Aiee! Run From Kelvin's Brainsplurge!

I've had a good look through Break!! and I'm putting a review together, but for now let's just say I like it very much and I'm considering running it. Maybe.

Before unleashing it on my group I thought I'd give character generation a try to see how it goes. I went for random rolls throughout, and this is what I got:

Ylkinee, aka, "BADGER":

CHIB (anime halfling, in this context) RAIDER (sort of like a D&D ranger mixed with a D&D monk, but not really)

Might: 9
Deft: 10
Grit: 10
Insight: 7
Aura: 7
Attack: +1
Defence: 11
Hearts: 3
Speed: Fast
Inventory: 8 (+3)

Abilities:
Like the Wind, Hunter's Focus, Sidestep, Easily Overlooked

Badger can use light and medium armour, small and standard shields, and all weapons (although as he is Small, some options are restricted)

Background and History:
Badger is from the BURIED KINGDOM, and speaks HIGH AKENIAN as a bonus language.

Badger was a FIELD SAPPER before he was an adventurer, with Purviews (+2 bonus) in ARMY MACHINE WORKINGS, GETTING BEHIND ENEMY LINES, and SPOTTING STRUCTURAL WEAKNESSES.

Quirk:
SURVIVOR (enhanced healing, but a greater chance of accidental injury, because he's a bit overconfident)

Gear:
A common rural item, a spade, a bomb (!), a demolitions kit, a functional outfit, a standard weapon, an adventurer's bag (+3 inventory space), and 1 coin.

And that's about it. With random rolls the entire process took about 10 minutes start to finish, which is pretty quick. Choices open up at later levels ranks but even then it's not too complex. The many interactions between class, species, background, and quirks mean that it is unlikely that any two starting characters, even of the same class, will be alike. I'll be interested to see what my group comes up with if and when we play.

My print copy of Ruination Pilgrimage arived today, so I tested it out by making a character!

Doctor Sessan, itinerant surgeon:

• Strength: 30
• Agility: 37
• Intellect: 39
• Combat: 20
• Presence: 28 (I rolled 666, which seems like it should be significant in this game!)
• Body: 22
• Fear: 29
• Sanity: 37
• Resolve: 29
• Faith: 7
• Sorrow: 2
• Health: 17
• Skills: Literacy 10, Mathematics 10, Surgery 20, Pottery 10
• Vice: Wrath!
• Previous job: Potter
• Background: Caught thieving and pilloried. Has a thief tattoo on his ear.
• Kit: Nice clothing, spyglass, blank scrolls, candles, 20 coins (double 10!).
• Patron saint: Arevadah, Saint of Combat (which seems a bit optimistic given his combat score!)
• Hat: classic Roman-style helm. (From JB's excellent random hats tables.)

I imagine Sessan was picked out of a life of -- apparently angry -- pottery and petty crime by a kind-hearted physician, who took the lad on as an apprentice. I feel like that 666 for presence should probably present -- ha ha -- as a slightly "off" feel. Maybe a whiff of brimstone about him.

Character generation was quick and simple. The full instructions are split across multiple pages and chapters, but most of the process is covered on page 2 and it's intuitive enough that there's not a lot of page-flipping. The only murky area for me was the patron saint; you are directed to a table later in the book to determine your character's saint, and there's a lot of data on that table, but I think all you care about during character generation is the identity of the saint. The other stuff comes up when you pray and conduct rituals for your patron. I think. Maybe. Ish?

After a very long absence, I've rejoined my gaming group and have dropped into a new D&D5 campaign. It's set in the frozen north, so of course I'm playing a tropical turtle druid.

 

This is Coraggio, because I've never had an original idea.

(And yes, the painter's name was spelled differently, but it's a pun. Not a good one, I admit, but you can't win them all.)

My current D&D5 character is an elf bard. I decided that the best way to rescue her from the traditional fate of bards -- being dull and rubbish -- was to make her a glam metal bard. This is Althaleeleelee.

This is Jonats the Enforcer, from my current Mutant: Year Zero game. He punches things. The player-characters hate him.