Fast, modular character generation. Would-be heroes from 62 points and higher as player characters, henchmen, or supporting cast.
You'll be seeing more of these folks in the three books that are companion to "build-a-Björn," but I got some great pre-visualization art from Ksenia.
Watch me on Nerdarchy at 11am CST/noon Eastern
Keen-eyed backers might have noted a sneaky addition to the pledge levels.
If you want the boxed set, Monster 2, Delvers to Grow (four books), and Crypt of Krysuvik...and nothing else...there's now a $150 pledge level for you. You get physical versions of the boxed set and Monsters 2, and Print+PDF of Delvers and the rest, plus all digital and physical stretch goals.
I'll be joining David Friant of Nerdarchy live today at 11am Central Time.
I believe it will be here: https://www.youtube.com/c/NerdarchyLive
But I'll send out a link as soon as I get one, in a few hours.
Delvers is looking really good. I got a prelim layout of 40 pages, we chatted with Kromm about approval for new advantages (and tweaked some and finalized those), and I have my Patreon members poring over the manuscript looking for tweaks.
One of the key bits is using layout "tricks" to highlight when choices must be made. This makes each "spend 2 points" or "spend 12 points in a weapon skill OR 8 points in a weapon skill and 4 points in shield" type decision stand out sharply. The preview copy is better for this.
Next up is art direction for the book, finally. I'll start today with putting in art I already have, and then roll out art direction for the rest and engage with my art team. As always, my preference is to use a bunch of artists, each to their strengths, which also helps get it done fast.
Well, good morning! Yesterday was a fine day, having seen the project fund. I got to talk live about that on a video interview with Skeeter Green (usually also Zach Glazar, but he couldn't make it). It's about an hour long and you can rewatch it here:
Today's post is all about making a worked example character. We'll make this guy:
We'll keep it right in the middle of the pack at 125 points.
The character is thus a 125-point swashbuckler. We'll start with a human, then go back and make the adjustments to turn him into an eldhuð, the totally-not-a-tiefling version of the residents of Norðlond who have a wee bit of the infernal in them.
So...let's get going.
We already know all of these things. So it's fast: 125 point fast delver template, swashbuckler profession.
The 125-point character is the Journeyman level. So we get this:
For disadvantages, let's go with a character whose birth with such . . . unusual features was not expected. Oops. Naughty naughty.
The three disads that are the deep mechanics of the build are less important than the fluff-text as a roleplaying aid! Your family was rich and important, but when your horns and such started to grow in your early teens...well, that was a scandal. And we can't have that. His behavior afterwards has also been a wee bit too amorous: Those infernal impulses do tell!
For the other, we'll say that the character grew to hate injustice and such, so we'll pick a classic "I was bullied and disinherited, so I shall defend the weak!"
Note that the same thing, but dark and violent, is also available as the Dark Knight package. So yeah, you can be Batman.
For a new player..."Disinherited Paladin" is going to be way easier as a roleplaying aid than the five separate disadvantages on the sheet...but those five disads give the mechanical hooks to the GM to adjudicate the game and make opportunities for roleplay available. For the new player...yeah: Disinherited Paladin.
Note: We don't take any quirks here yet, but we could take up to five. Later on, we consume one quirk (say..."Bad at Math") in order to trade that point for cash. We could then spend four more, and that is recommended to help round out the character.
Now we need the 25- and 50-point Swashbuckler I and II professional packages.
First we'll take a point in Throwing as the secondary weapon skill from the Fast Delver basic template.
Then focus on a one-handed sword thanks to the art, but it's an (edged) rapier. Note that a broadsword has a ST 10 minimum as does a longsword...so if you wanted a "broadsword fencer," that could probably be worked out with the GM, if they're feeling generous. Or just say your edged rapier looks mysteriously like a broadsword, since if plate armor can look like a string bikini, my edged rapier can look like a broadsword. Go for an Edged Rapier, though, which has that sweet, sweet swing damage but costs $1,000. If you expect to be a front-line fighter, you want that swing damage eventually (though at ST 11, it's of limited value even with Weapon Master).
This gives us so far:
ST 11, DX 13, IQ 10, HT 12
HP 12 (The other secondaries are currently unmodified, but Basic Speed is 6.25)
Disad Packages: Disinherited [-25]; Paladin [-25]
Advantages: Combat Reflexes [15], Weapon Master (Rapier)[20], Weapon Bond (Rapier)[1]
Skills: Acrobatics-12 [2], Brawling-13 [1], Carousing-12[1], Climbing-12[1], Jumping-13[1], Fast-Draw (Rapier)-13 [1], Rapier-17 (+1 for Weapon Bond), Stealth-12 [1], Streetwise-9 [1], Throwing-12[1].
Now we need the 25-point upgrade package...which we'll use to acquire a racial package.
The character in question is an eldhuð, which are Nordlond's "totally-not-tieflings." The upgrade packages are 25 points...and the eldhuð template from "Nordlondr Folk" is only 20. So that's great. We have five points left over...those go into the slush fund for now.
The Eldhud pick up Appearance (Attractive), Charisma 1, Fire Resistance 5, and 8 points of "gifts." We'll take Nimble Tail for 5 points, Flaming Touch for 2 points, and 1 level of Temperature Tolerance. We also pick up Impulsive (12) and Unnatural Features 2 as part of the eldhuð package. Traditionally racial packages don't count against the disadvantage limit, so we slide right by that.
Now we need a loadout. We have $1,000 to start, and 5 points in the slush fund from the racial package. We haven't chosen or allocated any quirks either.
We want to get the Edged Rapier (3 lbs, $1,000) because it's awesome, and then spend $233 on the Basic Kit (36.25 lbs), and pick up the Light Armor kit ($225, 19.8 lbs). That's 59 lbs of gear, so we'll definitely want to drop the small backpack before we fight! Including the rapier, we're at $1,458...so we take a single quirk and trade it for cash. That leaves us with the gear and $42 left to our name. It also makes the total point value of the character 124 points.
We have five points still remaining in the slush fund. We bump up Brawling, Climbing, Stealth, Streetwise, and Throwing (DX/A) each by one point.
Also note that we have Basic Speed 6.25 thanks to the boost from the Swashbuckler II package. We take the Secondary disadvantage package, which lets you trade reduced secondary characteristics (-5 points from Basic Speed) for dropping an equivalent number of points disad: we cut Compulsive Carousing loose.
ST 11, DX 13, IQ 10, HT 12
HP 12, Will 10, Per 10, FP 12
Basic Speed: 6, Basic Move 6
Disad Packages: Disinherited; Paladin; Secondary (drop Compulsive carousing and lower Basic Speed).
Disadvantages: Code of Honor (Chivalry), Honesty, Impulsive (12), Lecherousness, Social Stigma (Disowned), Unnatural Features 2.
Advantages: Combat Reflexes [15], Weapon Master (Rapier) [20], Weapon Bond (Rapier) [1], Appearance (Attractive) [4] , Charisma 1 [5], Fire Resistance 5 [15], Nimble Tail [5], Flaming Touch [2], Temperature Tolerance 1 (Heat) [1].
Skills: Acrobatics-12 [2], Brawling-14 [2], Carousing-12 [1], Climbing-12 [2], Fast-Draw (Rapier)-14 [1] (includes +1 from Combat Reflexes), Jumping-13 [1], Rapier-17 (due to Weapon Bond) [12], Stealth-13 [2], Streetwise-10 [2], Throwing-13 [2].
Gear: Edged rapier ($1,000, 3 lbs), 1 belt pouch ($10, 0.2 lbs) containing personal basics ($5, 1 lb) and one glow vial ($30, 0.5 lbs); one suit of ordinary clothes ($0, 2 lbs); 1 small backpack ($40, 3 lbs) containing a rolled blanket ($20, 4 lbs), 1 week’s worth of rations ($42, 10.5 lbs), a 1-person tent ($50, 5 lbs), two torches ($6, 2 lbs), a one-gallon waterskin ($10, 8.25 lbs when full), 1 pair of heavy leather boots (4.2 lbs, $52); 1 heavy leather helm (3 lbs, $15); 1 heavy leather vest (12.6 lbs, $158).
And now we're done!
Credit where credit is due. Thanks to a gigantic retail pledge from Noble Knight Games in Madison Wisconsin, we have now funded.
From this point out it is getting the word out, trying to convince people that the on-ramp is fast enough to try GURPS and the Dungeon Fantasy RPG if they have never done it before, and making a run for stretch goals.
Thanks to everyone who has pledged so far today, and now let’s run up the score.