31 Days Character Creation Challenge Day 16: ARC Doom

Note: I go through character creation today. Scroll down to the second image if you just want to see the character.

For today, and the coming days I’ll be making characters for ARC Doom. The game is about averting a fast-approaching disaster in a fantasy setting.

I have written a convention scenario about saving the world by stopping a scoundrel from tampering with the creation of the world itself. Here’s the pitch:

Oh no! The Pandemoniac has managed to break into the Prime Cell where the world is being made, and now they will subvert Creation from first principle! That blackguard! 
Good thing for the cosmos that there are heroes such as yourselves to stop the scoundrel. Well, you will be heroes if you pull it off. If not you probably have a colorful future as chaos sludge ahead of you. 

The pregenerated characters will have something of the mythical about them. They will be inspired by people from fairytales, and just-so stories, I think. Sometimes a bit of randomness is good though, so that I don’t get too enamored with my own ideas. That’s why my first character will be random. 

The rather short, but colorful hero concept tables yield the following after a four D6 rolls:

Your hero is a/an…

(6) Incandescent

(6) Witch doctor

Who…

(2) claims to be royalty from the Fallen Kingdom of Majapahit.

(This is just a name for now. The game does not have an established setting, but rather flavorful bits of one).

And…

(3) walks on tiptoes.

Then we roll 1D6 for approaches. There are three of these (Creative, Careful and Concerted). They are added to a roll, and determine how a challenge is, well, approached, and what the outcome might look like.

No approach can be higher than 3 or less than 0. I roll a 4 and put 3 points in Creative and 1 in Careful. I imagine that the character has lost some of their Concerted drive from being a royal of a fallen kingdom. 

Next we determine Blood and Guts. It is a little bit reductive to say that Blood’s physical hit points and Guts are mental/social ones, but it’s close enough. Each of these start as (2D6)+a number determined at character creation. The numbers added to the roll add up to 6, you could add 6 to Blood and none to Guts, divide them equally, or whatever you like. 

I’m still going random, so I roll a D6. A 3, which means an equal distribution.

With the 2D6 rolls, I end up with Blood: 8 and Guts: 14. 

A starting character has two Skills at 2 and three at 1. I roll skills on a D66 table, which gives me:

Culture 2 (Ability to attune with a community’s beliefs, customs and stories).

Guile 2 (Deception and manipulation through lies, bluffs or other chicanery and trickery).

Coordination 1 (Delicate positioning and control of body, hand and instincts for smooth or purposeful movements).

Weaponry 1 (Proficiency in the use and maintenance of weaponry).

Arcana 1 (Recall lore, sense spirits, channel magic; required to perform enhanced SPELLS)

This character knows how to deceive, do sleight of hand, work myth and tradition to their advantage, fight  and do MAGIC. I’m starting to see their general outline.

Next up: equipment! This includes gear, weapons, spells and even less tangible stuff, as we shall see. As I am rolling randomly, I have 12D6 to roll on the tables (I may roll 1, 2 or 3D6 at a time).

I want some spells, since it seems to fit with the concept and skills. I roll 3D6 

15: COMPEL - Compel someone to act in a strange or chaotic manner.

Not a nice power, but a useful one. Really starting to see the character as a manipulator.

I look at the ODDITIES AND VALUABLES table, and see that 18 is a telepathic yak! I only roll a 6 and get a hat that always keeps (your) head dry. Such is the way of randomness. 

I have 6D6 left and roll 2D6 on the SUPPLIES AND SUNDRIES table. A 3 gets me a crowbar and lantern. Just generally useful, I guess. 

2D6 on DAMAGE AND DEFENSE gives me 11: 

Devastating vocabulary  [+2 Guts Damage]. 

Don’t get into an argument with this one, unless you wanna be called a lugubrious shabaroon or something. 

I roll a further 1D6 on the SPELLS table. A 6! 

BIND WEAPON - Suddenly you feel it on your palm: the heft of a magical weapon. 

Nice, especially since I haven’t rolled any weapons. 

The last D6 goes on DAMAGE AND DEFENSE. I roll a 3 and get:

Memories of hardship  [+1 Guts Defense]

They can take it as well as dish it out. 

The last step cannot be randomized; Three character-building questions.

What makes them different from others?

Gotta think big, gotta think myth-stuff. Was this person the first to set themselves up as a ruler over others? Perhaps a bit too big. I scratch my head and come up with: 

They were the first ruler who was given a mandate from Heaven, and had it taken away by mortals. The Kingdom of Majapahit fell because the people rejected their ruler.

I think this works well with a character who has guile and cultural savvy, but not charisma or Concerted Approach

.At this point I digress and start looking up names. After having looked at the meanings of Laotian names, I decided on Light-of-Dawn. A properly grand name! A name that speaks of hope and beginnings. 

Second question: There are three rumors about them. What are they and who believes it?

1: Light-of-Dawn was the perfect ruler, their knowledge of human society bottomless. A few hoary sages believe this. 

2: Light-of-Dawn knows where the riches of Majapahit are hidden. An alarming number of adventures and chancers believe this to be true. 

3: The cruelty inherent in human authority is to a large extent Light-of-Dawn’s fault. The Majapahitites’ descendants and spiritual successors take this as a given. 

These come to me pretty quickly, and I’m satisfied with them, for now. 

Last question: What was the most painful lesson your hero had to learn? 

That the gods’ grace isn’t enough if one wants to get anything done. People are easily led, and easily riled against you. It is better (and safer) not to sit on the throne.

Light-of-Dawn is old now, but once she was a great ruler, kissed lightly on the brow by gods of light and justice. But her people were ignorant and lacked vision (or saw through the divine glare and the courtly spectacle), and in Light-of-Dawn's tenth year on the throne of grand Majapahit, they were ousted and send packing. The kingdom descended into squabbles, and Light-of-Dawn took to the road.

Light-of-Dawn has outgrown bitterness, but maintain the belief that the ignorant deserve to be tricked and conned until they get wise. This is the greatest service Light-of-Dawn can offer now. Now, of course the gods demand her aid. Is it possible that she could once again be that favored child of light and justice, or is creation itself just another fool that must be shown the way?

 Light-of-Dawn [They/them]

incandescent witch doctor who claims to be royalty from the Fallen Kingdom of Majapahit and walks on tiptoes.

APPROACHES

CREATIVE     +3                    CAREFUL: +1                            CONCERTED : 0 

BLOOD & GUTS

BLOOD (2d6+ 3): 8                  GUTS (2d6+ 3 ): 14

SKILLS

Knowledge Skills

Culture 2

Social Skills

Guile 2

Physical Skills

Coordination 1

Weaponry 1

Pragmatic Skills

(none)

Prowess

Arcana 1

Inventory

Crowbar and lantern

A hat that always keeps your head dry

Devastating vocabulary [+2 Guts Damage]

Memories of hardship [+1 Guts Defense]

Spells

BIND WEAPON - Suddenly you feel it on your palm: the heft of a magical weapon.

COMPEL - Compel someone to act in a strange or chaotic manner.