Customized Heroes with Skills and Disabilities

[Malcadon]

Years ago, I came-up with ways to create customized Heroes. After to retooling, I came-up with this (more or less). So here is what it looks like:

Base Body and Mind Points: Distribute 10 points between the two scores. They must be between 2-8.
Base Attack Die: 1
Base Defense Die: 2
Base Movement Points: 8
Base Luck Points: 0

The player may allocate 1 (or more - see below) point, to buy the following:
1 point per extra Body Point (up to 8).
1 point per extra Mind Point (up to 8).
1 point per extra die of Attack (up to 3).
1 point per extra die of Defense (up to 3).
1 point per 2 extra Movement Points (up to 12).
1 point per Luck Point (up to 3). (these points are used to make re-rolls or "draw again" results)
1 (or more) point per skill (up to 3).

Here are some samples of skills:
Trap Mastery - (as Dwarf)
Basic Spellcasting - May cast one spell element.
Assassin - Count as having an unlimited supply of Daggers, for the sake of throwing.
Fleet-Footed - Can cross difficult squares, as if they are empty squires.
[monster]-Slayer - re-roll one Attack Dice against a chosen type of Monster (e.g. Goblin-Slayer).
Wealth - Gain a 100 gold coin stipend after each Quest (or 500, with 2 points).
Hit-and-Run - May move, stop to attack, then continue to move, if any MPs are left.
Sneaky - May enter a room unnoticed by monsters on a 5 or 6 (if alone, the monsters count as inactive, until another Hero 'sees' it)
Foresight - Can detect monsters (and what types) on the other-side of a closed door, on a 5 or 6.
Divine Hand - Once per game (per point), the Hero can recover 1-6 Body Points, on himself, or an adjacent Hero.
Advanced Spellcasting (counts as 2 skills) - May cast three spell elements.
Divine Aura (counts as 2 skills) - Undead and Demons cannot be adjacent to the hero, on a 5 er 6.
Fast (counts as 2 skills) - gain an extra action for the turn (up to 2 actions).

Players may add to the the above, by taking any of the following handicaps:
1 extra point, by loosing one Body Point (as low as 2).
1 extra point, by loosing one Mind Point (as low as 2).
1 extra point, by loosing two Movement Points (as low as 4).
1 (or more) extra point, by taking a disability (up to 3).

Here are some samples of disabilities:
Untrained Fighter - Limited to weapons and armor usable by the Wizard (namely the Staff and Dagger).
Berserker - If attacking a monster, with Hero also adjacent, the Berserker attacks the Hero on a 5 or 6.
Proud Fighter - Rejects all spells and shooting weapons (like the Bow), save for throwing weapons (like Daggers, Axes, and Spears)
Fear of [monster] - Cannot move adjacent to a chosen type of Monster, on a roll of 5 or 6.
Outstanding Debt - Hero loose the ability to shop at the end of the game on a 5 or 6, until the Hero pays a 2,000 gold coin debt.
Outcast (counts as 2) - Can never go shopping - can still barter with the other Heroes, to their discrimination.
Inhuman Body (counts as 2) - Immune to healing spells and potions (can still heal normally between Quests).
Pacifist (counts as 2) - Can only attack Undead, Demons, and Animated constructs, plus your are limited to using blunt weapons and non-offensive spells.
Insane (counts as 2) - Roll one Combat Die per Mind Point on the start of the Hero's turn. Failure to roll a White Shield means the Hero is under the control of the Evil Wizard Player, for that turn.

Skills (and disabilities) maybe bought (or bought-off) for 2,000 gold coins, per point of value. If you are running a story-driven adventure that emphasis character development, then the cost can be lowered by half or so, if the desired skill (or lost disability) fits into the plot or has a good back-story. If you what more variety, you can add 3 points, instead of 1, but this would make the Heroes a little more powerful. Adding more skills and disabilities is always good (although, too many special rules could quickly bog-down the game, like an epic-level v3.5 D&D game). It is best to create the Heroes for the players to choose from, as players tend to abuse the system with min/maxing. Although, it is always good to be mindful of the players' options and ideas with this system. The lack of a "cleave" skill (or "death-blow'", in WHQ) is do to it being standard in my games (that is, a successful attack with surplus damage can be carried over to the next adjacent opponent).

Here are some examples:

Barbarian
Body Points: 8
Mind Points: 2
Attack Die: 3 (Broadsword)
Defense Die: 2
Movement Points: 8
Luck Points: 0
Special Skills:
- none

Dwarf
Body Points: 7
Mind Points: 3
Attack Die: 2 (Hand Axe)
Defense Die: 2
Movement Points: 8
Luck Points: 0
Special Skills:
- Trap Mastery

Elf
Body Points: 6
Mind Points: 4
Attack Die: 2 (Shortsword)
Defense Die: 2
Movement Points: 8
Luck Points: 0
Special Skills:
- Spells (one set)

Wizard
Body Points: 4
Mind Points: 6
Attack Die: 1 (Dagger)
Defense Die: 2
Movement Points: 8
Luck Points: 0
Special Skills:
- Spells (3 sets)
- Untrained Fighter

Thief
Body Points: 4
Mind Points: 5
Attack Die: 1 (Dagger)
Defense Die: 2
Movement Points: 10
Luck Points: 0
Special Skills:
- Assassin
- Trap Mastery
- Sneaky
- Foresight
- Untrained Fighter
- Outcast

Cleric
Body Points: 6
Mind Points: 4
Attack Die: 1 (Staff)
Defense Die: 2
Movement Points: 8
Luck Points: 0
Special Skills:
- Divine Hand
- Divine Aura
- Pacifist

Knight
Body Points: 7
Mind Points: 2
Attack Die: 3 (Broadsword)
Defense Die: 3 (Chainmail)
Movement Points: 8
Luck Points: 0
Special Skills:
- Proud Fighter

Paladin
Body Points: 7
Mind Points: 2
Attack Die: 3 (Broadsword)
Defense Die: 2
Movement Points: 8
Luck Points: 0
Special Skills:
- Divine Hand
- Proud Fighter

Ranger
Body Points: 6
Mind Points: 2
Attack Die: 2 (Short Bow)
Defense Die: 2
Movement Points: 8
Luck Points: 0
Special Skills:
- Fleet-Footed
- Hit-and-Run
- Foresight
- Sneaky
- Outcast

Halfling
Body Points: 5
Mind Points: 5
Attack Die: 1 (Dagger)
Defense Die: 2
Movement Points: 6
Luck Points: 1
Special Skills:
- Fleet-Footed
- Sneaky

I have been working on this system for a Flash Gorden/Star Wars-styled HQ game. This would require more skills to help round-out the archetypes for the science-fantasy setting.

[knightkrawler]

We've discussed that on OldScratch.
I have a similar system to calculate stats and skills, much more complicated.
Which makes yours, well, better...

[Malcadon]

Yeah, I'm just spreading my house-rules around. This one has been altered a bit.

By they way, I really like your Kurt Wagner of Mars icon! Nightcrawler is my favorite X-Man, and I'm a big fan of ERB's Barsoom setting.

[knightkrawler]

Ah, yes...
The Cross-Time Caper. Some of comic books' best issues ever...



That was Nightcrawler's spotlight issue, which you think of by "Kurt Wagner of Mars".
I mean, look at this cover, N.'s babe...

My avatar, however, is from a time when Nightcrawler was going really badass, courtesy of Warren Ellis, the world's best comic book writer:



Of course, Ellis paid tribute to Claremont/Davis' rendition of Nightcrawler.

He's of course my favourite comic book character...

[Sjeng]

By they way, I really like your Kurt Wagner of Mars icon! Nightcrawler is my favorite X-Man, and I'm a big fan of ERB's Barsoom setting.

Wait, what? X-Men and John Carter universes were mixed? Nightcrawler on Barsoom? Ánd he's carrying Excalibur (which if I recall correctly was not a cutlass)? I am SO confused by all those crossovers xD

[knightkrawler]

We're getting very OldScratchy here, what with all the digressing from the topic at hand...

Anyway... No, Nightcrawler was not on Barsoom (I think).
He and his team Excalibur ("England-based X-Men"; Captain Britain, Meggan, Phoenix [Rachel Summers], Kitty Pryde) went on a cross-dimensional trip visiting parralel Earths, among them a world heavily influenced by Barsoom, where Nightcrawler, swashbuckling as he always wanted to, became hero and warlord, plus got laid by the blue chick in his arm.

[Malcadon]

And in the end, they kicked Cthulhu's tentacled @$$!

[knightkrawler]

Those were the times...