BtW Character Creation & World-biilding

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Phil_Ozzy_Fer

Dec 28, 2023 3:02 am
Dec 28, 2023 3:02 am
BtW Character Creation & World-biilding
emsquared says:
Quote:
OOC:
I'm not sure I see the same thing as you for my character. I thought I had rolled that my father was a stern watchman but fair with everyone. This is my first time exploring this game so maybe I misread it. Who is the player to my right? That person gets a bonus because of one of my roles.
Yup, you're right! I think I must not have looked at your actual roll, and in reading the body of your post, just interpreted "Roll 1" as "Roll of 1" 😅

Thanks for correcting me!

Ok, so I'll add the grain storage shed(?) as your Location, and the Hunter/Guard as your NPC? Is that right?

No worries! Yes, grain shed and Hunter/Guard. That works for me if it works for you.

Psybermagi

Jan 9, 2024 10:29 pm
Jan 9, 2024 10:29 pm
BtW Character Creation & World-biilding
Gyven relys more on his knowledge, reasoning, and experience than his physical abilities to overcome the challenges of nature and for
Ability Score Mod
Str 8 -1
Con 11 -
Dex 14 +1
Int 15 +1
Wis 15 +1
Cha 8 -1
Last edited January 11, 2024 2:09 pm

emsquared

Jan 10, 2024 8:23 pm
Jan 10, 2024 8:23 pm
BtW Character Creation & World-biilding
Yeesh, there's so much going on 😅

So it looks like everyone has done all their second round rolls, and even received their +1 from an ally's story I think? Have everyone recorded them?

I believe you each get to make another NPC and Location? I kind of wonder if I'm doing that wrong, cuz it's gonna be WAY more NPCs or Locations than are used by the rolling tables but... I suppose they could all be handy for the story.

Maybe you're only supposed to add one if you roll a number that corresponds to a row in a table that actually TOUCHES one of the icons? I dunno. Oh well...

I'll make some more rolls for the Scenario generation, but I think we're basically done?

I see @Psybermagi,@Phil_Ozzy_Fer made character sheets, so their final stats are there.

@Esidrix,@ThatTaoGuy you don't have to make a character sheet if you don't want to. But I would still like to see a final tallying of your stats in a reply if you could?

Also, I'd be interested in hearing about how you each feel, regarding how your characters turned out?

Did they turn out something like you expected?

Did they turn out like something you would be OK playing?

I've not been a fan of random stat generation in a long time, but I know that it's a big "thing" in the OSR, so I'm just curious about how you guys as players would feel about playing out what you ended up with?

Trying to pull this all together into a "big picture" plot makes my head hurt a bit. Though that may just be because it's PBP and things are still scattered about a bit.

I feel like I don't really like how I rolled up that a Stranger is responsible for drawing the ire of the fey.

Feel like it kind of defeats a lot of the purpose of creating all these NPCs tied to our characters?

But maybe what one would/could do is have one of the NPCs be the murder victim? And then I guess you mainly use the other NPCs as places to get clues from? Or as Red Herrings? And generally just to put names and faces to roles in the story that need NPCs?

What are you guys' thoughts on the whole thing?

Esidrix

Jan 11, 2024 1:27 pm
Jan 11, 2024 1:27 pm
BtW Character Creation & World-biilding
Should be done in a few minutes.

Rolls

Starting silver - (4d6)

(1165) = 13

ThatTaoGuy

Jan 11, 2024 1:50 pm
Jan 11, 2024 1:50 pm
BtW Character Creation & World-biilding
Also finishing up...

Rolls

starting silver - (2d6+12)

(54) + 12 = 21

ThatTaoGuy

Jan 11, 2024 1:55 pm
Jan 11, 2024 1:55 pm
BtW Character Creation & World-biilding
Unnamed Dilettante

Class: Rogue-Mage Level 1
HP: 7, AC: 13, Initiative: 4, BAB: 0, Fortune Points: 4
STR 13 [+1], DEX 13 [+1], CON 8 [-1], INT 14 [+2], WIS 12 [0], CHA 12 [0]
SAVES: Poison 13, Breath Weapon 16, Polymorph 12, Spell 15, Magic Item 14
Class Abilities: Highly Skilled, Spellcasting
Cantrips: Second Sight, Glamour Weaving
Rituals: Arcane Experiment
Skills: Riding, Etiquette, Forbidden Secrets, Alertness, Pickpocketing

Equipment:
21 sp
a silver broach (symbol of protection against chaos)
dagger +1 to hit, 1d4+1 damage
longsword +1 to hit, 1d8+1 damage
leather armor
a bit of food and drink
a very attractive cloak
pouches full of oddments
lockpicks
[ +- ] Detailed List of Steps
Last edited January 11, 2024 2:12 pm

Esidrix

Jan 11, 2024 1:55 pm
Jan 11, 2024 1:55 pm
BtW Character Creation & World-biilding
@ThatTaoGuy

The friend to your right stayed with you last summer, watching just such a movement of troops, and gains +1 Dex.
Last edited January 11, 2024 1:56 pm

ThatTaoGuy

Jan 11, 2024 2:03 pm
Jan 11, 2024 2:03 pm
BtW Character Creation & World-biilding
Esidrix says:
@ThatTaoGuy

The friend to your right stayed with you last summer, watching just such a movement of troops, and gains +1 Dex.
Got it. Thanks!

Psybermagi

Jan 11, 2024 2:08 pm
Jan 11, 2024 2:08 pm
BtW Character Creation & World-biilding
Overall I think this is a fun variant on character creation. My character cam out decent and I would like to change one of the stat results, just to move a bit of Int or Wis to Dex or Con but I like all the story elements so its not that big a deal.
Last edited January 11, 2024 2:08 pm

Esidrix

Jan 11, 2024 2:12 pm
Jan 11, 2024 2:12 pm
BtW Character Creation & World-biilding
I love this form of character creation. After 40(ish) years of making characters this is relaxing and kind of exciting to see where you end up.

ThatTaoGuy

Jan 11, 2024 2:17 pm
Jan 11, 2024 2:17 pm
BtW Character Creation & World-biilding
I think I would have liked choosing options from the list to make my ideal character, or maybe getting to replace one roll with a choice. I wouldn't have chosen the blacksmith, and I was envisioning a more dex, int, or cha driven character.

The stats seem subpar for my class. Not that I need to min-max, but I think even if I couldn't see the related stat bonuses, by choosing options from the tables to match a character concept, I'd have probably come closer stat-wise to what I was envisioning when I selected the playbook.

I'd still play the character as is, and the process is fun and not overly complex like some random character generation systems I've seen.

I think adding elements to the location is cool, and as a GM I love the challenge of trying to weave those elements into a cohesive whole.

Overall, fun creation system. I liked it.

Esidrix

Jan 11, 2024 2:32 pm
Jan 11, 2024 2:32 pm
BtW Character Creation & World-biilding
@ThatTaoGuy -- I don't know if you have access to the full Beyond the Wall book, but on page 37:

"Important Rule for Players!

While you are rolling on the various tables for your character, you may get a particular result that you absolutely hate, or you may just see a result that you missed that you really love. Once during character creation, you may ignore the result of a roll and pick anything you like from that particular table. No fair going back and doing this later! Just do it when it feels like you need to so that you can make your character conform to your vision."

I know it says not to do it after creation, but if you didn't know, I'm for it.
Last edited January 11, 2024 2:32 pm

ThatTaoGuy

Jan 11, 2024 3:27 pm
Jan 11, 2024 3:27 pm
BtW Character Creation & World-biilding
I probably read that on the initial read-through and completely forgot when I got to making my character because it sounds familiar.

It wouldn't make a significant difference, but I'd have switched:
Laboring with the blacksmith took your mind off your troubles. +2 Str, +1 Cha
to:
You had a tryst with someone beneath your station. +2 Cha, +1 Con

My stats would have ended up
STR 12 [0], DEX 13 [+1], CON 9 [0], INT 14 [+2], WIS 12 [0], CHA 13 [+1]

So less combat and more charisma. Overall closer to my vision for the character.

@Esidrix thanks for pointing that out!

Psybermagi

Jan 11, 2024 3:46 pm
Jan 11, 2024 3:46 pm
BtW Character Creation & World-biilding
The trouble I had with that rule is you never know the full party the character will take so I was hesitant to use it. As DM I would allow the change at any time

emsquared

Jan 11, 2024 4:49 pm
Jan 11, 2024 4:49 pm
BtW Character Creation & World-biilding
Esidrix says:
@ThatTaoGuy -- I don't know if you have access to the full Beyond the Wall book, but on page 37:

"Important Rule for Players!

While you are rolling on the various tables for your character, you may get a particular result that you absolutely hate, or you may just see a result that you missed that you really love. Once during character creation, you may ignore the result of a roll and pick anything you like from that particular table. No fair going back and doing this later! Just do it when it feels like you need to so that you can make your character conform to your vision."

I know it says not to do it after creation, but if you didn't know, I'm for it.
Thanks for pointing this out Esidrix. I think I also mentioned it very early on, but that's very easy to get lost/forgotten in the shuffle.

Did anyone end up using that? I don't think I saw anyone mention it.

It would definitely be "more osr" to only allow it "in the moment" and not retro-actively.

But while there are many things I like about "the osr philosophy", there are many things I think lead to a better experience for many players in where modern games have evolved.

And more control over what you're character can do is one of them.

So I would also be inclined to let someone change 1 life path they were unhappy with, after the fact, before play.

Really appreciate the input all!

And I really, REALLY appreciate your participation in this "game".

I do want to actually run this some time.

But I feel generally at my limit with my 2 games right now.

A far cry from the heady days when I was running or playing in, like, 7 or 8 different games at a time 😅

Anyway, if any of you were interested, and if/when I have bandwidth open up, I'd totally put you all at the top of a list to reach out to, of/when I ever get the chance to run this system.

Thanks again!

Phil_Ozzy_Fer

Jan 11, 2024 5:32 pm
Jan 11, 2024 5:32 pm
BtW Character Creation & World-biilding
I'm fairly impartial when it comes to character creation methods. One thing I like about this one was that the process was a group effort. As we built our own characters other PCs at the table were influenced by our choices. I liked this idea a lot and the effect it had on us as a group, pushing us to engage more. I'd love to give this a go at an actual table, but I thought the whole thing was fairly smooth. I'd be happy to play when your schedule opens up @emsquared. Thank you for taking the time for this.

ThatTaoGuy

Jan 11, 2024 9:21 pm
Jan 11, 2024 9:21 pm
BtW Character Creation & World-biilding
Phil_Ozzy_Fer says:
One thing I like about this one was that the process was a group effort. As we built our own characters other PCs at the table were influenced by our choices. I liked this idea a lot and the effect it had on us as a group, pushing us to engage more.
If you haven't yet, you should definitely check out the Pathways character creation system in Cortex Prime. The way it was implemented in the Smallville game changed how I setup pretty much every game I run. It's very much a group effort, and you build on NPCs and locations created by the other players, making a giant, interconnected web that the GM uses to build on. It seems to always make for a highly engaged group of players.

emsquared

Jan 11, 2024 10:27 pm
Jan 11, 2024 10:27 pm
BtW Character Creation & World-biilding
Yes! Smallville was one of the lifepath-style character creation systems that made me fall in love with the approach (Burning Wheel being the other).

Smallville's is much more narrative based and much better at weaving the characters' stories together than either BW or this one. (Though BW does make up for it pretty well with Beliefs.)

Now that you mention it, I might really have liked more interplay and entanglement between PCs in this one generated by the life paths.

Not even in a "give X player a +1 stat"-way tho.

Just a little bit more funneling toward, "This is how you all know each other, and this is why you're the ones who have to address The Problem."

But maybe that is actually taken care of by the fact that it's supposed to be a small village or town, and that the NPCs and Locations we create are The Important Things that get involved in the events of the Scenario?

Phil_Ozzy_Fer

Jan 12, 2024 5:00 pm
Jan 12, 2024 5:00 pm
BtW Character Creation & World-biilding
Thank you for the tip, ThatTaoGuy!
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