Hârnview/1st Edition/22

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HÂRNVIEW - Character Generation
 


Bringing Existing Characters to Harn[edit | edit source]

If the players already have characters that they have been using in another environment, then the gamemaster must decide whether such characters are to enter Harn, or whether new characters should be generated. If existing characters are to enter Harn, then the game master will have to decide on exactly what basis. The means of getting to Harn are left up to the gamemaster (see: Godstones [hx] for one possible method). If a character coming to Harn is exceptionally powerful or very wealthy, the gamemaster might wish to modify his abilities so that they are more in keeping with "magic-weak" and "money-poor" Harn.

Getting Born on Harn[edit | edit source]

The tables in the next section (CHARACTER GENERATION TABLES ) are used for getting a character born on Harn. They are not in any way complete character generation tables; they deal only with background items particular to Harn. These items include race, birthplace, social status etc. Personal attributes, such as strength, constitution etc. must be determined in accordance with the rule system employed. They can be used to add Harnic characteristics to already existing characters, to start the generation of completely new characters or for the Gamemaster to generate NPC's.

Using the Tables[edit | edit source]

The following tables are supplied:

Species
Sex
Birthdate
Nation and Birthplace
Social Class
Occupation
Blood Relation to Clanhead
Estrangement

The first four tables need no explanation. The last four introduce some unique concepts to character generation.

Clan & Clanhead[edit | edit source]

On Harn, a character's starting social position in life is determined by his family and his relationship to it. Based on the birthplace, birthdate and knowledge of the society the character is born into, the Gamemaster should decide if the character belongs to an unextended family or an extended family. Unextended families (nuclear families) usually have the father as the head (or mother in the case of matriarchial societies). Extended families can have an elder such as a grandfather as the leader or, in the case of clans a kind of chief. To refer to this person we use the term clanhead and to refer to the family structure we use the term clan.

Social position is determined by the social position of the clanhead and a character's relationship to that clanhead. The clanhead's social class and occupation are determined from the tables. The last two tables will show how the character is related to the clanhead and how much in favour he is. In the use of the Blood Relation table it is necessary to distinguish between extended and unextended families, because in an unextended family it is possible to be a distant relative of the clanhead but in an unextended family the clanhead is normally the father.

Father & Mother[edit | edit source]

As explained, the clanhead may not necessarily be the father or mother. In this case, the tables may also be used to determine whatever parental status has not already been generated or implied.

The Gamemaster should use discretion in these tables and reject any possibities that may not be· meaningful. For example if a character's clanhead is a slave, the relationship may be redundant - is there any difference in being the son of a slave or the unacknowledged bastard son?

Leaving Home[edit | edit source]

When a character leaves home, the help (eg; money, supplies etc.) he receives from his family should depend on several factors, the wealth of his clan, his relation (both blood and social) and so on. Whether the clan approves of the character's objectives will also be of pnme importance. It is very hard to save money, so the cash available for would-be adventurers is small (a generous and loving clanhead might be able to give about a month's income; this would mean some hardship to the family, of course). The solution is for the fledgling hero to earn his "stake", his outfitting money, through honest labour (player-characters will usually do this during the· pregame) if possible. In any event, with good Gamemastering, being employed in the right kind of job can in itself be an adventure. Pregame hints follow these tables.

Species[edit | edit source]

We recommend that all player-characters be human; J use this table to generate non-player characters only. Roll 1d100.

ROLL SPECIES/SUBSPECIES 01-89 90 91 92-93 94 95-97 98 99 00

Human Sindarin (Elf) Khuzdul (Dwarf) Gargun : Gargu-arak (Sma11 or Streaked Ore) Gargun : Gargu-kyani (White Ore) Gargun : Gargu-hyeka (Common or Brown Ore) Gargun : Gargu-viasal (Red Ore) Garglln : Gargu-khanu (Great or Black Ore) Other - Optional at szamemaster discretion

Sex[edit | edit source]

In most cultures a characters's sex is socially significant and male and female will differ in obvious ways. We recomend that players always have characters of their own sex, although the following table can be used for any character. Roll percentile dice and cross-index the result with the appropriate species:

SEX HUMAN SINDARIN KHUZDUL GAR GUN Male 01-48 01-45 01-75 01-99 Female 49-00 46-00 76-00 00

Birth Date[edit | edit source]

A character's year of birth must be assigned by the GM, in the case of a player, after the pregame. Consult Tuzyn Reckoning [hx], roll ldl2 for month and 1d30 to generate day.