Burning Wheel
Aug. 27th, 2009 06:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lurkerwithoutThis week's rpg will be Mouse Guard which uses the Burning Wheel system. Burning Wheel character creation is based around making choices that describe the character rather than dice rolls or point builds...
To start you come up with a concept. For my Guardmouse, Flint, I decide that he's a powerful fighter who is a bit too proud of his skills and who hasn't learned any important lessons about losing yet. His Guard Rank is Guardmouse though he hasn't been one for very long. He's only 19 with a starting Will of 3 and Health of 5...
Next up is Nature, which starts at 3. Then you answer three questions, which can increase Nature but place other limits on him. 1)Do you save for winter even if it means going without something now? Or do you use what you have when you need it? 2)When confronted do you stand your ground and fight or do you run and hide? 3)Do you fear owls, weasels and wolves? Flint uses what is at hand and doesn't plan for the future. He'll always choose to fight over flight. And he hasn't learned to fear anything. That leaves his starting Nature at 3..
Then for his Home Town I pick Port Sumac. This gives him a check in the skill of Boatcrafter and the Trait of Toughness. After that comes Life Experience. This gives a variety of skill choices to put checks by. First picking an area in which he's naturally talented. Guardmice get one choice and Flint will go with Fighter. Next is parent's trade. His parent's were Boatcrafters and so a check goes by that. Then its how he convinces people that he's right or to do what he needs. Of the choices of Deciever, Orator and Persuader Flint will have Orator showing how isn't inclined to try and slowly convince or trick others...
After that for Life Experience we're asked with whom he apprenticed for the Guard and what that mouse's trade was. Flint's burly nature and body made him a natural to apprentice with Tam a Stonemason. This will also be when he changed his name to Flint. After serving an apprenticeship the would-be Guardmouse is assigned a Mentor. Flint was mentored by a heavily scarred mouse named Daws. While Daws helped Flint become a better warrior (getting a check in Fighter) he never managed to instill a respect for avoiding an enemy or threat...
Next is what kind of experience he had in the Guard. This allows up six more checks for a Guardmouse. Flint has worked patrolling the paths between towns and occasionally escorting a caravan. He had several fights with scavengers like Rats or Crows during that time, reinforcing his belief that no enemy needs to be fled from. He takes 3 more checks in Fighter, 2 in Hunter and 1 in Weather Watcher. After that a speciality is picked out. Not surprisingly for Flint that would be Fighter. Then the checks are Tallied up and 1 is added giving the starting value for the Skill. For Flint he has Boatcrafter: 3, Fighter: 7, Orator: 2, Stonemason: 2, Weather Watcher: 2 and Hunter: 3. Lastly a character picks Wises, areas they are especially knowledgable about. Flint will have Predator-wise and Mouse Guard-wise, giving him a rank of 2 in each. He loves stories about the Mouse Guard and its history. And he learns about various predators so that he can better fight them...
Next up Guard Resources, representing both Flint's pay but also how clever and resourceful he is with his possessesions and goods. Starting rank for Resources is 2, modified by six questions. 1)In winter, do you still practice a trade like weaving, smith or pottery for the Guard? Flint volunteers for more patrols or trains his weaponskills. 2)Are your parents smiths, politicians, merchants or apiarists? Flint's family are simple fisherfolk. 3)Do you like to buy gifts for yourself and your friends? Not gifts, but Flint does tend to make sure his equipment is the best available. 4)Are you thrifty? Not really either way. 5)Have you ever been in debt? Or are you generally bad with money? Not really on that either. 6)Do you always pack carefully for a journey, ensuring that you have everything you need? Flint tries to always be prepared. One answer decreases his Resources by 1 and another increases it by 1, so it stays at 2...
The next section is Guard Circles, representing how well-connected the character is. For a Guardmouse this starts at 2 and is modified by another series of questions. 1)Is you mouse greagarious? Does he have lots of friends? Does he make friends easily? Flint is a bit dull but gets along well with others. 2)Do you have strong ties to the Guard? Perhaps a family tradition or allies within the Guard? Flint is the first in his family in memory to join the Guard. 3)Has your character accomplished some great task in the Guard? Does he already have a reputation? Well his near fool-hardy level of bravery has been noticed, mostly with respect by the younger Guards though with some worry by the senior mice. 4)Does your character have powerful enemies in the Territories? While having some reputation already he's still too young to have made any real enemies. 5)Has our character been convicted of a crime? No. 6)Is your character a loner, tough and cool? Maybe someday but not right now. All this gives him a +2 on Circles and a starting rating of 4...
Next up are Traits. He already has one (Toughness) from his home town choice. Now he gets another for a quality he was born with. Fearless makes for an obvious choice. He isn't young enough to still have a Trait from his parent's influence, but is too young to have picked up any new traits from life in the Guard...
Name is next, but that one is already picked. Flint has brown fur, with black tips to his ears. His parents are named Finn and Rona. We also pick a friend here, someone who would help without hesitating. Oddly for a combat oriented person, Flint's closest friend is a traveling tinker-mouse named Grahame who is a bit of a coward. An enemy is also picked now. I'd say a local town guard named Kole who is jealous of Flint works well. Kole will be part of the Wildseed militia. Lastly for this section is Cloak Color, picked by the mentor. Daws choose a Grey cloak for Flint, reflecting his name and the hope that Flint will learn that it isn't always about being brave or afraid, but surviving to protect all Mouse-kind...
Now a Belief is picked. Its a simple statement that shows an overarching ethical or moral stance. "A Guard never retreats from danger." Then a Goal is picked for the character. I'll leave this blank for now, since have some idea of the theoritical campaign is really needed to come up with a good idea. Then an Instinct is chosen, an if/then action the character will always do. For Flint this is Always attack when threatened...
Lastly is Gear. Flint carries a warhammer, shield and dagger. He also tries to have some rope, firemaking tools and a few extra rations...
To start you come up with a concept. For my Guardmouse, Flint, I decide that he's a powerful fighter who is a bit too proud of his skills and who hasn't learned any important lessons about losing yet. His Guard Rank is Guardmouse though he hasn't been one for very long. He's only 19 with a starting Will of 3 and Health of 5...
Next up is Nature, which starts at 3. Then you answer three questions, which can increase Nature but place other limits on him. 1)Do you save for winter even if it means going without something now? Or do you use what you have when you need it? 2)When confronted do you stand your ground and fight or do you run and hide? 3)Do you fear owls, weasels and wolves? Flint uses what is at hand and doesn't plan for the future. He'll always choose to fight over flight. And he hasn't learned to fear anything. That leaves his starting Nature at 3..
Then for his Home Town I pick Port Sumac. This gives him a check in the skill of Boatcrafter and the Trait of Toughness. After that comes Life Experience. This gives a variety of skill choices to put checks by. First picking an area in which he's naturally talented. Guardmice get one choice and Flint will go with Fighter. Next is parent's trade. His parent's were Boatcrafters and so a check goes by that. Then its how he convinces people that he's right or to do what he needs. Of the choices of Deciever, Orator and Persuader Flint will have Orator showing how isn't inclined to try and slowly convince or trick others...
After that for Life Experience we're asked with whom he apprenticed for the Guard and what that mouse's trade was. Flint's burly nature and body made him a natural to apprentice with Tam a Stonemason. This will also be when he changed his name to Flint. After serving an apprenticeship the would-be Guardmouse is assigned a Mentor. Flint was mentored by a heavily scarred mouse named Daws. While Daws helped Flint become a better warrior (getting a check in Fighter) he never managed to instill a respect for avoiding an enemy or threat...
Next is what kind of experience he had in the Guard. This allows up six more checks for a Guardmouse. Flint has worked patrolling the paths between towns and occasionally escorting a caravan. He had several fights with scavengers like Rats or Crows during that time, reinforcing his belief that no enemy needs to be fled from. He takes 3 more checks in Fighter, 2 in Hunter and 1 in Weather Watcher. After that a speciality is picked out. Not surprisingly for Flint that would be Fighter. Then the checks are Tallied up and 1 is added giving the starting value for the Skill. For Flint he has Boatcrafter: 3, Fighter: 7, Orator: 2, Stonemason: 2, Weather Watcher: 2 and Hunter: 3. Lastly a character picks Wises, areas they are especially knowledgable about. Flint will have Predator-wise and Mouse Guard-wise, giving him a rank of 2 in each. He loves stories about the Mouse Guard and its history. And he learns about various predators so that he can better fight them...
Next up Guard Resources, representing both Flint's pay but also how clever and resourceful he is with his possessesions and goods. Starting rank for Resources is 2, modified by six questions. 1)In winter, do you still practice a trade like weaving, smith or pottery for the Guard? Flint volunteers for more patrols or trains his weaponskills. 2)Are your parents smiths, politicians, merchants or apiarists? Flint's family are simple fisherfolk. 3)Do you like to buy gifts for yourself and your friends? Not gifts, but Flint does tend to make sure his equipment is the best available. 4)Are you thrifty? Not really either way. 5)Have you ever been in debt? Or are you generally bad with money? Not really on that either. 6)Do you always pack carefully for a journey, ensuring that you have everything you need? Flint tries to always be prepared. One answer decreases his Resources by 1 and another increases it by 1, so it stays at 2...
The next section is Guard Circles, representing how well-connected the character is. For a Guardmouse this starts at 2 and is modified by another series of questions. 1)Is you mouse greagarious? Does he have lots of friends? Does he make friends easily? Flint is a bit dull but gets along well with others. 2)Do you have strong ties to the Guard? Perhaps a family tradition or allies within the Guard? Flint is the first in his family in memory to join the Guard. 3)Has your character accomplished some great task in the Guard? Does he already have a reputation? Well his near fool-hardy level of bravery has been noticed, mostly with respect by the younger Guards though with some worry by the senior mice. 4)Does your character have powerful enemies in the Territories? While having some reputation already he's still too young to have made any real enemies. 5)Has our character been convicted of a crime? No. 6)Is your character a loner, tough and cool? Maybe someday but not right now. All this gives him a +2 on Circles and a starting rating of 4...
Next up are Traits. He already has one (Toughness) from his home town choice. Now he gets another for a quality he was born with. Fearless makes for an obvious choice. He isn't young enough to still have a Trait from his parent's influence, but is too young to have picked up any new traits from life in the Guard...
Name is next, but that one is already picked. Flint has brown fur, with black tips to his ears. His parents are named Finn and Rona. We also pick a friend here, someone who would help without hesitating. Oddly for a combat oriented person, Flint's closest friend is a traveling tinker-mouse named Grahame who is a bit of a coward. An enemy is also picked now. I'd say a local town guard named Kole who is jealous of Flint works well. Kole will be part of the Wildseed militia. Lastly for this section is Cloak Color, picked by the mentor. Daws choose a Grey cloak for Flint, reflecting his name and the hope that Flint will learn that it isn't always about being brave or afraid, but surviving to protect all Mouse-kind...
Now a Belief is picked. Its a simple statement that shows an overarching ethical or moral stance. "A Guard never retreats from danger." Then a Goal is picked for the character. I'll leave this blank for now, since have some idea of the theoritical campaign is really needed to come up with a good idea. Then an Instinct is chosen, an if/then action the character will always do. For Flint this is Always attack when threatened...
Lastly is Gear. Flint carries a warhammer, shield and dagger. He also tries to have some rope, firemaking tools and a few extra rations...
