Walkabout Character Generation - Phase 5: Joining the Wayfarers

The final phase of character generation in Walkabout is the moment when our characters answer their calling. The four phases so far come at six year increments to bring us to this point, but this fifth phase may vary that age.The general idea here is that a number of Indigenous communities across eastern Australia divide a person's life into 12 year chunks, matching a twelve year cycle of the years. Once a person has survived a complete cycle, they are ready to move on to the next stage of their life. Childhood (0-12), Adolescence (13-24), Early Adulthood (25-36), etc... I halved it because 6 year chunks feel better.


Generally, after 12 years of age most children have developed enough maturity to be considered for a rite of passage that will define their role in the community through their adulthood. In the years of research I've been doing here, a couple of elders have told anecdotal stories about children who showed maturity beyond their years (undertaking the rite of passage early), and those who continued to show immaturity beyond the time when others should have undertaken the rites. [Note also, I'm using the term rite of passage as a general anthropological term here, because it works as a shorthand for outsiders to understand the process. It's not a perfect description and it's not always the term used by those elders, but with the colonial policies of destroying indigenous cultures, the original terms have often been lost... many elders simply use the western terminology because they've lost millennia of culture in a century or two].


Unlike characters in many RPGs, who often seem to start their journeys in their late teens, Wayfarers in Walkabout need to show a degree of maturity and an understanding of the world before they are called to bring balance to it. Following the cultural patterns of the 12 year cycle, this means most characters are called at around 24 years of age, some joining the Wayfarers earlier if they have achieved the requisite maturity and heard the call, others joining later if they haven't been ready, or have required issues in their lives resolved before they were able to answer the call.

The call comes at different times for different people, it comes on the voices of spirits, it is whispered in the breeze, it infects the psyche in dreams. Most wayfarers are called at around the age of 24, some earlier some later. Regardless of when the call is answered, this is the moment when characters ascend from the struggling masses to become agents of change capable of bringing balance to the world.

Those who answer the call of the Wayfarers undergo a rite of passage where they confirm their dedication to the spirits who want to restore balance to the world. This infuses them with power and strength, but at a price. The sign of their dedication comes in the form of a tattoo, brand, or other scar marking a physical representation of their vow. Over their time in the Wayfarers, many gain additional marks on their flesh, each showing affiliation or respect for a specific spirit or metaphysical concept.   

Roll 2 six sided dice. If you choose to play an early awakened wayfarer, the higher die result is added to 18 to determine your age. If you choose to play a late awakened wayfarer, the lower of the two dice is added to 24 to determine your age. If the results are the same, you are automatically playing a late awakened wayfarer, roll a third die and add the sum of all three dice to 24.

Advances:

• If you are playing a wayfarer over 24, mark off an experience point for every year over 24. For every bold checkpoint crossed, gain a free bonus.
• The Calling adds 4 defences (1 per category).
• Gain a d4 Calling die. The calling you are following is the path of the Wayfarer.
• Gain a Wayfarer mark.