A Lifepath example

Someone on another thread asked me to post my Lifepath stuff I'm working on. Since it's not done, I'll forward a quick example I wrote up while playtesting it a bit to see what you think.

Now, a word of warning. My game is heavily house-ruled, so some things may not look familiar. Most notably I added two attributes and combined several skills. For example, the Social skill referenced is actual a combination of Diplomacy and Gather Information.

The two stats I added are directly related to the Lifepath system. Lifepath determines how many terms a character can do (a term being a four-year period). Everyone gets one term for free, plus an additional term for each bonus from the stat. Example: a 12 gives +1, a 14 +2, a 16 +3, etc.

The other is Social Standing. This determines a character's role in society, and serves to limit which paths he has access to.

And now, on with the example:
Clalibus, Human Wizard 1
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 14
Constitution: 12
Intelligence: 16
Wisdom: 10
Charisma: 12
Lifepath: 14
Social: 13

Clalibus has just finished his apprenticeship and has gained his first class level. Humans start apprenticeship at 14, and wizard training takes 8 years, so Clalibus is now 22. He gets the free term that everyone gets, and two more because of his Lifepath stat.

First Term
Being the scholarly type, Clalibus decides to try to enter the Academy. Submitting an application costs nothing, and no time is lost if he is turned down. Luckily he just barely makes the Social prerequisite, and easily makes the Intelligence prerequisite. Applying is a Int+Cha+Social Standing roll (DC 16). Clalibus rolls a 12, adds his stat bonuses (2+1+1) for a total of 16. Barely makes it.

Training time for Academy is 4 years... The entire term. That kinda sucks, but Clalibus expected this. Knowledge comes with a price. At least he's basically safe during this time.

Years 1-4
Academy time is handled differently than the real world. Studies are harder, but staying safe is easier. Training is also handled differently, since one roll covers the entire training time, rather than a single year. Luckily, you only have to train once upon entering a new career. First up is the Success test, to see if he did well in school this year. The test is a Knowledge skill roll (DC14), which should be easy for the young mage (skill 4+int of 3). He could take negatives to this roll to help his chances later, but doesn't want to press his luck. He rolls an 11, and curses himself for not taking chances. With his bonuses that is a skill roll of 18. Having made the roll by 4, Clalibus gains 2 points that he can add to any roll he makes this term. He could have chosen to make his roll harder (or easier) making the bonus to his rolll (or negative) one for one instead of two for one, but all in all, not bad...

Being a wizard, he elects to train at the Wizard's Academy. This is optional, but it will effect his rolls on the Benefits tables and could net him a touch more experience. The test to enter is a Spellcraft (DC 18) check, which he passes handily.

Success here means that, no matter what, Clalibus at least passed his classes and got a degree. This is 2,000 experience. More importantly, it means that Clalibus automatically gains a commission in the Academics' Guild. Once he has finished with school, he will be a guild member with a rank of O-1 (ranks are not named yet. O just means officer, 1 means he is as low as you can get and still be commissioned). Graduating the Wizards' Academy gives him an additional 1,000 experience, and a free roll on the Mage's Benefits table.

Clalibus now rolls to see if he managed to graduate with Honors. This is a lot harder. He makes a second Knowledge skill roll (DC 20) and a Research test (DC 18). He makes the research test, but fails the Knowledge roll by 1 (after bonuses). He decides this is important to him, so he sacrifices one of the bonus points he gained earlier, leaving him with 1 point when rolling for Benifits. (Note: Benifits aren't done yet, so I won't cover that. Basically they are things you gain (money, skills, equipment) while on your lifepath). Honors is worth an additional 1,000 exp, and a +1 to the character's Social Standing attribute (maximum 15). Not bad so far.

At the end of the 1st Term Clalibus applies experience and bonuses.

Clalibus, Human Wizard 3
Age: 26
Experience: 4,000
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 14
Constitution: 12
Intelligence: 16
Wisdom: 10
Charisma: 12
Lifepath: 14
Social: 14

Benefits: 1 on Academy tables. 1 on Mage table. A +1 will apply to one of these rolls.


Second Term
Having graduated with Honors, Clalibus can now automatically enter a Master's program. Most people would have to apply (as well as having completed Academy training). He decides to stick with education as long as possible, so he takes advantage of the opportunity. Going for his masters means an additional 2 years of training, but he goes for it anyways. Having completed the Wizards' Academy, he has the option to enter that program, and takes it. He could have chosen the Scholar's path as well, but being a Wizard suits him.

Years 5 and 6.
The Master's degree is tougher, and it shows right away. The sucess test is two skill rolls Knowledge- Arcana, and Spellcraft. Both DC 20. No chance of Clalibus pushing his luck here. He rolls the Knowledge check and gets a 22. Phew, that will allow him a +1 in case he needs it. He rolls Spellcraft.... and gets a 19. Guess he needed it. He used the +1 he gained from the first roll, leaving him with no more bonuses for now.

He checks for Honors again, but this time the DC's (22 for Research and Spellcraft) are just too high. He fails, but looses nothing ( acritical failure could have been bad, but just failing is ok).

In the end, he gets his Masters of Magic degree and an extra 1,000 experience, but that'll have to wait until the end of the term. He also gets an automatic promotion to O-2, which will be important later. Now, on to year 3.

Year 7.
Clalibus almost thinks better of continuing his education, but decided that he really wants his doctorate. Unfortunately, he failed his Honors test last time, so he has to apply like everyone else. He does, and succeeds (Knowledge- Arcana and Spellcraft 20), getting him in. When he rolls his Success test, however, he fails (Research and Spellcraft 22) the first one. Since he has no bonus points this term, he has no recourse. He flunks out of school, wasting this year, and gaining nothing.

Years 8 and 9.
Terms are almost always four years, but Clalibus wasted a year, so this one will be 5 years long. Having failed out of school, he gains nothing for that lost year. No experience, it's like it never happened. Should have studied harder.

Now free to pursue his career, Clalibus has a lot of options ahead of him, but having been a part of the Academy his whole life, he is reluctant to turn away now. He decided to use the fact that he has some rank in the Academy and decides to serve as a Guild Mage. This means yet another two years of training, but he thinks it'll be worth it in the long run. Because he has graduated the Academy, he doesn't have to roll to Apply, so he instead moves on to his Success test. Still in training, this roll is safe. For a mage of his experience, it'll also be a lot easier than he is used to. The test is Spellcraft (DC 14) and Knowledge-Arcana (DC 12). Clalibus decided to add a little difficulty and ups the DCs by 2 each. He rolls a 17 on the Spellcraft, just making it after the added difficulty, and a 16 on the Knowledge, making it by two. This gives him 5 bonus points. 2 each for the added difficulties on each skill roll, and another point for making the knowledge roll by 2.

Silently, Clalibus is relieved. Having failed once this term, he would have hated to fail again. Success means 1,000 experience. Clalibus now tests for Promotion (normally only available once per term, but since his other ranks were gained in school, it is permissible) and succeeds easily (Spellcraft DC 20, Social DC 14). That's 1,000 extra experience, and another rank (O-3).

Clalibus, Human Wizard 4
Age: 31
Experience: 7,000
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 14
Constitution: 12
Intelligence: 17
Wisdom: 10
Charisma: 12
Lifepath: 14
Social: 14

Benefits: 1 on Academy tables. 2 on Mage tables (he gained an additional roll because of rank). He has 5 bonus points to use on his Mage rolls.

Final Term
Having completed his schooling and training, Clalibus is ready to enter the field. Unfortunately, all that extra schooling he chose only left him 1 term out in the real world, but he is determined to make it count.

Year 10.
Success in the real world is a bit easier, but the consequences for failure can be harsh. Continuing on as a Guild Mage (so he can stop training for new jobs), Clalibus rolls against his Spellcraft skill (DC 16). He now has a +10 to the roll, but wants to play it safe, so doesn't bother adding difficulty. In fact, to make sure he succeeds, he's going to give himself a +2 to the roll (which will give him a -2 to the next roll he makes). He rolls a 20 after all the modifiers, making it by 4. Funnily enough, this is just enough to counteract the +2 he gave himself, so he gains no bonus points. Now Clalibus can request a special assignment. These can be difficult and dangerous but can really pay off. Still, he's early in the term and doesn't want to take chances, so he decides against it. Next, he checks for promotion (Spellcraft DC 22, Social DC 16), and fails.

Not a great year, but not a bad one. He gains 1,000 experience for succeeding, but nothing else.

Year 11.
Clalibus is kicking himself for wasting good rolls last year, so he decides to be a little less cautious. He rolls for success (still Spellcraft DC 16) without modifiers. He rolls a total of 21, which is worth 2 bonus points, but still decides against a special assignment. He rolls for promotion (still Spellcraft DC 22, Social DC 16), and fails by 1. He spends one of his bonus points, and gets promoted to O-4. That's 1,000 experience for succeeding this year, and another 1,000 for the promotion. Not to meantion, he finishes the year with a bonus point, which can be used at any time this term.

Year 12.
A bit excited with his success last year, Clalibus presses his luck a bit. He opts for a -2 to his Success test, and rolls a 24! This is 2 bonus points for the -2 he gave himself, plus 4 more for succeeding by 8. With the one he had already, Clalibus now has 7 bonus points to spend. With that in mind, he opts to try for a special assignment. He rolls, "Hunt Renegade Mage". Ouch. Okay, the success DC here will be tough. The base Spellcraft DC is 22. Clalibus elects to make the roll a bit harder (he does, after all have a +10 on the roll and 7 bonus points) and takes a -4 on the roll, basically meaning that he chose to hunt down an exceptionally powerful renegade.

He fails. Badly. With the -4 he rolls a 16, missing his target by 6. Not wanting to spend all of his bonus points, he spends just enough to succeed, leaving him 1 point in case of emergency. Since he barely succeeded, he must roll a Damage save, to see how badly the renegade hurt him before Clalibus won. The bad news is that the -4 Clalibus took still applies, making the DC 14. The good news is that he only fails the roll by a couple points, leaving him a scar to remind him of the incident, but no lasting damage. Having succeeded in a special assignment, Clalibus is eligible for a Decoration roll. He gets a +4 to this roll because of the negative he took for hunting a harder-than-normal foe. For Decorations, roll Social skill with an additional bonus from the character's Social Standing attribute (DC 20). After bonuses he rolls a 22, granting him the Distinguished Service Medal. Had he made the roll by 5 or more he might have qualified for additional medals.

Still, Clalibus considers this a good year. He got a nice battle scar (though he thanks the gods it wasn't worse), 1,000 experience for a successful year, 4,000 bonus experience for the special assignment, and another 1,000 experience for the medal. He would have gained Social Standing for the medal as well, but the maximum bonus the Distinguished Service Medal can grant is a 14, which Clalibus already has.

Year 13.
Having learned his lesson, Clalibus plays it a bit safer on his last year, ready to just be done with this. The success test is still Spellcraft DC 16, and he rolls an 18. Making it by 2, he now has 2 bonus points (still having one from last year). He goes a head and tries for a special assignment, and rolls "Court Mage", meaning he gets to rub elbows with the nobility. Success here is a bit easier, but relies on a skill that isn't Clalibus' best. He must make a Social skill check (DC 15) and a Knowledge- Arcana skill check (DC 20). He elects to take a +2 bonus to counteract his lack of social skills (he basically remains quiet and stays out of the way), and manages to make both rolls. This means, however, that he must take a -2 on his Decoration roll. This time, he not only makes it, he rolls a natural 20! This gives him a total of 21 because of the negatives, meaning another Distinguished Service Medal, but more importantly, he gains another Promotion roll because of the critical success. This time it's tough (Spellcraft DC 24, Social skill DC 18), but after spending the last of his bonus points, he makes both, and ends his career as an O-5.

This was an amazing way for Clalibus to end his career as a Guild Mage. He gains the base 1,000 experience for successfully completing the year, 1,000 experience for his special assignment, 1,000 experience for the medal, and 1,000 experience for the promotion. Further, the promotion to O-5 gives him a +1 to his Social Standing attribute and a free roll on the Mage table.

Clalibus, Human Wizard 6
Age: 35
Experience: 20,000
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 14
Constitution: 12
Intelligence: 17
Wisdom: 10
Charisma: 12
Lifepath: 14
Social: 15

Benefits: 2 on Mage tables (he gained an additional roll because of rank).

That's it. All that's left is to roll up the benefits for each term, and of course, that's not ready yet.

Any thoughts or comments before I work on this more?

I like the "rep" score and the "lifepath" score, but is the Lifepath score used for anything other than checking to see how many terms you get? And what of point buying stats?

My other comment may be on the lifepath system more in general than on your specific version of it, but this seems to REALLY complicate character creation, and, at least with the "real world" tests, I'd almost rather play them out then simply roll for them...

Clalibus faced a legendary renegade mage and lived to tell the tale? Dude, why aren't we playing *that* game?!

The Lifepath stat basically fills a few very specific roles. First, it gives characters the number of terms they did before becoming "PCs".

Second, it represents general knowledge gained during their previous life. It's almost like an education stat. For instance, if Clalibus needed to know about renegade mages, he would roll level+lifepath. It represents what the character "should know" based on who he is.

Finally, it can be used to buy down racial ECLs. Each +1 is worth 1 ECL. It throws off the standard balance a bit, but we wanted to try it out and see how bad it is. One of our players is an ECL 1 race, while the rest are human. We'll see how much it hurts.

As to lifepaths making generation more complicated, you're absolutely right, it does. But, it becomes a little minigame in and of itself. It's certainly not for all groups. I run five campaigns in three games a week, and only one uses this system. But it does work for what the players wanted... Veteran characters with some real history behind them.

Everyone in my world, from the farmers to the merchants, to the great heroes, are all a bit higher level than your standard DnD game. Anyone with any reasonable training is at least third level, and many experienced people will be between 5th and 7th. With this system the players fit right in.

The basic idea is to play characters after a big war, where many have survived battles or courtroom intrigue, and are just returning to their own lives. Somewhat like Firefly. It just wouldn't have been the same if Mal was just some wet-behind-the-ears farm boy.

It might have been fun to play through the war with the alliance, but it would have been a different story than the experienced veterans trying to regain control over their lives.

An easy alternative is to do one 'lifepath' session for every level of a starting character, giving more background to higher level characters.

I can see this as being extremely useful for replacing PCs midcampaign, to explain where these mid- to high-level new PCs gained thier levels before joining the party.

While complicated, the whole minigame aspect looks like something I would enjoy.