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Thread: Sample character

  1. #1

    Sample character

    I wrote this one up for a now-defunct PBEM game... thought it might be useful for someone as a slightly-experienced NPC:

    JACK SPARROW

    RACE: Man (Middle Man)
    RACIAL ABILITIES: Adaptable, Dominion of Men, Skilled

    ATTRIBUTES: Bearing 8 (+1), Nimbleness 10 (+2)*, Perception 10 (+2)*, Strength 8 (+1), Vitality 8 (+1), Wits 8 (+1)
    REACTIONS: Stamina +1, Swiftness +6*, Willpower +1*, Wisdom +2

    ORDER: Rogue
    ORDER ABILITIES: Fleet Footed (+2 to Run, 1/2 movement penalties), Sanctuary (a hideout in the forests around Bree), Treacherous Blow (+5 to sneak attacks)
    ADVANCEMENTS: 6

    SKILLS: Acrobatics (Tumble) +3, Armed Combat: Blades (Dagger) +9, Climb +5, Conceal (Hide Weapon) +6, Craft: Farming +4, Debate (Negotiate) +2, Games (Drinking) +3, Guise+3, Inquire +1, Insight +4, Inspire +1, Intimidate +1, Jump +2, Language: Westron +5, Language: Adunaic +2, Language: Sylvan +3, Language: Dunlendish +3, Legerdemain (Sleight of Hand) +5, Lore: Group (Outlaws) +4, Lore: History (Bree-land) +4, Lore: Race (Bree-folk) +4, Lore: Realm (Bree-land) +4, Lore: Other (Barrow-Downs) +3, Observe (Spot) +8, Perform +1, Persuade +1, Ranged Combat -Thrown Weapons (Dagger) +6, Ride (Horse) +2, Run +7, Search +4, Stealth (Sneak) +10, Survival (Forests) +4, Swim +1, Teamster +1, Track (Men) +3, Unarmed Combat +2

    EDGES: Ambidexterity 2 (no off hand penalties), Armor of Heroes (2 points of armor), Dodge (+3 to Dodge checks), Friends (in Bree-land), Furtive, Keen-Eyed, Wary (+3 to Initiative checks), Two-Weapon Fighting (extra attack per round)
    FLAWS: Hatred (Dunlendings), Proud, Rival (Sheriff of Bree)

    HEALTH: 9
    COURAGE: 4
    RENOWN: 3

    GEAR: Daggers (2), long-knife (2), throwing knife (2), hatchet, small shield, travel-stained garments, hooded travel cloak, leather satchel with personal effects (rations for a week, leather needle & thread, small mirror, sharpening stone for weapons, flint and steel, pipe and pipe-weed, etc.), long coil of rope.

    BACKGROUND: Once Jack Sparrow was an honest farmer and a family man, until the time of the War of the Rings. He volunteered to work with the Rangers and militia of Bree-land. While Jack was away from his home, his wife and children were killed in an assault by Dunlendings, his farm burned to ashes. He blames the Sheriff of Bree for their deaths, as they could have been defended against the attack, but the Sheriff would not spare the men. Since that time, Jack Sparrow has become an outlaw, living on the edge of society, a honest thief who preys on the nobles and wealthy of Bree, Archet, Staddle, and Coombe, giving aid to those in need. The Rangers leave him alone, mostly, as he's done much good for the folk he helps.

    APPEARANCE: Short, lean, and grizzled, Jack is in his forties. He's scruffy and ill-kempt, with a rough unshaven beard, a wild mane of black hair, and bright grey eyes. He wears a long vest of stained brown leather over a dull greenish-brown tunic, a thick kilt, leggings of light leather beneath, and sandals with straps up to the knees. His cloak is dark, muddy, and like all his garments, shows the signs of much wear and sewn patches and tears. His small shield is slung over his back and bears no insignia, and Jack wears a long-knife and dagger on his hip, and a short leathern bag with a hatchet sheathed on it. He often smokes a pipe, and when he cannot, he is often chewing on a long blade of grass. He gives every indication of a man who is more comfortable in the wild, and looks as if he just came from the deep forest and is on his way back shortly.

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    Looks good, Jason. Just one question. Are you including Attribute and other bonuses in the Skills or are they just the Ranks (as done in Chapter 12 of the Core Book)?

    I do love the background, though. "M-E meets Robin Hood."
    Former Decipher RPG Net Rep

    "Doug, at the keyboard, his fingers bleeding" (with thanks to Moriarti)

    In D&D3E, Abyssal is not the language of evil vacuum cleaners.

  3. #3
    I don't have the actual character sheet handy, but I believe I added the bonuses in (as this was for a PBEM, and the GM wanted it that way, if I remember correctly).

    The "Robin Hood" element was intentional... it seemed odd to me that RH was one of the classic English archetypes that Tolkien never really covered in Middle-earth, so I decided to put that in.

  4. #4
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    ::nods::

    Well, like I said, he looks great. If I was running a LOTR game, I'd be tempted to, er, borrow him as an NPC...
    Former Decipher RPG Net Rep

    "Doug, at the keyboard, his fingers bleeding" (with thanks to Moriarti)

    In D&D3E, Abyssal is not the language of evil vacuum cleaners.

  5. #5
    Originally posted by Jason Durall
    I don't have the actual character sheet handy, but I believe I added the bonuses in (as this was for a PBEM, and the GM wanted it that way, if I remember correctly).

    The "Robin Hood" element was intentional... it seemed odd to me that RH was one of the classic English archetypes that Tolkien never really covered in Middle-earth, so I decided to put that in.
    Tolkien drew more from Norse stories than English.

  6. #6
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    Originally posted by Jason Durall
    The "Robin Hood" element was intentional... it seemed odd to me that RH was one of the classic English archetypes that Tolkien never really covered in Middle-earth, so I decided to put that in.
    Well, one of the reasons Tolkien didn't include Robin Hood was because he was trying to create a mythology for England. Robin Hood is a folk hero, not a mythical hero.

    Everyone else around England had their mythic heroes: the Scandanavians had the Norse sagas, the Irish have some pretty good characters (whom I can't remember the spelling of and won't attempt), the French imposed King Arthur on the English with the Norman invasion, etc., but there wasn't anything that was uniquely English out there.

    So he made it up.

    Good advice for most situations, I feel.

    -Chris Landmark
    "Was entstanden ist, das muss vergehen. Was vergangen, auferstehn." -Klopstock & Mahler

    "Only liberals really think. Only liberals are intellectual. Only liberals understand the needs of their fellows." How much viciousness lay concealed in that word! Odrade thought. How much secret ego demanding to feel superior. - Heretics of Dune

  7. #7
    Originally posted by Glorfindel
    Tolkien drew more from Norse stories than English.
    I know that, but he also was working on a classic English mythology.

    Note also that I said "archetype" rather than myth, or folk character.

  8. #8
    Originally posted by Chris Landmark
    Well, one of the reasons Tolkien didn't include Robin Hood was because he was trying to create a mythology for England. Robin Hood is a folk hero, not a mythical hero.

    Everyone else around England had their mythic heroes: the Scandanavians had the Norse sagas, the Irish have some pretty good characters (whom I can't remember the spelling of and won't attempt), the French imposed King Arthur on the English with the Norman invasion, etc., but there wasn't anything that was uniquely English out there.

    So he made it up.

    Good advice for most situations, I feel.

    -Chris Landmark
    Yes. I know all about Tolkien's interest in creating an English mythology. I also know a thing or two about Norse myth.

    As mentioned in the above reply, I saw no problem with introducing an NPC which recalled that archetype - note that I didn't say myth or legend or folk hero.

    I'm also not sure what the point of your comment/lecture was - are you challenging my right to create an NPC based on a classic archetype?

  9. #9
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    Originally posted by Jason Durall
    I'm also not sure what the point of your comment/lecture was - are you challenging my right to create an NPC based on a classic archetype?
    Not in the least. Unless I'm GMing you, I have no say in what you do. And even if I was, I'd have no trouble with such a character, so long as you tie it into my setting well enough.

    I was merely explaining why it was not odd for JRRT to have ignored the Robin Hood archetype in his Middle Earth material, which you stated above; Robin Hood was English Folk Lore, which was rich and established, Tolkien was creating English Myth, which largely didn't exist, and what did exist was borrowed/imposed from the outside. It was not an argument that only Mythic elements are appropriate inspiration for Middle Earth; that would be needlessly limiting the creative process.

    That clear up the confusion?

    -Chris Landmark
    "Was entstanden ist, das muss vergehen. Was vergangen, auferstehn." -Klopstock & Mahler

    "Only liberals really think. Only liberals are intellectual. Only liberals understand the needs of their fellows." How much viciousness lay concealed in that word! Odrade thought. How much secret ego demanding to feel superior. - Heretics of Dune

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