Character Creation Discussion

[Marullus]

Moving these posts over from the Interest thread.

Use this place to discuss any questions on characters or character creation.

[Marullus]

For those not familiar with Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC), I'll expand a little bit. DCC is an Old School Roleplaying (OSR) game built on the original concepts of basic editions of Dungeons and Dragons. Class and race are the same thing, life can be brutal, but therefore success is more satisfying. DCC specifically pushes that the universe is bigger than you (and Luck / Divine provinance is a specific stat), that magic is wild, unique, and real, and achieving greatness should be every bit as gritty and exceptional as classic tales of literature. It has flavorful critical and failure tables that go beyond a straight die result. I like its magic system, which turns spells into a scale of success and adds additional factors, and which allows intercession by divine patrons.

Character creation begins at 0-level and emphasizes complete randomness - this is effective at getting you out of your normal tropes and preferences, exploring concepts you might not otherwise play. For me, this is mitigated slightly by the fact that if something truly doesn't appeal to you, you can toss it and roll another one. I see merit in giving it a try. Each player begins with 3-5 generated concepts which you play through the first adventure: in our case, the panicked citizens fleeing from a city being sacked during war. Which ones you gravitate to, which ones survive, which ones find a passion worth living for... that's worth roleplaying to see who you end up with as first level characters. That's the goal of what we'll do in this campaign.

Example of character creation: You'll roll the following strings for the random part.

Code: Select all

Strength [3d6] Agility [3d6] Stamina [3d6]
Personality [3d6] Intelligence [3d6] Luck [3d6] 
Birth Augur [1d30] Hit points [1d4] copper pieces [5d12] Occupation [1d100]

We record the modifiers:

• A score of 3 has a modifier of -3
• A score of 4-5 has a modifier of -2
• A score of 6-8 has a modifier of -1
• A score of 9-12 has a modifier of -0
• A score of 13-15 has a modifier of +1
• A score of 16-17 has a modifier of +2
• A score of 18 has a modifier of +3

There are tables for the Birth Augur (what kind of blessing you're born with in this life, what your Luck score affects) and what your occupation is (which gives you a starting weapon and piece of equipment/trade good).

I also am bad with names, so I'll use https://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/viking_names.php but you can name how you like.

So, our first character looks like this:
Strength [3d6] = 10 Agility [3d6] = 10 Stamina [3d6] = 13
Personality [3d6] = 6 Intelligence [3d6] = 11 Luck [3d6] = 10
Birth Augur [1d30] = 9 Hit points [1d4] = 4 copper pieces [5d12] = 45 Occupation [1d100] = 73

Comparing to the tables, those rolls create:

Sigurd
Strength 10 (+0)
Agility 10 (+0)
Stamina 13 (+1)
Personality 6 (-2)
Intelligence 11 (+0)
Luck 10 (+0)

Hit Points: 5
Occupation: Locksmith
Weapon: Dagger
Gear: Fine Tools
Coin: 45cp

Birth augur of the 'Pack Hunter': Attack and damage rolls with his starting weapon are modified by starting Luck (+0)

That's an interesting start, so I look it over. I decide how I want to interpret it. I then answer the following questions to finish fleshing him out. (Alignment from the book, the others are house rules)

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Alignment:  Law, Chaos, Neutral
Look: One distinctive feature or aspect.  
Heirloom:  What one thing did you grab and bring with you when you fled your home which you desire to protect?
Secret:  Name one secret do you not want others to know? 
 

So, for the example of Sigurd...

• Alignment: Law. As a Locksmith, I expect him to go firmly to an extreme and I choose law. He's the maker and protector of good things, an ally of the City Watch, and a foe to thieves.
• Look: Bald pate with a bushy brown beard.
• Heirloom: He brought his five-year old daughter, Ylves, who he disgused as a boy. (Born under the sign of the Pack Hunter, his greatest devotion is to family.)
• Secret: He would do anything for his family, including becoming indebted to and blackmailed by the Empire prior to the war.

That's an interesting character to start with. I repeat this process a few more times and I am ready to start, telling the tale of several refugees in the fall of their once great city.

So, that gives an easy template you can use to generate concepts and see what excites you. Here's two more, giving me three I could use to start play.

Strength [3d6] = 13 Agility [3d6] = 12 Stamina [3d6] = 15
Personality [3d6] = 11 Intelligence [3d6] = 12 Luck [3d6] = 15
Birth Augur [1d30] = 2 Hit points [1d4] = 1 copper pieces [5d12] = 24 Occupation [1d100] = 67

Solveig

Strength 13 (+1)
Agility 12 (+0)
Stamina 15 (+1)
Personality 11 (+0)
Intelligence 12 (+0)
Luck 15 (+1)

Hit Points: 2

Occupation: Herder
Weapon: Staff
Gear: Herding Dog
Coin: 24cp

Birth Augur: "The Bull." Apply luck bonus to all melee damage rolls. (+1 Damage)

Alignment: Neutral. Ambivilent to larger struggles, she measures each opportunity for its own merit.
Look: Blonde plaits and a square nose.
Heirloom: A book. She can't read it, but it was her mother's most treasured possession.
Secret: She knows she is not her father's true daughter, having overheard a family argument. Her true parent is a name her mother was too frightened to say.

Strength [3d6] = 10 Agility [3d6] = 15 Stamina [3d6] = 13
Personality [3d6] = 13 Intelligence [3d6] = 13 Luck [3d6] = 12
Birth Augur [1d30] = 30 Hit points [1d4] = 1 copper pieces [5d12] = 32 Occupation [1d100] = 15

Balki

Strength 10 (+0)
Agility 15 (+1)
Stamina 13 (+1)
Personality 13 (+1)
Intelligence 13 (+1)
Luck 12 (+0)

Hit Points: 2

Occupation: Costermonger
Weapon: Knife (as Dagger)
Gear: Handcart of fruit
Coins: 32 cp

Birth Augur: "Wild Child" (+0 to Speed)

Alignment: Chaos
Look: Dazzling white smile, dark wavy hair
Heirloom: Small vial of poison for an emergency
Secret: He has committed murder at least once.

From a few randomized rolls and some added creativity of choice, I have three interesting characters I could begin to tell stories about.

I encourage you to play with this. Use Campaign ID 846 and make as many characters as you want. Use the strings above to log the rolls. Have fun with it. If there's interest, I'll open a game thread.

Have a handful of characters that you're interested in. About half of them survive to 1st level, but it is the surviving (and the risk of not) which makes the story worth telling.

If you don't have the DCC book and want to play with this process, the tables you need for interpreting Birth Augur and Occupation are excerpted below.

Table 1-2 - Birth Augur.png (72.95 KiB) Viewed 1791 times

Table 1-3 - Occupation.png (135.94 KiB) Viewed 1791 times

I'm interested. Can we use Purple Sorcerer to create our sacrifices to the judge zero-levels, or would you prefer to roll using the unseen servant dice roller?

You can use Purple Sorcerer for the intial rolling if you like; a set-of-four characters from there is sufficiently randomized and you still need to post them here on our forum to share. However, I do still want you to still flesh out with the additional questions I'm using to give initial flavor. I think that is important in getting a feel for each of the characters.

That's an interesting start, so I look it over. I decide how I want to interpret it. I then answer the following questions to finish fleshing him out. (Alignment from the book, the others are house rules)

Code: Select all

Alignment:  Law, Chaos, Neutral
Look: One distinctive feature or aspect.  
Heirloom:  What one thing did you grab and bring with you when you fled your home which you desire to protect?
Secret:  Name one secret do you not want others to know? 
 

So, for the example of Sigurd...

• Alignment: Law. As a Locksmith, I expect him to go firmly to an extreme and I choose law. He's the maker and protector of good things, an ally of the City Watch, and a foe to thieves.
• Look: Bald pate with a bushy brown beard.
• Heirloom: He brought his five-year old daughter, Ylves, who he disgused as a boy. (Born under the sign of the Pack Hunter, his greatest devotion is to family.)
• Secret: He would do anything for his family, including becoming indebted to and blackmailed by the Empire prior to the war.

That's an interesting character to start with. I repeat this process a few more times and I am ready to start, telling the tale of several refugees in the fall of their once great city.

[Marullus]

Do all Level 0 characters also start off with a random (1d24) piece of adventuring equipment?

Right! You mean this table:

Table 3-4 - Adventuring Equipment.png (85.44 KiB) Viewed 1791 times

I think in this case, you aren't INTENTIONALLY adventuring, since you're refugees fleeing the city's fall. I am okay if characters want to pick a single item from this list, but I have given narrative freedom to pick any flavorful item you wish to save as your home collapses. (I think that is more meaningful in our game-start context.)

[Marullus]

Everyone:
I love your characters. Some rolled on the table above and added the extra piece of gear and some did not. Since almost everyone used their Heirloom to create an object of sentimental rather than intrinsic value (I applaud you!), I will change my stance on the above table.

Everyone can roll on the extra gear table [above] once and add the second gear item to your sheet (in addition to the one from your profession).


Myantha Theneiros: You don't need to expend your heirloom to have a relationship with another PC. You can pick another thing.


Olga Snorri: Can you update your secret to explain why you have Dragon Cult robes hidden in a secret compartment of your attic? Also, as an Elven Navigator, she would normally have a Bow and Spyglass. You're listing her as "older, wiser" and essentially retired. If you're intentionally switching her to have a cleaver and rolling pin instead to support that, I'll roll with it, but I want you to be explicit if you're making changes from the random rolls.

Farmers:
We have three of you! You don't all need to have Hens. There's a rule for you.

** Why did the chicken cross the hallway? To check for traps! In all seriousness, if the party includes more than one farmer or herder, randomly determine the second and subsequent farm animals for each duplicated profession with 1d6: (1) sheep, (2) goat, (3) cow, (4) duck, (5) goose, (6) mule.

I will leave that as an optional rule. If you're happy with your current fowl, that's fair. If you want to switch up, don't be sheepish.

[Samwell Turleton]

Farmers
We are also supposed to roll 1d8 for the type of farmer - Hannu is rutabaga
Type of Farmer Roll [1d8] = 8

I am attached to the hen but would be happy to roll for something different if the other farmers have a strong feeling about it.

Magna Jonsdottir
I believe I also deviated with Magna by tossing away her tongs and giving her a sturdy leather apron since she was on an errand to get a new handle for her hammer. Let me know if you want me to update that!

Olga Snorri
Yes, I can update the secret - that is a good point.

I did ditch the Bow and Spyglass because it didn't feel like it fit with her scene with Hannu as she was gathering her secret item quickly and otherwise carrying her kitchen utensils off with her. I will update it and let you know when I have made the change.

Equipment Rolls
Fljuga Equipment Roll [1d24] = 18 - Rations, per day
Hannu Equipment Roll [1d24] = 4 - Chalk (1piece)
Magna Equipment Roll [1d24] = 2 - Candle
Olga Equipment Roll [1d24] = 9 - Grappling Hook
Olivia Equipment Roll [1d24] = 7 - Flask, empty

Edited to show dice roller equipment rolls 06/11/2020

[Marullus]

I am fine with all of that.

Bow and Spyglass are really premium picks, I see your choices as downgrading for the sake of a better story and I am fine with that. We have three elven navigators so creating variety is fine.

[ybn1197]

Fires of Wrath xtra equip: [1d24] = 3 [1d24] = 3 [1d24] = 14 [1d24] = 11

Chain, 10 ft
Chain, 10 ft
Lantern
Holy Symbol (25gp)

I am going to switch the last two as, if taken in order, Brocard Bottomhill already has a lantern.

[redwarrior]

Fires of Wrath, Extra Equip [1d24] = 6 [1d24] = 8 [1d24] = 16 [1d24] = 20

Crowbar, Bork (he's found it useful to scare off ruffians a time or two, as well as to gain entrance to a few places he wasn't strictly supposed to be in)
Flint & Steel, Hild
1 Flask of Oil, Freydis (despite the danger of fire on a ship, or maybe because of it, Freydis always kept a flask of oil near at hand)
Large Sack, Sigurd (full of a side of beef....)

[redwarrior]

Saral
Strength: 12
Agility: 10
Stamina (Con): 11
Personality (Cha): 17 (+2)
Intelligence: 9
Luck (Wis): 16 (+2)

Hit Points: 3

Occupation: 86, Scribe
Weapon: Dart
Gear: 10’ Pole, 10 sheets parchment
Coin: 28

Birth Augur: 7 Pack of the Bear (+2 Melee Damage)

Alignment: Neutral
Look:
Heirloom: A silver pen,
Secret: The priest of the central temple was removed because “he” penned a too truthful report of the situation in town…

[Marullus]

That's a good character. Move it to the Characters thread.

[Marullus]

If anyone is disenchanted with their survivor from the funnel and wants to roll again, speak up. I can make opportunities for more NPCs that join.

[Marullus]

Who needs help with their Level 1 characters? Discuss here.

A quick look over spell casters...

Saral is currently the only cleric... he needs four [1d11] rolls on the Cleric Spells table (Table 5-9) on page 128.

Fluja needs to add her new Invoke Patron spells to her sheet.

Myantha needs to choose a Patron, roll Patron Bond, and roll her Mercurial Magic for her patron spells. (I love that's she's a barrister with Runic Magic, btw.)

(I'm surprised Olivia took Warrior over Cleric! Also surprised we have no wizards, but we DO have a ton of demihumans.)

[AleBelly]

Tyv was going to be a wizard.

We don't have any thieves either, do we?

[Samwell Turleton]

Maybe cleric is a more natural fit for Olivia. I haven’t read that section carefully to see how it would fit or what I would need to do. I am open to adjust however people think would be interesting!

I will add the Curse with Tide of Ash.

[Marullus]

Greyarea:

For Reuter the Sailor let's preset his Background as Sailor (overriding your Background roll)

No changes needed to flavor or concept; being a cutpurse is already covered in his choice of Thief as a class. You're scripting the NPC Sailor into a PC, so setting the background means he stays skilled at Sailor things, too.

...

Same is true for anyone picking up one of the other NPCs. The part defined by the NPC (Sailor, dwarf, etc) remains fixed.

...

There's no cleric on the boat. If anyone wants to join that group by making the second NPC Sailor a Cleric to either of the Sea gods (either Law or Chaos, per the list), I will allow you max hit points as a perk.

[greyarea]

Sweet. Thanks.

Since there is no "sailor" occupation in the DCC rulebook, can I keep the dagger as the trained weapon? It might also make sense if he has rope or something as his trade goods.

[Marullus]

Yep! Dagger and rope are fine.

[Faanku]

Apologies for the delay on my characters, things are really manic around here atm. I'll try and have sheets finished before tomorrow night.