D&D Kids: Creativity at the Table (Part 2 of 4)
Last time we’ve talked about the customized hero, which is a class or a race a kid specifically creates to supplement his gaming needs. This installment I want to show a different kind of hero, one much more rooted in Geek folklore…
The Imported Hero
I have created a race; I loved it in fiction and now I can be it
There is nothing wrong in wanting to play your favorite film or literary hero. Indeed, entire gaming systems; Star Wars, Conan, Call of the Cthulhu, to name a few are based on this premise. There’s something very fun and empowering about controlling great heroes of fiction.
Just like with the customized hero, some bargaining is to be expected, although to a much smaller degree. Players who wish to adapt their heroes to the game are usually well aware of the hero’s limitations in the first place and take them into account while designing him. In fact, they’re likely to place too many limitations on their creations and you might consider suggesting some added powers to balance them.
The main problem with players wishing to import characters from non-D&D sources is that they sometimes choose heroes that pathologically don’t fit the setting. For example, despite being a sci-fi hero, Doctor Who travels in time and space and could, in theory, find himself in a fantasy setting. He is notoriously hard to kill and unimaginably brilliant, but not too tough when it comes to good old fashioned sword and sorcery, nor does he wield high tech weapons and armor – his weapons are his brilliance, a sense of humor, and a particularly versatile screwdriver. All these make him a challenging and rewarding character to play.
Optimus Prime, on the other hand, is connected to a very specific setting, strong as a devil, very explicitly technological and simply has no place among classic fantasy heroes, unless they’re all playing in the epic tier and your setting is especially wacky.
From my experience, the influence of television or video games is quite small on character design. Much stronger influence is exacted by mythology, mostly Greek and Viking and popular fiction like Percy Jackson or Harry Potter. Many kids also ask to adapt powers or items from Magic the Gathering, but so far no one had tried to import a race or a class from any of Magic’s diverse worlds.
Time Lord
Average Height: 160-190 cm
Average Weight: 60-90 Kg
Ability Scores: Intelligence +2, Wisdom +2
Size: Medium
Speed: 7 squares
Vision: Normal
Languages: Common, choice of one another
Skill bonuses: +2 History, +2 Insight, +2 Perception
The Genius Survives!: +2 to saving throws and defenses.
The Last One: You’re the last of your species and are therefore ruthless – enemies can’t affect your decisions with mind-affecting powers.
Racial Powers
Daring Escape (Encounter power): You can make a saving throw against any ongoing effect as a minor action. If you succeed, the enemy is stunned and an ally can make an attack of opportunity against him.
Face of Bo (Encounter Power): You gain support from the face of Bo, inflicting 1d6 points of damage to an enemy who damaged you or an ally this turn
Blessing of the Galifreyian (Daily Power): You take power from your destroyed homeworld and give it to an ally. The ally can either make an immediate saving throw or gain 8 temporary hp.
Itay Dayan (aged 13) The Even Hen gang, what didn’t they do? They started a religion, made war and subdued nations, created a new God from a deranged angel and made me bang my head on the whiteboard more than once, or seventy times. Itay, formerly a vicious gnoll assassin, was the first to break the sci-fi/ fantasy barrier by writing and flashing out the Time Lord, which originally included 10 levels of powers and feats that are now sadly lost.
Next installment you’ll meet a very dark creation born from surprisingly wide erudition and an equally surprising bleak outlook on life…
