Veteran Pregenerated Characters

[Coronoides]

Hi all,

First up, giant thanks to  Nick J for his form-fillable sheet that made this possible.

It’s summer holidays here so I have plenty of time to muck about with my new Magic World book. This includes working on my world and creating characters to learn the rules and test out little tweaks. 

Here I’ll post pregenerated characters as I create them. These  are Veteran adventurers (Magic World page 22) designed for my world but might be of use to some of you. 

First up a elf sailor and (cat-sized) gnome astrologer.

 

magicworldcs(form-fillable-no-calc)v2.3.1 gnome astrologer.pdf

magicworldcs(form-fillable-no-calc)v2.3.1 elf sailor.pdf

[Coronoides]

This time a big hairy barbarian warrior because every group has that player.

 

magicworldcs(form-fillable-no-calc)human barbarian.pdf

[rsanford]

9 hours ago, Coronoides said:

This time a big hairy barbarian warrior because every group has that player.

 

magicworldcs(form-fillable-no-calc)human barbarian.pdf

Nice character! I love this game!

[seneschal]

12 hours ago, Coronoides said:

This time a big hairy barbarian warrior because every group has that player.

 

magicworldcs(form-fillable-no-calc)human barbarian.pdf

“Ariel!  Ookla!  Riiiiiiiide!”

 

Gee, Magic World seems to generate a lot of love and commentary for an unwanted, discontinued game line.

[Coronoides]

It’s new to me and is in my current sweet spot for complexity. So at the moment I’m enthused about my new ‘toy’. While officially discontinued the BRP base makes it easy to use bits of other BRP games as supplements and there are lot of great fan work here.  As any Planescape fan knows a game line is not dead until the fans let it die.

Anyway, these pregens were created with the Experienced Adventuerers rules page MW22. Those like me who are pretty new here this rule could have been written more clearly. I am fairly sure some of the bonuses replace the regular skill allotments rather than add to them. For example a clarified version of Veteran Adventurer follows:
Veteran Adventurer
•    +1 POW and one additional point to allot to any one other characteristic. These additions must not raise any characteristic above species maximums.
•    Instead of +10 to three culture skills, add +40 to three culture skills.
•    The usual allotment for occupation skills is replaced by this more generous allotment:
o    +60 to two skills.
o    +40 to three skills.
o    +20 to three skills.
•    Rather than the usual allotment for personal hobbies add +20 to six skills not listed for your occupation or previously selected.
•    If POW is 16 or greater then you may choose to know up to 6 levels of spells rather than the usual 3 for novice characters. No indication is given that sorcerers, priests and other spell casting professions but I would assume they also gain 3 extra levels of spells.

 

Edited December 25, 2018 by Coronoides
Addition to save posting twice.

[rsanford]

Magic World is our default game and we use its rules (sometimes modified with the big gold book) for nearly everything including horror, urban fantasy and pulp. It’s just the right amount of crunch!

[Coronoides]

Another look behind the curtain at how these were made...

Characteristics
I have an issue with randomly rolled characteristics because the rolled characteristics might not let a player create the character she wants to play. If you want to make a wizard and roll POW10 you’re just an apprentice or theorist who can’t cast spells yet. Not very satisfying.  
House rule: 83 points are distributed between characteristics while remaining within the ranges that could be rolled. Non–humans characters also use 83pts but the rollable ranges of each species are different. Using the same number of points puts all species on something closer to a ‘level playing field’.
In either case you may use the Sorcerous Heritage rule (MW103) exchanging 2pt from any one other Characteristic for a point of POW. This may take you to one higher than what could be rolled for your species and therefore may be useful even if the point buy system is used.

I’ll edit this post to add another character, a wizard, later this morning (Eastern Australia Time).

magicworldcs(form-fillable-no-calc)v2.3.1wizard.pdf

Edited December 26, 2018 by Coronoides
Added Wizard.

[Nick J.]

On 12/25/2018 at 3:17 PM, Coronoides said:

Another look behind the curtain at how these were made...

Characteristics
I have an issue with randomly rolled characteristics because the rolled characteristics might not let a player create the character she wants to play. If you want to make a wizard and roll POW10 you’re just an apprentice or theorist who can’t cast spells yet. Not very satisfying.  
House rule: 83 points are distributed between characteristics while remaining within the ranges that could be rolled. Non–humans characters also use 83pts but the rollable ranges of each species are different. Using the same number of points puts all species on something closer to a ‘level playing field’.
In either case you may use the Sorcerous Heritage rule (MW103) exchanging 2pt from any one other Characteristic for a point of POW. This may take you to one higher than what could be rolled for your species and therefore may be useful even if the point buy system is used.

I’ll edit this post to add another character, a wizard, later this morning (Eastern Australia Time).

magicworldcs(form-fillable-no-calc)v2.3.1wizard.pdf

Certainly that is the RAW, but there are sidebars that list a few optional rules you might want to try. Personally I'm a fan of the Casting skill approach or POW+INT=26. Point being, MW is pretty forgiving of house-rules and there's really no wrong way to tweak it, so long as everyone at the table gets some enjoyment from it..

Enjoy. It's still my go to system, even if I haven't been posting here on these forums much any more.

[Coronoides]

5 hours ago, Nick J. said:

Certainly that is the RAW, but there are sidebars that list a few optional rules you might want to try. Personally I'm a fan of the Casting skill approach or POW+INT=26. Point being, MW is pretty forgiving of house-rules and there's really no wrong way to tweak it, so long as everyone at the table gets some enjoyment from it..

Enjoy. It's still my go to system, even if I haven't been posting here on these forums much any more.

Entirely true. However, the same issue with rolled characteristics raises it's ugly head with other character concepts too. Say a player really wants to play a Conan-esque warrior and rolls 7 STR or a player who wants a cat burglar character but rolls 4 DEX. I'll add these examples to my house rules document better make my point. Simply, put I want players to be able to create the PCs they want to play.

I actually really like the POW 16 and no skill approach to spell casting in RAW. Its streamlined and provides a ready explanation for magic use being so rare that it does not affect culture or technology too much. This is especially true if only a small percentage of NPCs with sufficient POW to cast spells get an education that teaches them to do so.

That said differing approaches will suit different worlds imagined by Chroniclers, including possibly myself if I start work on another world.

***********************

Today's pregen is a Morg a young giant slave sold to the arena to pay for his master's gambling debts. There he has recently won his freedom and a purse from the Emperor.

MagicWorldCS Giant Slave.pdf

Edited December 27, 2018 by Coronoides
Added today's regenerated character.

[Al.]

On 12/27/2018 at 5:53 AM, Coronoides said:

Entirely true. However, the same issue with rolled characteristics raises it's ugly head with other character concepts too. Say a player really wants to play a Conan-esque warrior and rolls 7 STR or a player who wants a cat burglar character but rolls 4 DEX. I'll add these examples to my house rules document better make my point. Simply, put I want players to be able to create the PCs they want to play.

 

The old ICE MERP game had a solution to this, if no characteristic was 90% after rolling them then swap any one score for 90% (in MW that would be an 18 of course)

 

[Nick J.]

On 12/26/2018 at 9:53 PM, Coronoides said:

Entirely true. However, the same issue with rolled characteristics raises it's ugly head with other character concepts too. Say a player really wants to play a Conan-esque warrior and rolls 7 STR or a player who wants a cat burglar character but rolls 4 DEX. I'll add these examples to my house rules document better make my point. Simply, put I want players to be able to create the PCs they want to play.

I actually really like the POW 16 and no skill approach to spell casting in RAW. Its streamlined and provides a ready explanation for magic use being so rare that it does not affect culture or technology too much. This is especially true if only a small percentage of NPCs with sufficient POW to cast spells get an education that teaches them to do so.

That said differing approaches will suit different worlds imagined by Chroniclers, including possibly myself if I start work on another world.

***********************

Today's pregen is a Morg a young giant slave sold to the arena to pay for his master's gambling debts. There he has recently won his freedom and a purse from the Emperor.

MagicWorldCS Giant Slave.pdf

Another thing to consider in MW: characteristics can improve through training and during experience rolls (rolling a critical on a characteristic roll gives a 21% chance), so even if your character doesn't start out as Cugel or Conan, there's a chance they can grow into the role organically through play.

But I take your point; a lot of people like to have more control over how their character is built on the front end and there's no harm in doing a point-buy if that's how you want to handle it. Personally I've always leaned more towards systems and games where I let the dice gods have their say, and then I look at the numbers and interpret a character concept from what I roll, but I have a player that leans more towards the "total control" end of the spectrum, so I've learned to moderate my own preferences and be flexible. For instance, for the next game I run I'm just going to adopt the Elric! method of 2d6+6 and then let players arrange to taste.

[kross]

I always preferred the method of rolling X number of characteristics and then distributing them as you see fit (which I'm pretty sure is an option in both MW and BRP Gold). That way if a player has a certain type of character in mind (e.g. Cugel) he isn't saddled with characteristics for, say Conan or Frodo; he still may have to make some compromises with what he rolled, but basically he can build a character more in mind with what he wants to play, rather than what the Dice Gods gave him.

[Coronoides]

Today’s offering is another classic: a heavily armoured dwarf.

magicworldcs dwarf gate noble.pdf

[Coronoides]

Another peak behind the curtain. Rules for the gnomes of my world.

Gnomes are small spry humanoids with a reputation for magic and lore. Gnomes have bushy brows, rosy cheeks, silky hair and, in the men, beards. Gnome hair turns to snowy white in early middle age. Gnomes average only 2ft tall and mass 4 to 9 pounds. Physically weak, gnomes rely on keen minds and senses to survive. There is no size difference between the genders. Like other small creatures, gnomes tend to make their homes safely underground. Unlike rabbits and badgers, the burrows of gnomes are cosy places with wooden walls and ceilings, and frequent windows for light. Gnome burrows are typically surrounded by small productive gardens that provide the residents with food. This habit of living underground has led many to become miners though they cannot dig as deep or rival the impressive stonework of the dwarves. Gnomes live in small but tight knit clans, in game terms the most isolated of these clans are chiefdoms (MW18). However, most gnome clans exist within other cultures. Many gnomes dwell within the elf dominated Spire and Wilding nations.
Gnomes are both more cautious and more curious than humanity. They avoid violence and unnecessary risks preferring to make peace or move on rather than fight. However, their love of learning, interest in new experiences, tradition of magical lore, and intellect make them valuable allies. Many gnomes have lived in the towns and cities of other species for generations. Gnomes get along best within societies where violence is rare and therefore are most often found among humans, elves, and dwarves in towns where good will or the rule of law prevail.
Gnomes originated in green and pleasant islands far from the threat of other larger peoples. When the elves developed ships capable of crossing the vast ocean they first reached the islands of the gnomes just after the goblins first arrived and began to eat and sacrifice gnomes. The elves and gnomes quickly became fast allies. After the war the gnomes spread with the elves throughout the known world. Gnomes make good adventurers and excel in roles suited to their keen minds, small size, and limited strength.
Characteristic        Average    Minimum
STR    1d3        2        1
CON    3d6+1        11-12        4
SIZ    1        1        1
INT    4d6        15        4
POW    2d6+5        13        7
DEX    2d6+10    17        12
APP    3d6        10-11        3
Move 6
Hit Points for average NPC 6
Damage Bonus (db) for average NPC -1d6
Armour: often nil but can wear any armour.
Skills: Art 15% (+10), Bargain 25% (+10), Sailing 00% (-15), Climb 15% (-25), Ride 00% (-35), Conceal Object 10% (-15), Hide 25% (+5), Move Quietly 30% (+10), Fast Talk 25% (+10), Oratory 15% (+10), World Lore 25% (+10) Craft 10% (+5), Scribe 05% (+05), Insight 20% (+5), Listen 20% (+5) Sense 20% (+5) Total 0.
Weapon Skills: Gnomes use short and medium length weapons at the same base skill as humans. However, all medium length weapons must be wielded with both hands by a gnome and they cannot use long weapons at all. 
In addition gnome scale weapons can be used with the usual base %. These are about 1/3 the length and price of human weapons. All gnome weapons are one length category less (minimum short), and STR requirements are divided by nine (round up). DEX requirements are unchanged. Weapon Hit points are 1/3 usual (round up). Gnomes favour bladed weapons because bladed weapons do 1/3 the damage of human weapons (d3’s and d4’s become 1pt, d6’s and become d2’s, d8’s and d10’s become d3’s, pluses are rounded down) while bludgeoning weapons do 1/9x damage (every d6, d8 or d10 becomes a dice side and all lesser dice and bonuses are lost but the final minimum is 1 damage. For example a heavy mace is 1d8, a gnome heavy mace is d1 or 1pt, in fact all bludgeoning weapons listed in MW do 1pt at gnome scale).
Gnome shields also cost 1/3 but also offer 1/3 the usual protection 1/3 (round up). Armour however is priced mostly by the skilled work needed to make it and costs full price as well as providing the normal dice of protection.
For other gnome gear where the amount of material rather than hours of skilled artisan is the main determiner of price the cost is about 1/3 that of human gear.

 

Edited January 2, 2019 by Coronoides
Changed STR to 1d3

[Coronoides]

Today’s offering is a little more unusual, a dog soldier. Unable to wield weapons our legionnaire has to rely on his bite for damage. Therefore to give him utility as a fighter I aimed to give him the highest hit points and armor I could. He also has some special effect skills like ‘track’ at high levels. 

magicworldcs dog soldier.pdf

[Coronoides]

Today’s offering is a Stone Age cave troll. Rather than being a standard troll brute, he is designed as a tracker/ranger type who can do duty as a second line fighter.

 

magicworldcs troll nomad.pdf

[Coronoides]

Today’s offering is a berserker that can become a bear. The core MW book alone can handle most fantasy RPG concepts.

magicworldcs berserker.pdf

[Coronoides]

Some more behind the scenes writing. This includes guidance for players and my assumptions/clarifications.

Skills
Weapon classes, each its own skill are described in the Combat chapter (MW78-79). Where an occupation gives free choice of a weapon skill I assume this includes skill in shields. When allocating skill points bare in mind this guidance: a professional has relevant skills at 51 to 100. With a skill of 51 or greater you can perform routine tasks (such as a blacksmith making a horseshoe) without any need to roll (AS102). Therefore as you proceed through this section of character generation you should assign the largest bonuses to skills your character uses to make a living. In addition, having at least one high weapon skill and good Dodge and/or Shield is strongly recommended. 
Magic World details specific rules for skills of 101+ for the following skills: Brawl, Craft, Potions, Sailing, and Weapon Skills. Advanced Sorcery has a chapter called Arete which provides optional rules for very high skill levels (AS102). Like all optional rules though ask you Chronicler.
Don’t forget that as well as culture and occupation skills you have personal interest skills (MW19&22).
Clarification: I think non-human base skills use the usual base skill % for a human for skills not listed in the creature’s entry. I believe this is true because of hints like the Dwarf’s Ride skill of 00%, why list it if this is not the case? The nine playable species (MW154)  have full skill lists, house rules are presented below for creating PC base skill lists for other species.
Art
In the description of the Art skill the examples given are all visual or performing arts. However, the Astrologer occupation lists astrology and astronomy as Arts. From this we infer that Art also covers knowledge of lore not covered by another skill.

 

[Coronoides]

Today’s offering is a young dragon 10’ long from nose to tail tip. 

Since I use 83pt for Characteristics with points allocated within the rollable range this opens up weaker and some potent species in a fair way. With only 83pt this dragon is by nessesity a young dragon.

I created a solitaire culture to cover solitary predators like dragons.

Solitaire ‘Culture’
Some fantasy species live as solitary individuals. This ‘culture’ represents a lack of culture.  Any parental education is minimal. These individuals are educated mostly by the experience of surviving alone, and thus lack sophisticated knowledge except of the wilds they are familiar with. We do assume that before play they have had enough contact with others to pick up a language, or know it instinctively as dragons do in some worlds.  By necessity a solitaire PC is self-reliant in the extreme.
Examples: Abandoned in the forest as a child and perhaps raised by wolves or other beasts. Those who have gone mad, utterly forgetting civilised ways and living like a beast.  Wild talking beasts especially solitary predators like crocodiles, eagles, and panthers. In many worlds dragons, fachans, and other solitary monstrous predators.
Skills: Climb, Hide, Move Quietly, Nature, Sense, Swim, Track.
Occupations: Fisher, Hunter, Lost/Forgotten, Nomad.  

 

Finally, here are my notes for dragons in my setting:

Dragons
All the dragons of the Broken Isles are intelligent creatures, none have fixed INT. Dragons are another creation of the gods of Shadow for the wars than raged in the first age of the world. Dragons epitomise individual power, self-sufficiency, and ambition. Most become selfish greedy vain creatures with no regard for others. However they are free-willed creatures and some embrace the kinder traits of Shadow who champion freedom and creativity. A few are even swayed into the influence of Balance or Light. Therefore though rarely seen dragons have a mixed reputation. A dragon approaching a city will be greeted by soldiers and questions but not attacked outright. After all, an enraged dragon could burn half your city but a dragon ally is invaluable.
Most dragons live as Solitaires (see this document for this culture).
Dragon (with 2d6+6 INT and 3d6 APP) Total of minimum possible rolls for Characteristics 20+10+20+8+10+3+3=74, under 83 so playable but you will be rather young and puny by dragon standards. However, during play you can increase your characteristics in the usual ways up to the maximums allowed for dragons. Unlike the description in the book dragons of this world require POW 16 or higher to cast spells. A dragon’s tail sweep is an area attack but the book does not give the area. I assume the tail hits targets within a right triangle shaped area with sides of SIZ/10 metres/yards round down. 
Skills: Listen 50% (+35), Search 25% (+5), Ride 00%(-35), Sailing 00%(-15), Physik 15% (-15), Craft 00% (-05), picklock 00% (-5), repair/devise 00% (44%), trap 01 (-4).  Total +0.
Weapons skills: Breath 60%, Claw 25%, Bite 25%, Tail 50%. Remember a PC dragon does not get the species’ extra attack.
Dragons in this setting are excellent swimmers and often get much of their food from the sea. Add swim speed 8.
Dragons are have long tails and necks. To find a dragon’s length multiply the height given for a humanoid of the same SIZ by x1.5; for wingspan double the height given for humanoids.

 

 

magicworldcs dragon.pdf

[Atgxtg]

46 minutes ago, Coronoides said:

A dragon’s tail sweep is an area attack but the book does not give the area. I assume the tail hits targets within a right triangle shaped area with sides of SIZ/10 metres/yards round down. 

The Sweep Attack in BRP was pretty much taken from RuneQuest 3, and in RQ3 it is a 60 degree arc. Not that you are limited to that. Just letting you know what got dropped.

[Coronoides]

Sir Gorland is the closest I could get to the mounted and armoured knight archetype. He has mail and a shield but there is no way a starting character can afford a warhorse. Sir Gorland is a skilled fighter and a competent leader.

MagicWorldCS Knight.pdf

[Coronoides]

Another peak behind the curtain...

Reputation: this is a new skill used to determine if others have heard of you. Since magic use is rare and important in this world, base reputation is (number of spell levels known)%. Reputation is a Communication category skill. Unlike other skills other people roll on your skill to see if they have heard of you. A special success will also have heard of the character’s most notable deed, their flashiest spell, and recognise them from description. A critical success will recognise them, be able to list the caster’s three most flashiest spells, and be able to list the several of their noteworthy deeds. In places you have never been these levels of success are reduced one step or two if there is no shared language. A critical failure mistakes the character for someone else entirely. Reputation is checked for experience only after completing a notable deed that had witnesses or recognition. Adventurers thanked by the count with a feast after slaying a dragon would qualify. 

Note: I have just changed the Base % from 0 to number of spells known. Spell casters posted prior to this should add spell levels know to reputation. In my world spell casting is a rare and important skill. Spellcasting education is available at about the same rate as literacy in Europe's middle ages (about 1% of the population). Only about 1% of those with POW16+ know how to cast spells. PCs with POW16+ are assumed to be among those lucky few.

[NickMiddleton]

4 hours ago, Coronoides said:

Another peak behind the curtain...

Reputation: this is a new skill used to determine if others have heard of you. Since magic use is rare and important in this world, base reputation is (number of spell levels known)%. Reputation is a Communication category skill. Unlike other skills other people roll on your skill to see if they have heard of you. A special success will also have heard of the character’s most notable deed, their flashiest spell, and recognise them from description. A critical success will recognise them, be able to list the caster’s three most flashiest spells, and be able to list the several of their noteworthy deeds. In places you have never been these levels of success are reduced one step or two if there is no shared language. A critical failure mistakes the character for someone else entirely. Reputation is checked for experience only after completing a notable deed that had witnesses or recognition. Adventurers thanked by the count with a feast after slaying a dragon would qualify. 

Note: I have just changed the Base % from 0 to number of spells known. Spell casters posted prior to this should add spell levels know to reputation. In my world spell casting is a rare and important skill. Spellcasting education is available at about the same rate as literacy in Europe's middle ages (about 1% of the population). Only about 1% of those with POW16+ know how to cast spells. PCs with POW16+ are assumed to be among those lucky few.

I rather like this - I am normally wary of this sort of skill (Credit rating, for such a long standing an apparently innocuous part pot Call of Cthulhu has caused a surprising amount of confusion over the years in various groups). But this is a straightforward and elegant way to handle things. I'd want to consider how character backstory and "campaign level" at character generation would interact with it, but that's a minor detail.