I have been thinking about attempting to play a short solo-rpg campaign, just to see how it goes. Following my review of Knave 2E, I decided that Knave may be the perfect game for this, and that now may be the perfect time to give a solo play a try.
Character creation in Knave 2E is simple and straightforward. It can be done by choice or randomly. Since my goal is a solo campaign, I want to do things randomly as much as possible.
The first thing you do to create a character in Knave is generate Ability Scores. Unlike D&D these score are just the modifiers. So, zero is average, and anything above zero is really good. In Knave, abilities can go up to +10. This might seem really high, but ability scores are never added to damage rolls, only to skill rolls, and they are the only source of modifiers.
At 1st Level characters have a total of +3 in their Ability Scores. This is generated by rolling 3 six-sided dice and then assigning +1 to the ability score associated with each die that is rolled. Ability scores are listed on the character sheet in this order: [1] Strength, [2] Dexterity, [3] Constitution, [4] Intelligence, [5] Wisdom, [6] Charisma.
I rolled 3d6 and rolled a 5, 5, and 2. That's +2 Wisdom [5], and +1 Dexterity [2].
Ability scores done. It's that easy.
Next I need to record secondary stats. You have a carrying capacity equal to 10+ CON. In my case that's 0. So, I have a carrying capacity of 10. I simply note that on the character sheet in slot 11 of my inventory space.
Players start with a d6 in HP. Knave has this thing where you roll all dice for HP every level. I have never liked random quantities like this in character creation. I want to house rule this so that I start at level 1 with max HP, but I don't want to break the game. I have decided that my house rule on this is that characters get +6 HP during odd levels and +1 HP during even levels. This allows me to start with max HP at level 1, but averages out to 7 HP for every 2 levels. That gets rid of the random quantity without breaking the game.
The next step is to roll two careers from your character's past. This is for flavor, and it gives you some interesting starting items to fill out your inventory. I rolled D% twice on the Careers Table.
Careers (d% twice): 79 = Rat Catcher, 42 = Groom
- Rat catcher granted me a cage, 10 rat traps and a sack.
- Groom granted me oats, a horse brush and a blanket. (So, "groom" is a horse groomer. Okay.)
I am really pleased with these rolls. They work well with my +2 Wisdom which is the Ability of Rangers. A background with animals is cool. Humble beginnings as a Rat Catcher, then a lucky break to Horse Groomer. Cool!
Next, I have to finish out my equipment. Players begin with 3d6 x 10 coins. Again, random quantity. The average for a roll of 3d6 is 10.5. In the spirit of the old-school, I'm "dropping all fractions" and going with an average value of 10. That means that I have 100 coins to spend.
I mark down the 100 coins and other gear listed for starting characters: 2 rations, 50' of rope, 2 torches. And, that's it. I am out of inventory space.
I don't have any weapons. I'm going to need to drop something in order to buy and carry a weapon. I'd really like a ranged weapon to take advantage of my +2 Wisdom score (ranged attacks in Knave are based on Wisdom). A basic ranged weapon will cost 50 coins. A basic melee weapon will also cost 50 coins. If I buy both, I will have to spend all my coins and clear 2 inventory slots (actually 1, the missing coins will free up one slot automatically.)
I don't like the idea of entering the game solo with no money, and I don't like the idea of entering the game solo without a melee weapon. So, it's decided. I'm spending 50 gold on a basic one-hand melee weapon: a sword.
Now I need to drop something in order to make room for the sword. Most of my "flavor" gear is just that. I don't need or even perceive a real use for any of it. Yet, I don't want to get rid of it. I'm hoping that these things may lead to some interesting roleplay. (Still, something has to go.)
I decide to lose the sack. In theory, a sack should expand your inventory, but there are no rules, and nothing else in my inventory includes containers. (I'm assuming that the appropriate containers are implied. I'm certainly not carrying loose grain.) So, I drop the sack.
Final details can be rolled randomly. There are tables for a character's first and last name, and for various personality traits. (These later tables are geared toward NPC's but I like the idea of rolling them for my character.)
- Male Names: 75 = Piers
- Surname 1: 31 = Draw-
- Surname 2: 42 = -grove
Piers Drawgrove
(For these, I rolled twice each and picked the one that I wanted.)
- Personality 53 - Knows everybody
- Details 51 - Missing Finger
- Goals 49 - End War
- Relationship 86 - Suitor
- Mannerism 88 - Speechifying
When he was a rat catcher, a rat bit Piers' hand which got infected and he lost a finger. Apparently, Piers has a girl that he likes that he wants to marry, but there is a war going on and Piers wants to end the war. He is popular around town and he speaks a lot about the war, but "speechifying" implies a certain amount of pontification. So, perhaps people are a little tired of hearing it. (I'll need to raise his Charisma.)
Piers works (or worked) as a horse groomer. I'm going to say that he got a lucky break with a wealthy patron (someone who is also against the war) who gave him the job at a nicer stables (50 coins seems like a lot) where he is able to meet more influential people.
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And that's it. A complete character with a backstory and everything, out of nothingness. I began with no ideas, no thought of a character or his world, and now I have all of this. (So, far … Knave 2E seems awesome!)
I have created a form fillable version of the character sheet that you can get here. I made one change to the sheet compared to the one that you will find in the core book. I replaced the "Portrait" area with a "Notes" area. Otherwise the sheet is unchanged.
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