The weekend of #RPGaDay gives me an easy question for Day 11, but it might very well be one of the longest posts of this year's campaign:
"Wildest Character Name?"
I'm pretty tame when it comes to naming my characters. Odd names tend to attract unwanted attention.
Unfortunately, the players in the games I run haven't figured that out yet.
After progressing through high school with characters we simply referred to as "The drunken warrior, stupid ranger, and busty mage," my groups obviously moved on to famous fictional characters, only adding or removing a letter, to my college campaign where we had a wide range of names like Rolf Wolfsblood, Kane (like in Kung-Fu), Ashe Winnebago, Echelon....
and Norm Dingleberry.
Like most college games, we had core group of guys, while others fluttered in and out of the game. Nate was one of the guys we spent considerable time trying to get into the game, but he had one small problem: He was a commuter who lived a half hour away with his parents. The Obligatius Familius overrode any attempt to hang out with friends on a Saturday night.
Eventually, Nate worked out some arrangement and was able to attend, but dice held him back.
My 2nd Edition AD&D game stuck by two simple rules: replacement characters started two levels lower than the party and new characters rolled stats in book order, 4d6, removing the lowest die.
Nate's rolls were horrendous. a healthy, strong, but otherwise incompetent dude. A few racial adjustments later, and he had Norm Dingleberry a failed dwarven mushroom farmer. Norm had a horribly low wisdom, and an intelligence so bad, he could speak his racial language to start.
With the current campaign off the regular campaign map, I invited him to play in a game with a partial group of the regulars, and a partial group of the "Not ready for primetime players" who played in game by my dorm neighbor TOWN (The Other White Nate).
Norm's inaugural combat involved two trips and accidentally hitting Echelon the cleric in the back with his battle axe. That and some non-communicative nose picking set the tone.
Nate's availability over the Summer created another situation, and a fateful GM fiat.
Our campaign regulars who were available for Summer play had already been transferred to the world of Talislanta for some cross-game fun. I could bring Norm in late, perhaps with the help of a "companion," but I also decreed early on, that he would get hit in the head, and upon waking up, could speak Trade-Prythax, the universal Common, but with an outrageous French accent.
The new ability to communicate expanded Norm Dingleberry's horizons.
No longer was he comic relief, rather a beneficial part of the team. He created tearful drama, as he was forced to kill the doppelganger of his beloved Dew, then torched the doppelganger agent's hideout, only to discover her real body, burned to death.
Norm ran off to fight wars, ally himself with the despicable Dread Lord as a double agent, defeated armies, single-handedly destroy legendary vampires to obtain legendary weapons, and in the direst moments of the apocalypse, could lay a claim to be the Emperor of the Known World.
Not bad for a failed mushroom farmer.
When the campaign ended, Norm was awarded a Duchy, part of the Kingdom of Crosedes, but reporting directly to the newly crowned Emperor.
And dwarves live a long time, so with the next campaign starting up, decades later (and in Hackmaster), I couldn't help to give now King Norm a cameo.
So, as a conversion to Hackmaster, 4th Edition, here are the updated stats for King Norm. Keeping at a high honor level has allowed him to improved his stats a bit quicker when he levels.
King Norm Dingleberry of Mercadia (1142)
12th Level CG Dwarf Fighter
Homeland: Skyforge
Birth Date: 1006
Sex: M Age 136 Height 4’3”
Hair: Black Eyes: Brown Weight 162 lbs.
Quirks/Flaws: Anosmia, Excessive Drooling, Tone Deaf, Socially Awkward
STR: 15/16
DEX: 12/97
CON: 17/21
INT: 11/26
WIS: 11/33
CHA: 13/08
COM: 13/14
Hit Points: 95
"Overslayer" +9/+10 3 attacks/round 2d6/2d6/2d6
Can be thrown 150’ 3x daily, illuminate on command, communicate with owner, makes wielder agoraphobic. Additional +2 to hit and damage vs. goblins, giants, trolls, and orcs
Grand Master: Battle Axe
Warhammer
Dagger
Shortsword
Short Spear
Talents:
Axe Bonus
Close to Earth
"Wildest Character Name?"
I'm pretty tame when it comes to naming my characters. Odd names tend to attract unwanted attention.
Unfortunately, the players in the games I run haven't figured that out yet.
After progressing through high school with characters we simply referred to as "The drunken warrior, stupid ranger, and busty mage," my groups obviously moved on to famous fictional characters, only adding or removing a letter, to my college campaign where we had a wide range of names like Rolf Wolfsblood, Kane (like in Kung-Fu), Ashe Winnebago, Echelon....
and Norm Dingleberry.
Like most college games, we had core group of guys, while others fluttered in and out of the game. Nate was one of the guys we spent considerable time trying to get into the game, but he had one small problem: He was a commuter who lived a half hour away with his parents. The Obligatius Familius overrode any attempt to hang out with friends on a Saturday night.
Eventually, Nate worked out some arrangement and was able to attend, but dice held him back.
My 2nd Edition AD&D game stuck by two simple rules: replacement characters started two levels lower than the party and new characters rolled stats in book order, 4d6, removing the lowest die.
Nate's rolls were horrendous. a healthy, strong, but otherwise incompetent dude. A few racial adjustments later, and he had Norm Dingleberry a failed dwarven mushroom farmer. Norm had a horribly low wisdom, and an intelligence so bad, he could speak his racial language to start.
With the current campaign off the regular campaign map, I invited him to play in a game with a partial group of the regulars, and a partial group of the "Not ready for primetime players" who played in game by my dorm neighbor TOWN (The Other White Nate).
Norm's inaugural combat involved two trips and accidentally hitting Echelon the cleric in the back with his battle axe. That and some non-communicative nose picking set the tone.
Nate's availability over the Summer created another situation, and a fateful GM fiat.
Our campaign regulars who were available for Summer play had already been transferred to the world of Talislanta for some cross-game fun. I could bring Norm in late, perhaps with the help of a "companion," but I also decreed early on, that he would get hit in the head, and upon waking up, could speak Trade-Prythax, the universal Common, but with an outrageous French accent.
The new ability to communicate expanded Norm Dingleberry's horizons.
No longer was he comic relief, rather a beneficial part of the team. He created tearful drama, as he was forced to kill the doppelganger of his beloved Dew, then torched the doppelganger agent's hideout, only to discover her real body, burned to death.
Norm ran off to fight wars, ally himself with the despicable Dread Lord as a double agent, defeated armies, single-handedly destroy legendary vampires to obtain legendary weapons, and in the direst moments of the apocalypse, could lay a claim to be the Emperor of the Known World.
 |
| The vintage picture of a younger, bearded Norm on his character sheet. |
When the campaign ended, Norm was awarded a Duchy, part of the Kingdom of Crosedes, but reporting directly to the newly crowned Emperor.
And dwarves live a long time, so with the next campaign starting up, decades later (and in Hackmaster), I couldn't help to give now King Norm a cameo.
So, as a conversion to Hackmaster, 4th Edition, here are the updated stats for King Norm. Keeping at a high honor level has allowed him to improved his stats a bit quicker when he levels.
King Norm Dingleberry of Mercadia (1142)
12th Level CG Dwarf Fighter
Homeland: Skyforge
Birth Date: 1006
Sex: M Age 136 Height 4’3”
Hair: Black Eyes: Brown Weight 162 lbs.
Quirks/Flaws: Anosmia, Excessive Drooling, Tone Deaf, Socially Awkward
STR: 15/16
DEX: 12/97
CON: 17/21
INT: 11/26
WIS: 11/33
CHA: 13/08
COM: 13/14
Hit Points: 95
"Overslayer" +9/+10 3 attacks/round 2d6/2d6/2d6
Can be thrown 150’ 3x daily, illuminate on command, communicate with owner, makes wielder agoraphobic. Additional +2 to hit and damage vs. goblins, giants, trolls, and orcs
Grand Master: Battle Axe
Warhammer
Dagger
Shortsword
Short Spear
Talents:
Axe Bonus
Close to Earth
Blindfighting
SKILLS:
LANG DWARF 100% d6
LANG GNOME 28% d6
LANG TRADE PRYTHAX 32% d6
R/W Trade Prythax 16% d6
R/W Gnome 28% d6
Administration 27% d6
Civil Administration 28% d4
Agriculture 19% d10
Ancient History 24% d12
Animal Lore 33% d10
Clever Packer 19% d8
Current Affairs 27% d6
Customs: Crosedes 27% d8
Customs: Dwarves 20% d8
Diplomacy 18% d8
Fire Building 15% d6
Liar, Skilled 40% d6
Mime 23% d6
Riding, Land 33% d6
Rope Use 66% d8
Rousing Speech 26% d8
Rules of Fair Play 17% d6
Set Snares 70% d8
Shaving/Grooming 100%
Cricket-in-a-Pea-Pod 26% d5
Eye of the Tiger 18% d5
Groin Punch 17% d4
Leadership: Basic 73% d4
Leadership: Committee 47% d5
Military: Battle Sense 54% d4
Military: Small Unit 42% d6
Arcane Lore 23% d6
Titles
King of Mercadia
SKILLS:
LANG DWARF 100% d6
LANG GNOME 28% d6
LANG TRADE PRYTHAX 32% d6
R/W Trade Prythax 16% d6
R/W Gnome 28% d6
Administration 27% d6
Civil Administration 28% d4
Agriculture 19% d10
Ancient History 24% d12
Animal Lore 33% d10
Clever Packer 19% d8
Current Affairs 27% d6
Customs: Crosedes 27% d8
Customs: Dwarves 20% d8
Diplomacy 18% d8
Fire Building 15% d6
Liar, Skilled 40% d6
Mime 23% d6
Riding, Land 33% d6
Rope Use 66% d8
Rousing Speech 26% d8
Rules of Fair Play 17% d6
Set Snares 70% d8
Shaving/Grooming 100%
Cricket-in-a-Pea-Pod 26% d5
Eye of the Tiger 18% d5
Groin Punch 17% d4
Leadership: Basic 73% d4
Leadership: Committee 47% d5
Military: Battle Sense 54% d4
Military: Small Unit 42% d6
Arcane Lore 23% d6
Titles
King of Mercadia
Imperial Duke of Mercadia Premier
Blue Knight of Crosedes
Former General of the Eastern Army of Crosedes
Emperor of the Known World
Disputed Count of Rowand
Failed Mushroom Farmer
Equipment
2 Short Spears
Dwarven Warhammer
Splint Mail and Open Face Helm
Blue Knight of Crosedes
Former General of the Eastern Army of Crosedes
Emperor of the Known World
Disputed Count of Rowand
Failed Mushroom Farmer
Equipment
2 Short Spears
Dwarven Warhammer
Splint Mail and Open Face Helm
**Honorable Mention goes to General Fonzie "The Fonz" Schlepprock, a gnome titan fighter that joined the campaign in the midst of a war ravaging the continent. Fun times for "The Fonz."
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