This is a solo actual play write up from in-play notes. As I commented in yesterday’s post, I am very much in the mode of exploring a new game’s possibilities but because I enjoy making characters, that’s where I began. This is unedited and may contain minor typos.

We’ll begin with a character and some dice, a pencil and an eraser. We’ll begin with random generation and the intuitions about who our first protagonist might be. We’ll see how far into this unimaginably old world we can journey.

Let us begin.

We’ll begin with dice rolls in order:

3d6 for…
STR 9
CON 3
POW 11
DEX 13
CHA 14

Then 2d6+6 for…

INT 14
SIZ 12

So they are not a hardy or strong person, that is for sure, but they show intellectual and social characteristics alongside a certain dexterousness. Interesting.

I know that I feel drawn to the Primitive culture, imagining a home made within caves high on the side of a mountain which is itself surrounded my deep forests. I am picturing a high place among a range of hills and mountains but raised above and apart from the wider world. It is a place where the People have existed for many generations, surviving as hunters and gatherers sheltered within the caves. This is a sacred place to them, a home but also a shelter given by the spirits who ally with them.

I am not sure I have ever rolled so poorly for Constitution but let’s record the Characteristics on the character sheet and press forward to conceive and build this person.

Attributes are derived from the Characteristics – so we record those on the sheet too:

• Action Points 2, simply because that is the default for Mythras Imperative – that might change should we upgrade to the full Core Rules.
• Damage Modifier is +0.
• The Experience Modifier is +1, reflecting this person’s high Charisma and indicating that others in the community are well-disposed to helping them.
• The Healing Rate, however, is 1 due to that low Constitution. This means slow recovery from injury.
• Initiative Bonus is the average of DEX and INT, netting a 14 due to the rule of always rounding up. This is promising.
• Luck Points are based on POW and can be used to re-roll the dice, mitigate injury, or gain an edge in combat. This character has 2 Luck.
• Magic Points are equal to POW, giving us 11.
• The Movement Rate for all humans is 6 metres.
• The Hit Points are derived from CON+SIZ, which is 15 total, giving him a lower than average spread across the body locations.
• Next I need to total the Basic Percentage for all the Standard Skills, so I’ll go do that off-screen.

New characters assign skill points based on their Culture, Career, and then gain bonus points. I have already decided to use the Primitive Culture:

“Of all peoples, primitives are those that live closest with the land, in tune with its hidden secrets. Living in extended family groups, primitive cultures gather around very simple dwellings that can range from caves and areas of natural shelter through to lean-tos or very basic huts. Primitives are typically hunter-gatherers with either few, or poorly developed, systems for farming and husbandry. However, certain cultural beliefs, often based on superstitions, can be very well defined. Few primitive cultures have developed anything approaching a written language although paintings and other pictorial symbols serve as a means of communication.”

Mythras Imperative, pages 8-9

The Standard Skills offered are: Brawn, Endurance, Evade, Locale, Perception, Stealth; and one of either Athletics, Boating or Swim. In addition the player may also choose a cultural Combat Style. Imagining a character from the mountains makes it reasonable to choose Athletics over the water-based skills.

The Professional Skills offered are: Craft (any), Healing, Lore (any), Musicianship, Navigation, Survival, Track. From these we can pick just three. I sense that choosing Healing, Survival, and Track appear reasonable.

I can divide 100 points among these skills. Although Imperative places no limits on how to spend them, I know that Mythras Core states you assign them in 5% blocks and no more than 15% to any one skill. I am going to honour that in case I choose to upgrade to the Core Rules later on.

There are 11 skills, including the Combat Style, so I’ll choose 2 at 15%, 5 at 10%, and 4 at 5%. The character’s Combat Style will be called “Wolf Hunter” and feature the Skirmishing trait – this allows ranged attacks while walking or running. I am imagining the use of a primitive bow, axe, spears, and knife. I feel this needs one of those +15% boosts. I’ll go and add some bonuses to the other key skills, prioritising the Healing skill too. The low CON is a big drag on those Survival and Track skills though.

The Career choice, which I prefer to think of as more a professional specialism in a fantasy realm, gives another 100 Skill points to spend. Again, Mythras Core specifies a +15% limit on any one skill so we’ll honour that. It’s the same drill: a bunch of Standard Skills to improve and then choose 3 from the list of Professional Skills.

Looking at the list of Careers in Imperative, I think Scout might be the most sensible choice.

While I sense the world of the game is very magical, highly infused with spirit, and alive with strangeness, I also want to keep things simple at the beginning. I have a sense that learning “magic” (whatever that might mean) is going to be a trial and adventure in itself. My sense is that you have to find spiritual beings who will teach you such powers, and even then it is neither highly potent nor easily used.

For now, our first character will be a Scout – or perhaps more of a Pioneer or Explorer. I see this character as always scanning the far horizon and drawn to exploration, hence why they might leave the safety of the caves.

Standard Skills offered are: Athletics, Endurance, First Aid, Perception, Stealth, Swim; Combat Style (Specific Hunting or Cultural Style).

Professional Skills offered are: Culture (any), Healing, Language (any), Lore (any), Navigation, Survival, Track

That gives us 10 skills – 6 Standard, 3 Professional, and the Combat Style. Straight 10% boosts is simple. I choose Healing, Navigation, and Survival as the Professional Skills.

We come to the Bonus Skill Points next and my intuition is that I am going to limit myself to a Young character. This means they get 100 points with a +10% maximum. For age, we roll 10+1d6… 4 makes that 14. These points can be allocated to any Standard Skill or the Professional Skills as desired. I’ll boost the Combat Style, all four of the Professional Skills, and then five Standard skills: Endurance desperately needs uplifting, as does Willpower and Influence; I also fancy boosting Insight and Unarmed. There we go!

Passions:

“Passions are used to assist players and Games Masters in deepening the nature of the character, introducing plot hooks based on a character’s desire or prejudices, and helping the player to understand who his character is, what drives him, and so on.”

Mythras Imperative, page 15

They are measured in a way similar to skills – as a percentage. Beginning characters start with up to three Passions, each based on two Characteristics, but the first gets +40%, the second +30%, and the third +20%. I am going to have this character driven by Seek (Knowledge), Desire (Power), and Protect (the People)… in that order.

Equipment is the final step. They are granted clothing appropriate to their profession and the setting. I am imagining Hides and Furs, which grant 1 Armour Point to all locations – I am imagining a fur hood and then fur wrappings for the arms and legs, plus a hide tunic. Instead of money, which isn’t something the People use, I think having some food and water to prevent immediate hardship is reasonable.

They are given a personal trinket of some kind, so I imagine a totem – perhaps the proverbial Rabbit’s Foot is appropriate. They are also allowed tools and weapons appropriate, so I’ll give them a Bow and some arrows, an Axe, and a Dagger – although I am imagining it as a large knife. We’ll see if anything else seems appropriate as we play but I am imagining this character travelling light.

All we need now is a name: Little Fox. Here’s the sheet for Little Fox.

Game on!