NPC random statistics roll chart?

[Fish]

What about the unlucky advantages? Do they overlap? Is it possible to have both Cursed and Luck? Is it possible to have Dead Broke and Luck?

[Dwarf99]

I'd say that Dead Broke may overlap with Luck (as long as your luck isn't aspected towards anything where you could gain money) but Cursed would not be in the same character as Luck (being that Cursed is : If something goes right, it misses you. Any time the GM feels like hosing you, he can, and you have no complaint coming, because you are Cursed.)

[Ragitsu]

Originally Posted by Fish

I'm not trying to make a complete NPC generator, with all advantages, disadvantages, quirks, perks, skills, names, income, appearance, date of birth, blood type and so on included in the model. All I'm trying to do is find a way to model with dice a given population profile: how many of Group X are A, B and C?

I have no idea on how to logistically/realistically distribute Luck, or most of the other Disadvantages, to be honest.

However, in the interests of dramatic flair, I don't see the problem in adding some major Advantages (Intolerance is indeed common, and disabilities such as Lame Legs, Blindness, Hard of Hearing, Bad Sight and the like are fairly common) in there.

Originally Posted by Fish

What about the unlucky advantages? Do they overlap? Is it possible to have both Cursed and Luck? Is it possible to have Dead Broke and Luck?

It is indeed possible to have Cursed and Luck or Dead Broke and Luck. The character is generally in a bad position, but has a few bright spots that stave off suicide.

Also, there is nothing stopping a creative GM from taking a lucky break and turning it into a run of bad luck!

[Not another shrubbery]

Originally Posted by Dwarf99

I'd say that Dead Broke may overlap with Luck (as long as your luck isn't aspected towards anything where you could gain money) but Cursed would not be in the same character as Luck (being that Cursed is : If something goes right, it misses you. Any time the GM feels like hosing you, he can, and you have no complaint coming, because you are Cursed.)

Note that there is no explicit restriction on combining those traits. It would make sense to disallow Dead Broke with the aspected Luck, as per the rules on Negated Disadvantages (B120). Cursed and Luck would require a strong justification to coexist in a character in one of my games... I'd rather see a variation of Unluckiness, or a weaker form of Cursed.

[Fish]

Originally Posted by Ragitsu

However, in the interests of dramatic flair, I don't see the problem in adding some major Advantages (Intolerance is indeed common, and disabilities such as Lame Legs, Blindness, Hard of Hearing, Bad Sight and the like are fairly common) in there.

I do have a list of various physical and mental disabilities, including your list plus Bad Grip, Bad Back, Deafness, and so forth.

The Intolerance ... that's a very tricky and very political thing to try to model, considering that it's an indefinite social condition that overlaps oddly with Ethnicity, Age, Education, Wealth, and what part of the United States you grew up in (remembering that this demographic model is US-based, not world-based).

First remember we're talking about an Intolerance so severe it rises to the level of a GURPS point value. Are white and black people equally likely to be intolerant, across the age spectrum? Are poor people more tolerant (because they're more likely to live in mixed-race situations) or less tolerant (if they're from racially homogenous rural communities)? Are you likely to become more tolerant as you become more educated? Is someone born in 1940 likely to be more or less tolerant than someone born in 1980? Women versus men?

And there's types of Intolerance: against blacks, against all non-whites, against gays, against Japanese, against Muslims, against Jews... even, I suppose, against political parties or "educated college boys." How do you define which is more likely, based on the person's background?

[simply Nathan]

Roll 1d+6 or 2d+4 for each attribute. Sure, it skews NPCs a little toward high attributes, but PCs are already going to be ahead of them anyway.

[Ragitsu]

There's nothing wrong with using the Quirk level of Intolerance as well.

[Fish]

Originally Posted by Kenneth Latrans

Roll 1d+6 or 2d+4 for each attribute. Sure, it skews NPCs a little toward high attributes, but PCs are already going to be ahead of them anyway.

What I want to see on the stat chart is a probability chart that has a strong tendency to average toward 10, probably a 4d roll. 1d+6 just doesn't do that. With a bell curve I can adjust the dice up or down based upon other factors: age, wealth, gender, occupation, and so on, depending on the order in which the table results cascade into each other.

That is to say, an old rich man should have a higher average HT than an old poor man, but he shouldn't be prevented from having a low HT.

[Captain Joy]

Originally Posted by Fish

From your Ethnicity and Gender, you can generate a baseline Height, and adjust for factors like HT and Age. The chart can include the (suitably rare) chance for Gigantism and Dwarfism.

Weight can be generated randomly from Height, using Age as a modifier. The chart can include a chance for Gluttony.

ST can be generated randomly, and adjusted for Height, Weight, Gender, and Age. This chart can include the possibility for ST-related disorders (Lame, One Arm, Bad Grip).

Interesting, I would have figured ST first, then figured weight and height from that. But, you are rocking and rolling on this thread. Keep it coming!

Oh, I would very much like you to include your sources for each chart, even if that's "Fish's best guess". Thanks!

[capnq]

Originally Posted by Fish

What I want to see on the stat chart is a probability chart that has a strong tendency to average toward 10, probably a 4d roll. 1d+6 just doesn't do that. With a bell curve I can adjust the dice up or down based upon other factors: age, wealth, gender, occupation, and so on, depending on the order in which the table results cascade into each other.

That is to say, an old rich man should have a higher average HT than an old poor man, but he shouldn't be prevented from having a low HT.

Say, there's an idea. Roll 4d6 and discard whichever one leaves the closest result to your concept for the NPC.

In your example, the rich man would discard the low die, but the poor man would discard the high die.