It has been a LONG time since I posted here...
I backed the Lost Tomb of the Bitchin Chimera kickstarter last year. I don’t back a LOT of kickstarters and am not SUPER excited about doing it all that much. The shipping for so many is horrendous and it’s just WAY TOO EASY to go a little overboard on many of them. But this was one little book – A D&D adventure inspired by the songs of the Dead Milkmen – my favourite band through most of my teens and twenties… and I could probably even say it is my all-time favourite band… (It’s hard to unequivocally say that... there is so much music out there…). I checked with the people offering it and it seemed like the Postage wouldn’t be unreasonable (i.e. postage wouldn’t be MORE than the product itself!?)
It finally showed up this past week and it looks hilarious and I thought I’d run it for my Saturday Night online group. One of the players is definitely a huge Dead Milkmen fan, two others are at least familiar with them and a couple of their songs… the other has no idea… but, whatever…
The game is written for D&D5E – which I have played… but I can’t say I really KNOW the system well enough to RUN a game… I had thought maybe it’s time to learn it… but then decided I should go with something I already know. I probably COULD have done it with FATE… but I decided on doing it with Savage Worlds.
I decided on Savage Worlds, partly because I used it a LOT, back in the day, and was intimately familiar with it and didn’t think I’ve have much trouble picking it up again. Also… there’s the Savage Worlds Fantasy Character Generator Toolkit… It’s a book with, like, hundreds of d100 tables to roll on to generate fully fleshed out fantasy characters. Generally, they turn out considerably better than characters you could generate using the regular character generation rules…. Sometimes they are just batshit crazy… sometimes in a good way…. Other times… in a not-so-good way!?
Sometimes you end up with stuff that’s just unplayable – once, we rolled up a party were there was a cowardly Elf werewolf mage, leading around two BLIND characters – one was another mage that liked to shoot lightning bolts around (even though he could see no one) and the other ancient half-orc bandit/mercenary that could, literally, drop dead from old age at any moment who was part of a secret society sworn to destroy any arcane items they come across!?
I had three evenings of making characters. Everyone who made it got to make a character and then could pick from one of the ones they made. I kept track of all the stuff they were rolling an promised to post it somewhere where they could see it and though, why not post it her as well?
Names have not been put to these characters as the players have not yet decided WHICH one they are going to play… well… those that MADE more than one. CVT and Woody are kind of stuck with the ones they’ve got!
These are very roughly and quickly typed up but can give you a pretty good idea of what the Savage Worlds Fantasy Character Generator Toolkit – often you get a batch of characters that have no reason to know each other, let along travel together as an adventuring party… but I figured this was a one-shot, tongue-in-cheek, silly adventure… why not have some fun making some silly characters…
As I alluded to EVERYTHING presented here was generated by a roll on a table – it is just crazy that of the NINE characters generated, only ONE was a dude!? Not 100% sure which one Finnegan will take, but we could very well end up with an all-female adventuring party!? AND almost all of them are blond-haired and blue-eyed!?
Jon’s First Character
Female– Adult - Halfling
Attributes
- Agility d10
- Smarts d10
- Spirit d4
- Strength d6
- Vigor 6
Skills
- Climbing d4
- Fighting d4
- Gambling d6
- Intimidation d4
- Knowledge (Logistics) d4
- Knowledge (Strategy) d4
- Notice d4
- Shooting d8
- Stealth d4
- Survival d4
Edges
- Combat Reflexes
Hindrances
- Ugly (Major) (-4 Charisma)
- Code of Honour (major)
- Vengeful (Minor)
- Stubbourn
- Death Wish
- Habit (Major – Alcohol)
Backstory
White Hair – Brown Eyes – Buckteeth
Adopted by family of Elven Entertainers in a large village in the Mountains. The elf family were relatively recent immigrants and had come there looking for better work. They were accepted by the community.
Adopted Father – left home after siblings were born, no idea if dead or alive
Adopted Mother – Alive but in poor physical health – Treated you fairly
2 Siblings – younger female twins
#1 Alive and in good health – distant
#2 Alive and in good health – followed you everywhere and copied everything you did.
During Childhood developed a strong moral code (Code of Honour), but was rather Mule-Headed and was always convinced they were right (Stubborn). She also never tattled on anyone who wronged her… she got even (Minor Vengeful)
During adolescence, her mother made sure she attended school. She hit her head and had a spell of amnesia and completely forgot being raised by the elves! In her wandering, she heard the bard’s tale of tragic heroes that made a deep impression and a desire to do something worthy of such an epic before she dies in a blaze of glory (Death Wish)
Became a Mercenary Archer. Spent some time as a commander’s Aide de Camp, and at another time had to live of the land for an extended period.
Made an enemy of a particularly sore loser in a darts competition – Female Dwarven Smuggler – Major member of a small group, wants to kill her friends (Minor Enemy)
$300 starting cash.
Jon’s Second Character
Female – Adult - Human - shuns magic
- Agility d8
- Smarts d4
- Spirit d8
- Strength d6
- Vigor d8
Skills
- Boating d12
- Climbing d4
- Fighting d8
- Gambling d4
- Streetwise d4
- Swimming d6
Edges
- Hard to Kill
Hindrances
- Stubborn
- All Thumbs
- Illiterate
- Anemic
Backstory
Yellow-Blond Hair – Brown Eyes – Red Nose
Legitimate child of two Fishers.
Raised in large town on an island. Family are recent immigrants (2nd generation) who were invited to move there.
Mom and Dad are both alive and well and treats her fairly.
EIGHT siblings
Eldest Sister (+3 years) left home recently, no idea if she is alive or dead – physically bullied.
Older Brother (+2 Years) Alive, but totally senile - distant
Older Brother (+1 year) Alive and well – treated well
Younger Sister (-1 year) Alive and well – ignored by
Younger Sister (-2 years) Alive and well – distant
Younger Brother (-3 years) Alive and well – treated well
Younger Brother (-4 years) Alive and well – treated well
Younger Brother (-5 years) left home recently, no idea if she is alive or dead – ignored by
Childhood – was a rough and tumble youth (Hard to Kill) and a bit Mule-headed.
In adolescence, bunked off school (Illiterate) and ran away to the sea. Unfortunately, they were well out to sea before they discovered she was rather clumsy (All Thumbs).
Continued the sailing life into adulthood. Lived a pretty hard life on the high seas; got Scurvy, helped hunt a sea monster and was eventually made ship’s mate.
$180 starting cash.
Jon’s THIRD Character
Female – Young Adult - Elf
Attributes
- Agility d4
- Smarts d8
- Spirit d8
- Strength d4
- Vigor d4
Skills
- Boating d4
- Driving d8
- Gambling d4
- Intimidation d4
- Knowledge (Quister - Bleaching) d6
- Lockpicking d4
- Notice d4
- Persuasion d12
- Shooting d6
- Stealth d4
- Streetwise d6
Edges
- Connections – Slavers (Countrywide, but weak, -2 to gain help)
- Command
- First Strike
Hindrances
- Minor Phobia (Stairs)
- Sterile
Backstory
White Hair – Light Blue Eyes
Father unknown, Mother married after character was born. Step Father is a powerful local merchant that owns a shop.
Mother was a crafter (Quister – bleaches things) that came from a long line of Quisters that had lived in the region for 12 generations – having moved there after a plague fell upon their ancestral lands. Raised in a small town surrounded by farmland.
Step Father – Alive and well – thinks character is a disgrace (as he does of both older sisters)
Mother is alive and well, but embarrassed by character
Older Sister (+2) – Left home recently – no idea if alive or dead - ignored
Older Sister (+1) – Died in a house fire – treated character well
Younger Sister (-1) Alive and well – treats well
Younger brother (-2) Alive, but in poor physical health - jealous
Known to some friends of her mother’s from when Character was a child (Connections – Slavers). Was a born leader – organizing play and games (Command). Had a nasty fall down a long flight of stairs and developed a lifelong phobia of stairs
Was a bit of a rebel as an adolescent and a petty thief. When getting into trouble learned quickly it was best to hit first! Kicked in the guts by a horse and left unable to bear children.
As an adult became a merchant
$500 starting cash
Woody’s Character
Attributes
- Agility d4
- Smarts d8
- Spirit d8
- Strength d4
- Vigor d6
Skills
- Boating d4
- Driving d4
- Fighting d4
- Gambling d4
- Intimidation d6
- Knowledge (Brasier) d6
- Persuasion d8
- Streetwise d6
Edges
- Ally – Bandit – Female Half-Orc – Seasoned Character
- Connections – Noble Family – Countrywide, moderately powerful
- Ally – Female Dwarf Assassin – Veteran Character
- Property – Ruined Tower (requires $1500 repairs)
Hindrances
- Bad Luck
- Code of Honour
- Greed (minor)
- Vow (minor) – Secret Society
Backstory
Yellow-Blond Hair – Light Blue Eyes – Inauspicious Birth
Father Unknown – Mother never married.
Mother is a Master Crafter (Brasier)
Mother’s family has lived in the region for 10 generations – having left their previous home for “political reasons”
Raised in a Large Village in a Forest – Halfling Hippy Commune
Older Brother (+2 years) Died of disease during youth – treated fairly
Older Brother (+1 Year) Left home recently – ignored
Younger Brother (-1 Year) – Alive and well – protective
Younger Brother (-2 Year) – Alive and well - distant
Younger Brother (-3 Year) – Alive and well – HATES character
Younger Brother (-4 Year) – taken by slavers – took great interest in character
Was a bully in her youth – but developed a strong sense of right and wrong.
In her adolescence, swore a blood sister oath with a half-orc that went on to become a bandit. Helped out a local Noble family who has forever been
Became a drug dealer as an adult. Invested in a wagon train that brings in a steady income. Joined a secret society that opposes slavery and raids slave caravans and compounds to free slaves. Made friends with an Assassin for whom she was able to procure some rare ingredients for a drug they were concocting. Another noble who was unable to pay for product ordered for a major orgiastic festival, gifted her a ruined tower as payment. Had to fence a wagon-load of stolen product – managed to do so with no one figuring it out. Got a little greedy in her old age.
Starting Cash $800
CVT’s Character
Female – Barely-an-Adult - Human
Attributes
- Agility d8
- Smarts d4
- Spirit d8
- Strength d6
- Vigor d8
Skills
- Fighting d4
- Gambling
- Healing d4
- Intimidation d6
- Notice d6
- Streetwise d4
- Survival d4
Edges
- Danger Sense
Hindrances
- Loyals
- Outsider (in home town -2 Charisma)
- Minor Phobia (Rats)
- Illiterate
- Enemy – Powerful (heroic-level) Leader of large group, wants to kill you.
Backstory
Yellow Blond hair - Light Blue Eyes
Raised by a family of entertainers – the INSANE CLOWN POSSE – in a large village surrounded by farmland. The family were ancient arrivals, having lived in the region for 9 generations. And were FEARED by all the other families in town…? (-2 Charisma, but +2 intimidation when dealing with locals!?)
Father – taken by slavers – status unknown
Mother – Alive and Well – treated fairly
Younger Brother (-3 years) – Alive and Well – Jealous
Younger Sister (-5 years) – Alive and Well – Distant
Younger Brother (-6 years – twin) – Alive and Well – Grasses on
Younger Sister (-6 years – twin) – Left home after youngest born, no idea – was protective
Younger sister (-8 years) Left home recently, no idea – treated well.
In Childhood developed a fear of rats. Being bullied by other kids forced her to develop Danger Sense. Turned out to be a bit of a thickie (Illiterate)
In her adolescence, tried to elope with the firstborn son of a rival group of clowns earning her the eternal enmity of the patriarch of the family (Enemy). Took a vow to pray five times a day and experienced a particularly hard winter (survival)
Has been working as a bodyguard the last few years, during which she joined a Secret Society and turned out be okay with taking a few hits.
Secret Society - the Rumormongers - They are information brokers, gathering information from any source then selling it to interested parties.
$300 starting cash.
Christian’s First Character
Female – Young Adult – Human
Attributes
- Agility d8
- Smarts d6
- Spirit d6
- Strength d6
- Vigor d10
Skills
- Fighting d6
- Intimidation d4
- Knowledge (Inker) d6
- Notice d4
- Shooting d6
- Survival d6
- Taunt d4
- Tracking d4
Edges
- Luck
- Connections – Adventuring Party – widespread and moderately powerful
Hindrances
- Curious
- Clueless
Desert Dweller (+1 to resist heat / -1 to resist cold)
Backstory
Yellow Blond Hair – Light Blue Eyes
Illegitimate – unaccepted
Father was a baker and will not acknowledge character as his child
Mother is a Master Crafter (ink maker) – know all across the land – favoured of scribes and wizards…
Raised in a large village in the desert. Mom was a relatively recent immigrant having left her homeland in disgrace (perhaps for having a child out of wedlock… and then went on to have two more!?). The family is admired by the locals, though – perhaps because of the business they brought into town from those that travelled there to seek out her inks…
Mother – recently died in a work-related accident (explosion while making magical ink!)
Two Younger twin siblings
Younger Brother – Alive and Well – takes an interest in the character – loves to hear her stories
Younger Sister – Alive and well – embarrassed by her sister.
During her childhood, she was a bit of a bully and a joker. Also became known to some friends of her mother’s – and adventuring party whose wizards would ONLY use her ink in her spellbooks – they visited often and were always charmed by their friend’s precocious child.
In adolescence, she got many childhood diseases – and survived leaving her quite tough. Turned out to be very lucky (Luck) and had an extremely inquisitive mind (Curious).
As an adult, developed a bit of wanderlust and disinterest in following in her mother’s footsteps and became a Ranger. While having extensive knowledge of nature and her homeland… in the desert… but knows little about other matters (Clueless). Has served as a guide for caravans crossing the desert for some time and spent a fair bit of tiem protecting her homeland from a number of threats and invaders.
$500 starting cash.
Christian’s Second Character
Attributes
- Agility d12
- Smarts d6
- Spirit d4
- Strength d8
- Vigor d6
Skills
- Climbing d6
- Fighting d8
- Lockpicking d4
- Notice d6
- Persuasion d6
- Shooting d4
- Stealth d10
- Streetwise d6
- Tracking d4
Edges
- Great Luck
- Harder to Kill
- Attractive
- Acrobat
- Florentine
- First Strike
- Quick
- Quickdraw
- Combat Reflexes
- Nerves of Steel
- Up Close Fighter (bonus to fight and parry = reach of opponents weapon)
Hindrances
- Poverty
Backstory
Platinum Blond Hair – Dark Blue Eyes
Truly Blessed; When priests of her homeland heard of her birth on the darkest hour of the darkest night of the year, they held a special ceremony to honor the God of Darkness who blessed her with many lives (Hard to Kill, Great Luck). Unfortunately the God of Thieves felt shunned and cursed her (Poverty – any time she makes money, some theif acolyte shows up and takes it away!? )
Legitimate child of courtiers who serves a count who controlled a castle, a large town, 7 villages, 2 barons, 19 landless knights, and 162 Men-at-Arms. They lived in a large town in a forest, just outside the count’s castle, where their family had lived for 11 generations and were accepted by all.
Father is alive and well and FEARS her!
Mother is Alive and well and treats her fairly
Only child
As a child she was one tricky customer – learned how to avoid trouble by ducking and diving and to get back at bullies by tricking them (Acrobat). Loved to climb all the highest tress in the forest and was a master at hide and seek.
As an adolescent, her parents made her take fencing lessons. She had a brief courtship with the Counts son. As the count did not approve she had to do a LOT more climbing and sneaking around.
As an Adult… became an ASSASSIN!!!
$750 Starting Cash
Finnegan’s First Character
Female – Middle-aged – Half-Orc
Attributes
- Agility d6
- Smarts d6
- Spirit d6
- Strength d10
- Vigor d6
Skills
- Fighting d10
- Intimidation d8
- Knowledge (Battle) d4
- Notice d4
- Shooting d4
- Swimming d4
Edges
- Common Bond
- Hard to Kill
- Tactical Genious (d10 Wild Die on Knowledge – Battle)
- Natural Leader
Hindrances
- One Leg
- -2 to resist Poison
- Bloodthirsty
- Cautious
Backstory
Ginger Hair – Brown Eyes – HUGE +1 size/+1Toughness
Legitimate child of two farmers – Human father, Orc mother
Grew up on a farm near a large village in the hills. Their family was shunned (-1 Charisma) – though her parents familes both lived in the region for many generations, locals didn’t much like mixing of the races.
Father - died in a work-related accident – trying to impress orc mom, trying to lift ox, which fell on him.
Mother alive and well and treats her fairly
Older Sister (+2years) Laive and well and protective of her younger sister
Younger Brother (-2 years) – left home recently, no idea if alive or dead.
As a child, she injured her leg, which got septic and had to be amputated, but developed strong ties with friends and family and all around her (Common Bond)
As an adolescent, almost drown in a nearby creek, came into a small inheritance and ran off to join a band of mercenaries.
Became a professional mercenary as an adult – as an infantry soldier (with one leg…? I guess she had a really good prosthetic) – very quickly rose to become the commander of her own band of warriors. She is a veteran of many conflict and said to be a cautious general, but a tactical genius, who is adored by those who fight under her… In later years, after losing a few to many close friends to she became a little bloodthirsty and just stopped taking prisoners…
Starting cash $400
Finnegan’s Second Character
MALE – Young Adult - Dwarf
Attributes
- Agility d8
- Smarts d6
- Spirit d6
- Strength d4
- Vigor d4
Skills
- Boating d4
- Climbing d4
- Faith d8
- Fighting d8
- Knowledge (Religion) d4
- Lockpicking d6
- Notice d4
- Stealth d10
Edges
- Connection – Group of Smugglers – single city and weak power (-2 to gain aid)
- Arcane Background (Miracles)
- +5 Power Points
Hindrances
- Major Enemy - Smuggler – weak (novice character) – leader of a small group (8) seriously determined to destroy his reputation.
Powers
- Beast Friend
- Healing
- Elemental Manipulation
- Burrow
Backstory
Trained up by his people from a young age to be an Axe Man.
Grew up in a large family of professional thieves. Their base of operations was a small village in the hills and are generally accepted by the other members of the community. He and his siblings are the first generations to live there after their parents fled their homeland to avoid a plague.
Father – Alive and Well – treats fairly
Mother – Alive and Well – treats fairly
Older Sister (+4 years) – Alive and Well – Distant
Older Sister (+2 years) – Alive and Well – FEARS HIM!
Older Sister (+1 year) – died in house fire – FEARED HIM!
Younger Brother (-1 Year) in prison for a Major Crime – ignores him
