My life on paper... Very special paper...
May. 17th, 2010 11:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eveglassFor those not in the know, it's my birthday today. (Or will be in half an hour. Close enough.) I'm a mighty, mighty 28, which quite frankly feels a lot like 27. Usually around this time of year, I'll post a "state of the Julie" update, detailing how I've been doing since last year. But I've decided that since my life has been pretty even-keel lately (with the exception of moving out of my mom's house, quitting my job, finding and quitting another, and having Marc leave in less than a week... sigh), I'd do something a little different.
I decided that this year, I'd make up a character sheet for myself. Because I'm a geek.
By "character sheet for myself," I don't mean making a new character to play with. I mean, if I were a roleplaying character that someone wanted to play, what would my stats be? I decided to use the old World of Darkness: Mortals sheet, because it's always been a fairly intuitive system for me to use, and also it's set in modern times, which is always helpful. (Though, as a SCAdian, I might actually have a few D&D skills like archery or something.)
Oddly enough, as I was drawing "myself" up, the dots worked out almost perfectly. I've got one leftover point of attributes, but abilities were spot-on. For those who are not familiar with the system, everything in World of Darkness runs on a scale of 1 to 5. For attributes, the first section of the character sheet I'm going to discuss, 2 points is considered average.
To start with, attributes. The physical attributes in WoD:Mortals are Strength, Dexterity, and Stamina. These are the easiest to judge objectively, being purely physical.
I gave myself 1 point in Strength, because I'm a weakling. The book's description is, "You can lift 40 lbs." Two dots would have been 100 lbs, and while I can technically lift that much, I can't do it for long. Also, I routinely have trouble opening jars, stuck windows, etc. So 1 point seems about right.
Dexterity in WoD is a bit broader than in D&D, but essentially encompasses the same things: speed, agility, quickness, and also manual dexterity. I've always been pretty good in this regard. I might not be graceful, but my karate training has shown that I've got a decent amount of speed. I gave myself 3 points of Dexterity.
Finally, there's Stamina. Unlike Constitution in D&D (which is a measure of overall health, and in which -- as an asthmatic -- I'm statically below average), Stamina includes toughness and resilience in addition to general health. Given that I'm pretty good at taking physical damage, at least as judged by karate experience, I decided to give myself 2 points in Stamina.
For those who are counting, that makes three points in physical attributes (the first point in each stat is considered free), making me a physical-tertiary character. Which should come as no surprise to anyone, really.
Next we've got the social attributes, Charisma, Manipulation, and Appearance. In D&D, these would all fall under the "Charisma" stat, but I like WoD for breaking it up.
Charisma is your ability to be, well, charismatic. Not necessarily to coerce others (which would fall under Manipulation), but just to generally be likeable. Since graduating high school, I've had a chance to "be myself," and I've found that I'm pretty good in this regard. When I want to, I'm quite good at making new friends. I gave myself 3 points in Charisma.
Manipulation is pretty much what you'd expect. It's your ability to convince other people to do what you want them to do, whether by outright lying or other forms of persuasion. I'm generally pretty conciliatory and don't try to manipulate my way into things, so I gave myself an average 2 points.
The final social attribute is Appearance. I consider myself right smack-dab in the middle of average, or 2 points. The book describes this as, "You don't stand out in a crowd, for better or for worse." Which is pretty accurate for me, I think.
I've therefore spent 4 points for social attributes, so that's my secondary.
Finally we've got the mental attributes, Perception, Intelligence, and Wits. These are probably even harder to judge objectively than social attributes, but I'll give it a fair shot.
I gave myself only 1 point in Perception. Let's be honest here, my perception is horrible. I routinely have to ask people to repeat themselves; when I'm walking on the street with friends, they constantly talk about people or objects we've passed that I managed to completely miss; and I have pretty much no sense of smell (or taste) to speak of, due to residual cat allergies. To give myself an average 2 points in Perception would be to rank it too high.
Intelligence is where I shine, if I do humbly say so myself. In WoD, like in D&D, Intelligence is a measure of raw mental ability -- not necessarily common sense or wisdom, but the ability to learn, analyse, and reason. I do these things quite well, especially learning new subjects. I gave myself 4 points in Intelligence. I might not be the smartest person I know, but I'm certainly above average on the curve. (If I do humbly say so myself. *grin*)
Finally, we've got Wits. Wits represents your ability to react quickly to certain situations and your general cleverness. I was torn for a while between giving myself 2 or 3 points. I finally settled on 3 based on the book's description: "You are seldom surprised or left speechless." Now, to be fair, I'm very often surprised, but I'm almost never speechless. And I'm able to come up with fully-developed stories off the top of my head in a matter of seconds. So 3 points.
Those familiar with WoD might realize that even though I'm mental-primary, I've only spent 5 of the allowed 6 points in mental attributes. I just couldn't figure out where to put the last point. Many a lenient GM will let me transfer it into freebies instead...
Moving now from attributes to abilities. Unlike attributes, abilities are things you need to practice or study in order to become good at them. They're not inherent to you. Abilities are divided into three categories: talents, skills, and knowledges.
Talents are those abilities that require the least study. They're the sort of things you learn by doing, rather than by thinking about. I gave myself 4 points in talents, making it my tertiary ability area:
- 1 point of Brawl for my karate training. (A decent level of theoretical skill, but I would probably never win a barroom brawl at my current level.)
- 1 point of Empathy. (When I want to, I'm a decent listener.)
- 1 point of Leadership. (I've co-ordinated stuff for the SCA and 30-person live-action games, but not much more than that.)
- 1 point of Subterfuge. (I can come up with a plausible lie and deliver it convincingly... sometimes.)
Skills require more learning than talents, but less than knowledges. I gave myself 7 points, which makes this my secondary area:
- 1 point in Crafts. (To reflect the sewing and other hands-on stuff I've done for the SCA. I'm not very good, but I can sew a simple tunic.)
- 1 point in Drive. (According to the book, this represents the ability to drive an automatic transmission. That's about all I've got.)
- 2 points in Etiquette. (When I was at Massey, I actually attended quite a number of black-tie dinners with relatively important functionaries.)
- 2 points in Perform. (To reflect the bardic stuff I've been doing over the last seven years. I can't necessarily make a living at it, but I can hold my audience for a song or two.)
- 1 point in Survival. (My boyfriend would laugh at the stuff I bring to an SCA event, but it has given me *some* skills.)
Finally, we have knowledges. This is my primary area, at 11 points. Is anyone surprised?
- 3 points in Academics. (I was debating 4 points, but I figure that would be when I get my PhD.)
- 2 points in Computers. (I can use them and do basic troubleshooting. And I know where to find answers when I don't know them. But I'm not at the point of custom-designing my own system.)
- 1 point in Finance. (I've taken an accounting course and read financial blogs.)
- 1 point in Linguistics. (In WoD, this represents 1 extra language. I count that as French. I used to speak Hebrew and Yiddish and read Latin, but I've mostly lost those skills over the years.)
- 1 point in Medicine. (I've taken a CPR class. Don't ask me to use it.)
- 1 point in Occult. (I don't consider this so much occult as religious knowledge, which I know a fair deal about.)
- 1 point in Politics. (To reflect general political knowledge, rather than activism.)
- 1 point in Science. (Again, mostly general knowledge that I've picked up over the years.)
And that's it, really. If I were going to do backgrounds, I'd give myself 2 points each in allies and contacts to represent my close friends and my wide SCA network of acquaintances, respectively, and 1 point in resources, because even though I'm unemployed, I've still got a healthy nest egg.
It's been a fun experience putting this together. I have no idea whether it was as fun for you to read it, but it's my journal, so my own enjoyment is the important thing. *grin* I'll be interested in seeing whether this character sheet changes at all over the coming years. Until then, happy birthday to me!
I decided that this year, I'd make up a character sheet for myself. Because I'm a geek.
By "character sheet for myself," I don't mean making a new character to play with. I mean, if I were a roleplaying character that someone wanted to play, what would my stats be? I decided to use the old World of Darkness: Mortals sheet, because it's always been a fairly intuitive system for me to use, and also it's set in modern times, which is always helpful. (Though, as a SCAdian, I might actually have a few D&D skills like archery or something.)
Oddly enough, as I was drawing "myself" up, the dots worked out almost perfectly. I've got one leftover point of attributes, but abilities were spot-on. For those who are not familiar with the system, everything in World of Darkness runs on a scale of 1 to 5. For attributes, the first section of the character sheet I'm going to discuss, 2 points is considered average.
To start with, attributes. The physical attributes in WoD:Mortals are Strength, Dexterity, and Stamina. These are the easiest to judge objectively, being purely physical.
I gave myself 1 point in Strength, because I'm a weakling. The book's description is, "You can lift 40 lbs." Two dots would have been 100 lbs, and while I can technically lift that much, I can't do it for long. Also, I routinely have trouble opening jars, stuck windows, etc. So 1 point seems about right.
Dexterity in WoD is a bit broader than in D&D, but essentially encompasses the same things: speed, agility, quickness, and also manual dexterity. I've always been pretty good in this regard. I might not be graceful, but my karate training has shown that I've got a decent amount of speed. I gave myself 3 points of Dexterity.
Finally, there's Stamina. Unlike Constitution in D&D (which is a measure of overall health, and in which -- as an asthmatic -- I'm statically below average), Stamina includes toughness and resilience in addition to general health. Given that I'm pretty good at taking physical damage, at least as judged by karate experience, I decided to give myself 2 points in Stamina.
For those who are counting, that makes three points in physical attributes (the first point in each stat is considered free), making me a physical-tertiary character. Which should come as no surprise to anyone, really.
Next we've got the social attributes, Charisma, Manipulation, and Appearance. In D&D, these would all fall under the "Charisma" stat, but I like WoD for breaking it up.
Charisma is your ability to be, well, charismatic. Not necessarily to coerce others (which would fall under Manipulation), but just to generally be likeable. Since graduating high school, I've had a chance to "be myself," and I've found that I'm pretty good in this regard. When I want to, I'm quite good at making new friends. I gave myself 3 points in Charisma.
Manipulation is pretty much what you'd expect. It's your ability to convince other people to do what you want them to do, whether by outright lying or other forms of persuasion. I'm generally pretty conciliatory and don't try to manipulate my way into things, so I gave myself an average 2 points.
The final social attribute is Appearance. I consider myself right smack-dab in the middle of average, or 2 points. The book describes this as, "You don't stand out in a crowd, for better or for worse." Which is pretty accurate for me, I think.
I've therefore spent 4 points for social attributes, so that's my secondary.
Finally we've got the mental attributes, Perception, Intelligence, and Wits. These are probably even harder to judge objectively than social attributes, but I'll give it a fair shot.
I gave myself only 1 point in Perception. Let's be honest here, my perception is horrible. I routinely have to ask people to repeat themselves; when I'm walking on the street with friends, they constantly talk about people or objects we've passed that I managed to completely miss; and I have pretty much no sense of smell (or taste) to speak of, due to residual cat allergies. To give myself an average 2 points in Perception would be to rank it too high.
Intelligence is where I shine, if I do humbly say so myself. In WoD, like in D&D, Intelligence is a measure of raw mental ability -- not necessarily common sense or wisdom, but the ability to learn, analyse, and reason. I do these things quite well, especially learning new subjects. I gave myself 4 points in Intelligence. I might not be the smartest person I know, but I'm certainly above average on the curve. (If I do humbly say so myself. *grin*)
Finally, we've got Wits. Wits represents your ability to react quickly to certain situations and your general cleverness. I was torn for a while between giving myself 2 or 3 points. I finally settled on 3 based on the book's description: "You are seldom surprised or left speechless." Now, to be fair, I'm very often surprised, but I'm almost never speechless. And I'm able to come up with fully-developed stories off the top of my head in a matter of seconds. So 3 points.
Those familiar with WoD might realize that even though I'm mental-primary, I've only spent 5 of the allowed 6 points in mental attributes. I just couldn't figure out where to put the last point. Many a lenient GM will let me transfer it into freebies instead...
Moving now from attributes to abilities. Unlike attributes, abilities are things you need to practice or study in order to become good at them. They're not inherent to you. Abilities are divided into three categories: talents, skills, and knowledges.
Talents are those abilities that require the least study. They're the sort of things you learn by doing, rather than by thinking about. I gave myself 4 points in talents, making it my tertiary ability area:
- 1 point of Brawl for my karate training. (A decent level of theoretical skill, but I would probably never win a barroom brawl at my current level.)
- 1 point of Empathy. (When I want to, I'm a decent listener.)
- 1 point of Leadership. (I've co-ordinated stuff for the SCA and 30-person live-action games, but not much more than that.)
- 1 point of Subterfuge. (I can come up with a plausible lie and deliver it convincingly... sometimes.)
Skills require more learning than talents, but less than knowledges. I gave myself 7 points, which makes this my secondary area:
- 1 point in Crafts. (To reflect the sewing and other hands-on stuff I've done for the SCA. I'm not very good, but I can sew a simple tunic.)
- 1 point in Drive. (According to the book, this represents the ability to drive an automatic transmission. That's about all I've got.)
- 2 points in Etiquette. (When I was at Massey, I actually attended quite a number of black-tie dinners with relatively important functionaries.)
- 2 points in Perform. (To reflect the bardic stuff I've been doing over the last seven years. I can't necessarily make a living at it, but I can hold my audience for a song or two.)
- 1 point in Survival. (My boyfriend would laugh at the stuff I bring to an SCA event, but it has given me *some* skills.)
Finally, we have knowledges. This is my primary area, at 11 points. Is anyone surprised?
- 3 points in Academics. (I was debating 4 points, but I figure that would be when I get my PhD.)
- 2 points in Computers. (I can use them and do basic troubleshooting. And I know where to find answers when I don't know them. But I'm not at the point of custom-designing my own system.)
- 1 point in Finance. (I've taken an accounting course and read financial blogs.)
- 1 point in Linguistics. (In WoD, this represents 1 extra language. I count that as French. I used to speak Hebrew and Yiddish and read Latin, but I've mostly lost those skills over the years.)
- 1 point in Medicine. (I've taken a CPR class. Don't ask me to use it.)
- 1 point in Occult. (I don't consider this so much occult as religious knowledge, which I know a fair deal about.)
- 1 point in Politics. (To reflect general political knowledge, rather than activism.)
- 1 point in Science. (Again, mostly general knowledge that I've picked up over the years.)
And that's it, really. If I were going to do backgrounds, I'd give myself 2 points each in allies and contacts to represent my close friends and my wide SCA network of acquaintances, respectively, and 1 point in resources, because even though I'm unemployed, I've still got a healthy nest egg.
It's been a fun experience putting this together. I have no idea whether it was as fun for you to read it, but it's my journal, so my own enjoyment is the important thing. *grin* I'll be interested in seeing whether this character sheet changes at all over the coming years. Until then, happy birthday to me!
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no subject
Date: 2010-05-18 03:47 am (UTC)May your deeds with sword and axe
exceed those with sheep and yaks.
On your birthday thud, happy birthday....
no subject
Date: 2010-05-18 01:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-18 04:24 am (UTC)The WoD char sheet sounds like a fun excercise...
You should do it every year, and see how much you 'level up'... :-)
no subject
Date: 2010-05-18 04:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-18 03:56 pm (UTC)I think every serious gamer draws themselves up as a character at least once. I nearly did myself as a D&D character (even came up with the 6 attributes with Eric) before deciding I liked WoD better.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-18 11:31 pm (UTC)Putting Martial Arts on an activation ( to see if you remember a move) and being able to justify chainmail & a bow can come in handy :-)
no subject
Date: 2010-05-18 01:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-18 04:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-18 03:56 pm (UTC)Ricky once ran a game that the players dubbed "Stupid Scenario." The premise was that you (i.e. the player, yourself) walked into Ricky's apartment and fell through the floor into a fantasy-esque world, and were given various powers. It was a LOT of fun. I wound up being a priestess of Dark Phoenix, Ian was a rogue, Jimmy was a mage, Rob was a druid (obviously), Christina was a dragon disciple, Maery could use fae magic, etc. I've toyed with the idea many, many times of filling up a van with the former players, driving to Ottawa, and getting Ricky to run a one-shot with all of us. Hasn't happened yet, but you never know...
no subject
Date: 2010-05-18 02:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-18 03:53 pm (UTC)Actually, I'm already a fictional character. If you check out Yet Another Fantasy Gamer Comic, I'm the basis for the halfling in this strip (http://yafgc.net/?id=1106). The storyarc goes until strip 1160, though Jewel isn't in all of them.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-18 08:35 pm (UTC)Personally, I think you have way more points in perform than that...
Happy birthday!
(Women wail and children weep / kill them all but SPARE THE SHEEP!)
no subject
Date: 2010-05-19 01:44 am (UTC)I love that verse of the birthday dirge. It makes me smile.