Today I have been working on a template for GURPS Fourth Edition to help players create a fresh new 16-year-old hunter for roaming the plains of Balazar. This has been a good exercise for me in learning to use the GURPS rules.

The basic plan is to run a low-fantasy Bronze Age (TL1) game set in Balazar (from Griffin Mountain) with the players using youthful Balazaring hunters so that they can learn about the world through the eyes of excited and impressionable young folk.

This will be a realistic, relatively rules-light GURPS game utilising the Basic Set, Fantasy, Low-Tech, and Magic. The characters will be Competent (75 points) with Attributes in the 9-14 range to begin. The template aims to give a good sense of the skills that all Balazarings know and offer some customisation through Advantages.

Balazaring Hunter                                                                   45 points

You are a young hunter ready to prove yourself on the ranges of Balazar.

Attributes: ST 10 [0]; DX 10 [0]; IQ 10 [0]; HT 10 [0].

Secondary Characteristics: Dmg 1d-2/1d; BL 20 lbs.; HP 10 [0]; Will 10 [0]; Per 10 [0]; FP 10 [0]; Basic Speed 5.0 [0]; Basic Move 5 [0].

Advantages: Balazaring (Spoken, Native) [0]. Choose 25 points from: Absolute Direction [5]; Acute Hearing-2 [4]; Acute Vision-2 [4]; Ambidexterity [5]; Animal Empathy [5]; Charisma-1 [5]; Combat Reflexes [15]; Common Sense [10]; Danger Sense [15]; Daredevil [15]; Eidetic Memory [5]; Empathy [15]; Enhanced Block [5]; Enhanced Dodge [15]; Enhanced Parry [5]; Fearlessness-1 [2]; Fit [5]; Flexibility [5]; Hard To Kill-1 [2]; Hard To Subdue-1 [2]; High Manual Dexterity-1 [5]; High Pain Threshold [10]; Intuition [15]; Language Talent [10]; Less Sleep-2 [4]; Luck [15]; Magery-0 [5]; Medium [10]; Night Vision-1 [1]; Oracle [15]; Perfect Balance [15]; Plant Empathy [5]; Rapid Healing [5]; Serendipity-1 [15]; Single-Minded [5]; Social Chameleon [5]; High Status-1 [5]; Versatile [5]; Very Fit [15]; Voice [10]; Weapon Master (One specific weapon) [20].

Disadvantages: Balazaring (Written, Broken) [-2]; Low TL-1 [-5]; Sense of Duty (Clan) [-10].

Choose one of: Berserk (12 or less) [-10], Enemies (Rival Clan, 9 or less) [-10], Impulsiveness [-10], Lunacy [-10]; Overconfidence (6 or less) [-10].

Primary Skills: Armoury (Melee) (A) IQ+0 [2]-10; Brawling (E) DX+1 [2]-11;; Hiking (A) HT+0 [2]-10; Knife (E) DX+1 [2]-11; Observation (A) Per+0 [2]-10; Running (A) HT+0 [2]; Shield (E) DX+1 [2]-11; Stealth (A) DX+0 [2]-10; Swimming (E) HT+0 [1]-10; Tracking (A) Per+0 [2]-10; Throwing (A) DX+0 [2]-10; Wrestling (A) DX+0 [2]-10.

Choose one of: Axe/Mace (A) DX+1 [4]-11 or Spear (A) DX+1 [4]-11.

Choose one of: Bow (A) DX+1 [4]-11, Thrown Axe/Mace (E) DX+2 [4]-12, or Thrown Spear (E) DX+2 [4]-12.

Secondary Skills: Animal Handling (Dogs) (A) IQ-1 [1]-9; Armoury (Missile) (A) IQ-1 [1]-9; Camouflage (E) IQ+0 [1]-10; Climbing (A) DX-1 [1]-9; First Aid (E) IQ+0 [1]-10; Gesture (E) IQ+0 [1]-10; Holdout (A) IQ-1 [1]-9; Jumping (E) DX+0 [1]-10; Naturalist (A) IQ-2 [1]-8; Traps (A) IQ-1 [1]-9.

Background Skills: Carousing (E) HT+0 [1]-10; Hearthkeeping (E) IQ+0 [1]-10; Merchant (A) IQ-1 [1]-9; Professional Skill (Butchering) (A) DX-1 [1]-9; Religious Ritual (H) IQ-2 [1]-8; Weather Sense (A) IQ-1 [1]-9.

Because the players have 75 points, they have 30 points to spend on Attributes or further skills. It’s suggested that some skills might be worthwhile in addition to the templated ones: Cartography; Esoteric Medicine; Forced Entry; Herb Lore; Jeweler; Meditation; Mimicry; Savoir-Faire; Search; Theology.

That said, the intention is not to use the template as-is in the strictly regular sense. My plan is to run a pre-game character creation session during which this template informs a narrative process where players make in-game decisions in response to events that arise during their early life.

If your eagle-eyes spot ways I can improve this template, feel free to drop a comment below.

Game on!