Creating a character, world, and story

Alright. We got the obligatory introductory post out of the way. Now let's really get into it! The first thing I want to do is roll up a character. I have no idea what character I will be playing. It's not up to me. It's up to the dice. What about the world and the story? Will I address those in future posts? Nope. That'll develop as the game progresses. If all goes to plan, we will get just enough sense of the world and potential adventure hooks to get started during this character creation process.

Lamentations of the Flame Princess (or LotFP from here on out) tells players they are to roll 3d6 down the line. No point buy. No rolling and assigning the values where you want. No 4d6 down the line and dropping the lowest one. Nope! It's quite possible you'll get a pretty crappy character. There are a few things to help prevent your character from being total crap that we will get into later. But first, let's roll!

I am not using an official LotFP character sheet and therefore have reordered the attributes in the order I'm familiar with them being in. I will make note of other changes and tweaks I make to the system as they appear in my posts.

• STR: 12 (0)
• DEX: 13 (+1)
• CON: 13 (+1)
• INT: 15 (+1)
• WIS: 8 (-1)
• CHA: 9 (0)

Ok. I mentioned there are a few things in the rules as written to help me ensure my character is actually playable. First, check those modifiers. If the modifiers add up to a negative number, you can throw that character out and roll all over again. I have +1+1+1-1=+2. So I am stuck with this character. Stuck's not the right word. I don't think this character is as awful as he could have turned out. In fact, there's another thing I can do to optimize this character to my liking. I can swap two of the attribute scores with one another. That's nice if you have your heart set on a particular class and roll poorly for their prime attribute.

Me? I didn't have my heart set on anything when I rolled. I know nothing about the adventures I'm about to embark on. Let me look this over and see what would make the most sense. Umm.... I'm swapping Strength and Intelligence with one another. I like the idea of having a character that is physically capable in every way, but only average when it comes to his mental faculties. I feel a background for this character will emerge more naturally that way. This is a judgement call as the player. Maybe you would've kept a high intelligence and swapped something else. Or just left it the way it was. There's no right or wrong answer. Use instinct and logic and all will be well.

• STR: 15 (+1)
• DEX: 13 (+1)
• CON: 13 (+1)
• INT: 12 (0)
• WIS: 8 (-1)
• CHA: 9 (0)

Based on these stats, Waverly is obviously a fighter. Yup. That's my character's name. Waverly Hardwick. I rolled that up using the "Male Names" and "Lower Class Surnames" tables in Maze Rats. So time to whip out our oracle and figure out who this guy is. 

• Questions are italicized.
• My rolls and results are bolded.
• My interpretation using both logic and my imagination expounds upon those answers.

 Remember I'm using MUNE for this. Ask a yes or no question. Roll a d6. Consult this chart for the answer.

1. No, and...
2. No.
3. No, but...
4. Yes, but...
5. Yes.
6. Yes, and...

Here we go!

Did Waverly gain his physical prowess from his trade?
(3) No, but he grew up in a military family and was expected to become a soldier after years of hard training as a child.

Did he want to become a soldier?
(2) No. Although a promising candidate for the military, Waverly had some overriding passion that led him down a different path than his ancestors.

What trade did he pursue instead? (Roll on Maze Rats hobby chart)

Instrument. He and his friends became traveling minstrels. Waverly plays the lute.

Why did Waverly become an adventurer? (Roll on Maze Rats misfortune chart)
Defrauded. A man posing as the servant of a nobleman approached Waverly and his friends pleading for their help. The supposed servant told them he had been waylaid by bandits outside of town and that the bandits were holding his master’s wagon and goods for ransom. The man told them that he could not go to his master without fear of punishment for his negligence and asked Waverly and his friends if they could help pay off the ransom to have the goods released from the bandits. The servant promised them he would get them a position in the nobleman’s house as his minstrels if they would help. None of this was true, however, and the defrauder took the minstrels’ money and disappeared.

Was it Waverly that gave away their money to the defrauder?
(5) Yes. His friends didn’t think they ought to get involved, but Waverly was too enamored by the idea of living in the lap of luxury in the household of a nobleman. His friends have abandoned him because of his naivety. Waverly is left only with a short sword, some traveling gear, two days of rations, a handful of copper pieces, and his lute. He is seeking out jobs to earn back what he lost in order to reconcile his mistake with his friends. He thinks adventuring jobs may pay better than solo musical gigs. He is not looking forward to the type of action he may have to take on, but is consoled in the fact he may be able to turn his adventures into ballads.

Does Waverly have any leads for where to find work?
(4) Yes, but it’s from… (Roll on Maze Rats relationships table) Mentor… his old mentor who expected Waverly to become a soldier like his brothers and disapproved of his choice to become a musician. Waverly has not been on good terms with the mentor since and is reluctant to seek out his help.

Where does the adventure begin? (Roll. Odds=Civilization; Evens=Wilderness)
(3) Civilization.

What kind of settlement is it? (Roll. 1-2=City, 3-4=Town, 5-6=Village)
(3) Town. (Kassoon Random Town Generator)

Ayn Harbor

Ayn Harbor is completely destitute and rundown. It is mostly a tangle of alleyways and row houses and is known for having delicious cuisine (mostly fish, I'd presume). The rulership is contested, with open fighting between factions.

 

Is this the settlement where Waverly will find the mentor?
(5) Yes. Inquiries made in his hometown indicate the mentor is in this settlement. Waverly arrives by ship and enters The Cozy Blade Tavern to seek information where the mentor can be found…..

Pretty neat, right? Before we begin playing, we can't forget to keep track of Waverly's active quests and known NPCs. Or as MUNE calls them "Plots" and "Entities." This is what we have already and we haven't even begun playing yet!

Plots

• Make up with friends by earning back the money we were defrauded of
• Find mentor to help find paying adventuring jobs
• Get payback on the defrauder if ever met again

 Entities

• Friends
• Brothers
• Mentor
• Defrauder

And there you have it. A character with a background, connections to NPCs, and a motivation for going on an adventure rolled up completely from scratch. I'm rather fond of the guy already! I don't think I'll bother fleshing out the NPCs on the entities list until they become important to the story.

Don't forget to fill out a character sheet if you choose to try this out on your own. Come back next time to see the game in action!