Character - One for All!

I have gone through a lot of what's has already happened in making up Jean Baptiste de La Pointe. Here is, the first draft so to speak of the character. Unless something dramatic happens, I expect this is the character I will be playing in the next few weeks.

I took Archetype Noble. It seemed like a no brainier with the free resource of Status 2 given by the GM. Two other choices here would have been soldier, given his background, or one of the concepts I was toying with in the back of my head was a doctor of divinity and medicine. Common given the time period and not likely to be something anyone else would have come up. Given that I decided to make him a full out Noble, doctor more or less was no longer a choice. That was a layman's profession in the time period. Historically, it did happen very rarely and this is a fantasy game, I didn't feel as a player that I'd want to combine the two.

With a Noble Archetype duty or honor seemed a strong motivation that would work within his background. I went with honor because it's more fun than duty.

The character's stats are a good strong mix of 2's and 3's. I wanted an even mix and strong skills for this character so pushing for a 4 in there would have been an issue. Besides, the cost versus the return in a die pool game like All For One just isn't worth even that little bit of Min/Maxing. Secondary Attributes calculated right off the primary.

Skills came next. All For One give Musketeers Melee (or Fencing), Firearms, Ride and one other skill for free starting at 0 with only a half point needed to buy them up. I took Warfare as the free bee as it made sense given his soldier background. A skill rating (die pool) in All For One of 4-5 is average, 6-7 is good and 8-9 is great. Given that Jean Baptists attributes are all 2's and 3's, expending 2 points on any skill puts him into the average range, which, theoretically should be good especially seeing how style points can be used to boost things. I took firearms, ride and warfare up to 2's by expending 1.5 points on each giving him a solid average in each. I spent 4.5 to bring his melee skill up to 5 (the maximum allowed for starting character) giving him a rating of 8. More on why later. I went ahead and purchased Bureaucracy, Diplomacy, Perform and Brawl to round out his starting skills. Bureaucracy because he's a noble and soldier, helps deal with the administrations and organizations of the world. Diplomacy because that handles leadership (he was an officer) and etiquette (he's also a gentlemen). Preform because that covers dancing (a lively tune, I'm inspired to dance). And Brawl because I learned very early in the test combat that if you want to hit someone, strength alone isn't going to do the job!

I don't see Jean Baptiste as a master swordsman, and with a rapier in his hands, his starting die pool would be 10 dice. That is above good and rated as excellent. During the play testing, 10 dice against an average opponents 5 dice was a bit of overkill. So why do it? Some of what I've heard from my fellow players and the GM has lead me to believe that I can expect a certain amount of Min/Maxing in the game and to be frank, I was worried that in combat situation designed to be challenging for those Min/Maxed characters, Jean would be left behind. So I maxed a little to give him a better chance to be just one cut below the killing machines. I expect to see players stepping into combat with die pools of 14-18. As I stated before, against an average opponent (5 dice) this is waaaayyyy overkill and a total waste of points that could have gone somewhere else. On the other hand, somewhere along the lines, the GM is likely to throw that right back at us to provide 'a challenge' and with 10 dice, Jean might at least be able to defend himself.

Resources and Talents came next. You get one or the other. Jean already had rank 0 Rank and Follower for being a Musketeer, and the free Rank 2 Status that comes with a +1 bonus resource. I chose wealth for the bonus so I could live a little. A man's got to have some standards in Paris. I decided during the background creation phase, that I wanted Jean to have a home outside of the Barracks so I took a Refuge resource rather than a talent.

A character flaw was next. I decided to go with Merciful as nothing else really fit my vision for Jean Baptiste and I wanted a flaw for him. So despite his great melee score, he is not a man who is willing to kill lightly. Plus I figure it will make for great role playing dealing with the other musketeers, who shouldn't be killing either.

Finally, some experience points to spend. These are suppose to represent the character's development from being an experienced Musketeer. I could have gotten a talent or another resource with these, but looking him over, I felt he was lacking some Musketeer like skills. I boosted his Brawl up because if he's not a killer, he has to have some way to deal nonlethal damage. Then I got investigation and streetwise to represent some experience with life on the streets of Paris. Done.

Keep rolling my friends.

The devil is in the details.

The GM has released some information pertaining to character background, mainly, a free (randomly generated) level two resource and an NPC that has to somehow be linked with the character. For me, the resource was Status and the NPC was the Madam of Whispers from Engine Publishing NPC book MASKS. 

I struggled with this for a while, firstly because I didn't want to do any work on the character without knowing this information. I was worried I would come up with something and then the resource wouldn't fit. Second, because I got Status. Working noble into many backgrounds I was considering would have been a bit tough. Alright, no it wouldn't have, it's easy to say, oh yeah and he's a Count, but he ignores his titles and lands and wants nothing to do with them. That however squanders a perfectly good free resource and smacks too much of Athos from the Disney version of the movie. Embracing Status of noble does, by default, define something of the character. While a lot of that is still my choice, it is still a minor limiting factor as far as I'm concerned. But as I didn't come up with much of the character before hand, I decided it's not a major issue.   

Here then is the background for Jean Baptist de La Pointe

de La Pointe is an ancient Nobel French family that, like most aristocracy of the time, can trace their line to the Throne. A certain percentage of the nobility of Europe would have to die before a de La Pointe would sit on the French Throne (and oddly enough, in that case, they would be able to claim the Austrian Throne before the French one), they are, none the less, related to Louis XIII.

The de La Pointe family is not however known for its ties to French Royalty (most nobles can do that), rather the de La Pointes are famous for their military contributions to France. The families ancestors include many heroes of past wars, a long line of generals and even a few admirals. Holding a Dukedom in North Western France, the family has been in decline for several years.

The Current Duc Aubry de La Pointe has no surviving brothers and only two male cousins. He is an elderly man but is still in good health. A retired General himself, The Duc married late in life. He sired three boys and two girls. The eldest boy, Galien was a sickly child who has grown into a sickly man. Galien, unable to participate in physical pastimes has become something of a scholar. The youngest boy, Renier, has just finished his schooling and joined the Army in accordance with family tradition. The girls Ameline and Bonassias both still live at home, although they have many suitors and are of prime marrying age.

The middle boy, Jean Baptiste, born right after Galien and before Ameline, Bonassias and Renier (in that order) also followed in the family tradition and joined the army. Both his name and natural ability severed him well moving up through the ranks till he held the post of Major in the infantry. Although it was possible for his father to just purchase this, or even a higher rank, for his son, Jean Baptiste insisted upon earning his own way up. At least to the point that it was possible.

Jean Baptiste, although his personal career was strong and positive, quickly became disillusioned with the overall stupidity and laziness inherent in the French Army. Most intolerable to him was superior officers who obtained their rank through favor or money and where poor leaders and worse military men. 

After ten years of service, Jean was considering leaving the military. His father had recently elevated him with additional lands and titles clearly expecting that he, not Galien would one day succeed him as Duc. Jean knew that although he was now a Vicomte, with his father still ruling, there was no need for him to visit or manage his new lands.

He was debating what to do about his future when the question was answered at a party in Paris. A young woman, beautiful, intelligent and charming became the target of ridicule when her low birth was reviled. Jean stepped in to defend the girls honor. His opponent did not know he was the son of a Duc and a skilled military officer and he did not know that the fop he was facing in a duel was a Musketeer. Jean won quickly scoring first blood much to the dismay of Guiber Hamund, his opponent. Guiber was, if nothing else, a gentlemen and offered his apologies to the woman.

Considering the matter closed, Jean Baptiste was surprised when a few days later, he was summoned to the office of M. de Trèville who heard of the duel. M. de Trèville was investigating allegations against Guiber which he had already proven to be false, but was being thorough. During the interview talk quickly became less about Guiber and more about Jean Baptiste's background. When it concluded, de La Pointe began preparing to return to the field as his leave was almost at an end. Before he could leave Paris, M. de Trèville offered him a position in the Kings Musketeers.

Jean Baptiste did not need to considered the offer before accepting. He would have to surrender his commission, but he was considering doing that anyway. He wasn't needed at home and enjoyed Paris immensely. Plus no member of the family had ever been a Musketeer.

Duc Aubry de La Pointe owned property in Paris near the Musketeer headquarters and the palace. A large Hotel and several attached townhouses. Writing to his father, Jean Baptiste obtained a letter of introduction to the manager of the properties, a woman named Sybille la Fère (the Madam of Whispers) who still runs one of the more prestigious brothels in Paris, the House of Whispers. Jean took one of the townhouses as his residency and began his new career as a Musketeer. 

Keep rolling my friends.

Supplement Rant

So the group is discussing starting a new game, more on why later, when one of my fellow players ask “Are we using the supplements?” My heart fell a little...

See, generally speaking, I hate rule supplements

I understand that game companies and individual designers make their money by selling books. I don’t begrudge them that. I will purchase the core rules for any game that interests me, happily handing over my hard earned cash for the entertainment, adventure and imagination that these books offer. Furthermore, should a game come out with some sort of supplement for, oh say a unique setting or a book of equipment, I will often times hand over more cash for it if it interests me.

It’s when these supplements include more rules for the game that I start getting pissed. I don’t want to lug three or four or five rule books around to play a game. I don't want to index my character sheet to reference which book stuff is in.

When designing a game is it too much to ask for the designers to put some thought into the process and include all of the rules in a single rulebook? Then publish their fluff books?

Sure, I get it when a game comes out and several years later, the game designer, having though up a whole lot of new and cool stuff wants to release a supplement for the game. I am actually ok with that. I’ll buy that book.

I am fine with releasing a generic rule set, then specific setting and source material and specific rules in another book.

What I don't need is six supplements with twelve pages of addition rules, skills, feats, training and or equipment packaged with two hundred and fifty pages of background, fluff and filler! Put those twelve pages into the core rules where they belong and if your background, fluff and filler book is interesting enough, I'll buy it.

This is annoying people!

Have you ever forked over forty bucks for a core rule book, then thirty more for a players guide, then thirty more for class supplement book, then thirty more for a racial powers handbook and after spending a hundred and thirty dollars the game company announces a new edition!

Other than a grab for money, what it the point of a new edition?

“Oh, we are fixing the flawed game system to make a better experience during play.”

Really fuckers? You didn’t notice that the game system had problems before you released twenty, now obsolete, rule supplements?

I will say that most game companies don’t make it their business plan to screw over their consumers. There is this game company, a bunch of spell casters who live by the seashore, you know who I mean, who's whole goal is now a blatant grab for as much money as they can squeeze out of their players!

This company, who was very creative and innovative back in the day, had a good game with lots of supplements, source material and history. Then they changed their core rules. Predictably then came the releases of supplement after supplement.

Not only do these supplements have additional rule material, but it’s the same recycled crap from the last rule system! What happened to creativity? What happened to imagination? This is role-playing isn’t it? Isn’t imagination supposed to be part of that?

How is this new version of the Dracula rip-off setting any different from any of the other Dracula rip-off settings you have already published?

We are gamers' people! I don’t know what I’m more insulted over; some company recycling a setting for their new rule system or lazy gamers who buy it. Again!

It’s a fucking setting! Nothing has changed!

Don’t drink the Kool-Aid people!

‘But they included setting specific rules for the new system, I have to buy the new version.’

No you don’t moron! It’s the same fucking setting! Things work the same way! Make up the setting specific rules based on the new rules and old supplement! This isn’t Tax Law! You don’t have to follow the official version!

'But if we make up our own rules, they might be flawed and upset the balance of the game.'

You know what? GOOD!

I want my game unbalance! I don’t want a simple, mathematically liner progression that makes the threat level my character faces exactly even throughout his entire career. If that were what I wanted, I’d never accept advancement and stay low level! The GM could give the monsters different names, different descriptions, a couple swappable special powers and we could have the same fight over and over and over again!

I like being the low level porn star spell caster, relying on the warrior type to keep me alive till it's time to blow my wad in one encounter!

Nap time for the mage!

I also like working my way up to the high level caster when the warrior type gets to stand by and watch while I blow shit up!

And if you just cannot deal with having your carefully crafted, balanced game disrupted by a flaw in the rules you made up… then fix it. This isn’t that hard people.

Murphy’s law states that if you mess with something for very long, you will screw it up! What do you think all these supplements are doing? Messing with shit! Knowing they will screw it up. Why? So they can declare the system broken and come out with another new edition and recycle all their old crap yet again!

Fortunately the GM decided on core rules only, so we're all good. Sorry about the rant.

Keep rolling my friends.