People who enjoy dice-based TTRPGs enjoy rolling dice, but I've been watching quite a lot of Taskmaster lately and felt like "taskifying" character creation a bit. Specifically the assignment of ability scores [[footnote: Someday I'd like to add processes for race, class, starting equipment, spells, etc., but I probably won't.]].
It’s a completely unnecessary procedure that turns character creation into a minor ordeal. Or, "A magnificently futile use of our mortal lifespan," to borrow a line from Victoria Coren Mitchell. But it's fun to think about.
Ability Scores
- STEP 1: List each player and the number of the month in which they were born, adding +8 for January through June [[footnote: For example, June equals 14, July equals 7, and so on.]].
- STEP 2: Answer the following questions. Each answer identifies a player; that player’s number from Step 1 becomes one of the ability scores available to assign in Step 3.
Who is the player ...
- who has lived in the most states?
- whose birthday occurs soonest after yours in the calendar year?
- whose first name has fewer letters than yours by the smallest amount?
- whose name in alphabetical order comes immediately after yours?
- who you've known the shortest?
- whose birthday occurs soonest before yours in the calendar year?
- whose is closest to you but older (select yourself if you are the oldest)?
- whose first name is alphabetically furthest from yours?
- with whom you have the longest-running text message history?
- who has the most pets?
- whose last name immediately precedes yours in alphabetical order?
- who you've known the longest?
- whose first name has more letters than yours by the smallest amount?
- whose birthday is farthest from yours on the calendar?
- who is the youngest?
- whose first name immediately precedes yours in alphabetical order?
- with whom you have the most recently started text message history?
- whose name in alphabetical order comes immediately before yours?
- whose first name is alphabetically closest to yours?
- who is the oldest?
- STEP 3: Determine the starting question for ability score assignment using the day of the month on which you were born. If that number exceeds 20, subtract 20. Begin there and assign scores in order, returning to 1 after 20 if necessary.
... Your time starts now?
Note: This was conceived of for systems that use 3d6 for ability score generation, but it can be adapted for Mothership by omitting the +8, and adding +25 to all month numbers to determine the final scores.