So how would I make this

[omnitricks]

So I'm thinking of making a new PC for a game I just found. Everyone seems to be using these superpowered OP PCs like an immortal soldier, a crystal golem, a lava elemental, etc. to name a few from what I've found.

Me on the other hand? First idea which came into my head is to make the Ordinary Joe. And by that I don't mean a useless scrub which sits around unable to do anything although I also don't want to be that epic soldier which can cut down 5 people alone for example.

I meant something like Farmer Joe. The guy who until last week was tending to his farm. Oh he still tends to his farm, but hijinks has forced him to get out a little more often than just to get his wares in the nearest city.

The setting is fantasy in case you were wondering.

The system is pretty simplistic from what I've seen. Choose a few abilities (up to five at the start) and then get more as time goes on. Eventually I'll be able to upgrade those to become more effective. By the looks of it, a skill can have up to three stages which only get better.

So the question is, what would a fantasy ordinary joe have for abilities? For example when I first started thinking up the example of Farmer Joe, I'd add built since a farmer would be tending the farm on a daily basis. Another (although this is the more trollish one like I intend to be) would be something like pig wrassler. Like these two examples, they may not be extraordinary like what more people would get (e.g. fireballs and flying) but they would still be effective/useful.

Yeah I guess, the end result would be abilities which seem ordinary but are effective and useful when used too.

Apparently natural abilities of the typical fantasy races are stuff not requiring abilities to mimic. As are the really mundane abilities/knowledges. Only the extraordinary stuff or abilities which are above the average.

[LibraryOgre]

Weather Readin': You start being able to predict the weather with a fair bit of reliability. You end being able to read the riot act to the weather for not doin' what you want it to.

Pig Wrassler: Sure, you can wrassle all sorts of things, but eventually, you drop a Stone Cold Stunner on the King of the Orcs, and then they's all doin' Farmer Joe said so.

Barn Raisin': Engineering skills. Dam up a crick so it'll flow a diffrent way, and a river ain't nothing but a big crick.

Tall Tales: You can talk the ear off of someone, distractin' or borin' or edifyin' 'em, as you might like.

This all helps if you can do the accent, which ain't quite southern, but's hard to explain if you ain't grown up to it.

[Freed]

He can use the strength he gets from working in the fields. He's good with animals cause he lives on a farm with them. He knows a lot about nature, because he needs to know about what crops and weather a region has in order to gain the most profit from his farming. He can go for longer without rest cause he is used to working hard 20 hours a day. He doesn't seem like your average hero, so the enemies either don't realize he's a hero or don't think of him as too much of a threat.

[omnitricks]

Cool stuff, keep em coming. Tall Tales is definitely one in consideration, although reading the riot act to the weather gave me a laugh.


He doesn't seem like your average hero, so the enemies either don't realize he's a hero or don't think of him as too much of a threat.

Exactly.

In any case guys, Farmer Joe was just the example. Doesn't necessarily need to be a farmer too. Just whatever fits as an ordinary joe in the fantasy genre like Mr Smith the local smith, Bozo the Tanner, Mulch the Fisherman, etc.

[Segev]

"I've got a feeling about you" - Whether it's a good or a bad feeling varies about who he's looking at. This lets him read people, get a feel for whether they're trustworthy or not, and generally have a "vibe" about whether he wants to deal with them and how far he wants to extend his faith in them.

"Comforting Normalcy" - he's NOT a weird, magical, obviously dangerous person, and that makes people more comfortable with him. Where a dragon, an orc, or even a known wizard might get wardings against even gestured in their direction, or otherwise be avoided or feared, he is easily accepted. Whether he's the party Face or not, he's the guy they can send into any town and expect him to have a totally ordinary day without being accosted by the guards or causing a panic in the square. He also is the guy who can comfort those who are nervous about his friends. "It's okay; they're with me, and you know I'm not a threat."

"Simple Solutions" - He has a knack for finding ways to get things done that don't require supernatural powers. Of course he does; he's not got any. But he's the guy who is going to just walk over and ask the merchants about the prince's rumored paramour when the party is busy trying to figure out how to sneak into the palace to spy or set up an elaborate scrying ploy. I'd probably try to model this as a "common sense" trait - the GM is expected to offer any simple, obvious solutions that might be being overlooked due to specialized hammers making everything look like a nail, so that his player can voice them.

"Hunter" - Not only has he done this for food and hides and such, but he's participated in bear and wolf hunts to drive dangerous beasts away from his home town/farm. This gives him skills applicable to monster-fighting and tracking.

And then you can apply specialized abilities related to specific trades, whether craftsman skills or negotiating skills or navigational skills or what-have-you.

[LokiRagnarok]

This campaign log may be of interest to you:
http://www.zioth.com/roleplay/campaign/joewood/index