31 Days Character Creation Challenge Day 31: Children of the Revolution

 For today I'll try to make a character for an rpg I'm working on now and then. The working title is "Children of the Revolution", but I hope I'll think of a better one. 

The setting is a large city (Sasváros) in a large country (Ország), in a time similar to the early 1900s. It's inspired by the Russian Revolution and the Russian Civil War. 
Sasváros is in a state of uneasy ceasefire between Imperial and Revolutionary forces, and has a booming black market. The church still has much power, since it has managed to set itself up as the sole defense against... things living in the dark forests. 

I'll make a character, and explain the rules a bit while doing so. Remember that is very much a work in progress, just like the revolution.

First we generate some Stats. I personally like a mix of random roll and meaningful choices in character generation, so there will be a bit of the latter further on.

We have five stats, and the are as follows

Dexterity: Nimbleness, coordination and accuracy. Used when you need to be fast and agile. Also used for ranged combat.

Might: Strength, resilience and physical prowess. Used for lifting, endurance tasks, and melee combat.

Cunning: Quick and low intelligence. Spotting weaknesses, lying, and deceiving.

Sagacity: Wisdom and learning. Useful knowledge and experience.

Wyrd: Magic, whether the Dark Arts, folk wards or strange powers from ancient bloodlines. The uncanny and occult.

We generate each stat by rolling 1d6 and then 1d4, subtracting the latter from the former. This gives us a number between -3 and +5.

For Dexterity I roll 6 (1d6) and 2 (1d4). +4 Is quite respectable!

Might is 3 (1d6) and 3 (1d4): 0!

Cunning: 1 (1d6) and 1 (1d4): another zero.

For Sagacity I roll 2 (1d6) and 3 (1d4). -1. I'm starting to see this as a young person.

Finally Wyrd is 5 (1d6) and 2 (1d4): +3, another good roll.

My character's Health is 5, modified by Might. Just 5 then.

Next up we have some Abilities. We have a number of tables to choose from:

Academia: You are a product of higher education, a member of an intellectual aristocracy. Now to prove that you are not useless. In order to roll on the Academia table you must have a Sagacity of +1 or better.

So, that is not for our character.

Arcane Arts: You know more than your prayers. You know secrets to create or destroy lives, bring rain, talk to the dead or deal with demons from the Deep. Most of these arts are criminal under ancient Imperial law, and the rebels do not seem keen on having conjurers around either. In order to roll on the Arcane Arts table your Wyrd must be +1 or better.

That's a real possibility!

Birthright: You are related to something not quite human, and have unusual strengths and weaknesses as a consequence. Rolling on the Birthright table requires no particular attributes. 

Again, a possibility. Maybe our character is some sort of strange foundling?

Crafts & Trades: You have learned an honest trade, and do passably well, whether the city is currently an regional seat of Imperial power, or part of a People’s Republic. Unless you’re conscripted of course. Rolling on the Crafts & Trades table requires no particular stats.

Honest work? I'll think about it.

Crime: You live most of your life on the wrong side of the law. In these chaotic days it seems easier to live a life of crime, but there are two sets of authorities to watch out for. On one side the Imperial police, on the other the People’s Vigil. In order to roll on the Crime table, either your Dexterity or Cunning must be +1 or better.

As our character has a Dexterity of +4, they'd make a great criminal.

Failure: You have always been a runt, an unlucky sod, or just born into unenviable circumstances. You are neither a proud worker, not much of an Imperial subject. You have learned to persevere despite your shortcomings. In order to roll on the Failure table you must have at least one stat at -1 or lower.

(I created this table for people who had poor luck with their dice rolls).

With a Sagacity of -1 our character is eligible for this dubious honor.

Nature: The City is not everything. You know the wild, its dangers, flora and fauna. In order to qualify for a roll on the Nature table you must have a Sagacity of +1 or better.

Not a nature person, I guess.

Strings: You have sway over people. Maybe it’s charm, maybe blackmail or breeding. In order to roll on the Strings table you need a Cunning better than 0.

Not a person with clout either.

Violence: You know the ways of war, if only on a personal level. You can harm others, pure and simple. In order to roll on the Violence table, you Might or Dexterity must be +1 or better. Rolling a specific weapon means you have aptitude with it, and that you own such a weapon.

Free weapons!

I choose Birthright for my first roll. It seems like a good place to begin. I am instructed to roll 1d6, and I roll a 5, which gives me:

Fiyara-blood You are a throwback to the bestial Elder Men, humans from a time before we were separated from the animals. Boon: +1 Cunning. You can speak with animals. Bane: The touch of bronze burns you.

A fine roll. Our character's Cunning is now +1!

Looking around, I think I want to roll on the Crime table. It goes well with my new Cunning.

I roll a 3 on that table and I get:

Friend of the Court. You are a known face at court, and you have sources there, tumultuous as it is these days. Name a solicitor, barrister or law-clerk you are on semi-friendly terms with.

I come up with the name Nameera Vakloz, a respected barrister. How do they know each other? I'll think on that.

For the last one I'll go with Failure. What DO you get when you're down and out? I roll a 5:

Test subject. They tried to make a new breed of soldier out of you. That didn’t work.

I'm instructed to roll another 1d6:

2: Asbestos hide. You can’t burn.

Quite a freakish character!

Michas

Albarr and Nameera Vakloz were a young couple of standing. She was a bright young thing in the legal profession, while he was a fur merchant, making good money. They only had one heartache: the gods had seen fit to deny them a child. 

This changed one day when the household was out on a hunting picnic. A servant who had gone to fetch water for tea returned with something miraculous: a baby wrapped in leaves! To be sure it was quite a furry baby, but it was a chubby, gurgling, and smiling wonder waving its tiny hands at the world. The Vaklozes decided to adopt the little boy, swearing the servant to secrecy. 

Of course the rumor that the Vaklozes had adopted a hairy troll-child did get out, but when the priest came around, the child she was presented with was a pink and well-formed one without any fur. A poor orphan they had adopted, Nameera explained. 

They called the boy Michas, and he grew into a curious and caring, if somewhat rambunctious child. They did get him to wear clothes, but the weekly shaving were a nightmare. Among the servants he was mostly well-liked, even if some said that he spoke with the hounds in the yard and the birds under the eaves as well as he did with people. 

Michas never had much of a head for learning, and when his tutors tried to teach him writing or arithmetic, he would often be at the window, looking at life out there. His well-educated parents were saddened by his lack of scholarly aptitude or interest. 

Then the revolution started up. There was fighting in the streets, and endless rumors of the Imperial army being either routed or on the cusp of victory. One night Albarr got into an argument with some fur traders. He called them parasites, and they retorted by calling him a profiteering scoundrel, denying orphans and widows warm clothes. People were easily riled, and by dawn Albarr was put before a hastily assembled revolutionary tribunal and hung. 

Nameera was distraught and buried herself in work. She had little time for Michas, and for a time he ran wild, and was picked up by the authorities. Nameera agreed to give him over to the Academy of Military Medicine, so that he might be 'cured'. 

When Michas returned to the world outside his fur was matted, and in some places replaced with grey fibers. He was impervious to fire, and had developed a sneering disregard for authority. Now he lives by his wits on the street, earning a meagre living by stealing and sometimes by being an 'animal whisperer'. Michas still has contact with his step-mother, even though their relationship is quite strained. 

Dexterity: +4 Might: 0 Cunning: +1 Sagacity: 0 Wyrd: +3

Health: 5

Abilities

Fiyara-blood

You are a throwback to the bestial Elder Men, humans from a time before we were separated from the animals.

Boon: +1 Cunning (factored in). You can speak with animals.

Bane: The touch of bronze burns you.

Friend of the Court. You are a known face at court, and you have sources there, tumultuous as it is these days. You are on semi-friendly terms with Nameera Vakloz, a respected barrister.

Test subject. They tried to make a new breed of soldier out of you. That didn’t work. You have asbestos skin and can't burn.

(No equipment rules yet!)