# Character Creation Challenge 2024: Day 27 - Freeform Universal RPG :: Kyle Lemon, Charming Rogue tags: #thoughts/CharacterCreationChallenge/2024 #game/rpg/furpg > [!quote] [[Character Creation Challenge 2024]] > > ![[Character Creation Challenge Image.png]] I promise, I did not pick this game just to be able to say "*the FU RPG*" over and over and over and over again. I swear it's true. We've reached the 2010 strata of my digital library, where a lot of modern game design really found its early expression. It was the heyday of the [[Story Games]] mainstream success, largely remembered these days by **[[Powered by the Apocalypse|Apocalypse World]]** and its genetic descendants through **[[Blades in the Dark]]** and its successors. But there's another game that emerged at about the same time and possessed many of the same elements in terms of underlying mechanical processes and philosophy – it just wasn't nearly as pompous, self-involved, and public-masturbation-worthy as *PbtA*. It's the **[[FU RPG|Free Universal RPG]]**! Often shortened to the **FU RPG**, for reasons which are not at all obvious. They certainly had no influence *here*. ![[Free Universal RPG (cover).jpg]] As opposed to AW which comes in at a whopping 303 pages, the **FU RPG** comes in at a whopping – 23 pages, and while it doesn't specifically put its finger directly on any setting in particular, its general enough to [apply directly to your forehead](https://youtu.be/Is3icfcbmbs) and thence into any setting that might be bubbling around in there. In my opinion it's a far superior game in terms of content and expression. But you don't need to take my word for it. We'll get to that. Before we start character generation, let's decide on a setting, on a place, a time. We've done a lot of classic fantasy, so that's out. We've done hard sci-fi a couple of times, so that's out. We've done modern action cinema, so that's out. We haven't done historical fiction. How about World War II? We'll take what is often a very wargame-inspired playspace and throw in an extremely narrative set of mechanics. All sorts of insanity could fall out! I like it. It's 1943, things are getting spicy in Europe, and our group are special forces deployed ahead of the battle lines for recon, communication with partisan forces, and the occasional flash fire encounter. That's enough to start with! ## Chargen As you've probably already worked out by now, character generation in FU is a straightforward and simple affair. I know, I'm predictable that way. It's going to be quick, it's going to be clean, and I'm going to like it. ### Concept No, this isn't a lengthy, rambling description of what the character looks like, who they are, and what they want – that stuff comes later. This is just a couple of words or short phrase that gets the idea across efficiently. I can't help thinking about **[Inglorious Basterds](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0361748/)** when I think about World War II and completely gameable environments – with its clear disregard for historical accuracy and focus on good fun first and foremost, I think I'd like to pick *Charming Rogue* as my concept. We'll build off of that idea. ### Descriptors Moving right along, we have the *Descriptors*, adjectives/short phrases which describe who you are and what you're good at. We've got four of them: *Body, Mind, Edge,* and *Flaw*. It's important to note that these are innate things, things that can't be taken away. We'll get to gear later. | Descriptor | | | ---- | ---- | | Body | *Handsome* | | Mind | *Sharp Wit* | | Edge | *Persuasive* | | Flaw | *Sucker* | A charming rogue really has certain elements they must possess. It helps if they're very good looking (though an unattractive charming rogue would be fun in other contexts). They need a rapier sharp wit for that quick repartée. They can probably sell ice to Eskimos, talk their way through Nazi lines, and never sleep alone unless they want to. But it's the 40s, this is a protagonist, so he's got to be a sucker for a pretty face or a good sob story. ### Gear Moving right along with the speed of narrative, we pick our gear. We don't need an exhaustive list of everything in our pockets, just two interesting things which could come into play with game mechanical effect. Phrasing is important. We get one adjective and one noun. Make it count. - *Highly-Concealable Knife* - *False Papers* As a military man behind enemy lines who often has to play the face, it's always good to have a good sturdy blade that's hard to find about your person. You never know when someone's going to need the ribs tickled. A good set of fake papers which identify you as a believable local never hurts. ### Description This is where we pull it all together, sensibly enough. *Kirk Lemon* used to be a used car salesman^[Probably not the best name for a used car salesman but what did his parents know nearly two decades ago, anyway?] back in Jersey. Honestly, he wasn't that great at it; he's the kind of guy that flourishes in a high pressure environment. He did have a real gift for gab – and for languages, which put him on a fast-track to a parachute, the middle of Western Europe, and a handful of buddies in the greatest high-pressure environment ever made. Kirk is having the time of his life and flourishing under fire. 5'10" with the kind of build that would make a football quarterback proud, he's blonde, blue-eyed, and easy on the eyes. Whatever the locals are wearing, that's what he's in. It's a shame about that weakness to weepy dames. In five years he'll probably be drinking a lot of scotch, wearing a fedora, and investigating adulteries. In the meantime, there's Nazis to rattle. ### Drives As I've said before, this is one of my favorite parts of any character generation system, something that puts the finger directly on how games can be good. There are three questions that the FU RPG puts forward and they resonated so hard with the things that I knew from writing in 2010 that they've been burned into my psyche ever since. Three questions: - What do you want? - What's stopping you? - What will you do? They are absolutely the core of every single story that has ever been written that involves a character of any sort. If you can't answer those three questions, you don't have a character; you've got a camera. Let's get Kirk moving here: | Drives | | | ---- | ---- | | What do you want? | *To keep sticking it to "the man" (in this case, the Nazis", sometimes literally.)* | | What's stopping you? | *Usually the Nazi war machine but sometimes the military chain of command itself.* | | What will you do? | *Free Western Europe from the Nazi grip, be a thorn in the side of Allied command (cheerfully), and sweet talk partisans on the fence into Allied arms. Sometimes his.* | Really, rather self-evident though the fact that he takes a bit of pleasure in yanking the chain of the chain of command didn't occur to me until I was writing it. In retrospect, it's perfect and obvious; he's the kind of guy who flourishes in a free-form, free range environment and when the shackles of authority are slapped on he tends to chafe. ### Relationships Technically this is where we would talk about relationships with other characters played by other players at the table. I'm here all alone. It's probably for the best. Still, it's probably a good idea to put together an idea of for at least one of his teammates. *Anton Alexander, sometimes referred to as "the Sin Eater" is a military chaplain, a devout Episcopalian, and despite Kirk's love of women and drink – his best friend.*^[In the "five years from now" fictional fanfiction universe that's written about this fictional game, Anton's death is what pushes Kirk over the edge just before the Allies take Berlin, leaving him despondent and embittered before he shipped home, buys himself a cheap fedora and a cheap bottle of scotch, rents a small office, and hangs up his PI sign. He remains a sucker for a pretty face and a good sob story.] That's it. We are done. The whole thing in a nutshell. And we even have proper sheets this time! ## Character Sheet ![[Kirk Lemon, Charming Rogue (sheet).jpg]] ![[Kirk Lemon, Charming Rogue (portrait).jpg]] ## Exunt That's it for character generation. But what about conflict resolution? This is a tiny text; how in the world can they deal with mechanical resolution and still be connected to the excellent games which are part of its lineage even today? It's fairly self-evident. This table: ![[FU RPG Resolution.png]] You start by building your dice pool. It has one D6 in it. If you have a Descriptor, piece of Gear, Condition or Detail which would help you, that's an *advantage* and gives you an additional D6 and you read the single best die roll as the outcome. If you have a Descriptor, piece of Gear, Condition (most likely), or Detail that makes things harder, that's a *disadvantage* so you then add a D6 for each and read the single worst die roll as the outcome. Advantages and disadvantages cancel out so if you have two advantages and one disadvantage, you really only have one advantage so you roll 2D6 and take the best. I don't think I've ever seen a game in which disadvantages *add* to your die pool like that. I've seen plenty that tell you to take the worst outcome on the table, but none that actually add dice to make that more likely. It's really cool. Also neat, going back to the table – the bad outcomes are odd, the good outcomes or even, and if you're in improv geek, you recognize the uses of "yes, and" and "no, but." This is how harm is done by adding Conditions, it's how you are moved fictionally by the resolution mechanics, and because it's so open – it's how every roll in the system is done. That's it, basically. That's the game. It's clear that FU hooks pretty deep into some really pivotal ideas that were crystallizing at that time in game development and it's a shame that it doesn't seem to get talked about with the same reverence for its history as, say, [[Powered by the Apocalypse|PbtA]] or [[Blades in the Dark|FitD]]. There are games based on it still floating around out there but they don't get quite the traction. They are truly serious about being the *"Free, Universal RPG,"* because you can [go pick it up for free](https://perilplanet.itch.io/fu-classic). If you don't have it already, I strongly suggest you do so. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to go write up the mechanics for the Condition *"Dead"*. I don't think that should be an impediment to playing future scenes. Out!