For day 29 of the 2024 #CharacterCreationChallenge I am using another game in the Tiny D6 line. Today we are creating a character for Tiny Frontiers Revised. Now earlier this month I created a character for Tiny Wastelands (by request) and in past years I’ve used Tiny Dungeons 2nd Edition and Tiny Spies. Part of the reason I selected this game on this day is for two reasons. I really like the system, and I knew that it was going to be one of my busier days and I needed something that I could whip up quickly.
The Tiny Frontiers Revised PDF is 162 pages in length. It was written by Alan Bahr and released by Gallant Knight Games. The character sheet is one page and the Explorer Creation steps start on page 20. The basics for the system is a standard test roll is 2d6 and if you roll a 5 or 6 you complete the task. If you have an advantage, you roll 3d6 and only 1d6 if you have a disadvantage.
The first step is to select a heritage (aka a race). These range from the standard Human, genially modified humans (called Gens) and more. With this being the revised edition there are more heritages to choose from including a hard-light hologram (I wonder if he’s a smeg head?) Each heritage gives you your starting hit points and a species-specific trait. I elected to go with a Gen character as it sounded interesting. I decided that he was a security officer born on the Control Ship Red Barchetta and was named YYZ-2112 since he was grown in a lab. Points if you can catch the popular band reference in the name and history.
The next step is to select three traits from a list of available options. There were no prerequisites or other barriers, if you wanted a trait, you got it. This allowed players to make a character that might be a big ox and still make him graceful and athletic. I didn’t compare the traits against those in the other Tiny games that I own. I’ll have to sit down and do a comparison one of these days.
Step three is to select the weapon group (and specialty weapon) that YYZ-2112 is proficient with. Since was a genetically modified warrior, he had a second one as well. This guy is going to be a gun specialists. Besides selecting the weapon, we also write down the equipment the character has (basically your weapons, your space suit or armor and an explorer’s pack). You also get 10 GalCreds (money).
Now we choose the family trade. This is what the character was doing before they went out into space. Uh, he was grown in a lab so the family was a training regiment. So YYZ-2112 is also a drill instructor.
The last step is to select a belief. This is represented in the form of a quote. I decided upon “I will train others to survive.” And after filling in a few spots, I scanned the sheet (then realized that I missed a few spots, oh well, I’ll get them filled in).
Afterthoughts:
When I was showing my daughter the artwork for this (and other Tiny D6 games) she loved it. She also loved that she could quickly grasp the system mechanics from the quick description. In fact, just after reading it, she asked if I would be willing to run a one shot of a Tiny D6 game for her and her gaming buddies sometime this summer. Hmmmm….. yes, and thank you for proving my point that if you can quickly explain the game mechanics, you can easily convince others to play the game.
Now that I’m thinking about it, perhaps a Tiny Wastelands game would be a good way to test this system out. I’ll have to think about which genre I want to run (I’ve already been told, no zombies, darn). They all sound pretty easy to set up and play.
Additional Notes:
The end is in sight and we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. How are you doing with your Character Creation Challenge? If you are behind, feel free to catch up. You can make it. There are some participants who have gone into February to finish up. I just talked with my daughter who drew up the award logo for those who have completed the challenge and she is working on a new one now.
Coming Up Next:
Pathfinder 2nd Edition
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