Finally... How to make a charsheet for dummies!

I´ve been racking my brains since about sixteen hours now, so be nice, will you?
Modified, remodified and checked, double-checked, double, triple and quadruple checked it.

And there it is: the Shadowrun gamesheet for this very forum, applying to all OC´s.

First off, what is Shadowrun and what do *we* have to do with it?

Shadowrun is a pen´n paper role playing game I´ve played for several years and learned to love.
And before you start to moan and roll your eyes, I won´t whip out the dices on you, promise.
But since there seem to be some misunderstandings on the board as well as in the chat, I thought it might be interesting for you to see how other rpgers handle the issue of character creation.

A note before I start, it is essential for this to work, that other player characters treat the character in question according to the game.
Means: if there is a drop-dead gorgeous female walking down a street, shaking her tush, men can´t help to look!
They can´t, except perhaps, if their boss is standing directly behind them, breathing down their necks. So they will be reasonably distracted.
If a character with much above average strength (let´s say, Hun) takes a 120 lb female and lifts her up, he lifts her up.
If a character, who has trained Stealth since childhood, sneaks up towards a bored security man, he won´t be noticed.
If a character is extremely intelligent, he might find a way out of a situation that nobody has noticed before (even not the one who build the trap).
That isn´t Godmodding but reality.

Another topic: What exactly are the character players?
Average people? I don´t think so. To interact in a rpg means to escape from real life... at least a little.
The characters player desires to be more than a redshirt, that´s what we´re here for, to be something we can´t be (and probably don´t want to be) in real life
So generally, the characters who wind up somewhere in New York, willing to take up somebodys cause (sometimes even their own) are not generic Joe or Jane Averages.
They´re special in some way.
Please don´t understand "speshul", that´s not what I meant.
I meant that they are above average, they have either skills or physical traits that seperate them from the milllions of anonymous New Yorkers, or they wouldn´t be here.
But even a gifted person has limits and to find out what´s "gifted", what´s "overdone", what´s "unrealistic" and what´s quite frankly a "MarySue/MartyStu", I´ve racked my brains for some hours and came up with this.
You might want to take a pen and paper *g*.
Or merely open a Word Document on your computer to write down the stats for your personal char.


Personal data:

Race: Caucasian, Asian, African
Gender: male, female, whatever floats your boat
Age: 18 - 45
Height: 150 - 200 cm
Weight: appropriate
Build: skinny; normal/slim, muscular

Why these terrible restrictions??

Easy. This character sheet is developed for subadult or adult persons of normal health.
If you alter one of the parameters, there has to be a reason for it.
If you do so, it will very likely change your charas attributes.
A child of eight years will be inevitably weaker than an average person and won´t have any skills to a degree where it can make a living with it.
An old person will most likely deteriorate in some of his or her attributes.
A very small or very tall individual will probably develop health problems soomer or later or there will be alterations to other attributes like strength or speed.
If you´re still convinced that there´s something about your char that changes the stats, feel free to discuss it openly.


And now to the shop.
Yes, right, you actually have to "shop" for your char, you need to buy his or her attributes, skills and whatnot.
You have 60 bucks/points/whatevers to "pay" for your char, if you need more, you have a serious problem...
But whatever your pick is, keep in mind that most things in here are related to one another.
For example, when you insist on being 160 cm and skinny, it´s not highly unlikely, but impossible for you to develop a 10 in strength, even if you´re in the gym 24/7 pumping iron.
I won´t stop you developing a 10 in Looks, though or perhaps in Intelligence,
although I´d urge you to keep the superhuman 10 to a mere minimum.
Remember, when the 60 points are spent, you´re out of ammunition.


Attributes (ranging from 1 point minimum to 10 point maximum)

Looks:
How pretty or handsome your char is.
1 - Mirrors burst when you walk by.
3 - average, nobody´ll give you a second look.
5 - You´ll probably get your way into someones bed if you make a move on him/her.
7 - Whoaaah!
9 - Drop-dead gorgeous.
10 - You´re one of the worlds best-paid topmodels. Or you could be.



Strength:
Pretty easy, isn´t it?
1 - You have problems picking your sorry self up from the chair.
3 - You can lift your occasional beercan and some more. Pretty average.
5 - Your friends ask you to help them moving
7 - Your friends ask you to help them move their cars without another car.
9 - You´ve participated in the "Worlds Strongest Men" contests. Or you could have.
10 - What the heck is the Incredible Hulk doing here?



Speed:
How fast you move - basically.
1 - You´re a snail. A dead one.
3 - You can run a little and your reflexes are normal. Joe Average.
5 - You´re nimble and can run quickly.
7 - You´re really, really fast in whatever you do.
9 - The olympic athletic squad called you - again!
10 - Bullet time anyone? You´re a friggin cheetah!



Intelligence:
Ummm...
1 - A cocktail cherry is smarter than you, thanks to her DNA
3 - You can solve the occasional crossword puzzle and enjoy quiz shows. Average.
5 - You are the family genius.
7 - You are the towns genius.
9 - You are the nations genius.
10 - Excuse me, sir, did you just say Einstein?



Pain resistance:
What can you stand?
1 - Your picture is beneath the word "wimp" in the lexicon.
3 - You hate getting an injection, but you´ll stand it.
5 - You´re a tough guy/gal.
7 - You don´t need anaesthetics at the dentist.
9 - You´re a regular badass. Or insane. Or a pain freak.
10 - Who on earth surgically removed your nervous system? And did you sue them?



Endurance:
How long can you resist fatigue?
1 - You can get up from the couch and you´re proud of it!
3 - At the fifth or sixth level of a building you start to pant a little - average.
5 - You can jog for half an hour easily and you´re all around pretty fit.
7 - After an hour of jogging you´re just warmed up and you do half-marathon races/dances/whatevers.
9 - You can run longer than I can sit on a bike.
10 - You won the Hawaii Iron Man - again. Or you could have.



Socializing:
Are you a pleasant person?
1 - Ewww... you suck, go away!
3 - People will talk to you if there´s nobody better to talk to around.
5 - You´re nice.
7 - You´re very nice.
9 - People can´t help to like you from the start, you´re terribly charming.
10 - You actually can socialize with a brick wall.


Now we´re coming to your sociocultural background. You have one!
And only one!
It includes speaking the language of your country, knowing basic facts about your country and knowing about the culture of your country.
That means, that a French char would probably know more about the French Revolution than an American who would know more about the American Civil War. A Russian char would be able to tell you a russian bedtime story, a Japanese char would sing a japanese lullaby, a Spaniard would know much about bull fights.
According to the ethnic heritage of perhaps an american born Chinese, he would know some words of chinese or know certain chinese feasts but would not be able to pass as a Chinese in China.
If you insist on this, then it´ll be fine with me but it´s another 10 points.

Languages are a very important factor. But one has to spend time and in some cases even money to learn them, so it´ll cost you as well. Your char can know as many languages as you want (and your points allow) and there are generally four different versions of knowledge.
A char can know a language:

poorly: (4 points)
Will make silly mistakes, knows only very few words, mangle grammar and spelling... well just speak and understand it poorly, in speech and writing.

okay: (6 points)
Will make less mistakes, broader vocabulary, but everybody will know that there´s a foreigner speaking.

fluent: (8 points)
Will make very few mistakes, but will speak with a slight accent or lose track if the topic is a very particular one.

bilingual: (10 points)
As it says.

To ease things up let´s assume that every char has received a basic education. That means, he or she can write, read and calculate, work with a computer (Excel, Word...) and has some knowledge in other school subjects.


Every character can use one (!) personal mean of transport of your choice, any other one will cost you 5 points. SO if you want to have a driving license, okay, but if you want to drive around on a big fat Harley as well, for show, you´ve gotta pay. Skip the car and you´ll get your bike free of (point) charge.


Now to another difficult topic: skills.
Basically skills are learned facts and routines that a char has acquired.
I´ll try to name a few in some kind of order, but be aware of the fact that there are many mony more out there.
Go on, do a little research!
Surprise us with something!
Be unique!
Be "speshul"! (j/k)
Just remember, mastering one kind of skill doesn´t mean that you´ve mastered all of them.
Being able to handle a colt doesn´t mean you can handle a submachine gun.
A broad knowledge, though, will leave you with much different skills, but not a single powerful one.
On the other hand, if your chars skills are too narrow, you might end up in a situation you can´t solve, because your char´s a idiot savant - simpy a highly specialized geek.

The price is the same as with the attributes from 1 (practically nonexisting) to 10 (practically superhuman)

Special note:
If you decide to have any skill (not attribute!) over 8, please give an explanation for this.
You won't get an 8 on any skill without a very good tutor and/or cramming 24/7.

Martial arts:

Amongst martial arts are e.g.
Karate
Jiu-jitsu
Judo
KungFu
Capoeira
TaekWonDo
Aikido
Kickboxing
Wushu
Kendo
and of course, Ninjutsu
1 - you can do a Kata without hurting yourself in the very act.
3 - you have a belt and it isn´t white.
5 - brown belt
7 - black belt (up to perhaps 3th dan)
9 - advanced dan (7/8 )
10- the sign on the door to your bedroom reads "Biohazard"


Firearms:

Pistols
pumpguns
tommy guns
sniper guns
...
1 - you can fire a gun without shooting yourself
3 - you fire in the general direction of your target.
5 - more often then not you hit the target
7 - military training
9 - SWAT sniper
10- Olympic medalist




Computer:

I have no idea about this, so I leave it open to you what your char´s able to do with a computer.
Hacking, programming... all the same
1 - you have your own website
3 - you made it on your own
5 - you make websites for your friends
7 - you´re a computer specialist
9 - you´re the wet dream of any headhunter
10- you´re the wet dream of Bill Gates


Science:

A little more than you´d learn in school about e.g.
biology/biochemistry
genetics
physics
chemistry
herbology
zoology
history
1 - you once read a book about it.
3 - you own a couple of books about it
5 - you own every book about it
7 - you hardly ever need to look it up in a book
9 - you have a chair about the subject.
10- you´re the guy who wote the most books about the subject


Security:

breaking in
hot-wire a car
disable an alarm system
open a safe.
1 - if you lock yourself out, you can get back in
3 - you can open your neighbours door as well
5 - you can short-circuit cars and open locked doors
7 - you diarm an alarm system
9 - you´ve stolen millions already
10- you´ve been in Fort Knox - just for fun.



Social skills:

How to move and behave in society... not necessarily High Society.
flirting
standard dances
good educational background (to do)
light conversation/smalltalk
business etiquette
jail customs (*snickers evilly*)
street customs
bedroom etiquette (do I know where your chars get their informations from?)



Generally it´s like this:
1 - you can learn it in every small town
3 - you can learn it in every middle-sized town
5 - you can learn it in every big town
7 - you might have to go to another state to learn it.
9 - be glad if your teacher´s on the same continent as you
10- be glad if your teacher´s on the same planet as you




And since we are in the den of debauchery already:
the penalty for oversized gender attributes will be five points, regardless of person or char!
No double D cups on a 150 cm slender girl or you´ll pay, even if it´s plastic surgery!
(And for the male chars, leave the stallions safe on their pastures, will you?)
Since I am whipping out penalties, let´s say the same goes for unusual hair/eye/skin colour unless it is clearly visibly dyed.
Every char may have a single keepsake as long as it is neither plot relevant nor does glow or radiate something else that is probably harmful to bodys of chars or minds of players ( or was it the other way around?).
Only one reference to this keepsake per chat session or per page of rpg is allowed.

Oh well, let´s go on.


General skills:
This contains generally everything you use time and/or money on to learn and rehearse it. You might be able to do this for a living if you´re above average (speak, above 3 points worth) in it. It must be a skill that you acn´t learn within a day or two.
dancing
painting
singing
writing
Full body massage

Characters singing off-tune under the shower fur fun needn´t buy that skill, but are legally bound to provide earplugs for characters within earshot, regardless of said characters alignment!





What to do to prove that you´re special? Do you need to?
Well, there are the edges and flaws.

Edges are bonuses to your chars that are very unusual (and therefore, expensive!)

For only ten points your char gets:

Eidetic memory/total recall
snakeman/woman (extremely flexible joints)
an attribute of 11 (so to give you 11 points of strength and make you definitely superhuman, you have to pay 20 points altogether)
a double identity (not the "Shredder" gimmick, but a real, full double identity)
the edge of being ambidextrous
filthy wealth for no appearant reason (sumptuous heritage e.g.)
a "charm spell" (extreme charisma)

For five points you can have a good job with a stable income for example.

And what if you have a real f***ing big problem?
Then you get something in return of yourse, to play it fair.

You can gain ten additional points to spend on your char if you take the flaws:

amnesia
psychopath
over-powerful fiend (Bishop is after you and with a vengeance... kiss your char goodbye)
Attribut is zero (e.g. Turtles and Looks. No, don´t flame me, the world just isn´t inhabitated by rabid turtle fangirls. Please try to remember that normal people in the streets would scream not with delight but with disgust and/or fear, seeing them. They´re not even coyote-ugly, they´re not longer recognizable as humans. Zero for strength would perhaps mean that the char is quadriplegic.)
Mental disease (Look them up. You´re sitting in front of your computer for crying out loud! Do your own research if you want your char to be bonkers! But what about perhaps an extreme phobia?)


If you prefer to go easy on your poor char, then go ahead.
I can offer you five points for...

analphabet
addiction
mild phobia






Now to your personality.
A very important part of your char... what?
No points to spend anymore?
Well, me neither and you don´t need to, either.
Your personality is your own choice.
You wll neither receive points nor will it cost you any points to form your char.
That means: *clears throat*:

Atten"shun", "speshul" players!!

An "alibi personality flaw" like:
"perfectionist"
"hothead"
"stubborn"
"shy towards people she doesn´t know well"

or the godawful, overused phrase:

"cares too much about others"

won´t bring you extra points (or any more sympathy, come to that)!

???


Well, that´s all, folks.

Howto?

1.) Copy this into a WordPad/Words/whatever writing program you happen to have/ document.

2.) Fill in the blanks.

3.) Post in the appropriate category.

4.) ???

5.) PROFIT!!!


Yours truly, the Admin

----------------------




Personal data:

Name:
Nickname:
Race:
Gender:
Age:
Height:
Weight:
Build:
Hair colour:


Attributes:
Looks:
Strength:
Speed:
Intelligence:
Pain resistance:
Endurance:
Socializing:

Points remaining:


Skills:


Points remaining:

Edges:

Points remaining:

Flaws:

Points added:


Personal history:


Personality:


Points used: