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<blockquote data-quote="Iosue" data-source="post: 8760826" data-attributes="member: 6680772"><p>Before I start, I'd like to emend an earlier post. I posted a link to a Fandom wiki for a Sword World 2.0 English translation. As I consider the Fandom wiki interface as proof that the Devil exists and that he hates us, it pleases me to provide a very nice alternative. The good folks on the Sword World 2.0 subreddit have completed translations on all the Core Rulebooks, a crapload of supplements, and some other resources, all in a very nice PDF format faithful to the originals. The translation is...a translation. Done by motivated amateurs using a combination of limited Japanese and machine translation, the quality is (in my professional opinion) a bit patchy. But I can't help but admire and applaud the pure gumption and hard work that has gone into this project, all for nothing but love for the game. If you are at all interested in Sword World, definitely give it a look. The translations can be found in a Google Drive <a href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1qJnXqK9O6vctoFwUI1l_yLU6ErzeUZsH" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p></p><p>Now, on to "deliberate" character generation. Probably the best way to go through this is to actually make a character, and see how it goes.</p><p></p><p>Step 1 is to choose your race and origin. As we covered, the races are Human, Elf, Dwarf, Tabbit, Runefolk, Nightmare, and Lycant. You can choose your origin or roll it randomly. Your origin determines your initial skill package. "Skill package" is how I'm translating the Japanese <em>ginou</em>, which just means skill. But the names of the <em>ginou</em> are what we normally associate with character classes (e.g., fighter, sorcerer), so I think "skill package" is little more appropriate. Origins are often essentially the same as the skill packages, but written with Japanese words, while the skill packages are transliterated English. Humans can access to all skill packages, but other races are limited in their choice. The origins listed on the Human page (and their associated skill packages) are: Magitech (<strong>Magitech</strong>), Sorcerer (<strong>Sorcerer</strong>), Light Warrior (<strong>Scout</strong> <em>and</em> <strong>Fencer</strong>), Normal Person (no initial skill package), Mercenary (<strong>Fighter</strong> <em>or</em> <strong>Grappler</strong>), Priest (<strong>Priest</strong>), Conjurer (<strong>Conjurer</strong>), and Adventurer (no initial skill package, selectable only with the GM's permission). The other available skill packages are <strong>Sage</strong>, <strong>Ranger</strong>, and <strong>Shooter</strong>.</p><p></p><p>Along with your initial skill package, your origin determines your three Base Ability Scores: Skill, Body, and Mind. Each origin has a different array of these Base Ability Scores (even when other races have the same origin), ranging from 3 to 14, with most in the 7-10 range. Of special note here in the Human list is the Normal Person (Base Ability Scores of 7, 7, 7) and Adventurer (2d6 for each BAS). Finally, your origin also gives your your initial Experience Points. These experience points are used to buy additional levels of your initial skill package, or even to buy new ones. Almost all origins get 2,000, but a few have 2,500 and the Normal Person and Adventurer start with 3,000 (since they have to buy all of their skill packages).</p><p></p><p>We'll come to the skill packages in more detail in a later post. For the character I'm making, I decide to choose Human (for the greatest range of possible skill packages) and then to roll my origin. I roll a 6, which means I have Light Warrior origin. The Light Warrior is one of two origins that offer two initial skill packages. (The other one is the Elf Apothecary, which provides Sage and Ranger.) My BAS are Skill 10, Body 7, and Mind 4, and I start with 2,000 XP.</p><p></p><p>The next step is to determine my Ability Scores. There are six, lettered A-F: (A) Manual Dexterity and (B) Agility key off of Skill, (C) Strength and (D) Constitution key off of Body, and (E) Wisdom and (F) Spirit key off of Mind. Here you cross check a table to see what dice you roll for each ability score, roll those in order, and then add the result to the relevant BAS to get your final Ability Scores. Like this:</p><p></p><table style='width: 100%'><tr><td></td><td><p style="text-align: center">Human</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">Elf</p> </td><td>Dwarf</td><td><p style="text-align: center">Tabbit</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">Runefolk</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">Nightmare</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">Lycant</p> </td></tr><tr><td>A (Dexterity)</td><td><p style="text-align: center">2d</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">2d</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">2d+6</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">1d</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">2d</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">2d</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">1d</p> </td></tr><tr><td>B (Agility)</td><td><p style="text-align: center">2d</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">2d</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">1d</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">1d</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">1d</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">2d</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">1d+3</p> </td></tr><tr><td>C (Strength)</td><td><p style="text-align: center">2d</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">1d</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">2d</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">1d</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">2d</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">1d</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">2d</p> </td></tr><tr><td>D (Constitution)</td><td><p style="text-align: center">2d</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">2d</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">2d</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">2d</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">2d</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">1d</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">2d</p> </td></tr><tr><td>E (Wisdom)</td><td><p style="text-align: center">2d</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">2d</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">1d</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">2d+6</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">2d</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">2d</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">1d+6</p> </td></tr><tr><td>F (Spirit)</td><td><p style="text-align: center">2d</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">2d</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">2d+6</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">2d</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">1d</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">2d</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">1d</p> </td></tr></table><p></p><p>A rather baroque system, I must say. In the actual book, by the way, the ability scores themselves are not in the table, only their associated letters. I guess to distinguish between your assigned dice to roll and the actual ability score value itself. Knowing the history of Sword World, it strikes me as a system striving to maintain the same experience as D&D's random characters, but a) allowing for choice of race and skill package, and b) ensuring that racial strengths and weaknesses are maintained without detriment to the chosen skill package. To that end, by the way, the book recommends rolling <strong>three sets</strong> of these ability scores, and then choosing the set you want most.</p><p></p><p>Look, if you're into Sword World, you're into rolling six-siders. A lot. I don't know what else to tell you.</p><p></p><p>Like D&D, your ability scores give you a bonus. Unlike D&D, there are no penalties. You get zero bonus for a score of 1-5, but every 6 integers after that gives you a +1. So 6-11 is +1, 12-17 is +2, etc.</p><p></p><p>So, as a Human, I roll my 2d across the aboard and get 8, 10, 7, 8, 7, 11. I'm doing this all randomly anyway, so I just go with those results. This gives me:</p><p>Human Scout/Fencer</p><p>Dexterity - 10+8 =18 (+3)</p><p>Agility - 10+10 = 20 (+3)</p><p>Strength - 7+7 = 14 (+2)</p><p>Constitution - 7+8 = 15 (+2)</p><p>Wisdom - 4+7 = 11 (+1)</p><p>Spirit - 4+11 = 15 (+2)</p><p></p><p>Seeing this in action, one thing that struck me is that with bonuses six integers apart, the math is relatively bounded. Someone more adept at probability math would have to confirm it, but I <em>think</em> that since resolution rolls are 2d6, which should describe a bell curve, that binds the math even more. Also, I have good stats for the skill package I chose while also rolling ability scores in order! I guess that's the system working as intended.</p><p></p><p>Next time, we look at skill packages!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Iosue, post: 8760826, member: 6680772"] Before I start, I'd like to emend an earlier post. I posted a link to a Fandom wiki for a Sword World 2.0 English translation. As I consider the Fandom wiki interface as proof that the Devil exists and that he hates us, it pleases me to provide a very nice alternative. The good folks on the Sword World 2.0 subreddit have completed translations on all the Core Rulebooks, a crapload of supplements, and some other resources, all in a very nice PDF format faithful to the originals. The translation is...a translation. Done by motivated amateurs using a combination of limited Japanese and machine translation, the quality is (in my professional opinion) a bit patchy. But I can't help but admire and applaud the pure gumption and hard work that has gone into this project, all for nothing but love for the game. If you are at all interested in Sword World, definitely give it a look. The translations can be found in a Google Drive [URL='https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1qJnXqK9O6vctoFwUI1l_yLU6ErzeUZsH']here[/URL]. Now, on to "deliberate" character generation. Probably the best way to go through this is to actually make a character, and see how it goes. Step 1 is to choose your race and origin. As we covered, the races are Human, Elf, Dwarf, Tabbit, Runefolk, Nightmare, and Lycant. You can choose your origin or roll it randomly. Your origin determines your initial skill package. "Skill package" is how I'm translating the Japanese [I]ginou[/I], which just means skill. But the names of the [I]ginou[/I] are what we normally associate with character classes (e.g., fighter, sorcerer), so I think "skill package" is little more appropriate. Origins are often essentially the same as the skill packages, but written with Japanese words, while the skill packages are transliterated English. Humans can access to all skill packages, but other races are limited in their choice. The origins listed on the Human page (and their associated skill packages) are: Magitech ([B]Magitech[/B]), Sorcerer ([B]Sorcerer[/B]), Light Warrior ([B]Scout[/B] [I]and[/I] [B]Fencer[/B]), Normal Person (no initial skill package), Mercenary ([B]Fighter[/B] [I]or[/I] [B]Grappler[/B]), Priest ([B]Priest[/B]), Conjurer ([B]Conjurer[/B]), and Adventurer (no initial skill package, selectable only with the GM's permission). The other available skill packages are [B]Sage[/B], [B]Ranger[/B], and [B]Shooter[/B]. Along with your initial skill package, your origin determines your three Base Ability Scores: Skill, Body, and Mind. Each origin has a different array of these Base Ability Scores (even when other races have the same origin), ranging from 3 to 14, with most in the 7-10 range. Of special note here in the Human list is the Normal Person (Base Ability Scores of 7, 7, 7) and Adventurer (2d6 for each BAS). Finally, your origin also gives your your initial Experience Points. These experience points are used to buy additional levels of your initial skill package, or even to buy new ones. Almost all origins get 2,000, but a few have 2,500 and the Normal Person and Adventurer start with 3,000 (since they have to buy all of their skill packages). We'll come to the skill packages in more detail in a later post. For the character I'm making, I decide to choose Human (for the greatest range of possible skill packages) and then to roll my origin. I roll a 6, which means I have Light Warrior origin. The Light Warrior is one of two origins that offer two initial skill packages. (The other one is the Elf Apothecary, which provides Sage and Ranger.) My BAS are Skill 10, Body 7, and Mind 4, and I start with 2,000 XP. The next step is to determine my Ability Scores. There are six, lettered A-F: (A) Manual Dexterity and (B) Agility key off of Skill, (C) Strength and (D) Constitution key off of Body, and (E) Wisdom and (F) Spirit key off of Mind. Here you cross check a table to see what dice you roll for each ability score, roll those in order, and then add the result to the relevant BAS to get your final Ability Scores. Like this: [TABLE] [TR] [TD][/TD] [TD][CENTER]Human[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]Elf[/CENTER][/TD] [TD]Dwarf[/TD] [TD][CENTER]Tabbit[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]Runefolk[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]Nightmare[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]Lycant[/CENTER][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]A (Dexterity)[/TD] [TD][CENTER]2d[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]2d[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]2d+6[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]1d[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]2d[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]2d[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]1d[/CENTER][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]B (Agility)[/TD] [TD][CENTER]2d[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]2d[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]1d[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]1d[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]1d[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]2d[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]1d+3[/CENTER][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]C (Strength)[/TD] [TD][CENTER]2d[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]1d[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]2d[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]1d[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]2d[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]1d[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]2d[/CENTER][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]D (Constitution)[/TD] [TD][CENTER]2d[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]2d[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]2d[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]2d[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]2d[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]1d[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]2d[/CENTER][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]E (Wisdom)[/TD] [TD][CENTER]2d[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]2d[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]1d[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]2d+6[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]2d[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]2d[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]1d+6[/CENTER][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]F (Spirit)[/TD] [TD][CENTER]2d[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]2d[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]2d+6[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]2d[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]1d[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]2d[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]1d[/CENTER][/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] A rather baroque system, I must say. In the actual book, by the way, the ability scores themselves are not in the table, only their associated letters. I guess to distinguish between your assigned dice to roll and the actual ability score value itself. Knowing the history of Sword World, it strikes me as a system striving to maintain the same experience as D&D's random characters, but a) allowing for choice of race and skill package, and b) ensuring that racial strengths and weaknesses are maintained without detriment to the chosen skill package. To that end, by the way, the book recommends rolling [B]three sets[/B] of these ability scores, and then choosing the set you want most. Look, if you're into Sword World, you're into rolling six-siders. A lot. I don't know what else to tell you. Like D&D, your ability scores give you a bonus. Unlike D&D, there are no penalties. You get zero bonus for a score of 1-5, but every 6 integers after that gives you a +1. So 6-11 is +1, 12-17 is +2, etc. So, as a Human, I roll my 2d across the aboard and get 8, 10, 7, 8, 7, 11. I'm doing this all randomly anyway, so I just go with those results. This gives me: Human Scout/Fencer Dexterity - 10+8 =18 (+3) Agility - 10+10 = 20 (+3) Strength - 7+7 = 14 (+2) Constitution - 7+8 = 15 (+2) Wisdom - 4+7 = 11 (+1) Spirit - 4+11 = 15 (+2) Seeing this in action, one thing that struck me is that with bonuses six integers apart, the math is relatively bounded. Someone more adept at probability math would have to confirm it, but I [I]think[/I] that since resolution rolls are 2d6, which should describe a bell curve, that binds the math even more. Also, I have good stats for the skill package I chose while also rolling ability scores in order! I guess that's the system working as intended. Next time, we look at skill packages! [/QUOTE]
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