Mano a Mano:Character Creation

Character Creation

Typically one player - the GM (Game Master) will tell the other players to create characters with a certain CP (Character Point) allowance from a list of templates. (See Gameplay/Players and Characters and Game Design/Templates.) CP allowance and the list of template's players can use to design their characters depends on the specific game being played.

To create a character, you need a pencil and a character sheet. Customize the character by choosing a template, name, age, sex, build, abilities and equipment. (You may also be able to give the character weaknesses, such as missing limbs or disabilities.) The total CP of these options must not be greater than your Character Point allowance (See Character Creation/Character CP.)

Name   Age   Sex   Template   Occupation(s)
Abilities & Qualities   Modifier     /       /       /       /       /       /       /       /       /       /       /       /	Mass   /   kg Length   /   m Length Type   Variability     Speed   /   Agility   /   Strength   /   Toughness   /     CP Value   /
Equipment & Natural Defenses   Features   Mass   Heft   Power   Attack   Defense       kg               kg               kg               kg               kg               kg               kg               kg               kg               kg
Carrying Capacity   kg Equipment Mass   kg Encumbrance   Ground Movement   m Water Movement   m Air Movement   m Best Absorption   Total Cover   Grapple Attack   Melee Defense   Missile Defense   Grapple Defense
Stun Stamina   Damage

Extra CP

Total CP

A character's total CP value is the sum of the character's template CP and extra CP. Total CP must not be greater than your Character Point allowance. (See Game Design/Templates/Template CP.)

Extra CP

Extra CP is the sum of the character's extra ability, qualities, toughness, power, agility and speed CP.

Maimed Characters

A character who has lost (or never had) the use of a limb may have the lame quality, missing natural weapons or reduced natural weapon quantity. Typically, players need the GM's permission to create characters with missing or disabled limbs. If the character's natural weapons are different from their template, recalculate their template CP. (See Game Design/Players and Characters, Game Design/Abilities/Disabilities and Game Design/Templates/Template CP.)

Extra Ability CP

Ability CP is ability level times ten. An extra ability modifier of 1 (student) is worth 10 CP, 2 (expert) is worth 20 CP, 3 (master) is worth 30 CP and 4 (legend) is worth 40 CP.

Extra Quality CP

If a character has extra qualities beyond what his template defaults to, use the CP normally used for template qualities.

Extra Toughness CP

Each point of extra toughness is worth 3 CP. Extra toughness can be positive or negative. For example -3 extra toughness is worth -9 CP.

Extra Power CP

Each point of extra power is worth 5 CP. Extra power can be positive or negative. For example -2 extra power is worth -10 CP.

Extra Agility CP

The CP value of 1 extra agility is 20 CP. The CP value of -1 extra agility is -20 CP.

Extra Speed CP

If speed is 1/4, 1/2, or 1, doubling speed is worth 20 CP. If speed is 1/2 or 1, halving speed is worth -20 CP. If speed is more than 1, one additional speed is worth 20 CP.

Choose a Template

Select a template with a CP no greater than your Character Point allowance. The selection of templates depends on the game you are playing. Record the template's CP as the character's template CP. Copy the template's speed, agility, power, health, abilities, disabilities and modifiers.

Description

Make up a name for your character. If the template name includes sex' or age category copy these as age and sex on the character sheet; Otherwise, choose the age of the character and a sex appropriate to the template, usually "male" or "female". Age can be described in years or as a category such as "child", "youth", "adult", "old", or "ancient". You may also invent a more detailed description and background for your character, appropriate to the game being played. Certain parts of a character's description may be limited or described differently in various games or for specific templates. Some Templates may be sexless, or height may be replaced by length or wingspan.

Missing Limbs

If the game allows, the one or more of the character's limbs could be missing or crippled. If the missing or crippled limb is a natural weapon, reduce the weapon's quantity (Qty) by 1. If the missing or crippled limb limb is important to movement, give the character 1 or more levels of Lame disability.

Build

Choose a build from the following list or from a list of builds provided by the template, game or GM. Some templates may have a list of builds which is different from the following example. Mechanical characters may be built to exact specifications and have no build variations, while some animals vary in size more than others.

Add the agility, health and power modifiers for the build to the values copied from the character's template. When a build changes a character's power their half power needs to be recalculated, so the power modifiers here also increase or decrease the character's half power by half as much. If a character's template's power is listed as "2-5" the "powerful" build will give the character +2 power and +1 half power, and you would write the character's new power as "3-7".

Choose a length in the range of length values on the character sheet. Copy the length type ("height", "length", "wingspan", etc.) from the template to the space next to the length on the character sheet.

Choose a mass in the range of masses on the character sheet, or outside the range as suggested by the character's build. In the following list, "less than template range" means the character's mass should be between half of the build's minimum mass and the build's minimum mass. "More than template range" means the character's mass should be between the template's maximum mass and twice the template's maximum mass.

	Build	Power		Health		Agility		Mass
	Small Builds
	small	-2		-4		+1		less than template range
	small and powerful	0		-4		+1		less than template range
	small and tough	-2		0		+1		less than template range
	Weaker Builds
	feeble	-2		-4		-1		less than template range
	puny	-2		-4		0		less than template range
	delicate	0		-4		0		within template range
	wimpy	-2		0		0		within template range
	Typical Builds
	fast (light)	0		0		+1		within template range (less than average)
	normal	0		0		0		within template range
	slow (heavy)	0		0		-1		within template range (more than average)
	Athletic Builds
	fast and tough	0		+4		+1		within template range
	fast and powerful	+2		0		+1		within template range
	tough	0		+4		0		within template range
	powerful	+2		0		0		within template range
	Large Builds
	big	+2		+4		-1		more than template range
	big and fast	+2		+4		0		more than template range
	big and very fast	+2		+4		+1		more than template range

Character Abilities

Abilities

You may give the character new abilities from the list of abilities the game or template allows you to develop.

Disabilities

You may choose as many disabilities as the game allows.

Ability Levels

A character's ability modifiers are their template's ability modifiers plus their ability levels. Or in other words, a character's ability level is the difference between their personal ability modifiers and their template's ability modifiers. A template may impose a limit on how many ability levels a character can develop.

Health

A character's health is the sum of the character's two highest athletic ability modifiers plus one. (See Action/Damage.)

Health/2

A character's health/2 is half of the character's health, rounded down. (See Action/Damage.)

Grip

Grip is a character's power plus their strength ability modifier. Grip is the heft of the biggest weapons the character can wield easily. Any weapons larger than this are unwieldy. Unwieldy weapons may only be used to do one quick action per turn (and no powerful actions.) A heavy weapon may increase a character's encumbrance penalty too, reducing speed and movement.

CC (Carrying Capacity) CC is the amount of equipment a character can carry without encumbrance. CC is determined by the character's grip.	Grip	CC		Grip	CC		Grip	CC
	0	0 g		9	50 kg		18	10 tonnes
	1	500 g		10	100 kg		19	20 tonnes
	2	1 kg		11	200 kg		20	30 tonnes
	3	2 kg		12	300 kg		21	50 tonnes
	4	3 kg		13	500 kg		22	100 tonnes
	5	5 kg		14	1 tonne		23	200 tonnes
	6	10 kg		15	2 tonnes		24	300 tonnes
	7	20 kg		16	3 tonnes		25	500 tonnes
	8	30 kg		17	5 tonnes		26	1000 tonnes

Choosing Occupations

You may be able - or required - to give your character one or more occupations. Occupations give the character advantages, disadvantages, duties or privileges. A character may have any occupations as long as they meet the requirements for those occupations. The game may impose additional limitations, like a minimum or maximum number of occupations. (See Game Design/Occupations.)

Character Equipment

The power of a natural weapon is the character's total power. The combat modifier (Cmb) of a natural weapon is the character's total agility modifier plus total unarmed combat ability modifier. (See Game Design/Abilities/Other Abilities.)

The character usually begins with the basic equipment required by his occupation. The game or GM may give the character additional equipment or money to buy equipment. A character's modifiers when using an item are listed in the equipment section of the character sheet. These are determined by comparing the character's modifiers to the item's modifiers, and may be different from the values listed on the equipment list for that item. (See Game Design/Equipment and Character Development/Inventory Management.)

Encumbrance and Movement

Equip. Mass (equipment mass)

Add up the mass of all of the character's equipment and write the total here.

Encumbrance

Encumbrance is the character's equipment mass divided by the character's CC and rounded down. If the character's CC is 10 and his total equipment mass is 29 then his encumbrance is 2. (29 divided by 10 is 2.9, and 2.9 rounded down is 2.) Encumbrance reduces a character's movement.

Spd-Enc (speed minus encumbrance)

Speed minus encumbrance, along with stride and movement abilities, determines a character's ground, water, air and climbing movement.

Stride

Stride is one plus the character's running ability modifier minus their lame disability modifier. This is used to determine a character's ground movement.

Ground

If a character's stride is greater than zero, their ground movement is their stride multiplied by their Spd-Enc. If the character's stride is 0, their ground movement is 1. If the character's stride is less than 0, their ground movement is 0. (See Action/Movement.)

Water

Water movement is Spd-Enc multiplied by swimming ability modifier. (See Action/Movement.)

Air

Only characters who can fly have air movement. Air movement is either Spd-Enc multiplied by flight ability modifier or ground movement, whichever is greater. (See Action/Movement.)

Climbing

While climbing, movement is Spd-Enc multiplied by the longest reach of the character's hands or 0.5 m whichever is longer. (See Game Design/Templates/Natural Weapons and Action/Movement.)

Make a Character - Character Generation Example

This example explains how to make a playable character. Consult the game-specific rules or the Game Master (GM) to find out what Templates and how many Character Points (CP) you can use to make characters. (See Character Creation.) The player starts generating the character with a "template" for the kind of character he is making.

1. Choose the Type of Character You Want to Make

Here we'll assume that we are allowed to use 201 total CP to make a single character whose template is "human." After subtracting the CP value of the template (155 CP) we still have 46 CP to customize the character. (See Game Design/Make a Template.)

human, 75 kg, 1.7 m height, medium variability, 155 CP
1 speed, 0 agility, 3 strength, 5 toughness, 5 running
2 hands (hand)
2 feet

2. Choose the Character's Build

Now we look at Steven's Template to see how it affects his dimensions and modifiers. Steven is a Human, so his height will be between 1.4 m and 2.0 m (within 20% of 1.7m), and his weight should be between 38 kg and 150 kg (50% to 200% of 75 kg.) We decide to make Steven a short-and-stocky tough guy: 1.6 m tall and 95 kg. We give him 2 extra points of toughness, which uses up 6 CP. Steven's agility (0), speed (1), strength (3) and running (5) will remain unchanged from the Human template. Steven's stamina is 14 (two times his toughness.)

3. Use the Remaining CP to Customize the Character Now we will make Steven more competent and interesting by distributing the rest of his CP. After spending 6 CP to give Steven extra toughness, we have 40 CP remaining for enhancements. We decide that Steven does not have any disabilities or missing limbs, so we'll just distribute the rest of the CP among Steven's abilities. We give him a new one-handed weapons ability with a modifier of 4 (20 CP.) We use 10 CP to give Steven an extra craftsmanship ability modifier of 2. We use the remaining 10 CP to give Steven an extra natural weapons ability modifier of 2. The Human template does not have a one-handed weapons, craftsmanship or natural weapons modifier, so we write a 0 in the right side of the Modifier column for each ability.

6 extra toughness (+2) 20 one-handed weapons (+4) 10 craftsmanship (+2) 10 natural weapons (+2) + 155 template CP 201 total CP value

4. Occupation and Equipment

Steven meets the minimum qualifications to be a Robber. We decide this suits the personality we envision for Steven, so we make his occupation "Robber". This occupation does not give Steven any equipment, but he has made a "machete". (See Game Design/Occupations/Occupation Examples and Character Development/Making Equipment/Equipment Generation Example.)

machete (81 CP, 0.5 kg, 3 heft, 5 power, sharp)

Steven only has one machete, so we list the item's name as "1 machete". We copy the item's features (just "sharp"), mass (0.5 kg), and heft (3) to Steven's character sheet. Steven's machete has an attack modifier of 4: Steven's agility (0) plus Steven's one-handed weapons ability (2). Steven's machete has a defense of 14: Steven's agility (0) plus Steven's one-handed weapons ability (2) plus 10. The machete's power is 5 and Steven's total strength is 3. Steven's machete power is the highest of these two values (5).

We also fill in the power, attack and defense of Steven's natural weapons. The power of his hands and feet is Steven's total strength, which is 4.. Steven's hands and feet have an attack modifier of 2: his agility plus his natural weapons ability (2). Steven's hands and feet have a defense of 12: his agility (0) plus his natural weapons ability (2) plus 10.

5. Grapple, Defense, Armor

Steven's grapple attack is his 0 agility plus his 0 grappling ability plus his 3 strength, for a total of 3 grapple attack Steven's grapple defense is his 3 grapple attack plus 10, for a total of 13 grapple defense. Steven's melee defense is the best defense of all his natural weapons and hand weapons. His machete has 14 defense, while his hands and feet have only 12 defense, so his melee defense is 14. Steven's missile defense is his agility (0) plus 10, which is 10 (10 + 0 = 10). Steven has no armor so his best absorption and total cover are 0.

Steven, adult male human robber, 95 kg, 1.6 m height, 201 CP
1 speed, 0 agility, 3 strength, 7 toughness, 14 stamina, 5 running
2 unarmed combat, 4 one-handed weapons, 2 craftsmanship
2 hands (hand, 3 power, 2 attack, 12 defense)
2 feet (3 power, 2 attack, 12 defense)
1 machete (sharp, 0.5 kg, 3 heft, 5 power, 4 attack, 14 defense)
14 melee defense, 10 missile defense, 13 grapple defense, 3 grapple attack
0 best absorption, 0 total cover, ____ stun, ____ damage