Child Templates

I don’t do much with child characters, and when I do I never create a very detailed background (stats and what not) for them. However, I am tinkering with an adventure idea and have decided to make this Child Template. I guess its not really a template, but rather a package to adjust existing templates.

Child Under 11 Yeas Old Template

Attributes and Edges
Fitness: Subtract 1
. . .Add: Vitality +1
Coordination: Unchanged
. . .Add: Reaction +1
Intellect: Unchanged
. . .Add: Logic -1
Presence: Subtract 1
Psi: Subtract 1 (if applicable)

Required Skills
Athletics (choose) 1 (2)
Culture (Native) 0 (1)
Gaming (choose) 1 (2)
Language (Native) 1

History Packages: None

Point Total of Child Under 11 Template: 23 Points

Example One
Human child under 11

Fitness 1 [5]
. . .Vitality +1
Coordination 2 [5]
. . .Reaction +1
Intellect 2 [5]
. . .Logic -1
Presence 1 [5]
Psi 0 [5]

Athletics (choose) 1 (2)
Culture (Human) 0 (1)
Gaming (choose) 1 (2)
Language (Native) 1

Changes to the Attributes and Edges, or additional skills added, may be done as under normal character creation; but points must be equaled out to maintain at 23 Points.

Example Two
Bolian Child under 11

Fitness 1 [5]
. . .Strength -1
. . .Vitality +1
Coordination 2 [5]
. . .Dexterity +1
. . .Reaction +1
Intellect 2 [5]
. . .Logic -1
Presence 1 [5]
Psi 0 [5]

Athletics (choose) 1 (2)
Culture (Bolian) 0 (1)
Gaming (choose) 1 (2)
Language (Bolian) 1

Again, changes or additions may be made as long as the point total reamians at 23 Points. In this case, adding the two traits from the Bolian Template would have put the point total at 28; however, since i feel one trait is learned and the other earned they were dropped as inappropriate for a child.

Example Three
Andorian Child under 11

Fitness 2 [6]
. . .Vitality +2
Coordination 2 [5]
. . .Reaction +1
Intellect 2 [5]
. . .Logic -2
. . .Perception +1
Presence 1 [5]
Psi 0 [5]

Athletics (choose) 1 (2)
Culture (Andorian) 0 (1)
Gaming (choose) 1 (2)
Language (Andorian) 1

As an Andorian child is three points over the allottd point total, the player will need to balance the points.

For a child over 10 years old, but under 18, simply use the standard template plus an an Early Life History Package: Point Total being 55 Points.

Your thoughts? Ideas? Flames?

Hey, that's a pretty good patch for child characters. Seems reasonable to me. Y'know, I have a piece I wrote about child characters in RPGs for some online magazine a few years back. Lemme see if I can dig it up.

LQ

Redwood, you don't have kids do you. :)

The logic of most pre-teen humans is at best questionable:
Recommendation apply a -1 Logic Edge

Psionics, It's been mentioned in a few places (center lined in TNG: Tin Man) most psionic species do not have abilities prior to puberty (Carin being a big exception)
Recommendation possibly lowering Psi Attribute?

I would also like to say Culture: (native) 0 (1) or 1 (2) should be included. While children are not well versed in all aspects of a society you can tell the difference between kids of alternate cultures.

Other then that real good work, I may need to come up with a story to use younger people in...<:evil grin:>

Quote:

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Hey, that's a pretty good patch for child characters. Seems reasonable to me. Y'know, I have a piece I wrote about child characters in RPGs for some online magazine a few years back. Lemme see if I can dig it up.

--Liquidator Queeg

---

Thanks. I would be interested in seeing your article. May prove useful for further refinements to the "patch" [I like that description of it ;) ].

Quote:

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Redwood, you don't have kids do you.

--Phoenix

---

No. Was it that obvious? :p

Thanks to you as well for your kind words. Hrm, some nice ideas you have too. I like the adjustment to logic edge, and it would allow for the addition of the culture specialization (which I disliked having to leave out to maintain point total). I have added those changes to my original post.

I am not sure about the Psi changes. Do you mean that they do not have the ability to control it (thus lacking the Skill), or do not have the ability period (thus lacking, or limiting, the Attribute)? I had thought it was the former. [EDIT: Okay, forget this portion of my post. It's way past my bed time and I mis-read your post. An adjustment to the Psi Attribute has been added to my original post.]

Thanks guys.

Took some time, but I found my "kids in RPGs" piece. I apologize for any typos, this is my own "unedited" copy, I couldn't find the website where this originally appeared (RPG Action). Additionally, I left out the two sample kid characters stats since they were for d20 Star Wars and 3e D&D.

Hope you folks find it useful! Yes, I like The Who. :D

LQ
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Hey, the Kids are Alright!
By Steven A. Cook


Children and young adults seldom garner the spotlight in roleplaying games. They are ushered into tiny supporting roles, cast as one-liner extras, or ignored completely. So much talent is wasted. The time has come for someone to stand up for the kids.

Hey, the kids are alright!

This article puts kids in the spotlight -- front and center stage. First, we’ll look at five character archetypes for kid PCs. Then we’ll examine five story roles for kid NPCs. The article concludes with sample characters that game masters can drop in their games as NPCs, or present to players for use as PCs.

Five Character Archetypes for Kid PCs

Mystic Prodigy

The Mystic Prodigy has strange powers to the nth degree. They could be magical, psionic, or divine in nature. Because of his young age, though, the prodigy has little control over his powers. He frequently causes bizarre accidents, makes things disappear, polymorphs his pet cat, or worse: hurts people. Thus, the prodigy is the black sheep of his hometown, his latent talent misconstrued for reckless troublemaking and bratty antics.

Personality Traits: The Mystic Prodigy is intelligent, curious, and often hyperactive. He hates it when people talk down to him or boss him around. Sometimes his curious nature and sharp tongue get him into trouble. He longs to prove himself to adults, so he often goes to great lengths to either hide his special powers or use them for good.

Attributes and Skills: High intelligence, perception, and agility. Skills can include stealth, fast talk, and various athletic skills like climbing or acrobatics. Obviously, the Mystic Prodigy possesses some supernatural abilities: spells, psionic powers, or divine blessings.

Story Potential: Depending on the magnitude of his power, a secret order discovers the Mystic Prodigy and trains him to use his gift wisely. In a long-term campaign, the Mystic Prodigy may ultimately fulfill an ancient prophecy, become a religious martyr, or attract the attention of powerful extra-planar beings.

Orphan

The Orphan is a troubled loner. Her parents died in a tragic accident, or abandoned her at a young age. Unfortunately, this harsh reality leads her into a life of petty crime. She survives by stealing or scrounging for food, clothing, shelter, and other necessities. She always runs away from foster homes and shelters, and keeps a small but close circle of friends on the streets.

Personality Traits: The Orphans trusts only her few close friends, and sometimes not even them. She will accept charity, but only with no strings attached. She’s independent by necessity, cynical, and has keen survival instincts.

Attributes and Skills: The Orphan is dexterous and agile, but has a frail constitution. She’s also wise beyond her years. Pickpocket, lockpicking, fast talk, and stealth skills are appropriate. If the Orphan is a busker or panhandler, she will possess a few artistic skills, too.

Story Potential: A charming cultist dupes the Orphan into joining his evil gang. She has to choose between her new cult “friends,” or spill the beans about the cult’s human sacrifices to the authorities. A long-term goal is for her to uncover a strange mystery surrounding her parents’ deaths. Are their deaths are linked to the evil cult?

Wandering Brat

The Wandering Brat travels constantly because of his parents’ demanding professions. Thus, he has never hung his hat in one place long enough to make any lasting friendships. He has learned to pack light and keep his emotions on a short leash. The Wandering Brat is a bit of a storyteller and braggart since he’s met many interesting (or famous) people and traveled the world during his young life.

Personality Traits: The Wandering Brat is outwardly self-confident; his true feelings of loneliness stay carefully masked. He often thinks that his parents value their careers more than they value him. Thus, he will talk to just about anyone who will listen, and generally likes to show off and attract attention.

Attributes and Skills: Intelligent and perceptive, but unwise. The Wandering Brat knows a few languages, and is a savvy bluffer and con man. His breadth of knowledge is wide for his age. In essence, he’s a jack-of-all-trades, but master of none.

Story Potential: The Brat’s gregarious nature gets him into trouble with the local authorities. A wily merchant swindles the Brat by selling him stolen goods, which the Brat then sells to others at a tidy profit. Alternatively, the Brat receives a strange device from a shady traveler. The device turns out to have harmful effects and causes him serious problems -- perhaps the device is magically cursed or is a piece of alien technology.

Whizkid

The Whizkid is a budding technical genius. She excels in every academic field, and has an intuitive and creative grasp of science and mathematics. Her parents are spacefleet officers or famous scientists or wizards, and she has inherited their smarts. On the other hand, she could be a curious bumpkin from a backwater world or town. The Whizkid enjoys quantum mechanics and androids; getting greasy under the hood in an auto shop; or mixing potions and causing fires in a magical laboratory.

Personality Traits: Other kids are jealous of her intellect and tease her incessantly. So, she tends to be a lone wolf and often feels more at home with machines (or books) than people. She reads about philosophy and physics for fun, and she’s arrogant and impatient with less knowledgeable kids -- and adults for that matter. She’s insatiably curious and loves a good mystery.

Attributes and Skills: High intelligence, perception, and intuition. The Whizkid has numerous technical and scientific skills, keen research and investigative skills, and knows a few languages to boot.

Story Potential: A disguised extra-planar or alien creature befriends the Whizkid and causes her trouble. The creature conveniently disappears when the jig is up, leaving the Whizkid to discover the nature of her mischievous new friend or continually cover up its wrongdoings.

Young Noble

The Young Noble is an heir to a fief, kingdom, or entire world. He needs some life experience before he takes the throne, though, so he is traveling the world (or galaxy) at his parents’ behest. Royal guards may accompany him, or he travels incognito for his own protection. Here’s another interesting option: the Young Noble is actually an outcast supported by rebels who are determined to overthrow an evil usurper and place his family back on the throne.

Personality Traits: Because of his relatively sheltered life, the Young Noble is naïve about people. He does not truly comprehend poverty, crime, or any of the things poor people must deal with every day of their lives. He only knows how the law deals with them. Despite his naiveté, the Young Noble is a natural leader and his instincts tell him to take charge of situations.

Attributes and Skills: The Young Noble’s mental and physical attributes depend on his upbringing: He may be a fat glutton or lithe athlete, immensely bright or a moronic twit. He will typically have social skills like etiquette and diplomacy, and academic skills like history and mathematics. If the Young Noble is part of a rebellion, he may possess some technical, survival, and soldiering skills.

Story Potential: The Young Noble and his companions find themselves swept up in a tangled web of intrigue as spies hired by a rival family track them across the country. The would-be assassins spring an ambush or three and spread fallacious rumors to set them up as traitors.

Five Story Roles for Kid NPCs

Children and young adults can become some of the game master’s most memorable NPCs. Not every kid has to be a pocket picking street urchin or smart aleck spoiled brat, although these are certainly two interesting roles. Here are five story roles for kid NPCs: Eager Helper, Helpless Innocent, Hero Worshipper, Important Companion, and Pawn. These kids can be used in any game; they aren’t specifically designed for a game with kid PCs.

Eager Helper

The Eager Helper really has two roles in a story: He provides important information to the PCs, and he performs mundane services so the heroes can get on with the action. The Eager Helper is willing to do this because of something the characters have done. They rescued his parents from a fire, got him out of trouble with the law, or simply tossed him pocket change for busking or performing a cute magic trick.

Example Eager Helpers:
-A street tough who is a source of gossip and has connections with a gang
-A local kid who guides the adventurers to an ancient temple in the wilderness
-A panhandler who keeps tabs on a rival of the PCs

Helpless Innocent

The Helpless Innocent exists to increase dramatic tension in a scene. The bad guys hold Helpless Innocents hostage; shoot at them or run them down in cars; use them as living shields … You get the idea. These NPCs provide the characters with opportunities to show off their heroic qualities -- or lack thereof. Helpless Innocents don’t need intricate personalities and motivations as they are essentially just extras in an action scene and aren’t likely to have permanent roles in a campaign. However, game masters should always color these kids with at least a few interesting details (one clutches a teddy bear, another rides a skateboard, etc.)

Example Helpless Innocents:
-A baby held hostage by a burglar during a botched bank robbery
-A paperboy trapped in the line of fire of a running gunfight
-Dozens of kids playing in a schoolyard -- and the bad guys’ truck is on fire and veering toward them

Hero Worshipper

The Hero Worshipper admires a PC. He is so smitten, in fact, that he follows the character constantly, and even dresses, acts, and talks like him. A character will typically earn the love of a Hero Worshipper after saving the child from a disaster, or rescuing him from a situation that has eroded his self-identity, such as slavery or an abusive family. The Hero Worshipper can fill two roles in an adventure. Firstly, the Hero Worshipper can provide lighthearted comic relief. Secondly, and more seriously, the Hero Worshipper can illustrate the potentially fragile nature of the psychology of children. If the players are warm to the idea, a Hero Worshipper can even form the basis of an entire adventure -- the objective being to restore the child’s psyche to a healthy state.

Example Hero Worshippers:
-A child rescued from a derelict spaceship -- all crewmembers are dead and the child believes she caused the disaster
-A mentally ill child a character takes pity on after catching him snooping through her coat at a hospital psyche ward; the character then discovers that the child is due for a lobotomy
-An impressionable young stablehand who is enthralled by the character’s grand tales of adventure, treasures, and valor

Important Companion

The Important Companion is usually the “special guest star” NPC, and one of the main protagonists of a story. Throughout the adventure, the Important Companion must provide or set up opportunities for action, intrigue, engaging dialogue, and drama. Thus, the game master must generously detail the Important Companion’s personality, motivations, knowledge, and special abilities. In fact, the game master may even want to base the Important Companion on one of the PC archetypes presented earlier in the article.

Example Important Companions:
-The PCs must transport a Young Noble to meet her future husband (whom she despises), and brigands who intend to hold her for ransom ambush them in the wilderness
-A Mystic Prodigy escapes from slavery and stows away on the PCs’ boat; the slavers are ticked and want to find out who stole their property
-The Whizkid botches an experiment that unleashes deadly microorganisms into a starship, and the PCs must now track them down with the help of the Whizkid (who is ashamed and reluctant to admit his gaff)

Pawn

The Pawn exists for a game master to trick, manipulate, and thwart her players. The Pawn can serve a minor role in a single scene or be the focus of an entire adventure. In either case, the Pawn works for an enemy of the heroes. The Pawn helps to throw them off his master’s trail with red herrings, or cause the heroes all sorts of trouble. The Pawn makes for a great recurring character.

Example Pawns:
-A young thief who acts as a hired guide, but really guides the PCs into an ambush by a local street gang
-The Pawn is an evil sorcerer magically disguised as a child; he seeks to steal a powerful item they possess
-The Pawn is well-trusted young pilot whose mind is controlled by a sinister agency (through an implant or Psionics, for example); he pretends to help the PCs, but actually spies on them for the quadrant’s evil governor

[Continued in next post...]

Here are the two sample kid characters, sans d20 statistics.

Jeb Drazaan, Male Human Commoner, Level 1
PC Archetype/NPC Story Role: Whizkid/Eager Helper
Age: 10

Appearance: Jeb wears oversized hand-me-downs from his older brother, so he looks a little goofy and is constantly rolling up his shirt sleeves and pant cuffs. He has medium length brown hair, green eyes, and a devilish smile. Since he likes to tinker with stuff, Jeb usually sports grease and dirt smudges on his face, and has dirty fingernails.

Personality: Jeb is a bright and friendly kid, with an insatiable curious streak. He loves to talk, especially about blasters and other weaponry. He barrages spacers with questions about their travels, deeds, and any gear they carry with them. The locals have nicknamed him “Jabber” because of his pesky and inquisitive nature.

Story Notes:

Jeb was born on Tiran, a backwater world with a single spaceport and few amenities. His father Nibon runs an electrical repair shop located in a bazaar close to Tiran’s spaceport and has serious drinking problem; Jeb’s mother Lutia died when he was still a baby, and his older brother Wyndal left home two years ago. Jeb inherited his technical savvy from his dad, but has no interest in spending a lot of time with his dad or in his shop -- he wants to travel the spacelanes of the galaxy. Consequently, Jeb scours the docking bays and shops of the spaceport daily, gabbing with offworlders and just about anyone else who will weave a tale for him. He loves his dad, but desperately wants to get away from Tiran and travel the stars like his brother.

Quote: “Gee Mister, is that the dual-chambered Koolizan-Yaccu X-32 heavy blaster carbine you got there? Zads! Can I see that? Huh? Of course, I’ll keep the safety on. I mean, duh!”

Sheela DuFaris, Female Human Aristocrat, Level 1
PC Archetype/NPC Story Role: Young Noble/Important Companion
Age: 12

Appearance: Sheela is a diminutive girl, even for her age. She has waist length blond hair (which her handmaidens braid and dress in a variety of fashionable styles), bright blue eyes, and a musical voice. She favors multi-layered gowns with colorful, embroidered cuffs and hems.

Personality: Sheela is a willful and demanding spoiled brat. Her father King Gavus dotes on her, satisfying her every whim and impulse -- much to the chagrin of her mother Queen Maude. When Sheela does not get what she wants (which is rare), she throws temper tantrums and yells at people. Sheela’s also keenly observant, so her tantrums are laced with highly personal and biting insults. Despite her selfish nature, Sheela can put on a royal façade when needed, appearing very proper and ladylike.

Story Notes:

Sheela loves to travel throughout her father’s realm, stopping in this or that town to “honor and pay her respects” to her loyal subjects. In reality, this means imposing upon local innkeepers by booting out their paying guests and filling their accommodations with her massive cadre of guards, handmaidens, and snobby hangers-on. Sheela loves to play chess, and gets a kick out of challenging commoners to matches. She always wins, of course, as most are too afraid to turn down her offer, even if they don’t know how to play. Sheela is betrothed to Prince Garth -- a boorish man of 18 whom she hates. It’s an arranged marriage, orchestrated by her mother who wants an alliance between her nation and that of Garth’s uncle, Hector. Sheela will do just about anything to get out of her betrothal -- including running away if necessary.

Quote: “Ew… My dear god man! When was the last time you bathed?”