On the gaming forum I most patronize, there's been a character creation challenge running the last month: come up with a new character every day in January. A lot of people went with a number of different systems. Mostly I stuck with GURPS and Fantasy Trip, but I dabbled in OD&D, two different rules iterations of Empire of the Petal Throne, Champions, Lamentations of the Flame Princess, original Traveller, etc. This was one of my entries:
Valthor (GURPS fantasy character)
This was one of the original five characters in my campaign, a somewhat-grimdark barbarian who would dedicate slain enemies to his grimdark tribal gods. I still have a 1980 character sheet for Valthor – by then, fairly experienced – and rather than try to explain my baroque heavily VD&D system, I’ve popped it into GURPS. Valthor was a relatively uncomplicated character, classic barbarian type. Gambled for the fun of it, started a combat throwing hatchets and then waded in with a greatsword, well-practiced in martial arts, had a price on his head, nothing all that much out of the usual for adventurers. I include him because ...
* Those quirks? Heh. Well. Those stem from the influence of the Arduin Grimoire in my gaming. I cheerfully incorporated its character quirk list, and Valthor turned up with the “Flesh tastes bad to monsters” quirk. So okay. The group’s fighting a wyvern, and the wyvern gets a critical hit in on Valthor. So – in the very first incidence of me rolling on that Arduin table, the “Genitalia severed” entry comes up. And the last thing Valthor sees before he passes out is the wyvern screwing up its face, and spitting out that which it had just bitten off. Much hilarity, and Valthor wore a solid steel cup for the rest of his adventuring career.
* Valthor’s player Rick was a born-again Christian, and his faith was an important element for his whole life. Someone asked him how he could reconcile playing a guy who worshiped dark barbarian gods with that faith, and I’ve always remembered his answer: that he figured that the Lord God Almighty, omniscient creator of heaven and earth, had enough on the ball to recognize the difference between fiction and games, and real life. A level of common sense uncommon then and damned rare now.
* Finally ... well. Rick went career in the Navy in 1982, and eventually settled in the Midwest. I hadn’t heard from Rick since the spring – coinciding with me taking much of the year off from social media – but found out only yesterday that he’d died back in April from COVID. He was an old friend, and a good man, and he passed away too soon. He played a material role in my start in this hobby which not only is one of the enduring elements of my life, I met both my wives through it. So should any of you want to put Valthor in as an NPC somewhere, I’d be grateful, and know that my friend’s impact is still out there.
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| Martial arts, the Navy and his faith were so important to Rick. Rest well, old friend. |
ST: 14 DX: 13 IQ: 11 HT: 14 Speed: 6 (reduced)
Advantages: Acute Hearing/2; Attractive; Charisma+1; Danger Sense; Discriminatory Smell; Extended Hearing Range; Fit; Language: Altanian (N/-); Language: Avanari (A/-); Outdoorsman Talent+3; Strongbow.
Disadvantages: Bloodlust; Low TL+1; Social Stigma: Outlaw; Struggling.
Skills: Armoury (fletcher)-13; Bow-13; Camouflage-14; Climbing-12; First Aid-11; Gambling-10; Karate-14, Religious Ritual-10; Riding-12; Seamanship-11; Singing-14; Stealth-12; Survival-14; Tanning-12; Thrown Weapon: Axe-13; Tracking-17; Two-Handed Sword-15; Weather Sense-13
Quirks: Deep bass voice; Devout (tribal god); Flesh tastes bad to monsters; Protective of genitalia.
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