BW PDF - Midnight Campaign

EquipmentStep Six: The equipment with which your character will start depends largely upon the scene and setting yourstoryteller is trying to run in each individual campaign. We recommend starting with a weapon, possiblyarmor, and basic survival gear, but there are many campaigns where starting with a book and a little bit of cashmight better fit the story. Check with your storyteller to determine what your character might need.Weapons & Attack OptionsFirst and foremost, your character is likely to need aweapon. Luckily, there is a fairly comprehensive list ofoptions in Chapter 4 to select from. A character shouldchoose what weapon they wish to start with, and writedown the statistics for that weapon on the charactersheet, to make for faster play later.It is important to notice that there are a lot of options,and that while some are a little stronger than others,most weapons are fairly evenly balanced in theireffectiveness and their unique strategy. The specificweapon that a character chooses should be based onpersonal style and character concept, rather than just onwhich one does the most damage in one hit.Often, a character will have to use a makeshift weapon,or may choose a weapon that we don’t have directstatistics for. In these cases, it is bet to just approximatestatistics based on the available options. If a weapon issword-like, use the statistics for the most similar sword.If a weapon is club-like, use the statistics for the club.Armor & Defensive OptionsArmor is very powerful, but also represents a tacticaldecision, balancing the available damage reduction,against the movement penalties. A character mayneed to work up their Athletics skill in order toeffectively use some heavier armors.As with weapons, choose the armor that best fits yourcharacter and write down the relevant statistics onthe character sheet.More information on how armor and weapons workis found in Chapters 3 and 4.KitsRather than get caught up in the minutia of managing afull item inventory, the Mayhem game also includes somebasic kits that represent a series of tools that a charactermight have access to. Selecting one or two of these kitscan help your characters to gain some bonuses to theirskill rolls, and can be useful for having the necessary gearto get a job done. This list is by no means comprehensive,so a player should have some leeway to adjust their gearas it suits their character.Magic Items & ArtifactsOften in fantasy games, players will want to have accessto objects of some arcane power. These kinds of magicitems can be fun to utilize, and can greatly increase thecharacter’s power. These should be available for purchaseor crafting, but should allowed at the storyteller’sdiscretion. If an item gives a character too much power,the storyteller may want them to invest skill points inits use, as they would an ability, or apply some othercontingency, like feedback or other requirements.Specific magic items are available in other volumes or canbe created for your own game context, but should be usedwith deliberately, with a thought to how it affects thegame balance.A Final noteAt this point, assuming all of the previous steps havebeen filled out, the character should be ready to play!With all of the statistics, rules, and guides for buildingand running a character, don’t forget that the point ofthe game is to be creative and to have fun. The rules aredesigned to serve the players, not the other way around,so feel free to add, remove, or edit any of the content inthis book as you and your fellow players see fit.15