Character Generation

So I roll 3d2 for attributes and a 1d8+2 for skill points.

Lets go:

Brawn: 1
Agility: 1
Mind: 2

I've never been a bottom, but hey! It's roleplaying, right?

Already getting a start on the smartassery.

Bwahaha, and yes on the rolls.

Okay, as for skills, I'm still thinking on it. I don't know how serious of a tone you're shooting for, so I'm going to preface this by saying, I'm going to respect your game, but I might have some different ideas on how to go about it.

For example, I'm thinking of a skill I'm going to call "The Bugs Bunny Skill Check."

The Bugs Bunny Skill Check: The ability to talk oneself into, and then out of, trouble. Sometimes characterized as letting your mouth write a check your ass can't cash. That is not an entirely accurate description, however, since everyone has that ability. Where The Bugs Bunny Skill Check differs is that, if you find yourself in a troubling situation, you have an uncanny ability to use humor, sarcasm, wit, and your opponent's dull-wittedness against them to extricate yourself from said situation. For examples, see virtually any '40s Bugs Bunny short.

I can attest that this is a real ability. I perfected it throughout grade school and high school by virtue of being a skinny nerd with a big mouth who also happened to be best friends with the biggest kid in school.

Go with it! As for tone, the setting will be serious (you're fighting for survival after all). That said, people address and handle that kind of stress in different ways. Some with stone-cold seriousness others with frivolity and levity.

So we have no clue as to why we are where we are. There was no apocalyptic event that happened or anything that happened to us? We just wake up and find out that we are stranded while being half naked?

Not that you are aware of as of yet. You may come to remember more as the game goes on. :)

Apparently I stopped getting email alerts right around the time I posted The Bugs Bunny check. I was about to head for bed and figured I'd check in, just in case. As for the tone, the character's tone is going to be decidedly non-serious. I meant the tone of the game itself, as in, was calling it the Bugs Bunny Check more silliness than you wanted.

I'll work on some more skills tomorrow. Maybe something along the lines of being able to tell the bond weight of paper at 50 paces (just kidding).

By the way, have you thought about asking anyone from The Orc Wars to fill out the roster?

I hadn't yet. No real reason I hadn't, just haven't put it up yet. :)

More on the Bugs Bunny Skill Check (BBSC): I'll leave it to you (unless you tell me otherwise) to decide how encompassing you want to make this. I was looking at it as sort of equivalent to a mashup of 5e Wisdom and Charisma checks. Sort of part Insight, part Perception, a bit of Persuasion, Deception, and Performance mixed in, with a large dollop of smartassery gluing it all together.

I'm not saying it is exactly all these skills, just parts of each. For example, he might be a terrible liar, but if he's feeding you a bunch of nonsense to make a fool out of you, the Deception level is through the roof. He might sing like a catfish drowning in mud, but if he's telling a joke, his Performance has you riveted. He might not be able to convince a woman in a doorway in Amsterdam's red light district to sleep with him, but if he's trying to convince you he didn't really mean for that to sound like you're a goddamn moron, his Persuasion has you eating out of his palm.

But let's not kid ourselves. He does just fine with the ladies. Or men. I haven't decided yet. Actually, I had decided by default until I wrote that. Now I'm contemplating it.

hahah, all of that is perfectly fine. If I were to polish it up into a "somber" skill, it'd end up being something like Schmoozing or Doubletalk. Basically, being an epic used car salesman.

I figured I'd go for a 3 in BBSC. That leaves me another 6. I was trying to think up some mundane, but possibly useful, skills.

Maybe a 2 in Advanced Computer Data Entry. You know, one of those office guys who know just enough to be dangerous. Less hacker, more noodler. Good at hiding unauthorized software on his work computer and masking his browser history. Wouldn't know a nested heuristic from an infinite if-then loop, but he can figure out how to run just about any software or download a tasty virus.

Then I was thinking about some more traditional stuff. He works out at the Y, so a 1 in swimming.

I'm kind of drawing a blank on anything else. Like, what would a regular guy have as skills you would list in an RPG? Skilled in office pranks? Could possibly translate into something with traps?

I mean, he can drive a car and balance his checkbook, but are those considered skills you would put a number to? It seems like even a score of 1 would mean he's a bit above the average person in that skill. Figuring out the stats on Joe Average is turning out to be more difficult than I imagined!

Mental Math could be used to give you a boost on estimating quantities needed for stuff or collected or whatever.
Does he know how to cook more than using a microwave? Basic Food Prep could give you a boost to try preparing unknown foods over a campfire. Rube Goldberg could give you points from that office prank line of thought. Boost chances of ridiculous contraptions working.

I suppose if microwave is your baseline, we could go for a 1 in Cooking or Food Prep. Sure, a 1 in Mental Math. That leaves 1 more.

Heh, I just came up with another good one. Forget the mental math, I want to go for a 2 in Pizza Driver Navigation Syndrome (PDNS).

There's a little-known, but totally real, physical effect on the brain where a section of it grows bigger. It's shared by taxi drivers and pizza deliverers. I bet Apex has it, driving for FedEx. Pretty much anyone who navigates the streets for a living. After a certain amount of time, the constant navigating of streets enlarges the section of the brain responsible for spacial recognition, recognizing landmarks, knowing north from south. I haven't delivered a pizza in years, but give me a day driving in an unfamiliar city and I'll know how to get around better than most of the people who live there.

So, it looks like the final tally is:

3 - Bugs Bunny Skill Check
2 - Advanced Computer Data Entry
2 - Pizza Driver Navigation Syndrome
1 - Swimming
1 - Food Prep

I like it!

I'm enjoying an episode of Maverick before bed, so I'll submit a character sheet tomorrow.

Ok...couple character ideas. We shall see what the dice tell me and I will make a decision.

There's the stat roll jackpot!

Nice Maskcot!