In the near future I shall be running a LARP at a local convention. The event is four hours long, It shall be set in modern times and shall center around the events of a subway car full of average citizens who have never met. In the past I have used either Minds Eye Theater rules for more combat oriented games or pre-generated character bios for free form games. Because of the unusual state of having no character interpersonal relations at the start of the game I have decided experiment with the game system in an attempt to innovate (not to mention reluctance to write 50 pages of bios for a 4 hour game). The players shall be given the following sheet along with a character formatted in manner outlined below.

Welcome to Manhattan Underground

     

      You may notice that you have a very sparse character sheet. The reason for this is twofold: First, you will only have a limited amount of time to get into a mindset which is not your own. I don’t want to bog you down with facts to memorize or force character relationships on you. Secondly, I believe that you are the best person to create an alternate persona for yourself.
      The four stats in front of you are not meant to be game mechanics so much as guidelines. They are a generalization of the capabilities of the character you are going to take on. The nature of each stat should be fairly apparent, but just to clarify:

Archetype: This is the single word or phrase that your character is to be based on. This is not the end all and be all of who your character is, but it is a defining attribute. (Examples: Doctor, Mugger, Old man)

Characteristics:
Intelligence: Your body of general knowledge and reasoning skills.

Body:  Your overall health, strength and fitness.

Alertness: Your ability to notice things, either in the environment, or in the actions of others.

Sanity: Your capability of dealing with emotional stresses you may encounter during the course of the game

Skills:
      You have two types of skills, your primary skill is how your character makes a living. Your character will have a broad knowledge of this area, but may be lacking in the application of it in certain areas depending on his or her characteristics. As an example, a doctor would have the primary skill medicine, and therefore be knowledgeable in this area. If however the doctor has a weak body they may not be able to properly apply their trade to a patient.
    Your secondary skills are things your character dabbles in, but still has a firm grasp on. These are things you would pick up in night classes and high school sports or reading up on; you couldn’t make a living at it, but you are better than the average man on the street. Each character has three secondary skills. If you have less than three you are free to choose the remainder. I would recommend that you choose skills that you can converse about reasonably well to add an element of depth to the role-play, it isn’t much good if they character knows a bunch about early American history and you can’t even fake it.

Items and other notes:
      What you have on your person besides the cloths on your back.

          Now for the big questions: Who are you? Where are you from? Do you have a family? Friends? Where did you go to school? Your character isn’t just a set of characteristics and skills, it is an alternate persona. You will be given 20 minutes to come up with the history of your character based on the information on your sheet. Generally your characters will not know each other so feel free to make up a history that you are comfortable with and can easily remember so that you can effectively communicate with the people around you. The more detail you weave into the persona the easier it will be to play, and the more possible interactions and conversations you can have with those around you.
       
      If you are coming to the game as a group and wish your character to know their character please speak to a member of the staff so we can discuss the details. Remember though, it is much easier to remember a character you have internalized than it is to remember what someone else has made; half the fun is learning who you are with.
   
      You may notice that your character does not have any flaws. They may have a weak stat, but they don’t have any quirks or personal problems listed. It is completely up to you if your character has any failings as a person. You may have to wear glasses, you may be OCD, have a dark past, phobias, or any other quirk of personality and body that you can think of….all completely up to you.  That being said, it is much more interesting for you and those around you to play an imperfect being. Also, one of the prizes for this event shall go to the person best portraying (not overacting) a personal failing.

Characteristic chart:

Scale:                Examples:
Intelligence: Body: Sanity: Alertness:
0.) Null Brain Dead Dead Catatonic Unconscious
1.) Feeble Profoundly retarded Bedridden Senior Serial Killer Near blind
2.) Weak McJob worker Little girl UFO cultist Huh, hard to hear ya
3.) Below average High school/GED 98lb weakling Drunk A bit nearsighted
4.) Average Bachelors Degree Working Joe Most people 20/20
5.) Above average Masters Degree Football Jock Military discipline Hunter
6.) Great Doctorate Bodybuilder CIA material Cop of the month
7.) Amazing Stephen Hawkins Pro Boxer Neil Armstrong Rambo

Apologies for the formatting towards the end.....

        Using this system I have given creative control to the player while attempting to retain general control of the capabilities of the characters. Due to the time constraints of the game I felt that lengthy character bios would not be properly absorbed; by giving over the creation of persona to the players I believe that a more immersive environment can be created as more of the players mental faculties can be devoted towards roleplay as opposed to character memorization.  It is my intention that the character sheets never be seen after the creation process, but I shall have the players keep them in case I need to use the stats as a crutch for an inexperienced group.
      I am posting this here to ask for opinions and critiques of the system and the motives behind its implementation. I would very much like work through any potential problems before it comes to game time.

-SN