Wednesday, November 27, 2024

Add an air of verisimilitude...

...to an otherwise bald and unconvincing character

Roll 3d6 for each ability score

  • Every 6 raises
  • Every 1 lowers

For each increase or decrease, roll on the charts below

+STR

  1. You strangled a dangerous beast in your crib
  2. As a youth, you won a local boxing or wrestling competition 
  3. You earned distinction in the military or local guard
  4. You did hard manual labor for many years
  5. You once saved someone from drowning. Who?
  6. You are prophesied to bring down a great power 

-STR

  1. You were malnourished in infancy
  2. You are accustomed to servants fulfilling your every need
  3. Once, you almost drowned. Who saved you?
  4. Your short stature excluded you from military service. What did you do for the war effort instead?
  5. All the muscle seems to have gone to your sibling
  6. With how thin you are, of course you had a childhood nickname

+DEX

  1. You are a well-regarded member of a professional guild
  2. You spent several years as a sailor
  3. You are an excellent cook. Who taught you?
  4. A piece of your handiwork is on display in the palace!
  5. While the evil crept past outside, you had to entertain the children—and keep them silent
  6. Everywhere you’ve made camp is marked with a small carving 

-DEX

  1. Laziness always got you in trouble as a youth
  2. Your hands were injured in a fire
  3. There is a certain art or craft you’re always practicing, though you can never master it
  4. They all think you’re a brute. They don’t know about your lovely singing voice
  5. You once lost an embarrassing duel—you’re lucky to have escaped alive
  6. The fiasco at the summer dance will haunt you for life

+CON

  1. You drank an unattended potion as a toddler
  2. When plague ravaged your town, you were untouched
  3. You have been the target of multiple unsuccessful poisonings
  4. You have a few drops of supernatural blood in your veins 
  5. You took a blow meant for another. Had the blow struck home, they would have died
  6. At the county fair, you defeated a noble in a drinking contest. How did they react?

-CON

  1. You barely survived a childhood illness
  2. A wizard’s dying curse is slowly eating you from the inside
  3. You were once tortured half to death. By whom?
  4. During the famine, you went without so others could eat
  5. You lived rough for a time. What did the gutters teach you?
  6. The experiments left your body scarred and different

+INT

  1. You said your first word the day you were born 
  2. You studied under a famous tutor
  3. You have published a book! What’s the title?
  4. You have an academic rival who would do anything to outshine you
  5. How viciously the other children tormented you for your intellect!
  6. In your youth you won a public debate against a more established scholar 

-INT

  1. You spent your youth shielded from the harsh realities of life
  2. You left your hometown to flee your reputation as a dunce
  3. Your parents raised you to be suspicious of learned folk
  4. You second-guessed the boss, and you were vindicated
  5. Someone close to you died because a fool surgeon thought he knew better than the local medicine-woman
  6. The smart thing would have been to keep your head down and cooperate. That’s not your style

+WIS

  1. You were born under a star of good fortune 
  2. You bear the blessing of a supernatural being
  3. In your youth, you met and befriended a mystic beast
  4. You have six older siblings. So did one of your parents 
  5. They demanded you publicly condemn your best friend. Did you?
  6. Before you were old enough to walk, the witch-hunters came and tried to take you away 

-WIS

  1. You were born under a star of ill fortune
  2. You were born with a vestigial twin. Although it was successfully amputated, folk regard you with suspicion
  3. A supernatural being cursed you in infancy
  4. In your youth, you accidentally killed a mystic beast
  5. You come from a highly magical family. You’ve always been a disappointment
  6. You have regular dreams of cosmic doom

+CHA

  1. You were found in the wilderness as an infant, adopted by loving parents
  2. As a child, you led a gang of your friends on wild adventures
  3. You are the rightful holder of a noble title
  4. You married well. To whom?
  5. When enemies threatened, all your peers looked to you
  6. You once made a boast that nearly got you killed

-CHA

  1. As a youth, you and your friends participated in a great hunt. Long after everyone else had given up, you persisted and brought home the prey
  2. A dear friend or love abandoned your in your time of greatest need
  3. In the eyes of the establishment, you are an oathbreaker 
  4. A powerful foe is hunting you
  5. You are banished from your hometown. Why?
  6. You were raised far from civilization 


No comments:

Post a Comment

Add an air of verisimilitude...