I put together a Villager character sheet as a joke for a campaign, in the first meeting it became clear that the DM…

I put together a Villager character sheet as a joke for a campaign, in the first meeting it became clear that the DM…

I put together a Villager character sheet as a joke for a campaign, in the first meeting it became clear that the DM and I both really enjoyed my throw away villager and with how suspicious it made the veterans in our group I had to keep him. Now I am busily trying to flesh out this character sheet I filled to the brim with useless moves and references to Discworld and Game of Thrones.

The main concept behind The Villager is that he just looks like a normal every day guy, and that allows him to go unnoticed through towns gathering rumors and knowledge. He is not going to be a star on the battlefield but he should be able to go amongst the common people and learn things no other hero could, not using the charisma and bravado of a Paladin or Bard but using the wisdom of the ages, and maybe some liquid courage.

Large chunks of bold text are things I think need to be replaced, all caps are comments. What do you guys think of what I have so far, and do you have any ideas for advanced moves or bonds?  Discworld and Game of Thrones references are still VERY welcome.

28 thoughts on “I put together a Villager character sheet as a joke for a campaign, in the first meeting it became clear that the DM…”

  2. Recommendations:Change the drunk move from “Whiskey” to “Nanny Ogg’s Apple Jack”. Consider changing the minuses from drunk to conditions rather than attribute damage. 

    Malnourished + Naturalist are a weird combination – I can make a ration, but i only need to eat half? Also, there’s so far no mechanic for half a ration, so that’s an increased bit in the system. Maybe just exept you from it when making camp, as per the Ranger human move?

    Stats: You’ve got them starting with a 17, while 16 is the norm. Intentional or typo?

  4. You’re right about malnourished + Naturalist, I should  rethink one or both of those since they both try to accomplish the same thing.  Using the Ranger’s wording maybe those should be combined into: “When you make camp in a Village or farmland, you don’t need to consume a ration.”

    Stats: 17,15,13,11,9,8 is the normal distribution on the base sheets.

    If I drank Nanny Ogg’s apple jack I would have to sing a song about a wizard’s staff having a knob at the end, and I think that would probably offend both the Wizard and the Bard!

  5. Stats: Its 16. I just looked at a sheet. I think 17 was in a prior version.

    I’d keep Naturalist, as its got a great flavor. You still have to get the ration, and still need time. I like that. Maybe even call it a substitute ration or something, to power home that it isn’t very good.

    Oh, idea: You could change human to “common people”, or something. Such that, if the campaign is in elven lands, you’re an elf. And if its in dwarven lands, you’re a dwarf.

  6. For the Man’s Best Friend, maybe a list of questions:

    Where is the part of town they fear?

    Where is there good scavenging?

    Where can you shelter safely for the night?

  7. hm, I grabbed the character sheets that I am editing off of github are those not the latest?  I will have to look at the DM’s sheets to see what the stats look like for the other characters.

  9. Michael Atlin  good suggestions! I should probably change the name of that one too.  

    William Nichols I haven’t seen the Pit Slave, I will look for it.  I am not above shamelessly stealing someone else’s good ideas.  Streetwise on this sheet came from an Assassin character sheet I found here.

  12. Adam Koebel  Nope, I will need to revisit the alignment texts when I get home. When I initially wrote the character sheet the goal was to have text in the important places so it looked like a valid character at a glance, not to have a working class. Now, I am trying to fix it and make it the fun class I think it can be! 

  18. I am super stoked by all of the responses I got today, and really appreciate all of the feedback.  I have incorporated that feedback in and updated the PDF, you should be able to click above and see the updated version. Let me know if there are any issues. 

    I have updated the alignments, the race,  the starting and advanced moves. There is still more work to be done in the advanced moves,  and the bonds are pretty generic.  Let me know what you guys think of my updates!

  20. I like the idea of quick learner. Here’s another implementation:

    Quick Learner: You can mimic some skills and abilities you see, albeit imperfectly. When you spend a day with experienced and highly competent individuals, roll + Wis. On a 10+, hold 3+ GM holds 1. On a 7-9, hold 1 + GM holds 1. On a 6, the GM holds 1. 

    Either you or the GM may use this hold to activate the results of a move you have seen used when it would be triggered.

    — That needs some wordsmithing, but I like the idea — you can do things, but don’t always know what’ll happen, and the GM can help you mess up.

  21. Oh, and bonds. Maybe:

    x is not from around here, and is not trusted by the common people.

    x is well known to the village, and I have heard stories that make even the elders blush.

    I will keep my eyes on x, who dallied with my cousin.

    I have much to learn from x.

    Maybe more hp? I think they are at wizard HP now.

    XP, Good. Would it be better if it was “Act according to your station”, or something like that?

    Simpleton: Is this a get out of a fight free card? Then make it more obvious, maybe “When you defuse a tense situation by looking simple …. “

    Just some ideas. I like it.

  22. Giovanni Lanza No real reason, I just haven’t come up with good ones.  The ones I have in there are generic bonds I copied from other classes.  In my campaign I plan on making my bonds based on how character react to having a villager in their party, maybe long term that will fold back into this sheet. In our first session, the trust bond has already come up.  It turns out veteran RPG players expect trickery when the DM and a player have conspired to create a “Villager” player. 😀

    William Nichols I like those bonds, especially “I have much to learn from x.” 

    For HP, I think Constitution will be seen as a main stat, with the alcohol based moves being based off of Roll+CON.  If you put 15 or 13 into Constitution I don’t think the villager will be too bad off, but I wasn’t sure that he should have as much as the other classes.  maybe 5+Constitution would be better.

    I will revisit the Simpleton and Man’s Best Friend tonight and hopefully finish off the Level 2-5 advanced moves.

  23. I am looking at Brewer and Distiller and thinking that those two Moves don’t feel right. 

    The goal is to make alcohol something the villager has to maintain a steady supply of, like poisons for a thief.  The problem with that is alcohol is the Villager’s armor, at least until he finds some hides. 

    Making wine and brewing beer are things that happen over the course of weeks (or longer!) We can always purchase ale, or a new bottle of moonshine but that digs into the bottom line.

    I feel like I should include the time/space/equipment commitment somehow but I then the move needs to result in enough product to maintain that.  There is some precedent for things that take weeks (Rituals), but is that something I should build into a move?  What do you guys think?

  24. Maybe the first level is Boozehound.  You can always find a still operating somewhere.  And then the 6-10 level version is a ritual that allows you to make a variety of alcoholic beverages with various properties, like the thief’s poison.  All of them will get you drunk, though.

  25. Stats: 17,15,13,11,9,8 is the normal distribution on the base sheets.

    No longer true.  That’s the Red Book version, I believe.

    The current distribution of stats, in the RAW, is:

    16(+2), 15(+1), 13(+1), 12(0), 9(0), 8(-1).

  27. I have updated the PDF yet again, I think now the moves for levels 1-5 are in pretty good shape. I am still not 100% sure about Brewer/Distiller, but I am leaving them as is for now. Once again, thank you all very much for your feedback, and please don’t hesitate to continue!

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