Editing Character:Naeem of the Brave Water

[[Category:Character|Naeem of the Brave Water]]

A character for ''Runequest'', created by Shadowjack.

Just a simple farmer turned sorcerer's apprentice.

=== Introduction ===

RuneQuest – one of the old classics, by Chaosium and Avalon Hill. I've heard of it, but never played it. (In fact, I'm not entirely sure where my copy of these rules came from.) I had to read through a bit to get a feel for what it's about – not for setting, which is clearly a complicated member of the BRP family, which I am familiar with – but for setting, and character types. I'm intrigued to see some odd character types mentioned – Primitive fisherman? Barbarian farmer? That's different. I like it. However, I'll be using the full random character creation system, so I probably won't have much choice…

=== Campaign === 

It seems I have two choices here: dive into the back of the book and go for Glorantha, or just use the "fantasy Europe" setting (which looks like a Conan-influenced Dark Ages). Fantasy Europe sounds like fun. Let's go all-out sword-and-sorcery, and set it in African ("Aethiopia" or "Libya" here). Decadent slave-trading kingdoms and mysterious sorcerous towers and the like. I'll make a local caught up in dangerous events, rather than a northern barbarian looking for trouble. 

=== Character Stats ===

==== Personal Information ====

''Adventurer Name:'' Naeem of the Brave Water<br>
''Species:'' Human<br>
''Gender:'' Male<br>
''Age:'' 22 years old<br>
''Culture:'' Civilized<br>
''Religion:'' Sorcery<br>
''Homeland:'' Garama<br>
''Parents' Occupation:'' Farmers<br>
''Adventurer Occupation:'' Farmer<br>

==== Characteristics ====

''Strength (STR):'' 9<br>
''Constitution (CON):'' 13<br>
''Size (SIZ):'' 11<br>
''Intelligence (INT):'' 16<br>
''Power (POW):'' 14<br>
''Dexterity (DEX):'' 10<br>
''Appearance (APP):'' 9<br>

==== Attributes ====

''Magic Points (MP):'' 14 (recovery rate 0.6 points per hour)<br>
''Fatigue Points (FP):'' 22<br>
''Hit Points (HP):'' 12 (Head 4, Chest 5, Abdomen 4, Left Arm 3, Right Arm 3, Left Leg 4, Right Leg 4)<br>
''Damage Modifier (DM):'' 0<br>
''Strike Ranks:<br>
:''DEX Strike Rank:'' 3<br>
:''SIZ Strike Rank:'' 2<br>
:''Melee Strike Rank Modifier:'' 5<br>

==== Skills ====

'''Agility''' ''(-1%)''<br>
:Boat (04)<br>
:Climb (46)<br>
:Dodge (04)<br>
:Jump (31)<br>
:Ride (04)<br>
:Swim (14)<br>
:Throw (38)<br>
<br>
'''Communication''' ''(+8%)''<br>
:Fast Talk (27)
:Orate (13)
:Sing (13)
:Speak Languages<br>
::Speak Own Language (Libyan) (38)<br>
::Other (00)<br>
<br>
'''Knowledge''' ''(+6%)''<br>
:Animal Lore (32)<br>
:Craft (16)<br>
::Craft Wood (23)<br>
:Evaluate (11)<br>
:First Aid (37)<br>
:Human Lore (25)<br>
:Martial Arts (00)<br>
:Mineral Lore (25)<br>
:Plant Lore (39)<br>
:Read/Write Language (00)<br>
:Shiphandling (00)<br>
:World Lore (32)<br>
<br>
'''Manipulation''' ''(+6%)''<br>
:Conceal (11)<br>
:Devise (25)<br>
:Sleight (11)<br>
:Play Instrument (00)<br>
<br>
'''Perception''' ''(+9%)''<br>
:Listen (41)<br>
:Scan (48)<br>
:Search (41)<br>
:Track (14)<br>
<br>
'''Stealth''' ''(-5%)''<br>
:Hide (05)<br>
:Sneak (05)<br>
<br>
==== Magic ====

'''Magic Skills''' ''(+10%)''<br>
:Ceremony (17)<br>
:Enchant (00)<br>
:Summon (12)<br>
:Duration (00)<br>
:Intensity (00)<br>
:Multispell (00)<br>
:Range (00)<br>
'''Spells'''<br>
:Treat Wounds (20)<br>
:Palsy (19)<br>

==== Weapons ====

''Attack Modifier:'' +6%<br>
''Parry Modifier:'' +6%<br>
<br>
''Fist:'' A45/P45<br>
''Grapple:'' A31/P31<br>
''Head Butt:'' A16/P16<br>
''Kick:'' A21/P21<br>
''Axe 2H:'' A21/P21<br>
''Dagger:'' A28/P28<br>
''Scythe:'' A23/P23<br>
''Shortsword:'' A31/P31<br>
''Sling:'' A31<br>
''Spear 2H:'' A26/P26<br>

==== Equipment ====

100 pennies in food<br>
20 pennies in coins<br>
Linen and wool clothing<br>
Knife<br>
100 pennies in farm tools<br>
Ox<br>
Sack<br>
50m rope<br>
Firemaker<br>

=== Character Description ===

Naeem grew up along a great river, working his family's plot, and tending the Imperial fields when the floods came. However, he had the touch of destiny – there was an intensity in his gaze and an acuteness in his questions which kept his neighbors away from him. Because of this, he has yet to marry. One night, he followed a dream to the outskirts of his village. There he stood in amaze as raiders swept in and burned it to the ground. <br>

His family escaped alive, but their livelihood had been destroyed. And so, turning his backs on them, he directed his steps toward the great city of Garama, hoping to learn a better way of life. There he was spotted in the labor pool, and purchased as a bondsman by a great sorcerer, who thinks to test the young man for his worth as an apprentice. If he can survive the tests, that is…<br>

Naeem's main motivation is power. He doesn't want to be a simple farmer, at the mercy of raiders and tax collectors. If he's going to be at anyone's mercy, at least it should be someone ''worth'' hating, like a king or demon. He's trying hard to develop the necessary cruelty and ruthlessness to make a proper sorcerer.<br>

=== Commentary ===

Man, Runequest has a LOT of numbers to juggle. Fortunately, there is a comprehensible logic to it, making it fairly straight-forward. Though a few paragraphs of the rules aren't as clear as they could be; I had some confusion with the weapon skill rules, for example. But despite that, character creation was relatively easy, if time-consuming. I understand now what is meant when Runequest is described as a very detailed game system. <br>

I note that the game is oriented toward young and inexperienced initial characters, though not without ''some'' skill. You have virtually no choice in your starting abilities and equipment. It does look like an experienced player is more able to make a more experienced character, which is an interesting approach to 21st-century eyes. It makes sense in the context of many of the earlier RPGs, however, where character experience and player experience were assumed to be closely linked. <br>

For some reason, the creative juices weren't with me creating this character, perhaps because of the lack of choices. Stat-wise, he'd be a natural as a magician, so I decided to pull a twist on the ol' "village destroyed by raiders" trope and send him off to apprentice. I had some slight inspiration from another PC in a play-by-post game I was in once – a real asshole of a young mage, who was obviously destined for interesting trouble, and possibly even greatness.