Anyone who’s played multiple RPGs
knows that Character Generation is first area that players and GMs alike need
to get right. Each system, regardless of similarities with other systems,
handles the process in a number of ways. Each way has merits and flaws, and end
up tailoring to different play styles even if that is not their intent.
When I go through the Char Gen
sections of a new game (or an old one I haven’t played before), I always notice
certain things about them, and this post is an attempt to categorise or at
least detail the various methods and where they tend to take me. You mileage
may vary, of course, and that in no way reduces the value of your opinion on
different games, but I hope that this post can help shed some light on the most
important aspect of a game’s introduction to a new group.
Random Generation:
Systems that completely randomise
character generation are fun to look at. They a usually filled with tables and
charts full of data and story ideas for a character. We’re not talking about
simply randomising ability scores, but the majority of the thing. Such an
example is Traveller (and all it’s incarnations). You are given a few choices
on where you’d like to roll, but then you must also roll to see if you are
ALLOWED to roll in this section, if not your choices get even more
limited. This arbitrary way of
generating a character has the benefit of assisting players coming up with the
concept of their characters, but this concept must be tailored to the results
of the rolls that you made previously.
This method tends to appeal more
to the ‘simulationist’ player than the ‘story driven’ player, as you seldom end
up with a character that you created from the ground up; the dice did that
instead. It is one of the fairest systems, in concept, but has the potential to
create truly unplayable characters, and is hard for a player to in end up with
a character they look forward to playing. You wanted to play a dashing space
pilot who’s handy with a blaster? Too bad, you got the ship’s cook who no one
gets along with and has trouble with an old war wound. I say fair in concept,
because it’s also possible to end up with characters on both ends of the
spectrum; a really skilled and capable character who outshines a useless,
flawed character with little in the way of capability despite that fact that
both players had an equal opportunity to create either.
This kind of challenge can appeal
to some players, however I’ve found that these game systems don’t tend to support
play styles that focuses on roleplaying. What I mean by that is that there are
seldom rewards for playing a character well, rather they award XP for defeating
enemies or overcoming obstacles. This might not be the case with all systems
that use this method, just that most of them that I’ve encountered do.
Hybrid Generation:
This system is one of the most
common, and well known. You have random elements for some aspects of character
generation, and ‘points’ to spend or selections to make that everyone gets the
same amount of. Dungeons & Dragons is well known for this, although you can
use a point generation systems completely if you so choose, early editions
espoused random ability scores and a selection of classes, non-weapon
proficiencies, feats and skills, depending on the version. Many of the OSR
clones and d20 based games follow this method, but it’s not without its flaws
as well. What is IS good for, is versatility. While it’s still possible to end
up with a character that is no good at what they’re supposed to do, at least
you are playing something that you wanted. You may be a space pilot who has a
blaster, but you can’t fly for shit and couldn’t hit Jabba the Hutt’s arse if
you were standing right next to him. But you still look good in Corellian
Bloodstripes.
Where this system can go wrong is
similar to the Random Generation method, but to a lesser extent. These kinds of
games tend to support different roles in tactical situations, but a poorly
rolled character who is meant to fill a role can’t do it effectively and the
rest of the party will be left struggling because of that deficiency. Once
again, this can be more of a roleplaying challenge that actually improves play
for some groups, but these systems still seem to prefer rewarding encounter
defeat and monster slaying as the source of character advancement, with a side
note or two for good roleplaying.
This method is perhaps the most
widely used system, simply due to it being able to appeal to most types of
gamers.
Point Buy Generation:
This method is perhaps the
fairest system of all. Everyone gets an equal number of ‘points’ or choices to
make, and they build their characters from available options by spending these
points. This method allows for the greatest weight to be placed on character
concept, as in a player can have a solid idea about what kind of character they
wish to play before any pencils touch the character sheet. Personally, I like
this method the most as you can create nearly any type of character you want
with a little imagination and a good understanding of what your choices mean.
But therein lies the crux of this system; consequences of choice.
Too often I’ve seen players build
a character they’re excited to play, but realise quickly they’ve built a
‘broken’ character that neither does what they hoped for, nor offers any
realistic options for advancement that appeals to them. The players MUST have a
good understanding about what their choices will mean for their characters, not
only at generation, but during play and in the future. Many abilities or powers
may rely on attributes, and if the intrinsic connection between them isn’t
fully understood the end result is often a misunderstood character. On the
other side of the coin, this system also allows the most advantages to Min-Max
players, who can ‘work the system’ to their advantage. It is often hard enough
creating a well-balanced character, but there is plenty of risk of abusing the
system as well. This is especially the case for imbalanced game systems, which
unfortunately many of the systems that use this method tend to be.
Some examples for this style are
the World of Darkness series and Shadowrun.
Story-Driven Generation:
Similar to the Point Buy method,
this style focuses more on the ‘character’ rather than the ‘statistics’ of the
character. A character concept is usually required to start the process, and
the rest of the choices usually become logical conclusions to this concept.
Monte Cook’s Numenera is a solid example of this system. Sure, you get some
points to build attributes, you pick some powers etc, but in the beginning
almost all characters are fairly evenly powered in capability and skill level.
More importantly there’s already a connection between the characters and the
game world built into the generation process.
This system rarely appeals to players
who enjoy tactical gaming, the simulationist, but is very appealing to players
who enjoy roleplaying their characters as opposed to squashing enemies for XP.
These systems tend to focus on story progression as a means for character
advancement, and the capability of a character takes second stage.
The drawback of this system is
that it’s more tailored to suite a certain style of play, rather than allowing
for different styles as needed (or preferred). Starting characters may not be
as specialised as some players like, and see relatively low powered characters
to be mediocre at best. Players who see progress as gaining character levels
instead of deepening of a plot may find this style of game to be
uninteresting.
Archetype Generation:
I call this one Archetype
Generation because it involves players simply selecting a pre-built character
from a number of choices. This system is used for board games, one shot
adventures or very ‘rules-lite’ games, where pretty much the only choice a
player makes besides selecting a character is the toon’s name. This systems is
very fast, gives the GM a solid idea about the capabilities of the characters,
and means that relatively inexperienced players and GMs can get right into the
game without spending half a day going over player’s options and builds. A GM
can pre-generate characters using any of the other systems and present them to
players as choices, rather than go through the full character generation
process.
As mentioned, this system takes
away the creative spark from the players. It can be difficult to ‘bond’ with a
character that you did not envision, or spend hours pouring over tomes and
rules books to generate. For one-shots, or board games, this is not so much a
problem but if the game is meant to be played over prolonged periods of time
this system can kill it faster than a red dragon.
This list is by no means exhaustive,
and is in no way a definitive guide to character generation, but I hope it
highlights for some how the different systems can support different play styles
more effectively.
