Character Creation

This is where we will work together on character creation. We'll try to work in as much as possible of what you wrote in the interest check thread but don't get too attached to the particulars of your individual backstories yet, as those may change in the process of fleshing out your connections to the world and the other party members.

Some helpful links:
• Dungeon World SRD
• Dungeon World Gazetteer
• The Monk playbook
• Here is a sample character sheet you can use as a formatting template.

Getting a character sheet together might take a bit of time due to my vacation, but the example character sheet should help. Is there anything we need to discuss regarding characters or backstories?

Yes, there's plenty to discuss. I'll pose specific questions for each of you. After which, we'll go into the character Bonds.

Some questions to get us started:

• BedzoneII:
1. What are your monastery's tenets or philosophy? Apart from these, what is the greatest lesson taught you by your shifu?
2. Describe your relationship with your shifu's murderer.

• Somebox:
1. When fire flows through your body, does your own consciousness & identity remain, or are you completely taken over by the ghost? How is the experience strange or beautiful?
2. Depending on your chosen Alignment, what or who was the sacrifice, or what is the dangerous idea?

• DarkReaver1998:
1. What joys and good fortune came to the village of Gwaju when they embraced the wisdom you shared with them?
2. What sort of hardship and despair fell upon the town of Liaoqiu after they turned you away?

• Vorn369:
1. Tell us about the place where you grew up poor. Was it in the slums of Opal City? A hovel in the country? A fishing village? Somewhere else?
2. Describe your happiest memory. What did it cost you (or someone else)?

• Squadfather44:
This one is for everyone to discuss, but naturally I will give Squad's input more weight.

Nobles in Qing'lai are 100% slug-men. None of them are warriors - all are scholars of some sort. Are you perhaps from somewhere else, like Yatpun, where it's rumored (if you'll believe those who claim to have been to that mysterious and barbaric land) that warlords rule the land under a warrior noble overlord called a Shōgun? Or perhaps the Opal City grants feudal fiefdoms to petty warlords in the frontier lands, to guard against orc incursions from the Barrior Mountains, or marauders on the fringes of the Haunted Desert? Perhaps you have other ideas? Let's hear them!

After we have established the nature of your nobility I'd like you to tell us: What caused your family's downfall? What do you believe it would take to restore your family's honor?

Gwaju was a nice village. They had faced many hardships when I first arrived there, and it did not take much for me to convince them to embrace each other. The will of a community can overcome almost anything. I very rarely stay in one place for long, so what I do know is told to me by messengers of Dai'Shan or from people who have passed through. I want to believe that they are happy and healthy, and knowing Dai'Shan, he has shielded them from the worst the world has to offer.

Liaoqiu. I had the misfortune of seeing the wrath of Dai'Shan first hand. When the wisdom of my Lord is rebuked, I am often sent on my way, and I travel to the next place, to spread Dai'Shan's gift to those who are willing to receive it. I was not so lucky here. The merchant lords who ruled the town of Liaoqiu did not appreciate my message, and decided that my place was in a prison, where I could no longer spread my harmful messages. I did not resist. I sat, patient in my cell, knowing that my freedom would come at the cost of theirs.
Emotions are a powerful thing in the realm of spirits, where my Lord reigns. Rage. Jealousy. Malice. There, they are manifested weapons wielded by those with the power to control them. Dai'Shan wields anguish and despair like a pair of ornate blades, and those blades carved through the hearts of the greedy merchant lords, and their families. And while they felt the brunt of the attack, the aftershock of his wrath rang out through the entire town. It is a truly terrible thing to see a man truly wracked with despair. After a time, they cannot feel anything else. I was freed from my cell by guards who couldn't be bothered to keep me contained. And, while no one chased me or even bothered to look in my direction as I left, I ran from the town and never looked back.
I do not know if this is the fate of all those of rebuke His gifts... but I will never again stay to find out.

Intriguing! So depending on how they received you, they either get good vibes or bad vibes? Not good harvest on one hand and then plagues or financial ruin on the other?

I guess that's a way to put it. Dai'Shan's power comes through emotion. The priest is essentially a messenger, telling them how to find harmony, and they can either accept or reject the message. I also see Dai'Shan as a powerful spirit, but his power is over humanity and their souls (the afterlife), instead of natural power like I imagine most spirits have. While I'm sure he could cause plagues, his powers tend to be much more subtle.
If he were to cause financial ruin, it would be because he has made the merchant seem hideous or undesirable within the minds of his patrons, or because he has made the merchant feel like there just isn't a point anymore.

I like it! Quite unique! Have you ever brought the word of Dai'shan to the Opal City or will this be your first time?

First time! Not looking forward to it

Bedzone mentioned on the discord server that he is considering the Path of Charity for his monk, which involves a vow of poverty. We both agree that would tie in well with your cleric. Of course common ground makes for group harmony! On the other hand, a little conflict creates drama.

I could see that working well. And I already see enough drama forming through Vorn's character's goal being to acquire as much wealth as possible.

No doubt! I'm looking forward to it!

My character's family had loyally served the Opal City for several generstions. My character's ancester was awarded the fiefdom for showing loyalty and bravery during a particular savage incursion by the various Orc tribes of the Barrier Mountains.

As time went on it was shown that the family were just and honorable leaders. They were even shrewd businessmen who handled the local imports and exports in a manner that allowed the family's coffers to overflow with wealth.

It was during the time of my character's grandfather that a charge of treason was laid against the noble family. As they fought to prove their innocence, it turns out that those they thought of as allies were in fact plotting to gain the wealth of the family.

Even with those allies they did have, they were no match for the power of their enemies. So it was decreed that the family were found guilty and stripped of title, lands, wealth, and honor.

As my character was growing up he was told stories of how great his family had been. Yet, he thought they were just that..stories. It was on the death bed of his father that he was told the truth.

So now with armed with the truth and a sword that's been in his family for generations, he sets out to regain what was lost.

With the fire the ghosts thoughts become much louder, sometimes even voicing them. Control is split between the two during this "rage" with Xian still primarily in physical control, but every slash and movement originates from the ghost since she doesn't have any actual combat experience. One other odd sensation: Xian's body contorts in ways she didn't think was possible, moving like something is tugging at her forcefully.

Xian sacrifices unwilling people to appease the vengeful ghost, who has some mysterious reasoning for demanding the death of murderers of all kinds, likely relating to the ghost's own death. This technically makes her evil, although I don't have plans for anything evil beyond the sacrifices (I make it sound so nonchalant).

Side question: can I pick the salamander racial bonus despite being human (immunity to non-magic fire), or should I stick with default human (full health when resting next to a fire)?

@Squadfather: Great stuff! What saved your grandfather from a sentence of death for his supposed treason? How do you feel about those who wronged your family? How do you plan to restore your family's honor?

@Somebox/Xian: Creepy! I love it! Does the ghost ever speak to you? You can be a human who is immune to non-magical fire only while you wield your Burning Brand.

@DarkReaver/Iko:
We've talked a bit about how you preach Charity. How do you preach Suffering? Describe how you might make a petition to Dai'shan.

Just a couple of notes on your character sheet:
1. Everyone's starting XP is 0/8. Sorry about the sample I gave you - that guy is in play and has already earned 1 XP.
2. Your HP should be what your class says plus your CON score. As the Cleric that is 8+CON=23.

Of the 8 masters of the Eightfold Way, shifu Gen was Master of the Mountain; each master himself had 8 disciples, and Wu Meng was the eighth and youngest. Their monastery was a temple atop Guangming Peak, (or ‘Bright’ Mountain).

Wu Meng only found out, after the heinous crime had been committed, that eldest disciple Li Xiong had found a way to spy on their shifu’s inner sanctum. Gen, together with visiting masters Qian and Zhen, had cloistered themselves in preparation of a sacred sutra, both a holy scripture and enlightened martial arts form. Gen remained sequestered in his chamber after the completion of the sutra and their departure, meditating on its contents.

Li Xiong, under the direction of and abetted by powerful agents yet unknown, attacked the monastery and set fire to it, coveting the text for himself and his accomplices. That night, Wu Meng, ignorant of the impending treachery, had returned to his quarters, to find a scroll tube on the table and a letter, with a note which simply said, ‘Escape now.’ Wu Meng did not hesitate as the first wave of attackers appeared.

Later, when he had a moment to catch his breath in the valley below, Wu Meng unfolded the letter, written in shifu Gen’s script. "One-eighth of the Bound Movement Force sutra. Yours by right. Protect it from those who want it for the wrong reasons. Seek to understand it when you have the right reasons. You may open it when you have learnt the four lessons I have taught you:
Duty before desire,
Wisdom before worth,
Faith before flesh,
Calm before chaos."

Bedzone/Wu Meng: I love it! All of it! Do you seek vengeance for your shifu? How do you think this conforms to or contradicts with the four lessons?

Somebox/Xian:
I played an Immolator before and I love the flavor of the class but I had issues with the way it's built: You use CON to conjure your Burning Brand,  INT to attack with it, WIS to use another starting move, and four advanced moves use CHA. It didn't make sense to me. So I want to tweak it, and I'd like you to collaborate with me.

I say fuck WIS & INT. I think this class would make better sense just sticking with a mix of CON and CHA, and I don't mean from a mechanical standpoint. The way I see it from a roleplaying standpoint, it's your CON and the ghost's CHA.

I propose keying the Immolator's moves like so:
Burning Brand: still CON to conjure. But for attacking, choice of CHA or standard attack stat (STR for H&S, DEX for Volley).
Zuko Style: I think WIS for this is dumb. CHA instead
Lore of Flame: WIS makes sense here. As is.
All other moves: As is.

Thoughts?

I don't think Wu Meng's mind is on vengenace yet. At this point he's concerned with the following, in this order: protecting the scroll at all cost, finding out the truth about Xiong's treachery (who was involved, why, etc), finding out about the other disciples (their whereabouts, were they all killed, any of them colluded with Xiong, etc), if so, recovering the other scroll parts (an extension of protect the scroll), reading the scroll (he currently has no idea whether he's worthy to do so).

On a different note, reviewing the monk's class features, I have one quibble. It probably stems from my preconceived notion that monks are Dex-based (With Wis being the most important stat because of ki). Using Dex for Hack and Slash isn't a starting move, but has to be taken as an advanced move, Mantis Strike, and that's only for unarmed attacks. That confuses the build, because Str is needed for weapons, Dex for unarmed. (A fighter doesn't have this problem, he picks Str or Dex for close or range). I think a fair fix is to simply grant the option of Dex use for unarmed attacks from the start (ie. "Choose whether you want your unarmed strikes to have the precise tag."). That way a Str-based monk won't pick it, a Dex-based monk will, and it won't cost a move selection. Don't think this changes the power level of the class at all. It does make Mantis Strike redundant, but that's not a big deal. What do you think?

Seems to me like I Know Kung Fu already takes care of that. It basically gives you access to one advanced move right out the gate AND increases the range of your unarmed strikes!

I saw that, although I think I Know Kung Fu seems to 'force' a player to have to choose Mantis Strike right from the start if he's intending to use unarmed attacks in order to keep him Dex-based. But like I said, it's a minor quibble. I shall continue building! :)