Bandits and Barbarians - intro and chargen.

Bandits and Barbarians (or BaB) is supposed to be a relatively simple, fun fantasy game. It uses only six-sided dice so any references to dice won't specify what kind - they're always D6.

Let's jump straight into it:

Characters:
Characters are created by rolling 2d6 for each of the three Characteristics: Body (B), Agility (A) and Mind (M). If you roll really poorly, whine pathetically at the GM until he lets you reroll.

• Body: Your character's strength and brawn.
• Agility: Your character's quickness and general motor skills.
• Mind: Your character's determination and mental abilities.

Optional: If you don't like the arbitrariness of the GM deciding whether or not you get to reroll, you can use the following system instead: If the three Characteristics total 20 or less, then roll 1D6 and add the result to the lowest Characteristic. Repeat this procedure until your characteristics add up to 21 or greater.

Now distribute 18 points among your Skills. There are seven skills: Combat (Com), Thievery (Thi), Wilderness (Wil), Knowledge (Kno), Influence (Inf), Trade (Tra) and Magic (Mag). All Skills start with a rating of 2 with the exception of Magic, which starts at 1. You may not start with a Skill rated higher than 8.
Specializations: For each skill rated 4 or higher, you get to select a Specialization, an aspect of that Skill at which you are especially proficient. You get a better chance of success, when you make a check related to your Specialization.

• Combat: Skill in fighting with weapons or unarmed. Typically possessed by warriors, thugs and football hooligans. Suggested Specializations: Fencing, Bludgeons, Brawling, Archery, Wrestling, In bars.
• Thievery: Covers training in illicit activities of a physical nature. Characters with this skill may move quietly, hide in shadows and pick locks and such. Typically possessed by somewhat dubious characters. Suggested Specializations: Lockpicking, Pursesnatching, Stalking, Climbing, Shadowing.
• Wilderness: The skill of surviving in the wild. Covers such abilities as tracking, hunting, foraging and finding shelter. Typically possessed by druids, rangers, barbarians and boy/girl scouts. Suggested Specializations: Tracking, Trapping, Hunting, Forests, Mountains, Arctic.
• Knowledge: Learning and academia. This is the character's general amount of academic knowledge. Characters with Kno of 5+ may be assumed to be literate. Characters with Kno 6+ may know one extra language for each point by which their Kno exceeds 5. Typically possessed by clergy, sages, magicians and wizened old men with treasure maps. Suggested Specializations: Treasures, Legendary Monsters, History, Religion, Astrology.
• Influence: The ability to communicate well with others and influencing people non-violently. Typically possessed by conmen, clergy, loveable rogues and innkeepers. Suggested Specializations: Bluffing, Lying, Persuasion, Oratory, Negotiation.
• Trade: A character's proficiency at non-adventuring pursuits such as farming, blacksmithing, carpentry, sewing or masonry. Typically possessed by virtually everyone. Suggested specializations: butcher, wickerworker, thatcher, innkeeper.
• Magic: The skill of manipulating arcane forces. Described in greater (although not much greater) detail in the chapter on... you guessed it: Magic! Typically possessed by magicians (duh!). Suggested Specializations: A specific Spell, a particular type of target, long rituals.

You get three Bonus Points. Each BP can increase a Characteristic by one or give you two extra Skill Points or (with the GM's permission) grant you a Special Ability or advantage of some kind.

Calculate Figured Characteristics:
Life Points (LP)=6+BodyX2
Stamina Points (SP)=3+Body
Base Damage Dice (BDD)=1+(Body/3), round down.
Magic Points (MP)=6+MindX2
Dodge Roll (DR)=1+(Agility/2), round up.
Initiative Dice (ID)=1+(Agility/3), round down.
Magic Effect Dice (MED)=1+(Mind/3), round down.

Each character starts play with 1d6+1 "Things". A "Thing" can be a weapon, a rope, a backpack, a set of Thieves' tools, a light armor etc. The GM may allow PC's to start with a more valuable item such as a riding horse, a mail armor or a cart at the cost of two "Things" or an even more valuable item such as a warhorse or a plate armor at the cost of three "Things"

Lastly each player should come up with a name for his character, a brief description and a good (or at least amusing) reason for him to go adventuring.

That's it. You're done.