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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Some Dude" data-source="post: 7823912" data-attributes="member: 6980080">CHAPTER 3: CHARACTER CREATIONPreviously, we looked under Zweihander's hood, and saw a sturdy and reliable set of old-school D100 mechanics, augmented by several very modern and fun tweaks. I like a mix of old and new design elements, and that is definitely what we get here.Now that we understand the core of the rules, it's time to find out what most of the terms we used in the last chapter mean. I'm used to rulebooks that address character creation first, then explain what all of the various bits mean in game terms. Zweihander does the opposite. It feels a little counter-intuitive, but that's probably just me chafing against years of habit.So now, I am going to learn how to make a Zweihander character, and I will make one as I go!This chapter opens with a clever full-page illustration, depicting a lineup of five very different types of individuals one might expect to encounter in the game world. Each casts a shadow that reveals each one's hidden self. It's very effective, and seems to be making a point about Zweihander characters in general: each one is deeper than mere class or alignment. Characters in Zweihander are often complicated or somehow conflicted. At least that's what I get out of it.Before we start rolling dice and making choices, however, Zweihander gives us several more "rules of the road", or axioms about the "grim & perilous" world that the characters will live and die in. Paraphrasing here, but it's basically a lot of stuff that boils down to:-You are fated for something. What that is exactly will probably be determined over the course of a campaign, but you may know some of it already.-There is no escaping violence.-Bigotry (note: this does not necessarily mean racism) and ignorance are everywhere.-Religion rules all. "Ever heard the saying, "There are no atheists in a foxhole"? Well, the world of Zweihander is one big foxhole, where you will spend the rest of your life closer to death than you'd like.-True medicine, like all scientific knowledge, is the occult study of this world, understood by few, derided by many, and overrun with fakes and con artists.-Magick exists, and is not to be trusted. Nor are its practitioners.-Here there be monsters.-There exists a great, dark force that works to corrupt all.Zweihander seems to be a game about finding light in the darkness, though it may be fleeting and dim. And this preamble to the Character creation process serves as a reminder that, when played properly, this will be a game of hard choices and uncertain morality. I'm in!A sidebar tells us we are going to need a pencil, three ten-sided dice, and a character sheet. Check, check and check.The process has nine steps, starting with:Step 1: Begin Basic TierZweihander has 3 "Tiers", or levels of Character competence, kind of like levels. You start at Basic Tier, and there are certain criteria that must be fulfilled before moving to Intermediate Tier, and again before moving to Advanced Tier.Step 2: Primary AttributesThere are seven Primary Attributes: Combat, Brawn, Agility, Perception, Intelligence, Willpower, and Fellowship. These are all pretty self-explanatory, except perhaps for Fellowship (spoiler: it's charisma). I have decided that my Character will be named Gühm Kiener, and roll these attributes by adding 25 to 3D10. So, Gühm's Primary Attributes are, in he order listed above:Combat 45Brawn 32Agility 50Perception 47Intelligence 40Willpower 42Fellowship 37Now, each Primary Attribute has a Primary Attribute Bonus, which is equal to the Primary Attribute divided by ten, fractions always rounded down. The bonuses were actually discussed before the Primary Attributes themselves, which I also found counter-intuitive, if easy enough to figure out. So, Gühm's Primary Attributes, with the attendant Primary Attribute Bonuses now listed, are:Combat 45 [4]Brawn 42 [4]Agility 50 [5]Perception 47 [4]Intelligence 40 [4]Willpower 42 [4]Fellowship 37 [3]Primary Attributes, as well as their bonuses, may change during Character Creation. And the Bonuses may change independent of their respective Attributes. You may also raise any one Attribute to 42, if it is less than that number. So, Gühm's Fellowship is now 42. I am not clear whether this change affects the Attribute Bonus. Perhaps this is made clear in the rules, but I don't see it.Step 3: Sex & AncestryNext we will determine our character's Ancestry, or Race, and Sex. The default Ancestry is human, though there are Dwarves, Gnomes, Elves, Halflings and Ogres. If non-human races are allowed in the campaign, there is a percentile table that yields a 20% chance of being any one of those listed. Zweihander loves random tables. Personally, so do I. That wasn't always the case, but these days I appreciate some randomness, as it usually sparks my imagination in ways I may not have come up with myself. Just a matter of personal taste, I guess.There used to be a table for determining gender, but I think some people objected, and it was removed. Which leads us to this:Cool. Again, if you get upset about this, you're looking for a reason to be outraged. It has no mechanical bearing on the game. It does, however, say "Whoever you are, you can enjoy Zweihander." Awesome.Having determined our Ancestry, we now go to the Ancestral Modifiers and Traits. You see, in Zweihander, as in life, there is great variety, even within a single race or culture. Not all Elves are able to see in the dark. Not all Dwarves are prodigious drinkers. First, each Ancestry has Ancestral Modifiers, which raise some Attribute Bonuses, and lower others.Gühm, like all Humans, will add 1 each to his bonuses for Combat, Intelligence, and Perception. He will aslo subtract 1 each from his bonuses for Agility, Fellowship and Willpower. His Attributes and Bonuses now look like this:Combat 45 [5]Brawn 32 [3]Agility 50 [4]Perception 47 [5]Intelligence 40 [5]Willpower 42 [3]Fellowship 42 [3]Next, you roll for 1 Ancestral Trait. Remember when I said that not all elves can see in the dark? That's because it's an Ancestral Trait. Each race has 12 possible traits, and each character rolls randomly for 1. Some Human traits (and their effects) include:-Dauntless (immune to Intimidate, cannot be Stunned or Knocked Out)-Danger Sense (spend a Fortune point to avoid being Surprised)There are many more, each quite varied in description and affect. As might be expected, the non-human Traits are often more outlandish than those for Humans.Gühm ends up with Natural Selection, which allows him to permanently raise any one Attribute to 55. I decide to raise Gühm's Brawn score. Again, I am unsure whether or not this change to the Attribute score affects the Attribute Bonus, so I'm leaving it as is for now. So, on paper, Gühm looks like this:Combat 45 [5]Brawn 55 [3]Agility 50 [4]Perception 47 [5]Intelligence 40 [5]Willpower 42 [3]Fellowship 42 [3]Step 4: Archetype & ProfessionTo me, this reads kind of like "Class" and "Subclass", but I find it much more appealing. One of the reasons I never really had much interest in later iterations of D&D was the proliferation of subclasses, and the rules bloat that happened as a result. I might be a close-minded curmudgeon, but I never really saw the appeal of buying "the Complete Fighter", or similar books. I don't want to buy, let alone read, a whole new rulebook just to play one class of Character. Again, that's just my preference. I greatly prefer Zweihander's approach here: a group of Archetypes and related Professions, offering a lot of variety without all the fiddly BS, game-breaking power creep or new, off-the-wall abilities that mean that, as a GM, you have to read every goddamn book your players read in order to keep up. That's why I never really cared for a lot of the Classic Traveller books like High Guard, or the aforementioned D&D splatbooks. Keep it simple. It's possible to achieve variety while maintaining an elegant simplicity, and Zweihander gets this.Here we are presented with 6 broad Archetypes (roll for one), each one having 12 possible Professions (again, one is selected at random). Some Archetypes (and their Professions) include:-Academic (Apothecary, Astrologer, Monk, Scribe)-Commoner (Barber Surgeon, Boatman, Peasant, Rat Catcher)-Warrior (Berserker, Man-at-Arms, Pit Fighter, Pugilist)Your Archetype determines, in a broad way, what your career path has been so far. It also determines what much of your starting equipment, including weapons, is ("Trappings" in the game's parlance). Your Profession determines what path you must take to advance to the Intermediate Tier. Each Profession has a list of Skills, Bonus Advances, and Talents that must be purchased before the character can advance to the next Tier. There are also Special Traits that are unique to each Profession. But for now, we get the tables to roll our Archetype and Profession. Archetypes are defined here, but Professions will be discussed later.This seems an odd choice to me, as the two are unarguably connected. Perhaps I am being persnickety, maybe I'm just a creature of habit, or maybe I'm just not that bright. But I like my gaming rules to be laid out in a very linear fashion, and please, explain it like I'm five. If it seems as though I'm picking on the game, I'm not. I like what I see so far. I'm just not too keen on the manner in which the information is given. It's jumping around like Pulp Fiction ovah heah! Okay, it's not that bad. Don't get me wrong, I'm figuring it out, but I wish it was more of a "one step follows the other" type of thing.But, enough about that, Gühm is going to be of the Socialite Archetype. These are individuals who move about society using the gift of gab, manipulation and outright lies to get close to those with power. Another roll, and Gühm's Profession is Courtier. I like this combination, and see great possibilities here.Gühm's starting Trappings, as determined by his Archetype, are:Okay, It's getting late. I'm gonna have to finish Character Creation another time. Stay tuned!</blockquote>

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