Advantages and Disadvantages

[Hamarr]

Buying advantages and disadvantages at character creation.

As an extra step at character creation, when a player is about to purchase new ranks in common skills and weapon skills with their 10 previous experience points (14 for High Elves and Dunedain). A character cannot purchase more than 10 points of advantages and they cannot have more than 10 points have disadvantages.

Advantages

* Ally (Loremaster character) purchasing the ally advantage will grant a hero a patron level npc at the start of the game. How influential they are and how willing they are to help you.

1 exp A wandering adventurer of no fame, has taken a liking to the player. They will fight for the player, and journey with them if need arises. They are not able to pay for anything for the player.

2 exp an acquaintance of minor fame. A Dwarven craftsmen, Barding merchant, or Elven Warden. If within the area they travel, you may call upon them, and they will assist you in battle or encounters. The loremaster can use stats, if they would like. Depending on their standard of living the alley may be able to help with the purchase of ponies or boats and other gear that an adventurer might need. The LM can call for a moderate persuade or courtesy roll if the request is outrageous.

4 exp a minor patron of some fame, they can aid the adventurer and their companions by offering rewards for tasks, and helping ease introductions in the courts of their culture. The LM applies a +2 to the tolerance when interacting with the culture of your alley.

6 exp the player has a named patron from the Lore of Middle-Earth. Perhaps the player is a spy of Saruman, a herald for Elrond or Gandalf. Perhaps the player is a close acquaintance of King Bard or King Dain. Regardless when spending a fellowship phase in the company of your patron by telling of all that you have learnt during an adventure the patron will grant you a small reward or boon. Perhaps King Bard will grant a reward of treasure. Gandalf may grant a boon to the character for the next adventuring phase. Saruman may grant an experience point as per the rules of Rivendell.


* Filled with hope: 4 exp you are a bit of an oddity within your culture, you have a unique spirit that often cannot be quenched raise your basic heart score by one. This will adjust your total hope and favoured heart.

* Master of riddles: Level 1 3 exp Gain Riddle as a favoured skill.

Level 2 5 exp as above but also raise basic wits by 1, adjusting favoured wits and parry as well.

* Wealthy: You can gain a higher standard of living, or start the game with a small amount of treasure via this advantage. As well as gain standing.

Spend 2 exp to raise your standard of living by one level. If you are already at a rich standard of living when you spend the 2 exp you will start the game with 2 points of treasure.

* Powerful: Spend experience to gain standing before the start of the game. Must purchase each level independently. Cannot raise standing above a three. In this way a player can spend 6 exp to gain a standing of three right away.

1 standing = 1 exp
2 standing = 2 exp
3 standing = 3 exp

Disadvantages

* Poor: Gain 4 exp to lower your standard of living by two levels. (You are viewed as poor by your culture. A poor Dwarf would become a martial hero, but they would still have more means than a Woodmen adventurer. Additionally you can gain 2 more exp by becoming indebted to a Loremaster character of some kind. For the first 2 exp you gain, you owe a small bag of coins (2 treasure points.) You can gain 1 more exp for each additional treasure point you owe

* Enemy (Loremaster character)

2 exp: An adventurer who will hinder your actions when given the chance, When facing foes in combat your enemy will specifically target you.

4 exp A minor lord holds a grudge against you, and perhaps your family. They will hider you at every turn, and given the chance will tarnish your name in any important encounter. If the LM determines that the NPC would be present at important meetings, the character would have the ear of whoever you are speaking with. Lower the tolerance by one point.

6 exp A powerful npc has taken a dislike towards you. Perhaps Vigland, or Mogdred, or the Lord of the Toft. These are powerful npcs who will go out of their way to send people to find you and capture or kill you.

* Oathbreaker: 7 exp you are known as an oathbreaker by your kin, this is either true or a falsehood. You can determine the situation, but your folk look on you with disdain, you lose a home among your culture, as you are a wanderer and outcast. Any encounter with your folk has a -1 penalty to tolerance.

* Doomed: A shadow fills your nature, people shy away from your presence. Either by your own actions or the encounters you have had with the enemy.

3 exp gain 1 permanent shadow

5 exp gain 2 permanent shadow

7 exp gain 3 permanent shadow
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On a final note players have the option to trade in their cultural weapon skills, for experience to spend during character creation. A hero can get rid of their weapon skill at 2 ranks to gain a total of 6 more exp, or they can get rid of their dagger and second weapon skill for a total of 4 exp. In this way players can easily make a Dwarf who is skilled in the use of Swords, or a high elf that uses a great axe. Or they can have a weapon skill at rank 1 and have extra exp to spend on common skills. This is discouraged unless other members of the party will be good enough fighters.

[Hamarr]

If anyone has any thoughts on this idea. Or concerns I would love to hear them, I think this is a nice way to get variety in characters from the same culture.

Anyway let me know what you think.

[Tuska]

I like being able to make unique characters. As I'm currently running for a party of Elves of Mirkwood I gave them the option to choose different traits so they weren't all the same.

If you were intending to run a one-off I can see how being Doomed or some of the other Advantages could be of real interest.

[Hamarr]

If you were intending to run a one-off I can see how being Doomed or some of the other Advantages could be of real interest.

I agree. It's why I made this short list, and I am thinking of more ideas for various advantages and disadvantages for the game that would work. I like the wealthy and poor advantage and disadvantage. In that way it represents that not every single person from a culture is of the same wealth. Thranduial and his family are no doubt prosperous or even rich while most other Wood Elves would be martial. The Master of Lake Town would be rich as well. But some Lake Men may also be worse off, suffering from bad deals, and trades they have watched their wealth dwindle away. It just creates a little more wealth disparity. It is an interesting factor especially if the Loremaster wants to introduce a harder currency system.

And thanks for the comments, If I think of more ideas I will keep this thread updated with new ones.