Walkabout Character Generation - Phase 0: Birth Circumstances


For the next few posts, I'm going to present the character generation system that I've been working on for Walkabout. With the death of G+, I haven't been getting a lot of feedback or comments on my posts, but if anyone out there is still reading, any responses to this series of posts would be ,much appreciated. 

The web of relationships that define a person start to weave together before they are born. Relationships between places, individuals, and cultures provide the initial nodes that a person spins into their identity. It is into these foundational nodes that new relationship threads can be entwined, as a person finds their place in the world.

Understanding a Wayfarer character in Walkabout begins by learning who their parents were and the place where they were born. Those called to be Wayfarers come from all parts of the world, many from the shanties clinging to the outskirts of the ruined cities or the surviving rural towns in the reclaimed wilderness, others from the nomadic communities that travel the rivers, roads, and rails. A few wayfarers have origins among the neo-primitives who turned their back on technology, the sheltered descendants of the wealthy who weathered the apocalypse deep below or high above the ground, or the accursed and mutated outlanders who didn’t survive the apocalypse completely intact.

A wayfarer can’t control where they came from, but the circumstances of their birth can shape the way they choose to bring balance back to the world. How much they allow the circumstances of their past to define the destiny of their future is entirely up to them.

While the holistic interconnectedness of all things might spread an infinite spider’s web of relationship links across time and space, and while it might be possible to trace the influences on an individual back over generations, a lot of those influences are miniscule and have little chance of manifesting in the stories of the Wayfarers. To set the context for the beginning of a Wayfarer’s story, begin with their parents. Roll d8/d10/d12, then allocate these results between Mother (indicating where she grew up), Father (indicating where he grew up) and Community (indicating where the two of them settled to bring up their family).

Roll
Mother
Father
Community
1
Never known (died in childbirth)
Never known (left mother before birth)
Refugees – Picked up by a Convoy
2-3
Edge Town
Edge Town
Mother’s home
(if mother “Never known”, use the Father’s home)
4-5
Rural Town
Rural Town
Father’s home
(if father “Never known”, use the Mother’s home)
6-7
Camp
Camp
Edge Town
8-9
Convoy
Convoy
Rural Town
10-11
Bunker
Bunker
Camp
12
Loners
Loners
Loners

 

For each parent, now determine the culture they belonged to by rolling a d8.

Roll
 
Culture
Edge Town
Rural Town
Camp
Convoy
Bunker
Loners
1
Parent died during character’s childhood
2-3
Scavenger
Cultivator
Tribal
Nomad
Scavenger
Tribal
4-5
Cultivator
Scavenger
Nomad
Scavenger
Sheltered
Outlander
6-7
Nomad
Nomad
Cultivator
Tribal
Outlander
Sheltered
8
Outlander
Tribal
Outlander
Skyfarer
Skyfarer
Skyfarer

 


 

Parent’s Highest Attribute – Roll d8 twice. Choose one of the results to determine the highest attribute (equivalent to d10), the other result determines the second highest attribute (equivalent to d8). If the two results indicate the same attribute, it is automatically considered the highest attribute (equivalent to d12).

Roll
Scavenger
Cultivator
Nomad
Tribal
Outlander
Sheltered
Skyfarer
1
Physical
Social
Physical
Physical
Mental
Social
Physical
2
Mental
Mental
Mental
Social
Paranormal
Mental
Paranormal

 

Roll
Edge Town
Rural Town
Camp
Convoy
Bunker
Loners
3
Social
Physical
Physical
Physical
Social
Physical
4
Mental
Social
Social
Mental
Mental
Paranormal

 

Roll         Attribute

5              Physical

6              Social

7              Mental

8              Paranormal

Random Occupations – roll d8 twice. One of these dice will determine a possible occupation based on the culture or location of the parent’s upbringing (on a 1-4 the occupation is based on the parent’s culture, on a 5-8 the occupation is based on their location), the second die determines a possible basic occupation based on the parent’s highest attribute. Choose whether the character’s parent dabbled in both of these occupations, or whether they mastered one of them.

If either parent left (or died) during this period when the environment for the upbringing was established, Wayfarer’s you may choose to skip this occupational roll. That parent has contributed their genetic influence to the child, they are no longer around to influence the upbringing.

First Roll

Roll
Scavenger
Cultivator
Nomad
Tribal
Outlander
Sheltered
Skyfarer
1
Apprentice
Dirt Farmer
Driver
Brave
Drifter
Archaeologist
Cloud Farmer
2
Archaeologist
Drover
Mechanic
Gatherer
Infiltrator
Artist
Cloud Talker
3
Junker
Harvester
Navigator
Herbalist
Predator
Courtier
Librarian
4
Merchant
Jackaroo
Outrider
Shaman
Psion
Debutante
Marine
5
Prospector
Logger
Raider
Spirit Talker
Shadow
Librarian
Mechanic
6
Tinkerer
Swagman
Road Mystic
Trapper
Visionary
Paper Pusher
Scientist

 

Roll
Edge Town
Rural Town
Camp
Convoy
Bunker
Loner
7
Burglar
Miner
Crafter
Grease Monkey
Dirt Farmer
Dirt Farmer
8
Engineer
Outrider
Gatherer
Merchant
Marine
Gatherer
9
Prospector
Preacher
Herbalist
Navigator
Mechanic
Merchant
10
Raider
Rider
Lorekeeper
Raider
Servant
Spirit Talker
11
Sparky
Stockman
Mythweaver
Tracker
Sparky
Swagman
12
Tinkerer
Swagman
Tracker
Visionary
Paper Pusher
Tracker


Second Roll

Roll
Physical
Social
Mental
Paranormal
1
Bandit
Bandit
Apprentice
Cultist
2
Blacksmith
Cultist
Bodyguard
Fisher
3
Guard
Drifter
Crafter
Gambler
4
Harvester
Entertainer
Dirt Farmer
Gutterpunk
5
Jailer
Gambler
Guard
Medic
6
Labourer
Gutterpunk
Leatherworker
Prophet
7
Mercenary
Merchant
Medic
Psion
8
Raider
Nurse
Mercenary
Shadow
9
Slave
Preacher
Nurse
Spirit Talker
10
Survivor
Prophet
Tinkerer
Survivor
11
Thug
Rider
Trainee
Trainee
12
Trooper
Slave
Trooper
Visionary

 

Write three or more sentences, about your earliest memories. Include a sentence about each of the parents you knew, and another about the place where your earliest memory of them occurred. If you want to write more sentences, you could reveal information about their occupations, the virtues they tried to instil in you, any siblings, cousins, or extended family who might have influenced you in some way.

Note: Parental Origins

The parents defined through these earliest roles are the two people who contributed genetically to the birth of the character. But they may not necessarily be the two people who had the strongest influence on the character as they grew up. If a biological father leaves, a character could be raised by two mothers, a similar situation could see two fathers as the influencers in a child’s life; a single parent is a valid option too. In a post-apocalyptic environment, a person tends to be raised by whoever cares for them most… in some cases this might mean that the individuals learns by fending for themselves because there is simply no one else around with the time or inclination to raise a child. This is why the sentences are just as important as the dice rolls when creating a character; the dice rolls prompt the sentences, the sentences give context for the dice rolls.  

Comments

caradoc said…
That's interesting Michael, in the RPG I am writing character creation involves the parents as well. Mine doesn't do the depth you encapsulate here though. I like it. I also like a session 0, where the game group together creates their characters. If you have a steady group, it's a great way of generating a commonality and purpose for the group.
Interesting. This reminds me of the Pendragon system, where you don't run a character, as much as a family.

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