non-advanced adventurers

[mwsasser]

So the game describes advanced adventurers as Seasoned, Veteran, Master and Hero. Is there a label for new characters that I'm overlooking in a blond moment? Does the game have a likewise descriptive term for 250 point characters/npcs?

 

[PhilHibbs]

No, I'm pretty sure there isn't a term in the rules.

 

[mwsasser]

Well thats a bummer. It's hard to define and discriminate between new characters and commoners. Unseasoned, untried, untested? I mean you just can't call that skill level newbie or it sounds hoke.

 

[PhilHibbs]

Default. Basic. Regular. Normal. And why would "commoners" have fewer points? They just spent their 250 on stuff that adventurers don't, like Fishing, Farming, Commerce, etc.

 

[mwsasser]

I suppose thats one way of looking at it. But what if adventurers are more focused? I doubt there are many 350 point farmers out there. I'd imagine commoners were 150 point instead.

 

[Deleriad]

Unless I'm losing my marbles, aren't normal starting characters called "novice" characters?

 

[PhilHibbs]

Unless I'm losing my marbles, aren't normal starting characters called "novice" characters?

"Novice" is the Sorcery cult term for Lay Member, the competency level for 01-25% skill, and is mentioned once under Age, "It is permissible for Adventurers to be older and more experienced than the novices the Adventurer Creation rules generate", so it is used in that context but only once (although the term "seasoned", "veteran", etc. are only ever mentioned once also).

 

[Jujitsudave]

I doubt there are many 350 point farmers out there.

I believe there certainly are. That is one thing that sets this game apart from d20. The smith that has worked at his forge for 20 some odd years has skills that can create armaments of sheer mastery in runequest that can make him a valuable ally to the group.

In D20, some 5th level adventuring turd walks right into a city and because he slew a dragon he could outclass the guy at his own profession because he sticks 1 skill point per level in the right skill and take a feat on top of that. I always thought that was stupid.

This system has the best and most sensible skill system out there hands down.

 

[PhilHibbs]

I doubt there are many 350 point farmers out there.

I believe there certainly are. That is one thing that sets this game apart from d20. The smith that has worked at his forge for 20 some odd years has skills that can create armaments of sheer mastery in runequest that can make him a valuable ally to the group.

Completely agree. 40-year-old Veteran farmers with 100% Farming, and high skills in Lore (Animals), Lore (Plants), Lore (Weather), Commerce, Persistence, and Brawn are fairly common, in my opinion.

 

[mwsasser]

Well thanks for the education guys... and I really mean it, not being a smarty at all. But this does take us away from the original question. Suggestions for a label for 350 point characters and npcs?

 

[Jujitsudave]

A few for 250 would be Green, Greenhorn, Fully Trained or my favorite, Journeyman.

 

[DamonJynx]

I think "Novice" as Deleriad mentioned is fine. It's what the core rules call starting characters. Jujitsu Dave's suggestions, particularly Journeyman are well suited also.

Speaking of which, I know this is cross topic, this what the cover art of Legend portrays! Journeyman!

 

[Redcrow]

Speaking of which, I know this is cross topic, this what the cover art of Legend portrays! Journeyman!

The cover art for Legend gives me the impression that perhaps a starting character should be referred to as a "Newbie".

 

[DamonJynx]

Speaking of which, I know this is cross topic, this what the cover art of Legend portrays! Journeyman!

The cover art for Legend gives me the impression that perhaps a starting character should be referred to as a "Newbie".

As the gracious people of Thailand say, "Same, same, but different!"

 

[HalfOrc HalfBiscuit]

Personally I don't see anything wrong with the term "cannon fodder". :wink:

 

[Simulacrum]

Well, there's no "level 0" in RQ/Legend. And that's how I like it - PCs are ordinary human beings who prove themselves extraordinary through their exploits. The one distinction I make is the fact that PCs have Hero Points - which help them to succeed where others might fail.

I have never given even major NPCs Hero Points, but I appreciate there are those who do.

 

[PhilHibbs]

I have never given even major NPCs Hero Points, but I appreciate there are those who do.

The way I see it is this. At the start of a typical defeat-the-villain scenario, everything is going perfectly for the bad guys, their plan is unfolding flawlessly. This is because they spent all their Hero Points to make things this way. Then the PCs arrive, and it all starts going wrong...

 

[mwsasser]

My problem is describing characters to be used in more than one game system. So having a label meaning less than Seasoned is useful. We all call them red-shirts, cannon fodder and the like but it lacks the more "professional" sound of Seasoned, Veteran, Master and Hero.

Perhaps 'Average' will work best for me but I was hoping there was already a pre-exiting label that I could use.