1.14.2 Character generation example - Ben Ruben

Character concept (see 1.3)

Ben Ruben is an old man (68 years of age), who now travels the world as a holy man, doing his bit to spread kindness, help the oppressed and solve disputes. He has an interesting past history, which occasionally catches up with him. He was born into the royal family of the small desert kingdom of Amara. Up to the age of 30, he was a warrior prince, leading raids on other communities. His father, the king, then died, and, in accordance with his country's customs, Ben Ruben became king. Over the course of his reign, Ben Ruben steered his people away from violence to more peaceful pursuits, and his people prospered. After 25 years as king, Ben Ruben had a vision which told him his work as king was done and it was time to seek his spiritual enlightenment elsewhere. Following his vision, he discovered that his magical talent, previously latent, was now active. Taking this as a sign that the vision was true, he abdicated in favour of his eldest son, and started to wander the world as a holy man. He has been doing this for the last 13 years, during which time, the Amaran people, who remember his reign as a golden age, occasionally call on him to help them in times of crises. Ben Ruben has a very clear set of moral values and is very committed to them - this has upset the nobility in some of the countries he has visited, who see him as a bit of a trouble-maker.

Starting cp value (see 1.4)

The referee is running a Heroic campaign level, and so Ben Ruben has a starting cp value of 50, can spend up to 24 cps on characteristics, have up to 4 talents and spend up to 4 extra cps on any single skill.

Characteristics (see 1.5)

The player describes Ben Ruben as Human, Male, old (aged 68), short (height 150 cm), bony (weight 45 kg), normal looks, exceptionally tough, lithe, authoritative, serene, fearless, fanatical, resourceful, perceptive and knowledgeable.

This description determines Ben Ruben's characteristics as follows:

Category

Description of character CS modifiers
ST CO PE CH IQ WP
Race Human 0 0 0 0 0 0
Gender Male +1/2 -1/2 -1/2 . . +1/2
Age Old -1 -1/2 -1/2 . +1 +1
Height Short -1/2 . . . . .
Build Bony -1 +1/2 . . . .
Looks Normal . . . . . .
Fitness Exceptionally tough +1 1/2 . . . . .
Agility Lithe . +1 . +1/2 . .
Dexterity Normal . . . . . .
Perception Perceptive . . +1 1/2 . . .
Worldliness Knowledgeable . . +1/2 +1/2 +1 .
Temperament Authoritative . . . +1/2 . +1
Behaviour Serene . . +1/2 . . +1
Attitude to risk/danger Fearless . . . +1/2 -1/2 +1/2
Motivation Fanatical . . - 1/2 -1/2 . +1 1/2
Intelligence Resourceful . . +1/2 +1/2 +1 .
Total -1/2

ST

+1/2

CO

+1 1/2

PE

+1 1/2

CH

+ 2 1/2

IQ

+5 1/2

WP

Ben Ruben has a total of +11 CS (11 above the average of zero), worth a total of 22 cps, just within the limit set by the referee (see above).

He has a exceptionally high WP score, a high IQ score, a high CH score and a high PE score.

Talents (see 1.6)

Based on his starting cp level (see above), Ben Ruben can have up to 4 talents. Ben Ruben's player decides that Ben Ruben can use magic and so gives him Attuned to magic - active (worth 5 cps). Ben Ruben is also an alert Light Sleeper (worth 2 cps), and is a natural linguist with a Talent for Regional Knowledge skills (worth 2 cps). Finally, Ben Ruben is naturally Lucky (worth 2 cps). The total value of his talents is 11 cps.

Disabilities (see 1.7)

Ben Ruben has Distinctive looks - Arab race- the total value of his disabilities is therefore -2 cps.

Background bonuses (see 1.8)

Over the course of his life, Ben Ruben lived for more than 20 years in the Southern deserts (Background bonus -2 1/2 cps). Since then, he has spent a few years in the City States of the Middle Sea (Background bonus -1 1/2 cps), a few years in the Eastern Steppes (Background bonus -1 1/2 cps) and a few years in the Laurelan Empire (Background bonus -1 1/2 cps).

Ben Ruben spent his first 30 years as a Warrior prince (Background bonus -15 cps), and since then has spent 25 years as a King (Background bonus -15 cps) and 13 years as a Holy man (Background bonus -10 cps).

The total value of his background bonuses is -47 cps.

Skill scores required by background

The next stage is to work out what Ben Ruben is required to spend on skill scores as a result of his background bonuses.

Skill Reason Must spend cps Equivalent skill score
Regional Knowledge Southern Desert Location visited >20 years 5 cps 5
Regional Knowledge Middle Sea City States Location visited a few years 3 cps 3
Regional Knowledge Eastern Steppes Location visited a few years 3 cps 3
Regional Knowledge Laurelan Empire Location visited a few years 3 cps 3
Combat Warrior >20 years Primary 5 cps 5
Melee Warrior >20 years Primary 5 cps 5
Riding Warrior >20 years Primary 5 cps 5
Athletics Warrior >20 years Secondary 3 cps 3
Polearm Warrior >20 years Secondary; King >20 years Secondary 3 cps + 3 cps = 6 cps 6
Tactics Warrior >20 years Secondary; King > 20 years Primary 3 cps + 5 cps = 8 cps 7
Survival Warrior >20 years Secondary 3 cps 3
Intimidation Warrior >20 years Secondary; King > 20 years Secondary 3 cps + 3 cps = 6 cps 6
Administration King >20 years Primary 5 cps 5
Influence King >20 years Primary; Holy man > 10 years Secondary 5 cps + 3 cps = 8 cps 7
Reasoning King >20 years Secondary 3 cps 3
Memory King >20 years Secondary 3 cps 3
Empathy King >20 years Secondary 3 cps 3
Trance Holy man > 10 years Primary 4 cps 4
Medicine Holy man > 10 years Primary 4 cps 4
Stasis Magic Holy man > 10 years Secondary 3 cps 3
Projection Magic Holy man > 10 years Secondary 3 cps 3
Countering Magic Holy man > 10 years Secondary 3 cps 3
Total . 94 cps .

Relationships (see 1.10)

Ben Ruben's status is Royalty (6 cps). Ben Ruben's past subjects in Amara rarely call on him to help them - when they do he will risk his life to help them (worth -1 x 4 = -4 cps). His former subjects in Amara (approximately a million people) remember his rule as a golden age and would go out of their way to help or protect Ben Ruben (worth 3cps x 5 = 15 cps). In his travels, Ben Ruben has upset the nobility of the Laurelan Empire who see him as a trouble-maker and will try to hinder/inconvenience him (worth -2 cps x 4 = -8 cps).

The total value of his relationships is 9 cps.

Behaviour traits (see 1.11)

Ben Ruben lives by very strict codes of conduct. He never kills any living creature (worth -4 cps), never breaks his/her word (worth -3 cps), always tells the truth (worth -4 cps), has a chivalric conduct towards women (worth - 3 cps), always stands up for the weak and oppressed (worth -3 cps), never eats meat (worth -2 cps) or fish (worth -2 cps), never wears armour (worth -5 cps), is celibate (worth -2 cps) and never uses edged or sharp weapons (worth -2 cps).

From his desert upbringing, Ben Ruben has an minor phobia of sailing or swimming in large open bodies of water (worth -3 x 2 = - 6 cps).

The total value of his behaviour traits is -36 cps.

Starting possessions (see 1.12)

At the start of play (and for the last 13 years), Ben Ruben is essentially Destitute (worth -6 cps), with less than a shilling's worth of equipment to his name.

Ben Ruben's starting equipment is as follows:

Equipment Weight Cost Size/location
Plain robes 1.35 kg (3% x 45 kg) 4d W (worn)
Cloth hood 0.5 kg 2d W (worn)
Quarterstaff 2 kg 2d M (back)
Sack with a bedroll/blanket 3.2 kg 3d M (back)
Pouch containing 2f in coins 0.01 kg 1d S (waist belt)
Total 7.06 kg 12d .

Ben Ruben's protection values are 1 for his Head, Throat, Chest, Abdomen, Groin, Arms, Hands and Legs, and zero for his Eyes. He suffers a -1/2 penalty on all PE dice rolls due to wearing his hood.

Balancing the character

At this point, Ben Ruben's total cps value is +22 (Characteristics) + 11 (Talents) -2 (Disabilities) - 47 (Background bonuses) +9 (Relationships) -36 (Behaviour traits) + 94 (Skills) -6 (Wealth) = 45 cps. This compares favourably with his allowed starting cps total of 50. Ben Ruben's player breathes a sigh of relief and works out how to spend the difference (i.e. 5 cps) to bring Ben Ruben up to the allowed 50 cps total for an Average starting character.

He wants Ben Ruben to be good at Stasis magic, so adds 1 cp to his Stasis magic skill. He also decides that Ben Ruben should be competent at swimming and stealth, and so allocates 2 cps to both Swimming and Stealth skills.

Deciding skill scores and specialisms

Finally, the player works out Ben Ruben's skill limit in each of his skills, determines his skill score and then decides on the specialisms. These are set out below:

Skill cps allocated Skill limit Skill score Specialism
Regional Knowledge Southern Desert 5 cps 8 1/2 (IQ) + 2* = 10 1/2 5 +2* +1 1/2 Cultures (Broad), +1 Religions (Broad)
Regional Knowledge Middle Sea City States 3 cps 8 1/2 (IQ) + 2* = 10 1/2 3 +2* +1 Religions (Broad); +1/2 Languages (Broad)
Regional Knowledge Eastern Steppes 3 cps 8 1/2 (IQ) + 2* = 10 1/2 3 +2* +1 Religions (Broad); +1/2 Languages (Broad)
Regional Knowledge Laurelan Empire 3 cps 8 1/2 (IQ) + 2* = 10 1/2 3 +2* +1 Religions (Broad); +1/2 Languages (Broad)
Combat 5 cps 6 (ST,CO) 5 +2 1/2 Combat speed (Broad)
Melee 5 cps 6 (ST,CO) 5 +2 1/2 Hammers (Broad)
Riding 5 cps 6 1/2 (CO,WP) 5 +2 Horses (Broad), +1/2 Camels (Broad)
Athletics 3 cps 6 (ST,CO) 3 +1 1/2 Stamina (Broad)
Polearm 6 cps 5 1/2 (ST) 5 1/2 + 5 1/2 Quarterstaff (Narrow)
Tactics 8 cps 8 1/2 (IQ) 7 +1 Initiative (Broad), +2 1/2 Ambushes (Broad)
Survival 3 cps 6 (ST,PE,WP) 3 +3 Deserts (Narrow)
Intimidation 6 cps 6 (ST,WP) 6 +3 Indirect threat (Broad)
Administration 5 cps 8 1/2 (IQ,WP) 5 +1 Accounting and business planning (Broad), +3 Literacy (Narrow)
Influence 8 cps 7 1/2 (CH) 7 +2 1/2 Oratory (Broad), +1 Bargaining (Broad)
Reasoning 3 cps 8 1/2 (IQ,WP) 3 +1 1/2 Research (Broad)
Memory 3 cps 8 1/2 (IQ) 3 +3 Names and faces of people (Narrow)
Empathy 3 cps 7 1/2 (CH,PE) 3 +1 1/2 First impression (Broad)
Trance 4 cps 11 1/2 (WP) 4 +1 Mental resistance (Broad), +1 Meditation (Broad)
Medicine 4 cps 7 1/2 (PE,IQ) 4 +2 First Aid (Broad)
Stasis Magic 3 cps + 1 cp = 4 cps 11 1/2 (WP) 4 +2 Healing magic (Broad)
Projection Magic 3 cps 11 1/2 (WP) 3 +1 1/2 Telepathy magic (Broad)
Countering Magic 3 cps 8 1/2 (WP,IQ) 3 +1 1/2 Suppression magic (Broad)
Swimming 2 cps 6 (ST,CO) 2 +2 Staying afloat (Narrow)
Stealth 2 cps 6 1/2 (CO,WP) 2 +1 Moving quietly (Broad)
Total 99 cps . . .

Initial current situation

Ben Ruben starts the game with no wounds and fully rested. His Lift is 6.4 kg (=4.5 kg [for ST of -1/2] times 142.5% [3 Athletics +5 1/2 WP]). Given that he is carrying between 6.4 kg and 12.8 kg, he is lightly encumbered and has an encumbrance modifier to his CO of +1, giving him an effective CO score of +1 1/2 for dice rolls.

Calculating combat basic values

It is useful to calculate a few common combat basic values before the start of play, so that these can be referred to quickly during combat situations:

For Ben Ruben's main weapons, these are as follows:

Weapon Mode (Rg/APs) Skill score CO ST Attack mod. Parry mod. Dmg. mod. Attack BV Block BV Dmg BV
Quarterstaff 2-hand (M/2) 11 +1 1/2 -1/2 +3 +3 10 15 1/2 15 1/2 9 1/2
Punch Punch (C/2) 5 +1 1/2 -1/2 +0 N/A 5 6 1/2 N/A 4 1/2

Ben Ruben's basic combat defence (if he does not make a maneuver) is equal to his Combat + CO = 6 1/2. He gets a +2/+3 bonus for dodging, depending on the dodge used (he has no dodge specialisms that would add to this).

Completed character sheet

You can see Ben Ruben's completed character sheet in the following formats: