Yesterday we started this year's challenge with the core character of a Warhammer 3e party: Hildebrand Silbertasse, a human Apprentice Wizard of sheltered background and unsettling visions. Working my way through the available player-character races, today we'll be building a Dwarf from the hold Karak Azgaraz. A Dwarf only gets 20 character creation points compared to the human's 25, but in compensation receives some higher starting characteristics. In addition, as a Child of Grungni, an Azgaraz dwarf can train Discipline, Resilience, or Weapon Skill regardless of career. (The training still costs creation points, apparently.) The cultural trait of holding a Grudge gives a dwarf a bonus die to attack hereditary enemies as well as any individual that has wounded them. Physically Sturdy, dwarves get a bonus to their encumbrance limit. And Night Vision reduces the penalties for effects of low light or darkness. Dwarves also have a higher Wound Threshold than humans: 10 plus their Toughness score.
With that part settled, it's time to consult the career deck. At this point in the process I still thought the human character was going to be a Coachman, so that card stayed out of the mix. I drew Troll Slayer, Zealot, and Warden, the latter two of which are human-only options. Two more draws added Messenger and Boatman. Although Troll Slayer is a perfectly respectable dwarven career, it seemed a little intense for what I was trying to do at the time (four normies thrown together by fate), and Boatman was too close to Coachman, so I opted for Messenger, which I kept even after retconning the human character.
The Messenger's keywords are Basic, Bureaucrat, Social, and Urban. (Basic careers, I forgot to mention yesterday, are open to beginning characters; there are a few Advanced options in the deck, and I removed those before drawing.) Primary characteristics are Agility and Fellowship; it's a diplomatic role that requires high mobility. Messenger career skills include Charm, Folklore, Intuition, Ride and Stealth: again, a combination of people and mobility skills, plus some general knowledge about the world. The starting Stance track comprises three green and one red tile--another careful adventurer here. The Messenger's career ability grants a free maneuver (similar to a minor action in other systems) every time the party's Fortune pool refreshes*
All right; time to spend some creation points, beginning with Characteristics. Dwarves start with scores of 3 in Strength and Toughness and 2 in everything else, which is a bit awkward since I need Agility and Fellowship for my job. Buying both up to 4 will cost 14 of my 20 creation points and still leave me with sub-standard scores. Fortunately, as I missed in the rules when I built Hildebrand (and really should go back and fix, poor chook), before I customize I'm supposed to boost each career primary by 1. So our dwarven courier will start at 3 in Agility and Fellowship as well as in Strength and Toughness, and bumping the primaries up to 4 will only cost eight points. I think Willpower could alo use a boost, so that's another 3, and might as well bring up Intelligence while I'm at it: still 14 points spent, but a much better return for it.
Next we consider Wealth. I've only got six points left, so I think I'll start this character out Poor at a cost of 1. That provides a durable if unfashionable suit of clothes, a cloth rucksack, some sort of inexpensive weapon, and 50 silver coins (equivalent to half a gold coin). Career-based equipment includes another weapon, leather armor, a swift horse (or pony, I'm guessing, in this case), some maps, and a seal representing their employer.
Then we're on to Skills. The developers didn't use example characters for whatever reason, but they do call out free skill trainings and foci in other places, so I assume (with some disappointment) that my dwarf's racial skill will also require an investment of points. Two points will buy three trainings and one specialization, with a dauntingly large menu to choose from. I'll want either Discipline or Resilience, which are the mental and physical (respectively) skills for holding up under pressure or strain. I opt for Discipline and the power of keeping my mouth shut. I'll add Stealth and Folklore to shape something aloing the lines of a covert courier. A specialization in Geography (under Folklore) will cap skills off nicely.
I've got three points left moving into Talents. Two points will buy me a card for each slot (one Reputation, one Focus), but leave me with only one point for Action cards (which will buy two). There are a lot of potentially useful Reputation cards, likewise with Focus, so I think I'll live with two Talents and two non-basic Action cards. I like the focus Resolute (tap card to recover 2 stress) and the reputation Gregarious (add 1 fortune die to Charm checks).
That brings us to the Action deck. My remaining point lets me buy two Action cards for my deck, so in addition to the basic set (Block, Dodge, Guarded Position, Melee Attack, Parry, Perform a Stunt, Ranged Attack) I'll take the Charm-based Winning Smile and Cut & Run, which is based on Weapon Skill but fits the courier profile so i'll take it anyhow.
Now let's review Stances. Our track currently consists of three green Conservative tiles and one red Reckless tile, and AFAIK I don't have a way to change that yet, nor do I particularly want to.
And now it's time to put a name and a history to our young courier. Her employer is probably not very important, or she'd be paid better. Perhaps she's a low-level agent in the Azgaraz intelligence network, recruited to carry reports from brewing trouble spots to the Hold, and she's been roped into this party through one of Hildebrand's visions (also convinced to stay by the promise of a treasure payoff larger than she's accustomed to). The rulebooks don't throw around a lot of names as examples, and the names shown are vaguely Tolkien-y but not super consistent. An online Warhammer name generator offers ten options at a time; after a few clicks I go with Birzad as a personal name, and recombine some of the roots I see to come up with Stoutcask as a surname.
And that gets us ready for a statblock.
Birzad Stoutcask, rank 1 Messenger (Azgaraz Dwarf)
Wound Threshold: 13
Characteristics (trained skills):
Strength 3
Toughness 3
Agility 4 (Stealth)
Intelligence 3 (Folklore 1 (Geography))
Willpower 3 (Discipline 1)
Fellowship 4
Special Abilities:
Grudge (racial): +1 Fortune die on attacks against orcs, goblins, or snotlings, or against any creature that has wounded you in this encounter.
Night Vision (racial): -2 Misfortune dice on checks in low-light or darkness.
Sturdy (racial): +5 maximum Encumbrance.
Messenger (career): may immediately perform a free Maneuver when Fortune refreshes.
Gregarious (reputation): add 1 fortune die to Charm checks
Resolute (focus): tap to recover 2 stress
Stance Track: 3 conservative, 1 reckless
Equipment: suit of clothes, rucksack, hand weapon (cutlass), light crossbow, 12 bolts, leather armor, a swift pony (with saddle and harness), some maps, employer's seal.
Money: 50 sp
Encumbrance: limit 30, carrying
Action Deck: Block, Cut and Run, Dodge, Guarded Position, Melee Attack, Parry, Perform a Stunt, Ranged Attack, Winning Smile
*The party's Fortune pool increases as individual players spend points, then refreshes at intervals to let players recoup said points. I'm not entirely sure how the mechanic works, to be honest.
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