Friday, January 17, 2025

Character Creation Challenge: The Ravenloft Weekend

Characters from the The Ravenloft Weekend
Back in 1991, Grenda and I ran a weekend-long game of Ravenloft. We ran it as the "Dreams of Barovia" variant that combined adventure modules I6 and I10. He was the DM for I6 Ravenloft and I was the DM for I11 Ravenloft II: House on Gryphon Hill. It was a lot of fun to be honest, the problem was I forgot to tell my roommates and girlfriend where I was! When I crawled back to my apartment at 2D Lewis Park, I got an earful. The game was fun, but kind of a hazy memory to be honest. We played from Friday afternoon to Sunday evening straight. I remember sleeping in my chair and eating a lot of Quatros pizza

I am presenting all the characters now to cover my next few days (1/17 to 1/21). But more importantly to me, can I use Wasted Lands with NIGHT SHIFT to play a Ravenloft-style game? 

The answer is, absolutely.

Ravenloft is quasi-Gothic horror. As I have mentioned in the past, it is not true Gothic Horror because the characters are still hero types. They have power, they have agency. The heroes of Gothic Horror typically do not have the same level of power D&D characters do. Out Hunters in Dracula only succeed because they have each other and make use of the "technology" of the time. The PCs can go toe to toe with most Gothic literature monsters.

Wasted Lands is Post-Apocalyptic Cosmic Horror. NIGHT SHIFT is Urban survival Horror. BUT that is just what they are on the surface. They are both toolkit games to add or subtract what you want or need from them. 

I would still give the characters some power, but make the setting "Gritty."

That means no Heroic Touchstones. 

Heroic Touchstones are a key feature of the Wasted Lands and will be part of Night Shift 2nd Edition. But for a game like Ravenloft? I would take them out. Well...maybe one at first level. I'll work on the characters to see. Thankfully, none of these characters have psionics or other "kewl powerz," and all the classes are normal ones. 

I would use all the fear and terror effects from NIGHT SHIFT. I'd use Degeneracy and Corruption rules from Wasted Lands. That might feel like I am stacking things against the characters. I am.

Unlike D&D (esp. post 2000+ D&D) Gothic Horror is not about balance, it is exactly the opposite of that. The Big Bad Guy has all the power. 

Characters from the Ravenloft Weekend

The Characters

I only have vague recollections of these characters. I was spending a lot of time trying to get into grad school, and my focus then was largely on that. Plus, these are really just one-shot characters. So while they do have some good background attached, they were only used (to my knowledge) for this adventure.

Sir Beyrn Silverhelm
Sir Beyrn Silverhelm

Class: Divine Warrior (from Night Companion)
Level: 13
Species: Human
Alignment: Light Good
Background: Warrior

Abilities
Strength: 18 (+3) N
Agility: 12 (0) 
Toughness: 18 (+3) 
Intelligence: 12 (0) 
Wits: 15 (+1) N
Persona: 17 (+2) A

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: 0
Vitality: 98 
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +6/+4/+2
Melee Bonus: +5 (base), +3 (STR)
Ranged Bonus: +5 (base)
Saves: +5 to all Wits and Persona Saves, +2 to Toughness (Warrior background)

Divine Warrior Abilities
Sixth Sense, Heal Injury and Illness (13d6), Supernatural Attacks, Protection from Evil

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Protection

Gear
Longsword, Field plate armor, Holy symbol

Sir Beyrn is a quintessential Diving Warrior. His stats on his AD&D sheet look like they might have been cribbed from Johan II to be honest! Which makes sense. Looks like Grenda created all these characters in a couple of weeks while working and going to school.

Hile Augarin
Hile Augarin

Class: Archer (from Wasted Lands)
Level: 12
Species: Half-elf
Alignment: Twilight Good
Background: Elf (Wasted Lands) 

Abilities
Strength: 18 (+3) N
Agility: 16 (+2) A
Toughness: 16 (+2) N
Intelligence: 11 (0) 
Wits: 15 (+1) 
Persona: 12 (0) 

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: 2
Vitality: 92 
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +6/+4/+2
Melee Bonus: +5 (base)
Ranged Bonus: +5 (base)
Saves: +6 to agility-based saves

Elf Abilities
Night Shifted

Archer Abilities
Improved Defense, Master Archer, Ranged Combat, Supernatural Attack, Improved Range Damage, Eagle Eye, Incapacitating Shot, Multi Attack x4, Careful Aim, Trick Shot

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: hunter

Gear
Longsword, Longbow, elven chain

I have used Renegades and Warriors in the past for Rangers, in this case Archer is the better choice.

Finneous Sevinhand
Finneous Sevinhand

Class: Renegade (from Wasted Lands)
Level: 12
Species: Half-elf
Alignment: Twilight Good
Background: Elf (Wasted Lands) 

Abilities
Strength: 15 (+1) N
Agility: 17 (+2) A
Toughness: 16 (+2) N
Intelligence: 13 (+1) 
Wits: 11 (0) 
Persona: 10 (0) 

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: 3
Vitality: 87 
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +6/+4/+2
Melee Bonus: +4 (base)
Ranged Bonus: +4 (base)
Saves: +4 vs Death effects

Elf Abilities
Night Shifted

Renegade Abilities
Improved Defence, Ranged Combat, Stealth Skills, Climbing, Danger Sense (1-4 d6), Perception, Vital Strike x4, Read Languages, Stealth Skills

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Thief

Gear
Shortsword, dagger, throwing knife, crossbow

Renegades have a different feel to me than survivors, though both can be used as thieves. 

Meroc Trothgard
Meroc Trothgard

Class: Survivor (from NIGHT SHIFT)
Level: 12
Species: Human
Alignment: Night Good
Background: Hunter/Gatherer

Abilities
Strength: 15 (+1) N
Agility: 17 (+2) A
Toughness: 17 (+2) N
Intelligence: 12 (0) 
Wits: 14 (+1) 
Persona: 13 (+1) 

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: 2
Vitality: 90
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +6/+4/+2
Melee Bonus: +4 (base)
Ranged Bonus: +4 (base)
Saves: +4 vs Death effects

Renegade Abilities
Improved Defence, Ranged Combat, Stealth Skills, Climbing, Danger Sense (1-4 d6), Perception, Vital Strike x4, Read Languages, Stealth Skills

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Hunter

Gear
Longsword ("Trollslayer"), dagger, longbow

Mechanically, the Renegade and the Survivor are the same. But in this case, I add in the backgrounds to give them a different feel. With Meroc here, I also decided not to go with their multi-class Ranger/Thief and stuck with the Survivor.

Aristobulous Declan
Aristobulous Declan

Class: Sorcerer (from Wasted Lands)
Level: 13
Species: Half-elf
Alignment: Night Good
Background: Scholar

Abilities
Strength: 11 (0) 
Agility: 16 (+2) N
Toughness: 15 (+1) 
Intelligence: 17 (+2) A
Wits: 10 (0) 
Persona: 13 (+1) N

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: 3
Vitality: 72
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +6/+4/+2
Melee Bonus: +4 (base)
Ranged Bonus: +4 (base)
Saves: +4 vs Magic

Elf Abilities
Night Shifted

Sorcerer Abilities
Beguile, Enhanced Senses, Exorcist, Subtle Influence, Telekinesis

Spells
First Level (5): Arcane Darts, Chill Ray, Gout of Flame, Mystical Senses, Sleep, 
Second Level (4): Conjure Flame, Invisibility, Lesser Renewal, See Invisible
Third Level (4): Concussive Blast, Dark Lightning, Dispel Magic, Remove Curse 
Fourth  Level (4): Conjure Fire, Improved Invisibility, Paralyze Undead, Renewal
Fifth Level (3): Banishment, Shadow Armor, Teleport
Sixth Level (2): Destroy Undead, Dispel Evil
Seventh Level (1): Ball of Sunshine

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Magic

Gear
Quarterstaff, Dagger, dart

Mages are Sorcerers. This one has a lot spells to help survive Castle Ravenloft.

Father Ercon Valeran
Father Ercon Valeran

Class: Theosophist (from NIGHT SHIFT)
Level: 12
Species: Human
Alignment: Light Good
Background: Warrior

Abilities
Strength: 15 (+1) N
Agility: 18 (+3) 
Toughness: 16 (+1) N
Intelligence: 16 (+2) 
Wits: 20 (+4) A 
Persona: 19 (+3) 

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: 3
Vitality: 87
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +6/+4/+2
Melee Bonus: +2 (base)
Ranged Bonus: +2 (base)
Saves: +5 vs Wits 

Theosophist Abilities
See Dead people, Turn Undead x2, Summon Dead, Channel Dead, Death Knell, Suggestion, Command the Dead

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Hunter of the Dead

Gear
Mace ("Skullcrusher"), Quarterstaff, shortbow, holy symbol.

I can't help but notice that Father Ercon's Patron Deity is St. Werper. Nice touch Grenda!

I should stat up Strahd sometime as well. But I think he deserves his own post really. 


You can get the Wasted Lands RPG and the NIGHT SHIFT RPG at Elf Lair Games.

Character Creation Challenge


Thursday, January 16, 2025

Character Creation Challenge: Molley Hachit

Molley Hachit
Oh, have I got a fun one today! First off, this is not one of Grenda's characters, it actually belongs to my old Jr. High DM Jon Cook. Jon played with us for a while, but he was the first of our group to get a job (he made enough to buy a new car in high school) and the first of us to get a steady girlfriend. Secondly, this isn't the original version of Molley. It is a version I found with versions of a few of my own characters (Phygora, Nigel, Rogue, and Retsam). I seem to recall a "Greatest Hits" game we played in a few years into High School where we played different versions of our favorite characters. This one is special as well because this one of the very few women characters I can remember Jon playing. 

Molley Hachit (and yes that is the proper spelling!) is obviously based on the band Molly Hatchet. In particular their first album. Jon's older sister Mary (who sadly we also lost last year) had EXCELLENT taste in music. She was also a "Killer DM" so I would not be surprised if one version of Molley had not died at her hands. 

Molley is a fighter, and a pretty buff one at that. Of course, she wields a big axe. Hmm, I bet she would have gotten along with Karlach or Hervor. I can't help but think that the song "Bounty Hunter" was the inspiration for her. I can see her jumping into battle screaming "Hell Yeah!"

BUT. I am going to stat her up in Wasted Lands as a Renegade. This fits better with Jon's playstyle, really, and a nod to Mary, who was the biggest Styx fan in the world. 

Molley Hachit

Class: Renegade
Level: 3
Species: Neutral
Alignment: Twilight
Background: Barbarian

Abilities
Strength: 16 (+2) N
Agility: 11 (0) A
Toughness: 15 (+1) N
Intelligence: 12 (0) 
Wits: 13 (+1) 
Persona: 7 (-7)

Fate Points: 1d6
Defense Value: 3
Vitality: 15
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +3/+1/+0
Melee Bonus: +2 (base) 
Ranged Bonus: +2 (base) 
Saves: +3 vs Death effects (Renegade)

Renegade Abilities
Improved Defence, Ranged Combat, Stealth Skills, Climbing, Danger Sense (1-3), Perception, Vital Strike x3, Read Languages, Stealth Skills

Stealth Skills
Open Locks: 25%
Bypass Traps: 20%
Sleight of Hand: 30%
Sneak: 25%

Heroic/Divine Touchstones 
1st Level: +1 to Melee attacks
3rd Level: Luck Benefit 1d6

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Warrior

Gear
Big Axe, Dagger, Chain Armor, thieves tools

Ok, so she is not an optimized Renegade, and this character might be better served as a barbarian-like Warrior. But that is not how Jon used to play characters. The concept was key. And the sacrifice of some combat ability for some "thief skills" was always something he liked to do.

In any case. Damn. It sure was fun to see Molley again.  I should make her a member of the Fearless Five, who would then number seven. The Stalwart Seven, perhaps?


You can get the Wasted Lands RPG and the NIGHT SHIFT RPG at Elf Lair Games.

Character Creation Challenge


Wednesday, January 15, 2025

Character Creation Challenge: Briana Highstar

Briana Highstar
After discovering yesterday's healer, I have to admit I went searching through this large stack of characters looking for a witch. I found one and she was not who I suspected she was going to be. So for this special Witchcraft Wednesday of the Character Creation Challenge, I give you Briana Highstar.

Now that name sticks out. Grenda was very, very careful with his family names. He had (and you have seen here) dynasties of characters. The Addingdales are the prime example. So when he names someone "Highstar" especially at the time when Morgan Highstar was such a prominent character of his, it means something. 

Sadly, there is not much here on Briana Highstar. She is listed as an NPC. She does not show up in our shared timeline, and I have not been able to dig up anything else about her. So, a witch (a class I made) related to his major Riddlemaster (a class he made). There is a story here!

I know she is one of my witches, largely due to the spells. I mean, yeah, he could have been using another witch class and my spells. 1993 is about the time I finished my first big "publication" draft that combined all my notes and handwritten playtest documents. I still have it here, I just printed it out on a "new" type of printer, an inkjet. 

So what can I speculate about Briana Highstar?

Her sheet says that she is a diabolic witch and her patron devil is Mephistopheles. She is Lawful Evil. That's about it.

Given Grenda's frame of mind at the time (2/11/1993) I'll make the following assumptions.

She is the younger half-sister of Morgan Highstar; they share the same father but different mothers.  I'll tear a page from Arthurian legends and have their relationship (at least the antagonism) be the same as Arthur and Morgan le Fey's. The attitude would likely be Briana feels wronged by Morgan and Morgan doesn't even know who she is.

To amp up this antagonism, I'd have Briana look a lot like Morgan; black hair, gray eyes. Hell, she might look a bit like Katie McGrath's Morgana from Merlin. I'll admit it, I am a fan of her's. 

Maybe her motivation is to destroy his School of Riddlemasters. Or maybe she just wants to avenge herself on him. I don't know yet. She is Lawful Evil to his True Neutral, so maybe her plans are more complicated. Maybe "her" plans are not her's but Mephistopheles' instead. Who knows, I would have to put her into play and see what she does.

Briana Highstar, Baldur's Gate 3 version

Briana Highstar

Class: Witch
Level: 8
Species: Human
Alignment: Evil Dark
Background: Cultist

Abilities
Strength: 12 (+0) 
Agility: 16 (+2) 
Toughness: 13 (+1) 
Intelligence: 17 (+2) N
Wits: 17 (+2) A
Persona: 15 (+1) N

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: 1
Vitality: 26
Degeneracy: 32
Corruption: 1 (eyes glow an unnatural way, like a cats)

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +4/+3/+1
Melee Bonus: +1 (base) 
Ranged Bonus: +1 (base)
Saves: +4 vs spells and magical effects

Arcane Abilities
Beguile, Precognition, Shadow Walking

Heroic/Divine Touchstones 
1st Level: Additional 1st level Spell
3rd Level: Favored Weapon, Whip
5th Level: Spirit Guide: Cat Familiar 
7th Level: Magical Recovery

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Domination

Spells
First Level (4+1): Armor of Earth, Black Flames, Chill Ray, Phantom Lights, Read Languages
Second Level (3): Eternal Flame, Invisibility, See Invisible
Third Level (3): Animal Summoning 2, Dark Lightning, Globe of Darkness
Fourth Level (2): Black Tentacles, Kiss of the Succubus

Gear
Whip

Briana has a vendetta against all Riddlemasters. She wants to kill them all, but that is an impossible task, so she will settle on doing as much damage to them as she can. Her Patron, Mephistopheles, is using her to strike a blow to Balance, the force that Riddlemasters represent. 

I will certainly be using Briana more in adventures. Don't worry Grenda, I'll take care of her.

You can get the Wasted Lands RPG and the NIGHT SHIFT RPG at Elf Lair Games.

Character Creation Challenge


Tuesday, January 14, 2025

Character Creation Challenge: Aura the Elf Healer

Aura the Elf Healer
 One of the things I have been looking forward to seeing in this group of characters are the various classes Grenda and I created. You have already seen the various Riddlemasters, but we have not seen a witch at all or one of my classes. Well, today, I change that. Not a witch, but almost as good. Meet Aura, the Elf Healer.

Aura is interesting for a few reasons. First off, her class is "Healer," not a cleric. More on that in a bit. She has no creation date on her sheet, something we always did and I still often do. There is, in fact, very little writing on her sheet at all. This leads me to the conclusion that she was an NPC. 

She is also an elf. Not a half-elf, but a full elf, something Grenda rarely played. He was all about playing humans and maybe the occasional half-elf.  No shock, really, all his characters were part of a large extended family. He later added Cheysuli and Deryni. 

So Aura here is a healer. 

There is not enough detail on this sheet to determine which healer she was. I had made a couple of different attempts at this class. The big clue here is Undead Turning. I went back and forth a lot on whether or not healers could turn undead like a cleric. While I argued that healers could see undead as something like a disease, it is also a key feature of the cleric class. This one is from the time when they could still turn undead. 

OR

Grenda didn't have all my healer class notes (which is possible) and he rolled her up as a cleric and played her like a healer. In any case she also has some of the early weapons choices. I was inspired by the early Dragon magazine article about healers and had healers use only non-damage causing weapons. It made for a difficult class to play in combat.

In any case, it is nice to see one of "my" character classes here. I am still holding out for a proper witch, though.  

How do I know she is one of my healers and not another one? Well, she is from "Glantri," that is the biggest clue. And she is a Lawful Good character who worships Apollo. Most of my healers from this era were followers of Apollo.

Aura

Class: Necromancer (Light)
Level: 15
Species: Elf
Alignment: Light Good
Background: Elf

Abilities
Strength: 13 (0)
Agility: 16 (+2) N
Toughness: 16 (+2) 
Intelligence: 18 (+3) N
Wits: 19 (+3) A
Persona: 15 (+1) 

Fate Points: 1d12
Defense Value: 6
Vitality: 110
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +7/+4/+3
Melee Bonus: +3 (base)
Ranged Bonus: +3 (base)
Saves: +5 to Persona

Necromancer Abilities
Channel the Dead, See Dead people, Turn Undead, Protection from Dead x4, Summon the Dead, Vampiric Augmentation*, Suggestion x4, Command, Vampiric Touch*, Beguile Spirit x2, Call the Reaper.

Heroic Touchstones

1st Level: Psychic Power: Bio-feedback
3rd Level: Light
5th Level: Cure Light Wounds
7th Level:  Psychic Power: Domination
9th Level: Psychic Power: Supernatural Senses
11th Level: Conjure Flame
13th Level: Immunity to disease
15th Level: Cure Disease

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Healer

Gear
Holy symbol, healer's kit

There is not much to Aura's character on her sheets, but this version of her for the Wasted Lands has a lot of potential. What would an elf, with psychic powers, be doing as a healer trained in the temple of Apollo? In my combined mythos she would likely be a follower of Jäger and most likely a wood elf of some type.

OH. And many people have mentioned I should preserve these sheets, I zoomed out when taking a picture of Aura's sheet here so you all can see that she is in a protective sheet for a three-ring binder. All the characters are going into sheets like this.

You can get the Wasted Lands RPG and the NIGHT SHIFT RPG at Elf Lair Games.

Character Creation Challenge

Monday, January 13, 2025

Character Creation Challenge: Morgan Highstar

Morgan Highstar
Ah. Now, here was a character. Mogan Highstar was more than Grenda's favorite character, he was in a sense his self-insert. His way of experiencing the world of Dungeons & Dragons as himself. He was more than his version of my Johan. He was Johan, Larina, and "Retsam" all rolled into one for him. 

Finn Danis may have been the first "Starmaster" and eventual head of the school of Riddle Masters, but everything Finn learned, he learned first from Morgan.

Morgan Highstar was born CY 637. He was the first Riddlemaster. His first student, Finn, did not join his school until 659 when finn was only 8. 

Morgan was an accomplished card player and a firm supporter of the Cosmic Balance (in the Michael Moorcock sense). Going over the sheets I have here, he had been a worshiper of  Uller (more examples of our blending of Greek and Norse myths), but when he began his Riddlemaster training, he converted to the worship Xan Yae

Riddlemasters, as I have mentioned off and on, were psychic characters who masked their psychic powers by disguising them as magic. They were influenced by "The Chronicles of the Deryni" by Katherine Kurtz and a lot of B-Grade movies about psychic phenomena. They were a cloistered sect that (retconned) had existed for centuries. Morgan was the first Riddlemaster.

Like Finn, I am happy to make Morgan a Psychic, though I will eventually need to post more about Riddlemasters. 

Morgan Highstar 

Class: Psychic
Level: 14
Species: Human
Alignment: Neutral
Background: Scholar

Abilities
Strength: 18 (+3) N
Agility: 17 (+2) 
Toughness: 16 (+2) 
Intelligence: 18 (+3) N
Wits: 16 (+2) 
Persona: 18 (+3) A

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: 1
Vitality: 95
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +6/+4/+2
Melee Bonus: +4 (base) 
Ranged Bonus: +4 (base)
Saves: +5 vs Persona (Psychic)

Background
Additional languages.

Psychic Abilities
Psychic powers: 5, Supernatural attacks, Supernatural power: Astral Projection

Psychic Powers
Bio-feedback
Body Control
Empathy
Telepathy
Temporal Sense

Heroic/Divine Touchstones 
1st Level: +1 to melee attacks
3rd Level: Psychic power: Pyrokinesis
5th Level: Level 1 of Renegade (use of stealth skills)
7th Level: Level 2 of Renegade (increased stealth skills)
9th Level: +1/+5% to all attacks, saves, checks and skills
11th Level: Spell resistance 20%
13th Level: Character ceases to age

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Balance

Gear
Sword ("Balancer")

Again, while I am very happy replicating any D&D class in Wasted Lands, Riddlemasters, by their very nature, are a little more difficult. Should I do a "Riddlemaster" class for Wasted Lands/NIGHT SHIFT/13 Parsecs? Well...there is a desire, but I am not sure how practical it would be.  The classes were not very practical for D&D to be honest! I would need to distill them to their essence and build them up from that.

Something other than "how crazy can we get with this?"

You can get the Wasted Lands RPG and the NIGHT SHIFT RPG at Elf Lair Games.

Character Creation Challenge


Sunday, January 12, 2025

Character Creation Challenge: Vale Warmark

Vale Warmark
 Here is another character I do not know. He looks like he was part of a campaign of all evil characters called The Black Sun, but that is all I know. This is from his time period of 1988 to 1990 when he made a lot of characters. 

Vale Warmark is a Cheysuli, like Finn Danis. In *D&D a different species is harder to detail since bonuses and penalties need to be considered. Wasted Lands, NIGHT SHIFT, and Thirteen Parsecs new species are all baked into the rules and covered by our "Supernatural" type (from NIGHT SHIFT). Also, like many of Grenda's characters, he has psionics.

His class is listed as "Fighter (Special)." I wonder if this was some sort of play-test character. He has fighter abilities as well as cleric spells and undead turning, but he is not a Paladin.

When I originally pulled this sheet I was going to make him a point-buy character using the Night Companion rules for NIGHT SHIFT. But the results were not satisfactory. Especially since the Divine Warrior seems to do the trick very well. But, given his Lawful bent and the fact that he worships Xan Yae from the World of Greyhawk, he has led me down a different path. I think he works best as a Mystic Martial Artist.

While the Mystic Martial Artist is great for monks (AD&D) or say ninjas, or wuxia like warriors, it is also great for any sort of character that makes combat a way of life. 

Vale Warmark
Vale Warmark

Class: Mystic Martial Artist
Level: 1
Species: Cheysuli (using the Supernatural type from NIGHT SHIFT and other species rules from Wasted Lands)
Alignment: Dark Evil
Background: Warrior

Abilities
Strength: 17 (+2) N
Agility: 18 (+) A 
Toughness: 17 (+2) N
Intelligence: 16 (+2)  
Wits: 17 (+2) 
Persona: 15 (+1) 

Fate Points: 1d6
Defense Value: 0
Vitality: 5 (d6)
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 3

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +2/+1/+0
Melee Bonus: +1 (base) +3 (MMA)
Ranged Bonus: +1 (base) +3 (MMA)
Saves: +1 vs AGL and TOU saves.

Mystic Martial Arts Abilities
+3 to Agility, Add AGL bonus to attacks, Martial Arts: Sword (like Kendo)

Heroic Touchstones
Level 1: Psychic Ability: Bio-feedback

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Order

Gear
Sword (Mailbite), Dagger, Mace, splint mail armor

Ok. He is only first level here, but looking over his AD&D sheet and the abilities that Mystic Martial Artists get as they level up, I see that this is a great fit.  I am not sure how important the cleric abilities were to this character, so I may add them later on as a Heroic Touchstone or not. 

I do wonder what class Vale was supposed to have been.

You can get the Wasted Lands RPG, the NIGHT SHIFT RPG, and Thirteen Parsecs RPG at Elf Lair Games.


Character Creation Challenge

Saturday, January 11, 2025

Character Creation Challenge: Rogar Addingdale

Rogar Addingdale
 Rogar is not the first character Grenda ever created. The earliest one I can find is still Torvak, but he was a very important one. Rogar is the progenitor and patriarch of the Addingdale line.

According to my notes Rogar was born in CY 613. He is Chaotic Neutral (as a lot of Grenda's characters were), he worships Loki (makes sense), he is the son of Zeus...come again??

Ok. I have no issues at all with the "son of Zeus" bit. Zeus notoriously could not keep it in his pants. The Son of Zeus worshipping Loki though? Well...it was the 1980s, and I remember Gods, Demi-gods & Heroes making the rounds at my school back then, and yes, everyone was doing exactly what Gary and Tim Kask had explicitly told us not to do; fight gods as monsters. So, really...my groups were doing something else with gods, and it also started with an F. Mixing the Greek and Norse myths was not uncommon. I did it with my own Black Forest Mythos not that long ago. So, sure, I'll let this one slide.

Now depending on which sheet I look at Rogar is either a Cleric or a Fighter/Magic-user. Unlke others of the Addingdale line he has no psionics. I think I am going to stick with the cleric. Mostly because I want to give him a better tie-in with his offspring and try to work out his whole Zeus and Loki thing. BUT since this is for the Wasted Lands, I'll do him as a Necromancer instead. It's not a perfect fit, but I think it will be a fun one.

Rogar Addingdale
Rogar Addingdale

Class: Necromancer
Level: 1
Species: Human
Alignment: Twilight Neutral
Background: Warrior

Abilities
Strength: 18 (+3) N
Agility: 16 (+2) 
Toughness: 17 (0) 
Intelligence: 18 (+) 
Wits: 17 (+2) A
Persona: 18 (+2) N

Fate Points: 1d6
Defense Value: 1
Vitality: 5 
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +2/+1/+0
Melee Bonus: +0 (base), +3 (STR)
Ranged Bonus: +0 (base)
Saves: +3 to all Persona Saves, +2 to Toughness (Warrior background)

Necromancer Abilities
Channel the Dead, See Dead People, Summon the Dead, Command Spirits, Protection from Undead, Turn Undead

Heroic/Divine Touchstones
1st Level: Cure Light Wounds Spell

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Vengence

Gear
War hammer, Scale armor, Holy symbol

Not bad at all. In this case, he is a necromancer due to his hatred of the undead. So, he uses those powers to fight them.

You can get the Wasted Lands RPG and the NIGHT SHIFT RPG at Elf Lair Games.

Character Creation Challenge