I wrote up my character for Vic's Felltower side game.
Handsome is a half-orc scout.
Highlights:
ST 13
DX 14
IQ 11
HT 14
Speed 7
Move 7
HP, FP, and Per all 14.
Traits include Strongbow, Flawless Nocking, Flawless Fast-Draw, and Overdraw, a power-up that hasn't seen print yet.
At the moment with the limited set of disads in DFRPG he has Greed, Bloodlust, Bad Temper (because I do), and a Vow to own nothing more than he can carry, because I don't want to have to deal with a long equipment list like my GT guy Hillbilly has.
My original plan was some torso armor, boots, and a helmet. But since I don't have funds for a cornucopia quiver, I decided to chuck $500 at a Dwarven whetstone to sharpen my impaling and cutting arrows. So all he has is some basic delving gear, a hatchet, a knife, a longbow, 50 arrows, and a will to kill someone to take their armor and helmet. Torso armor and helmet, anyway, and maybe boots and gloves. We'll see - No Encumbrance is 34 pounds and I'd prefer to stay there for Dodge 10 and Move 7.
I may change that decision back. But with a ST 15 longbow I do 1d+3; sharpened up they'll do 1d+4, and I can get +2 with Overdraw for 1d+6. Should be sufficient to start with.
My shortlist of power-ups to get is Slayer Training (Bow/Vitals) for 3 points. I should be able to do that in a single session, and cut Vitals penalties to -1.
Overall I'm pleased with how he came out. I wasn't originally planning on HT 14, which I feel is excessive, but scouts have HT 12, Half-Orcs get +1 for HT 13, and Scouts buy up Speed from 6.5 to 7 for [10]. I saved 5 already there, so why not take the other 5 out and combine them for +1 HT and the same Basic Move? The math just worked. I should have taken Fit and asked constantly "Does Fit add to this roll?"
I gave him some fun quirks. I may noodle around with his disads some more, because I'm tired of every scout feeling the same. But -50 is hard with their selection and there isn't really much else that suits them. And I wanted something that bound my guy to the part - Code of Honor (Outlaw's) - without Sense of Duty, which I find suicidal sometimes.
We'll see if anything changes. But he looks fun to play right now.
You allow Greed and Vow "Own no more than you can carry" on a character?
ReplyDeleteI always imagine the Vow to be slightly milder Vow of Poverty; just that allows you to have nice equipment and enough cash to function with what you have.
I don't see a contradiction here. Greed is the desire for money, but it doesn't require you to keep it, just try to get it. The Vow is pretty direct in its promise - you'll own no more than you can carry. That doesn't mean Poverty, especially not in a world where a PC can have a Bottomless Backpack full of gemstones or carry a $100,000 bow or sword. It just means you vow not to accumulate non-carried wealth.
DeleteThis is an actual disadvantage in a megadungeon game, where you can effectively stash unlimited amounts of gear "in town" for when you need it. The Vow says that you can't, and you can't have a big whack of gear that you "leave home." Your adventuring loadout is all you own . . .
It's even slightly worse than that, you can't even leave a stash of money back in town, you have to carry your 999,999$ with you until you can get that last 1$ to buy the outrageously expensive 100K$ bow. So if you lose your pack in a dungeon... !!!!!!
DeleteWhich also means either you carry nigh on 100K in coinage (heavy) or you trade them into smaller, lighter fungible assets (at horrid exchange rates!)... which are just as susceptible to loss! Or even damage! Imagine if you get hit by a giant's swung club and the Vicious GM (that's what Vic is short for right?) rolls to randomly see what gear takes the brunt of the damage and it's your gem pouch! Right in the old jewels!
"I don't see a contradiction here. Greed is the desire for money, but it doesn't require you to keep it, just try to get it."
DeleteRight, keeping it is Miserly. So Greed plus Miserly is ye olde 'dragon's hoarde' disadvantage (or Scrooge's vices).
In fact, I often consider raising the cost of Miserly in DF, because kinda worse than a lot of other disads... but also kinda not. Miser doesn't have the danger of Greed or SoD, it just makes it harder to "up level" your gear.