Chapter Two -- Characters
Section One: Concept
Kingdoms and Honor is in some ways like a story, and the Players' Characters are like the heros of the story. We Creators want Players to make Characters that enrich the game, just as an intriguing hero enriches a story. Characters should be original, detailed, interesting, realistic, complete, and, most of all, fun to play. Characters should not be two-dimensional collections of numbers; they should have real emotions, motivations, flaws, and complexities.
Not all gamers are up to the job. We select gamers to be K&H Players by using Character creation as a screen test. People who are interested in the game must submit a Character Concept, which is the foundation of a complete Character. Creators judge Players by the quality of the Character Concept they submit.
Character creation in K&H is diceless and collaborative. The Player and the Creator work together to reach a consensus on the Character's statistics and attributes. There may be some conflict, in so far as the Player's vision for the Character may not mesh with the Land as the Creator has designed it -- in all conflicts, the Creator's decision is final, but, in almost every case, there will be room for compromise.
To make a good Character Concept, start by reading the Kingdoms and Honor common knowledge on the game's Web site. K&H is not a typical fantasy world, so your stock half-elf ranger/druid character will not fit in. By reading everything, you will have a much better idea of your options.
Look at the list of Creators who are currently accepting new Players. Then choose one of these Creator's Lands in which to adventure. Each Land is different from the others -- in some cases wildly different. You may wish to read through the past game logs found on the Web site. These examples of play will give you a feel for the game-mastering styles of each Creator and demonstrate the quality level of K&H gaming. And at least browse through the rest of the rules ypu are reading right now!
Begin to create the story of your Character. Pick a location in your chosen Land where you would like to start your hero. Send e-mail to the Creator you have selected, describing your initial idea and requesting more information. Don't worry too much about your first contact -- this is not your Character Concept, and you won't be judged on this e-mail message! Creator e-mail addresses are listed on the Contact page of the K&H site.
The Creator may give you more information about the particular area in which you are interested. With this information, now begin the Character Concept. Write the story of your Character. It may help you to organize your thoughts under headings such as:
Here are some other prompts that may help you create a well-rounded Character.
Finally, as a vital indicator of your gaming quality, tell the story of an important event in your Character's life. Choose one of the following topics to write about.
Don't worry about length, so long as you do justice to the topic by writing as much as you need. Do worry about spelling and grammer -- we want Players with good writing skills. And do include a detailed level of writing in your story, including dialog and narrative depth.
Here is an example of a Player creating a Character Concept.
Section Two: Character Detail and Definition
If your Character Concept shows that you have the skill we want in a Player, the Creator will invite you to join Kingdoms and Honor. Making a Character is easy -- just follow these four steps:
Step One: Development Points
Depending on the detail, skill, and enthusiasm you put into your Character Concept, the Creator will award you one, two, or three Development Points. Most players get two points. Receiving one point means that while your Concept was acceptable, it did not shine in any area, and there may be small problems. Receiving three points means that your Concept excelled in every area, and impressed the heck out of the Creator!
Then you assign your Development Points to three areas. Each of these can vary from -3 to +3. You can assign development points to each area, and you can subtract from one area to add to another. A value from -1 to +1 is within normal range. A value of -2 or +2 is very exceptional. A value of -3 or +3 is almost unheard of, and Creator allows it only rarely. The three areas are:
For example, A Player has 2 Development Points to spend. She puts both into Traits. Then she also takes 1 away from Resources and puts 1 into Skills. She finishes with Traits +2, Skills +1, and Resources -1.
Step Two: Traits
Traits describe a Character's innate capabilities and aptitudes. They quantify the abilities one has from birth, and they generally do not go up or down with time, unless affected by the ravages of age, injury, and disease. In other game systems, Traits are called "ability scores" or "attributes" or "stats."
A creature's Traits are assigned a number that reveals the Trait's value compared with the norm within for that creature's species or race. For a value of 0, the Trait is absolutely normal; 0 is average, based on all people of that race. A positive value shows that the Trait is above average; for a negative value, below average. A value from -3 to +3 is within normal range. A value of -4 to -6 or +4 to +6 is very exceptional -- like a professional athelete or a PhD in mathematics. A value of -7 to -9 or +7 to +9 is almost unheard of -- like a gold-medal Olympian or a Nobel Prize winner.
For example, a Human with Strength +3 is moderately above average for Humans, but not notably so. An Elephant with Strength +3 is also moderately above average for Elephants. The value of a Trait cannot be compared from one species to another -- that is determined by Resolution Dice (see Chapter Three).
The primary Trait is Gestalt, which can be used at a glance to compare a character to human norm. Gestalt cannot be greater than +3 or less than -3. The value of a Character's Gestalt is equal to the number of Development Points spent on Traits. Gestalt is the top-level, master Trait because all other Traits derive from it.
For example, if a Player puts 2 points into Traits, then the Character's Gestalt is +2.
Gestalt is divided into other Traits, and those Traits into still other Traits, until the desired level of detail is reached. It is important to note that the more detailed levels are optional! In many cases, the deepest level of detail adds needless complexity, and may be safely avoided.
Each division of a parent Trait creates three offspring Traits. If offspring Traits are not specified, they are equal in value to their parent value.
Gestalt is divided into Body, Mind, and Psyche. Each of these must have a value in the -6 to +6 range.
Body is divided into Strength, Form, and Agility.; Mind, into Reason, Memory, and Perception; and Psyche, into Will, Intuition, and Leadership. Each of these, and all other subsequent divisions, must have a value in the -9 to +9 range.
And if a greater level of detail is desired, each of these can be divided further:
Body:
Mind:
Psyche:
All these Traits are defined below.
Gestalt -- The overall measure of a being's existence. Extreme Gestalt suggests a well rounded and very gifted individual (e.g. the varsity student athlete who graduates as valedictorian and class president).
Body -- The ability to tap the physical and corporal aspects of being. Extreme Body grants an abundant balance of power, vigor, and nimbleness (e.g. the athlete who wins the Olympic decathalon).
Strength -- The trait of raw power over the realm of matter and objects. Extreme Strength reveals great toughness and potency (e.g. the warrior who cuts a swath through the enemy to reach a goal).
Might -- The power to bodily control, dominate, and bully. Extreme Might is physically imposing and allows mastery in physical conflicts (e.g. a professional football or rugby player).
Force -- The ability to support large loads and exert direct pressure. Extreme Force gives the ability to perform superhuman feats, damaging, lifting, or pushing large objects (e.g. the martial artist who breaks several cement blocks with one blow).
Mass -- The trait of dimension, height, and weight. Extreme Mass suggests a powerful giant (e.g. a professional bodybuilder).
Form -- The trait of overall wellness, fortitude, and comeliness. Extreme Form suggests a perfect physical specimen (e.g. Conan the Barbarian).
Health -- The ability to resist disease, free of physical defect or innate disadvantage. Extreme Health offers immunity to common ailments, the ability to withstand grevious injury, natural resistance to poison, and perfect physical condition (e.g. Rasputin, who, legend has it, was assassinated only after poisoning, drowning, and physical injury).
Endurance -- The power to perform under physical stress or pain for long periods of time. Extreme Endurance allows exceptional tolerance, stamina, and the ability to press on (e.g. the messenger who runs hundreds of miles to bring important news to the King).
Beauty -- The ability to turn heads and attract others -- including physical beauty and fairness of form and voice. Extreme Beauty indicates perfect features, excellent proportions, blemish-free skin, and a rosy glow (e.g. a beauty contest winner).
Agility -- The ability to performing physical tasks without making mistakes and to be comfortable in one's body. Extreme Agility reveals a high level of excellence in manipulating objects, throwing, walking, jumping, climbing, balancing -- and doing all with style and panache (e.g. the well-rounded circus performer who does magic tricks, juggles, throws knives, and performs on the trapeze).
Manual Dexterity -- The ability that describes people who are good with their hands, and with tools. Extreme Manual Dexterity suggests the ability to perform dangerous jobs safely (e.g. the master chef who dices foods quickly and perfectly every time, but who never gets a cut).
Precision -- The trait of accuracy, aiming, and eye-hand coordination. Extreme Precision extends this ability to targets beyond normal ranges (e.g. the archer who not only hits a bulls-eye, but splits his rival's arrow while doing it).
Gracefulness -- The trait of poise, quickness, and balance. Extreme Gracefulness allows beautiful control over movement (e.g. a ballet dancer who performs incredible leaps and turns).
Mind -- The ability to tap the mental and cognitive aspects of being. Extreme Mind suggests mental acuity, a sensitive and perceptive nature, sharp wits, and the ability to remember in great detail (e.g. the mad scientist who actually manages to take over the world).
Reason -- The trait that describes the fundamental workings of the mind -- thought, deduction, and imagination. Extreme Reason describes the aspects of brilliance and genius -- well-spoken, insightful, creative, and sharp (e.g. Sherlock Holmes).
Communication -- The ability to organize thoughts and put them together in ways that are comprehensible to others. Extreme Communication is the ability to make very complex concepts easy to understand (e.g. the university professor who can make quantum physics a breeze for first-year students).
Logic -- The ability to make connections, and draw conclusions. Extreme Logic shows incredible deductive power with the ability to follow a chain of thought to its final conclusion (e.g. the chess prodigy who intuits the underlying patterns of the game and can see many moves ahead).
Invention -- The trait of creativity, of making new things, of thinking new ideas. Extreme Invention reveals an obsession with making both novel things as well as improving on old ones (e.g. the garage tinkerer who creates a brand new kind of computer, starts an innovative company, and, decades later, still generates marvel after marvel).
Memory -- The power of the mind to gain, retain, and structure information. Extreme Memory indicates the ability to gain a lot of knowledge in many different ways (e.g. the skilled computer hacker who has taught herself from from manuals, chat room conversations, experimentation, and watching others).
Learning -- The ability to memorize information, to grasp new concepts quickly, and to learn processes in different ways. Extreme Learning suggests both speed and vast quantities (e.g. the apprentice skald who memorizes thousands and thousands of lines of epic verse).
Recall -- The power to bring to mind information and memories. Extreme Recall suggests incredible retention of minute facts (e.g. the person with a photographic memory, who can remember what he had for breakfast seven months ago).
Organization -- The ability to make correlations and mentally construct larger patterns with raw data. Extreme Organization suggests almost inexplicable mental leaps and incredible structural insight (e.g. the scientist who grouped the known elements into the Periodic Table, and, based on the gaps, successfully predicted the existence of new elements).
Perception -- The ability to detect and note the input of the world around. Extreme Perception reveals the subtle details that escape those who are less sensitive (e.g. the sharp-eyed detective who finds clues that others overlook).
Awareness -- The ability to perceive both one's own body (proprioception) and the subtle clues that reveal what's going on nearby. Extreme Awareness explains the subconscious hunches that give warning of danger or of "being watched" (e.g. the assassin's target who ducks just before a poisoned arrow strikes).
Senses -- The trait that describes sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch. Extreme Senses reveals excellence in all these areas (e.g. the scout who can see the enemy army from far off, hear oars splashing on black nights, and smell fire in the dense woods).
Searching -- The trait of good "figure ground," that is, being able to pick out important details from a background, being able to find what one is looking for. Extreme Searching reveals details and signs that most would not detect (e.g., a tracker who finds subtle signs of her quarry's passage).
Psyche -- The ability to tap the spiritual and emotive aspects of being. Extreme Psyche reveals mastery over one's own soul as well as complete knowledge of self and deep understanding of others (e.g., the master yogi who has attained oneness with the universe and the creatures in it).
Will -- The trait that describes "strength of character" and that is the best expression of the power and force of the mind. Extreme Will bestows the ability to accomplish tasks and feats that would daunt lesser people (e.g., the peasant boy who wants to be a king, and who eventually makes his dream come true).
Determination -- The ability to stay committed to a task or goal, despite obstacles. Extreme Determination shows a fanatic level of devotion and the ability to ignore everything that does not contribute to the goal (e.g., the explorer who is so committed to finding her goal that she ignores all danger to herself and her comrades).
Patience -- The trait of composure, of concentration for long periods, of attention to detail after detail. Extreme Patience bestows the ability to resist all provocation in the face of danger (e.g., the nonviolent civil rights demonstrator who uses passive resistance in the face of abuse).
Energy -- The ability to burn the candle at both ends, doing many things at once. Extreme Energy reveals an almost manic level of activity (e.g., the inventor who sleeps only three hours each night and creates a great many gadgets and innovations in several fields at once).
Intuition -- The knowledge about and understanding of other people and things that does not come from book-learning. Extreme Intuition is the "sixth sense" that reveals understandings others do not see (e.g., the fortune teller who knows about you without having met you before, and who offers good advice).
Empathy -- The ability to identify with others, to feel for them, to see one's self as similar to others. Extreme Empathy suggests non-violence, because Empathy leads one to feel sympathy for the target (e.g., the hunter who can't shoot deer because he would imagine feeling the arrow in his own heart as it killed the deer).
Insight -- The ability to understand the motivations and emotions of others, the reasons they do what they do. Extreme Insight suggests predictive powers (e.g., the criminal psychologist who is able to get into the head of the criminal she investigates and predict his next victim -- without feeling any identification with the criminal).
Common Sense -- The trait of knowing how the world works, how people interact, and how to function well in everyday circumstances. Extreme Common Sense reveals exceptional wisdom and practicality (e.g., the wise grandfather who has a vast store of worldly knowledge, practical sayings, and the answers to all life's questions).
Leadership -- The ability to be a central person, to whom everyone looks for instruction, Extreme Leadership includes an overt level of control over numbers of people (e.g., the mayor of a town who governs wisely and well).
Presence -- The power to draw the eye and seem imposing or noticeable. Extreme Presence lets one become the center of attention, the one to whom people's eyes are invariably drawn (e.g., the holy prophet who all look on with awe, wonder, and fear).
Charisma -- The ability to inspire and manipulate others. Extreme Charisma bestows an animal magnetism and dominant force of personality (e.g., the cult leader who inspires followers to make suicidal attacks on an enemy).
Command -- The ability to direct and lead groups of people. Extreme Command suggests the ability to control large and complex endeavors involving many people (e.g., the general who directs entire armies).
The Player does not decide on specific Trait values -- the Creator does, based on the Player's submitted Character Concept. Depending on the Creator's preference, he or she may request that the Player suggest Traits and values for them, or the Creator may simply assign values first. After the Creator decides on values for Traits, the Player may suggest changes, detailing why particular changes are needed, and convincing the Creator that a change would be good.
Here's how a Creator determines the values for Traits:
The elegance of this system is that it allows as little or as much detail as desired. A Creator making a quick NPC can say "John Barkeep: Body +1, Mind -1, Psyche 0." For any character with little detail, the value of sub-Traits are equal to the parent Trait that has been detailed. If the Creator later needs John Barkeep's Charisma, he knows that it is 0, because Charisma branches down from Psyche, which, for John, is 0. Similarly, John's Mass, Health, and Agility all equal +1, deriving from his Body +1.
Here are a few examples of Character Trait definition. And here are some notes on the theory and math behind Trait definition.
Skills
Skills quantify the things a character has learned, that is, the expertness that comes from training and practice. Every time a Character wants to perform an Action, a Skill associated with the Action is used to determine the Character's chance of success. If the Character does not know a relevant Skill, the Action is much less likely to succeed. Many more details about how to use Skills (and Traits) to resolve Actions are revealed in Chapter Three.
Every Skill has a Rank, which defines expertise level. For example, a Character with Rank 8 Running is likely to win a foot race against a Character with Rank 2 Running. As Characters increase their expertise, their Skill Ranks rise -- rules for increasing Ranks can be found in Chapter Six. Rank is often written more tersely as a number following the name of the Skill, for example, Singing 3, Cooking 8, and Wood Carving 1. It is possible to have a Rank 0 Skill, indicating only passing familiarity with the Skill.
Every Skill has an associated Trait, which is used to determine resolution dice and learning modifiers. Characters with an above average associated Trait increase Rank quickly; Characters with below average associated Traits have a decreased chance of improvement.
Every Skill also has a Scope, which describes the range of Actions included with mastery of the Skill. A Broad Scope Skill, such as Art or Weapon Use, covers a very wide range of known Actions. A Narrow Scope Skill, such as Portraiture or Rapier, covers a much more closely defined range of known Actions. Skills that are Average in Scope, such as Painting or Sword, fall somewhere in between.
It is important to note that the Broad Scope Skills offer less expertise than Narrow Scope Skills. For example, take these related Skills: Weapon Use, Sword, and Rapier. A Character with Rank 5 Weapon Use can use almost any weapon proficiently. A Character with Rank 5 Rapier is a master with that particular weapon, but has little facility with others. A Character with Sword 5 falls somewhere in between the two extremes. All things being equal, a Character with Rapier 5 will defeat one with Weapon 5 every time. But give them both clubs, and the tide turns.
But what does Rank really mean? For Narrow Scope Skills, Rank can be considered as an indication of experience, expertise, and proficiency level. For artisan-style Skills:
There is no list of definitive Skills in K&H. Rather, whenever a Character is created or learns something new, the Creator will suggest appropriate Skills, including a base culture/race Skills package. The Player may comment on the Skills and suggest changes. Together, they decide the associated Trait, Scope, and Actions for the Skill. After this collaboration, the Player will have a list of Skills for the Character.
The base culture/race package is assigned by the Creator to almost every member of a given culture. For example, a given human Character may speak at least their mother language, run, kick, climb a rope, and dog paddle. In some places, default skills might include culture-specific skills such as singing, mountain climbing, or speaking a second language. These skills do not need to be specifically listed, but they can be. A Character starts with Rank 0 in these default Skills, although they can be studied or improved.
Here are sample Skills to use as inspiration in creating Skills for Characters.
Then the Player assigns Ranks to the Skills, based on the number of Development Points assigned to Skills initially. The sum of all Ranks of all Skills is determined by this table:
Development Points Total Initial Skill Ranks -3 0 -2 9 -1 18 0 27 +1 36 +2 45 +3 54
For example, Characters with -3 Development Points in Skills have no Skills at all. Characters with -2 points could have nine Skills all at Rank 1, or one Skill at Rank 9, or some other combination. After the Player assigns suggested Ranks, the Creator will look over and modify the assignments. The Creator may make suggests or even require alterations, but will generally be open to compromise.
Note that it costs as much to obtain a Rank 0 Skill as to obtain a Rank 1 Skill.
Resources
Resources describe the Character's "possessions" -- defined losely to include not just physical objects and wealth, but also status, fame, class, position, reknown, and the network of people the Character knows. Resources can be gained and lost.
The general effect of Development Points spent on Resources is shown in this table:
Points Effect Possessions Status Contacts -3 Destitute stones, fleas, trash outcast, beggar, untouchable no friends, several enemies -2 Very Poor a hammer, a dog, a dagger serf, servant few powerless friends -1 Poor tools, a goat, a sword peasant, light infantry few friends, small family 0 Middling a cottage, a cow, leather armor yeoman, journeyman, friar average friends, family +1 Wealthy a house, a horse, plate armor knight, priest many friends, big family +2 Very Wealthy a manor, horses, a guard baron, master artisan, merchant member of nobility +3 Rich estates, ships, men-at-arms duke, abbot, guildmaster many noble friends, family
The table above is intended to be used as a guideline only. The possessions, status, and contacts listed are examples only. It is possible that a Character could have rich possessions but be an outcast with many enemies; or a Character may have poor possessions but be rich in friends and contacts. Such a Character may have spent just one or two points on resources, rather than the 3 points that rich possessions or contacts would normally require. More specific detail will arise primarily from Character Concept. This level of detail is usually enumerated by a list of capabilities and possessions, but not every single possession needs to be listed initially -- a Player need not list every friend or relation, nor every book or tapestry, that her very wealthy Character possesses. Rather, the Creator will allow access to Resources that are in keeping with the Character Concept (and in keeping with the natural rise and fall of possessions that occurs during play).
Here is an example of Skills and Resources definition.
Section Three: The Creator's Characters
Just as the Players create and control Characters, so too do Creators.
Non-Player Characters
Players generally only control their own Character, but Creators control everyone else in the game. Innkeepers, abbots, beggars, earls, magicians, and minstrals are all Characters created and controlled by Creators. These are commonly called Non-Player Characters , or NPCs, to distinguish them from Player Characters, or PCs.
In general, Creators follow the same rules as Players in creating NPCs. However, Creators don't have the time for each NPC that Players do, so NPCs tend to be less detailed, as previously seen for John Barkeep (above) and the Lonely Judge (in this example).
PC-NPC Interactions
Players who gain practice and experience in playing the game will often have Characters who rise to positions of relative power and influence. These Players may gain partial control over henchmen, spouses, allies, subordinates, and the like -- the Creator generally only takes back control of these subordinate Characters if the Player abuses the privilege or if the Creator needs to advance the plot. Bit it is the Creator alone who controls most NPCs. If Players attempt to dictate NPC deeds, the odds are that events will not proceed according to the Player's intent, as shown in the following example (relevant game posts are in italic).
The Story Line: Biggus Bobus and Friar Frank are standing before a beautiful young peasant girl who is aiding them with some information.
Biggus Bobus: “Young lady, we are looking for a gentleman by the name of Henry Kissemall. He happens to be a Sergeant of the Guards here in this lovely city of White Dove. He is a broad-shouldered man of average height and has a nasty scar on his right cheek.”
Creator as NPC: The strikingly beautiful young girl smiles at Friar Frank as she answers Bobus’ question. “Sir, I know of whom you speak -- he will be in the Guard Tower next to the front gate.” Her eyes take in Friar Frank’s full belly and his chubby little legs protruding from the bottom of his crudely made brown robe. She seems to smile as if lusting after the holy man.
Friar Frank: He attempts to smile back, although he is very nervous and bashful, being unaccustomed to the attention of a young lady such as this.
Biggus Bobus: Bobus reaches over and takes the girls hand, getting her full attention with his firm manly grip. She suddenly looses interest in Frank and her large eyes gaze upon Bobus’. A smile creeps across her face as she observes his sinewy arm.
In this case, Bobus' Player is dictating actions for the NPC. In respose, the Creator posts in response.
Creator as Creator: Your action of taking the girl’s hand is fine, but you cannot gain control of this NPC with your own moves. This is a violation of Rule 5 in Chapter One. The prohibited lines, which I rule did not actually take place, are, "She suddenly looses interest in Frank and her large eyes gaze upon Bobus’. A smile creeps across her face as she observes his sinewy arm." Please be careful not to allow this to happen again as it slows play and interferes with players and Creators alike.
Creator as NPC: As Bobus grabs her hand, she turns her gaze to him, abd her smile fades as she jerks away. “Release me, you devil!” She quickly spins and strides into a small hut behind her.
The Player’s action has caused a negative result with an NPC that they may have needed to progress at ease. Play would proceed normally from this point.
Admin Characters and Creators as Players
The Administrator of the game also creates and controls Characters, such as immortal and powerful beings and their minions. The Admin is the only person in Kingdoms and Honor with full and total knowledge of the entire game world -- even Creators are in the dark about some major details. As needed for his own secret plans, the Admin will sometimes take control of game play, perhaps introducing his own Characters.
Because Creators do not know everything about the game, they take on the role of Players when responding to Admin-created events in their Lands. If the Admin tells a Creator that her Land has been invaded by swarms of locusts, the Creator must react without knowing what is going on. When a Creator reacts in this way, as a Player, the Creator's main Character is usually the most powerful ruler of the Land.
This Creator-as-Player level of gaming is usually invisible to regular Players, but their Characters will sometimes hear of events in the greater world around them. The world of Kingdoms and Honor is not static!