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Cooking Characters System-to-System: A Primer

Character generation should be fun. It can be quick, it can be comprehensive, it can make me do homework, it can give me quick bites of rules - I don't care, but creating - or cooking - a character should be enjoyable. The character sheet and the character creation rules are the first things players interact with the game, especially for those who have not engaged the game to run it. They help prepare the ingredients to make the perfect little slugger to jump into the game.

cooking is finding chemistry in the kitchen

Since I've been reading a lot of games and not playing them, I've decided to engage TTRPG systems by making characters from them. And judge them if they are fun. For me specifically. But hope what I input here are enough for readers to make a judgement for themselves. So potentially a bias review.

But to make it exciting for me, I made some rules based on how I make characters for most of my games.

1. To guide my character generation, I will employ into making versions of my usual character archetypes I play in one-shot games. These archetypes are born from joining a lot of games, unrooted to the conventional types from genre, race, class, or backgrounds. It includes a mixture of expected demeanor, outlook, playstyle, and lifestyle. Not all qualities have to be used nor be true, see #3.

A. [Dimaapi] - literally means "cannot be oppressed". fighter, liberator, stubborn.

  • "Violence is one of many solutions to problems, it pays to be good at it"
  • "Always have a plan, and always expect that you won't follow it"
  • "Friends and family are a treasure, be grateful"
  • "The easy life is a lie built by oppressors; there is always a battle to get ready to"

B. [Dimabiro] - literally means "cannot be humored". serious, commerce-minded, irritable.

  • "Violence is a tool, and should be used accordingly"
  • "Think twice before you jump, then think again after"
  • "Found family will keep you humble and strong"
  • "The easy life is a privilege you build and flourish; make sure to defend it well"

C. [Dimasilaw] - literally means "cannot be blinded by light". explorer, curious, naive.

  • "Violence is the last resort, but I'm never out of options to avoid it"
  • "If trying your best doesn't work, try something different"
  • "Friends and family are allies, always connect with them"
  • "The easy life is a poison that rots our psyche; it's our responsibility to make the most of our years"

2. I will stick to the char gen rules from the core book or quickstart or whatever media we used. No expansions, no optional rules, no extra help from online tools. If I do need to read further to better understand some choices - peculiar stat names, setting-based choices, etc. - I can still do. Rules that are easy to parse and follow, no matter how long or extensive, will be a big factor of enjoyment.

I follow the games' character generation rules for non-fluff stuff - stats, HP, money, abilities, etc. If rolling is required, I roll. If I can choose or roll, I roll. If choosing is required, we follow what makes the character competent. 

For fluff stuff - names, motivations, demeanor, connections, origins, connection - or any options with no mechanical benefits and rolling is required, I roll twice and choose the better option for our archetype. See #3 for more details.

For games with multiple characters expected at creation - funnels, rotating casts, family lineage - the rules will still be the same. I'll still choose archetypes for each character if needed.

3. It is in the nature of games that I might not be able build the original archetype qualities, either the game does not have those choices, or bad luck on the rolls. In those cases, reinterpretation or complete reversal is allowed for certain qualities built for archetypes, as long as it does not defy the archetype as a whole. 

Example:

  • [Dimaapi] - can be a coward in fights and danger, but it is born out of a loss he could never forget. and so he motivates and encourages friends and family to be strong enough to never experience such trauma
  • [Dimabiro] - can be a jester/funny merchant, but it might be just a mask they employ to build and protect their business and privileged life
  • [Dimasilaw] - can be a violent loner, but only because institutions refuse to acknowledge their researched insights. Only thru violence against authority can they find new paths

4. We put them all in the game's official character sheet, if they have one. I'll either post in blog as an image or link an uploaded drive file. Maybe both. Whichever make sense.

I will emphasize that the character sheet is the UI for players, and is very big criteria for char gen. Having a functional and presentable one for your game matters a lot, giving lasting impression for new players and usability for long-time adventurers. It's the reason why you see a lot of customize sheets offline and online.

5. The last part is judging! And I'll do it with 3 factors in mind, and a vague scoring system:

  • Fun for players <0 to 10 points> 
    • easiness to build, comprehensiveness, build flexibility, evocative choices, excellent character sheet. Engages me to make characters and hope for their victory or demise  
  • Fun for GMs <0 to 5 points> 
    • easiness to connect to game session or adventure, how heavy-handed the setting is to the character, how many unique things a GM have to remember about multiple players. Engages me to play with these kinds of characters on an adventure or module.
  • Fun for designer <0 to 5 points> 
    • clever creation mechanics, interesting character sheet, provides way to make integration of player and GM fun. Engages me to design a game with similar char gen options or techniques.

Why bigger points for player fun? Because they are the ones that will play it, silly. And no matter how good the char gen is for designers and GMs, if it sucks for players, it sucks. 

I collect all the points, and the review will be marked as follows: 

  • [0-5 PTS]: BACK TO THE CHOPPING BOARD!
    • Uhh maybe they should find a new market to shop their ingredients, or find a better chef
  • [6-10 PTS]: THIS IS RAWWW!
    • Has nice bits and pieces, but didn't cook well. Or maybe some bad slices in an otherwise good recipe
  • [11-15 PTS]: SOMETHING'S COOKING!
    • Good ingredients, good recipe, good taste! 
  • [15-20 PTS]: WE EATING GOOD!  
    • The dish is superb, the cook is amazing, and we have to let people know! 

And there you go! We start with our first cook here.

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