Tuesday, May 25, 2010

BoL: random career paths

I've thrown around a few ideas for a few random career generation tables.
While it's all kinds of fun to pick four careers and spend four points as you see fit, I was interested in making some random.

The process is simply - roll 1d6 four times to determine what chart you roll on.
The roll a d6 for each chart, giving you four ready made careers. I threw in a few "your pick" and re-rolls to spice things up a bit.

1
1 minstrel
2 barbarian
3 alchemist
4 thief
5 mariner
6 your pick

2
1 blacksmith
2 dancer
3 magician
4 soldier
5 pirate
6 pick two

3
1 hunter
2 gladiator
3 torturer
4 merchant
5 scribe
6 roll on next table

4
1 wench
2 mercenary
3 priest
4 slave
5 assassin
6 roll again

5
1 physician
2 sky pilot
3 noble
4 worker
5 beggar
6 farmer

5 - pick a chart

Example: I roll 4d6 and got a "3, 4, 3, 5"
Deciding on the "5" first, I roll a d6 and get a 3 - giving me a noble.
Rolling on the third chart I got a 1 and a 2 - giving me a hunter and a gladiator and finally I rolled a 4 on the fourth chart, lumping me with slave.
So: noble, gladiator, slave, hunter - an interesting mix and perhaps not one I would have picked by myself.
After a couple seconds of thought I knocked up the following:

Jarzal the bloody-handed
St: 2 Ag: 1 Md: Ap: 1
Bwl: 2 Mle: 2 Msl: 1 Dfc: -1
Hunter: 1
Slave:
Gladiator: 2
Noble: 1
Boons:
Keen Eyesight

Jarzal started life out as a tribesman growing up on the edge of the jungles of Qush, where he was taught from a young age to hunt the creatures that roamed the jungle.
But at age 13 a party of slavers came and raided his village - all of the men were killed while the women and a few of then children were taken to the slave markets of Shamballah.
Several of the slaves, including the young Jarzal were sold to a rich merchant from Satarla who dealt in dyes and exotic woods imported from Qush.
In Satarla Jarzal was put to work in the trader's house and quickly rose into his master's confidence. When the winter chills killed the old man, Jarzal found he had been granted his freedom.
He found occasional work hunting for pelts and furs and occasionally working on the dock, eventually falling in love Leali, a slave belonging to his master's son. No where near as forgiving as his father, the young merchant refused to release Leali, even when she fell pregnant with Jarzal's baby.
Facing a cold winter and with little work Jarzal entered the arena as a freeman and soon impressed the crowd with flashy moves, a willingness to take and shrug off wounds, and his ability with the spear and net.
He soon had enough gold to buy Leali and the young family lived happily until Leali and the child were struck down with a fever.
Returning to the arena once more to afford the doctor bills, Jarzal became famous as a killer of beasts and men: no one could escape his hard, black hands or his flashing blades.
In honour of his victories he was eventually rewarded with a minor patent of nobility - running home one evening, now a minor noble and with more than enough cash to pay the physician he found his wife and child dead in their house.
Jarzal now owns a huge sprawling villa, galleys in the port and has interests in spices, grain, slaves and precious silk. But he cares not, as all he can think of is his lost love.
He's now considering a return to the arena.

3 comments:

  1. Nice idea, nicely excecuted.

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  2. Awesome, really cool idea. I think this could be great for new players, help them jump in and create a backstory easily.

    btw shouldn't "5 - pick a chart" read "6 - pick a chart"? Or am I reading it wrong?

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  3. Cheers guys!
    @M.s jackson - that was very much my idea, getting a new player straight into it.
    Rather than sitting around thinking "do, i want my pc to be this... or that?" you can just roll a few dice and get it done.
    And yes, it should be "6" - fat fingers, obviously...

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