Create a Zekiran
The Old Fashioned Way - by hand, with DICE!
Character Design
The largest difference between your Character and the regular people of
Zekira is that in all likelihood, if you were to somehow be 'dropped into'
a person there, you would, seven times out of ten, wind up in a Freeworker's
body. By making a character, you have a nearly even chance of being a
Slave as you do a High Holder and anyone in between.
Remember that not only is your Character not human (though every reference
to 'human' in this text means Zekiran) but they are also most likely going
to be caught up in more intrigue and danger than normal people of their
world. This is after all, a role-playing game, and the Characters are
more important than the normal people around them. No attempt at justifying
this should be made: it just is the nature of the game. No problem.
This is not to say that the "danger" of this game is going to
all be physical! The Zekirans are aggressive in other ways, but primarily
they avoid physical violence. The vast majority of dice-rolls in the game
will be for gambling, racing simulations, and using mutant powers. There
is a small section for real hand-to-hand and other fighting, since sometimes
that just might be the only option.
Violent characters should be looked over very carefully. They should have
a very clear explanation as to why they are the way they are and have
not been placed in an institution. If a killing style character is the
concept you want, keep in mind that unless they are a High Holder or a
Breeder their behavior will not be tolerated at all. If they are a Freeworker,
a decide to start a fight at a race, they will be thrown in jail. If they
are an Owner, they will be severely fined. (Eventually, their Status will
degrade!)
Creating a Zekiran
When playing the World of Zekira, it's always a good idea to have a clue about what you're getting into. The people playing will determine the outcome of many events, the Game Holder will sway others. Dice are important but role playing is far more valuable in this game.
What you will need to play this game:
DICE - 4 sided dice will be necessary for some aspects of character creation
as well as incidental rolls (damage, etc)
6 sided dice are essential for character creation and incidental rolls
8 sided dice are necessary during character creation and for incidental
rolls
10 sided dice are the primary ones used for character stat creation, as
well as incidental rolls during play
12 sided dice used infrequently during character generation and for incidental
rolls
20 sided dice are used infrequently during character generation but more
often for skill checks during play
Percentile dice are used for skill checks and incidental rolls
CHARACTER SHEETS - these are provided in the back of the Game Holder's
Book
PENCIL and SCRAP PAPER - Never use pen to fill out your character sheets.
If you do, I will personally come to your house and ... Well, get all
"Sengihr" on you. If you've read anything before this in the
site (or my other sites) you'll know just what that means and stop right
away.
LOCATION - a nicely lit, comfortable area with chairs and a single table
is always preferred. Distractions such as the television or a herd of
children should be removed - use whatever means necessary. Just kidding,
just ... Kidding. Sheesh.
SUPPLIES - food, drinks and perhaps some mood music (see the list of "what
I listened to while creating Zekira for inspiration), perhaps even props
might come in handy for you. Miniatures may be required if a combat is
played out, but since there are no Zekiran 3d minis yet, feel free to
use the paper standups provided in the back of the book or draw your own.**
be warned. There are none yet. :)
One person will have to be the Game Holder - this person should be fairly
well versed at gaming in general and should have read at least the complete
section on rules to be familiar enough to get the game rolling smoothly.
They will be responsible for all descriptions of the surroundings, thinking
up motivation for non-player characters, interacting as npc's with the
players, handing out other information, and most likely determining the
fate of those who haven't shown up for the game.
That leaves everyone else to play their characters. I have found that
groups no bigger than six are good for most role playing games - but in
this case the quantity of characters may be higher than that if someone
wants to play two or even more of their characters at once. As long as
everyone is able to keep up their paperwork and know which of their characters
is doing what with whom, they should be encouraged to do so. The more
the merrier. The players should have read at least the world and social
descriptions to become familiar with the world itself.
If someone cannot make it to the session that should never hold up play
for the others in the group. Making arrangements in advance to have another
player work the missing characters, or the Game Holder to do something
similar, is usually appropriate, however no single character should really
ever have so much hinging on them that they would stop the game by their
player not being able to come to the game. This is as much the Game Holder's
responsibility as the players - encourage everyone to participate equally
so that if someone can't show up, everyone else still advances the plot.
Remember that this game setting is geared toward long term campaigns and extensive character development - not a bunch of combats strung together by a series of pub crawls and looting. Characters might start young, but eventually finish a campaign in their advanced years. Characters who are created with the idea of "live fast, die young" will probably do so - while their other companions continue to grow and learn... And get play time...
During character creation, always remember that the dice should never dictate or dissapoint. If there is a good idea in your head about a particular character design, get with the GH and decide how best to execute that design. If using points to assign to stats is your best option, do that, but at least be consistant with the other players too.
Also - please take time to read the disclaimer at the start of the book. I know most people blow off rpg disclaimers but this one is special. Since the game deals with Slavery and such, I'd much prefer that people play with the understanding that it's all not real, that this is a game and meant to be fun. I don't want anyone - especially me - getting in trouble of some kind because they took this game too seriously or tried making reasons to treat people in a derogatory manner.
CHARACTER CREATION and the Character Sheet
All the character sheets included in the World of Zekira game book have
similiarities though they are more or less complex than one another. The
basic Character Sheet is used as an example.
Above is a shrunk-down version of the Character Sheet. Each portion is important to every character. Somewhere on the sheet (above the frame, or on the back) put your name and other information if you are worried about your character sheet getting lost among others during a game. Some Game Holders will request photocopies or scans of your characters, to keep track of their Holdings, or plot lines which they are planning on using.
Start with discussion: find out if the Game Holder has plans for a certain kind of game project, they may request a specific Status or sort of character. You don't have to share any information with the other players - in fact your character might wind up with some secrets, powers or information that you don't want to have all over the game table! Keeping secrets and passing notes are ways to make the World of Zekira play more fun. (And, perhaps more accurate!)
CHARACTER GENERATION
If random design is your favored way... Use the charts on the next pages
to create a character who will START with their status.
Decide or roll the gender of your character. I usually like to
use "male/even" "female/odd" so any kind of die can
be used. The fertility of your character will be determined by
their Breeding and a die roll later. Remember that there is little to
no stigma attached to either gender and both genders participate in and
can perform pretty much every job on Zekira.
Decide or roll for their Homeland. This will determine where their
main Holds are if they have the Status for it.
Roll for Status, then go to the page describing the Status to find
out what your background will be for your character. If you haven't already,
read up on that Status to decide whether playing a character of that type
is right for you or the group.
Next, find your Breeding level or Parentage. Each Status has a
different set of dice rolls for each level of Breeding, so pay close attention
to the results. It also may affect your character's Fertility, Holdings
and the way they might be played. It will also determine the presence
of psionic powers or physical mutations that may change the character's
Stats or abilities.
Using the Breeding level and the right Stat generators, roll your dice
for your Stats. These may change, if your Breeding is higher level,
there is a far better chance that they have unsual changes in store, so
don't ever think the Stats are permanent...
On the Powers and Mutations charts, determine your character's
Genetic Purity, Power Rank, and if they have any psionic abilities or
physical mutations. Each of those areas has full instructions. Some mutations
and powers might change the character's stats, or give them amazing abilities
that others don't understand. It could also alter their physical appearance
sufficiently that they might be seen as terrifying or fascinating by npc's.
Always read over the results of each roll to determine if the power or
mutation fits with a character idea. Discard those which don't and roll
again or choose.
After the possibility of powers and mutations has been either ruled out
or established, create your character's appearance. Given the stats
or powers/mutations, roll for the character's Fertility. This will determine
if they will be up for Breeding, or if they'll have to adopt or get a
6th Degree Breeder to splice their offspring instead. Also at this time
it's a good idea to determine the character's age. Each Status has a starting
age and a lifespan listing. Generally the characters in a group should
start out around the same ages as one another, but that's not a hard and
fast rule.
With their Stats being set, powers if any might come into play when trying
to determine their type of job. Different Status have different types
of jobs available to them. Once the profession is known, head over to
the Skills section to flesh out their abilities and determine which
skills they are best at.
Based on their Status, they may have Lands or Stock Held. If there
is Land, find out where on the Land information pages. Most other information
will be gained or changed during play. Bayaran and Slaves are established
as "starting" quantities. If the character has a ton of both
kinds you shouldn't worry about creating information on them. However
if a character has but one Slave or a pair of devoted Bayaran attached
to them, it might be fun to create them as well and play them as a mini-group.
Once their profession, age and years in their job, and their other Holdings
such as Land and Hard Stock have been determined, it's time to outfit
the character. Head to the section on equipment.
If the character is fertile, and of an age fit for Breeding, they might
be "in use" by a Breeder. Talk this over with the GH or perhaps
a player if there is a Breeder in the group. They might have some desirable
feature (like a coloration or a helpful mutation) that a Breeder would
be looking for. Have fun! Also you might determine the character's ancestry.
A character changing Status during play does not get to change their Stats
to match those found on their new Status' chart - only those being created
use the numbers found here.
Step by step:
Gender (choose)
Status - includes land holds and stock rates for higher Status
Psionic Powers - linked to power descriptions
Mutations and Disadvantages - linked to descriptions, includes "family" packages for oft-referred family groups
Equipment - sorry, there is no equipment list yet. Please feel free to make stuff up.