Creating Templates
Creating Templates
The GM is responsible for establishing which professional, social, and racial origins are (and aren't) appropriate for PCs. No GM can hope to anticipate every possible character concept, but a good GM shares his expectations with his players and helps those who are struggling for ideas. One effective way to do this is to provide the players with a set of "templates": collections of traits that typify the kinds of characters that are likely to figure prominently in the campaign. This section gives rules for template design, and is intended for GMs. It assumes you have read the rules for Templates.
Character Templates
How GURPS Works: Character Templates Aren't Rules!
Character templates are not rules. They are just a character-design aid with no effect on point costs, success rolls, NPC reactions, character development, or any other aspect of game play. The traits on templates are suggestions as to what abilities a hero will need to fill his role in the game world. Make sure your players know this! They should feel free to customize or alter templates, or to create characters without using templates at all.
A "character template" is a carefully structured list of the attribute levels, secondary characteristics, advantages, disadvantages, and skills the GM feels a PC should possess to fill a particular professional, social, or dramatic role in the campaign. The GM calculates all point costs in advance and gives the results with the template, reducing the amount of math involved in character creation.
The main purpose of a character template is to prevent new players from overlooking vital abilities when choosing from among all the options in Character Creation. The secondary goal is to accelerate character design. Thus, a template should list only necessary traits – not everything that might fit. The player should always have room to customize his PC!
Types of Character Templates
Most character templates fall into one of the general categories below – a few will fall into more than one. There is no harm in mixing PCs built using different classes of templates within a single campaign.
Occupational Templates
Someone who does a certain job (e.g., a physician or a mechanic) should have the necessary job skills – see Jobs. Not all occupations are jobs, however; you could create occupational templates for hereditary nobles, idle rich, slaves, students, etc. These latter templates might include Duties, codes of conduct (see Self-Imposed Mental Disadvantages, and "entrance requirements."
All occupational templates should suggest Wealth and Status appropriate to the occupation, and should specify attribute levels and advantages that would lead to success at – or successful adaptation to – that career.
Cultural Templates
Cultural background is a powerful defining concept in many settings. For instance, Alexander the Great was first and foremost a Macedonian, and this identified him throughout his adventures. A cultural template might specify the genetic traits of a closed breeding group, skills taught to all members of a culture, or the beliefs and prejudices of a given tribe, nation, or religion. It will often include Cultural Familiarity and Languages.
Dramatic Templates
A dramatic template defines a character's role in the plot – often in terms of an archetype such as "wise man" or "trickster." Some roles are genre-specific ("screaming victim" is rare except in horror, for instance); others are universal (e.g., "femme fatale"). The dramatic template ensures that the PC has the traits he needs to advance the plot, regardless of his exact occupation or culture. This type of template attempts to define personality as much as ability; therefore, it often includes more mental disadvantages than other kinds of templates.
Character Templates and Player Perceptions
The character templates you offer your players will affect their view of the game world and the type of campaign you intend to run. Suppose you are planning a fantasy campaign. If you present only thief and warrior templates, your players will justifiably conclude that you intend to run a freebooting campaign set in a world where rough-and-tumble "professional adventurers" are common. But if you also include templates for farmers, herbalists, and minstrels, your players may infer that you intend a more staid campaign, set in a quasi-medieval world. Make sure your template list sends the right message!
Always make clear when templates are for PCs and NPCs alike – and when they aren't. Players usually assume that the abilities listed on templates reflect status quo in the game world. For instance, they will expect enemy thieves and warriors to have certain abilities...and spend their points and cash to prepare accordingly. If this assumption proves costly or fatal, you might end up with confused or angry players!
Finally, design your templates as a complementary set. If some templates outshine others, or are clearly of lower quality, the players might feel that you favor those who play certain character types – even if that is not actually the case.
Concept
A character template is a partially built character. To design it, you need a “concept” – a clear idea of what it represents and where it fits in – just as for a fully realized character (see Character Concept). Decide on the type of template you are designing and what role it will fill, and then visualize which traits would best meet the demands of that role in your campaign. Use your knowledge of the game world to help you here!
Example: We shall construct a "heroic knight" template for a fantasy campaign. This template is both dramatic (the "heroic" part) and occupational (the "knight" part). We could create separate templates for each aspect – or even treat one as a "lens" on the other (see Lenses) – but we have chosen to keep things simple. We decide that a heroic knight should be strong, honorable, a wise leader, and a skilled warrior.
Flexibility
The concept behind a template should be sufficiently flexible that the player can easily individualize his character. Leave enough creative "space" that the player is not stuck playing a stereotype. There are two useful measures of flexibility: the number of abilities on the character template (its degree of detail) and the extent to which those abilities use up the player's "budget" for character creation (its point cost).
Degree of Detail
A "dense" character template includes many traits. It defines a particular role precisely...so precisely that it can rob a PC of individuality. A "sparse" template makes a few suggestions, perhaps only a skill or two. It makes the resulting PC easier to customize, but leaves inexperienced players wondering, "What's my role?" The secret is to strike a balance between the two: don't try to give the template every trait that might fit – just focus on the traits that define the role!
Template Cost
The more expensive the template, the more points you're spending for the player. Keep the campaign power level in mind and come in under the point budget for PCs, leaving enough unspent points (and enough unused points in disadvantages, if you are enforcing such a limit) that the player can customize his character. If a template absolutely must tie up a lot of points, make it "interactive".
Example: We'll design our heroic knight for a 150-point game with a -75-point disadvantage limit. This means we'll try to spend fewer than 150 points total, and take less than the full -75 points of disadvantages.
Selecting Traits
The next few sections offer concrete advice on selecting the actual traits that appear on character templates.
Attributes
The 9-13 range is suitable for most characters. "Adventuring" templates should have one or two above-average scores, but those for most normal jobs should leave everything at 10.
Remember that an 11 or 12 is noteworthy, and that a 13 or 14 is exceptional – see How to Select Basic Attributes. Dramatic templates are a special case, as it often serves the purposes of drama for an archetype to have extreme attributes. Still, try to avoid excessive stereotyping.
Example: We see our knight as a capable warrior, so we give him superior physical attributes: ST 12 [20], DX 12 [40], and HT 12 [20]. To reflect his wisdom and resolve, we give him IQ 11 [20] – he is supposed to be a wise leader, not a genius. This comes to 100 points.
Secondary Characteristics
It is usually best to leave Hit Points, Will, Perception, [[Fatigue Points, Basic Speed, and Basic Move at their base values. Tweaking these numbers is likely to confuse new players. Unless the concept absolutely requires exceptional talent in one of these areas (e.g., high Perception for a detective), just choose attributes that give fair secondary characteristics and leave fine-tuning to the adventurous player.
Advantages
For occupational templates, list the job's requirements (e.g., Languages for a translator) or benefits (e.g., Clerical Investment for a priest). Other possibilities include "tricks of the trade" (e.g., Combat Reflexes for a soldier) and talents that would lead a person to select this particular career (e.g., Night Vision for a thief).
For cultural templates, also consider genetic and cultural traits (e.g., "All Northerners have Temperature Tolerance"), as well as Cultural Familiarity, Languages, and Social Regard.
For dramatic templates, include traits that are invariably found in literary and cinematic examples of the archetype (e.g., Charisma or Handsome appearance for a swashbuckler).
Justify each advantage using an argument similar to one of those above – which means that most advantages on a character template should be learned or social in nature. Also, try to avoid unusual advantages. If every single character of a given type has a rare advantage, it will dilute the value of the advantage and possibly strain the suspension of disbelief.
Example: A knight requires Status 2 [10]. His Wealth should be at least Comfortable [10], to cover his cost of living and buy his expensive equipment. This costs 20 points.
Disadvantages
For the most part, follow the advice given for advantages. In the case of occupational templates, avoid disadvantages that are liable to inhibit job performance (e.g., Honesty for a thief). Focus instead on those that are likely to help with the chosen career (e.g., Fat for a sumo wrestler) and those that are expected (e.g., Disciplines of Faith or Vows for a priest). Some professions tend to lead to disadvantages, a few of which might be so common that they merit a place in the template (e.g., Social Stigma for a thief).
Dramatic templates are often defined almost entirely by their mental disadvantages, and frequently have "good" disadvantages or tragic flaws – see Disadvantages for Heroes. Example: Our knight owes fealty to his liege lord, so we give him Duty (Liege lord, 9 or less) [-5]. Since he's a heroic knight out of fantasy, we also give him Code of Honor (Chivalry) [-15], Honesty (6) [-20], and Vow (Never refuse a request for aid) [-15]. This comes to -55 points.
Skills
Listing Skills
When listing skills, include all relevant information in the following format:
- Skill Name (Difficulty) Relative Level [Point Cost]-Actual Level
For instance, "Broadsword (A) DX+2 [8]-14." This might look odd now, but it makes things much more transparent when the time comes to customize the character!
It can also be helpful to break down skill listings as follows:
Primary Skills: Vital skills, at level 12+ – or at 14+, if they are likely to matter in life-or-death situations.
Secondary Skills: Helpful skills that it's hard to imagine the character not having, at level 11+.
Background Skills: Anything else that fits, chosen for descriptive reasons rather than utility, usually at a lower level than primary and secondary skills.
Pick the skills needed for the character to be competent at the role the template describes. Avoid excessive numbers of skills, but include all necessary skills, a few skills that are complementary but not vital, and perhaps one or two skills that serve mostly to provide background color.
When assigning skill levels, assume that skill 12 suffices for "safe" jobs (e.g., accountant or librarian) and that skill 14 is plenty for "risky" jobs (e.g., assassin or surgeon) – including most "adventuring professions." Save skill 16+ for those who truly stand out in their field; don't water down the value of high skill by making it commonplace.
Of course, these guidelines assume relatively realistic characters. Many larger-than-life heroes have dozens of skills at high levels. It is up to the GM whether he wishes to encourage this pattern of skill buying in his campaign.
Examples: Our knight is an adventurer first, so we make his primary skills Broadsword-14 [8], Lance-14 [8], Riding (Horse)-12 [2], and Shield-14 [4]. We make his leadership abilities secondary: Leadership-11 [2] and Tactics-11 [4]. Finally, we add Armoury (Melee Weapons)-10 [1] and Heraldry-10 [1] as background skills, to cover his knowledge of arms and armor. Total cost is 30 points.
Setting the Price
Total the cost of everything on the character template. This is the "template cost": the number of points the player must pay to purchase the template.
If template cost comes to more than 90% of the campaign's starting points (see Starting Points), players are liable to find it restrictive. To remedy this, lower attribute levels, remove noncritical advantages and skills, or add a few appropriate disadvantages. Alternatively, you can try to optimize the template (see below).
If you still can't get template cost down to a reasonable level, it is likely that the starting points you've selected are less than ideal for the heroes you see working well in the game world. It might be a good idea to revise the campaign power level! See Power Level for advice.
Example: Our knight has spent 100 points on attributes, 20 on advantages, -55 on disadvantages, and 30 on skills. That's 95 points, which is well within the recommended 90% limit for a 150-point campaign (135 points).
Optimization
Experienced players usually attempt to minimize the point cost and maximize the effectiveness of their characters. New players are unlikely to do so; therefore, it is a good idea to optimize templates so that characters built with them are not less efficient than scratch-built PCs. There are two main methods for doing this:
- Select attribute levels that minimize the cost of the chosen skills. For instance, an Average skill at DX+2 level costs 8 points; six such skills would cost 48 points. An Average skill at DX+1 costs 4 points; six skills at this level would cost only 24 points. By lowering six skills from DX+2 to DX+1, you could free up 24 points – and if you then spent 20 points on DX, you could raise DX by one level, regain the original skill levels, and save 4 points!
- Add advantages that give skill bonuses at discount rates – notably Talents.
If you have trouble justifying this, remember: templates are blueprints for adventurers – exceptional characters built with more points than the average person – so high attributes and rare advantages are going to be more common than in the general population.
Discounts
Avoid the temptation – often carried over from other RPGs – to offer a discount on template cost. A character built using a template should be indistinguishable from an equivalent character designed from the ground up.
Adjusting for Player Experience
When designing character templates, be sure that they take into account the character-creation habits of your experienced players. For instance, if all their warriors have Combat Reflexes and all their wizards have Magery 3, your templates should follow suit – even if the "typical" warrior or wizard in the setting lacks this level of talent. This puts the characters of inexperienced players who use your templates on an equal footing with those of more experienced players.
Writing It Up
Use the following format for the final character template (illustrated here using our heroic knight):
Heroic Knight
95 points
You are a brave knight out of fantasy or fairy tales – strong, honorable, a wise leader, and a skilled warrior.
- Attributes: ST 12 [20]; DX 12 [40]; IQ 11 [20]; HT 12 [20].
- Secondary Characteristics: Dmg 1d-1/1d+2; BL 29 lbs.; HP 12 [0]; Will 11 [0]; Per 11 [0]; FP 12 [0]; Basic Speed 6.00 [0]; Basic Move 6 [0].
- Advantages: Status 2 [10]; Wealth (Comfortable) [10].
- Disadvantages: Code of Honor (Chivalry) [-15]; Duty (Liege lord; 9 or less) [-5]; Honesty (6) [-20]; Vow (Never refuse a request for aid) [-15].
- Primary Skills: Broadsword (A) DX+2 [8]-14; Lance (A) DX+2 [8]-14; Riding (Horse) (A) DX [2]-12; Shield (E) DX+2 [4]-14.
- Secondary Skills: Leadership (A) IQ [2]-11; Tactics (H) IQ [4]-11.
- Background Skills: Armoury (Melee Weapons) (A) IQ-1 [1]-10; Heraldry (A) IQ-1 [1]-10.
Customization Notes
Give the player a few thoughts on how he can make his character different from other PCs built using the same character template. For instance, you might include a brief list of useful traits to buy with leftover points, advice on how to flesh out the player-defined traits in the template (e.g., self-imposed mental disadvantages, Patrons, and the details of Ugly appearance), or thoughts on appropriate or necessary equipment.
Example: We mention that the player should specify his knight's coat of arms and liege lord. He also needs weapons, armor, and a mount! Since Wealth (Comfortable) cannot cover all that, we suggest using a few leftover points to purchase additional Wealth – or to buy his liege lord as a Patron who can provide these things.
For an occupational template, this is the place to note the job roll, monthly pay, and wealth level for the job – see Jobs. Job prerequisites should appear in the template; there is no need to reiterate them here.
Additional Options
Character templates need not be "set pieces." With a little extra effort, you can greatly expand the versatility of templates by building in tools that let the player customize his character in the course of buying the template.
Lenses
You can treat common variations on templates as "lenses" through which to view the basic design. A lens is a package of advantages, disadvantages, and skills that adds to the base template, changing its emphasis. It might be specific to just one template or applicable to several (or all) templates in your campaign. Some lenses are mutually exclusive; others can "stack."
A lens should not add traits that oppose or that are redundant with those on the base template(s). If this is inevitable, explain what to do when conflict occurs. A lens should also be compatible with all other lenses the player can select at the same time (but don't worry about mutually exclusive lenses).
The player adds the cost of any lenses selected to the cost of the base template and writes down both sets of abilities.
Example: It is possible to represent the “heroic knight" in our example as a "warrior" template modified by "heroic" and "knight" lenses:
Warrior
101 points
You are a fantasy warrior – a barbarian, knight, swashbuckler, or someone else who lives by the sword.
- Attributes: ST 12 [20]; DX 12 [40]; IQ 10 [0]; HT 12 [20].
- Secondary Characteristics: Dmg 1d-1/1d+2; BL 29 lbs.; HP 12 [0]; Will 10 [0]; Per 10 [0]; FP 12 [0]; Basic Speed 6.00 [0]; Basic Move 6 [0].
- Skills: Armoury (Melee Weapons) (A) IQ-1 [1]-9; Shield (E) DX+2 [4]-14; and two weapon skills, each (A) DX+2 [8]-14.
Lenses
Heroic (-9 points): You are wise, honorable, and a leader of men. Add +1 IQ [20], Honesty (6) [-20], Vow (Never refuse a request for aid) [-15], Leadership (A) IQ [2], and Tactics (H) IQ [4].
Knight (+3 points): You are an invested knight, with all the attendant privileges and duties. Add Comfortable [10], Status 2 [10], Code of Honor (Chivalry) [-15], Duty (Liege Lord, 9 or less) [-5], Heraldry (A) IQ-1 [1], and Riding (Horse) (A) DX [2].
Interactive Templates
Along with fixed character traits, you may wish to include a number of choices with identical point costs. These can be specific (e.g., High Pain Threshold or +1 ST; Chemistry-14 or Mathematics-14) or general (e.g., any DX/Average weapon skill at 15; any three IQ/Hard sciences at 14), as long as the point cost is the same. A good compromise is to set aside a pool of points that the player can spend on a specific list of options however he sees fit.
Once you are comfortable with template design, consider using this option for all your templates. It simplifies the player's choices without eliminating them and is an effective stepping-stone to unassisted character design. It is especially useful for mental disadvantages, because it gives the player more latitude in defining his character's personality.
Example: Not all knights use broadswords; many prefer the mace. On our heroic knight template, we could replace "Broadsword (A) DX+2 [8]-14" with "Axe/Mace or Broadsword, both (A) DX+2 [8]-14" and let the player choose.
We could also offer a choice of mental disadvantages. Instead of requiring Code of Honor, Honesty, and Vow, we could say: "A total of -50 points chosen from Charitable [-15*], Code of Honor (Chivalry) [-15], Honesty [-10*], Selfless [-5*], [[Sense of Duty [-2 to -20], Truthfulness [-5*], and Vow [-5 to -15]." Note how disadvantages with variable values offer a range of point costs, and how disadvantages that require self-control rolls are marked (*) to indicate that they might be at ×.5, ×1, ×1.5, or ×2 value, depending on the self-control number.