Step One: Obtain and Read the Genre Description
The HiBRiDTM
game rules may be used in almost any game setting. As a result, before you can
create a character, you first need to know something about the setting in which
the game will take place.
To make this easier,
the game takes a page from the movie industry and classifies each setting as
being of a specific genre. The genre is
used to identify a collection of specific elements that people can expect to
encounter when they watch a movie or play a game that falls within that genre.
A movie or game that falls within a classic science-fiction genre, for example,
would be expected to feature advanced technologies, time travel, space travel,
or alien. Similarly, a movie or game setting that falls within the classic fantasy genre will often feature
magic, fantastic beasts and humanoid races such as elves, orcs, and dwarves.
To enable you to create
a character that fits within the genre of the game your Director will be
running, you will be provided with a document known as a genre description that
will summarize many of the common elements you can expect to encounter in the
game world. The genre description wilI be composed of two parts. The first
part, entitled “World” will describe the environment and common themes and
conflicts. The second part, entitled “Heroes”, will hold all the information
you will need so that you can create a character that it fits in with the genre
of the game.
The World Section
The World section will
contain a number of sections describing the game world. Within this section,
you will find descriptions of the environment, the native wildlife, technology,
supernatural phenomenon, and politics.
The Heroes Section
The Heroes section will
provide following the information that you need to create your character.
The Character Sheet
As you go through the
process of creating your character, you will need to write down all of the
details regarding your character’s background, abilities, possessions, and
condition so that you can easily reference them while you are playing. The
Heroes section of the genre description will contain a preformatted form
referred to as a character sheet to help you collect and organize this
information.
Heroic Stats
In addition to a
character sheet, the Heroes section of the genre description will also contain
two numbers known as your character’s heroic stats.
The first of these
heroic stats will be a number ranging in value from 0 to 10 referred to as the
heroic factor of the genre. The heroic factor is used to reflect the level of
heroism you can expect to encounter while playing the game. A genre with a
heroic factor of 0 reflects a realistic game where characters have no
supernatural abilities and the possibility of character death is very real. A
genre with a heroic factor of 10, on the other hand, reflects a highly epic genre where characters
sport world-changing supernatural abilities and regularly laugh at death.
The second heroic stat,
referred to as the aspect point pool, will
be a number ranging in value from 0 to 100. This number is used to
reflect the level of supernatural and cinematic abilities you can expect your
character to possess. A genre granting characters an aspect point pool of 10
points reflects a one in which characters will possess but one or two abilities
of moderate to low power while a genre granting characters an aspect point pool
of 100 will reflect one in which characters will possess more than a few
abilities or a few abilities with considerable power.
In-Genre Abilities
Your character’s
natural and learned abilities are closely tied to the genre of the game; some
may be very unique to a genre and absolutely necessary while others may be
unavailable. In a classic western genre, for example, no characters will
possess computer hacking skills, but many characters will have skill in riding
on horseback. Similarly, if you will be playing a character in a supernatural
thriller genre, there may be abilities that enable your character to perform
supernatural such as telekinesis or telepathy.
Abilities that fit in
with the genre of the game are referred to as in-genre abilities, while those
that do not fit in with the genre of the game are referred to as out-of-genre
abilities. To ensure you select abilities that are in-genre, the genre
description will list and describe the abilities you may select for your
character.
Genre Description: The Default Genre
By default, if no genre
description is used, the game assumes a modern real-world genre and is referred
to as The Default Genre for the game. Conflicts associated with this genre are
rooted in real world problems or in situations that could reasonably be
expected to occur in our own world..
If the Director wishes
to run a game in which there are any
significant differences from our own world (for example, the existence of
supernatural phenomenon, the game takes place on another planet, etcetera), the
Director will provide you with a separate genre description document.
World
In the Default Genre, the environment is the same as our own
planet Earth, there are no supernatural phenomenon, and technology is
equivalent to the current day level at the time of play.
Heroes
The character sheet for
the Default Genre is provided in Appendix One of this book.
There are no specific
heroic stats used for the Default Genre. Instead, the Director will designate
the heroic factor and the number of points in the aspect point pool, so that
you can move forward with creating your character.
In-genre abilities
within the Default Genre are anything that might exist in our own world.
Out-of-genre abilities include any based on futuristic science or supernatural
phenomenon.
Completing Step One
To complete this step,
you will need to obtain a copy of the genre description for the game you will
be playing, read it through completely, and clarify any questions you might
have with the Director.
Next, you will need to
grab a pencil and a copy of the character sheet provided in the genre
description, and record the heroic factor and the aspect point pool in the
appropriate spaces provided.
Step One Example: Johnny Parkour
Ogun, a player new to
the game system, has decided he wants to recreate an acrobatic character from a
book he recently read. His Director, Sarah, hands him a photocopy of the
character sheet in Appendix One and informs him that she will be setting the game
in the Default Genre for the game system.
She next, in accordance with the Default Genre, lets him know that the heroic factor for the genre will be 5 and that all characters will
have 50 points in their aspect point pool.
Ogun pulls out his
favorite 0.9 mm mechanical pencil, and proceeds to write down the heroic factor
of 5 and aspect point pool of 50 in the appropriate spaces on the character
sheet.
Because he is already
familiar with the modern day world, no other details are needed, so he moves on
to the next step of creating his character.
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