See the page for BESM right here. I plan on adding to it as this game progresses because that page needs so much more love.
This live blog will be updating weekly after the first game starts.
BESM (3rd edition) is basically role playing that can fit any setting. It has a large amount of customization based around a point buy system. The draw back to this is that it's rather easy to break the game with certain combinations. However, we're not here to do that, we're here to play some dude/dudette of possibly questionable gender due to some androgynous looks that crushes the universe using Mons/High Powered Martial Arts/Concentrated Will Power/Exceptionally Good Aim With a Gun/etc. Long story short, if you can think of it, the system can incorporate it.
About the actual mechanics. It has a lot of similarities to D&D, having skill checks outside of combat and inside of combat being turned based with initiative (and maybe squares). This means the usual initiative, combat actions, and abilities. BESM does have more complicated rules, but we're sticking to the simple stuff to maximized speed of the game. However, there is one key difference between D&D and BESM besides character creation, while D&D uses a 1d20 system for checks, BESM uses 2d6. In other words, you can go from rolling a 2 to a 12, but without the even chance of any particular number coming out. This means it's more likely to hit the middle amount and with only a range of 10, there's less variability in this system.
So here's the deal, I really don't have any well defined ideas for characters going into this campaign, which, well, if you don't have a character with at least a few quirks, the campaign is going to be boring for you. Instead, I leave it to you tropers to come up with this stuff for me. In exchange for developing a character for me (and having control of how that character further develops with various points put into him/her/it), I'm going to give you that character's story in this universe.
Rules of this universe according to the DM:
- Fantasy Kitchen Sink is in full effect
- Everything is PG-13 or below
- It's vaguely modern day, however, nothing exceedingly different from our world (yet anyway)
- It's set in a vaguely American/Japanese city thing.
Good, yes? Okay, so making a character in BESM is kind of complicated because of the sheer amount of random crap you can do in it so I'm going to simplify this process. The character does technically start with 150 points to put into stats at what not, but don't worry about that. You guys just have to think up of someone, and I'll do my best to fit a character to that mold. Can't promise Goku power levels though, yet. Try to think of someone who's just got the right know how, skills, or tools to survive... something? I don't know.
For those who absolutely need to know about the character set up system, here's a few pointers:
- There are only three stats: Body (physical, health), Mind (intelligence and such), and Soul (spiritual, willpower). So a religious person will probably have a high soul while an android will have a low soul. Similarly, someone who's got lots of wisdom or knowledge will have a high mind, while cavemen will not. Body is self explanatory.
- Next is Attributes. Basically everything that your character can do. Long story short, there's a crap load of these and I'm not about to try to type out all of these. Leave this section to me.
- Skills, not nearly as bad as attributes, but serves as the less combat oriented stuff. Are you a good tennis player? You can put points into that. I'll still handle this because that's a lot of skills in there.
- Items are odd, they can be substitutes for skills and attributes, and are also customizable to an extent. However, they're usually half the cost, but in exchange can be lost, stolen, or disabled much more easily than what your character innately has. Don't think that the DM won't do it either. After a while, the DM has to set in a few rules to keep players from totally breaking the balance of the game (and it will happen!), and items are the first thing to be lost. On the other hand, having a lot of insignificant but useful items can help to avert this. Regardless, don't worry too much about it, if the character starts falling behind due to problems with items, we can improve those items and even get them permanently attached (of sorts).
And that's that for the first post. Wackiness to ensue, but first, develop me a character that's worthy of roleplaying. It is an average teenager that's just very lucky? Or a doctor who's been pulled into an alien situation and has to use his abilities to help the cause? Maybe a robot who's been made for unknown reasons?
Go ahead and discuss below this. I'll try to go for the most popular choice. And the game begins on March 19th, so no rush yet. We can fine tune him/her and I'll reveal possible attributes and what not that fit the character for you guys to choose from.
I need:
- Name (English, Japanese, Engrish, Skaali, I don't care)
- Age (Eh... let's keep them above age 14)
- Personality (Alignment? Quirks? Ideologies? Work and play?)
- Backstory (Why you're special)
- Present Description (Looks, clothes, equipment, and other special abilities)
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