WormRP:Character Creation Guide

Hi there, and welcome to WormRP! This page is intended as a primer for getting started roleplaying with us!

If your not their already our Discord server is where the actual roleplaying itself occurs and is also used for most meta & informal discussion regarding the community, as well as where we typically hangout. https://discord.gg/KjYAwes

Once your there you can use the /newchar command and our discord bot will supply you with a blank character sheet.

From there your ready to get started with the instructions provided below.

Step One - Character Concept

Things to remember if you're new!

Keep your first power simple. Super complex powers when your getting started are usually trouble. It might be better to keep the weird one for your second or third character instead. Stop thinking about numbers! We're not a mechanic-based RP, & while some characters opt to toss numbers into their power details, it's not recommended. Try to come up with a power that can be described without enumerating things. This gives you flexibility (something Wormy powers tend to have!) and keeps the RP simple. For relating a trigger to a power, the Worm Power Docs are a great way to get some help with ideas and inspiration, but anything relating to Weaverdice mechanics can be safely disregarded. Especially in regard to Tinkers! If you want to help flesh out a character, consider writing a short snippet of their power in use to get an idea of how it feels. This may also kill two birds with one stone, as the Approval process may ask for an example of your power in use. We have a list of powers that are difficult to implement in a roleplay setting, usually these require extra workshopping & scrutiny from Approval Staff. A list of these powers can be found here.

Unpowered Characters
Many players have opted to play unpowered characters. This is perfectly fine! Just skip the trigger and power stuff, as needed. Many times a player will do this, planning on having them trigger in-character, but that's not necessary either. We've had several successful just plain ol' humans in our RP and they've pretty much always been fun to play with.

This section assumes you are somewhat familiar with Worm and may include spoilers. You've been warned!

The first, and most important, step of character creation is figuring out what your concept is. There are two primary ways of looking at this, and each has their own pros and cons.

The first method is developing a character, figuring out some sort of trigger event, and then workshopping out what power would result from that particular situation. For the most part this tends to result in "tighter" characters, but for newcomers, figuring out a power can be tough.

The alternative option is starting with a cool power or concept, and working backwards from there to determine what sort of person and/or trigger would result in that power coming into existence. For first-time players or those unfamiliar with generating powers, this might be the easier option.

Regardless, you will need (usually) three things for your concept:

🔷The Person

Who were they before they got powers? What did they do, what was their family like, their personal life, etc? What changed when they got powers? What are their ambitions and goals and dreams? Also, more practically, what's their name, appearance, skills, etc?

🔷The Trigger

Everyone has some breaking point that caused them to gain powers. This is called their trigger event. The nature of that event directly determines how the character's powers are manifested. This is much more of an art than a science, so don't be worried about getting things 100% right.

Checking out #character_creation on the Discord is a good place to start, and some helpful links are included in the pins!

🔷The Power

Your character's power is directly derived from your trigger. Depending on what that trigger is, the power will be manifested in a specific way. Again, a lot of this is subjective, so don't worry 100%. Just remember that a Wormy power is one that tries to indirectly "solve" the problem while reminding its wielder of their trauma and promoting conflict.

Again, if you aren't sure, discussing your idea on the Discord and staff & community may be able to help! It's also worth considering balance here, something stupidly overpowered will probably not make it past the Approval process. That being said, don't worry about it too much.

Step Two - Character Write up

Once you have your concept, you'll want to fill in your character sheet.

This process is pretty simple, most of what you'll be doing is copying the following template, and filling in the blanks.

We have streamlined this process, as all you need to do is request a new character sheet from our Bot on the discord.

The sheet is copied from a universal template by the bot, and the appropriate members of the Approval team (and you!) are given editing privileges on the character sheet (which is a pre-formatted google sheet.)

An example of what a character sheet that is filled out looks like can be found (Here)

Many of the various sections of our character sheet, such as Costume Appearance and Mentality are reasonably self-evident about what needs to go there, and the sheet has a little box next to each section elaborating further.

However under the Backstory & Trigger Event section there are drop down menus and spaces to put slightly more specific information. The full in-depth descriptions of the various kinds of Trigger Event can be found compiled here.

Tinker specific write ups

Example Specialty: Cryogenics

Doctor Snowman can build a wide variety of technology relating to refrigeration, flash freezing, lowering & maintaining a low temperature, and the creation of weaponized Ice/Frost. Stationary devices are something Doctor Snowman excels at in particular, whether that be devices built-in to specific rooms & buildings, or large devices for spreading inclement weather to a wide area, that require heavy vehicles to & manpower to transport. Small devices like pistols & grenades are within his wheelhouse, but are more time consuming & require more experimenting & iteration to get right.

Writing up a Tinker requires additional explanation.

For a non-tinker the Parahuman Power section of the character sheet is usually one of the bulkiest and most fleshed out parts of a character sheet.

For a Tinker you can afford to be more concise. As you are explaining the Tinker’s Specialty, Methodology, or Gimmick, as well as any particularly notable restrictions or areas where they excel.

These can be based on a particular theme or field, for example:

Cryogenics, Pyrotechnics, Efficiency, Modular Pieces, Neurology, Prosthetics, & Sealed Systems

These are all solid specialties with a coherent theme or field.

Alternatively a ‘Free Tinker’ is a tinker without a specific field or focus, instead able to build devices of a far wider variety, albeit with a specific gimmick, for example:

Building any specific type of device only once, Requiring inspiration from studying other tinkers tech, Building 90% of a device that finishes building itself, & Only being able to tinker while intoxicated.

Whatever the case, a tinker needs a specialty or gimmick. You also need to write up several pieces of Tinker Tech to start with.

This helps the Approval team get a feel for the kind of stuff your intending to build with your power, which can be excellent for balancing the power properly, since a specialty can sound very different on paper than how it works in practice.

I know you might be wanting to play a freshly triggered tinker, but even a few shoddy prototypes made of used appliances are helpful, and this starter tech is instrumental in getting you into the RP quickly. A tinker without tinker tech is basically a person without powers, and that is something to keep in mind.

Step Three - Approval

When you are finished with your write up, and your character sheet is complete and ready for a staff member to look at.

You simply need to navigate to to our approval queue found (HERE) then copy and paste the link to your sheet there, and our Discord Bot will alert us that it is complete & ready for the approval process to begin in earnest.

When a member of the Approval Team is available they will look it over, making note of what they believe requires tweaking for balance, and to fit into the overarching setting. And together you will discuss the tweaks and changes necessary for approval & balancing.

Then when they give the go ahead you will edit these agreed upon changes into the character sheet. Once done. The Approver checks that everything is squared away and correct as agreed upon for balancing purposes.

Step Four - Ready!

After your approval has wrapped up you are more or less free to edit your sheet freely (within reason) with the exception of the Power & Backstory sections. Keep in mind that we can easily see changes made to the sheet through its edit & version history, so please don't cheat.

Aside from those two static sections that need to stay the same. Everything else can change overtime, as you gain resources & equipment, change your appearance and costume, learn additional skills, or change factions.

You can change your mentality section to reflect personal growth as well, this should probably be slow & steady changes, unless some extenuating circumstances, or some major self-reflection has occurred, since people's personalities don’t usually change heavily in a short amount of time (obviously there are exceptions)

You are now ready to roleplay! You can head on down to #event_forums on the discord channel, and start an event, or hop into one thats available and seeking new participants. If you want to gauge interest in an event before posting or reserve participants, you do so in #events_discussion and see who might be interested.