Dynasty Zero

Saturday, January 17, 2026

Character Creation Challenge 2026 Day 17: Rats in the Wall

Rats in the Wall is a rules-lite game of Cosmic Horror. It was written by Kobayashi, the author of The Black Sword Hack. It is set in the 1920's and 30's but there are brief mentions of other times.

The game is heavily influenced by Lovecraft, down to the name of the game which is based on one of his short stories. There is a sanity mechanic and a discussion of the Old Ones, though they are down played a bit because if one of them shows up you are well and truly screwed.

Task resolution is 2d6 + Attribute => 8.

The PDF is 54 pages long including covers and character creation is short and easy:

Distribute 5 points between 5 Attributes. Range 0 - +3
Determine Secondary Attributes.
Choose a Profession.
Choose a Reputation.
Get some Gear.

Off we go...

Friday, January 16, 2026

Character Creation Challenge 2026 Day 16: Ancient Odysseys: Treasure Awaits!

I've actually had Ancient Odysseys: Treasure Awaits (AOTA) for over 15 years. I've puttered around with it over the years and enjoyed it. It is another simple system that can be played with a GM but has a focus on solo play. The rules originally came in three booklets. The first covers character creation and the rules of play. The second is an adventure. It is essentially a programmed adventure meant for solo play. The third is to help GMs create random dungeons. Or it can create a dungeon on the fly for solo play.

AOTA is a simple dungeon crawler. It's intended for you to send your characters into a dungeon to avoid traps, kill things and take their stuff. Thus, the characters and the rules are all combat focused. Apparently, an expansion, More Treasure Awaits!, has wilderness rules but I do not have it.

Character creation is entirely random. There are a few point where you make decisions, like choosing which four pursuits (skills) you have and which weapons you get, but the rest is pure random. This includes how high you are rated in each pursuit and what armor you start with.

There are several steps to creating the character:

Roll Race: There are four. Human, Elf, Dwarf and Hobling. Non-humans have modifiers to their abilities and/or pursuits.
Roll vocation: There are three. Rogue, Warrior, Wizard.
Roll Abilities: Each vocation has six arrays and you roll to find which array that you use. Abilities can range from 1-5.
Pursuits: You choose four from your vocation's list but then roll for its rating. Ratings range from 1-3.
Choose Weapon Combination: From Vocation's list.
Armor: Roll randomly.
Other Gear: Choose one item from a short list
Choose Spells: If you are a Wizard, choose your spells from a short list.

Character creation is a really quick process. I rolled up two characters.

Thursday, January 15, 2026

Character Creation Challenge 2026 Day 15: Retro Sci-Fi Rules

Today I am revisiting the Classic Traveller family of games. This time via the Cepheus Engine branch of the family tree.

The Retro Sci-Fi Rules are by Paul Elliott, the author of Hostile and Cepheus Universal amongst other Traveller related things. It is intended to emulate the 1977 edition of Traveller. But it has been streamlined and modified in several ways. One of the biggest changes is character creation.

Gone is life path character gen with the possibility of death. Here are the steps with commentary in color.

1 Select Career. Note its ‘required characteristic’. Six careers: Navy, Marine, Star Trader, Scout, Syndicate, Scout

2 Skills. Divide up 7 skill levels between the career skills. No skill level may start at more than 3. One of your choices must be the Auto Skill. Each Career has an Auto Skill. For example the Auto Skill for Marine is Gun Combat.

3 Select Bonus Skill. Select a table and roll 1D6 for a bonus skill at level 1.

4 Characteristics. Choose a ‘String of Scores’ and allocate those scores to your six characteristics: Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, Intelligence, Education and Social Influence, as you see fit. The career’s ‘required characteristic’ must be at 7 or more. There are four separate strings of scores to choose from, some balanced, some not.

5 Name. Create a name for the character.

6 Rank. Use Social Influence to determine the character’s rank. Social Influence replaces Social Standing. No nobility in the implied setting. And there is a sample setting involved.

7 Age. Decide on an age. Are you retired from your service or not?

8 Appearance. Decide on the character’s appearance.

9 Movement. Note your Move score.

10 UPP. Note your character in the Universal Personality Profile arrangement.

11 Equipment. Allocate cash and starting equipment as needed. Starting cash determined randomly based on your Social Influence.

12 Backstory. Roll for a past career event.

Character creation is a very quick process.

Let me present:

Ret. Capt. Gael Jones-Smith

Star Navy 46697A, Age 50, Move 10

Computer-2, Engineering-2, Gun Combat-1, Gunnery-1, Medical-2

Cr 30000

Retro Sci-Fi Rules are an interesting variation on Traveller. I might do more of a review later. If you're interested in these type of RPGs, I think it's worth a look.

Wednesday, January 14, 2026

Character Creation Challenge 2026 Day 14: Melee

Today I want to focus on what I consider the game that started me on the path roleplaying games.
Metagaming's board game Melee. Melee is a man-to-man combat game with simple stats for each fighter. What made it different from other board games, in my limited experience, was two things. An experience system and programed adventures.

This was 1979. I had yet to run into D&D or any other RPG in my small town. I had heard of it but not seen it. Then at the bus stop I heard two neighborhood kids talking about throwing fire spells and summoning a wolf. I asked it they were talking about D&D. Nope, a game called Melee and Wizard. The next time we went to the larger town nearby I found it in a game store in the mall. For only $2.95! Even mom didn't have a problem with that.

I learned how to play and though I played with the neighborhood kids I played it lot more solo. And the cool part was that I could use the same character again if they survived. And with experience points they improved, could face more foes or more dangerous foes like giants. Then I discovered Death Test, the first programed adventure. So many characters died in that maze but I loved it.

You find no treasure on the bodies or elsewhere. You can leave by the east door (111) or the west door (143).

Ah, the good old days...

The continuity and improvement of characters and the adventures created a roleplaying experience to me. So much so that when I did finally start playing Holmes Basic D&D there really wasn't a transition or learning phase for me.

Creating a character for Melee is simple. There are two main attributes, Strength and Dexterity. (Wizard adds Intelligence.) Strength and Dexterity start at 8 and you have 8 points to distribute between them. Strength determines what weapons you can you use and acts as hit points. Dexterity is the target number that determines whether you have hit your enemy. Higher is better as the system is a 3d6 roll equal or under. Armor reduces damage. It also lowers your effective dexterity and slows you down.

I've always been partial to the Roman legionary character that is featured in the short fiction included in the rules and the example combat that it is based on. So here's my Roman legionary

Quintus Marcellus

ST 11 DX 13 MA 6

Shortsword 2d6-1

Dagger 1d6-1

Chainmail/ 5 hits

Lg. Shield

Tuesday, January 13, 2026

Character Creation Challenge 2026 Day 13: Tropes Zombie Edition

Tropes Zombie Edition is a rules-lite game were success is determined by a small pool of d6s. A 4, 5, or a 6 is a success and if one of your dice hit, you succeed. Characters are simple to make and it is intended for one-shots.

The PDF is 44 pages long including cover, character sheet and outbreak sheet. It covers character creation, general rules, combat rules and has a section called Outbreak 101. This section helps you set up your scenario so you can get playing. It can help you determine what caused the outbreak, what kind of zombies are shuffling (or running) around. That sort of thing. Where is it taking place, etc.

You may have guessed, the goal for the player is to survive. This may be the only goal for the particular scenario or the ZM (Zombie Master) may have other goals for the characters also. Rescue someone, reach a safe zone and so on.

The interesting thing about character creation is that players make not one but three characters at the beginning of the game. Each slightly weaker that the other. The players then throw all of the characters into a bowl and draw randomly to get their starting character. This is a zombie survival game so characters are going to die. As the characters dies, the player will draw a new player after the ZM figures out a way to integrate them into a group. If all of the characters die the zombies win. This isn't a competitive game, it's still an RPG but there are groups that get overwhelmed by zombies.

To create a character you:

Assign Abilities.
Determine Health Rating.
Pick a Background or Profession.
Write a 3-sentence Description.
Write down any Gear you might have.

You have three abilities: Muscle, Agility and Wits. Their score ranges from 1-3. Your first character has 7 points to distribute between them, the second has 6 and the third has 5. The abilities are the basis of your dice pool when performing an action. If your muscle is 2 and you're trying to lift something heavy, roll 2 dice and try to get a success. If your profession or some other circumstance is in your favor you may be able to add a die.

Tropes Zombies

Name:

Profession:

Description:

Tall, well muscled man who often

wears his work uniform. He is a polite, easy going person.

Muscle:

Health:

Agility:

Armor:

None

Wits:

Action Points:

Gear:

Large wrench (lame weapon +1d6*)

Full tool box

Monday, January 12, 2026

Character Creation Challenge 2026 Day 12: Simple Fantasy Adventure

Simple Fantasy Adventure is a free 18 page clone/homage to the somewhat obscure Lord of the Rings
Adventure Game. Lord of the Rings Adventure Game is a somewhat obscure RPG published in 1991 by Iron Crown Enterprises and was intended to be an introductory RPG for new players and a lead in to their complex Middle Earth Role Playing. The game is set in the time between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Apparently, it is an excellent introductory game and captures the feel Middle Earth well but as a lead in to MERP it doesn't work so well. LoR is a simple 2d6 game whereas MERP is a much more complex percentile driven game in the Rolemaster family.

There are two editions of Simple Fantasy Adventure (SFA). I am using the first.

A character in SFA consists of 12 characteristics, five Attribute Characteristics and seven Skill Characteristics.

You start character creation by selecting your race. There are four: Humans, dwarves, elves and halflings. Each choice comes with bonuses and penalties. For example, elves are graceful and receive a +1 to their Dexterity and Speed Characteristics. However, they are more fragile and receive 5 less to their Vitality Characteristic.

Then you choose a class. There are four classes: Fighters, Rogues, Rangers and Mages. Unlike LoR, the races are free to be any class. Similar to race, class provides bonus to Characteristics and provides your base Vitality. So a Ranger receives +2 to Physical, +1 to Subterfuge, Melee and Ranged. A Ranger's base Vitality is 40.

The Attribute Characteristics are: Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Wisdom and Speed.

The Skill Characteristics are: Physical, Subterfuge, Arcana, Melee, Ranged Defense and Vitality.

You are then gives 6 customization points to spend. You can spend up to two on your Attribute Characteristics. The rest can be spent on Skill Characteristics (except Vitality) or extra spells for Mages. No Characteristic can start higher than +3. A Skill Characteristic of 0 means the character is untrained in that area and receives a -2 on rol1s.

You then buy gear, give your character a name and background and you're ready for adventure!

The core mechanic is roll 2d6 +/- modifiers vs. target numbers. For combat it is subtract defense from attack bonus, roll 2d and consult chart.

Simple Fantasy Adventure

Name:	Girladon Swiftbow
Race:	Elf
Class:	Ranger
Description:	Blonde, green eyes
Background:
Mirkwood elf.
Mirkwood elf.

Strength	0	Physical	+2
Dexterity	+1	Subterfuge	+2
Intelligence	+1	Arcana	0
Wisdom		Melee	+1
Speed	+1	Ranged	+3
		Defense	+2
		Vitality	35

Gear:	34 GP
Sword +1 dam; Long Bow +2 dam; Leather +1 def, -1 speed, -1 subt; Bedroll; Rations; Water Skin

Sunday, January 11, 2026

Character Creation Challenge 2026 Day 11: Barbarians of the Aftermath

Barbarians of the Aftermath is a great post-apocalyptic game that uses the Barbarians of Lemuria rules-set. It uses the same attributes and the same career system, etc. but makes some modifications to bring it in line with a post-apocalyptic feel.

First it adds what it calls Genotypes. Genotypes include humans, awakened plants, awakened animals, that type of thing. Second, it has modified and added careers as appropriate. Third, it has added vehicle combat rules for those who want to go all Mad Max on their friends. And fourth, it adds psychic powers to the magic of the original. I know there are other things too, but I'm forgetting them at the moment.

World building can be great fun and the author added a interesting mini-game to help the GM randomly create the game world, if the GM wants to do so. This isn't about the physical setting. It's about the larger view and can directly effect play.

Creation is accomplished through a series of dice rolls, each of which can effect the next in the series. They determine:

When the apocalypse happened. This helps decide what sort of tech is available to scrounge.
What the actual disaster was. This can range from a simple nuclear war to a biological disaster. It could be tech going wrong, an alien invasion or god getting pissed.
What the current date is. This can determine how many relics there are and what condition they are in. It can also determine how much biological change has happened.
What genotypes are available. Mutants? Awakened animals?
What resources are available. Barren wasteland or lush paradise?
Tech level. How far along the recovery is.
Civilization level. How large communities are.
Supernatural. Psychics? Magic?

And all of these help determine what careers are available.

Even if you don't roll randomly this can be a good tool to help the GM focus his thoughts and translate ideas into game terms. Do you want Mad Max? Then it shouldn't be set to terribly far in the future so gasoline, automobiles and parts or junkyards are still available. The apocalypse also shouldn't have been to physically destructive. Ideally, you will need some sort of infrastructure to drive around on. That sort of thing.

Here's the worksheet for the world I rolled up. I decided the awakened animal is descended from raccoons. (Has anyone read The Architect of Sleep by Steven Boyett? I remember it being pretty good. It was supposed to be the first in a series that never materialized, which is disappointing.)

And into this rough world was born Branyon.

Branyon was born in the barbaric wastelands. Life is tough in the world but it is even tougher in the wastelands. You fight to survive. Survive Branyon did. He became a feared fighter and skilled hunter. Every bit of food helped in the wastelands. When his mother died he had nothing to hold him to his nomadic band. He had heard that in the lands to the west life was easier and food was more plentiful. So he went to find this paradise. He was disappointed with what he found. Yes, there were villages there, and more food. But warlords ruled the lands, oppressing the people, exploiting them. Taking what their sweat and sometimes blood produced. Because of this, the west could be just as deadly as the wastelands. Just in different ways.

Things changed, however, when he wandered into the lands of the warlord Raymo. Raymo wasn't like other warlords. Yes, he ruled firmly and defended his lands fiercely but in other ways he was different. He didn't treat his people like serfs. He did not force them to labor for him or take their produce by under threat. He paid his people for what he took, one way or another, and for their labor. He did not rule with an iron fist. He often gathered the chiefs of his villages and consulted them about major decisions. Yes, he still made the decisions and backed them up with his warband but he often took chiefs' advice into consideration. He gave fair judgements when there were disputes. He treated the raccoon people gently. Never attacking them or enslaving them. Even traded food and simple tools with the racks in return for their for their fruits and cleaver woodwork.

Branyon liked it in Raymo's realm and stayed. He swore the oaths and joined the warband. His prowess and honesty quickly earned him a spot in Raymo's personal guard. It was tough and the training was strict but he excelled at it. He fought in a few battles against Raymo's rivals. They hated him because their people kept defecting to him and Raymo always accepted them. Branyon fit into his new life well.

Five years later, Branyon became a hero. While traveling between his villages, Rayno's procession stopped for a break. Everyone was relaxing except Branyon. His wastelander experience never left him and always kept him alert. Seemingly out of nowhere , a 30 foot long nanogater appeared, biting one guard in half and crushing another with its massive tail. It then sprinted straight for Raymo. Branyon was the only guard near enough to intervene. He plucked up his spear and with two pumps of his massive thighs he leapt into the air. His timing was excellent. He landed on the creatures back just as it charged by. Branyon drove his spear into the base of the creature's skull, killing it instantly.

The creatures momentum slid it to Raymo's feet. Branyon almost casually stepped off and slapped his chest in salute. Raymo stood stunned, unable to speak. When he finally found his voice, he promoted Branyon to officer on the spot.

Now, Branyon wonder, how did the neogator get to the procession when the water loving creature is 40 miles from the nearest water that is known to be their hunting grounds?

Pages