ChibiRPG:
THE CHARACTERS
Starting characters are exactly that -- the character you start with. They will grow and become stronger and more powerful with time, as you keep playing.
Think about what kind of character you want to play before you start assigning points. It may also help (hint hint) to talk to your GM to find out ahead of time if certain abilities may not be available for the game you'll be playing in. Once you have a general idea, proceed on.
One strategy when you are starting out is to create a well-rounded character -- not really excelling in one thing, but pretty good over all. Another is to organize your points to make your character concentrate on one area or another: Swords, firearms, tech, magic, medicine, cooking, or whatever you choose. However, be careful not to overspecialize your character, making them a one-trick pony, because they are then essentially useless at all other times.
To make your character, take this default sheet, copy it to a text file, and fill it in with your points. Be sure to mark where your CP are spent.
NAME: TOTAL CP: 0
SEX: UNUSED CP: 30
AGE: CURRENT HP: ?/?
JOB: CURRENT CHI: ?/?
STATS (0-40, 20 means Average Joe. 30 maximum.)
BRAINS: 0 (?)
BRAWN: 0 (?)
MOXIE: 0 (?)
ZEN: 0 (?)
KATA: 0 (?)
MAX HP: Brawn (?)
MAX CHI: Zen (?)
SKILLS:
+??, Skill Name Goes Here (?? total)
+??, Skill Name Goes Here (?? total)
...
TECHNIQUES/EQUIPMENT:
? Technique or equipment purchased (Description)
Game Effect
? Technique or equipment purchased (Description)
Game Effect
...
|
You start out with 80 stat points and 30 character points to play with. Here are some easy steps towards spending those points and completing your character:
#1.
Assign your Stats.
These are your 'base statistics', how much raw potential you have in an area.
You have 80 Stat points to spread among the following:
The 'average' value for a stat is 20, with the exceptions of Zen and Kata, which are harder to learn (average 10). Assign your stat points as you like, keeping in mind that no starting character can have a stat higher than 30. Use all of your stat points, since once you're done with this step, they can't be used for anything else.
There are also two derived sub-stats. These are Health Points and Chi. Max HP describes how much damage you can take. Chi is spiritual energy, and limits how many magic spells, psychic powers, or martial art techniques you can use. HP starts equal to your initial Brawn, while Chi starts at your Zen value. Each of these can be separately increased later.
After assigning your Stat Points, you can increase your Stats even further by spending your CP. Be warned, however -- it'll be very expensive. Each additional point of a stat will cost you 6 CP. Each additional point of Max HP or Chi will cost only 1 CP. One the game starts, increasing stats stays at 6 CP per +1 increase, but HP and Chi raise to 3 CP.
#2.
Train in Skills.
You can be maxed out in a stat, but you still aren't an expert at anything
without skills. In this step, you spend Character Points (CP) on bonuses at
certain skills, representing your training at a certain task. These bonuses
are applied to the related Stats.
At the GM's discretion, you may be allowed to attempt actions using Skills you haven't had any special training at -- smart people can probably figure out how to drive, strong people can fight reasonably well without martial arts training -- but that doesn't mean you should rely on your stats alone to support you. Doing so will always be at a penalty, determined by the GM (usually the Base Stat's value minus 4).
So, it makes sense to put points into the Skills you think your character will know. Even if it's only 1 CP, that's still a difference of five points on your die roll. For example, Computers is a Brain skill. If you have a Brain rating of 18, and your Computers skill is +3, you'd roll at a 21. But if you don't know how to use a computer, you'd probably end up rolling at only 14.
The list of skills can be found here. Buy as many as you like or can afford. +1 in a skill costs 1 CP.
You can have negative skill bonuses, sort of a minor flaw. This is intended to reflect a character flaw or ineptitude, such as an otherwise personable character who gets absolutely shy around women, making Seduction near impossible. If you do "sell down" a skill, you get 2 CP for a -6 modifier to a skill (But not 1 CP for -3). Any negative skill is subject to GM approval, and should have a good explanation; you should not expect your Medieval knight to get extra points for not knowing how to use a laptop computer.
#3.
Techniques and Powers.
Certain skills aren't really useful without the
techniques and powers to back them up. A magician without any spells is
pretty pathetic, after all.
The more potent spells and abilities will cost more than the simpler ones, naturally. They also tend to describe a 'type' of ability, left open for you to describe. If a technique claims that it can produce more than one type of damage, you must choose what kind now. For more details, see the page on Combat.
Feel free to invent techniques and powers that aren't covered here, but remember that your GM has right to reject anything inappropriate. Try to adapt abilities already listed to suit your needs.
#4.
Weapons and Equipment
Just like some skills are useless without Techniques, others aren't any
good if you don't have the right tool for the job. That's where Weapons and Equipment come in to play.
Equipment is much like Techniques. The more advanced and powerful items will cost more, and have a greater effect. Again, the items tend to define broad classes of items. A 'handgun' can be a CZ-75 or a Magnum, and a 'medkit' could be a doctor's satchel or a pouch of healing herbs. As with Techniques, you can invent your own items, but the GM has every right to nix them.
If you like, you can pool points with other players to buy more expensive equipment, such as vehicles. However, splitting user- and ownership of said equipment is left to you to work out.
#5.
Finishing touches
Break out your calculator and doublecheck all of your math. Make sure
you've spent only 80 Stat Points, and that you haven't gone over the limit
on CP. Mark on your character sheet where you spent your CP, and make note
of how much you have left, if any.
Write up a basic idea of your character's background and goals; nothing complicated, just enough so that you (and the GM) have some idea how they'd act. Once you're happy with your character, send a copy of the sheet to your GM. Once you get final approval, you're done!
If your character dies (see Playing the Game), you may be able to pass on 50 CP worth of equipement and up to 20 unspent CP to your next character.