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View Full Version : Let’s vote up a character Burning Wheel style



Totally Guy
2012-10-10, 08:19 AM
As one of the most complex character creation systems out there and in reference to Valadil’s interesting point buy thread I though it might be fun to let the forum at it with this system and see what kind of character we end up with.

There are a number of stages that we’ll need to break down to various degrees. It is a lifepath system which means we’ll be choosing the background for the character as we go. The tolkienesque setting is implied through the lifepaths so the character should, in theory, be suitable to that setting at the end.

I'm going to call rounds of voting as we go but not with any too regimented precedent.

Step 1: Concept. Concept always comes first but in this instance it undermines the whole idea of voting it up so we’ll pass this one and see what we get.
Step 2: Choose Lifepaths. We’ll do a series of votes to get through the process bit by bit. We’ll use four lifepaths as they make good starting characters.
Step 3: Stats.
Step 4: Skills.
Step 5: Traits.
Step 6: Q&A for Health and Steel
Step 7: Resources
Step 8: Beliefs and Instincts
Step 9: A name

So the starting question is this. Is the character…
A Dwarf
An Elf
A Human
An Orc

toapat
2012-10-10, 09:16 AM
Elf if Female
Dwarf if Male

Moriwen
2012-10-10, 10:08 AM
I'll go for the opposite:

Elf if male
Dwarf if female

Totally Guy
2012-10-10, 10:23 AM
Let's go in order; an elf couple could have either a male or female baby but it will always be an elf baby.

Silverbit
2012-10-10, 11:03 AM
I vote elf, any gender.

toapat
2012-10-10, 11:05 AM
Let's go in order; an elf couple could have either a male or female baby but it will always be an elf baby.

parentage would be determined by race of choice (Ie, an elf is going to have 1/2 elf parents or an elf + Half Elf. a Dwarf will be Dwarf+Dwarf or Dwarf + not Orc), i would just like to have the race/gender down before we start voting up their childhood

Laura Eternata
2012-10-10, 03:11 PM
I like dwarves. I know nothing about Burning Wheel, but I still vote dwarf.

Jack of Spades
2012-10-10, 04:48 PM
Y'all are boring, I vote ORC!

Loki_42
2012-10-10, 05:53 PM
Let's go with Orc. They're interesting.

LikeAD6
2012-10-10, 07:38 PM
I vote dwarf also. Oy laddies!

Conners
2012-10-10, 08:08 PM
I vote human! Just to be contrary.

Totally Guy
2012-10-11, 01:15 AM
Looks like Dwarf it is. Dwarven males and females aren't really so different. They all pretty much identify as male anyway and it's pretty rude to question that.

So where was he born?
To the Clansmen? Clansmen are the guys that farm, brew, do basic tunnel work and generally work hard for peaceful lives.
To the Guilders? Guilders trade, travel and make basic things.
To the Artificers? The Artificers make things from stone, steel and gems.
To the Nobles? Nobles teach, fight and run dwarf society.

Where he starts will not necessarily be where he stays but there are restrictions. A young dwarf born to the clansmen could go the the gullders but would be need to wait for an opportunity to go elsewhere.

Balmas
2012-10-11, 01:19 AM
I'm going to say Guilders, if only so he can wage war against Florin.

Fenix_of_Doom
2012-10-11, 03:23 AM
I vote Artificer, doesn't everybody wants to be a tinkerer at heart, especially a dwarf.

Moriwen
2012-10-11, 09:19 AM
I'm going for Guilder.

Conners
2012-10-11, 09:22 AM
I'm going to say Clansmen. Then, when they're older, I'll vote for them to become a mercenary or something.

toapat
2012-10-11, 10:08 AM
artificer

he is a Dorf after all

Silverbit
2012-10-11, 11:26 AM
Guilders, for the merc idea.

Totally Guy
2012-10-11, 12:27 PM
So he was born to a couple of dwarves in the guilds.

At the grand age of 21 he was considered a be a mature dwarf.

What did he go on to do next?

Stay with the Guilders and become a...
Wordbearer A quirky teller of history.
Hauler The guy who pulls the carts
Carter The patient fellow who deals with the animals.
Hawker The dodgy haggler.
Apprentice Apprentice to craftsman
or did he leave the to become a clansman and be
Tender A cursing farmer.
Herder The loud goat herder.
Tinkerer The guy who knows about stuff.
Delver The mine guy.
Miller This guy knows his grain.

Sodalite
2012-10-11, 12:30 PM
I vote for Wordbearer. Seems like an interesting idea to me.

Conners
2012-10-11, 12:32 PM
Worldbearer.

toapat
2012-10-11, 12:41 PM
tinker.

again, we made him a Dorf

Silverbit
2012-10-11, 12:52 PM
Wordbearer, it does sound like an interesting concept.

Knaight
2012-10-11, 01:48 PM
I'm going with Wordbearer.

Totally Guy
2012-10-12, 12:57 AM
After 15 years of learning of the dwarven holds of the land and telling truths to whoever would listen, opportunity to move on presents itself once again.

At 36 years old, still young for a dwarf, what did he go on to do next?

Did he continue to be a Wordbearer holding on to facts and rumours?

Did he stay with the Guilder community and become a...
Hauler The guy who pulls the carts
Carter The patient fellow who deals with the animals.
Hawker The dodgy haggler.
Apprentice Apprentice to a craftsman

Or did he leave the to become a clansman and be a...
Tender A cursing farmer.
Herder The loud goat herder.
Tinkerer The guy who knows about stuff.
Delver The mine excavation worker.
Miller This guy knows his grain (and the beers it makes).

Or did he join up with the Host (army) to see the world?
Foot Soldier A front line fighter
Arbalester A squinty crossbowman.
Banner Bearer The guy who carries the banner who just know he's gonna die first.
Horncaller A link in the chain of signalmen who can understand coded horn calls.

This will be his third lifepath of four.

Siegel
2012-10-12, 01:13 AM
Horncaller

Sanguine
2012-10-12, 01:14 AM
Horncaller.

Balmas
2012-10-12, 02:29 AM
Horncaller. Let's make a spoony bard!

Conners
2012-10-12, 04:20 AM
DANGIT! I want him to be a Soldier or a Banner Bearer (but it seems he's gonna be a bard...).

Taking the risks of the latter seems cool, but he might learn to fight better with the former.

Totally Guy
2012-10-12, 05:26 AM
Taking the risks of the latter seems cool, but he might learn to fight better with the former.

This exercise really is interesting to me as you're blind to the meta. When I've made characters I've done so with full awareness of which doors open and which ones close after each path.

falloutimperial
2012-10-12, 05:36 AM
Horncaller, please.

Conners
2012-10-12, 05:39 AM
This exercise really is interesting to me as you're blind to the meta. When I've made characters I've done so with full awareness of which doors open and which ones close after each path. Yeah, it does make it cool!

Fluff-wise, though, I simply would need more info. Is he likely to die from archers and guns? Or would he have to swordfight his way through the battle--gaining more honour and glory than a footsoldier would?

Totally Guy
2012-10-12, 07:27 AM
Is he likely to die from archers and guns? Or would he have to swordfight his way through the battle--gaining more honour and glory than a footsoldier would?

The banner bearer? There's no chance of dying in character creation or anything like that but leading that life would leave its mark on him. This is true of most of the paths. (Incidentally I reckon a footsoldier could beat up the bannerman in most cases.) The intent of the lifepaths is not for balance but instead to represent the setting in terms of the characters that exist within it.

Conners
2012-10-12, 12:31 PM
OK, just wondering. Guess I'd go with Foot soldier, since skill in more important than a fancy job description.

Totally Guy
2012-10-12, 12:35 PM
After 8 years of involvement with the dwarven host learning his trade of calling horn code, his situation might change once again.

At 44 years old, what did he go on to do next?

Did he continue to be a Horncaller?

Did he stay with the Host?
Foot Soldier A front line fighter
Arbalester A squinty crossbowman.
Banner Bearer The guy who carries the banner who just know he's gonna die first.

Did he leave to become a clansman and be a...
Tender A cursing farmer.
Herder The loud goat herder.
Tinkerer The guy who knows about stuff.
Delver The mine excavation worker.
Miller This guy knows his grain (and the beers it makes).

Or did he become somehow outcast from society?
Adventurer A skilful explorer.
Gambler A stone-faced dwarf relying on his luck to get by.
Oathbreaker To dwarves oaths are sacred words. Did he very publicly break one?
Drunk Perhaps he ended up in a bar in a permanent stupor.
Coward Whether true or not he's been branded a coward.
Runecaster Through his magical runes he can pronounce the fate of another.

This will be his final lifepath.

toapat
2012-10-12, 12:52 PM
Is drunk really an option? He is a dwarf, and being Perma-Drunk is their thing.


Ardeblaster though

Conners
2012-10-12, 12:54 PM
Footsoldier! Footsoldier :smallbiggrin:!

Totally Guy
2012-10-12, 01:06 PM
Sure dwarves drink but the drunk... all he does is drink!

And perhaps some stentorious singing.

Spamotron
2012-10-12, 02:30 PM
I say Runecaster. With Wordbearer and Horncaller a "Know-er of Secrets" archetype seems to be forming. Might as well follow that theme.

Zelphas
2012-10-12, 02:38 PM
I'm with Spamatron. I like the Runecaster concept.

Sodalite
2012-10-12, 02:48 PM
Thirding Runecaster, to make sure it gets through.

Balmas
2012-10-12, 03:35 PM
Fourthing! Runecaster is too cool to ignore.

Silverbit
2012-10-12, 03:41 PM
I leap nimbly on to the runecaster bandwagon. This dwarf knows stuff.

Sanguine
2012-10-12, 03:54 PM
Yeah, definitely Runecaster.

Totally Guy
2012-10-12, 05:06 PM
Wow! I don't think there's any beating the Runecaster bandwagon so let's call it and assess where we are. There are certain things about him he's picked up both by being a dwarf and by living the life he's led:

He's 65 years old.

He was born a Guilder, became a Wordbearer, joined the Host and became a Horn Caller before finding himself an outcast because of his unnatural Runecasting practice.

Accustomed to the dark. He doesn't mind dim conditions and he can see just fine with low light.

Bearded. He has a grand beard that shows his maturity.

Greed. He lusts for wealth and beautiful things. Just how greedy? Maybe a lot, maybe just a little... We'll find out later.

Oathsworn. He's sworn an oath to another dwarf. Dwarves take their promises very seriously.

Quirky. He has his quirks! People definitely notice them.

Shaped from Earth and Stone. He has the potential to learn certain supernatural skills such as Rune Casting.

Slave to Fate. He's plagued with visions of potential futures. Yet he has no choice but to march onward toward them. It's just a downside to being a Rune Caster.

Stout. His body is smaller than a man's but broader. This affects the vote below...

Tough. He's a little harder to fatally wound.



Step 3: His stats.
4 is considered to be an average rating. He can't start with more than 6 in anything so I've framed this round of voting with that in mind.

Mental stats:
Perception is his "book-smart" intelligence.
Will is his social intelligence.
He has 9 points to spend.
Which is higher?
Will is much higher than perception
Will is slightly higher than perception
Perception is much higher than will
Perception is slightly higher than will

Physical stats:
Power is his physical strength stat.
Fort is his toughness stat.
Agility is his hand eye co-ordination stat.
Speed is his overall body control stat.
He has 18 point to distribute between them. If we get a tie we'll use the array 5 5 4 4. If we get an outright winner we'll use the array 6 5 4 3 and rank the 2nd, 3rd and 4ths.
Which is his best?
Power is his best stat
Fort is his best stat
Agility is his best stat
Speed is still good (Speed must be lower that either his power or fort due to his stout trait but you can still vote to have it not suck.)


Please vote on both the mental stats and the physical ones.

Sanguine
2012-10-12, 05:10 PM
Will Perception is slightly higher than Perception Will and Fort is his best stat.

toapat
2012-10-12, 05:15 PM
Perception and Fortitude.


Also, As a Dwarf, he doesnt have a chin, only a second beard

Sodalite
2012-10-12, 09:40 PM
More bandwagons! Every vote must be unanimous.

Perception slightly higher than Will, Fort as the best stat.

Balmas
2012-10-12, 10:28 PM
Will is slightly higher than Perception.

Fortitude is his best stat, followed by speed, power, and agility.

Zelphas
2012-10-13, 12:13 AM
Yeah, I'd put Will as better than Perception. For physical stats, his speed should still be good.

Xefas
2012-10-13, 01:36 AM
Urist Wordfist's...
...Perception is much higher than his Will.
...Forte is outstanding, but his Speed is still good.

Conners
2012-10-13, 01:45 AM
I'm going to say Will over Perception. He's a storyteller, afterall.


No fighting the FORT wagon though... Fort is his best stat....

Totally Guy
2012-10-13, 02:16 AM
Ok then. Will 4, Perception 5, Power 4, Agility 3, Fort 6 and Speed 5.

His wound levels are quite high. If he was in a brawl he could be worn down but he'd never actually take a long lasting injury.

Step 4 skills.
Clan History - He can tell histories of the dwarves.
Conspicuous - He can make himself the centre of attention.
Foraging - He can find food for himself in the wilderness
Links - He can communicate in coded horn signals that the military use.
Oratory - He can speak in front of crowds and move them.
Rune Casting - He can pronounce the fate of another
Scavenging - The can find the right kind of junk that he needs.
These wise skills are all knowledge skills
Bad End-wise
Cadence-wise
Hold-wise
Rumour-wise
Suicidal Bravery-wise

Each of these skills starts at 2 with a single vote. All the skills are associated with a stat and start at half the rating rounded down. The only stats that aren't at 4 or 5 are Fort and Agility but none of these skills are based on those (which is convenient).

He's forced to already have a rating of 2 in Hold-wise, Links, and Rune Casting at a minimum to actually get by in his history so we'll consider those points spent already.

He's only got 11 skill points left to spend! If a skill receives no votes, he won't have it.

Vote for one of the skills and suggest something that he ought to be able to do but can't... there will be a second round of voting to add in skills that aren't associated with his jobs. Once 11 people have voted then all the points would be considered spent. No skill can be rated above 6.

I'm at a con this weekend so maybe update this evening... maybe not.

Balmas
2012-10-13, 02:24 AM
Oratory is an absolute must. After all, I'm imagining a grizzled old dwarf, telling stories to the young'uns, spreading the love.

Xefas
2012-10-13, 02:24 AM
Vote for one of the skills and suggest something that he ought to be able to do but can't...

All of my Burning Wheel instincts are pointing me at either Bad End-wise or Suicidal Bravery-wise. Gonna go with Bad End-wise.

And this guy definitely needs some Brawling. You see, carrying those big horns around, and all that equipment, he didn't often have an axe handy when some cheeky goblin decided to sneak 'round and have a go at his guts. To survive, he got good at slappin' them around all improvised-like until a proper soldier could lend a hand.

toapat
2012-10-13, 09:19 AM
Oratory and Runecasting

i doubt people realized they were selecting truenaming

Sanguine
2012-10-13, 10:41 AM
I'll vote for Conspicuous and Clan History.

Zelphas
2012-10-13, 11:59 AM
I'll vote for Bad-End Wise. It would explain why he was outcast from the dwarves; too many bad fortunes, maybe?

I also think he should have another vote to Oratory.

Sodalite
2012-10-13, 12:23 PM
I'll echo Xefas and vote for Bad End-wise and Brawl as well.

Spamotron
2012-10-13, 06:49 PM
The way Totally guy phrased things you can only vote for one skill. I assume he's going to count the first skill mentioned. So as it stands now

Oratory: 2 Votes
Bad-End Wise: 3 Votes
Conspicuous: 1 Vote

With Only Brawling mentioned as a possible alternative skill.

I throw in a vote for Rumor Wise.

4 Votes left.

Theoboldi
2012-10-13, 07:12 PM
This dwarf definetly needs more Runecasting. At this rate he's going to be the worst fortune-teller ever.

Fenix_of_Doom
2012-10-14, 05:19 AM
I like the runecasting, but my vote is going to Clan History, he definitely needs some of that.

I'm not sure what you mean by "suggest something that he ought to be able to do but can't", do you mean some other skill suggestion outside of these listed skills, or should it be a deficit within the character that is shameful to the character NOT to have given his backstory?

Amphetryon
2012-10-14, 06:51 AM
Oratory and Cadence-Wise, please.

Totally Guy
2012-10-14, 02:13 PM
I think I've attributed these just about right based on the comments.

Bad End-wise 4
Brawling 2
Cadence-wise 2
Clan History 3
Conspicuous 2
Hold-wise 2
Links 2
Oratory 4
Rumour-wise 2
Rune Casting 4

4 knowledge skills! And the skills to make himself the centre of attention and tell a crowd about it.

Next up are his traits.

Some of them will earn him fate points, a metagame currency, when they come into play but otherwise have no other effect apart from being a roleplaying cue. They are kind of freeform and descriptive.

Some of them will have some in game effect, a bit like a feat. He has a couple of these traits that he can get at a heavily discounted rate as they appear on his lifepaths, Iron Memory and Quickstep.


He has a pool of 3 points to spend and they'll be split between the following categories in proportion to the vote.

Should we spend points on..
A personality trait and I nominate ... (for example you could nominate "Patient", just make up a word to describe his personality.)
A trait that does something in game.
The discounted traits from his lifepaths.

Once the pool is split into these categories we'll do another round of voting with the traits themselves (including the nominated personality traits).

toapat
2012-10-14, 02:16 PM
Drunk
Ironbeard (+Defense)
Stonehide (+D)

Zelphas
2012-10-14, 02:25 PM
Fitting in with his skills, I feel like he should have the personality trait Loquacious. This Dwarf likes to talk, and knows how to make himself heard.

Fenix_of_Doom
2012-10-14, 03:04 PM
Iron Memory sounds like a trait he should have.

Additionally I feel that a personality trait similar to "sweet talker" fits well with this character.

Sith_Happens
2012-10-15, 01:05 AM
Drunk
Ironbeard (+Defense)
Stonehide (+D)


Iron Memory sounds like a trait he should have.

Pretty sure this is just voting on trait types for now, with the exception of personality traits.

Anyways, put my vote for Personality trait, and I nominate Forgetful/Absentminded. This dwarf has a vast repository of knowledge, but sadly it tends to not include things such as "Where did I put my keys?"

Amphetryon
2012-10-15, 06:51 AM
I vote to spend points on the discounted traits from hims lifepaths.

Balmas
2012-10-15, 06:55 AM
Pretty sure this is just voting on trait types for now, with the exception of personality traits.

Anyways, put my vote for Personality trait, and I nominate Forgetful/Absentminded. This dwarf has a vast repository of knowledge, but sadly it tends to not include things such as "Where did I put my keys?"

Seconded. I like the idea of a guy who can tell you the name of the orcs slaughtered in a glorious battle two hundred years ago, but can't tell you what he had for breakfast.

Moriwen
2012-10-15, 10:50 AM
Anyways, put my vote for Personality trait, and I nominate Forgetful/Absentminded. This dwarf has a vast repository of knowledge, but sadly it tends to not include things such as "Where did I put my keys?"

Thirded. I like this.

Knaight
2012-10-15, 12:05 PM
I'm going to back Loquacious here, though both Iron Willed and Absentminded are also quite good.

Totally Guy
2012-10-15, 02:53 PM
So working out the proportions of the vote it looks like 1 of the points will go on the lifepath traits and 2 for nominated character traits. No other mechanical traits.

He'll get one of these.
Lifepath Traits:
Iron Memory Can recall critical information.
Quick Step Gets a second chance when speed is tested.

He'll get two of these.
Character Traits:
Drunk
Loquacious
Absent Minded
Sweet Talker

Cast a vote for each category.

Sanguine
2012-10-15, 02:58 PM
Iron Memory, Loquacious, and Absent Minded. If I'm only allowed to vote for one of his Character Traits than my vote is for Absent Minded.

Sodalite
2012-10-15, 03:27 PM
One vote for Iron Memory, one vote for Loquacious.

Knaight
2012-10-15, 03:34 PM
Iron Memory, Loquacious
Switch the second to Absent Minded if needed to get the Iron Memory, Absent Minded, Loquacious combination instead of Iron Memory, Something, Loquacious.

Zelphas
2012-10-15, 03:41 PM
Loquacious, Absent-Minded for me. I'd also vote Iron Memory into the mix, if I can.

CarpeGuitarrem
2012-10-15, 03:51 PM
Iron Memory, Loquacious, and Absent Minded. If I'm only allowed to vote for one of his Character Traits than my vote is for Absent Minded.
Basically this. Plus, I'm totally doing this when I get home.

Balmas
2012-10-15, 04:27 PM
I would say Iron Memory, Loquacious, and Absent-minded.

Sodalite
2012-10-15, 04:44 PM
Given it seems to have been missed a few times, You're supposed to pick one of Iron Memory or Quick Step, then pick one of Drunk, Loquacious, Absent Minded, or Sweet Talker.

Sith_Happens
2012-10-15, 05:46 PM
Voting Iron Memory + Absentminded for the lulz. Can recal critical information, not so much any other kind.

Amphetryon
2012-10-15, 05:56 PM
Voting Iron Memory + Absentminded for the lulz. Can recal critical information, not so much any other kind.
I second this.

Totally Guy
2012-10-16, 01:18 AM
Iron Memory, Loquacious and Absent-minded are clearly the most popular options.

Ok then. It's now question-fest! He's got 3 attributes that we ought to know more about. His Health, his Steel and his Greed.

Health is used when he's recovering from injury or sickness. Steel is tested when he's shocked by pain, fear, surprise or even wonderment to act in spite of those conditions. Having Greed causes him wonderment when encounters something he desires, something of remarkable beauty or value and he tests steel for it. His greed rating gives him a resource to tap into when he's acting to acquire something he lusts over.

Do he live in squalor or filth?
Is he frail or sickly?
Has he been severely wounded in the past?
Has he been tortured or enslaved?
Is he athletic and active?
Does he live in a really clean and happy place, like the hills in the sound of music?
Has he ever murdered or killed by his own hand?
Has he been tortured, enslaved or beaten terribly over time?
Has he led a sheltered life free of violence and pain?
Has he been raised in a competitive (but non-violent) culture - sports, debates, strategy games, courting?
Has he ever given birth to a child? It's possible!
Has he ever coveted something owned by another?
Has he ever stolen something he coveted?
Has he ever had a prized possession stolen from him?
Has he ever been in the presence of the master craftsmanship of the Dwarven Fathers?
Has he witnessed an outsider in possession of a work of Dwarven art?
Which of the following does he not care so much about? Power, Craftsmanship, Riches or Beauty

The questions are all pretty much Yes/No, except the last. Please consider the context of what we know about him so far. Feel free to put forth a small detail to an answer and if it wins, we'll make the best ones canon.

Knaight
2012-10-16, 01:39 AM
Do he live in squalor or filth?
Is he frail or sickly?
Has he been severely wounded in the past?
Has he been tortured or enslaved?
Is he athletic and active?
Does he live in a really clean and happy place, like the hills in the sound of music?
Has he ever murdered or killed by his own hand?
Has he been tortured, enslaved or beaten terribly over time?
Has he led a sheltered life free of violence and pain?
Has he been raised in a competitive (but non-violent) culture - sports, debates, strategy games, courting?
Has he ever given birth to a child? It's possible!
Has he ever coveted something owned by another?
Has he ever stolen something he coveted?
Has he ever had a prized possession stolen from him?
Has he ever been in the presence of the master craftsmanship of the Dwarven Fathers?
Has he witnessed an outsider in possession of a work of Dwarven art?
Which of the following does he not care so much about? Power, Craftsmanship, Riches or Beauty
No. While he is by no means organized due to his absentmindedness, he does manage to keep his surroundings reasonably clean, if only because they are rather spartan.

No. He's by no means frail.

Yes. It turns out that ancient battlefields are sometimes also modern battlefields, and that trying to investigate the sites of ancient battlefields to improve one's understanding as a scholar carries some risk when they are in use.

No.

No.

No.

Yes, but only in warfare, and then not very much. It was when he was forced to kill that he left, as he isn't the sort of person who can do so easily.

No.

No.

Yes. Between mercantile culture and his early fascination with scholars, competition was a part of his life. He hated it.

No.

Yes. Another scholar, some puffed up noble who was packed off to seek knowledge and simply didn't have the skills had the only surviving copy of a noted manuscript. It's wasted in this noble's hands, and very much coveted.

No.

Yes.

Yes.

He doesn't really care about power. Craftsmanship and beauty he can appreciate, and while his love for riches is unconventional, it is very much there in expensive books, historical artifacts, and simply the time they grant to pursue scholarship and storytelling.

Balmas
2012-10-16, 02:09 AM
Iron Memory, Loquacious and Absent-minded are clearly the most popular options.

Ok then. It's now question-fest! He's got 3 attributes that we ought to know more about. His Health, his Steel and his Greed.

Health is used when he's recovering from injury or sickness. Steel is tested when he's shocked by pain, fear, surprise or even wonderment to act in spite of those conditions. Having Greed causes him wonderment when encounters something he desires, something of remarkable beauty or value and he tests steel for it. His greed rating gives him a resource to tap into when he's acting to acquire something he lusts over.

Do he live in squalor or filth?
Is he frail or sickly?
Has he been severely wounded in the past?
Has he been tortured or enslaved?
Is he athletic and active?
Does he live in a really clean and happy place, like the hills in the sound of music?
Has he ever murdered or killed by his own hand?
Has he been tortured, enslaved or beaten terribly over time?
Has he led a sheltered life free of violence and pain?
Has he been raised in a competitive (but non-violent) culture - sports, debates, strategy games, courting?
Has he ever given birth to a child? It's possible!
Has he ever coveted something owned by another?
Has he ever stolen something he coveted?
Has he ever had a prized possession stolen from him?
Has he ever been in the presence of the master craftsmanship of the Dwarven Fathers?
Has he witnessed an outsider in possession of a work of Dwarven art?
Which of the following does he not care so much about? Power, Craftsmanship, Riches or Beauty

The questions are all pretty much Yes/No, except the last. Please consider the context of what we know about him so far. Feel free to put forth a small detail to an answer and if it wins, we'll make the best ones canon.

No. While he may have occasional clutter, he keeps his surroundings fairly neat.

No. He's a dwarf, and a tough one at that.

Yes. He took an arrow to the knee We'll have none of that now. He has been shot by arrows a few time, but recovered each time.

No.

To a certain extent; as an older character, he finds it difficult to engage in acrobatic stunts, but can run a good distance.

No, he lives in a clan hall.

Yes. In his days as a horncaller, he was forced occasionally to fight.

No.

No.

Yes. In particular, he loves debates and story-telling competitions.

Nnnno.

Yes. He adores finely worked gold.

No.

No.

Only once, from far away.

Yes, and he tried to recover it through lawful means.

Power.

Amphetryon
2012-10-16, 07:04 AM
Iron Memory, Loquacious and Absent-minded are clearly the most popular options.

Ok then. It's now question-fest! He's got 3 attributes that we ought to know more about. His Health, his Steel and his Greed.

Health is used when he's recovering from injury or sickness. Steel is tested when he's shocked by pain, fear, surprise or even wonderment to act in spite of those conditions. Having Greed causes him wonderment when encounters something he desires, something of remarkable beauty or value and he tests steel for it. His greed rating gives him a resource to tap into when he's acting to acquire something he lusts over.

Do he live in squalor or filth?
Is he frail or sickly?
Has he been severely wounded in the past?
Has he been tortured or enslaved?
Is he athletic and active?
Does he live in a really clean and happy place, like the hills in the sound of music?
Has he ever murdered or killed by his own hand?
Has he been tortured, enslaved or beaten terribly over time?
Has he led a sheltered life free of violence and pain?
Has he been raised in a competitive (but non-violent) culture - sports, debates, strategy games, courting?
Has he ever given birth to a child? It's possible!
Has he ever coveted something owned by another?
Has he ever stolen something he coveted?
Has he ever had a prized possession stolen from him?
Has he ever been in the presence of the master craftsmanship of the Dwarven Fathers?
Has he witnessed an outsider in possession of a work of Dwarven art?
Which of the following does he not care so much about? Power, Craftsmanship, Riches or Beauty

The questions are all pretty much Yes/No, except the last. Please consider the context of what we know about him so far. Feel free to put forth a small detail to an answer and if it wins, we'll make the best ones canon.
No, but his organization method looks haphazard to most folks.

No, his health is typical of his clansmen.

Yes, he took a severe blow to the head, which caused his short-term memory issues.

No.

He wanders on foot far and wide in his duties, but isn't an athlete.

He finds his clanhome under-mountain to be so.

Yes, he has been in battle.

No.

No.

Yes, he and other lorekeepers often hold storytelling contests.

No.

Yes, his early fascination with tales of the riches of other people was his entry into lorekeeping.

Yes, though he would call the ornately detailed maps he took "spoils of war."

No.

Yes, so better to learn the history of the items crafted.

Yes, not every battle was won by his people.

Power.

Fenix_of_Doom
2012-10-16, 09:06 AM
No

No

Yes, during one of his fights he broke his arm, fortunately his companions killed his foe for him and brought him back to camp to recover, his arm mended as well as can be expected.

No

Average

No

Yes, see two answers down

No

No, he's been in the military, fighting might not have been his main job, but sooner or later, everybody who travels with a warhost has to fight.

Yes, he and the other horncallers always vied for who could produce the loudest and clearest tones.

No, I'm picturing our dwarf as more of a bachelor type atm.

Yes, it was a beautiful book about dwarven history owned by another dwarf, the other dwarf didn't appreciate it as it deserved.

No, he wouldn't risk being caught

No, all his most prized possessions are in his head anyway

I don't know the significance of this, so I'm skipping it

No

Craftsmanship, true beauty is in the mind(the rest of the dwarves never seem to get this, how odd.)

CarpeGuitarrem
2012-10-16, 02:08 PM
Does he live in squalor or filth? Yes. He's a grizzled fortune-teller, generally considered harmless, but avoided by many people.
Is he frail or sickly? No.
Has he been severely wounded in the past? Yes. He had ambitions of actually fighting in the host, but then was wounded, as a rune-caster had foretold (after a night of drinking and careless "amusement", wherein he and friends had sought out a rune-caster to have their fortunes told). This is what prompted him to become a rune-caster.
Has he been tortured or enslaved? No.
Is he athletic and active? No.
Does he live in a really clean and happy place, like the hills in the sound of music? No. GRIMDARK
Has he ever murdered or killed by his own hand? Once. A desperate dwarf came to him to have his fortune told, and he was attacked. The killing was in self-defense, done bare-handed.
Has he been tortured, enslaved or beaten terribly over time? No.
Has he led a sheltered life free of violence and pain? No.
Has he been raised in a competitive (but non-violent) culture - sports, debates, strategy games, courting? No.
Has he ever given birth to a child? It's possible! No.
Has he ever coveted something owned by another? Yes. The woman of a fellow warrior in the host.
Has he ever stolen something he coveted? Yes. Said woman.
Has he ever had a prized possession stolen from him? Yes. Same woman, actually (using the term "possession" rather broadly, I think this still counts insofar as counting Greed goes). Same woman, different army "buddy".
Has he ever been in the presence of the master craftsmanship of the Dwarven Fathers? No.
Has he witnessed an outsider in possession of a work of Dwarven art? No.
Which of the following does he not care so much about? Power, Craftsmanship, Riches or Beauty (all wealth shall perish, he has seen this fate time and time again)

Zelphas
2012-10-16, 02:39 PM
Do he live in squalor or filth? No. Too hard to find books in filth.
Is he frail or sickly? No.
Has he been severely wounded in the past? Yes. Part of the reason why he retired from the Horncallers.
Has he been tortured or enslaved? No.
Is he athletic and active? No.
Does he live in a really clean and happy place, like the hills in the sound of music? No. His house is cluttered, not filthy, just full of books and scrolls.
Has he ever murdered or killed by his own hand? Yes, as a horncaller. Another reason why he left.
Has he been tortured, enslaved or beaten terribly over time? No.
Has he led a sheltered life free of violence and pain? No.
Has he been raised in a competitive (but non-violent) culture - sports, debates, strategy games, courting? Yes. As a merchant's child, he knows how to argue for a good price, he'd just prefer not to.
Has he ever given birth to a child? It's possible! No.
Has he ever coveted something owned by another? I like Fenix's idea. An old and beautiful bit of lore, abused by its owner.
Has he ever stolen something he coveted? No.
Has he ever had a prized possession stolen from him? No.
Has he ever been in the presence of the master craftsmanship of the Dwarven Fathers? Not sure of the significance of this, but I'm going to go with no.
Has he witnessed an outsider in possession of a work of Dwarven art? No.
Which of the following does he not care so much about? Power, Craftsmanship, Riches or Beauty Riches. He only cares about money for food and more bits of errata and lore.

Spamotron
2012-10-16, 04:58 PM
Do he live in squalor or filth? No Filth is no good for books.
Is he frail or sickly? No Dwarf with Military Training
Has he been severely wounded in the past? Yes Being key to the dwarven host's communications made him a priority target.
Has he been tortured or enslaved? No
Is he athletic and active? Yes He tries to stay in good shape a healthy body houses a healthy mind after all.
Does he live in a really clean and happy place, like the hills in the sound of music? No
Has he ever murdered or killed by his own hand? Yes But only in war.
Has he been tortured, enslaved or beaten terribly over time? No
Has he led a sheltered life free of violence and pain? No See the answers to questions 3 and 7
Has he been raised in a competitive (but non-violent) culture - sports, debates, strategy games, courting? Yes Do you have any idea how ruthlessly competitive scholars and storytellers can get?
Has he ever given birth to a child? It's possible! No
Has he ever coveted something owned by another? Yes I too like Fenix's idea.
Has he ever stolen something he coveted? Yes See Amphetryon's idea
Has he ever had a prized possession stolen from him? No
Has he ever been in the presence of the master craftsmanship of the Dwarven Fathers? If the Dwarven Fathers create artwork that is also a tool of knowledge like beautiful maps then Yes he owns one. If they only make physical tools and pretty trinkets then No
Has he witnessed an outsider in possession of a work of Dwarven art? Yes But it was after he was already an outcast and the Human Noble had it in a place of honor and had actually researched its history so he enjoyed his meeting with a fellow intellectual.
Which of the following does he not care so much about? Power, Craftsmanship, Riches or Beauty Power He's Bad-End Wise remember? He knows where too much ambition leads.

Totally Guy
2012-10-17, 07:09 AM
Does he live in squalor or filth? No. He keeps a fair bit of clutter though.
Is he frail or sickly? No.
Has he been severely wounded in the past? Yes. He was targeted by an enemy when he patrolled an ancient battlefield as he was a key part of the communications. He took a nasty blow to the head.
Has he been tortured or enslaved? No.
Is he athletic and active? No.
Does he live in a really clean and happy place, like the hills in the sound of music? No.

From these answers and his stats his Health is 5. This is tested when he's recovering from wounds to make sure he gets better right.


Has he ever murdered or killed by his own hand? Yes. He killed several times, with his bare hands even, but disliked it enough to want to change lifestyle.
Has he been tortured, enslaved or beaten terribly over time? No.
Has he led a sheltered life free of violence and pain? No. He’s seen things in the Dwarven Host.
Has he been raised in a competitive (but non-violent) culture - sports, debates, strategy games, courting? Yes. There have always been folks that he’s been drawn into competition with. He’s debated, told tales and even blown horns!
Has he ever given birth to a child? No.

From these answers and his stats his Steel is 8. When he's shocked he'll be testing to see if he can overcome his nerves. Usually he'll need to get 6 successes (10 minus his Will of 4) on his Steel to do so.


Has he ever coveted something owned by another? Yes. Another scholar, some puffed up noble who was packed off to seek knowledge and simply didn't have the skills had the only surviving copy of a noted manuscript. It's wasted in this noble's hands, and very much coveted.
Has he ever stolen something he coveted? No.
Has he ever had a prized possession stolen from him? No.
Has he ever been in the presence of the master craftsmanship of the Dwarven Fathers? Yes. Even from far away he could appreciate the historical importance of the artefacts.
Has he witnessed an outsider in possession of a work of Dwarven art? Yes. A human noble possessed an exquisite sword thought to be lost in a long passed war but he respected it and our dwarf had just become an outcast.
Which does he not care so much about? Power, he knows where too much ambition leads.

From these answers his Greed 4. Not too high. He'll usually be able to resist going into a stupor over remarkably beautiful treasures and he'll be able to tap his greed and get four bonus dice under certain conditions to acquire things he wants.

He's also got a Reflexes of 4, this gives him an extra action once every three volleys of combat if he's doing that sort of thing.

He has a Circles rating of 2, this attribute lets him find others who have walked similar lifepaths to himself. It's nice to have friends that you can count on!

Next is his resources:
He has a pool of 30 points which we'll split proportionately between the following categories... Just so you're aware, he's going to be actually poor with only 30 points to spend but we'll see how it ends up.
Gear including shoes and clothes.
Relationships as someone who's sworn an Oath he must have at least one who he swore his oath to.
Reputations An applicable reputation gives you an advantage to finding the right people. It's also no coincidence that wealthy dwarves are well known. Feel free to nominate what he's known for with this vote.
Affiliations An applicable affiliation with a group gives you an advantage to finding people in that group. It's also no coincidence that wealthy dwarves are well connected. Feel free to nominate who he's affiliated with with this vote.
Property Does he own property? Wealthy dwarves also tend to own property.
Vote for any number of the above and we'll split the points between the categories accordingly.

Fenix_of_Doom
2012-10-17, 08:09 AM
From these answers and his stats his Steel is 8. When he's shocked he'll be testing to see if he can overcome his nerves. Usually he'll need to get 6 successes (10 minus his Will of 4) on his Steel to do so.

Steel 8 sounds high, since all other numbers we've had so far have been in the 2-5 range, but if he needs 6 successes I guess it's about average, is that true?


Now on to the resources
b]Gear[/b]: a dwarf has to look somewhat good, he might be an outcast/oddball now but that wasn't so his whole life, when he was in the military he needed reliable equipment, so a fair amount of resources should go to gear.

Relationships: Our dwarf is a very notable character and during the different stages of his life there were always a few that took a liking to him, he should therefore have a couple of relations from all his jobs, but none of them are terribly influential, they are all from around his station.

Reputations: you could say he has a bit of weird reputation, but I'm not sure if you'd have to invest points to achieve that as I would view his reputation as a local thing and it's sort of given that the people around you know who you are.

Affiliations: Nah, nothing of the sort.

Property: he's not that wealthy, he might own a small living space of his own, but not much more.

Totally Guy
2012-10-17, 08:32 AM
Steel 8 sounds high, since all other numbers we've had so far have been in the 2-5 range, but if he needs 6 successes I guess it's about average, is that true?

8 is quite high. For comparison the character I'm playing in a game recently went from Steel 4 to 5. His Will is 4 too so I also usually need 6 sucesses. On steel tests you get to roll the number of dice that came up a 6 again to see if you can get more successes. This property of exploding 6s is usually reserved for anything that can be called magic, I guess the author thinks that survival instinct is a kind of magic on some level. So it's still possible to succeed even though it never actually happened for my guy in the game I'm playing.

But what is really happening here is we are reducing hesitation. If he's surprised he hesitates for 6 actions but each Steel success reduces that hesitation by one each. Hesitating for just one action is nowhere near as bad as hesitating for 6. This guy's pretty quick to react. Saying he received that injury lowered his Health by one but upped his Steel in its place.

CarpeGuitarrem
2012-10-17, 09:44 AM
I'm gonna vote for Relationships and Reputation (such as "Creepy guy who sees your sooooooooul"). Maybe his predictions are accurate, maybe not, but word on the street is, there's something spooky accurate about them.

Also, buy him some clothes, since characters do start the game naked and stupid. :smallwink:

<gives self another reminder to start up this thread>

Also, a "Let's Play Burning Wheel" would be kinda awesome, with voting up for courses of action.

EDIT: check my thread here! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=258692)

Sanguine
2012-10-17, 01:31 PM
Relationships, Reputation, and Gear seem the important ones here. With the Reputation being pretty similar to CarpeGuitarrem's suggestion, with the addition that he also knows tons of stuff about the past, not just the future.

CarpeGuitarrem
2012-10-17, 01:36 PM
Also, seeing a dwarf with 30 resource points utterly boggles my mind. Just to check out the race, I did a quick look-through, and fairly easily burned up a dwarf with B7 Resources, which I think was at 100+ resource points. And I don't even think they had any royal lifepaths.

When I ran a short BW campaign, a player burned up a character with ~65 resource points, as I recall. I think Resources came to B5, actually. So, still much more than this poor outcast.

This is an interesting thing.

Spamotron
2012-10-17, 02:54 PM
Reputation and Relationships should be highest and about even. Knowledge is power and this dwarf knows a lot regarding both past and future. Various important people would know of him because of the resource/threat he represents. His relationships need to be good enough that one of the important people who puts him in the "threat" category can't just easily "disappear" him. Then Property third I see him having a lot of rare history texts and old maps he's also the type where if he has to decide between a weeks worth of food or a new book the new book wins and he just goes hungry. Gear fourth he keeps some stuff from his horncaller days in good shape. Affiliations lowest he's a bit of a loner oddball.

So something like:
Reputation: 10
Relationships: 10
Property: 5
Gear: 4
Affiliations: 1

Knaight
2012-10-17, 05:33 PM
Affiliations for me. Maybe he's not the only outcast. Maybe he accidentally founded a hermit commune (it's happened before). Maybe he's affiliated with a group he doesn't like and that he can't get away from due to his own foibles. There are options, and we should explore them.

Sodalite
2012-10-17, 07:14 PM
Gear, because ultimately we need things, even if they're not a whole lot, and Affiliations he's been a storyteller and a horn-caller, which seem like they would provide contact with plenty of other groups as well.

Zelphas
2012-10-18, 01:00 AM
If Gear means books and such, I vote for a lot of that. If not, then less gear, and more Reputation. I feel like a Dwarven outcast with an uncanny knowledge of the future and a passion for history would be slightly infamous in his home region.

Totally Guy
2012-10-18, 01:15 AM
Reputation - He's got one. This was suggested and we can stick with it. The guy who sees into souls. 1D

Property - Did not get enough points for the cheapest one so the points have been redistributed to the other things.

Affiliations - Similar. Points shared amongst the others.

Relationships
Lets make some suggestions of who he knows, I think he has 12 points in these. Minor characters cost 5 points and more important ones cost 10. Relationships become cheaper if they are for family, lovers, enemies, or are somehow forbidden.

Gear
Lets say he starts out with clothes and shoes. He has 9 points to spend on the following.
A non-dwarf weapon. 5
Dwarven light mail. 9
Travelling gear. 1
Fine clothes. 5
Dwarven tools. 10
Shoddy tools. 5
Personal Effects. 1-2

Balmas
2012-10-18, 01:39 AM
Reputation - He's got one. This was suggested and we can stick with it. The guy who sees into souls. 1D

Property - Did not get enough points for the cheapest one so the points have been redistributed to the other things.

Affiliations - Similar. Points shared amongst the others.

Relationships
Lets make some suggestions of who he knows, I think he has 12 points in these. Minor characters cost 5 points and more important ones cost 10. Relationships become cheaper if they are for family, lovers, enemies, or are somehow forbidden.

Gear
Lets say he starts out with clothes and shoes. He has 9 points to spend on the following.
A non-dwarf weapon. 5
Dwarven light mail. 9
Travelling gear. 1
Fine clothes. 5
Dwarven tools. 10
Shoddy tools. 5
Personal Effects. 1-2

Well, we don't have enough for dwarven tools, and he wouldn't have shoddy tools.

My vote is a non-dwarf weapon, some traveling gear, and personal effects. As far as weapons go, I nominate a hammer.

Totally Guy
2012-10-18, 02:51 AM
As far as weapons go, I nominate a hammer.

He has no skill with any weapon.

Fenix_of_Doom
2012-10-18, 03:09 AM
*explains steel*
Ah, so you're sort of not supposed to completely succeed at these tests, that makes sense when you consider the numbers.


Relationships
One of the interesting things is his relation to his family, is he an outcast, or do they love him anyway? I would go for a divided family, with perhaps a single sister/bother + one parent that still likes him while he is shunned by the rest.

in addition I'd give him the following relations:
1 childhood friend
2 hornblower colleges that took a liking to him, both have a post military life now.
and then 1 more influential dwarf, someone in the ruling council(does that exist?) or an elder who feels like his warnings ought to be heeded.

Gear
Less points here then I hoped, but it'll have to do.
I vote for the weapon, travelling clothes and the rest in personal effects(tomes and such).
I guess the story here is that when he became an outcast(runecaster) they took his stuff away.

Edit:

He has no skill with any weapon.
That's pretty funny, that means that in my vision of him, he's now a worthless soldier that actually managed to survive a few tough fights by sheer force of luck.

That's actually pretty close to how I envisioned him anyway:smalltongue:

Knaight
2012-10-18, 06:00 AM
Relationships:
2 Close family members, both of whom are friendly. One is his brother and only living sibling, the other one of his nieces who was taken under the wing of his brother when her parents died in an attack on their caravan.
1 Enemy, specifically the aforementioned puffed up noble that he coveted the book of.

Gear:
Traveling Clothes (1)
Second Set of Traveling Clothes (1)
Shoddy Tools (5)
Personal Effects (2)

Amphetryon
2012-10-18, 06:57 AM
Relationships:
His father is still alive, though their relationship is strained because he didn't follow his father as a craftsman. His father was upset enough to withhold good tools.

One sibling with whom he is very close, who keeps him up-to-date on clan business.

One male elf lover - the lorekeeper from an elven community the dwarves were raided by some time ago.

Gear:
Seconding Knaight's distribution.

CarpeGuitarrem
2012-10-18, 10:47 AM
Gear: Personal Effects (2), a non-dwarf weapon (5), and travelling gear (1); his weapon is a bow, which he is entirely useless with...probably took it off a fallen enemy

Relationships: Oh please please please can we have a 15-point relationship? I move for lover of the dwarven princess (forbidden romantic relationship with a major setting character). Why? Because of the weird prediction he made once upon a time. And yet she's taken a liking to something about him. Which makes him (in some senses) untouchable.

Totally Guy
2012-10-18, 02:54 PM
By combining some concepts we get the following relationships:

His Brother Ulfar. He is still with the Dwarven Host. They're friendly and he keeps him up to date with clan news and gossip. [Minor, Immediate Family]
His Father Barrin. He's very disappointed in his son. He's a respected trader. [Minor, Immediate Family, Hateful]
Lord Shadrak Pugwell. A human noble who is very jealous of the information held in his personal collection of scholarly antiquities.[Significant, Hateful]

I can't really decide this one...
The noble-born (but with no real power) Olga who everyone knows is too good for a Runecaster.[Minor, Romantic Love, Forbidden]
OR
Druath the elven lorekeeper who's banished by his own people.[Minor, Romantic Love, Forbidden]

He carries travelling gear, a cane topped with a metal raven's head, a small bugle, a book on dwarven lineage, and a shoddy old battle-hammer.

Next step:

Beliefs and Instincts:
Our character has beliefs which take the form of a short statement. They usually have some kind of action to them, the sort of things that can be resolved in a session of play. In a game that I'm playing in my character has the belief "Hakim, Brinkirk and Ulrich are all points on a villainous triangle. I will sever their hold on Jakub so that he can be free like he wants to be." Doing things that bring the game in that direction gives me fate points etc. that I then spend to do cool stuff. The character has a plot built straight into him!

Instincts come in the form of an If/Then statement. "If pursued I then run."
Some take the form of an Always or Never statement. "Never accept an insult." "Always search for traps."
An instinct either causes you trouble and gives fate points or it can be beneficial such as when the GM surprises you with and trap and you can say "My guy would have been looking for traps, it says so there on my sheet."

The way we'll do Beliefs and Instincts will be that you suggest them and talk about them, refine them, and we'll find the ones we like best.

He'll have 4 beliefs and at least one of them will be an oath he swore to one of the above relationship characters. He'll have three instincts.

CarpeGuitarrem
2012-10-18, 03:10 PM
Instincts
When I meet anyone new, I tell them their fate.
I always protect my runes from harm.
If there is knowledge to be found, I will pursue it.

Beliefs
[Oath] I will furnish my father with a gift worthy of a king.
If you don't speak up, you get pushed around.

Totally Guy
2012-10-18, 03:25 PM
Oh yes, at this point I should explain how rune casting actually works.

You'd state what the future of a character is going to be and perform your ritual with the runes. Then if you succeed the dice roll one of that character's beliefs becomes the future you pronounced. Also one of your beliefs becomes that same belief of that character's future. As long as you keep that belief in that future written on your sheet then that character's new belief stays that way too. It effectively becomes that character's arc and getting away from it will be most challenging.

Sodalite
2012-10-18, 03:40 PM
Well, that changes how I view that first instinct, since it means that unless we feel like having most of our predictions be inconsequential we'll have to be sacrificing our beliefs constantly.

Also, a quick clarification, could you predict your own future? If you did, could you use that to replace a future imposed upon you by another runecaster?

CarpeGuitarrem
2012-10-18, 04:43 PM
Well, that changes how I view that first instinct, since it means that unless we feel like having most of our predictions be inconsequential we'll have to be sacrificing our beliefs constantly.
Hmm. Seconded.

Also, a quick clarification, could you predict your own future? If you did, could you use that to replace a future imposed upon you by another runecaster?
I'm wondering...could this actually instead give you two contradictory fates? That could be a fun situation to play out, being tugged between two fates.

EDIT: Looked up Rune Casting. It doesn't actually change one of the target's Beliefs. What it does do is this: it pronounces a dire fate that is connected to one of the target character's Beliefs. And the caster must change one of their Beliefs to make the fate come true.

Zelphas
2012-10-18, 11:07 PM
I really like CarpeGuitarum's ideas. I second those.

Maybe instead of "When I meet anyone new, I tell them their fate", it could be "If I am asked to cast the runes, then I will always do so"?

Knaight
2012-10-19, 01:28 AM
On the Olga-Druath issue, I'm going with Olga. Druath was extremely tempting for a lot of reasons, but the relationship with Olga provides better fodder for the relationship with his father.

Beliefs
Knowledge isn't power. It should be.
If I don't protect my status, I won't keep it.
I will wed Olga, regardless of what her fiance has to say about it.

Totally Guy
2012-10-19, 08:51 AM
How about a belief about that noble with the books you covet?

Also taking nominations for the name of the character!

CarpeGuitarrem
2012-10-19, 09:39 AM
I love that Olga belief, especially the implication that she has a fiancee. Love and runes!

How about, for another Belief...

"Knowledge isn't power, but I can fix that. All I need is the ancient tome in Lord Shadrak's possession..."

Totally Guy
2012-10-19, 04:57 PM
We are very nearly done. Here's his whole character!

Lifepaths: Born Guilder, Wordbearer, Lead to Dwarven Host, Horncaller, Lead to Dwarven Outcast, Rune Caster

Age : 65

Stats:
Will: B4,
Perception: B5,
Power: B4,
Fort: B6,
Agility: B3,
Speed: B5,
Stride: 6

Attributes:
Reflexes: B4,
Steel: B4,
Hesitation: 6,
Health: B6,
Greed: B5,
Circles: B2,
Resources: B0

Physical Tolerances:
Superficial Wound: B4
Light Wound: B7
Midi Wound: B8
Severe Wound: B9
Traumatic Wound: B10
Mortal Wound: B11

Beliefs:
Knowledge can be power. I shall claim Lord Shadrak's manuscript of my people's history.
I will not be pushed around. I shall demonstrate through my words that status is artificial.
I will wed Olga regardless of what her fiancee has to say about it.
I promised my father that I'd bring him a gift worthy of a king.
Instincts:
Always protect my runes from harm.
Always pursue opportunities for knowledge.
Never hide my practices as a Rune Caster.

Traits: [Dt] Accustomed to the Dark, [Char] Bearded, [Dt] Greed, [Dt] Oathsworn, [Char] Quirky, [Dt] Shaped from Earth and Stone, [Char] Slave to Fate, [Dt] Stout, [Dt] Tough

Skills: Bad End-wise B4, Brawling B2, Cadence-wise B2, Clan History B3, Conspicuous B2, Hold-wise B2, Links B2, Oratory B4, Rumor-wise B2, Rune Casting B4

Affiliations:
Reputations: 1D He who sees into souls
Relationships: Brother, Still in the Host (Minor, immediate family), His father the merchant (Minor, immediate family, hateful/rival), Jealous Noble (Significant, hateful/rival), Olga, well bred and nothing but trouble (Minor, romantic love, forbidden)

Gear: Travelling Gear, A cane topped with a metal raven's head, A small bugle, A book on dwarven lineage, Shoddy Hammer


All he needs now is a name! What is this character called?

Zelphas
2012-10-19, 05:05 PM
Hmm, I don't know what normal Dwarven names are, but I'll just put out a vote for Oskar. Not sure why, I just like the name.

Balmas
2012-10-19, 08:20 PM
Oskar could work, but only if he speaks Dwarven with a Russian accent.

Sodalite
2012-10-19, 08:29 PM
Oskar does sound like it goes with his brother's name Ulfar, so I'll go with it as well.

Totally Guy
2012-10-20, 02:41 AM
Oskar he is then!

Concluded!

I'm pretty impressed with this character. He's got some conflict to him. Stuff which would be really cool to hit the table with. We can look at pretty much all his numbers and say why he's like that.

If anyone wants to talk about anything that got glossed over and get an explanation of whatever it was feel free to ask.

Completed character in the spoiler box.


Name: Oskar son of Barrin

Lifepaths: Born Guilder, Wordbearer, Lead to Dwarven Host, Horncaller, Lead to Dwarven Outcast, Rune Caster

Age : 65

Stats:
Will: B4,
Perception: B5,
Power: B4,
Fort: B6,
Agility: B3,
Speed: B5,
Stride: 6

Attributes:
Reflexes: B4,
Steel: B4,
Hesitation: 6,
Health: B6,
Greed: B5,
Circles: B2,
Resources: B0

Physical Tolerances:
Superficial Wound: B4
Light Wound: B7
Midi Wound: B8
Severe Wound: B9
Traumatic Wound: B10
Mortal Wound: B11

Beliefs:
Knowledge can be power. I shall claim Lord Shadrak's manuscript of my people's history.
I will not be pushed around. I shall demonstrate through my words that status is artificial.
I will wed Olga regardless of what her fiancee has to say about it.
I promised my father that I'd bring him a gift worthy of a king.
Instincts:
Always protect my runes from harm.
Always pursue opportunities for knowledge.
Never hide my practices as a Rune Caster.

Traits:
[Dt] Accustomed to the Dark,
[Char] Bearded,
[Dt] Greed,
[Dt] Oathsworn,
[Char] Quirky,
[Dt] Shaped from Earth and Stone,
[Char] Slave to Fate,
[Dt] Stout,
[Dt] Tough

Skills:
Bad End-wise B4,
Brawling B2,
Cadence-wise B2,
Clan History B3,
Conspicuous B2,
Hold-wise B2,
Links B2,
Oratory B4,
Rumor-wise B2,
Rune Casting B4

Reputations:
1D He who sees into souls
Relationships:
Ulfar, his brother, still in the Host (Minor, immediate family),
Barrin, his father the merchant (Minor, immediate family, hateful/rival),
Lord Shadrak Pugwell, a jealous Noble (Significant, hateful/rival),
Olga, well bred and nothing but trouble (Minor, romantic love, forbidden)
Gear:
Travelling Gear,
A cane topped with a metal raven's head,
A small bugle,
A book on dwarven lineage,
Shoddy Hammer

CarpeGuitarrem
2012-10-21, 03:41 PM
Your Burning Wheel dwarf has a name, it's O-S-K-A-R!

Looks awesome!!

Sith_Happens
2012-10-22, 10:29 AM
Darn, I was going to vote Urist.:smalltongue: