Mercenary Campaign Character Design

Background

Character Design Sequence
1. Introduction
2. Stats
3. Game Roles
4. Backgrounds
5. Skills
6. Equipment
7. Disadvantages
8. Contacts
9. Spells
10. Income Source
11. New Characters

1. Introduction
The characters are all the principle members in a mercenary [team or company]. These characters are the ones who provided the seed capitol to get started and have the connections to make a living at being mercenaries. The characters are the leaders of the unit.

Name: Probably a Galeric name, pick a first and last name from the list of Common Galeric Names

Age: Pick an age 20-30 years old, see backgrounds for modification.

Each character has 12 CP to use for designing a character.

2. Stats
13 in all stats, except size which is rolled: 2d6+6. Add 8 total points to stats, additional points can be gained by subtracting two points from DEX or APP and adding one to another. Another option, if SIZ is less than STR/CON, is to lower both STR and CON one and add one to chosen stat.

Stat Training:
After all points are allocated, characters can fully train a stat for 1 CP. No stat can be above racial maxes before the game starts.

3. Game Roles
Both metagaming roles and game roles

Action Driver/Guild Representative: Psuedo leader who arranges missions and trys to keep the action moving forward and make sure everyone gets input into plans. *** Essential ***
Skills: Leadership, Bargaining, Human Lore
Required Contact:
3 CP General Leonardo Batista, Master of the Melbin Mercenary Guild

Accountant/Purser: Arranges travel, hires new troops, pay/upkeep of barracks, pays general expenses, keeps troops fed. *** Needed only if playing the troop game ***
Skills: Administration, Human Lore, Evaluate, Bargaining
Required Contacts:
2 CP Mona Lamberti: Foreign Trader and matron
1 CP: Scribe Petriboni, Melbin Mercenary Guild Scribe (keeper of personnel records)

Scholar/Intellectual: liaison with scholars in Melbin.
Skills: R/W Galeric, R/W Old Galeric, Bargaining
Possible Contact:
2 CP: Doffo Tinghi, Alchemist in the Alchemy Guild of Melbin

Thug/Thief: contacts with Melbin underworld, possible scout.
Skills: Evaluate, Bargaining, Melbin Lore, Tracking
Required Contact:
2 CP: Vinnie: important member of the Melbin Guild of Assassins

Magician/Mystic: knowledge of nearby swamps and fairie lands near Melbin.
Skills: World Lore, Spirit Speech, Fairie Lore
Possible Contact:
3 CP: Varana, swamp hag and goblin eater, has throng of followers/slaves

Animal Handler: handles training of horses and riders and care of horses. *** Only needed if it is a horse game and a player wants to be the horsemaster ***
Skills: Ride, Animal Lore
Possible Contact:
2 CP: Rudolfo Gaelerzi: Horse trader living up on the North shore of the lake.

Political Guy: works with the Newt city administration and keeps the characters out of trouble.
Skills: Law, Speak Newt, R/W Newt
Required Contact:
3 CP: Lord Portnoy: Newt Magistrate working in the Judicial administration
Possible Contact:
2 CP: Mr. Ressti: Newt Army Purser, member of Melbin City Council

Goblin Boy: knows about goblins and their ways
Skills: Goblin Lore, Speak Goblin, R/W Goblin
Possible Contact:
3 CP: Teraneva the Scholar, Assistant to the Vizier of the city of Manakara

4. Possible Character Backgrounds
(I expect each player to flesh their's out)

Count's Son: Son of count disgraced by a witch working for the Bandit King. Hopes to regain position. Learning leadership skills to build up money and regain position.
Possible Contact:
2 CP: Guervo Rubinus: Loyal administrator in the town the son is from.

Questing Knight: possibly out of favor, but wandering regardless. Hoping to become famous.
Possible Contact:
3 CP: Baron Rinaldo Ulfizzi, lord along the river to Melbin

Peasant Upstart: Hoping to become nobility, former peasant militiaman, 30-35 years old. Fled farming to become a bandit in the Tada forest, but hired out as a mercenary.
Possible Contact:
3 CP: Shaman Hamari: Tada forest shaman/druid

Merchant son: wants to become a powerful warrior.
Possible Contact:
3 CP: Alonzo, Rich Merchant father, 300 gold/year base income

Former Melbin Soldier: wants to get rich and/or gain political role
Possible Contact:
2 CP: Captain Piedro Vallari, leader of Melbin mounted heavy horse company

Former Barbarian Thane (Pseudo Knight): lured by civilization, can recruit buddies for cheap.
Possible Contact:
3 CP: Chief Larrame of Tribe Krasnor

Son of Mercenary: now a leader in a unit, wants more fame Possible Contact:
2 CP: Captain Babene Gauno, friend and leader of a Melbin mercenary company

5. Skills
All skills percentages listed below are the total percentage including base+bonus+experience.

No skill can start higher than 75%.

Skills: 1 x 55% , 2 x 50%, 3 x 40%, 4 x 35%, 5 x 30%.

Only two non-language skills that start at zero can increased.

All players get the following free: (skill listed is just base, add bonus)
R/W Galeric (Imperial) 10%, Speak Galeric (Own) 30%, R/W Tunid (Southern Trading Kingdom) 10%, Speak Tunid 10%

1 CP: +10% to Skill

Skills Available to Characters:

Forced March: (Manipulation) The total distance increase of a marching group is equal to the the lowest Forced March skill. Ex. 20 soldiers all with Forced March can go 16% farther in a day if the lowest Forced March skill in the group is 16%. Average marching distance for footmen is 20 km a day, depending on terrain and familiarity.

Leadership: (Communications) Used to get troops to do what you want during a battle and to rally them. Limited by lesser of orate or double human lore (or other appropriate lore for race of troops.) One-half skill with troops that leader has not interacted with/lead for at least a month.

Strategy (Knowledge) Used to make troop formations more effective in battle and superiour positioning to defeat the enemy with fewer casualties. Probably will not be very useful for the types of missions the characters will go on.

Tactics: (Knowledge) Used to make individual troops more effective in battle and to maintain good fighting order during battle. Limited by double human lore (or other appropriate lore for race of troops.) One-half skill with troops that leader has not interacted with/trained for at least a month.

Skills Limited to Members of Martial Schools:
Cost 1 CP each to learn on top of normal cost.

Quickdraw: (Manipulation) a successful use allows a sword wielder to draw a sword and attack with it without the normal +3SR penalty. The same roll for drawing is used for the attack and if the draw is unsuccessful, the attack occurs 3 SR later.

More to follow

4. Equipment
0 CP: Basic Equipment
Any weapons the character has above base skill.
Ringmail armor with leather padding (6 AP)
Mundane Equipment: choose any desired simple equipment
Special Equipment: create or choose from below
1 CP: Chainmail armor with padding (8 AP)
2 CP: Plate armor with padding and customizing (10 AP)
3 CP: Mithril Ringmail armor with padding and customizing (12 AP)
4 CP: Mithril Chainmail armor with padding and customizing (15 AP) (90% ENC)
2 CP: High Quality Weapon, +2 Damage Permanently, +4 AP
1 CP: Personal 3 MP Storage Matrix
2 CP: Personal 7 MP Storage Matrix
1 CP: 1d3 Extra Total HP
2 CP: 2d3+1 Extra Total HP
3 CP: Personal PSBE with 10 POW, must know Control POW Sprit (1), Binding Enchant (3)
X CP: Personal Spell matrix (1 CP per 2 Points), must know Binding Enchant (3)

5. Disadvantages
Disadvantages allow the player extra CP to spend on other areas. Most of these are not immediately perilous, but will cause problems for the character. Most characters will have not disadvantages and the character or two that does will have one or two at most.

+1 CP: Bad reputation with local Majorca islanders (ie. killed someone or known bully)
+1 CP: Clumsy, automatic if DEX is less than 13 after all training, etc.
+1 CP: Stupid, automatic if INT is less than 11 after all bonuses, etc.
+2 CP: Vice, figure out a vice to have such as addict, womanizer, slothful,
drunkard, etc.
+X CP: Others, feel free to design other options and let me know
+X CP: Someone else has the character as a contact (obligation)

8. Contacts
Each player should choose at least one or two contacts. A contact is a person that the character knows and will go out of their way to assist the player (usually only when asked.) Items to decide about a contact listed below. Free Contact: (0 CP) Parents including new or adoptive parents.

9. Spells
Choose magical path: mystic, cultist, faithful

Mystic: character gets one-half INT in spirit magic spells, round up. No spells from the guild special list, except Control POW Spirit. The person is a guild or normal shaman student.

Cultist: character gets five points of cult spirit magic and one point of divine spells from the common list. The person is an initiate of that cult.

Faithful: character gets all the sorcery skills at 20%+ bonus at least and five common spells. The person is an apprentice of a sect.

10. Income Source: (Choose One)
Listed in order of obligation. The further down the list, the more likely the character will be required to do something to maintain or get the income.

0 CP: No income source other than missions (most likely)
1 CP: Limited stipend/inheritance, 100 gold/year (second most likely)
3 CP: Noble Stipend: 500 gold/year, obligations
3 CP: Sheriff, Town Taxes and Tithes: 550 gold/year, 10% of time
3 CP: On Retainer by Melbin, a Noble, or Merchant: 600 gold/year, 10% of time
4 CP: Knight, Share of crops and crafts: 650 gold/year, 20% of time
4 CP: Bandit, Extortion of farmers, traders, herders: 700 gold/year, 20% of time
2 CP : Merchantile Earnings: Bargain x 10 in gold/year, 20% of time
includes 500-750 gold worth of seed money, must have Bargain at 50% or more
2 CP: Gambling Earnings: Gambling x 5 in gold/year, 20% of time
includes 200 gold worth of seed money and contacts to stay out of trouble
must have Gambling at 50% or more

Optional additional sources: Available to anyone spending the time
The following simulates training, spell casting, simple missions, consulting, etc.
20% of time in trade: 1/3 personal upkeep/year
50% of time in trade: 2/3 personal upkeep/year
80% of time in trade: 100% personal upkeep/year
20% of time: Bargain x 3 in gold/year (could be in addition to Merchantile Earnings)
requires seed capitol of 500 gold to start

11. New Characters
1% will be added to each of the starting percentages for each
adventure since the beginning of the campaign. More skills will be added to the bottom
percentages, if necessary.


Copyright © 1997-2002 by Michael Derry, derry@jugenstil.com

Updated 5 APR 02