CHARACTER CREATION
Also read the post below on Tropes for pre-made templates.
STATS
Each character has 6 stats:
Brains: calculate, confuse, decode, learn, remember, solve, understand;
Brawn: bend, climb, carry, lift, hurl, swim, throw;
Fight: intimidate, punch, scare, shoot, threaten, wrestle;
Flight: avoid, dodge, drive, escape, evade, outrun, snatch;
Charm: convince, entice, flatter, lie, persuade, sweet talk, trick;
Grit: brace, endure, refuse, resist, see through, struggle against, withstand;
Each player creates their character with 6 dice:
1d4, 1d6, 1d8, 1d10, 1d12 and 1d20 to distribute among these stats. The bigger the dice, the better you are at something.
AGE
Kids on Bikes works, I think, best for characters in middle-school ages.
Still you can play any age of character and determine in which are group they belong.
Children : 10-13 get +1 to any rolls on Charm or Flight and get the bonus strenght: Quick Healing.
Teens: 14-19 get +1 to any rolls on Brawn or Fight and get the bonus strenght: Rebellious.
Adults: 20 and older get +1 to any rolls on Grit or Brains and get the bonus strenght: Skilled At…
STRENGHT
Select 2 strenghts, in addition to the bonus strenght you got from you age.
Cool Under Pressure: May spend 1 Adversity Token to take half of your die’s value instead of rolling on a Snap Decision.
Easygoing: Gain 2 Adversity Tokens when you fail, instead of 1.
Gross: You have some kind of gross bodily trick (loud, quiet, smelly... up to you) that you can do on command.
Heroic: You can spend an Adversity Tokens to fully ignore Fear penalties (home rule adjustment, see "Fears").
Intuitive: May spend 1 Adversity Token to ask the GM about your surroundings, an NPC, or the like. The GM must answer honestly.
Loyal: Each of the Adversity Tokens you spend to help your friends gives them a +2 instead of a +1.
Lucky: You may spend 2 Adversity Tokens to reroll a stat check.
Prepared: May spend 2 Adversity Tokens to just happen to have one commonplace item with you (GM’s discretion).
Protective: Add +3 to rolls when defending one of your friends.
Quick Healing: (Free for kids; available to teens and adults) You recover from injuries more quickly, and don’t suffer lasting effects from most injuries.
Rebellious: (Free for and available only to teens) Add +3 to rolls to persuade or resist persuasion from Kids. Add +3 to rolls to resist persuasion from Adults.
Skilled at ...: (Free for Adults; available to teens and, at GM’s discretion, to kids) Choose a skill (GM’s discretion). You are assumed to succeed when making even moderately difficult checks involving this
skill. If the GM determines that you do need to roll for a more difficult
check, add up to +3 to your roll.
Tough: If you lose a combat roll, add +3 to the negative number. You will still lose the roll no matter what but could reduce your loss to -1.
Treasure Hunter: May spend 1 Adversity Token to find a useful item in your surroundings.
Unassuming: May spend 2 Adversity Tokens to not be seen, within reason (GM’s discretion).
Wealthy: May spend money as though you were in a higher age bracket. For example, a wealthy child is considered to have the disposable income of a typical teen, and a wealthy teen is considered to have the disposable income of a typical adult. A wealthy adult is considered to not have to worry too much about money—they would certainly be able to buy anything they need, and likely able to spend their way out of a lot of situations.
FLAW
Each character picks 1 flaw. You can decribe anything as a possible flaw.
Suggestions in the book are:
Absent-minded, Blunt, Boastful, Callous, Capricious, Clumsy, Cowardly, Deceitful, Demanding, Dogmatic, Envious, Flippant, Gluttonous, Greedy, Gullible, Hot-tempered, Ignorant, Impatient, Insecure, Lazy, Messy, Nosey, Oversensitive, Paranoid, Patronizing, Petty, Picky, Prejudiced, Rambunctious, Reckless, Resentful, Restless, Rude, Self-centered, Self-pitying, Spoiled, Superstitious, Vain, Vindictive, Weak-willed
NEW IN 2E If you fail a Check, and can narrate it because of your flaw, you get 1 extra Adversity Token.
KNACK
NEW IN 2E
Each character picks 1 Knack. This should be defined strictly but explained creatively.
For example: Playing Soccer (instead of Sports in general).
You can use the knack not only in a soccer game, but for example also while kicking away things in general, or running the length of a soccer field. When you have a knack at something, you can take a 10 for a check, regardless of how big the dice is you use.
BONDED ACTIONS
NEW IN 2E
Two characters can agree to take a bonded action. Name the bonded action and the character with who you have the bond.
Each character can have only one bonded action and can only use it in combination with the named character.
Best Frenemies: After one of you succeeds on a roll and brag about their success, the other gets +3 on their next roll. If they succeed and brag, the first character gets +3 on their next roll, then the bonuses end.
Calming Presence: When one of you is exposed to a Fear, the other can talk them down, allowing them to ignore any impacts of that Fear.
Deep Thinkers: When making a relevant Brains check together, use either character’s roll, then add an additional +3 to that roll.
Friends’ Cant: As long as you and this character can communicate in writing or verbally, you can pass information to the other without anyone else understanding your meaning.
Heavy Lifters: When making a relevant Brawn check together, use either character’s roll, then add an additional +3 to that roll.
Helpful Mentorship: When the mentee in the relationship fails a roll, the mentor can offer advice. If they do, both characters gain 2 AT.
Known Location: Either character can intuit the location of the other, regardless of how improbable their location is and regardless of how little information the other has.
Mind Readers: By making eye contact, both characters can, within reason, communicate what they’re thinking to each other.
No-Look Pass: One character may throw the other player an object that both can easily lift, and the other character can catch it without looking and without making a check.
Relay Team: When making a relevant Flight check together, use either character’s roll, then add an additional +3 to that roll.
Standup Comedians: The two characters can, within reason, keep the attention of a crowd by being incredibly funny together.
Sweet Talkers: When making a relevant Charm check together, use either character’s roll, then add an additional +3 to that roll.
Sworn Protector: Either character can suffer the effects of the other character’s failed check to protect them.
Tag Team: When making a relevant Fight check together, use either character’s roll, then add an additional +3 to that roll.
Tough Cookies: When making a relevant Grit check together, use either character’s roll, then add an additional +3 to that roll.
FEARS
Name something your character fears.
When facing your fear:
- You cannot take planned actions or use knacks
- You cannot spend adversity tokens to help others (you can spend them for yourself, and other can help you)
- You suffer a -1 to -3 penalty to any role, depending on the threat of the fear. If you have Heroic, you can spend 1 Adversity Token to negate this penalty completely.
The threat of the fear could scale from: A snake in a closed terrarium (-1), a snake walking freely in the room (-2) or a snake slithering over your body (-3).
BIKE
You can create your bike by picking 1 colour and 1 upgrade. You get the benefit of the bike only when riding it. Other, similar vehicles, can be discussed.
Colors:
Black: You get +1 to Fight checks.
Blue: You get +1 to Charm checks.
Gold: If you perform a stunt, you get +3 to Charm checks against any characters who witness the stunt.
Gray: If you know the area, you cannot get lost.
Green: You get +1 to Brawn checks.
Neon: Pink You get +1 to Flight checks.
Orange: Each time you succeed at a check, an ally of your choice receives one Adversity Token.
Purple: You may treat Snap Decisions as Planned Actions.
Red: Each Adversity Token you spend during a check adds an additional +1 to your roll
Rusty: You get +1 to Grit checks.
Silver: You have the Protective strength.
White: You get +1 to Brains checks
Upgrades:
Banana Seat: Your bike can carry a passenger. Once per day, if the Powered Character is your passenger, they regain up to 2 PT. (This cannot put them over their starting amount)
Basket: Once per day, you may reach into the basket and come up with a commonplace item.
Bell: If you can explain, in narrative terms, how ringing the bell helps an ally during their check, they get +1 to that check.
First-Aid Kit: Once per day, you may use this first-aid kit to help an ally recover from an injury (at GM’s discretion).
Milk Crate: Your bike can carry a single large item. You must explain, in narrative terms, why your bike is outfitted to carry this item.
Pegs: Your bike can carry a passenger. If you have a passenger, they receive the benefits of your bike’s color as well.
Tassels: You get +1 to all checks while being chased.
Ten Speeder: You may shift into a lower gear and pedal hard to add d4 to your Flight checks, but you suffer -1 to all Brawn and Grit checks until you can fully catch your breath.
Trading Cards: You get +1 to checks if you are attempting to distract others.
Pedal-Powered Lights: You get +1 to all checks after dark.
ADVERSITY TOKENS
At the start of the game you get 3 Adversity Tokens (AT).
You can spend AT to use strenghts or, after you have rolled a check, you can spend any number of AT for a +1 per AT.
You can also spend AT this way to give other players a +1 per AT for helping them out.
Whenever you fail a check, you get 1 AT (+1 AT if you failed due to a flaw).
BACKPACK
What items are in your backpack literally? A walkman? Chewing gum? Calculator? Lip gloss?
What items are in your backpack figuratively? Your treehouse? Your dad being mayor? You mom being ill?
Make up some interesting thing.
Money in KoB is treated on a "that makes sense basis". A child can buy some candy, but not a bike etc. No need to keep track of money.
Kids on Bikes is not a resource management game.
MOTIVATION AND OBLIGATION
No mechanical purposed, RP only.
CONSENT SHEET
If you are OK with people having a crush on your character, dating them or going beyond.
