So we made characters for our Conspiracy of Shadows Pirates game for my regular group, but we did not play at all.  Instead we hit A Game of Thrones from Fantasy Flight which is always a good time.  Still some useful lessons where learned I think, by me in particular and I am excited to see where this is going to go.

So there are three characters, The Bishop (a Portugues sailor pretending to be a priest), Jackal (an African who sold his tribe into slavery), and Joyless Jack Dempsey.  We are still using the Doom Mechanics, but not the Cell creation system.  Instead I asked the group to create the Captain (Du Monte, called the Frog by the crew behind his back), the ship (The Bloody Ambassador), and some interesting contacts/allies each. 

Phil, who is playing the Bishop, created the Madame (Vera) for the brothel in Tortuga.  Oscar, who is playing Jackal, created the slave auctioneer of Tortuga, Lord Charles (whose name he may yet change).  Neil, who is playing Joyless, created Tully, the Pawnbroker of Tortuga.  Together with me we also worked out Weasel, the best look out on the ship, and the British Cook, Styles.

Then we worked out their relationship to each other.  Joyless uses the Bishop, who has the authority of a man of the cloth, to protect him from the crew for his terrible bad luck.  The Bishop allows it cause Joyless helps him sell the con.  And Jackal is the Bishop's party buddy.

Finally we worked out the group Kicker for when we start play in January.  We are at a moment of boarding of a ship.  The reason they are attacking the ship is cause they convinced the Captain that it would be a fine prize.  Their real motive is that they overheard something in the bar in Tortuga (something we have yet to define) and are looking for that persona for their information on this ship.  I already see a lot of possibility and I am sure through the forum and our emails we will have it all more clearly defined by the time we start play.  Hopefully the boys will post their characters and comment on how they think things went and what they hope to get out of all this...

Keith

James Dempsey (aka Joyless)

Drive (Why did you choose the pirate life?): I hur't it said that fortune favors tha' bowl'd but I can't seem ta' get'onna list.  I know is' 'cause God 'ates me.  (I heard it said that fortune favors the bold, but I can't seem to get on the list.  I know its because God hates me.)

Trigger (The event that directly led to your life as a pirate.): Y'see, th' las' ship I was on got boar'ted by Doo'Mont an' he says "Ou's comin' wit' me?"  And so's I raise my hand an' they took me in....on account of not knowin' about my rot'ten luck.  (See, the last ship I was on got boarded by DuMont and he said, "Who's coming with me?"  And so I raised my hand and they took me in...on account of not knowing about my rotten luck.)

Ethnicity: My fatha' was a weal'ty man afore he los'it all.  If I didn't learn no'fing, I learn't 'ow ta' survive. (My father was a wealthy man before he lost it all.  If I didn't learn anything, I learned how to survive.)

Doom: My rot'ten luck 'ill be my undoin'.

Piety: 1 (God bless tha' Church a'England)

Destiny Pool: 4

ATTRIBUTES
Fortitude: 3 (Hard to kill, like a cockroach)
Reflex: 2 (Sea Legs)
Knowledge: 3 (Wordly, knows a little of this and that)
Temperament: 3 (Pessimist, depressing)
Vitalty: 12

SKILLS
Craft: 4 (Good deck hand / sailor)
Firearm: 3 (Horrible outside of "short" range)
Folklore: 3 (Tales o' Doom)
Larceny: 3 (Fidgets when he lies, dead giveaway)
Melee: 3 (Hit them below the belt, dirty fighter)
Survival: 1 (Good at finding places to hide)

The bad news?  Character generation is tough if you don't go in with a strong sense of what you're trying to do.  Good news?  When its all said and done, its forced you to really examine and look at different aspects of the character.  In my case, I had a central theme: I wanted a guy who believed that everything bad happened to him.  In actuality, he doesn't get any more bad luck then anyone else, its all in his perspective - one part Debbie Downer, one part Eor the donkey from Winnie the Pooh, and one part glass half empty/life sucks.  I hadn't given much thought to the other things that round him out as a person.  CoS character generation made me do that with all the descriptors.

Looking forward to see how the creator of CoS runs his games....

Jackal

Drive: Seize what you want. Weild the spear or be stabbed by it.

Trigger: Slavers roamed the shored of Africa. As tribes fought, each other and the slavers, he betrayed his tribe selling them into slavery. Notorious in his homeland, his savagery earned him a spot on the ship bound for the new world ripe for the taking.

Ethnicity: The names of past are remembered through deeds and actions. All his life he has done what others have not to make sure his name would not be forgotten.

Doom: When I hesitate it will be my end

Piety: 3

Destiny Pool: 3

Attributes
Fortitude: 3 Inimidating presence
Reflex: 2 Seems ready to spring
Knowledge: 2 Sees the signs
Temperament: 4 Impetuous

Skills
Craft: 3, Ropeworks (ties knots fast)
Melee: 3, Knife fighter (up close and personal)
Firearms: 2, Slow to reload a flintlock
Folklore: 2, Knows the stories of old
Survival: 4, Master tracker
Archery: 2, Has a steady shot 

I am looking forward to seeing this in play. I had a tough time with drive for some reason. I had an idea of what I wanted  -- an african pirate. It started as an ex slave and turned into something else during our character generation session. I somehow couldn't get it to "click" for myself. I loved the doom as soon as I put it down, but everything else was just a little off.

We were pretty loose with what we wanted to play, so I didn't get much help there. I'm not very knowledgeable about african cultures as it related to piracy and slavery, either. I was feeling a little lost. It was while working out with Neil that we stumbled on dealing with trigger and ethnicity to "force" drive. So a simple switch in approach and it was much easier to deal with. I suppose that I might have approached it doom first and that might have done it as well.