Character Creation (1 of ?)
I'd actually planned to do exactly that... but I got this ready before the actual story posts got there, so. Here it is.Why do i get the feeling that Wizard is going to sketch us... And that will be our character creation vote?
(Well, okay, my original plan was to wait for you to find a reflective surface and a light source, but then the wizard and his sketchbook got voted in...)
...I do seem to consistently over-estimate how far I can get in one post's worth of content. Something to work on.
Mechanics:
Plan votes only! Yes, that means there's a four hour moratorium on all votes for what you look like. (Proposing plans using empty-bracket notation - i.e. [] like the example plans below - is still fine though.)
I know, I know, I said I don't like plan votes... but they're really the only way to do this part of things.
Select one Statline option, and then up to four picks of add-ons. Unspent picks will roll over to the next phase of character creation. (Expect to have around rollover-plus-one picks for overtly magical abilities like breath weapons - but I'm not going to make promises on that because I haven't written up that list yet.)
- If you absolutely must have five picks worth of addons, a write-in flaw may be added to compensate. Note that I will scrutinize such flaws carefully; for example, tacking an extra -4 on Sneaky is definitely not worth an extra pick, and trying something like that will be vetoed. Flaws can potentially be overcome, given time and effort... but it's probably better not to take any in the first place.
Description is a freebie / write-in, subject to
One: You're a dragon. No trying to, say, describe a winter wolf and then call it a 'dragon'. (Mixed-breed builds - say, a generally wolf-like form with scaled limbs and wings - are okay, though.)
Two: You have usable hands. Ability to manipulate objects is mandatory. (Though, for an extreme example, a wyvern-like build with prehensile feet would still be acceptable.)
Three: You have feet with claws. This has already been established and I don't feel like going back and editing story posts to deal with a naga-like build.
Four: Your overall build is relatively low-slung and nonhumanoid. Edited this in partway through the voting process, as every plan anyone has voted for so far has been quadrupedal or hexapedal, and I've reached the point in writing the next plot post where I need to pin this detail down.
If you like the stat-and-addon setup for an existing plan, but think it needs a different description, that is a new plan and should be posted with its own plan name.
Statlines:
[] Statline: Potent Dragon
- Forceful +4, Flashy +3, Quick +2, Careful +2, Clever +0, Sneaky -2, Vitality 4
- Trait: Uninspiring. Your forceful approach is at -2 in social situations - excluding those involving physical force (or the threat of physical force), such as intimidation.
- Meant to go with the classic dragon base chassis; four legs, forepaws that double as hands, and of course a tail.
- Features superior strength (and a good ability to show off via Flashy), but the rest of your stats aren't as impressive. Not so great for wizardry or other magic that requires mental effort, but still offers a good platform for natural abilities (i.e. breath weapons or other specific, overt magical effects that can run off of Forceful).
[] Statline: Tactical Dragon
- Forceful +3, Quick +3, Clever +2, Careful +1, Flashy +1, Sneaky +0, Vitality 3
- Trait: Uninspiring. Your forceful approach is at -2 in social situations - excluding those involving physical force (or the threat of physical force), such as intimidation.
- Originally intended to go with a theropod-like build (bipedal-horizontal), but could also work well for, say, a classic dragon that's sleek and slender and fast on her feet.
- Features only slightly less raw power than the Potent Dragon, but with superior options for getting that power to where it needs to be thanks to improved Quick and Sneaky: thus the designation of 'tactical'.
[] Statline: Artifice Dragon
- Clever +3, Forceful +2, Careful +2, Flashy +1, Quick +1, Sneaky -1, Vitality 2
- Meant to go with a bipedal-vertical (read: at least roughly humanoid) build.
- Base stats are relatively balanced - but overall somewhat weaker than the other options; this is intended to be counter-balanced by easier access to human(oid) skills and items. Even if you pair this statline up with a non-humanoid form, you'll still get some degree of improvement at tool-use - just maybe not as much.
- Gets a free +1 Vitality if your description entirely rules out the use of humanoid armor.
[] Statline: Mystic Dragon
- Forceful +3, Careful +3, Clever +2, Quick +2, Flashy +0, Sneaky -2, Vitality 3
- Trait: Improved Calligraphy - does exactly what it says: you are good at fancy writing. A useful trait for a philosopher or wizard.
- Meant to go with an oriental dragon build, long and serpentine and wise (Careful). But this could work well with basically any shape. The second-best choice for being able to use mortal items; 'Improved Calligraphy' does also imply better-than-normal (for a dragon) manual dexterity.
Add-On Options:
[] Gliding Wings
- You've got wings! They don't work very well -yet-, but you can at least glide with them. Maybe even fly a bit if you can find a good updraft somewhere? What sort of wings - and how many - will vary by description; you can have wings as separate limbs, or as long folding fins (ribbed or fleshy manta-ray style), or even combine them with your arms or forelegs; both bird and pterosaur-style wings would leave you enough fingers left over to still have functional hands.
[] Improved Natural Weaponry
- An upgrade to your basic claws and teeth; this can come in many forms, from sickle-curved foot-claws to a smashing mace at your tail-tip to horns or armor plates designed to let you ram problems head-on. The one option that is explicitly not available is heavier claws on whichever limbs you use as hands; being able to manipulate objects without (significant) risk of damaging them is not a negotiable feature.
- Note: a single purchase of this trait covers all of your natural weapons; if you have, say, bladed wing-edges and rhino-like horns, this costs one pick, not two.
- Note: conversely, if you don't feel a need for your natural weaponry to be improved, your write-in description can include a tail club or whatever without actually taking this trait - it just won't be better at dealing damage than your starting claws and bite.
[] Constricting Coils
- You are adept at coiling and crushing your prey; this could be represented by a long and muscular tail, or a full-body serpentine build. Grants +1 Forceful when grappling or crushing objects.
- Note: you do not need to take this trait just to have a serpentine appearance - not every snake is a constrictor snake.
[] Venomous Fangs
- You have some form of debilitating poison; at this level it's something that slows or weakens or distracts your opponents rather than something capable of ending fights on its own.
- Note: despite the name, this doesn't have to be attached to your fangs; you can have venomous claws if you really want, or can combine this with Improved Natural Weaponry for, oh, poisoned tail-spines or something.
- Note: some sorts of venom would fall under Improved Natural Weaponry instead - for example, a corrosive bite that's effective at damaging both living and unliving targets would not be a good fit for Venomous Fangs (unless it also applies debilitating pain or paralysis or something, in which case you'd want both picks).
[] Light Build
- Some dragons are sleek and slender and move like greased lightning. Your body is optimized more for avoiding injury than for taking hits head-on. +1 Quick; also adjusts the availability of traits during later progression - you'll tend to have more options for speed or mobility upgrades than damage reduction ones. Not compatible with Heavy Build.
-[] Rapid Reflexes
- Improves Quick to +3. Requires Light Build & Statline: Artifice Dragon. This replaces the +1 Quick from Light Build rather than stacking with it.
[] Heavy Build
- And some dragons are built like the proverbial tank - wide and bulky and well-armored. +1 Vitality, and skews your upgrade path towards traits that boost durability rather than mobility. Not compatible with Light Build.
-[] Burly Brute
- Improves Forceful to +3. Requires Heavy Build & Statline: Artifice Dragon.
[] Dazzling Dragon I
- Your physical form seems designed to attract and hold attention. +2 Flashy, -1 Sneaky; cannot be used to improve Flashy above +3.
-[] Dazzling Dragon II
- Another +1 Flashy; requires Dazzling Dragon I.
[] Dragon Dash
- Your reflexes may not necessarily be all that, but you can manage a pretty good clip of sheer straight-line speed. Grants +2 Quick in situations where straight-line speed matters and you can get a running start. Also grants +1 Forceful if you've got a running start (and having a running start would reasonably help).
[] Getting Ahead
- Wait, you have two heads? (Or maybe even three?) -How did you not notice this?- Well, now that you know, it'll be a lot harder to surprise you, since you can look in multiple directions at once. Oh, and you can have comedic arguments with yourself! That'll be fun. Improves perception, bite attacks, breath weaponry (once you have a breath weapon at least), and multi-tasking, though the advantages at this level are more narrative than numerical.
[] Aquatic Adaptation
- Your form is streamlined and well-adapted to underwater environments. You gain +1 Quick for physical actions while in the water, and you do not have issues remaining underwater for an extended period of time - either you can hold your breath for hours, or you have gills, or (in combination with Mystic Focus) you can just magically breathe underwater.
[] The Mountain Goat Trick
- Step one along the path to being spider-dragon; The Mountain Goat Trick allows you to casually climb cliffs, turn up perched on a second-story window-sill, or otherwise do things that make people wonder "How did she get up there?" Does not apply to truly sheer surfaces (glass towers, force fields, etc.), overhangs, ceilings, or the like. (I'd advise not taking this in combination with wings, though I suppose if you really want to spend picks on having multiple vertical mobility options, I won't actually forbid it.)
[] Mystic Focus
- You possess an item that is metaphysically a part of yourself; it will grant bonuses to (thematically appropriate) magic that is channeled through it - but it also represents a potentially serious vulnerability if anyone else manages to get a hold of it. In addition, you can define other normally-physical traits as being magical in nature - for example, upgraded natural weaponry that functions by sheathing your claws in flame, or purely magical flight in place of physical wings. (Or otherwise tie those traits to your focus item - like in the example 'Plan Seraphim' where you get 'Improved Natural Weaponry' from your focus item being a literal sword.) If you have at least two such tied traits, Mystic Focus itself is free. Note that no, you do not start out knowing how to use magical traits tied to your Mystic Focus, but it's something you can work out on your own relatively quickly once you have time to sit down and meditate for a bit. Your mystic focus can be stored in your inventory (and, indeed, starts out there) - and does not use up an inventory slot when it is stored.
[] Write-in: While I've tried to cover a reasonably-exhaustive set of physical abilities, I'm sure there are other things that could be added. Exotic senses like thermal vision or shark-like electroreception, or maybe some form of physical ranged attack as an upgrade on top of Improved Natural Weaponry?
Example Plans:
You're welcome (encouraged, even) to vote for these if you like them - approval voting, remember, so you can vote for a bunch of these and still propose your own plan(s) - but they're primarily here as examples of what sorts of plans one can put together. Well, that, and I like designing weird dragons.
[] Plan Pearlescent Ptera-Dragon
-[] Statline: Potent Dragon
-[] Gliding Wings
-[] Dragon Dash
-[] Two unspent picks to carry over to Powers & Progression
- Description: Start with something like a monster hunter tigrex or an up-scaled dimorphodon. Give her thumbs; paint her with soft pearlescent-white scales, then add gold highlights: along the edges of your belly-plates, in curling scroll-marks around your shoulders and hips, and teardrop shapes around your eyes.
- QM commentary: Fast (if not always Quick) and powerful, with plenty of room to improve her skills later. No particular specialties; overall a good general purpose rawr-I'm-a-dragon.
-[] Statline: Tactical Dragon
-[] Improved Natural Weaponry
-[] Light Build
-[] Dragon Dash
-[] The Mountain Goat Trick
- Description: A black-and-crimson tiger-striped theropod, with sickle-curved toe-claws and a crown of ebony horns. (Unlike actual theropods, though, you don't have any feathers - just sleek scales.)
- QM commentary: Very fast, with Quick pushed all the way up to +4... or +6 when Dragon Dash applies. Also very sneaky (for a dragon). Minimal magic early on, though, since this plan spends all of its picks & doesn't use Mystic Focus.
[] Plan Classic Lung
-[] Statline: Mystic Dragon
-[] Mystic Focus
--[] Gliding Wings
--[] Aquatic Adaptation
-[] Two unspent picks to carry over to Powers & Progression
- Description: A classic oriental dragon, long and serpentine with blue-green scales and a mane of seafoam-white fur that extends into a ruff along your spine and tail. Coral-pink antlered horns, catfish-like whiskers, and a pearl clutched in one hand complete the look. No actual wings, but once you've had a chance to meditate on your pearl, it will let you glide through the air.
- QM commentary: A high magic build (since it doesn't spend any picks outside of Mystic Focus and tied traits), with easy access to the elements of air and water.
-[] Statline: Artifice Dragon
-[] Gliding Wings
-[] Dazzling Dragon I
-[] Mystic Focus
--[] Improved Natural Weaponry
--[] Dazzling Dragon II
- Description: A bipedal, humanoid form, decorated with a mix of burnished gold scales and fluffy white feathers, the latter spreading out into seven pairs of wings. (One pair of mini-wings that act somewhat like ears, two pairs spreading out from your shoulders, one from your hips, and the last three pairs attached to your tail.) In addition - currently stored in your inventory - you have an ornate feather-themed greatsword that glows with a pale golden light. Well, that's sure to attract some attention when you bring it out...
- QM commentary: A very flashy build, especially when you bring your sword out. Also comes with all the wings. Will (eventually, given the lack of rollover picks) have easy access to light/holy/healing type magics.
[] Plan Armadillo Lizard
-[] Statline: Potent Dragon
-[] Heavy Build
-[] Dragon Dash
-[] Improved Natural Weaponry
-[] One unspent pick to carry over to Powers & Progression
- Description: You look very much like a giant armadillo lizard, with heavy armor plates and a long spiky tail. Curl up and roll over your opponents!
- QM commentary: Go do an image search for armadillo lizards. Now. I'll wait, it's fine.
[] Plan These Old Bones
-[] Statline: Tactical Dragon
-[] Mystic Focus
--[] Gliding Wings
--[] Heavy Build
-[] Two unspent picks to carry over to Powers & Progression
- Description: A catlike body with a wedge-shaped lizard-style head, a long lashing tail, and dark purple scales. Your Mystic Focus takes the form of pale bone armor - a skull-mask with swept-back horns, bone plates along your spine and shoulders, ribs curving down to protect your sides... and a pair of bone wings stretching out from just behind your shoulder-plates. Not that you can fly with them yet - you'll have to figure out how to stretch shadows between their finger-bones first.
- QM commentary: Honestly, I just think this is a neat look (which may be loosely inspired by pokemon like Cubone and Houndoom) - that it's highly thematic to the catacombs you woke up in is just a bonus. Also a good starting point if you want to segue into shadow or necromantic magics.
[] Plan Shadowfrost Hydra
-[] Statline: Potent Dragon
-[] Venomous Fangs
-[] Mystic Focus
--[] Getting Ahead
--[] Improved Natural Weaponry
-[] One unspent pick to carry over to Powers & Progression
- Description: A classic draconic body in the pale shimmering blues of glacial ice, with a bite that inflicts your foes with numbing cold. Your Mystic Focus is a collar forged of dark steel with black-ice spikes, and it grants you the ability to shape that same black ice into horns or spikes or spines or supernaturally-sharp talons wrapped around your normal claws. And, apparently, also adds a pair of extra heads forged from shadows - they're not quite physically there, but you can see from their eyes, and their bite carries your venom even if it doesn't exactly leave visible wounds, so... close enough, right?
- QM commentary: Another one I designed on the basis of 'hey, this would look neat!' Though, admittedly, a lot of the effect will have to wait until you can actually get your Mystic Focus working.
-[] Statline: Artifice Dragon
-[] Gliding Wings
-[] Light Build
-[] Mystic Focus
--[] Rapid Reflexes
--[] Improved Natural Weaponry
- Description: There's not, at first glance, actually that much that says 'dragon' about you; your scales are a mottled dark green most places, fading to a pale yellow-green along your belly, while your wings are dark brown and rest wrapped around you like a cloak. Your focus item is a broad necklace set with shining citrine gemstones that - when activated - spark and snap with electric potential; it grants you improved speed and reflexes, as well as the ability to augment your physical attacks with lightning.
- QM commentary: If you, for whatever reason, really want to fit in with all the
[] Plan Power Overwhelming
-[] Statline: Potent Dragon
-[] Flaw: Crippled. -1 Vitality, -2 Forceful for actions involving physical force.
-[] Five unspent picks to carry over to Powers & Progression
- Description: Your body is that of a classic dragon, but battered and broken; your front right leg undersized and coated in thin grey scales; your left wing simply missing past the elbow-joint; the rest of your blackened scales are cracked, with the flesh beneath likely to glow with obvious mystic power... once you actually have some obvious mystic power, anyway.
- QM commentary: I don't actually recommend this build, but it does serve as a good example of something you could do with a flaw. Still, if you don't mind being something of a glass cannon (and, okay, just metaphorical glass until you can get your breath weaponry online), it's certainly workable...
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