Quote from: Sommerjon;703212Is there progression after creation?  If yes, how much?

Oh, and I wouldn't mind seeing a Nethermen 'Takers'.

Right, since Skywalker has been oh so kind and busy, I'm going to tackle a Netherman Taker.

Nethermen are kind of brutal

QuoteIn a word, Nethermen are psychopaths. They are incapable of feeling emotions such as fear or love, although they are experts at feigning both to get their ways, and with a short lifespan — both individually and as a race — they are prone to fulfilling their own needs and desires with little
concern for what others might want or need. Their ruthless nature makes them excellent at many tasks, and many could easily be great generals or leaders if they so choose; however, the fact that they care for themselves above all else could easily mean that they would march their army into the
sea if it suited their whims.

So, already this character is a bit on the vile side.

We start with:
Int -1, Str +3, Dex -1, Con +2, CR +2, MR-2, and 25 HP.
Racial abilities are Magic Immunity (slight immunity to magical effects), Eaters of the Dead (they can gain powers from the recently dead if they consume the heart), and Too Dumb to Die (the lower their INT, the more times they can ignore death and critical hits).

All of that is decided for us, so on to the Profession.

Quote from: Skywalker;703439Also there are pledge levels with both Geographica and the Rulebook, which sound like they may be released together. So, grabbing them both makes sense.

Jerry has said that he'd like to get them both printed and shipped at the same time (saves a bit on cost, yaknow?), but he's not 100% sure that'll happen. I think (and I could be wrong) that it depends on how quickly he can get artwork for Geographica plugged in. The maps are done (I'm reasonably sure) and the text is largely done (I know the draft is done, but not sure what additional editing, layout, corrections need to be made), so art would be what the book needs. So, it is possible that he could get them printed at the same time (or in quick succession) and then get them all shipped out simultaneously.

Quote from: writermonk;703441We start with:
Int -1, Str +3, Dex -1, Con +2, CR +2, MR-2, and 25 HP.
Racial abilities are Magic Immunity (slight immunity to magical effects), Eaters of the Dead (they can gain powers from the recently dead if they consume the heart), and Too Dumb to Die (the lower their INT, the more times they can ignore death and critical hits).

Step 2 is actually cultural packages.
I'm just going to go ahead and pick Aztlan. The Aztek people have some old connection to Atlantis, but have mingled with the local populations. There are also traditions of Animism and Witchcraft there in addition to Sorcery which plays in nicely.

Being Aztek gives our Netherman the following:
+1 MR; Athletics +1, Handicraft (choice) +2, Literacy (Tamerac) +2, Mode (Choice) +3, Speak (Tamerac) +10

So, we're up to this:

QuoteInt -1   Wil +0   Per +0   Cha +0   MR -1
Str +3   Dex -1   Spd +0   Con +2   CR +2
HP 25   WR   HrP   Renown

Athletics +1
Handicraft (Choice) +2

Mode (Choice) +3

Speak (Tamerac) +10
Literacy (Tamerac) +2

Under Takers, there are 4 professions: Assassin, Burglar, Swindler, and Thug.
Thugs are the brutes - thieves by force of arms. Which is what immediately fits when you think of a Netherman. But, assassin or burglar might be more interesting. Thoughts?

Right... going with Assassin...

The Assassin Taker profession package gives us the following:
DEX +1, WR +2; Athletics +4, Deception +4, Disable Mechanisms +4, Evade +4, Influence +2, Speak (Atlantean) +3, Profession (Assassin) +10, Stealth +10, Unarmed Fighting +5, Weapon (Choice) +7
The Talent of Shadow Walking and a bunch of gear.

So, before Lifepaths that will bring us up to the following:

QuoteInt -1 Wil +0 Per +0 Cha +0 MR -1
Str +3 Dex +0 Spd +0 Con +2 CR +2
HP 25 WR +2 HrP Renown

Athletics +5, Deception +4, Disable Mechanism+4,
Handicraft (Choice) +2, Influence +2, Stealth +10
Profession (Assassin) +10

Evade +4, Unarmed Fighting +4, Weapon (Choice) +7

Mode (Choice) +3

Speak (Tamerac) +10
Literacy (Tamerac) +2
Speak (Atlantean) +3

Talent: Shadow Walking
Racial: Eater of the Dead, Magic Immunity, Too Dumb to Die

On to the Lifepath system

We need a name for Netherman and given his Aztek background, we're going to call him Tezcatlipoca, or Tez for short.

Even though Tez is a brute, he's had a civilized upbringing (Language +3, Literacy +2).

One of his parents was a city guard to a noble (Weapon skill +1)

As a child, Tez saw the sun stop in its tracks and the sky weep blood.

His family, however, has been imprisoned and only Tez escaped.

Since Tez has an INT of -1, so it'll take him a bit longer for his Lifepaths.

1st path: 13 (3 years), Warrior (+1 Weapon Skill), Battle - Spent time as a mercenary; fairly uneventful. (+1 to a fighting Skill)
[4 years, +1 to a Weapon Skill, +1 to a fighting Skill]

2nd path: 20 (1 year), High Adventure (+1 to any skill), High Adventure Special - Led an army of orphans in revolt against a coven of cannibal witches. (+1 to Influence)
[4 years (1 year, +1 for INT, doubled for High adventure), +1 to any skill, +1 to Influence]

3rd path: 4 (5 years), Rogue (+1 to Stealth), Tragedy - Mistakenly accused a friend's lover of infidelity and the person was killed in a jealous rage. (-4 to Renown)
[6 years, +1 to Stealth, -4 to Renown]

That adds 14 years to Tez's age. Since his base age is 13, that boosts him up to 27... which makes him an Elder. Being an Elder shifts his stats: -1 STR, -1 CON, -1 PER, +1 INT, +1 WIL, +1 CHA. +1D20 Renown.

So, before Customization points we sit with this:

QuoteInt +0 Wil +1 Per -1 Cha +1 MR -1
Str +2 Dex +0 Spd +0 Con +1 CR +2
HP 25 WR +2 HrP Renown 6

Athletics +5, Deception +4, Disable Mechanism+4,
Handicraft (Artificer) +2, Influence +3, Instinct +1, Stealth +11
Profession (Assassin) +10

Evade +4, Unarmed Fighting +4, Weapon (Melee) +7, Weapon (Ranged) +3

Mode (Attack) +3

Speak (Tamerac) +10
Literacy (Tamerac) +2
Speak (Atlantean) +6
Literacy (Atlantean) +2

Talent: Shadow Walking
Racial: Eater of the Dead, Magic Immunity, Too Dumb to Die

Awesome PC, writermonk. Much appreciated.

I dislike the Hardiness talent as it's written. Skywalkers badass furry pirate could be walking around after chargen with a guy with well over 60 hit points and basically be stuck with it forever. Now, i'm not a balance junkie by any stretch, but that's too much for me.

I'd either A) Reduce the hit point gain to 5 + Con each time you take Hardiness

or

B) Keep the 5 + Triple Con and remove the 'at chargen only' restriction on the talent. You can take it after chargen if there's an in-game reason for it. So, surviving a mad alchemist's infusion of madness berry might toughen you up, as would fighting off a curse or wading through the desert on a horse with no name.

Last stages
Customization points and figuring out final details.


You get 30 customization points (CP), but they tend to go pretty fast.
We'll round Tez out like so:
Advanced Missile Training (a Slayer Talent, so 10 CP), +2 to DEX (another 10 CP), and add +3 Parry, +3 Evade, +2 Instinct, +2 Tracking/Shadowing (a total of 10 CP).

Since his final Charisma is a +1, that means 6 Hero Points. We need to assign Atman ratings to those so we're going to go with 3 Fire, 2 Void, 1 Earth to represent his nature as being passionate, fatalistic, and determined.

Stat wise, our final version looks like so:

QuoteTezcatlipoca
Netherman Aztek Assassin
Int +0 Wil +1 Per -1 Cha +1 MR -1
Str +2 Dex +2 Spd +0 Con +1 CR +2
HP 26 WR +2
HrP 6 (Fire 3, Void 2, Earth 1) Renown 6

Athletics +5, Deception +4, Disable Mechanism+4, Tracking/Shadowing +2
Handicraft (Artificer) +2, Influence +3, Instinct +3, Stealth +11
Profession (Assassin) +10

Evade +7, Parry +3, Unarmed Fighting +4, Weapon (Melee) +7, Weapon (Ranged) +3

Mode (Attack) +3

Speak (Tamerac) +10
Literacy (Tamerac) +2
Speak (Atlantean) +6
Literacy (Atlantean) +2

Talent: Shadow Walking, Advanced Missile Training
Racial: Eater of the Dead, Magic Immunity, Too Dumb to Die

So, he's an old Netherman, past his prime but still capable. He's still adept at hiding and he's got a few tricks up his bloody sleeves that give him little edges (adept with firing off several arrows with a bow, capable of slinging a few minor attack spells).
With his talents he's capable of hiding very well when he needs to. And his racial abilities mean that he's hard to kill, can shrug off some spells, and can occasionally eat the hearts of fallen (anti-)heroes to give himself a boost.

Quote from: One Horse Town;703576I dislike the Hardiness talent as it's written. Skywalkers badass furry pirate could be walking around after chargen with a guy with well over 60 hit points and basically be stuck with it forever. Now, i'm not a balance junkie by any stretch, but that's too much for me.

FWIW, in hindsight, I would have taken a level or two of Hardiness for Orra

I think I will allow it to be taken after character creation, but keep the limits of it only being taken Con or three, whichever is smaller, times.

I had the previous edition and sold it, I just didn't care for the system.  Really wish they would develop a better system for the world or oh hell at least used the OGL and maybe licensed Swords & Wizardry or Labyrinth Lord or something like that for it.

Though the system is similar to the previous edition, it has been significantly cleaned up and a number of additions made (such as the Life Paths seen here).

Quote from: Skywalker;703772Though the system is similar to the previous edition, it has been significantly cleaned up and a number of additions made (such as the Life Paths seen here).

I wonder - how specific are those Life Paths? Were those examples interpretations of Life Path events, or taken verbatimfrom the tables? How fast are those Life Path stations getting "old"?

"Let's see what happend to my character... Led an army of orphans in revolt against a coven of cannibal witches ... gee, there's an awful lot of cannibal witches in this world!"
"Yes, and orphans, too."

Quote from: Dirk Remmecke;703872I wonder - how specific are those Life Paths? Were those examples interpretations of Life Path events, or taken verbatimfrom the tables? How fast are those Life Path stations getting "old"?

"Let's see what happend to my character... Led an army of orphans in revolt against a coven of cannibal witches ... gee, there's an awful lot of cannibal witches in this world!"
"Yes, and orphans, too."

Yeah, that is a problem - they are too specific for my tastes, as they are pulled directly from the tables. As you say, they'll only last so long before someone comes up with the twelfth character to have crossed the desert on a nag called Flossy.

But...that also raises the possibility of expanding those tables yourself, for those that like to tinker.

Quote from: Dirk Remmecke;703872I wonder - how specific are those Life Paths? Were those examples interpretations of Life Path events, or taken verbatimfrom the tables? How fast are those Life Path stations getting "old"?

I quoted verbatim and then interpreted the results with my first two PC creation examples.

Given you don't create PCs every session, and that the events get interpreted through your own ideas and the other events that are rolled, I would be surprised if they ever really got "old", at least not until long after you get your money's worth out of the book.

Its also worth noting that the Life Path system isn't necessary in that you can make PCs just fine without it.

Another PC based on one of my favourite characters, Slaine Mac Roth, the shapechanging barbarian.

Name: Aeron Mac Cuill
Race: Human
Culture: Skara
Profession: Warrior
Tradition: Animism
Age: 28

Upbringing: Savage - Parents were tribal Shaman. Gain +1 Lore (player’s choice)
Childhood Encounter: Met someone you believed to be a god in a grove of trees. He told you a story of your future.
Childhood Encounter: Family status is on the rise but tenuous

Warrior: 4 years. You were instrumental in the downfall of the Naga King in the battle of the Serpent Kingdoms.  Gain +1 Weapon (player’s choice).
High Adventure: 2 years. Fall in love with a God (Roll on Tragedy Chart). Mistakenly accused a friend’s lover of infidelity and the person was killed in a jealous rage. Lose 4 Renown. Gain +1 in any skill.
Rogue: 4 years. Living on the streets has given you wiles and acumen. Gain +1 in Lore (Streetwise). Gain +1 Stealth.

Aeron was born under the sign of the Goddess. He grew connected to nature and able to channel its energy through his body to make it more powerful. However, this also made him unpredictable and unruly. His exploits in battle were great on defeating a corrupted king worshipping evil snake gods.

His star was on the rise; so much so that the Goddess revealed herself to him. He became enraptured and blinded by lust and love. To others of his tribe, they saw him as mad and feared his growing power. Eventually, they confronted him about his naked cavorting in the forest. Outraged, he told of visions the Goddess gave him that  the chief of the tribe had lost his way by being cuckolded by his mortal wife and forgetting the Goddess. In the chaos that followed, the chief’s wife was struck down and her blood fed the Earth.

After this incident, Aeron realised that the Goddess herself had forced his hand in order to obtain the blood sacrifice she wanted. Aeron fled his tribe in shame and has sought refuge in the great cities of men.
 

Spoiler

INT -1 PER +0 WIL +1 CHA +1 MR -1
STR +2 DEX +2 CON +1 SPD +1 CR +3
HP 37

Abilities: Inheritors of the Earth, Zeal, Tyche, Cleave, Hardinessx2, The Gift

Skills: Athletics +7, Handicraft (weapon smith) +2, Instinct +8, Language (Alban) +10, Language (Atlantean) +3, Lore (nature) +1, Lore (streetwise) +1, Lore (survival) +2, Mode (Manipulate) +8, Parry +8, Profession (slayer) +10, Unarmed Fighting +9, Resolve +1, Stealth +1, Tracking/Shadowing +2, Weapon (melee) +10,  Weapon (thrown) +7

Gear: Medium full suit of armor (PR , Battle Axe (DR 10), Spear (DR 10), horse, travellers gear and WR +1

Disadvantages
Relationship: Husband of the Goddess - 2
Internal: Outraged by the defilement of nature - 2
External: Exiled from tribe - 1