The RPG Character Library: Lexicon LARP

My friend Bob was the creator and game master behind the two campaigns of the Lexicon LARP. I never played Lexicon (and, as LARPs are sadly ephemerial by nature, I never will, unless Bob decides to a) run it again and b) let me play), but I did help Bob out here as an NPC and plot writer during the second campaign.  

NPC characters at LARPs are not made in the same way that PC characters are. For an NPC, you can get away with throwing on a costume, talking in a funny accent, remembering your lore, and busting out one or two useful skills if and when they are required. If you're bad at math and forgetful of mechanics, like Yours Truly, NPCing is really the way to go.

PCs, on the other hand, are much more extensive—Lexicon PCs more than most. They start out quite a bit more powerful than characters in other LARPs I have played and only grow more so as time goes on. As Bob once described it to me, "this is a world that really, really wants to be Exalted, but letting it get to that point is a bad idea."

The quick overview of the game world is as follows:  The First God made the world and everything in it and set everything in motion. The ancient Stygians became decadent jerks and a handful of them presumed to take the mantle of godhood for themselves. There was a war in heaven, the First God was cast down and destroyed, and the world was shattered. From the broken shards of the world arose the Nightmare, the antithesis of the First God and the avatar of Chaos

New gods arose, and the world was cast down into darkness, for a time. Out of this dark age arose the Tykorian Empire and, while they started out all right, they too became decadent and corrupted by power. Some of them sought to duplicate the works of the ancient Styigians of old and, because no one in fantasy stories ever learns anything ever, they brought about the fall of their own empire.

After that, numerous smaller powers arose upon the shards of the world, including the Kingdom of Galicia (where all the players come from). Geomancers linked shards together to grow and stabilize the nations, as well as to allow safe passage for travelers and merchants. Brave adventurers traveled to distant shards to cleanse them of the taint of Nightmare. Invaders from long-lost shards sought to raid civilization, and were either put to the sword or, after extensive negotiations, welcomed into one fold or another.

Into this world comes my character! 

I normally play humans at LARPs, because the makeup requirements are usually the easiest, and because my glasses make it very difficult for me to wear masks. However, since I will not actually be playing this character, I decided to go all-out and have him belong to one of the non-human races. He is of the recently restored Hrekin race, who once had mastery over time and destiny until they were corrupted by the Nightmare. They're now free of the Nightmare and, though much of their time magic has been lost, they are able to use their divinatory powers to great effect. Oh, and they also look like giant, bipedal spiders. Neat!

I am usually very bad at statting out LARP characters, either because I want to do too many different things at once or neglect obvious stacking bonuses in the rules because I'm bad at games. This time, I tried to go through the rules much more carefully and keep a narrow focus. This led to me limiting my choices to Divination skills with some secondary abilities as a Guy Who Throws Things. 

The few things that do not support Divination or Hucking Things are ones that I chose because I know Bob and I know what his favorite things are; how better to get plot for my character? 

This build technically requires me to have written a character history in order to get enough skill points. While I do have a history in mind, this entry has already gone way longer than I was expecting. If there's interest (or if I feel like it), I'll provide the history and the rationale for all of my skill choices in another post.

Navino (AKA: Calus Navinus Numminen)

Health	3	Essence	2
Race	Hrekin (5)	Bloodline	Forsaken (5)
Backgrounds	Cultist of the Profane Gods (5), Hy Beltane (6), Order of Seers (8)
Advantages	Divination costs 10 CP; gain +1 Divination. Divination skills cost -2 CP each. Call Resist to one effect delivered By Time per refresh. Detect Nightmare at will for free. Ignore one Detect Heretic call per refresh. +1 damage to any thrown weapon special attacks.  Spend 1 E to throw 1 Piercing once/refresh.  +1 Divination.
Disadvantages	By Gesture effects delivered by Will cost 2 Essence to resist. Effect By Light acts as Torment, in addition to other effects.
Gifts	Divination:  +1 Divination use, read any red flags. (10)
Flaws	Hunted:  By agents of the Nightmare. (+20)
Bloodline Skills	Gather Information (3) Hide in Shadows (12)
Divination Skills	Total Divinations Per Event:  8 Clear Sight (3) Haruspex (8) Item Reading (8) Second Sight (3—Detect Critical) Shard Reading (3)
Divine Skills	Faith in Obulos (10—Faith Points: 3)
Magical Skills	Unbound Name (5)
Weapon Skills	Javelin (5) Piercing Strike (10) Shield (10)
Equipment	Buckler Some Javelins Leather Lamellar Tunic (+1 AP) Tykorian Hunger Sword