Character Creation

First up, here’s a character sheet.  Now, let’s get started.

Before you begin, take a moment to think about what sort of character you’d like to play.  Here are a few ideas of characters who could be running around Clorencia City:

Bruiser
Conspiracy Theorist
Detective
Etheric Engineer
Former Soldier
Gun Moll
Immigrant Worker
Secretive Mage
Scholar
Slumming or Disgraced Upper City Dweller
Urban Monster Hunter
Vigilante

Step 1: Race

Characters in Clockworks may be Human or Faeblooded. There are hundreds of variations of Faeblooded, but they are all created with the same basic rules.

(Faeblooded rules are coming next week.  For now, use the Build Your Own Fantasy Race from the Fantasy Companion, and remember that all Faeblooded are weak against iron weapons, and take an additional d6 damage from them.)

Step 2: Attributes & Skills

All characters begin with a base of d4 in every Attribute, and 5 points to assign to raising them.

Characters begin with 15 points of skills.

Pace, Parry, Toughness and Charisma are all calculated normally. Grit begins at 0 unless modified by Edges or Hindrances, and increases by 1 every Rank.

Step 3:Hindrances & Edges

Characters may begin with up to one Major Hindrance and two Minor Hindrances.

(Lots of new Edges and Hindrances coming in Character Creation part 3 or so.)

Special Rule: Big Damn Heroes

In addition to their normal Hindrances, characters may choose one additional Hindrance from the following list: Heroic, Loyal, Code of Honor, or Vow.

This Hindrance does not grant bonus points as usual.  Instead, a character who choose one of these in addition to their normal Hindrances gain any one non Legendary Edge, regardless of any rank or skill prerequisites.  You may not choose the Improved version of an edge using the Big Damn Hero rule.

Step 4: Gear

Characters begin with 500Marks which can be spent on whatever you wish.

(Note: until we get to the Official Clockworks Gear List section of things, feel free to just use the Rippers equipment chapter, leaving out Ripper Claws, and converting 1£ to 100 ?.  Alternately, use Deadlands Reloaded and double all of the prices listed there.  Note that Deadlands will still net you some significantly cheaper guns than Rippers.  Or use Runepunk’s equipment list, or maybe even Sundered Skies.  The choice is yours!)

Step 5: Finishing Touches

Take some time to round out your character.  Think about his history and personality.  How does he feel about magic, the Faeblooded, the government, technology, the other nations of Vheld?

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And there you have it!  If someone would please copy this over to the wiki, I’m sure the readership at large would appreciate it.

Next week: the races of Clockworks.  (Both of them!)

Welcome back to the Savage Worlds character creation for Clockworks.  This week, we tackle the races of Clockworks.

Race

Player characters in Clockworks can be either Human or Faeblooded.

Human
Until the last few decades, humans were the only race on Vheld.  Legends and tall tales told of horrifying beast men, walking dead, the tall and inscrutable people of the forest,  and other strangeness in ancient history; but such creatures are confined only to fiction.

Bonus Edge
All human characters start with one free Edge.

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Faeblooded
The Faeblooded are a relatively new phenomenon in Vheld. They resemble the fictional creatures of myth and fairy tale: elves, sprites, ogres, goblins, etc. There is much debate about their exact nature and origins.

Faeblooded first appeared forty years ago, and it is believed their appearance is related to the Cataclysm and the appearance of Elementalists. The exact origins of the Faeblooded are unknown, as well as the method by which a child transforms in to one.  There are now second generation Faeblooded, the children of pairings of boggins, dwarves and less savory types.  However, most Faeblooded are born to (or perhaps left for) human parents.

Faeblooded typically take on their inhuman aspects between the ages of one and five. There is much debate as to the exact nature of this transformation.  Many people believe that Faeblooded are not the same child at all, but a “changeling” or “simulacrum” left behind by other Faeblooded, who steal the actual child in the night. This is a notion that has gained incredible popular support, despite the lack of physical evidence. Some scientists and doctors believe the Faeblooded to be caused by a disease, one that is perhaps communicable by contact with them. Others theorize that the Faeblooded are the result of a metamorphosis, perhaps related to global ethereal fluctuations caused by the aftermath of the Cataclysm.  The important thing is that the Faeblooded themselves don’t know where they came from, or why.

Faeblooded are often distrusted, and will typically band together for protection and companionship.

Powerful Attribute
All Faeblooded begin with one Attribute at d8 instead of d4. This Attribute can be raised to d12+2.

Weakness (Iron)
All Faeblooded are weak against iron.  Fortunately for them, this weakness does not also apply to iron alloys such as steel.  Unfortunately, traditional iron weapons designed specifically to harm the Faeblooded have become increasingly common.

Faeblooded take an additional 1d6 damage from iron weapons.  Additionally, such wounds are harder to soak: requiring a success and a raise or two raises to soak each wound.  Faeblooded can not cross a barrier made of pure iron, even if it’s just an iron bar lying on the floor crossing a doorway.

Unique
In addition to these common features, all Faeblooded must choose two benefits from the Fae Boons list, as well as two weaknesses from the Fae Banes list, below:

Fae Boons

• Aquatic: cannot drown in water, aquatic pace equal to your Swimming die type, begin with d6 Swimming.
• Beast Master: animal affinity and a beast companion, per the Edge.
• Claws: Strength +d4 claws
• Fae Beauty: +2 Charisma
• Fleet Footed: base Pace of 8, running die of d10, per the Edge.
• Immunity: to heat or cold, per the Monstrous Ability
• Large: +1 Size
• Low Light Vision: ignore dark light penalties, per the Monstrous Ability
• Maw: Strength +d6 damage bite
• Magical Apptitude: begins with 5 bonus Mana
• Shape Change: may choose one small animal. Can change once per hour per the spell.  Spirit roll to activate.
• Sneaky: +2 to all Stealth rolls, does not leave footprints.
• Tinker: may use Repair to build or fix items in 1/2 the time if working after midnight, 1/4 on a raise.
• Tough: +1 Toughness
• Woodsman: +2 to Stealth, Survival, and Tracking in the wilderness, per the Edge.

Fae Banes

• Dehydration: the character must immerse herself in water one hour out of every 24. If they do not, they suffer one Fatigue level each day until Incapacitated, the next day they will perish.
• Folk Weakness: the character has a traditional Fae weakness or peculiarity. Examples include being repelled by certain herbs, being unable to refuse an offering of food or drink, being unable to cast magic without a certain item, or being Oathbound to anyone who takes possession of a certain item.
• Frail: -1 Toughness.
• Oathbound: if the character gives his word he is bound to it, and suffers 1 Fatigue level every day he goes back on an oath until he becomes Incapacitated or makes things right.
• Shadowed: suffers a -1 penalty to all rolls in daylight.
• Small: –1 Size, per the Hindrance.
• Slow: Pace 4, running die of d4.
• Ugly: -2 Charisma, per the Hindrance.
• Weak Attribute: one Attribute (not the character’s Powerful Attribute) costs double to raise during character creation, and requires two level ups to raise with experience.
• Weakness: choose one additional substance or damage type, the character suffers the same effects as he does to Iron.  Example weaknesses include fire, cold, silver, gold, wood.

Banes and Boons stack with Edges and Hindrances, meaning you can make an elven princess with both Fae Beauty and Attractive, or a diminutive goblin with both Small and the Small Hindrance.

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There are also a number of Faeblooded only edges, which typically kick in at Veteran rank and will be detailed in a later post.

If you haven’t guessed yet: Ophelia has Aquatic, Fae Beauty, Dehydration, and Folk Weakness.  Toby has Large, Tough, Slow, and Ugly.

Note that the Faeblooded rules aren’t set in stone.  One advantage we have here is we can spend the next year or two adding to and refining the mechanics.  If you have any suggestions, or anything that comes up in actual play, post it in the talk page on the Wiki or here.  In the final book, I’d love to have a sidebar featuring a dozen or so Folk Weaknesses, for example.

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I’ll be doing a livestream show tonight while I work on tomorrow’s comic! The stream starts at 6 pm central.

http://www.livestream.com/clockworks

See you guys tomorrow when our heroes come to face to mask with our new villain. Lots of news and stuff to post on Friday as well.

The character creation series continues next Wednesday with new Hindrances and probably part 1 of new Edges.

First up, I’m still sick.  Hence the very late blog post.

There will be a comic of some sort tomorrow, it might not be very long or good though.

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Character Creation continues.  Here are some new Hindrances.  Some of them have appeared in other books before, and some will get trimmed out before Clockworks: the Sourcebook comes out, but that will wait for when I’m not sick.

Hindrances

Bad Reputation (Minor)
Nefarious deeds have been attributed to your character. Whether or not he actually committed them is irrelevant – everyone believes he did. Your character suffers a -2 penalty to his Charisma. Needless to say, this penalty could become a bonus when dealing with certain individuals or groups.

Big Mouth (Minor)
Your character has an almost impossible time keeping a secret. If you learn any secrets or gossip during the course of the game, you will invariably share them with friends, strangers and the occasional Iron Guardsman.

Crybaby (Major)
Your character is a wimp – he can’t even sustain the most minor of wounds without crying like a little girl! Subtract one from your hero’s Toughness to reflect his low threshold of pain. In addition, anyone attempting to intimidate or persuade your character through violent suggestion or by means of actual physical torture may add +2 to his Intimidate or Persuade roll.

Illiterate (Major)
Your character is completely unable to read. Literacy is common in the Great Republic, but some people from uncivilized nations or poor neighborhoods still can not read.

Your character sign his name, but that’s about it. He doesn’t know numbers either, so his friends may cut him out of his fair share of wealth and riches. Illiterates can’t read or write in any language; by the way, no matter how many they actually speak.

Innocent (Major)
Your character just isn’t very experienced. He hasn’t seen the harsh, horrible side of life, and simply isn’t prepared for it. He begins with a -1 Grit, and suffers -1 on all Smarts and Spirit rolls to resist Intimidation, Persuasion, and Taunt.

Lying Eyes (Minor)
Lies just don’t come naturally to you. That sounds like a good thing, but often causes problems when dealing with more disreputable types. Subtract 4 from any Persuasion rolls where lies—even little white ones—must be told.

Obsessive (Minor)
There is something your hero wants more than anything else in the world – wealth, fame, the entire collection of Sir Whilom Bloodborne’s adventures, a romantic relationship with his brother’s fiancée; it doesn’t matter. Whatever the source of his obsession he will not pass up an opportunity to achieve it. Anytime your hero is confronted with a chance to indulge his obsession he must pass a Spirit test at -2 if he wishes to act otherwise.

Prejudiced (Minor)
Your character dislikes a certain group of people based on their gender, nationality, beliefs, sexual orientation, or whatever. You tend to treat those you’re prejudiced against (and their sympathizers) harshly, and suffer a -4 modifier to your Charisma score in regards to these people.

I’m With Him (Major)
Not every character is cut out for the heroic lifestyle. The character lacks what it takes to be a true hero and chooses to play second fiddle and stay out of the limelight. Characters with this Hindrance are still Wild Cards.

Your character may not begin the game with any Combat Edges or allocate any skill points into Fighting, Shooting, or Throwing during character generation.