Here’s something I’ve been toying with: The Level 0
I like the idea of players getting to play first and then choosing their playbook based on what they feel suits their character. I allow a great deal of flexibility when it comes to what they can do at level 0, but with some more severe consequences for failure depending on what they do.
It was originally intended as a means to start the players as kids, but you can really start as whoever you want.
For the “who is your daddy and what does he do?” move I was generating two keywords (using the mythic system) for the players to do some word association and come up with their character’s backstory.
For the “what do you wanna be when you grow up” move I was having the players draw from a deck of animal cards to inspire their character’s personality and drive.
Really any means of inspiration works though.
I’m just looking for some input on the playbook =)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/6wuaw9ril424h7b/The%20Level%200%20V1.pdf?dl=0
Funnel World has something like this as well, but more random then this. I like this playbook.
This is great. Very straight forward.
I like the idea. I love that its a d4 hit points. I’m not sure I dig the racial moves. and 11 possible bonds is a lot of slots. That being said, Grow Up Big and Strong and the history moves are exactly right.
Thanks for the input =)
It is a lot of bonds, but I wanted to cover a lot of bases so that the players would be able to have varied stories. If there are 5 players and everyone is using the same sheet, if there were only 5 bonds it would get repetitive.
In terms of the racial moves, it was intended to be a chance for players to get a +1 to something form the get-go without dictating anything specific about their nature.
I’m running a level 0 campaign right now and they’re just about to level up. I was intending to let them take the racial moves from the new playbook and ignore the old racial move as that was just supposed to represent initial racial aptitude. (if that makes any sense)
It does.
I think my issue with the bonds is, bonds are a resource. If I’ve got 20 to fill out and there are 5 players, then I can get several bonds with each player. This’d let me have +3 or +4 or even +5 to assist, and that’s no good. Mayyyybe make it “Take 3 of the following….”, since 3 is the lowest number in the main classes. Or maybe 4, to indicate the average.
Losing the +1 racial when hitting first level makes sense. I’d want everything to go to normal, with the likely exception of equipment.
It does look good.
There’s a Villager playbook out there that may be what you’re looking for.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwbHes6iNuGrdksyVUgwbmx5Yjg/view?usp=sharing
Agree with William Nichols that the # of bonds you actually get to take should be limited, probably to 3. You could arguably add even more bonds, and have a rule that any given bond can only be used by one active PC.
Love Grow Up Big and Strong. Maybe make it clear that when you assign a score to Con, your HP go (way) up?
Hey Guys, thanks for the input. I think you’re right about the bonds too. I should add a caveat that says you may assign as many bonds as there are other players in the group or something.
In terms of when you get to level 1, I was hoping to have the players choose their playbook based on who they feel their character is now. Hopefully they’ve assigned their stats in a way that suits their new book, but I would be open to a mulligan so they get what they want.
In terms of the CON adjustment to HP. Normally playbooks allow you to add your “Constitution” score to your HP, but in this case it’s telling you to add your “CON” modifier. So your overall HP might get a bit of a boost, but not much. I was actually thinking of changing the HP to 10 or 12 +CON. I’ve noticed that many monsters are able to one-shot my poor little level 0s. The would should be dangerous, but that’s just mean.
The ultimate goal of the level 0 is to help guide the player in choosing a playbook based on how they like to play, or who the character turns out to be.
I played with my wife once where she was the level 0 and she normally plays zany bard/sorcerer type characters, but it just so happened that her little halfling turned out to be a paladin! It was fun and surprising, so that’s what inspired this playbook.