10.2.8: Creating New Archetypes

WCRPG's archetype system covers a lot of ground when it comes to picking out character Skill sets. However, it is not comprehensive by any means. It may be that a player or GM would like to make a character that does not readily translate to one of the archetypes listed in Chapter 2.4 and would like to make characters of that type fairly often (perhaps they have a favorite class or type of character from a different role-playing game system that they'd like to re-create). In that case, they are welcome to make their own custom character archetype.

Creating a character archetype from scratch isn't that difficult. An archetype creator need only do the following:

1. Select a priority order for the archetype's Attributes and Disciplines.
2. Select a priority order for the archetype's Skills.
3. Determine five unique Trait set combinations.
4. Determine the archetype's starting equipment package.

An archetype designer working from scratch is largely on their own when it comes to making these decisions; as with creating new items and equipment (covered in Chapter 10.2.6), this procedure has been left fairly vague in order to avoid stymieing creativity or forbidding a setup that an archetype creator might need. Designers are encouraged to use common sense when picking the most important Skills for their archetype and humor when that ultimately fails.

A technique that is effective for determining a valid archetype Skill set (the first three steps of the procedure in this case) is to look at a similar archetype or character class in a different role-playing game system and to use that information as a guide. This is not advocating plagiarism; that can't be stressed strongly enough. WCRPG's system is fairly unique in that priorities are set for various Skills (as opposed to hard numbers with most other systems - thus direct copying of a character class or archetype shouldn't be possible in most cases). To use this technique, it is necessary to convert the listed skills, traits, feats, etc. (collectively these will be called "various features") from the other RPG system into WCRPG-equivalent Skills and Traits (together these will be called "WCRPG features"). Most other RPG systems will have scores associated with their various features; these scores can be used to indicate "priority strength", giving its equivalent WCRPG feature a higher overall priority. Most of these systems also use the same six Attributes as WCRPG (they may or may not have different names); they may indicate a "primary attribute" for a character class or have a typical set of attribute scores. Again, this information can be used to set the priority order of the equivalent WCRPG features. After converting the various features into WCRPG features, any duplications should have their aggregate priority strength combined (for example, if after conversion an archetype would have Rapport at 6, 4, and 2 from three sources, those features would combine into a final priority strength score of twelve for Rapport). This information can be used to set the highest priority Skills within the Attribute/Discipline. Additionally, the priority strength of a given Skill should be given to its controlling Attribute/Discipline (a score of twelve for Rapport would add twelve to the overall "strength" of Communications, for example). This information can be used to set the priority orders for both Attributes and Disciplines. Finally, when determining the archetype's Trait sets, any traits that were indicated after conversion should appear somewhere in the WCRPG equivalent set (though not all indicated Traits need to appear in all five Trait set possibilities if there are a lot of them or if the archetype designer wishes). The following table presents guidelines for Trait set mixes that would be proportionally similar to those of the presented archetypes; designers may decide to use these guidelines or not at their own discretion.

The following table is a partial listing of various features from a select group of other role-playing systems and their equivalents in WCRPG. Note that this is by no means a comprehensive list, but it does cover some of the more commonly encountered features from other systems. Should a designer need to convert a feature that is not covered here, they may either select a close of a match as possible or use their own judgment (i.e. fudge a bit).

There is no method for determining what items should be located in an archetype’s starting package available other than using common sense. Archetype designers are encouraged to thoroughly review the equipment list in Chapter 5.4 to select what they think is appropriate and to use either procedure in Chapter 10.2.6 to create any new equipment they feel is necessary. If generating new items for an archetype is necessary, the designer should be sure to put the intended effects of the new equipment in a notes section. Since players who utilize the archetype when they're building characters may choose to use fast packs, it's recommended that the actual amount of equipment specific to the archetype be kept to a minimum (generally this means an outfit with shoes, a wallet or sack for item carrying purposes, and maybe a chronometer or other appropriate minor tool). It is recommended that only military, paramilitary, police and criminal archetypes be allowed free weaponry or Armor. Of course, all of these are just recommendations; archetype designers may put as much equipment as they'd like in the starting package. They may also choose to indicate a recommended fast pack for use with their archetype or even indicate that fast packs cannot be used with it.

Samurai: An Example of How to Build an Archetype

It doesn't seem fair to leave the topic of building an archetype in such a vague state; though it pains the editor to type it up, an example is definitely in order. Since we built a katana in Chapter 10.2.6, let's do something that will make use of it; we're going to create the Samurai archetype.

Since we're going to make a Samurai archetype, it would be helpful to get an example from another role-playing game system to guide us along the way (this can be a lot trickier than it sounds). In this case, we're going to use the Bushi occupation from Sengoku: Chanbara Roleplaying in Feudal Japan by Anthony Bryant and Mark Arsenault (ISBN 1890305278; ©1997-2001 Gold Rush Games). This particular piece of source material is interesting in that the Sengoku system does not employ the six basic Attributes. Instead, the system uses thirteen attributes (with an additional seven attributes derived from those thirteen). Fortunately for us, Sengoku includes a section for translating character stats to other role-playing systems. Among the potential destination systems is none other than Dungeons and Dragons™. It targets the 2nd edition rules, but no matter; D&D™ has used the six Attributes throughout its entire history.

So the first thing we need to do is determine a priority order for our archetype's Attributes and Disciplines. We won't be able to do Disciplines until we can start setting up some Skills, so let's focus on the Attributes. The key attributes from Sengoku for the Bushi occupation are Int 2 (which will translate to Intellect), Pre 3 (translates to Charm), Aes 2 (translates to Acumen), Str 4 (translates to Power), Con 4 (translates to Physique), Ref 4 (which we'll translate as an indication of the Dodge Skill), and Dex 4 (which we'll translate as the Dexterous Maneuvers Skill). Fealty is an occupational Complication (which should readily translate into Creed). Skills include archery 2, armory/bowyer 2, expert: samurai clan 3, focus ki 2, forced march 3, heraldry 1, Jujitsu/Sumai 2, Polearms 2, Riding or Scouting 2, Swords 2, Strategy 2, and Throwing 1.

Let's begin translating the indicated skills. We'll get all the way to Focus Ki before we pick up any on the table in this Chapter...it will become Concentration. Fealty turns into Creed, Jujitsu becomes Brawling, Riding is close enough to "Ride" to become Vehicle Piloting or Dexterous Maneuvers (Dexterous Maneuvers makes more sense in this case), and Swords is Sword with an extra "s"; it will become Security and will guarantee a sword in the starting package. The remaining skills aren't on the table, so they're going to need judgment calls. Archery suggests being able to use a bow and arrow, which suggests weapons...this one can also translate to Security and pass along a bow and arrow to the starting package. A bowyer is someone who makes bows...which suggests crafting; "craft" translates to Resourcefulness, which we'll use here. Expert: samurai clan indicates someone who knows a lot about the history and lore of the various clans; this suggests Knowledge. Forced march is the ability to walk long distances without getting as tired as an average person; this suggests Stamina. Heraldry is defined as the profession, study, or art of devising, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms; this one suggests both Knowledge and Performance, as a samurai must have the knowledge and must be able to properly use it. A lance is a type of polearm; lance translates to Security and puts a Blade in the starting package (things are already looking up for putting a daisho in there). Strategy screams out itself. Finally, throwing is probably used to lob javelins or spears at opponents, but we don't really know if it's more general than that. Successful throwing takes precise movement; Dexterous Maneuvers is probably the best fit for this.

Our translation is now complete. The priority strengths for the indicated WCRPG-equivalent Skills are as follows: Creed (no score), Brawling 2, Dexterous Maneuvers 3 (a combined 2+1 from riding and throwing), Security 6 (again a combination), Resourcefulness 2, Knowledge 4 (again a combination), Stamina 3, Performance 1, and Strategy 2. Attributes look like Power 4, Finesse 4, Physique 4 (averaging out the two Skills we know about), Intellect 2, Acumen 2, and Charm 3.

So let's use this information to start setting priorities for our Samurai archetype. Obviously the physical Attributes will be the top three Attributes based on their overall priority strengths. If we look at the individual priority strengths of the indicated Skills under those Attributes, we see Brawling at 2, Dexterous Maneuvers at 3 and Stamina at 3. Brawling is the weakest of these, ergo Power will be the weakest of the three physical attributes and we can safely put it in the third priority spot. The other two can be argued either way; since the strength of Dexterous Maneuvers originated from two separate sources, there are more instances of Dexterous Maneuvers versus Stamina, and yet Stamina got its priority strength all on its own. Because the source material indicates it's obvious that shooting bows and arrows will be important to the archetype, we'll go ahead and say that Dexterous Maneuvers is stronger in this case, and put Finesse in the top priority spot with Physique second. The priority score of three for Charm is shared by no other Attributes, so we can put it in the number four spot. That leaves Acumen and Intellect for the bottom two spots. From the priority strengths of the translated Skills, we have Resourcefulness at 2, Knowledge at 4, and Performance at 1. Resourcefulness and Knowledge are both Intellect Skills, so their scores will combine to five and will clearly outweigh Performance. Intellect can therefore be placed in the fifth priority spot, with Acumen in the lowest spot.

For Discipline priorities, we need to take a look at what's left amongst the translated Skills. We still haven't considered Security and Strategy; these are both Command Skills, so it will take the top Discipline priority. Now we've got a problem: there's no information available to help us pick the priority of the other six Disciplines! Unfortunately, we have no choice but to use what we know about samurai at this point and to try and apply some common sense. We know that they were renowned warriors; Tactical would likely be the number two spot. They were also artists, painters, writers, philosophers...well, at least during the Tokugawa period. This fact suggests that they would know a lot about nature; some of the Science Skills cover the natural disciplines, so we'll put that in the number three spot. Communications will come next, given the common practice of calligraphy amongst samurai. A warrior had better know where they are going, so we'll put Navigation after that. That just leaves Engineering and Medicine; for the hell of it, we'll put them down in that order. At this point, we've finally completed the first step. The Attribute priorities are Finesse, Physique, Power, Charm, Intellect and Acumen, and the Discipline priorities are Command, Tactical, Science, Communications, Navigation, Engineering and Medicine.

Now the time has come to determine Skill priorities. Let's go down the priority list, starting with Attributes. Finesse is the top priority Attribute, with Dodge, Dexterous Maneuvers and Hiding and Seeking as its Skills. The translation gave some points in Dexterous Maneuvers, so we'll make it the top Skill. Between the other two, there were some points in Dodge from the original translation; we'll make it second and put Hiding and Seeking last. Now we can move on to Physique. Stamina had points from the translation, so it goes first, leaving Concentration and Recuperation. Here we'll need to make an arbitrary decision; let's put Concentration up front, since it might come in handy when aiming a bow. For the Power Skills, Brawling had points from the translation and so it'll go first. Again, an arbitrary decision is needed to pick between Three-Dimensional Maneuvers and Lifting for the bottom spots; since Lifting is a little specific in what it actually does, we'll put it last. For Charm none of the Skills were translated; the selection of skills here will need to be completely arbitrary. Samurai often were revered in the communities in which they lived (out of respect and out of fear) and occasionally were called by members of the lower castes to help settle disputes; this suggests that Leadership should be one of the top priorities - we'll put that first - as well as Diplomacy (samurai may have been used to arbitrate, but there were also times where the "arbitration" involved the point of a sword). Personality will come last. We had two Skills translate out with points for the Intellect Attribute, Knowledge and Resourcefulness. Knowledge had a stronger priority strength score than Resourcefulness, so this will be easy: the order will be Knowledge, then Resourcefulness, then Cunning. Finally, Performance is the only translated skill for Acumen that had points, so it'll go first. Between Survival and Perception, Perception is probably needed more by someone who needs to be constantly on the watch for enemies, so we'll put it in the second slot and put Survival in the last spot.

Disciplines are going to offer up a challenge, simply because we wound up with a mere two translated Skills out of all of them (and both of those in Command). We're going to need to make a lot of arbitrary decisions in this case, so let's get started. Security had a priority strength of six (well over the two of Strategy) so it will be the top priority Command Skill, with Strategy in the number two spot. For the remaining spots, let's say Coordination, followed by Inspire and Guidance. In Tactical, we'll start off with Ballistics (there may be some synergy given the skill required to accurately shoot a bow), Marksmanship (same here, though it is unlikely a samurai would ever use a beam weapon), Targeting (same here), and close it out with Combat Maneuvers (there may some synergy with Strategy) and Evasive Maneuvers (evading the enemy is sometimes a vital part of strategy). Moving on to Science, let's go with Geology, Typhonology, Planetology, Archaeology, and finally Technology; we said they were artists, and most of these fields are common subjects of Japanese art (a Samurai would probably not have much experience with computers or capital ships, hence the placement of Technology last). With Communications, we'll start with Translate for the calligraphy. The order of the other Skills will be Intimidate (drawn swords tend to do that), Rapport (always important), and then Negotiation followed by Distress. Of the Navigation Skills, Orientation is probably most important (soldiers need to know where they are and where they are going, after all). Stealth will come next (moving quietly can be very important in many combat situations). We'll put Vehicle Piloting next; it may have a little synergy with horseback riding. The other two Skills don't lend themselves well to the archetype; we'll pick Astrogation followed by Starship Piloting last; while it's not likely a Samurai would know anything of either, we'll assume that some part of being able to navigate on land translates into astronomy and therefore how to navigate in space. Engineering poses a challenge as always. We'll start off with Damage Control (some synergy with bow-making, perhaps) followed by Internal Systems, then Defenses (a good samurai knows how to take care of their combat equipment). The others don't really make sense, so we'll just pick: Mechanics (they probably had carts back then) followed by Faster-Than-Light Mechanics (again, a samurai probably knows nothing of space travel). Medicine will round things out: we'll start with Xenobiology (samurai knew how to cause fatal wounds), followed by Psychology (useful for "psyching out" opponents on the battlefield), Intensive Care (mainly self-care in case of injury), Specialized Medicine (knowing how poisons work helps one to prevent becoming a victim of them), and finally Treatment. This puts us at the end of the second step of the procedure. The bulk of the work on the archetype is now behind us.

The next step is to determine Trait set combinations. From the translation, we have one Complication ready for use (Creed (Bushido)), which we're going to use and abuse. We can get the rest of the Traits we'll want to use by making a quick scan through the list of Traits. Some appropriate Talents will be Senses, Wealth, Social Status, Nerves, and Quick Draw. A few more Complications that make sense are Temper, Intolerant, and Lecherous (there are plenty of stories about lusty samurai). We can now start using the guidelines to set some of these in stone. Let's start off with Social Status +5 countering Creed '(Bushido) '-5 for the first spot. In the second spot, we'll say Social Status +5, Wealth +5, and Creed '(Bushido) '-10. The third spot can be Social Status +5, Nerves +5, Wealth +5, and Creed '(Bushido) '-15. For the fourth spot, we can say Senses (Sight) +20, Creed '(Bushido) '-5, Lecherous -5, and Temper -10. Just to mix it up for the last spot, we'll say Nerves +10, Quick Draw +10, Creed '(Bushido) '-5, Intolerant -5, and Temper -10. That gives us our five Trait sets, a relatively painless process.

We're left with the final step, determining the starting equipment package. We can use the source material to help us out here. A lot of what's there is specific to that role-playing system (which obviously makes a lot of sense) but we can compare its equipment list to WCRPG's equipment list and make some matches that will be close enough to be usable (and perhaps add a few more that might come in handy). From the source material, a samurai gets the various pieces of his outfit (the equivalent of Civilian Casual Dress), a pair of sandals (Shoes are closest), raingear with galoshes (we can say Boots in this case), the daisho, a bow with an extra string (this could be a full Weapon Cleaning and Repair Kit), a polearm (which we'll ignore), a bamboo water bottle (a Canteen is a close match), and a complete set of Armor. From the translation, we'll need to add a bow, a sword and a knife as part of the package for sure; for the sword and knife, we can pull our tie-in of the katana from Chapter 10.2.6 and just say that's the daisho (a katana and a wakizashi). The bow is going to need a quiver of arrows; otherwise it's just an expensive Club.

So, at this point we have a Civilian Casual Dress Outfit (costs ¤25.00; 5x4, 2x2 pockets) with Shoes and Boots (cost ¤5.00 and ¤6.50 respectively; the Boots have one level of thermal protection and neither Shoes nor Boots add pockets), Raingear (cost ¤11.25; 2x16 pockets), a Katana and Wakizashi (which will count as two single-appendaged Swords, one a long sword and the other a short sword; this will have a combined cost of ¤180, EC of 6 and a size of 8 apiece), a Bow (we'll say Third Class for a cost of ¤17.50, an EC 6 and size 64), a Quiver (¤1.50, EC 3, size 8), a Weapon Cleaning/Repair Kit (¤13.00, EC 2, size 4), a Canteen (¤2.00, EC 5 and size 32), and a full set of plate Armor (we'll say Third Class to keep the cost and weight down; that's still going to amount to a cost of ¤200.00, an EC of 9, a +6 overall HD penalty, -6 Perception Check penalty, and a -4 penalty to all Finesse Checks). It's immediately apparent that there isn't enough carrying space as things stand. Let's add some holsters for the weapons; a Back Holster for a two-handed weapon (¤9.75; 1x64) can handle the bow, while two Duty Holsters (1x8 each, ¤19.50 total) can be used for the swords. We still don't have a pocket big enough for the Canteen, so we'll add a Satchel (¤8.00; 1x128), which should give us plenty of carrying space. The Quiver and Repair Kit will also easily fit inside. We have some extra room now, but the tab for what we've got is already getting pretty high; it's up to ¤486.00. We'll reduce that by saying the Armor is a freebie, making the tab a more manageable ¤299.00. We could do the same thing with the swords, but we really don't want to do that given that they're more of a signature item of the archetype. At least all of the samurai's equipment can easily fit inside the Satchel with some room to spare. Moreover, we've picked gear that's all either Metal Age or Stone Age, so we only need to make the total encumbrance class calculation at this point. Adding up the ECs of everything, we get a final total of 31 (a little heavy, but easily reduced by removing Armor and putting down the satchel if necessary). This gives us our equipment list and finishes up the fourth and final step of the procedure.

After all that, we've got the following completed archetype, which will now allow samurai to be used in a campaign that takes place in feudal Japan using WCRPG's engine (and will allow them to pop up somewhere in the Wing Commander Universe...).

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