Game: Show me your characters

So, here's a game I decided to suggest on a forum...and then I asked myself, why would I confine it just to a forum?

Find a character generator online (preferably a lifepath generator, but hey, who am I to judge your system preferences)?

Roll up one or more characters.

Write a short story including one or more of them.

Post it on your blog (and link here in the comments) and/or in the thread on that forum.

Ready?

Here's who I rolled (I'm sure nobody's surprised I used Traveller - I used two generators, however, including a generator for MegaTraveller and a CT generator). And here's the story.

"What follows are a series of confidential-level dispatches, published by the Freedom Of Meaningless Information Law.

By: XX [REDACTED] dTon Imperial Navy craft "Starhawk", class [REDACTED], Imperial Year [REDACTED]

"Following previous instructions, we visited the planet [REDACTED] named "New Callisto", previous information showing that Merchant 3rd Officer can be found there after the crash of her ship, assumed to be the only survivor. It is unknown what was her situation since the crash.

Survey from orbit showed TL was inconsistent: TL 2 for personal combat, TL 6 for communication, some transportation equipment and medicine showed traces of TL 10+!

Following the procedure for extraction, Captain Ivan Morris assigned to the retreival operation Scout Trisha Abe 8B79A4 and her superior Scout Darpana Chen E59647, leader of the operation, under the designated protection of Marine Diego Tamm 846973. Operation beginning."

Report by Scout Trisha Abe to Navy Captain Ivan Morris, commander-in-chief of XX [REDACTED] dTon Imperial Navy craft "Starhawk", class [REDACTED], Imperial Year [REDACTED-circa 60 hours later]

"After finding Merchant 3rd Officer Quinn in her quarters, she refused outright to be saved, stating she prefers the primitive society she was found in, quote, "I prefer to be free and honest here and live with a sword in hand, than to coddle every day Imperial aristocrats, paying them bribes to not interfere with what is good for their subjects", unnquote. Scout Trisha Abe noticed that the jewellery observed on the body and head of Merchant 3rd Officer Quinn and the presence of the sword on her hip were consistent with high status among the locals and attempted to communicate the significance of said fact to Scout Darpana Chen. Scout Darpana Chen refused to listen and stated, quote, "I'm not letting you among these savages, you must need personality reassignment, girl", unquote, after which she proceeded to grab Merchant 3rd Officer and use her significant strength advantage as vice-champion of the Scout Corps in powerlifting to drag her along.

Merchant 3rd Officer was offering only passive resistence until a local came to investigate the noise. Upon seeing the grappling between Merchant 3rd officer and Scout Chen, he acted threateningly, and tried to pull a blade hanging on his hip while issuing some kind of challenge. Following procedure, Marine Diego Tamm shot him in the head, which earned him a commendation for good shooting from Scout Chen, leader of the mission.

Upon seeing that, Merchant 3rd Officer Quinn pulled her own sword and proceeded to inflict life-threatening thigh wound on Scout Chen, which almost fell. Marine Tamm tried to shoot her, but his aim was obstructed by the wounded body of Scout Chen. Marine 3rd Officer Quinn then proceeded to disarm him from his rifle, using her sword. Upon him trying to break distance and grasping for his gun, Marine 3rd Officer Quinn followed him and stabbed him in the neck, killing him instantly.

During this time, Scout Abe was unable to put her gun to use due to the proximity in which the bodies were found, and due to being overwhelmed by surprise at the extraction subject assaulting the extraction team.

Upon seeing the wounds of Scout Chen and Marine Tamm, Scout Abe decided to negotiate instead of trying to disable Merchant 3rd Officer Quinn. Merchant 3rd Officer acquisced to the terms of her offer - to call it all a misunderstanding with lethal weapons and that Scout Abe would deliver medical help to all the wounded - but insisted that the local should be healed first.

Scout Abe was only able to pronounce the man dead, but during this time Scout Chen had expired, too, due to bloodloss.

It must be noted that Scout Abe has no special training for close-quarters battle and was, at this time, in legitimate fear for her life. Her participation in the expedition was predicated on her ability to pilot schuttles, which were similar enough to aircraft the locals were using.

Upon seeing the losses inflicted by the sword of Merchant 3rd Officer Quinn, Scout Abe decided to disregard protocol and to retract to the XX [REDACTED] dTon Imperial Navy craft "Starhawk", class [REDACTED] in order to present her report to Captain Ivan Morris.

Captain Ivan Morris accepted the report and decided to abstain from a court martial over Scout Abe. He did, however, officially recommend to the Scout Service to not renew her contract."

Decisions of the council of officers of XX [REDACTED] dTon Imperial Navy craft "Starhawk", class [REDACTED] on the possible forceful extraction and/or punishment of Merchant 3rd officer Sophia Quinn and/or punishment of the locals of [REDACTED], a.k.a. "New Callisto".

"Following the report of Scout Trisha Abe, the following decisions were taken:

1. Merchant 3rd Officer Sophia Quinn is considered to have voluntarily, albeit implicitly, refused to renew her contract with the Merchant Service. Her actions were considered indication enough that no confirmation was required.

2. Merchant 3rd Officer Quinn's insurance policy, requiring that upon her involvement in a crash, "every possible effort" should be made to recover either her person, or her body, is to be considered fulfilled successfully.

3. No other actions on retrieving and/or punishing Merchant 3rd officer Quinn are to be taken. It was decided that such actions are neither warranted nor practical against the locals, either, given that the locals were probably unaware of Merchant 3rd Officer Quinn's insurance and might have considered the extraction attempt an attempted kidnapping.

4. The Council makes formal Captain Morris's recommendation to the Scout Service to not renew Scout Trisha Abe's employment for another term of service."

Scout Service, HR department. Regarding: The recommendation made by the Council of Officers of XX [REDACTED] dTon Imperial Navy craft "Starhawk", class [REDACTED] concerning the employment of Scout Trisha Abe.

"We have received your recommendation. Regretfully, we must regretfully inform you that it was not sent for consideration to the Head of the Department, because Scout Trisha Abe didn't apply for renewing her contract for another term. After serving her second term, on Imperial Year [REDACTED] she took her retirement benefits and booked High passage on Free Trader "Space Maiden", requiring an unusual point of delivery: planet [REDACTED] named "New Callisto". As the planet doesn't have a Class A-D Starport, standard rules regarding former members of the Scout Corps in unaccessible locations apply.

Please accept our considerations!"

Edited for publication: Assistant Manager Ema Naqamurra"

Merchant 3rd Officer Sophia Quinn 863676 Age 26 2 terms Cr41,000 Skills: Bribery-1, Steward-1, Sword-1Service History: Attempted to enlist in Merchants. Enlistment accepted. Commissioned during first term of service as 4th Officer. Promoted to 3rd Officer. Voluntarily reenlisted for second term. Chose not to reenlist after second term.

Scout Trisha Abe 8B79A4 Age 26 2 terms Cr70,000 Skills: Air/Raft-1, Jack-o-T-2, Mechanical-1, Pilot-1

Service History: Attempted to enlist in Scouts. Enlistment accepted. Voluntarily reenlisted for second term. Chose not to reenlist after second term.

Assistant Manager Ema Naqamurra

UPP:7BD697

HomeWorld:

StarPort=B, Size=Small, Atmos=Thin, Hydro=Dry

Population=Med, Law=Moderate, Tech=Early Stellar

Age:

34

Terms:

4

Career:

Bureaucrat

Rank:

Asst. Manager (Rank 3)

Skills:

Handgun-3, Admin-2, Brawling-1, Carousing-1, Grav Vehicle-1, Instruction-1, Liaison-1, Neural Weapons-1, Computer-0, Wheeled Vehicle-0

Cash:

80000 Cr

Pension:

0 Cr/Year

Skills/Experience:

11 / 15

Benefits:

Low Passage, Middle Passage, High Passage

hide detailed history

Rolled UPP = 7BC687

homeworld skill: Computer-0

homeworld skill: Wheeled Vehicle-0

Spoiler: NPCs

† Scout Darpana Chen E59647 Age 38 5 terms Service History: Attempted to enlist in Scouts. Enlistment accepted. Voluntarily reenlisted for second term. Voluntarily reenlisted for third term. Voluntarily reenlisted for fourth term. Voluntarily reenlisted for fifth term. Death in service.

† Marine Diego Tamm 846973 Age 22 1 term Service History: Attempted to enlist in Marines. Enlistment accepted. Death in service.

A Princess Goes Treasure-Hunting With Her Best Friends 4Eva!

So, I think we got another player into RPGs, the youngest in Bulgaria.
She's 6 years old, and she's my daughter.
Unlike many people, her first game isn't D&D, because her mother Refereed (if you think I dislike D&D, you should realize I'm quite moderate in comparison - though as a Referee, Elitza's mother doesn't care all that much about the system).
Actually, the system is a mix based on Zenobia by Paul Elliott. Meaning, Zenobia provides all the rules except character generation.
The character generation is based on a mix of Traveller's skills and attribute system, but generated using the Playbooks and Threat from Beyond the Wall". There's a Blighted place outside of the Village and Castle/Manor.
(She's using Nobleman's Wild Daughter, I'm one of her best friends - the Village Id...I mean, Hero she grew up with. Her aunt is also playing, she's the local witch's apprentice who talks to animals or some other boring magic shit. But at least the witch's apprentice has persuaded a wandering swordsman to show them some tricks with a sword...she's not a complete loss! Plus, she's a friend.
The daughter's character, on the other hand, knows I doubt my worthiness as a hero!
BTW, These Details Were Provided For You By The Awesom Beyond the Wall Playbooks!)

Bottomline: my daughter is playing a Princess, and we're her friends accompanying her on a quest to find a lost treasure! We already passed near a Magic Lake. A Giant Talking Turtle gave us a quest to bring her a chestnut of the tallest tree from a meadow that we're going to encounter after we pass through the forest. In return, the Giant Talking Turtle got us through the lake on her back.
Once there, we made camp, they gathered berries and mushrooms, and we made soup. I mostly kept the fire going (and provided the kindling).
Then we got to sleep, and during my watch, I detected something that was, maybe, approaching us covertly in the bushes. Of course, I imitated going to take a piss, and stabbed it with my trusty spear!
Took the piss right out of a goblin. And got jumped by the other four.
That's when I raised the alarm, while keeping my distance. We killed them in a fight with some lucky dice. Don't think anyone was even hurt.
Any of us, I mean.

On the morning, we heard the calls of a dwarf who had fallen in a ravine. Now, when I say a dwarf, I do mean a dwarven-dwarf, small and short-legged...think "hobbit miner", or "Santa Klaus helper". So keep in mind it couldn't get out alive, but to us, it was a kid's game.
We saved it, of course. It turned out he was looking for a very special stone...not some mere diamond - they were digging those out of their mine - but a whetstone. Those picks ain't sharpenin' themselves, it seems.
It thought it was seeing a natural whetstone, actually, but then tumbled and fell in the ravine.
So, reacting quickly, I traded it my whetstone for a diamond! Hey, Stephan might be a simple village boy, but he knows a good trade when he sees one...
The dwarf also told us that the "meadow" where we could find the chestnut isn't a natural one, but a magical clearing, prairies-sized. The Little Fairies lived there, in the Giant Flowers.
And they've created the Three Giant Eagles to protect their flowers by killing any animals that went to the meadow.
Sick bastards, those fairies.

After giving us that info, the dwarf left. I searched for the whetstone he'd spotted, and after finding it, had earned a diamond for basically nothing. A good deal, I'm telling you!
We made plans, but the current one is to go to the Magical Meadow during the night, and to negotiate passage with the fairies.

Fun fact: the daughter totally refused to start playing until and unless we provided her with a miniature to represent her character!
So she got a paper miniature, because all of us were able to help preparing that (and we've got a printer at home).
Then she demanded we should also have miniatures for our characters.
We took some of her dolls. Which means our Village hero is some kind of bug-man, and the witch's apprentice is some Disney princess I can't identify...
Miniatures are alive with the new generation, it seems! And even Theater of the Mind people like me and her mother bow to the demands of the New Generation.

Ai Xun, Superhero

Here's the background of my PC in Golden Heroes. (Immortal, Previous Training; Oriental Martial Arts-3, Judo Throw, Flight, Weather Control). If you wonder why I'm playing Golden Heroes: because that's what Dumarest wanted to run on RPGPub!
The game for you, however, is different: read it and find the in-jokes!

Ai Xun (Lover of Meritorios Deeds) was a middle-aged scholar who had already startted on the path of Cultivating his Qi. It was a nice quiet summer of the 9th year of the reign of Emperor Taizong (1238), but worrisome news made him realize that his application of the internal skills for longevity and calmness are incomplete. For what self-respecting scholar could pass the opportunity to apply his cultivation-derived abilities to martial deeds? And what insane scholar would fail to do so, given the number of bandits around?
The Yuan troops were numerous, but some Han claimed it's easier to negotiate with actual bandits...
Be it as it may, Ai Xun seeked a master of the spear and the sabre, and trained at his feet for 6 years, having cast - not by his own choice, some would imply - all connections to the bureaucracy.
After the six years, he bowed one last time, and soon was to become well-known for his martial prowess, wiping gangs of bandits single-handedly.
That is, until he was defeated by an unarmed old Taoist.
As any normal scholar would do, Ai Xun bowed to him and asked him to teach him.
But the man laughed at him, told him he has been squandering his skills by using a weapon. "That's the first step, but you can't become one with the weapon, for it's always in your hand. Once you cast it away, you have to become the weapon. First, it will be in your spirit only; later you will become the weapon, and shall never look back. For this, you have to swear now to never use an weapon again."
Having learned the weapons painstakingly, Ai Xun was shaken. But he couldn't doubt the man's skill, so he swore off. They left the town as teacher and student.
Three weeks later, Ai Xun understood why his teacher was making him write his teachings. Singing immortals came to take away his teacher, and lead him to the Western Paradise.
"If you persist, you could become one of us, too. Remember: I told you how to become the weapon. You'll have to find by yourself how to become the Universe", his teacher said. And Ai Xun watched how with each step he lost decades, until he was an youngster again.
"But what if I can't think of a way?", he called.
"You will die of old age, as a hermit nobody knows, of course!", the teacher shrugged, without looking back. "Who told you the path to perfection is easy? Make sure to give your notes to a simpleton, if you feel you wouldn't make it: maybe one like him could succeed where you'd failed!"
Ai Xun only bowed to his bacj, and applied himself to mastering the teachings.
He extended his life a lot, seeking enlightenment through the time-honoured tradition of dodging fists that would otherwise hit his face, disarming armed opponents, and wrestling with tigers. The way of Kung-Fu is hard, even when the kung-fu is soft!
Be it as it may, he ascended - after being sentenced to death under the name Lan Yu, and the day before the sentence was to be carried out, some say - and went on to the Western Heavens.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lan_Yu_(general)
He became young again, but he wasn't content. For his old teacher met him with a frown.
"Did you learn to fly?"
"I can float through the skies, Teacher!"
"Did you learn to control the weather?"
"I am the wind, and the lightning. But it takes me some time to affect radical changes!"
"Impossible! After so many decades, you're still not getting it?"
"But Teacher, isn't that proof I succeeded?"
"Had you really learned to become the Universe, how could you have restrictions? If you raise your hand, do you need time? No - you think, you do! Go find a simpleton, give him your notes, and never mentioned I've been your teacher!"
Dutifully, Ai Xun obeyed. But then he turned back.
"But teacher...if I'm not worthy, how come I've found myself here?"
"The criteria are rather lax these days! It seems you enjoy the favour of a celestial nymph, who decided to save you. Do as I said!", the old man in young body grumbled...much as his followers, collectively known as the grognards, were going to do centuries later.
Crestfallen, the student obeyed, and found a simpleton who received the teachings. (It is said that later in life, the boy became known as an avatar of Patriarch Huineng... http://www.iep.utm.edu/huineng/)
The unhappy Ai Xun went back to the Western Heavens.

***
The nymph needed a few centuries, but eventually tired of him. Then he was summoned by the Celestial Dragon of the Door, and got a hint that some work needed to be done...an offer no sane scholar would refuse, as the Dragon put it - so Ai Xun accepted. In the company of other young Immortals, who could face them?
However, things were not as good as they seemed. In the company of another Immortal, Bao Zhao, he fought the seductive, mind-boggling powers of Lin Ai Ming.
In the heat of battle, she teleported. Soon after, he spotted her back, and unleashed a terrible "Mantis Strike"!
That's when he learned that Lin Ai Ming was also a mistress of illusions. Looking at Bao Zhao's body in his feet, it was rather obvious!
Needless to say, the Dragon was unhappy. But he roared only once, and said:
"I lost a bet last night, so I'll send you to the lands of the barbarians. You need to build a temple of Buddha in each of thier major cities, and translate this scroll for the temple library. Now go! And bring her head back, unless someone else I sent is faster!"
And thus Ai Xun was chased by Heavens.
However, upon arriving in New York City, things just turned out unexpectedly. Soon, Ai Xun was carrying the name Wind Fist, and fighting crime!

Traveller PCs

Sometimes you roll a character for fun.
And then you realize you've just learned the protagonist for the next "Fast and Furious"...

Name: Wan An Xia
Age: 42
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Characteristics:
Strength: 7
Dexterity: 12
Endurance: 8
Intelligence: 13
Education: 9
Social: 4
Skills:
Computers-0
Streetwise-1
Language-0
Medic-0
Drive(wheeled)-3
Flyer(winged)-0
Melee(Blade)-1
Steward-0
Trade-0
Melee (unarmed)-5
Admin-1
Flyer (rotor)-1
Athletics(strength)-0
Gun Combat(slug throwers)-3
Recon-1
Vacc Suit-1
Persuade-1
Mechanic-1
Career History:
Career: Citizen = Terms: 3
Career: Army = Terms: 2
Career: Merchants = Terms: 1
Rank History:
Career: Citizen = Rank: 2
Career: Army = Rank: 2
Career: Merchants = Rank: 1
Event History:(characteristic, skill and benefit effects are applied automatically)
Life Event: You`ve gained a new Contact
Citizen Event: Your business expands, your corporation grows, or the colony thrives.
Citizen Event: You befriend a superior in the corporation or the colony.
Citizen Mishap: Hard times caused by a lack of interstellar trade costs you your job.
Army Event: You are given advanced training in a specialist field.
Army Event: You are assigned to a planet with a hostile or wild environment.
Merchant Event: You are given advanced training in a specialist field.
Age Event: At the age of 42 your Endurance and Strength were reduced by 1 point

Benefits:(characteristic, skill and benefit effects are applied automatically)
Cr 50000

Revolver
Ally: Corporate Executive
Weapon: Monoblade
Combat Implant: Subdermal armour
Free Trader

Got to wonder, what kind of a catch did the Free Trader come with?

Musings after reading World of Gor and Tales of Gor

I have nothing but good words about the World of Gor. It is an almost invaluable* the world-setting as presented in the novels. Period. No objections on it.

I have, so far (I haven't read it to the end, but I'm close) one objection on Tales of Gor. (As an aside, do you know how often I have that few objections? It's an amazing feat that Desborough's book only provokes that few objections from me).

What is that one thing that I disagree with?

"Only the Panni** have systematized unarmed combat. The rest of Goreans rely on (natural ability)". I might be paraphrasing it slightly.

But this contradicts the books - in many, many places.

First, it is known that even peasants practice wrestling. Wrestling is always the first systematized style to emerge wherever humans live, but rarely remains the only one, unless the practitioners wear heavy armour (not the case on Gor). And given how many empty-handed styles have evolved from the use of weapons, it just makes no sense to me.

Second, the fighting slaves are mentioned to be "the real masters of unarmed combat" on Gor. Who trains them? (Hint: probably warriors, if they're lucky). And I can't believe the Caste of Assassins would have overlooked the use of such techniques to quickly subdue and kill a target that's hard to reach with weapons - say, a rich Merchant.

Third, Tarl and others repeatedly show quite high levels of mastery of the unarmed combat in the series. Here's an example I found in Magicians of Gor.

"I seized one of the lads by the wrist and, drawing him quickly across and about my body, and over my extended right leg, flung him to the stones, where I held him, my grip shifted now to the palm of his hand, his wrist bent, far back. He screamed with pain. Another fraction of a hort, the least additional pressure, and his wrist would be broken."

That's a move that's well-known to everybody who has ever trained in martial arts. But I don't remember Tarl having been a fighting slave - and anyway, he was doing such moves after the first time he was on Gor, while exiled on Earth.

Another example is at the end of the books where an Earthman brought to Gor obtains freedom (after being a Fighting Slave...sorry for not digging the exact title, but I can guess it was Something of Gor).

There's a moment when a group discusses killing a man empty-handed. One of the men gathered says something like "maybe, but only if you're very strong".

An Warrior corrects him: "It doesn't require strength, just skill".

The former Fighting Slave merely nods and confirms.

Thus, I'd conjecture that unarmed combat should be an option for both Warriors and Peasants, not to mention Assassins (and former Fighting Slaves). Though of course, weapon skills should be higher and more valuable - but one can hope the fighting system itself would take care of that!

That aside, I admit I'm tempted to produce a table for Gorean Chess. It sure seems to have...unexpected possibilities!

*Well, technically, I know exactly how much it's worth - just check the price on Drivethru;). But if you plan to run this game, you really want the setting book.

**Japanese transplanted on Gor.

Orc Sorcerers are knife-based

I decided to create some characters for the new year. I don't really expect to use them, though who knows?
First: I wanted a crunchy system.
Fantasy Craft made a nice choice. And since I'm doing d20, might as well go for a magic-user!

***
Gruummarco

Male

Human (with some orc blood)

Str 13

Dex 13

Con 9

Int 18

Wis 13

Cha 12

Base Speed 30 ft

3 studies

+5 Bonus with Knowledge Checks

5 Languages (Native included)

Slow and Steady

Charming: Once per session, improve Disposition ofnon-adversary by 1

Spellcasting and Intimidate are Paired skills

Terrifying Look: +4 to the DC of Stress Damage

Tricks and Actions:

Canny Swing

Parry

Feats: Orc Blood+Lost Tribe: Gruelling Combatant

Subtle and Quick to Anger

Knife Basics (Stance: Wicked Dance)/Lightning Reflexes (+3 Reflex)?

Class Skills:

Bluff 4

Crafting 1

Impress 4

Intimidate 4

Investigate 4

Medicine 2

Notice 4

Prestidigitation 4

Resolve 4

Ride 1

Search 4

Sense Motive 4

Spellcasting: 4

Vitality: 5

Proficiencies:

Edged Forte

Arcane Adept:

4 additional 0-level spells

Spend 1-3 AD (unexploding) to gain that number of spell points as a free action

BAB: +0 (+4 Edged, +1 otherwise)

Def: +0 (+1)

Init: +1

Lifestyle: +1

Legend: +1

SP: 2

Fort: -1

Ref: +1

Will: +3

Spells: Campaign-dependent, obviously, so I'm not going to pick them.

OK, so we have a human living in a cosmopolitan city, whose grand-gradn-grand-mother was an orc ("my green cutie-pie!") He still has relatives among the orcs, and learned the basics of knife-fencing that is rumoured to be taught by said grand-grand-grand-mother...or at least, enough of it to kill many people.
If he could stay alive. He's not as fast as his father, though, being more of an intellectual.
Instead, he focused on noticing dangers so he wouldn't get in, and intimidating people who had heard about his family style into not fighting. That got him through adolescence on the streets.
And after that, his power was backed by magic.

***
That was good, but it was also a bit...seriously, just how long is that thing? And I don't mean his history.

Then I decided to try something lighter. And that's how we got...Elfrid.
***

System: Mongoose Traveller v2.0 (a.k.a. MgT2e)
Elfrid C6784A
Age 44/46 (if you fail a survival roll, do you still add a full 4 years, or just 2?)

Athletics 1 (Strength), Deception 0, Gambler 1, Gun Combat 0, Jack of All Trades 1, Melee (Unarmed) 1, Recon 0, Persuade 0, Stealth 1, Streetwise 0
Rival-Prison Guard
Blade, 1200 Cr
Born in a well-known family, and having lived in relative comfort, Elfrid decided to steal from people he knew. After all, he'd never met anyone as strong as himself, so he reasoned he could knock a guard on the head if need be.
That was his first mistake. The second was not noticing a sensor...
He was sent in prison for years. Years became decades as he racked up other crimes, having joined gangs in prison (though he was, luckily, neither a victim nor a participant in the infamous prison riot of 15 years ago). A prison guard took a dislike to him, however, and helped make his life hell.
In the end, he relized even good behaviour (he tried that as well) wouldn't help him get parole. Not before age had made him lose his strength, slowed his reflexes...and a shiv, or just a flurry of kicks once he was down, would likely do the rest.
So he joined the infamous prison escape from last year. Somehow, it did succeed in sneaking on a shuttle.
He's still on the run. But then, it means he's still free, too!


***
OK, I like them both. In fact, I like Gruummarco a bit better, as a character...but he's got a better balance between mechanics and fluff, in my book.
I was tempted to make Elfrid test for being a psionic (after he got out), but at the end decided against it.
I can always add it. And a debt would help propulse him into adventures!

Where I play wuxia

I'm planning to run a wuxia marathon soon-ish. And it seems we're going to start with Fate, namely Jadepunk... although I'm planning to borrow mechanics from each game to enrich the others as well, as well as from a few others.
But we're starting with Jadepunk, So here is a pre-generated character, built to specifications.

Sokol of the Ten Virtues
I follow the word of Ehal, and bring the Twelve Virtues to Kausao. For two of them, I've got to teach by word, but people say I'm keeping to the other ten. So they named me Sokol of the Ten Virtues.
Not at all bad even for a priest of Ehal, which I am. By Kausao standards, it makes me nearly a saint. Although that makes me a saint whose name means "falcon", or sometimes "hero", in his native language...
...Such saints might be what Kausao needs. Yet how could any saint stand the current rulers, when the people suffer daily to enrich them?

BTW, Sokol really means "falcon", I modelled him to a great degree on a real person, including the way his Techniques work! Well, except I made him a bit less disciplined than the original.
And here's the thing about the 10 virtues. Imagine the Twelve Virtues of Ehal rated 1-5 Exalted-style, with 2 being the norm.
The guy has 3 to 5 in all of them, making them Major Virtues to him... except Mercy and Chastity, where he's got 1 in each, the equivalent of disadvantage. Hence, Falcon of the Ten Virtues is both a laudable thing, and a reminder there is stuff he fails worse than the ordinary.
Sokol of the Ten Virtues
Aristocrat 3
Fighter 2
Scholar2
Scoundrel 1
Explorer 1
Engineer 0

Portrayal: Unordained priest of Ehal, weak in chastity and mercy
Background: Immigrant would-be priest from a country conquered by the Naramel
Inciting Incident: I had to kill that guard!
Belief: The Light Of Ehal Shall Guide Us
Trouble: People think I'm Naramel, Naramel know I'm not

Technique: We call that just "dancing" at home! (Keyed to Background) Refresh 2
Flexible: Allows to use Aristocrat instead of Scoundrel to Create advantage
Exceptional: When you use an Advantage you created with this technique, each invocation gives you +3 to the roll.
Demanding: requires a Fair Aristocrat roll to dance well enough, if you miss the roll, you've used up your action for the turn
Situational: Only to Create Advantage actions

Ancient fighting techniques (Technique, duh!) Refresh 1 (Keyed to Background aspect)
Exceptional: On a defence, deal shifts of damage equal to your MoS.
Focus, Situational 2: Gain +1 to Fighter rolls, but only to Defend in combat and only when using a free invocation on an aspect
Demanding: A Fair Fighter roll

Undying Valor of Ehal (Keyed to Belief, Refresh 2)
Faith protects the warrior from harm and scatters his enemies
Harmful 3
Demanding: Requires a Fair Aristocrat roll for total confidence in Ehal
Situational: Only with the Attack action
(Yes, it's funny. But then, think about it, Sokol of the Ten Virtues could easily deal damage on defence rolls - so it makes sense for this PC).

The Fire Tongue of Ehal (Keyed to Portrayal) Refresh 1
Focus3, Situational2: Roll Aristocrat with +3 to Create Advantage, but only when talking about the faith - preaching or using ethical arguments to impress your opponent in a dispute.

Refresh:1

Now, I'm not really sure why you couldn't have Troubling or Aspects on a Technique. Seems to me I could easily have a Focus Technique: +2 Fighter against people trained in Kaiyumi (or Naramelite, Tuyangian, Aerish, created in modern Kausao, the curriculum taught to the guards) combat techniques. Using them would make the Kaiyumi (or whoever) pay you special attention, logically speaking.
But that's easily fixable by taking the appropriate Aspects, which I did. Yes, I need to Create Advantage first, but that's logical.
Heh, I think it's time for a real Naramel. Or maybe the Kayumi. There are 5 PCs, so I've got a choice.

Creting a character for Barbarians of Lemuria in...I don't know how many, but they're easy steps!

So, I decide to go for a BoL character. And I've decided to make him a hero who can live up to the fluff of being a young Elric.
Why Elric? Because there's always enough people to play the pure swordslingers.
His name is Ashoka, I decide.
So I go and read the setting, then come up with the following. I've decided I want someone with a specialised skill in some weapon.


Malakuti golden lotus
Makes the best entertainment,
Malakuti wavey spears
Claim the most lives,
Malakuti night thieves
Bring you valued treaties,
Alchemy can make you immortal
If you survive the learning.
I am the Malakuti Alchemist!
That was the tl;dr version of his bio, actually.
 

Western Malakut...it's a province, but call anyone from there a country bumpkin, and you risk losing more than your teeth. Still, it's a place where men go to trade with the natives for herbs and drugs that are expensive elsewhere. You sail them to Malakut by boat on the small rivers, then North-East by boat towards the buyers. And if you try a bit of your own medicine? Eh, who cares, really... there's lots of it.
Ashoka is an alchemist born in Western Malakut. He learned to chew on the Lotus there, before going to the city to study his trade. Sure, he's also a thief, and can take care of a wound in a pinch, and other stuff... he even went on for a brief turn in the city watch, after finally getting in the city proper, long enough to learn some tricks with the spear. There, an older mercenary taught him the secret of combat. The most important thing in a fight is to not get hit. He was an apt pupil and absorbed these teachings, too.
But his real love is alchemy. Some say he actually loves it too much, especially the potions...
Now, he is trying to set up his greatest invention. He's hunting for ingredients to go towards the creation of the ultimate elixir, one that might grant him immortality. Or so he hopes.
Too bad people that have such ingredients don't part with them willingly. Ah well, did we mention he's a thief, too?
Because he really is, and some people are soon going to find that out! 

Well, that's for those that aren't afraid to do a bit of reading.

So, let's proceed with the stats.
I picture him as the mean, lean and not-burdened by muscles archetype. He's also smart, but not really wholesome. And all those years of training with the spear of Malakut should have thaught him speed...

• STR 0
• AG 3
• MIND 2
• APP -1

He's all about not getting hit. Not weaker than usual, just nothing particular, when it comes to hitting other people.
Besides, I hit people with Ag+3. Speed is useful both in getting hit and in not getting hit. The edition of BoL I was using says you can put up to 4 points in a single place, so I'm not even min-maxing him as much as I could... remember: a 4/1 spread would have been cheaper to raise to 4/2 (due to non-linear XP costs). But I see him as starting with pretty even in the things he's good at.
Next, Boons and Flaws.
I decide he gets special skill in:
Malakut fighting spear and Blind combat
And he's got special Thieves' tools because remember how he started?

Of course, I've got to pay for these. I need flaws. Luckily, some of them are just so Elric-like!
Flaws:
Delicate
Addict (Golden/Black Lotus-left to the GM to choose)

He's an addict to Lotus powder, though, and Delicate means just that. So, he gets less Lifeblood, starting with 8, less than a normal BoL character.Well, it's only proving his point about avoiding getting hit! So, his skills....

• BRAWL 0
• MELEE 0
• RANGED 0
• DEFENCE 4

Since only Defence is subtracted from the enemies' attack, it makes sense to ramp it up. And he's now better in defence than in attack (+3 on attack with Dexterity, +4 on Defence). Perfect!
And anyone with less than +3 on attack needs an 11 or more on 2d6 to hit me. Minions can't hit me unless they get a 12, and that's a critical anyway. I decide to keep a couple Hero points to downgrade their criticals into normal strikes, and to leave the heavy hitters to the more brawny barbarians.

I get 5 hero points for attributes and all that, though. That should be enough, as long as I keep a couple spare ones in case it goes bad.



Careers:
Thief 1, because he started stealing treatises.
Soldier 0, because following orders isn't his style...but he figured he ought to do his duty. And the soldiers got a special training in the Malakut spears.
Alchemist 3, because he discovered an apptitude towards the things he was reading about in treatises and such.
Physician 0


Weapons and armour are standard:

• Malakut fighting spear (roll 1 die more, keep best) d6
• Walking staff d6-1
• 3 throwing daggers d3
• Close-combat curved knife d6-2 (if the GM lets me have this one, otherwise, just a d3)
• Fists d2 I don't like using them...

• Very light armour d3-1

And then we get to the bonus of Alchemy. Because an alchemist gets to prepare beforehand.
I choose to make a Common preparation:

A painkiller (1d3 LB restored)

And then I also make an Uncommon preparation:
Malakut spear hidden in a walking staff
Of course, I'd only take it out against a real enemy, or as a way to show-off. But with it, I roll 3d6, take the highest two...and my enemies are much more likely to suffer a Critical. Criticals are nasty in this system.
And with that, Ashoka is ready to go adventuring. I hope to see other PCs with similar level of ability. I mean, this is a system where you can be rolling 2d6 and hitting a minion on anything that's not a 2 (Ashoka would be getting hit on 7+, but that's Ashoka Not My Face I'm Not Fit For Such Games). And you could be rolling a 3d6, take highest 2, effectively giving you a 0.5% odds to miss a minion (like, a normal soldier). Or, if you want a more sensible approach, you could be hitting them with 4+ on 3d6 take highest 2, but the minions only hit you on a 11 or 12.
Think about this-you could be Conan from the get-go, slaying enemies left and right. It is really a Swords and Sorcery game!

How to make a good LotW character?

I realises recently a lot of people are having issues with character generation in some of my favourite Wuxia systems. Which is a shame, because both Legend of the Wulin and Weapons of the Gods are great!
I actually like the WotG setting marginally better, but it's still a very close call. And I'm going to talk about the LotW chargen now.


So, let's just follow the steps on p.15 and the next few. I'll make another character as we go, for the sake of example.

Step 1: Concept.
A female xía character who fights to improve the lot of women in Shen Zhou would be nice. (And to insert a touch of reality, she has learned how to use the advantages of women when it comes to violence, and her teachers taught her to negate the female weaknesses...much like a male character would have to do, too).

Step 2: Rank:
Starting rank is Fourth Rank. Lake 7, River 2, Chi Replenishment 2, maximum Chi Aura
2, and a maximum Skill Bonus of +10.

Step 3: Archetype
She's bucking all the expected roles. I pick Warrior, as that's the least likely in Shen Zhou. Therefore, she starts with Hardiness, and begins play with Secret Arts of the Warrior.
(That's going to be fun. Just believe me).

Step 4: Skills
I've got 20 points to spend.
• Confidence 5, because she's got to be confident. And because she's got to have some defence against Courtiers.
• Finesse 10
• Hardiness 10, Chi Breath, Injuries
• Might 5 - years of training, people. When everybody is assuming your might is weak, you'd better learn to us it...I'd put 10 on it, but Finesse is more useful, and I want Stealth, too.
• Perform, Politics - not at the start.
• Stealth 5
• Tactics 10

Step 5: Virtues
Well, what do I see her striving towards? I want to give higher ratings to these, in order to get more Joss and Entanglement from them, whenever I get a Deed.
She's trying to improve the lot of women. 
Benevolence (Kuan) 4


She's efficient, not bloodthirsty. Yet she wants to prove her strength, but not by killing, and wouldn't mind proving it without having to beat anyone.
Ferocity (Bao) 1
Force (Ba) 4
She's also quite selfless, as I see here.
Individualism (Si) 2
Honor is a strong point. She is trying to persuade people to make the lot of half the people in the setting, remember? So she would try to push for laws at some point.
Honor (Xin) 4
She's not obsessively pursuing things, though.
Obsession (Chan) 1
However, she is supremely loyal!
Loyalty (Zhong) 4
Revenge is another "bloodthirsty" Corrupt Virtue. We leave it down.
Revenge (Chou) 1
I can see her dealing with law-breakers, but that's not her main goal. And I haven't got more points anyway.
Righteousness (Yi) 3
Well, that's easy. We said she's not ruthless. And pursuing the goal of "better fare for the women in Shen Zhou" "at the expense of others"...well, let's say I don't want a MRA stereotype, mmmkay?
Ruthlessness (Hen) 1

Step 6: Disadvantages
None. I'll pick some in play, or from Loresheets, in order to be sure they'd come up.

Step 7: Kung-fu
External: Subtle force. She's into ending it with minimum casualties...and just as importantly, this is a style that fits very well with Secret Arts of the Warrior!
Her Internal is, of course, Fox-Spirit Song! The most neglected style I know...with no good reason.
Which also means she starts with 11 Normal Chi so far.

Step 8: Final Touches
...I want Flexible, but it's not useful with Subtle Force. So she will take a sword, because classics. And she can always revert to Unarmed.

Step 9: Additional Destiny (and Entanglement)
I've got 20 more Destiny. That's easy: I go to my External first. I take Correct Approach and Heart-Cutting Strike for a total of 4 Destiny. I can inflict temporary injuries with my attacks, even with the sword.And I can stab you in the meridians to inflict a Disrupt Marvel, using my Attack roll.
Then I go to Secret Arts. I get Secret Art of Battle.
I get immediately Unassailable Battle Saint Technique, and Controlling Outer Force, for another 8 points. What this means is that, A) I can start with a Fire combat approach that gives me a +10 Action bonus, and B) If I succeed critically on a roll to inflict a Disrupt marvel, I can Flood a die to increase the penalty to -10. Now, check my External again?
Yeah, she can do that with her Strike. Good luck defending that!
I've got 8 Destiny left.

Next, Internals! I get Fox Leaves No Tracks for free, because the first technique was given when we choosed the Internal in Step 7.
I also get  Mirthful Fox Plays With Her Shadow and Parting the Grass for 4 points without a second thought. One of them gives me a Dodge bonus, and the other one gives me a Laughs at and Fears bonus on my attack. Granted, it's just a +10 bonus (usable for Disrupts!), but more importantly...
It denies the enemy any chance to use a Laughs at in this defence (Subtle Hand has no Fears)! Oh, and it means it stacks with other Internal Strike boosters. Which is very good, because normally, you only take the highest Internal modifier.
Also, normally Subtle Hand can't get a Laughs At bonus at all (the price for having no Fears). Internal techniques disregard that, though...

After some consideration, I decide to go for a Formless technique instead, and take a - you got it - a level 4 Strike Booster!
Now, if I feel confident, I can activate all my attack techniques, and I'd get a +20 total attack, while the defence can't get Laughs At and Fears bonuses. My total Strike is +45 in this case, after accounting for the Combat approach.
Not bad, given that I'd have the same if I had joined the Small Forest sect, too. Granted, it would have been cheaper in Chi, but within 3 Destiny, I can get another Technique, and become more efficient in picking whether to use any Internals. Then I can get a 4th-level technique that adds a +20 to my Disrupt and Disorient attempts. Somewhere along the way I should pick Disrupting Inner Force, in order to screw up Secret Artists that try to use Quickwork. And there are other Secret Warrior Techniques, too - one of them allows me to transfer my Combat Approach on an ally (useful if the ally was going to have a duel). And one of the most important parts of LotW is to have everyone in the party be a Secret Artist that gives you Action Bonuses and Chi Breath for the times when it really matters (Predictionists rule, since they can also stack your enemies with penalties, before even meeting them - no wonder they need to expend Joss at that).
Oh, and the best news? All 20 Destiny goes towards my Cultivation, raising my Chi.
I've got now 12 Chi.

Entanglement:
Well, I buy the Loresheet for The Resplendent Phoenix Society for 3 Destiny. I spend another 3 Destiny on Status (Deeds would no doubt raise that). And I get a discount tor Daoist Sexual Techniques, which I'm planning to put to good use later - but I'm not getting it yet. When she has a partner that needs help with his or her Cultivation, she could learn it, though. (I haven't decided on her orientation yet, but I'm leaning towards hetero-Lesbian Stripper Ninja are overdone! And it would reinforce the theme that she doesn't hate men, she just wants the women that aren't Xia to be treated better!)
I could get Sun-Draining Talons, because it's a nice complement to my Unarmed combat, should I ever need to use it. But the truth is, I want to use other Loresheets!
Then I go to the Loresheet I was inspired by. The Woman's life, and "The Three Solutions", of course!
I get the Warrior's solution. She's the successor of the green-eyed daughter!
In practical terms, it means I get a +10 bonus to make people I have fought smitten with me after the fight. She's not a Courtier all right... but fighting her tends to make people well-disposed towards her!

I also decide she has 3 Corrupt Joss, because I'd expect her to gain Virtuous Joss more easily.

She's done, and ready to kick ass for greater equality!

The Great Exalted XP Debate

I'm following the Great Exalted XP debate over on RPG.net. It's still going...strong isn't the word. It's going boring. Yeah, that's the word, boring.

Why? Well, let me sum the debate for you and save you reading 800+ posts on the Great Purple.
Group A: "The linear BP costs in chargen, combined with quadratic XP costs for advancement leads to different XP costs depending on whether you buy your skills in the order A, B, C or in order B, A, C. Therefore, it makes sense to either pass to using Build Points instead of XP, or to use templates that have the same XP values, at least for skills." (1)
Group B, including the developers: "That's not an issue, because being an Exalted is hard. Therefore, if you want to act in the normal order, it should be hard to you as well!" (2)
Group A: "But it would still be hard if it wasn't screwing over anyone that doesn't master the chargen minigame,and rewarding the system mastery disproportionately!" (3)
Group B: "But it doesn't feel hard! And it should! Just max out skills and attributes and buy for the minimum XP needed." (4)
Group A: "Ok, just state that clearly in the book in order not to screw over new players?" (5)
Group B: "And raise a controversial topic that might lead to discussions? No way in Malfeas we're doing that!" (6)
Group A: "You do realise you're screwing other people for playing to their concept? We're just going to houserule it. But that's the Rule Zero Fallacy, so it doesn't fix the game you're selling, just our playtime experience. Also known as "keeping it together on spit and baling wire". The whole damned point of Exalted 3e was we shouldn't need to houserule so much...and we're having to start before the damned game is out!" (7)
Group B: "You're just mean and that's why we're keeping all the info about the game under lid!" (8)
Now pick a random statement and an answer and read it again. And again.
You can also randomise it. Since more than one person is discussing on both sides, sometimes the answers don't reply exactly to the point before them (and that's what the quote function is about). Now throw 800-900 d8 and you're done!

Here you go. I just saved you reading the whole mastodont of a thread.

GURPS 4e character creation in 10 minutes or less! Possible? See below.

I met again the bugbear of "slow chargen in GURPS" today. So I decided to share my method that results in at least semi-optimised GURPS characters, all in under 10 minutes.
The best part is, I developed it in order to introduce newbies to GURPS 4e and let them make their own characters. It worked.


So:
Pick your ads and disads first. If you have an idea of what you want them to be, it's fast.
Pick all the skills you want, without levels yet.
Group them by attributes. Divide points between them roughly per the number of skills, or decide which kind of skills are more important for the character concept.
Count the skills for each attributes. If your archetype calls for more skills based on Strength, Dex or IQ, or exactly the same number, than the cost of raising it by 1 point, the choice is easier - pick all the skills at 1 point, dump the rest at the attribute. If they're less than that, but over 50% of the points to raise the attribute, take them each at 2 points. (So, if you need 8 skills based on ST, take them each on 2 points, because 1 point is mandatory, and 1 point/skill more gives you a 1-level increase). After that, only increase the attribute.
If the skills are less than that, you can take them at 4 points each, then raise the attribute.
Only if the (total number of skills)*4 is less than the cost of raising an attribute (say, only 4 skills on IQ), raise them and leave the attribute at basic!

Is that realistic? Well, guys, if you spend so much time practising skill sets that depend on a given quality, it's likely this quality is going to improve as well. A strong person is much more likely to learn to do strength-related jobs just by being shown the basics. And yes, this results in characters that are roughly at similar level in their skills, but that's what the XP during the campaign is for.
OTOH, with this method you can start playing almost immediately. Which is what some people are complaining about. So, use it!