Sure random characters can be fun, but they are only a silly admusment if they are not useful. So lets make some useful characters.
As mentioned before... The NPC categories are:
--Agricultural: This is a character who concentrates upon growing food and organic resources. The primary argicultural is the farmer, but it includes ranchers, field hands, moisture farmers, and harvesters. This is not a very heroic orrientation, but some times your NPC is a farmer.
--Artistic/Performance: These is a character who concentrates on the creative area of living, both performance arts, writing, and producing artistic things. These are groups of dancers, musicians, writers, bards, actors, and sculpters. It also includes collectors, critics, and patrons of the arts.
--Combative: This is a character who concentrates upon warfare and personal combat. Soldiers, Mercenaries, Sargents, Tacticians, Generals, Military supply/ logistics, and so on.
--Criminal/Espionage: This is a character who focuses upon stealth, infiltration, and/ or the taking of goods and information. This is for criminals, spys, assassins, and those who combat them, detectives, intelligence officers, and police.
--Knowledge/Lore: This is a character who focuses upon wisdom and learning. They are a curious and investigative type. They gather knowledge for themselves and sometimes teach others.
--Mercantile: This is a character who focuses upon trade, commerace, business of all types, and money. Salesmen, merchants, traders, brokers, and investors are of a mercantile focus.
--Mystical: This is a character who focuses upon thaumaturgy (magics of all types), powers of the mind, and the cosmic forces of the universe, including deities. Many of a mystical orrientation are also known for theurgical knowledge - wisdom and understanding of the universe.
--Natural: This is a character who focuses upon the skills useful for life in the wilds. This includes, and is not limited to, ability to move through the environment, ability to find food, ability to find water, ability to find shelter, and an understanding of flora and fauna.
--Political: This is a character who focuses upon political power, the process of government, and the leading of people. Suitable for politicians, ambassadors, courtiers, councilors, first speakers, leaders, kings, princes, dukes, and others who control the course of cities, states, and nations.
--Religious: This is a character who focuses upon the theurgical, knowledge and wisdom of the universe and deities. Most of the religious orrientation work with their community, doing the divine will. This is suitable for Shamans, WitchDoctors, Priests, Monks, and Clerics of all persusasions. Many of a religious orrientation are also known for thaumaturgical knowledge and power (wonder working, magic, miracles).
--Technical: This is a character who lives for the functional, mechanical, and technical. They are craftsmen, the makers of things, stone smiths, hackers, radio operators, warp engineers, trapsmen, motorheads, and others who live for machines and technology.
--Travelers: This is a character who lives for travelling by some means. Sailors, Pilots, Navigators, Sumarriners, Dragon Riders, Pony Express Riders, Drivers, and Charioteers, are all examples of Travelers.
To this we would add:
--Athletic: This is a character who excells at physical actions. It would include running, jumping, tumbling, climbing, and the ilk.
--Perceptive: This is a character who excells at being aware of the world around them.
--Deductive: This is a character who excells at being able to connect to the dots of the events and their responses.
Okay: Here is how the simulator might work.
Each character would receive 1-4 clusters of skills, each cluster related to a focus above. Think of a cluster as a package of related skills... skills that someone with this focus might take. Each emphasis will have 1-4 clusters.
So while Agriculture will have one cluster (Farmcraft, Animal craft, Teamster (ability to run a set of horses of oxen and a cart or plow) and woodcraft, Combative might have several (sword, shield, riding, lance OR Bow, Sword, Spear or Unarmed Combat I, Unarmed Combat II, Jumping, etc)
So when you roll a random character, you might choose a focus and a level of experience (1-4) .
The character would then get one cluster in the first focus.
The character would have an increased chance of receiving a cluster from that focus, but would recieve 0-3 additional clusters. Sometimes the character will have increased rating in a skill because it will be duplicated several times.
Throw on some random skills in addition, and you add ONE attribute aspect they are pronounced in (The character is notably strong, smart, quick, wise, of great constitution... see attribute listing). You might add a personality trait (and maybe have it based upon the primary focus?)
Okay, so most of this is nesting listings...
Focus = 1-18 or what ever input F
exp = 1-4 input E
loop E (1-4) times
if loop >1 random = f
if loop >1 35% of the time Focus = F
if loop =1 choose Focus = F
Goto Focus list, select random skill cluster.
Store skills and rating (number of times the skill is taken)
repeat loop.
Loop 2xe
random skill from list
repeat loop
Random Attribute trait
Loop E-1 times
Goto Personality trait chart F, random trait (1-10)
repeat loop
Goto random personality chart, select random trait (1-10)
Print out character
