[Scott]

Cyclopean Character Generator v1.05 -- At last, an interactive thing that not a single AAA game developer provides!
**Skills now cost 1 point up to 60, 2 points up to 80, 3 points up to 90, and 4 points thereafter
**Now includes Trait Tally™ for the counting impaired
PLEASE READ ME BEFORE POSTING QUESTIONS!

Who is this application for?
This application is for my own testing and game balancing, and for the Hardcome™ RPGer who is thrilled by the opportunity to crunch numbers.  It is also a one-stop location to preview all available Skills and Traits, and to see how they interact and relate to base stats.  For those who aren’t so thrilled with this doodad, rest assured there will be other interactive opportunities in advance of Cyclopean’s eventual release later this century (do not infer that I am not committing to this timeframe).

How does it work?
The application requires Flash Shockwave Player, a freely downloadable plug-in you probably already have.  If it does not open in one click, try to Open With Firefox, or other (lame) browser of your choice.

Cyclopean Character Generator mimics the current iteration of stats, skills and traits for a character in Cyclopean.  The user starts out at Level 1, chooses a Background or no Background, and may interactively review and purchase stats, skills and traits to evaluate how a character would progress and what he could achieve and when.

At any point after choosing your Background, the user may generate a Character Summary (button on bottom right).  By dragging over this text and copy/pasting into this thread, you may share your character builds.

Overview
Gender and first and last name are on the top left.  These have no effect on your character.  Base stats are on the lower left, Skills are on the right.  Hovering over base stats will reveal what Skills and other stats they influence.  Hovering over Skills will tell you very briefly what they are, as well as what stats influence them.  Backgrounds are listed in the middle of the screen.

Backgrounds
First, you must choose a Background (or None) for your character.  Pointing at the different Backgrounds will give you a brief synopsis of their pros and cons.  More detailed back stories are available on the Cyclopean forum.

> Characters with no Background start with base stats of 5, 7 points to spend on base stats, and 75 Skill points.

> Characters with a Background will start with suggested base stats, a varying number of optional points to spend on base stats, and 25 Skill points to spend on Skills and Traits.  In game, base stats for Background-enabled characters cannot be reduced below starting amounts.  Users will see specialized (ie. not purchasable) Background Traits on the bottom right.

Skills
Skill values range from 1-100 and reflect your abilities in nine different disciplines.  At the beginning you will have a pool of skill points to spend (the amount is located above the Skills menu) on Skills and Traits.  Every time you level up you will get an additional 30 points to spend.  Keep in mind that buying Skills above 50 costs 2 per point, above 75 costs 3 per point, and above 90 costs 4 per point.  You cannot buy Skills above 100.

Traits
Traits are abilities and perks dependent on a parent Skill.  Traits are purchased from the same pool of points from which you can increase Skills.  Once you have chosen a Background, click on any Skill to see a list of associated Traits in the middle of the screen.  Traits already purchased, or those native to a Background, will appear in green.  Clicking a green Trait will rescind the Trait and return the points to you to spend on something else.

The Roman numeral (I, II or III) in front of the Trait name represents the minimum Skill level needed to access this Trait.  All Traits require a score of at least 25 in the parent skill.  These are Rank I Traits.  A Trait preceded by ‘II’ requires 50, and ‘III’ requires 75.  The number in brackets after the Trait’s name is the cost in Skill points to purchase.  Thus, “II – Forgery [5]”, under the Deceit Skill set, requires a Skill of 50 in Deceit and 5 Skill points to purchase.  Some Traits have other prerequisites, which in every case are described after the Trait description. 

Note: In game, Background starting Traits will not be returnable.  It is possible to cheat the Character Generator by buying a prerequisite Trait, buying a more advanced Trait, then rescinding the prerequisite.  In Fallout 3, this would result in negative karma, which in turn could generate random good guys to shoot at you later.  But ask yourself, in the Cyclopean Character Generator, what have you really achieved by doing this?  Not much.

Level Up
When you have spent your Skill points, click LEVEL UP to collect 30 new points to continue.  The RESTART button gives you a shortcut to return to Level 1 and try different Backgrounds and choices.

Comments welcome, providing you have read and understood the above.
----
UPDATE:  new file (chargen_new1.swf) incorporates slight default Skill increases, based on Skill's base influence stats, on every Level Up

[dagorkan]

Thanks, it works for me. I'll let you know if I find any bugs

Background: War Veteran, Male
Level: 1
Stats          Skills
STR 6         mech: 30
END 6         mind: 25
DEX 7         dece: 25
INT 6          medi: 25
WIL 5         arca: 18
PER 5          phys: 28
                 club: 23
Lif 28          blad: 25
San 75        fire: 35
Def 2
Background Traits: SHELLSHOCK

Traits: stabilityi -- coldblooded -- soundsleeper -- concealment -- bandage -- pistols -- rifles --

[Scott]

Good stuff, but don't everyone post screenshots.  That's why I implemented the Character Summary button.  Also, I'm particularly interested in how they look at level 10.

[dagorkan]

OK, I thought it would be good to show people reading the thread but who won't use it what the interface looks like.

A few comments:

-Why only one female background (Great War Veteran)?
-Good to see the "hafted weapon" rename
-Would like to see additional Character Flaws (disadvantages) selectable that give you extra skill points

[Hector]

One small problem: After I click restart, the stat points remaining display remains invisible, meaning I have to guess at how many stat points I have left.  Other than that, it's quite cool.

----EDIT BY SCOTT:  what an eye on that boy!  Fixed----

[erbgor]

Background: NONE
Level: 10
Stats          Skills
STR 3         mech: 27
END 7         mind: 25
DEX 7         dece: 25
INT 7          medi: 75
WIL 6         arca: 25
PER 7          phys: 25
                 club: 9
Lif 45          blad: 25
San 81        fire: 75
Def 3

Traits: driving -- picklocksi -- stabilityi -- concealment -- bandage -- firstaid -- ameliorate -- chemist -- anatomy -- surgical -- nurse -- student -- physiology -- surgeon -- research -- symbology -- translationi -- dodgei -- nightvis -- finesse -- knives -- careful -- rifles -- aimrifles -- quickaim -- sharpshooter --


Curious if that low strength would bite me in the ass. Now Power Armor in this game, no?


This was a lot of fun - the traits are very very interesting. One thing I don't quite like is that my chars would probably almost all have either 25, 50, 75 or the starting value for their skills...well, I like traits...

[Gondolin]

This is a nice study-oriented character for me:

Background: Archaeologist
Level: 10
Stats          Skills
STR 3         mech: 25
END 3         mind: 50
DEX 6         dece: 50
INT 9          medi: 27
WIL 6         arca: 75
PER 6          phys: 14
                 club: 12
Lif 37          blad: 19
San 83        fire: 50
Def 2
Background Traits: UNIVERSITY CONNECTIONS

Traits: driving -- stabilityi -- coldblooded -- soundsleeper -- stabilityii -- intimidation -- sixthsense -- remorseless -- hardened -- rejuvenation -- mesmerism -- stillmind -- tactics -- charmoppsex -- concealment -- stealthi -- forgery -- stealthii -- shiv -- bandage -- firstaid -- research -- symbology -- translationi -- idartifact -- idcreature -- tombraider -- mresearcher -- careful -- rifles -- aimrifles --


I should've played around with the stats some more, but it's pretty much the way I want it. The penalty for going up to 75 points in one skill is pretty harsh and I'm wondering whether I should simply ditch the third level trait in Arcanum in order to boost Firearms or get some specialization in blades should bullets run out.

[Scott]

Well-rounded, I like it.  I'd advise people to keep in mind that having purchased a trait doesn't guarantee success.  Some traits (especially combat traits) are still going to check the parent skill for chance of success.

[Ashery]

Is it wrong for me to have spent the time finding an exploit in this? ;p

While increasing the skill directly costs 1pt per level up until 50, then 2pts per level until 75, etc, if you increase the stat that is tied to that skill, the increase is always the same. So, in other words, if you drop, say intelligence for an archaeologist, down to three, then bump up arcanum to 50, you can then increase intelligence back up to the point you wanted it to be at and come away with twice as many points invested.

Not only that, but you can get infinite skill points. After doing the above, decrease arcanum while int is high and you get two points back for each point initially invested...Repeat as necessary ;p

You can also get over 100 in a skill by bumping the stat up after raising the skill above 80 ;p

My char ended up being similar to Gondolin's.

Edit: My non-exploited char ;p

Background: Descended From Witches
Level: 10
Stats          Skills
STR 3         mech: 16
END 4         mind: 79
DEX 4         dece: 32
INT 8          medi: 25
WIL 8         arca: 75
PER 6          phys: 25
                 club: 14
Lif 44          blad: 20
San 93        fire: 25
Def 2
Background Traits: EQUANIMITY -- SPELL RESISTANCE -- FAMILIAR -- HATED BY ANIMALS

Traits: stabilityi -- soundsleeper -- stabilityii -- sixthsense -- hardened -- mesmerism -- stillmind -- sorcerer -- mentalist -- stealthi -- bandage -- firstaid -- research -- symbology -- translationi -- idartifact -- idcreature -- tombraider -- mresearcher -- dodgei -- nightvis -- staminai -- pistols --

[Scott]

Is it wrong for me to have spent the time finding an exploit in this? ;p

Yes. ;p

If I had designed this to rule out any exploits, it would have taken twice as long.  Exploit it all you want, but please post legitimately created characters only (as you did, I know). ;p

[Nida]

Background: Carnival Mystic
Level: 10
Stats          Skills
STR 1         mech: 50
END 3         mind: 46
DEX 9         dece: 75
INT 6          medi: 25
WIL 7         arca: 22
PER 8          phys: 15
                 club: 9
Lif 35          blad: 50
San 77        fire: 59
Def 4
Background Traits: MAGIC TRICKS

Traits: driving -- picklocksi -- explosivesi -- picklocksii -- usecontraption -- stabilityi -- mesmerism -- charmoppsex -- concealment -- stealthi -- stealthii -- forkedtongue -- stealthiii -- bandage -- firstaid -- knives -- backstab -- reload -- pistols -- aimpistols --


That's what I came out with. I'm not sure if I should still lessen my dex by 1 and use it on something else. Originally it was 10 but I felt that the points I got by lessening it to 9 was better.
I only hope that the char can open doors and hold items, like letters, with the puny amount of strenght I put on it.

[pnutz]

Background: War Veteran, Female
Level: 10
Stats          Skills
STR 3         mech: 30
END 3         mind: 10
DEX 7         dece: 55
INT 10          medi: 80
WIL 2         arca: 85
PER 7          phys: 20
                 club: 20
Lif 37          blad: 20
San 54        fire: 35
Def 2
Background Traits: NERVOUS DISPOSITION

Traits: concealment -- stealthi -- forgery -- stealthii -- bandage -- firstaid -- chemist -- anatomy -- surgical -- nurse -- research -- symbology -- translationi -- idartifact -- idcreature -- tombraider --


After 10 levels in Cyclopean, our nurse veteran has rounded out her medical knowledge with a rather extensive understanding of forgotten arcania. Her crippled willpower has left her without the ability to comprehend the mythos horrors, however.

Also, it's difficult to max out even two skills, which is good of course. I tried raising a skill to 100, but it didn't seem worth it as I would much rather spend my points on traits. All in all, it's a fun system. I'm assuming there is some kind of way for my arcanum/medicine character to feasibly get through the game.

[skuphundaku]

Background: Serial Killer
Level: 10
Stats          Skills
STR 3         mech: 50
END 4         mind: 50
DEX 8         dece: 50
INT 6          medi: 25
WIL 6         arca: 25
PER 7          phys: 21
                 club: 13
Lif 39          blad: 50
San 75        fire: 51
Def 3
Background Traits: MORGUE ASSISTANT -- BLOODLUST

Traits: driving -- picklocksi -- picklocksii -- usecontraption -- stabilityi -- coldblooded -- soundsleeper -- intimidation -- sixthsense -- remorseless -- hardened -- stillmind -- tactics -- charmoppsex -- concealment -- stealthi -- forgery -- stealthii -- shiv -- bandage -- firstaid -- research -- symbology -- translationi -- finesse -- knives -- backstab -- coup -- careful -- rifles -- aimrifles -- quickaim --

I think this could be a pretty strong, well rounded character IF the game will have a party system (for helping with the healing). By itself, the lack of strong healing capabilities could prove to be a massive headache. Maybe not as bad as playing an evil wizard or sorcerer and killing Okku in MotB, but still a handful.

[quasimodo]

Background: Med School Dropout
Level: 10
Stats          Skills
STR 3         mech: 50
END 4         mind: 50
DEX 8         dece: 50
INT 8          medi: 50
WIL 5         arca: 50
PER 5          phys: 25
                 club: 13
Lif 39          blad: 50
San 71        fire: 25
Def 4

Traits: driving -- picklocksi -- disarm -- picklocksii -- stabilityi -- coldblooded -- sixthsense -- remorseless -- concealment -- stealthi -- forgery -- stealthii -- shiv -- bandage -- firstaid -- anatomy -- surgical -- research -- symbology -- translationi -- idartifact -- idcreature -- dodgei -- nightvis -- finesse -- knives -- backstab -- coup -- reload -- pistols --



Hey this is fun.    This is Herbert West, a smart and sneaky backstabbing med school. dropout

[MisterStone]

Background: Serial Killer
Level: 1
Stats          Skills
STR 3         mech: 19
END 4         mind: 31
DEX 7         dece: 32
INT 5          medi: 21
WIL 8         arca: 17
PER 7          phys: 25
                 club: 13
Lif 21          blad: 32
San 83        fire: 23
Def 2
Background Traits: MORGUE ASSISTANT -- BLOODLUST

Traits: stabilityi -- coldblooded -- remorseless -- concealment -- stealthi -- finesse -- knives --

This person has all the necessary skills needed to be a good serial killer.  Well, actually she needs to learn how to drive as well, but that wouldn't be too hard



Background: NONE
Level: 7
Stats          Skills
STR 7         mech: 25
END 7         mind: 50
DEX 7         dece: 13
INT 3          medi: 13
WIL 5         arca: 9
PER 7          phys: 50
                 club: 75
Lif 53          blad: 19
San 77        fire: 21
Def 3

Traits: driving -- stabilityi -- intimidation -- hardened -- dodgei -- fisticuffs -- staminai -- stomp -- brawler -- kick -- fleet -- staminaii -- crippling -- cruel -- stunningi -- brute -- stunningii --

Professional baseball player.

Also, maybe a carnie character class that is not a "mystic", just a sleezy carnival person, would be cool.  Well, maybe drifter is close enough?

How about a mobster class?