Saturday, January 27, 2024

Character Challange 25-27 of 31: Traveller K'kree

Okay, now 3 days behind. In which case we will have to do a triple character generation. Years ago we played a Conan game, and our characters were all related: we had a pair of twins, and I played the uncle. We had a lot of fun with that, even outside the game where we carried on in-game conversations via text. And in re-reading that 2.5 year old post, the group never really got back together. I'm in a subset of that group now where we do get face to face every other weekend, and weekly via Discord. But it is not the same as the larger group tended to shift around a bit so we would play with different people. But we are still playing and the current group plays well together.

So I need a family, and a game system to generate them in. I do have the K'kree rules, and as those classic Traveller aliens cannot be by themselves and need their herd around them, we will try that. For those unfamiliar with these centaur-like creatures, they rule the Two Thousand Worlds ruled by the Steppelords. They are often portrayed as very militant vegans, and as noted in the book: the "creation of characters differs quite considerably" as compared to the other races. You basically have to generate a small clan as the K'kree never go anywhere by themselves. 

We need to generate the patriarch, a wife or wives, servants and bodyguards. And have a reason they are out in the universe versus staying safe at home. And I am sure I am going to make mistakes as this is the first time I've tried to generate a K'kree. They were just too alien for me to get my head wrapped around to be able to play them or even have them as NPCs. 

Needing 3 characters, we'll do the patriarch, his wife, and the head bodyguard. And K'kree are large - their physical stats are 2D+6 for the most part, though education really varies based on the character. And fortunately, there is a K'kree name generator so I have 3 names I will use: K'gangka Agughar, Argree Rearl!'rr, and Gnaatku the bodyguard. 

And this tiny herd may be found at various starports, usually in the merchant quarter if there is one. K'gangka misses the merchant life, and does a bit of trade to help pay for his small 2000 ton merchant vessel. On the edge of the Two Thousand Worlds, he is still not comfortable around those who eat meat, but years has taught him a little forbearance though meat will never be served at any of his meals. His wife will serve him daintily, and the guard Gnaatku is always watching anyone who comes near the patriarch.

An initial roll of the stats gives us this information:

Character

Str

Dex

End

Int

Edu

Caste

Patriach K'gangka Agughar

13

11

16

10

11

5

Wife Argree Rearl!'rr

9

10

7

6

1

5

Bodyguard Gnaatku

13

7

11

2

1

 3

And after going through character generation, this is our stats for this tiny herd:

Character

Str

Dex

End

Int

Edu

Caste

Age

Patriach K'gangka Agughar

11

9

15

12

12

8

61

Wife Argree Rearl!'rr,

7

10

5

6

3

5

57

Bodyguard Gnaatku

13

7

11

2

1

6

24

 

Patriach K'gangka Agughar

B9ECC8 age 61
Streeetwise-2, Broker-2, Medical-1, Computer-1, Forgery-1, Enclosure-1, Admin-1, Bribery-1, Merchant-1, Jack-of-Trades-1

A well-born K'kree served 6 terms as a Well-born in a relatively low caste. His 1st term in the military in the K'kree space arm he picks up Computer-1, Medical-1, and Streetwise-1. He also has Admin-1 because he is a well-born. He was asked to stay in the space force for his 2nd term and picked up +1 Edu and Streetwise-2. After that, he spent his time in various clan activities. His 3rd term as a trader he learned Bribery-1 and his caste got bumped to 6. The 4th term as a trader he picked up Merchant-1 and got a bit smarter with a +1 intelligence. His 5th term as a trader he picked up Jack-of-Trades-1 and Broker-1. His final term as a merchant he learned the knack of forging documents with Forgery-1 and picked up the Enclosure-1 skill to help with his claustrophobia. This is also the only term he made his caste roll for an extra skill where he picked up another level for Broker-2. Aging also took a toll, as he missed all but one of his aging throws! Mustering out he gains +1 education, a ceremonial halberd, +1 caste, +1 int, Merchant and another +1 caste. 


Wife Argree Rearl!'rr

7A56635, age 57

Diversion-1, Steward-1

Serving 5 terms as K'gangka's first wife, she improved her education a bit and picked up the Diversion-1 skill, learning to be aesthetically pleasing with various ceremonies and dance. She is quiet, has raised several children who have gone off in their own careers. She is adept at keeping her family's quarters on spacecraft pleasing despite the small space available. (Note that a K'kree spacecraft are huge compared to regular Traveller: they start at 1000 tons. K'kree need a LOT of space!)



Bodyguard Gnaatku

D7B213 age 24

Auto-Pistol-1, Halberd-1, Grav Vehicle-1

This is Gnaatku's first job after serving in the Army, where he picked up the Auto-Pistol-1, Grav-1 and the Halberd-1 skill. Terminating his service to service his patriarch, Gnaatku is always present, always wary. He is the driver for their grav vehicle as well. 


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Thursday, January 25, 2024

Character Challenge 24 of 31: Dolmenwood Grimmalkin

A fey cat creature. While I'd like to say its three forms are three characters as I am a bit behind, that would be cheating! From the revised PDF:
Grimalkins are shape-shifting cat-fairies renowned for their magic of illusion and their love of eating rats. They can take on three different forms, described below. Grimalkins originate in the fairy realm of Catland, ruled over by the fearsome Queen Abyssinia—the Queen of All Cats. Those grimalkins who enter Dolmenwood live as wanderers and adventurers.

Cunning Humanoid Form—Estray A grimalkin’s normal form is that of a humanoid cat, wearing clothing, speaking, and walking upright. A grimalkin in estray is, by all appearances, a humanoid cat, beautiful or ugly, with fur covering their little body.

Fat Moggy Form—Chester In chester, a grimalkin resembles a normal cat in all respects—though perhaps fatter than the average mouser. A grimalkin in chester can understand language but can only respond in wordless yowls and meows.
Fey Predator Form—Wilder The primal, fey form of a grimalkin. A grimalkin in wilder is difficult to perceive clearly in the mortal world as more than a gleaming pair of deranged, predatory eyes beyond the throw of the lantern’s light.
I miss playing Space Cat...

Rolling up the stats, dexterity is the highest, and as thieves are one of the classes they are allowed in, there we go for a class. Though after rolling that lute, bard would be nice but is charisma is not quite there. Rolling on the tables, we get Jaspy Pouncemouse, a swindler who swindled the wrong person in the Undying Land so decided perhaps the human world would be a good place to spend a few decades in. 61 years old and standing 3'2" tall when in her Estray form, she has pointy ear tufts, extravagantly long whiskers, and silver fluffy fur. She speaks in a mirthful and mocking voice but has mercurial mood swings. Her regal ermine cloak tends to flap around a lot but is well-cared for and covers her ratskin vest and breeches. It also blends in really well in the shadows and is leather lined. Since coming to Dolmenwood, she has been searching for the perfect place to build a secret palace that she believes will fit her self-inflated view of herself. From the Fay she believes that dreams are the true reality, and Dolmenwood is a shadow of a dream. She carries a lute that is always out of tune in the morning, but by evening is perfectly tuned.

Grimalkin have some nice bonuses: being small they get a +2 AC against large opponents (larger than human-sized), eating a giant rodent heals 1 point of damage, a single glamor, target of 5 for listening, magic resistance and of course the shape shifting which confers a few nice things as well. 

Her glamor is through the keyhole, allowing her to get through any door with a keyhole. A handy glamor for a thief! And once per day per door, making this pretty powerful. 

The thief skills are on par with OSE in general, so in game play the book would be needed to for all the rolls. Rolling she has leather (and hence her cloak is leather-lined, and apparently ratskin clothing is tough!). The 3 daggers fit well, particularly for her backstabbing skills, but going to swap out the long sword for a short sword as she is too short to carry a sword longer than she is, unless you count her tail.


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Wednesday, January 24, 2024

Character Challenge 23 of 31: Classic Traveller Navy

Mondays are always too busy so I never got to post a challenge then. I did the challenge yesterday from the last of my emergency stash, so we'll do a shorter character challenge today, which generally means Classic Traveller as a few dice rolls and you have a character!

Starting with the traditional UPP, I roll 8A579B - a knight off the bat! An even roll and a woman noble. Using Book 1 Navy as social works best there. The education +2 to get in and...she only gets in by the skin of her teeth and that +2 education bonus. Already we have a story of someone who was almost passed over, but got in by a good word from one of her teachers (and in newer versions of Traveller that would be formalized as a contact, but there is no reason we can't backport other rules. One of the many reasons I love Traveller!)

Term 1 Age 18-22

A fresh Naval recruit Aethyl von Smythe is commissioned as an ensign in her first term, but does not quite muster the wherewithal for a promotion. She picks up Engineering-1 and Cutlass-1 as skills. She worked in the engineering decks, practicing with the traditional Naval cutlass in her spare time.

Term 2 Age 23-26

Ensign von Smythe gets promoted to Lieutenant, gets her Pilot-1 certification, and through working out hard in the gym, gets +1 strength. 

Term 3 Age 27-30

Promoted to Lt. Commander, she learns emergency procedures with Vacc-Suit-1 and has powered through her Gunnery-1 certification.

Term 4 Age 31-34

Easily surviving again, Lt. Commander von Smythe was passed over for promotion. Probably as she was studying hard for Medical-1

Term 5 Age 34-38

Survival has not been an issue, and apparently, she was noticed and promoted to Commander. She also earned her Electronic-1 and Medical-2 certifications. 

Term 6 Age 38-42

Age is starting to take its toll: she failed the strength aging roll: despite her earlier gains, too much time in zero gravity has impacted her a bit. She passed the other rolls so we are actually back at her original stats.  She survives and is passed over for promotion. She gets Navigation-1.

Term 7 Age 42-46

Deciding to press her luck, she loses another strength but passed the other two aging rolls. She does make her promotion to Captain which bumps her social to C, Baroness. and gets a +1 intelligence and her medical-3 certification. And decides she is old enough to enjoy herself more in the civilian world.

Mustering Out

As I did not roll 12, she does retire. Having 7 terms of service and rank 5, she gets 10 rolls. We'll do 3 on the cash and 7 on benefits. This nets her all of Cr11,000, her Naval cutlass, a membership of the Traveller's Aid Society, +2 education and +1 intelligence, another +1 intelligence, another +2 education and a weapon, which I am using to bump her to Cutlass-2. Additionally, her retirement of Cr8000/year to be collected at any Naval port.

Captain Aethyl von Smythe, Baroness of Winneauer, Doctor

7A5ADC age 46
Medic-3, Cutlass-2, Pilot-1, Gunnery-1, Engineering-1, Vacc-Suit-1, Electronic-1, Navigation-1
Cr11,000, Cutlass, Traveller's Aid Society

From the Magyar Sector, Aethyl von Smythe was born the 2nd of 6 children. With her sister, she joined the Imperial Navy and rose up through the ranks. While her sister made Admiral and is still in the Navy, Aethyl, feeling the pangs of age, decided she would rather tour the universe on her own. Mustering out, she realized that her years of service really paid off: granted a barony on Winneaur and her medical license, she has the freedom to do as she likes. Often found in the Traveller's Aid Hotels on various worlds, she has been known to sign on as a ship's doctor on strange whims. While she does not need to work she did spend 6 months as ship's doctor on a tramp freighter that went beyond Imperial space just to "see what is out there". Her book knowledge serves her well as she uses that in new situations.
Baroness Dr. von Smythe at a medical facility she toured after mustering out


The planet was the 1st planet when hitting the random button on the TravellerWiki. Maybe I'll expand that out and make some maps later. When I have time!

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Tuesday, January 23, 2024

Character Challenge 22 of 31 - Durva Brighthand, Gnoll and a game recap

Mondays are busy, and even though I had this one stashed away, I never got time to post and cleanup anything. And as we had the not particularly well-run battle last night, we can present this character who was at the battle, but when the tide turned, he and several of his gnolls turned tail and left to try again another day. Which I also need to present to the players as they were busy fighting the kobolds. There will be a brief game recap at the end of this post.

Last October we had our own challenge for October: an RPG thing a day. While in theory it was supposed to be fairly general (at least I thought that was the intent though others say it was specifically for this game so I will admit being confused as normal), we also put some effort into making things we could actually use. As one of the players is bringing a gnoll pack to attack Windemere Crossing at the behest of their god Yeenog. Obviously, this is going to happen as I even scheduled it on the calendar, had the Elf princess be seen as she and her guards went to the Silver Pirate in, and there have been two sightings of kobold scouts. Why kobold scouts? Because I misread the story! Why we have a kobold mage as a character as well in this challenge! 

According to the Revenge of the Horde:

To a gnoll, clan is everything. Individuals may disagree, fight or even kill each other, but the good of the clan comes before all else.

They are scavengers through and through. The guidebook indicates that there are several types of gnolls: plains, gutter, rock gnolls. Thinking that the rock gnolls fit best for this area as the plains are far to the south (and east and west perhaps as I don't have a world map, so those areas are still "here there be dragons" waiting to be filled out as needed). Gutter gnolls are the city-dwelling gnolls. 

Rock gnolls plan their attacks more thoroughly than other gnolls. They may also speak common languages and even do some trade. Windemere Crossing has not had any experience with gnolls in anyone's memory. Perhaps because their shaman has used magical disguises for their scouts.

Durva Blighthand is a gnoll Alpha. Their shaman Gougher Spliteyes speaks to their good Yeenog. Durva led the attack against the Elven enclave in the mountains, killing the Elf Lord. Leader of the Bitter Fields pack, he wears the Elf Lord's skull on his breastplate. A viscous hunter and often a cruel leader, he wants to expand the clan's reach. While his pack thinks of him as a king, he leads by example, and is at the forefront in the battles they wage. 

Knowing that the Elf Queen is in Windemere Crossing, he wants to take over that town for the clan. It's tall walls and stout gates would protect the clan and trap those who live inside now. The pack is already moving, and he has information from his scouts that have been in the area for weeks now. These scouts look like kobolds, or dwarves, or other creatures thanks to the magic pendants Gougher Spliteye crafted from the skulls of those creatures and his magic.

Durva Brighthand Gnoll Alpha

STR 13    INT 11    WIS 10    DEX 12    CON 15    CHA 9
AC 15 (shield + natural armor) HP 32 Att 1 x weapon, heavy spear 1d6+2 MV 90 (30)

Part of a large warband when attacking Windemere Crossing, their main goal is to capture the Elf Queen and also to take over the village. However, there are now 3 squads of military people there (spearmen, archers and swordsmen) as well as a few town guards. I need to figure a good way to handle mass combat.

Regardless, the war party of gnolls will have Durva Brightand leading the group of at least two dozen gnolls. 

Game Recap - The Battle of Windemere Crossing 28th Haelhold

Heading down the mountain, as they come into sight of Windemere Crossing, they see off in the distance a caravan leaving the trade town. The town seems quieter than normal, and the town guard, Anya Van Rynel directs them to the town hall, where an emergency meeting was taking place. Usman, a trader, was speaking to the town tribunal, with the military heads in attendance. He had barely survived an attack on the caravan by a group of gnolls, and only by the swift axe of Nasliope, the tall woman standing next to him but watching the even taller burgermiester carefully. They were planning to attack the town, in search of some Elven queen they had been following. Then the city bell began to ring, and the battle commenced.

While I had tried to plan for an exciting mass battle, it was not to be. The characters took to the east gate with the spearmen and defended the gate against the kobolds. They managed to keep them from the walls, with Quinby and Baldur cutting the ropes from the grappling hooks. The partially finished gate was being held close with the might of the spearmen until the kobold mage used a lightning bolt to destroy the gates. At that point, Krag took off, swinging his mighty sword. Quinby kept slinging stones at the increasingly irritated mage. And as normal, there was a lot of misses in there from all side. They group saw Lurbok coming up behind the mage, but he was stopped by two of his entourage. Baldur had leapt down from the wall and drove his spear right through the kobold. Enoki tried as well but landed off-center. There was a bit of battle there, with the spearmen usually missing, but at least the kobolds kept missing as well. After several rounds of missing the kobold guards, Lurbok did manage to actually hit and kill one of them but by then he had taken a lot of damage and was killed in next attack. Enoki has been running over there to help, and he did cast his spores. but the mage actually made his save, so there was no effect. He battled the two kobolds and managed to kill one, then landed the final blow on the mage that killed the kobold. There was a crowd of spearmen fighting kobolds with the characters, and while only 1 spearman died, the group finally managed to kill of the 20 or so kobolds. Rennor had joined the scrum by then but also repeatedly missed. Krag gave Rennor her father's sword, Orc Biter, as she wept quietly. Quinby is the proud owner of a magical robe that gives him an AC or 15. I'll have to write this up. Perhaps there will be a downside. He also tried to make friends with Aedel. 

The other groups in the attack off-scene managed to fight off the small horde, losing 2 swordsman and 1 overly patriotic citizen. Lommarlum was severely wounded in the battle, and Baldur brought him back from the brink of death. Arrows have a pretty good shield against the gnolls who apparently had not thought through the walls with archers on top. 

We wrapped up there. Owlbear rodeo worked pretty well - I had the big map of Windermere Crossing available but I also made a quick and dirty wall for the city for that particular scene.

Battle at East Gate

In the end, most of the gnolls were killed, and there will be a bonfire outside of town. Lurbok's death will hit the town oddly: he was the stablemaster, and he died defending the town. But he was an Orc. His daughters (he has several) can take over the stables as they already did most of the work. Rennor is going to double down in training, getting used to her father's sword (which is a +2 sword for her, though oddly -2 against gnolls). As per Enoki, she wants to be a protector. Behing closed doors, the two Amazons have a lengthy discussion, resulting in the Burgermiester saying she will stay on until high summer but then has to leave. Nasliope is staying as her guard, though both women are big enough that few people want to mess with them. Under her cloak, sometimes a flash of metal can be seen as Paoatie starts wearing her armor again. 

I'll write up a few things and present that at the next session. I am obviously getting tired, so someone else can run a game for a while. I am hoping they want to come back to this, but we'll see what they want to do later. But at least everyone leveled up!

NPCs Met

Usman - caravan master / merchant
Nasliope - Amazon 
Burgermeister Paoatie - Amazon
Lommarlum - Dwarf captain of the military group
Aiden - archer captain
Anya Van Rynevel - town guard
a lot of dead kobolds and one dead kobold shaman
Aedel Snoodles - Breggle

2024 Challenge


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Sunday, January 21, 2024

Character Challenge 21 of 31: Dolmenwood Breggle

As I think about another character, I realize I've not looked at the Dolmenwood PDFs (I really prefer books when reading things the first time. PDFs are useful for copy/paste and lookups, but I just prefer paper. As you all know by now). In the chapter about the various kindred:

An elucidation on the ways of fairies, mortals, and demi-fey and the Kindreds of each type most commonly encountered in Dolmenwood—bregles, elves, grimalkins, humans, mosslings, and woodgrues. Each Kindred is described in detail, along with a set of tables for randomly generating fun and quirky characteristics of individuals of that Kindred. Players may use these tables during character creation, to spice up their PC. The referee may also find them useful for quickly generating descriptive details of NPCs encountered.

So there are a lot of fae in there. The OSE game I've tried to explain that the fae there can be a lot different than your typical RPG games but doubt I really got the idea that they are far more mysterious and powerful or just different than human-centric characters. 

In the Dolmenwood game, there are three playable mortal kindreds: humans, breggles and mosslings. And there are two playable immortal kindred: Elves and grimalkins. Then there are playable demi-fae, the woodgrues. 

And I'll note I tend to use fae, and Dolmenwood uses fey. Same word, same meaning. Same sound...

I'll just start with a Breggle - goat-headed folk whose horn length represents social standing. In that setting:

The proud and stubborn breggles—sometimes called goatfolk (or hregl, in their own tongues) — have inhabited the High Wold since antiquity. Once the sole masters of that fertile region of hills, meadows, and tangled woods, the ancient breggle noble houses now rule alongside humans, swearing fealty to the Dukes of Brackenwold. Breggles live much as humans do, dwelling in hamlets, farmsteads, and castles. In the larger towns of the High Wold, breggles live side by side with humans

So normal folk, just with goat heads? And finally roll even for a female breggle named Aedel Snoode. At 5'11" and 27 years old, this level 4 breggle has 4" horns that can do 1d4+1 damage. Now recognized as a longhorn, she can use her gaze once a day to charm humans and shorthorns into obeisance. A smuggler by at one time, Aedel has wandered far from the Dolmenwood. Her walking stick, with a goat's head handle, is both her constant companion and has seen a fair bit of combat. She has a tiny nub of a third horn on her forehead, which she calls her lucky nubbins. A cool-headed pragmatist, she left the woods as an escape for her smuggling crimes. She has buck teeth that she tries to hide. She dresses in fancy and frilly shirts when not in her armor, and has russet, curly hair covering her body.

Rolling up her stats, she best fits a fighter as a character class as strength is her highest attribute. And yes, she may be one of the spearmen in Windemere Crossing. But far, far away from her home. She barely speaks common and has been known to butt horns with Deputy Newtonson on occasion due to her limited understanding of the common tongue. Literally as one night she was a bit drunk and thought he insulted her. Knocked him across the room before Rennor, who was walking by, picked her up and talked her down.

The moon sign is interesting: she was born under a narrow moon and gets a +1 against fairies and demi-fey in attacks. I am not sure if that is only in the narrow of the moon, or at all times. It is phrased so that I am leaning to all the time. 

I could not find what I was looking for after a few brief art searches, so AI it is. Of the four images, this one seemed close to what I wanted. Not sure why a female goat has breasts rather than udders, but AI art being what it is, it is what I got.


Aedel Snoodle


Dolmenwood character sheet
What I got asking for a female fantasy goat fighter in leather armor with a spear


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Saturday, January 20, 2024

Character Challenge 20 of 31: Mechanoid Invasion Communications Engineer

Trying another Mechanoid Invasion character. Based on straight rolls again, several stats are above average and a few below average. Apparently he is not particularly handsome but still quite charismatic based on the physical beauty and mental affinity scores! Thinking a communications engineer may be nice to have around (or in need of rescue), let me present Eugene O'Haren.

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/ymO4O

An inveterate smoker, Eugene is rarely seen without his backpack full of comm equipment: cords, adaptors, power cells, spare boards, tools. Some call it his bag of holding as he always seems to have what he needs. At just over 6' tall, he sometimes seems threatening to others with his glare and constant wreath of smoke, yet his actual demeanor rapidly wins people over. He has friends throughout the various colonies that he can count on, and who seem to count on him to fix comms in a moment's notice. He rarely cusses and has only good words for people he deals with, even if they have damaged the equipment that he has to repair. The invasion by the Mechanoids has only phased him a bit as he has not been on the front lines, but as time goes on, he is starting to lose friends and people he knows to their vicious attacks. He is getting darker as time goes on.

While his primary skills are in repairing electronic equipment, has can drive most ground vehicles and has started pistol training. He carries a SB-14 sidearm all the time now. He has always carried a laser lance, but now he knows better how to use it as a weapon and not just a tool.


Random Stuff

I am sort of reminded by this post from Role Play Rescue about feeling guilty about not doing something in our hobby of choice all the time. Sometimes I feel as though I should be doing more and share a similar guilt. Then I also remember this is supposed to be fun, and if it is not fun, and I am not getting paid for it, why would I do it? And it is fun for me, though as per the title, it is often a challenge to fit creating a character in every day for a month. Even with weekends giving me more time to stock up a bit! But the challenge lies in reading other blogs: they seem to have much more in-depth characters, and are exploring new games, and other things that seem to let them do more than me. And sadly, that also spills over in my professional world as a software developer: I just really want to write code, but now having to learn all about Docker, Kubernetes, Azure, all the new frameworks. So, I experience imposter syndrome not only at work but at play! But I also recognize a lot of that is self-perception and in looking at what I do actually do, I must know at least a little bit! And that comparing myself to others is not the way to go in general. Stepping back, I can see that my life has been mostly successful, and I have the things that really matter: family, friends, my health (physical, mental and [mostly! :)] emotional). And I note that I perhaps do far too much introspection on these posts! 

2024 Challenge


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Friday, January 19, 2024

Character Challenge 18 and 19 of 31: OSE Guards

As I missed two days, I'll get two of them done tonight. I need a few more guards for Windemere Crossing for their militia. The town guards are the sheriff, deputy sheriff and the two guards. The town militia consists of 2 squads of 5 spearmen, 2 squads of 5 swordsmen, and a single 4-man archery squad. These have been brought into the town the last few months as per my Organic Towns experiment. I figure I may as well give at least the sergeants a bit of personality as the group may meet them shortly.

Rolling up a few rounds of stats and picking the strong one for the swordsman captain, and the dexterous one for the archer captain. Both male, swordsman may be an axeman as he is a Dwarf, and the archer a human.

Not going to dig into their backgrounds, but what I need is a personality that I can portray. And rather than making something up myself as I tend to the boring, I'll see what the random fantasy personality generator gives me. 

For our Dwarf Lommarlum Bluntcoat:

Few know the true Lommarlum Bluntcoat, but the two traits most people enjoy the most are that he's friendly and responsive. Of course he's also wise, incorruptible and discreet, but in smaller doses and they're often spoiled by habits of being disturbing as well.

His friendliness though, this is what he's kind of cherished for. There are many times when friends count on this and his relaxed nature when they're feeling down.

Nobody's perfect of course and Lommarlum has a share of darker sides to deal with too. His hostility and conceited nature can cause things to heat up and reach all around.

Fortunately, his responsiveness helps make sure these days are few and far between.

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/k3Qml

Lommarlum was brought in by King Axechest to commandeer the first military units in Windemere Crossing. As the swordsmen grew to two squads, Lommarlum is the natural captain of the militia. Wearing his armor always, even in taverns, he is a broad, red-bearded Dwarf that gets along with most of the town. However, like many, he is not fond of the Orcs and when Lurbok makes a rare visit, Lommarlum makes his exit. If he is far into his drinks, he can be actually rude to the Orc who is easily twice his height.


STR 13    INT 6    WIS 11    DEX 9    CON 12    CHA 7

MOV 60 (20) ATT 1 Battle Axe 1d8+2 or short sword 1d6+2    AC 16 (Plate)    HP 27

Level 4 Dwarf with a proficiency in both axe and swords for a +1 in each. Noted above with the STR bonus as well. He will lead the battle in his area.

Our archer captain Aiden Ross:

Many things can be said of Aiden Ross, but two things you'll never forget are that he's flexible and responsible. Of course he's also selfless, rational and companionably, but in a way they're lesser traits and tained by behaviors of being disconcerting as well.

His flexibility though, this is what he's so well-liked for. Friends tend to count on this and his faithfulness in times of need.

Nobody's perfect of course and Aiden has plenty of rainy days too. His pretentiousness and troublesome nature don't make for the greatest company and beyond what people are willing to deal with.

Fortunately his responsibility helps keep them in check for at least a little bit.

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/ZGL9z0

Coming to Windemere Crossing a couple months after Lommarlum requested an archery unit to help defend the town from the walls, Aidon and his fellow archers arrived via caravan from the east. While 3rd in command of the militia, he always takes his duties seriously. Seemingly a bit of a snob, he is not known to carouse in town, and spends his free time in the wooded hills south of the town, hunting. He knows those hills fairly well after the last few months of traipsing about. When asked about the tattoos on his head, he never answers. Some swear he is part of a cult.

STR 10    INT 12    WIS 7    DEX 15    CON 8    CHA 11

MOV 90 (40) ATT Long bow 1d6+2    AC 12 (Leather)    HP 15

Level 4 fighter with a proficiency in bows (added above). He generally leads from the walls, which do have a narrow walkway protected by stone guards.


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Thursday, January 18, 2024

Character Challenge 17 of 31: Traveller Zhodani

I've never rolled up a Zhodani character, and as the Classic Reprint Alien Module 1 was handy, I decided to actually try that out.

Initial Stats

Rolling the UPP we get B8876A, with a PSI rating of 8. This places our character in the Intendant social rank. Which means we actually boost our education to 8 giving us B8878A. The PSI rating does not help a lot, and in rolling for our psionic training, we get telekinesis, telepathy and clairvoyance. Looking at our stats, we get bonuses for most, though the Guard would be difficult to get in - I need a 10+! We'll go with the Zhodani Navy, and we get in even without the DMs. 

Rolling in the language tables, we get the utterly unpronounceable Zhdinch as his name. And yes, rolled odd for gender. I suppose it may be pronounced Zhink.

Zhodani Naval Career

Term 1 - Subaltern Spacer

We barely survive this first term, and only because of our +2 Int DM. We do not get a position, nor a promotion. Note that in Classic there really are not enlisted ranks, but we can pretend. Also, this term he was a Subaltern. I did note that I could have tried the Psionic Games after I did this, so I rolled 3D6 but failed, so we can never try again. It was not a very good year for Spacer Zhdinch as he only picks up 1 skill, And interestingly, Talent which means he picks up either talent by choice or can add one to his psi. Although not 100% positive I am reading that correctly. But as there are 6 talents, I'll just roll on that and if he gets a new skill, he gets that else he gets a +1 rating. 1 = telepathy, so we boost his psionic rating to 9. Which gives him some nice talents, but he has no skills.

He makes his renlistment.

Term 2 - Ensign Zhdinch

He does make a position (and it turns out as he was an intendant, he automatically got rank 0). Now an ensign, he picks up Gunnery-1 and Admin-1. But he fails his reenlistment!

Mustering Out

Well, he is going to be hunting for a job soon! Possibly as a teacher as he got a +2 Education and Cr1000. And one more roll and he gets a weapon. As I used basic rules, he can use any weapon at level 0 basically, so we'll give him a Zhodani Naval issue auto pistol. 

Intendant Zhdinch-ieptr

Born into the Intendant social strata, Zhdinch had an excellent education and a near-perfect childhood. As with many others of his social ranking, he tried out for the Psionic Games but washed out early. Seeing the Navy as his best choice for promotion and improving is social status, he readily joined the Navy. Unfortunately, he was not a particularly good fit. He managed to improve is psionic strength and was forced out with an honorable discharge with a rank of ensign. Managing to hang on to his service pistol, he realizes that with his learning, he may be a good fit for trader at the edge of Imperial and Zhodani space, teaching his fellow traders the ins and outs. Plus he can always read the others minds if need be.

Navy Ensign Zhdinch-ieptr     B887AA age 26

2 Terms                                        Cr1000
Psi-9, Telepathy-9, Telekinesis-9, Clairivoyance-9
Gunnery-1, Admin-1
Auto pistol
ArtStation - Ship Cook, Joyce Koo - maybe drinking is why is was discharged?


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