Rogue Like Character Generation

I’ve been weaning my players off the sour milk of 5e and supplementing them on the udder delight of the OSR. The transition, though mostly smooth, has one chaffing point: character creation. 

 

Trying Knave 2e, Carin 2e, or Holmes Basic, my players quibbled at the random & minimal character creation process. Characters are meant to be simple and quick to make, given the lethal nature of most OSR games. But my players like their blorbos, they like feeling like a bigger part of the world a la a backstory, and they like customization (Side note: did you know there are over 40 ancestries in 5e (2014) now? Where are these guys living?) 

 

In the intersection of these two dichotomies, I present the “rogue-like” character generator. It’s fast and allows for a good deal of player choice. It’ll leave characters stronger than the typical level 1 grave robber, and the general process is compatible with any class-less system (Knave, Mausritter, Into the Odd, etc). Here’s how it works:

 

1. Generate a list of abilities. Write them down on pieces of paper or into a digital generator (I use Perchance).

1. This list should be easy to make. Steal from other classes, magic items, etc. “Turn Undead” or “Immovable Rod” are good choices. 

2. I prefer toolbox abilities that give my players more interaction with the world. I do include a few raw stat boosts for the more numerically inclined players. 
3. This is also an excellent opportunity to slip in Dark Souls world building or minimalist lore.

2. Put the paper slips in a cup and have a player pick 3. They choose 1 to keep and put the rest back. Repeat twice (or however many times you feel like being generous). 

1. This guarantees each ability is unique to a character. 

2. Very quick! It’s picking slips three times and writing it down (or just taping the paper to their character sheet). 
3. Obviously, the more abilities you hand out, the stronger the players will be.

3. Viola! The character is done. Fill out other ability scores as normal.

 

Trompe l’oeil of playing cards, matches, posters and watercolour landscapes (1903) E. Delcroix

Variants

A.    Categories. I like to put each ability into a category (Martial, Arcane, or Item/Misc.) and have the players pick one slip from each category. This ensures if someone really wants magic, they’ll always get one magic option. 

B.    Draw 5, pick 2. Players draw 5 slips and choose 2 of them. Allows for more limited choices, but since they pick two, they can guarantee the two they pick go together (as best as they can). 

C.    Leveling Up. When characters advance, they can roll for a new ability. An additional variant would be they could replace an old ability. 

D.    Ancestries. Some slips say “Elf,” “Dwarf,” “Killer Robot,” etc. with the ancestry tag. These traits can only be chosen if they haven't claimed ancestry (so no Dwarven Killer Robots). 

 

If you’re curious what list I pull from, you can take a look here. I curate it some, depending on what adventure I’m running (so nobody gets Swamp resistance in the campaign set in the desert). I stole a lot from blogs and games, so if you see something that's yours, thank you!