Character history

When rolling up a new character, players can use these to generate a good framework for a backstory. Background, secrets, and connections have mechanical effects, but players can be allowed to come up with whatever else the GM allows, within reason. Secrets are also freeform and can be invented, but they should have some dramatic impact if discovered.

Hometown

Where the character grew up. Could be where they spent their whole life, or a childhood home that they left as soon as they could, or a place their family moved to for whatever reason.

Contradiction by Jeff Chen

1. Farming village
2. Port village
3. Mining camp
4. Roadside inn
5. Logging camp
6. Castle outpost
7. Farming town
8. Seaside town
9. Mining town
10. Merchant town
11. Castle town
12. Foresting town
13. Plains city
14. Coastal city
15. Mountain city
16. Trade city
17. Forest city
18. War camp
19. Ruined city
20. Nomadic caravan

Collecting the Payment by Stefano Scuccimarra

Background

This is more what the character grew up doing. Players can choose any from 1-10, or they can roll 1d20 for one. Most likely they were apprenticed to their parents, being raised to take over the family profession before they decided to become an adventurer.

1. Beggar: panhandler skill, ragged outfit, tin cup.
2. Farmer: farmer skill, stained outfit, and a hoe or pitchfork.
3. Carpenter: builder skill, hardy outfit, handsaw.
4. Cook: cook skill, stained outfit, pot & spoon, common spices.
5. Blacksmith: smithing skill, hardy outfit, hammer, and steel ingot.
6. Surgeon: surgeon skill, stained outfit, bandages.
7. Gardener: apothecary skill, stained outfit, bag of seeds.
8. Scribe: poet skill, clean outfit, quill & inkwell.
9. Painter: painter skill, stained outfit, brush.
10. Poacher: survivalist skill, camouflage outfit, knife.
11. Trader: linguist skill, exotic outfit, 5 foreign silver coins.
12. Heir: fine outfit, 10 silver coins.
13. Minstrel: musician skill, plain outfit, instrument.
14. Actor: politician skill, fine outfit.
15. Jester: comedian skill, ridiculous outfit, inflatable ball.
16. Criminal: pickpocket skill, ragged outfit, 3 silver.
17. Courier: +1 speed, running outfit, hometown map.
18. Squire: politics skill, surcoat, short sword.
19. Wizard's apprentice: +1 magic, eccentric robes.
20. Wizard's subject: ragged outfit, -1 maximum vigor, random magic power.

Siblings by Petar Milivojevic

Secret

Players should roll these in secret, or come up with their own if sufficiently dramatic.

1. Banished from nobility
2. Fled noble life
3. Ran away from justice
4. Escaped wrongful conviction
5. Hidden gender
6. Deserted the war
7. Member of a cult
8. Holds a powerful grudge
9. In a long term relationship
10. Kills small animals
11. Unusual tastes
12. Embarrassing interests
13. Stolen treasure
14. Stolen weapon
15. Stolen status symbol
16. Killed someone important
17. Hunting a rival
18. Eats human flesh
19. Hates anyone of a certain race
20. Cannot swim

Fly high, my friend by Mauro Belfiore

Scars

Characters should start with one scar, from growing up in a dangerous world. Each time they get wounded, it should also leave a scar.

1. Cut across the eye
2. Cut across the mouth
3. Broken nose
4. Foggy eye
5. Cuts on the arm
6. Missing teeth
7. Missing finger
8. Missing toes
9. Cut on chest
10. Cut along neck
11. Punctures in torso
12. Burn on face
13. Burned arms
14. Missing hand
15. Missing foot
16. Missing ear
17. Missing eye
18. Cut across forehead
19. Punctures in arm
20. Cut across nose

Connections

Players can roll one of these when they create a character, usually getting a benefit along with an open ended question for them to answer, perhaps at character creation or perhaps gradually as they play. For the negative ones, such as debts, I would recommend giving them an exp bonus for paying them off or otherwise solving them. These can be recorded on the party sheet, unless the player wants to keep them on their sheet.

1- People

1. Your sister Matihl travels with you as a guard. What was she like as a child?
2. Your brother Sigund is coming along to cook. How was growing up with him?
3. Your lover is with you to repair leather and metal items. How did you meet?
4. Mentor Vimatn demands weekly reports. What was their teaching style?
5. Parents write weekly letters. What do they write about?
6. An obsessive hanger on tends to get in the way. Why are they following you?

2- Business

1. Owe 1d100 gold to the cult of the Inner Moon. Were you a member?
2. Debt of 1d100 gold with Baron Kihlig. How long will they give you?
3. You owe 1d100 gold to Shosturv, your friend. How good of a friend are they?
4. An assassin fulfilled a 1d100 gold contract, yet to be paid. Who did you need dead?
5. There is a bakery you partly own. Why did you set out?
6. You're the business partner to an innkeeper. What made you leave?

3- Animals

1. Pet dog came with when you left your home. What does it like most?
2. Hunting bird tagged along. What do you feed it?
3. Family mule sent along with you. Does it follow or lead?
4. Stole a horse. Whose was it?
5. Missives by bird come from far away. Why do they write to you?
6. A war dog has taken a liking to you. Just how friendly is it?

4- Reputation

1. People say you're a lucky one. Is that totally wrong?
2. Everybody thinks you're rich. Do you try to live up to that?
3. They say you're clumsy. What was the start of that?
4. There's supposedly an air of mystery around you. What causes that?
5. You're said to be fashionable. How do you handle that pressure?
6. Some say you're an incredible lover. Is it flattering or uncomfortable?

5- Rumors

1. Word has it that you're cursed. What's the supposed curse?
2. There's a story that you had a violent outburst. What really happened?
3. Innkeepers say you trashed a room once. How bad was it?
4. You're said to have survived impossible odds in a fight. Did you get lucky?
5. A noble scion is supposedly betrothed to you. Who are they?
6. Of a crew that ostensibly hid great treasure, you're the last remaining. What keeps you from getting it?

6- Other

1. A nomadic wizards cursed you to fall short of your destiny. Are you after them?
2. A bandit leader owes you bigtime. Did you mean to help them out?
3. The heir of Nuliwim County wishes you stop adventuring and join them. How do they know you?
4. Baron Shuladn begrudgingly owes you a favor. Is that more trouble than it's worth?
5. You covered for a squad of deserters. Where did they go next?
6. You are native to a strange and distant land. What brought you here?

Saint

Inspired by a wonderful suggestion by ArkosDawn, which lead to the first cleric I would actually encourage people to play as!

Lepro-sees by John Sullivan

Perform miracles by accepting temporary curses. Magic user.

• Stat bonus: +1 speed per level, -1 maximum vigor every two levels
• Starting items: incense, steel cudgel
• Skill: politician, writer, or thug

Level 1: miraculous

Level 2: burden, smite

Level 3: forbiddance

Level 4: divine retribution, relic

• Miraculous: perform miracles by accepting minor curses upon yourself. When you choose a miracle, roll 1d6 for a curse, adding +1 to your roll for each miracle you have used in the same day. Curses last the rest of the day unless otherwise noted or if that wouldn't make sense.
• Burden: once per day, select an enemy when you use a miracle, inflicting them with the curse instead of yourself.
• Smite: strike your foe with divine power once per day, dealing +1 damage for each curse you are afflicted with. This includes major curses, curses from techniques, and cursed items.
• Forbiddance: place an icon that will repel one enemy type whenever they look upon it, for the next 8 hours. Can be used once per day, and enemy types include magical beasts, gods & demons, elementals, cursed & undead, fae, natural beasts, and humans.
• Divine retribution: once per day, spread one curse that afflicts you onto an enemy. They will be alleviated when you are, or can release their curse separately.
• Relic: give a piece of your body (such as a tooth, a small vial of blood, or a lock of hair) and a blessing to one person at a time. As long as they hold your relic, it will protect them from any kind of curse, but they will also be unable to use magic.

Miracles

• Heal an ally within sight by 2d6 vigor.
• Increase the recovery of a wound by one day.
• Call upon a lost item to return to its owner, through anything but solid barriers.
• Grant an ally +2 strength and agility for an hour.
• Endow a flame to keep burning for 1d6 +2 days.
• Steal a magic power for one hour.
• Split a single stone with a touch.
• Dispel temporary ailments such as blindness.
• Conjure 1d6 rations worth of food.
• Split a body of water to cross safely and dry.

suffering by ivan stan

Curses

1. Lashed by spectral whips for 1d6 damage.
2. Stricken with hunger, eat 1d6 rations or become strained.
3. Legs become limp and useless.
4. Skin disappears, taking +1 damage from all sources.
5. Arms chained behind your back.
6. Stricken with silence. Cannot use another miracle for 1 minute, or speak for the rest of the day.
7. Flesh becomes salt. Take 1d6 damage from notable contact with water.
8. Invisible imps perch upon you and strike anyone who approaches to help you.
9. Lose control of your actions. After 1d6 rounds, GM controls the saint for one minute.
10. Become stiff and immobile for 1d6 rounds.
11. Shrouded in a nightmarish illusion. People won't talk to you, guards may attack.
12. Stricken with poverty. Armor, shield, or weapon burns away in holy flame (only one, in that order).

The church is powerful, the people have their faith. Why then, would a lowly peasant ever shy away from the powers of the gods? When there is a holy light of healing, a conjured meal before them, or a demon slain with a touch, how could any deny the privilege of such a position. They hesitate at the sight of a stricken saint, bearing the heavy spiritual weight of their curses after a trying day. That power is great, truly, and holds a position of some guaranteed safety under the church, but such suffering is well more than enough to push away thoughts of joining the orders, until true evil makes itself known and someone with faith enough to become a saint also finds suffering enough that those curses seem worth enduring.

Saints can be adapted for specific gods or religious orders, simply by creating a themed set of miracles and curses. I left off the curses at 12 because I figure by the time someone is carrying around six curses they're not likely to keep pushing that envelope.

1d100 Character Memories

Still working on my city generator, but this list of character memories is fully filled out, one hundred with no repeats!* Hopefully this will help with generating new characters, especially for players who don't have much experience with roleplaying/writing, and with so many they can roll as many as they want.

*I think

1d100 memories

1. Parents used to cook a special meal.
2. Parents punished minor misbehavior with beatings.
3. Family was an unstable web of distrust and manipulation.
4. Siblings were always competing to outdo one another.
5. Grew up with a beloved doll.
6. Family was killed in war.
7. Family died of plague.
8. Parents restricted personal interests.
9. Parents paid little attention.
10. Saw a travelling magic show when it stopped in town.
11. Bullied by other local children.
12. Had something precious stolen.
13. Had something valuable stolen.
14. One of the local children had a memorable quirk.
15. Played nobility with other children.
16. Had an imaginary friend.
17. Encountered magic before adventuring.
18. Nearly died in an accident.
19. Ran away from home.
20. Created a secret language with friends.
21. Had a tryst with someone from a different class in society.
22. Attended a royal execution.
23. Got kidnapped.
24. Did something incredible, thanks to luck.
25. Befriended a wild animal.
26. Parents praised every effort.
27. A hated pet died.
28. A beloved pet died.
29. Got into a really embarrassing accident.
30. Knew how to play an instrument, but forgot.
31. Worked at a festival.
32. Got lost on a trip through the city.
33. Witnessed a supernatural possession.
34. Survived a very dangerous accident through luck.
35. Got saved from a very dangerous accident.
36. Looked up to a local knight.
37. Feared a local knight.
38. Family shared everything.
39. Found true love, but lost it.
40. Sought true love, but never found it.
41. Never wanted true love, but faked it for someone else.
42. Deemed blessed by the clergy.
43. Deemed cursed by the clergy.
44. Broke into a house with other children.
45. Broke into a house alone.
46. Found a treasure, had it stolen.
47. Found a treasure, and wasted it.
48. Had a terrible experience with drugs.
49. Had a terrific experience with drugs.
50. Thought an animal spoke to them once. It did.
51. Thought an animal spoke to them once. It didn't.
52. Heard the voice of a god.
53. Parents spoke of a family curse.
54. Once got embarrassed by a relative.
55. Honored by a visiting relative.
56. Shamed by a distant relative.
57. Targeted by a nasty rumor.
58. Used a nasty rumor against a peer.
59. One step removed from a local scandal.
60. Was once the center of a local scandal.
61. Shook an addiction.
62. Celebrated the passage of victorious soldiers.
63. Hid while allied soldiers raided.
64. Hosted peaceful enemy soldiers.
65. Watched the passage of defeated soldiers.
66. Hid while enemy soldiers raided.
67. Wrote a love song that didn't work out.
68. Wrote a love song that worked perfectly.
69. Came up with a drinking song that really picked up.
70. Came up with a drinking song that nobody ever joins.
71. Watched an elderly relative die.
72. Witnessed murder in a semi-public area.
73. Witnessed sex in a semi-public area.
74. Joined a secret ritual in the wilderness.
75. Joined a secret ritual in town.
76. Tried a strange and exotic dish that was delicious.
77. Tried a strange and exotic dish that was sickening.
78. Rode a ship once.
79. Parents had a really nice dining set.
80. Once saw a magic item one parent secretly owned.
81. One of the neighbors wasn't human, nobody else knew.
82. One of the neighbors wasn't human, everybody knew.
83. Spent a night in the castle.
84. Spent a night in the wilderness.
85. Spent a night in the dungeon.
86. Helped a merchant make a sale.
87. Stopped a con artist from pulling a scam.
88. Helped a con artist pull off a scam.
89. Scammed a traveller once.
90. Scammed a neighbor once, they never caught on.
91. Scammed a neighbor once, later they realized.
92. Got into an argument against all the other children.
93. Got into an argument against the entire family.
94. Got into an argument with one peer.
95. Got into an argument with one relative.
96. Saw something unforgettable that nobody else remembers.
97. Everyone always talked about something crazy that you couldn't have forgotten.
98. Once got injured practicing with a weapon.
99. Pulled off a stupid dare.
100. Failed a stupid dare.

Starting classes

Class format is based heavily on the GLOG format from Goblin Punch. That being said, while I borrow a few things from the GLOG core rules, the combat system (to which most of these are related) is completely different.

Infantry

Fight well on a team. Combat trained.

• Stat bonus: +1 blocking defense every level
• Starting items: chainmail, large shield, spear, lucky charm
• Skill: archer, surgeon, or tactician

Level 1: phalanx, siege diet

Level 2: team attack, mentor

Level 3: squad support

Level 4: heroic sacrifice, rally

• Phalanx: when you block alongside allies in the same engagement, gain +1 defense for each ally, and +2 for each infantry ally blocking with you.
• Siege diet: you can split your meals with an ally to each get by on one ration per day.
• Team attack: gain +1 damage for each ally engaged with the same target in the same round.
• Mentor: if you have fought alongside an ally through at least one level up, once per encounter you can perform one non-magical technique they have performed during the same encounter, including skill checks if you have the same skill.
• Squad support: if an ally within reach would take damage from a ranged attack, you may take their place.
• Heroic sacrifice: whenever an ally in the same engagement would take a wound, you can choose to take the damage in their place.
• Rally: once per day, call out inspiration to your allies to restore 1d6 hit points to all who an see or hear you.

Thief

Use stealth, skill, and luck to steal. Combat capable.

• State bonus: +1 stealth every level
• Starting items: blackjack, dark cloak, manacles with key
• Skill: sleight of hand, jeweler, or panhandler

Level 1: thievery, change hands

Level 2: lucky, stash

Level 3: slippery

Level 4: very lucky, great escape

• Thievery: gain the locksmith and pickpocket skills at rank 1.
• Change hands: once per session, you can declare that you retroactively swapped items with another character in the party, no matter how separated you are.
• Lucky: once per day, reroll any 1d6 roll immediately after the result has been seen. Can be used for damage, a skill check, or any other 1d6.
• Stash: by storing treasure in a hidden way, you can keep up to half of your next level's worth of treasure safe from other thieves at night or during the day.
• Slippery: get a +5 bonus to speed when retreating out of a melee engagement.
• Very lucky: reroll up to two additional 1d6 rolls, as lucky.
• Great escape: once per day, you can instantly escape from anything you could plausibly have escaped from, no matter how difficult it would have been.

Hunter

Specially skilled in subduing large beasts and laying traps. Combat capable.

• Stat bonus: +1 to stealth every two levels
• Starting items: hunting knife, trapping kit, bow, quiver, animal skull
• Skill: survivor, butcher, or archer

Level 1: trapper, astride

Level 2: wrangle

Level 3: provoke, fast trapper

Level 4: steer

• Trapper: improvise traps outside of combat to either halt, damage, or create an alert when passed through. You must spend an hour in the morning preparing your trapping kit. More elaborate or effective traps could be made using specific materials at GM discretion.
• Astride: climb on top of large beasts to strike vulnerable areas for a guaranteed hit, along with a +3 damage bonus. Beasts can spend their turn attempting to shake off a hunter with a strength save, but if the hunter spends their turn clinging on, it becomes a strength contest.
• Wrangle: using a rope, attempt to tie down a beast with a strength contest. Anyone can contribute to this contest, but any non-hunters will be knocked prone if the beast wins instead. Any tied down beast will remain prone until it can succeed a difficult strength save.
• Provoke: take an action to impel beasts into charging at you. They will take 1 damage if you are beside a wall when you do this.
• Fast trapper: once per encounter, a trap can be improvised during combat. This takes one full round, accounting for movement to lay tripwires or hazards.
• Steer: while astride, a hunter can force the beast to move if they succeed on a strength contest.

These are the three classes I recommend having available from the start, to ease players into the game, and to facilitate a lower starting power level and magical scale. After they play for a bit, and do various interesting things, I recommend opening up class options, including magical classes which will be detailed in a later post.