Character Creation

What's in a character?

It can be hard to define what it means to be a character in a role playing game. On one hand, the character is an idea, a dream formed in the imaginations of the players; the lens through which they interpret the games events.On the other, it is an avatar that defines a set of mechanics that determine how that character may interact with the games rules. However, as most experienced role players could attest to, over time the characters become more than just scribbles on paper or a lookup sheet for dice rolls. As players invest themselves into their creation, their creations take on a life of their own, developing their own quirks, personalities, stories, and shared adventures.

The Fundamentals of Flagstone Characters

At its core, the Flagstone system is about choice. But more than choice, it is about prioritizing those choices. Most of the mechanics in Flagstone are based around a simple concept: Players will choose one or more items from a selection, and then place those choices in rank order. The highest ranked choice gets the most options and the largest bonuses. Subsequent ranks grant fewer options and smaller bonuses. This same basic process is used for the majority of systems in Flagstone.

In Flagstone, character design is broken up into some broad conceptual categories and systems that seek to answer some fundamental questions about each character; where do they come from? What do they know? What can they do? etc. In order to address these questions, there are Heritage(s), Flagstone(s), Chakra(s), Character Loadouts, and Trades.

None of us exist by our own merits. Each is the recipient of those that came before; parents, grandparents, all the way back to the birth of the species. Our inheritance is not always a positive thing, nor is there much choice in it. Very few get to pick their own families, and those that did had to be put down for ripping the fabric of time. Heritage focuses on where a character comes from, both biologically and culturally. Each heritage consists of body plans, special abilities, and other traits that are conferred upon them by the virtue of their heritage.

Flagstones are the individual hallmarks of a character's biological makeup, and highlight areas where that character is biologically predisposed to be better at certain things. The bonuses in Flagstones cover a wide variety of areas that are roughly categorized into Vitality, Finesse, Cognition, and Ego. These are covered more in the Flagstones article. These bonuses are generic and are not being endowed by any particular heritage or job. As such, they stack with bonuses from these systems. Choosing which Flagstones to prioritize can have significant impact on character development.

Chakras are the means by which wielders interact with mana. Living creatures are fascinating things, from the smallest to the largest; and there is something special about life. It can only exist in places relatively rich in mana, and all living things have an innate connection to all of creation via their connection to mana. There are many ways of categorizing and tapping into mana, however, not all of them are well defined. One mode of understanding and formalizing this connection is in the form of Chakras. In this method, one considers seven points of energy, starting at the base of the spine and reaching to the top of the head. Each locus of energy is called a Chakra, and each has its own domain: Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Throat, Third Eye, Crown. It is through developing a character's access to their Chakras that they become more powerful wielders and gain access to new skills.

Character Loadouts and Feature Skills are sets of tools and abilities that assist a character in acting in the world. Each loadout specifies the weapons, armor, and tools that the character has at the ready. It also contains a chakra map which notes which keywords have been mapped to the featureskills in the build. Feature Skills make use of those chakras to create and use powerful abilities. It is possible for a character to develop multiple loadouts, but doing is costly to implement and maintain.

And last but not least, there are Trades. Trades are, collectively, the crafting and commerce system of the world. While any character may attempt any trade, those wishing to specialize in a trade would do well to develop abilities for their utility Feature Skills to give them the edge they need to make amazing items. It is also worth noting at this point that most creatures won't be dropping weapons or armor, and even if they do, it would likely not be enchanted. Despite their seeming abundance, adventurers and high end craftsman are fairly rare in the community, and the average person can't readily afford their services to purchase custom equipment.

Characters as Game Mechanics

Players, through their characters, act within the world created for them by the game master (GM) or a computer. Generally, the rules will refer to characters rather than players. If a rule opens some option or makes some change, it is the player's role to make those changes and implement them in game. In Flagstone, the focus is undoubtedly on story telling. The rules as written (RAW) are intended to facilitate and push the narrative, resolve conflict, encourage interaction between the players and the GM, and help maintain the pacing of the adventure. The Dreams of God campaign setting to which Duende belongs was written for the Flagstone system. There are many tight bindings between the mechanics and the narrative, however, Flagstone, as a game system, can be used for any campaign setting with few, if any changes. Flagstone is not a generic game system and makes no claim to be anything of the sort, but the framework and ruleset used here could be easily adapted to other settings.

Characters are the most important element of Flagstone; they inform player choice and provide a means of acting in the game world and resolving conflicts for player and GM alike. All characters, whether they be a Player Character(PC) or a Non-Player Character(NPC), are comprised of the core elements mentioned above. Through these, we try to capture who they are, where they come from, what their strengths and weaknesses are, what they know, what they can do, and what tools do they have at their disposal. The scope of the bonuses received from these systems trend from more general to more specific as they transition from who a character is to what they do. The impact from a character's Heritage and Flagstones is broad, applying to many situations, but are gained at a slower rates. Chakras and Loadouts, on the other hand, tend to have higher impact, shorter duration, and lower initial cost, but they offer many more options for new character actions.

No effort is ever wasted. At various points in developing skills, there are options for either specializing, combining, and even for moving on from a group of skillsets and abilities that are created for a character, allowing them to provide some bonus or benefit for the character even if the player decides to play them differently. These mechanics are not meant to limit the character so much as they are meant to limit the amount of tracking and paperwork that players and GM's have to do, allowing them to focus on the story.

by Leonardo AI