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lurkerwithout) wrote2009-02-24 04:25 pm
lurkerwithout) wrote2009-02-24 04:25 pm
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Hackmaster, part 2
Right, back to continue the creation of a Grunge Elf Magic-User/Thief with MPD. So the next step is breaking out the Spellslinger's Guide to Wurld Domination. Yeah, I know. Spelling world with a u is when the alternative spellings go from quirky to stupid...
We begin with starting spell selection. All mages get Read Magic and Detect Magic and then as a generalist three more. One offensive, one defensive and one misc. Offensive: 57 - Light. Defensive: 89 - Smell Immunity. Misc: 85 - Remove Thirst. Wow. Grel boy must have skipped all the good class days...
Ok, as a multi-classed character we skip all the specialization, double specialization and other alternate magic-user types. And we can't pick up a package, though most of the MU ones aren't the good anyway. So we go right to the section on schools. First off, school location. Family honor and social class give no modifiers being average. A 14 puts the pc's schooling at an average size town. For type of school we've got a +2 for being in a town and +1 for high Intelligence. Modified roll of 18, so a full University.
Next Quality of Master: Nurture and Education. Nurture is +2 for Charisma but -4 for being at a University for a total -2 modifier. And a modified roll of 14 for Absent-minded. For Education we've got a +1 for Intelligence and +4 for being at a University. A modified 15? Bleah. We'll blow a build point for a reroll on that. 16? We can do better. 24? There we go. Caring & Gifted. In addition to the bumps to some of the next table rolls, that gives +2d6 skill percentage points and a free academic skill. So our mentor was a classic absent-minded genius. Which might explain the weird initial spell load-out...
We've got a -6 on Graduating class size, which gives a modified roll of -2. So an over-crowded graduating class. Classroom equipment has a +5, with a modified roll of 25 for "anything needed". Another bonus 2d6 skill points and free skill. A +10 on Graduation Rank, modified roll of 22 and Magna Cum Laude, 2 pts shy of Summa. And next a d1000 roll for overall Quality of Education with a total modifier of +390. 716? Nope. Thats a bad result. Reroll. Ok a 1223. A +5% on learning 1st level spells? Not great but I'll take it...
Then we check to see what happened that was interesting while enrolled. A d3 roll gives 3 events. 94 - School was land-grant university. Meaning the pc had to train with the local militia. Some extra fractional points to Str and Con, gain a year in age and lose a spell (no loss with his selection and we'll give up Smell Immunity) and get another skill. In this case Entrenchment Construction. Enh. A free skill is a free skill. Next event is Freshman 15. So the scrawny elf ate too much fried food. Though with the militia training it could be good bulk. Last event is Part Time Job. Another year in age and from his job as a Farmer (really?) more free skills. Agriculture and Farming...
Lastly are Honor Modifier and Starting Money Modifier. +13 on the first, nothing on the latter. A +6 to starting honor and a +35 on the Starting Money roll. I could roll up the starting spell book construction, but unless it came up something weird like stone tablets or bundles of rune sticks its not that interesting...
So on to the thieves' back history. Which probably happened before the magic school bits...
Away with the Spellslinger's book and out with the Griftmaster's Guide to Life's Wildest Dreams. Once again we skip all the alternate classes and packages. Though the rogue's book has some of the cooler packages, like Jesters and Loremasters and Pirates. But past all that right to the Urchin Days background tables...
First off is Reason for Turning to the Street. Middle class and general thief mean no modifiers to most of these charts. So a straight 7 - Parents were petty crooks who got locked up early and mostly gave bad advice. A -3 to the next table but an extra build point. A modified 11 gives joined a youthful street gang. For Type of initial training we get +1 for the street gang thing and a +2 for Charisma. A modified 14 - Guild membership...
For Quality of Mentor: Technical Expertise we've got a +5 from Guild membership and Intelligence. A modified 19 means an excellent mentor. Another +3d6 skill points (which can be used for Thief specific skills in this case) and 2 more bonus build points. Next Quality of Mentor: Knowledge of the Street, +1 for Wisdom but -1 for Guild membership. A straight roll of 11 - Average. Does give another bonus build point that can only be used for social skills. Then its overall Quality of Training. We've got a +6 here. Modified 17 - Above average for another +1d6 skill points and +4 build points (social or musical instrument skills only)...
Now its event time again. d4-1 gets a 1 so nothing. Pity. With rogue classes you want to get events and then to get arrested as often as possible. You can pick up the best stuff in jail. Two tables left, Contacts and Loot stashed. Guild membership means a +1 on contacts, and we roll a modified 21. Which is a contact who is a Lord. Could be interesting. Loot Stashed is a 65 for 80+d8 G.P. stashed...
Still to go skills and talents. Time for another break. Told you this took a while...
We begin with starting spell selection. All mages get Read Magic and Detect Magic and then as a generalist three more. One offensive, one defensive and one misc. Offensive: 57 - Light. Defensive: 89 - Smell Immunity. Misc: 85 - Remove Thirst. Wow. Grel boy must have skipped all the good class days...
Ok, as a multi-classed character we skip all the specialization, double specialization and other alternate magic-user types. And we can't pick up a package, though most of the MU ones aren't the good anyway. So we go right to the section on schools. First off, school location. Family honor and social class give no modifiers being average. A 14 puts the pc's schooling at an average size town. For type of school we've got a +2 for being in a town and +1 for high Intelligence. Modified roll of 18, so a full University.
Next Quality of Master: Nurture and Education. Nurture is +2 for Charisma but -4 for being at a University for a total -2 modifier. And a modified roll of 14 for Absent-minded. For Education we've got a +1 for Intelligence and +4 for being at a University. A modified 15? Bleah. We'll blow a build point for a reroll on that. 16? We can do better. 24? There we go. Caring & Gifted. In addition to the bumps to some of the next table rolls, that gives +2d6 skill percentage points and a free academic skill. So our mentor was a classic absent-minded genius. Which might explain the weird initial spell load-out...
We've got a -6 on Graduating class size, which gives a modified roll of -2. So an over-crowded graduating class. Classroom equipment has a +5, with a modified roll of 25 for "anything needed". Another bonus 2d6 skill points and free skill. A +10 on Graduation Rank, modified roll of 22 and Magna Cum Laude, 2 pts shy of Summa. And next a d1000 roll for overall Quality of Education with a total modifier of +390. 716? Nope. Thats a bad result. Reroll. Ok a 1223. A +5% on learning 1st level spells? Not great but I'll take it...
Then we check to see what happened that was interesting while enrolled. A d3 roll gives 3 events. 94 - School was land-grant university. Meaning the pc had to train with the local militia. Some extra fractional points to Str and Con, gain a year in age and lose a spell (no loss with his selection and we'll give up Smell Immunity) and get another skill. In this case Entrenchment Construction. Enh. A free skill is a free skill. Next event is Freshman 15. So the scrawny elf ate too much fried food. Though with the militia training it could be good bulk. Last event is Part Time Job. Another year in age and from his job as a Farmer (really?) more free skills. Agriculture and Farming...
Lastly are Honor Modifier and Starting Money Modifier. +13 on the first, nothing on the latter. A +6 to starting honor and a +35 on the Starting Money roll. I could roll up the starting spell book construction, but unless it came up something weird like stone tablets or bundles of rune sticks its not that interesting...
So on to the thieves' back history. Which probably happened before the magic school bits...
Away with the Spellslinger's book and out with the Griftmaster's Guide to Life's Wildest Dreams. Once again we skip all the alternate classes and packages. Though the rogue's book has some of the cooler packages, like Jesters and Loremasters and Pirates. But past all that right to the Urchin Days background tables...
First off is Reason for Turning to the Street. Middle class and general thief mean no modifiers to most of these charts. So a straight 7 - Parents were petty crooks who got locked up early and mostly gave bad advice. A -3 to the next table but an extra build point. A modified 11 gives joined a youthful street gang. For Type of initial training we get +1 for the street gang thing and a +2 for Charisma. A modified 14 - Guild membership...
For Quality of Mentor: Technical Expertise we've got a +5 from Guild membership and Intelligence. A modified 19 means an excellent mentor. Another +3d6 skill points (which can be used for Thief specific skills in this case) and 2 more bonus build points. Next Quality of Mentor: Knowledge of the Street, +1 for Wisdom but -1 for Guild membership. A straight roll of 11 - Average. Does give another bonus build point that can only be used for social skills. Then its overall Quality of Training. We've got a +6 here. Modified 17 - Above average for another +1d6 skill points and +4 build points (social or musical instrument skills only)...
Now its event time again. d4-1 gets a 1 so nothing. Pity. With rogue classes you want to get events and then to get arrested as often as possible. You can pick up the best stuff in jail. Two tables left, Contacts and Loot stashed. Guild membership means a +1 on contacts, and we roll a modified 21. Which is a contact who is a Lord. Could be interesting. Loot Stashed is a 65 for 80+d8 G.P. stashed...
Still to go skills and talents. Time for another break. Told you this took a while...
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The dark elf I played previously, LeJean, had survived a terrible trauma that destroyed her original personality. LeJean herself was just the "voice" of the other 9 personalities. I'd gone as far as to give them all seperate alignments but never really got them fleshed out as individuals. The GM was pretty lax at enforcing negatives for flaws. Later she and the rest of the party were killed by bunnies akin to the Monty Python Grail vorpal bunny...
The BEST I've ever seen MPD run was in a Vampire LARP. I'd come up with a character concept for a Malkavian named Mr. Mischief. Each personality he had thought it was a member of a different Vampire clan. And with his Mask of a 1000 Faces ability each LOOKED like a different person. But once I'd written him up I realized I didn't even want to TRY and put all the effort the character would require. So one night my friend Kevin needed a new character. I flipped thru my folder of unused concepts for him and he ended up wanting to run Mr. Mischief. Kevin EXCELLED with him. Everyone loved the character. Even when one of the personalties would be fucking up their night. Timmy the little kid vampire played with the OTHER and actual little kid vampire another player had. His Brujah Armani the Drunken Pirate was the most popular member of the Clan and got voted in as whip. Bob Ninja Bob (the non-Vampire personality) managed to judo toss a visiting Archon one night. And each personality seemed different from the others. Up until Kevin ran Archie the Unconquerable probably my favorite character for that LARP (which ran about six years)...