Originally Posted by: Morty
Original Post Date: 10-08-2003 09:37PM
Realm of Life
Character Creation Document
Welcome adventurer! This document is intended to serve as a simple method for you to create a character for the Realm of Life (RoL) System. There are 8 steps involved in character creation, and a section has been devoted to the each step. Following this are some basic pieces if information that you need to play in the RoL system. Happy hunting!
--Ralenok
StoryTelling
Thousands of years ago, cavemen and village elders told stories. This eventually evolved into writing and drawings. In the 21st century, we now do most of such storytelling through computers and books, but there now we are seeing people go back to the old ways and tell stories the way there were once told…
RoL is a story-based system. It’s not a hack-and-slash type game like a lot of the so-called “Role-Playing Games†out there. Sure you can play a powerful warrior, but the game is based around your ability to tell his tales of adventures. Essentially, you and your fellow players are characters in a book. You decide the actions to be taken by your character and the Game Master (GM) will return the results. For those of you who are new to this type of gaming, relax! There is no such thing as the ultimate or best character. Sure somebody could play a powerful mage that can control the very essence of life, but that doesn’t make him good. What about his people-skills, combat abilities, or physical aptitude? The question really boils down to you - what kind of character do you want to play? Somebody who is honed to a very specific task, such as spell casting or combat, or somebody who is well rounded and able to deal with more situations?
Character Sheets
Anything that contains information on your character should be contained within a single space for easy of use. This is typically referred to as a Character Sheet. I suggest you either have a sheet of paper or a word processor like Microsoft Word available when creating a character, it’s simply too difficult to memorize everything.
1 - Character Concept
Before we begin, you should understand that there are no restrictions on race, gender, or ethnicity in RoL. Want to make up a new race? Go right ahead; just make sure you have a good idea of what you want.
Character concept is the most important step in character creation because of lays out a foundation for the remaining steps. When developing a character concept, ask yourself the following questions:
What race is my character?
What sex is my character?
How old is my character?
How tall/wide is my character?
How much does my character weigh?
What would be a brief physical description of my character?
What does my character do for a living? Career?
It is usually a good idea to have these recorded. When these have been worked out, you can then write your character’s concept. Taking the above answers and combining them into a very brief statement, usually on a few words, define your character’s concept that best describe your character. Most people include Race and Career as an absolute must for their Concept, and then add one or two additions words.
Example:
Bob decides to make an ogre. He defines the race as Ogre, sex as Male, and says that he’s somewhere around 25 years old. He then says that the Ogre is seven feet tall, about four feet wide, and weighs in at almost 900lbs. A brief physical description would be a humanoid with a massive build. Ogres aren’t usually very smart, so the career of this character should be something that revolves around muscle power, something Ogre’s possess in great quantities. After some thought, the Ogre’s concept is declared as Mean Ogre Street Thug called Taug.
2 - Traits
This is where the story telling aspect of the game really gets involved. A character’s traits are descriptions of the character. By writing standards, these are referred to as Adjectives. Traits are broken down into 3 categories: Physical, Mental, and Social.
A character has 5 points worth of traits to start with. Selecting a trait is simple; just ask yourself - “what are the best ways to describe your character?†Each trait that you select takes 1 point. You may select a trait multiple times, each time costing an additional point. Please note - you will have a chance to spend more points on traits later on during character creation.
Physical Traits describe the physical capabilities of your character. Common ones include (but are not limited to): Strong, Quick, Enduring, Healthy, etc.
Mental Traits describe the mental capacity of your character. Common ones include (but are not limited to): Intelligent, Perceptive, Resourceful, etc.
Social Traits are used to describe a character’s social abilities. Common ones include (but are not limited to): Witty, Persuasive, Friendly, etc.
You are strongly encouraged to come up with your own Traits. The only rule that applies to them is that each Trait can only relate to one particular description of your character.
Example:
Taug isn’t exactly the friendliest character, and most likely he is somewhat stupid, so Bob decides to focus most of Taug’s traits on Physical Traits. Taug is very strong, so he gives Taug Strong (2). He is also enduring. Along with this, Bob gives Taug a Social Trait of Physically Persuasive (2) because most people are scared of really strong, really big creatures like Taug. Taug therefore has the following traits: Strong (2), Enduring (1), and Physically Persuasive (2).
3 - Abilities
Abilities represent the core skills and abilities of a character. It’s assumed that character has some basic skills such as Language, but that is about it. In medieval times it was actually rare for creatures to possess writing skills!
Abilities are essentially verbs with relation to storytelling. Verbs are actions that are performed by characters in a story. Hence sword fighting, magic, picking locks, are all considered abilities.
Characters are automatically assumed to start with the following abilities:
2 starting points in Languages. 1 point must be assigned to your race’s language, and the other should be put towards English, as it is the main language spoken by all creatures.
That’s it! You have to select the rest on your own. Basic motor functions such as walking and running don’t require skills, but something like Climbing would.
For those of you wishing to take magic, please refer to Appendix A: Magic before selecting skills.
Combat Skills are selected based on the type of weapon or fighting style. Thus you could take a skill in Swords to use any type of sword, or you could take a more specific skill of Bastard Swords, which would give you a better skill with Bastard Swords, but lesser skill with other sword types. Unarmed Combat is a skill as well, or you can take a specific type of Unarmed Combat such as Wrestling, Bar Fighting, etc.
Characters start with five points worth of Abilities.
Example:
Taug, being a street thug, doesn’t really need a great deal of skills to get by. He is given Street Brawl (2) and Blunt Weapons to start with, then cooking and Hunting so he can survive on his own. Taug therefore has the following Abilities: Street Brawl (2), Blunt Weapons (1), Cooking (1), and Hunting (1).
4 - Backgrounds
Backgrounds a very useful additions to a character. They define whom he knows and what kind of resources he has at his disposal.
Money/Valuables: The character has access to a constant flow of gold or gems. The more points allocated to a specific resource, the greater the value. Resources can also represent property of a character, such as a house. Having a House (1) would be a small shack, whereas having a House (3) would be a nice house perhaps in the busy part of a major city.
Fame: Fame represents how well known a character is. It is city-specific, thus you could be famous in one town, but nowhere else. A character may NOT start with fame; the Game Master awards it. Fame provides characters with discounts and access to better information.
Allies: An Ally is a very close friend, somebody willing to do anything for your character. Spending points on Allies must be done per Ally. Thus you could have an Ally (1) and an Ally (3). Each point spent on allies determines the bond between your character and the Ally and the amount of power an Ally has. The Game Master must approve spending points on Allies after character creation.
Followers: Follows are groups of people that serve your character. Whether this is because they were paid, or simply believe in you character’s beliefs vary. Each point assigned to followers provides your character with 10 loyal followers, however each follow is substantially weaker than you are. It is possible to have multiple Follower backgrounds, as each particular group of followers usually has something in common. Examples would be that you could have Followers (2), consisting of a group of street thieves, and Followers (1), consisting of a group of street thugs.
Mentor: A Mentor is one that teaches you character. The more points assigned to a Mentor, the more powerful he is. The character may call on him from time to time to teach him new skills or improve his current skills. A Mentor (1) would be just a bit more skillful than your character; whereas a Mentor (4) would be considered a master of a particular skill.
Characters start with five points worth of backgrounds.
Example:
Taug doesn’t really need a lot of backgrounds. He is most likely acquired some sort of residence, so we’ll give him a house, and he’s probably generated some sort of cash flow from his street mugging. Along with this, he most likely has some followers and a few allies, so we end up with the following: House (1), Gold (1), Ally (2) - a blacksmith, and Followers (1) - a group of wannabe street thieves.
5 - Merits/Flaws
Merits and Flaws are what make a character unique. Perhaps your character has some sort of deformity, or some sort of abnormality. Basically, ask yourself - “what makes this character different than other’s of his race?â€
You spend points on Merits (something unique that benefits your character) or Flaws (something unique that applies penalties to your character). Each point spent on Flaws provides you with an additional Free XP (see section 7), and each point spent on Merits reduces your Free XP. The more points spent on a specific merit/flaw makes it more prominent and inducing on your character.
It is not a requirement to take any merits or flaws; they just bring more life to your character. You may not start with more than 5 points worth of merits and/or flaws.
Example:
Taug has a set of small horns protruding from his forehead, each one extending just a few inches out. He has found this useful when head butting his victims, and they don’t seem to be any type of problem, so they are considered a merit. Taug therefore has the merit of Horns (1), which reduces his Free XP by 1 point.
6 - Equipment
Equipment are the possessions of your character. Spending a point on a certain piece of equipment is all that is needed, however you can spend more points on it to add additional features (such as some sort of magic, or perhaps it is just superbly crafted, making it more effective). It is assumed that you character has clothing and some sort of backpack, but that is all.
Characters may, at the discretion of the game master, start with a single magic item (who’s point value does not exceed 3). This must be discussed with the game master to work out the exact details. Players may start with exceptional equipment (not limit on how many points are spent), which give bonuses when used, but they have no magical properties, just superbly crafted by whoever made them.
Characters start with five points worth of equipment.
Example:
Taug likes to carry around what he calls his “Beat Stickâ€. It’s a superbly crafted quarterstaff that he took from a craftsman in another town. He also has a suit of leather armor, a large dagger, and a magic amulet that he “found†one day. Taug therefore has the following equipment: Quarter Staff (2), Leather Armor, Large Dagger, and an Amulet (2). The exact properties of the magic amulet will be worked out with the game master.
7 - Free XP (5)
Free XP (or experience points) are used to increase anything that you want on you character. You can spend them just as regular points on Traits, Abilities, Backgrounds, or Equipment. You have five free experience points (less if you started with merits, more if you started with flaws).
8 - Profile
This is an optional step. Basically write-up a brief biography of your character. A history that explains his life and what he’s accomplished so far. It basically helps you to play the character better as you have more details about them worked out.
Appendix A - Magic
Magic is a common skill in the RoL world. Magic abilities are treated like normal Abilities when selecting them (you spend points on each magic ability, the more points in one ability, the stronger it’s effect).
When a character decides they wish to have a magic ability, they have to design the magic using the following formulae (see below).
Note - magic has a drain effect on creatures. Whenever a creature uses a magic ability, a certain amount of drain occurs to them depending on the power of the spell, the components, and all other aspects of the spell. Components reduce drain, which is why they are commonly used.
- What type of magic is the ability? There are 4 types: Spell, Ritual, Enchantment, or Conjuration. Spells are the common type of magic, they are cast instantly and have a temporary effect. Rituals take a long time to cast, but are much more powerful versions of spells. Enchantments are permanent spells, they take longer to cast, but their effects remain forever. Conjurations summon a creature to the casters aid.
- What source of power will the magic be drawn from? Every type of magic has to come from a specific source of power. The most common form is energy. However, some spells, such as fireball, require a different source of power, in this case Fire. There are limitless sources of power including (but not limited to): Energy (default source), Ice, Fire, Water, Earth, Stone, Metal, Wood, Wind, Lighting, Acid, etc. Using a source different from just raw energy has added benefits (i.e. an energy ball just does damage whereas a fireball does damage and leaves a fire in it’s place), but has more drain on the caster.
- What is needed to use the magic? Some magic’s require components such as material items, words to be spoken, etc. There are 4 types of components: Speech, Material, Gesture, and Time. Speech requires the caster to be chanting or talking to cast the spell. Materials require the caster to provide some sort of item that will be destroyed when the spell is cast. Gestures require the caster to perform specific movements with their body when the magic is used. Time requires time, magic such as rituals take hours to perform. The advantage of using a component is that it increases the effect of the magic. Each component adds to the power of the spell. Only one speech and one gesture can be required for a spell. Materials can be unlimited (but having too many materials would make the magic expensive to use), and time is calculated by the hour (each hour of magic adds power to the magic). Rituals require at least 1 hour of time automatically, but the mage can require more if they want a more powerful effect. Components are not required, but they do help a lot. Only rituals require components, and that is simply time. Taking components requires GM approval.
- Identify the target of the magic. Conjuring doesn’t require this step. All other forms of magic require the caster to select one of four targets: the caster, a specific creature/target, a group of creatures, or just a specific area. A single creature, such as the caster or single target takes less drain on the caster than a group or area of effect spell does.
- Work out the details. Describe the effects of the spell in a few lines.
- Send to Game Master. The Game Master must approve the magic before it can be used, and can offer suggestions and help around creating a spell.
Example:
Ralenok wishes to create a fireball spell. The type of Magic is a Spell. The source of power is Fire. Ralenok wants to have a verbal and material component so the drain isn’t too bad on him. The gm approves a verbal component and says the requirement is a lit fire such as a torch. The target of the spell is identified as an area of effect. There spell is then summarizes as “The spell releases a ball of fire that explodes on impact of the target area.†The spell is then recorded as:
Magic: Fireball (1), Type: Spell (Fire), Components: Verbal, Fire, Target: Area.
Ralenok now has a Fireball skill.
Appendix B - Rules & Systems
There are only a few basic rules that all characters are expected to follow in RoL. Failure to meet these rules will result in a warning, and then removal from the game if a second offense occurs.
- It’s just a game! Don’t get carried away with it!
- You are expected to post in character all the time. Speech is expected to be found in quotation marks (“â€
, actions are not. When making a post, the last line of you post must be in Boldface stating what you want your character to do (this is for ease of reference for the gm).
- You can control the speech of non-player characters (NPC’s) to a certain extent. You are welcome to have them say something along the lines that would lead to an adventure for your character (in fact it’s encouraged because it reduces the workload on the gm). But you CANNOT control NPC actions (i.e. you can’t say they give you a magic sword of demon slaying! But you can say they tell you of a cave to the north that is rumored to contain one). You CANNOT control the speech or actions of a powerful character (i.e. the King, a Cardinal, etc), the GM will control them. Some minor control of NPC’s is allowed (i.e. renting a wagon escort to get you somewhere), but the GM has the right to nullify it if he feels it is not appropriate.
- You do not control the environment around you - the gm does. If you are in a dungeon, you do not say what is in the next room, you must wait for the gm to describe it as he most likely has a dungeon drawn up. (So none of this “Bob opens the door and walks through into a treasure room!†it would be more like “Bob opens the door and looks in†.
- The GM will make every effort to check postings on a daily basis, and postings will be handled on a submitted basis (i.e. whoever posted first gets a response first).
- The last line of a post must contain "ACTION: " and whatever action you wish your character to perform. Some actions like walking across a town do not require GM approval, but combat, spell casting, and other complex actions require a response from the Game Master.
- READ BEFORE YOU POST. Read what everybody else is up to and make sure you’re not doing what somebody else has said they’re already doing. Also - preview your posting. You will not be allowed to take back an action that you have declared.
- Use OOC (Out of Character) to denote something you are saying out of character. Otherwise all text will be assumed to be what you want your character to say.
Example of Play:
Player A: I open the door and peer inward.
ACTION: Opens the door
Player B: I draw my bow and prepare to fire incase something is behind the door.
ACITON: Draws bow and prepares to fire at hostile creatures.
GM: The door opens and a giant snake springs forth to Player A, luckily, Player B was ready and fired his bow, pinning the snake to the back of the door.
Character Creation Document
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