Character Creation Challenge 2026 Day 23: Pax Gladius

Keeping with the Roman theme, today I present characters for the game Pax Gladius. 

 

Pax Gladius is from the line of 1PG games from Deep7.  They are intended to be pick up and play games for one shots or short campaigns.  I found the games via Broadsword, their sword & sorcery entry.

Each 1PG game has a page or two of rules explaining the rules and character creation, a character sheet with complete character creation and condensed rules, a page for the GM and then 5 or 6 one page scenarios.

 

The mechanic is 1d6 roll equal or under stat + skill.

 

I present a Roman Senator and his slave.  I realize that I made the Senator character too young to actually be a senator.  But maybe it is extraordinary times and he's pulling a Scipio Africanus. 

 

 

 

Character Creation Challenge 2026 Day 22: Savage Worlds Weird Wars Rome

Weird Wars Rome is a Savage Worlds setting that brings horror to the ancient empire.  It tweaks the system to better fit it two the setting, adding appropriate edges and hindrances to character creation. It largely focuses on legionary characters, but not exclusively so.  You can play a gladiator type characters amongst others.

 

Weird Wars Rome is a horror game and the players fight evil magic and monsters bent on destroying the empire.  Many of the monsters are drawn from Classical mythology and from the cultures and people who fell under the sway of the Empire.  It is set in the time period that runs from the Second Punic War to the death of Marcus Aurelius and just beyond.

 

 

Character Creation Challenge 2026 Day 21: WEG Star Wars 1st Edition Bounty Hunter

I've always wondered what it would be like if a bounty hunter joined the Rebellion.  He could work as a double agent of sorts.  He could pursue regular bounties most of the time while gleaning what information he could about Imperial forces.  Then, on occasion, nabbing important Imperial officers or officials and turning them over to the Rebels.  It would be a dangerous life.  A lucrative one, but dangerous.

 

 

Character Creation Challenge 2026 Day 20: Spellzard

Spellzard is a simulacrum game of Fighting Fantasy: The Introductory Role-Playing Game.  For those who don't know, the Fighting Fantasy RPG was an RPG based on the simple system used in the gamebooks that so many enjoyed in the Eighties and beyond.  The system has seen a resurgence in recent years as the simple foundation for other games.  Troika is perhaps the most prominent.  Spellzard falls into this category, too.

There are several changes to the game but the two most significant are the core mechanic and character creation.   FF and Spellzard only use d6.  The core mechanic for FF has to do with a characters Skill.  If you are performing a regular task, you throw 2d6 and try to roll equal to or under your Skill.  In combat, you roll 2d6 + Skill and try to beat your opponent’s roll.  In Spellzard, all rolls are 2d6 + Skill => 14 to succeed or higher than your opponent’s roll.

Character creation is changed significantly but it is still simple.  FF has you roll for Skill, Stamina and Luck and, with a little gear, you’re ready to rock-n-roll.  With Spellzard, you still roll for Stamina and luck.  You then choose a class, either Adventurer or Wizard.  This determines your potential Skill level and the number of Special Skills your character can have.  If you choose Skill level 8 for your Adventurer, you receive 1 Special Skill; 7 you receive 2; and 6 you receive 3.  A Wizard starts with a Skill of 7 and the Spellcasting Special Skill or Skill 6 and the Spellcasting Special Skill and one other Special Skill.

There is a restriction on Skill tests though:

If you do have the Special Skill for the task being tested, you make a Skill Test. But if you don’t have the relevant Special Skill, you make a Luck Test instead.

Special Skills are abilities such as Athletics, Healing, Repair and Strength.

Spells do not have levels, but the Wizard must pass a Skill check to succeed and there is a Stamina cost associated with each spell.

You can choose a race but this only has an effect if the GM wants it to.

 

Spellzard Character Sheet
Name	Robert Rednose
Race/Class	Human Adventurer
Skill	Stamina	Luck		Inventory/Spell Slots
7	19	11
				1 Dagger (1/2 slot)
Special Skills
Athletics				2 Adventure Gear (3 Slots)
Notice
				3 Provisions 6
				4 Axe (1d6) (1 slot)
				5 Light Armor (2 Slots)
				6
Money				7
11 GP
				8
Advances
				9
				10

 

 

 

 

 

Character Creation Challenge 2026 Day 19: Tiny Living Dead

On, no!  More zombies!

 

The zombies aren't actually tiny though.  Just the rules-set is.  And the dice pool.  Tiny Living Dead is a TinyD6 game, all of which have their origin in the game Tiny Dungeon. The dice pool is usually 2 dice, no larger than 3 and sometimes only 1.  Certain Traits and circumstances can give you an advantage, just as obstacles or problems can give you a disadvantage.  The goal is to roll a success which is a 5 or 6 on any dice.

 

To create your Survivor you choose three Traits, which can give you advantages on rolls or other benefits.  Then a Weapon Proficiency group along with a mastered weapon.  A Family Trade and Belief.  You start with 6 Health Points and some gear.

 

 

 

Character Creation Challenge 2026 Day 18: Risus

Risus: The Anything RPG is a 4 page comedic RPG that is simple to play yet can do a surprising number of things.  It was intended to be a comedic RGP but can do serious just as well.  Many people have done settings and games based on it.

 

It is a simple dice pool game.  When you create a character you have 10 dice to allocate to Cliches.  Cliches are descriptors of your character.  If you are playing a Viking character, one of your Cliches should be Viking.  When a challenge arises you roll the number of dice assigned to the most appropriate (or inappropriate) Cliche and beat a target number.  There are a few more rules but that's essentially it.  For those who want more there is a companion book with a lot of different options.  Oh, and Risus is free. 

 

Flavius Flacidus, Roman Centurion

A burly Roman Centurion who likes parading his men, red horse hair plumes, shiny armor and fish sauce. 

Cliches: Centurion (4), Armorer (3), Hiker (2), Garum Maker (1)

Character Creation Challenge 2026 Day 17: Rats in the Wall

Rats in the Wall is a rules-lite game of Cosmic Horror.  It was written by Kobayashi, the author of The Black Sword Hack.  It is set in the 1920's and 30's but there are brief mentions of other times.

 

The game is heavily influenced by Lovecraft, down to the name of the game which is based on one of his short stories.  There is a sanity mechanic and a discussion of the Old Ones, though they are down played a bit because if one of them shows up you are well and truly screwed.

 

Task resolution is 2d6 + Attribute => 8. 

 

The PDF is 54 pages long including covers and character creation is short and easy:

• Distribute 5 points between 5 Attributes.  Range 0 - +3
• Determine Secondary Attributes.
• Choose a Profession.
• Choose a Reputation.
• Get some Gear.

Off we go... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Character Creation Challenge 2026 Day 16: Ancient Odysseys: Treasure Awaits!

I've actually had Ancient Odysseys: Treasure Awaits (AOTA) for over 15 years.  I've puttered around with it over the years and enjoyed it.  It is another simple system that can be played with a GM but has a focus on solo play.  The rules originally came in three booklets.  The first covers character creation and the rules of play.  The second is an adventure.  It is essentially a programmed adventure meant for solo play.  The third is to help GMs create random dungeons.  Or it can create a dungeon on the fly for solo play.

 

AOTA is a simple dungeon crawler.  It's intended for you to send your characters into a dungeon to avoid traps, kill things and take their stuff.  Thus, the characters and the rules are all combat focused.  Apparently, an expansion, More Treasure Awaits!, has wilderness rules but I do not have it.

 

Character creation is entirely random.  There are a few point where you make decisions, like choosing which four pursuits (skills) you have and which weapons you get, but the rest is pure random.  This includes how high you are rated in each pursuit and what armor you start with.

 

There are several steps to creating the character:

• Roll Race:  There are four.  Human, Elf, Dwarf and Hobling.  Non-humans have modifiers to their abilities and/or pursuits.
• Roll vocation:  There are three.  Rogue, Warrior, Wizard.
•  Roll Abilities:  Each vocation has six arrays and you roll to find which array that you use.  Abilities can range from 1-5.
• Pursuits:  You choose four from your vocation's list but then roll for its rating.  Ratings range from 1-3.
• Choose Weapon Combination:  From Vocation's list.
• Armor:  Roll randomly.
• Other Gear:  Choose one item from a short list
• Choose Spells:  If you are a Wizard, choose your spells from a short list.

Character creation is a really quick process.  I rolled up two characters. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Character Creation Challenge 2026 Day 15: Retro Sci-Fi Rules

Today I am revisiting the Classic Traveller family of games.  This time via the Cepheus Engine branch of the family tree.

 

The Retro Sci-Fi Rules are by Paul Elliott, the author of Hostile and Cepheus Universal amongst other Traveller related things.  It is intended to emulate the 1977 edition of Traveller.  But it has been streamlined and modified in several ways.  One of the biggest changes is character creation.

 

Gone is life path character gen with the possibility of death.  Here are the steps with commentary in color.

 

1 Select Career. Note its ‘required characteristic’.  Six careers:  Navy, Marine, Star Trader, Scout, Syndicate, Scout

2 Skills. Divide up 7 skill levels between the career skills. No skill level may start at more than 3. One of your choices must be the Auto Skill.  Each Career has an Auto Skill.  For example the Auto Skill for Marine is Gun Combat.

3 Select Bonus Skill. Select a table and roll 1D6 for a bonus skill at level 1.

4 Characteristics. Choose a ‘String of Scores’ and allocate those scores to your six characteristics: Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, Intelligence, Education and Social Influence, as you see fit. The career’s ‘required characteristic’ must be at 7 or more.  There are four separate strings of scores to choose from, some balanced, some not.

5 Name. Create a name for the character.

6 Rank. Use Social Influence to determine the character’s rank.  Social Influence replaces Social Standing.  No nobility in the implied setting.  And there is a sample setting involved.

7 Age. Decide on an age.  Are you retired from your service or not?

8 Appearance. Decide on the character’s appearance.

9 Movement. Note your Move score.

10 UPP. Note your character in the Universal Personality Profile arrangement.

11 Equipment. Allocate cash and starting equipment as needed.  Starting cash determined randomly based on your Social Influence.

12 Backstory. Roll for a past career event.

 

Character creation is a very quick process. 

 

Let me present:

 

Ret. Capt. Gael Jones-Smith 

Star Navy    46697A, Age 50, Move 10

Computer-2, Engineering-2, Gun Combat-1, Gunnery-1, Medical-2

Cr 30000 

 

Retro Sci-Fi Rules are an interesting variation on Traveller.  I might do more of a review later.  If you're interested in these type of RPGs, I think it's worth a look. 

 

Character Creation Challenge 2026 Day 14: Melee

Today I want to focus on what I consider the game that started me on the path roleplaying games. 
Metagaming's board game Melee.  Melee is a man-to-man combat game with simple stats for each fighter.  What made it different from other board games, in my limited experience, was two things.  An experience system and programed adventures.

 

This was 1979.  I had yet to run into D&D or any other RPG in my small town.  I had heard of it but not seen it.  Then at the bus stop I heard two neighborhood kids talking about throwing fire spells and summoning a wolf.  I asked it they were talking about D&D.  Nope, a game called Melee and Wizard.  The next time we went to the larger town nearby I found it in a game store in the mall.  For only $2.95!  Even mom didn't have a problem with that.

 

I learned how to play and though I played with the neighborhood kids I played it lot more solo.  And the cool part was that I could use the same character again if they survived.  And with experience points they improved, could face more foes or more dangerous foes like giants.  Then I discovered Death Test, the first programed adventure.  So many characters died in that maze but I loved it.

 

 You find no treasure on the bodies or elsewhere. You can leave by the east door (111) or the west door (143).

Ah, the good old days...

The continuity and improvement of characters and the adventures created a roleplaying experience to me.  So much so that when I did finally start playing Holmes Basic D&D there really wasn't a transition or learning phase for me.

Creating a character for Melee is simple.  There are two main attributes, Strength and Dexterity.  (Wizard adds Intelligence.) Strength and Dexterity start at 8 and you have 8 points to distribute between them.  Strength determines what weapons you can you use and acts as hit points.  Dexterity is the target number that determines whether you have hit your enemy.  Higher is better as the system is a 3d6 roll equal or under.  Armor reduces damage.  It also lowers your effective dexterity and slows you down.

I've always been partial to the Roman legionary character that is featured in the short fiction included in the rules and the example combat that it is based on.  So here's my Roman legionary

Quintus Marcellus

 

ST 11    DX 13    MA 6

 

Shortsword 2d6-1

Dagger 1d6-1

 

Chainmail/ 5 hits

Lg. Shield  

Character Creation Challenge 2026 Day 13: Tropes Zombie Edition

Tropes Zombie Edition is a rules-lite game were success is determined by a small pool of d6s.  A 4, 5, or a 6 is a success and if one of your dice hit, you succeed.  Characters are simple to make and it is intended for one-shots.  

 

The PDF is 44 pages long including cover, character sheet and outbreak sheet.  It covers character creation, general rules, combat rules and has a section called Outbreak 101.  This section helps you set up your scenario so you can get playing.  It can help you determine what caused the outbreak, what kind of zombies are shuffling (or running) around.  That sort of thing.  Where is it taking place, etc.

 

You may have guessed, the goal for the player is to survive.  This may be the only goal for the particular scenario or the ZM (Zombie Master) may have other goals for the characters also.  Rescue someone, reach a safe zone and so on.

 

The interesting thing about character creation is that players make not one but three characters at the beginning of the game.  Each slightly weaker that the other.  The players then throw all of the characters into a bowl and draw randomly to get their starting character.  This is a zombie survival game so characters are going to die. As the characters dies, the player will draw a new player after the ZM figures out a way to integrate them into a group.  If all of the characters die the zombies win.  This isn't a competitive game, it's still an RPG but there are groups that get overwhelmed by zombies.

 

To create a character you:

•  Assign Abilities.
• Determine Health Rating.
• Pick a Background or Profession.
• Write a 3-sentence Description.
• Write down any Gear you might have.

You have three abilities:  Muscle, Agility and Wits.  Their score ranges from 1-3.  Your first character has 7 points to distribute between them, the second has 6 and the third has 5.  The abilities are the basis of your dice pool when performing an action.  If your muscle is 2 and you're trying to lift something heavy, roll 2 dice and try to get a success.  If your profession or some other circumstance is in your favor you may be able to add a die.

 

 

Tropes Zombies
Name:
Profession:
Description:	Tall, well muscled man who often
wears his work uniform. He is a polite, easy going person.
Muscle:	3	Health:	3
Agility:	2	Armor:	None
Wits:	2	Action Points:	0
Gear:
Large wrench (lame weapon +1d6*) Full tool box

 

Character Creation Challenge 2026 Day 12: Simple Fantasy Adventure

Simple Fantasy Adventure is a free 18 page clone/homage to the somewhat obscure Lord of the Rings
Adventure Game.  Lord of the Rings Adventure Game is a somewhat obscure RPG published in 1991 by Iron Crown Enterprises and was intended to be an introductory RPG for new players and a lead in to their complex Middle Earth Role Playing.  The game is set in the time between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.  Apparently, it is an excellent introductory game and captures the feel Middle Earth well but as a lead in to MERP it doesn't work so well.  LoR is a simple 2d6 game whereas MERP is a much more complex percentile driven game in the Rolemaster family. 

 

There are two editions of Simple Fantasy Adventure (SFA).  I am using the first. 

 

A character in SFA consists of 12 characteristics, five Attribute Characteristics and seven Skill Characteristics.

 

You start character creation by selecting your race.  There are four:  Humans, dwarves, elves and halflings.  Each choice comes with bonuses and penalties.  For example, elves are graceful and receive a +1 to their Dexterity and Speed Characteristics.  However, they are more fragile and receive 5 less to their Vitality Characteristic.

 

Then you choose a class.  There are four classes:  Fighters, Rogues, Rangers and Mages.  Unlike LoR, the races are free to be any class.  Similar to race, class provides bonus to Characteristics and provides your base Vitality.  So a Ranger receives +2 to Physical, +1 to Subterfuge, Melee and Ranged.  A Ranger's base Vitality is 40.

 

The Attribute Characteristics are: Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Wisdom and Speed.

 

The Skill Characteristics are: Physical, Subterfuge, Arcana, Melee, Ranged Defense and Vitality.

 

 You are then gives 6 customization points to spend.  You can spend up to two on your Attribute Characteristics.  The rest can be spent on Skill Characteristics (except Vitality) or extra spells for Mages.  No Characteristic can start higher than +3.  A Skill Characteristic of 0 means the character is untrained in that area and receives a -2 on rol1s.

 

You then buy gear, give your character a name and background and you're ready for adventure! 

 

The core mechanic is  roll 2d6 +/- modifiers vs. target numbers.  For combat it is subtract defense from attack bonus, roll 2d and consult chart.

 

 

Simple Fantasy Adventure
Name:	Girladon Swiftbow
Race:	Elf
Class:	Ranger
Description:	Blonde, green eyes
Background:
Mirkwood elf.
Strength	0	Physical	+2
Dexterity	+1	Subterfuge	+2
Intelligence	+1	Arcana	0
Wisdom		Melee	+1
Speed	+1	Ranged	+3
		Defense	+2
		Vitality	35
Gear:	34 GP
Sword +1 dam;  Long Bow +2 dam;  Leather +1 def, -1 speed, -1 subt;  Bedroll; Rations; Water Skin