All For One

As previously mentioned in my first post, the original reason for this blog was to chronicle the creation of a new character for the campaign that my group is starting soon. That game is All for One: Règime Diabolique, by Paul "Wiggy" Wade-Williams, A Triple Ace Games product using the Ubiquity System (Exile Games Studio).

My processes started with avoiding one of the biggest flaws of character creation; making a character that won’t live up to expectations. So I read the rules. All of the rules (except the GM section of course), including side bars and flavor text. Because I’ve never played in the ubiquity system I needed not only a grasp of the mechanics of the game, but also the setting and flavor of the game. Then, I spoke with my friend who will be running the game to get his vision of the campaign. While a lot of that is still up in the air at this point (I’ve read more of the book than he has), I think I have a good idea of what the game will be like. At very least I have enough information to start working on some character ideas.

Before reading the book I came up with a character concept based solely on our groups' initial discussion of the campaign. I knew it was going to be a time period, swashbuckling type game in which we will all be playing a Musketeer. I had no actual intention of using this concept, but wanted to see what I could come up with using the ‘rule of cool’. Here is the concept:

• I decide that this character was going to be an Englishman who was born in the Orient. Everyone else is likely going to be French, so I went with something different.
• From a young age, he was trained in oriental arts to be a spy for Lord Buckingham. Because ninja's are always cool. And for a sword-fighting game what could be better?
• After working in France as spy, he comes to realize that Buckingham and Richelieu are both without honor so he defects and becomes a spy for the King. A little motivation for the character here, already have a built in animosity for the two biggest baddies of the time period.
• Later he is recruited into the Musketeers. 
• He is a hand-to-hand or stealth assassination guy; his Ninja arts take the form of stealth and magic-like affects. Combat style and skills defined here.
• The English, have a price on his head for his betrayal and he’s constantly on the run from their agents. Built in hook for the GM

Cool character concept. I’m sure you already have a vision/expectation of what this character would play like.

Here are the issues: First, the GM is planning on a French political & court romance style swashbuckler game (the book not only supports this type of game, it is actually the default). The English will most likely not be part of his plans because there is enough going on in France that an outside antagonist isn’t necessary. While the GM might throw the character a bone now and then, for the most part, his whole background is a waste of any useful story material for the campaign. Second, the vision for what the character does/acts doesn't relate to the story the GM is planning on telling. A romance style swashbuckler game is larger than life, full of grand fights, heroes swinging from chandlers and duels at dawn. The sneaky guy doesn't fit. A foreigner will be out of place at social event unless he is someone famous or extremely charming. He will be mistrusted in an age of mistrust thus limiting his chances to participate in the social aspect of the game. Third, while I might be able to make this character within the rule system, he’s not going to work well. Fights are suppose to be long, drawn out and dramatic duels; as such the game mechanic doesn’t support a stealth assassination. Also, the magic system really cannot double for anything resembling the ‘Ninja arts’. Throw in werewolves, vampires and demons, and now the character now is really out of place. All in all, the character will be weaker and less effective than intended. He certainly will not live up to the expectations of the original character concept.

Of course this character concept would be a challenge to role-play and that might appeal to some players. However, it also has a lot of potential to become frustrating in this game for everyone at the table. A few tweaks could go a long way towards making the concept work better. However, having read the rules and knowing the system and setting, a much better concept can easily be developed.

In summary; coming up with the concept before doing your due diligence is a mistake, read the book.