Random Character Creation System (Long)

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Is it wholly unethical in the land of forum etiquette to bump this to show people what AS88, Wildroses, and others came up with via using this system? I think not. I fully endorse their creations and encourage others to reply, comment, or rate their posts.
 

AS88

Well-Known Member
Staff member
I don't think it's wrong to implement some of the characters I've created using this system into my sig, either :p

Garrus, Llevan and Iver are all results of your system, so if anyone asks, I'll point them straight to this thread.
 

The OP3RaT0R

Call me Op. Or Smooth.
To add a bit more depth, I think adding a 'friend' roll would be interesting. When making a character, take whatever your starting location is, get a list of twelve NPCs who live there, and roll to choose one to be friends with the character for some reason. Then, when playing, spend at least a little time with that NPC most days, and do any quests they might have. Thoughts?
 

Venneer

New Member
Could I point out how the chances of rolling numbers to add up to 12 is so much smaller than the chances of numbers that add up to 7... So there is a small chance of being Redguard and a high chance of being Dunmer... This does limit the usefulness of this system - it would be easier if you were to knock off 4 of the characters you either played as before or don't want to play as and roll just one dice to choose.
 
Could I point out how the chances of rolling numbers to add up to 12 is so much smaller than the chances of numbers that add up to 7... So there is a small chance of being Redguard and a high chance of being Dunmer... This does limit the usefulness of this system - it would be easier if you were to knock off 4 of the characters you either played as before or don't want to play as and roll just one dice to choose.

You're right about the dice creating a bias toward 7 and 8 and other combinations over time, but i myself have rolled twelves, elevens, and twos when testing this out. In my original post, I recommended a random number generator or a dice app for a smart phone that has RPG dice (like a 12-sided die). I myself use a random number generator, but I posted the dice rules for simplicity. I imagine most people would just re-roll if they don't like what they came up with.
 

Joker

Cook, Wine Taster, Scotch Taster, Adventure Seeker
Porchdrinker, what about being sent as a spy for the Thalmor? I am playing an Altmer right now, and that is a part of his back story.

He was sent to learn warrior skills to fortify his magical talents, and to help topple the Imperial Legion with Ulfric. As he travels across Skyrim, he learns about the Thalmor, Ulfric, the Imperial Legion, and interacts with people that tell him about the Aldmeri Dominion, and the Thalmor Justicars. Having killed a NPC that apparently was associated with the DBH, they have been trying to kill him, and have even enlisted the Thalmor Justicars to hunt one of their own. So he is now conflicted.

I was just thinking that this could be another choice for a character. Maybe instead of War, you could have been sent in as a spy for the Stormcloaks/Aldmeri, or caught as a spy for the legion in the opening sequence.
 
Porchdrinker, what about being sent as a spy for the Thalmor? I am playing an Altmer right now, and that is a part of his back story.

He was sent to learn warrior skills to fortify his magical talents, and to help topple the Imperial Legion with Ulfric. As he travels across Skyrim, he learns about the Thalmor, Ulfric, the Imperial Legion, and interacts with people that tell him about the Aldmeri Dominion, and the Thalmor Justicars. Having killed a NPC that apparently was associated with the DBH, they have been trying to kill him, and have even enlisted the Thalmor Justicars to hunt one of their own. So he is now conflicted.

I was just thinking that this could be another choice for a character. Maybe instead of War, you could have been sent in as a spy for the Stormcloaks/Aldmeri, or caught as a spy for the legion in the opening sequence.

I've been thinking about a secondary list of motives or occupations that get away from the more typical scenarios. I'll definitely add "spy" to that list. Thanks for the suggestion!
 

Joker

Cook, Wine Taster, Scotch Taster, Adventure Seeker
I've been thinking about a secondary list of motives or occupations that get away from the more typical scenarios. I'll definitely add "spy" to that list. Thanks for the suggestion!

No problem. I like the premise that you have laid out. Might have to find some old D&D dice at a thrift store to try your idea out this weekend.
 

Saozig

Hippy
I would love it if you expanded the system.

Could I point out how the chances of rolling numbers to add up to 12 is so much smaller than the chances of numbers that add up to 7... So there is a small chance of being Redguard and a high chance of being Dunmer... This does limit the usefulness of this system - it would be easier if you were to knock off 4 of the characters you either played as before or don't want to play as and roll just one dice to choose.

I used a virtual 12-sided die, from this site: http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks1/maths/dice/

Anyhow, I enjoyed Vroggi, the character that I created with this system (although in RPing him in-game, things really went a very differnt route than I expected). Now I've come make another:

Argonian
valour
envy
agility
hunter
Riften
fear: vampires
interests: bestiary
motivation: redemption

Because the last two characters I've played have used little magic, I wanted to add more magic to this play-through even though it's not quite part of what I rolled. I'll just include improving magic skills as part of his valour trait.

Usum (male Argonian), a hunter with connections to Riften. Usum's not sure what he did that landed him in Helgen. He just was hanging out at a camp near the Cyrodiil border with a couple of fellow on-the-fringe types, a Khajiit and a Bosmer (he can't remember either of their names), kicking back some wicked skooma and the next thing he knows, he's being pushed off some cart and some Imperial soldier's calling "Ulfric, Jarl of Windhelm". They didn't even tell him what his (alleged) crime was before sending him to the chopping block. Good thing that dragon showed up. But however it happened, this isn't the fisrt time skooma has gotten Usum into trouble. It's why he had to leave Skyrim the last time. But now he's back, by fate it seems, and he's going to try to redeem himself. He's very eager to build on his present skills, in the hopes of making a more honest living, which is why he spent his first fewdays in Skyrim roaming the countryside, developing his axe and magic skills and collecting a few skill books. He's picked up some good studded armor, a steel axe and a mage's hood, plus some new clothes so he can ditch the footwraps and potato-sack the Imperials dressed him in. He also wanted to be sure there was enough coin in his pockets before showing his face in Riften again--and especially in front of Talen-Jei, of whom Usum is terribly envious, with his tavern, his steady income, his fancy-shmancy drinks, his status in Riften, his marriage prospects with Keerava. No way he's showing up in Riften coinless and without something to show off to that uppity Talen-Jei. He first stayed at a bandt camp he had cleared out, and did some hunting and raided a few other bandits, then he crossed the mountain eastward and stayed at the abandoned alcemist's shack, working on his alchemy and studying the the animals of the Rift. Then he felt he was ready to show his face in Riften again. For now, he's going to hang out in Riften and the eastern part of Skyrim. He's heard that on the western side of the mountains, there are a lot of vampires. :eek:
 

Wildroses

Well-Known Member
Joslin is going well. Her crush on Erik died after he killed a peddler she was trying to defend, and she ended up getting roped into the main quest which is seriously interfering with her desire to visit shrines and temples. Because she's a hunter I've decided she must hunt all her pelts and hearthfire material, and she's going to stay in fur armour the entire game. Levelling enchanting is really hard when you don't loot dead people, but alchemy is super easy to level when you are always in the wilderness hunting. And I've got to say, there is something terribly liberating about not looting every man/mer/beast race/undead corpse you see.

I still anticipate many hours with Joslin, but I got curious about making a new character. I rolled

Altmer
Kind
Greedy
Archery/Sneak
Blacksmith
Starts in Falkreath
Fears Falmer
Interested in culinary arts.
Motivation: Tracking an heirloom.

Faire belongs to an Altmer family which were once rich and powerful, fell on hard times and can't get over this unpalatable fact. She was born long after the fall, but has inherited a tendency to greediness, love of clothes and jewellery and fine food and wine from them. She decided, against the wishes of her family who want to keep pretending they don't need to earn a living, to apprentice herself to a blacksmith as she wanted an excuse to be around lots of precious gems and metal (she was deeply annoyed at having to learn how to make weapons and armour before jewellery).

One of the few heirlooms this family managed to keep hold of was an Elven Bow of Debilitation, a Circlet of Peerless Archery, a necklace of Minor Haggling, a ring of Wielding, and an Elven Sword of Expelling. The Elven Bow and Circlet are traditionally given to the eldest daughter, Faire, who considered them her birthright. When these heirlooms were stolen and traced to a bandit heading for Falkreath and it became obvious her family had decided getting them back was more trouble than it was worth, she decided to leave her apprenticeship and family and head to Skyrim to track them down herself.

I'll be investing in archery, sneak, and smithing perks for this girl. I might try a follower-less playstyle as well. Her fear of Falmer means she will never willingly enter a Dwemer ruin, and turn around in dungeons the second she spots a Falmer. I'll play her interest in food by having her cook her own meals instead of buying them ready made (she was born too late after her family's fall to consider cooking beneath her) and she will only drink something that isn't wine if she has no alternative. I'll play her greed by having her hoard all the gems, jewellery, clothes and shoes she finds/makes, and not spending money on anything except smithing items, food, wine and jewellery. She will also strip every dungeon she goes through of everything she could get a septim for. Her kindness means her secondary aim is to do every legal side and misc quest in Skyrim, and she will try and sneak around enemies instead of provoking confrontations.

I plan to just have Faire checking shops and clearing bandit camps searching for those five enchanted items (which I picked semi-randomly from generic loot). They've got to spawn somewhere it would make sense for recently stolen items to appear (no ancient crypts or dwemer ruins, just caves with people or shops). If she finds an enchanted item in a shop, she's allowed to interrogate the shopkeeper as to the destination of the person he received it from (chosen by assigning numbers to holds and randomly rolling). She doesn't care so much about the sword, ring and necklace, but she is finding HER bow and HER circlet if it takes her until level 81!
 
I would love it if you expanded the system.

Usum (male Argonian), a hunter with connections to Riften. Usum's not sure what he did that landed him in Helgen. He just was hanging out at a camp near the Cyrodiil border with a couple of fellow on-the-fringe types, a Khajiit and a Bosmer (he can't remember either of their names), kicking back some wicked skooma and the next thing he knows, he's being pushed off some cart and some Imperial soldier's calling "Ulfric, Jarl of Windhelm". They didn't even tell him what his (alleged) crime was before sending him to the chopping block. Good thing that dragon showed up. But however it happened, this isn't the fisrt time skooma has gotten Usum into trouble. It's why he had to leave Skyrim the last time. But now he's back, by fate it seems, and he's going to try to redeem himself. He's very eager to build on his present skills, in the hopes of making a more honest living, which is why he spent his first fewdays in Skyrim roaming the countryside, developing his axe and magic skills and collecting a few skill books. He's picked up some good studded armor, a steel axe and a mage's hood, plus some new clothes so he can ditch the footwraps and potato-sack the Imperials dressed him in. He also wanted to be sure there was enough coin in his pockets before showing his face in Riften again--and especially in front of Talen-Jei, of whom Usum is terribly envious, with his tavern, his steady income, his fancy-shmancy drinks, his status in Riften, his marriage prospects with Keerava. No way he's showing up in Riften coinless and without something to show off to that uppity Talen-Jei. He first stayed at a bandt camp he had cleared out, and did some hunting and raided a few other bandits, then he crossed the mountain eastward and stayed at the abandoned alcemist's shack, working on his alchemy and studying the the animals of the Rift. Then he felt he was ready to show his face in Riften again. For now, he's going to hang out in Riften and the eastern part of Skyrim. He's heard that on the western side of the mountains, there are a lot of vampires. :eek:

Looks like a fun playthrough. I love how you used the envy angle with Talen-Jei. Also, thanks for linking to the 12-sided die. I should definitely edit my original post to include links to various online dice apps and RNGs to help people who use this system.

With regard to expansion, my offline system currently includes favorite foods & drinks, religion (ranging from monotheism to worshiping all Aedra AND all Daedra), and atypical occupations. Posting it all could be overkill, so I need to figure out what to add to this version.
 
I still anticipate many hours with Joslin, but I got curious about making a new character. I rolled

Altmer
Kind
Greedy
Archery/Sneak
Blacksmith
Starts in Falkreath
Fears Falmer
Interested in culinary arts.
Motivation: Tracking an heirloom.

Another great one. All of the users of this system seem to have a great mind for backstories. I love the "family heirloom" motive. My current character (created with this system, of course) is a Redguard named Daron Blackheart who is searching for his family's legendary sword Sinweaver, which appeared in the game Oblivion. In my playthrough, Sinweaver is an Elven Sword of Scorching, and must be found as random leveled loot in a boss chest at a bandit camp. Though my character does not believe in enchanting, I am leveling it during "downtime" so I can learn the flames enchant. When Daron finds Sinweaver, he will take it to a blacksmith for "repair" (buy another Elven sword and improve it to legendary), then enchant it with flames to rename it "Sinweaver.". All of this will be ignored in the fanfic / journal I'm keeping, but it gets me where I want to go, though life would have been easier if the heirloom had a generic name like the ones you are using. Anyway, good luck with this character and thanks for using this system.
 

Wildroses

Well-Known Member
Well, Faire found the necklace of Minor Haggling in the local goods merchant in Falkreath, so I had to invent a system to figure out who bought it there.

1) Haafinger
2) The Reach
3) Falkreath
4) The Rift
5) Eastmarch
6) Winterhold
7) Hjaalmarch
8) Whiterun Hold
9) The Pale

1) Bandit
2) Vampire
3) Orc from stronghold
4) Priest/Pilgrim
5) Vigilant of Stendarr
6) Imperial soldier
7) Stormcloak soldier
8) Hold specific faction
9) Khajiit caravan
10) Random named NPC from randomly selected town in the hold
11) Hunter
12) Mage
13) Necromancer
14) Mercenary
15) Hold Guard

I rolled 3 and 6, so an Imperial soldier on his way to Falkreath Imperial Camp sold it to Solaf. As nobody knows where the camp is (stupid Civil War!), her plan is to wander aimlessly around Falkreath until she finds it. Once she gets there, she has a one in three chance of discovering the soldier never made it, a one in three chance of discovering he was a courier and has moved on to a camp in another hold, and a one in three chance of finding him there. Once she finds him, I'm going to roll for each of the four heirlooms she's still trying to find as there is only a 50% chance he knows anything about them. If he does know something about any of them, there is only a 50% chance he got them from the bandit who originally stole them. I'll be using that system again to figure out both who he received the heirloom from and who took it from him. If by some fluke he got all four of them off the bandit who stole them, she will stop clearing bandit camps. I almost feel sorry for Faire, the random number generator and I are going to make this very difficult for her.

I decided to post all this because I wanted to know if anyone had any other ideas for people who might conceivably have had the heirlooms pass through their hands. I had trouble coming up with ideas.


I hope she never roles hold specific faction in Eastmarch because that's the Stormcloaks, and an Altmer Stormcloak would be super awkward. Wandering all over Skyrim looking for hunters would be a nightmare as well.
 
Well, Faire found the necklace of Minor Haggling in the local goods merchant in Falkreath, so I had to invent a system to figure out who bought it there.

1) Haafinger
2) The Reach
3) Falkreath
4) The Rift
5) Eastmarch
6) Winterhold
7) Hjaalmarch
8) Whiterun Hold
9) The Pale

1) Bandit
2) Vampire
3) Orc from stronghold
4) Priest/Pilgrim
5) Vigilant of Stendarr
6) Imperial soldier
7) Stormcloak soldier
8) Hold specific faction
9) Khajiit caravan
10) Random named NPC from randomly selected town in the hold
11) Hunter
12) Mage
13) Necromancer
14) Mercenary
15) Hold Guard

I rolled 3 and 6, so an Imperial soldier on his way to Falkreath Imperial Camp sold it to Solaf. As nobody knows where the camp is (stupid Civil War!), her plan is to wander aimlessly around Falkreath until she finds it. Once she gets there, she has a one in three chance of discovering the soldier never made it, a one in three chance of discovering he was a courier and has moved on to a camp in another hold, and a one in three chance of finding him there. Once she finds him, I'm going to roll for each of the four heirlooms she's still trying to find as there is only a 50% chance he knows anything about them. If he does know something about any of them, there is only a 50% chance he got them from the bandit who originally stole them. I'll be using that system again to figure out both who he received the heirloom from and who took it from him. If by some fluke he got all four of them off the bandit who stole them, she will stop clearing bandit camps. I almost feel sorry for Faire, the random number generator and I are going to make this very difficult for her.

I decided to post all this because I wanted to know if anyone had any other ideas for people who might conceivably have had the heirlooms pass through their hands. I had trouble coming up with ideas.


I hope she never roles hold specific faction in Eastmarch because that's the Stormcloaks, and an Altmer Stormcloak would be super awkward. Wandering all over Skyrim looking for hunters would be a nightmare as well.


Great system. I use decision-making systems like this all of the time in my RP playthroughs. On my family heirloom playthroughs, I never check the shops, I make it a condition that the item must be found in a chest or given as a quest reward.

One thing you could do, if you track down the Imperial soldier, have him tell you where he obtained it by rolling for a random bandit camp (using a list at UESP) where the "Bandit King" is located and make killing the bandit chief in revenge your primary motivation. When I have done that in the past, I upped the difficulty one spot and made it a "dead is dead" quest.
 

Wildroses

Well-Known Member
I made shops a possibility as I felt a bandit would want to sell off their loot. I think if he tells her he got them off a bandit she'll go on a revenge tour. Her quest to find him has taken an interesting turn though. It turns out Falkreath Imperial Camp won't spawn unless the Civil War questline has been started, so she's decided the only way she'll be told where the camp is, is if she's an Imperial Solider herself. Making an unimportant little camp in an already Imperial Controlled backwater province spawn has got to be the silliest reason ever to join the Imperials and complete the Civil War questline.
 
I made shops a possibility as I felt a bandit would want to sell off their loot. I think if he tells her he got them off a bandit she'll go on a revenge tour. Her quest to find him has taken an interesting turn though. It turns out Falkreath Imperial Camp won't spawn unless the Civil War questline has been started, so she's decided the only way she'll be told where the camp is, is if she's an Imperial Solider herself. Making an unimportant little camp in an already Imperial Controlled backwater province spawn has got to be the silliest reason ever to join the Imperials and complete the Civil War questline.

Ah, but this is where using imagination to rewrite the game can kick in. I know ignoring certain events and dialogue in the game can be hard, but this is how I'd play it if I were writing a journal or fanfic: the shopkeeper tells you the Imperial Soldier's name. Your character heads to Solitude to speak with the Legate to find out where this soldier is stationed. The Legate suspects you for a spy, and wants you to prove your support of the Empire by clearing a bandit fort so the Empire can install a garrison. You clear the fort and return to Soltiude. General Tulius tells you that the soldier is stationed in Falkreath, but won't mark the location on your map. Before leaving, he asks you to take a vow for the Legion in a final attempt to prove you're not a spy. You may have joined the Legion in the game, but in the *story of your character* just did a few things to get the information you needed. You set out in search of the camp, not as a soldier, but as a determined person who convinced the general to reveal classified information.
 
First time.
I am an a/an:
Imperial
Diligent
Wrathful
Wise
Hunter
in Kynnesgrove

Thanks for trying this out. I encourage you to also generate a fear, a hobby/interest and a motive using the choices listed in the page-1 replies to this thread. Good luck. I hope this ends up being a memorable character for you and 50+ hours of play time.
 

Seanu Reaves

The Shogun of Gaming
Thanks for trying this out. I encourage you to also generate a fear, a hobby/interest and a motive using the choices listed in the page-1 replies to this thread. Good luck. I hope this ends up being a memorable character for you and 50+ hours of play time.

lol Interesting system I will have to really try it out some time. And I will do the other parts. I love luck IRL so I am open to creating one in this way :D Next one I do I will actually run :D
 

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