RANDOM CHARACTER CREATION

By Jonathan Hicks

With character sheet laid out and pencil in hand Player 1 leans over the table and stares at the unfilled boxes. With a deep sigh, Player 1 tries to imagine what kind of character to play next.

“Well?” the GM asks. “What are you going to play this time?”

Player 1 looks up at the GM, face covered in worried, confused lines.

“I don’t know,” comes the reply.

Don’t you just love templates? The character templates you get with Star Wars are an almost essential tool for those first-time players or players new to Star Wars. You don’t have to worry about dice rolling or lots of point spending. All you have to do is add a few points to the already existing character and give it a name. Hey, presto! Instant character, just add a voice.

Unfortunately, dependence on a template is not exactly something that’s going to last throughout on-going campaigns. Certain PC’s are going to get shot, blown up, vaporised, crushed, mangled, spaced... general everyday things that happen to the average character. So the need to create new and interesting characters is going to be a necessity.

The templates won’t last for ever and very soon the players will have to create their own to suit their role-playing needs. It’s fine having twenty-odd templates, and maybe you look at it as plenty of characters (after all, how many characters is a player going to get through?) but when the game progresses and the players become more ‘one’ with the setting then they’ll want to forgo the supplied characters and do something a little more personal. Besides, most of the supplied templates may not be to their tastes.

So they create their own character. You’ll notice that when they do they’ll become a lot more protective over them, a lot more than they were over the templates, because instead of adding to what was already supplied they have designed from scratch. This means they’ll play them for longer, unless they get vaped, because they are a lot more personal to the player.

But there comes a time when the player has got through several character types and needs to create a new one. A time when inspiration, because you’ve already played many types of personality, is a little lacking.

So, instead of creating a character that suits your needs, why not create a character that you have to conform to? A real challenge in role-playing is working with a character that has either been supplied or randomly created. The player will be willing to take more risks with the character – they didn’t pour their heart into it, after all – and this in turn will increase the enjoyment of the game as high adventure and over the top action rules. In other words, it really is Star Wars.

So, do you need a quick character that’ll be around for a while but want to spend a bit more time on their personalities than just grabbing a template?

For GM’s and Players alike the following charts give you the means to create a quick random character. The dice involved are based on the standard 18 dice attributes, 7 dice skills but you can add more or less depending on the level of campaign you’re playing.

It’s handy for those GM’s who need a quick NPC it’s and for those players who want to add a little randomness into their character creation. Other systems rely on random creation but Star Wars has always been one of point spending and skill-deciding. So, for those people who like the challenge of playing someone ‘un-decided’ then this should help.

The following steps don’t take Force-users into account. This is for your run-of-the-mill heroes and villains only.

STEP ONE

ATTRIBUTES

Roll 1d3 for each attribute (1d6 halved, rounding up). When each attribute has been given an amount then roll 1d6 and consult Chart 1.

Chart 1

Roll Attribute

1 Dexterity

2 Knowledge

3 Mechanical

4 Perception

5 Strength

6 Technical

For every Attribute rolled add 1 pip to the total of the attribute already rolled. Additional pips can be converted into a die as normal if the total on one attribute goes above +2. Do this until the total die equals the 18 building dice allowed.

EXAMPLE : Player 1 rolls DEX 2d, KNO 2d, MEC 3d, PER 3d, STR 2d, TEC 2d, equalling 14 dice used of the allowed 18.

Then they roll for pips. They roll 4 (PER) and add a pip to the PER total, changing it from 3d to 3d+1. They then roll 5 (STR) adding a pip to make it 2d+1. Then 5 (STR) again to make it 2d+2. Then 2 (KNO) to make it 2d+1.

At this point, the pips total 1d+1, adding that to the 14d total, making it 15+1d. The player keeps rolling until the total dice and pips equal 18 building dice. If the player rolled 5 (STR) again at this point, it would automatically change to an extra dice, changing total STR from 2d to 3d, making the total used 15+2d.

STEP TWO

SKILLS

Using Chart 1 above and the skill guide from whatever edition the gaming group uses, the creator then adds to the character’s skills.

Firstly, they roll 1d6 on Chart 1. This gives the Attribute from under which the skill will be chosen.

Then they count the amount of skills under the heading, ignoring any specialisation that may be added to the list. They choose the relevant amount of dice so that the maximum total number that could possibly be rolled is equal to or a little more than the amount of skills on the list. They roll the dice, minus from the total the amount of extra dice above 1d6 used so that all skills are attainable. The number rolled is the skill they add 1 dice of the allowed seven building dice (or more, depending on the level of game you’re playing) to that skill. Any numbers rolled higher than the amount of skills available are ignored and the player rolls again.

EXAMPLE : Using the skill lists from the first edition game, the player rolls a 4 on Chart 1 (PER) and then adds up the amount of skills represented under that attribute. In this case it is 6, so they take 1d6, roll it and get a three – Con. They add 1d to their Con skill from the 7 dice allowed for raising skills.

Then they roll a 2 (KNO) on Chart 1. There are eight skills under KNO, so they roll 2d6 to cover the extra skills. Problem is, if they roll 2d6 the minimum number they could roll is 2, which means the skills at the top of the list are unattainable. Subtracting the extra amount of dice rolled (1) from the total solves this problem. In this case, the player rolls 7. 7- extra dice rolled. 7-1=6. The skill rolled is Streetwise. Any roll higher than the amount of skills present is ignored and the player rolls again.

STEP THREE

EQUIPMENT

Roll 4d6 and multiply the total by 100. This is the amount of credits the player is allowed to spend on equipment. For GM’s, they might just want to add stuff that makes sense for the campaign.

FORCE SENSITIVE?

Simply roll 1d6 – odd number no, even number yes. This will, of course, decide on how many Force Points the character starts with.

STEP FOUR

MOTIVATION

Roll 1d6 on chart 2 to help decide on what drives the character

Chart 2

Roll Motivation

1 Money (‘I’m in it for the money’)

2 Personal pleasure (‘The almighty Jabba hopes you will die honourably’)

3 Power/responsibility (‘Fear will keep the local systems in line’)

4 Prestige (‘Someone must have told them about my little manoeuvre at the battle of Tanab’)

5 Necessity (‘She’s the one from the message, we gotta help her!’)

6 Family (‘I want to learn the ways of the Force and become a Jedi like my father’)

OBJECTIVE

What does the character want at the end of it all? Roll 1d6 on chart 3.

Chart 3

Roll Objective

1 Revenge (‘At last we will reveal ourselves to the Jedi. At last we will have revenge’)

2 More money (‘What goods a reward if you ain’t around to use it?’)

3 Control (‘I promise I will put an end to corruption’)

4 To do good (‘I will come back and free you, mom. I promise’)

5 To become famous (‘You’ve never heard of the Millennium Falcon?’)

6 Personal freedom (‘The Emperor has made a critical error and the time for our attack has come’)

PERSONALITY

Roll 2d6 on chart 4 to decide on the basic personality traits of the character being created.

Chart 4

Roll Personality

2 Nasty (‘Continue with the operation, you may fire when ready’)

3 Uncaring/selfish (‘He’s no good to me dead’)

4 Charming (‘You truly belong with us among the clouds’)

5 Friendly (‘You’re a Jedi too? Pleased to meet you’)

6 Emotional (‘You’re lucky he doesn’t blast you into a million pieces right here’)

7 Quiet (‘We are brave, your highness’)

8 Shy/nervous (‘We should not have made this bargain’)

9 Flamboyant (‘Laaapti’nek... etc’)

10 Rushed/energetic (‘Hootini! Or any other Jawa exclamation’)

11 Haughty/snobbish (‘From now on you do exactly what I tell you’)

12 ‘Heroically Idiotic’ (‘What good will it do us if he gets himself killed?’)

That just about covers it. Once the basic skills and character traits have been established then any additional details can be added by the player as play commences or as a personal touch before the game starts. The quotes on charts 2-4 are not limiting to the type of character who said the quotes, they were just used to put the entry into perspective. It’s just as easy for someone doing good to be vengeful, or someone needing cash to attain personal freedom. The charts are just a guideline. The creator of the character will still need to add a little detail but the above charts and ideas should take a little of the pressure off.