Character Creation Rules

[Sensibleshoes]

#1 Attributes: Roll 1 more die than specified (i.e. 4d6 instead of 3d6), throwing out the lowest die rolled and tallying up the total as the final attribute. This continues straight down the line as normal. You do not have to accept any roll tally that is lower than 8. Then roll a second time, selecting the higher of the two totals as the final attribute. If you need a certain attribute for an occ, you can roll as many sets of attributes as you need to get an ability score array that will allow you to meet the requirements of that occ. Update: if you get a set that really doesn't work for you, you can roll up to 6 sets to get a character you can work with. If you need more than that, we can reexamine it. I want everyone to be happy with their characters, I also don't want to burden everyone with a completely open, roll as many times as you want, system so that people feel like they can't finish.

 

#2 RCC/OCC: everyone's character has the mutant animal rcc and an occ, another compatible rcc, or something similar like a Nightbane morph or a Superhero/Supervillain.

 

For example, you could be a mutant animal otter and an elemental fusionist. Or a mutant animal wolf and a nightbane. Or a mutant animal rat and an assassin.

Both the rcc and the occ level up at the same time.

You get all the skills and abilities/Bio-E modifications of both the rcc and occ. Take whichever hp/sdc advancement is higher. If you have overlapping skills from your mutant animal rcc and occ, either pick new ones or you'll receive a bonus for picking the same skill twice (I have rules for this, but we don't need to get into it unless someone actually wants to do that).

There will probably be some other issues we'll have to deal with, but those comments should cover most of the rules interactions.

Start at level 5.

 

#3 Free Secondary Skills: To avoid having to come up with untrained skill checks rules for lots of common actions, I'm giving some common 'country skills' as free secondary skills so we can just have normal skill check rolls for this kind of stuff in the game. It's also going to be a pain if everyone fails common wilderness stuff like tracking b/c no one has it as a skill, so I'd rather just have that as assumed background competency to avoid getting slowed down by mechanical silliness. If you already get these from an rcc or occ, just pick another secondary skill to compensate.

 

Note: Edit this list of 'base package' secondary skills if you need to to reflect a more urban background for your character. It should give you a sense of the basic kinds of stuff you should automatically be able to do.
 

Communication

Barter

Language

Sing

Espionage

Wilderness

Survival

Horsemanship

Horsemanship: General
Mechanical

Basic Mechanics

Medical

Animal Husbandry

Brewing: Medicinal

First Aid

Holistic Medicine

Military

Camouflage

Physical

Physical Labor

Pilot

Boat: Paddle

Science

Math: Basic

Technical

Breed Dogs

General Repair

Jury Rig

Leather Working

Masonry

Rope Work

Salvage

Whittling

Pretty much any Lore

Wilderness

Carpentry

Hunting

Identify Plants and Fruit

Land Navigation

Preserve Food

Skin and Prepare Hides

Track and Trap Animals

Wilderness Survival

 

#4 HP/SDC: You can roll your health value twice and taken the highest, and also reroll all 1s.

 

#5 Equipment: I'm just handwaving this and encumbrance rules -- just pick stuff that's thematically appropriate for your character -- don't be silly a have two boom guns or similar nonsense, but just pick reasonable equipment.

 

#6 Advancement: I'm not adding up xp -- it's a pain in this system since it's granular down to stuff like skill checks. I'll just tell you when you go up in level. I'll probably hand out additional micro-advancements between levels like the option to learn a new skill or some additional Bio-E points.

 

#7 The Palladium Books forums have several threads of homebrew that you can use if you want: https://palladiumbooks.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=12&sid=2dec163e6967ec098119575f78a48cd2#6

Edited September 20, 2023 by Sensibleshoes (see edit history)

[Svartalf]

Which palladium game should we choose OCCs from?

is Rifts OK, is demigod acceptable?

[Sensibleshoes]

You can pick from fantasy, rifts, dead reign etc., but this is an sdc world with steam punk as opposed to space age tech, so no demigods, alien intelligences, glitterboys, dragon juicers, or similar concepts.

My concept for this was stuff like a fox mutant ranger or a black cat mutant witch or a dog mutant knight or rat mutant assassin, for example.

 

Edited August 31, 2023 by Sensibleshoes (see edit history)

[Svartalf]

Cool, so a wolverine medic or special forces soldier will do... just wanted to know exactly where you are sitting.

 

 

Edited August 31, 2023 by Sensibleshoes (see edit history)

[Sensibleshoes]

Yes something like that. You're already going to have a lot more extra skills and abilities than a normal AtB character, you don't need to go crazy -- probably focus on the sdc settings like Nightbane, Fantasy, Dead Reign, and Beyond the Supernatural. There is good/relevant stuff in like New West, Lonestar, and Spirit West, but I'm not interested in trying to break the game here -- the players aren't supposed to be the most specialest snowflakes or the strongest possible characters in the world.

Edited August 31, 2023 by Sensibleshoes (see edit history)

[Svartalf]

Well, I'll think it over and I'll make me a beastie, if I've gone off the road, you tell me and I'll correct it

[Sensibleshoes]

Still need to see if there's enough interest, only one other has contacted me, but it's a new advert.

[Svartalf]

OH, BTW, do you know the dice formula to get the kind of rolls you ask for? I never managed to master the system in OGMW, let alone here.

[Sensibleshoes]

I just signed up for here, I have no idea unfortunately, I'm about to start experimenting with it myself.

[Sensibleshoes]

roll test

Edited August 31, 2023 by Sensibleshoes (see edit history)

[Sensibleshoes]

There are buttons on the dice wizard -- you can make it roll4, keep 3 highest. You can also do a bunch of rolls at once if you keep adding rolls.

[Svartalf]

more silly interrogations

a) what's the tech level of this postapoc future? are energy weapons and other futuristic stuff appropriate?

b) is Ninja and Superspies and appropriate source (no bionics, if I wanted those, I'd go straight to HU)

[Sensibleshoes]

It's a strange admixture (and it's not the future, it's the post apocalyptic Colonial past) -- 'Colonial Atompunk' is the best way to describe it -- it's like Colonial New England, but with esoteric/hermetic/masonic alchemy mutations and bioorganic material and Nikolai Tesla electro-ethereum tech that resembles Jules Verne-WWI retro-futurism. Deadlands, Malifaux are some good aesthetic touchstones, but with more of a Van-Helsing, Solomon Kane aesthetic.

You can use Ninjas and Superspies -- you can basically use any Palladium book, I just don't want a bunch of demigods as the party.

Edited September 1, 2023 by Sensibleshoes (see edit history)

[Svartalf]

So, my mercenary is as likely to have a steampunk vril rifle as a musket, and not likely a modern weapon... it's somewhat important if I have to substitute some skills

[Sensibleshoes]

Vril energy is just the kind of thing I was thinking of -- like a bayonet which shoots black sun energy or has flesh dissolving alchemical flesh solvent on its serrated edge. Helmets with energy bars or armor with a breastplate made out of ectoplasm.