point for several of these ideas) I should be alright though :)
So, wait for a fourth character, or move onto character & world building? Should work fine for 3 players if we want to move on.
I vote for move on. If more people show up while we're working on building the world and characters then so be it. I'm happy to help with world building, I like to think I'm at least decent at it.
Alright, so here's something of a preliminary write-up then, if you guys want to give me your thoughts, suggestions, anything you like, anything you want to add. It's currently looking to be more of a wilderness survival sort of thing.
The land was not always this way, legends tell of a time, centuries ago before the Witches came, bringing frost and monsters to the great plains of the Kellid people; when the Kellids built great structures to dwarf the Ulfen’s cabins of logs, before the icy wind, and the trampling of the mammoths and the giants reduced them to rubble, and forced the Kellids to huddle in their caves throughout the long, long winter.
The truth of such things is long lost to us, the paths beneath the Western mountains are closed to us, the steamy southern jungle yet resists the icy influence of the Witches, but is home now to all the cold blooded terrors once within our dominion. The Eastern sea is the realm of the Ulfen who cling to the rocky shores, while to the north reigns the cold, and the terror of the Witches, the Giants, and their slaves…
Yet the Kellid peoples survive. The mammoths, driven south before the witches give us what we need to survive, we need only the strength to take it from them.
Yet now the Witches grow ever nearer, the winters, already last for half the year, yet each year they grow a little bit longer, a little bit colder. Something must be done. Talks have been opened with the Ulfen to the east, and there is some discussion of once again trying to plumb the depths of the Garusian mountains, seeking out the nearly forgotten allies of the dwarves that our elders claim may slumber still, deep beneath the earth...
Sounds cool. If combat is so deadly, is there any point in being a warrior type character?
Well it depends where the story goes (which is going to be a collaborative effort), but given the setting pretty much everyone should have some ability to defend themselves, and a warrior character would certainly be useful. There will be combat, it just shouldn't be a first resort :) There are things such as armor and shields you can use to improve your chances of survival as well (armor basically gives you a chance to completely negate a hit against you, but it can also be damaged, reducing it's effectiveness).
As far as combat goes, there's also a sort of Social Combat, called a Duel of Wits, which is used for debates and the like, so having some sort of social skill (Command, Extortion, Falsehood, Haggling, Intimidation, Oratory, Persuasion, Seduction, Soothing Platitudes, Suasion (Persuasion for religious folk/the clergy) are all Social skills, and probably some other ones I missed, the skill list is quite exhaustive) would be advisable.
The physical combat is either Fight (between a small number of combatants), or Range and Cover (for larger, or longer range engagements).
So... character creation. I will try to give you guys as many options as possible, but for some things you may just have to trust me to do some of the steps for you, as I'm not going to type out the entire Character Burning section for you (the Human's lifepaths section is 63 pages by itself. Not all of that is applicable to this campaign, but even so.).
Hmm, so. The base assumption is of a fairly medieval setting with castles and nobility and all of that stuff, while we're looking at a bit more uhh, primitive setting (at least from the Kellid's point of view; the Ulfen are a bit more 'civilized', so that should probably be what we decide first. Do you guys want to play savage cave dwelling and/or nomadic Kellids, or Ulfen that live in small villages, and ply the sea for their sustenance? A mixture of both is fine too. If possible, give me a 1 to 3 paragraph description of your character concept (assuming everyone's happy with the proposed setting above. If you are not, then please speak up).
I really have no idea if this is possible within the system, but here goes.
I'd prefer to be a Kellid shaman/warrior. He should be able to communicate with the spirit realms, and channel the power of his tribe's totem, the mammoth. He uses his powers to help defend his tribal lands from the encroaching witches and giants, but every year they lose a little more land...yatta yatta. I will flesh it out fully if you can give me some idea of whether or not that will work in this system. If possible I'd want him to strap mammoth tusks to his arms and fight with them. Magic wise preferably he could do divinations, minor healing, buffs.
Alrighty, you should be able to do a shaman like character well enough, though probably not able to get to a full warrior and shaman from the get-go. I'll take a look at the lifepaths see what I think.
As far as being a shaman, you should be able to do that just fine with the Faith attribute. minor boons and buffs are easy enough to do, while divinations and minor healing is potentially possible if your faith is strong enough, but is quite difficult. Should be good enough to fit the concept however, I'll get back to you on lifepaths and see how viable the combination is, currently typing up some stuff about character burning as it's called.
Guys I've a whack of stuff that I created for a hybrid Golarian/Mystara (old school D&D) setting that never came to light in RL.
Part of it was an outline of a small Norse-flavoured pantheon and some colour on the culture... Might be worthwhile as pure background flavour to help us world build???
As for character ideas;
An Ulfen outcast; perhaps living with the Kellid, or without... Reason? He's trow-blod (troll blooded) - has some features/traits of "our world" trolls... (whatever they may be) and either is a berserkr or perhaps some hunter/ranger/scavenger/wildman type character. But not locked into this...
@DMJelani: Great character concept - love it.
Ahh hmm, well I've mostly focussed on the Kellids up above, didn't think too much about the Ulfen yet, so that might be helpful if you want to share it.
As for troll blooded, not sure how well he would be thought of amongst the Kellids either (Trolls are amongst the giants that largely serve the Witches, pretty much keeping that from Golarion's lore), but he doesn't necessarily have to be socially accepted to participate in this campaign; desperate times and all.
Were you looking for anything mechanically, or just flavour? I would porbably just give him a trait of some sort to reflect his physical 'deformity', but there could be something else...
Steps of Character Burning:
1. Character Concept
A short concept for the character. The book suggests a very basic concept, but I would like at least a short paragraph from those who don't possess the rulebooks themselves, as I'll need to make life path suggestions.
2. Choose Lifepaths
For those who do have the book, I'm going to go with... a maximum of 5 lifepaths, suggested four. It's a tough world, so if you feel you need it then you can go to 5, but only if you feel it's necessary for your character concept.
For those who don't have the book, here's what it says about lifepaths.
"These are short segments of the character's life--usually centered around an occupation, a diversion, or a class role. Each lifepath gives the player an amount of points with which to build his character."
These points are for resources (gear, relationships, reputations, etc.), stats (mental and physical), skills, and traits. Lifepaths also have a duration in years (so for instance taking three lifepaths with a duration of 8, 3, and 7, the character would be a minimum age of 18, age also affects your mental and physical stats. If your character is in his physical prime between 15 and 25, either side of that bracket your physical stats go down. Mental prime is 17 to 79, either side of that mental stats decrease), and sometimes requirements, and leads (lifepaths are grouped by setting, for instance in the village setting you might take a militia lifepath, which would then allow you to move to the soldier setting. Following a lead adds 1 year to your age).
The first lifepath you take will be where you are born: options are Born Peasant, Village Born, City Born (Ulfen only), Noble Born (Ulfen only), Son of a Gun (Ulfen only), and Born Slave (You have escaped from enslavement by the witches or Giants. If you take this option definitely go to the 5th lifepath, it doesn't give you much and inflicts a penalty to a stat).
-=-=-=-=-=-
The lifepaths by setting (and subsettings) are:
Peasant Setting:
Born Peasant, Farmer, Head of the Household, Midwife, Lazy Stayabout, Conscript, Peasant Pilgrim, Miller, Fisherman, Shepherd, Woodcutter, Hunter, Trapper, Peddler, Elder, Augur, Itinerant Priest, Recluse Wizard, Country Wife
Villager Setting:
Village Born, Kid, Idiot, Pilgrim, Conscript, Groom, Runner, Village Peddler, Shopkeeper, Clerk, Sailor, Laborer, Miner, Taskmaster, Serving Wench, Hosteller, Village Guard, Village Sergeant, Corrupt Sergeant, Tailor, Tax Collector, Cobbler, Farrier, Butcher, Barber, Brewer, Acolyte, Failed Acolyte, Village Priest, Venal Priest, Apprentice, Journeyman, Cloth Dyer, Bowyer, Master Craftsman, Vintner, Apiarist, Mining Engineer, Town Official, Merchant, Village Wife
City Dweller Setting:
City Born, Runner, Urchin, Beggar, Courier, Laborer, Pilgrim, Groom, Duelist, Coin Clipper, Pickpocket, Street Thug, Criminal, Confidence Man, City Peddler, Sailor, Student, Ganymede, Dilettante, Neophyte Sorcerer, Temple Acolyte, Sculptor, Painter, Composer, Dramaturge, Performer, Tinkerer, Coal Man, Seamstress, Barkeep, Shopkeeper, Baker, Alewife, Conner, Clerk, Scribe, Accountant, Scholar, Moneylender, Tax Collector, Taskmaster, Mercenary Captain, City Guard, Sergent-at-Arms, Guard Captain, Apprentice, Apprentice Artisan, Journeyman, Engraver, Saddler, Armorer, Plumber, Locksmith, Jeweler, Gaol Warden, Advocate, Doctor, Physician, Hospital Warden, Banker, Merchant, Sorcerer, Temple Priest, Judge, Municipal Minister, Artisan, Master Craftsman, Bishop, Magnate, City Wife
Noble Setting:
Born Noble, Bastard, Page, Student, Squire, Arcane Devotee, Religious Acolyte, Young Lady, Knight, Lady, Lord, Dame, Baron, Viscount, Count, Duke, Noble Prince, Prince of the Blood
Noble Court Subsetting:
Minstrel, Court Jester, Court Artist, Servant, Nurse, Groom, Gardener, Torturer, Forester, Student, Page, Man-at-Arms, Falconer, Huntsman, Herald, Court Chef, Squire, Young Lady, Knight, Courtier, Governess, Chaplain, Court Sorcerer, Court Lawyer, Court Doctor, Chronicler, Armorer, Atilliator, Court Priest, Steward, Master of Horses, Master of Hounds, Hostage, Bailiff, Justicar, Coroner, Constable, Treasurer, Chamberlain, ADvisor to the Court
Religious Subsetting
Castrati, Pardoner, Zealous Convert, Military Order, Grave Digger, Porter, Notary, Custodian, Interpreter, Archivist, Itinerant Monk, Cloistered Nun, Temple Acolyte, Priest, Exorcist, Inquisitor, Theologian, Archpriest, Canon, Abbot/Abbess, Bishop
Professional Soldier Subsetting:
Runner, Apprentice, Musician, Foot Soldier, Archer, Crossbowman, Sailor, Herald, Bannerman, Scout, Sergeant, Veteran, Cavalryman, Journeyman, Armorer, Atilliator, Chaplain, Engineer, Wizard of War, Quartermaster, Captain
Seafaring Setting:
Son of a Gun, Boy, Galley Slave, Ratcatcher, Landsman, Drummer, Sailor, Crazy Old Sailor, Purser, SIgnalman, Pilot, Marine, Bosun, Sailmaker, Ship's Doctor, Ship's Cook, Ship's Chaplain, Weather Witch, Navigator, Carpenter's Mate, Ship's Carpenter, Artillerist's Mate, Engineer, Officer's Mate, Steward, First Mate, Ship's Captain
Servitude and Captive Setting:
Born Slave, Ditch Digger, Servant, Field Laborer, Captive of War, Gaol, Harem Slave, Bondsman
Outcast Subsetting:
Urchin, Apostate, Blackmailer, Kidnapper, Pillager, Vagrant, Cripple, Poacher, Deranged, Outlaw, Fence, Gravedigger, Ratcatcher, Beggar, Leper, Prostitute, Whoremonger, Itinerant Performer, Insurrectionist, Cultist, Poisoner, Thug, Desperate Killer, Bandit, Pirate, Smuggler, Freebooter, Strider, Mad Summoner, Rogue Wizard, Crazy Witch, Heretic Priest, Thinker
A good deal of the above will not be appropriate for the setting we are devising. Most lifepaths will also have a specific skill, and frequently a specific trait that you must take (spending points to do so), but we'll get to that stuff in the next step. If you see any of the above lifepaths that you'd like more info on, then let me know.
Ahh hmm, well I've mostly focussed on the Kellids up above, didn't think too much about the Ulfen yet, so that might be helpful if you want to share it.
As for troll blooded, not sure how well he would be thought of amongst the Kellids either (Trolls are amongst the giants that largely serve the Witches, pretty much keeping that from Golarion's lore), but he doesn't necessarily have to be socially accepted to participate in this campaign; desperate times and all.
Were you looking for anything mechanically, or just flavour? I would porbably just give him a trait of some sort to reflect his physical 'deformity', but there could be something else...
Will do - I'll look it out over the coming days and cherry pick anything you might find useful...
Probably both mechanical and flavour... deformity would be cool, with perhaps some trow blooded traits to build on? Another option would be for him to be a Neanderthal/throwback type dude??
I'd be interested in knowing more about Hunter, Augur, Itinerant Priest, Crazy Witch, Military order, Insurrectionist, and Strider.
I really have no idea if this is possible within the system, but here goes.
I'd prefer to be a Kellid shaman/warrior. He should be able to communicate with the spirit realms, and channel the power of his tribe's totem, the mammoth. He uses his powers to help defend his tribal lands from the encroaching witches and giants, but every year they lose a little more land...yatta yatta. I will flesh it out fully if you can give me some idea of whether or not that will work in this system. If possible I'd want him to strap mammoth tusks to his arms and fight with them. Magic wise preferably he could do divinations, minor healing, buffs.
Alright, here's a suggested lifepath chain, and how I interpret it (at a fairly basic level)
Village Born takes a lead to the Peasant Setting
Hunter takes a lead back to the Villager Setting
Acolyte
Village Priest
What this lifepath means in the simplest of terms with regards to the setting as I see it: You were born into one of the non-nomadic tribes that live in the caves of the Garusian mountains to the west of the plains. AS a boy however you were sent, as many are, to join the nomadic tribes to learn to hunt and survive, and to chose for yourself what sort of life you wish to live. You returned as a man, to the caves and dedicated yourself to the spirit of the mammoth (likely from some experience you had while hunting them), spending the next 15 years of your life, learning to call upon the spirit of the mammoth, and provide spiritual guidance.
I'd be interested in knowing more about Hunter, Augur, Itinerant Priest, Crazy Witch, Military order, Insurrectionist, and Strider.
Hunter see above.
Augur, as written you have to be female for some reason... I'll have to look into what it actually grants you and see if there's a reason for that, otherwise I may lift that restriction if you're interested still. It doesn't help you on the route to getting Faithful for cheap however (see above)
Itinerant Priest could work with the above, if after Acolyte you took a lead back to the Peasant setting (would actually net you being one year younger). Itinerant priest is
Crazy Witch, again you have to be a female (is actually a potential follow on from Augur), you wouldn't be using Faith however, you'd be using Arcane magic (The Gift as it is known in this setting), which while more powerful than faith, is also more complicated, and has the potential to make your head explode. You would also have been kicked out of your tribe for practicing witch magic.
Militant Order, you have to have been a knight or similar, not really appropriate for the setting, and doesn't give you access to Faithful.
Insurrectionist, you have to be a member of a cult, or some other weird sect, again, no Faithful.
Strider is possible, it gives you a bunch of wilderness skills, but it is in the outcast setting, so you would have been kicked out of your tribe to get to there.
If you're still interested in any of them then let me know and I'll post the proper statblock.
Guys I've a whack of stuff that I created for a hybrid Golarian/Mystara (old school D&D) setting that never came to light in RL.
Part of it was an outline of a small Norse-flavoured pantheon and some colour on the culture... Might be worthwhile as pure background flavour to help us world build???
As for character ideas;
An Ulfen outcast; perhaps living with the Kellid, or without... Reason? He's trow-blod (troll blooded) - has some features/traits of "our world" trolls... (whatever they may be) and either is a berserkr or perhaps some hunter/ranger/scavenger/wildman type character. But not locked into this...
@DMJelani: Great character concept - love it.
Hmmm, well it would be easy enough to say that Orcs are this setting's equivalent of Half-Giants and just go that way. Would give you natural weapons, darkvision, make you 'immortal', give you a special stat called Hatred, but also make you take fairly significant penalties during the day (worse in direct sunlight, but as long as it's day and you're outside you'd be under penalties).
So what does Black Dow and the rest of you think of this?
I'd rather be itinerant than a village priest. I'm fine with orcs being giant blooded humans.
Village Born takes a lead to the Peasant Setting
Hunter takes a lead back to the Villager Setting
Acolyte takes a lead back to the Peasant Setting
Itinerant Priest
You were born into one of the non-nomadic tribes that live in the caves of the Garusian mountains to the west of the plains. AS a boy however you were sent, as many are, to join the nomadic tribes to learn to hunt and survive, and to chose for yourself what sort of life you wish to live. You returned as a man, to the caves and dedicated yourself to the spirit of the mammoth (likely from some experience you had while hunting them), spending the next 7 years of your life, learning to call upon the spirit of the mammoth, and provide spiritual guidance, before heading back out into the wandering tribes.
Sound good then? You can feel free to elaborate on your history and tweak it as necessary. I'll write up the bit about skills and such so you can continue.
Like the idea of "orc" being a jotun/trow blod human...No probs with the penalties Peanuts... tis character building lol.
Here's some ideas based on what I've read thusfar:
Servitude or Captive Setting
Born Slave
Begat through the breeding whims of a troll slavemaster and a Kellid woman.
Captive of War
Captured whilst accompanying raiders of the witches; saved by virtue of a sacred mark/item of his mother’s people.
Gaol
Killed/maimed warrior when being captured? Deemed too dangerous to live freely? – kept in stockade/prison caves with the mad, crippled and lost souls
Ditch Digger? Field Labourer?
Put to work by villagers doing the menial tasks of the tribe; ostracized and feared but begrudgingly respected for his strength and ferocity when defending the village.
Bondsman
Serves one of the other characters or a mutual NPC??
See him as wielding not a traditional weapon/weapons but peasant/crude arms? Maul or mattock perhaps?
He's slowly earned his place in the culture that will never accept him...
Totally open to ideas on this - turn it upside down and jig around as you see fit.
Something I forgot to mention with Lifepaths before I move onto spending points. You can take the same lifepath more than once, the second time you have to take the second skill and trait, if there isn't a second trait, then you get one less trait point from it. If you take the same path a third time, then you only get half as many skill and resource points, and nothing else, and then any time after that you just get half the resources (and the years).
Step 3. Age
This step is relatively simple, add up the Years from each lifepath, and then add one for each time the character took a lead.
4. Stats
Stats are calculated based on the race, and age of your character, as well as any bonuses or penalties from lifepaths. There are 6 stats, 2 mental (Will and Perception) and 4 physical (Agility, Speed, Power, Forte). You can find descriptions of the stats in the free Hubs & Spokes linked earlier in the thread, so I won't elaborate further.
The way Burning Wheel assigns stats is you have a mental pool, and a physical pool, your mental pool is divided up between Will and Perception, physical divided amongst Agility, Speed, Power and Forte.
For instance a character with a Mental pool of 7 could have a 4 will and 3 perception, or 2 will and 5 perception. A physical pool of 16 could be divided up 4,4,4,4, 5,5,3,3, or 6,5,3,2 (or any other combination as long as you have a minimum of a 1 in each stat).
The number of dice in each pool (prior to lifepath modifiers) for humans is as follows.
Start Age Mental Pool Physical Pool
01-10 years 5 10
11-14 years 6 13
15-16 years 6 16
17-25 years 7 16
26-29 years 7 15
30-35 years 7 14
36-40 years 7 13
41-55 years 7 12
56-65 years 7 11
66-79 years 7 10
80-100 years 6 9
For humans no stat may start higher than a B6
5. Skills
- Total up the two different types of skill points, keep the totals separate (general and lifepath)
- List all the different skills granted by all of your lifepaths.
- Make note of which skills are required (the first skill in each lifepath, if two lifepaths grant the same first skill, then the second skill of the second lifepath is required, if that's already required by another path then the fourth, and so on.
Opening Skills: Roots
It only takes a single skill point to 'open' (start) most skills, some special skills cost two points to open (the book will indicate if this is the case/I will tell you), and some skills are 'Training' skills, which cost two points, and don't advance (they're the equivalent of proficiencies, and like the more expensive to open ones, will be marked in the book).
When a skill is first opened, it starts at a rating equal to half the root stat rounded down. Social skills like persuasion for instance, are rooted in Will, and thus would start at Will/2 (round down) (B2 for a B5 will, B3 for a B6 will, etc). Some stats have two roots, in which case you take the average of the two (round down), and half it (round down)(Hunting is a Perception/Agility skill, so a Perception 4, Agility 5 character would open hunting at B2. It would take a Per 6 Agi 6, or Per 4 Agi 8 (and require you to be an orc) to get a B3).
After you have opened as many skills from your lifepath as you want, you can then spend additional points to increase the die rating of a skill on a 1 for 1 basis. No skill can start higher than 6.
After you have spent your lifepath skill points, then you can spend your general skill points, these can be spent on any skill available to your race, including the lifepath skills if you wish.
6. Traits
Like skills the first step is to total up all of your trait points. Then like skills above you must buy any required traits (the first trait in each lifepath, any duplicates the second in that lifepath, etc, except that if you already have the first, and there is no second (or have the second and there is no third) you lose one trait point regardless).
After you've bought whatever traits you need to or wish to from your lifepaths at a 1 to 1 cost, any left over points can be used to purchase traits from the book. Most traits (apart from Character Traits, which are basically just descriptive traits) will cost more than a single point if they are not available to you through a lifepath (for instance the Faithful and Gifted traits both cost 5 trait points normally, some truly powerful traits cost as much as 10 points!).
Like the idea of "orc" being a jotun/trow blod human...No probs with the penalties Peanuts... tis character building lol.
Here's some ideas based on what I've read thusfar:
Servitude or Captive Setting
Born Slave
Begat through the breeding whims of a troll slavemaster and a Kellid woman.
Captive of War
Captured whilst accompanying raiders of the witches; saved by virtue of a sacred mark/item of his mother’s people.
Gaol
Killed/maimed warrior when being captured? Deemed too dangerous to live freely? – kept in stockade/prison caves with the mad, crippled and lost souls
Ditch Digger? Field Labourer?
Put to work by villagers doing the menial tasks of the tribe; ostracized and feared but begrudgingly respected for his strength and ferocity when defending the village.
Bondsman
Serves one of the other characters or a mutual NPC??
See him as wielding not a traditional weapon/weapons but peasant/crude arms? Maul or mattock perhaps?He's slowly earned his place in the culture that will never accept him...
Totally open to ideas on this - turn it upside down and jig around as you see fit.
Well, Orcs do have their own Lifepaths as well, so if you were born amongst the Trolls and other giants then you could use those ones for your childhood. If you're interested in that idea then you could start on the orc stuff, and then escape/get rescued and take some human ones after that. It depends on what the actual premise (what your character will be doing together at start) of the game is I suppose, which we have yet to discuss (though I have an idea)
My suggestion...
ORC - Born Chattel lead to Black Legion subsetting
ORC - Goblin lead to HUMAN Servitude and Captive Setting
ORC (Optional) - Legioner
HUMAN - Bondsman lead to Outcast subsetting
HUMAN - Strider
In this case I would alter the Forest-wise skill in Strider to be Mountain-wise for my own purposes :D
-wise skills for everyone's information are basically knowledge skills. A common one is City-wise, but they can be whatever you want, pick a topic and append -wise to it. The more generic it is the more often you'll get to use it, but the less specific the info (or the harder the check will be). For instance City-wise may tell you where Mayor West lives, but Mayor West-wise will tell you where he lives, when he's likely to be busy with official business, where he hides the spare key... you get the point.
EDIT: Oh right the in-game explanation for those lifepaths:
Born from rape as most of your kind are you were drafted into the Black Legion, the witches cannon fodder/grunt force where you spent several years being whipped into line before you were deemed fit to join the army proper. It was in a raid against the nomadic Kellids to the south that you were defeated and left for dead, before you were found by an Ulfen huntsman, who revived you and took you as his bondsman. After serving a number of years he released you from service after pressure from his liege, and you fled to the Garusian mountains were you have since lived.
Oh, I do so very much wish to take part in this experiment. I have been enamored of Burning Wheel since I realized the Mouse Guard RPG was based off it.
I have a copy of the pre-Gold edition of the system.
Character Concept: Innkeeper's daughter turned 'murder Hobo'. Born & raised to a rural inn, but as she grew up she kept hearing all the tales told about people like White Estrid & others she decided that was the life for her & ran off to become a brava & sell-sword.
Lifepaths-wise I was thinking something like Village born to Serving Wench, lead to Prostitute (Camp Follower), lead to Duelist.
Another idea I once had when I was first fiddling around with the Rules; I don't know if the Child Prodigy General trait still exists in Gold, but if it did & you weren't wholly against it perhaps this Concept?
Jarl's Willful Daughter. Born the youngest child of an Ulfen Jarl, she was the product of a union between him in his twilight years & the 'spoils' of one of his last southern raids. Consequently he was old & spoiled her as she was growing up. Once she became old enough her father decided to start shopping around for a husband for her, she decided she didn't like the idea & ran off, being a precocious (in the original sense of the term) child (although if I remember correctly she'd still be in her late teens so not quite a child really) she has the wits to survive if not quite the skill-set just yet.
Lifepaths: Born Noble (Ulfen) to Young Lady
Traits would all go into Mark of Privilege (required as part of Born Noble) and Child Prodigy & that would be that.
Hey! Another player! Ahh well that's better than nothing Zooi, though I will be using Gold rules. I'm not sure what actually changed from one edition to another, however, so I may have to pull you up if I notice anything different :)
Just to be sure, you have read the post with the current setting, quoted below? It's changed since the initial idea, we're just using Golarion as more of an inspiration rather than setting it in Golarion itself.
Alright, so here's something of a preliminary write-up then, if you guys want to give me your thoughts, suggestions, anything you like, anything you want to add. It's currently looking to be more of a wilderness survival sort of thing.
The land was not always this way, legends tell of a time, centuries ago before the Witches came, bringing frost and monsters to the great plains of the Kellid people; when the Kellids built great structures to dwarf the Ulfen’s cabins of logs, before the icy wind, and the trampling of the mammoths and the giants reduced them to rubble, and forced the Kellids to huddle in their caves throughout the long, long winter.
The truth of such things is long lost to us, the paths beneath the Western mountains are closed to us, the steamy southern jungle yet resists the icy influence of the Witches, but is home now to all the cold blooded terrors once within our dominion. The Eastern sea is the realm of the Ulfen who cling to the rocky shores, while to the north reigns the cold, and the terror of the Witches, the Giants, and their slaves…
Yet the Kellid peoples survive. The mammoths, driven south before the witches give us what we need to survive, we need only the strength to take it from them.
Yet now the Witches grow ever nearer, the winters, already last for half the year, yet each year they grow a little bit longer, a little bit colder. Something must be done. Talks have been opened with the Ulfen to the east, and there is some discussion of once again trying to plumb the depths of the Garusian mountains, seeking out the nearly forgotten allies of the dwarves that our elders claim may slumber still, deep beneath the earth...
So if you are still interested, it sounds like your character would be an Ulfen, Village born to Serving Wench and then on to... uhh what exactly did she leave her home town to so?
I also had another character idea if you were willing to entertain it.
As far as the (kind of Red Sonja rip-off): Village Born to Serving Wench, lead to Prostitute (Camp Follower), then lead to Duelist I think that works
Basically she left the inn with a big case of wanderlust to join the camp of a mercenary company or the camp followers of an Ulfen fighting host so she could be around warriors, as time went on she picked up fighting skills & eventually gear & claimed a place as a fighter.
The other idea is back in my original post.
I went back & edited it.
To summarize, there was a General Trait that let you play a kid, basically you could only start play with no more than two lifepaths, but you were really smart for a kid.
Dt
2 pts
This trait is only available to one or two lifepath characters. The player may add +3D to Perception or Will exponent of the character, or may shade shift one skill. Abuse this at your peril.
So far as I know, Character Creation wasn't really changed much from Revised to Gold.
If this trait was allowable I was planning on going with the bonus to Will, the shade shift benefit is scary in the right circumstances. I was thinking either just going with Village Born & Serving Wench & having the other PC's be who she ran off to join. Or the Jarl's Willful Daughter concept I described in my edit of my initial post.
Also, this has among other things character sheets & character creation worksheets that can be helpful in 'burning' up a character.
Hmm, alright, I saw the edit, just waiting for a response to make sure you were aware of the setting :) Yes it looks like Child Prodigy is still around, it's now a Die Trait (which I believe may have replaced General Traits), one or two lifepaths max, +3D to Perception or Will, or shade shift a skill. I'm not sure that would fit too well with the idea I have in mind. The initial plot is that a group of representatives of Ulfens and Kellids has been put together to lead a mission to find allies to fight back against the witches. Currently they have a shaman, and a Trow-Blood Human wilderness guide, not sure why they'd pick an 18 year old noble brat (no offense :p) whose most useful skill (from their viewpoint, barring the general skill points) is Field Dressing and Apothecary.
That being said I'm open to being convinced :)
The Red Sonya character on the other hand is a bit more likely, Duelist gives some nice skills, and you've got social skills from both Prostitute and Serving Wench to suggest you as the 'diplomat' of the group.
EDIT: Gah, you've posted more since I typed this. Well like I said above, convince me (or rather the council) why the child prodigy would be chosen to accompany the group, or why the group should let you tag along (which would be up to everyone else in the group)
I will burn up both versions & give an initial description for each, then as you say let the other players decide which they would prefer to work with. That sound good?
Sure thing :)
Skills!
So, the skill list available to humans, and the associated root stats are:
Acting - Perception
Administration - Perception
Alchemy - Perception
Almanac - Perception
Amercement - Perception
Ancient Languages - Perception
Anatomy - Perception
Animal Husbandry - Will
Apothecary - Perception
Appraisal - Perception
Appropriate Weapons (as specific weapon. This is a catch-all skill, basically a placeholder)
Architect - Perception
Armor Training - Power/Speed
Armorer - Perception/Agility
Arson - Perception/Agility
Artillerist - Perception
Astrology - Perception
Atilliator - Perception/Agility
Aura Reading - Will/Perception
Axe - Power/Agility
Begging - Will
Bird Husbandry - Will
Blacksmith - Agility/Power
Bloodletting - Perception
Boatwright - Perception/Agility
Bow - Agility
Bowyer - Perception/Agility
Boxing (Martial Arts) - Power/Agility
Brawling - Power
Brewer - Perception
Bureaucracy - Will
Butchery - Perception/Agility
Carpentry - Perception/Agility
Cartography - Perception/Agility
Cartwright - Perception/Agility
Carving - Perception/Agility
Chandler - Perception/Agility
Child-Rearing - Will
Chronology of Kings - Perception
Church Law - Perception
Climbing - Speed
Cloth Dyeing - Perception/Agility
Cobbler - Perception/Agility
Command - Will
Composition - Will/Perception
Conspicuous - Will
Cooking - Perception
Cooper - Perception/Agility
Coppersmith - Perception/Agility
Counterfeiting - Perception/Agility
Crossbow - Agility
Cryptography - Perception
Cudgel - Agility
Demonology - Perception
Disguise - Perception/Agility
Ditch Digging - Power
Doctrine - Perception
Drinking - Forte
Driving - Will/Agility
Drum Maker - Perception/Agility
Dye Manufacture - Perception/Agility
Empyrealia - Perception
Enchanting - Perception
Engineering - Perception
Engraving - Agility
Estate Management - Perception
Etching - Agility
Etiquette - Will/Perception
Extortion - Will
Falsehood - Will
Farming - Perception
Field Dressing - Perception
Firearms - Perception/Agility
Firebuilding - Perception
Fishing - Perception/Agility
Fletcher - Perception/Agility
Folklore - Perception
Foraging - Perception
Foreign Languages - Perception
Forgery - Perception/Agility
Formation Fighting - Will
Fortifications - Perception
Haggling - Will
Hammer - Agility
Hauling - Will/Power
Heraldry - Perception
Herbalism - Perception
History - Perception
Hunting - Perception/Agility
Inconspicuous - Will
Insect Husbandry - Will
Instruction - Will
Interrogation - Will
Intimidation - Will
Javelin - Agility
Jeweler - Perception/Agility
Knives - Agility
Knots - Perception/Agility
Lapidary - Perception
Lock Pick - Perception/Agility
Locksmith - Perception/Agility
Logistics - Perception
Martial Arts (see Boxing)
Mason - Perception/Agility
Meditation - Will
Mending - Perception/Agility
Midwifery - Will/Perception
Miller - Perception
Mimicry - Perception
Mining - Perception
Mounted Combat Training - Will/Power
Munitions - Perception/Agility
Music Composition - Will/Perception
Musical Instrument - Will/Agility
Observation - Perception
Oratory - Will
Orienteering - Perception
Painting - Will/Agility
Persuasion - Will
Philosophy - Will/Perception
Pilot - Perception/Power
Playwright - Will/Perception
Plumbing - Perception
Poetry - Will
Poisons - Perception
Polearm - Power/Agility
Potter - Perception/Agility
Prospecting - Perception
Religious Diatribe – Will
Research – Perception
Rhetoric – Perception
Riding – Will
Rigging – Agility/Speed
Ritual – Will/Perception
Rule of Law – Perception
Scavenging – Perception
Sculpture – Will/Agility
Seamanship – Perception
Seduction – Will
Sewing – Agility
Shield Training – Agility
Ship Management – Perception
Shipwright – Perception
Signaling – Perception
Sing – Will
Skirmish Tactics – Will/Perception
Sleight of Hand – Agility
Soldiering – Will/Perception
Soothing Platitudes – Will
Sorcery – Perception
Spear – Agility
Staff – Agility
Stealthy – Speed
Strategy – Will/Perception
Strategy Game – Will/Perception
Streetwise – Perception
Suasion – Will
Summoning – Perception
Surgery – Perception/Agility
Survival – Will/Perception
Sword – Agility
Symbology – Perception
Tanner – Agility/Forte
Taxidermy - Perception
Theatrics – Will/Perception
Throwing – Agility
Torture – Will/Perception
Tracking – Perception
Trapper – Perception/Agility
Tree Cutting – Perception/Power
Two-Fisted Fighting Training – Agility
Ugly Truth – Perception
Waiting Tables – Will
Weaponsmith – Perception/Agility
Weaving – Perception/Agility
Whitesmith – Perception/Agility
Wine Tasting – Perception
Wises – Perception
Write – Perception/Agility
I did say it was quite extensive :) Forgive me if I missed any or otherwise mucked up, it took way too long.
the Kid
description:
Though obviously no longer a child, the girl before you has yet to blossom into full woman-hood. While her form is still slight & slender, her eyes gleem with a wit & shrewdness beyond her years.
Lifepaths:Village Born, Serving Wench
Will: B5 Perception: B5
Power: B3 Forte: B3
Agility: B3 Speed: B4
Health: B4
Steel: B3
Reflexes: B4
Mortal Wound: 9
Skills:
Brawling B3
Customer-wise B5
Haggling B5
Mending B4
Slight-of-Hand B3
Soothing Platitudes B5
Ugly Truths B5
Traits:
Ambidexterous
Child Prodigy
Drop-Dead Gorgeous
Gear:
clothes
shoes
traveling gear
Relationships:
Oddiswulf; Old hermit living in the forest between the village & the Witches domain
Circles: B2 Resources: B0
Beliefs:
I will prove myself the equal of anyone who thinks they're better than me.
The witches (and their spawn) will be driven back to the pit from whence they came.
Someday I will be the greatest sword'swoman in the world.
Instincts:
When given two choices, find a third.
Always know where the exits are
Never start a fight
the Killer
description:
While her body shows the lush bloom of full maturity, the glint in her eye & the blade at her hip indicate the woman before you is anything but a helpless, delicate, blossom
Lifepaths:Village Born, Serving Wench, Prostitute, Duelist
Will: B4 Perception: B4
Power: B4 Forte: B4
Agility: B4 Speed: B5
Health: B4
Steel: B5
Reflexes: B4
Mortal Wound: 10
Skills:
Conspicuous B4
Customer-wise B4
Haggling B5
Falsehood B4
Mending B4
Persuasion B4
Sword G6
Soothing Platitudes B4
Ugly Truths B5
Two-Fisted Fighting Training
Traits:
Drop-Dead Gorgeous
Charming
Cold-Blooded
Fearless
Mercenary
Tolerant
Gear:
clothes
shoes
traveling gear
Arms & Armor (run-of-the-mill)
Relationships:
Oddiswulf; Old hermit living in the forest between the village & the Witches domain
Circles: B2; Reputation: Harridan Bravo B3, locally Resources: B0
Beliefs:
I will prove myself the equal of anyone who thinks they're better than me.
The witches (and their spawn) will be driven back to the pit from whence they came.
Someday I will be the greatest sword'swoman in the world.
Instincts:
If confronted, do not back down
Steel is the answer to any problem
Wit is the first battle
For initial characters I was going to avoid the color scale for now, and potentially allow people to shadeshift skills if they have to make secondary characters just to keep things simple to start with (both for the players and for myself since this is also my first time playing the game :p). If it's a trait allowing the shift (such as Child Prodigy) then that's probably okay however.
Hmmm, a Drop-dead Gorgeous 13 year old, slightly worrying :p Oh dear, with a B5 Ugly Truths *chuckles*
...
As for the killer... yeesh, you have a hesitation of 1 for violence, death and pain? Wait, how have you got so many skill points? I count 38, you should have 17 (3 Village born, 4 Serving Wench, 3 Prostitute, 7 duelist)
You seem to have done the same with the kid too (who should have 7). Skills open at half Root stat (rounded down) in Gold (I don't know if that was different in Revised or not), which would mean 1 skill point gets you a B2 for all of the Killer's skills. Also it takes 5 skill points to shade-shift Sword to G6 (which if you're not the best swords-woman in the world with that, then the best swords-woman probably isn't human).
Have to head to bed now, so if you fix those things, then I'll try and look over it again before work.
Glad things are moving along here now (and hope I haven't left anyone behind). If you have any questions then just ask.
Village Born takes a lead to the Peasant Setting
Hunter takes a lead back to the Villager Setting
Acolyte takes a lead back to the Peasant Setting
Itinerant PriestYou were born into one of the non-nomadic tribes that live in the caves of the Garusian mountains to the west of the plains. AS a boy however you were sent, as many are, to join the nomadic tribes to learn to hunt and survive, and to chose for yourself what sort of life you wish to live. You returned as a man, to the caves and dedicated yourself to the spirit of the mammoth (likely from some experience you had while hunting them), spending the next 7 years of your life, learning to call upon the spirit of the mammoth, and provide spiritual guidance, before heading back out into the wandering tribes.
Sound good then? You can feel free to elaborate on your history and tweak it as necessary. I'll write up the bit about skills and such so you can continue.
This all looks good. How old does that make me? 20? What decisions do I need to make if any? I'll write up a more detailed background once I get the chance. As for skills and the rest of it, I have no idea. I'll read it in more detail later and see if I can make sense of it.
For initial characters I was going to avoid the color scale for now, and potentially allow people to shadeshift skills if they have to make secondary characters just to keep things simple to start with (both for the players and for myself since this is also my first time playing the game :p). If it's a trait allowing the shift (such as Child Prodigy) then that's probably okay however.
Hmmm, a Drop-dead Gorgeous 13 year old, slightly worrying :p Oh dear, with a B5 Ugly Truths *chuckles*
...
As for the killer... yeesh, you have a hesitation of 1 for violence, death and pain? Wait, how have you got so many skill points? I count 38, you should have 17 (3 Village born, 4 Serving Wench, 3 Prostitute, 7 duelist)
You seem to have done the same with the kid too (who should have 7). Skills open at half Root stat (rounded down) in Gold (I don't know if that was different in Revised or not), which would mean 1 skill point gets you a B2 for all of the Killer's skills. Also it takes 5 skill points to shade-shift Sword to G6 (which if you're not the best swords-woman in the world with that, then the best swords-woman probably isn't human).
Have to head to bed now, so if you fix those things, then I'll try and look over it again before work.
Glad things are moving along here now (and hope I haven't left anyone behind). If you have any questions then just ask.
Ah, that seems to be a change in Character Creation, or I was just reading things wrong. I read it as open skill = root. I will adjust my factors appropriately. The only thing I was considering shade shifting was Killer's sword skill & if I have significantly fewer points to spend on skills that becomes a lot less of a worry now doesn't it.
the Kid
description:
Though obviously no longer a child, the girl before you has yet to blossom into full woman-hood. While her form is still slight & slender, her eyes gleem with a wit & shrewdness beyond her years.
Lifepaths:Village Born, Serving Wench
Will: B5 Perception: B5
Power: B3 Forte: B3
Agility: B3 Speed: B4
Health: B4
Steel: B3
Reflexes: B4
Mortal Wound: 9
Skills:
Brawling B1
Customer-wise B2
Haggling B2
Mending B2
Soothing Platitudes B2
Ugly Truths B3
Traits:
Ambidexterous
Child Prodigy
Drop-Dead Gorgeous
Gear:
clothes
shoes
traveling gear
Relationships:
Oddiswulf; Old hermit living in the forest between the village & the Witches domain
Circles: B2 Resources: B0
Beliefs:
I will prove myself the equal of anyone who thinks they're better than me.
The Witches (and their spawn) will be driven back to the pit from whence they came.
Someday I will be the greatest sword'swoman in the world.
Instincts:
When given two choices, find a third.
Always know where the exits are
Never start a fight
the Killer
description:
While her body shows the lush bloom of full maturity, the glint in her eye & the blade at her hip indicate the woman before you is anything but a helpless, delicate, blossom
Lifepaths:Village Born, Serving Wench, Prostitute, Duelist
Will: B4 Perception: B4
Power: B4 Forte: B4
Agility: B4 Speed: B5
Health: B4
Steel: B5
Reflexes: B4
Mortal Wound: 10
Skills:
Conspicuous B3
Customer-wise B2
Haggling B3
Falsehood B2
Mending B2
Persuasion B2
Sword B6
Soothing Platitudes B2
Ugly Truths B3
Two-Fisted Fighting Training
Traits:
Drop-Dead Gorgeous
Charming
Cold-Blooded
Fearless
Mercenary
Tolerant
Gear:
clothes
shoes
traveling gear
Arms & Armor (run-of-the-mill)
Relationships:
Oddiswulf; Old hermit living in the forest between the village & the Witches domain
Circles: B2; Reputation: Harridan Bravo B3, locally Resources: B0
Beliefs:
I will prove myself the equal of anyone who thinks they're better than me.
The Witches (and their spawn) will be driven back to the pit from whence they came.
Someday I will be the greatest sword's-woman in the world.
Instincts:
If confronted, do not back down
Steel is the answer to any problem
Wit is the first battle
@Jelani: Nope, it makes you 31. You add up all the years from each Lifepath & then add an additional year for each lead into a different setting. On the bright side you are gonna have impressive Mental Stats, on the down side, the Kid would have Physical Stats comparable to yours.
@Black Dow: I took the liberty of figuring out what you would have to work with if you followed the route Peanut suggested.
Lifepath: Born Chattel, Goblin (it's a Caste, not a race), Bondsman, Strider
Starting Age: 28
Stats: 5 pts Mental to be divided between Will & Perception (Jotun/Human crossbreeds are not intended to be smart)
16 pts Physical to be divided between Power, Forte, Agility & Speed (they are physically robust however)
Skills: 2 pts. General (you can put these points wherever you want)
13 pts. Lifepath (you can only use these points on skills from your Lifepaths)
. Your other Lifepath skills are: Animal husbandry, Brawling, Cooking, Crossbow, Firebuilding, Orienteering, Riding, Stealthy and other weapon skills as Peanut deems appropriate.
Traits: 7 pts.
These traits are also only one point each for you: Charging Blindly, Exhaustion, Marching and Running (away). This doesn't mean you have to take them, it just means they only cost one point each for you. You might consider either Long of Limb or Massive Stature as Traits instead however, although you would only be able to take one or the other as they are each 4 pt traits & if you choose Massive Stature you probably don't have the Rider skill unless you have a Mammoth. Yes it could be possible to have a Mammoth. You wouldn't have much else, but you would have a Mammoth...
Can you do that for me too Zöoi?
@Jelani: I took the same liberty with you.
Lifepath: Village Born, Hunter, Acolyte, Itinerant Priest
Starting Age: 31
Stats: 10 pts Mental to be divided between Will & Perception
15 pts Physical to be divided between Power, Forte, Agility & Speed
Skills: 3 pts General
20 pts Lifepath
. Your other Lifepath skills are: Bureaucracy, Candle-maker, Cooking, Orienteering, Read, Religious History, Riding, Ritual, Stealthy, Suasion, Temple-wise, Tracking, Write, Javelin or Bow.
Traits: 7 pts. , both of which merely affect how you are perceived, they don't have any effect mechanically.
These Traits are also only one point each for you: Broken, Early Riser, Faithful & Perfect Pitch. Faithful is particularly nice as it opens up the Faith attribute for you.