Character from Image: An Example

So I've hinted at a possible example of starting with an image and discovering your character from there in my previous post. I've found myself with a spare moment in which I can try and do that.

The following image (by Eoghan Kerrigan: https://www.deviantart.com/eoghankerrigan/ ) is one has stuck with me for a few years now. So let's see what we can do. We will use RISUS since it's nice and simple. Fate could work as well, as would, I suppose, GURPS.

picture by Eoghan Kerrigan.

We see a character in a coat covered by sheets of ... something with pictures, or symbols, or runes or something. We know we want to play a JRPG type game, where creativity in interpretation is encouraged. A lot of characters in JRPG's are 'turned to eleven' or 'out there' in character design. This will be a fantastical hero. 

Other than that there's some fashionable armour plating on his or her shoes and hat. and there's a clipboard or notepad of some kind that they are holding.

The general idea I get is that of some kind of inventor or engineer, what with the stylish hat that kind of looks like the hats those engines drivers on trains often have and the notepad to take notes on how things are going or to check some charts. Something steampunk flavored.

The coat with all the sigils seems more arcane. Magical engineers are definitely a Final Fantasy trope. They also seem to be wearing glasses, which usually indicates being one of the smart type of characters.

The red hair kind of looks like fire or flames. Which again fits the steampunk vibe, as do the heavy gloves. We can still go quite a lot of directions with this. So lets try to define some stuff.

Junior Magitech Engine Driver (4)

Starting out, fresh out of Magical engineering school, this character roams the lands looking for a place of employment, or as a traveling Engine Fixer. Ah! This gives me a very JRPG type of idea (also, I'm stealing it from TriGun, which has the same idea, more or less). 

Every Big City is built around an Engine. The Engine is a Magical device that powers the entire city. The knowledge of how to create them has been lost, but Magitech Engine Drivers are trained to travel from city to city and check up on the Engines and make repairs. They know how to keep the sigils and wards on the engines up do date and can repair them is needed. They also have a big hammer with which they can whack things back in place or whack monsters out of the tubes of the Engines. They have a coat with protective sigils that protects them from fire, steam and impact.

Yes, that seems about right. The GM can work with this. It counts as a Tale, more or less, so we get another die to work with (big cities have Engines. Engines are large enough to walk in have monster nests, Magitech Engine Drivers are a thing). This means we have used 4/11 dice. If we find a Hook in there somewhere we've got 12 dice to work with, so we can still do a lot. This alone is already enough to start the game with. We could fill in things as we go. But let's keep going.

We could focus on the magical side as well, or we could focus on the engineer part. (We can even do both) Or we can focus on other things, like what they do between jobs. Do they have another source of income, or a hobby?

Mage of Iron and Steam [3]

Finding interest in the magical side of engineering this character has developed his own type of magic that controls Iron and Steam, using it without the help of machines. Using this is dangerous though, and can only be done while pumping the cliche, or finding another complicated or dangerous way. For example, you can plug yourself into an Engine and us its power, with the danger of harming the thing that keeps the city going. Or you could build a device that can channel the powers, but that will take time and resources that in a straight up fight will probably be unavailable. Can be double pumped.

So we've used 7/11 dice. Let's move on to the next cliche.

Magi-Van Driver (2)

This character owns and drives a MagiTech powered van. A Steam-Powered Van basically. It's enough to hold the entire party if needed and the character knows how to drive it and to negotiates with the powers of steam and fire that are bound to it. This may explain the sigils on his coat as well, they can be the contracts made with the spirits that are put in the devices. Hook: The current vehicle has a spirit that is almost done with its contract. It is acting up, asking for favors and being stubborn as they know that there will be a request for a new contract soon.

This has us at 9/12, which means we've got three dice left. I usually like to have at least one cliche at 1 because that is funny. Failing is fun. However, we can make Mage of Iron and Steam a double pump cliche by doubling it's cost, and I think that for this character that's what we'll do.

And now al we need is a name suitable for this character and they are done. Also, probably have a better name for the Magi-Van, but since this is just an example this will have to do.

Let's name them ... something to do with steam power or engineers ... but in good JRPG style it has to be misinterpreted or completely missing the point. Let's say Watt for the power/enigneer thing, but give it a bit of a twist. Watto? Watson? Watson as a last name seems good. Let's make them a girl as well. Emily Watson. Done.

Good enough I think.